Actually the first Christians came to faith in Christ because the apostles preached how the [Hebrew] Scriptures testified of the Christ. Philip preached Christ to the Ethiopian from Isaiah. Paul even said to Timothy, "You have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
But you just invoked the NT which says that the first Christians became followers of Christ as the direct result of the preaching of the apostles from the Hebrew Scriptures. They said that that the Hebrew scrriptures were about Christ. Therefore, the NT which you have invoked upholds the Hebrew scriptures.
You correctly invoke the teachings of Jesus. Yet He taught the spirit of the Hebrew scriptures. Therefore, Jesus validated the Hebrew scriptures but with the life giving meaning. I would not call myself a Christian if I reject the scriptures anymore than I should call myself a Muslim if I reject the Quran. Yet there is a lot more to being a Christian than accepting the scriptures.
I am with you on this point friend! I was just banned for one day from a hardcore Christian Right forum that has both hardcore fundamentalists and liberal Christians. They even have unbelieving members. Well, those on the right were saying that all sexually immoral people should be put to death. But an athiest spoke as if he was a believer and showed them that Christ did not condemn the woman taken in adultery. Then said, "Jesus set the bar for us." I posted a "thumbs up" to the athiest saying, "I never agree with you, but you're right on this one."
I was not supporting his athiest beliefs. I was just acknowledging that he was right on a certain point. But I was punished for that by a member who "neg repped" me. He has a lot of reputation power and so I lost a lot of well earned reputation points. His comment said with the neg rep said, "repent." He publically called me a "sexual pervert." I was shocked! I need to "repent' because I affirm to an athiest that he spoke a truth which should be a given by all true Christians? I am a sexual pervert because I affirm that we should not judge others?
Then I publically took him to task for it and questioned that he was a true friend of God and was banned for one day to cool off. But I decided that I will not go back to a forum that claims to be Christian and yet punishes someone for saying that Christ set the bar for us on the matter of not passing judgment upon others.
Well, I have many preparations for the Superbowl party. Later!