Two Covenants

By F. L. Lemley

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     In Hebrews 8:7-13 we read, "Had the first covenant been faultless, there would have been no need to look for a second in its place. But God, finding fault with them, says, 'The days are coming,' says the Lord, 'when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt; because they did not abide by the terms of that covenant, and I abandoned them, says the Lord. For the covenant I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says the Lord, is this: I will set my laws in their understanding and write them on their hearts: and I will be their God, and they shall be my people...By speaking of a new covenant, he has pronounced the first old; and anything that is growing old and aging will shortly disappear" (New English Bible).

     Since the days of Alexander Campbell most members of churches of Christ have understood about the two covenants and known that the old covenant is no longer binding upon us. So when we find someone making arguments from the Old Testament scriptures we can discount them in one fell swoop by such statements as "But that is in the Old Testament and

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is not binding upon us!" This is a particularly useful strategy when some are pressing arguments on us that are against our theology. We need to take another look at this teaching, for we have come to misunderstand about the Old Covenant as well as the New.

     What do the New Testament scriptures have to say about the Old? Just this: "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope" (Romans 15:4). "And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 3:15). All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16). "Let the word of Christ dwell within you; with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms..." (Col. 3:16). There is no use to multiply quotations but observe also Acts 8:35; 18:28; 2 Timothy 2:15; 1 Corinthians 10:1-12. All of these refer to the Old Testament scriptures and authorize their use.

     What passed away? A covenant is an agreement. It takes two parties to make an agreement--God and Israel in the case of the old covenant. God agreed to give them the land of Canaan. Israel agreed to keep his laws. In Deuteronomy 4:12-14, we find the laws Israel agreed to keep were the ten commandments plus statutes and judgments, and from Hebrews 9:1 we learn this covenant also embraced the ordinances of divine service and a worldly sanctuary. In Exodus 24, Moses read all these laws to the people. With one voice they said, "All the words which the Lord hath spoken we will do." In Deuteronomy (chapters 27 through 32) the laws are reviewed, curses made known for not keeping them and provisions made for their rehearsal every seven years.

     These laws were written by Moses and deposited in the side of the ark of the covenant (Deut. 31:26). Since the covenant was made years before the rest of the Old Testament was written, it is obvious the whole Old Testament is not the covenant. Israel did not keep their part of the agreement (covenant) so God was released from his obligation, that is, to guarantee them possession of Canaan and elevate them above the nations of the earth.

     This agreement with Israel was the old covenant that passed away (Heb. 8:13). What happened to the ten commandments? They were the principles upon which the whole agreement was founded. Since they had to do with the very nature of God, they cannot be annulled or destroyed. To do this would be to change the nature of God which is impossible. While the agreement was broken, the principles upon which it was founded did not perish. It is thus clear why they were repeated by Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament. It is just as impossible to nullify the ten commandments as it is to nullify the two great commandments upon which all the law and prophets rest (Matthew 22:36). While the day of worship is not bound over (that is, the sabbath), the principle of setting aside a time and place is.

     The new covenant was not new in point of time only, but also in nature, based upon better promises (Heb. 8:6). The first covenant was a matter of achieving through sheer will power. The new covenant is not a matter of achievement. It is on a different basis, that of believing. "Under this divine system a man who has faith is now freely acquitted in the eyes of God by his generous dealing in the redemptive act of Jesus Christ" (Romans 3:24. Phillips). The new covenant may be briefly summed up in one verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). In the new covenant God bestows everlasting life as a free gift (Romans 6:23). Man's part of the agreement is to have faith in Jesus Christ, and that is all there is to it.

     So this new agreement is written on the human heart (by faith). Paul says to the Corinthians, "You yourselves are

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the letter we have, written on our hearts, for everyone to know and read. It is clear that Christ himself wrote this letter and sent it by us. It is not written with ink on stone tablets, but on human hearts, with the Spirit of the living God" (2 Cor. 3:2-3. Good News for Modern Man). Paul goes on to say, "The capacity we have comes from God, for it is he who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of a written law, but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life."

     Please observe that the written law, that is, the book we call the New Testament, is not the new covenant! The new covenant is written on the human heart by the Spirit of God. As long as the word is written with ink on paper or stone, it is just a letter. Jesus said "The words I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" (John 6:63). These words do not become alive until they are engraved on hearts by the finger of God! Only the word in the human heart is spirit! That is the only word that is alive! So long as the word is on paper or stone, or written with ink, it is a dead letter. In summary, the new covenant is simply this, that God gives us eternal life as a free gift, that is, to those of us who accept Christ by faith. No achievement is involved in the agreement as was the case in the first covenant.

     Now, for the benefit of the technical lawyers among us, let us remark that when we say we are justified by faith, that salvation is to the believer, and that we enter the domain of grace through faith as the book teaches in numerous places, there is no reason to hear a plaintive echo "Only, only, only, only," for we do not teach that. A living faith embraces obedience and any time faith embraces doing or obeying, it cannot be called "faith only." It was not necessary for the apostles to explain in every case that one must obey, when the very word "faith" embraces obedience.

     One of the problems in the first century was what some call the Galatian heresy. Some came from James to Antioch and taught that in addition to belief in Jesus one must keep circumcision and the law of Moses in order to be saved. This was reverting to the principle of the old covenant, that of achieving instead of believing. We have this same heretical principle with us today in those who think they must attend every service, obey perfectly every command, give as the elders order and dictate, and have part in all of the various programs in order to be saved.

     All of the commands are to be kept perfectly (by sheer willpower) or one's salvation is in jeopardy, we are told. Some elders even withdraw from "unfaithful" members who do not attend every time the door is open! So we have people living in misery, knowing they have failed to keep the law (as interpreted by the preachers and elders) perfectly. They are just wishing that God's grace may at last be extended to save them from otherwise certain damnation.

     On the other hand, those who understand the principle of the new covenant, that is, that the whole matter is on the basis of believing instead of achieving, have the covenant engraved on their hearts. They keep every command that the achievers keep and enjoy every minute of it, while the achievers grieve and wish they did not have to do these things. In fact, John teaches us that it is by keeping the commands that we know that we know him. The motivation is altogether different!

     Those who trust by faith in Christ Jesus can be certain of salvation. They have accepted the gift and, in turn, have partaken of the very nature of Christ. They keep the commands by nature of the life that is in them. Others try to keep them by willpower and they fail, and know they are failing! What a blessing it is to understand grace which is appropriated by faith, and to realize that our salvation does not depend upon a "passing grade" in law-keeping!