This is a very important question to answer, as almost every Christian today believes the Old Testament is no longer valid. Many Christians read only the New Testament, sometimes spending years doing so without ever learning what the Old Testament actually teaches. This happens largely because many pastors hold to the mistaken belief that the Old Testament has passed away. Let us examine why the Old Testament remains relevant today.
Why Is the Old Testament Relevant Today? The Ten Commandments
To begin, we need to return to the Ten Commandments, since the belief that the Old Testament is no longer valid often goes hand in hand with the belief that the Ten Commandments have been done away with. Is that true? You can read our post from last week covering the Ten Commandments in detail.
The underlying principle is this: Can God judge two people differently for committing the very same sin? No — if God did that, He would be unjust. God is fair, and God is just. God cannot condemn someone to hell simply because they lived in New Testament times, while allowing someone else into heaven simply because they lived in Old Testament times.
Sin has never changed. This is precisely why the Old Testament remains relevant today — because sin cannot change, and God, being fair, must judge everyone by the same standard, whether they lived under the old covenant or the new. Many Old Testament prophecies relate directly to New Testament fulfillment, so it would make little sense to discard prophecies given specifically for our era. Additionally, in the book of Daniel, the angel Gabriel states that this book was given specifically for the time of the end.
How could the Old Testament be intended for people living at the end of the world, while simultaneously being considered no longer valid? It simply doesn’t add up. We often arrive at incorrect conclusions on biblical topics because we judge too quickly, reaching final answers before taking the time to properly study every relevant verse.
Jesus said:
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)” (Matthew 24:15)
Jesus affirmed that the Old Testament prophets remained valid. In fact, Ellen G. White wrote that what the prophets of old spoke applies even more directly to our time than to the time in which it was originally written.
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
Here Scripture tells us that everything written beforehand was written so that we could learn from it today, and that the Old Testament gives us hope. Why is the Old Testament relevant today? Because the Bible itself tells us that what the prophets wrote was written for us as well.
Why Is the Old Testament Relevant Today? Apparent Contradictions
“Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” (John 5:39)
This verse confirms that people in Jesus’ time were searching the Old Testament, since the New Testament did not yet exist. And whether someone searches the Old or New Testament today, they will find the love of Jesus there. Why is the Old Testament relevant today? Because it testifies of Jesus and His love for you and me.
Some verses seem to suggest that we now live under grace, while Old Testament believers lived under law. But as we’ve seen, living “under the law” did not mean people were exempt from keeping it. Old Testament believers demonstrated their faith in the coming Messiah through sacrifices. Today, we are no longer bound by that particular requirement. Does this mean we no longer need to keep the Ten Commandments? No — yet this is exactly where many people go too far, concluding that because we live under grace, the commandments no longer apply. That conclusion does not follow.
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)
This verse does not say we are exempt from keeping the commandments through God’s power, known as righteousness by faith. It simply means we are no longer required to offer animal sacrifices. We can see that the law remains valid, since sin still exists today — and as 1 John 3:4 tells us, sin is the transgression of the law.
“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13)
Does this verse suggest the Old Testament is no longer valid? No — it means that people once needed to demonstrate faith in a Messiah who was still to come. Now that Jesus has already come, sacrifices made in anticipation of His coming are no longer necessary. Nowhere does the Bible say that the new covenant eliminates the Ten Commandments — if it did, it would mean Jesus died for no reason.
Why Is the Old Testament Relevant Today? The Word of God
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (2 Timothy 3:16)
Here Scripture tells us that the entire Bible — Old and New Testament alike — is given by God. Why is the Old Testament relevant today? Because the Word of God is eternal.
“And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.” (Luke 24:44)
The Old Testament contains roughly 300 prophecies concerning the coming of Jesus. Why is the Old Testament relevant today? Because it speaks extensively about Jesus and about end-time prophecy. The New Testament makes up only about 23 percent of the entire Bible. If you remove the Old Testament, you eliminate the majority of what God wants His people to know. What’s more, roughly 33 percent of the New Testament consists of direct quotations from the Old Testament — meaning that removing the Old Testament effectively removes much of the New Testament as well.
“Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace.” (Ephesians 2:15)
This “law of ordinances” refers to the Levitical, ceremonial law — the portion of the law that pointed forward to Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. This is the only part of the Old Testament that could rightly be considered fulfilled and set aside, even though some Christians today still observe these feasts in some form.
God set aside those elements that pointed people toward the cross of Jesus. When Jesus died, these ceremonial observances were fulfilled and were no longer required as they once were — yet their deeper meaning remains valuable, since we can still learn a great deal about Jesus through studying these feasts.
“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31–34)
Here again, Scripture does not say that the new covenant means abandoning the commandments or discarding the Old Testament. Rather, it means that the system of animal sacrifices has been fulfilled, since the true Lamb of God has now died on the cross.
Grace Does Not Annul the Old Testament
The misconception arises from the belief that God’s grace nullifies the law and the Old Testament altogether. This simply isn’t true. Old Testament believers were also saved by grace. To claim that Old Testament believers were saved purely by their own works would suggest that Jesus’ sacrifice was unnecessary for them. But Jesus came for the simple reason that we are all sinners. If our own works had the power to save us, Jesus would not have needed to die on the cross at all.
The cross of Jesus was necessary precisely because our works have no power to atone for sin. It was necessary because even our very best works are, in Scripture’s words, like dirty rags. This is worth noting, because most churches today teach that the Ten Commandments are no longer binding — yet, somewhat inconsistently, many still hold a legalistic view of the Old Testament, believing that people back then were saved by their works and didn’t truly need Jesus.
This is part of why the Bible refers to many modern churches as “Babylon” — there is so much confusion surrounding these important topics. We often read Scripture too quickly, without taking the time to understand what the whole Bible teaches on a given subject, and as a result, we end up holding onto mistaken beliefs for the rest of our lives. This is exactly why it’s so important to read the Bible carefully, prayerfully, and slowly.
We are all saved by grace. Old Testament believers looked forward to the coming Messiah, and their sacrifices were an expression of faith in His future coming. We, today, place our faith in the Jesus who has already come. Why is the Old Testament relevant today? Because we are all saved by the same grace. Our works hold no power to bring about our own salvation. Unless we recognize our own helpless condition, and embrace God’s power to save us through the gift of righteousness by faith, we remain lost.
Jesus offers you His righteousness right now. Why not repeat after me: Father God, forgive my sins. Give me Your righteousness. Heal and bless me. Help me to walk with You every day, in the name of Jesus. Amen.