What's New About the New Covenant?

Introduction:

Introduction:

I want to vindicate Moses from our misunderstanding of the Old CovenantWe view the Old Covenant as the "bad" covenant where everything was works-based, but this was Israel's misunderstanding of the OC too!So I'm going to show you that the OC is the same so far as the way of salvation, though it's promises were very different from the other covenants. And by doing this we're going to discover what was actually new about the NC, which will help us understand the gospel

How did one keep the OC Law Ultimately?

Jesus tells us that the entirely law is fulfilled by lovingIn fact, so does MosesWhat does love come from? Faithso, the OC implies faith alreadySo, keeping the law was an expression of faith, not a way to salvation. Double check? What is love to us now? an expression of faith. This makes the OC not fundamentally different in terms of justification by faith "we must therefore obey (or fulfill) the OT commandments the same way we must obey the NT commandments—not to win God’s favor, but because we already depend on his free grace and trust that his commands will lead to full and lasting joy.”

How are People Saved in the OC?

The same way as always! Justification by faith alone through grace alone"i will have mercy on whom I will have mercy"Look at AbrahamHab. 3The OC is different in it’s promise, not in how it’s worked out:Keeping the Covenant: Abraham: “believed…counted…”Mosaic: love fulfills implies faithN.C: “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”Promises of the Covenant:Abraham: children who would bless all the nationsMosaic: Blessings of God on the nation of Israel (conquer others, lots of crops, successful economy)N.C.: regeneration (hearts obedient to God), forgiveness of sinsJesus says the NC and him are to fulfill the OC how?

Fulfilled How?

what did the OC law actually say? Sacrifices? the law existed to show us our sin, and we know there is no forgiveness w/o blood. This was to demonstrate that. Also, God uses the cultural norms of the timeThe NC is sealed with the blood of Jesus. If you think that the OC is grusome with all of the blood, imagine God Himself pouring his blood out and it shoulnd't be a problemthey were always wondering what would totally take care of their sin problemGovernmentGod was making Israel a theocraic geopolitical entity ruled by Him so that had certain rulesDietary/othera parable of God's holiness using ultimately arbitrary distinctions from cultural norms"goat in mother's milk"

So what's new about the NC?

if it's not the way of salvation what is it? two things: regeneration and guilt for sinGod promises Israel these things and we get to join in because of God's grace

So what do we know about the gospel?

it regenerates our herats. That's always the ephasisJesus' death is a final sacrifice for our guilt so we don't ever have to worry about it againNOT a change from works to faith. It's always been by faithwe can't read the Bible with the same misunderstanding that evil Israel had and really get what God is saying