I recently had someone ask me if I really thought the Church was Israel? That he could not see one piece of scripture to support the Church was Israel. I believe a better way to ask the question is their one or two covenants in force, for God's people today?
A majority of Roman Catholicism and Reformation Theology has spent a large amount of time trying to harmonize the Old Testament and New Testament. This has ushered into the church false teaching and evil. Both Catholics and Protestants used this approach to justify wars, colonialism and national theocracies. Since the Mid 1800's another movement has evolved, the Premillennnialism dispensationalists, due to their prophecy speculation, keep both the Old and New Covenant alive and active. All of the above approaches, try to Meld both the Old and New together. It is the purpose of this paper to assert that their is only one active covenant with God's people, the New Testament!
When I talk of the Old Covenant, the Law, or the Mosaic law I am talking primarily about the Pentateuch which as given to Israel to create a national theocracy in the Land of Canaan. The first effort to make the church into a theocracy can be traced to the Constantine and the church leaders of his day. ( 306-337 A.D) This also led to the establishment of the Holy Roman Catholic Church and the Papacy. Almost a thousand years later when the Protestant reformation happened, most of the reformer kept a theocracy view.
This practice led to the false teaching of Elders or Pastors becoming the Levitical priesthood and Christians as mere spectators. The great commission became nothing more that establishing little Israels' all over the world. Those not practising the state religion were Canaanites, which must be punished by death.
This short paragraph is really just a glimpse of the evil this brought to God's people everywhere and continues to affect our practices today. Let me give you a few false assumptions that Theocrats make.
1. The Mosaic law supersedes the New Testament and the New Testament must be interpreted by the use of the O.T.
2. If you are God's chosen ones, then the area you live in must now be the new Zion.
3. The state is a direct representative of God Almighty, so any opposition to your government must be conquered by war or death.
4. The OT was spiritualized so Moses sprinkling blood on the People (Ex 24:3-8) became Holy Water sprinkled on the people. The Sabbath became Sunday and national laws were set up with punishments.
5. Material prosperity and military victory were signs of God's favor. This has become the seeds of the modern health and wealth gospel.
6. Your country became to Promised Land, even though Jesus denounced the concept that government should be a theocracy. "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” Matthew 22:21
The American Restoration Movement began in the early 1800's as a result of the Second Great Awakening. Because this movement was founded on America's frontier they were neither Protestant or Catholic. The early leaders were influenced by John Locke and several different reformers. This Big tent led them to find their doctrine in a a Pre-Constantine early Apostolic church. This led to three revolutionary teachings for their day; 1. The New Testament supersedes the Old Testament. 2. The New Testament provides the Official harmony of the Old Testament. How the Apostles handled the Mosaic Covenant became the practice of the Restoration movement. This led them to the saying;
3. "Where the Scriptures speak, we speak, we speak, and where they are silent, we are silent." What if the New Testament does not address an OT Issue then it is irrelevant to our salvation and we remain silent.
Back to the question; Is there one or two covenants active for God's people? I teach I believe biblically, that only the New Covenant is enforce for God's people today. Jesus become the surety of a better covenant. Hebrews 7:22 ASV I will now move to offer you several biblical reasons this is true. Understand in fairness that my prejudice is the Stone-Campbell movement and because of that a reliance on the New Testament Scriptures.
Be God's
Roger Miller
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