Why should we study the Old Testament?

 

Inquiringly,
Older By The Minute

Dear Older By The Minute,

Why?  For the moral of the story!  There is a great dispute in the religious world about what parts of the Bible to follow.  Some people follow just the New Testament, some the Old Testament, and the majority fit somewhere in-between those two positions.  The answer is in the word "testament".  Testament means 'covenant' or 'contract'.  There is the old contract that people followed before Christ came (Gal 3:24-25), and christians are under the new law that Jesus set up (Rom 8:2).  If you are going to be a christian, the New Testament (i.e. new contract) is your rulebook.

So what use is the Old Testament to christians?  It is still a great teaching tool for several reasons:

1. Examples of good and bad lifestyles (1 Cor 10:1-6, Heb 12:1)
2. Prophecies about Jesus and His church (1 Pet 1:10-12)
3. Explanations of where we came from (Gen 1:1)
4. Knowledge of the world Jesus lived in
5. God wrote it!

The Old Testament is not the place to go to find the specific standards you should live by, but it is a wonderful place to see God at work, interacting in the lives of men.  God's character never changes, and how He valued His old contract should impress upon us how important the new one is (Heb 2:1-3).

Do angels intercede to word our prayers in the right language, or do we need to learn how to pray in accordance to God's will?

 

Sincerely,
Lost in Translation

We need to learn how to pray in accordance with God's will, BUT there is one exception to this (I'll get to that last).  Jesus' disciples asked him to teach them how to pray (Lk 11:1).  Jesus didn't correct them.  Instead, He taught them (Lk 11:2-4).  There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to pray.

However, God does intercede for us in our prayers.  Specifically, the Holy spirit intercedes for us (Rom 8:26).  There are times when we don't know what to ask for, how to ask for it, or even whether we should ask for it!  Sometimes we are in such suffering and agony that words can't express the struggles and agony we are in.  In such cases, God says that our lack of eloquence won't hinder our prayers.  The Holy Spirit who can examine our hearts makes sure the Father is aware of our deepest yearnings and concerns.  Angels never translate our prayers, but God's own Spirit cares enough to listen and help.

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

5 minutes a day 5 days a week All the New Testament in a year

My question revolves around the gift of tongues.  I was invited to a church to be prayed for as a teacher in the community.  As I was on stage, a pastor started praying for me. During the prayer, he started speaking in tongues without an interpreter. I have read the passages in the bible discussing tongues; however, I am confused on the "proper" use of tongues. What do you think about the gifts of tongues?

 

Sincerely,
Tongue Tied

There was a proper way to use tongues back in the first century, but speaking in tongues today has no resemblance to that practice.  God endowed certain christians with the ability to perform miracles through the apostles (Acts 8:18).  One of those abilities was speaking in tongues - the ability to miraculous speak in other REAL languages (Acts 2:4-11).  Paul re-emphasizes this point in 1 Cor 14:10.  That is exactly why Paul instructed the Corinthians to have an interpreter.

The modern practice of speaking in tongues involves people speaking in what they call "hidden" or "spiritual" languages that make no sense to anyone, anywhere.  There is no example of this type of speaking in tongues anywhere in the New Testament.

Miraculous gifts were given to the first century church because they did not have the complete Bible as we do.  Miracles were a confirmation that those preaching were sent by God (Mk 16:20); they were how God bore witness that these men were His servants (Heb 2:2-4).  These miracles were necessary at that time, but now that the perfect Word of God has been completed, they are no longer needed (1 Cor 13:8-10).  We have all the prophecies of God written down, all the divine knowledge is in God's Word, and the Bible is translated into every language on the planet.  Now that is something worth talking about!