Tuesday February 11, 2014

Read Matthew 4:1-11

There are many believers who give the Old Testament far less weight and validity than the New Testament. Some have even made statements such as, ‘I don’t read the Old Testament because I can’t relate to the God of the Old Testament.’ Others have made statements like, ‘I think the God of the Old Testament is totally different to the God of the New Testament.’ Even the statement, ‘The Old Testament is about works while the New Testament is about grace’ reveals a false dichotomy within the Bible.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus thought about the Old Testament and the God of the Old Testament? In Mark 12:36 Jesus showed that He believed that the Old Testament was written under the inspiration of God and that the Holy Spirit spoke through its human authors. In Luke 24:25-27, 44 we see that He thought every part of the Old Testament was the authoritative Word of God Almighty. In Matthew 22:29ff Jesus actually rebuked and denounced those who refused to believe the Old Testament. At no point does Jesus contradict the Old Testament or seek to reduce it in terms of its authority or validity as the Word of God.

During His 40 day desert temptation, Jesus quoted the Old Testament with full authority. He believed that the Word of the Old Testament had complete authority over satan and even over his own life.

In fact, if we were to summarise Jesus’ attitude towards the Old Testament we see that He submitted to it because submission to the Word of God is the right and best attitude in worship of God. Jesus refused to bow down to satan because the Word of God says that we are to worship God and Him alone. Jesus refused to turn stones to bread because the Word of God said that man shall not live on bread alone. He refused to put God to the test because it contradicted the Word of God in the Old Testament.

What’s your attitude towards the Old Testament? Do you believe it as the Word of God or do you seek to reinterpret it in the light of some modern day theory or belief system?

Prayer: Write down your prayer points in the space provided. Use today’s reading to help you get ideas.

Adoration:

Confession:

Thanks:

Supplication:

ª Ask the Lord to grant everyone in your congregation a believing heart that takes the entire Word of God as the authoritative Word of God. Pray that this knowledge would lead to acceptable worship in reverence and awe.

ª Pray that the children in your congregation would also love God and worship Him acceptably. Pray that the children would be conscience of God 24/7 and worship Him with their entire lives.

Word Moment – We need to believe all of the Old Testament as being God’s infallible and inerrant Word to us. It is our job to discover what God is saying to us and not to re-interpret the Word according to some theory or belief –system invented by mankind.

Sometimes that will mean taking a route that is ridiculed by modern day man and by the so called ‘knowledge’ of the world.

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Are there bits in the Old Testament you find hard to believe? Why is this?

2. Are there bits in the Old Testament you don’t believe at all? Why is this?

3. Should we try to mirror Jesus’ attitude  of the OT and God in our own lives? Explain your answer.