Christians need the whole Bible

I encounter the following objection quite a bit. It normally comes in response to my having pointed out that the Law of God found in the Bible does indeed speak to current issues. It comes from people professing faith in Jesus. The objection is this: “But, pastor! That's in the Old Testament! We're not living under that Law. We're New Covenant believers.”

Before I answer this, let me agree with the premise, at least in part. We (Christians) are in the New Covenant, not the Old. Jesus Christ is the head of our organization, not Moses. Certain things have really changed with the coming of the New Covenant. We don't believe we need a temple; we don't make animal sacrifices; we don't circumcise babies as a religious obligation; and we believe that the whole world is the new Promised Land, promised to the kingdom of Christ.

I also agree that law-keeping is not the basis of salvation. No one goes to heaven by keeping the law (but that was always true, not only in the New Testament.) Obedience should be the sign and fruit of our salvation. It cannot be the cause of it. (See Romans 1-4 for starters.)

But there is also great continuity between the covenants. Jesus taught, in Matthew 5:17-19, that no one should think of the change in covenants as total. Some things, like all the moral rules God has given, continue. The one who teaches that the commandments can be set aside is in line to pay a fairly heavy price for that teaching. There is more to be discussed on this topic than I can do here, so I refer the reader to the great book, By This Standard: The Authority of God's Law Today by Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen.

What's the short answer to the objection that, “That's the Old Covenant, pastor?” For one, I ask the objector, did the character of God change between the covenants? Do the righteousness, goodness, and holiness of God still look like they used to? If we agree that the Bible reveals a God who is unchanging, then the answer is obvious.

The righteousness of God has not changed. His standards reflect His character. The New Testament still teaches that sin is defined as the breaking of God's commandments (1 John 3:4).

Frankly, if we are going to be good “New Testament believers,” we will need to go and learn the Old Testament. This is because the New Testament constantly sends us back to the previous Scriptures for instruction. 2 Timothy 3:16, for instance, was written before the New Testament was completed, and points us all to the Scripture which then existed, assuring us that its study will be profitable to us in many ways.

Routinely, the New Testament quotes from the Old Testament and assumes its accuracy, authority, and ability to teach us the will of God. The New Testament Christian who has no use for the Old Testament is a walking contradiction.

Gordan Runyan is the pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari. Contact him at:

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