"Old Testament Lessons for New Testament Christians" by Hiram Kemp

The man on the screen before you is known in church history

as Marcion, and he was born near the end of the 1st century and lived

midway through the 2nd century. Marcion's claim to fame, or you

could say claim to shame, was he is the first, or at least one of

the very earliest, men to be officially marked as a false teacher

and a heretic in the early church. Marcion had a problem, and so he just

made his own Bible. Marcion read the Bible, and the conclusion he came to is

the God of the Old Testament is far too severe,

far too harsh, far too judgmental and critical to be the God we read about

in the New Testament. So Marcion, in his translation, he just took the Old Testament

out. He took out much of the New Testament too, leaving the letters of Paul

that he appreciated, only the Gospel of Luke, and much of

the rest of the New Testament Marcion just felt like he could do without.

The good news is the 2nd century church, the time in which Marcion

lived, they strongly opposed him. They wrote and preached and taught contrary to

the things that he said and opposed him and officially marked him as a false

teacher. But his claim to fame in church history is he was a man who

despised and abhorred the God as he found him in the Old Testament.

And while a lot of people in the world today wouldn't define themselves as individuals

that are Marcionites— I mean, many people don't even know his name— The

idea of Marcionism, the practice of let's just get rid of

the Old Testament and focus on the God of the New Testament, it's not altogether

abolished or foreign. I mean, you probably have talked to people or heard people

say before— I have in a church context— why are we even studying the Old

Testament? We're New Testament Christians. Just let's stay in the New Testament.

I was talking to somebody this week, and as we were discussing Bible things,

this person was sharing with me their low view and disdain for

the Old Testament. Hey, we're New Testament Christians. Love the New Testament, let's just focus

there. Even that description, as well-meaning as it is, and I know what we mean

when we say it, New Testament Christians, if we're not careful, can communicate

something unhealthy or unbiblical about how we view the first 3/4

of the Bible. I realize we're not under the Old Covenant.

Romans 7:1-6 says that we're married to another,

Romans 7:1–6

even Christ. Hebrews 9:15-18 talks about how Jesus's

Hebrews 9:15–18

death ushers in a brand new covenant and we're no longer

under the old. That which is old is fading away, Hebrews 8:13.

Hebrews 8:13

And while it's true that we don't live under the Old Covenant, as Darrell read

a moment ago, we can learn from it. Romans 15:4 says,

Romans 15:4

whatever things were written before time were written for our learning, that we through

patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. We read the

Old Testament and learn from the bad examples like Israel. In 1 Corinthians 10:6

1 Corinthians 10:6

and in chapter 10 and verse 11 of 1 Corinthians, Paul says all these things

happened to Israel for our purpose so that they might be an example. But we

also read in Hebrews 11 in passages that are sometimes called the Hall of Fame

of Faith about good examples that we're supposed to emulate. What I

want to do tonight is very simple. You see it on the title on the

screen, Old Testament Lessons for New Testament Christians. I just want us to march

through, and I'm gonna go to the Old Testament, and what we're gonna do is

look at some of the passages and some of the principles that have

become virtuous to us, things that we revere and extol about God in the New

Testament But what I'm hoping that we see as we study tonight is many

of these ideas, as fundamental as they are in the New Testament, actually have their

origin in the Old Testament. The goal at the end of this sermon is that

we won't have any Marcionites in the building. We won't be able to spend a

great deal of time on any of these. Some of these may merely just receive

a mention, but what I hope we see is that it takes the whole Bible

to make a whole Christian. And though we don't live under the Old Testament,

we are spiritually impoverished to the degree that we neglect it. So quickly

tonight, here are the lessons. Number 1, Old Testament lesson: God

is our maker. In the first book, in the first chapter, on the first page—

actually, in the first verse of the Bible— this Old Testament principle is communicated

to us as Christians. Genesis 1:1 says, in the beginning God created the heavens

Genesis 1:1

and the earth. Not only is God our maker, but the first chapter of the

Bible makes it clear that God is the maker of everybody and everything.

The last verse in Genesis 1:31 says,

Genesis 1:31

God saw everything that He made, and behold, it was very good. The first

chapter of the Bible displays that God is our Creator. You move over

to the book of Psalms, and in poetic language, the psalmist speaks of God creating

the world in a mature and full fashion merely with His words.

Psalm 33:6, for example, the psalmist says, by the word

Psalms 33:6

of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the

breath of His mouth. And then in verse 9 of Psalm 33,

the psalmist says, He commanded and He— and it was done.

He spoke and it stood firm. This fundamental idea of

God as our Maker is an Old Testament principle that's relevant

for New Testament Christians. Behold, how manifold are your works,

and wisdom have you made them all! The earth is full of your creatures.

Psalm 104:24. Now, when you fast forward

Psalms 104:24

to the New Testament, it becomes apparent that in the triune Godhead—

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit— Christ is the primary agent through whom

God created everything, according to John 1, Hebrews 1,

and Colossians 1, but the first page of the Bible drives home this

principle. And I think something as simple and fundamental as God is our Creator

keeps coming up over and over again because as elementary as it may

sound, it's easy for us to forget that God created us.

We didn't create God. Know ye not that the Lord, he is God? It's he

that made us and not we ourselves, Psalm 100:3. We're the work of his

Psalms 100:3

hands, Isaiah 64:8. And one Old Testament

Isaiah 64:8

principle or lesson for New Testament Christians is God is our Maker.

Mary Oliver, in her book on poems called Devotions, in the very first poem she

talks about how great it is, it's a shame that people throughout

the world today still are asking God for His identity papers. Oliver says it

should be evident to everybody in the world that there is a God. And what

she uses as an example, she says basically, can you imagine being the Queen

of Sheba? And as she's on her way to see Solomon, she says,

When she got close to the kingdom, did she have to say to anybody that

was traveling in her caravan, is this the place? Oliver's point

is it would have been evident as soon as you got near Solomon's kingdom with

all of the gold and the riches and the trees and the animals that this

couldn't be any place other than Solomon's kingdom. And her point

is to a greater and equal degree, as far as God's concerned,

how can you live in this world? And many people are confused about

this. How can you live in this world and look around and say, how did

this come about? Is this the place? First principle, God is

our maker. Quickly, here's number 2, every person has value. Same chapter,

Genesis 1:26-27, Moses says about humanity,

Genesis 1:26–27

then God said, let us make man in our image and in our likeness,

and let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of

the air, over every animal that creeps upon the earth and everything that dwells upon

the earth. Second lesson from the Old Testament for New Testament Christians,

is God gives every person equal value.

That means no matter who you are, if you exist as a human being,

every person has value as an image bearer of the God who

made us. In Genesis 5:1, Moses doubles down on

Genesis 5:1

this and he says, man is made in the likeness of God.

But it's stronger than that. Moses places capital punishment as an eternal

principle on anybody that would kill another human being. Moses says, if you

as a human take another human's life, By man shall your blood be shed.

And then here's his reason, Genesis 9:6, because man bears

Genesis 9:6

the image of God. And we today in 2026,

in the 21st century, we kind of have a sort of arrogance about us.

We look back on ancient times as being primitive and barbaric

and as out of touch with the modern age. We've got our iPhones and we've

got our smart cars that drive themselves, but history will judge

us as barbaric on this point for how we have treated people

made in the image of God. I mean, you can think about as recent as

last week with Clancy. You can think about the pro-abortion movement.

You can think about school shootings and a host of other tragedies

that have happened in our world and how we've gone so far away

from this idea that people are made in the image of God and

God cares about how you treat his stuff. History will judge us

harshly for how flippantly and easily we've just discarded with individuals

that are made in the image of God. But this isn't just about the idea

that you don't take life, though it is about that principle. It's about how you

treat other image bearers. James 3:9, James would say,

James 3:9

don't curse another person who is made in the image of God.

Leviticus 19:16, Moses says, don't go up

Leviticus 19:16

and down among God's people as a gossip or as a talebearer. Learn to love

your neighbor just like you love yourself, Leviticus 19:18. Why?

Leviticus 19:18

Because every person, has value. And this principle comes

to us from the Old Testament. People sometimes say

you shouldn't buy a brand new car because the moment you drive it off the

lot, it what? It depreciates in value. It's sort of a depreciating investment.

And maybe that's true about cars. It's not true about people.

God shows throughout the pages of Scripture that every life has value,

even when people are elderly, Proverbs 17:5, even if they're

Proverbs 17:5

physically handicapped or or have physical limitations,

Leviticus 19:14. Even people with mental

Leviticus 19:14

health issues, Psalm 34:18.

Psalms 34:18

Even if they're individuals that are poor, Proverbs 17:5.

Proverbs 17:5

Even if they're individuals that don't have all the resources that we have,

everybody all the time has all the rights and values that God

has placed on them. And an Old Testament lesson for New Testament Christians is everybody

we encounter on a daily basis has value, and God cares how we treat people.

And he's going to judge us accordingly based on how we pass or fail that

test. But quickly, here's number 3: God wants all nations to know him.

Sometimes a person's studying the Old Testament and they say, what happened to the Gentiles

in the Old Testament? I mean, if a person wasn't an Israelite under the Law

of Moses, did all the Gentiles in the Old Testament just automatically

go to hell? Were they automatically condemned in judgment? But a careful reading

of the Old Testament sheds light on things we read in the New.

So, when you hear Jesus say in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:19,

Matthew 28:19

Go and disciple the nations. That's not a new idea, it's an Old Testament idea.

Yes, Israel had a unique and special relationship with God.

God gave them the law, his commandments, his statutes, and he

didn't give that to any other nation, Psalm 147:19-20. But God

Psalms 147:19–20

cared deeply about the surrounding nations throughout the world. He had standards for

them and he had great care for them. Think about the book of Jonah.

God tells Jonah, go to the city of Nineveh and preach the preaching I

command you to preach, Jonah 1:2. Jonah goes there reluctantly after

Jonah 1:2

some chastisement by God. He preaches to the people of Nineveh. They repent,

and when they repent, guess what God does in Jonah 3:10?

Jonah 3:10

God says he relents against the disaster and he forgives them. You know why?

Because God has always loved and cared and

desired that all nations come to know him. And anybody

in any nation who does what's pleasing to God is acceptable with him,

Acts 10:34-35. And you can just mark the times throughout

Acts 10:34–35

the Old Testament that God is hinting at this idea. It's my desire that all

people in all nations come around my throne. It's seen in the example of a

person like Rahab in Joshua 2:9-11. It's seen with the Moabitess

Joshua 2:9–11

like Ruth being shown to be more righteous than anybody else in the time of

the Judges when everybody else is doing exactly what they want and what's right in

their own eyes, Ruth 1:16-17. It's seen with Naaman being more

Ruth 1:16–17

righteous and faithful than Gehazi. In 2 Kings chapter 5.

2 Kings 5 · chapter mention

God wants all nations to come and know Him. And so, as we join Him

in the Great Commission and spreading the gospel throughout the world,

that's not a New Testament concept, it's an Old Testament one.

Israel had the responsibility of being a light to the nations,

Isaiah 49:6, and they failed. But it's

Isaiah 49:6

our opportunity to shine in this regard. An Old Testament principle for New Testament

Christians is that God wants all people in every nation

To come to know him, to submit to his will, and to come under the

banner of salvation that's found in Jesus Christ. But quickly, here's number

4: suffering is inevitable. The Old

Testament goes to great pains to show us this lesson in scripture because

it takes the most righteous man in the world and makes him go through the

harshest suffering that anybody in the world at that time had ever experienced. I mean,

the first chapter of Job, Job 1:1, the narrator says Job's good

Job 1:1

and upright, He fears God and turns away from evil. And then God himself

doubles down on this in Job chapter 1 and verse 8, and he says,

Job 1 · chapter mention

there's nobody else like Job in all the world, and you're familiar with how great

and how terrible Job's suffering was. And maybe we could spend a lot of time

talking about why that happened to Job to begin with, or maybe we could talk

about Job's response and the things that Job said, the faith-building lessons that were

his, or how his wife responded to the suffering. And we spent a great

deal of time doing that, but maybe in the midst of all of that,

It misses the point. The Old Testament is trying to teach Christians this lesson:

suffering is inevitable and nobody gets out of this life without it.

And the longer I live, here's what I find out: everybody in the world is

good with this point until we start suffering. But the Bible's teaching

us as early as the Old Testament, suffering in this world is inevitable.

What does Jesus say in John 16:33? I've spoken

John 16:33

these words to you that in me you might have peace. In the world you

will have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I've overcome

the world. Suffering is inevitable. No matter how righteous you are,

no matter how much you read the Bible, you're going to suffer. Now, Christian suffering

is redemptive, meaning it doesn't have to ruin us. God can take it and make

something glorious and good with it. But if we live in this life, we'll suffer.

I think it's safe to say that in this auditorium, there probably isn't

anybody here that's at least 5 years old that doesn't have some

sort of physical scrape or scar on their body. You know why that's the case?

Like, nobody gets out of this whole life and says— I know some people who've

never spent a night in a hospital in their entire life. I don't know anybody

of appreciable age that doesn't have one scar, one scab on their whole body.

You know why? Because you can't get out of this life without scars,

and that's true physically, but it's true spiritually as well.

If you live in this world, suffering, it's inevitable.

C.S. Lewis knew a great deal about suffering, and he wrote and talked about it

a great deal, And here's what he said once. He wrote this about suffering.

He says, I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer.

You yourself are the answer. Sometimes we're going through hardship and difficulty,

and we might be saying to ourselves, why me? I'm reading the Bible. I'm praying.

I'm attending church services. I'm being as faithful as I possibly could

be. Of all the people in the world that are going through this difficulty and

this hardship, why is it happening to me? And a part of the reason why

is because we're humans, and as long as you live in this world,

Spirituality will shield you from ultimate destruction in eternity,

but not from physical hardship and calamity because it's a part of what it

means to be a human being. Here's number 5: prayer

is invaluable. The Old Testament teaches that prayer is invaluable.

Now, I'm not going to paint Old Testament saints as picture-perfect people,

but here's what I will say: you really can't read the Old Testament without walking

away with this principle and this point that prayer is invaluable.

David says, evening morning and at noon will I pray and cry

aloud, and God will hear my voice. Psalm 55:17.

Psalms 55:17

In 1 Samuel 1:9-18, Hannah poured out her heart

1 Samuel 1:9–18

in prayer to God as she was without child and wanting God to intervene,

and eventually he did. But one of the principles you learn from

the Old Testament is it's both silly and unrealistic to

try to get through this life without praying to God. Jeremiah 33:3,

Jeremiah 33:3

God says to the people through the prophet, call on me and I will answer

you. And show you great and mighty things which you do not know.

This quarter in the 20s and 30s class on Sunday morning,

Barrett and Grant are teaching the book of Psalms. I wasn't in that class,

I'm in this one co-teaching with Neil, but I went back and watched some of

the class from last week and Barrett was teaching and at the beginning of the

class I remember him saying basically the older he gets the more

he appreciates the book of Psalms. And if you read the book of Psalms,

you know why that's the case. Because the book of Psalms not only contains David's

prayers, but it teaches you how to pray. I had a professor one time

talking about the book of Psalms and how the psalmist is often angry and frustrated,

and then he praises and rejoices. And this professor said, you read the book

of Psalms and then listen to some of our prayers. And he says, maybe the

reason we don't often pray like that— because

God isn't as real to us. And it's a convicting and challenging

thing to see. We don't normally have that transparency with God, but the

Old Testament teaches us that prayer is invaluable. It's what Paul

means in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 when he says, pray incessantly.

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Pour out your heart to God. He's a refuge for us, Psalm 62:8.

Psalms 62:8

Where do we learn that? We learn that in the Old Testament.

And I think you could say, if you read Genesis through Malachi, I don't know

why this is the case. I just think it's an observation. For whatever reason,

it seems like people in the Old Testament prayed a

lot more than we do. As I was preparing for this lesson, I just thought

about prayer from the New Testament perspective. We can approach God as our Father,

Galatians 4:6. We pray directly through the name

Galatians 4:6

and person of Jesus Christ, John 14:14. The Holy

John 14:14

Spirit will come alongside us and help us when we don't have the words to

pray, Romans 8:26-27. And when you put all of that together,

Romans 8:26–27

nobody in this room can say tonight, I'm praying as much as I should.

Johnny Ramsey used to say, when we get to the end of our lives,

I believe none— every one of us will stand before God realizing all that

he is and all that he wanted to do for us and say nobody's ever

gotten all that he could have from God, because nobody is praying as much as

they could or maybe as much as we should. But here's an Old Testament

lesson for New Testament Christians: prayer is invaluable, and it's at our

disposal to use it to communicate with our Heavenly Father as we sojourn on

earth. Here's number 6: God does not take disobedience lightly.

This is an Old Testament principle for New Testament Christians.

God never takes disobedience lightly. Nadab and Abihu

were sons of Aaron. They were going to be these Levitical priests. Their father was

the high priest. And you remember Leviticus 10:1-3, they offered

Leviticus 10:1–3

up strange fire to God, which he did not command them, and God responded with

fire of his own. And then think about Uzzah during the time of David in

2 Samuel 6. Uzzah saw that these oxen stumbled and

the Ark of the Covenant was about to fall. He reaches out with his hand

to steady the Ark, violating God's hands-off policy concerning

the Ark of the Covenant, and he's immediately struck dead.

God teaches constantly throughout the Old Testament that He

doesn't take disobedience lightly. And you could add to this list,

not just Nadab and Abihu, and not just Uzzah, but Achan

in Joshua chapter 7, Mrs. Lot in Genesis chapter 19,

Joshua 7 · chapter mention Genesis 19 · chapter mention

Korah, Dathan, and Abiram in Numbers chapter 16,

Numbers 16 · chapter mention

the ground opened up and swallowed them and a whole generation of Israelites for

their defiance and their disobedience. Because it's a principle that we need to appreciate.

God doesn't take disobedience lightly. And in every one of these instances, there's one

thing in common. God was always doing something new. At the time

of Moses in Leviticus 10, ushering in the Mosaic dispensation

and covenant, Nadab and Abihu do their own thing and God strikes them

dead with fire of his own. Uzzah, Saul's no longer king, now David's the

new king. The oxen stumbles, he touches the ark, and God allows him to die

immediately. You can think about the New Testament, Ananias and Sapphira, Acts chapter 5,

Acts 5 · chapter mention

1 through 11. What do all of these things have in common? They have this

one thing in common. It was always during a time of transition, and God

was saying, this is a new regime, but I'm the same God.

And as serious as I was about obedience back then,

I'm equally as serious now. I think some people

today, they sometimes will make innovations of their own, violate God's commands and

God's Word, and respond with something along these lines: I don't see what's the big

what. I don't see what's the big deal. Obviously you don't,

but God does, and he's going to hold us accountable if we just

flippantly violate his Word. Listen,

I believe that unbiblical binding of certain people's rituals

and customs and even strictness It's unbiblical. It's distasteful to God

to be stricter than God is. But I think we do need to appreciate this

principle from Scripture. The God of the Bible is a lot of things,

but He is not casual. And I don't know if you've picked up on this,

but in and around Christendom, there is a sort of casual aura that

maybe we've just picked up and we think we can waltz in and out of

God's presence and it really doesn't matter. I mean, don't take God too seriously.

I mean, that's the God of the Old Testament. God wouldn't do anything like that

now. Listen to Psalm 89:7, God is greatly to

Psalms 89:7

be feared in the assembly of the saints and to be held in reverence by

all of them that are about him. God's just as serious now

as he was then. In fact, biblically, you could make the case that it's

more so now. In Hebrews 10:26 down through verse 31,

Hebrews 10:26

the Hebrew writer says, those that disobeyed under Moses' covenant

died without retribution under 2 or 3 witnesses. How much more will those of

us that live under the new covenant perish if we disobey and overrun the blood

of Christ by which we were sanctified. The Old Testament teaches

this principle. God doesn't take disobedience lightly,

especially in worship context. We shouldn't just be so casual. You know what?

I'm in worship, I'm worshiping God, but I'm here on earth. God's in heaven.

I'll just send a text in the assembly. I just let my mind drift and

daydream. I'm not going to take God too serious. And the Old Testament shows us

through these examples and others God's dead serious about

submission and obedience to him. This does not mean that God's looking for reasons to

condemn us. He's not. John 3:17 says that Christ

John 3:17

came into the world not to condemn us, but that the world through him might

be saved. But it does mean this: if we are going to be saved,

we've got to be as serious about God as he is about us.

Here's number 7: God is sovereign over nations and

rulers. You might say one of the first people to find this out

in the Bible was Pharaoh through the 10 plagues. You remember that? Exodus 12:12,

Exodus 12:12

God says, I'll pass through the land of Egypt this night, and I'll strike all

the firstborn in the land of Egypt. Against both man and beast, and against all

the gods of Egypt, I'll execute judgment. I am the Lord. Pharaoh learned

in those plagues that God's sovereign over nations and rulers, and that Pharaoh, though he

thought that he was in charge of the world because Egypt was a world empire

at the time, he really wasn't. God was. But when you get to the book

of Daniel, this lesson becomes emphatic. Daniel says several times throughout

this book, Daniel 4:17, Daniel 4:25, you'll find this

Daniel 4:17 Daniel 4:25

statement: God rules in the kingdoms of men. And then in Daniel 4:35,

Daniel 4:35

Daniel says God does according to His will, and nobody can say to

God, God, what are you doing? An Old Testament principle that New Testament

Christians need to learn is God is sovereign over nations,

and the ruler of those nations. And when you get to the New Testament,

it seems like the first Christians, they understood this.

Romans 13:1-4, Paul would say something like,

Romans 13:1–4

submit yourselves to rulers and obey them, and do so

because these individuals are the ministers and the servants of God. 1 Peter

1 Peter 2:13–17

2:13-17, Peter says, obey every

ordinance and every law for the Lord's sake. 1 Peter 2:13-17.

1 Peter 2:13–17

Paul converted those prison guards in Caesar's household, Philippians 4:22.

Philippians 4:22

But let me ask you a question. What kind of rulers were in the world

in the days of early Christianity? Good or bad? Just do this or this.

What kind? Good or bad? You say bad. Now, here's another question. What did Paul

think about those rulers? I mean, what was Paul's opinion of Nero

Caesar? Or better yet, what was Paul's opinion of any of the Caesars?

You don't really know because Paul never expresses his opinion. And I

guess Paul never says anything about his personal feelings about Nero or any

of the Caesars because at the heart of it, it wouldn't really change his responsibility

or his response to those leaders because as God's servant, he had

the responsibility to obey it, to submit, and to trust.

It was Paul who says in Acts 23:5— by the way,

Acts 23:5

in that passage he's quoting the Old Testament, Exodus 22:28—

Exodus 22:28

you will not speak evil of the ruler of God's people.

I don't know what you think about Donald Trump. You love him?

You like him? Listen, here's the thing. I was just joking. I don't care what

you think about Donald Trump. It doesn't matter whether you love him or like him,

hate him or despise him, adore him. Here's the point. Your response

as a Christian, a member and a citizen of God's kingdom,

shouldn't change whether you have favor for him or disdain.

Listen to Titus 3:2. In this context, talking about our

Titus 3:2

relationship to rulers, that you speak evil of no man. You can't

do it and not be God's person. Here's one of the marks of spiritual maturity,

that we develop so much confidence in God that people that

are around us can't really figure out if we're for or against a certain

ruler because we act the same no matter what. Now, we may be for and

against various things and policies, but whether or not we're for or against

a person shouldn't be able to be determined because whether we love them like

them, disdain them, or despise them, 1 Timothy 2:1-3 says here's your response

1 Timothy 2:1–3

no matter what. You submit and obey the laws of the land, Romans 13:1-7.

Romans 13:1–7

You pray for your rulers, 1 Timothy 2:1-3.

1 Timothy 2:1–3

And you never, and I mean never, you can't say anything against

one of God's rulers. How many times does David in the Old Testament say— they

say, David, there's Saul, you've got him right here within your grasp. And he says,

I will not stretch out my hand and touch the Lord's anointed. And you might

be saying, yeah, but that was a monarchy. That was Israel, and God selected their

kings. Every ruler that reigns over any country does

so only by God's permission. And we say, well, that's the Old Testament.

New Testament Christians, we need to learn this lesson.

I was at the gym one time, and I was in Lakeland, Florida, and there

was a guy there working out from a different country, and we were talking about

the differences that he experienced here versus in his home country.

Here's the thing that stood out to him. He says, I've never been around people.

We weren't talking religion or faith. He says, in this country, I've never been

around people. It's not like this back home that speak so openly and flippantly

against their rulers. He says, it's a capital offense. It's criminal in the way— in

where I'm from, the country where I sprung from. And I love free speech and

all of that's great, but are Christians any different? Is there a distinction among us?

There should be. And we learned this lesson in the Old

Testament. Here's number 8, God will forgive anyone

and anything. Old Testament principle for New Testament Christians.

We learn about some heinous activity and highly sinful things that people

did in the Old Testament. I think you struggle to find a person worse than

Manasseh in the Old Testament. I mean, 2 Chronicles 33 says that he not only

rebelled and practiced idolatry, but he made children pass through

the fire in child sacrifice. 2 Chronicles 33 says in verse 12 and verse 13

specifically, when God had him carried off into captivity, They put

hooks into his nose and drug him out of the country in captivity. When Manasseh

repented and changed and reformed his ways, God forgave

him and brought him back to the land in safety and in peace. Why is

that in the Bible? I think you know why it's in the Bible.

So that we learn about Manasseh, about ourselves, and about anybody else we ever encounter.

God can and will forgive anyone and anything. People that

are familiar with this passage aren't surprised when they get to the New Testament and

see God making a man like Saul of Tarsus, who was once an enemy,

an ally. Paul says, I was a blasphemer, persecutor,

a violent aggressor, but I obtained mercy because Christ Jesus came

into the world to save sinners, of whom I'm chief, 1 Timothy 1:13-15.

1 Timothy 1:13–15

But here's the thing, that's not anything new. God's always been

doing that. He'll forgive anybody of anything

if we come to him. In fact, I think you could make the case that

the strongest verses in the Bible on forgiveness are found

not in the New Testament, though there are a great many there, they're in the

Old Testament. Though your sins be as scarlet, I'll make them as white

as snow if you're willing and obedient, Isaiah 1:19-20. As far as

Isaiah 1:19–20

the east is from the west, that's how far God's removed our transgressions

from us, Psalm 103:12-13. I've cast

Psalms 103:12–13

your sins, God says, behind my back, Isaiah 38:6. Verse 17.

Isaiah 38:6

I've drowned your sins in the depths of the sea, Micah 7:18-19.

Micah 7:18–19

When Jesus came to this earth, it wasn't to convince God to forgive

us. It's because God was already determined to do so.

This is my blood, he says, which is shed for many for the forgiveness

of sins, Matthew 26:28. Where do you learn that? That God has

Matthew 26:28

this heart towards sinners, that he's drawn to the backslider

and wants to woo us and win us back to himself.

You learn it in the Old Testament. Number 9,

God's providence is greater than our plans. You already know this

about Joseph and his life, and at the end Joseph says,

you meant it for evil, but God meant it for good, to save many people

alive as it is this day. And maybe you think about providence in the story

of Esther. Esther chapter 4 and verse 14, she and her cousin Mordecai having this

Esther 4 · chapter mention

back and forth about whether or not she should go into the king's presence.

And Mordecai eventually says, Esther, maybe you've come to the kingdom for

such a time as this. The providence of God is greater than our plans,

and we learn this in the Old Testament. But here's the thing about

providence. We sometimes talk about providence this way: something good happens in our life,

we look back and we say, oh, now I know why I moved here.

Oh, I get it now. Now I know why I got this job.

Now I know why our paths crossed. And we say, and rightfully so and true,

Oh, that was providence. That's true, but here's the part we miss.

Providence doesn't kick in. Everything's providence. It always

has been. From the moment you took your first breath, the providence

of God has been working in your life, however unseen and unacknowledged,

literally to woo you back to God himself. Everything's providence.

We see some of it in hindsight, but our lives are filled with it.

Listen to David in Psalm 23:6, surely goodness

Psalms 23:6

and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. David saw goodness

and mercy literally chasing him down throughout his life. He couldn't escape it.

He couldn't get away from it because God's providence is

greater than our plans. We sort of— we have a phrase in American

culture and English-speaking world when people have hardship, this too will pass.

And what we normally mean is, look, if you could just hang in there,

I know you're in a storm, but if you could just hang in,

eventually this is going to turn out for your good.

Hebrew people had a proverb. This isn't in the Bible, but Hebrew people said

this all the time. In Hebrew it's, Gam zu litovah.

Gam zu litovah. And it means this: this too is

for the good. See, there's a difference between those 2 statements. This too shall

pass. No, they're saying, listen, I don't have to rush out of my hardships and

difficulty. I'm not necessarily glad that they're here, but they believe that

this too was going to be for the good. It sounds a lot

like something in the New Testament. Romans 8:28, all things work

Romans 8:28

together for what? Where did we learn that? That's an Old Testament principle. Sometimes we

look at our lives and we say, you know what? I would have never planned

that my life would go this way. But here's the question: who made you the

planner? God's not waiting for us to plan out our lives and chart it the

way that we want to. An Old Testament lesson we learn is that God's

providence is way better than our plans. If we could have drawn up

our lives ourselves, we would have never planned them the way God did, and God's

not allowing us to do so. He's the Great Architect. He's the one that's moving

the pieces. And people like Joseph and Esther and Jacob,

they show us this. And when you get to the New Testament, surely as Jesus

is hanging on the cross on that Friday night, if you're a disciple and you're

at the foot of the cross, you've got to be thinking, this is the worst

thing in the history of the world. He's not just an innocent man. He's the

only perfect man who's ever lived. And if you were an Israelite, if you

were a Jewish person, and if you knew what you knew from the Old Testament,

maybe you could stand there in hindsight 3 days later,

stand under that same cross and say, Gam zu litovah.

This too was ultimately for good.

Here's the last thing tonight, number 10.

Better days are coming. It's an Old Testament principle for

New Testament Christians. The whole Old Testament is looking forward.

It's looking forward to the time of Jesus coming and the time of the Messiah.

Isaiah chapter 2:1-4 looks forward to this idea of one day There's

a new covenant coming in, and all nations are going to press into that new

kingdom. Old Testament saints lived with a sort of expectation

that, hey, life is not as good as it can get. It's going to get

better when Jesus comes. We live in that

new covenant age that they were looking forward to. Isaiah says that the day would

come when all nations would flow into the house of the Lord, and many people

would go and say, come, let us go up to the house of the Lord,

to the house of the God of Jacob, and he'll teach us his ways.

Old Testament people sat on the edge of their seats waiting for the Messiah to

come, and they thought, when this happens, this will literally be the best days

of our lives. I don't know how your life's going, but if it's going good,

I want you to be a little bit unsettled here. I want this to continue

to be a little pebble in your shoe. This is not your forever life in

your forever home. Better days are coming.

If life's a little uncomfortable for you right now, or just downright bad and rocky,

You're a Christian. And an Old Testament principle is to remember better

days really are coming. There remains a rest for the people of God, Hebrews 4:9.

Hebrews 4:9

We look for new heavens and a new earth, 2 Peter 3:13.

2 Peter 3:13

Jesus says, if I go away, I will come again and receive

you unto myself, John 14:1-6. We can get so comfortable here that we forget this

John 14:1–6

really is not the end. It's a preface for all of God's goodness that is

to come. And we learn this lesson of being expectant,

looking forward to better days. We learn it in the Old Testament.

I told you tonight I wanted us to end this lesson and not be

Marcionites. Marcion had a problem with the Bible, and so he edited his

copy and he just said, you know what, these are the parts I don't like,

I'll take it out. We don't live under the Old Testament,

but we shouldn't want to live without it. I read from a skeptic, a former

skeptic this week, And this is what she said about the Bible. I used to

believe that the Bible was full of contradictions and that it had been corrupted by

men. And then I finally read it and found out it wasn't, but I

was. And that's the heart of it all. At the end of the day,

the problem's not with the Bible, with the Old Testament or with the New.

The problem's with us. And as we study and read the Old Testament,

it's written for our learning that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures,

might have hope. Hope in Jesus who came and died for our sins and was

raised for our justification, Romans 4:25. And tonight,

Romans 4:25

if you need to lay hold on the hope that Old Testament saints longed for,

prayed for, and expected, we'd be happy to assist you in doing so. If you

believe Jesus is the Son of God and you're ready to turn away from sin,

we'll baptize you into Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and all

the Old Testament passages that we referenced about God's willingness to forgive will

immediately and forever be true about you. If you've done that in the

past and you need to be restored, if we can pray with you or pray

for you, we'd be happy to do so. Chase is gonna lead us in a

song of invitation. Come now as together we stand and as we sing.