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The Message and the Old Covenant: Difference between revisions
→What is the "new covenant"?
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:''In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is '''the new covenant''' in my blood, which is poured out for you.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Lk 22:20.</ref> | :''In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is '''the new covenant''' in my blood, which is poured out for you.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Lk 22:20.</ref> | ||
==Is the "Old Covenant" still relevant?== | |||
Paul refers to the Ten Commandments are the "ministry of death" in 2 Corinthians 3:7 and the writer of Hebrews tell us that: | |||
:''...by calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Heb 8:13.</ref> | |||
How does an obsolete covenant relate to the new covenant Gentile church? | |||
In Acts 15, we find Paul and Barnabas in Jerusalem telling the apostles about their concerns with certain people who were preaching that the old covenant applied to the Gentiles such that they were required to keep the law. The apostles and elders of the Jerusalem church met to consider the issue. | |||
Peter stated his view clearly: | |||
:''“Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! '''We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.'''”<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 15:7–11.</ref> | |||
And James was even clearer: | |||
:'' “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me." ...“It is my judgment, therefore, that '''we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles''' who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to '''abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.''' For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.” <ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 15:13–21.</ref> | |||
The apostles, elders and the entire Jerusalem church agreed and sent a letter to the Gentile believers: | |||
:''The apostles and elders, your brothers, | |||
:''To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: | |||
:''Greetings. | |||
:''We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul — men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: | |||
::''You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. | |||
:You will do well to avoid these things. | |||
:''Farewell.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 15:23–29.</ref> | |||