Covenant Confusion

Covenant confusion runs rampant in much of what is called Christendom today. All who claim to being Christians readily grant the Bible is to be our guide in living the Christian life, but what part of the Bible? Surely not the Bible in its entirety, for that would put us back to animal sacrifices, dietary laws, the keeping of festivals, etc. So, where do we draw the line? That is the subject of our study today.

There are many who justify their religious practices by making an appeal to what they find in the Old Testament, the law given by Moses. If such and such was done back then with God's approval, I know it would be acceptable today, is the thinking. There are problems with that.

(1) The Law of Moses was only given to the Jews, the children of Israel. It was given on Mt. Sinai to the Jewish people who came out of Egypt under Moses' leadership. In Deut. 5:2-3, Moses reviews what happened back then and says, "The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb … with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive." Who was there that day? They were not Gentiles. Paul, in the book of Romans, is plain spoken in speaking of the Gentiles who he says "do not have the law." (Rom. 2:14 NKJV) He says the Gentiles were "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world." (Eph. 2:12 NKJV)

There was no Great Commission under the Law of Moses to attempt to go out into the world and convert the Gentiles to Judaism. When the children of Israel reached the Wilderness of Sinai, before the mountain there, the Lord called to Moses, saying, "Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: … 'Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people, for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." (Exod. 19:3-6 NKJV) He was not speaking to Gentiles. "Whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law" (Rom. 3:19 NKJV), and that was not the Gentiles. The Gentiles were not to be a part of the holy nation, not yet, not under the Law of Moses.

Yes, I understand there were Gentile proselytes, but they came to that on their own. No one ever went out under the Law of Moses to attempt to convert the Gentiles to Judaism. That was not God's plan. He had a plan for the Gentiles, but it was under Christianity, not under the Law of Moses. Ruth and Rahab are well-known proselytes, and proselytes are mentioned in Acts 2:10. To become acquainted with Judaism in those times, you had to come into proximity to the Jews; they would not go out to seek you. Again, the Great Commission did not exist under the Law of Moses. There was no command to go out into the world and convert it to Judaism.

(2) The second problem with attempting justification for religious practices by an appeal to the first covenant, the one given under Moses, is that we are commanded today to hear Jesus, not Moses. Listen to Peter, "For Moses truly said to the fathers, 'The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brethren. Him you shall hear in all things, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every soul who will not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people." (Acts 3:22-23 NKJV) So, even the Jews, who were Peter's audience, were admonished and warned, it is no longer Moses who is to be heard. It is Christ, the prophet spoken of.

God has "in these last days spoken to us by His Son." (Heb. 1:2 NKJV) On the mount of transfiguration, when Jesus was transfigured with Peter, James, and John being present, God the Father spoke from heaven saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" (Matt. 17:5 NKJV) That message was recorded for us all, not meant just for the three apostles.

Jesus is our judge, not Moses. Jesus tells us his word will judge us in the last day (John 12:48). God is going to judge us "in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained," that man being Jesus (Acts 17:31 NKJV).

So Moses had his covenant, given to him by God, the Law of Moses as we call it, meant for a specific people for a set period of time. It was useful for the purpose for which it was designed. It served that purpose and has now passed into history. Jesus fulfilled the law and brought it to a close.

Paul elaborates on this subject in Gal. 3:24-26 when he says, "The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus." (NKJV) Note, no longer under the tutor that was "the law." Christ in fulfilling the law brought it to an end.

(3) A final problem with the Law of Moses was there was no salvation to be found in it, since it required perfection in keeping the law, a thing no one could do. Paul speaks of it as "the ministry of death." (2 Cor. 3:7 NKJV) Again, he says, "the ministry of condemnation." (2 Cor. 3:9 NKJV) More on that later.

But Jesus also has a covenant, a new one, the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2). It is the commands and teaching of the New Testament. If he has no law, then it is impossible to sin, for "sin is lawlessness" (1 John 3:4 NKJV), or, as the old KJV puts it, "sin is the transgression of the law." "Where there is no law there is no transgression." (Rom. 4:15 NKJV) Paul spoke of "not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ." (1 Cor. 9:21 NKJV) See also Gal. 6:2, "so fulfill the law of Christ." (NKJV)

Also, it needs to be explained how Jesus is "the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him" (Heb. 5:9 NKJV) if he has no law to obey. Jesus answered that question himself when he said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." (John 14:15 NKJV) What is a commandment if it is not a law? Is it merely a suggestion?

But, unlike the Law of Moses, the Law Jesus has given us, the new covenant, is not for one nation or race of people alone but for all humanity, Jews and all Gentiles alike. The command of the Great Commission is to "go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved." (Mark 16:15-16 NKJV) Peter, at the house of Cornelius, the first Gentile conversion we have a specific record of, put it this way: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him." (Acts 10:34-35 NKJV) It is a new covenant, one that contains law most assuredly, but also has grace, making forgiveness possible.

Between Mount Sinai and the cross, salvation under the Law of Moses demanded, of those to whom it was given, perfect obedience. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.'" (Gal. 3:10 NKJV) Please note the words "all things." God meant what he said. "All" meant all. James also emphasized this point about the law when he said, "Whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10 NKJV)

That was the problem with the Law of Moses, "The law is not of faith, but 'The man who does them shall live by them.'" (Gal. 3:12 NKJV, see also Rom. 10:5) That is, does them all, every one of them, without fail. Paul further says, "If there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law." (Gal. 3:21 NKJV) That is the same as saying no such law was given. The conclusion, "By the works of the law no flesh shall be justified." (Gal. 2:16 NKJV) Justification was impossible under it. "For the law made nothing perfect." (Heb. 7:19 NKJV) "The law … can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect … For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins." (Heb. 10:1,4 NKJV)

Does this mean men like Isaiah, Jeremiah, David, Daniel, and countless others who lived and died under the Law of Moses were doomed? No, not at all. When Jesus died on the cross, his shed blood flowed backwards as well as forwards to cleanse from sin. "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." (Heb. 9:15 NKJV) The first covenant is a reference to the Law of Moses.

They were granted grace through the blood of Jesus not because of any perfection in keeping the Law, but because they were of faith. As the Hebrew writer says, "Time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions … " (Heb. 11:32-33 NKJV) Their faith was in God, not in the Law in the sense of the Law being their Savior.

I am reminded of a statement I heard from a preacher years ago, one now gone, who made the comment that men have always been saved the same way, by faith and obedience. Many associate the idea of obedience with works and doubt the necessity of such, but all of the worthies of the Old Testament were obedient people. Can it be said a person is a man or woman of faith who is disobedient? Heb. 3:18-19 associates the subject of obedience with faith. "Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey?" (Heb. 3:17-18 NKJV) They did not obey for they lacked faith. They go hand in hand.

By the time of Jesus, many of the Jews looked for their salvation by means of law, by means of law keeping, by means of their own efforts along that line. Think of the Pharisees. All they could see was the law, not the God behind the law. Their faith was in law keeping, not God per se. Their law keeping could force God's hand in their eyes. God would have to accept them.

That was the old covenant, the Law of Moses under which the Jewish nation lived for hundreds of years. Jesus came into the world, and with him a change in the covenants under which God's people are to live. We move from under the old covenant to the new, initiated at the cross of Christ. As we have already shown, it was a covenant under which all of mankind was to be brought, not for the Jews only. Disciples are to be made of all nations, not just of the Jews. (Matt. 28:19)

It is a covenant of grace. "For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ." (John 1:17 NKJV) Yes, as already shown, God still has law. There are still commands to be obeyed, but what is now required for salvation is quite different. Faith and faithfulness are what is now required of mankind, not perfection in law keeping (command keeping). We now have a Savior, the Lord Jesus, to whom we can look for forgiveness. It is a Savior who saves us, not a law. "We conclude that a man is justified by faith (faith in Jesus—DS) apart from the deeds of the law." (Rom. 3:28 NKJV)

We are "justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth to be a propitiation by His blood, through faith." (Rom. 3:24-25 NKJV) The blood of bulls and goats could not cleanse man, any man, of sin, but the blood of Jesus can—if we believe. "We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand." (Rom. 5:1-2 NKJV)

Does this mean it is no longer necessary to obey God's commands, no longer necessary to be obedient to God's laws? Paul addressed this question in Romans chapter 6. "Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!" (Rom. 6:15 NKJV) "The wages of sin is death." (Rom. 6:23 NKJV) "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." (Rom. 8:13 NKJV) "To be carnally minded is death." (Rom. 8:6 NKJV) Or, as the New Living Translation puts this verse, "Letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death."

One might be inclined to say that sounds like law keeping for salvation again, like under the Law of Moses. Not so. Why not? Because the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus does not demand perfection but only a walk in life according to the Spirit. That means I must be a spiritually minded individual who allows the teaching of the Spirit, as found in God's word, to direct my life. The new covenant is "not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life." (2 Cor. 3:6 NKJV) The Law of Moses "was weak through the flesh." (Rom. 8:3 NKJV) It was of the letter, obey perfectly without fail. Mankind is prone to sin, and that law had no remedy for it no matter how penitent one might be, that is, until the cross. The new covenant, which is of the Spirit, grants grace without the perfection of the letter.

David committed a number of sins, quite serious ones even by man's standards. Nevertheless, he was a deeply spiritually minded man. He lived under the Law of Moses and was a doomed man had Christ never come to earth and made his sacrifice. Yes, he was always penitent of his sins, but there was no satisfactory propitiation for them—not until Christ. Under the new covenant that Christ brought us, the penitent Christian who has an attitude toward God like David had, walking in the Spirit, not fleshly minded, has always forgiveness upon his repentance. He does not await some future event.

John, the apostle, puts it this way, "But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:7-9 NKJV)

A few final thoughts before closing. Jesus is the author of the New Covenant, the New Testament, under which all people live today. We are to be ruled and judged by it. That does not mean we discount the abundance of the good things for our edification found in the Old Testament. There is a world of things to be learned from it. However, we cannot seek justification from it.

One might be inclined to think that we are only talking here about the issue of salvation. However, think about all the things that have been borrowed from Judaism, things like instrumental music, burning of incense, priestly robes, observing the Levitical feasts, keeping of the Sabbath, etc. They find their justification not from the teachings of the New Testament but from the practices found under the Law of Moses. God did not give things of that nature to us under the New Covenant. What he did say was, "Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son." (2 John 9 NKJV)

We need to decide which covenant we will allow to direct our lives. Many, unwittingly, try to have a mixture, a some of this, some of that. We need to stick to the doctrine of Christ. Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (Heb. 12:24). "This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many." (Mark 14:24 NKJV) Let us abide in it.

(A large portion of each of the books of Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews are devoted to the changing of the covenants, from Moses' to Christ's. I would encourage all to read those books that distinguish the covenants.)

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