One of the biggest errors I think modern Christianity has committed is strongly implying if not outright teaching that Yeshua did away with all of God’s previous covenants of which the Law of Moses was one.
What I find interesting is that at the same time, a lot of churches will proclaim fidelity to the 10 commandments which are the very starting point and backbone of the Mosaic Law but relegate all the other commandments of God to the other outer reaches of infinity.
But then even this is not true because pretty much every Christian church I’ve ever been to has a pretty warped view of God’s holy Sabbath day which is one of the 10 commandments.
Some churches will say that one can make the Sabbath day any old day one wants as long as one dedicates a “day of rest” to the Lord.
Others will say that the “Christians have their Sabbath which is Sundays and the Jews have theirs which is Saturdays”.
And others will say that one doesn’t have to keep the Sabbath at all because Yeshua became our Sabbath (whatever the hell that means?!).
And all of these fallacious conclusions will come about due to I believe committing one of the following two errors:
-Interpreting the whole of the Bible by starting one’s Bible studies from the New Testament first instead of the very beginning which is the first chapter and verse of Genesis.
and/or
-cherry-picking certain verses here and there from the New Testament and superimposing them onto to the Old Testament text to substantiate a viewpoint that one has already predetermined to commit to.
Listen up because I’m about to express a very important and fundamental point that if you don’t get is really going to affect your capacity to understand the Word of God (both Old and New Testaments) in the way they should be.
So here’s the $64,000 point.
Each newer covenant was NOT a replacement of an older one.
Let me say that again.
Each newer covenant was NOT a replacement of an older one.
I think I need to say that one more time.
EACH NEWER COVENANT WAS NOT A REPLACEMENT OF AN OLDER ONE.
A good way to look at it is to say there were several different covenants God made with His people each for different purposes.
Or an even better way to look at it is to realize that ultimately God has made only ONE covenant with His people comprised of different parts each integral to the other.
The Covenant with Abraham was NOT declared null and void by the covenant God made with Moses.
The Covenant of Moses was built on the foundation of the Abrahamic Covenant.
They go together.
And the Covenant of Moses was NOT declared null and void by Yeshua or the New Covenant.
The New Covenant is built on the foundation of the Mosaic covenant.
They go together.
In fact, the New Covenant IS the Mosaic covenant written on the hearts of all believers everywhere regardless of one’s background.
Each covenant was made for different purposes and each covenant remains in effect and valid to this day.
One may ask, so are you implying that one has to obey all 613 commands in the Torah?
I’ll admit that this is a bit of a tough question to answer and beyond the scope of this post.
For example, about one-fourth of those commandments are specifically connected to the temple which has yet to be built (but will be).
Just understand moving forward that if you’re going to properly understand the Bible, you need to grasp that EVERY ONE of God’s covenants we read about is still in effect and none of them has been “replaced”, “done away with”, or “abolished”.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“Do not think
that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets;
I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
For truly I tell you,
until heaven and earth disappear,
not the smallest letter,
not the least stroke of a pen,
will by any means disappear from the Law
until everything is accomplished.
Therefore anyone who sets aside
one of the least of these commands
and teaches others accordingly
will be called least in the kingdom of heaven,
but whoever practices and teaches these commands
will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”
-Matthew 5:17-18
“Not everyone who says to me,
‘Lord, Lord!’
will enter the Kingdom of Heaven,
only those who do what my Father in heaven wants.
On that Day,
many will say to me,
‘Lord, Lord!
Didn’t we prophesy in your name?
Didn’t we expel demons in your name?
Didn’t we perform many miracles in your name?’
Then I will tell them to their faces,
‘I never knew you!
Get away from me,
you workers of lawlessness!!!”
-Matthew 7:21-23
NEXT TIME WE BEGIN EXODUS CHAPTER SIXTEEN
So much hypocrisy. You scold people who use verses to support their view then do the same for your own.
You rhetoric needs to be toned down a few notches because many of things you assume are flat out wrong.
For starters, stop trying to impress god and stop trying to prove to him you’re worthy. You’ll deny you’re doing that, but you’re ignorant of your subconscious push to doing this. Just stop. Clear your head.
Nothing God gives man is bad for them. How man uses said thing is what can be either good or bad. Example: god planted hemp. The seed oil is good, smoking the leaves are bad. The Mosaic law is good for guidance and understanding of right and wrong, using it to earn acceptance and love is wrong.
Read Genesis and Exodus and ask yourself why when the Israelites wandered the wilderness complaining God took care of them. After Sinai they did the same thing and they suffered? The covenant god promised at Sinai was the renewal of Abraham’s grace covenant, the Israelites demanded something different. This is a running theme of jacob and his descendants. They consistently want something other than god wants, but he warns them and they still demand what’s bad for them. God grants it to them anyway.
Objective morality existed from the start and will always exist. The mosaic law was an attitude and a belief that crippled the Israelites.
Thanks for sharing Endar. Obviously I can’t accept your concluding statement that “The mosaic law was an attitude and a belief that crippled the Israelites”.
Totally agree with you Rich Oka!
Cool!
Endar had been taught by misinformed teachers that to be obedient, to practice righteousness and justice, is simply wrong. Their logic, which is a twisted teaching, is that one somehow merits eternal life on practicing righteousness and justice. I admit, I do not understand their twisted logic. The Word teaches us that if we love Him we would obey His teachings/commandments. The church does not even practice the ten commandments, maybe at best one or two of them. They do not even understand the Ten Teachings. The Churches today are Ephesus, Pergamos, Sardis, Thyatira, and Laodicea. Few are Philadelphia and Smyrna. It is just the way it is.
Thanks for the feedback Crystal. Be blessed and SHALOM.
Like many theological issues, I am torn on this. There has to be something going on with the state of Israel that must be considered. They (the ones still practicing) live under the old, yet the miracle of a people dispersed for 2000 years maintained their identity, and reconstituted as a state clearly is the work of God. (it is capitalized guys). Why is it so hard for people to accept that the Father, having created us and knowing full well our nature, intentionally left certain things vague knowing full well it would spark our curiosity to study further in his word–.
Proverbs 25:2 It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the honor of kings is to search out a matter.
— These teachers and denominations that tell their congregants that well have all the answers, we have figured everything out and all you need to do is accept our interpretations do such a disservice to the people.