SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
04-10-03
My Worship Time Focus: The Old Covenant Disappears
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Hebrews 8:13
“When He said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made
the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready
to disappear.” (NASB) “When God speaks of a new covenant, it means
he made the first one obsolete. It is
now out of date and ready to be put aside.”
(NLT)
As stated before, the New Covenant
is of grace, and it comes through or by the finished work of Jesus Christ on
the cross. The Old Covenant was given to
the people of Israel on Mt. Sinai and it was all of the laws given in the OT,
which is covered in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy. These laws were given to Israel to show them
how to live and how to live before God.
They covered things from what to eat, the laws concerning their
governing of the people, and in them also were laws about sacrifices and of course
the Ten Commandments. These Law were a
type of Jesus Christ and when He came to earth He fulfilled all of the Law so
that when God looks at believers He can say that because they are in Christ they too have
kept the Law perfectly. These Laws also
showed the holiness of God so that when man looked at the Law he could see that
it would be impossible for him to keep the Law and then turn to God for mercy
and grace in order to have a right relationship with God. It must be said that people in the OT that
were believers in God were saved in the same way as those who are believers in
the New Covenant age. Abraham believed
God and it was counted to him for righteousness.
The writer says that the Old
Covenant has become obsolete, and it is not in use any more because Titus and
his Roman legions tore down the Temple in AD 70. There have been no more sacrifices given
since then because there is no more Temple to offer them in. When Jesus was crucified the curtain between
the holy place and the Holy of Holies was torn down from the top to the bottom
which means that God did this to say that the Old Covenant was obsolete.
Spiritual
meaning for my life today: I know
that I have struggled with the use of the Law and what it means to me now that
I have become a believer, but it seems to me that God has been giving me more
insight on this subject as I have been studying the book of Hebrews and also
from the teachings that Pastor Jacobs has been giving from the book of
Romans. I know now that Jesus Christ has
kept the Law for me and that now God has put His Laws in my heart so that I can
live my life in obedience to the Lord.
The Law cannot save me and I can only keep it through the power of the
Holy Spirit living in me. I know that I
have more to learn about this and by God’s grace He will teach me more about
this.
The Word of God was a
challenge to my heart today.
My Steps of Faith Today: To trust the Lord to
get me to bed on time tonight and to give me courage and compassion in my heart
today.
Memory verses for the
week: Psalm 40:9
9.
I have proclaimed glade tidings of righteousness in the
great congregation; Behold I will not restrain my lips, O LORD, Thou knowest.
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