The old covenant ended at the cross, where the new covenant began through the blood of Jesus. “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:20. The new covenant was made with the descendants of Jacob. But later, into THAT covenant, we who have turned from paganism also became included. This is the covenant mentioned in Jeremiah 31:31-33.
The Bible does not teach that those who come into the new covenant should still observe the commandments and ordinances of the old covenant. From the cross began the NEW covenant, which changed the whole world. The time of the law covenant, which was intended to be temporary, ceased. Gal. 3:16-18. The sacrifices ordained by the law of Moses, the temple rituals, the priesthood, the food regulations, etc., ended. Heb. 9:10. It is good for those who teach the law covenant to know that they are leading people into the chains of bondage.
The law of Moses is one whole, and its partial observance is the breaking of the law. If you keep only the Ten Commandments but reject the hundreds of other parts of the law, you are a transgressor of the law. Not one jot or one tittle shall pass from the entirety of the law before it is fulfilled. Matt. 5:17-19. / John 19:30.
A more detailed explanation of this is given in the text.
Here are some “eye for eye, tooth for tooth” ordinances and commandments, all of which must be kept if one says that one holds the Law of Moses and the commandments of God:
– The sabbatical rests of the cultivated lands must be observed. Ex. 23:10-17. Likewise concerning the fruit trees. Lev. 19:23.
– “A jubile shall that fiftieth year be unto you: ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it.” Lev. 25:11.
– The purification ordinances after childbirth must be observed, as also, for example, the ordinances concerning sexual uncleanness. Lev. chapters 12–15. !
– The Day of Atonement must be kept as Lev. 23:24- teaches.
– The Day of Trumpet blowing with a burnt offering must be kept. Lev. 23:23-25.
– Tithes must be paid of all income. Deut. 14:23.
– A garment woven of two different kinds of thread must not be worn. Lev. 19:19.
– The beard must not be trimmed. Lev. 19:27.
– “Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.” Deut. 22:12.
– Bible verse case must be worn on the forehead. “And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.” Deut. 6:8.
– The ordinances of the water of purification must be kept. Num. 19.
– Only a virgin may be taken as a wife. Deut. 22:13-21.
– The dietary laws commanded by the law must be strictly kept: “Thou shalt not eat any abominable thing.” Deut. 14:3.
– The firstborn must be given unto the LORD. Ex. 13. Etc., and more besides…
– The examination of a wife suspected of adultery. Num. 5:12…
Etc.
The law includes as an inseparable part also the measures of punishment, Leviticus 24:20: “Breach for breach, eye for eye, tooth for tooth: as he hath caused a blemish in a man, so shall it be done to him again.” And so on.
But in the covenant of grace Jesus, as the substitutionary sacrifice, took upon Himself to suffer the punishment that belongs to us, and merited for us a new mind, so that we desire to live together with Him. The will of God is written into our inner being as part of our new nature. In the new covenant we may be in that state of blessing of which it is written, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13.
The main content of the new covenant was already depicted through the prophets of the old covenant: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” Jeremiah 31:31–33.
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:12–13.
The old covenant written on tablets of stone
DOES NOT belong to the believers of the new covenant. Moses is proclaimed in the synagogue, not in the congregation. Acts 15:21.
The first Christians of the new covenant, Jews, did not teach the old covenant. But from those of the sect of the Pharisees who had come to faith, there arose some who began to oppose the teaching of the apostles, saying: “That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” Acts 15:5.
It was decided that the matter would be examined in Jerusalem under the leadership of the apostles, and the result was that “it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us” that
the law of Moses does not belong to the new covenant. Read Acts chapter 15.
Peter said that those who supported the covenant of the law were tempting God. “Now therefore why tempt ye God..” Acts 15:10, 28–29.
This, then, was the decision of the highest leadership of the congregation, which the Holy Spirit gave to the congregation founded at the cross, and which was given as instruction to all who had newly come to faith, both Jews and Gentiles. Acts 16:4. Ephesians 2:11–22. = “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances.”
The new covenant has filled our hearts with joy: “I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.” Psalm 40:8 (KJV).
Partly or entirely?
But if someone therefore teaches that the covenant of the Law should be observed only partly, then who in that case would be qualified to say what must be observed and which parts of the Law may be rejected? In the Old Testament there are about 600 legal commandments. Which of them would belong to us, and which could be dismissed? James 2:10–11 teaches thus: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law.”
THE LAW IS FULFILLED
“Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” Romans 13:8–10 (KJV).
And everyone who has come into the new covenant knows that this does not mean freedom to practice sin, because God’s will is in our new nature, in our hearts. “We have the mind of Christ.” 1 Cor. 2:16.
The whole of the Law of Moses therefore includes also the Law of the Ten Commandments, which is now fulfilled from the first commandment to the last. The first commandment forbids making an image of God. This is fulfilled, because the true “express image of His being” was revealed in Jesus. “Who is the image of the invisible God.” Col. 1:15. “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person.” Heb. 1:3. The “glorious gospel of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:3–4) removed the shadow-pictures brought by the law. Heb. 10:1. 2 Cor. 3:6–18.
Breaking one part breaks the whole law: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them… Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” Gal. 3:10,13 (KJV).
Jesus said that no one has been able to keep the law: “Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?” John 7:19 (KJV). The apostles said the same: Acts 15:10.
“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” Gal. 5:1 (KJV). This continues the message of Galatians 4, which speaks of deliverance from the enslaving covenant of the law: “Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.” Gal. 4:30. Abraham’s wife Sarah represents freedom; the bondwoman represents the covenant of Moses’ law: “But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants.” Gal. 4:23–24.
Scripture says that the covenant of the law is useless: “For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.” Heb. 7:18 (KJV). Therefore Scripture gives a serious warning not to return (Gal. 5:1) to the covenant of the law: “Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.” Gal. 5:4 (KJV).
The new covenant is based on the mercy that Jesus merited on the cross: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old.” Heb. 8:12–13 (KJV).
From this began the
life-union with Jesus for us who have received Him as our Savior. Now, “For the love of Christ constraineth us.” 2 Cor. 5:14. It is a holy desire in the Spirit of freedom, a willing of the heart toward all good and right. In our hearts is God’s gracious instruction, which works in us so that we live according to His will by the influence of the Holy Spirit. We have come to know Jesus in a heart-to-heart fellowship.
And the truth is, no one in our time keeps the law. Even the best attempts fall short: “none of you keepeth the law?” John 7:19 / Acts 15:10–11.
We live under the New Covenant, in the very fulfillment of the Law, in the Holy Spirit.
Scripture also does not set before us the man-made church-year cycle of the pagan churches with their daily themed observances and the daily words/devotions.
NEW COVENANT
The substitutionary sacrifice of the cross brought into our hearts the new covenant. “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” Luke 22:20 (KJV). The old ended when “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.” Mark 15:38 (KJV). The way into “the holiest”, before the mercy seat, was opened by the blood of Jesus. Hebrews 10:19 (KJV): “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus.”
The new covenant is not like the old covenant, but entirely NEW (Jer. 31:32), whose constitutional law is the commandment of love:
“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” John 13:34,35 (KJV).
“For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Gal. 5:14 (KJV).
Thanks be to God! The law of the Ten Commandments is therefore fulfilled. We live in the New Covenant, in the substance of the fulfillment of the Law. John 8:31–36.
None so-called church feast days (hypocritical holy days) belong to Christians according to the Scripture.
They are all unbiblical inventions of the churches, having no divine value whatsoever. Therefore those who are truly in the faith do not celebrate, for example, Easter with Palm Sunday and such, nor Pentecost, etc. Isa. 1:14.
“For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof.
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. …
By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.” Hebrews 7:18–22 (KJV).
Jesus is the founder of the new covenant. He has all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore He had authority to establish an entirely new covenant and to give to it a NEW constitutional law. John 13:34,35. Luke 22:20. Jer. 31:31.
Thus the Scripture teaches that the new covenant is LIFE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, a life-union with Jesus.
“But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Gal. 5:18 (KJV).
The Holy Spirit does not lead one to act against the will of God.
The liberating and blessing teaching of the Scripture to all who are saved under the new covenant is that:
“For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” Gal. 2:19,20 (KJV).
“But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held.” Romans 7:6 (KJV).
This message of freedom is directed especially to those who have turned from Judaism to God, the “graffed in again”. Romans 11:23. Acts 2:38,41. But the same message belongs to all who are redeemed by the blood of Jesus, to us who are born again, God’s holy ones.
“And put no difference between us and them.” Acts 15:9 (KJV). Eph. 2:11–22. – Read the entire chapter of Acts 15.
The congregation is one, to which everywhere belongs the same doctrine of the Scripture.
Welcome therefore into the blessing of the covenant of grace. Jesus is the ONLY Savior. He is full of grace and truth.
“And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:16,17 (KJV).
Jesus is eternally the same, the good Redeemer, who saves, heals, and fills with the Holy Spirit. He also delivers from binding legalism. Our hearts rejoice and already now taste the blessedness of heaven.
The fulfillment of the Sabbath is perhaps the greatest source of blessing within this topic. In it the chains of bondage have been finally removed. Each of our days has now become equal in value and thus sanctified unto the Lord. We have a continual rest-state, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, every day of the year. In addition to Saturday, therefore, all the other days of the week are also rest, even while working. The eternal Sabbath rest is in effect NOW. Hebrews chapter 4 teaches this clearly according to the original language. “For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” Hebrews 4:10 (KJV). “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.” apoleipetai = it remains, is reserved. Hebrews 4:9 (KJV). The Greek word ”Apoleipetai” in verse 9 sets Hebrews chapter 4 as a comprehensible and unified whole. We are therefore within the same rest-state in which God Himself is. Thanks be to God for the state of freedom and rest. The Sabbath, for New Covenant Christians, is a state, not a day.
Jesus died away from the Sabbath and took the Sabbath with Him into the tomb. He rose on the first day of the week without the Sabbath. From that moment forward the New Covenant was in effect. Compare Romans 6:4. All the requirements of the Law have been fulfilled for us to receive. As we remain in the teachings of the Word of God, we are in the freedom of the New Covenant, the state of rest. “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:31-36 (KJV).
But one may also choose days, provided they do not bring again the clanking of the chains of bondage into one’s life: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord…” Romans 14:5-6 (KJV). Thus the choosing of days is of no consequence, just as also not choosing them is of no consequence. “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 (KJV).
“It is finished!”
Blessings,
Weijo Lindroos, from the Turku Congregation
Maariankatu 2
20100 Turku
Finland
Email:
weijo.lindroos@pp.inet.fi
Website:
In English