The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

* Do you tend to emphasize the connection and continuity between the Old and New Testament, or the differences between them? Explain. * Do I tend to read all of the Bible with an eye toward the ways in which this text or these Scriptures might connect either backward to the life and revelation contained in the Old Testament, or forward to the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth, who is the fulfillment of the Old and full revelation of the New? How so? * Could I have written what Augustine said: “In the OT the NT lies hidden; in the NT the OT stands revealed.” Does the way I handle the Scriptures really show how much I believe in the unity of the OT to the New? * In the church I attend, does the preaching and teaching reflect the connections between the Old and New Testament brought out in our discussion of the complimentary relationships between them (i.e., that the OT provides introduction to the NT’s conclusion about Christ, the OT’s anticipates the person and work of Messiah with the NT identifying Jesus of Nazareth as the climax of that anticipation, etc.)? * How much do I worship and serve God with this kind of historical understanding that the motif of promise and fulfillment brings out? Do I focus most of my time on the past, the present, or the future in my Bible reading, meditation, and prayer? * Do I tend to see Jesus both as the seed of the woman who will destroy the devil’s work, as well as the seed of Abraham through whom all the families of the earth will be blessed? What is the primary way in which I view Jesus in light of these revelations about him? * Do I (more often than not) affirm Jesus’ teaching that he himself is the key theme and subject of all biblical revelation (cf. Luke 22.25-27, 44-48; Matt. 5.17-18; John 1.45; 5.39-40; Heb. 10.5-10 with Ps. 40.6-8)? How do I most often use the Bible in my life–as an affirmation of the person of Jesus or more related to my own troubles, needs, and issues? How ought we use the OT in light of Jesus’ teaching about it?

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