the gospel of God, which He had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures. Romans 1:1-2
Which is the most important: the New Testament or the Old Testament? If you had to choose one or the other, which would it be? If you are anything like me, you would opt for the New Testament. After all, it is the Testament that gives us the Gospel. It presents us with the details of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. It also gives us the teachings on Christian living and Assembly doctrine, as well as the details of what happens when this day of grace concludes. The New Testimony is absolutely critical to us in many ways; we simply could not do without it. But some Christians did. Even the Lord Jesus was restricted to the Old Testament when He quoted the Scriptures to refute the devil’s temptations, when He taught His disciples, and when He squelched the religious leaders of His day. Time and again, the Gospel writers referred to events in His life as the fulfillment of the Scriptures. In the book of Acts, we find the early Christians reading and quoting the Old Testament, which they recognized as the Scriptures. It was to the Old Testament that the Bereans turned to verify whether the Gospel message presented by Paul and Silas was in fact according to the Word of God (Acts 17:10-12). Frequent references are also made in the epistles to the Old Testament as the holy Scriptures. Including today’s text.
We do not find the Gospel presented in the Old Testament in the same way as it is in the New. But our text reminds us that the Gospel was promised by the Old Testament prophets. In fact, the book of Isaiah is often referred to as the Gospel of the Old Testament. The Gospel is also clearly presented in the types and shadows of the ordinances that God gave His earthly people. The book of Hebrews tells us that. If we go back far enough, to the Garden of Eden, we find the Gospel promised in the Lord God’s address to the woman. Our knowledge of God, of His Son, and of the Gospel would be sadly lacking without the Old Testament.
The Gospel is the revelation to us of the love and the grace of God. In the New Testament, we find that love and grace clearly and plainly presented. And it is in the Old Testament where we find the depths and breadth of that love and grace described. The greatest promise in the Bible is given to us by the prophets as they pointed forward to the Gospel. The Old Testament is precious! -Jim MacIntosh