Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001399A
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00:00 [Music] It has stood the test of time,
00:11 God's book, the Bible. Still relevant in today's 00:18 complex world. It Is Written, sharing hope 00:25 around the globe. 00:36 This is It Is Written. I'm John Bradshaw. 00:38 Thanks for joining me today. Today on It Is Written, 00:41 I'm joined by a very special guest. 00:43 We've met before when we talked about the covenants, 00:45 the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, but there's much 00:49 to talk about on these subjects and how the Old 00:52 and New Covenants impact our lives today and what they 00:56 really stand for. My guest is Dr. Skip McCarty 00:59 who for over four decades has been a pastor, a teacher 01:02 and an author. Skip, thanks very much 01:04 for joining me today. SM Thank you John. 01:06 An honor to be here. JB I appreciate this 01:08 opportunity to speak with you about the covenants. 01:10 You have written extensively on this subject. 01:12 You have engaged with theologians and scholars 01:16 from across the Christian spectrum on the subjects 01:18 of the covenants. It's a relevant subject, 01:20 a very pertinent subject today because there is a lot 01:23 of discussion among people who say, well I'm a New Covenant 01:26 Christian. I don't want to be an Old 01:28 Covenant Christian. And I'm sure that's right 01:30 because the covenant God gave us today is the New 01:34 Covenant. What was the first Covenant 01:36 God gave us and before you answer that, 01:39 what's a covenant biblically? What's a covenant biblically 01:41 and what is the first one God gave us? 01:43 SM The covenants in the Bible were different kinds. 01:45 There were covenants between nations, there were covenants 01:48 between individuals such as David 01:50 and Jonathan, they had a covenant with each other. 01:52 But the dominant covenants in the Bible are the covenants 01:55 God made with human beings. And those covenants 01:58 are all God initiated. They are promises God made 02:01 to his people. JB What is or what was 02:04 the original covenant God made with the human family. 02:06 SM I am going to back up even before the human 02:09 family. You can go back in time 02:11 far enough where there was no creation 02:14 and there was only God. And Christianity understands 02:17 God in terms of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 02:21 That's how we understand God. 02:23 Therefore, it can say God is love for eternity past 02:25 because you have Father, Son and Holy Spirit relating 02:27 to one another. Those love bonds, those 02:29 commitments of loyalty to one another, each treating 02:32 the other as they would want to be treated if they 02:34 were in the other's place. That's covenant. 02:36 That's essentially covenant. It's that whole sold commitment 02:40 John Murray, a Presbyterian scholar, he called it 02:42 a whole souled commitment to the other. 02:45 Once God began to bring creation into existence, 02:47 the Angels, they were just folded into that covenant. 02:50 This was the same commitment that was made to them when 02:52 he brought Adam and Eve into the existence, that same 02:55 commitment was made to them. That kind of a covenant 02:57 expects the same kind of commitment back again. 02:59 JB The covenant represents God's total commitment 03:04 to the person he is making a covenant with. 03:06 SM Absolutely. God does expect a whole 03:08 souled commitment back to him. 03:10 There is no question about that. No, it's not a whole list 03:13 of you do this and this and this and this and this 03:15 and then I'll be your God. JB And many people see 03:17 it that way. SM Yeah, well, that's 03:19 a mistake. It was not that way with 03:21 the Angels, it was not that way with the Father, Son or Holy 03:23 Spirit and when Adam and Eve were brought into existence, 03:25 God made that same commitment to them. 03:27 Now he did give them a way that they could express 03:29 their trust in him and that was that tree in the garden 03:32 and they showed their distrust of him which 03:34 is essentially what that was. It was distrusting him but 03:37 every covenant from that point on has been God 03:40 reaffirming. Once Adam and Eve sinned, 03:43 the everlasting covenant from eternity past 03:45 was adapted into a covenant of grace. 03:47 The covenant of grace is the bridge between Eden lost 03:52 and Eden restored. Everything Adam lost, 03:55 the Covenant of Grace, the Everlasting Gospel -- 03:58 the Book of Revelation calls it the Everlasting Gospel -- 04:00 is that Covenant of Grace. Is God's initiative to restore 04:05 to us everything we've lost. So that's the four promises 04:08 we talked about last time I came here, the New Covenant. 04:10 God will write his law in our hearts. 04:12 He'll be our God, we'll be his people. 04:14 Eventually everyone is going to know him and he'll 04:16 forgive us of our sins. That comes into that. 04:18 JB Important to discuss that because many people have 04:20 the idea the Old Covenant was the Ten Commandments, 04:23 obey this and live, the New Covenant is believe in Jesus 04:26 and be saved by grace. You mentioned something 04:29 that isn't often spoken of in discussions 04:32 of the covenants. So we want to accurately 04:35 understand what the covenants are and you've 04:37 expressed them always as being God's expression 04:41 of his commitment to his people and as we participate 04:44 in that covenant our expression of our commitment back 04:46 to him. But you talked about 04:48 an everlasting covenant. And now, where did that come 04:52 from and what's that? SM The everlasting covenant 04:54 came from God who is everlasting. 04:56 The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. That's where it originated 04:59 in the commitments they have made to one another and then 05:01 enfolded the angelic host and the human race into 05:04 that commitment. I am going to turn to one 05:06 passage and that's Isaiah 24 and read verse 5 if you 05:11 would for us. JB The earth is also defiled 05:14 under its in habitants because they have transgressed 05:18 the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting 05:24 covenant. SM Isn't that interesting? 05:27 This is the earth. This is not just a little 05:29 group of people here or there. 05:31 It's not just a nation. It's not just Israel. 05:33 The everlasting covenant involves everyone on 05:36 the earth and the covenants God made with his people, 05:39 for instance, the covenant he made at Sinai, he was just 05:42 grooming them to share with the world the knowledge 05:46 of the everlasting covenant, of God's commitment to everyone 05:48 and that they needed to put their trust in him too 05:52 and have this same experience with God that they were having 05:54 to have restored to them everything that Adam lost 05:57 on their behalf. In Hebrews 13, 05:59 this is the first time that the everlasting covenant 06:02 is associated directly with Jesus in Hebrews 13:20. 06:08 Why don't you read that for us if you would? 06:10 JB Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord 06:14 Jesus from the dead, the great shepherd of the sheep 06:18 through the blood of the everlasting covenant 06:21 make you complete in every good work to do his will. 06:23 SM Exactly. Isaiah said there is 06:25 an everlasting covenant the whole earth has broken. 06:28 In Hebrews it says when Jesus died it was his blood 06:31 of the everlasting covenant. He atoned for the sins 06:35 of the whole world and gave his life for them so they could 06:38 be restored to wholeness again. 06:40 JB When do we find talk in the Bible 06:44 of the Old Covenant? SM The term Old Covenant 06:47 first shows up in the New Testament. 06:50 It doesn't occur anywhere in the Old Testament. 06:52 The term New Covenant does in Jeremiah, after 06:54 the exile, when they are in Babylon for 70 years 06:58 and Jeremiah 31 God said I'm going to make a New Covenant 07:02 with you. JB It's worthwhile reading 07:04 that. Can I look at that? 07:06 It starts in verse 31. SM Yes. 07:08 JB Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, 07:10 when I will make a New Covenant with the House of Israel 07:12 and with the House of Judah. Not according to the covenant 07:15 that I made with their fathers in the day that I took 07:18 them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. 07:21 My covenant, which they broke, though I was a husband 07:25 to them, says the Lord. But this is the Covenant 07:28 that I will make with the House of Israel after those days, 07:30 says the Lord. I will put my law in their 07:33 minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their 07:37 God and they shall be my people and verse 34 goes on 07:41 to say, no more shall every man teach his neighbor 07:44 and every man his brother saying know the Lord for they all 07:48 shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest 07:50 of them says the Lord. For I will forgive their 07:52 iniquity and their sin I will remember no more. 07:55 SM Okay this is the new expression of New Covenant. 07:57 JB And it's in the Old Testament. 07:59 SM It's in the Old Testament and it's talking about God 08:02 is renewing his covenant with his people, with Israel, 08:05 that he had made with him at Sinai. 08:07 These same promises occur in the Sinai covenant, 08:10 they incur all through the Old Testament. 08:12 There is New Covenant all the way through 08:14 the Old Testament. JB Which means, then, 08:16 that the Old Covenant isn't the Old Testament and the New 08:18 Covenant, the New Testament, which is commonly talked about. 08:20 SM Yes. There's an element of truth 08:22 to that. Once Jesus came, there was 08:25 something so significant about that that the Book 08:27 of Hebrews does talk about the whole period before Jesus 08:31 came as being Old Covenant, all the sacrifices and all 08:35 the temple ritual and so forth, that was Old Covenant. 08:38 When Jesus came, the ritual changed. 08:41 We still have ceremonies. We still have 08:43 ceremonial law. Our ceremonies are baptism 08:45 and the Lord's supper. There is still ceremonial 08:47 laws but that changed because all of those other 08:49 ceremonies were looking forward to Jesus coming, 08:51 the ceremonies we now have look back on his coming. 08:54 The moral law didn't change, it is still the same moral 08:56 standard, it is still the same standard for sin. 08:58 But the ceremonies change. In that sense, you do have 09:01 a historical Old and New Covenant. 09:04 But that's not what the New Testament is focusing on. 09:06 When the New Testament talks about the two covenants 09:08 it's talking about something vastly different. 09:10 JB We are going to have to talk about that in just 09:12 a moment. We'll be back with more on 09:14 the covenants with Dr. Skip McCarty, right ahead. 09:17 [music] When you hear the word "heaven" 09:26 what comes to your mind? If it's little more than harps 09:29 and clouds, my guess is you might not be too excited about 09:31 spending an eternity there! But the Bible has good 09:34 news for you! Heaven is a very real place 09:37 for real people! And God has great things 09:40 in store for you there. If you'd like to know 09:42 what the Bible says about heaven, let me 09:44 send you a booklet called, "As Good As It Gets" 09:46 It's absolutely FREE. Just call 09:49 (800) 253-3000 and ask for 09:52 "As Good As It Gets." If the line's busy, 09:55 do keep on trying. You can write to: 09:57 It Is Written, P.O. Box 6, Chattanooga, TN 37401, 10:02 and we'll mail a free copy to your address 10:04 in North America. Our toll-free number is 10:07 1 (800) 253-3000, and our web address is 10:10 ItIsWritten.com. 10:15 This is It Is Written and I'm John Bradshaw 10:18 and my guest today is Dr. Skip McCarty and we are talking 10:20 about the covenants, the Old Covenant and the New 10:24 Covenant and Skip, must a moment ago you mentioned 10:28 something that is going to take our conversation a little bit 10:31 deeper. There is an historical 10:34 element to the covenants and an experiential element 10:39 to the covenants. SM Correct. 10:41 JB There was an Old Covenant and there is a New Covenant. 10:44 Jesus stood between the two covenants historically 10:48 but what do you mean when you say there is an experiential 10:50 component? SM In the writings of Paul, 10:52 when he is talking about the covenants, he is talking 10:54 about something that God himself hinted at when 10:57 he gave the New Covenant in the book of Hebrews. 10:59 When he gave the New Covenant in Hebrews 8, he said it's not 11:02 going to be like the covenant I made with those 11:04 I brought out of Egypt because they weren't 11:06 faithful to my covenant. That was the difference. 11:09 It was a matter of faithfulness. So God himself said what's 11:12 going to be different about the New Covenant is I'm 11:14 expecting a different response than I got at 11:16 At Sinai, people said we'll do it all, we'll do everything 11:19 you said but they didn't. They immediately made 11:21 a golden calf. JB Sure. 11:23 SM God says I want a different response from this generation 11:25 and so what he's talking about here is how people respond 11:29 to the gospel message. Jesus said that which 11:32 is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born 11:34 of the spirit is spirit. You must be born again 11:36 and so if we stay in the flesh, and that can be a rebellious 11:39 response to God or a religious response to God. 11:42 Religious response is where we just do what we think 11:45 is right and think that's going to put God in our debt. 11:48 We'll merit eternal life. That's all Old Covenant. 11:51 And the other side, being born of the Spirit, being 11:54 born according to the Spirit is New Covenant. 11:57 JB So what you're saying, there's a historical component 12:00 to the covenants, Jesus stood between the two covenants 12:03 historically, but there is an experiential 12:06 component where somebody living in this very modern 12:08 age can have a very Old Covenant experience. 12:11 SM That's what he's warning against. 12:13 JB Tell me how a person in practical terms today 12:15 can have an Old Covenant experience. 12:17 SM Okay. JB You might be living under 12:19 the Old Covenant even if you attend a church that says 12:22 New Covenant church right on the sign, if. 12:24 SM That's true. I've knocked on many doors 12:27 in my life just talking to people about the gospel 12:29 and somebody says well I don't really need what you're 12:33 offering because I think I live a good life. 12:35 I live a good enough life. If there's an after life, 12:37 I think I'll be okay. It's the law of Karma. 12:40 The law of Karma says I'm going to get coming back 12:43 to me. If I don't get it all 12:45 in this life I'm gonna get it in the next life either 12:47 good or bad. The Gospel isn't Karma. 12:50 The Gospel is total faith in Jesus Christ. 12:53 His blood of the everlasting covenant is what washes away 12:56 my sins. His promise to write his law 12:59 in my heart and mind is what empowers me to live a godly 13:02 life and that's a process. If I think going to church 13:06 is going to help get me salvation, just going to 13:10 church - that's not going to do it. 13:12 I have to have total dependence on the grace 13:14 of Jesus Christ's sacrifice for me and his promise to change 13:17 my life. That's new covenant. 13:19 JB So secular people, without realizing it, can 13:22 have an Old Covenant attitude. 13:24 SM Exactly. JB and modern New Testament 13:26 church going Christians can be under the Old Covenant. 13:28 SM John, we are born Old Covenant. 13:31 Every human being is born in Old Covenant. 13:33 .We have to be converted to become New Covenant people. 13:36 That's what Paul has in mind here. 13:38 Those who are born of the flesh are Old Covenant. 13:40 That's what he calls Old Covenant. 13:43 Those who are born of the Spirit are New Covenant. 13:45 So He is saying if you are Old Covenant, you will not 13:48 inherit eternal life. So John, if the Old Covenant 13:51 is the Covenant God made with the people at Sinai, 13:54 that would be saying that anyone who is faithful 13:57 to that covenant, as God asked them to me, cannot have 14:00 everlasting life. That's why we absolutely, 14:02 positively know that it's not talking about 14:05 any covenant he had made previously. 14:07 It's talking about their response, an illegitimate 14:09 response, a legalistic or a rebellious response 14:11 to the gospel. That's totally what the Old 14:13 Covenant is in Paul's thinking. 14:15 JB That's serious, isn't it? Because there are Christians 14:17 today who, based on their attitude towards the gospel, 14:22 might be Old Covenant Christians because of 14:25 the experience they are having rather than New Covenant 14:28 Christians because they are missing something vital 14:30 with Jesus Christ. SM That's true. 14:32 And it has nothing to do with Oh, I believe in the Ten 14:34 Commandments, therefore you must be Old Covenant. 14:36 It has nothing to do with that. 14:38 It's how we are responding to God in faith. 14:40 Or if I'm responding to God and I say, Oh, I put faith 14:42 in God but I don't want anything to do with 14:44 the transformation of my life. The New Covenant is I'm 14:46 going to write my law in your hearts. 14:48 I am going to forgive you but I am going to write my 14:50 law in your hearts as well. It's a total submission 14:53 to God, it's a total submission to God to do everything 14:55 he wants to do for us in this life. 14:57 JB and entering into the transformation he wants to 14:59 bring into our lives. SM Exactly. 15:01 JB Let's pick up on more and that in just a minute. 15:03 A great discussion with Dr. Skip McCarty. 15:04 I'll look forward to talking with you more about this 15:06 in just a moment. 15:08 [music] Every Word is a one-minute 15:10 Bible-based daily devotional presented by Pastor John 15:13 Bradshaw and designed especially for busy people like you. 15:16 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch 15:19 it on-line everyday on our website, itiswritten.com. 15:25 [music] A very practical verse today 15:33 that you can use in powerful ways. 15:36 Romans 6:11 says, "Reckon ye also yourselves 15:39 to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through 15:43 Jesus Christ our Lord." This is direct instruction from 15:45 Paul, but not many people follow His advice. 15:48 He's saying that in a person's daily battle with sin, 15:51 that person can simply reckon - or consider - himself 15:54 or herself to be dead to sin. You never saw a dead person 15:58 smoke a cigarette or lose his temper, because that person 16:01 is dead. So when we believe, reckon, consider that we are 16:04 dead to sin, sin loses its power over us. 16:08 When temptation comes today, try this. Quote Romans 6:11, 16:11 remind yourself that you are dead to sin but alive 16:13 to Jesus Christ. Call on the Lord, and experience 16:16 the power of sin being broken in your life. 16:20 I'm John Bradshaw for It Is Written. 16:22 Let's live today by Every Word. 16:25 It Is Written is a ministry dedicated to sharing the gospel 16:28 around the world. God is using It Is Written 16:31 to impact the world. Our television program is only 16:34 one aspect of how we accomplish that goal. 16:37 To discover more about It Is Written, visit our 16:40 website: itiswritten.com, browse the dozens of pages 16:43 that describe what we do and how we're doing it. 16:46 You'll find an archive of past television programs in script 16:49 form and as streaming video and audio files along with 16:52 many other helpful inspirational resources. 16:55 Let's get to know each other better, visit our website: 16:58 itiswritten.com --today. And follow us online, 17:02 at Facebook and Twitter. 17:06 I'm glad you've joined me today on It Is Written. 17:09 My guest is Skip McCarty and our discussion is centering 17:13 on the covenants, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. 17:16 And Skip, what we find in the Bible is that God wants 17:19 everybody to have a New Covenant experience. 17:22 SM Amen. Old Testament, New Testament, 17:24 it doesn't matter when they lived, he wants them 17:26 to have a New Covenant experience. 17:28 It's the only way for salvation. 17:30 JB So somebody in the Old Testament living, it was God's 17:32 will that that person have a New Covenant 17:34 experience. SM All those people 17:36 in Hebrews 11. They didn't have the Old 17:38 Covenant experience that Paul is talking about 17:40 in Galatians 4. They had a New Covenant 17:42 experience. JB Tell me how somebody 17:44 living in the Old Covenant times could have an Old 17:46 Covenant experience as opposed to a New Covenant 17:48 experience. SM Oh easy. 17:50 In Isaiah 1, God is saying you perform the sacrifices, 17:52 you go to the festivals but you are oppressing people. 17:54 He says I hate your sacrifices. You need to live 17:57 a godly life. In other words, they weren't 18:00 fully embracing the promise God had given them 18:03 to transform their hearts. It's very clear God wanted 18:05 love first. Love me and keep my 18:08 commandments. And Love for God and love 18:11 for others was always at the top of the list 18:14 of His commandments. It always was. 18:16 And so God says you're not loving people, then the ritual 18:18 means nothing to me. So people who say I'll treat 18:21 people, I'll cheat them in business, I'll get as rich 18:23 as I can and oppress the poor but yet I'll do 18:27 the sacrifices and I'll perform the rituals. 18:29 God says no, it's not what it's about. 18:31 That is Old Covenant. JB New Covenant, it seems 18:34 very clear, involves a transformation in the life. 18:37 SM Absolutely. JB God said if you love me, 18:39 I'll write my law in your hearts. 18:43 SM Exactly. JB Now you would say 18:45 that that law that he is talking about 18:47 is the Ten Commandments. Can we be certain 18:49 about that? SM It's at least 18:51 the Ten Commandments. It's at least the Ten 18:53 Commandments. That's the law that God 18:55 is writing on our hearts. JB And saying that a person 18:57 is going to keep the Ten Commandments is not legalism. 18:59 SM It can be legalism if that is all they think about, 19:02 is the Ten Commandments and obeying those in order 19:04 to get to heaven. That can be legalism. 19:06 But a person who sincerely seeks God, who trusts God 19:08 to do the work in them they can't do for themselves, 19:10 to make them godly people, loving people, and obedient 19:14 to His commandments, of course. 19:16 But the commandments become promises. 19:18 Once a person becomes a believer and converted, 19:21 they are ten promises. JB And that's the New 19:23 Covenant experience. SM Yes it is. 19:25 JB You know, there's another passage that I have been 19:28 asked about frequently that deals with this. 19:31 It's found in 2 Corinthians 3. Would you mind looking 19:34 at that with me? SM Yes. 19:36 JB What do we say about this passage that Paul 19:38 was talking about here. In fact, you know, it has 19:41 a little heading right here in this Bible, glory 19:43 of the New Covenant. SM In 2 Corinthians 3 19:45 it's very much like his letter to the Galations 19:49 in his discussion of the two covenants there. 19:51 So we bring that mindset here and we find out exactly 19:54 the same thing going on here because what he does here 19:56 is he contrasts New Covenant and another covenant here 19:59 that he has in mind. He says we're ministers 20:03 of the New Covenant, not of the letter. 20:06 He calls the other the letter that many people 20:09 refer to the Sinai Covenant. You have parallel columns 20:13 again where he has Old Covenant and he says the Old 20:15 Covenant is the letter and the New Covenant 20:18 is the Spirit. The Old Covenant is written 20:20 on stone and the New Covenant is written on the heart. 20:22 The Old Covenant is condemnation and death. 20:25 The New Covenant is righteousness and life 20:27 and when you go down those columns, you find out if you 20:31 just have the items he puts in the Old Covenant, 20:33 you have an unsaved person. It's talking about 20:35 an unconverted person. So what you have is the Old 20:38 Covenant again is an unbelieving response to the gospel. 20:42 A rejection of it or a legalistic response to it 20:45 and the New Covenant being a faith-embrace 20:47 of the gospel, allowing God to do everything in us 20:49 he wants to do and he is going to change us from one 20:51 degree of glory to the other by the Spirit who does 20:54 this work in us. That's New Covenant. 20:56 No matter when a person lived, they had to have 20:58 that experience and that is New Covenant. 21:00 JB So the covenants that God made with his people back 21:02 in Old Testament times were gospel-revealing covenants. 21:06 SM Exactly. Each one in capsuled 21:08 the gospel to be shared with the people of the world 21:10 around them. It was the same gospel 21:12 throughout. Paul said in Galations 1 21:14 there's one gospel. There is no other gospel. 21:16 If anybody preaches a different gospel, that would 21:18 be Adam, that would be Moses, that would be anybody 21:21 in the Old Testament who preached a different gospel, 21:24 Paul said let him be accursed. JB God wants people today 21:27 to have New Covenant experience with Him. 21:30 SM Exactly. JB Explain to somebody right 21:32 now how they can have a New Covenant experience 21:38 with God, what that is going to look like, what it will do 21:40 for them. SM Okay. 21:42 Every human being, John, no matter who they are, 21:44 is going to have times in their life when they are under 21:48 conviction by God. You can't get away 21:50 from that, no matter where you are, whether you have even 21:53 heard of Jesus or not. You are going to come under 21:55 conviction by the Spirit of God that there is something wrong, 21:58 you need something more. Now people can try to make 22:01 a transformation in their life but that's futile too make 22:03 that ultimate change that God is asking us to make, 22:06 and so they come to the place where they say God, 22:08 help me! And God comes 22:11 into the picture. There's conversion. 22:13 The Spirit of God brings a new life into them 22:15 and the Bible calls that the new birth. 22:17 That's the New Covenant experience and then 22:19 it's a matter of continuing to trust God, trust his 22:21 promises, trust those promises. God says I'm going to write 22:24 my law in your mind. I'm going to forgive you. 22:26 Don't keep bringing up the past. 22:28 Don't keep worrying about the past. 22:30 I am going to forgive you for that. 22:32 Let's go on from here. I'm going to do a new thing 22:34 in your life and I am going to be your God, and you are 22:36 going to be my child even when things go rough for you 22:38 when you fall, I'm still your God, you're still my child. 22:41 We are going to get through this together. 22:43 The New Covenant is God promising people He is going 22:45 to do for them what they can't do and He is going 22:47 to save them. It's his promise. 22:49 I am guaranteeing you, I will save you. 22:51 Just don't run away from me. Hang on to me. 22:53 Hang on to me. I am going to save you. 22:55 I am going to make your life more meaningful here than 22:57 you have ever dreamed here on this earth. 22:59 JB Allowing God to be in our life that which he wants 23:01 to be. SM Yes. 23:04 JB To make us what he wants us to be. 23:05 SM Yes. JB The discussion when we 23:06 get into well New Covenant you don't keep the commandments, 23:08 Old Covenant you do keep the commandments. 23:10 It's really a smoke screen, isn't it? 23:11 SM It's not in the New Testament. 23:13 It doesn't exist there. That kind of thinking does 23:14 not exist there. Paul is not talking, when he 23:16 is talking about the Old Covenant, he is not talking 23:18 about the covenant God made with his people at Sinai. 23:21 Particularly the moral laws God gave his people 23:23 at Sinai. Paul himself said 23:24 if it wasn't for the 10th Commandment, Thou shall 23:26 not covet, I would not even know I was a sinner. 23:28 He thought he was living a perfect life. 23:29 He says that in Philippians 3. Before the law, 23:32 I was faultless. There is no argumentation 23:34 in the New Testament against the commandments of God, 23:37 against the Ten Commandments. Absolutely not. 23:39 It's only against this rebellious attitude 23:41 toward them. Once you understand 23:43 that's what the Old Covenant is about, it's about a faulty 23:45 response to God, an unbelieving response or a legalistic 23:48 response to God, New Covenant is a faith-response 23:50 to God, totally trusting his grace. 23:52 It's our response to the law, it's a perversion of the law 23:55 that he has in mind. If he is talking negatively 23:57 about it, that's what he is talking about. 23:59 He's not talking about a faith response to God's law, 24:01 see it as now the promise of God. 24:04 JB We've covered some ground today. 24:05 I'm thankful to you for taking the time and I want 24:07 to encourage you, friend, to know that God wants you 24:12 to have a New Covenant experience. 24:15 When you will come to God by faith and say here I am, 24:19 take me and do whatever it is you want to do in my 24:22 life, you are entering into a New Covenant experience 24:24 with God. You see, when God enters 24:27 your life and writes his law in your heart, when Jesus 24:29 begins to live his life in you, what once might have 24:33 seemed impossible to you becomes possible. 24:35 You love the things you used to hate and maybe hate some 24:38 things you used to love and you find your life trending 24:41 in the very direction that God wants it to go. 24:43 Friend, there is only one thing, and that is to enter into 24:45 a New Covenant experience with Jesus. 24:48 Let him write his law in your heart. 24:51 Respond to him by saying as Jesus said to his Father, 24:54 not my will, but your will be done. 24:58 When you say to Jesus, let me have a New Covenant 25:00 experience with you, your life is going to bloom, 25:03 your joy will be full, you'll be walking with Jesus 25:07 the way he wants you to walk and you can look forward 25:10 with great certainty to the wonderful day 25:12 when Jesus comes to take you home. 25:16 [music] 25:26 When you hear the word "heaven" what comes to your mind? 25:29 If it's little more than harps and clouds. 25:32 My guess is you might not be too excited about spending 25:34 an eternity there! But the Bible has good news 25:37 for you! Heaven is a very real place 25:39 for real people! And God has great things 25:42 in store for you there. If you'd like to know what the 25:45 Bible says about heaven, let me send you a booklet 25:47 called, "As Good As It Gets." It's absolutely FREE. 25:50 Just call (800) 253-3000 and ask for 25:54 "As Good As It Gets." If the line's busy, 25:57 do keep on trying. You can write to: 25:59 It Is Written, P.O. Box 6, Chattanooga, TN 37401, 26:04 and we'll mail a free copy to your address in North America. 26:07 It Is Written is a faith-based ministry supported by people 26:10 like you. Your help makes it possible 26:13 for us to share God's good news with the world. 26:16 Your tax-deductible gift can be sent to the address on 26:19 your screen, or you can support us online at ItIsWritten.com. 26:22 Thank you for your continued prayerful support. 26:26 Our toll-free number is 1 (800) 253-3000, 26:29 and our web address is ItIsWritten.com. 26:35 Do you have a New Covenant experience today? 26:38 It's the experience that God wants you to have. 26:40 Dr. McCarty, thanks for making this clear 26:43 for us today. I'm just so thankful 26:45 you've taken the time. Friend, I want to pray 26:48 for you that you can have that experience with Jesus 26:50 that he wants you to have, an experience that is vital 26:53 and vibrant, that even when there are times 26:55 of challenges, God can get you through, an experience 26:58 where the Lord's will is done and you are made a new creature 27:00 in Christ. Let's pray for that now. 27:04 Father in heaven, thank you for giving us a New Covenant 27:06 experience, where we can open up our hearts to you 27:09 and allow you to be the God in our life, and allow Jesus 27:13 to work in us both to will and to do 27:15 for his good pleasure. May we not choose 27:18 to be Old Covenant Christians, trusting our own works, 27:22 doing our own thing in order to secure salvation. 27:25 But may we trust fully in you. 27:27 Give us the grace today to lean on Jesus and expect 27:31 His will to be done. This we pray, thanking you 27:35 in Jesus' name, amen. 27:40 [Music] 27:54 Thank you for joining me today. 27:56 I look forward to seeing you next time. 27:58 Until then, remember, it is written, man shall not 28:00 live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds 28:04 from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2016-05-17