Editor:
Many Covenants
Some who claim to be Messianic
want to go backward and follow
the Torah given to Moses
instead of following the New
Covenant that Yeshua came to
teach and give to us
There may be various reasons.
Perhaps doing Jewish stuff like
Yeshua did makes one feel
closer to the Lord.
Perhaps it may make one feel
closer to God because we copy
what his son, Yeshua came to
fulfill or complete.
For some it might just be that
they appreciate a routine, a
regulation, a rule, a law
because they may feel
undisciplined inside.
Following the Mosaic law then
can make one feel better.
John Parsons
of Hebrew4Christians.com shares what the
differences between the new Torah and the
old Torah are.
But consider this: anything God tells us
to do is His Word, not just the Bible.
His son, Yeshua who was sent to
complete the Mosaic covenant by dying
on the cross for all of us, was called "The
Word" in John and elsewhere.
So Yeshua is the Word.
When God sent Yeshua he was
sending His Word to us, his
message, his command, his
sermon, his instruction to us
UNTIL he sends different
instructions.
So in a real way Yeshua's life and teachings are a current torah for we Christians. His life gives us a model to instruct us how to live. His teachings instruct us how to behave and how NOT to behave.
He is the TORAH, along with the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth.
- Charles)
Here is John Parson's summary showing the differences between the old or Mosaic covenant from the new 'Yeshua covenant'.
The Torah of the Old Covenant compared to the Torah of the New
* As Yeshua told the parable, you can't put new wine into old wineskins, since the fermentation process might burst the hardened skins. Sadly, many who have tasted the "old wine" find it preferable to the new -- and that preference continues to this day (Luke 5:37-39
* "Two mountains, two covenants," yes - but both are Jewish... There is a unity of revelation in Scripture, and the LORD God of Israel is the same today, yesterday, and forever. Keeping this in mind will guard you from the egregious errors
* It is also vital to remember there is a distinction between "Torah" (תּוֹרָה) and "Covenant" (בְּרִית). Torah is a general word that means "instruction" and is always a function of the underlying covenant of which it is part. Torah is therefore our response to the covenantal actions of the LORD God of Israel. Followers of Yeshua are therefore not "anti-Torah" even if they understand this word in relation to the new and better covenant of God (Heb. 8:6). There is indeed a Torah of the New Covenant, just as there is Torah of the older one. Understood in this way, Messianic believers are called to be "Torah Observant," since that simply means adhering to the instruction of King Yeshua who is the embodiment of all genuine truth from God (for more about this distinction, please see my article "Olam Ha-Torah").
* Ultimately this matter resolves to the question of whom you regard as your spiritual authority, chaverim...
* The Hebrew word for covenant is brit (בְּרִית), meaning covenant, pact, or treaty. It is one of the most frequently used words in Hebrew Scriptures (appearing some 270 times) and is one of the Scripture's most important concepts.
Ancient covenants were often made by animal sacrifice. To "cut a covenant" demonstrated the earnestness of the parties involved in the agreement. YHVH chose to cut covenant with Abram in this manner (Gen. 15:7-11, 17-18). Thus the word brit often implies the shedding of blood in the process of ratifying an agreement.
Some say, that those Christians who still wish to follow the Mosaic or Sinai covenant are stuck in the past. It makes one think of the Israelites who in the wilderness, eating only Mannah, who wanted to go back to Egypt where they could have onions and garlic and ...... slavery again.
There are so many covenants in the Bible that holding on to one may make a person feel secure but it may mean that individual does not want to move on with, as at one point, the Israelites did not want to continue to follow Moses.....
You may not have known there were many covenants (contracts) in the Bible. At the risk of missing a few, here are some in relatively close order.
- The Adamic covenant which Adam and Eve broke when they disobeyed God
- The Noahic covenant where God promised he would never send a flood to destroy the world again.
- Abrahamic Covenant also passed on it Isaac and Jacob... the promise of going back to their land and their descendants being like the sand on the beach and as numerous as the stars in the sky.
- Mosaic or Sinai covenant
- New Covenant between God and we who follow Him as shown and taught by Yeshua and empowered in our spirits by the Holy Spirit
I may have missed one or two but yes, there ARE more than two covenants. Usually when a new covenant was given, the old was completed, finished or fulfilled just as a contract between two individuals is completed when each keeps their part of the bargain.
That is why Yeshua talked about a New Covenant and New wineskins etc.
More later on Covenants....
(More to come ....)
Pau
Options for this stor
Many Covenants
Some who claim to be Messianic
want to go backward and follow
the Torah given to Moses
instead of following the New
Covenant that Yeshua came to
teach and give to us
There may be various reasons.
Perhaps doing Jewish stuff like
Yeshua did makes one feel
closer to the Lord.
Perhaps it may make one feel
closer to God because we copy
what his son, Yeshua came to
fulfill or complete.
For some it might just be that
they appreciate a routine, a
regulation, a rule, a law
because they may feel
undisciplined inside.
Following the Mosaic law then
can make one feel better.
John Parsons
of Hebrew4Christians.com shares what the
differences between the new Torah and the
old Torah are.
But consider this: anything God tells us
to do is His Word, not just the Bible.
to do is His Word, not just the Bible.
His son, Yeshua who was sent to
complete the Mosaic covenant by dying
on the cross for all of us, was called "The
Word" in John and elsewhere.
complete the Mosaic covenant by dying
on the cross for all of us, was called "The
Word" in John and elsewhere.
So Yeshua is the Word.
When God sent Yeshua he was
sending His Word to us, his
message, his command, his
sermon, his instruction to us
UNTIL he sends different
instructions.
So in a real way Yeshua's life and teachings are a current torah for we Christians. His life gives us a model to instruct us how to live. His teachings instruct us how to behave and how NOT to behave.
He is the TORAH, along with the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth.
- Charles)
Here is John Parson's summary showing the differences between the old or Mosaic covenant from the new 'Yeshua covenant'.
The Torah of the Old Covenant compared to the Torah of the New
* As Yeshua told the parable, you can't put new wine into old wineskins, since the fermentation process might burst the hardened skins. Sadly, many who have tasted the "old wine" find it preferable to the new -- and that preference continues to this day (Luke 5:37-39
* "Two mountains, two covenants," yes - but both are Jewish... There is a unity of revelation in Scripture, and the LORD God of Israel is the same today, yesterday, and forever. Keeping this in mind will guard you from the egregious errors
* It is also vital to remember there is a distinction between "Torah" (תּוֹרָה) and "Covenant" (בְּרִית). Torah is a general word that means "instruction" and is always a function of the underlying covenant of which it is part. Torah is therefore our response to the covenantal actions of the LORD God of Israel. Followers of Yeshua are therefore not "anti-Torah" even if they understand this word in relation to the new and better covenant of God (Heb. 8:6). There is indeed a Torah of the New Covenant, just as there is Torah of the older one. Understood in this way, Messianic believers are called to be "Torah Observant," since that simply means adhering to the instruction of King Yeshua who is the embodiment of all genuine truth from God (for more about this distinction, please see my article "Olam Ha-Torah").
* Ultimately this matter resolves to the question of whom you regard as your spiritual authority, chaverim...
* The Hebrew word for covenant is brit (בְּרִית), meaning covenant, pact, or treaty. It is one of the most frequently used words in Hebrew Scriptures (appearing some 270 times) and is one of the Scripture's most important concepts.
Some say, that those Christians who still wish to follow the Mosaic or Sinai covenant are stuck in the past. It makes one think of the Israelites who in the wilderness, eating only Mannah, who wanted to go back to Egypt where they could have onions and garlic and ...... slavery again.
There are so many covenants in the Bible that holding on to one may make a person feel secure but it may mean that individual does not want to move on with, as at one point, the Israelites did not want to continue to follow Moses.....
You may not have known there were many covenants (contracts) in the Bible. At the risk of missing a few, here are some in relatively close order.
- The Adamic covenant which Adam and Eve broke when they disobeyed God
- The Noahic covenant where God promised he would never send a flood to destroy the world again.
- Abrahamic Covenant also passed on it Isaac and Jacob... the promise of going back to their land and their descendants being like the sand on the beach and as numerous as the stars in the sky.
- Mosaic or Sinai covenant
- New Covenant between God and we who follow Him as shown and taught by Yeshua and empowered in our spirits by the Holy Spirit
I may have missed one or two but yes, there ARE more than two covenants. Usually when a new covenant was given, the old was completed, finished or fulfilled just as a contract between two individuals is completed when each keeps their part of the bargain.
That is why Yeshua talked about a New Covenant and New wineskins etc.
That is why Yeshua talked about a New Covenant and New wineskins etc.
More later on Covenants....
(More to come ....)
