Writers Choice

Is the Old Testament Relevant to Christians Today?

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Is the Old Testament Relevant to Christians Today?

Introduction

Every religion has its own beliefs, practices, values, and cultures by which an individual has grown up. These religions have their own sacred books which provide guidance for each individual. A person can effectively organize his life by following the rules and regulations of holy books. The Bible is a divine book having a lot of followers around the globe. Bible is written by almost forty people. Old Testaments comprehends ten while the New Testament contains thirty contributors. Both the New Testament and the Old Testament are not uninformed words of God’s power. I believe that for Christians, the Old Testament arranges the sequential settings for the New Testament. It is notable to mention that John, Matthew, Paul, and Peter along with various others in the New Testament, thoroughly referenced back from the Old Testament. Here, the focus is to justify the importance of the Old Testament in the lives of Christians.

Discussion

Old Testament is an enriching and essential source for the establishment of spirituality among Christians. Old Testament is relevant to the lives of Christians today as it reveals God. According to Genesis 1; Isaiah 46:9-10, “that there is a Creator, that the world didn't just happen, and He is in control over everything at all times.” I believe that the Old Testament has made it clear to all of us that there is only one God in the entire world. He is the one who has the power to create and control anything. The verse mentioned above has made it clear to me that God controls everything and without His permission not even a single thing can move from its position. Old Testament revealed that God is a God of love. I have a strong belief that God's love is defined by His laws. Christians can take help from these laws in order to live according to God’s way of love. “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Deuteronomy 6:5). We should need to take guidance from the Old Testament as it tells us how to behave and treat others. God tells us to behave reasonably with our neighbors. Therefore, I tend to behave nicely with my neighbor and always make sure that my words and actions must not hurt them.

For the chosen people of Israel, Mosaic Law of the Old Testament was written. There is a distinctive gap between the purpose of the law and their implication in our daily lives. A distinction can be made between how Christians are chosen now and how the Israelites were chosen before. I believe that Christians were God’s instruments in order to rescue the world. “Israel was chosen for a purpose” (Genesis 12:1-3). I think that they were chosen in order to execute the God’s plan of salvation rather than to be saved. It is noteworthy to mention that they were not chosen to secure their salvation instead they were chosen to secure a salvation plan for the world. However, I believe that Christians are one who benefitted from that plan of salvation. Additionally, I believe that the Old Testament is an important source for Christians to understand the nature of God. When Moses was sent to deliver the sons of Israel from Egypt, he was curious that what he would tell to people regarding the name of God. Therefore, God told him, "I am Who Am. Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: He Who Is, has sent me to you” (Exodus3: 14). There were many problems that Israelites were facing at that time. At that time, people were facing difficulties such as confusion related to the multiplication of churches, loss of trust, idolatry, and unfaithfulness. Therefore, God sends the Old Testament to those people so that they could walk towards life. I believe that Christians are still facing the same problem as Israelites. Christians are tempting with idolatry and unfaithfulness. Without the Old Testament, our foundation as Christians is ineffective and weak.

The revelation of the words of God towards people was a long and gradual process. The primary purpose behind this gradual process was to help people to understand who He is to them. God revealed His mission to people which they could implement in their life to make their life better. God revealed His mission to induce gradual kind of education that helped to malformed the worship and cults of Israelites. The Old Testament explains man's fall into sin. I believe it helped us to find the difference between right and wrong. According to John, "Sin is a transgression of the law of God." The sin of Adam has been mentioned in the book which results in the loss of blessing of everlasting life. Therefore, I believe that Christians must know about it and should understand that death was a punishment, not a purpose. The Old Testament forms a backdrop of the New Testament. I think that in recent times, Christians can only understand the New Testament if they have a considerate of the Old Testament. Therefore, I believe that Christians should need to focus on understanding the Old Testament if they are planning to implement the New Testament in their life. In the Old Testament, God had made certain promises to the people, and these promises are fulfilled in the New Testament.

In the Old Testament, the mission of God has been revealed. “There would be a Savior who would pay the death penalty for your sins” (Daniel 2:44, Isaiah 53). I believe that God is a savior. When Israel was facing problems, God helped them. When they were invaded, God made them realize that He is their God. He helped the people of Egypt. He helped them to settle in the land and fed them in the desert. That’s why I believe that Christians should trust him. Many people around us are desperate because of marriage, school, job, and life. I believe that people have lost faith in God. People should need to take help from the Old Testament and should put their trust in God. I think that Christians should remember how God has been a savior in the past. Having faith in God allow us to energize ourselves to keep going. I believed that prophets played a vital role in restoring the faith of Israel. It is evident that the Old Testament remains of value in order to understand the nature of God.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the Old Testament plays a vital role in our lives as it will help us to orient our lives towards God. We should need to search God in our lives instead of moving far to search for God. The Old Testament helps us to correct our way of life. It provides a platform to talk about the promise of savior and messiah. Immortality is presented as a value in this world. Therefore I believe that the Old Testament helps us in recognizing our role in this world, the world which is full of sin, hatred, division, and injustice. It is beneficial for Christians to rediscover what does God wants from humans and for this, they must go back to the origin which is the Old Testament.