What's with all the Old Testament Stuff?

When you look at the primary texts of my sermons it looks like I preach a lot from the Old Testament.  Somebody asked me why.  The inquirer basically said  they believe that the Old Testament stuff doesn't apply anymore because Christians live in the age of grace, not of the law.

I agree that we live by grace.  But grace does not cancel out half of the whole witness of God.

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross fulfilled and therefore ended the ritual requirements of OT sacrifice.  But the lessons and truths built into those sacrificial laws are the basis for Jesus' once, full, and sufficient sacrifice.  Therefore, though the sacrifices are no longer necessary, the lessons of the sacrificial system remain eternally valid.

And the prophecies, the stories, and the wisdom of the OT have never diminished or concluded.   After all, look at the promises of God that people name and claim, or as the current fashion chants, "declares and decrees."  A large portion, maybe a majority of those promises come out of the Old Testament.  You can't say that the promises of Isaiah apply and then pretend that the warnings and condemnations of the same book don't.

This OT stuff applies to you and me too, even today. 

When you can’t see yourself in the OT, it isn’t because the OT doesn’t apply to you.  It’s because you are too spiritually blind to see yourself in the OT.

How can I be so sure of that?

Because if we believe the New Testament , then we have to believe what the New Testament says about the Old Testament.

2 Corinthians 3: 14     But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.

15     But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart.

16     Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

I don't know yet, exactly what the Holy Spirit will give me to preach from next, but I do know this:  If you neglect ANY parts of the Bible in your overall study time, then you are turning a blind eye to something important that God has to say.  

And both OT & NT agree, that that is a baaaad idea.

So, to answer the original question: Why do I preach from the Old Testament so much? I don't.  I preach from the Bible.  The whooooole thing.
 

2 Timothy 3: 16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

---Anderson T. Graves II   is a writer, community organizer and consultant for education, ministry, and rural leadership development.

Rev. Anderson T. Graves II is pastor of Hall Memorial CME Church in Montgomery, Alabama, executive director of the Substance Abuse Youth Networking Organization (SAYNO) and director of rural leadership development for the National Institute for Human Development (NIHD).

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To hear sermons, read devotions, and learn more about the ministry at Hall Memorial CME Church, visit www.hallmemorialcme.blogspot.com .

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