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
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