Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

The Danger of Moralizing the Old Testament

In his book, On the Old Testament, Mark Driscoll provides a helpful corrective to preacher-types like myself who may be tempted to dare folks to be a Daniel. He says,

"Unless Jesus is the central message of the Old Testament, many errors abound. The most common is moralizing. Moralizing is reading the Old Testament not to learn about Jesus, but only to learn principles for how to live my life as a good person by following the good examples of some people and avoiding the bad examples of others." 

After all, on the road to Damascus, Jesus himself showed two travelers that the entire Old Testament was about him, whether through prophetic promises, Christophanies, types and shadows or titles. This is because the Old Testament teaches us that we need a Savior, not just better behavior.