It is written:
“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)
Many in the churches of Christ are unfamiliar with the Old Testament Scriptures.
This is a shame.
I once had a Christian tell me, “Brother Mark, I worry about you because you study and preach so much from the Old Testament.”
I shared with the brother that I was worried about him because he could not even name the Old Testament Books, or even tell me how many there were.
Paul said that we as Christians need to be familiar with the Old Testament. Consider these words:
“I rarely read the Old Testament, except for Psalms and Proverbs,” a believer once told me. “Then you are missing a great deal of spiritual help,” I replied. I asked him to open to Romans 15: 4 and read the verse aloud. “For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.” I then explained that patience means “endurance,” and that comfort means “encouragement.” One of the best ways to develop endurance and encouragement is to get to know the godly men and women of the Old Testament who ran the race and won. If you are having problems with your family, read about Joseph. If you think your job is too big for you, study the life of Moses. If you are tempted to retaliate, see how David handled this problem.” (Warren W. Wiersbe, Be Confident (Hebrews): Live by Faith, Not by Sight, 2658-2668 (Kindle Edition); Colorado Springs, CO; David C. Cook)
Many disciples of Christ have deprived themselves of the rich blessings of God’s Word by not studying the Old Testament Scriptures in detail.
How about making the decision to study all of God’s Word, that you may grow thereby?
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