An analogy... old covenant vs new covenant, law vs grace

Thinking here about the old covenant and the new covenant.

We give kids toy cars to play with. They can look pretty realistic -obviously smaller than the real thing. Ultimately, toy cars are hollow; they have no engine. The best you're going to get is a battery remote control one.

The law of the old covenant is like a toy car. It represents the life God wants His people to live but in miniature. We know from Jesus' ministry that the law was not meant to be used as an excuse for divorce, or for people to be self-congratulatory because they had tithed the correct amount of mint. And when your relationship with God is nothing more than law-keeping, it's not really a relationship. It's legalism.

When you get your license and you start driving a real car, those toy cars soon get put into perspective. They were right for a time, but nothing is like the real thing. The immense feeling of freedom you get behind the wheel - that's like life with God, not under law but grace. Immensely liberating.

The toy car resembles the real thing, but cannot power itself. With the Holy Spirit living in us, we have the power to say no to fleshly dsires and live a life of godliness (see 2 Peter 1). We're not needing all the ritual that came with the law - Jesus fulfilled it. We don't need anymore sacrifice. But in our desire to be godly, our quest for holiness, we should have even more zeal than the Pharisees, and hopefully more evidence of sanctification as we seek to grow by grace.

'For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.' John 1:17

The phrase here 'grace and truth' reflects the language of Exodus 34:6, which speaks of the steadfast love (hesed) and faithfulness ('emet) of God in His covenant faithfulness to His people. John is therefore saying that Jesus is the ultimate expression of God's covenant faithfulness (ESV study notes).

In the new covenant, our relationship with God is brought to life, from the stone tablets of law to the heartbeat of grace.

'For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.' Rom 10:4

'a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ' Gal 2:16

'But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.' Gal 5:18

Ezekiel: God of covenant and regeneration

With all the messages of judgement in Ezekiel, it could be easy to forget the beginning of the story - God's love story with Israel. The allegory told so grippingly in chapter 16 vividly depicts the very essence of the Old Testament: it is a story of covenant of God with a nation (Abraham's descendants). God's sovereign choice and grace in choosing Israel is highlighted as the abandoned child becomes a beautiful woman through the rescuer's love, protection and provision. The infidelity therefore becomes more shocking; the woman who has everything still has an insatiable desire for more (v29). The grotesque imagery sets the reader's teeth on edge because Ezekiel knew his audience needed to be shocked out of apathy and complacency.

But there is a message of hope, and for me it's the most exciting aspect of Ezekiel. It is in this book that the concept of regeneration begins to be sketched out, in perhaps a rather shadowy pencil tone, ready for the New Testament to boldly define it in the wake of Christ and His death on the cross.

At the end of the allegory, Ezekiel gives the pronouncement of the Lord GOD: 'I will establish for you an everlasting covenant' (v60). And there are two key passages, similar in tone and content, which give more detail to this promise. Ezekiel 11:14-21 and 36:22-38 both speak of a removal of the 'heart of stone' and a cleansing from idolatry, and a promise of 'a new heart, and a new spirit'. In ch 36, God says 'I will put my Spirit within you' (v27). The Old Covenant law, given to Moses on stone tablets, was broken again and again by God's unfaithful people. But the New Covenant is characterised by power, the divine power of God's Spirit to change our hearts and regenerate those who believe.

'Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.' 2 Corinthians 5:17

This regeneration is depicted very memorably in chapter 37, where Ezekiel is given a stunning vision of the valley of dry bones being brought back to life with flesh and breath once more. The metaphor is explained: 'these bones are the whole house of Israel... I will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live' (v11-14). As William Mounce writes,

'In the New Covenant, God’s Spirit is able to breath life into those who are spiritually dead. In the New Covenant, God’s Spirit is able to change and empower those changed lives to live in blissful obedience to Him.'

At the heart of Ezekiel is the message that God is a God of covenant. He is faithful to His promises and to His people. And through the New Covenant, God would do something amazing: even after giving so much already to those He loved, He would actually put His Spirit within them, empowering them to live radically for Him in true faithfulness.

Soundbites from 2 Corinthians: The New Covenant

'He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant- not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.' 2 Corinthians 3:6

Paul rejoices in this letter that God has not only saved us and restored our relationship with Himself, but He has also entrusted us with a ministry for Him. When we come to trust in God and our sins are forgiven in Christ, we are reconciled to God as our Father. As Christians, we are then given a ministry of reconciliation- to lead others to know God as their Father too. This is the 'new covenant'- Jesus Christ died, and His blood enables us to be at peace with God.

In the old covenant, as given to Israel through the Law of Moses, the people sacrificed animals and used the blood of bulls and goats to make atonement for their sins. This was a temporary system that ultimately pointed forward to the way God would send Christ to die, the Lamb of God, taking on the sins of the world.

The Law of Moses is represented in this verse by 'the letter'. Perhaps you've heard the phrase 'the letter of the law'. It's a phrase that's usually associated with strong enforcement of rules or regulations. Paul was a Jew obsessed with trying to keep the Law of Moses, before He met Christ on the road to Damascus. He, better than anyone, knew that the letter 'killed', because it condemned mankind. No one could stand up before God and honestly claim to have kept the law to the letter.

But in the new covenant, Christ's obedience provides a better way for us. Our disobedience can be nailed to the cross, and we can receive the Holy Spirit and true 'life'. Instead of living tied to rules and regulations, we are freed by the power of the Spirit to live to please God. It doesn't mean that we do whatever we like; it means we are able to choose the path of holiness instead of by default the path of sin.

We can offer people the chance to be freed from the power of sin and its punishment, through Christ. God has made us competent to share the message of His grace. So whenever we feel incompetent, or like our words never come out right, we can be encouraged by this verse that God has enabled us to do this for Him. We have an amazing message to share through the new covenant, so we should rejoice in boldly proclaiming it to our friends and family.

Old and New Covenant: What's the Difference?

It's always a danger that we, as Christians, use complicated terms from the Bible without really understanding what they mean, as well as being totally unintelligible for the world outside. The trap of Christian jargon is sometimes really difficult to escape from. Salvation, atonement, penal substitution... All these words mean wonderful things and yet can also be very confusing.

As I study for my Moore College Christian Worship module, I have been looking at the Old and New Covenants of the Bible. And 'covenant' is one such jargon-word. It basically means 'promise', but it does have more weight than that. In Bible times, an oral culture where the spoken word was much more meaningful and binding than in today's world, a covenant was serious business. It involved conditions. It was not easily broken.

The Old Testament relates to us how God called the people of Israel into covenant with Him (having made a covenant with Abraham, and they were his descendants). On Mount Sinai He gave them the Law, and the essence of the covenant was this:

'Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.' Deuteronomy 11:1

The conditions were that if Israel followed God's commands and stayed faithful to Him, He would give them a land flowing with milk and honey, and rest from all their enemies. But if they failed, then He would send famine and drought, routers, and eventually send them into exile. And sadly, this is what actually happened. After the exile, a remnant returned, but it was clear that Israel had problems with keeping the covenant because the post-exilic prophets (such as Malachi) spoke of their continued corruption and failure to obey God.

It is into this situation -a crushed people under the Roman empire, a disobedient people who had failed to keep God's law- that Jesus came. And with Him, He brought what is known as the New Covenant: a new way of relating to God.

Jesus changed:
The PLACE of worship
The MEANS of worship

Let's unpack that.

In the Old Testament, there were two important central places of worship. First, there was the Tabernacle (built under Moses in the time of being in the wilderness). This was a sort of tent, a central meeting place, where the Ark of the Covenant (a box containing the 10 Commandments and the Law) was kept. It was where God's presence dwelled- this is why Exodus ends climactically with the cloud of God's presence filling the place (Ex 40).

Once Israel had claimed the Promised Land and achieved rest from their enemies, the Temple was built (under the direction of Solomon, David's son). This was a much more permanent building, lavishly constructed, and provided the central place of worship where sacrifices were offered.

Jesus changed all of this by REPLACING the temple (place of worship), along with the sacrifices (means of worship). By offering Himself, dying an innocent death on the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins, once for all. His blood justifies the guilty (Rom 5:8-9). There is no need now for any more sacrifices to be made. Jesus' sacrifice was enough to pay for all sins: past, present and future.

'He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him.' (Heb 7:25)

So Jesus IS the sacrifice, but Jesus is also the TEMPLE itself. The Temple represented God's rule, and God's will to bless Israel and other nations through them. In Jesus 'one greater than the temple' arrived (Mt 12:6). He embodied God's presence and authority, because He was the Son of God. In Him we find salvation and through Him all nations can be blessed (this is how God fulfilled His promise to Abraham from Genesis 12). We don't need a temple now to access God, because we have Jesus. This is why the Temple curtain was torn from top to bottom when Christ died on the cross (Mt 27:51).

True Christianity is all about presenting ourselves to God IN JESUS CHRIST. It's about coming to God, knowing you have NOTHING TO OFFER Him except a sinful soul, and asking for His forgiveness which is available to you THROUGH JESUS' SACRIFICE.

But once we have done that, we CAN offer God our lives. Romans 12:1 teaches that we are to become 'living sacrifices'- not trying to win our own salvation or our place in heaven by doing good things, but demonstrating in our LIFESTYLE that our relationship with God has been restored, and we are RIGHTEOUS in His sight (absolutely pure). Every sphere of our lives as Christians gives us the opportunity to glorify and serve God, in grateful response to the work of Jesus.

Therefore we "worship" not only in times of singing songs and reading the Bible and praying, but in obedience, loving others, showing hospitality, being faithful in marriage, witnessing to others (see Hebrews and Romans 12-15). Our worship is much more than what we do in church on a Sunday, or in our daily "quiet time" or personal devotions to God. It is our whole life.

That is not necessarily ABSENT from the Old covenant. God made it clear that He wanted His people to love Him all of the time, not just on a Sabbath day. He made it clear through the prophets that sacrifices were worthless unless they were accompanied by true repentance (1 Sam 15:22). But Jesus brought a whole new experience of worship for us, because He revealed to us in His very person the TRUTH about God, and He sent us His SPIRIT to aid us in crying out to God in our hearts (Rom 8:15). This is what Jesus meant when He said:

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:23-24

In Jesus we see a full revelation of who God is, because Jesus is 'the exact representation of his being' (Heb 1:3). In Jesus we not only receive a new PLACE of worship (ie. in Himself, not in a physical building), and a new MEANS of worship (through His sacrifice), but we also receive a full picture of the GOD we worship. We can worship Jesus because He is God; He is part of the Trinity, the three-person God who is Father, Son and Spirit. And as Christians, our aim is to bring others to worship Christ and make Him their own Lord and Saviour.