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As a Bible College Teacher who trains Pastoral Students and Evangelists, I am unsure of what you mean with that statement. I will attempt to clear up some mis-understandings for you about the scriptures and HISTORY.
1. YOU CANNOT HAVE A CHRISTIAN, WITHOUT CHRIST. Consequently, it was only until after CHrist paid the penalty for sins of every person who ever lived, and was going to be born, on the cross, that a person could by FAITH acknowledge and confess their sin to HIM, ask for forgiveness, REPENT (which means see things not as you do, but rather as GOD sees them and agree with HIM), and ask HIM to be your Savior.
UPON asking Christ after repentence to be your Savior, your name is immediately recorded in the Lamb's Book of Life in Heaven. Jesus Christ is indeed "The LAMB of GOD", the sacrificial LAMB of God that takes away the sins of the whole world if ANYONE will but simply come to HIM in humbleness, and seek HIS forgiveness and SALVATION HE freely offers to ALL people around the world.
EVANGELISTS quote the BIBLE. The Old Testament and the new.
Yes they do. SO do Pastors and Biblical Teachers like myself.
Were the people of the OLD Testament, under the OLD covenant, called Christians ??????
NO. Because Christ had not yet come.
Are the writings and scriptures of the OLD Testament relevant today?
YES.
Were they replaced by the New Testament? NO.
O.K. HOW does that work together ?
Quite simply. GOD was not going to let his creation (mankind, womankind) simply die in their sinful natures and go to eternal hell. HE still provided a way for salvation to people even in OLD TESTAMENT days AND He provided a GUIDELINE for living a Godly life called the TEN COMMANDMENTS.
PEOPLE STILL received SALVATION in the OLD TESTAMENT the SAME WAY they do in the New Testament. BY FAITH and TRUST in GOD and HIM alone....
The LAWS were simply rules and guidelines. The Jewish laws were to show people that they could never "be good enough" to deserve HEAVEN based on their working at keeping the law. It was a SCHOOLMASTER the Apostle Paul called it.
There were lots of GODLY people who lived throughout the OLD TESTAMENT times. MANY people looked to GOD for SALVATION by FAITH. YOU COULD NOT be SAVED by WORKS OR KEEPING the LAW.
Salvation is all about believing GOD and having faith that HE is and would send the MESSIAH who would pay the ultimate price for all of our salvation and eternal life.
THEY NEEDED to have faith and LOOK AHEAD and TRUST GOD to do what HE SAID.
WE TODAY need to have that SAME FAITH in LOOKING BACK to the CRUCIFICTION DAY of JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD, and TRUSTING HIM for OUR salvation by HIS sacrifice of HIMSELF, THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE with ENOUGH POWER to GOD ALMIGHTY, that HE would forgive all the sins committed against HIM by US if we would by FAITH come to HIM and ASK for forgiveness.
WE Do not need to ask for MERCY. WHY?
Because IT has already been given in the UNSPEAKABLE GIFT and SACRIFICE of the LORD JESUS CHRIST...
There are lots of GREAT scriptures in the OLD Testament that are just as pertinent today as they were then.
WHERE is the problem???
The PROBLEM is the HUMAN HEART and UNBELIEF.
SAME exact thing Billy Graham preached.
The MESSAGE of GOD's SALVATION and HIS LOVE for MAN never changes. IT always is the same..
Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever.... Hebrews 13: verse 8
HE never changes. Always the same. Loves you in spite of yourself. He is always waiting for US with OPEN ARMS waiting for us to COME TO HIM and take HIM as Savior, and to write Our names down in the Book of Life.
Anyway, I can go on and on and on...... But, let's stop here and say that ALL of the BIBLE was INSPIRED BY and the words were written by holy men of old as they were given direction by the HOLY SPIRIT of GOD.
In other words, they were GOD BREATHED. BOTH OLD and NEW TESTAMENTS.
Hope this may shed some light on the co-equality of BOTH TESTAMENTS, BEFORE and AFTER CHRIST, both requiring the FAITH of PEOPLE to TRUST HIM.
They are both still the Inspired and Innerant revealed WORDS of GOD almighty to HIS creation, (that would be US)
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