The Covenants of God and the 10 Commandments.
To frame part of that study I have reprinted part of an article by Andy Stanley on how he views the relationship between the Old Covenant and the New.
The following is part of an article that recently appeared in the magazine ‘Relevant’.
Andy was decrying how Christians get bent out of shape because our culture keeps removing monuments of the Ten Commandments.
He then says Jesus only gave us One commandment- “Love one another “ Then he asserts:
“Hear me out.
The Ten Commandments are from the old covenant.
The Ten Commandments played a significant role in God’s creation of the nation of Israel. It gave them moral guidelines and helped separate this new nation from their neighbors.
This was part of the formal agreement (or covenant) God created with his people, but Jesus’ death and resurrection signaled the end of that covenant and all the rules and regulations associated with it.
Jesus didn’t issue his new command as an additional commandment to the existing list of commands. He didn’t say, “Here’s the 614th law.” Jesus issued his new commandment as a replacement for everything in the existing list. Including the big ten. Just as his new covenant replaced the old covenant, Jesus’ new commandment replaced all the old commandments.
Participants in the new covenant (that’s Christians) are not required to obey any of the commandments found in the first part of their Bibles. Participants in the new covenant are expected to obey the single command Jesus issued as part of his new covenant: as I have loved you, so you must love one another.
The new covenant replaced the old one. The covenant established by Jesus retired the covenant God established with the nation of Israel. This is why most Christians don’t mind a little bacon with their eggs. It’s why you can’t get either at Chick-fil-A on Sunday. (If we were still taking our marching orders from the old covenant, they would be closed on Saturday.)
Thanks to the new covenant, we aren’t required to sacrifice animals to stay on speaking terms with God. Skim through Leviticus and you’ll discover a whole lot of things we aren’t required to do…
The justifications Christians have used since the fourth century to mistreat people find their roots in old covenant practices and values. Imagine trying to leverage the Sermon on the Mount to start an inquisition, launch a crusade, or incite a pogrom against Jews. But reach back into the old covenant, and there’s plenty to work with.
The early church moved past the old covenant—why haven’t we?”
(To read the article in its entirety go to Relevant magazine on-line. Also, to read some good rebuttals of Andy’s view go to Desiring God, John Piper and the Gospel coalition’s website.
They have excellent articles on the subject.)
So… What do you think? Are Christians wrong to want monuments to the 10 commandments at schools and courthouses? Andy’s ultra dispensationalism as well as his attachment to theological “attractianism” has led him down a dangerous road of deleting large portions of the Bible he doesn’t find convenient.
His move to downplay the O.T. has led him on to thin ice and down the road of modern inclusivism.
We will explore more this morning in “A God of Covenant – part2”
Because of grace,
Tim
