Foundation?

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5: 17 – 19)

We have been taught, and even I have taught, that the Old Testament is the foundation of our faith.

This implies that the New Testament is the only visible part of the building.

That is what I want to shatter today though I am open to correction.

And I will start by asking a simple question.

For builders, what is the percentage in cost, material, time, workmanship of a foundation vis a vis the completed building?

However demanding that foundation is, I doubt it would go beyond a quarter of the building’s total cost.

That is what I want us to examine as we look at the Bible.

Allow me to use some percentages I took as I went through the Bible. And they are rough estimates with some margin of error that statisticians might find fault with.

But I teach the Bible, not statistics.

·       Pentateuch 20%

·       History 25%

·       Poetry 12%

·       Major Prophets 18%

·       Minor Prophets 5%

·       New Testament 20%

How can 80% be the foundation?

And why did Jesus not say He was coming to start building but to complete?

The truth of the matter is that the Old Testament was not the foundation but the building itself

The New Testament came to complete and beautify the building that had been in process through the times.

What am I trying to say?

The Pentateuch is the foundation with the first eleven chapters being the preparation for that foundation.

From that point, the building started in earnest.

No wonder everything in the New Testament points to the Old Testament

It is written, haven’t you read?, etc.

Jesus was the crowning act of the whole drama, the beautifying part in the building.

That is why Apollos could accurately share the Gospel without encountering Christ or even the visible church members.

That is why the Gospel spread fastest among those with prior knowledge and exposure to the Old Testament.

We therefore err when we equate the Old Testament with a foundation, basically because it creates the assumption that it is not as essential for the day to day running of our faith.

Or whoever made any reference to the foundation when they are looking for some rentals? Whoever sought to see the depth of the foundation before moving into a house?

The only person who may be interested in knowing the condition of a foundation is the one seeking to install heavy machinery because of their impact on any building they occupy. Simply because they require solidity as their foundation.

No wonder many believers associate the Old Testament with expired instruction and obsolete theology.

What then, according to me, is the New Testament? Where does it lie?

Jesus is the door as He said in John.

And that is where the New Testament starts.

The New Testament is what is done to a house after the door is installed.

Allow me to describe a door.

A door stands for security and warmth.

A door is the testimony that the house is habitable.

You can move into a house without plaster, without furniture, without a floor.

But people will doubt your sanity and sense of security if you moved into a house without a door.

A door also represents a boundary. That is why people will question your sanity if you moved into a house without a door because it is open to all. It is simply a shelter from the elements and nothing else since there is no way you can stop anything from getting in.

It is impossible to count on a house without a door. Simply because you must be there for that to be a reality.

I will be building on this on (a) later post(s).