TWO COVENANTS
See also Ancient Covenants

WHAT IS A COVENANT?

Deut 5:1-4 Moses summoned all Israel and said: Hear, O Israel, the decrees and laws I declare in your hearing today. Learn them and be sure to follow them. 2 The LORD our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 It was not with our fathers that the LORD made this covenant, but with us, with all of us who are alive here today.

(Deuteronomy; 1500 BC; Stone; Core is 10 Commandments; 660 laws; Brother/believer

Moral/Penal code; Ceremonial; Can’t save self)

Jer 31:31-34 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them," declares the LORD. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 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," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Heb 8:5-9:1 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. 7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 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. 11 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. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." 13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

(Underline the adjectives)

Heb 8:13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

Heb 7:11-12 For when there is a change of the priesthood, there must also be a change of the law

Heb 7:18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless

Two Covenants

Heb 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming-not the realities themselves.

Heb 10:9 Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second.

Col 2:14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

Gal 3:24-25 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law

Eph 2:14-15 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

Aging; Will soon disappear; Changed; Set aside; Weak: Useless; Only a shadow; Set aside; Canceled; Was against us; Opposed to us; Taken away; Nailed to the cross; We are not under it any longer; Destroyed; Abolished!

WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THE OLD LAW?

Gal 3:19 What, then, was the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.

1 Tim 4:2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.

Gal 3:24 So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

AT WHAT POINT WAS THE OLD COVENANT DONE AWAY?

Col 2:14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

AT WHAT POINT WAS THE NEW COVENANT ESTABLISHED?

Heb 9:16-17 In the case of a will, it is necessary to prove the death of the one who made it, 17 because a will is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living.

IF THE OLD LAW WAS DONE AWAY WHEN CHRIST DIED, THEN HOW COULD IT BE READY TO DISAPPEAR?

Heb 8:13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

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WHY DON’T WE THROW IT AWAY?

Rom 15:4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

1 Cor 10:11 These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.

Two Covenants

Rom 4:15 Where there is no law there is no transgression.

WHERE WE HAVE NO CLEAR TEACHING IN THE NT. WE HAVE FREEDOM, BUT WE CAN GO TO THE OT. FOR APPROVED EXAMPLES TO WHAT IS GOOD.

(War; tithe; rest one day of the week; women leading in song and circumcision.)

Indian, Colonial, American law. We are under none of the laws of Moses but are under the laws of Christ which the basic moral principles contained in Moses law. We are under these principles not because they were commanded by Moses but because they are commanded by Christ.

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Applications:

2 Tim 2:14-15 “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” NKJV This is the basis for all Bible study.

Col 2:16-17 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”

Num 15:32-35 “While the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody, because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘The man must die.”’

Gal 5:3-4 “Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.”

Holy Days; Special Clothing; Unclean meat; Blood transfusions; Instrumental music; Legalism; Unity.

Summary: Require only (all) what is clearly commanded in the Bible.

Only in the New Testament. This brings us to unity and salvation.

TWO COVENANTS

1.      What is a covenant?

2.      With whom was the Old Covenant made?

3.      On what was the Old Covenant written?

4.      What does the word Deuteronomy mean?

5.      Where were the 10 commandments given?

6.      Under the Old Covenant, at what point did a person become part of the covenant.

7.      Under the New Covenant why won’t we teach brothers to know the lord?

8.      On what material was the New Covenant written?

9.      What is the difference between the forgiveness under the Old Covenant and the New Covenant?

10.  What was the purpose of the Old Covenant

11.  At what point was the Old Covenant done away?

12.  At what point was the New Covenant established?

13.  If the Old Covenant was done away when Jesus died on the cross how was it that years later the Hebrew writer said it was ready to disappear? Heb. 8:13

14.  Why don’t we throw the Old Covenant away?

15.  How do we know which of the Old Covenant laws to keep and which to reject?

16.  What day does the Bible say is the Sabbath?

17.  Is it wrong to work on Sunday?

This column lists the studies that will lead to a proper understanding of God's Word

Just click on the title

We Can Know . . .

We can know our understanding of the Bible is accurate. Bible Study

There is a God in Heaven and the Bible is His Word

Prayer and God's Promises

 The Authority of The Scriptures

The Two Covenants

The Proper Method of Study