3 Errors When Reading The Old Testament (One Is A Heresy)
Luke 24:27 gives us an amazing statement about Jesus’ view of the Old Testament. After rising from the dead, He appears to some disciples although veiling His heavenly glory. He begins to have the greatest small group Bible study ever on the face of the Earth. And here is the summary of that study: “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
One of the most important disciplines a Christian can learn is the art of reading the Old Testament in light of Christ. While the Old Testament certainly leads to the Son—His Person and Work as the Christ—it is also true that the Triune God is in all the Old Testament.
This brings up a good time to mention three different errors we can have while reading the Old Testament. One of these is truly tragic.
Error #1: Marcionism
The tragic error—the heresy—is Marcionism which is the false teaching that the God of the Old Testament is to be rejected in order to accept the God of the New Testament. One cannot be a Christian if one embraces that teaching. In this view, the Israelite God of the Old Testament is a God of wrath while the God of the New Testament is a God of love. The result of such teaching is that we are to only be New Testament Christians.
This error was labeled heretical false teaching by the early Church in the 3rd Century. To staunchly believe in this view is one that forfeits salvation. No true Christian can embrace this understanding.
A Necessary Note
The other errors are not so detrimental nor damnable but are still errors. And all errors ought to be repented of. Nevertheless, repentance is a fruit of learning and having faith in God’s Word. This is why there is a phenomenal difference between ignorance and arrogance. Depending on the error and the posture of the one believing the error is what determines the level of firmness and tone of the debate. It is one thing to raise these questions where “holy curiosity” is promoted and it is the time for asking questions. It is another thing when a dangerous view is being promoted among Christians. It is one thing when a young Christian has ignorantly bought into an errant idea. It is another thing when a leader in the church is flirting with a view that has major ramifications. The conversation changes when you’re talking to a regular church member or another pastor, elder, or deacon. Leaders are to be held to a higher standard because they are the ones who lead the sheep.
Error #2: Christ Not In The Old Testament
One of the errors Christians can make is that while they see the Old Testament proclaiming the Triune God (although more fully revealed in the New Testament) they fail to see how the Old Testament—in all its parts—leads to Christ. They wouldn’t come close to committing the Marcion error but they don’t necessarily agree that all the Old Testament leads to Christ. It is true that we can too quickly jump to Christ when reading the Old Testament. That is an error where we fail to read the context of the Old Testament first before getting the full picture of how it leads to Jesus. But, it is an error to say that only parts of the Old Testament (and only when it’s very explicit) leads to Christ.
Consider some of these comments on Luke 24:
R.C. Sproul: “The threefold division of the Hebrew Bible. As the first book in the third section of the Hebrew canon, ‘Psalms’ stands for all the books in that section (called ‘the Writings’). Jesus is saying that every part of Scripture bears witness to Him.”1
Matthew Henry: “You cannot go far in any part of scripture but you meet with something that has reference to Christ, some prophecy, some promise, some prayer, some type or other; for he is the true treasure his in the field of the Old Testament. A golden thread of gospel grace runs through the whole web of the Old Testament.”2
Benjamin Gladd: “Second, the disciples’ ignorance stems from a misreading of the OT—and not just a handful of OT passages but the OT at large.”3
No matter where you go in the Old Testament there is always a road that leads to Christ. Yes, it must be a legitimate road. But, there is always a road.
Error #3: Yes, It Leads To Christ But Don’t See The Son of God There
This error can be more prevalent in evangelicalism today. One of the good trends is that churches are getting better and better at reading the Old Testament in light of Christ. But, when we focus only on how the Old Testament leads to Christ we can forsake that the Son of God is there in the Old Testament itself. This is where our systematic theology must come into the picture. While biblical theology and covenant theology equip us to see the progressive unfolding of the plan of redemption, we must also bring in the riches of our doctrine of God to see that He is the great “I Am” (Ex. 3:14) who is already there in the Old Testament.
The error one can make is that they only think about how the Old Testament leads to Christ rather than seeing the pre-incarnate Son of God already ministering to His elect in the Old Testament. The Christians that came before Christ are not merely looking forward to the Messiah/Christ to come. They are currently at that moment looking upward to the Triune God whose word they can trust.
The Father is there sovereignly bringing about His decree to fulfill the covenant of redemption through the Son by the Holy Spirit.4 He is carrying the promise down through each generation so that the Snake Crusher might be “born of woman, born under the law” when it was “the fullness of time” (Gal. 4:4-5). And the Father never works except through the Son by the Holy Spirit. The Son never works excepts from the Father by the Spirit. The Spirit never works except by the Father working through the Son. The Triune God is never separated. Where one Person is at work, all Persons are at work because there is only one God.
By inspiration of the Holy Spirit, John in Holy Scripture writes in John 12:41 that when Isaiah saw the glory of Yahweh on the throne in Isaiah 6 that what he saw was the glory of the pre-incarnate Christ. William Hendriksen says, “Isaiah, in the glorious vision recorded in the same chapter from which the quotation was taken, saw the glory, the transcendent majesty…of the Lord Jesus Christ (in whom the glory of Jehovah reflects itself) and was conscious of the fact that he was speaking of him”.5 Another commentator on John 12:41, Leon Morris, says, “John sees in the words of the prophet primarily a reference to the glory of Christ. Isaiah spoke these things ‘because he saw Jesus’ glory.’ The words of Isaiah 6:3 refer to the glory of Yahweh, but John makes no hard-and-fast distinction between the two. To him it is plain that Isaiah had in mind the glory revealed in Christ.”6
Conclusion
While we make sure to read the Old Testament as leading to Christ, we never forget to read the Old Testament to see the Triune God already there working all things for His glory and our good. The Christian learning to read the Old Testament is to read it in light of One God saving One People through One Savior for One Salvation. The Bible is two testaments but one book. The Bible speaks about one covenant of grace although progressively revealed through each installment of that covenant.
What makes this amazing is that Christians can and must read their Old Testaments to delight in the fact that the Yahweh proclaimed there is the same Yahweh today—even though He has clothed Himself in flesh as the Son of God became Man.
R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 1841.
Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible: Complete and Unabridged in One Volume (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1994), 1912.
Benjamin L. Gladd, Handbook on the Gospels, ed. Benjamin L. Gladd, Handbooks on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic: A Division of Baker Publishing Group, 2021), 301.
We need to be reminded that our talk about God is always “anthropomorphic” talk. God is immutable, impassible, simple, self-sufficient, infinite, and eternal. While God reveals Himself to us using our very language, there is still a divine mystery to this that we (as finite creatures) can’t fully understand. How exactly does an eternal timeless and omnipresent God—while at the same time is no Deist God—love sinners who exists in time and space? Scripture sure says that He actually loves us with an infinite love. What a mystery! We must always hold onto these core creedal and biblical incommunicable attributes while reading Scripture. We will run into great trouble if we begin to say that the exact way in which our actions are described is identical to what happens to God. There is a profound distinction between identical language and analogical language. Nevertheless, analogical language is still revelatory language. That means we use the language God has provided while acknowledging all parts of Scripture that also describe God’s existence and attributes.
William Hendriksen and Simon J. Kistemaker, Exposition of the Gospel According to John, vol. 2, New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1953–2001), 213.
Leon Morris, The Gospel according to John, The New International Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1995), 537–538.