Do Christians still need to read the Old Testament?

Yes, Christians need to read the Old Testament. It is the word of God just as the New Testament is, it was the Bible of Jesus and the apostles, and without it the New Testament has no ground to stand on. What changes for someone who follows Christ is how we read it, not whether we read it.

The Bible Jesus opened

After the resurrection, Jesus walked with two discouraged disciples and, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, explained what the Scriptures said about himself (Luke 24:27). Later, with the eleven gathered, he said that everything written about him in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms had to be fulfilled (Luke 24:44). On another occasion he told his critics that the Scriptures testify about him (John 5:39).

Notice what that means. For Jesus, the Old Testament was not an outdated draft. It was the earlier testimony about him. Set that part aside and you lose the thread that leads to the cross.

The apostles did the same. Peter, Paul, Stephen and James preached by quoting the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms. The believers in Berea were praised because they examined the Scriptures every day to check what Paul taught (Acts 17:11). At that moment the New Testament was still being written. Their Bible was the Old.

What the New Testament says about reading the Old

Paul is direct: everything written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4). In 1 Corinthians 10:11, after recalling Israel in the wilderness, he says these things happened as examples and were written down as warnings for those living in the last days.

The best known text is 2 Timothy 3:15-16. Paul reminds Timothy that from childhood he had known the sacred writings, which are able to give wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Which Scripture had Timothy known since he was a boy? The Old Testament. The New did not yet exist in full.

Hebrews opens by saying that God spoke long ago to the fathers by the prophets in many ways, and in these last days has spoken to us by his Son (Hebrews 1:1-2). The speaker is the same God. The Son does not replace the earlier voice. He completes it and explains it.

Why some people leave the Old Testament aside

The temptation is old. Around the year 140, a teacher named Marcion wanted to throw out the Old Testament and keep only part of the New, because he found the God of the first book too harsh. The church rejected him, and rightly so. Without the Old Testament we understand far less about sin, the sacrifice of Christ, the Messiah, and why the title Son of David matters.

Today the mistake is quieter. Someone reads only the Gospels and the letters, skips Leviticus, is unsettled by Joshua's wars, and concludes that the rest belongs to another age. Others reason that since Christians do not live under the Law of Moses, those pages no longer speak to them. That confuses two different things. Being free from the law as a way of justification (Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:24-25) is not the same as being free from the Word. Which commandments still bind is a matter for another Midvash study. Knowing what to obey does not answer what to read.

As for the idea that the God of the Old Testament is a different one, the text itself describes him as compassionate, gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (Exodus 34:6), the same God revealed in Jesus.

How to read the Old Testament as a Christian

A few simple habits help.

• Read in the light of Christ. The sacrifices, the temple, the kings and the prophets point to him. Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 speak with a new voice after the cross.
• Notice the covenant. God related to his people through covenants: with Noah, Abraham, Moses and David, up to the new covenant promised in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and sealed in the blood of Christ. Do not read a command given to Israel under Moses as a direct instruction for your church, and do not discard it either. Ask what it reveals about God and about sin.
• Respect the genre. Narrative reads as narrative and poetry as poetry. A proverb is general wisdom, not an automatic promise. Law is law and prophecy is prophecy. One chapter can mix several.
• Tell description from recommendation. The Bible reports the sins of David and Jacob without approving them. Reporting is not advising.

What you gain by reading

Reading the Old Testament helps you understand the New. The phrase Lamb of God echoes the Passover. The word Messiah grows out of the promises made to David. The faith of Abraham, which Paul uses to teach justification, can only be understood in Genesis.

You also meet real people there. Hebrews 11 sets Abel, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Rahab before us as examples of faith. James reminds us that Elijah was a man just like us and that he prayed earnestly (James 5:17). The Psalms give words for praise and for lament, when you do not know what to say to God.

If you have not read much of this part, start where the story runs: Genesis, Exodus, and then Ruth and Samuel. Read the Psalms and Proverbs slowly, a little each day. Leave Leviticus and the minor prophets for when you have a good introduction or a commentary beside you. There is no hurry and no shame in reading with help.

The Scripture Timothy learned from childhood still does what Paul said it does: it teaches, corrects and leads to Christ. The Old Testament is not baggage a Christian carries out of duty. It is the first half of the same story, and all of it prepares the way for the Messiah.