What is the difference between the Old and New Testament?
The Bible has two big parts, and they can feel like two different books. Do Christians still need the Old Testament?
The Old Testament tells the story of God’s promises before Jesus came: creation, the fall, God’s covenant with Israel, the law, the prophets and the promise of a coming Savior. The New Testament tells how those promises were fulfilled in Jesus: His life, death and resurrection, the birth of the church, and the hope of His return. Jesus said, “I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). The Old Testament is the promise; the New Testament is the promise kept. You need both to understand either one.
Have a question about the Bible? Ask it, any hour. Ask now →
“Today this Scripture is fulfilled”
In His hometown synagogue in Nazareth, Jesus stood up and was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He found the place where it was written, “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor.” Then He rolled up the scroll, sat down, and with every eye fixed on Him, said, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:16–21). Seven hundred years of waiting, and the promise was standing in front of them.
The Old Testament (39 books)
The Law: Genesis to Deuteronomy. History: Joshua to Esther. Wisdom and poetry: Job to Song of Songs. The Prophets: Isaiah to Malachi. Written over about a thousand years, mostly in Hebrew.
The New Testament (27 books)
The Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. History: Acts. Letters: Romans to Jude. Prophecy: Revelation. Written within a lifetime of Jesus, in Greek.
Do Christians follow the Old Testament law?
The moral law, like do not murder and do not steal, still shows us God’s heart. But the ceremonial laws, like sacrifices and food laws, were fulfilled in Jesus (Hebrews 10:1–14; Colossians 2:16–17). We read the Old Testament through Jesus.
What the Bible says
- 01
To fulfill them.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them. For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.”
Matthew 5:17–18 - 02
Fulfilled in your hearing.
“Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. As was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath. And when He stood up to read, the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then He rolled up the scroll, returned it to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on Him, and He began by saying, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””
Luke 4:16–21 - 03
All the Scriptures about Himself.
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He explained to them what was written in all the Scriptures about Himself.”
Luke 24:27 - 04
A better covenant.
“Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises. For if that first covenant had been without fault, no place would have been sought for a second. But God found fault with the people and said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not abide by My covenant, and I disregarded them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.” By speaking of a new covenant, He has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.”
Hebrews 8:6–13 - 05
All Scripture.
“From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness,”
2 Timothy 3:15–16 - 06
Written for our instruction.
“For everything that was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope.”
Romans 15:4
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.
Read Isaiah 53 and then John 19 this week, and notice how the promise and the fulfillment fit together.
Common questions
Should new believers start with the Old or New Testament?
Start with the Gospel of John, then the rest of the New Testament, and add Psalms and Proverbs.
Is the God of the Old Testament different from the God of the New?
No. He is the same God (Malachi 3:6). Both testaments show His holiness and His love.
What does “testament” mean?
It means covenant: God’s binding promise to His people.
Read it with a guide.
Become’s study Bible walks you through every chapter, with a reading plan that starts in John and walks you through the whole story, in your language.
One verse a day, in your inbox.
A verse from the Bible at 7 a.m. your time, with what it means and one way to live it that day. Leave any time.