Why is the New Testament So Hard to Read Compared to Psalms or Proverbs?

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; 28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.

31 “It was said, ‘Whoever sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for the reason of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery. (Matt 5, NASB Version)

It's because of hard-hitting passages like the above. 😁 It's so much easier to read Psalms where you can cry to God with the Psalmist to help you with life's burdens and cares. But passages like the above from Matthew point us to the Savior in the Bible. We can't go through life without breaking any of God's commandments. Because that's what we are - sinners. But sin leads to entanglements, catastrophic consequences, illnesses and death - true signs that we need a Savior from sin and death - Jesus Christ. We need to receive Him into our hearts so we will have power to overcome sin. We need to be spiritually re-born.

12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1, NASB)

3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
(John 3, NASB)

9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. (1 John 3, NASB)

It is this "seed" - a deposit of the Holy Spirit - that comes into us when we receive Jesus into our hearts that gives us the power to overcome sin. This happens when we repent of our sins and make a covenant with Jesus, that in exchange for the life He laid down for you and me on the cross, we lay our own lives in return, promising to obey His commandments in the Bible. Without that commitment of total surrender of our lives and will to Jesus, no Covenant Relationship happens. Of course, we are human and we make mistakes and we break promises. But If the repentance and total turning around is done in all sincerity at one point in one's life, Jesus recognizes that, and a transaction actually happens. Once that transaction is in place we can still break promises but God doesn't because He's the Covenant-Keeping God. So, what does that mean? He will always turn you back to the right track to make sure you finish the race of overcoming sin, as much as possible, to enjoy Eternal Life now and forevermore. That is what it means to be born-again in Christ and to have Eternal Life.

This is also what sets Christianity apart from Religion. All the religions of the world teach us to follow certain rules to achieve Heaven or Immortality. In biblical Christianity God Himself came down and lived among us and imparted a part of Himself to live in us so we can attain Heaven and Eternal Life. God does not just throw at us a list of rules to follow but He Himself dwells in man to enable him to live out those rules and be united with God. As such, Christianity is not a religion, it is being in union with God.

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This is a re-blog. If you wish to cite this blog, citation is as follows: PureJoyLand. (2020, Feb 6). Why is the New Testament So Hard to Read Compared to Psalms or Proverbs? [Blog Post]. Retrieved from   http://purejoyland.com/2020/02/why-is-the-new-t…alms-or-proverbs/ ‎

Most Shared Bible Verses

Dated July 12, 2013



The "YouVersion" Bible App just reached 100 Million downloads and they said that the three most-shared verses on Twitter, Facebook, email and text are:

Isaiah 53:5, Hebrews 4:15 and Matthew 7:7. (from Breaking Christian News)

Interestingly these verses talk about the source of our healing, the personality of that source and the way to access that source.

Isaiah 53:5 (The Source of our healing who is Jesus.)

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

This verse is from one of the prophetic passages in the Old Testament talking about Jesus, hundreds of years before He came.

Hebrews 4:15 (The Personality of that Source, who is Jesus.)

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.


Matthew 7:7 (The way to access God for all our needs and blessing, including healing, the most-sought-after blessing mentioned in the most popular verse above.)

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.


These are very good verses that say God is near and accessible, and that "God is love." But that's only one facet of His personality. The other facet, "God is holy," seems to be totally missing. Maybe because we are so overwhelmed by our troubles here on earth that most of the time we focus only on God's love and mercy because those are what we need in urgency? However, if we only care about the fact that God is holy and if we live according to His guidelines for justice and holiness, we wouldn't be in the hot soup (of a wounded / sick / needy state) we are in, would we?

Maybe we need to quote more on that facet of God's character, too - like those found in Proverbs 3, for instance:

3 My son, do not forget my teaching,
but keep my commands in your heart,
2 for they will prolong your life many years
and bring you peace and prosperity.

(That's the secret of long life.)

7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord and shun evil.
8 This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.

(Guideline for good health and well-being.)


9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the firstfruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

(Guideline for prosperity.)


These are only a few, there are many more in the Bible. Ultimately, the whole Bible gives us understanding of the situation we are in. Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33) That means we shouldn't be wondering why being in this world is so troublesome. And Jesus, having overcome the world, has gone to another world where there's no trouble. He is our example so we can follow Him there, and if we let Him, He also gives us the power to overcome this world. He encourages us to persevere - take heart - until we get there.


Maybe God uses our troubles to draw us to Himself and His decrees, so we would learn His ways and understand our situation - that our little troubles here on earth are only harbingers of the bigger trouble coming our way, if we do not take heed?


Psalm 119:71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.


We need to learn the decrees of God if we are to follow Jesus to the world where He is now, a world without trouble or tears.


2 Timothy 3:14, 15

14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it,
15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.


Could it be that this world of troubles and tears, this place where we learn to call on God to answer our earthly needs, is actually a pre-departure area for eternity?  An eternity of a better world called Heaven, or eternity of a worse world called Hell? If we were in our mother's womb for 9 months in preparation for an earthly life of 90 years, what could the 90 years (or so) of our earthly life be preparing us for? Could it be eternity?

The above verse says the Holy Scriptures is able to make us wise for salvation - meaning, it teaches us salvation. It also says our salvation from this troublesome world and our worse trouble ahead is through faith in Christ Jesus. While we are still in this pre-departure area, wouldn't it be wise for us to know who is this Jesus Christ and what is His way of salvation, so we would indeed be delivered from the bigger trouble coming our way - Hell itself??