WRITTEN AFORETIME
Scripture Reading - Romans 15:4
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. KJV
We see in Romans 15:4 that the Lord intentionally put a lot of information inside of the Holy Bible. Some people think that the Old Testament applies only to the Jewish people. While other scholars believe that a person must be well versed on the Hebrew language to properly decipher the Old Testament. However, both of those positions are untrue for the New Testament Christian. All the specific information in the Word of God has an exact reason for publication at this time. Therefore when studying the Holy Bible realize that God is always speaking to mankind to reveal Himself unto His creation. The true Jews of the heart are worthy of honorable mention through the Holy Bible. The Jews who believed on the promises of God for their deliverance are the true Jews of the heart. Yes, the children of Israel in the Old Testament show us all how desperately we need a Savoir. The Savior of the world is Jesus Christ for both the Old and New Testament. The big difference is under the Old Covenant the revelation of Jesus was hidden until the New Covenant when God could physically send forth His Son to the earth for the purpose of redeeming all mankind. We must continue to believe God for more revelation on how to apply the lessons (examples) of the Old Testament to our everyday lives. It is not the Old Testament or (against) the New Testament but rather the Old Testament used along with the New Testament. It should be obvious even to the casual reader that our Mighty God was good unto all in both the Old and New Testaments. We should gain that added comfort of security, protection, justice, mercy and love from reading the stories in the Old Testament. Although the stories about God may change the nature and character of God will never alter. The Light of Jesus can never be diminished or ignored but what the Old Testament does is give us a better understanding of His Light. It is said, “You can never completely understand a person until you know something about their background (history, origin, etc…)”. Well, the Old Testament scriptures gives us all the background information needed to fully appreciate the awesome plan of salvation conceived in the Heart of our Heavenly Father and completed in the death, burial and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. Seeing clearly the big picture of God’s love painted by the inspired writers of the Holy Bible will enhance our understanding of both God and man. So read the Old Testament to gain insight into Jesus Christ by understanding the nature and character of God because it is the same God who established both covenants. Amen!