Why We're Not "New Testament Christians"
A well-meaning term, but...
One of the terms we in the churches of Christ like to use for ourselves is “New Testament Christians.”
While the reasoning behind this is sound—the church was founded in the pages of the New Testament and we become Christians and operate within the bounds of its doctrines—it can also be a hindrance to the full-orbed discipleship God intended for us to have.
Christ-like Character
The New Testament is far more influential to our religious practices, obviously. We meet on Sunday, not Saturday, we observe the Lord’s Supper, not Passover, and so on. But while the New Testament has plenty of teachings on the righteous lives we are supposed to live, the Old Testament goes much further.
With its heavier emphasis on narrative, the Old Testament shows us God in interaction with mankind. It shows us what He cares about and what He demands. It shows us the kind of faith He wants to see (David’s, for example) and the kind He doesn’t (Jonah’s, for example).
When Paul said “All Scripture is inspired and profitable…” (2 Timothy 3:16-17), the Scriptures he had in mind at the time were those of the Old Testament. That’s all they had. Now that we have the New, his words apply to it just as equally. But at the time what he was urging Timothy to preach for reproving, rebuking, and exhorting were found in Genesis-Malachi.
Downplaying the Old Testament as part of our faith leads us to confess a soft Marcionism. “Marcion the Heretic,” as church history remembers him, insisted that the god of the Old Testament was a different, evil God and Jesus represents the real God’s efforts to save us from the Old Testament god.
Very few people believe this, but we often act like it when we cast Jesus as a change in direction with regards to issues like violence and confrontation. The God who looked favorably on David for killing Goliath is the same God who told us to love our enemies. We can’t just choose one of the two or say God changed.
Family History
Not only is the Old Testament useful for teaching and shaping us, but it is also our family history. When a child is adopted, they take on their new family’s last name. They receive new grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. The family’s history becomes just as much their history as it is for biologically born sons and daughters.
In the same way, the Old Testament’s history and lineage no longer just belongs to the ethnically Jewish people.
Yes, we gain our understanding of the church from the New Testament—but we are also children of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). No, we aren’t genetically Jews, but we are spiritually God’s chosen people, grafted in to the family of God, having received the circumcision of the heart (Romans 2:29, 11:19). The “we” and “you” pronouns of Ephesians 1-3 show God’s plans for both the Jews and Gentiles, bringing us together into one new family.
You could almost call Abraham, Moses, David, and company a sort of pre-Christian. They were looking ahead (Hebrews 11:10), resting on the promises (Hebrews 11:39-40), awaiting the Seed (Psalm 110:1) receiving righteousness credited to them because of their faith (Genesis 15:4, expounded in Romans 3-5).
Deeper Understanding
Finally, the Old Testament gives all kinds of color to our understanding of the New. Paul, John, Luke, and company were not starting with a blank slate when writing the texts that give structure to the Christian faith. Everything they wrote is sourced heavily from the Law and the Prophets. Without a proper understanding of the Old Testament to guide us, our grasp of the New Testament will always be shallow and in danger of misunderstanding important context.
“It’s just a term, though,” someone might counter.
To that I would ask, is it really? The Old Testament makes up 75% of the Bible. We would be lucky if we spent 25% of our sermons and group study in it. Literally all we have of God’s special revelation to mankind is a collection 66 books. That’s it. And yet 39 of them are placed on a second tier. If we’re honest, about 35 of the 39 are placed on an even lower tier than that. We would do well to seek more balance.
So yes, the New Testament is always going to have a more direct, obvious tie into who we are and what we do. But that does not mean we are only Christians of the New Testament. No, we are Biblical Christians.
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This article first appeared on Focus+
Teaching and preaching about the new testament church and its members does not imply we disregard the old testament - we teach and preach that the old was written for our learning and admonition. We are not under the law of Moses nor are those who still claim that allegiance are not equal to New Testament church members. "Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. "
As you wrote, it's hard to reconcile the God who strengthened David to kill Goliath with the God who says to love your enemies, so many don't try and abandon the Old Testament.
It helps to remember Jesus is Lord. The Lord of the Old Testament is Jesus of the New, and He is the same yesterday, today,and forever. We need both for balance.