The Law And The Prophets

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  

Romans 3:21-23  

We must embrace a whole God, a whole Christ, and a whole Bible. Paul does just that. As he transitions from the ‘Condemnation’ section, he makes what we might call his formal thesis statement. The whole statement is longer than we have space to treat in one devotional, however, one point at the beginning is worthy of our consideration. Paul declares that the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets. What he is saying is that the Old Testament in its’ entirety bears witness to the gospel of free grace. This means that the preaching of Christ from the Old Testament is not novel, or in any way a superimposition of New Testament theology over the Old Testament narrative. To exclude the Old Testament or to relegate it to being of little value for gospel preaching is to demonstrate an abominable ignorance of the esteem in which Paul, and more than Paul, Christ Himself held it. When Christ appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus, we read, ‘and beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.’ Thus Christ, as well as all the Apostles of the New Testament era, preached the gospel from the Old Testament. When Christ was in controversy with His enemies He said, ‘Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and they are they which testify of Me.’ We have no higher endorsement of the Old Testament for preaching Christ than from the lips of the Man Himself.  

Our Great and Wise God, 
We rejoice that You have revealed Christ to us from the earliest days. 
We praise You that we may see Him on page after page, and line by line. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning