This topic is actually broad enough to warrant a doctoral dissertation. However, one aspect of it can involve merely the way a person is justified before a holy God. Many confuse the first binding agreement with the law of Moses. It is not really a case of the Old Covenant vs New Covenant, but a continuous provision by God for man's salvation. God gave His law but also provided a way to fulfill it, which man could never do.
God initiated the first binding agreement - or covenant - with Abram. He called this man out of Haran and Abram came, trusting in the promises the Lord made to him about many descendants and a land to call their own. This account is given in the book of Genesis, starting in the twelfth chapter. Abram's trust - or faith - in God's promises is one of the great foundations of Christianity.
Genesis chapter 15 relates the actual making of the covenant, in which the Lord prophesies about Abram's descendants. The ceremony is performed as a sign to Abram that he would really get possession of the 'promised land'. A blazing torch passes between pieces of sacrificed animals while Abram is in a deep sleep; presumably he sees and hears the Lord promise to give him the land from Egypt to the Euphrates River in a dream.
Many think the first agreement involves the law of Moses. However, the law came centuries after the Lord bound Himself with promises to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. The law was made up of regulations that set forth the way Abraham's descendants should live, much like regulations structure society today. People need to obey the rules of the road when driving their own cars, for instance.
The law of Moses was complex, but the actual intent of the Lord in choosing a people was to establish relationships with children who would faithfully follow Him. He instituted animal sacrifice as atonement for breaking the rules; this made it possible for men to show repentance for mistakes that would otherwise separate them from their holy God.
Even in the days when the first agreement was still in force, the scriptures foretold the second one which would do away with ritual animal sacrifice and substitute the body and blood of our savior, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament contains many prophetic passages that tell of the coming Messiah. Belief in Jesus and sincere repentance of sin would be the new way to salvation.
The old and new covenants are different, but the intent of God does not change. He wants relationship with man, but He cannot exist with sin. God's love is unconditional and everlasting, but He retains the right of judgement and the right to define the way to salvation. He requires men and women to accept responsibility for personal sin and accept the sacrifice that atones for it. This preserves justice, another attribute of God.
Under both covenants, the state of a person's heart is the real test. No sacrifice could or can replace a sincere love of God and dedication to obedience and worship.
God initiated the first binding agreement - or covenant - with Abram. He called this man out of Haran and Abram came, trusting in the promises the Lord made to him about many descendants and a land to call their own. This account is given in the book of Genesis, starting in the twelfth chapter. Abram's trust - or faith - in God's promises is one of the great foundations of Christianity.
Genesis chapter 15 relates the actual making of the covenant, in which the Lord prophesies about Abram's descendants. The ceremony is performed as a sign to Abram that he would really get possession of the 'promised land'. A blazing torch passes between pieces of sacrificed animals while Abram is in a deep sleep; presumably he sees and hears the Lord promise to give him the land from Egypt to the Euphrates River in a dream.
Many think the first agreement involves the law of Moses. However, the law came centuries after the Lord bound Himself with promises to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. The law was made up of regulations that set forth the way Abraham's descendants should live, much like regulations structure society today. People need to obey the rules of the road when driving their own cars, for instance.
The law of Moses was complex, but the actual intent of the Lord in choosing a people was to establish relationships with children who would faithfully follow Him. He instituted animal sacrifice as atonement for breaking the rules; this made it possible for men to show repentance for mistakes that would otherwise separate them from their holy God.
Even in the days when the first agreement was still in force, the scriptures foretold the second one which would do away with ritual animal sacrifice and substitute the body and blood of our savior, Jesus Christ. The Old Testament contains many prophetic passages that tell of the coming Messiah. Belief in Jesus and sincere repentance of sin would be the new way to salvation.
The old and new covenants are different, but the intent of God does not change. He wants relationship with man, but He cannot exist with sin. God's love is unconditional and everlasting, but He retains the right of judgement and the right to define the way to salvation. He requires men and women to accept responsibility for personal sin and accept the sacrifice that atones for it. This preserves justice, another attribute of God.
Under both covenants, the state of a person's heart is the real test. No sacrifice could or can replace a sincere love of God and dedication to obedience and worship.
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