When I speak of two testaments, I am referring to the Law of Moses as the Old Testament and the Gospel of Christ as the New Testament. The Law of Moses was a covenant established only with the Jews and not with anyone else (Deuteronomy 5:2-3). That does not mean that God did not have expectations for the Gentiles (non-Jews). The book of Jonah is about God sending the prophet Jonah to the city of Nineveh (a Gentile city) to warn them that God was going to destroy them because their wickedness had come up before Him. However, Nineveh repented and the city was spared. The Gospel (the New Testament) on the other hand, is for all. In Romans 1:16 Paul tells the Romans, "For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Paul is explicit that the Gospel is for everyone.

 So why was there a Law of Moses? It was added because of transgressions till the Christ would come (Galatians 3:19). The old law serves as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. After faith comes we are no longer under a schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24-25). The other purpose of the old law is to demonstrate that no one can be justified by the deeds of the law in God's sight and to identify sin (Romans 3:20). The Old Testament is a shadow of the good things to come; for under the old law the sins of man could not be removed (Hebrews 10:1-4).

 The old law had numerous shortcomings. Paul, in Colossians 2:14, tells those in Colosse that the old law was nailed to the cross and fulfilled by the death of Christ on the cross: "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, He took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross;"

 The New Testament is a better testament than the Old Testament (Hebrews 7:22). The New Testament is the perfect law (James 1:25) since through the new law our sins can be washed away (Acts 22:16). These things could not be accomplished under the Old Testament.

 In conclusion, we can see from the above that there are two testaments, because the old law could not take away sin (Hebrews 10:1-4), it was temporary (Galatians 3:19), and it was limited to one nation (Ephesians 2:14). The Old Testament was to lead men to Christ by serving as a schoolmaster (Galatians 3:24-25), to demonstrate the righteousness of God (Romans 7:12), and to emphasize the horrors of sin (Romans 3:20). Conversely, the New Testament is for everyone (Romans 1:16), it is a better law (Hebrews 7:22) since it is perfect (James 1:25), it is able to wash away sins (Acts 22:16), and it provides us with a better hope (Hebrews 7:19). We have two testaments but the New Testament is the only valid testament today.

 Charles Royal, Decatur, AL