Day 5

The differences between the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are not so drastic that they represent two different Gods, or even two different natures of God. He has always been about the purpose of redeeming His people – and what is the difference in the definition of redemption and salvation? Even though we have heard that the Old Testament points to the New Testament, what is our experience in believing and recognizing this? Read Exodus 6:6-7 within the context of Ephesians 2:5,8:
Ephesians 2:5,8: “even when we were dead in our trespasses (God) made us alive in together with Christ – by grace you have been saved” – “For by grace you have been saved by faith, and this is not of your own doing, it is the gift of God”
Exodus 6:6-7: “Say therefore to the people of Israel, “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm with great acts of judgement. I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God. Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.”
Virtually every detail of God’s deliverance of His people was a picture of “by grace you have been saved.” We must recognize the unity of the Bible - that the God who met with Moses, is the same God we meet in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament is not just full of stories but teaching that relates to a totally different era. We live in a different era, yet we apply the New Testament to our everyday living, and we are more than willing to apply the principles of grace taught in the New Testament to our everyday living. Why not the Old Testament? There are differences to be sure, but those differences do not relate to the character of God or the way He saves us. Grace is as fundamental to the Old Testament as it is to the New.
“God, please help me to look at Your entire word as the foundation of my faith in You. Help me to see that just as You have always loved your chosen people, unwaveringly, and unchangingly, I am also Your chosen child and You have always loved me the same. Let me live in the knowledge that it is only by Your grace that I am saved – and that is what You have always, and continue to, extend to me in every way.