THE LAW, COMMANDMENTS, AND THE TWO COVENANTS

The Law, the 2277 commandments embodying 445 laws that comprise The Law of Moses, provided religious, moral, and civil rules for all of Israel to live by until the Messiah should come to make the New Covenant of Grace. The Law is found throughout the Pentateuch, specific precepts running the gauntlet of human experience from “You shall not commit adultery” (Ex. 20:14) to “Nor shall a garment of mixed linen and wool come upon you” (Lev. 19:19), or “You shall not boil a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Ex. 23:19) We all know... are should know, The Law is not applicable to the New Covenant of Grace, having served its purpose in bringing us to Christ and His Cross of reconciliation. New Testament phrases such as The Law, The Law and The Prophets, The Law of Moses, The Mosaic Law, etc., all point to the Old Testament Law.

There are 1050 commandments in the New Testament covering every phase of man’s life in his relationship to God, his fellow man, now, and hereafter, written by the Holy Spirit to guide the spiritual walk of New Covenant believers. Some of these commandments are modified Old Testament commandments such as the passage in Matt. 5:21-48 where Jesus uses “You have heard that it was said to those of old ... but I say to you” phraseology to modify and reintroduce commandments from The Law into the New Covenant of Grace. When the word “command/commandment” is used in the New Testament one must pay particular attention to the context to determine which set of commandments, Old Testament or New Testament, are referenced. All New Testament commandments are subordinate to the First and Second “Great” commandments to love God and love others, which, by the way, summarize “all The Law and The Prophets.” Other New Testament commands include: “And do not be conformed to the world.” (Rom. 12:2) “Keep yourself in the love of God.” (Jude 21) “Rejoice always.” (1 Thess. 5:16) “Abstain from every form of evil.” (1 Thess. 5:22) “In everything give thanks.” (1 Thess. 5:18) “Forgive and you will be forgiven.” (Lk. 6:37) “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:58) “Be strong in the Lord.” (Eph. 6:10) “Be content with such things as you have.” (Heb. 13:5) ‘Be anxious for nothing.” (Phil. 4:6) ‘Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Rom. 13:14), and so on. There are about 800 categories of things to do, be, avoid, believe, charge, consider, endure, flee, follow, have, hold, keep, lay aside, let, remember, seek, prove, put on, put off, rebuke, think on, walk in, etc. The New Testament commandments are much more general in nature – we have the Holy Spirit to teach us the specifics – but they are no less commandments, and demonstrate our obedience to our Lord’s First Commandment... “If you love Me you will keep My…

USE THE RIGHT ROADMAP

TWO SPEAKINGS, TWO COVENANTS, TWO BOOKS

“God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son…” (Heb. 1:1-2). God has spoken, revealed Himself to mankind, on two distinct occasions, the context not implying two singular speakings but rather two time periods of speaking with distinct methodologies and purposes. “In these last days” since the coming of Christ (implied) -- the writer of Hebrews has now stepped past the cross into the end times, the church age – God has spoken again, and this time He has “spoken to us.” Today, “us” is still “us”. The writer views history, as it relates to divine revelation, as two time periods, “in time past” and “in these last days.”

The Old Testament is God’s self-disclosure; it is God telling man about Himself: The main character is God, the setting is God’s covenant with His chosen people and the speaker is God. It is the revelation of God revealed through man, history and Israel – who He is, His attitudes, attributes, likes, dislikes, what He tolerates, His powers, what He does and how He responds to the human condition – within the legal parameters of the covenant He makes with Israel. The Old Testament reveals to mankind God’s character and nature, His desire for relationship and holiness, and His judgment against sin, within the context of His covenant people, Israel, and His Law.

The New Testament is God speaking forth the revelation of His Son. The prophets spoke as mere mouthpieces, but when the Son spoke it was God Himself speaking, and in a sense it is God being revealed By His Son in and through the Son’s life, the Son’s message, the Son’s redemptive work and the Son’s return to establish His (i.e., God’s) eternal Kingdom. The New Testament reveals to mankind God’s redemptive plan established before the foundations of the world with the foreordained sacrifice of the Son of His love, that we, the “us” of Hebrews 1:2, might be partakers of salvation and know eternal fellowship with God through His covenant of Grace – His indescribable grace.

It is therefore contextually correct to interpret Hebrews 1:1 and 2 as directly referencing the Old Testament and New Testament respectively. The foundation of each covenant is a book, and in each book it is God speaking. The primary reason there are two books is to define these two uniquely different covenants, which are people and time specific. Embedded in the Old Testament historical narratives is a wealth of rich insight into the character and nature of God, providing valuable principles and lessons for living the Christ-life. The Law teaches us about the character of the Lawgiver. The wisdom of Proverbs provides practical moral and spiritual guidance, God’s ageless wisdom to live by, and the Worship Books provide revelation of a relational God, inspiring models of how to communicate with and worship God. This is not the substance of doctrine but rather tools, crib notes, for being a delight to our loving Father. The “new and better covenant” has new and better commandments to regulate the Christian life on the road to eternity with God. All New Testament doctrine must be based on New Testament writings – one wouldn’t use a California Roadmap to travel Missouri – new wineskins require new wine. Any theological precepts or principles drawn from the Old Testament must be filtered through the cross, the new covenant teachings, which will either accept them, modify them, or reject them.

“FOR YOU ARE NOT UNDER LAW BUT UNDER GRACE”

SIX MEGATHEMES EMERGE FROM BARNA GROUP RESEARCH

Change usually happens slowly in the Church. But a review of the research conducted by the Barna Group provides a time-lapse portrayal of how the religious environment in the U.S. is quickly morphing into something new. Analyzing insights drawn from more than 5,000 non-proprietary interviews George Barna indicated that the following six patterns were evident in the survey findings:

1. The Christian church is becoming less theologically literate:

What used to be basic, universally-known truths about Christianity are now unknown mysteries to a large and growing share of Americans – especially young adults. For instance, Barna Group studies showed that while most people regard Easter as a religious holiday, only a minority of adults associate Easter with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Other examples include the finding that few adults believe that their faith is meant to be the focal point of their life or to be integrated into every aspect of their existence. Further, a growing majority believe the Holy Spirit is a symbol of God's presence or power, but not a living entity. As the two younger generations, Baby Busters (1965-1983) and Mosaics (1984-2002), ascend to numerical and positional supremacy in churches across the nation, the data suggest that biblical literacy is likely to decline significantly. The theological free-for-all that is encroaching in Protestant churches nationwide suggests the coming decade will be a time of unparalleled theological diversity and inconsistency. Take anything you like from anywhere you like, cobble it together and voilà... your own personal religion!

2. Christians are becoming more ingrown and less outreach-oriented:

Despite technological advances that make communications instant and far-reaching, Christians are becoming more spiritually isolated from non-Christians than was true a decade ago. Examples of this tendency include the fact that less than one-third of born again Christians planned to invite anyone to join them at a church event during the Easter season; teenagers are less inclined to discuss Christianity with their friends than was true in the past; most of the people who become Christians these days do so in response to a personal crisis or the fear of death (particularly among older Americans); and most Americans are unimpressed with the contributions Christians and churches have made to society over the past few years. As young adults have children, the prospect of them seeking a Christian church is diminishing--especially given the absence of faith talk in their conversations with the people they most trust. With atheists becoming more strategic in championing their godless worldview, as well as the increased religious plurality driven by education and immigration, the increasing reticence of Christians to engage in faith-oriented conversations assumes heightened significance. And they will know we are Christians by our Love... silence! That smell is from our smoldering baskets!

3. Growing numbers of people are less interested in spiritual principles and more desirous of learning pragmatic solutions for life:

When asked what matters most, teenagers prioritize education, career development, friendships, and travel. Faith is significant to them, but it takes a back seat to life accomplishments and is not necessarily perceived to affect their ability to achieve their dreams. Among adults the areas of growing importance are lifestyle comfort, success, and personal achievements. Those dimensions have risen at the expense of investment in both faith and family. The turbo-charged pace of society leaves people with little time for reflection. The deeper thinking that occurs typically relates to economic concerns or relational pressures. Private spiritual practices like scripture study, prayer, worship, meditation, contemplation, solitude, stillness, etc. are rare. (It is ironic that more than four out of five adults claim to live a simple life.) Practical to a fault, Americans consider survival in the present to be much more significant than eternal security and spiritual possibilities. Because we continue to separate our spirituality from other dimensions of life through compartmentalization, a relatively superficial approach to faith has become a central means of optimizing our life experience. When Self is lord, loves less wild consume the heart... and we build bigger barns.

4. Among Christians, interest in participating in community action is escalating:

Largely driven by the passion and energy of young adults, Christians are more open to and more involved in community service activities than has been true in the recent past. While we remain more self-indulgent than self-sacrificing, the expanded focus on justice and service has struck a chord with many. However, despite the increased emphasis, churches run the risk of watching congregants’ engagement wane unless they embrace a strong spiritual basis for such service. Simply doing good works because it's the socially esteemed choice of the moment will not produce much staying power. Social religiosity is deceptive. Ishmael offerings do not please God whose sacrificial love is demonstrated in righteous works having Kingdom purpose.

5. The postmodern insistence on tolerance is winning over the Christian church:

Our biblical illiteracy and lack of spiritual confidence has caused Americans to avoid making discerning choices for fear of being labeled judgmental. The result is a Church that has become tolerant of a vast array of morally and spiritually dubious behaviors and philosophies. This increased leniency is made possible by the very limited accountability that occurs within the body of Christ. There are fewer and fewer issues that Christians believe churches should be dogmatic about. The idea of love has been redefined to mean the absence of conflict and confrontation, as if there are no moral absolutes that are worth fighting for. That may not be surprising in a Church in which a minority believes there are moral absolutes dictated by the scriptures. Tolerance has become the new moral imperative destroying moral absolutes wherever it is embraced.

6. The influence of Christianity on culture and individual lives is largely invisible:

Contemporary Americans have no problem identifying the faults of churches and Christian people, partly due to the nature of today’s media, but are hard pressed to identify any specific positive cultural value induced by Christianity. In a period of history where image is reality, and life-changing decisions are made on the basis of such images, the Christian Church is in desperate need of a more positive and accessible image. The primary obstacle is not the substance of the principles on which Christianity is based, and therefore the solution is not solely providing an increase in preaching or public relations. The most influential aspect of Christianity in America is how believers do--or do not--implement their faith in private and in public, in the marketplace. Partly due to the nature of today’s media, American culture is driven by the snap judgments and decisions that people make amid busy schedules and incomplete information. With little time or energy available for or devoted to research and reflection, it is people’s observations of the integration of a believer’s faith into how he/she responds to life’s opportunities and challenges that most substantially shape people’s impressions of and interest in Christianity. Jesus frequently spoke about the importance of the fruit that emerges from a Christian life; these days the pace of life and avalanche of competing ideas underscores the significance of visible spiritual fruit as a source of cultural influence. Invisible Christians have invisible fruit... and zero impact on the culture surrounding them.
 

BIRTH OF THE ONE WORLD CHURCH

(Extracted material significantly modified for this thought)

PAVLOV’S DOGS

Pavlov’s dogs were fed by people wearing white coats; the dogs would salivate profusely when they seen anyone in a white coat, unable to discern their real feeders from the other white coats. Theological illiterates, what Peter called “the unstable and the unlearned” likewise lack discernment, unable to distinguish between truth, half-truth and totally false doctrine. Our enemy, the power of earthly darkness, barters in half-truths which so easily satisfy the desires of our nature, Self, we simply want to believe they are true. Lacking the clarity and discernment which diligent study of God’s word provides, it is an easy slide into believing half-truths... and half-truths are, after all... half-false! We live in “windy” times: The world of religion is adrift with religious “white coats” hawking spiritual dribble to pacify and sooth these “itching ears”, itching from misplaced desires... the pleasures of life. Only through proper, diligent, committed study of God’s word can we escape our own gullibility, crucify our wrong desires, and increase in true knowledge of God.

Hear the words of the Apostle taken from the Amplified Bible: “Therefore, my dear ones... work out – cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete – your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling Self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ... Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved and tested by trial, a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing, accurately dividing, rightly handling, and skillfully teaching the Word of Truth.” This is an accurate description of God’s expectations for His children: That we would be “workman” eagerly and reverently pursuing God through the diligent study of His word, working out our salvation with the natural fear and trembling that accompanies the most important activity of our life... a matter of eternal life and death. And yes, it takes work! Many in God’s church have not worked out their own salvation through diligent study of God’s Word. Like ‘fat babies” addicted to milk they are unable to ingest solid food… “unskilled in the word of righteousness” and unable “to discern both good and evil.” Lacking the scriptural foundation for discernment, like Pavlov’s dogs they respond to anything that remotely resembles spiritual food, regardless of the source, salivating profusely at each new Bless Me sound-bit. My brethren, these things ought not to be so!

THE PATHWAY TO STAYING SAVED

IS LITTERED WITH THE CORPSES OF MANY

TOO BUSY OR TOO LAZY TO WORK OUT THEIR OWN SALVATION

(Phil. 2; 12-13; 2 Tim. 2:15; Heb. 5:12-14)

MORE THAN CONQUERORS

When the Apostle Paul says we are “more than conquerors” the context is suffering and evil that cannot separate us from the love of Christ. He never says we won’t go through suffering, and we know by his life he suffered greatly. We “conqueror” because suffering and evil cannot separate us from God’s love. Scripture says God has delivered us from the “power of darkness”, literally the control of darkness, and “conveyed us into the Kingdom of his Son”, which is speaking of salvation. We were born enslaved to sin, but God gives us the freedom to choose. We still live in the world and overcoming is “by the word of our testimony and the blood of the lamb”: We have a testimony because we went through something and prevailed, lived through the suffering, just as Christ lived through the suffering of the cross. And we learn obedience to God from suffering, just as our Lord “learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Now this is not to say God never intervenes, removing suffering from our doorstep, for He does at times intervene. We must accept His methodologies as His and His alone. And it does seem, from our perspective, God must think adversity is more effective at producing Christlikeness then miraculous intervention. As C. S. Lewis penned, God “shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”

The purposeful God brings good out of all things, even our suffering: God does not “will” every thing that happens to His children – especially bad – but He does “allow” that which He does not will… He is sovereign over everything. God establishes the type and extent of every trial and test, transforming our nature while strengthening our faith. Prayer that does not accord with God’s will is not heard or answered. This is why we have never witnessed someone casting a mountain into the sea. This is not to say that God does not deliver, He does, when it accords with His will and timing. We should and must come against suffering in prayer, but we do so with the full knowledge of who we are and who we serve. We are purchased possessions of the sovereign God, bought with the blood of the Lamb, the most precious and powerful commodity known to mankind. And, we are “in Christ”, in the Beloved of God, seated even now in heaven with our Lord at the right hand of the Father. So, whether God miraculously rescues us out of life’s adversity or gives us the grace to go through it, matters not. In either case we bear witness to the miraculous, we have a testimony, and… we are becoming more and more like Jesus in the process.

PERFECT (RELENTLESS) LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR

(Rom. 8:37; Col 1:13; 1 Jn. 5:14-15; Heb. 5:8; Rev. 12:11; Rom. 8:1,28; Heb. 8:1)

COUNTING JOY

Most of the New Testament writers spoke of the adversity – trials and tests of faith – to which Christians are appointed. This thought takes a look at passages from the Apostle Paul and James the brother of Jesus and compares them in three translations. The correlation of Rom. 5:3-5 and James 1:2-4 is seen in the use of the same Greek word “hupomone” translated “patience” in James and “perseverance” in Romans. James speaks of “trials”, a testing of our faith and Romans speaks of “tribulation”, the “pressure” from trials and afflictions. The Greek work “thlipsis” translated “tribulation” has its origin in the pressure of a wine press squeezing grapes and is also translated adversity, affliction, difficulties, trouble, hardship and the like; doesn’t that give a vivid picture of how we sometimes feel during a trial!

COUNT IT ALL JOY: Rom. 5:3-5 sandwiched into James 1:2-4, John’s translation

“My brothers and sisters in Christ, boast and rejoice when you are surrounded by trials of adversity, knowing these pressures of life, which test your faith in God, produce God’s patience. And God’s patience produces Godly character and Godly character produces hope in God. And God’s hope graces us, because the love of God is lavishly poured to overflowing in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. So let God’s patience completely finish its objective, that you will be spiritually mature and completely whole in mind, body and spirit, never wanting anything.”

COUNT IT ALL JOY: Rom. 5:3-5 sandwiched into James 1:2-4, Amplified Bible

“Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. Moreover let us also be full of joy now! let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.  And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character, approved faith and tried integrity. And character of this sort produces the habit of joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be people perfectly and fully developed with no defects, lacking in nothing.”

COUNT IT ALL JOY: Rom. 5:3-5 sandwiched into James 1:2-4, NKJV translation

“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”

The passage in James acts as the bread of a spiritual sandwich with the passage in Romans inserted as the meat of the sandwich. The “perfect work” of patience in James is what the Apostle Paul describes in Romans, where patience is seen to produce God’s character, hope and love in us and, ultimately, bring us to that perfect and complete state where we lack nothing.

LACKING IN NOTHING… NEVER WANTING ANYTHING...

THOUGHTS ON THE NEED TO STUDY GOD’S WORD

The single most important thing for a Christian to do to maintain and grow their relationship with God is to read and study their Bible every day. Many Christians fail to do this relying on Church attendance to produce spiritual growth but this is a deception; there simply is no substitute for time spent with God’s word if you want to grow in the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom of God.

The Apostle Paul said “Faith without works is dead”, speaking of the righteous works Christians do to demonstrate their faith, including worship, prayer and, most importantly, study of God’s word. Paul praised the Berean Christians for “searching the Scriptures daily” and condemned the Hebrew Christians for being spiritually immature, unable to discern deep truths because they are “unskilled in God’s word.” Paul likened the Hebrew Christians to fat babies, needing milk but unable to digest solid food, and thereby “unable to discern both good and evil.”

Saint’s, we need to take God’s command to “grow in the knowledge of our Lord” to heart and develop the discipline of diligent study of God’s word. Paul said Christians who diligently study God’s word would find God’s approval and not need to be ashamed, able to correctly interpret God’s word. Notice the implication: Christians who do not study God’s word will be unable to correctly interpret scripture, and will, as James the brother of Jesus said, be like babies – immature Christians – tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of deceitful men. And, these Christians will be ashamed and unapproved before God!

We know the Greatest Commandment is to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength… we have to do this! Well, Jesus commanded, “If you love Me, keep my commandments.” We are commanded to demonstrate our love for our Lord through obedience to His words. There are 1050 New Testament commandments which are our Lord’s commandments. How will we keep them if we do not know them through study of God’s word?

God called David “a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.” So, why was David so beloved by God and how did he know God’s will? David absolutely loved God’s Law: “For I delight in your commands because I love them. I lift up my hands to your commands, which I love, and I meditate on your decrees.” It is not hard to see his complete adoration for God’s Word. Scripture states David delighted in the word of the Lord, and in His word David meditated day and night. Now to meditate is to think deeply and carefully about something as the focus of one's mind for a period of time. Meditation is best done from memorization or with ready access to scriptures. Notice also the frequency of meditation, “day and nigh.” David’s thoughts were never far from God. So, if you want to be a man after God’s own heart … meditate day and night on God’s word… let the word circumcise your heart… renew your mind… make you Christlike...

"LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOU RICHLY"