God's Glasses by Derek Thompson

Author:Derek Thompson [Thompson, Derek]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christianity, God, theology, Bible
ISBN: 9781310886454
Publisher: Author
Published: 2015-01-19T16:00:00+00:00

It may appear from reading the Old Testament that the Israelites under the Old Covenant had to keep all the commandments of God in order to be approved by him. If this were the case, it would mean that God in Old Testament times saved people based on their living according to the Law of God, and not through faith, as in New Testament times. This is not so. In Hebrews 11, we read a list of many Old Testament people of faith who the author says gained eternal life together with us. He goes on to say, "Yet all these, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better so that they would not, apart from us, be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:39 & 40). So, God saved people under the Old Covenant in the same way that he saves people under the New Covenant, through faith in God. The sacrifice and resurrection of Christ justified our faith in God who has saved us by grace, in the same way as he saved those of faith who lived before the promised Messiah.

The word used in the Old Testament that we translate as “law” is the Hebrew word “Torah”. It has a wider meaning than rules and a legal system. It includes teaching and God’s revelation of himself. Hence, seeking to follow the Torah was not intended to be about winning God’s approval, but about encountering God and living in his ways. As we read in the gospels, by the time of Jesus the attitude of many of the Jews had become narrow and legalistic. Even many of the religious leaders tried to use the law to show everyone how good they were at obeying it.

God’s presence with his people under the Old Covenant was focused initially in the tabernacle (the tent of meeting), and later in the temple building in Jerusalem, which replaced the tabernacle. Under the New Covenant, the Holy Spirit comes into the lives of both Jewish and Gentile believers and the temple building was not needed any more. The apostle Paul, who was a Jew, wrote to the Gentiles at Corinth, “But it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us, by putting his seal on us and giving us his Spirit in our hearts as a first instalment” (2 Corinthians 1:21 & 22). The Spirit in our hearts is a first instalment of God’s intention to be God to us and God with us.

The difference between the Old and New Covenants is not in the means of salvation but in the presence of the Holy Spirit in the Christian’s life. The faith of God’s people, both before and after the death of Christ, inspired them to do good works. The law under the Old Covenant helped Israel know God’s will for their nation and restrain them from sin, but the law of itself saved no one. It was never intended to.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.