Understanding the New Covenant

Next Part The Conclusion of the Whole Matter

Hebrews 8:10 reveals that, through the New Covenant, God would put His laws “into [our] mind, and write them in [our] hearts.” By receiving His Holy Spirit, Christians are able to keep His Law “in Spirit and in truth.” Understand. The New Covenant has to do with people obeying God.

For example, notice Genesis 17:10. There, Christ commanded the patriarch Abraham, “Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” As an outward physical sign between God and the physical nation of Israel, God required physical circumcision for those who obeyed Him in Old Testament times. The mandate under the Old Covenant was explicit: “And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations…And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he has broken My covenant” (Gen. 17:12, 14).

However, under the New Covenant, God is selecting and calling out from the world a spiritual nation of Israel—His Church. Upon baptism and conversion, these few are led by the power of His Holy Spirit.

Paul explains: “For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: but he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit” (Rom. 2:28-29).

Through receiving God’s Spirit, one becomes “circumcised in the heart.” Physical circumcision is no longer the sign for one who follows and obeys God—spiritual circumcision is! The custom of circumcision was merely a forerunner—a physical parallel—of what God really wanted and intended for all mankind—circumcision of the heart (Jer. 4:4; Deut. 10:16; 30:6).

Upon conversion, a person becomes spiritually “circumcised.” Paul further explains to the Colossians: “And you are complete in Him [Christ], which is the head of all principality and power: in whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ” (Col 2:10-11).

For this reason, the apostles taught that physical circumcision was an Old Covenant requirement that did not need to be kept by New Testament Christians (see Acts 15:24, 28). The need for circumcision was not eliminated, but rather changed—from physical to spiritual.

Notice Galatians 5:2-3: “Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if you [become] circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that [becomes] circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law.”

In other words, if a man believes that his salvation hinges on being circumcised (a physical matter), then, as Paul pointed out in Galatians 3:10, it would become a curse to him: “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.”

Relying on physical rituals renders the sacrifice of Christ “of no effect” (Gal 5:4).

Christianity is a way of life based on things that a person can control, in his own life. Now notice: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law [the death penalty], being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).

Being hung on a tree was part of the process by which Christ fulfilled His role as our prophesied Saviour: “Who His own self [Christ] bare our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness” (I Pet. 2:24).

And remember that Christ said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil” (Matt. 5:17).

But being cursed on a tree, which Paul paraphrased from Deuteronomy 21:23, would only apply in a civil setting. God does not empower His Church today to carry out such governmental functions in a similar way.

Other Examples

God has given us His laws for our own good. However, keeping the physical civil laws and other statutes, required under the Old Covenant, does not save anyone—just as keeping them did not guarantee salvation to the ancient Israelites. They were not even offered salvation at that time. But those laws are still binding—to the degree of their relevance in each Christian’s life.

Again, this is not something that is left up to each person to arbitrarily decide for himself. “Counting the cost”—a vital part of the conversion process (Luke 14:28)—involves, among other things, examining the various aspects of your life—family, career, interests, etc.—and asking the question, “What do I have to change/alter/eliminate to bring my ways into harmony with God’s ways?” See Isaiah 55:8-9.

For instance, some of the laws address issues of agriculture, business, civil engineering, etc. Obviously, such mandates are only applicable to those who work in those occupations. They would not have a bearing on the actions of those not employed in such fields. But they would impact the “end-users.”

What many today do not consider is that many such codes and regulations enforced by man’s laws are based on these principles (whether lawmakers, engineers, etc., realize it or not). For example, certain building codes that God gave Israel required the construction of a low wall around accessible roofs (Deut. 22:8). To show proper consideration for his fellowman (Matt. 7:12; Mark 12:31), an engineer would have to incorporate such a feature into building designs.

Another New Testament application of a law established under the Old Covenant is seen in modern Western bankruptcy law. God’s guidelines for this are found in Deuteronomy 15:1-2: “At the end of every seven years you shall make a release. And this is the manner of the release: Every creditor that lends ought unto his neighbour, shall release it; he shall not exact it of his neighbour, or of his brother; because it is called the LORD’s release.”

To further understand the relevance today of the civil laws given to ancient Israel, notice what Paul wrote in I Corinthians 5:1: “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife” (vs. 1). Where is this first mentioned? Notice Leviticus 20:11: “And the man that lies with his father’s wife [in other words, his stepmother] has uncovered his father’s nakedness: both of them shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.”

Again, God’s Church—spiritual Israel—is not empowered with the civil authority to exact the death penalty for sin. How then are we to address such problems? Consider: “I [Paul] wrote unto you in an epistle not to [keep] company with fornicators…if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator…with such an one no not to eat” (I Cor. 5:9, 11).

Obviously, that law is still binding today. But those who break it are not put to death. Rather, we are commanded to “put away from among yourselves that wicked person” (I Cor 5:13).

Why? “To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” (I Cor 5:5). The law itself was not changed—only the application of it!