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William Branham mentioned the "old covenant" 16 times in over 1100 sermons.  He mentioned the term "new covenant" only 11 times.  As a result, it is clear that he did not understand the importance of the new covenant or what it meant.
William Branham mentioned the "old covenant" 16 times in over 1100 sermons.  He mentioned the term "new covenant" only 11 times.  Does this mean that the differences between the new covenant and the old covenant are not important?  What does the Bible say about this?


=What is the "new covenant"?=
=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?==
We read in Hebrews 9:15 that:
 
:''Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Heb 9:15.</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:
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:''...by calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.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>
:''...by calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one '''obsolete'''; and '''what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear'''.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?
How does an obsolete covenant relate to the new covenant Gentile church?
=The apostles' letter to the Gentile churches=


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.
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.
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:''Farewell.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 15:23–29.</ref>
:''Farewell.<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ac 15:23–29.</ref>


This letter raises a number of questions, including:


==What is sin?==
#Why aren't the ten commandments included?
 
#What about [[Tithing|tithing]]?
There are a number of Greek words that are translated as "sin":
#Why were three of the commands related to food?
 
===Missing the mark - Harmatia===
 
The most common term in scripture for sin is the Greek term, harmatia. It was a word from archery, meaning to miss the target.  The original suggestion of “missing” an aim or a way, contained both in the Hebrew and the Greek may be detected in such a phrase as Romans 3:23 (“all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”) This Greek word describes an archer who missed a target. This meaning is illustrated where the term describes left-handed select men who could sling a stone at a hair and not miss (Jud. 20:16, NASB). The same word is found in Prov. 19:2, “Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge, And he who makes haste with his feet errs (or misses a mark).” <ref>Bob Buchanon, “What Is Sin,” in The Bible Doctrine of Sin, ed. Ferrell Jenkins, Florida College Annual Lectures (Temple Terrace, FL: Florida College Bookstore, 1997), 5.</ref>
 
Harmatia is used in two ways. (1) It describes the state of all who sin. In this sense it is used as a spiritual holding place, thus sin is regarded as imprisonment. Paul wrote, “But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Gal. 3:22). Paul asked, “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?” (Rom. 6:1). (2) It describes the actions and thoughts of man to do or think wrong rather than right. One who is perverted in mind is said to sin, “being condemned of himself” (Tit. 3:11). One who commits sexual immorality sins “against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). Sin is the active transgression of law, says John (1 Jn. 3:4).
 
===Transgression (parabasis) and Trespass (paraptōma)
 
These words are, for all intents and purposes, synonyms in the truest sense. Transgression is the stepping over the boundary line. Trespass signifies blundering into forbidden territory. Transgression and trespass presuppose a law. John said, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 Jn. 3:4). Luke tells us that Judas, “by transgression fell” (Acts 1:25). James adds, “If thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law” (Jas. 2:11). Jesus asked the hypercritical Pharisees, “Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?” (Mt. 15:3). Paroptoma is translated by “blunder,” and “fall” (Rom. 11:11, 12).
 
===Lawlessness - anomia===


Lawlessness is the violation of law. W. E. Vine said,
==Why were these four commands the only requirement?==


In 1 John 3:4 the R.V. adheres to the real meaning of the word, “every one that doeth sin (a practice, not the committal of an act) doeth also lawlessness: and sin is lawlessness.” This definition of sin sets forth its essential character as the rejection of the law, or will, of God and the substitution of the will of self. (357)
James argues that the Gentiles who turn with faith to God should not be burdened with issues of the law.  The council of elders in Jerusalem asks Gentiles to be sensitive about four matters and to refrain from:


Lawlessness is also translated iniquity. Workers of iniquity (Mt. 7:23) are those who disregard the law.
:(1) the pollution that comes from idols (see Mal. 1:7);
Ungodliness (asebeia). Thayer defines this word as “want of reverence towards God, impiety, ungodliness,” and cites Rom. 1:18; 2 Tim. 2:16 and Titus 2:12 as examples. Paul refers to the “ungodliness of Jacob” (Rom. 11:26), as Jacob’s sin from which Israel must turn away. “Works of ungodliness” are sinful deeds and Jude uses the term exhaustively. “To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him” (Jude 15).
:(2) sexual immorality, probably associated with pagan rites and temple prostitution (from the Greek πορνείας, porneias);
:(3) strangled things; and  
:(4) blood matters (from the Greek αἵματος, haimatos).  


===Unrighteous - adika===
This list reappears with slight variation in Acts 15:29 and 21:25.


This word is primarily dealing with personal relations between people. It focuses on how one treats a neighbor or a brother. To do our fellow man wrong is to act unrighteously toward him. John says “All unrighteousness is sin” (1 Jn. 5:17).
The reasons for the list are not so much about keeping the law as having a spirit of sensitivity about that which may cause offense to Jewish Christians.  The issue is not establishing a fixed set of practices but respecting the practices of Jewish believers and not forcing oneself on another because of such views.<ref>Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007), 505-507.</ref>


===Debt - opheleima===
These four rules reflect the rules in Leviticus 17:8–18:18 relating to Gentiles living in the land of Israel.  Gentile converts were not required to become Jewish proselytes and keep the whole law, but only those parts of it that were required by Moses of Gentiles who lived in Israel.<ref>David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 434–435.</ref>


Jesus taught the disciple to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Mt. 6:12). It is used only once in the sense of sin. That Jesus meant sin in this instance is seen in that Luke’s account uses the word harmartia (Lk. 11:4). The only other occurrence of the word in the New Testament is where Paul said, “Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt” (Rom. 4:4).<ref>Bob Buchanon, “What Is Sin,” in The Bible Doctrine of Sin, ed. Ferrell Jenkins, Florida College Annual Lectures (Temple Terrace, FL: Florida College Bookstore, 1997), 7–8.</ref>
These four rules were simply meant to create peace and harmony between the Gentile Christians and the Jewish believers, many of whom still kept the Mosaic law.


==Do we have to keep any part of the law?==


Most Christians believe that Christ redeemed us from sin but that is not what scripture says.  Paul teaches us that:


Paul, however, writes in Romans 14:23, “Everything that does not come from faith is sin.” 
:'''''Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law''' by becoming a curse for us...''<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ga 3:13.</ref>
The word “faith” in the Bible means to “trust in, rely upon.” Sin, then, is not a matter of lying, cheating, being immoral, or any other act. These are only the results of an attitude of sin. Sin, rather, is any lack of conformity to the will of God, anything we do that does not come from our trust or reliance on God. Attitudes such as worry, irritability, and depression are symptoms of our lack of trust in God. Therefore, a good definition of sin is doing what we want instead of what God wants - both in attitude and action.


In fact, if you try to keep the law today you are not justified before God:


Bill Bright, 5 Steps of Christian Growth: Leader’s Guide (Orlando, FL: NewLife Publications, 1994), 46.
:''Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” The law is not based on faith...<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ga 3:11–12.</ref>  ''For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.''<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jas 2:10.</ref>


What the new covenant teaches us is that ''the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself."''<ref>The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Ga 5:14.</ref>


 
We, therefore, can conclude that for a woman to wear pants is not sin.  For someone to believe that, means that they do not understand the Gospel... they do not understand the new covenant.
===Is it a sin for a woman to wear pants?===


=Quotes of William Branham=
=Quotes of William Branham=
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   Rev. William Marrion Branham
   Rev. William Marrion Branham


==What is sin?==


''Well, what is sin? See? Drinking whiskey is not, and smoking cigarettes, and committing adultery is not sin. That’s just the attributes of sin. You do that because you’re sinners. That’s what you life bears. Smoke… Just like I said tonight outside, “How much this is nice, the whole thing’s nice.” And you’re a sinner, because you believe not. “He that believeth not is condemned already.” You’re a sinner, because you don’t believe.<ref>Willaim Branham, 54-0216 - Jairus And Divine Healing, para.13</ref>
273 What is sin? Sin is “unbelief.” Unbelief in (what?) the Word; unbelief in God, which is the Word.
  65-1125 - The Invisible Union Of The Bride Of Christ
  Rev. William Marrion Branham
 
79 Look in the Bible, you see where, what age we’re living in then, when you see these great things being made manifest. When God promised to do it, He always does it at the end of each age when the church is come to the turning place, and is turned from the Word back to sin and worldliness. Worldliness is sin. The Bible said, “If you love the world or the things of the world, the love of God’s not even in you.”
  65-1206 - Modern Events Are Made Clear By Prophecy
  Rev. William Marrion Branham
 
 


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[[Category: Unfinished articles]]
[[Category: Unfinished articles]]
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