This topic is actually broad enough to warrant a doctoral dissertation. However, one aspect of it can involve merely the way a person is justified before a holy God. Many confuse the first binding agreement with the law of Moses. It is not really a case of the Old Covenant vs New Covenant, but a continuous provision by God for man's salvation. God gave His law but also provided a way to fulfill it, which man could never do.
God initiated the first binding agreement - or covenant - with Abram. He called this man out of Haran and Abram came, trusting in the promises the Lord made to him about many descendants and a land to call their own. This account is given in the book of Genesis, starting in the twelfth chapter. Abram's trust - or faith - in God's promises is one of the great foundations of Christianity.
Genesis chapter 15 relates the actual making of the covenant, in which the Lord prophesies about Abram's descendants. The ceremony is performed as a sign to Abram that he would really get possession of the 'promised land'. A blazing torch passes between pieces of sacrificed animals while Abram is in a deep sleep; presumably he sees and hears the Lord promise to give him the land from Egypt to the Euphrates River in a dream.
The Lord renewed His covenant with Isaac, Abraham's son by his wife Sarah, and later with Jacob. Many people consider the law of Moses part of this agreement. However, others consider the law as simply a set of rules, much like the regulations that govern our lives today. We can't drive a car in any way we choose, for example, but must follow the rules of the road.
The intent of the Lord has always been to establish relationship with His creation. Adam and Eve were given much but chose to take the only thing they were forbidden. The law of Moses included God's provision of a way for man to atone for sin by sacrificing animals.
Even in the days when the first agreement was still in force, the scriptures foretold the second one which would do away with ritual animal sacrifice and substitute the body and blood of our savior, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament contains many prophetic passages that tell of the coming Messiah. Belief in Jesus and sincere repentance of sin would be the new way to salvation.
The old and new covenants are different, but the intent of God does not change. He wants relationship with man, but He cannot exist with sin. God's love is unconditional and everlasting, but He retains the right of judgement and the right to define the way to salvation. He requires men and women to accept responsibility for personal sin and accept the sacrifice that atones for it. This preserves justice, another attribute of God.
However, the state of a man or woman's heart was always important. No sacrifice could replace a true surrender to the Lord, either at the beginning of time or today.
God initiated the first binding agreement - or covenant - with Abram. He called this man out of Haran and Abram came, trusting in the promises the Lord made to him about many descendants and a land to call their own. This account is given in the book of Genesis, starting in the twelfth chapter. Abram's trust - or faith - in God's promises is one of the great foundations of Christianity.
Genesis chapter 15 relates the actual making of the covenant, in which the Lord prophesies about Abram's descendants. The ceremony is performed as a sign to Abram that he would really get possession of the 'promised land'. A blazing torch passes between pieces of sacrificed animals while Abram is in a deep sleep; presumably he sees and hears the Lord promise to give him the land from Egypt to the Euphrates River in a dream.
The Lord renewed His covenant with Isaac, Abraham's son by his wife Sarah, and later with Jacob. Many people consider the law of Moses part of this agreement. However, others consider the law as simply a set of rules, much like the regulations that govern our lives today. We can't drive a car in any way we choose, for example, but must follow the rules of the road.
The intent of the Lord has always been to establish relationship with His creation. Adam and Eve were given much but chose to take the only thing they were forbidden. The law of Moses included God's provision of a way for man to atone for sin by sacrificing animals.
Even in the days when the first agreement was still in force, the scriptures foretold the second one which would do away with ritual animal sacrifice and substitute the body and blood of our savior, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament contains many prophetic passages that tell of the coming Messiah. Belief in Jesus and sincere repentance of sin would be the new way to salvation.
The old and new covenants are different, but the intent of God does not change. He wants relationship with man, but He cannot exist with sin. God's love is unconditional and everlasting, but He retains the right of judgement and the right to define the way to salvation. He requires men and women to accept responsibility for personal sin and accept the sacrifice that atones for it. This preserves justice, another attribute of God.
However, the state of a man or woman's heart was always important. No sacrifice could replace a true surrender to the Lord, either at the beginning of time or today.
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