The name of the lesson is why the old covenant is obsolete Part 1 of the article.
I’ve been reading Andy Stanley’s new book, Irresistible: Reclaiming the New That Jesus Unleashed for the World. His main contention in the book is that pastors ought to “unhitch [their] teaching of what it means to follow Jesus from all things old covenant” because the Old Testament is a “stumbling block to faith”—an unnecessary stumbling block, since that covenant is obsolete.
Regular readers of this site know I agree with Stanley that the Mosaic Covenant God made with Israel is obsolete. (See “Why We’re Not Under the Mosaic Law” and “Should Followers of Christ Observe the Torah?” where I go through several passages that explain our relationship as followers of Christ to the laws of the Mosaic Covenant.) The “obsolete” language comes from Hebrews 8:7–13:
For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says,
“Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,When I will effect a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;Not like the covenant which I made with their fathersOn the day when I took them by the handTo lead them out of the land of Egypt;For they did not continue in My covenant,And I did not care for them, says the Lord.“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of IsraelAfter those days, says the Lord:I will put My laws into their minds,And I will write them on their hearts.And I will be their God,And they shall be My people….”
When [God] said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
Though I agree with Stanley that the Mosaic Covenant is obsolete, I have many concerns about the book, and I think the root of those concerns may be his understanding of why the Old Covenant is obsolete. His misunderstanding here leads to his faulty conclusion of how Christians today ought to view and interact with the Old Testament, not just the laws of the Old Covenant.
Bible verse of Part 1 of the article King James version
Hebrews chapter 8 7-13
7
For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8
For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: Jer 31:31
9
Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. Jer 31:32
10
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Jer 31:33 Heb 10:16
11
And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. Jer 31:34
12
For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. Jer 31:34 Heb 10:17
13
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Jer 31:31
Note; Remember, when Jesus on the cross said it is finished; he was talking about the old covenant. It was obsolete once he went to his father in heaven. A new covenant was put in place at that time. So many churches and pastors are studying it even though it is not important because it is obsolete. We are doing this for this week for your understanding of why Jesus made the old covenant obsolete and made a new covenant.
I just want you to realize what the article has told you and you will also realize over the next couple of days. We feel that this article is very important and true to read about. We did not write any of it accept for the note, prayers, and other information. From the note down we wrote but none of the other stuff we did. The article is in 3 parts.
closing prayer; Heavenly Father, we pray that during this minis series to the end of Saturday that people get off of the old covenant and not the new, and what it means to christians. We ask that Jesus help them do that. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.
For those who wish to become a child of our heavenly Lord, or strengthen thier faith, please pray the following prayer below.
Dear Heavenly Father, I want to be a part of your family. You said in Your Word that if I acknowledge that You raised Jesus from the dead, and that I accept Him as my Lord and Savior, I would be saved. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for forgiving me, saving me, and giving me eternal life with You. Amen!”
By saying this prayer, we believe you are born again.
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