Put on the

Full Armor

of God Ephesians 6:14-18

Volume 6 • Issue 1 Rev. Gary Henry & Rev. Sheree Henry • P.O. Box 369 • Nevada, Texas 75173 • 214-766-8019 • psalm91@argontech.net

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and isprofitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for

instruction in righteousness.” 2nd Timothy 3:16 NKJV

Scripture of the Quarter

the OLD TESTAMENT! John the disciplethat Jesus loved wrote in 1 John 5:3 For this isthe love of God, that we keep His com mand -ments. And His commandments (Torah) arenot burdensome. When Jesus was asked aboutthe greatest commandment in Matthew 22:36-39(NIV) 36“Teacher, which is the greatestcom mand ment in the Law?” 37Jesus replied:“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heartand with all your soul and with all yourmind.’ 38is is the first and greatest com -mandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Loveyour neighbor as yourself.’

Jesus was not making up new commandments.He was speaking about two which are found inDeuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18.Jesus was not replacing the commandments hewas stating the two most importantcommandments. He didn’t say these are theonly two commandments you must obey. Hesaid that all the laws “hang” on those twocommandments. In other words, when we obeythe commandments we will show God and ourneighbor that we love them. And in Matthew19:17b-19(NKJV) 17[b]“But if you want to enterinto life, keep the commandments.” 18He saidto Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shallnot murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear falsewitness,’ 19’Honor your father and yourmother,’ [c]and, ‘You shall love your neighboras yourself.’”

Jesus was going down the list found in Exodus20:12-17 and Leviticus 19:18. Did Jesus saykeep the commandments only till I die? We aretold by Jesus to love the LORD our God withall our hearts, our mind, and our souls. In 1 John 5:3 the definition of loving God is tokeep God’s commandments. en it is not“legalism” to keep His commandments.Legalism takes the love out and places the“traditions of men” above God’s command -ments (His teachings). Read Matthew15:6(NKJV) 6then he need not honor his fatheror mother.’ us you have made thecommand ment of God of no effect by yourtradition.

We must remember the “All scripture” that theApostle Paul was talking about is the OldTestament. e New Testament as we know itdid not exist at that time. It was writtenapproximately 60 A.D. and compiled later. eOld Testament is made up of the Torah, theProphets and the Writings. e first five books ofthe Bible were written by Moses and is referred toas the Torah. Torah is a Hebrew word meaningteachings and instructions, many refer to it as the“Law” and it does include the laws of God.God’s “Torah teachings” the “Law” consisted ofthree parts: Ceremonial Laws, Sacrificial Laws,and Moral Laws. e “Moral Law” includes theTen Commandments, and they are still relevanttoday for our society! e word “Law” has anegative connotation for people in our societytoday. Why? People do not want to obey the lawof God or man. For instance, people speed andget a speeding ticket, then get all upset. Is it the

law’s fault they did not obey the speed limit? NO,it is our fault. God wrote the “Law” orcommandments (Torah - Instruction) to protectus because He loves us. e speed limit laws areto protect us. is verse is misunderstood: Jesussaid in Matthew 5:17 “Don’t think that I cameto destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did notcome to destroy but to fulfill.” (NKJV) is iswhere many people get confused and say we areno longer under the “Law”, because it has beenfulfilled by Jesus. People use this verse to say allthe Law has been done away with. So if all of thelaws of God have been fulfilled (done away with),then I can go murder someone, commit adultery,steal, take the Lord’s name in vain etcetera, neverrepent and suffer no consequences from GodAlmighty. So let’s find out the context ofMatthew 5:17, Fulfill in Greek is pleroo: to befilled, make full, and complete. Now thequestion we must answer is; What did Jesus fulfillor complete? e answer is very simple: Jesusfulfilled (or completed) the sacrificial law. eblood of bulls and goats and lambs could onlyatone (cover) our sins, but the precious bloodthat Jesus shed on the cross cleansed us of oursins. In Hebrews 9:12(NKJV) 12Not with theblood of goats and calves, but with His ownblood He entered the Most Holy Place once forall, having obtained eternal redemption.

Because Jesus was sacrificed for our sins we nolonger have to sacrifice animals for our sins. Iassure you Jesus did not do away with the otherportions of the Law (Torah).

In John 14:15 Jesus said, “If you love Me, keepMy commandments.” Again we must rememberJesus is talking about God’s commandments in

Is the Old Testament Obsolete as Some are Proclaiming?

e Lord put this on our hearts because manyChristians are being deceived because they havebeen taught that they no longer have to stay in theboundaries of “God’s instruction” “the Law”. 2 Peter 2:18-19(NLT) 18ey brag about them selveswith empty, foolish boasting. With an appeal totwisted sexual desires, they lure back into sin thosewho have barely escaped from a lifestyle ofdeception. 19ey promise freedom, but theythemselves are slaves of sin and corruption. Foryou are a slave to whatever controls you.

Many believe, now I’m saved, so I’m under graceso I can do whatever I want because Jesus got ridof the law of God. is is called “Hyper-grace”.We are under grace. So what did Jesus tell John inRevelation to warn the “churches” (the Christians)about? Turn to Revelation and read chapter 2verses 2, 13, 19, 23 and in chapter 3 verses 1-2,15-16. Jesus said He knows our works! Nowwhat happens, if the “Christians (born againbelievers)” do not repent (ask for forgiveness andstop their wicked ways)? Jesus tells us read Rev. chapter 2 verses 5, 16, 20-23, and chapter 3verses 2-5 (wow, even blot out their names fromthe Lambs Book of Life), and verses 16-19 vomitthem out (are you lukewarm). Study! Be a Berean!2nd Timothy 2:15 “Be diligent to presentyourself approved to God, a worker who doesnot need to be ashamed, rightly dividing theword of truth.”

Another scripture that is misunderstood and isused to justify not following the instructions inthe old testament is found in Hebrews 8:13(NKJV)13In that He says, “A new covenant,” He hasmade the first obsolete. Now what is becomingobsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.Most people would say He is talking about theOld Testament (Torah) which is a covenant. Whenyou read and study the Bible you must keep thescriptures in context. e first thing you mustrealize is the book of Hebrews, is addressing the priesthood. Hebrews 7:20-22(NKJV) 20Andinasmuch as He was not made priest without anoath 21(for they have become priests without anoath, but He with an oath by Him who said toHim:”e LORD has sworn And will not relent,‘You are a priest forever According to the order ofMelchizedek’” 22by so much more Jesus hasbecome a surety of a better covenant.

A better covenant is in the new order of priest -hood! Why was He doing away with the oldorder of priesthood? Because from Aaron on thepriests were all sinners themselves and their sinswere atoned for (covered not cleansed) by theanimals sacrificed for them. Jesus had neversinned and His blood washed away our sins, asif they never happened.

Hebrews 7:24-25(NKJV) 24But He, because Hecontinues forever, has an unchangeable priest -

hood. 25erefore He is also able to save to theuttermost those who come to God through Him,since He always lives to make intercession forthem.

If we don’t have to follow the commandments ofGod any longer why does Jesus have to makeintercession for us? What does “e Law” do? elaw of God “Defines Sin”, it Blesses, and it Curses.Are you continually breaking the commandmentsbecause you think they are obsolete? Do youwonder why you are not getting a break through?If you continue to break God’s law you are inrebellion and you are cursing yourself!

1st John 1:8-10(NKJV) 8If we say that we have nosin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not inus. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and justto forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from allunrighteousness. 10If we say that we have notsinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is notin us.

You have heard, “e Old Testament is thingsconcealed and the New Testament is thingsrevealed.” A man named Melchizedek, the firstpriest mentioned in the Bible. Genesis14:18(NKJV) 18en Melchizedek king of Salembrought out bread and wine; he was the priestof God Most High.

e name Melchizedek is comprised of two partsMele means King and Zedic which meansrighteous ness. Put together it is King ofRighteous ness. He was also King of Salem whichmeans King of Peace. Hebrews 7:3 reads“Without a father, without a mother, withoutgenealogy, having neither beginning of days norend of life, but Who was made like the Son ofGod, remains a priest forever.” Melchizedek wasa picture of Jesus. Jesus is the “beginning and theend” the Alpha and Omega. Jesus is referred to asthe Prince of Peace in Isaiah 9:6. In Hebrews7:20-21(NKJV) 20And inasmuch as He was notmade priest without an oath 21(for they havebecome priests without an oath, but He with anoath by Him who said to Him:” e LORD hassworn And will not relent, ‘You are a priestforever According to the order of Melchizedek’”)

Melchizedek was also King of Salem. When Jesuscomes back to rule and reign on the earth duringthe millennial reign He will be the King over allthe earth, in Jerusalem. It is written in Revelation17:14(NKJV) 14ese will make war with theLamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, forHe is Lord of lords and King of kings; and thosewho are with Him are called, chosen, andfaithful.”

I pray that those of you who have heard the OldTestament is obsolete will open up your eyes ofunderstanding and realize this is not true. inkabout this, there are prophecies in the Old

Testament that have not been fulfilled. ere aremany but I would like to discuss a couple of thesenow. One of the prophesies is found in the bookof Zechariah 14:4 “And in that day His feet willstand on the Mount of Olives, which facesJerusalem on the east. And the Mount of Olivesshall be split in two, from east to west. Makinga very large valley; half of the mountain shallmove toward the north and half of it to thesouth.”(NKJV) is is describing Jesus coming backin the Second Advent (second coming). Anotherprophesy that has not been fulfilled yet is foundin Isaiah 17. Let’s read the first and last verse.Isaiah 17:1 1e burden against Damascus.“Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city,And it will be a ruinous heap. 14en behold, ateventide, trouble! And before the morning, he isno more.

Damascus has never been totally destroyed as itserved as a stopping place for all traveling throughthe region and in the past paid taxes to any rulingcountry over them. I truly thought it was goingto be destroyed when Syria threatened to sendchemical rockets into Israel about three monthsago. An Israeli official advised Syria, if they carriedout this threat, Israel would destroy Damascus.ink about that. So God almighty even tells usthrough the prophet Isaiah the time of day whenDamascus will be destroyed.

We need to talk about one more scripture fromthe Word of God to prove the Old Testament isvalid for today and forever! Jesus said in Matthew5:18-19(NKJV) 18For assuredly, I say to you, tillheaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittlewill by no means pass from the law till all isfulfilled. I would like to explain what a jot andtittle is for those of you who don’t know. In theHebrew language a jot is yod which is the smallestletter in the Hebrew alphabet. e tittle is vav andis the second smallest letter in the Hebrewalphabet. Matthew 5:19 19Whoever thereforebreaks one of the least of these commandments,and teaches men so, shall be called least in thekingdom of heaven; but whoever does andteaches them, he shall be called great in thekingdom of heaven.

Remember we are living in the last days and theBible gives us a warning in Colossians 2:8(NKJV)8Beware lest anyone cheat you throughphilosophy and empty deceit, according to thetradition of men, according to the basicprinciples of the world, and not according toChrist.

Sheree and I pray, God will open your eyes ofunderstanding. If anyone tells you the OldTestament is obsolete and we don’t go by thecommandments, anymore they may be sincere butthey are sincerely WRONG!