Tag Archives: Salvation

The Fault in the Covenant?

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“For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.” (Hebrews 8:7)

At first glance, this verse sounds as though God’s first covenant, His covenant with Israel established at Sinai, was somehow defective. “If that first covenant had been faultless…” implies, doesn’t it, that something about it failed? But that conclusion would be both theologically troubling and biblically unfounded. After all, the law of God is “holy and righteous and good” (Rom. 7:12). The problem, as always, lies not with God, but with us.

When the writer of Hebrews contrasts the “first covenant” with the “better covenant” established through Christ (Heb. 8:6), he is not suggesting that God made a mistake and had to start over. Rather, he exposes the fatal flaw of the old covenant system: not in its divine origin, but in its human participants. The law was perfect in revealing God’s will, but powerless to change the human heart. The fault lay not in the covenant itself, but in the covenant-breakers.

As Hebrews 8:8 goes on to say, “For he finds fault with them when he says…” and then quotes Jeremiah 31’s promise of a new covenant. The author is careful: God doesn’t find fault with it, He finds fault with them. Israel’s unfaithfulness made clear what the law could only expose, not cure: the incurable disease of sin. The old covenant was designed, in part, to reveal this very weakness of man that no amount of sacrifice or law-keeping could reconcile us to God.

In this light, the new covenant in Christ is not a divine correction, but a divine completion. It accomplishes what the old covenant only anticipated. Where the law was written on tablets of stone, Christ writes His law on hearts of flesh (Heb. 8:10). Where the old covenant demanded obedience from hard hearts, the new covenant grants obedience through renewed hearts. What the old covenant shadowed in sacrifices and ceremonies, the new covenant fulfills in the once-for-all sacrifice of the Son of God.

We might say that the “fault” of the first covenant was its necessary inadequacy, it was never intended to perfect sinners, but to prepare them for the One who could. The law was a mirror to show our sin, not the soap to cleanse it. It condemned the guilty, but it could not justify. Only Christ, the Mediator of the better covenant, can do that.

A Word About Redemption Under the First Covenant

Though the first covenant could not perfect the conscience, it was never devoid of grace. Its sacrifices and ceremonies pointed forward to Christ, and by faith in those promises the saints of old were truly redeemed. The Westminster Confession of Faith beautifully captures this truth:

“Under the law, [the covenant of grace] was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances… all foresignifying Christ to come; which were, for that time, sufficient and efficacious, through the operation of the Spirit, to instruct and build up the elect in faith in the promised Messiah, by whom they had full remission of sins, and eternal salvation.” (WCF 7.5)

From Abel’s altar to Abraham’s tent, from Moses’ tabernacle to David’s throne, the people of God were saved by the same grace, through the same faith, in the same Christ. The difference between the old and new covenants lies not in the substance of salvation, but in the manner of its administration. The saints of the Old Testament looked forward in faith to what was promised; we look backward in faith to what has been accomplished. But both rest upon the same foundation, the redeeming work of the Son.

And so the beauty of Hebrews 8:7 is not in exposing divine imperfection, but divine mercy. God knew the frailty of His people, yet He did not leave them under the law’s curse. He promised a covenant of grace in which the very thing man could never accomplish, obedience from the heart, would be written into his being by the Spirit of God.

The first covenant shows us our fault; the second covenant shows us our faultless Savior.

SDG

Stand Firm in the Truth

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When you live in a day where the prevailing philosophy tells you there is no such thing as absolute truth (an absolute statement if ever there was one) it is hard to know where to stand. Everyone is encouraged to claim “their truth,” but that only ends up in chaos, because what is true for you might not necessarily be true for me. We’re left with Pilate asking, “What is truth?”

There are certain truths passed along in your education that you can bank on, and don’t have to rediscover for yourself. Pythagorean’s Theorem, for example, used in finding the longest side of a right triangle, A2 + B2 = C2. There’s also Newton’s Third Law of motion, which seems to apply in every realm of life: for every action there is an equal but opposite reaction.

There are also shared truths, or axioms, that you come to learn through experience. One that I learned early was, “broken people do broken things.” The venomous, toxic and hate-filled people you encounter in life are often unhappy in their own lives, and their lips show the overflow of their hearts.

I recently came across an interview with Tom Hanks, when he said that one truth he wished he would have known this earlier in life was: “This too shall pass.” When you’re feeling down, defeated or bad about yourself, remember that “this too shall pass.”  When life doesn’t seem great, work is challenging, or your personal life is challenging, remember that with hard work and discipline it will change and get better. All of this is momentary.  When you’re feeling good about yourself, your personal life is great, business is amazing, feeling on top of the world, guess what? “This too shall pass.”Sometimes we feel like we have it all together, then the next, we feel out of control and like things are falling apart. Both those feelings will pass. That’s why it’s good to stay confident during challenging times, knowing that you’ll work your way through it. On the flip side, when things are going well and you feel on top of the world, remember to stay humble. That too will pass, and you’ll be wondering where all the answers are.  

More that these scientific theorems and axioms of life, there is a greater truth upon which you can build your life: The truth revealed in God’s Word. Here are just a few:

  1. There is a God, and it’s not you. There is an Almighty God who is sovereign, gracious, good, faithful, and true, righteous in all his deeds. There is a center of the universe, and it is not you. God’s ways are higher than our ways, His wisdom is not ours. But God has made himself known to us in His word, and the Bible reveals all we must know for our salvation
  2. We, as God’s creation, have fallen from God in our sin, and are deserving of God’s righteous anger and wrath. Romans 3:23 tells us, “All have sinned and fall from the glory of God.” Also we read in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”
  3. God loves and saves His people from sin and wrath. In John 3:16 “God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but would have everlasting life.” Jesus came to demonstrate the love of God (Rom 5:8), and to show us how we are to love one another (John 13:33-35). The love of God was seen from the very beginning of the story of salvation (Gen 3:15; Deut 4:37; Isa 63:9), but His loving-kindness appeared in full in Jesus (Titus 3:4). 1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”
  4. We know that Jesus is the only way to salvation. 1 Tim 2:5 teaches, “There is one God, one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ.” Jesus himself said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one may come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). And Romans 10:13 reminds us that “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

These are just a few of the absolute truths of God’s Word, but this truth is the solid rock upon which we can build our lives. All the world may be like shifting sand, but this truth, the truth of Christ, is the very rock that will never be moved. Build your life upon Him!