The
Difference Between The Covenants
Hebrews
8 is a very important chapter in understanding the difference between the two
covenants. Most religious people do not
understand the difference between the two.
I was reminded of this the other day when a gentleman jumped to his feet
and left our study after I told him the Ten Commandments were not binding
today. He failed to see the difference
between what Moses (Old Testament, Law of Moses, etc.) had to say and what
Jesus and the New Testament (New Law, Gospel of Christ, etc.) writers
said. Let’s look at the biblical
distinction between the two covenants according to Hebrews 8.
First,
the Old Covenant was imperfect. The
inspired writer said, “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there
would have been no occasion sought for a second” (8:7). Due to the Law of Moses being an imperfect
law, the occasion arose for a new and better law to be established. The ninth chapter of Hebrews tells us the
author of this new and better covenant is Jesus Christ and that He brought it
forth when He died on the cross (9:15-17).
Second,
the New Testament (Covenant) was prophesied of by Jeremiah six hundred years
before it came into existence.
Verses 8-12 of chapter 8 were a direct quote from Jeremiah 31. God, through Jeremiah, stated that a day was
coming in which He would institute a covenant with the house of Israel and
Judah unlike the one He made with their forefathers upon their departure from
Egypt (Law of Moses). Of importance to
this point are vv 10-11, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them upon
their hearts. And I will be their God
and they shall be My people. And they
shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying,
‘Know the Lord,’ For all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of
them.” Paul showed the fulfillment
of this prophecy in his letter to the Colossians, “And when you were dead in
your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive
together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled
out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was
hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the
cross” (Col. 2:13-14). The Old Law
held no hope for mankind. Only this new
law, this better law Jesus instituted, could save us from our sins.
Third,
the inspired writer declared the first covenant obsolete. “When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has
made the first obsolete. But whatever
is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear” (8:13). If something is obsolete, it is no longer in
use. Apart from the other passages
we’ve considered already, this one passage (v 13) shows the Old Law is no
longer in use nor needed.
The
Old Testament (Law of Moses) is no longer in effect and therefore we have no
need to observe it or follow it. That’s
not to say we can’t read it or study from it because we can. There are many good lessons to be learned
from those that lived under that covenant.
However, it is no longer our authority or that which we must follow. Our authority is the gospel of Christ and
one we are expected to follow. May God
bless you as you strive to live according to the New Covenant.