Balance Old Testament Commands with New Testament Freedom
Psalm 15 opens with one essential question, phrased in two ways, that most everyone asks, either out loud or to themselves. In this Psalm, David asks God, “What must I do to live with you?”
The next four verses give us the answer. Actually, it’s a series of answers, a list of twelve things we must do if we are to live with God. Here they are:
Walk Blamelessly: we should live a life above reproach.
Be Righteous: we should do what is right in all things.
Speak Truth: we must say what is true, not from a technical standpoint, but from our heart.
Don’t Slander: we shouldn’t tell lies about other people.
Don’t Do Wrong: we shouldn’t hurt others, not physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.
Don’t Slur: our words should not insult or speak poorly of others.
Despise the Vile: we should oppose evil in every form.
Honor Those Who Fear God: we should respect God-fearing people and implicitly follow their example.
Keep Promises: regardless of the cost, we should do what we say we will do.
Don’t Change Our Mind: we shouldn’t waffle with our words or what we decide.
Lend to Those in Need: we should loan money to those in need and do so without interest.
Don’t Accept Bribes: we shouldn’t allow others to improperly influence us in how we treat innocent people.
These are the twelve things we must do to live with God. Is this, then, the answer? True, the list contains admirable traits that we should all pursue, but I hope God doesn’t hold us to this.
Why? Because we can’t. We’re going to fall short at one time or another. We could miss the mark every day. Each of us. You, me, everyone.
A Better Way to Live with God
The Old Testament commands weigh us down, begging for a better solution. The New Testament offers us a better way. His name is Jesus. He is the light of the world that gives life (John 8:12). All we need to do is follow him (Matthew 9:9), and then we can live with God.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
For the most part, the church of today is an institution. Institutions require structure and leadership; self-perpetuation is essential—regardless of cost. For an institution to work, it needs paid staff.
That’s why local pastors receive a salary: to keep the institution of church functioning and viable. To pay your minister follows the Old Testament model of church.
But we don’t live in the Old Testament or under its covenant. We live in the New Testament and under its covenant—at least in theory.
In the New Testament, we (that is, those who follow Jesus) are his church. Each one of us is a priest (that is, a minister) to care for one another. We should not have to pay someone to do what we’re already supposed to be doing.
Further, our bodies are God’s temple. We don’t need to go to a building to go to church; we take church with us. In short, the institution of church is over—at least in theory. Without a physical building or an institution to maintain, there is no need to pay someone to run the whole mess.
However, there seems to be one exception to this idea of no compensation. In his letter to the people in Corinth, Paul builds a case to pay preachers. But he’s not talking about the folks who run local churches. He’s talking about those who go around telling others about Jesus.
Today, we might call these people evangelists or missionaries. Based on Paul’s teaching it’s right to pay them.
Yet once Paul builds his case to appropriately pay missionaries, he points to an even better way: for missionaries to earn their own money and not require outside support.
Paul often covers his expenses and those who travel with him by working his trade; he is a tentmaker.
Springing from this is the idea of a tentmaker-minister, someone who pays their own way as they care for others.
So if you are part of an institution and want it to perpetuate, then buy a building, hire staff, and pay your minister their due.
However, if you want to pursue a different path, as seen in the New Testament, take the church with you wherever you go and help others wherever you can, paying your own way as you do.
Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
I think we’re doing church wrong. At first I assumed it was just me, but today’s church is stuck in a rut, an Old Testament rut. We follow an Old Testament model for church.
Moses’s Method: The Old Testament Model
When God gave Moses the Law, he established some key expectations for worship.
First, he set specific parameters for the tabernacle, which later became the temple. It housed various articles and activities of worship.
With little exception, the people had to go to the temple to worship God. They understood the temple as God’s dwelling place here on earth.
But the people wouldn’t connect with God directly; they were afraid of him. They wanted an intermediary, someone to reveal the Almighty to them and to represent them to him.
To address this, God established the priesthood. These priests would serve God in his temple and be his representatives to his people.
Of course, this religious structure required financial support to maintain, so God instituted a temple tax, the tithe, an obligation to pay 10 percent to provide for the needs of the building and to support the staff.
Today’s Approach
Today, we still follow this Old Testament model: we have a church building where we go to worship God, hire a minister who represents God to us, and take a collection to support this hungry and growing infrastructure.
This is not what Jesus had in mind. In one single action, he did away with the building, the staff, and the offering. We should do the same.
Jesus’s Way
When Jesus overcame death, the veil in the temple ripped apart, exposing the inner sanctum of the most holy place and symbolically allowing everyone direct access to God.
No longer was God distant and removed; he became approachable by everyone.
The New Temple
God ceased living in the temple and began living in us. Our bodies became the temple of God. No longer is a physical building needed; we became his temple.
The New Priesthood
No longer did priests need to serve as a liaison between the creator and the created. Instead, all who follow Jesus became his priests. The laity, serving as priests to each other, should minister to one another, not hire someone else to do it for them.
No longer is there a need for paid staff to be the link between God and his people. We can now all approach God directly, hearing from him and acting on his behalf.
The Holy Spirit that Jesus sent to us sees to that—if we are but willing to listen, hear, and obey what he says.
The New Finances
Finally is that pesky temple tax, which we call a tithe. A church’s building and staff take up 90 to 100 percent of a typical church’s budget. But once we remove the facility and the paid staff, there is no longer a need to give 10 percent.
Nowhere in the New Testament are we commanded to tithe, not to God, not to the local church—as many ministers insist—and not for ministry.
The only time New Testament writers talk about tithing is in reference to Old Testament practices, which Jesus fulfilled.
Instead of tithing to church, we see a principle where everything we have belongs to God. We are to be good stewards of his blessings, in turn using them to bless others.
We must use our resources to help those in need and advance God’s kingdom, not to support and perpetuate a religious institution.
Which Model to Follow?
So why do we persist in following the Old Testament model of going to church each Sunday to seek God, being served by a minister, and tithing when Jesus died to give us something new, something much better?
Jesus turned us into his temple, promoted us to priests, and changed the 10 percent temple tax into a principle of generosity.
Yes, it’s easy to do what we have always done; it’s comfortable to cling to the status quo, but Jesus offers us so much more—and he yearns for us to take hold of it.
There is a new way to worship God, to worship him in spirit and in truth—and it doesn’t involve attending church each Sunday.
So stop following the Old Testament model of church: going to a building to meet God, revering the clergy, and tithing out of guilt or obligation. Instead, be God’s temple, act like priests, and share generously.
This is the new model that Jesus gave us.
Read more about this in Peter’s thought-provoking book, Jesus’s Broken Church, available in e-book, audiobook, paperback, and hardcover.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Consider Each Book’s Genre and Purpose When Reading the Bible
Paul writes to his protégé Timothy that all Scripture comes from God. We can use it to teach, rebuke, correct, and train us in right living (2 Timothy 3:16). That is, everything in Scripture is useful.
We must keep this in mind when reading the Bible. This includes some of our less-favorite books, such as Leviticus.
Despite this, we will do well to recognize that not every verse carries the same weight as others. That doesn’t mean that some verses are not useful, just that other verses are more useful.
When reading and studying Scripture, we should consider this biblical hierarchy.
Reading the New Testament of the Bible
The New Testament focuses on the new covenant that we have through Jesus. We should direct our attention to the books of the New Testament, though not at the exclusion of the Old Testament.
Here is a breakdown of the New Testament books:
Gospels
The four biographies of Jesus—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—tell us what Jesus said and what he did. He serves as our teacher, clarifying our view of the Father and guiding us into right living (righteousness) that honors and worships God.
Jesus is the way, the truth, and life. He provides the pathway to Papa (John 14:6). After Jesus, everything else is secondary.
For this reason, the good news of Jesus’s life rises as the most important books of the Bible. We will do well to focus on them.
Acts
All the Gospels, and especially Luke, prepare us for what happens next. This unfolds in the book of Acts. Acts chronicles the events of the early church. It tells us what Jesus’s first followers did.
Their actions and their attitudes can guide us in what we do today in our churches—and in our life—as we serve and worship God.
After Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, Acts stands as a critical book of the Bible when it comes to understanding our faith and putting it into action.
These first five books of the New Testament are its historical documents, and we can learn much from them.
Letters to All the Church
Third in importance in the Bible are the letters that Jesus’s followers wrote to the universal church.
Unlike letters to specific groups or individuals, these letters rise above them because they have a general-purpose that we can rightly apply to us today and that pertain to all situations.
These are 1 and 2 Peter, James, Jude, and 1 John. We’ll also include Hebrews in this list, even though its audience was implicitly Hebrew people and not all Christians.
Because these books, unfortunately, appear towards the end of the New Testament, many people don’t know as much about them, read them as often, or study them as deeply as they could—or should.
We need to change that. We must elevate the importance of these books because there teaching is universal and provides us with much value—if only we will tap into it.
Letters to Specific Churches
Following these general letters written to Jesus’s church, we consider those messages written to specific churches or individuals. Why do we make this distinction?
It’s because the content of these letters is intended for a specific audience and may not readily apply to everyone else.
They’re content may answer questions asked by the recipients or address struggles by the recipients that come to the authors’ attention.
If the passages in these letters are answers to questions, we don’t know what the questions are.
Therefore, it’s hard for us to know how to understand the response. And if passages address issues relevant to the recipient, we need to exercise care before applying them to us today.
Of greater value, however, is if we see the same theme, command, or advice repeated in multiple letters. Then we can rightly receive those as a general passage that is more relevant to us today.
Placing too high of an emphasis on these letters that have a specific purpose can cause confusion. We must take care and not place undue emphasis on these letters with a specific audience to inform our doctrine.
Revelation
The final book in the New Testament is Revelation. Its content applies to all Christians, but we must take care to properly understand its meaning, without overreaching.
It’s a vision from God, and just like the prophetic books in the Old Testament with their many future-focused pronouncements, we must discern how to rightly interpret the passages in Revelation.
Most people in the Old Testament, even those living at the time of Jesus, misinterpreted much of the prophetic words contained in Scripture. We run the same risk today when looking at Revelation.
We will do well to read those words figuratively and use them to draw one singular conclusion: In the end times there will be an epic battle between good and evil which will affect everyone on earth. God wins. The enemy loses. The end.
Reading the Old Testament of the Bible
As we read the Old Testament—and we should—we must keep its words in a proper perspective. Jesus came to fulfill the Old Testament law and prophecies (Matthew 5:17).
We must, therefore, exercise caution in building a modern-day theology on the Old Testament covenant, which Jesus replaced.
One overreaching conclusion, which some Christians adhere to, is to dismiss the Old Testament. The opposite extreme is to put its words on the same level as the New Testament.
Again, forming doctrine based solely on what we find in the Old Testament puts us on a dangerous footing because we may be espousing a perspective that Jesus fulfilled.
The primary value of the Old Testament is to help us understand how Jesus fulfills it in the New Testament.
Here’s a breakdown of the Old Testament books:
Historical Books
The Old Testament opens with a history of God’s people. These books start with Genesis and go through to Esther. Their value is that they help us understand Scripture’s story arc, pointing us to Jesus.
As the saying goes, “Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” And the Old Testament has a lot of mistakes for us to learn from.
Knowing God’s expectations under his old covenant, helps us to better understand and accept his mercy and grace under his new covenant.
Prophetic Books
Closely following the value of the historical books in the Old Testament are the prophetic books. These cover Isaiah through Malachi.
They address the then-current state of God’s people and look toward the future. Some of their prophecies have been fulfilled—primarily through Jesus—and others we still await.
The prophetic books of the Old Testament help us anticipate Jesus’s arrival in the New Testament. And like the historical books, they enable us to see the sins of our forefathers so that we can avoid repeating their mistakes.
Poetic Books
The final group of books in the Bible is the poetic books. They are Job through Song of Songs, with Psalms being the most favorite, beloved by many. These are ideal books for us to read to spark our emotion. They can encourage us when we struggle.
They can lead us into powerful worship of God, our Creator. And they can supply motivational passages to inspire us and draw us to Papa.
The poetic books of the Bible are great when it comes to encouragement, inspiration, and informing our worship. We must remember, however, that this is a genre of poetry.
We must exercise care and not use a poetic verse to form a theological statement—unless we can find support for it in another part of Scripture.
Bible Reading Summary
All Scripture is useful to guide us in our faith journey. Based on the various books’ genre, audience, and timeframe, we can better understand how to apply it.
When reading the Bible, may you read and study all of Scripture.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Where Does the Law of God End and the Love of Jesus Begin in Scripture?
The Bible divides Christian Scripture into two parts: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament looks at the rules God required to be right with him and anticipates a future when he will send us a Savior.
The New Testament looks at that savior and this new way of approaching God. We commonly view the Bible in these two testaments.
Yet this theological transition doesn’t seem to occur until the death of Jesus and his coming back to life. In doing so he becomes the ultimate Old Testament sacrifice, one to end all sacrifices.
He dies and then he lives again, so that when we die, we can also live again.
When looking at things thematically, this seems to more properly mark the turning point between God’s old way and his new way of doing things.
Jesus’s View of This Theological Transition
However, Jesus offers us a different perspective.
Since it came from his mouth, this is the one we should embrace, as opposed to the traditional Old and New Testament division or even looking at his death and resurrection as a pivotal theological switch in the Bible.
Jesus says that the Law and the Prophets were taught up until the time of John. Starting with John, this good news of God’s kingdom and telling others about it marks the point where God’s emphasis changes (Luke 16:16).
The good news of Jesus and the kingdom of God doesn’t begin with Jesus’s ministry, but it starts a few years earlier with the ministry of John.
The ministry of John the Baptist marks the Bible’s theological transition point by ushering in God’s long-promised faith reformation, of coming to God in faith instead of pursuing impossible-to-meet rules.
Though Jesus is our ultimate faith solution, John the Baptist points to it.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Jesus fulfills the Old Testament Law and Prophets when he gives new meaning to the old ways
Jesus said he came to fulfill the Law and Prophets (Matthew 5:17). One way he did this, the most significant way, was to satisfy the anticipation found throughout the Old Testament for a coming savior, a Messiah, who would save his people.
Jesus also fulfilled the Law and the Prophets by changing the way people viewed God and treated others. We’ve talked about this in another post. Because of Jesus we became God’s temple, and we’re to serve as priests to one another.
That means we don’t need to go to church to seek God or have a minister lead us. Seriously.
A third way Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets is by giving us an enlightened understanding of the intent behind the literal interpretation of what the Old Testament said and how the people thought.
He does this in the teaching we call “The Sermon on the Mount.” Each time Jesus makes this transition from the old way to the new way, he says the words, “…but I tell you.”
Consider the following examples:
Murder and Anger
The Old Testament said murder was wrong (Exodus 20:13). Jesus says we need to control our anger (Matthew 5:21-22).
Adultery and Lust
The Old Testament commanded us to not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14). Jesus says that lust is just another form of adultery (Matthew 5:27-28).
Divorce and Commitment
The Old Testament made it easy for a man to divorce his wife (Deuteronomy 24:1). Jesus says the only justification for divorce is adultery, else couples should stick together and make it work (Matthew 5:31-32).
Vows and Promises
The Hebrew traditions said to not break your promises, but to fulfill all the vows you made. Jesus says to not make a vow at all (Matthew 5:33-34).
Revenge and Forgiving
The Old Testament people could exact revenge on those who hurt them, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (Exodus 21:24, though this was actually to keep people from retaliating in disproportionate ways).
Jesus took the legalistic approach of the Old Testament Law and the people’s interpretation of it, and he turned them into principles to guide our behavior and exhibit the heart of God in how we interact with others.
May we follow these new ways of Jesus.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Father God Is the Star of the Old Testament; It Explains His Expectations and Shows His Care
The story arc in the Bible is God’s relationship to us: the creator and his creation. Most people of faith—the Christian faith, that is—understand God as Trinity, as three persons in one: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
This is an abstract concept, but one we embrace, or at least we accept, in faith, as truth.
God the Father is the star of the Old Testament.
After a casual read of the Old Testament, an easy conclusion is that God is a mad deity; humans need to cower from him; he’s poised to punish people if they so much as blink wrong. A more careful read, however, reveals a patient God.
Though he has specific expectations for behavior, he wants his people to succeed, to have a relationship with him.
Yes, a fear of God does come across in the Old Testament (whereas love is the theme of the New Testament), this is a holy fear, a reverent fear.
To understand a healthy fear of God, I consider fire. Fire can warm us, cook our food, purify materials, and mesmerize us. Yet this same fire can burn and even kill if we are not careful.
We appreciate fire for its many benefits, yet we respect it for its dangers. Fire awes us. The same applies with God the Father; he awes us.
For a more specific comprehension, a personal understanding, look at God’s relationship with some of the people in the Old Testament:
Adam (who walked with God),
Abraham (who placed his faith in God),
Moses (who looked at God and spoke with him),
David (a man after God’s own heart),
Elijah (who taunted his enemies because of his complete confidence in God’s power), and so on.
For others, we see their devotion to God and the way he took care of them and blessed them. Consider Joseph, Ruth, Daniel, and Esther.
We can look at the Old Testament to discover grand themes of God’s character. And we can look to the Old Testament to inspire us through the specific stories of his relationship with those who seek him.
We need both to fully comprehend him.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Consider that the Bible’s two testaments, its two sections.
The Old Testament of the Bible presents God’s original way of interacting with his people (a covenant). It consists of a list of rules and expectations (the law).
The New Testament of the Bible introduces Jesus and a new way to interact with God. Jesus sets aside the old rules and asks people to believe in him (a new covenant).
When does this transition from the old way to the new way occur? It’s simplistic to say the Bible’s two Testaments represent the demarcation. I always thought the switch started in earnest when Jesus died and was completed when he resurrected.
However, Jesus says the old way of doing things applied until John the Baptist began baptizing people and telling them to get ready. This implies the new way begins when John points people to Jesus.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
Those who follow Jesus often concentrate on the part of the Bible that focuses on his life and his disciples’ work. But neglecting the Old Testament lessens the depth of our appreciation for who he is and what he did.
It was likely St. Augustine who said, “The New Testament is in the Old concealed; the Old Testament is in the New revealed.” There’s a lot packed into this tiny sentence.
Though less profound and missing the depth of Augustine’s insight, I paraphrase his words as “The New Testament fulfills the Old, while the Old Testament foreshadows the New.”
Indeed the Old Testament overflows with allusions to the New, but I never saw most of them until I started looking. It seems the New Testament is not so much a redefining of the teaching found in the Old, but a refocusing on what’s already there.
In a similar manner, the New Testament is full of references to the Old. Some of these appear directly, while many more are subtle and not so easy to spot.
Sometimes a thorough understanding of the Old Testament is required to fully appreciate the nuances of the New, while other times a thorough understanding of Hebrew practices and ancient traditions is needed.
As we comprehend more about what is really in the Old Testament, the New becomes more significant. As we know more about what the New Testament says, the Old becomes fuller.
They are opposite sides of the same coin, not two disparate teachings. Embrace both.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
The Bible says we are to fear God. But what does that really mean?
I don’t think it implies God is malevolent or waiting for us to mess up so he can zap us, which would be legitimate reasons to fear him.
Instead, God is benevolent and wants good things for us; there is no reason to fear him for that.
Some translations render fear as “worship” or “revere.” That helps some. We are to worship God and to revere him. I can do that. And although I have a healthy respect for his power, it’s not one the produces fear.
That’s a good thing, isn’t it?
Perhaps a hint of understanding is that of the 13 times the phrase occurs in the Bible, most are in the Old Testament.
Peter DeHaan writes about biblical Christianity to confront status quo religion and live a life that matters. He seeks a fresh approach to following Jesus through the lens of Scripture, without the baggage of made-up traditions and meaningless practices.
Get the Bible Reading Tip Sheet: “10 Tips to Turn Bible Reading from Drudgery to Delight.” Enter your info and receive the free Bible Reading Tip Sheet and be added to Peter’s email list.
