God’s
Covenants
Lesson
32
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The New Covenant in the
New Testament
Because the bilateral
covenant with Adam and Eve and the Mosaic
covenant were coming to an end, Jesus
initiated a new covenant just before His
death. Luke writes, “In the same
way, after the supper He took the cup,
saying, ‘This cup is the new
covenant in my blood, which is poured out
for you.’” (Luke 22:20) When
Jesus said to His disciples. ‘This
cup is a new covenant in my blood, which
is poured out to you.” He initiated
a bilateral covenant, a better covenant
than what He offered to Israel at Mt.
Sinai. (2 Corinthians 3:6; Hebrews 7:22;
9:15) A new blood covenant became
necessary because the Kingdom of God
could not be established as originally
planned. Israel had rejected God for the
last time. Consequently, God opened the
door of opportunity to the Gentiles.
(Luke 21:24) “Whosoever will,”
let him come and be my people. (John
3:16; Revelation 22:17) Jesus offered a
bilateral covenant to everyone who would
believe He was the Messiah. There are two
essential differences between the new
covenant based on Christ’s blood and
the old covenants based on animal blood.
First, the old covenant required the use
of teaching aides (such as sacrificial
lambs, ceremonies), whereas the new
covenant is based solely on a study of
the life of Christ. Second, God gave the
old covenant to the biological offspring
of Abraham whereas He extends the new
covenant to anyone in any race who puts
his or her faith in Jesus! In both
covenants, the means to salvation is the
same, namely, obedient submission to the
will of God-an experience known as
“living by faith.”
God entered into the old
covenant with a nation of people who is
were carnal and rebellious from the
start. God enters into the new covenant
with people of all nations who are
willing to be “born again.”
Israel was initially awed into submission
at the display of His glory and power at
Mt. Sinai (Exodus 19; Galatians 4:24,25),
but their hearts remained unconverted.
Bible history faithfully records their
failures beginning with the golden calf
at the base of the Mt. Sinai! In every
case, Israel’s hard heart led to
failure. (Ezekiel 2,3) The Israel that
entered into the Mosaic covenant at Mt.
Sinai was the Israel that died in the
desert because of rebellion. (Hebrews
3:16)
No Anti-Semitism
I am not bashing the Jews
for their failures. Instead, I am
reporting the contents of Scripture. I am
confident that if God had chosen any
other race of people, the same results
would have occurred. The story would be
the same, only the names would change.
The story of Israel is the story of human
nature. Israel’s rebellion at the
corporate level is no different from all
nations who have come and gone.
Israel’s rebellion at the individual
level is no different from our personal
rebellion against God. The problem with
Israel and the problem with all nations
is the power of sin!
New Covenant
Unlike the old covenant,
the new covenant exists only between God
and a self-selecting group of people who
receive Jesus as their Savior. No longer
does God favor one nation as trustees of
the Plan of Salvation. Both the old and
the new covenants are similar in one way;
both are based on faith. This faith means
a complete surrender to God’s will.
However, the second covenant is based on
the life and death of Jesus – a much
better blood covenant than that of
animals. (Hebrews 8:6; Romans 5:10) His
offer of salvation is extended to
everyone, first to the Jew and then to
the Gentile, on the basis of spiritual
rebirth and regeneration. (John 3:3-16;
Romans 8:3,4; 11:19-23) Paul says the new
covenant is available to the Jew first,
then the Gentile. He makes this
distinction because He thought the Jews
would be quick to grasp the significance
of this better covenant. The Jews were
much better acquainted with God’s
ways. Paul knew the Gentiles would have
to start from the beginning to understand
the big picture. The bottom line for Jew
and Gentile though, is the same. Instead
of entering into a blood covenant with a
nation of carnal-hearted people who would
not understand God nor live according to
His ways, god now offers a new covenant
to a self-selecting group of people.
These are the people who will receive
Jesus as Lord and Master and choose to
live by faith in Him. Anyone who wants
salvation on God’s terms can have
it! This is the good news!
What Obligations Carry
Over?
People often ask me if
Christians are under any obligation
stemming from the Mosaic covenant –
including tithing, abstaining from
unclean foods, the observance of feast
days, My response in general, and about
feast days in particular, this is: How
can the specifications regarding the
feast days be satisfied without doing the
things required on the feast days? In
other words, how can a person observe
Passover and not kill the paschal lamb? I
have heard the response that observing
the date of Passover is not to be
confused with the Mosaic ceremonies
required at Passover. I disagree. This is
similar to the idea of observing Sunday
by doing the things required on Sabbath.
In the Mosaic covenant, the sacrificial
ceremony and the appointed time to
observe the feast were inseparable parts
of the package. The Passover, the Feast
of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks
of Pentecost, the Feast of Trumpets, the
Day of Atonement and the Feast of
Tabernacles were services concluded under
the auspices of the Aaron priesthood.
Ever since the cross, we do not live
under the laws of that priesthood. Those
laws have been declared null and void.
Our High Priest comes from the tribe of
Judah, not Levi! Jesus does not preside
over any of the Aaronic feasts. This
would be illegal. Paul makes it very
clear in Hebrews 7 that with a change in
the priesthood, also comes a change of
law (a different bilateral covenant).
Paul says that since the descendants of
Aaron can no longer be high priests.
Levitical laws (including requirements
such as tithing) are no longer valid.
(See Hebrews7) Therefore, we are no
longer obligated to keep any of the
requirements of the Mosaic covenant.
In Paul’s day, many
of the Jewish believers could not let go
of their Mosaic baggage. They diligently
tried to enforce feast observances on new
Gentile converts in Galatia. Paul wrote a
strong denunciation to the Gentiles who
were following in the footsteps of Jewish
converts saying, “Formerly, when you
did not know God, you were slaves to
those who by nature are not gods. But
know that you know God – or rather
are known by God – how is it that
you are turning back to those weak and
miserable principles? Do you wish to be
enslaved by them all over again? You are
observing special days and months and
seasons and years! I fear for you, that
somehow I have wasted my efforts on
you.” (Galatians 4:8-11)
To underscore the
transition from the Mosaic covenant to
the “new covenant with Jesus,
“Paul used the illustration of
tithing (verses 5-10). He wrote,
“For when there is a change of the
priesthood, there must also be a change
of the law. He {Jesus} of whom these
things are said belonged to a different
tribe, and no one from that tribe has
ever served at the alter. For it is clear
that our Lord descended from Judah, and
in regard to the tribe Moses said nothing
about priests.” (Hebrews 7:12-14,
emphasis mine.) The significance of
Paul’s statement is profound. How
could the Levites demand tithe when the
law that gave them authority to collect
the title has been abolished? How could
the old order under the animal blood
covenant be intact if Jesus, from the
tribe of Judah, is now our High Priest?
Before you jump to the
conclusion that God wants us to keep all
of our money for personal use, we need to
consider the next point. Even though the
Levitical code and its commands have been
made null and void, there is divine
wisdom and great beauty in the Mosaic
covenant that God presented through Moses
at Mt. Sinai. God did not offer Israel a
shabby covenant. It is one of the most
interesting and valuable illustrations of
a ministry of Jesus that has ever
existed. If Israel had combined the
Mosaic covenant with faith in God, they
would have received more blessings that
they could count! (Malachi 3:10,11) The
world would have been astounded by the
nation of Israel, for it would have been
the head, and not the tail! Instead of
ant-Semitism, there would have been
pro-Semitism! (Deuteronomy 28:13)
Remember, it is God’s desire that we
mature in the faith experience. God wants
carnal, self-centered people (the human
race) to have a change of heart. He wants
us to step out in faith and obey Him. In
this light, the Ten Commandments
represent a starting place for spiritual
growth. The content of the Ten
Commandments is simple and direct. The
fourth commandment is a testing
commandment. To the carnal mind, the
Sabbath is a waste of time. To the
spiritual mind, it represents a wonderful
rest. It all depends on our perspective
of God and our attitude toward His laws.
The Sabbath commandment challenges our
faith by telling us to “let go and
let God” every seventh day. It
challenges us to stand still and see
God’s salvation. The Sabbath was
made for man, “but the devil has led
the people of the world to consider it
with contempt by making it appear to be
Jewish or legalistic. It is interesting
that the fourth commandment is the only
commandment of the ten that requires us
to do nothing! To honor God, we just have
to rest at the right time each week.
God’s standard of
righteousness is not less today than it
was yesterday. God has not changed nor
have the Ten Commandments been made void.
What has changed is God’s approach.
Israel’s example has proven that
righteous laws do not make people
righteous. Rather, people become
righteous when they inwardly submit to
god’s Word and obediently follow the
leading of the Spirit. (John 14:16,17;
Hebrews 12:14) Under the current
“new covenant” that Jesus
established, God has not imposed the
rules and obligations of the Levitical
covenant. However, the requirements for
faith and the struggle to do God’s
will remain the same. This suggests to me
that God certainly expects a high level
of character development from all who
claim to be Christian!
Some people claim that
tithing is still obligatory even though
they agree the Levitical covenant was
nailed to the cross. My response is this:
Where does the obligation of tithing
originate? Is it through law? No! Abraham
tithed long before there was a Levitical
requirement to do so. Furthermore, there
is no record that God commanded Abraham
or anyone else prior to the Mosaic
covenant to tithe. Abraham tithed because
he came to the place in his personal
experience with God where he realized
that everything he owed was a gift from
God. So, through faith, Abraham
voluntarily gave 10 percent of his income
to God in recognition of God’s
ownership of everything that he had. He
acted, not according to law, but
according to the Spirit. In fact, when a
person obeys the Spirit, he or she will
conform to God’s law because that
law is written in the heart.
Holy Spirit Conviction
As the Holy Spirit
convicts us of God’s will and truth,
we must obediently follow just like
Abraham. If the Holy Spirit convicts you
to tithe, then follow the Spirit’s
leading. You will be blessed – not
because of the money you gave – but
the faith you exercised. God’s
eternal wisdom and limitless love is
wonderfully illustrated in the Mosaic
covenant that He made with ancient
Israel. Many Christians want nothing to
do with the Old Testament for fear they
will lose their freedom. This is not
true. God gave Israel many principles
that are incredibly brilliant and few
people appreciate the wisdom that God has
revealed. Surely, by reviewing the laws
God gave to Moses, we can learn much
about the principles of life, as well as
the ways and blessings of God. The key is
to allow the Spirit to lead you into a
deeper understanding and application of
God’s principles in your life and
you will be richly blessed. God’s
wisdom is always beneficial to His
creatures.
One note of caution
regarding the freedom that God grants
under the new “believers
covenant.” God grants us the freedom
to follow a Spirit-led conscience. He
gave no one the authority to
impose their convictions upon you or
condemn you because you disagree with
them. (Romans 14) The exception to this
is promiscuous or immoral behavior and
its destructive effect within the
corporate body of Christ. In such
situations, the body of Christ is
required to pass judgment because of the
harmful impact that sexual misconduct
produces. (See 1 Corinthians 5 and 6.)
Remember, in matters of diet, dress,
culture and lifestyle, some people may
not agree or have the same level of
conviction you may have in these areas.
(Romans 14:1-10) The Holy Spirit knows
our heart and tests each of us in
different ways and at different times.
Each person matures spiritually at his or
her own rate and we are on different
rungs of the spiritual ladder. Some
people are babes in the Lord, while some
may have had ten years of spiritual
maturity. (Unfortunately, some are still
babes, even in their tenth year!)
However, remember the truth. Although
Israel voluntarily entered into the
Mosaic covenant, the results were a
dismal failure because they were
unwilling to surrender their hearts to
the Holy Spirit. When the apostles
finally understood that the Mosaic
covenant had been nailed to the cross,
their joy knew no bounds. (Romans 8:2; 2
Corinthians 3:6) At last, Paul concluded,
everything is permissible, even if it is
not beneficial. (1 Corinthians 6:12) The
disciples were free from the guilt and
condemnation of the Pharisees! Free to
listen to god’s Spirit! They were
free to grow up in Christ rather than
being watched and criticized by people
who had a legalistic mentality. They were
free to respond to god out of love,
receiving Christ’s righteousness
that satisfied God’s requirements
for man’s salvation. The truth will
set you free, but it may also set you
free from your family, friends, church
and possibly, your job. Remember the
illustration about Benjamin at the
beginning of this study?
It is imperative that we
submit to the conviction of the Holy
Spirit. Failure to surrender can lead to
the unpardonable sin. (Matthew 12:31)
Paul wrote, “If we deliberately keep
on sinning after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for
sins is left, but only a fearful
expectation of judgment and of raging
fire that will consume the enemies of
God.” (Hebrews 10:26,27, emphasis
mine.) In fact, failure to surrender our
will ultimately causes us to rebel
against God! Do not forget, when the Holy
Spirit speaks to you, He speaks with the
authority of God. To refuse Him is too
refuse God.
One last Covenant
Thus far, we have
experienced six unilateral and three
bilateral covenants:
Unilateral
1.
“Do not eat of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
2.
The Ten Commandments.
3.
“I will put enmity between the
serpent and the woman and will one day
send a Savior.”
4.
“I will demand an accounting for
each man’s life. Murderers are to be
put to death.”
5.
“I will not destroy the world again
with a flood.”
6.
To Abraham: “Through
you, all nations will be blessed.”
“I will make you the father of many
nations.”
“I will give you and your
descendants this land.”
Bilateral
1.
“If you will be my people, I will be
your God.”
2.
“If you will be my people, you will
be a kingdom and nation of priests.”
3.
New: “This is the new covenant
in my blood…”
For reasons
stated earlier in this chapter, the first
bilateral covenants were nailed to the
cross. The good news is that a time is
coming when all of these covenants will
be made null and void as well! At
the end of sin, Jesus is going to declare
one final unilateral covenant. Paul knew
it was coming. Notice, “‘this
is the covenant I will make with the
house of Israel after that time,
‘declare the Lord. ‘I will put
my laws in their minds and write them on
their hearts. I will be their God, and
they will be my people. No longer will a
man teach his neighbor, or a man his
brother, saying, “Know the Lord,
“ because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
For I will forgive their wickedness and
will remember their sins no more.’
By calling this covenant ‘new,’
he has made the first one obsolete; and
what is obsolete and aging will soon
disappear.” (Hebrews 8: 10-13,
italics mine.)
When this
covenant is put into effect, there will
have been a total of seven unilateral and
three bilateral covenants. The seventh
unilateral covenant will sustain the
redeemed throughout eternity. Notice how
this covenant is stated near the close of
Revelation: “He said unto me:
‘it is done. I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him
who is thirsty I will give to drink
without cost from the spring of the water
of life. He who overcomes will inherit
all this, and I will be his God and he
will be my son.’” (Revelation
21:6,7) This is the final covenant. It
brings all others to an end. I long to
hear these words with my own ears!
Summary
I hope this study
has brought you a new appreciation for
what was nailed to the cross. In a
sentence we can the bilateral covenant
given to Adam and Eve and the Mosaic
system was nailed to the cross. The
Levitical laws are part of a covenant
that was temporary and the authority
given to the descendants of Aaron, the
high priests, has been made null and
void. Ever since the death of Jesus on
the cross, we have the privilege of
accepting a covenant based on the blood
of Jesus, our High Priest, who sits at
the right hand of the Father. The Ten
Commandments remain intact; they are a
unilateral covenant. There were not
nailed to the cross. The Ten Commandments
are eternal, timeless and universal. Even
if we do not understand everything about
God’s covenants, we can know we are
on the right track if we can say to
Jesus, “I desire to do your will, O
my God; your law is within my
heart.” (Psalm 40:8) This is an
attitude that pleases God, because the
last unilateral covenant given in the
Bible contains this promise. “This
is the covenant I will make with the
house of Israel after that time, declares
the Lord. I will put my laws in their
minds and write them on their hearts. I
will be their God, and they will be my
people.” (Hebrews 8:10)
Quiz:
1.
What is the difference between a
unilateral covenant and a bilateral
covenant?
2.
Explain the understanding of
dispensationalism? Is it true
theology?
3.
What day in the week is the true Sabbath
day? Can you prove it by the
Scriptures?
4.
When Jesus was on the Earth, did He give
the disciples a new commandment?
5.
What is the “Sunset Clause”
that was studied in this lesson?
6.
In Matthew 23:38 KJV It states:
“Behold, your house is left to you
desolate.”
What does this
text mean?
7.
What is Anti-Semitism and do we still
have it around today?
Notes:
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