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Why You Can’t Ditch the Old Testament

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Michael Kruger has a fabulous article explaining why recent attempt to ditch or diminish the Old Testament in the teaching of the Christian church are wrong-headed.

Kruger explains:

I think it’s worth taking a deep breath and stepping back for a moment to remind ourselves of the big picture. Regardless of how one handles these individual objections from the OT (and I am not trying to answer them here), we need to remember why the OT matters in the first place. Here are three reasons why the OT might actually matter a lot more than we think.

His three reasons are:

  1. The Old Testament is the Framework of the Work of Christ
  2. The OT is the Framework for Our Identity as Believers
  3. The Old Testament is a Guide for the Christian Life

In short: Without the Old Testament, you cannot understand who Jesus is, what he has done, or what he wants you to do to follow him.

Check it out!

A Typically Overlooked Reason to Trust the Bible

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Michael Kruger explains one of the most important reasons we can trust the Bible, a reason that often doesn’t come up in discussion about the Bible. That reason we can trust the Bible is simply because Jesus trusted the Bible.

Now, of course, Christians don’t overlook Jesus generally.  He is central to about everything Christians think and do.  But, strangely, he is not often the ultimate court of appeal when they are deciding what to think about the Bible. But, just a few moments of reflection suggest he should be.

Kruger explains briefly why it is not a fallacy to argue from the Bible that Jesus trusted the Bible, and he goes on to draw implications for the value of the Old Testament.

Check it out!

We Must Not Discard the Old Testament

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In “Why We Can’t Unhitch from the Old Testament,” Michael Kruger reviews Andy Stanley’s latest book Irresistible: Reclaiming the New that Jesus Unleashed for the World. Stanley’s claims include the following:

  • “when it comes to stumbling blocks to faith, the Old Testament is right up there at the top of the list”
  • using the Old Testament has led to “prosperity gospel, the crusades, anti-Semitism, legalism, exclusivism, judgmentalism,” and more.
  • when people wrestle with trusting Christ, “the Old Testament is usually the culprit”
  • the church fathers “ignored [Paul’s] warning against mixing and matching”
  • when we look for Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures, God’s Word is being “hijacked” by Christians who are “ignoring original context”

Kruger clearly and biblically addresses these and other claims in his helpful review. He’s happy to celebrate what Stanley gets right, but he’s also not afraid to show where Stanley’s thinking veers off course.

What I most appreciate about Kruger’s review is that he shows us how our thinking about the Bible must derive directly from the Bible. It’s worth checking out to see an example of how to do that well.

Check it out!

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