945. A Covenant of Law and a Covenant of Grace: Recognizing the Differences

The Apostle Paul said: "But now we have been delivered from the law." We often apply a phrase such as this to us who are believers in Christ today who typically are not from a Jewish background. We'll offer a perspective on who Paul was specifically addressing from Romans 7 and how removing the dividing wall of separation (the law of commandments) brought Jews and Gentiles together in Christ.

When huddled with His disciples, Jesus said: "Do not think that I came to destroy (abolish) the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." While it was not the mission of Jesus to arrive on earth to declare the law as abolished, He did complete what He came to do—which was first to fulfill it—and this resulted in the law from the Old Covenant being abolished in His flesh and fully annulled and set aside (or cancelled).

When scanning the scriptures in the Bible or hanging out in a mixed-covenant church culture, understanding who was being spoken to, what was being said and when it was said will help us to avoid blending law and grace ... while growing in the knowledge of the truth about the gospel that offers a better hope than an obsolete covenant of works (which we were never alive to).



   
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549. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 6): Unsalty People & Fulfilling the Law

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was having an Old Covenant conversation with Israelites. They had been considered the salt of the earth. Those under that first covenant understood the connection between salt and the covenant, also known as the covenant of salt. In that former covenant, God found fault with the salt (the people) and salt with no flavor is good for nothing except to be thrown out. If this doesn't sound like good news, it's because it is not the gospel. By God's grace, it would be the covenant that would be tossed out instead of the people. Jesus went on to talk about the law needing to be fulfilled. He would accomplish this in us through His finished work, but first He is getting ready to show his Jewish audience how hopeless their situation was in their current state under that law.