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Sep 04

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A NEW TESTAMENT

It is good to prepare a will before death, as this is the only sure way to get your life’s belongings parted as you wish! I have reached the age that I need to prepare a will, or in my case, a trust. It is hard to face the fact that is going to happen, and the older we get, it is sooner than later. As we look at what we have to whom we want things to go, we realize that many of these things we have, the things we have collected, and that are dear to our heart, no one really wants them! This is a sad state to think on such things. Time is running out and death will come, like it or not. The document we are talking about may be summed in one word, a testament.
What is a testament? Here is one definition I found and it seems to cover the subject: “a person’s will, especially the part relating to personal property, ‘father’s will and testament’, synonyms: last will and testament – last wishes – bequest(s).” As it relates to the Bible, the following is given: “in biblical use) a covenant or dispensation. a division of the Bible. See also Old Testament, New Testament. a copy of the New Testament.” Almost everyone who knows anything about the Bible, knows there is a both an “old” and “new” testament! They may not handle the Bible with this knowledge but they do know that one is the “old” while the other is the “new.” If I were to write a will/testament, it would be called the first, that is, if I wrote a second one, which would be called the new one. A lawyer might ask, “Is there a new testament?” Does this not remind you of the Bible itself? Yes, right there in bold print are the words “Old” and “New” Testamentss. Do people, in general, give heed to these two words? Not really! Yes, they know that the two words are there, and they may in fact, read them but do not handle the two parts of the Bible in this manner. If you were to tell them to turn to the New Testament and read a passage, they will do so. Let us say, you tell them to turn to First Peter chapter two, and verses two, through five. Then you call upon them to read it, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” Oh, such a beautiful passage, so full of meaning, but it relates only to those who follow the New Testament. They would not turn to the Old Testament thinking they would find the passage, that is, unless they know nothing about the Bible. This reminds me of my own earliest years, I knew nothing of the difference, and I would just let lthe pages turn between my fingers. So, I never found out that the writings of Peter were in the New Testament. I truthfully might not have known just where I could find it, as it relates to the other books. In my youth, we had what were called, “Bible quotes” and teacher would call a passage, and those in the class could find it first and would read the passage. Needless, to say, I never was the first one to read the passage. Sadly, there are many today who are much like me in my youth. This is so sad!
Nevertheless, we do have an old and new testament in the Bible; yet, it is one book! Never has any two books worked together as does the old and new testaments. The new Testament puts light upon the darkness of the Old Testament. We sometimes say, and correctly so, that the Old Testament concealed, and the New Testament is the Old Testament revealed. If this were not truth, how would we know who Isaiah fifty-three refers to? How would we know that the kingdom passages found in the Old Testament point the kingdom of the New Testament? This brings us to this point, some people have little to no idea what they are teaching when they say, yes, it is true, the Old Testament promises a new kingdom and the New Testament starts out the view that the kingdom is ready to be established but then, because the Jews rejected Jesus as the Christ, God established the church in its place. Now sadly, these people do not understand just what they have done to the New Testament. They destroyed the inspiration of the Old Testament; thus, the New Testament as well. If God foretold, and he did, that he would establish a new kingdom better than that of David but could not do it mainly because of the failure of mankind! Let man be found a liar and God be true! And so, it is! God did establish his kingdom and he crowned Jesus as king and put him at his own right hand in heaven.
Peter, on the day of Pentecost by the Holy Spirit, “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also known, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance” (Acts 2:22-28). Did it take place? Let Peter answer: “Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know,”
Act 2:23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance” (Acts 2:29-33). It was not David of whom Peter spoke but Jesus! There is the new kingdom, of the New Testament; there is Christ and not David; and there the people of God find themselves after being born again!
Let us here start with the words of Hebrews: “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.” (Heb. 9:16). Before you can put a “new testament” in force, the one who wrote it, must of necessity die! Otherwise, he is free to change any part of it, so long as he lives! Now, notice the next words: “For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth” (Heb. 9:17). Upon the death of Jesus, just as Peter preached on the first Pentecost after the death of Jesus, it was Jesus that David wrote and not of himself. It was Jesus who sits at God’s own right hand and from here he rules over his own kingdom! It is here, in the new kingdom, that his servants serve God in Christ.
Yes, there is an “old” testament and there is “new” testament and it is the second one that is is force today! It is the New Testament that we must go to get the answers of life; hear Jesus: “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). This is nothing more or less, than saying, New Testament is “the truth, and the life: and no man cometh unto the Father, by it!”

Frank R. Williams

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