2 - THE PLACE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER

Photo taken from Smith's patio

2 - THE PLACE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER

September 26, 1962

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Romans 15: 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Here we read that the Old Testament—that which was written before time, was written for our learning, our instruction. We have been looking at the study of the Old Testament, from the viewpoint that you will not fully understand many New Testament truths without a good working knowledge of the Old Testament.

1/ We have been looking at the three blind Jews in the Bible.

Acts 13: 10, 11 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. 

Here we read of Bar-Jesus the Jew who was blinded for a season, when he tried to keep a Gentile, Sergius Paulus, from believing in Jesus Christ. When I read this Scripture, my mind immediately goes back to two Jews in the Old Testament who were blinded. These three Jews show me God’s program.

2/ The first Jew in the Old Testament was Zedekiah. When he was 21 years of age he became King of the Jews. And for eleven years, he did that which is evil in the sight of the Lord. Then God sent the Gentile King, Nebuchadnezzar against the holy city, and Zedekiah, and besieged it. The King and his people tried to escape, but were caught and his sons were killed right before his eyes and he was blinded. The blinding of Zedekiah speaks of the blinding of Israel when the Times of the Gentiles, politically, began. This was around 600 years before Christ. But when we compare this with the blinding of Bar-Jesus, it speaks to us of when the Times of the Gentiles began, spiritually. So these two blind Jews reveal much to us.

3/ Then the next Jew that was blinded was Samson. He speaks of the judgment of God on both Jew and Gentile on the close of this present Day of Grace. Now, Samson was brought forth by God from the time of his birth for God’s own divine purpose.

Judges 13: 5 For, lo, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and no razor shall come on his head: for the child shall be a Nazarite unto God from the womb: and he shall begin to deliver Israel

out of the hand of the Philistines.

So, in other words, he was different from other children. And he had the power of God with him until he profaned the Name of God among the Gentiles.

Judges 14: 5, 6 Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to Timnath, and came to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand: but he told not his father or his mother what he had done.

Here we read that Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnath. And he came to the vineyards, and there he came face to face with young lion, and the  6th Verse tells us the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him and he rent the lion as he would a kid. Then the Scripture says, he had nothing in his hand. It was the power of God working in this divinely appointed man.

4/ Another time when the power of God was upon him mightily is found in Judges.

Judges 14: 19 And the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon, and slew thirty men of them, and took their spoil, and gave change of garments unto them which expounded the riddle. And his anger was kindled, and he went up to his father's house.

And here we read, the Spirit of the Lord came upon him, and he went down to Ashkelon. And he slew 30 men. 

In this, he is a type of a picture of the nation Israel. Israel was born different from any other nation. Born miraculously, sustained miraculously for the divine purpose of God.

Isaiah 44: 1, 2 Yet now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen: Thus saith the Lord that made thee, and formed thee from the womb, which will help thee; Fear not, O Jacob, my servant; and thou, Jesurun, whom I have chosen.

Here we read about the birth of Israel. God said, that He made them and formed them from the womb, and that He would help them, so you can see the beautiful type of Israel in Samson.

Isaiah 43: 21 This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.

Here, again, He says, This people have I formed for myself. As Samson was a Nazarite from his birth, Israel was formed for God.

5/ But the story of Samson is a story of compromise, dishonor and defeat and disgrace. He profaned God’s holy Name before the Gentiles; he lost his power and his eyes.

Judges 14: 1- 3 And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well.

Here he did that which was against the will of God. He fell in love with a Gentile woman. His father asked him if there wasn’t a woman among the nation to take for a wife rather than an uncircumcised Gentile. Then we have the key to the character of Samson. He was not interested in pleasing God—he was interested in pleasing himself.

6/ And he brought dishonor upon himself. Israel was guilty of this same sin. He cared not.

Deuteronomy 7: 1 - 4 When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall  eliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them; thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor shew mercy unto them: Neither shalt thou make marriages with them; thy daughter thou shalt not give unto his son, nor his daughter shalt thou take unto thy son. For they will turn away thy son from following me, that they may serve other gods: so will the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and destroy thee suddenly.

7/ Israel was the same way.

Isaiah 1: 4 - 6 Ah sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters: they have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger, they are gone away backward. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more: the whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment.

Here we read about a sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a seed of evil doers, children that are corrupters—they have forgotten the Lord, they have provoked the Holy One of Israel unto anger. In other words, they cared not about God and His will.

8/ Then Samson profaned God’s Holy Name among the Gentiles. As you know, Delilah shaved off his hair, which showed that he had broken the vow of the Nazarite, and he lost his power with God. He no longer was in the position where God could use him.

Judges 15: 20 And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

But like most back-sliders, Samson did not know that the Lord had departed from him. How like the Jew in our present day. You would think that the rabbis and the leaders of the nation would know that God has departed, but they are blind.

9/ He became a laughing stock before the Gentiles.

Judges 15: 19 - 21 But God clave an hollow place that was in the jaw, and there came water thereout; and when he had drunk, his spirit came again, and he revived: wherefore he called the name thereof Enhakkore, which is in Lehi unto this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years.

They put out his eyes, and they mocked, not only him, but his God. This is exactly why happened to the nation Israel.

Ezekiel 36: 20 And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the Lord, and are gone forth out of his land.

Here they profaned the Hoy Name of God when they went among the Gentiles, and, of course, They ere blinded just like Samson.

10/ Judges 16: 22 Howbeit the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven.

But the hair one Samson’s head began to grow again, just as the hair of Israel will grow again. And you know the story of when Samson brought judgment upon himself and the Gentiles. This speaks to us that at the end of this age of grace, God will bring judgment both upon the Jew and the Gentile.

Isaiah 10: 5, 6 O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation. I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give hima charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the

streets.

God will use the Gentile to afflict the Jew and then punish the Gentile for his deeds.

11/ Bar-Jesus speaks of the Jew in Romans 11: 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Thy are blinded in the present day and age. But notice what God said about Nathanael

John 1: 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!

Behold an Israelite in whom there is no guile. The word, guile, means subtlety. 

This is the same word that is used in Acts 13: 10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

Here is a Jew who is full of subtlety. Just the opposite of Nathanael. Then notice, Nathaniel’s salutation to Jesus Christ, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, Thou art the King of Israel.

Then notice, John 1:48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

Nathaniel was under the fig tree. Redeemed Israel will be under the fig tree.

Micah 4: 4 But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.

Bar-jesus speaks of the Jew in Romans 11: 25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Nathaniel speaks of the Jew in Romans 11: 26 after God has redeemed and cleansed Israel.

And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

12/ When I read Romans 8: 32 my mind goes back to Deuteronomy 21: 18 - 23.

Romans 8: 32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Deuteronomy 21: 18 - 23 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear. And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.

AMEN

09/26/1962 / 2 - THE PLACE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER / 4/25/2026

2 - OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

Photo by B Smith from the patio

2 - OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
July 18, 1962
Pastor Henry F. Kulp

2 - OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT 

July 18, 1962

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Romans 15: 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Here we have Paul instructing the church at Rome and us, the use of the Old Testament in our daily lives. He is primarily speaking to Gentiles in the church of Rome, who had no Old Testament background, and he tells them and us that the Old Testament is to instruct us so that we might have hope.

1/ it is necessary for us to understand, of course, what is the Old Testament. It is not what the average person believes. It does not include the book of Genesis, although Genesis is the Word of God. And you cannot call Adam, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac or Jacob and Joseph Old Testament saints. They lived and died before the Old Testament. There was 2,500 years of human history when there was no Old Testament. So it is necessary for us to ascertain what is the Old Testament.

2/ Testament is the same word as Covenant or contract. 

Hebrews 8: 13  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.

We are told that the Old Covenant, the Old Testament is the Law Covenant or Testament. Verse 9 tells us it started when God led the Children of Israel out of Egypt and gave them the Law Covenant, and it was made the Law Covenant old.Many folks have problems with this. Some talked to me last week and said there are covenants or testaments that God made before He made the Law Covenant, and they are much older. So why call this one old? I appreciate that people ask me questions like this—it helps me to clarify this. It is true there are covenants that are older, but they are not old—in other words they have not been made old—they are still in force. Let me give you some examples.

3/ The covenant God made in the Garden of Eden. 

Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

It was a conditional covenant or testament or contract. And because this covenant was broken, man was to die. Man was to be dead in sin and then to die physically. And we still are born sinners, and we still die physically, for this covenant is not old.

4/ Then take the covenant, or testament, or contract that God made after the fall.

Genesis 3: 16 - 19 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.

It is still in force.We are living by the sweat of our face. We still have to use the ground to bring forth food, so it is still in force, it is not old.

5/ Then we have the covenant made with Noah in Genesis 9. God promised no reoccurrence of the flood and He established human government, and if one was a murderer, he was to pay the death penalty—it is still in force today. It has not been nullified, it has not been made old.

6/ Then it is also necessary to see that the Old Testament, the Old Covenant was a religious program and is the only religious program God ever authorized. Satan has a religious program and it is one that men are following today—but God gave only one religious program to man, and it was the Old Testament, or the Old Covenant.

7/ The word, Christianity, does not appear in the Bible. And the word, Christian appears here times. Many people call Christianity, the religion of Jesus Christ, but that is not so—Christianity is not a religion, but a Person.

8/ Religion teaches works. For a definition of religion, we dare not go to the dictionary. We must go to the Word of God and study the Word itself. The word, religion, appears five times in the New Testament and not once in the Old. And the word, religious just two times. The basic word that is most used for religion is THRACE’—KOS and it means A CEREMONIAL SERVICE. Under law, God gave Israel a ceremonial service to perform—a religion. Israel was to obey and practice this ceremonial service—this religion.

9/ Paul called the Old Testament a religion. 

Acts 26: 5  Which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

He said, I lived after our religion. The word here, is ceremonial service—I lived after our ceremonial service. Notice the word, lived. This is important when we speak of a ceremonial service.

10/ Galatians 1: 13  For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

And here Paul calls the Old Testament the Jew’s religion. The Gentiles were never given a religion by God. Satan did what God never did—he has given the Gentiles a religion. The only people to ever have a religion are the Jews, and their religion is not old. It has been set aside. Religion was given to the Jews about 1494 BC when God gave the Law to Moses.

11/ Hebrews 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Notice what the writer of Hebrews said. He is telling us that the Old Covenant of the Old Testament in Verse 9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

It was a figure for the time then present. That could not make him that did the service perfect. The word, service, is the one I want you to see. The Old Covenant demands service. And then in Verse 10 he told us it was made up of meats and drinks, and divers which means many—washings. Washings is baptismos, which is baptisms. You will notice that the Jews had baptisms. Many folks will deny this—but this verse is clear. There is no question. And then, carnal, fleshly ordinances, imposed on them until the time of the reformation—the time of setting things right. So you can see, this is a religion—it is a service that is imposed upon the Jews.

12/ it was around 1900 BC when God justified Abraham, apart from works, or religion. He did not impose religion on Abraham or Isaac or Jacob or Joseph. God did not give Abraham, meats, drinks, carnal ordinances or baptisms, nor did He give it to Jacob or his twelve sons.

But his religion has been made old—it is not for us. 

Notice, Colossians 2: 11- 12 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.

Here Paul says the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, was taken out of the way. Therefore, no man is to judge us in meat or drink, because these things are merely shadows and they have passed away.

14/ Romans 15: 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Here Paul tells us how to use this Old Testament, this religion that was not given to us. It is for the purpose of instructing us that we might have hope. The Latin had a special word for a future that had no hope—it is the word, despair, which literally means without hope. But the Christian is to have hope—the Old Testament is to be used so that we will not be filled with despair.

15/ it is necessary to recognize the word, hope, is not the same hope of our modern civilization. You can ask a young man going to school—did you pass your math exam—and he wlll say, I certainly hope so. Another words, he is not certain—there is some doubt. A young girl who doesn’t have a boyfriend—no prospect of marriage at the time, buys a cedar chest, and she fills it with linens  for her future home—and what does she do? She calls it a hope chest. But this is not the understanding of the word in the Bible. It is a word of assurance. The Old Testament, is to bring us hope—assurance.

AMEN

7/18/1972 / 2 - OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT / 3/21/2026