What Is Sin Under the New Covenant?
What Is Sin Under the New Covenant?
There is a difference between following the rules of a book, such as the scroll containing the Law of Moses, and obeying the will of the risen Christ. The first is the old covenant. The second is the new covenant; although we have to obey the teachings of the Apostle until we are able to recognize the voice of the Lord Jesus.
The two most destructive forces in the Christian churches, and also in the world, are sin and self-will. These two forces interact. For anyone to be saved into the Presence of Christ, these forces must be overcome!
There may be few things as confusing as is true of Christian thinking concerning sin. Paul emphasized that we are not under the Law of Moses but under "grace," whatever that may be.
Unless we define "grace" as God's Presence in Christ to accomplish God's will, and use it instead as an excuse for our sinning, we will frustrate the purpose of the new covenant.
The new covenant was given to us because the Israelites were not able to satisfy God's desire that people behave righteously.
It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. (Hebrews 8:9)
Now, do we honestly believe that God decided human beings would always be unable to act in His image and gave "grace" as an excuse for their behavior? Would this be a better covenant from God's point of view?
Is an incorrect interpretation of "grace" responsible for the behavior of the believers in Corinth?
For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. (II Corinthians 12:20,21)
It is interesting, isn't it, that God gave us a new covenant because people behaved unrighteously under the old covenant. But the believers in Corinth did not seem to be much improved.
Did the Apostle Paul say there was no problem because they were under a covenant of "grace"? Did Paul say they were not to worry because God was seeing them through Christ, as is taught today?
Judge for yourself. It appears to me that numerous Christian pastors and evangelists do not see eye to eye with the Apostle Paul.
Paul never taught that Divine grace is an excuse for sin, or that God had given up on the goal of making man in His image. Paul did teach that "grace" frees us from the Law of Moses so we now can turn our eyes from Moses to Christ.
You know, the new covenant set forth in the Book of Hebrews is the only Christian covenant. I seldom have heard it preached that the purpose of the Christian covenant is to write the eternal moral law of God on our mind and heart, the result being that now we can behave righteously, unlike the Israelites under the Law of Moses.
Instead, we have created our own new covenant. It is to recognize that all people sin, and we cannot save ourselves. All we need do is say "I accept Christ." Then we can proceed with our life as usual, knowing that when we die we will go straight to our mansion in Heaven, located on a street of gold, and have no problems for eternity.
What happened to the moral law of God written in our mind and heart?
Poor people might be intrigued by our Gentile new covenant.
However, when we settled down in our mansion, and the neighbors acted like the believers in Corinth, we might wonder if we were in Hell instead of Heaven. Took a wrong turn somewhere.
The truth is, the Christian churches have taken a wrong turn from the beginning, by believing that God's love and mercy has concluded mankind cannot be saved from sin and self-will.
The Christian churches in so many instances are a moral shambles, and the lying and general corruption of our society, including our government, reflect this lack of moral guidance.
Our nation holds up democracy as being the solution to the problems of mankind, and is striving to spread this philosophy to other nations. However democracy and righteousness are not the same, and sometimes march in totally different directions.
God is seeking righteousness among people, not necessarily democracy!
There are Jewish Christians in our day who are returning to the Torah and various taboos as they seek some sort of direction for their behavior, understanding instinctively that God is concerned with our conduct.
The truth is, there is a new Divine covenant that is more effective in transforming people into the moral image of God than is true of the Torah, although the Torah was a true guide in its day.
The Spirit of God is the Law (Torah) of the new covenant. Therefore the new covenant is a better covenant, and more able to change us into God's image. Now we are by faith in Christ to obey the Spirit of God at every moment. We are not free to behave sinfully or according to our self-will.
So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. (Galatians 3:24,25)
I suppose most Christians have been taught we are "not under the Law but under grace." But they imagine when they go to church on Sunday that they are observing the Sabbath commandment, which is part of the Law of Moses. So they are not really persuaded they are not under the Law.
They imagine also that being under grace means if they do not live righteously, according to what their understanding of righteousness is, God will bring them to Heaven to live in a mansion forever.
Am I correct? Are there numerous Christian people who have this point of view?
If we are not under the Ten Commandments, or any other part of the Law of Moses, what then is sin under the new covenant?
Maybe there is no behavior that is sin under the new covenant. Do you suppose? Perhaps God is sitting up in Heaven exclaiming, "Boys will be boys!"
Yet, the Apostle Paul said if we continue to sin we will die spiritually.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:13)
What are the "misdeeds" of the body, if we are not under the Law of Moses. Have you ever thought about that?
Does "grace" take care of any "misdeeds," so we are not to worry about them? Or is it true that if we do not put our misdeeds to death we will die spiritually—meaning, in context, we will not experience the change from spiritual death to spiritual life in our body in the Day of Resurrection.
Can you name a sin? If you practice that sin, will grace cover it so you will go to Heaven anyway when you die? Is this what the Bible means when it says you are not under the Law of Moses but under grace?
Do you suppose there is no such thing as sinful behavior on the part of a Christian, because God cannot see him or her except through Christ? This is taught, but can it really be true? Many believers are basing their salvation on this teaching; so if it is not true there is a real problem here.
Our conclusions affect our salvation, don't they? Is it true that once we say "I accept Jesus as my Savior" I can never be lost? I will go to Heaven no matter how I behave? This is what is taught, isn't it. Yet it is not what the Bible says and it just does not agree with our conscience.
There are instances in which Christians have a sense of guilt for one reason or another. But sometimes their teachers tell them to ignore it. They tell the student, "You cannot possibly feel guilt because God sees you through Christ."
Can you believe this? It actually happens. Perhaps this has been your experience.
Let's take a look at what behavior the New Testament says is sinful and see if we can put together a general definition of "sin." Also, what the consequences are if we do sin. In addition, we need to know if "grace" protects us if we practice sin so we don't have to worry about our behavior.
The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21)
Perhaps these behaviors are what Paul meant by "misdeeds," in Romans 8:13.
Was Paul writing to Christian people when he made this statement?
Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia. (Galatians 1:1,2)
Could we agree that Paul is addressing Christian people and not the heathen of Galatia?
Do you think Paul was regarding such behaviors as sin, even though we are not under the authority of the Law of Moses?
How serious are they in God's sight?
Paul maintained, "Those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God."
Does this mean whoever practices adultery or fornication, for example will not inherit the Kingdom of God?
What is the Kingdom of God? It is God in Christ in us governing God's creation.
Did John the Baptist and the Lord Jesus preach about going to Heaven, or did they preach about the coming of the Kingdom of God?
If they preached the coming of the Kingdom of God, then the Christian Gospel is about God in Christ in the saints in the earth governing the creation of God.
What do you suppose this has to do with your salvation? Maybe everything. Jesus said we are born again in order to enter the Kingdom of God. If this is true, perhaps being saved means inheriting the Kingdom of God.
This suggests that if we practice adultery and fornication, and do not confess them as sin and turn away from them with the help of Christ, then we can have no place in the Kingdom of God. In other words, we will not be saved in the Day of Wrath.
Well, it looks like this is what Paul taught.
But let's think a bit deeper. If we are not under the authority of the Law of Moses, and Paul said we are not, then why are adultery and fornication sin? On what basis would they prevent our being saved from wrath?
It appears obvious from what Paul wrote to the brothers and sisters in Galatia that God does not see the purity of Christ when we are practicing sexuality immorality. Nor does "grace" make our behavior acceptable to God.
But on what basis is such behavior sin? What makes it sin when we are not under the Law of Moses?
Here is another dimension of sin. When Jesus came He demanded an accounting of how the believers used the gifts that had been given to them.
One man did not put his gift to use to build the Kingdom of God. Did Jesus say, "There is no problem here. God always saw this man through Me"?
Did Jesus explain Divine grace excused the man's unwillingness to use his gift to build the Kingdom?
Did Jesus say that? Or did Jesus say, "Depart from Me you wicked, lazy servant. Go into the outer darkness"?
Did the man sin by not using his gift? On what basis is this sin? On what basis are the excesses of the flesh sin?
The Apostle Paul commanded us to present our body a living sacrifice that we might prove what God's will is for us; and also not to be conformed to the ways of the world.
When we do not obey Paul by not presenting our body a living sacrifice, are we sinning?
Paul commanded us to set our heart on the things of Heaven and not on things of the earth. When we do not do this, are we sinning? Or does God see us through Christ? Or does grace cover our negligence in this matter?
I think the answer to the question of what sin is has to do with the new creation. It has to do with our initial Christian commitment.
We become a Christian by accepting by faith forgiveness through the blood atonement. Then we are baptized in water.
Baptism in water means we have died to the world and our original personality by taking our place on the cross with the Lord Jesus Christ. When we come out of the water we are stating that we now are living by the resurrection life of the Lord Jesus. We are on our road to becoming a new creation.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here! (II Corinthians 5:17)
The question now is, what sort of behavior characterizes the new creation? According to the Apostle Paul and the Lord Jesus, laziness and the other actions of the body that Paul mentioned do not characterize the new creation. This means we are not participating in the resurrection Life of the Lord Jesus. We are not revealing the Kingdom of God in ourselves. We are not part of the program of redemption. We are not being saved.
It is just that simple. God is not seeing us through Christ. Grace is not excusing our conduct, unless we are confessing and turning away from the actions of our former life and pressing forward in Christ.
It is not like the Law of Moses in which we read in a book what we can do and what we cannot do. It is the forming of a new creation that lives by the Life of the Lord Jesus.
Let's think for a moment about how Paul addresses the old and new selves.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
The above just about tells the whole story. The Law of the new covenant is the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is the counterpart in the new covenant of the Law of Moses in the old covenant. Our law is the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus.
As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. What does the Spirit of God lead us to do? He leads us each moment of the day to put off our old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, and to put on the new self, which is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
The Christian salvation consists of obeying the Spirit of God as He guides and enables us so we continually are turning away from that which He shows us is not of Christ, and are doing what the Spirit desires.
This is how we grow in Christ, continually rejecting and turning away from unrighteousness and embracing what is righteous and holy.
Meanwhile, the grace of God is covering that part of our behavior which the Spirit has not dealt with as yet.
One of the purposes of Divine grace is to shield the new self from the authority of the Law of Moses so we are free to turn our eyes toward Christ at all times instead of to the scroll of the Law.
The believers who do not cooperate with the Spirit of God, and picture themselves as being assured of eternal residence in Heaven on the basis of a sovereign grace, will not be received by the Lord when He comes. They are not eligible for the great gathering to the Lord.
Rather, it is those who learn to live by the body and blood of the slain Lamb who will be caught up to Him in the sky. We live by the body and blood of the Lamb when we keep confessing and turning away from the sin that is tempting us.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. (John 6:57)
The end result of the process of putting off the old self and donning the new creation is the forming of the Day Star in us. The Day Star, or Morning Star, is the Lord Jesus Christ rising within us. The is the goal of the new covenant.
We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. (II Peter 1:19)
By "prophetic message" Peter means the Old Testament. Peter probably would not be speaking of the Law of Moses, I believe, but of all the admonitions and insights of the Prophets. We of today do well to meditate daily in the writings of the Apostles as a light shining in a dark place, and in the Old Testament as well.
We pray and meditate in the Old and New Testaments, obeying the Spirit of God, until Christ, who is the Word and eternal moral Law of God, arises in our heart. Christ, the Word, is written in our mind so we can understand what the Spirit desires; and in our heart so we have a passion to do the will of God.
Such is the end product of the work of redemption in Christ—a human being who has been delivered from the compulsions of sin; who has a strong desire to always obey God; who has the Substance of Christ formed in him or her; in whom the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are dwelling; and who is housed in a body of incorruptible eternal life in which no spirits of sin are dwelling.
This is the new creation in Christ.
The purpose of the Law of Moses was to keep sin under control until the Seed arrived through whom the promised inheritance could come.
Now we see that the misdeeds of the body no longer are practiced. There is no laziness present such that the gifts of the Spirit are wasted. The old body is presented as a living sacrifice until it is replaced by a new body filled with eternal resurrection life.
There is no need to command the new creation to keep his attention on things above. He is at home on the earth as well as in Heaven. He is seated in Christ on the highest throne of the universe. Yet, by the power of multiple presence, he at the same time is serving God wherever there is a need.
He does not behave sinfully because the Divine nature has been formed in him.
Sin is nothing more and nothing less than disobedience to God. When we know what God wants, and do not do it, we are sinning.
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. (I John 3:9)
What I have described above is not the Christian religion, a creation of man. Rather, It is the Divine redemption, which is a continuing, eternal interaction with the living Lord Jesus Christ.