Huntington Church of Christ, Huntington, Texas

This question (or a variation of it) is often asked of members of the Lord's church. Let me first say, YES, we believe in the Old Testament; and YES, we study the Old Testament. The Old Testament is extremely important to our understanding of God's eternal plan. If you were to discard the Old Testament, you would not know many of the answers to life like:

WHO ARE WE?
WHERE DID WE COME FROM?
WHERE ARE WE GOING?

The Old Testament offers us great examples of faith:

Noah
Abraham
Joseph
Moses
Joshua
Ruth
David
Esther

It gives us the priceless wisdom literature that instructs us concerning living a successful and productive life.

Now what about this recurring Old Testament question? The confusion comes when men fail to properly divide the Word of God. People fail to recognize that the Old Testament Scripture is no longer active. Man is no longer bound to keep the old Mosaical law (not even the ten commandments). First, the law given on Mt. Sinai was not give to all nations. It was a covenant between God and the descendants of Abraham (Exodus 19:3-6). No one else was involved. Moses was instructed to "write thou...these words I have made a covenant with thee and with Israel. ...And he wrote upon the tablets the words of the covenant, the ten commandments." (Exodus 34:37,38) The law was given because of sin, until the seed promise (of Abraham) was fulfilled! (Gal. 3;19) We must be careful not to oblige ourselves to a law of which we have no part.

Second, this law given to Israel was never intended to be a permenent law. Paul describes the law as a schoolmaster or "tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now faith that is come, we are no longer under a tutor." (Gal. 3:24,25) When faith came, we were no longer under the law. Faith in who? Faith in Christ Jesus. Therefore, jesus "blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out that way, nailing it to the cross" (Col 2;14, 15). he abolished "the law of commandments" which had divided the Jew and Gentile for so long (Eph. 2:13-16). Jesus "taketh away the first, that he may establish the second." (Heb. 10:9) "For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it. For a testament is of force where there hath been death: for it doth never avil while he that made it liveth." (Heb. 9:16,17) Christ's law, the New Covenant (Testament) is now in effect. No one is any longer subject to the Law of Moses.

The Law of Christ has a new priesthood (Heb. 7:12).
The Law of Christ has a better hope (Heb. 7:19).
The Law of Christ has a better covenant (Heb. 7:22; 8:6).
The Law of Christ has better promises (Heb. 8:6).
The Law of Christ has a better sacrifice (Heb 9:23; 10:10; 3-4).
The Law of Christ offers better possession (Heb. 10:34).
The Law of Christ offers a better resurrection (Heb. 11:35).
The Law of Christ offers a better city and country (Heb. 11:16).

Do you really want to subject yourself to a dead law? If we attempt to justify ourselves by the old law, then we are a debtor to do the whole cursed law, and we are severed from Christ and fallen from grace (Gal. 3:10-12; 5:2-4). We have chosen to subject ourselves to the living and active law of Christ; The New Testament. (Heb. 4:12)

Huntington Church of Christ

Frequently Asked Questions

Aren't You The People Who Don't Believe In The Old Testament?