Covenant Contrasts Part 4
(The old covenant verses that you will read in this series are true. They are God-breathed Scripture. But their time is over. They have no bearing on our new covenant lives with Jesus. Yet they are taught Sunday after Sunday as words to live by. They fill our Christian books, devotionals, and sermons. This mixed covenant message leads to confusion, frustration, angst, and a huge lack of confidence in our life with Jesus. And this way of teaching must come to an end. May you grow in the knowledge and grace of the new covenant as we study these covenant contrasts together.)
Another highlight of God’s old covenant arrangement is the phrase “OBEY and LIVE.” In the book of Deuteronomy, for example, when the Israelites were poised to enter the promised land, God restated His old covenant promise. “I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the LORD your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it” (Deuteronomy 30:16).
God make clear the responsibility of the people under the old covenant arrangement. And it can be summarized in one word, “Obey!” “If you obey …” appears in one form or another four times in Deuteronomy chapter 30 alone (vs 3, 8, 10, 16). And the promise of God is very straightforward. Obey and choose life (Deuteronomy 30:19). Obey and live. These are the terms of the old covenant.
Compare this to the new covenant with its whole new arrangement. “Obey” is no longer in the equation. Under the new covenant, the promise to us is, “BELIEVE and LIVE.” “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). We passed from death to life when we BELIEVED the gospel message of Jesus Christ. We passed from death to life BEFORE any obedient living on our part.
We received eternal life (John 5:24). We received resurrection life (John 11:25). We received abundant life (John 10:10). Is “OBEY” important for new covenant saints? Yes! But it comes AFTER the “BELIEVE and LIVE.” It comes AFTER Christ has imparted His eternal resurrection abundant life into us. We OBEY as we learn and grow and mature into living according to our new identity as a beloved child of God.
The word “obedience” can be a trigger for those raised in a law-keeping system. Years ago, my wife was mentoring a young woman who was newly discovering grace and leaving behind a legalistic mindset and lifestyle. One of her first requests of Rhonda was, “Don’t talk to me about obedience!” Her rule-keeping background had turned obedience into a chain.
So if the word “obedience” carries a negative connotation from your past, let me offer you this. I like to use the word “alignment” for expressing my new walk with Christ as my life. Empowered by the Spirit living inside us, we are free to align our thoughts and actions with our new creation identity. It is not a chain. It is actually an expression of our freedom in Christ.