645. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 16): Contradictions or Different Covenants?

Why did Jesus sometimes tell Jewish people to keep the commandments and obey the law? How do we reconcile that with writings from the Apostle Paul and others who revealed in Scripture that all people have been freed from that very same law? The contrast is clear, yet it is seldom addressed head-on by Church Incorporated. Religious tradition has adopted most of what Jesus taught as a new Christian teaching, when instead He was frequently ministering the law to people from Israel who were under that law. Gentiles were never under the law of commandments which came through Moses, and in fact, we find in New Testament writings where they (we) were never to be considered under that former ministry. Jesus delivered people from it, and brought them into a New Covenant (Himself), to live within a new life by the ministry of God’s Spirit.



   

636. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 7): A Promise of Faith Contrasted With A Covenant of Works

The promise of a covenant bringing righteousness by faith or belief as it was given to Abraham, would eventually bring what we often refer to as the New Covenant, which was ushered in through Jesus Christ. Several hundred years after God made this covenant with Abraham, another covenant would be established with the people of Israel, and would include the law which came through Moses. This law would bring a curse requiring that all of it be kept perfectly, causing God to find fault with the people in that covenant. Fortunately, that covenant of law would not nullify the covenant of promise made 430 years earlier. The promise of faith would end up kicking the law of works to “kingdom come” (because the law is not of faith). This week in our series, we’re transitioning from Abraham to Moses and the Law.



   

634. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 5): Abraham and the Child of Promise

Hundreds of years before God gave the law to Moses, there was Abraham. Through him God brought forth a promise, where he would become the father of many nations that would occur through a child promised to him and Sarah. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It was by faith the promise arrived, not works. The Apostle Paul explains how Abraham’s two sons represent the two covenants—both the Old and the New. The son born from Hagar (the bondwoman) was born according to the flesh, whereas the son from Sarah (the freewoman) through promise. One gave birth to bondage, symbolic of Mount Sinai, and the other gave birth to freedom, which would include justification for Gentiles through faith.



   

630. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 2)

We continue to lay the foundation for our series, as we look at some key parts of the Bible that led from Adam to Jesus, and then to the New Covenant. Is everything written specifically to us today or was it simply given as a reference point to help us see the redemptive plan God had for man all along? What motivated Adam to make the wrong choice? Why did God give Moses the law, and why did the Israelites agree to the (old) covenant? Are the Psalms and Prophets telling us how to seek comfort in our lives, or were they more about pointing Israel to the Messiah, who had not yet appeared? What was is it about the Old Testament that had convinced some of the Jews that Jesus was that Messiah? What was the purpose of Jesus’ ministry and when did the New Covenant begin? We’ll be covering some of this and more in future programs, after this week’s second half of our introduction.



   

629. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 1)

This will be the first program in a series where we will focus on key points in the Scripture with the goal of helping us to see the bigger picture when it comes to the Bible. Our primary stops on the route will include Adam, Abraham, Moses and the law, the Psalms and the Prophets, and also Jesus and the New Covenant. The idea is to step back from the many trees (verses) that are often taken out of context in order to gain a better view of the forest and help summarize the Biblical map. Ultimately, our hope with this series is to gain an improved understanding of the gospel and God’s Word as a whole.



   

547. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 4): The Law Increased Sin

Part 4 in the series lays more foundation about the law and the Old Covenant and the many differences between the New Covenant which began after the death of Jesus. Most Christian teachings have assumed the commandments were meant to decrease sin, but we find just the opposite is true. It was designed to bring hopelessness and despair. Since fault was found with the people for not fulfilling their end of the agreement, God's grace and mercy would allow for the covenant to end, instead of punishing them for their sins.



   

546. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 3): The Law Shut Boasting Mouths

This is the third in a series of why Jesus taught two covenants, this week looking at some specifics within the Mosaic law from the first covenant. That was a covenant made with Israel and those of us who are Gentiles were not included. Ultimately the law brought a curse because it required all of it be kept perfectly. The New Covenant would not be anything like the Old. The first covenant resulted in death and condemnation, whereas under the second covenant, we've been removed from that and placed into life. The law was meant to shut mouths, stop boasting, and bring people to the end of themselves.



   

545. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 2): From Adam to Moses

Our second in the series of why Jesus taught two covenants lays a further foundation on why Adam fell and how the covenant began through Moses with the Jewish people. A covenant must be agreed upon by at least two parties, so the law within the first covenant was not forced upon Israel, but they agreed to do all of it as required. They declared with pride it would be righteousness for them. They would have been better off humbling themselves by saying they couldn't do it. They chose to trust in themselves and their ability.



   

450. The Contrast of Law and Grace

John's gospel states that the law came through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. The law did not bring the Jewish people grace and truth. It could not impart life. Whether Jew or Gentile, understanding the purpose of the law will help free us into experiencing the life of Christ from within. Jesus didn't come to empower us to live the law. Rather, He fulfilled it for us. We now have a wedded relationship with Him, not based on a marriage license, but rooted in unconditional love.

In this podcast, Joel mentioned the following:

The ministry and fruit of the of the law included:

It made people guilty (Rom 3:19)
It condemned (2 Cor 3:9)
It imputed sin to man (Rom 5:13)
Through it, sin abounded (Rom 5:20)
It brought death (Rom 7:9-11)
It was against us and contrary to us (Col 2:14)
It was enmity with us (Eph 2:15)

All of the following is true of the Law AFTER the cross:

It was wiped out, taken out of the way and nailed to the cross (Col 2:14)
It was abolished (Eph 2:15)
It was put to death (Eph 2:16)
It was annulled (Heb 7:18)
It was made obsolete (Heb 8:13)

The law's job had been completed. The law "was added because of transgressions, *till* the Seed should come to whom the promise was made…" (Gal 3:19).


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177. Faith Itself - Not Works - Is What Pleases God

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The Old Testament Bible characters listed in Hebrews 11 did some very wonderful things. But what was the root of all that they did? Were they credited for doing great things because they were such great, godly people? Or is there something deeper that is the root of what they did? Join us this week as we take a look at the foundational truth in their lives that caused them to do the things they did - the foundation of simple faith and trust in God. We look at how Abraham had been credited with faith, and how God had justified him by faith, before he had ever done a thing, and we look at a few more of the men and women mentioned in Hebrews 11, showing how it was faith itself that pleased God - not what they did. The things they did were simply the outflow or result of their foundational belief in God.