Page 32 - Bible Study Methods-Textbook_Neat

his wife. Abraham cohabited with his concubine and gave birth to Ishmael. Should we build New
Testament church doctrines to practice similar behavior based on what Abraham did? Absolutely not!
The saints in the Old and New Testaments often did what was right and what was wrong before the
Lord. What they did does not determine doctrine!

So just because a Biblical character did something, we cannot build a doctrine based on what they did.
What they did may be something totally unique to them and not designed to be practiced today.

Principle #4

Understand the Old Testament and the New Testament. Jesus Christ
came to fulfill the law (OT) on our behalf and to bring the new covenant
(NT) of grace to us. The church (NT) is no longer under the bondage of
the law (OT) (Gal 4). We are not subject to the yoke of slavery (the law)
Gal 5:1. The Old Testament prepared the world for the coming of a new
covenant in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament shows us our need for a
Savior; the New Testament reveals the Savior and how to serve Him.

Try to read through the Old Testament once a year. There are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament,
and if you read about twenty minutes a day, you should be able to get through it in one year.
Remember, the Old Testament is the foundation upon which the New Testament is built. In the New
Testament we see the fulfillment of the promises and prophecies of the Old.

John MacArthur wrote, In Colossians 1:25–26 Paul said, “Of which I am made a minister, according to
the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, even the mystery which
hath been hidden from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.” Paul said,
“I’m called by God to give you the mystery that’s been hidden.” Now the mystery, basically, is the New
Testament revelation. Paul also said that he was an apostle of the “mystery” in Ephesians 3:3–5. So the
major thrust of his ministry was the new revelation. He would allude to the Old Testament insofar as it
illustrated and elucidated and supported the New Testament.

Thus, the emphasis of our study should be in understanding the mysteries of the New Testament and
how Christ fulfilled (obeyed) the OT law on our behalf!

Principle #5
Beware of the pitfalls of language - The original manuscripts are the inspired Words
of God. However, human intellect must be applied in order to recover that original
text, and to translate it into modern languages. This is a notoriously difficult task!

For example: In John 21: 15-17, Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him. The
first two times He asked Peter if he loved Him with a sacrificial love and used the word
agape. Peter responded, “Yes Lord, I like you a lot (phileo but translated “love” in the English Bible.)”
The third time Jesus asked Peter if he loved Him, He used Peter’s word, “Do you even like me a lot?” We
must know something about the original languages to understand the change in vocabulary and
understand the real meaning of this passage.

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