- NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIAN /'nu tɛs.tə.mənt 'krɪs.tʃən/ n. One who professes to live by the teachings of the New Testament [and not the Old].
- 2. One who holds to the invalidity of the Old Testament, and the validity of the New.
Whenever I talk about what we Christians think, believe, and behave, I quote bible. I’m trying to show how our views are based on, or at least jibe with, the scriptures. ’Cause
But every so often, one of ’em will say, “I don’t think that’s what that verse means.” Which is fair; let’s take a closer look at it.
When the scriptures agree with me to their satisfaction, so will they. Sometimes grudgingly, but still. Frequently they’ll relapse to their old beliefs, because these are comfortable beliefs; they’re used to them, and prefer them. The Holy Spirit has to further convict them. I can’t give their consciences a squeeze like he can.
But every so often not even bible works on ’em. Because they don’t respect bible.
No, I’m not talking about
It gets scary when these folks include Jesus’s teachings among the sections of bible they consider void. How do they claim such things? Simple: They figure
It’s hard to consider them Christian when they can’t be bothered to follow even Christ. It’s why those who nullify bible
Everybody picks and chooses.
First of all lemme get our own hypocrisy out of the way: Every single Christian on the planet has parts of the bible we follow, and parts we don’t.
Sometimes it’s because we have our favorites. A Christian who loves Paul’s teachings is gonna be big on his doctrines; a Christian who loves James is gonna quote his book frequently; a Christian who loves Proverbs is gonna try to live by every last one of them; a Christian who loves the gospels is gonna re-highlight all the red-letter passages. It’s not that these Christians don’t consider the other parts of the bible to be valid; it’s that our favorites take priority. We’ll try really hard to obey
Frequently it’s because we permit
And sometimes it’s because—and let’s be brutally honest—we don’t wanna follow those commands. We don’t wanna forgive certain sinners, particularly for sins we consider offensive or icky. We only wanna love worthy neighbors. We’re happy to love our L
There’s a common cultural myth that it’s impossibly hard to follow
Acts 15.10 KWL - “So now: Why test God’s patience
- by imposing a yoke on the students’ neck
- which neither our ancestors nor we
- have the power to carry?”
Christians regularly presume and teach the “yoke” Peter speaks of, is the Law. No it’s not. The yoke is the idea Pharisee Christians had that God won’t save people unless we do the Law.
So before we condemn others for voiding bible, let’s follow
Old Testament, old dispensation?
Most of the folks who void bible, tend to believe in
- In Old Testament times he saved those who had
good karma. People followed his Law, or otherwise met his approval by being good enough. - But since karma didn’t work so well (’cause too many people suck at karma, and apparently—because this is the way dispensationalists inadverently describe it—God’s figuring it out as he goes), he sent us Jesus. So in the Christian Era he now saves people by grace.
Sometimes they embrace
Anyway, if the Old Testament’s purpose is to teach and reinforce an old system which we no longer live under, “New Testament Christians” figure it’s redundant. It’s like the United States’ first constitution, the Articles of Confederation: We replaced it with the Constitution, so it no longer counts. But it’s good to know about the Articles, ’cause it explains why all those Revolutionary War veterans who used to be totally against a strong national government, changed their minds after experiencing how a weak confederate government sucks. Dispensationalists think the very same way about the Law: We should know about the old system, because it didn’t work, and we don’t want to revert to its legalism. Jesus inaugurated grace. Stick to grace.
So they don’t chuck the Old Testament entirely: It’s the history of Jesus’s culture. It’s chock full of
Dispensationalists have plenty of bible verses (not always accurately quoted) they can use as proof texts for their worldview. Like how the Law doesn’t save, never really could,
Dispensationalists won’t go as far as Marcion of Sinope (who lived around the years 85–160
Grace and the Law.
You’ll find “New Testament Christians” regularly say the Old Testament is all about Law, and the Law doesn’t save. Thing is, they really need to read those parts of the New Testament which they claim they revere.
The central argument about salvation in the New Testament is the Law didn’t save Abraham; God’s grace did. And they proof-text this argument with the Old Testament. Which says the Law didn’t save Abraham. Both Paul
Genesis 15.6 KWL - Avram believed in the L
ORD , - and to the L
ORD this was considered rightness.
Avram, later renamed Abraham, couldn’t be saved by obeying the Law, for the Law was given to Moses, Abraham’s great-grandson. No Law yet! So how was Abraham saved? In the very same way we’re saved. In the very same way everybody’s been saved, all throughout human history: When we trust God,
“New Testament Christians” might read these verses, and even quote ’em! But they clearly don’t understand them. It’s a massive blind spot.
Yet since grace was how Abraham was saved, grace is how everyone is saved. Abraham was saved by grace. As was Moses. And Joshua. And Samson. And David. And Elijah. And Jonah. And Isaiah. And Daniel. And Ezra. Every last person in the Old Testament was saved by God’s grace, and nothing else. They may have followed the Law, closely and carefully, and wrote giant psalms in its praises.
So why the Law? Simple: Once we’re saved, how are we to live? We wanna follow God’s will… so what is it? And like I (and the scriptures) said, the Law defines sin. You wanna stop sinning, you pay attention to the Law and stop sinning. Those with an authentic relationship with God make the effort;
For “New Testament Christians,” Christianity is about godless behavior and
The bad fruit of a heavily edited bible.
When “New Testament Christians” bother to read the Old Testament, they don’t really read it to learn about God. Not his character, certainly: They figure he hasn’t discovered grace yet, so they don’t read his love, patience, kindness, or any of his traits into his actions in the Old Testament. Instead they believe as pagans do: They see an angry, vengeful, wrathful God, who smites Egyptians and Amorites and Philistines, and eventually turns on the Israelis too. And would turn on them too, if not for Jesus.
In some cases they’re huge fans of this picture of God. Usually these same folks are also huge fans of all the death and mayhem of Revelation, ’cause they imagine it’s another dispensation where God’s turned the rage back on. Considering
Ignoring God’s character, as demonstrated by Jesus, of course gives a really distorted picture of who he is. So of course the Law’s gonna come across as harsh, and the Prophets too, when we imagine God’s granting it out of harshness, not compassion. Try reading some of that attitude into Jesus’s teachings, and they’ll sound like his students and Pharisees constantly made him furious. But it’s not valid for Jesus, and it’s just as invalid for the L
So yeah, when we get Christians who try to teach us we need to disconnect ourselves from the Old Testament and its commands—even if they’re really popular preachers like Andy Stanley—we need to realize they’ve seriously misunderstood God, his nature, his character, his plan, and his bible. And seriously misunderstood Jesus, who did after all teach this:
Matthew 5.17-20 KWL 17 “None of you should think- that I come to tear down the Law or the Prophets.
- I don’t come to tear down,
- but build up.
18 For amen!—I promise you:- Heaven and earth might pass away,
- but neither one yodh nor one dot
- ought ever pass away from the Law;
- not until everything’s done.
19 So whoever might annul the smallest of these commands,- and might teach this to people:
- They will be called least in heaven’s kingdom.
- And whoever might do and teach them,
- this one will be called great in heaven’s kingdom.
20 For I tell you this:- Unless your rightness superabounds—
- more than scribe and Pharisees—
- you might not enter heaven’s kingdom.”
The Old Testament is Jesus’s Old Testament. Ignore it at your peril.
