Biblical theology threads its way through the Old as well as the New Testaments.  Christians who suggest the Old Testament is archaic and outdated do great harm to the whole truth of God’s word.  Perhaps the leading advocate of ‘unhitching’ from the Old Testament is Andy Stanley, pastor of Atlanta’s massive North Point Community Church.  In his sermon series “Aftermath” he stated that “Peter, James, Paul elected to unhitch the Christian faith from their Jewish scriptures, and my friends, we must as well.”  

It’s difficult to follow Stanley’s line of thinking but not at all difficult to understand the words of Jesus: “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). Where in the New Testament is Christ or his Apostles advocating that we “unhitch” or disengage from the Old Testament?  St. Augustine suggested just the opposite when he said: “The new [testament] is in the old concealed; the old [testament] is in the new revealed.”

The Problem

What do we need to understand from the Old Testament?

1. We need to understand that God created beings in the heavenlies before he created humans.  We have very little information about these angelic beings but we know that the greatest of these was one Lucifer who led a great rebellion against God and introduced sin into his creation.  The failure of these angels was demonstrated in their disobedience.  How was God going to fix this?

2. We need to understand that God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a perfect world and gave them instructions on how to behave themselves.  In doing so, they would bring glory to their Creator.  They also failed in their rebellion and were booted out of the garden.  How was God going to fix this?

3. We need to know that God then shifted his plan to a people who were chosen (Deuteronomy 7:6) to reveal God’s glory to all his creatures through a demonstration of their love and obedience to their Creator.  These chosen ones were the offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  They failed miserably, even setting up idols to worship in place of Yahweh, as their pagan neighbors had done.  How was God going to fix this?

The Solution

What we need to know from the New Testament.

1. Jesus, the incarnate Son of God, descended to the earth.  He is the new representative of fallen Israel.  He came to do what Lucifer, Adam and Eve, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all failed to do.  He lived a perfect and sinless life and presented Himself to the Father as an effective sacrifice for the transgressions of mankind.  He died on the cross for the sins of all who would repent.  He then proved His power and divinity and assured His promise of eternal life to his followers by resurrecting from the grave to live forever in the hearts of those who submit to Him in faith, obedience and love.

2. We have no evidence that Christ’s death and resurrection provides any salvation for the angelic rebels.  However, His perfect sacrifice provides the grounds for judgment upon all who reject Him.  Those who rebelled, whether in the heavenlies or here on earth, will suffer consequences for their decisions regarding Christ’s offer of salvation.

The problem of sin and the reason why all men are infected by sin is clearly taught in the Old Testament.  The solution for sin is predicted (concealed) in the Old Testament and is finally fulfilled (revealed) in Christ’s appearance in the New Testament.  

Unhitching the New Testament from the Old Testament is unhitching the solution from the problem.  No one would accept a prescribed medication for a disease they do not have.  We must be aware of our sin before we accept the cure for our sin.  ‘Unhitching’ dims clarity, brings confusion, and assures controversy.  Let us cling tightly to the whole Word of God.