Today, I'd like to make another comparison between the New Covenant and the Old - let's consider what we owe God in comparison to what Israel owed God under the Old Covenant.
Exodus 19:4-6This is what God did for Israel: He rescued them from slavery in Egypt and made them into a prosperous nation. This is the covenant that He made with Israel: they received physical blessings for keeping the law and physical curses for disobeying the law. They were never promised eternal life through the Old Covenant, regardless of their degree of obedience to it.
You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.
There are 2 very important distinctions between Israel's relationship with God and ours. Firstly, God saved us from a greater enemy, since we are brought out of spiritual bondage rather than physical bondage. Secondly, while God's promise to Israel for fearing, loving, serving, and obeying Him was merely physical, His promise to us is greater than any physical blessing, granting us eternal life with Him and His Son.
If you have been called by God to be a part of the New Covenant, then you owe God more than the Israelites did because God has done more for you.
The idea that has permeated most of Christianity is that God has replaced the law with faith under the New Covenant, so that God makes the law void because of our faith. The bible clearly teaches otherwise:
Luke 12:48In light of this, does it make any sense that God would require less from you than He did from Israel, having saved you from a greater foe and having promised you a greater reward, to be a king and priest in His Kingdom? We obviously owe God more than Israel did! As a result, we should be eager to obey God's law in order to show our appreciation for all that He has done for us, building a relationship of loving obedience to the will of our God.
For everyone to whom much is given, much will be required.
The idea that has permeated most of Christianity is that God has replaced the law with faith under the New Covenant, so that God makes the law void because of our faith. The bible clearly teaches otherwise:
Romans 3:31Surely God requires at least as much from us as He did from Israel. And what does God require of us, except that we fear Him, love Him, walk in all His ways, serve Him with all our heart and soul, and keep His commandments? (Deuteronomy 10:12-13)
Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI am glad that you are sharing your thoughts and personal insights on the subject at hand. But I feel as though you have left some parts out. Meaning the author's discussion of faith, the law, the circumcised and the uncircumcised, etc. There is more to the 3rd and 4th chapter of Romans than just the 31st verse.
Thank you
For Paul, Romans 3:31 was an after-the-argument clarification so that the audience doesn't misinterpret his preceding discussion to think that the law was made void. In spite of this effort on his part, most people still get it wrong, which is what I was trying to point out.
ReplyDeleteI can't be sure since you're Anonymous, but I think you might be the same person who left another comment asking about Acts 15:1-32, which deals with circumcision and the law also. I'm giving a short answer in response to the other post that will shed some light on how I view these scriptures in light of the circumcision debate, and I think I actually have enough to say about it that I can write a full article on it within a couple of days. Additionally, I'm now thinking about doing a scripture-by-scripture commentary on Romans 2 and 3 that would also be relevant. Please feel free to comment on them in the near future!