(OPINION) Belief.Net – The Old Testament is the first two-thirds of the Christian Bible, with the last third being the New Testament. While the Bible is a unified book, there are differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament is foundational; the New Testament builds on that foundation with further revelation from God. The Old Testament establishes principles that are seen to be illustrative of New Testament truths. While the Bible is clear about God’s invariable nature, many people question this when comparing the Old Testament to the New Testament.
You may read the Old Testament and think God is violent and wrathful, which is a very different image than the loving God you see in the New Testament. Reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, we witness God’s terrifying wrath against sin, wickedness, and stunning love. Authors of the Bible agree that God’s love and judgment are two ways to look at God’s nature.
The Old Testament contains many prophecies that are fulfilled in the New. The Old Testament provides the history of a people; the New Testament focus is on a Person. The Old Testament shows the wrath of God against sin, with glimpses of His grace; the New Testament shows the grace of God toward sinners, with glimpses of His wrath. Jesus believed in the whole Old Testament.
In examining the four gospels, we have a significant amount of information concerning Jesus’ view of the Old Testament. His view is stated in two words. “total trust.” Jesus accepted the Old Testament scriptures as being divinely authoritative – He never cast doubt on any of the accounts. Jesus assumed the people were actual people, and the events likely occurred. We never find Him giving the slightest hint of anything but the complete acceptance of the Old Testament as the Word of God. READ MORE
