Too many people nowadays have a negative view of the Old Testament. Many of them say that the Old Testament is dead and that it has nothing to offer the Christian. Sadly, these people do not read their Bibles, and if they do they fail to pay attention to what it says. They hear (passive) what they read but are not listening (active) to it. That is the difference between head knowledge and heart knowledge. The Old Testament is not dead. The Old Testament has much to offer the Christian. The Old Testament is the Scriptures. Without the Old Testament there would be no New Testament. As someone once said, "the New Testament is concealed in the Old, and the Old Testament is revealed in the New." The New Testament is nothing more than history (the Gospels and Acts) and letters (the Epistles). Everything contained in the New Testament comes directly from the Old Testament. Once again, if there were no Old Testament, there would be no New Testament.
All one has to do is look throughout the entire New Testament and make note of how many times Jesus and the Apostles make reference to "Scripture" or "the Scriptures." Since the New Testament did not exist during this time, having yet to be written, what do you suppose Jesus was referring to whenever He made reference to "Scripture" or "the Scriptures"? Obviously He was referring to the Old Testament. When Paul, Peter, and James were writing their letters, since the New Testament did not exist, what do you suppose they were referring to whenever they made reference to "Scripture" or "the Scriptures"? Again, obviously the Old Testament.
The only thing that does not apply to the Christian is the Mosaic Law. Everything else in the Old Testament is beneficial for the Christian. Without the Old Testament, the Christian would know nothing of the origin of the universe or himself. Without the Old Testament, the Christian would know nothing of man's fall into sin and the promised Redeemer. Without the Old Testament, the Christian would know nothing about God. The Old Testament reveals the character and holiness of God. Without the Old Testament, the Christian would know nothing about the birth or death of Christ. The New Testament merely reveals what the Old Testament prophesied. Without the Old Testament, the Christian would know nothing about Jesus. The Old Testament frequently employs types, shadows, and images that foreshadow Christ Jesus and what He would accomplish. We are not New Testament Christians. We are whole-Bible Christians. The whole of Scripture is given to us by God for our good.
Here are just a sampling of the many verses that make reference to "Scripture" or "the Scriptures":
"And they said to one another, 'Were not our hearts burning within us while He was speaking to us on the road, while He was explaining the Scriptures to us?'" (Luke 24:32). Which Scriptures was Jesus explaining to them?
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures," (Luke 24:45). Which Scriptures did He open their minds to understand?
"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;" (John 5:39). Which Scriptures were they searching?
"And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures," (Acts 17:2). From which Scriptures was Paul reasoning with them from?
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, [to see] whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). Which Scriptures were they examining daily to see if the things about Jesus were true?
"Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures" (Acts 18:24). Which Scriptures was Apollos mighty in?
"Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures," (Luke 24:45). Which Scriptures did He open their minds to understand?
"You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me;" (John 5:39). Which Scriptures were they searching?
"And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures," (Acts 17:2). From which Scriptures was Paul reasoning with them from?
"Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, [to see] whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). Which Scriptures were they examining daily to see if the things about Jesus were true?
"Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures" (Acts 18:24). Which Scriptures was Apollos mighty in?
"for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." (Acts 18:28). Which Scriptures was he using to demonstrate that Jesus was the Christ?
"which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures," (Rom. 1:2). What are the holy Scriptures?
"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). Which Scriptures does perseverance and encouragement come from? What does the very first line of this verse say? Whatever was written in the Old Testament was written for our instruction.
"but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, [leading] to obedience of faith;" (Rom. 16:26). By which Scriptures were they to be established by, and which Scriptures made this known to all nations?
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures," (1 Cor. 15:3). Christ died for our sins according to which Scriptures?
"and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Cor. 15:4). Which Scriptures taught that Jesus would be buried and would be raised on the third day?
"as also in all [his] letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction" (2 Pet. 3:16). Here, Peter refers to Paul's letters as being Scripture, but which Scriptures is he making direct reference to?
"which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the holy Scriptures," (Rom. 1:2). What are the holy Scriptures?
"For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). Which Scriptures does perseverance and encouragement come from? What does the very first line of this verse say? Whatever was written in the Old Testament was written for our instruction.
"but now is manifested, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, [leading] to obedience of faith;" (Rom. 16:26). By which Scriptures were they to be established by, and which Scriptures made this known to all nations?
"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures," (1 Cor. 15:3). Christ died for our sins according to which Scriptures?
"and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures," (1 Cor. 15:4). Which Scriptures taught that Jesus would be buried and would be raised on the third day?
"as also in all [his] letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as [they do] also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction" (2 Pet. 3:16). Here, Peter refers to Paul's letters as being Scripture, but which Scriptures is he making direct reference to?
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;" (2 Tim. 3:16). Which Scripture is inspired by God?
We must not forget also the number of times the New Testament makes reference to "Moses and the Prophets," which make up the entire Old Testament. The Christian cannot do without the Old Testament. Any person who thinks they can kick the Old Testament to the curb has clearly never read it and is ignorant of the glorious truths it has to offer us. Here are some other verses that refer to "Scripture" or "the Scriptures": Mark 12:10; 15:28; Luke 4:21; John 2:22; 7:38, 42; 10:35; 13:18; 17:12; 19:24, 28, 36-37; 20:9; Acts 1:16; 8:32, 35; Rom. 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2; Gal. 3:22; 4:30; 1 Tim. 4:13; 5:18; James 2:8, 23; 4:5; 1 Pet. 2:6; 2 Pet. 1:20. Do not let anyone feed you that garbage about the Old Testament not being important for the Christian again, or that it is dead to us. Those lies comes straight from the pit of hell. If it has no benefit for us, then it clearly cannot be inspired, in which case the entire New Testament is invalidated and made null and void because it relies so heavily upon the Old Testament. By throwing out the Old Testament, you throw out the New Testament as well and the Christian is left with nothing. In fact, the Christian no longer exists.