What is a New Testament example of someone who lived a 'double life', like the OT men mentioned...you know, the "Do As I Say Not As I Do" types. Don't do the things I've done wrong in my life...but do listen to me when I am speaking the words of the Lord.
Is there anyone like that in the New Testament? Or is Jesus supposed to make a difference in our lives?
When you get right down to it, what do we really learn from some of those OT guys, except "What not to do." They are good examples of flawed persons. Which is of course what each of us is. But once we hit the NT, when the payment is made and grace is unleashed...it's different. In the New Testament you don't have a philanderer with 1000's of wives being held up as someone to listen to but not emulate...it is different, isn't it?
Some people are so hung up on the OT -- using it almost as an excuse to be a rotten Christian (yes, I torture and rape my daughter but hey -- I'm one heckuva Bible teacher so it 'evens out' -- I mean, David murdered someone so I didn't go THAT far!) that they think it is an ok model to follow...
To me, in a rather simplistic overview, the OT is God saying: "Without the Perfect Sacrifice and without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, this is the best you are going to do..." And then in the NT, once the Sacrifice is made and the Spirit indwells, we have access to something they did not have in the OT. So it SHOULD make a difference, and we shouldn't excuse ourselves our sins on an OT standard when the NT standard is what is now in place.
Don't know what I'm trying to say, rambling and musing.