“For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set free from sins committed under the first covenant.”
~ Hebrews 9:15
Hi James and Ellen,
What do you think are the underlying, critical reasons that validate reading and understanding the books that make up the Old Testament? A matter that is addressed in the books that make up the Old Testament is the mutinous nature of a specifically identified people group of guys and gals – the Israelite people group guys and gals – who are God’s specially chosen guys and gals. Another issue that is addressed in the books that make up the Old Testament is the establishing of work based religious norms regarding corporate temple worship and making animal sacrifices. What do you think are the underlying, critical reasons that validate reading and understanding the books that make up the New Testament? A matter that is addressed in the books that make up the New Testament is the servitude nature of a specifically identified incarnate guy – whose name is Jesus – Who is God – as God the Son. Another issue that is addressed in the books that make up the New Testament is the establishment of faith based religious norms regarding individualized worship responses and on a personalized life sacrifice. The books that make up the Old Testament and the books that make up the New Testament are two very separate and distinct compilations of sixty-six divinely inspired books, letters, poems and songs. Do you think that you would be able to comprehend and acknowledge the purpose for the books that make up the New Testament if the Biblical canon had not included the books that make up the Old Testament? The thirty-nine books that make up the Old Testament set the stage for the twenty-seven books that make up the New Testament. The books that make up the Old Testament document the frustrations and failures of trying to live a belief paradigm that was based on a guy or gal always trying or needing to earn points by doing good works so that he or she would ultimately end up in an eternal place called heaven and to blindly accept the atoning power of blood that was from an animal that was sprinkled on an altar. The books that make up the New Testament answer the promises that the books that make up the Old Testament promised would be one day a new belief paradigm. The books that make up the New Testament document the hope and peace of living a belief paradigm that makes having an eternal place in heaven an absolute reality that is given freely to a guy, gal or kid as he or she is passing through the faith/grace door because of having make a decision of faith by accepting the atoning power of the blood that poured from the body of an incarnate guy – Jesus, as He was crucified on a cross.
If it was just your grandpaa writing down his thoughts, ideas, reactions, etc. as to what he has read in the books that make up the Old Testament – comparing these thoughts, ideas, reactions, etc. to what he has read in the books that make up the New Testament, you could say that your grandpaa is just doing hypothesizing and you would not have to buy into what he is writing but . . . the Hebrew Book author addresses in Hebrews 9 the tension of what to do with the laws that are spoken about in the books that make up the Old Testament because of what an incarnate guy – Jesus, did, when God – as God the Spirit, breathed on him to scribe in verse 15 “For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set free from sins committed under the first covenant.” Christ is Jesus – as God the Son, in this verse. The first covenant was based on regulations, laws works and institutional worship – which are all earthly functions and objects. The new covenant is founded on grace, forgiveness, faith and the gift of eternal life – which are all divinely driven actions and promises. The worship center for the first covenant was a God ordered structure that was built in the city of David – which is the city of Jerusalem. This worship center – called the tabernacle, had two rooms. The first room had in it a gold lampstand that could hold seven lamps and a table that was made of acacia wood that was overlaid with gold and which had twelve loaves of bread always on it. Priests would go into this first room to do their priestly duties which involved making animal sacrifices. The second room had a curtain between it and the first room. Only the designated high priest went into this second room – and then only once each year at a predetermined time. Besides having an altar that was made of gold for burning incense in it, the second room had in it the ark of the covenant. Inside the ark of the covenant was a gold jar that had been filled with manna, Aaron’s staff which had budded and the two stone tablets that had written on them the Ten Commandments. The expectation that God – as God the Father, had for His specially chosen guys and gals through the Old Testament missives was that they live their lives by what He mandated them to live them by what the New Testament missives refer to as being the old or first covenant. The new covenant’s worship center is now found embedded in the heart of each one of God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids. The crucifixion of Jesus caused the curtain to be torn in half that separated God’s specially elected guys, gals, and kids from having the most intimate relationship possible between himself or herself with God – as God the Father – which could only be fulfilled in the old or first covenant by the designated high priest when he went into the second room to be in the presence of God – as God the Father. No longer do calves have to be killed in order to have their blood sprinkled as a visual cleansing sign. The blood that poured out of God – as God the Son – Jesus, while He was being crucified, once and for all wiped clean all sin acts out of the lives of each one of God’s specially elected guys, gals and kids.
Have you accepted the new covenant’s truth – that because of Jesus’ suffering on a cross, that you are saved?
Hebrews 9 (639)