In the first part of this three-part series, we reviewed the matter of racial discrimination and political correctness in relation to the way that a true Christian must live his life, and we continue to look at other movements that reflect different values to that of the Bible.

The Black Lives Matter (BLM) Movement

On the BBC website in June 2021 under the heading “What is Black Lives Matter and what are the aims?,” we read: “Among its main goals are stopping police brutality and fighting for courts to treat black people equally. Its demands for equality also include mental health, the LGBT community and voting rights.  However, former US secretary of housing and developments Ben Carson [who is black] said people with noble aims had been taken advantage of by a ‘Marxist-driven organisation’ that supports ‘taking down the model of Western family structures’.  Carol Swain, a political commentator and former professor, said: ‘They are using black people to advance a Marxist agenda.’”

Discrimination is a much used word today, and there is so much confusion about a number of issues which seem to have been integrated into one package, and someone not accepting that totality of those issues can become “cancelled,” with others being called a variety of names that are deemed to show the outrage, bigotry, disapproval and opprobrium of their none-acceptance.  This “morphing” (changing the form or character of, or transforming) of one very necessary and important subject (racial discrimination) and adding other more contentious matters on to the same basic premise is clever; you either accept all of the attachments or you choose what to accept and reject, and then receive the usual abuse when you resist and challenge the orthodoxy.

In the first instalment of this two-part series, we looked at quite a number of Scriptures that clearly show that the New Testament writings were considered part of God’s Word by those disciples living in the New Testament, and that God had approved their writings.

It could be said by critics that the New Testament writers were making grandiose claims personally by reflecting that their words carried the approval of God as part of the inspiration of the written Word of God.

However, two arguments countering that claim are as follows:

1. We believe that God inspired the whole of the Bible which includes both the Old and New Testaments, and
2. The consistency of the whole of the Bible.  We read on the website “scripturesubjects” the following: “The Bible was written over a span of 1,500 years by 40 authors living on three continents speaking three different languages with diverse educational and cultural backgrounds—yet it reads as one cohesive story from Genesis through Revelation. All 66 books of the Bible [in the way English Bibles order and count those books] are perfectly harmonious and consistent in their message, especially when answering and addressing life’s essential questions, ‘Where did we come from, and why are we here? Do we have a purpose? Does God exist, and if so, what is He like? Why is there suffering, evil, and trouble in the world? Is there life after death, and if so, where do we go and why?’

In a series of three Q&A’s entitled, “why do you consider the Old Testament so important?,” we discussed the close connection between the Old and New Testament which is shown by the number of times the Old Testament is quoted in the New Testament.   The Old Testament had the approval of Jesus Christ and He quoted from it to prove the point.

In 2 Timothy 3:16, we learn an important lesson about ALL Scripture: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.”

As we explained in the previous series, Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers observes the following when discussing that it can be translated as: “Every scripture inspired by God is also profitable for doctrine, for reproof… “:

Confusion exists as to who the Hagrites were, and where they could be found today. Some suggest that they are living in Syria today; others claim that they were Egyptians and are living in Egypt. Others even claim that the Hagrites are the ancestors of the modern Hungarians. And then there are those who say that the Hagrites are Ishmaelites or Saudi Arabians. What does the Bible say?

We find an interesting end-time prophecy, mentioning the Hagrites in Psalm 83:1-8, where we read the following:

“A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. Do not keep silent, O God! Do not hold Your peace, And do not be still, O God! For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head. They have taken crafty counsel against Your people, And consulted together against Your sheltered ones. They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.’ For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You: The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagrites; Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot. Selah…”

Firstly, the Bible was written in three main languages: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. Classical Hebrew was used for most of the Old Testament. Some parts of the books of Daniel and Ezra and one verse in the book of Jeremiah (chapter 10, verse 11) and one word in the book of Genesis (chapter 31, verse 47) were written in Aramaic. Hebrew and Aramaic were both Semitic languages, and if one was understood, much of the other could also be understood, due to their similarities.

Considering the Old Testament, the Hebrew that the Bible was written in was different from the modern Hebrew spoken in Israel today. For a start, there were no vowels but only consonants. Vowels were added later, which is a reason that the correct pronunciation of God’s name is uncertain today. Also, there was no punctuation and, according to “Got Questions.org”, there were no spaces between words, which can cause some difficulties in understanding.

In the previous instalments, we looked at some reasons why both the Old Testament and the New Testament combine to make up the complete Word of God.  We continue, in this final instalment, with some further reasons and conclude that anything less than the full Bible is insufficient for a true Christian.

5. Only the Old Testament was available when Jesus was on earth.

The New Testament hadn’t been written until the end of the first century, which was after Jesus’ death. In the Old Testament, we find a number of Scriptures that prophesy of Jesus’ first coming.   If we only relied on the New Testament, we wouldn’t have the prophecies to review and see how they were fulfilled.   Let us review just a few of these Old Testament prophecies.

In the first instalment of this series, we saw how there are those who do not believe that the Old Testament is necessary for a Christian today.  We continue in part 2 to look at reasons why such thinking is wrong. We saw, under the first of seven points, that both the Old Testament and the New Testament combine to give revelation about God, His creation of the universe and of man.   Let us move on discussing more reasons why the Old Testament is so important.

2. The Old Testament is vital for God’s revelation about His master plan of salvation for the whole of mankind.

In Leviticus 23:1-2, we read about God’s Holy Days: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.’”

Amazingly, there are those who consider themselves to be “Christians” who do not believe that the Old Testament is a necessary part of their belief system.

Just to give some brief examples to show that such attitudes exist, let us take note of the following:

“In the USA, North Point Community Church (of Alpharetta, Georgia, USA), Senior Pastor Andy Stanley has stated that Christians need to ‘unhitch’ the Old Testament from their faith. In the final part of a recent sermon series, Stanley explained that while he believes that the Old Testament is ‘divinely inspired,’ it should not be ‘the go-to source regarding any behavior in the church.’  To justify this, Stanley preached last month about Acts 15, which described how the early church decided that Gentile converts did not need to strictly observe Jewish law to become Christians” (christianpost.com).

Sometimes, when looking at various “parallel” Scriptures, one may find at first glance an apparent contradiction. Some feel that the accounts in Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 contradict each other.

To begin with, let us consider the context in Acts 9.

Saul, who is later called Paul, persecuted true Christians seeking their death (Galatians 1:13-14). Saul was a carnal-minded Pharisee, who embraced the teachings of the Pharisees (Acts 23:6). At that time, he was very eager to kill genuine followers of Jesus Christ, because they had a different doctrine that, from the Pharisaic point of view, was contrary to their teachings. It was the religion of that “new way,” the Way of Jesus Christ, who was time and again wrongfully accused of being a blasphemer, because He claimed to be the Son of God. But Christ has always been, and still is, the Son of God!