In his book What Is A Healthy Church Member (we just finished it as a staff!), Thabiti M. Anyabwile offers some helpful instruction and questions to ask when studying your Bible. In his chapter entitled "A Biblical Theologian," he says...
Adopt the New Testament's Attitude Toward the Old Testament
...the Bible is one story about God's redeeming for Himself a special people. When studying the New Testament, train yourself to link what you learn there to the Old Testament. Ask questions like these:
- How is this passage a fulfillment of something promised in the Old Testament?
- How is this New Testament idea different from or similar to an Old Testament teaching?
- In what way does this New Testament passage clarify, unveil, or amplify something from the Old Testament?
Asking these questions will help to underscore the unity and diversity of the Bible and its message. An excellent book to study with these questions in mind is the book of Hebrews. Study Hebrews and be amazed at the supremacy of Jesus Christ demonstrated in the Old Testament.
Study the Old Testament with Jesus and the New Testament in View
As you read and study the Old Testament, ask yourself how it fits together with the revelation of the New Testament. For example, ask:
- Where does this passage fit in the time line of redemptive history?
- How does this passage point us to Jesus?
- How does this truth about Israel relate to the New Testament idea of the church?
- How is this passage foundational for an understanding of New Testament Christianity? How is this idea or teaching in the Old Testament continuous or discontinuous with the New Testament?
- Which New Testament passages help me to answer these questions?
No comments:
Post a Comment