This lesson begins with a specific awareness. The Bible of the early church was scripture we know as the Old Testament. What we know as the New Testament was written as separate letters in the last half of the first century. The twenty-seven writings in the New Testament became a volume over three hundred years after Jesus' death and resurrection. The process for recognition and acceptance of those twenty-seven writings as scripture was time- consuming.
There is a continuity between the Old and New Testaments we have been slow to recognize or emphasize. The life sustaining root system for the New Testament's wealth are lessons from the Old Testament. New Testament writings did not invent the concept of faith. A failure to grasp the Old Testament's root system condemns people to duplicate some horrible mistakes. Christians of the first century were scripturally sustained by Old Testament writings. Those scriptures were primary witnesses to godliness and Jesus the Christ.
The first time the same twenty-seven books of the New Testament that we study were presented as scripture was 367 A.D. Some of these writings were understood to be scripture from the late first century or the early second century [such as the gospels and Paul's letters].
In our dedication to God's Word and Jesus Christ, Christians must realize first century Christians lived and died never knowing some of the New Testament scriptures we rely on today. The scripture we casually study as the New Testament primarily was written the last fifty years of the first century. Because our "books" of the New Testament existed first as letters from someone to a person or a group, some of those "books" did not have wide distribution among Christians in the first century. The basic spiritual emphasis among Christians in the first century was on the importance of knowing Jesus as God's Christ.
The point: today's Christian needs to understand Old Testament scripture was the Bible of first century Christians. The volume of scriptures we know as the New Testament was in the process of being written, collected, and accepted as scripture. When a writing in the New Testament refers to "scripture," it is referring to the Old Testament scripture.
There is an urgent need among today's Christians to increase our respect for and understanding of the messages of the Old Testament.
Paul, in 2 Timothy 2:15-17, talked to Timothy about the "sacred writings." He said Timothy should understand those writings were God-given, profitable, and would equip God's person to do every good work. Paul spoke of the Old Testament.
Paul's emphasis was on the ability of the Old Testament to equip Christians to do God's good work.
In Paul's letter to Christians in Rome, he said things written in earlier times were written to instruct first century Christians. Read Romans 15:4. Three things in combination produced Christian hope: (1) the early writings; (2) Christian perseverance; and (3) scripture's encouragement. Old Testament scripture should be a source of Christian hope.
We need renewed emphasis on the Old Testament's ability to build Christian hope. God keeps His promises. He always has. Jesus came to become the Christ because God keeps His promises. Hope's foundation is God's trustworthiness.
Paul's letter to Christians in Corinth is known to us as 1 Corinthians. He stated [chapter ten] two specific Christian purposes of Old Testament scripture were (1) examples and (2) instruction. He said the event of Israel's deliverance at the Red Sea paralleled Christian baptism. Each marked the point of transition: (1) for Israelites--from slavery to freedom; (2) for them--from slavery to sin to freedom in Christ (10:1-4). Israel's wilderness experiences happened as "examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they craved them" (10:5,6). Paul wrote in 10:11, "Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction." The previous verses refer to Israel's golden calf (Exodus 32, note verse 6); the religious prostitution of Israel's men with the daughters of Moab (Numbers 25); God sending poisonous snakes because Israel "tried God" (Numbers 21); and Israel's grumbling against God (Numbers 16:41, 46-50).
Many New Testament teachings were verified by a combination of Old Testament scriptures and incidents in Israel's history.
This background should allow our minds and spiritual focus to be open to a truth Paul emphasized to Christians in Rome and Christians in the province of Galatia.
The importance of loving others as we love ourselves never ceased to be God's expectation in His people in every age. Loving others as we love ourselves is more than a teaching from the Old Testament. It is a teaching from God.
To be Christian men and women of godly character and integrity, we must love our neighbors as ourselves. Such love always was necessary. God's person in every age loved his or her neighbor as self. Israelites of godly character and integrity loved their neighbors as themselves. Jesus' disciples of godly character and integrity loved their neighbors as themselves. Christians of godly character and integrity love their neighbors as themselves. Remember, a person's need makes him or her our neighbor. In Jesus' definition of neighbor, neighbors are made by need, not by address.
The responsibility to learn to love others as ourselves was, is, and always will be based on God's trustworthiness. Because God loves people, those who love God love people.
Read Romans 13:8-10. [Remember in the series CLIMBING ON THE ALTAR, Lesson Seven, we focused on the unpayable debt of love in these same verses. In context, we noted the role the patronage system served in their society. Paul said the Christian in Rome was not to place himself (or herself) under a human obligation that compromised one's commitment to God.]
That Christian fulfilled the law.
All the requirements of people's proper treatment of people contained in the ten commandments are "summed up" in loving our neighbor as ourselves. Note in the class' discussion the parallel between the emphasis in the last six of the ten commandments and Paul's emphasis on not committing adultery, murder, theft, or coveting.
Love does not wrong a neighbor. The class' discussion should include the fact that an understanding of love for one's neighbor means Christians do not treat other people in an evil manner. Christian behavior fulfills the intent of the law.
Love is a fulfillment of the law. The person whose heart belongs to God (now or in the past) sought more than technical compliance with the legal expectations of God's law. To the person whose heart belongs to God, nothing less than commitment to the intent of God's law is sufficient. See Matthew 5:21-48 for a contrast between technical compliance and a commitment to intent. Technical compliance assumes a structure that reflects our desires and concerns. Intent focuses on God's purposes.
Read Galatians 5:13-15.
Christians were called to freedom.
Christians should not use their freedoms to indulge desires that work against God's purposes.
Christians should use their freedoms to serve each other because they love each other.
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself" fulfills the whole law.
They will bite and devour each other. [They will use their freedom in love to serve each other, or they will use their freedom in selfishness to destroy each other.]
If Christians use their freedom to bite and devour each other, they will be consumed by each other. Like a destructive fire, they will ruin each other.
To the extent that Jewish Christians from Jerusalem convinced them that faith in Jesus Christ was inadequate without knowledge of and surrender to Jewish practices, it occurred.
One result of their disagreements was a distortion of the gospel of Christ. Paul declared those responsible for that distortion accursed. Those who were deceived into believing that trusting Jesus Christ was inadequate were bewitched, "under a spell." Obviously, the problem of disrespect among Christians existed.
They should seek the restoration of deceived Christians. They should allow their own humility to guide attempts to restore. They should be burden bearers instead of burden increasers. They should be filled with humility instead of pride. Restoration efforts should begin with self-examination. They should understand the principle of sowing and reaping. They should not let weariness discourage them. Only loving, serving respect for each other can produce that set of attitudes.
The Christian must understand that God is our source of blessing. By His concern and care for us, He teaches us how to show concern and caring for each other. A Christian cannot respect God and hold in contempt a person whom God recreated in Christ Jesus. Nor can a Christian respect God and hold in contempt people. God made people in His own image. Contempt for people [God's creation] is contempt for God [the Creator].
Link to Student Guide
Lesson 9