"Not under Law but under Grace": How relevant is the Old Testament for the believer in Christ?

Believers, did you know that our Saviour Jesus Christ taught the Gospel of Grace from the Old Testament on the same day of His resurrection? See what He did as He walked with the two depressed/despondent disciples (Cleopas and his companion) on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:27-

“And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."

The Old Testament is so important for the believer that Christ taught from it "the things concerning Himself" on the day of His resurrection. Jesus (literally "Salvation") is hidden in the OT. The Old Testament is filled with "faith pictures" that have as their substance our Saviour Jesus Christ and our salvation in Him.

This is the crux of the gospel of Christ: Righteousness by faith. The law is not of faith. Without faith, it is impossible to please God. It is impossible to see or experience Christ in the Old Testament if one reads it with an "obey the law in order to be righteouss or die" mindset. The letter kills, but check out the result of Christ's Old Testament teaching on Cleopas and his companion in verse 32:

"And they said to one another, “Were not our hearts greatly moved and burning within us while He talking with us on the road and as He opened and explained to us [the sense of] the Scriptures?"”

The Living Bible translation says: "They began telling each other how their hearts had felt strangely warm as He talked with them and explained the Scriptures during the walk down the road."

The formerly despondent/depressed disciples were lifted out of their depression by Christ's Old Testament teaching CONCERNING HIMSELF! They were also strengthened to walk seven miles back to Jerusalem to tell the other disciples about their experience.That same evening, Jesus appeared to the disciples in Jerusalem (the same Luke 24;) check out what He did in verse 45 (MSG)-

“He went on to open their understanding of the Word of God, showing them how to read their Bibles this way.”

The New Testament hadn't been written at this time. Paul who wrote most of the NT was not saved yet. The Old Testament is crucial for every believer. Christ taught CONCERNING HIMSELF from the OT. It is filled with faith pictures of our Saviour Jesus Christ.

By God’s grace, when we study the Old Testament, we get to see these faith pictures; we get to see Christ- how our love story with our Saviour begins and continues forever and how our salvation is entirely by Grace through faith; from the story of David and Goliath to the design of God's Tabernacle and the materials used in its construction and its contents; e.g. the Mercy Seat covering the Ark of God is a picture of Christ.

Yet another faith picture is the love story of Isaac and Rebekah in Genesis 24. See how this relates to you and I in Christ today. We can find pictures of the ongoing story of our walk in the Spirit in this wonderful love story and many other love/action/thriller stories in the Old Testament.

It begins with Abraham sending his most senior servant, the one in charge of all he had, to go and get a wife for his son, Isaac. Isaac is a picture of our Saviour Jesus while Abraham's servant is a picture of the Holy Spirit. When the servant met with Rebekah (she's a picture of the church- you and I in Christ), he gave her gifts (representing the gifts of the Spirit for us today). Even Rebekah's mother and brother (Laban) who were not brides of Isaac received gifts from the servant because of Rebekah; because you are in Christ, your family, friends, boss and colleagues get blessed, much like how our Lord's being with Joseph made Potiphar's house prosperous!

Did you notice that Rebekah did not or engineer for someone to come and take her away to marry Isaac, just as no one can come to Jesus except the Father calls him/her? See this in John 6:43-46 (MSG)-

"Jesus said, “Don’t bicker among yourselves over Me. You’re not in charge here. The Father who sent Me is in charge. He draws people to Me—that’s the only way you’ll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."

Our Lord God prepared her for Isaac; He knew her in advance and called her according to His purpose, just as He knew us in advance, chose us to become like His Son, called us, gave us right standing with Himself and gave us His glory (Romans 8:28-30).

The Lord worked in Rebekah both to will and to do for His good pleasure as He does with His children in Christ today (2 Philippians 2:13.) She drew water for Abraham's servant and watered all of his camels. She was also willing to travel with the servant to marry a man that she had never seen before! That's us in Christ today! We do God's will not by our own effort but because “it is God who works in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure” - Philippians 2:13. We have not seen Christ physically, yet by grace (undeserved, unearned, unmerited favour) we believe.

Even Rebekah's family members (including Laban, who was later mean to Jacob when he fled his home to Haran to escape Esau's wrath after stealing his birthright) could not find a reason to stop Rebekah from leaving to marry Isaac. In Christ, no one can bring a charge against you (Romans 8:33)

Abraham's servant would have none of it when Rebekah's mother and brother (Laban) tried to delay her departure for a few days, at least 10 (representing the Law). Today, these two represent those that tell you "yes, we know you are in Christ, saved by grace through faith; but you still need to keep the law in order to be righteous." But Galatians 5:4 tells us that this is how to get cut off from Christ!

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

Just as Abraham’s servant would not allow the 10-day delay in which time Rebekah could be convinced to change her mind about Isaac or begin to think that she had to do some things in order to deserve such a rich and noble man, the Holy Spirit keeps us on track by convicting us of our righteousness in Christ and apart from works (John 16:10). He reminds us that our union with Christ and His love for us is not based on how 'lovable' we are or what we did/do but on Christ.

Rebekah followed Abraham's servant on the long and arduous journey to meet Isaac. On the way, Abraham's servant would have told her things about her husband; told her about his beauty and character, taught her what he likes and how to please him, told her how blessed she was to be marrying into a family where she would lack for nothing; just as we have the Holy Spirit to teach us all things about our Lord Jesus Christ today.

Did you know that Abraham's servant Eliezer's name means "my God is help?" It's no coincidence that our Saviour Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as "Helper" in John 14:26 - "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you."

Anytime Rebekah got weak, discouraged or tired from the journey, perhaps because it seemed like it was taking forever, Abraham’s servant would comfort her and help her in her weaknesses, just as we have the Holy Spirit to comfort and help us during life’s challenges, persecutions and when we feel helpless and alone. He’s always there. See Romans 8:

25 "But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) 26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words."

If anyone stopped them on the way and tried to tell Rebekah that she was making a mistake (false doctrine peddlers who preach that horrid mixture of part-law and part-grace,) Abraham's servant was always by her side to reassure her of whose she was, never leaving her nor forsaking her.

Rebekah had no idea how to get to where Isaac was staying. Abraham’s servant led the way. Today, we are led by the Holy Spirit! But many people are still preaching law-keeping and right doing as the path of righteousness, even when Isaiah 64:6 says “all of our righteousnesses are like filthy rags”! Remember Psalms 23 – “He leads me on the path of righteousness…” No human by himself has the map or knows how to walk this path. Only our Lord God knows, and we who are on this path, the ransomed of the Lord, even though we are fools, we will not go astray (Isaiah 35.) His righteousness is a gift to us!

Believers, as Abraham’s servant was with Rebekah all through her journey to meet Isaac, today, the Holy Spirit is with us on this journey we’re on, giving us gifts, making intercession for us, helping us in our weaknesses, comforting us and teaching us all things, until we meet our Lord Jesus face-to-face on the day Paul spoke of in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 – 17 comes:

16 "For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.”

And thus we shall always be with the Lord! #BlessedHope #Rapture

Right believing always produces right living.