OLD Testament versus NEW Testament
Old Covenant versus New Covenant
By WD Kemner September 2024
What establishes the Old and the New Testaments from one another? Time?
Typically, it is stated that the Old Testament are the Books from Genesis to the book of Malachi. Then there was 400 years until the recounted story of the Birth of Jesus in the book of Matthew which begins the New Testament.
That works well for establishing the age of books of the written word. The conclusion then becomes that anything written BEFORE Jesus is OLD Testament, anything AFTER is NEW Testament. Jesus being the center of change.
If we therefore want to expand that thought. The Bible being the Word of God is much more than just a written book. It is a guide, a standard, a covenant to live by. If we add that statement to our conclusion; we then get a bigger picture. The OLD Testament WAS the Covenant to live by until Jesus came and the NEW TESTAMENT with the Birth of Jesus became the NEW Covenant with for man to govern life with.
That sounds like enough to cause problems and it certainly did. From the very beginning. Acts chapter 15 recounts the very first “Doctrinal” controversy.
Believers in Galatia went “backwards” in their beliefs. They retreated to the “familiar” laws which they had become accustomed to following instead of the freedom provided by Christ. The concern was the “Law of Moses” taught “circumcision”. The believers now began to mesh together the “OLD” and the “NEW” to accommodate “EVERYONE”. Sounds like the church of today! They began to spread false teaching that in order to receive “Salvation” an individual had to also receive the “Circumcision of Moses”.
This false teaching was immediately condemned by the Apostle Paul (Galatians 1:6; 3:1-5; 5:4) but not before even Peter and Barnabas began to fall for this wrong teaching (Galatians 2:11-21).
A Covenant cannot be made without blood. Blood is the life of the body and it being shed makes the atonement and forgiveness needed for sin committed. (Leviticus 17:11). Paul reaffirms this in the New Testament in Hebrews 9:18-22.
The first covenant made under Moses was established with sacrificial blood. (Exodus 24:5-8)
Deuteronomy chapter 5 states that the covenant was specifically setup for the Jews under Moses.
Paul would later discuss it (Galatians 3:19,25; 4:21-31) as being for a time until the “seed” should come. The seed being the birth of Jesus.
The Old Testament Prophets would describe the coming of this “seed”; the everlasting (New) Covenant with God’s people. Isaiah 49; 55:3; 61:8; Jeremiah 31:31-33,32:40; Ezekiel 37:26
Sacrifice for sin was done often in the Old Testament but when Jesus came it was needed ONLY once. He was the final sin offering needed. Hebrews 9:25-28
He was THE PERFECT lamb, the perfect blood sacrifice. The shed blood of Christ at Calvary. The very words of Jesus himself in Matthew 26:28.
New Covenant is now available at all times, to all lands, and to all people. Mark 6:15-16; Luke 24:47; John 3:16; Acts 1:8; Romans 10:9-13;
Scriptures elsewhere indicate that the “Old” Covenant (under Moses) was:
2 Corinthians 3:6-17 - abolished and done away
Galatians 4:21-31 - cast out
Colossians 2:14-17 - blotted out
Hebrews 7:12-25 - changed and made better
Hebrews 8:6-13 - replaced because it was old