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

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

September 19, 1962

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.

Paul is instructing the Gentiles in the church at Rome that the Old Testament is needful, and, of course, he is instructing us in the same thing in our day and age. You will notice, that he said the Old Testament was written for our hope. The word, hope, is not the hope of our modern civilization—a young man is asking how did you fare in your examination, and he crosses his fingers looks up with pain on his face, and says, I passed—I hope, I hope, I hope. This word, hope, is filled with uncertainty. He just hopes it will work out, but that is not this Bible word in this passage. There is no uncertainty in it at all.

1/ Then notice the road to hope is the road of learning. And that means instruction, and the result of this learning or instruction is that we are filled with hope. This is the day of learning—of instruction. But it has not helped the world or society. Man, with all his learning and education is all the more capable of vicious and terrible crimes. True education and true learning will have one real result, and Jesus Christ gives us an insight into this.

John 6: 45  It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.

Here He was the Living Bread that came down from Heaven. But they murmured against Him—that is the educated people of His day—the learned people. And He answered them, It is written the prophets, And they shall be taught of God. Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. You will notice, the result of true education--it will lead to Jesus Christ.

2/ Education is, of course, a wonderful thing and desirable for everyone. But if it fails to bring you to Jesus Christ, it is valueless. Some time ago, I came across a cartoon in a magazine that showed two young fellows riding in the latest, fish-tailed, chrome-decked sports car. One fellow said to the other—“What’s the use of traveling in twice the comfort, and twice as fast, if we don’t know where we are going?” That is the exact condition of mankind, or society in our hour. Going twice as fast, twice as far, and it is learning many of the secrets of the universe, but where are they heading? Toward an atomic war? All natural man can see ahead is a cataclysmic episode for society. But true learning and education, leads one to Jesus Christ and gives the believer hope in the midst of the present despair. 

3/ Now let me show you how knowing the Old Testament will throw light upon the New Testament and take many truths presented in the New Testament, and make them far clearer and attach more meaning to these truths—it will bring them into focus.

4/ Last week we finished with the truth in Romans 4: 5 where it says, But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.

This verse is clear and we realize that no one can work to get rid of sin. But when we recognize an Old testament truth, this verse becomes more in focus.

Leviticus 23: 28 And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord your God.

For on the Day of Atonement, no one was permitted to work—if he did do any work, God said, I will destroy that one from among his people.

This very clearly shows us the folly, of offering to God human works. While under law in Leviticus 23 one was not permitted to work when sin was put away. In this age of grace, certainly it is folly to try to work for one’s salvation. So you see how the Old Testament Scripture helps and compliments the New Testament. There is a need to study and study.

5/ When one diligently studies the Old Testament and he has tucked them away in his mind, then he studies the New Testament, he will find the New Testament truths become richer. Let me give you an illustration for what I mean. 

Acts 13: 11  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.

This is about Bar-Jesus, the Jew who was blinded, you will suddenly realize the Bible has much to say about blindness. You will of course immediately think of John 9: 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

But you will automatically go back to the Old Testament, and think of two Jews who were blinded. And Acts 13 becomes clearer and nearer and dearer.

6/ The two Jews I think about are ones that you probably know all about.

II Kings 24: 19 And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord, according to all that Jehoiakim had done.

And here we read of the first Jew, Zedekiah. We read that at 21 years of age, he became king of God’s people, and he reigned 11 years. And he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord. His reign was an evil, wicked reign, and God sent Nebuchadnezzar against the holy city and Zedekiah, and he besieged it.

II Kings 25: 1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host, against Jerusalem, and pitched against it, and they built forts against it round about.

He built forts around it. And a famine came into the holy city, and so the king and his people tried to flee, but the enemy caught up with the king, and caught the king, and right before his eyes, they slew his sons, and they put out the eyes of Zedekiah, bound him with fetters of brass and carried him to Babylon.

II Kings 25: 7 And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, an put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.

He was physically blinded, and the nation was spiritually blinded, and put under the yoke of the Gentiles. This first blinded king is the start of the Times of the Gentiles, when the nation is under the heel of the Gentile oppressors. It was around 600 BC.

7/ Israel remained blind even then Christ was on earth.

Matthew 15: 14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

Christ said of the leaders—they are blind leaders of the blind. Both the leaders and those that follow them shall fall into the ditch.

8/ Then I think of another blinded Jew—Judges 16:17 That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.

Here we read that Samson was different from other men—God made him different, he was born for a specific purpose, but the story of Samson is a story of compromise, dishonor, defeat and disgrace. He completely lost his testimony by sinning with the Gentiles.

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.

He did that which was forbidden, he fell in love with a Gentile woman. His father said, Isn’t there a woman among my people that you have to take a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines. Here we have a key to the character and life of Samson, at the end of the 3rd verse, He said, Get her for me, for she pleases me well.

Samson was not interested in pleasing God, he was interested in pleasing himself, and what dishonor he brought upon himself. As you know, she shaved off his hair, which showed that he had broken the vow of the Nazarite He had put himself in a position where this could happen, and he lost his strength. He was no longer able to be used by God, he became a laughing sock before the Philistines.

Judges 16: 19 - 21  And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him. And she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself. And he wist not that the Lord was departed from him. But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house.

And then they put out his eyes, and they not only mocked him, but they mocked his God. He is a picture of the nation Israel.

Isaiah 1: 4 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.

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 Holy Name of God when they went among the Gentiles, and just as Samson was blinded, the nation was blinded.

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

But the hair on Samson’s head began to grow again. Just as the hair of Israel will grow again, and the nation, will be delivered.

10/ Acts 13: 11  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.

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.

So, together, all this blinding of Jews shows us the program of God. The Old Testament does help to enrich the New Testament. The blindness of Zedekiah tells of the blinding of Israel and when the Times of the Gentiles, politically, began around 600 BC. The blindness of Bar-Jesus happened about 650 years later. It tells us of the blindness of Israel and when the Times of the Gentiles began spiritually.

AMEN

09/19/1962 / 1 - THE PLACE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IN THE LIFE OF THE BELIEVER / 11/15/2025

1 - OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

1 - OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT

July 11, 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 giving instruction to the church at Rome, concerning their relationship to the Old Testament. This is something that baffles many people—they fail to comprehend dispensationalism—they claim that the true dispensationalist just throw out certain parts of the Bible. How often have you heard people say—just give me a knife and let me cut that portion out and throw it out because it is not to us.

1/  It is true that the whole Bible is for us, but the whole Bible is not to us. You must remember that the Bible even records lies when it quotes certain people—we cannot take these lies and make them applicable to ourselves. We must recognize who is speaking. For example, Job 2: 4 And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life.

Many folks will say, that's true—a man will give anything he has to remain alive physically, but that is not a true statement. There are many men who will not bow the knee to principle just to stay alive. I think of Patrick Henry who said, "Give me liberty or give me death”—he certainly did not fit into Job 2: 4. 

When we look at the context we see that Satan said these words. They are not true words—Satan was talking to God and attacking Job, and he brought an accusation against Job—one that is not true. Job later on proved the folly of Satan’s statement. So we must be careful to notice the context of this Scripture. Not all Scripture is to us.

2/  The Old Testament was not written directly to the Believer. It was written to the Jew—the nation Israel. And it is about an earthly kingdom and a king. Not about the Church which is Christ’s body. None of the Old Testament writers ever knew about the Church and this age. This truth was entirely hidden from them.

3/  But how can we use the Old Testament if it is not written directly to us? Does it have a relationship to us? Or do we just forget about it? 

4/ Hebrews 5: 13, 14 For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.

Here we are told that some believers are new-born babes, desiring the milk of the Word, and everyone that uses the milk of the Word, is unskillful in the Word. In other words, he is not strong in the Word, and he knows little about it. I think you will agree with me, most believers are in this category—unskillful in the Word—they never seem to get beyond a milk diet.

5/ What a pity and a shame that this condition is true. Not because the average believer is stupid, and he cannot understand the Word, but because he is lazy and indifferent, and many times prejudiced.

6/ Let me show you how unskillful the average believer is in the Word.

When did the Old Testament start? I am sure the average believer cannot tell you the answer to this question. Most have an erroneous idea that the Old Testament started with Adam in Genesis—but that is not the truth. Before we can find out the relationship of the Old Testament to us, we must understand the Old Testament.

7/ II Corinthians 3: 6, 7  Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away:

In this portion of Scripture Paul talks about the Old and the New Testament. He said he had made us able ministers of the New Testament, and he says the Old Testament is the ministration of death, and he says this old ministration is the Law. And then in Verse 14 he said that when the Jews read the Old Testament, their minds are blinded, they do not find Christ in the Old Testament. What is the Old Testament—it is the law since Moses. In other words, the Law Covenant means the Old Testament.

8/ Hebrews 8: 9, 13  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. . . . 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.

You will notice in Verse 9, we have when the Old Testament started. God made it first of all when He took the fathers by the hand and led them out of Egypt, led them to Mount Sini and gave them the law—that Law Covenant is the Old Testament. Then in Verse 13 it tells us when this covenant became an Old Covenant or Old Testament. Then in Verse 13 it tells us when this covenant became the Old Testament, a new covenant has made the old covenant old. It wasn’t old to start with, but the new covenant made it old. We must remember however, that this covenant that Jehovah made with Israel was not old when it was in force, and it was in force for more than 1,500 years.

9/ When God took Israel by the hand and led them out of the house of bondage, out of Egypt, he put them under the Old Testament. But it was about 2,500 years after Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden until the Old Testament was in force. So the Old Testament was not in effect during the book of Genesis—even the beginning of the nation, even during the time of Abraham.

10/ The book of Genesis from Adam to Joseph covers about 1,700 years and there are quite a few covenants or testaments in the book of Genesis, but none of them are what is commonly called the Old Testament. So it is incorrect to call Adam, Abel, Seth, Enoch, Noah, Shem, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph Old Testament saints, because they never did fit into this category. They lived and died before the Old Testament was started.

11/ Romans 5: 13, 14 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

Here, God definitely marks out a period of time when there was no law, when there was no Old Testament from Adam to Moses there was no Old Testament—not for 2,500 years. Moses himself was 80 years old when he received the Law testament or the Law covenant—and Moses died at the age of 120. So his life was divided into two parts, 80 years not under the Law, and 40 years under the Law. So for 80 years, Moses was not an Old Testament Saint, but for 40 years he was.

12/ What about the covenant of the Old Testament or the Law? If it is not to us, what do we do about it? What part does it play in our Christian experience?

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 the answer. The Church at Rome was made up of two groups—those with a Jewish background, and those who had come out of paganism. These two groups were having trouble, there was a conflict between them—there was disputing. The one knew about the Old Testament and its observances, its rites and rituals, and the other knew nothing whatsoever about it and cared less—they said, we are under grace and grace alone—they knew only the Gospel that Paul preached. As you know the book of Romans is the grace of God apart from the Law. Paul, up to this point, had very laboriously pointed out that salvation was apart from the Law—not by any deeds of the flesh. Now he is speaking primarily to the Gentile believers who have come out of paganism and knew nothing of the Law, or what the Old Testament should mean to them. The Old Testament was to have value in their lives, for we are told these things that were written in the Old Testament were for their learning and our learning and through patience and comfort of these Scriptures, we might have hope.

AMEN

7/11/1962 / 1 - OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE OLD TESTAMENT / 11/9/2025