While Messianics will admit that Christians live under the new covenant, they either (1) balk at the notion that the old covenant has been abolished or (2) insist that somehow the Law of Moses is still in force. This lesson (20 mins) addresses this area of confusion.
Click on the arrow to play the podcast, or you can use the "download" icon to download the podcast (if available). You can also right click here, in order to save the audio file and listen later.
Main ideas:
- Law and covenant are integrally connected. Nearly the entire book of Deuteronomy is cast in the form of a covenant, the conditions of which are the commandments of the Law of Moses.
- Although key components of the old covenant (Gen 17:13; Exod 12:24; 29:9; 31:16; 40:15; 1 Ki 8:13) seem to be "forever," the original word ( Heb: 'olam, Gk: áiōn) normally means a period of time, with an emphasis on quality of time over quantity of time. This is amply illustrated in the OT (Gen 6:4; Ex 21:6; Deut 15:17; Lev 25:34; 1 Chr 16:15; Ps 105:8; 1 Sam 1:22; Ezra 4:15,19; Ps 24:7; Prov 22:28; Jon 2:6; 1 Sam 2:30).
- The first covenant predicted its own replacement (Jer 31:31-34; Isa 59:20-21; Heb 8:7-13).
- Will = testament (Gk: diathēkē, Lat: testamentum). Like the first covenant, the new covenant, which replaced it, did so only after the death of Jesus (Heb 9:15-18).
- Today God has no separate arrangement, or covenant, for the Jews. For in Christ there is no Greek (Gentile) or Jew (Gal 3:28).
Next: Israel: Still God's People?
