Is the OLD Testament relevant to us today?

Should we look to the old testament for our theology and doctrine?

The New Testament tells us that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16) But we need to remember that they only had the “OLD” testament at the time, so the Scripture that this verse refers to definitely includes the Old Testament.

The New Living Translation renders it this way:

"All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right."

This right here tells us how the the OLD Testament is relevant to us today.

It seems very strange that we have to restate what God clearly says throughout the whole of the Old Testament. Over and over God’s people are told to obey His commandments. If I listed every time God told us to obey His commands, it would be a very lengthy article!

Over 70 times in the Old Testament alone, God tells his people to obey Him.

Besides God himself commanding us to obey, the Old Testament writers themselves, particularly David, wrote glowing praises of the law.

Psalm 19: 7-11

The law of the Lord is perfect, refreshing the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. 9 The fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever. The decrees of the Lord are firm, and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. 11 By them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

Proverbs 6:23

For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is a light, and reproofs of instruction are the way of life.

Isaiah 42:21

It pleased the Lord for the sake of His righteousness to make His law great and glorious.

Isaiah 51:7

Hear me, you who know what is right, you people who have my law in your hearts: Do not fear the reproach of men or be terrified by their insults.

Here we see that those who know what is right have God’s law in their hearts.

Ecclesiastes 12:13

Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.

Is the Scripture correct and true? Is keeping God's commandments the duty of all mankind? Hear the word of the Lord: Keeping God's commandments IS the DUTY of ALL mankind!

Read All of Psalm 119. David, the man after God’s own heart, loved God’s law and dedicated himself to obey God’s commands.

Another way we can look at this is to see God’s response when His people were not obedient.

When the Book of the Law was found and read when King Josiah reigned, he said, “Great is the Lord’s anger that is poured out on us because those who have gone before us have not kept the word of the Lord; they have not acted in accordance with all that is written in this book.” 2 Chronicles 24: 21b

You stumble day and night, and the prophets stumble with you. So I will destroy your mother— 6 my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.

“Because you have rejected knowledge, I also reject you as my priests; because you have ignored the law of your God, I also will ignore your children. Hosea 4:5,6

This is what the Lord says:

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

17 I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’ 18 Therefore hear, you nations; you who are witnesses, observe what will happen to them. 19 Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law. Jeremiah 6:16-19

I will execute judgment on you at the borders of Israel. 12 And you will know that I am the Lord, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you.” Ezekiel 11b, 12

He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination. Prov 28:9 (KJV)

In Isaiah 24, end times destruction is prophesied due to disobedience to His commands:

See, the Lord is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants— … 3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The Lord has spoken this word.

4 The earth dries up and withers, the world languishes and withers, the heavens languish with the earth. 5 The earth is defiled by its people; they have disobeyed the laws, violated the statutes and broken the everlasting covenant. 6 Therefore a curse consumes the earth; its people must bear their guilt. Therefore earth’s inhabitants are burned up, and very few are left. …

The floodgates of the heavens are opened, the foundations of the earth shake. 19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is violently shaken. 20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls—never to rise again.

21 In that day the Lord will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below. 22 They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days. 23 The moon will be dismayed, the sun ashamed; for the Lord Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders—with great glory.

Why would God decree such disaster on the world for disobedience to His commands if they were no longer relevant?

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent. Because they have rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed, 5 I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem. Amos 2:4,5

In Isaiah 58:1&2, God says:

“Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the descendants of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God.”

God said in Hosea 8:12, “I wrote for them the many things of my law, but they regarded them as something foreign.”

I feel this is where the church is at… mostly regarding God’s commands as something foreign, saying they are just for the Jews or for ‘Israel.’

I'm not saying that the church is completely lawless. Mostly they would agree that it is wrong to lie, steal and murder. But at the same time they preach that the law is done away with.

In Malachi 4: 4-6, God tells his people to “Remember the law of my servant Moses, the decrees and laws I gave him at Horeb for all Israel. 5 “See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. 6 He will turn the hearts of the parents to their children, and the hearts of the children to their parents; or else I will come and strike the land with total destruction.”

In Jeremiah, God again rebukes His people :“When you tell these people all this and they ask you, ‘Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?’ 11 then say to them, ‘It is because your ancestors forsook me,’ declares the Lord, ‘and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. 12 But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me. 13 So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.’ (v. 10 -13)

Do we think that God would punish Israel for not obeying His laws and then let us get away with it? Scripture also says that we have been "grafted" into to Israel (Romans 11). Therefore, the same laws apply.

The Scripture prophesies that God’s law would go out through the whole world.

In Isaiah 2:2-5, it states:

In the last days

the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established as the highest of the mountains; it will be exalted above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.

3 Many peoples will come and say,

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the temple of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.” The law will go out from Zion, the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.

5 Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.

Ezekiel 36:24-28

“‘For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God.

In Ezekiel 37: 24b, in tells us that God will bring His people back to the land and “They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees.”

Listen to me, my people, hear me my nation: The law will go out from me: my justice will become a light to the nations. (Isaiah 51:4)

If we consider ourselves God’s people, we also should obey.

The biblical definition of sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4).

Why would Jesus need to take the punishment for our sin if the law was no longer in effect?

Has God changed His mind? Do we only have to obey Jesus' commandments?

How can Jesus' commandment be any different to His Father's since they are One?

Since the definition of sin is the transgression of the law, and since we are to avoid and overcome sin, we should also aim to obey God's law.

Is the OLD Testament relevant to us today? A resounding YES!

God's commandments are still valid today. The New Testament theology is firmly based on the Old Testament. So, yes, indeed, we should look to the old testament for our theology and doctrine.

And as God has stated throughout the Old Testament, and as Jesus confirmed, there are blessings for obedience.

Yes, those commandments are OLD, but they have not passed away.