How many times have you heard someone proclaim, "I'm a New Covenant Christian." Without endorsing the term, for a moment let us examine such a claim. Essentially, the term is used to describe someone that believes in Jesus Christ. The statements of the Apostle's Creed are mentally assented to:
1. "I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth:
2. And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord:
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary:
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried: He descended into hell:
5. The third day he rose again from the dead:
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty:
7. From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead:
8. I believe in the Holy Ghost:
9. I believe in the holy catholic church: the communion of saints:
10. The forgiveness of sins:
1l. The resurrection of the body:
12. And the life everlasting. Amen."
However, what is YHWH's definition of the "New Covenant?" Where is the new covenant first expressed specifically? Consider Jeremiah 31:31: "Behold, the days come, saith the YHWH, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah..." Who does YHWH state the new covenant is to be with? Does He extend it to the nations, i.e. the Gentiles? The passage is clear that the new covenant is between YHWH and the houses of Israel and Judah. One day I was speaking with a member of the Jehovah Witnesses sect. He was trying to convert me to his faith. I asked him to open his Bible to Jeremiah 31:31. I asked him to read the verse. I then asked him, "Which house are you in, Israel or Judah?" He looked at me. He looked at the passage. He looked at me again and said, "I don't know." I suggested he should find out.
What really is the "New Covenant?" The word "new" is the Hebrew word hadash . It means to renew or repair. The RSV Bible translates it also as restore. Every month we have a new moon. Do you think it is really a new moon, or one that is part of a fresh cycle? What is YHWH saying in verse 31? Jeremiah 31:33 says: "But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith YHWH, I will put my Torah in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and I will be their Elohim, and they shall be my people." The new covenant changes where the Torah is to be written, but not the terms of the Torah. Do not think of Torah as law; instead, think of it as instruction or guidance. YHWH is not changing His instruction to His people only the location of the instruction. The Torah has moved from the tablets of stone to the hearts of His children. Verse 31 is about movement, and not the substance of Torah.
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Tsade
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