Romans Through Revelation

When we move to the Book of Romans, although Paul mentions right away that Jesus was born of the seed of David, the first chapter is not too bad, but then a couple times he quotes the Old Testament in the second chapter, and by the time you get to chapter 3 Paul is

stumbling all over himself, quoting as many passages from the Old Testament as he can, quoting Psalm 51.4 in verse 4 before he uses a gospel machine gun in verses 10–18, quoting six or seven different Old Testament passages.

Why did he not quote Jesus or one of the other apostles?

Have you read Romans 4? It is all about Abraham!

In Romans 5, Paul referenced Adam eight times!

Romans 7 is much about the Law of Moses.

Romans 9–11 is nothing but Old Testament doctrine.

Okay, we have to eliminate Romans from our teaching and our Bibles, and make sure that we do not invite him to speak or
anyone like him, that is, if we believe that Christians have no use for the Old Testament.

Starting at the beginning of the New Testament did not worked out, because in this article, and the previous ones, we have shown how Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and Romans used the Old Testament abundantly, and those who say Christians should not be in the Old Testament, would have to remove the first six Books of the New Testament, since they drip with Old Testament teaching.

What if we go to the end of the New Testament?

Have you ever wondered why the Book of Revelation is so hard to understand and why some Christians do not want to hear teaching on it? Friends, it is an Old Testament Book!

The imagery and messages come straight out of the Old Testament. Therefore, the Christians speaking against Old Testament use, have to abandon the Book of Revelation.

Let us try the little letter of Jude. Listen to how Jude began, after his introduction,

“Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 3, 4).

Yes, Jude spoke of the Faith, once for all delivered to the saints! He said we should content earnestly for the faith, because people have crept into the church who pervert the grace of God, but Jude added that they were long ago marked out for condemnation.

Just how long ago did Jude mean?

Will he quote Jesus, an apostle, or a New Testament Book? He did use Second Peter 2 as a pattern, and someone says, yes, a New Testament Book, but read Second Peter 2, then Jude and see what these two Holy Spirit-inspired men wrote, and you will discover what Jude meant by “long ago.”

Listen to what he used as his authority and what examples he used,

“But I want to remind you, though you once knew this, that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe” (Jude 5).

Do know what Jude, this New Testament Christian, this New Testament preacher, this member of the New Testament Church, then did? He preached the Old Testament as the body of his letter, using it to explain why we should contend earnestly for the faith, showing when false teachers were marked out for condemnation. He wrote of:

• angels who sinned in the past,
• the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis),
• the body of Moses (Deuteronomy),
• the way of Cain (Genesis),
• the error of Balaam (Numbers),
• the rebellion of Korah (Numbers), and
• Jude quoted Enoch (Genesis), whom Jude said was the seventh from Adam (Genesis),

showing how far back the Lord prophesied of the condemnation of false teachers in the church,

“Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him'” (Jude 14, 15).

By the way, notice how Jude in verse 11, expected his readers, us, to be biblically literate, denouncing perverters of God’s grace in this way,

“Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah” (Jude 11).

What is the way of Cain?

What is the error of Balaam for profit?

What is the rebellion of Korah?

You have to know Genesis 4, Numbers 22–24, and Numbers 16 to be able to answer those questions, that is, you have to know the Old Testament to know the New Testament.

Interestingly, a Christian gentleman once confronted me, criticizing me for preaching and teaching out of the Old Testament, and he said that what we wanted to hear were New Testament Books, like…now get this…Jude! With such a declaration he showed me that he had not truly read the New Testament!

Related Articles

• Are You Truly Reading the New Testament? Part 4 (theoldtestamentandthenewtestament.com)
• Are You Truly Reading the New Testament? Part 3 (theoldtestamentandthenewtestament.com)
• Are You Truly Reading the New Testament? (Part 2) (theoldtestamentandthenewtestament.com)
• Are You Truly Reading the New Testament? (Part 1) (theoldtestamentandthenewtestament.com)
• Bulletin Articles from June 24, AD 2012 (grantspasschurchofchrist.com)
• Messianic Prophecy Number 9: Gen 14.18 – Melchizedek, a Type of Christ (theoldtestamentandthenewtestament.com)
• Messianic Prophecies and Their Fulfillment (theoldtestamentandthenewtestament.com)