Jesus on Every Page – Chapter 8 – “Christ’s People: Discovering Jesus in the OT Characters”
Main criticism of the biological or “heroes and villains” approach to the OT

• This approach is man-centered (many sermons follow this pattern)
• The approach is moralistic
• It fragments the Bible (isolates the passage from the main sweep of biblical history)
• Tends to be Christ-less (sermons can be God-sermons but not Jesus-sermons)
• Skips over the original meaning
• Approach is too individualistic

Best approach is to listen carefully to the valid concerns expressed by biographical critics and modify our approach so
that we can sue these spiritual biographies in a more Christ-centered way. Main aim must be to:

• Keep God, no man, in the foreground
• Distinguish Christian morality from mere moralism by realizing that we need Jesus’ grace to obey any moral requirement and His forgiveness when we fail
• Avoid introspective subjectivism by looing away to Jesus far more than looking within for evidences of grace
• Relate ever story to the overarching plan of redemptive
• Look for Jesu when studying Jesus’ people
• Find the original purpose for the original audience
• Include the corporate and eternal perspective even when looking at individual earthly lives

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