Dripping Springs Weekly Bulletins

Throw Out the Old Testament! One biblical principle often over-looked by many is that the law of Moses, found primarily in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy, has been “fulfilled,”“abolished,” and set aside, Ephesians 2:15, Matthew 5:17, Colossians 2:14-17. It has been replaced by the “law of Christ” in the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 9:21 and Galatians 6:2. The book of Hebrews also emphasizes this principle. Misunderstanding or  ignoring this principle leads one to be unable to be what God wants us to be and to do. I recently heard of a man who believes the Old Testament books should never be read or studied. He would literally “throw out” the Old Testament and forget it. That is as foolish as trying to go back to Moses’ day and live under that law. In the inspired words of Romans 15:4, we find that Paul said those Old Testament books still serve an important purpose for us: “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”Romans 15:4 Note that the Bible says the things written “aforetime” (those books of the Old Testament) were written “for our learning.” We can learn from them. To be specific, there are hundreds of references to the Old Testament in the New Testament. If we “throw out,” or refuse to read and understand those books, we will be deficient in our understanding, and our “comfort” and our “hope” will be diminished. The book of Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians who were in the process of going back to that Old Testament law because of their persecution. They were corrected in that point, but many references to those Old Testament books were given. If we “throw out” those books how can we learn from them? To read and understand them is to learn principles that Christians still need even today. It was the law of Moses that was abolished, not all of the thirty-nine Old Testament books. Jesus and the Old Testament An example of that is found in Jesus’ words of Matthew 24:38-39: “For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” Matthew 24:38-39. What if we did not know who Noah was and how his life has a bearing on us today? The warning of Jesus points to us as well as those in Noah’s day. We must be ready when Jesus returns in judgment, just as those in Genesis 6-9. No one  –  NO one! – can comprehend the New Testament without some understanding of the people/events of the Old Testament. Jesus is described as the Christian’s “high priest” throughout the New Testament book of Hebrews. It is impossible for us to understand how that relates to us without knowing some Old Testament principles. Would that man “walk out” if someone reads, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” Genesis 1:1? What about “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want,” Psalms 23:1? Would that man protest if we read aloud the life of Jesus, since He lived and died under the law of Moses, Galatians 4:4? Hebrews 4:15 says Jesus lived “..without sin.” What law governed Jesus’ life? That man would have to reject the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Why? Because the Old Testament is quoted and honored therein. He got one thing right, that the law of Moses has been abolished, but he went too far. He would “throw out” all thirty-nine books, and that is not what the Bible teaches. He needs to re-think the entire subject. Are the words of Isaiah and Jeremiah to be ignored by Christians today? Must we never read Hosea 4:6 again: “My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge”? Can we not learn a lesson from David’s mistakes? Must the young forget the words of Solomon: “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,” Ecclesiastes 12:1?  No, we are not amenable to the same law under which Solomon and David lived, but many of the principles found therein are still valid today. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews is one of the most familiar of all Bible passages. If that man has his way we must never read of Sarah, Gideon, Abraham or Joseph. Yes, much “learning” is still available to us in those thirty-nine books. Jesus knew them. Paul knew them. Peter knew them. And we need to know them, not throw them out. In a secular comparison, school children in the state of Texas still study the history of our state. The names of Houston, Travis, Bowie and Crockett still grace school buildings all over our state. We are not living under the same laws today, but we learn of the courage and fierce loyalty of men and women in those historic years. Should we discard our Texas History books because we are not under the laws of Mexico or the Republic of Texas? In Galatians 3:23-39 we learn that Moses’ law was designed to bring us to Christ. Read that New Testament passage and think. Carl B Garner

THE NAILS OF THE CROSS John tells us that Christ had "prints of the nails in his hands” (John 20:25). Matthew tells us that the mob on the hill of Calvary challenged Christ to “come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:40). What was it that held Christ to the cross? It was not the nails that held Him to the cross. He had the power to remove the nails. He could have called “more than twelve legions of angels” to help and remove Him from the cross (Matthew 26:53). He Who had the power to still the storm, feed the multitudes, and raise the dead could have removed the nails. That crowd could not have killed Christ if He had not wished to do His Father’s will. “Therefore, doth the Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it up again.  No man taketh it away from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:17-18). The Father’s will and wish held Him to the cross. Jesus prayed in the garden and said, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Matthew 26:39). It was the will of God that His Son become the “propitiation,” that is, an atoning sacrifice for our sins (1 John 2:2). The Saviour’s love and your sins held Christ on the tree. God’s eternal purpose held Christ to the cross. Jesus died to purchase the church with His own blood (Acts 20:28). The church is the institution through which the eternal purpose of God is to be made known to the world (Ephesians 3:10). Without the death of Christ, God’s purpose for the world would have been aborted. Thus, His love for God and man held Him to the cross – not the nails. The joy set before Christ held Him to the cross. In the Hebrews letter we learn that the “author and perfector of our faith” disregarded His suffering and “for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame” (Hebrews 12:2). The mocking by the angry mob at the foot of the cross was ignored by Christ because of the “joy set before Him.” Neither the lack of the power nor the nails held Jesus to the cross. His resignation to the will of God and His love for the souls of mankind bound Him to the tree on which He died. Our love for God and His Son should cause us to remain faithful in the kingdom of God, despite the mockings of all who would have us depart from the path of duty. G. K. Wallace