The New Covenant of Christ

I.Opening Prayer

  1. In previous weeks we have studied God, Christ, the Holy Spirit, Calvinism, and the Bible. This week we are going to look at the Law and try to understand what Law we are to obey.

Have you ever wondered why there is an Old Testament and a New Testament in the Bible? I have. Hopefully, if I’ve done my job correctly, we’ll know. First let’s take a look at…

  1. The OLD Testament.
  1. What is the “Patriarchal Age”?
  1. The word “patriarch” means, “father.”
  2. The “Patriarchal Age” was the time when God spoke to the oldest male in each family.
  1. The patriarch had the obligation to pass on God’s message to his family.
  2. This dispensation included the days of Adam, Noah, Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Israel in Egypt, and Moses (until Mount Sinai).
  1. It was in effect from Creation (Adam) through Moses (receiving the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai) for all people. It continued for all Gentiles until the house of Cornelius in Acts 10. Pass out Chart 6.
  1. This chart shows God’s Laws for mankind through the ages.
  1. Look at the different dispensations.
  1. Patriarchal
  1. From Creation to Mt. Sinai for all mankind.
  2. From Mt. Sinai until the house of Cornelius for all Gentiles.
  1. Mosaic
  1. For the Jews only.
  2. From Mt. Sinai until the Death of Jesus on the Cross.
  1. Christian
  1. For the Jews only for the first 8-9 years.
  2. Then for Jews and Gentiles.
  3. This is exactly what the Bible declared in Romans 1:16 “for the Jew first and also for the Greek.”
  1. What was the purpose of the Old Testament?
  1. It is a history of the Hebrew people
  1. It was never intended to be a history of all the nations of the world.
  2. It is a history of the Jews being selected to be God’s special people. He selected them to bring the Messiah into the world.
  1. God made a promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3.
  1. God promised to give Abraham’s descendants a land.
  2. He promised that his descendants would grow into a great nation.
  3. The third promise: “In thee shall all nations of the earth be blessed.” Paul, interprets this promise in Galatians 3:16. (read). He declares that this promise refers to ONE descendant of Abraham, the Messiah, CHRIST
  1. The record keeping of the Hebrews would be SO beneficial in proving that Jesus was the Messiah.
  1. Have you ever started to read the New Testament and given up almost as quickly because of all the names listed in Matthew 1? Or do you just skip them because some of the names are hard to pronounce.
  1. What is the purpose of genealogies in Matthew 1 and Luke 3:
  1. Matthew gives the legal genealogy…through Joseph
  2. Luke gives the literal genealogy…though Mary.
  3. The purpose of these genealogies is to prove that Jesus IS the promised Messiah, the Son of God.
  1. The Law of Moses was given to the Hebrews. Throughout Exodus 19 and 20 God is speaking to the Jews. The law was only given TO THE JEWS, NOT TO ALL NATIONS.
  1. The Ten Commandments was the foundation of the Law of Moses (Ex.20:3-17).

3.The third reason we have the Old Testament is to show man his need for a Savior.

  1. Galatians 3:19-24 (read)
  2. It was given to convince man that he could not live perfectly, that he needed a Savior, and that the promised Messiah was his only hope.
  1. So how long was the Law of Moses to last?
  1. It was only to last “till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;”
  2. Who is that seed? Christ
  3. How long was the Law of Moses, based upon the Ten Commandments, intended to last? Only until Christ came. Christ Himself removed it at the Cross. Eph. 2:15 says, “By abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purposed was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

The message: Christ died on the Cross and destroyed the Ten Commandments, which caused division between Jews and Gentiles because they were only for the Jews. (Col. 2:14) Jesus removed the Ten Commandments at His Death.

  1. Why was the Law of Moses removed?
  1. So All people could be reunited under Christ.
  2. God promised to give a New Law to Israel in an Old Testament prophecy found in Jer. 31:31-34. The same prophecy is described in Heb. 8:8-12.
  3. Complete Forgiveness was not available under that Law. Each year, on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would make a sacrifice to God for his own sins and then another for the sins of the people of Israel. Those sacrifices could not make the sinners who approached God perfect.
  1. So why do we have the Old Testament in the Bible?
  1. To give us a glimpse of God’s preparation from Redemption to come to the world.
  2. To prove to us that Jesus IS the promised Messiah.
  3. To be an Example for mankind today.
  1. The NEW Testament
  1. Christ has on Law for All men today. He is the Mediator, the One who can restore us to the Father.
  2. Christ’s Death on the Cross provided redemption that reached Backward for all the faithful Jews under the Law of Moses and Forward for all those on this side of the Cross who submit to the Gospel.
  3. His Law came into effect when He DIED. Where have you heard the word “testament” used in everyday life?
  1. Many have a “Last Will and Testament”
  2. When does a “Will” come into effect? It becomes valid at death.
  1. The Jews had been delivered from the Law of Moses-it was nailed to the Cross. It was no longer in effect. The Jews were now free from it. When you get a chance read Romans 7. It talks about the New Law and the Old Law by using an illustration from Marriage.
  1. There were some Jews that were attempting to serve both the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ at the same time. Paul uses the illustration of marriage to explain that the Jews have been freed from the Law of Moses.
  1. He use the illustration of the woman to explain the concept of the Jewish Christian being married to the Law of Moses and later becoming the bride of Christ. A woman is married to a husband only as long as he lives. If she leaves her living husband and marries another man, she will be in adultery.

There is a Spiritual application: The Jews were no longer married to the Law of Moses- it died when Christ died on the Cross. That Law died in order that the Jews might be married to the risen Christ. To attempt to serve both Laws would put one in the position of committing Spiritual adultery.

When someone tries to take principles from the Law of Moses and bind them on men today, he places himself in spiritual trouble. (Galatians 5:3-4)

  1. So let’s look at the wonderful privileges we have under the Law of Christ
  1. We have a greater spokesman than Moses
  2. We have a greater High Priest than Aaron
  3. We have the privilege to be people of FAITH in Christ.
  4. His sacrifice made Forgiveness available for ANY that will become true believers.
  1. So, what does all of this mean for you?
  1. You don’t live under the Law of Moses today
  2. You live under the Law of Christ
  3. You can have complete forgiveness of your sins.