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Bob Reese
Supporter
I had not received any answers to an inquiry a couple weeks after posting. As I was studying a devotional this morning, this came to me through Him and I believe, answered, the question. "Under the New Covenant, the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant are valid, and Abraham is our spiritual father, as it were. He is the model of the family, with whom God first made the covenant, and he obeyed God's voice (Genesis 26:5). He kept the commandments and the laws, and Abraham's children are going to do the same thing! Otherwise, they will not really be his children. Paul is not doing away with the law! He is simply saying that the law cannot justify us. We see here, by God's own witness, that Abraham lived up to the terms of the covenant. Because he did, it was passed on to Isaac for him to do as his father had done. The problem of transgressions in the Old Covenant was not resolved until the promised Seed, Christ, came. He lived perfectly, qualifying to be the payment for sin, and at the same time, He confirmed the promises that were made unto Abraham—and they were made absolutely and eternally binding. God then proposed the New Covenant that He had previously shown in prophecy (Jeremiah 31). God has presented it to all of mankind—not just to Abraham's physical descendants. It is not circumcision that makes one a part of this covenant. Rather, it is circumcision of the heart! The sign is repentance and faith in the sacrifice of the promised Seed, Jesus Christ. The receipt of the Holy Spirit is the seal; it authenticates what has occurred. It completes the making of the New Covenant with the individuals whom God calls. Nowhere does God say that the laws that define sin are done away. On the contrary, the One who made the New Covenant possible said that not one jot or tittle would pass from the law until all was fulfilled (Matthew 5:18). God's moral and spiritual laws have been from eternity, and an agreement between Him and mere man is not going to do away with them. God Himself would have to pass from existence for that to occur. In addition, the loving intent of those laws as they apply to human relationships is still valid." — John W. Ritenbaugh
Bruce Morgan
Supporter
The new covenant is one of Grace, rather than justification under the old Law, because all have sinned, Jews living under the Law and Gentiles without the Law. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference*, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. - Romans 3:21-24 NIV * For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him... - Romans 10:12 NIV
Ariel HaNaviy
Supporter
The previous answer was fantastic. I only want to offer these supportive and additional insights into the concept of New Covenant: ““Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah…” “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts…” Mouse over this link and read the entire passage of Jer. 31:31-34 afresh. Jeremiah and the book of Hebrew quoting Jeremiah (Heb. 8:8; Heb. 8:13; Heb. 12:24) are the only places in the Bible that mention “New Covenant.” Also, it is said to be made only with Isra'el and Judah (later in Jer. 31:33, only Isra'el). This tells me that the Church must exist as a part of Remnant Isra'el in order for her to participate in the New Covenant. There are not TWO new covenants, one with Isra'el and one with the Church, right? Moreover, Jeremiah says that the Torah (the Law of Moshe) is the written essence of this single New Covenant that the people of Isra'el took on as a never-ending agreement with God, and is that which will be written on New Covenant hearts. Yeshua (Jesus) said, "Not one stroke of the Torah will pass away until all is fulfilled" (Mat. 5:18), so this “new covenant” must be an internalization of the very same Torah, and built upon the previous covenantal promises. Unless we have gotten to the point yet of needing no one to teach us, the Torah is still in effect. All Scripture must be interpreted to agree with it (Isaiah 8:20). God does not change his mind. The nature of human sin demands the remedy called “new covenant.” The problem lies with unsaved mankind characterizing [concepts of] the Torah (viz, for unsaved Jews: ethnicity; for unsaved Church attendees: obedience or Church membership) as a means of justification in opposition to genuine submission to the Spirit of God. Pride and sin harden the heart, blind the eyes, and eventually make God’s gracious promises seem useless to unbelievers on a genuine spiritual level, leading to what Paul describes as “old covenant” in 2 Cor. 3:14. In this scenario, the covenant-member candidate may look spiritual but is actually fooled into thinking that mere mechanical allegiance to the Torah or superficial membership in a Church or Isra'el will provide a remedy for the sins piling up in his spiritless life. Mankind is in desperate need of the New Covenant whether he knows it nor not! Conclusions: The word "new" in the covenant spoken about in Jeremiah is actually the Hebrew word "chadashah," which can at times refer not to something brand new in creation but rather something that has undergone a reformation in character and purpose, or a simple refreshment on a different scale. On one level Jeremiah is describing a “renewal” of some existing item. On the other hand, when it comes to the regeneration of the soul of a man, viz, “old covenant” man vs. “new covenant” man, the change is quite radical: all things do indeed “become new.” Behaviorally speaking, the change can at times seem to occur over the course of time, but forensically speaking, the change is as different as life and death! The New Covenant to be ratified on a national level with Isra'el will envision the former promises made with Abraham, Moses, and David. It is not necessary to overturn a previous covenant in order for a later one to find fulfillment. To be sure, Galatians teaches explicitly that a later covenant cannot nullify a previous one (see Gal. 3:17). As a feature of the living Word of God, the new covenant is not time-bound. Rather, the new covenant springs to life whenever the veil is lifted and eyes are opened to God’s Grace, specifically as has been historically demonstrated by the coming of his Son. It is better in many, many ways since Yeshua himself in fact inaugurated it before the foundations of the world were even laid.
Mark Vestal
Supporter
God offered His chosen people (Israel) a new covenant (Hebrews 8:8, Jer. 31:31) because they were unable to keep the old covenant law for justification (Gal. 3:10-11). This will be when their "times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 3:19), when the law will be "written in their hearts" with an "unction" from the holy Spirit (1 John 2:20). Jeremiah 32:38-40 "And they shall be my people, and I will be their God: And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me." We Gentiles, however, who are outside of God's chosen people (Matthew 10:5-6, Matthew 15:24), live under God's grace and have no part in God's covenant program with Israel, old or new (Eph. 3:1-2). We today have something much greater than a covenant promise, as we today (Eph 3:2) are freely justified by God's grace through having faith alone in Christ alone (Gal. 2:16). Romans 11:11 "I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy." Romans 11:28 "As concerning the gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as touching the election, they are beloved for the father's sakes."
Jeffrey Johnson
Supporter
Why did God offer a new covenant? Jeremiah 31:31 God offered a new covenant to replace the old Mosaic covenant because humanity could not keep its laws due to human frailty, breaking the initial agreement. Established through Jesus, it provides a superior, permanent way to remove sin, internalising the Law within hearts rather than on stone. The reasons for the new covenant include: Failure of the Old Covenant: The Mosaic covenant was broken by the people, and the blood of animals was insufficient to purify consciences or remove sins permanently. Heart Transformation: Instead of external rules, God promised to write His Law on people's hearts, providing a new heart and spirit to enable obedience. Full & Final Forgiveness: The new covenant offers complete, once-for-all forgiveness of sins through the sacrifice of Jesus, unlike the repetitive sacrifices of the old system. The new covenant is considered "better" because it is based on better promises, specifically that God will take full responsibility for enabling His people to remain faithful. The New Covenant was established to address the following key deficiencies and goals: Failure of Human Obedience: The Old Covenant relied on human ability to follow the Law. The Israelites repeatedly broke their agreement with God. Hebrews 8:8 explicitly states that God "found fault with the people," not with the Law itself, which was "holy, righteous, and good". Internal Transformation: While the Old Covenant was external (laws written on tablets of stone), the New Covenant promises internal change. God promised to put His laws in the minds and write them on the hearts of His people through the Holy Spirit. Permanent Forgiveness: Under the Old Covenant, animal sacrifices provided only temporary atonement and served as a reminder of sin. The New Covenant, ratified by the blood of Jesus, offers final and complete forgiveness, where God remembers sins "no more". Direct Access to God: The New Covenant establishes a personal, intimate relationship with God for all believers. It removed the need for mediators like the Levitical priesthood, allowing every person "from the least to the greatest" to know the Lord. Universal Scope: While the Mosaic covenant was primarily with the nation of Israel, the New Covenant extends God's salvation plan to all nations and peoples through faith in Christ. Conclusion: The New Covenant assures us of help from Jesus Christ, our living Saviour and High Priest, through the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme expression of God's love and His desire for us to have an eternal, everlasting relationship with Him as His children. To receive the complete fulfilment of God's promise, God's special nation had to be faithful. It was not. True, there were Israelites of outstanding faith. Hebrews 11:32–12:1 Nevertheless, on many occasions the nation turned to pagan gods, hoping for material benefits. (Jeremiah 34:8-16; 44:15-18) Individuals misapplied the Law or just ignored it. Nehemiah 5:1-5; Isaiah 59:2-8; Malachi 1:12-14 When the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah, Jehovah likewise rejected them. (Acts 3:13-15; Romans 9:31–10:4) Finally, Jehovah made a new arrangement to administer the complete fulfilment of the Abrahamic covenant.—Romans 3:20. Christians view the New Covenant as a new relationship between God and humans, mediated by Jesus, upon sincere declaration of belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and God. In the old covenant, there was condemnation; in the new, there is no condemnation, there's forgiveness. In the old, there is the Law about not sinning; in the new, there's enablement not to sin anymore. In the old covenant, there was death by sin; in the new, there is life, because One died for all. The New Covenant may be seen as either a renewal or a replacement of the previous covenant. This original Old Covenant had been broken by humankind's failure to faithfully obey God's rules. However, the New Covenant restored God's commitment to humanity.
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