The Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments

		The BIBLE & Our Perspective
		The Relationship Between the Old and New Testaments

When a person begins to read the Bible, he quickly discovers that the Old and New Testaments seem to emphasize different things. Confusion over why these differences exist is the reason for many arguments, divisions, and even false teaching. Many people even claim that the two testaments contradict each other!

The following articles look at some of these differences, in an attempt to show that the two testaments actually complement (rather than contradict) each other. Though there are differences in emphasis, the over-all message is the same.

Note that the word "testament" means "covenant." Knowing this will help us when we study these issues. The Bible tells us that we are now under a "new covenant" (which is what the name "New Testament" means) because of what Jesus did - and also because of Old Testament Israel's failures.

On the "Bible-Introduction" page, these issues are indirectly implied in the two main articles, but there is no direct emphasis on them.

Comments about the Old Testament Ceremonial Law

Today, we do not need to practice the ceremonial rituals of the Old Testament. This study looks at some of the reasons why this is true. It is based on a New Testament study of the word "common," when used in a negative sense of "unclean," "unholy," etc. The people in Old Testament Israel were to separate themselves from anything that was ceremonially "unclean" or "unholy." These symbolic truths (expressed by the ceremonial rituals) were intended to teach them spiritual truths.

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NOTE: The word "common," when used in a positive sense, can be found in a different study entitled, "Fellowship & Sharing in the Community of Believers." (This link is included in the HTML edition of this article, but NOT in the PDF edition.)