By Pastor John Mateos Ong
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How many of us like new things? Why do we need to read the Old Testament when there is a New Testament? Why do we have to use the old when we have something new? Why don’t we throw old things away? The Old Testament is certainly not one of those things that you throw away.
The Old Testament has 39 books. It’s about 1500-3000 years, which began during creation up to the first coming. . Over-all, the theme of the Old Testament is the Birth of a Nation, which is Israel.
After Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, we experienced 400 years of God’s silence. And then comes the New Testament which has 27 books. It lasted for 100 years with the theme the Birth of a Savior and continues up to the second coming of Christ. The New Testament is actually not yet finished. The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed.
The books of the New Testament can be divided into parts. The 4 Gospels portray the life of Jesus Christ until His death. The Historical book of Acts tells what happened to his disciples and the church after the death of Jesus Christ. The Epistles of Romans until Jude are pastoral letters to the church and to certain individuals. The Apocalyptic book of Revelation tells what is going to happen in the days to come.
Four milestones or lessons in the New Testament are:
God has fulfilled His promise. John 14:6 says, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. “ We want to take so many roads but there is only one way. There is exclusivity in being a Christian. Unlike other religions who have 3 million gods, there is only one God in Christianity and that is Jesus Christ. In John 19:30, it says, “When Jesus had tasted it, he said, “It is finished!” Jesus finishes His work when He left the earth. He did not leave anything unfinished even if His ministry was only 3 years long.
It’s all by His grace. Jesus did not come to earth to give us religion. Some churches are all rules that separate the majority. Ephesians 2:8-9 says,”God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. “ Religion has taught us to perform so many rituals. But it is all by His grace alone, something that you do not deserve. One day when you go to heaven, you cannot say that you did it but because of the grace of God and the faith that you put in Jesus Christ
God is now in us. You don’t have to pray for God to be with you because He is in you. Acts 2:1-4 says,”... We have now become the temple of His Holy Spirit. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1:22 “and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.” When we need the Holy Spirit, He is there. We are sealed by it. No matter how strong the enemy is, he cannot steal that away from us.
Jesus will come again. Rev. 22:12 says, “Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds.” When Jesus comes, it will not be like before. He will come to redeem us. Jesus say not to worry for when He comes back He will have gifts for all of you. He will reward everything you have done for His kingdom.