November - December 2001 The Sabbath Sentinel

President's Message . . .

Primer on Covenants by Calvin Burrell

The topic I've chosen relates to all who love the Lord and remember His Sabbath. Every growing Christian needs a grasp of the covenants of Scripture. Lacking this understanding, a Bible reader may assume, incorrectly, that what he or she reads in Leviticus is as important as what's written in Matthew, Ephesians, or I Peter.

The purpose here is not to delve into the deeper aspects of the several biblical covenants, but to simply introduce the theme and its importance to all believers. "Covenant" speaks of an agreement or relationship God establishes with His people. Though there are several mentioned in Scripture, two covenants dominate the biblical landscape.

First, there is the Old Covenant God made through Moses with the nation of Israel on their way from Egypt to the promised land of Canaan. The fearful scenes in which this covenant was announced and ratified at Mt. Sinai are described in Exodus 19-24. From that time until Christ came, the Hebrew people related with God under the terms of this "Mosaic" or "Sinaitic" covenant with its Levitical Priesthood. Because the Old Covenant gave prominence to God's written commandments and statutes, it is often called "the law."

Second, there is the New Covenant that God made through Jesus Christ, as recorded in the four gospels. The awesome events of His death at Mt. Calvary and His resurrection on the third day launched a new people of God who are en route to a promised land, His Kingdom. From now until Christ's return, Christians relate to God under the terms of this New Covenant with its cross and empty tomb. Because this New Covenant gives prominence to God's grace to forgive and the gift of eternal life, it is often called "the gospel."

It is true that the Old Covenant is contained in the Old Testament, but these two terms are not synonomous. Nor does New Covenant mean precisely the same as New Testament. Both the Old and New Covenants have their roots, in fact, in God's relationship with Abraham, found in the Bible's first book, Genesis.

This is one of many ways that these two covenants are linked, both being contained in the same Bible and established by the same God, beginning with the same man, Abraham.

What is the relationship between the Old and New Covenants? Are they in series, with one replacing the other in time? Or in parallel, so that we choose between them anytime?

Bible-believing folks hold various views about these questions. I believe we must avoid two extremes:

On one hand are those who see the connection between the covenants is that of full continuity. For them law is the primary category by which God works with His people. Israel is the true olive tree, and all who would please God must submit to the Hebrew regimen. All 613 laws found in Moses are to be observed in some manner, by both Jewish and Gentile believers. While Yahshua the Messiah may be the best sacrifice for sin, His major role is that of an example. In this system of thought, the integrity of the Sinaitic revelation is un-phased by the gospel, with the net effect that the Old Covenant remains dominant. The Sabbatarian community has a few groups who espouse this species of legalism.

On the other hand, some segments of orthodox Christianity have long leaned to the opposite extreme. For them, the gospel of Jesus Christ means that God's law has become an obsolete category, and the relation between the Old and New Covenants is one of total discontinuity. The Church is a new creation, and owes nothing to Israel. If anything is commanded for Christians, that is only because the New Testament epistles say so -- never because it was written in stone or the book of the law. Jesus' example and teaching receive short shrift in this system, but His death emphatically repealed all the Old Testament laws. Much of this thinking infiltrates Sabbath-observing churches from time to time, most recently under the rubric of "New Testament Theology."

Both of these are extreme positions, in my view. As a follower of Christ, I believe that the Old Testament is God's Word and that the New Testament is His final Word. There is illumination in both, but the light emanating from each is not equal. Jesus is the truest and brightest light! The gospel, not the law, is our assurance of an eternal "yes" from a holy God.

The Bible teaches neither a full identity of the Old Covenant with the New, nor a total disconnect between them. Because they were both instituted by the same God who never changes (His eternal attributes), we may expect to find several elements of similarity between the Old and New Covenants, and we do:

Comparisons, similarities connections between covenants:

• Both recorded in the same Bible, and profitable for correction and instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16, 17)
• Both introduced to the same man, Abraham, who is the father of both Jewish and Gentile belivers (Gen. 12-25)
• Both teach the forgiveness of sins through shedding of blood
• Both provide for God's moral law to be observed (Heb. 8:8-12)
• Both express this relationship: "I will be our God, and you shall be My people"
• Both trust in a gracious God who loves and redeems His people despite their sins and failures.

We also read of sharp contrasts between the covenants, most of them in 2 Corinthians 3, Galatians 4, and in Hebrews.

Contrasts, differences, disconnects between covenants:

• The first writes God's laws on stone; the second, on our hearts
• The first operates according the flesh and the letter; the second, according to the Spirit (2 Cor. 3)
• The first had the diminishing glory of a temporary priesthood; the second, an ever-increasing glory of an everlasting Priest (2 Cor. 3; Heb.)
• The first covenant tends to bondage; the second gives freedom (Gal. 4:21-31)
• The first provides daily sacrifice for sin that made nothing perfect; the second, a final Sacrifice once-and-for-all that perfected forever those who are being saved (Heb. 7 - 10).
• The first was good; the second was better in every way (Heb.)
• The first covenant gave us God's written law; the second covenant gives us the gospel of God's Kingdom and His Son.

I have two major points to draw from this brief introduction. First, the close relation between Covenants in Scripture helps refute any teaching that would discard God's law and forget His Sabbath. And second, the superiority of the New Covenant through Jesus Christ steers us far from the error of making the Sabbath a false gospel.

The grace of God in Christ is our only hope for eternal salvation, and the commandments of God continue as one way He teaches us vital truth about ourselves and about life. Trust! and obey!

TSS

November - December 2001 The Sabbath Sentinel