The Old Testament Still Matters

It comes as no shock to hear that
young people—especially Millennials—are leaving the church in the US in
great numbers. George Barna reports
that “more than two-thirds of skeptics
have attended Christian churches in
the past.” So what happened?

Well, according to research conducted
by America’s Research Group for
my book Already Gone, one major issue
is a lack of apologetics teaching. Millennials
have not been taught to defend
their faith, and the world’s scoffing and
arguments have drawn them away. But
it goes deeper. Our young people don’t
even know what the Bible teaches or
that its grand narrative, beginning in
Genesis, points to salvation through
Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:15).

These biblically
uninformed young
people do not
understand the
purpose of the Old
Testament, so they
think the church
is just picking and
choosing what parts
of the Bible to obey.

These biblically uninformed young
people do not understand the purpose
of the Old Testament, so they think
the church is just picking and choosing
what parts of the Bible to obey.
When pastors use Old Testament terminology
such as “come to the altar,”
they reinforce that idea.

Now there’s nothing wrong with
using Old Testament terminology.
Indeed, New Testament authors frequently
did. But if a writer was addressing
a largely Gentile audience (people
not acquainted with Jewish history
and beliefs), he would avoid using Old
Testament terms or would explain
them carefully. If he was writing to a
Jewish audience, he could easily refer
to the temple, sacrifices, priests, and so
on because they had the foundational
knowledge to understand him.

In the book of Acts, we read two very
different sermons, one by Peter and
one by Paul. At Pentecost, Peter delivered
a powerful sermon in Jerusalem
(Acts 2:14–40). This sermon was full of
Old Testament quotations and themes
because the audience was Jewish and
had an Old Testament background. In
Acts 17, Paul was addressing Greeks in
far-away Athens. Although he started
with the Creator revealed in Genesis,
his sermon was not full of Old Testament
quotations because his Gentile
audience knew little or nothing of the
Old Testament. Though highly educated,
they were biblically illiterate.
Paul understood his audience and
tailored his message accordingly.

In a sense, the West used to be a
“Jewish” audience. Many unbelievers
knew biblical history and largely
believed the Bible had at least some
authority. But today, most Millennials
who have grown up in the church do
not know the Old Testament well.
They are no longer “Jewish” but
“Gentile” in their thinking.

To minister to modern-day Gentiles,
we need to help them understand the
vital nature of the Old Testament. It
provides the history that the New Testament
and the life of Christ on earth
is based on. It reveals the origin of our
sin and our desperate need for Jesus
the Savior.

In Genesis we learn that God created
a perfect world, but Adam and Eve
brought death and suffering by their sin. Their descendants likewise chose
disobedience. The world became so
wicked that God judged it with a global
Flood. Only righteous Noah and his
family survived. Just a few generations
later, at the Tower of Babel, mankind
rebelled again. Eventually God chose
a covenant people and gave them His
law. They failed to live by it time and
time again. This history clearly shows
we cannot keep God’s laws on our own.

With this backdrop, the New Testament
teaching of salvation and restoration
through the death and resurrection
of Jesus Christ makes sense.
Salvation is by faith alone
(Ephesians 2:8), in Christ alone
(Acts 4:12). What
we could never do on our own, Christ
did for us (Ephesians 2:9). Throughout
the Bible we see the unfolding of God’s
plan of salvation. It’s about Jesus from
beginning to end!

The Mosaic Law does the same
thing. It highlights our inability to
keep God’s commands. The sacrifice
of animals and the priesthood were
pictures of Christ who was to come.
Jesus, through His death, burial, and
resurrection, has made the first covenant
obsolete (Hebrews 8:13) and has
brought us into the New Covenant
(Luke 22:20) foretold by the prophet
Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:31).

God does not change (Hebrews 13:8).
But this doesn’t mean rules or punishments
can’t change. For instance, man
was created vegetarian (Genesis 1:29).
But following the Flood, God made a
new covenant with Noah, allowing
man to eat meat (Genesis 9:3). The
Mosaic Law included dietary restrictions
(Leviticus 11:47), but the New
Covenant lifted them (Acts 10:9–16).
Since there won’t be any death in the
new heavens and new earth, we know
we will be vegetarian once again
(Revelation 21:4). Did God change? Not at
all. But God’s rules for us can change
under various covenants.

The Old Testament, especially the
Mosaic Law, seems to be a big stumbling
block to Millennials because
they aren’t receiving the instruction
fundamental to understanding the
redemptive history of the Old Testament
and how it undergirds the person
and work of Jesus. Christian leaders,
pastors, teachers, and parents need
to teach others how to view the Old
Testament and the Law as Christians
under the New Covenant. Be sure to
use the Old Testament—it forms the
basis for our theology—but make sure
your audience understands how to
view it so they can grow in the knowledge
of Christ and in godliness.

https://answersingenesis.org/christianity/church/old-testament-still-matters/ This article originally appeared on answersingenesis.org

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