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samedi 6 avril 2013

The Old Covenant Vs New Covenant Made Simple

By Alba Durham


To completely understand the fundamentals of the old covenant vs new covenant, one must start by familiarizing himself or herself with the New Testament and the Old Testament, which are the 2 distinctly different portions of the Bible. Thirty-nine individual books, from Genesis to Malachi, make up the Old Testament. The New is comprised of a total of twenty-seven books, beginning with Matthew and finishing with the Revelation.

Numerous individuals erroneously believe that both sections of the Bible, including the letter of the law, apply to modern Christianity. This confuses many people, as the verses seem to contradict each other when viewed this way. Each distinct section of the Bible is associated with a specific set of rules: one was for those who lived on Earth prior to the crucifixion, and the other is for people who were already alive or who were born after Jesus was crucified.

When the Old Testament was written, the crucifixion had not taken place. Therefore, there was no such thing as what Christians refer to as "grace". Rather, sin had to be atoned for by a blood sacrifice. After Jesus was born and lived on Earth as a man-the point at which the New Testament began-it was no longer necessary to offer a sacrifice for one's sins, as that is what Jesus accomplished on the cross.

Hebrews, a New Testament Bible book, distinctly and clearly explains that the Christ established another covenant following his crucifixion, death, resurrection and ascent to heaven. In Hebrews chapter 7, God tells believers that the "old agreement", referring to the regulations adhered to by Christians prior to Jesus' death, had been nullified and the new covenant established. The latter is still in effect today, and it began with the resurrection of Christ.

The laws and rules described in the Old Testament are quite different from those contained in the New Testament. For instance, as mentioned above, an animal was killed and offered to God in order for individuals to atone for their sins. This animal was almost always a lamb, to symbolize the "lamb of God", who is obviously Jesus Christ.

Galatians, a New Testament book, is entirely devoted to urging individuals to not return to the rules and regulations outlined in the Old Testament section. Rather, they are to embrace the gift of forgiveness and grace.

In Romans, the seventh chapter, there are also references made to the former agreement vs. The current agreement. In contemporary English, it would probably read something like the following: "We can now rest in the grace of God, as we have been delivered from the penalties associated with the law, and therefore it is no longer necessary for us to atone for our own sins."

Many religious denominations fail to correctly identify the two main sections of the Bible: the New Testament, given directly from Christ to all of mankind, as referred to in the 11th chapter of Matthew, and the Old Testament which was given to the Jews through God's instructions to Moses, as stated in the 5th chapter of Deuteronomy. It is only through a full understanding of how God's gift of salvation usurps the former law that one can truly grasp the concept of the old covenant vs new covenant.




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