We have learned through our studies and taught our children that there are 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. The Old Testament is in the front of the Bible and the New Testament is in the back of the Bible. If a person holds a Bible in their hands, searches through its pages until they find the page that says, "New Testament", one has a visual of how much of the Bible is the Old Testament and how many pages are in the New Testament (see picture below). Holding our Bibles in this way, we can ask ourselves, "What is the difference in these two Testaments?"
We know 'old' and 'new' are opposite terms and that 'testament' can be defined by the word 'law.' But what do the terms 'old' and' new' mean when joined by this word 'testament?" By looking at the words "old" and "new", a person can determine that there should be a great difference in the titles "Old Testament" and "New Testament" just by looking at their names.
The theme of the Bible is "Salvation from sins through Jesus Christ."
While the Old and New Testaments both have this same overall subject matter, the main difference is that the Old Testament is looking to the future, "Jesus is coming!" As we have seen in the beginning from the fall of man, God had a plan to save mankind. (Genesis 3). We have learned that when man sinned, there was a penalty due. The blood of bulls and goats was never intended to completely wash men's sins away. Jesus, the Messiah, was coming as a sacrifice to bear the sins of all men that they might be saved from their sins.
However, in the New Testament, we find that throughout its pages, the theme is "Jesus is here!" It tells us of Jesus, God's only begotten Son, coming to this earth, what He did while He was here, how He died, and how He took men's sins away through the shedding of His blood. It tells of how man can come in contact with His blood through baptism (Romans 6:3, 4).
Yes, there are differences in the Old and New Testaments. We will study more about this wonderful book that God has given and how it can help us.