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1. |
God has had different plans by which
He has dealt with people in different periods of time. Romans
5:12-21, for example, speaks clearly of three periods of God's
dealing with the sin of human beings: "from Adam until Moses,"
from Moses, when the law came in, to Christ, and then from the
time of Christ forward, the time of grace. These are sometimes
called the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian Ages. In this lesson,
we are particularly interested in clarifying about the Mosaic
and Christian Ages because confusion between these often creates
problems in dealing with the scriptures. (WBK
1)
If we are in the Christian age, and the
Old Testament has been taken away, then why use it at all? If,
on the other hand, we look to some of the Old Testament, like
the story of creation and the psalms, then why don't we use it
all? |
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2. |
First a comparison. We are acquainted
with the fact that laws are sometimes changed. Take, for example,
the federal tax code. When new tax laws are made, we cannot file
our taxes under the previous tax system but must get updated
to the new code. Some of the old provisions may still be in effect,
but only if they are repeated in the new law and not because
they were in the old one.
In the same way, God has sometimes changed
His laws and commands for people. We generally understand and
accept this with no problem. God told Noah to build an ark, but
we understand that command is not for us. God told Israel to
build a tabernacle and to worship there in certain ways. We know
such a command is not for us. There are, however, some issues
that are not quite so easily understood and, so, if we are going
to make the right use of scriptures and help others to the right
use, we must know how to deal carefully with the question of
the covenants.(WBK 2) |
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3. |
Read Jeremiah 31:31-34 and Hebrews 8:6-7;
9:16-17 and answer the questions in the Workbook at No. 3. |
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4. |
So God gave a covenant or agreement to Israel
through Moses and gave a second covenant to Jews and Gentiles
together through Christ. The first one began at Mt. Sinai but,
because the Israelites broke the covenant, God revoked it to
make a new covenant. The second one, which began at the death
of Jesus, has better promises because it has a sacrifice that
can truly take away sin. The outcome of the second covenant,
then, is that God forgives our sins and remembers them no more. |
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5. |
The key question not answered yet, however,
is this: Did the first covenant continue in force after the second
one began? Failure to answer this question properly creates wide
misunderstanding about the will of God for us today. We shall
look at several passages that shed light on the answer to this
question.
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Directions: Look at No. 5 in
your Workbook and do the exercise given there. This will help
you study some key passages and answer some questions based on
these verses. Correct answers to these questions are given below,
but don't look until you have studied them for yourself. |
When you have answered the questions
in the Workbook, look at the verses and comments below.
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A. |
Hebrews 10:9--He takes away the first, that
he may establish the second. Thus, the first covenant, the one
through Moses, must end so the second one can begin. |
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B. |
Romans 7:2-4--Just as a woman cannot rightly
marry a second husband until the first husband dies, so Israel,
which was joined to the first law, cannot enter into another
covenant until the first covenant dies. Since verse 7 indicates
that one of the commands in the law that passed away was "Thou
shall not covet," it is clear that the ten commandments
were included in the law that passed away. Since Gentiles were
never married to the law of Moses, it is clear that Paul is here
indicating that the Jews, who were married to the law of Moses,
must be released from that dying law before they can be joined
to another, the law of Christ. |
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C. |
2 Corinthians 3:6 speaks of the "new
covenant" of which Christians are ministers. Verse 7 calls
the covenant "written and engraved on stones" one which
is the "ministration of death" because it commanded
death for its violators and had no true means of forgiveness.
Verses 11 and 13 speak of that law as one which is "passing
away." |
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D. |
In Galatians 5:4, Paul speaks very directly
to those who have become Christians under the new covenant who
then seek to revive their relationship with the old covenant.
"You who would be justified by the law are fallen away from
Christ." The two are exclusive plans. Since one cannot be
under both laws at once, God has "taken away the first so
he could establish the second." |
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E. |
The New Testament, then, makes it very clear
that the old covenant, the one given by Moses at Mt. Sinai, ended
at the death of Jesus. God allowed a period of transition for
the Jews to allow time for this new covenant to be proclaimed,
but, with the destruction of Jerusalem and scattering of the
Jews in 70 A.D., He made it impossible for the Jews to keep the
Law any more. Their records of who qualifies for a priest are
gone and the place for offering sacrifices no longer existed.
He clearly did not intend for the old covenant to continue in
force after the new one began. Gentiles were never under the
old covenant, so these passages about it's being taken away must
apply to the Jews. It is very important that we distinguish,
then, what was a command or practice that was God's law in the
old covenant and what is God's command or practice for those
of us under His new covenant. |
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Directions: In the Workbook at
No. 6, draw the chart as directed and place elements described
below at the proper place on the chart. Later, a correct chart
will appear as something against which to check your work. |
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6. |
To complete this exercise, do the following:
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A. |
Up from the "x" draw a cross large
enough to extend between the two letters. |
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B. |
Beside the letter "A" but on the
left of the cross, write these words, "Covenant of Moses." |
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C. |
Beside the letter "B" but on the
right of the cross, write these words, "Covenant of Christ." |
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D. |
Now look at the following list and place
these items in the proper category (shown on the left) and under
the proper covenant.
physical birth
10 commandments
First Day of the Week
unaccompanied singing in
worship
spiritual birth
sacrifice of Jesus
Sabbath Day
sacrifice of animals
beginning of the Church
teachings of Jesus and apostles
life of Jesus
instrumental music in worship
conversions in Acts
thief on the cross told
he will go to Paradise |
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7. |
So what use do we make now of the books
of the Old Testament in the Bible? Are they to be discarded?
Are they to be ignored? What uses do they have?
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A. |
The Old Testament books are equally inspired
by God and remain very useful. While we are no longer under the
commandments of the Law of Moses including the 10 commandments,
these books are very useful as inspired history. From them we
have the divine account of creation, the story of early nations,
the record of God's choice of a special people through whom to
demonstrate His power to the world and through whom to bring
the Savior. |
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B. |
Also from these books we have the case studies
of many people as God has dealt with them. We learn how things
go well when we obey and how they do not go well when we disobey.
We learn about great heroes of faith such as Abraham, Isaac,
Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Ruth, David, Isaiah, Esther and others.
Paul said these things were written "for our example"
(1 Corinthians 10:6). |
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C. |
Through these Old Testament books God made
predictions about nations, cities, and peoples that are certified
as written hundreds of years before the events came to pass as
predicted. These predictions help us to know that God was revealing
His will to those who wrote it down. |
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D. |
There are many New Testament references
to Old Testament passages: people, customs, and places. Studying
the Old Testament, then, is a big help in understanding the New
Testament. |
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E. |
In the Law of Moses there were elements
which anticipated the coming of a new covenant and are considered
"types" of which something in the New Covenant is the
"anti-type." The sacrificial lamb, for example, is
an illustration in advance of the coming of Jesus to be the sacrifice
for sins. Recognizing types and anti-types can help us understand
the continuity of God's plan. |
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F. |
The recurring theme of the Old Testament
is the coming Messiah and His kingdom. There are over fifty predictions
about details of the life and teaching of the Messiah--and Jesus
fulfilled them all. |
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G. |
Not only does the Old Testament, however,
establish the Messiah theme, it also presents many other themes
that run throughout scripture: sin, separation, salvation, covenants,
and obedience/prosperity. Thus, the Old Testament books establish
many of the major themes of the Bible which the New Testament
books pick up and develop. |
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H. |
The Old Testament books, then, are very
valuable to us and should be studied carefully, not only for
helping us to know God and how He works, but also to understand
those parts of the New Testament which make reference to things
of the Old. (WBK 7) |
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8. |
There are some particular problems about
the use of the Old and New Testaments which need special attention.
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A. |
Do the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John belong with the Old or the New? These books are placed
with the New Testament but are written almost entirely about
things that happened before the death of Jesus and, thus, before
the new covenant went into effect.
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1. |
Under which covenant did Jesus live? He
lived and died under the Law of Moses and, therefore, He kept
the commandments of that covenant. He took the Passover, worshipped
at Jerusalem, and kept the Sabbath Day. While we follow His example
in terms of the character of His life, we do not follow His example
in obeying the specific law to which He was subject. |
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2. |
Does this mean that the teachings of
Jesus recorded in these books are not part of the New Covenant?
No. Just as one writes his last will and testament prior to his
death and it takes effect when he dies, just so Jesus delivered
teachings for the new covenant prior to His death so they could
be placed into effect when He died. Occasionally He explains
a principle in an old covenant setting, such as "leave your
gift before the altar," but, His teachings are for those
who would become His followers under the new covenant He would
establish.
Some say that Jesus came to teach the
Jewish people how the law of Moses was meant to be kept. But
why would Jesus spend the three years with His apostles to train
them in how to keep a law that was to pass away at His death?
Surely He was teaching what we are to follow under the new covenant.
In regard to the teachings of the law of Moses, sometimes He
carried a teaching into His law as it was in the old covenant.
In Matthew 22:37-39, for example, Jesus teaches that the two
great commandments of the law were to love God and love your
neighbor. These same principles are primary teachings of His
new covenant as witnessed in 1 John 4:20-21 and Galatians 5:14.
Other old covenant commands, however, Jesus brought into His
covenant in a modified state. In Matthew 19:4-9, for example,
Jesus says God's law about marriage is to return to its original
status rather than continuing the divorce provision allowed under
the law of Moses. Still other commands of the old covenant Jesus
omitted entirely such as the keeping of the Sabbath Day. |
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B. |
Another question sometimes raised is whether
Jesus took away just the ceremonial part of the law but not the
moral part. In the first place, the Bible makes no such distinction
between the ceremonial law and the moral law under the covenant
of Moses. Secondly, such distinctions would be futile. Is, for
example, keeping the Sabbath a moral command but the command
to limit travel on that day just a ceremonial command? Thirdly,
the scriptures given above specifically mention that the law
being taken away was "written and engraven on stones"
and that "Thou shalt not covet" was part of the law
that died. While Jesus carried some of the moral principles in
the law of Moses across into His law, this does not mean that
any part of the law of Moses is still binding. It is all gone.
In its place is the "law of liberty" and people today,
Jews and Gentiles, are subject to this law. |
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C. |
A final word about "the thief on the
cross," because he gives such a good illustration of how
to apply the principles of this lesson. Some today say they wish
to be saved as the thief was. But the thief lived under the law
of Moses and was subject to its teachings, not those of the new
covenant. Jesus, while on earth, had the power to forgive sins
as He chose, but once He died and departed from this earth, salvation
is granted only on the basis He has taught, that is, by faith,
repentance, and baptism. So, one today who seeks to be saved
like the thief was is seeking to go back under the old covenant.
All today are subject to the provisions of the new covenant and
will be judged on the way they have treated the covenant of Christ. |
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