The Old Testament and How It Applies

Mistakes can be made by Christians when reading the Old Testament.

These are the observations that we and / or others have made and the Biblical response:

Observation #1:

That the Old Testament is unimportant for the Christian.

Response #1:

Some may think that because we Christians have entered a "new and living way" [Hebrews 10:20], that the old is irrelevant. Not so. Much can be learned within the pages of the Old Testament, although care must be taken in how it is applied. 
The answer to this thinking is "ALL scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. -- 2 Timothy 3:16.

Observation #2:

That the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are different. Christians may not blatantly state that the God of Old and New are different, but too many live as though they believe it. Some see the God of the Old Testament as vengeful and violent. They see the God of the New Testament as a pacifist.

Response #2:

The answer to this thinking is "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." [Hebrews 13:8] Also in "But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end." [Psalm 102:27] And in "For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." [Malachi 3:6]
Christians must recognize that God's nature is revealed the same in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. He is holy. He is merciful. How He deals in His holiness and mercy can be difficult for mankind to understand. But His nature is a wonderful balance of both. Those who see Him outside of this balance, err. And those who err will have one sore problem when seeking to become like Him.

Observation #3:

The third problem that we will deal with is that of taking words given specifically to literal Israel and applying them to another people.

Response #3:

Some would say that God has abandoned historical Israel, replacing her with the Church. Carefully reading Romans 9-11, one concludes "God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew." [Romans 11:2a]
Rather, God has words for literal Israel today, yesterday, and tomorrow. Being grafted into their olive tree, we may eat of its fruit. We may feast upon the principles we glean from Old Testament pages. We must take care, though, not to imply more than is there.
For example: "And the Lord will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee." [Deuteronomy 7:15]
From this passage, an untaught Christian might conclude that God says He will take from the Christian all sickness and will lay those things upon his or her enemies. When this does not happen, there might be a crisis of trust in the Bible and in one's salvation. There can be questioning of one's level of faith and quality of walk.
This passage, though, was written for the Israelites, specifically. The underlying principle that Christians may claim is that when obedient, God will protect. But God may choose to protect the Christian through a good medical decision instead of through a supernatural intervention.
The Bible Study "Godly Living Patterns" uses Scripture that may not directly apply to a Christian. But the underlying principle is there and can prove helpful.

Observation #4:

Last, there is a tendency to place a mystical meaning to a verse that God never intended.

Response #4:

Much of the Bible, Old and New Testaments, falls into four categories:

A. Exaltation of God and a revelation of His character.

B. Do this and don't do this.

C. If you do this or don't do this, this will happen.

D. This is what happened when people did or did not believe God about what He said.

Consider the verse "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." -- Proverbs 22:6
This is one of the "if you do this or don't do this, this will happen" verses. If one trains "chanak" his or her child in a Godly manner, when that child is mature, he or she will not depart from that training. The properly trained person will not depart from the way in which he or she was molded to go.
Too many Christians, though, tend to spiritualize this verse, placing upon it a mystical meaning. "Raise your child in a Christian home," these would say. "Get that child into Sunday School. Then, have no concern even if he or she wanders far from anything to do with God. When old, these would say, the Bible promises that he or she will come back to what you believe."
When one's child has sorely strayed, such words are comforting. But it is false comfort. And it could prevent a parent from taking the steps needed to lead the young person to Christ or back to God.
Through God's Spirit, the Lord may use a verse such as this to speak a special word to an individual. He may trigger something in that verse to awaken a thought process. That is good. Some call this a "rhema." It is a mistake, though, to take this personal insight and see it as a universal teaching.