New Series: Why We Need the Old Testament—Now More Than Ever

How Misunderstanding the Old Testament Harms the Church and Weakens the Gospel

What if some of our most persistent theological errors, cultural confusions, and spiritual dead-ends stem from one root problem?

We’ve lost our grip on the Old Testament.

For many Christians today, the first 75% of the Bible feels like a foreign country—full of strange laws, harsh judgments, outdated rituals, and difficult genealogies. At best, it's ignored. At worst, it's weaponized. And the consequences are far from harmless.

Over the past two decades, I’ve had many friends who have rejected a living God and the life He wants for them—not because they didn’t understand the gospel, but because they couldn’t reconcile that gospel with the God they encountered in the Old Testament.

For them, the God of Jesus felt beautiful and compelling, but the God of the OT seemed cruel, confusing, and morally outdated. I’ve sat across coffee tables and dining rooms as friends said things like, “I just can’t worship a God who commanded genocide,” or “If that’s what God was like then, how do I know He’s really different now?”

Their questions weren’t cynical. They were honest. And the church too often had no good answer—only avoidance or shallow explanations.

These conversations convinced me that we desperately need to recover the Old Testament—not as a problem to solve, but as sacred Scripture that reveals the same holy and merciful God we worship in Christ.

Why This Series Matters: The Problem We Face

We need to recover the Old Testament because:

1. Legalism and Empty Religion Still Linger

When we lose the OT’s story, we often reduce faith to moralism or ritualistic religion—just like the Pharisees did. We cherry-pick laws, ignore mercy, and miss the deeper heart of God’s covenant.

2. Prophetic Abuse Hurts People

Misusing OT prophecy leads to fear-driven eschatology, conspiracy theology, and spiritual manipulation. From bad “end times” timelines to nationalistic misappropriations of Israel, this has global consequences.

3. The Church is Misunderstood as a New Religion

Many assume Christianity is a break from Judaism—a new thing God did when the old failed. But Jesus and the apostles saw the gospel as the continuation and fulfillment of the story God began with Abraham.

4. Some Christians Want to Rebuild the Temple

Movements that seek to restore temple worship in Jerusalem undermine the gospel by denying that Jesus has already fulfilled the temple, priesthood, and sacrifice (see Hebrews 9–10).

5. Our View of God Gets Distorted

The OT is often seen as revealing a harsh, angry God—while the NT offers grace. But this is a false dichotomy. The God of Abraham is the Father of Jesus. Without the OT, we lose God’s full character: holy, just, merciful, and faithful.

6. We Forfeit the Mission of God

The OT isn’t just law—it’s mission. God’s heart for the nations begins in Genesis. If we skip the OT, we miss that the Church’s global calling is not new—it’s ancient.

Four Core Themes for Reclaiming the OT

This series will guide readers through four foundational truths that help place the Old Testament in its rightful role:

1. The Old Testament as the Foundation of the Gospel Story

• Not a different religion.
• It is Act I of the story Jesus fulfills.

2. Jesus as the Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets

• He doesn’t abolish them—He embodies and completes them.

3. The Law Reveals, But Christ Redeems

• We are not under the Mosaic covenant.
• But we learn from the Law about God’s holiness, justice, and design for flourishing.

4. The Mission of God Begins in Genesis

• The call to bless the nations starts with Abraham, not Matthew.
• Justice, mercy, and global redemption are OT themes that continue in the Church.

What’s Coming in This Series

Over the next several posts, we’ll explore questions like:

• How did Jesus interpret the Old Testament?
• What laws still matter today—and why?
• Is the Old Testament still relevant to discipleship and mission?
• How can we read Leviticus without getting lost?
• What do the prophets actually teach about justice, holiness, and hope?

Each post will end with a Live Sent Practice—a practical way to embody the truths we’re exploring.

This Is Not Just Academic

I remember walking through the story of the Exodus while serving a small group of believers who had grown up in under-resourced and underserved communities. As we read how God heard the cries of the oppressed and broke the power structures of Egypt, I saw something shift. It was no longer a mystical story of ancient lore—it was a story of God's action in the past that spoke directly to the future of the people I was walking with… a future of freedom, hope, and healing.

For them, the Old Testament wasn’t just about ancient tribes or rituals—it was about a God who sees, hears, and acts. Their faith deepened. Their love for Scripture grew. And they began to understand that justice, liberation, and mercy weren’t modern inventions—they were part of God’s heart from the beginning.

Understanding the Old Testament rightly doesn’t just fix bad theology. It fuels devotion, mission, and a life lived in step with God’s purposes in the world.

Series Index

(Updated as posts release)

1. Intro: Why We Need the Old Testament—Now More Than Ever
2. Why the Old Testament Still Matters
3. Jesus and the Law: Fulfillment, Not Cancellation
4. Types and Shadows: Finding Christ in the OT
5. God's Mission Didn't Start in Matthew
6. Justice, Mercy, and the Prophets
7. How to Read the Old Testament Like Jesus
8. Living the Whole Story

Other articles related to this from a previous series:

1. Is Modern Israel the Israel of the Bible?
2. Zionism, the Church, and the Politics of Promise
3. When Prophecy Becomes Politics