10.24.2016

J. Alec Motyer on the continuity between Old Testament and New Testament Saints

When J. Alec Motyer was questioned about the relationship of Old Testament Israel to the church, after saying something about the discontinuities, he insisted that we are all one people of God. Then he asked us to imagine how the Israelites under Moses would have given their ‘testimony’ to someone who had asked for it. They would have said something like this:

We were in a foreign land, in bondage, under the sentence of death. But our mediator – the one who stands between us and God – came to us with the promise of deliverance. We trusted in the promises of God, took shelter under the blood of the lamb, and he lead us out. Now we are on the way to the Promised Land. We are not there yet, of course, but we have the law to guide us, and through blood sacrifice we also have his presence in our midst. So he will stay with us until we get to our true country, our everlasting home.

Then Dr Motyer concluded: ‘Now think about it. A Christian today could say the same thing, almost word for word.’

Source: A Christian's Pocket Guide to Loving The Old Testament: One Book, One God, One Story, forward by Tim Keller, p x. Dr Motyer passed into glory this August. A tribute here.

5 comments:

  1. JP, I've never heard of this guy. Would I be correct in assuming that he was adamantly anti-Trump?

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    1. Now in the presence of the King. Not at all concerned about the election.

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    2. JP, on that I could not agree with you more. By the way, I did not mean anything personal. I have never heard of this man, so it was just a springboard for discussion. I did not mean in any way, shape or form to drag him into this in a trivial way. Please forgive me if if appeared that way.

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  2. JP, I still like you. But you have greatly saddened me with your anti-Trump campaign, and I wonder if you would say anything good on your site about anyone who is pro-Trump. I am voting for Trump and I think he will win in either a landslide or a decidedly large margin of the popular vote. I have no clue who the Electoral College will vote, but I think he will win the popular vote. Sometimes I think you and I are the only ones here because the only ones who make comments are me and you and occasionally that Mr. Bubba guy. Like I said, I still like you, but I could not disagree more with your political views. I am voting for Trump enthusiastically, not holding my nose and voting for the "lesser evil." I haven't been enthusiastically for any candidate this much since Reagan in 1980.

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    1. You've got no concerns about a candidate with four business bankruptcies, three wives, and two political parties? Really?

      You could be right that he'd shake things up in exactly the right ways, but as long as I believe that character matters, I've got to have that nose plug.

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