When the writer of Hebrews was writing what would become a book placed in the New Testament canon, he wrote, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12).

The writer of Hebrews was not shy about quoting the Old Testament. He quoted the Old Testament 19 times in 13 chapters. It was the same lack of shyness that was shared by other writers who would produce New Testament Scripture. They did not yet have the completed New Testament to quote from, so they went back to the Old Testament Scriptures to describe the coming Messiah, Jesus. They lived in a balance between the Old Testament and what would eventually become the New Testament.

God did not change between Covenants. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. What has changed and caused us to get out of balance, even dismissing the Old Testament, are social issues like human sexuality and what some have called “the cruel God” who acted in ways contrary to our tenderized social conscience. Another issue that causes this imbalance is a lack of teaching through all the books of Scripture to see and value what has been written across time. 

What happens in this kind of selective teaching schedule is the imbalance it creates within the Church. It’s like a person with one leg shorter than the other. The imbalance creates a lop-sided approach to God’s word. It creates an imbalance in our walk of faith causing the Church to walk in circles, focusing on only one portion of God’s revelation and rejecting the rest. 

The writer of Hebrews in his concluding remarks, wrote this, “Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong” (12:13). That straight path refers to all aspects of our lives, even how we interpret and view the totality of Scripture.