THE OLD AND NEW COVENANT

Time with Jesus - Friday, 09 November 2012

Hi all,

Today’s meditation concerns the Old and New Covenant “laws”. Of course, Jesus summed up both with His statement, ³⁷ Jesus replied, "'You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.' ³⁸ This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹ A second is equally important: 'Love your neighbour as yourself.' Matt 22:37-39 NLT He did not give anyone the right to sin with impunity. He gave immunity from the penalty of sin under Jewish Law subject to certain conditions.

Blessings,

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – Friday, 09 November 2012			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
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INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	THE OLD AND NEW COVENANT
Most of us think that when we refer to God’s Law we are referring to the Ten Commandments. This is not surprising. The ten commandments are just about impossible to keep. In fact Jesus is the only person who succeeded in doing so. According to Nelson’s Illustrated New Bible Dictionary, “There are eight distinct categories of civil law in the Old Testament: (1) laws regulating leaders, (2) laws regulating the army, (3) laws respecting criminals, (4) laws dealing with crimes against property, (5) laws relating to humane treatment, (6) laws about personal and family rights, (7) laws about property rights, and (8) laws regulating other social behaviour”. For the likes of you and me, these laws are equally impossible to keep. These laws had inflexible penalties. For example death was the penalty for fornication, adultery, homosexuality, prostitution, incest and bestiality. These penalties were absolute. Man had no authority to change these laws. In Jewish law, these penalties were rigidly applied. It’s important to understand that these laws have not been rescinded and are as true now as they were in days of old. What has changed is that in Christ, the penalty no longer applies. The curse of the law was the penalty applicable when the law was broken. Paul points this out: 13 Christ paid the price to free us from the curse that God's laws bring by becoming cursed instead of us. Scripture says, "Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed." Gal. 3:13 GW For those familiar with the game “Monopoly”, it’s a bit like having a “get out of jail free” card. If you get sent to jail during the course of the game, the card enables you to continue playing. You are “just visiting”. What we need to remember is that although we have been redeemed from the curse of the law, it does not mean that the law no longer applies. Jesus made this very plain: 8 I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God's law will disappear until its purpose is achieved. Matt 5:18 NLT Note that the law is still in place. It’s just as true as ever. It’s the penalty that has been taken away. The danger for us is to think that because the penalty has gone, we can sin as much as we want. Paul discusses this at length in Romans 6. He points out that in Christ we are dead to sin and alive to Christ. In other words, 12 Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Rom 6:12 NLT Living under the Old Covenant was not easy. Living under the new covenant should not be thought of as “easy”! Under the New we can be forgiven for sins that demanded the death penalty under the Old. But to continue to live in sin under the New Covenant is anathema. The New Covenant demands repentance from sin. No repentance = no forgiveness = No salvation. Jim & Phyllida Strickland			5 "Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice." Psalms 50:5 TNIV 28 In the same way, Christ was offered up once. He took away the sins of many people. He will also come a second time. At that time he will not suffer for sin. Instead, he will come to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. Hebrews 9:28 NIrV 15 That is why He is the One who mediates a new covenant between God and people, so that all who are called can receive the eternal inheritance God has promised them. For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of the sins they had committed under that first covenant. Hebrews 9:15 NLT 24 Father, I want those you gave me To be with me, right where I am, So they can see my glory, the splendour you gave me, Having loved me Long before there ever was a world. John 17:24 MSG 27 And He will send out His angels to gather His chosen ones from all over the world--from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Mark 13:27 NLT 4 Even if you have been banished to the most distant land under the heavens, from there the LORD your God will gather you and bring you back. Deuteronomy 30:4 TNIV 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 TNIV	There are many differences for folk like me and you, Between the major Covenants. The Old one and the New. The Old had no provision for a deliberate sin. The penalty was final. There’s no way man could win. A murderer found guilty was taken out and stoned. There wasn’t a provision for such sin to be atoned. Taken in adultery? Death was the only way To satisfy the penalty for what was done that day. You couldn’t get forgiveness, no matter how you tried. If you had sinned deliberately, then you were going to die. David got away with it. He took Uriah’s life. By lying with Bathsheba. She was Uriah’s wife. Uriah was then murdered for Bathsheba was with child. Her marriage to Uriah was utterly defiled. David and Bathsheba. They both should have been stoned. But who dare challenge David while he was still enthroned? And so it’s very clear that David was above the Law. Who would dare accuse him and Uriah was no more. We know that he repented. He did the best he could, To satisfy the matter. But legally he should, Be stoned because of murder and for adultery. But kings were all untouchable; he had to be set free. The law was unforgiving. The penalties were clear. Accidental sins were all atoned for every year. They were “covered over” by the blood of sacrifice. A ram had to be slaughtered. There was no other price. There were different gifts that were all offered to the Lord But none of them were perfect. Each one of them was flawed. How many should be slaughtered to pay for just one man? Thus in the New Covenant, God had a better plan. The sacrificial system was still very much in place. But who could ever pay the price for all the human race?” The offering would have to be the Son of God Divine. His blood and His alone forgives all sin. Both yours and mine. So Jesus, by one offering, could pay for every sin. By His blood of sacrifice, we now can enter in. This means that the Old Covenant for us is obsolete. Jesus blood is final; and forgiveness is complete. Jim Strickland  Written  9th November 2012