Which one? The Old Testament or the New Testament?

Matthew 5
17 “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.

Luke 4

16 sAnd he came to tNazareth, where he had been brought up. And uas was his custom, vhe went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up wto read. 17 And xthe scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

18  y“The Spirit of the Lord zis upon me,

because he has anointed me

to aproclaim good news to the poor.

bHe has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

and crecovering of sight to the blind,

dto set at liberty those who are oppressed,

19  eto proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and fsat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were gfixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, “Today hthis Scripture ihas been fulfilled in your hearing.” 

Over the years, I have heard people say their church is a New Testament church or they follow the principles of the Old Testament or, as Jews do, only believe a few books of the Bible. Other times, it is preached that this part of a certain verse is true and the other part doesn't matter. Lastly, I have heard "our church believes everyone is equal and we should accept everyone for what they believe...What is right for them is right for them no matter what the Bible states."

As far as the New and Old Testament see concerned, Matthew 5:17 states that what was foretold in the Old Testament waa fulfilled in the New Testament. One is not more, or less, important than the other. No need to argue about which one is best, or true, or more important. If you read one, and then the next, you will see they are intertwined...each one confirming the information in the other. Luke 4:16-20 is a prime example of that. The Old Testament foretold Jesus would come (just one example would be Isaiah).  In the New Testament, Jesus has come and even quotes the Old Testament to prove He is the Messiah they have been waiting for because it was told to them in the Old Testament on many occasions with many specific details (Isaiah for one).

But what about the people who say only certain parts of the Bible are true, or we should pick the parts we want to believe, or ignore the rest of the Bible and let everyone believe what they want? Well, if any of those were correct, how do they explain that the Old Testament correctly foretold what would happen in the New Testament...in detail. If you see the connection between the Old and the New, then how can you pick out only certain verses to say they are true and should be followed, but others are not? Do you all of a sudden not believe that the Old Testament foretold the New Testament? 

If you do see that the Old Testament foretold what was in the New Testament, then how can you say that you don't need to follow the whole Bible and just do what you feel is right, or just follow the parts you agree with? If you do that, then you deny how intricately the Bible is woven together by divine inspiration from God, how the prophets of the Old Testament testified to the future and the New Testament. In fact, how can you believe any of it if you think parts of it are false or wrong? If they are all connected, then they should not they all be right or wrong?

You either accept that it all goes together as the divinely inspired Word of God or you do not. If you don't, you are telling God you don't believe that He told the writers what to say. So, you are actually putting yourself in the place of God. Do you actually not believe that God could put all these words together coherently and correctly?  Ouch! I don't think I would want to have to explain to God someday that I thought my judgment was more important and perfect than His!.

Father, please help us to understand what we read in the Bible, to know that you put those Words down so that we could understand/believe/use it as a reference point, answer questions with it, to find our way, to find Jesus. Thank you for always thinking of us and caring for us enough to give us this book of truth and wisdom. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.