Old Testament or New Testament Which law are we under or are we under both? Testament First off lets look at what a Testament is The word testament is used 2 different ways in the Bible In the sense of a Will: something that describes how we want things handled after we die. Webster s defines a will as: a legal declaration of a person's wishes regarding the disposal of his or her property or estate after death; especially : a written instrument legally executed by which a person makes disposition of his or her estate to take effect after death 1
Testament In the sense of a Covenant: an agreement that is made between two parties Webster s: usually formal, solemn, binding agreement Now not every will is a covenant and not every covenant is a will Most of us have made formal, binding agreements with others. It may have been to buy a piece of property or perform some type of service for them. This would be a covenant but not a will Testament Some wills are unconditional: I leave all of my property to my wife and kids or to my long lost nephew I haven t seen in 30 years, or my cat We certainly wouldn t say that a will like this is a covenant or agreement. In some cases however we see a Will that is a Covenant. In this case the Testator puts conditions or qualifications upon those who would receive the inheritance. 2
Testament For Example: In 1985 there was a movie made called Brewster s Millions A mans wealthy uncle dies and leaves him $300,000,000 With one stipulation, he had to spend 30 million dollars in 30 days, if he doesn t then he receives nothing That is a Testament that is both a will and a covenant His inheritance was conditional upon him doing what his uncle required of him in his will. We will come back to this idea later in the lesson. Old and New The Bible is divided into two parts The Old and New Testaments The Old Testament is made up mainly of God s dealing with the Israelites and his Covenant with them We often call this Covenant the Law of Moses Some of the more familiar parts of this Law are: animal sacrifices, Ten Commandments, Levites were priests, Temple, etc 3
Old Covenant These things were a part of the Covenant God made with Israel at Mt Sinai Ex 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: 6 and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Old Covenant God lays out his conditions for this agreement. If you obey Me then you will be My people. After God lays out his terms then Israel agrees to God s terms. Ex 19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which Jehovah commanded him. 4
Old Covenant 8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do. And Moses reported the words of the people unto Jehovah. God and the Israelites enter into an agreement or a covenant here God says if you obey me then I will reward you The people agree to the covenant by saying All that Jehovah hath spoken we will do Old Covenant Ex 24:4 And Moses wrote all the words of Jehovah, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the mount, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings, and sacrificed peaceofferings of oxen unto Jehovah. 5
Old Covenant 6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. 7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do, and be obedient. Old Covenant From what we have seen so far, it is evident that this Old Covenant or the Law of Moses, was a covenant or agreement between two parties. God and Israel. It was not a covenant between God and the Egyptians, Phillistines, Babylonians or any other Gentile nation Just God and the Israelites 6
Now lets take a look at the or the New Testament It is often referred to as the Law of Christ Ga 6:2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. The Law of Moses came into effect at Mt Sinai The Law of Christ came into effect after his crucifixion Heb 9:15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. 17 For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives. 7
18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. 19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, The New Testament did not come into effect until the death of the Testator, Christ This New Testament of Christ or His Will is one of those Wills that we mentioned before that is both a Will and a Covenant It is a will with stipulations in order to receive the inheritance The Old Covenant was for the Israelites only Who is the for? 8
Mt 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 "teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Amen. This New Testament, or Law of Christ is to All Nations not just the Jews The day after His resurrection, Jesus made it clear that it was not just to the Jew but to everyone! Lu 24:46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 9
The Old Covenant, Law of Moses had a defined time limit. It was only going to last just so long. Ga 3:19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Ga 3:24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. That Old Covenant, The Law of Moses was nailed to the cross with Christ. 10
Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (NKJV) 14 Having put an end to the handwriting of the law which was against us, taking it out of the way by nailing it to his cross; (BBE) The Law of Moses pointed out so plainly their sins but gave no remedy for them! Christ s Law coming into effect was simply the end of the Law of Moses. Ro 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. What does that mean to us? Animal Sacrifices have come to an end Why? They were part of the Law of Moses Levitical Priesthood has come to an end Why? It was part of the Law of Moses 11
Here is where most of the Religious World will disagree with me The Ten Commandments have come to an end! Why? Because they were part of the Law of Moses 9 of the 10 are repeated in the Law of Christ, New Covenant or New Testament but one is not. Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy is not commanded under the Law of Christ. The nine others are a taught for us to keep either directly or in principle under the Law of Christ. Under the Law of Moses they worshipped God on the Sabbath (Saturday) Under the Law of Christ we worship God on Sunday 12
Does the have a definite time to last? Christ s Law will be in effect end as long as he is reigning. Until the end 1Co 15:24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. We ve mentioned before that the New Testament is both a Will and a Covenant. Our inheritance is not unconditional God is not going to save us no matter what! We must Obey Him!!! Simply believing will not be enough when we stand before God in Judgment 13
Jas 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? 17 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. Many of the rulers in the days of Jesus believed in Him but wouldn t confess him Joh 12:42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. 14
Do we think they were saved? Mt 10:32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Ro 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We must believe but it also takes obedient action on our part in order to save our souls Ac 2:38 Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 15
1Th 5:17 pray without ceasing Heb 10:25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. Eph 4:25 Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. Conclusion We could go on and on listing things we are to do in service to God What it boils down to is this. Today we must obey the Law of Christ in order to be saved The Law of Moses given in the Old Testament was a covenant between God and the Jews. That law came to an end when Christ died on the cross 16
Conclusion Today we have a new covenant with God revealed in the New Testament. God has promised salvation to all men who will submit to the Gospel of Christ! Have you obeyed the Gospel of Christ? If not, there is no time like the present! 17