Do you ever wonder why we have both the Old Testament and the New Testament? Why are they like night and day? Most people believe that God gave the Old Testament Law to show us what we needed to do to obtain relationship with Him.

But the Law was never intended to bring us into relationship with our heavenly Father. A wrong understanding of the purpose of the Old Testament Law leads to a misunderstanding of the nature of God.

So, why the Old Testament?

- It was intended to show us our sin and our need for God.

- It was given to show us how unholy we were so we would stop trying to earn salvation and just receive it as a gift by faith.

- It was to turn us from self-righteousness to a faith-righteousness that could only come through a Savior (Romans 10:3-4).

God never wanted us to have knowledge of good and evil. Why? Because we would always base our relationship on the principal of doing right and wrong. William Tyndale said, “The Law and the Gospel are two keys. The Law is the key that shutteth up all men under condemnation, and the Gospel is the key which opens the door and lets them out.”

The Law reveals sin but cannot do anything about it. If the Law worked, then faith would be irrelevant. Romans 4:14 (NLT) says, “If God’s promise is only for those who obey the law, then faith is not necessary, and the promise is pointless.”

The Old Testament only proved that there was no possible way to keep all those laws. There are two kinds of righteousness:

1. Self-righteousness – is when you must do something or perform to “earn” your righteousness, which is what the Old Testament outlined.

2. Faith-righteousness – is when there is nothing you can do or perform, but you simply receive it as a gift, not something you have to earn, which is what was given through the salvation of Jesus Christ. Christians are no longer under the Law. THAT is why we have the New Testament. Romans 6:14 (NLT) says, “Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” The Old Testament pointed us toward the need for a Savior. The New Testament points us toward a New Covenant, created though salvation. Jesus is our Salvation!

- Pastor