Covenantal Theology: New v Old

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1 CAPITOL Covenantal Theology: New v Old L ast week during our time together, one of our Christian brothers who shall remain nameless attempted to derail our study on Capital Punishment. As you might recall, the question presented centered on the issue of the Old and New Covenant and the proper adherence to each. FEBRUARY 12, 2014 The question presented to the group, as it related to Capital Punishment, centered on the Old Testament covenant and our responsibility to adhere to the Mosaic Laws established therein. I feel as though I did not adequately answer the question and as such, I want to take some time in addressing this crucial topic. My job is to provide each of you with the most Biblically sound answers to your questions. As such, I hope you find this study a sufficient answer to the above mentioned questions. (P.S. I am sure he who shall remain nameless will have other great questions!) I look forward to our time together this week and as always, I pray you enjoy this study! LEGISLATIVE SPONSORS Rep. Sonny Borrelli LD 5 Rep. Paul Boyer LD 20 Rep. David Gowan LD 14 Rep. Rick Gray LD 21 Rep. David Livingston LD 22 Rep. J.D. Mesnard LD 17 Rep. Steve Montenegro LD 13 Rep. Ethan Orr LD 9 Rep. Warren Petersen LD 12 Rep. David Stevens LD 14 Rep. Carl Seel LD 20 Rep. Steve Smith LD 11 Rep. Kelly Townsend LD 16 Sen. Nancy Barto LD 15 Sen. Gail Griffin LD 14 Sen. Al Melvin LD 11 Sen. Don Shooter LD 13 Sen. Kelli Ward LD 5 Sen. Kimberly Yee LD 20 Weekly Bible Study During Session Wednesday Afternoon 11:45 AM. Capitol Building; Majority Leader s Conference Room Lunch Served.

2 I. INTRODUCTION You and I share a great deal in common with the members of the early church. For us, as was the case with these early Jewish-Christians, we sometimes struggle with understanding the Scriptures as a whole body of theology. We must approach the Old and New Testaments, not as two distinctive works penned for different and separate audiences. Instead, we must understand them as the perfected and completed Word of God. Our faith is rooted in an Old Testament which predicts the New Testament and a New Testament which perfects the Old Testament. They are not two separately distinctive ideations of God pieced together. To assert this is to misrepresent the truly awesome power of God and His ability to reconcile Himself to His people. Nowhere is this understanding more crucial than in our dealings with the Old and New Covenants. Just as with the Testaments mentioned above, these two Covenants are companions of each other. One serves as the means to secure the way for Christ, while the other serves to secure the salvation of the believer. Many of those in the early church viewed Christ s Covenant as a simple addition to the already existing Covenant. However, the intent of this study will focus on demonstrating how God utilized these two Covenants to bring about His one true intent: the salvation of the believer. II. WHAT IS A COVENANT In order to understand the Old and New Covenants, we must first address what the term covenant means. In the most common usage of the word covenant connotes a formal agreement. The Greek word (pronounced) dee-ath-ay-kay means a disposition, the act or means of disposing of something, as in a will. It is variously translated as either "covenant" or "testament." This is interesting because they differ in meaning in English usage; i.e. covenant means "a written agreement between two or more parties to perform some action" while testament means "a legal document declaring a person's wishes regarding the disposal of their property when they die." While the Greek word is closer in meaning to the English word "testament," the Biblical usage of it blends "covenant" and "testament" in a way that the full Scriptural meaning is only made clear by the use of both. 1 Old Covenant: This was established through the Mosaic Covenant made by God with the Israelites after He delivered them out of slavery and bondage from Egypt. While the Old Covenant is primarily associated with the Law as it was revealed to Moses, there are several inclusions established from previous laws given to Abraham. The Old Covenant should best be understood in the plural form: the Covenants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Moses. Typically, this Covenant is associated with the entirety of the Torah. Furthermore, the Old Covenant was a bilateral, conditional, covenant (indicating that God promised blessings when His people kept His covenant). And now, if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine. (EX. 19:5) I will remember my covenant with Jacob and my covenant with Isaac and my covenant with Abraham and I will remember the land. (LEV. 26:42) You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites. (EX. 19:6) New Covenant: This Covenant is typically identified as the covenant established between God and His children through the teachings and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It was first prophesied in the Book of Jeremiah and revealed to the Israelites as the fulfillment of God s eternal promise of salvation. 2

3 This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.(matt. 26:28) How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him or her, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (HEB. 10:29) But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. (HEB 8:6) III. THE OLD COVENANT As I have stated numerous times, the true intent of every form of government is to reward good and punish evil. Since each ruling authority is derived from God above, each governing body has a responsibility to perpetuate the good deeds of its citizenry, while punishing those who seek to deprive others. It is upon this basis that God established the Old Covenant with His people. Through the establishment of the Mosaic Covenant, God sought to produce within the Jewish people, morally sound and righteous governance. His design was to construct a people devoted to serving the Lord God in the realm, while establishing a clear lineage to deliver the messiah. In addition to providing the Jewish people with a formal edict for judicial governance, the Mosaic Covenant also provided a means for the Jews to remain ritually pure in the presence of the Lord. BE SUBJECT FOR THE LORD S SAKE TO EVERY HUMAN INSTITUTION, WHETHER IT BE TO THE EMPEROR AS SUPREME, OR TO GOVERNORS AS SENT BY HIM TO PUNISH THOSE WHO DO EVIL AND TO PRAISE THOSE WHO DO GOOD. FOR THIS IS THE WILL OF GOD, THAT BY DOING GOOD YOU SHOULD PUT TO SILENCE THE IGNORANCE OF FOOLISH PEOPLE. Some of these laws were provided in order to educate the Israelites regarding their obedience of God in daily interactions between each other and God (i.e., the Ten Commandments). Other laws were mandated regarding the Israelites and the manner in which they were called to worship God and atone for sin (the sacrificial system). Additional laws sought to distinguish the nation of Israel from other nations. The people of Israel were to be a proud theocracy, governed by the One true Authority, God. However we dissect the Mosaic Law, we must understand that the identity of the Jewish people is synonymous with the teachings and mandates established through Mosaic Laws. IV. THE NEW COVENANT The New Covenant is just that: New. We must not understand the New Covenant as a renewed version of the Old Covenant. Jeremiah assures us that this New Covenant will not be anything like that of the older covenant. Unlike the older covenant, which God Himself understood to be imperfect and essentially destined to fail; we fail under the protection and direction of a new set of governance. This new everlasting and irrevocable agreement is not dependent upon the reciprocal relationship as was that of the Old Covenant. Unlike the oath sworn by the Israelites, the New Covenant was sworn by the Creator of the universe. From it s inception this agreement sought to radicalize the manner in which God afford salvation and eternal security over His people. The New Covenant is in every facet superior to the Old Covenant. It has within its foundation a set of better, more true promises. As the Old Covenant lacked the vehicles to make perfect those who 3

4 belonged, the New Covenant possessed the means to secure the purification of the believers. Essentially, the Old Covenant did not allow the Israelites any hope of satisfying the righteous demands placed upon them. However, the New Covenant promised a transformation of the heart, mind and soul, which made possible the path to a more perfect relationship with God. V. OLD COVENANT LAWS UNDER NEW COVENANT JURISDICTION The most notorious aspect of the Old Covenantal theology rests in the rituals and laws found in Leviticus. As we discussed previously, these laws were designed to ensure that an unholy people were able to approach and worship a Holy God. However, under the New Covenant, these rules no longer govern our relationship with God. These rituals and sacrifices do not apply to Christians today. Furthermore, Christians do not have to enforce the civil laws and punishments commanded in Exodus. Christians no longer abide by the bilateral or conditional agreement of the Old Covenant. The New Covenant implies two important truths: 1) The construction and implementation of the Old Covenantal agreement was temporary in nature and designed to serve a certain group of people for a certain period of time. 2) The New Covenant demonstrates that it was never God s plan to perpetuate that Covenant for eternity. With these truths, we understand that God understood the issue. His Covenant did not lie in His words or promises; it rested in the people He entered into the contract with. The Jewish people were destined to fail at fulfilling this agreement and as such, God prepared them for the reality that a New Covenant was to be revealed to them. BEHOLD, YOU ARE ABOUT TO LIE DOWN WITH YOUR FATHERS. THEN THIS PEOPLE WILL RISE AND WHORE AFTER THE FOREIGN GODS AMONG THEM IN THE LAND THAT THEY ARE ENTERING, AND THEY WILL FORSAKE ME AND BREAK MY COVENANT THAT I HAVE MADE WITH THEM. THEN MY ANGER WILL BE KINDLED AGAINST THEM IN THAT DAY, AND I WILL FORSAKE THEM AND HIDE MY FACE FROM THEM Features 2 Old Covenant New Covenant Established At Exodus At Crucifixion God and Nation of Israel (Ex ) Christians (Luke 22:20; John 3:16-21) Redeemed from Bondage (Ex. 20:2) Sin (Heb. 9:15) Mediator Moses (Ex. 20:18-19) Christ (Heb. 8:6) Ratified by blood Obligations Duration Law Purpose Animals (Ex. 24:8) Jesus Christ (Matt. 26:28) Obedience to the Law (Ex. 24:3) During time of national Israel temple (Heb. 8:13) Ten Comamandment (Ex. 20, Deut 5) and 603 addt l laws Foreshadow of the good things to come Obedience to Christ (Gal. 6:2) Eternity (John 5:24; 6:54-58) Sermon on the Mount. Ulfilled by loving God and His people. (John 13:34-35) Jesus Christ, God in the flesh (Isa. 42:1-7, Heb. 9:11) 4

5 VI. SUMMARY The question presented last week focused on the issue of Theonomy: the issue of whether or not Christians should impose and adhere to the Old Testament Laws ascribed through the Old Covenant. However, as we have seen this week, as believers and followers of Jesus Christ, we are subject to a NEW Covenant. We are to understand Christ s mediation on our behalf not as just an updated version of the Old Covenant Instead, we must recognize that it serves as a complete revamping of principle set to fit His calling upon our lives. We are called through His grace through the motivation of love for a longing to uphold His most perfect of all Laws. We cannot fully understand or abide by the Law without first submitting to the Grace he gives. Our faith does not do away with God s Laws. Instead, it works with the Laws to better our lives. Nor does faith relieve us from our moral obligations to remain obedient to His message. We no longer must demonstrate our commitment to Him through obligatory acts of an agreement that only points us in the direction of righteousness. Instead, we are called to rely on the pure and just laws of Christ. 1 Wayne Blank; The Old and New Testament htm 2 A great reasource for those searching to discovert the differences between these two Covenants is Grace Community International: 5