Old Testament Versus the New Testament

The old commences what the New completes. The Old gathers around Sinai, the New around calvary. The Old is associated with Moses, the New with Christ. (John 1:17)

Bible Authors

The authors of the Bible were kings and princes, poets and philosophers, prophets and statesmen. Some were learned in the arts of the times, while others were unschooled fishermen. Other books are soon out of date. But this book, the Bible, spans the centuries. Most books must be adapted to age, but old and young alike love the Bible. Most books are provincial and interest only those in whose language they were written. But not the Bible. It was written in what are now called “dead languages.”

This post is the beginning of a series from one of Grandaddy Godsoe’s Sunday School lessons.

The Bible Shows Us Jesus Christ, the World’s Savior

Behind and beneath the Bible,  above and beyond the Bible, is the God of the Bible. The Bible is God’s written revelation of His will to men. Its central theme is salvation through Christ. 66 books, 40 authors, over about 1600 years.

The Old Testament was written mostly in Hebrew, with a few short passages in Aramaic. Some 100 years before Christ all of the Old Testament was translated into Greek. The New Testament was written entirely in Greek. Our Bible is a translation from these original languages. The word “Bible” is from the Greek “Biblios.” “Testament” means “covenant” or “agreement.”

The Covenants of Law and Grace

The Old Testament is the covenant God made with man about his salvation before Christ came. The New Testament is the agreement God made with man about his salvation after Christ came. The Old Testament is the covenant of law. The New Testament is the Covenant of grace which came through Jesus Christ. One led into the other.

17And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

18For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

19Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

20Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.

21Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

22But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

23But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Dr. Frank A. Godsoe was my great granddaddy. I remember his snow white hair, funny stories, and how he used to rock the grandbabies singing and old fashined tune we called “Bum de Bum.” One day I stopped by his daughter’s house, “Granny” to me, and they were cleaning. I hate to admit this, but they had thrown away a huge box of his sermons and other files. I rescued these from the curb and took them home. In this garbage bag I found jokes and newspaper clippings, and all of the files that he used in crafting his sermons. There was also a box of logbooks where he faithfully logged each hospital visit, evangelistic visit, and church meeting. There were also thousands of sermons written on every imaginable type of paper. Tiny scraps, envelopes and scratch pads. Dr. Godsoe was a walking sermon machine!

The crown jewels of my visit to Granny’s that day, however, were a set of twenty five or so hand-typed looseleaf notebooks. These books were written by Grandaddy while he was teaching a Sunday School class in his later years. As I read through these books, I realized what a magnificent contribution these books are to the body of Christ. This site is my gift to you that God may be glorified. I hope you will be encouraged by the sermons of Dr. Frank A. Godsoe.