Abraham's covenant and Jesus' covenant?

Question

I just reread Genesis I. Abraham and God enter into a covenant regarding removal of the foreskin. Now there are many other covenants in the OT, agreements between God and his people in which God makes certain promises and requires certain behaviour from them in return. Christians often say that Jesus made a new covenant with His people. How as a modern day Christian do you decide which OT behaviour agreements to stick by and which are over ridden by the new covenant?

if you are correct Nancy...why do bigots quote the OT when speaking out against homosexulas?

Answer 1

Genesis is in the Old Testament, everything changed when God sent us his son to die for our sins. The New Testament is what we live by today. However; that does not dismiss the 10 commandments.

Answer 2

Many of the covenants God made in the Old Testament were with the Israelites. They were guides for the behavior of the nation of Israel, to show that they were a people set apart by God as His chosen ones. The covenant with Abraham was that God would bless his descendents and never foresake them. Christians are grafted into the covenant with Abraham as adopted descendents. The New Covenant was about grace. Christ paid the price for our sins, and if we accept His sacrifice our sins are washed away by His atoning blood. While the OT has many guidelines for living a Godly life, everything for a Christian falls under the blood of Christ. Try to walk with Him, and let the Holy Spirit guide you in what you should do and not do.

Answer 3

The new covenant has to do with the forgiveness of sins and access to God. Before Christ, there was no forgiveness, just a covering through the sacrificial system, and ordinary people could not have direct access to God, they had to go through the high priest. Once Jesus finished His work, total forgiveness was now possible through faith in Him and ordinary people could now access the throne room of God, hence the tearing of the temple curtain when He died (Mark 15:38, Luke 23:48, Matt. 27:51). A good rule of thumb to follow is if the "rule" or ordinance appears again the New Testament and is spoken of for the Church, it is to be followed.

Answer 4

The Abrahamic covenant was fulfilled and incorporated into the new covenant.

The church has the God given power and authority to govern the new covenant faithful.

That includes the existing new covenant prohibition against homosexual activity.

Answer 5

God made an everlasting covenant with the Jews at Mt. Sinai. Jesus followed the laws of that covenant and told his Jewish followers to do the same.

Answer 6

We are under the new covenant. You have to read what Jesus has said and that will let you know what we are to stick by. Jesus fulfilled the commandments. But that does not mean kick the old testament to the curb. Jesus constantly talked about the Prophets in the old testament.

Answer 7

Let us take a little walk, shall we?

"'Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.'" (Matthew 5:17)

1. Jesus did not come to abolish the Law, but to abolish something else.

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death." (Romans 8:2)

2. Jesus came to set us free from dead religion. He created a religion that practices because we love, not because we have to follow.

"Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law." (Romans 3:31)

3. Jesus wants us to follow the Law because want to, because we love Him, and He wants a relationship with us.
4. Jesus wants us to be like Him, ["'...you shall be holy, for I am holy.'" (Leviticus 11:45); "'Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.'" (Matthew 5:48)] and in order to do so, we must establish the Law, which instructs us how to be Holy - that which God is calling us to strive for.

"Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness." (1 John 3:4)

5. So, ok, we know Jesus doesn't want us to sin. And from this passage, we learn that sin is lawlessness. So, what exactly IS the Law, simply?

"'Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?'
And He said to him, ''YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.'" (Matthew 22:36-40)

6. The entierty of the OT is concerned with loving God and loving people. Even those weird commandments that people use against Christians, they are either intended to help us become more holy (it is a healthy practice like keeping kosher), help us love one another, or help us love and UNDERSTAND God. The rules help us see how HOLY God is.

Also...what did people carry around back then? Including Jesus and Paul...? The Old Testament. What scripture is Paul referring to in 2 Timothy 3:16? The Old Testament.

"Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." (1 John 2:6) I've got news for you, Jesus was a Rabbi.

I'm not trying to be legalistic here, don't go out and start stoning people "'He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.'" (John 8:7) And I'm not saying God requires this from you, but He wants you to be like Him. When Jesus says, "Come, follow me," He means it. He believes you have what it takes to do what He does. Now, we cannot be perfect because of our fallen nature, that's why Jesus came, but God wants you to strive for it. He wants you to want it.

So, basically, I believe that Jesus wants us to follow the OT and the NT is basically a commentary on the OT. The New Testament does not contradict the Old in any way, it refines it, and allows us to see that this is how God intended us to live, and to recognize that the OT exists to allow us to see how Holy He really is. The only thing that is abolished is animal sacrifices because Jesus provided the perfect sacrifice for us. He is the blood on the door to the Tabernacle allowing us to enter freely into God's presence whenever we want to.

Answer 8

The old was phisical the new is the same but spiritual its in your heart and mind. for instance the old law said if you have sex outside of marriage then you have commited adultry but the new said if you lust after a woman in your mind , you have already commited adultry in your heart.

Mt 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mt 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.