An expansion on President Mugabe’s sermon on old vs new Covenant

By Howard Tundu

The article about President Robert Mugabe’s speech or rather ‘sermon’, at the birthday celebrations of Mrs. Junior Gumbochuma which was published in some Newspapers makes interesting reading.(http://www.herald.co.zw/president-blasts-thieving-pastors/)

I actually entertain an idea that President R.G. Mugabe can be a powerful Minister of the Gospel if one day he finds himself out of active politics. His profound analysis and emphasis on Preachers not having to take everything from Moses inspired me to avail this article so that as ministers of the gospel we are not found wanting again.

This material is to help us understand the separate roles of the Old and New Covenants. Some people, because of their misunderstanding of the roles of these two Covenants, have concluded that the Bible contradicts itself.

The Bible is made up of two Testaments, the Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament brings to light the knowledge of Creation, how Sin entered the Human race, God’s reaction and promises. We also read in the Old Testament how God chose certain men, for example Abraham, and promised that through him, all Nations of the Earth would be blessed. We see God dealing with individuals here and there till He chose the nation of Israel which was supposed to live in fellowship with Him.

The Israelites were given laws and commandments which they were supposed to observe in order for them to remain in that fellowship. All the other nations were called Gentiles (Heathens) and were not part of the Covenant God made with the Israelites. That Covenant is what we have as the Old Covenant and we find it in the Old Testament Scriptures; it provided for how they were to fellowship with God, what would happen if they sinned, and what they could do in order to make it right with God.

The Old Covenant thus contains various laws and commandments which were meant to be kept by the Israelites throughout all their generations. In the Old Covenant, there are also prophecies and promises from God to do with the Israelites, and God’s future plan with the Human race. We learn the plan of salvation from the Old Covenant when God announced that He would make a New Covenant with the house of Israel which would be different from the one He entered into with them when they left Egypt (Jeremiah 31:31-34). He promised that the Messiah would come to save the World from Sin and to bring men to God in reconciliation.

 People say the Bible contradicts itself when they see that there were animals that people (Israelites) were forbidden to eat (Leviticus 11), whilst Books in the New Covenant liberalize food but condemn drunkenness, for example, 1corinthians6:9-10, Romans13:13-14. These Books; Mark7:17-23, 1Corinthians10:25-27, 1Timothy4:1-4, Colossians2:16-17 are said to contradict Leviticus Chapter 11 which lists clean and unclean foods. Also in the Old Covenant, God had said an eye for an eye, and tooth for tooth meaning people could avenge themselves but in Mathew 5, Jesus Christ said do not resist an evil person but when someone strikes you on the cheek, avail the other one also.

There are other examples in the Old Covenant when people could marry as many wives and continued to live and serve God, for example David. In the New Covenant it is required that anyone can have one Wife or one Husband at a time. Divorce and remarriage is not allowed in the New Covenant except if there is marital unfaithfulness such as fornication by the other part. There are many other practices in the Old Covenant which were not being promoted in the New Covenant and people have to know why it is like this.

 The New Covenant Governs Christian lives

Now the message we have according to Hebrews Chapter 8 and many other Scriptures talking about the same subject is that God found fault with the Old Covenant and all the commandments and rituals which enslaved the Israelites and sought to bring the New Covenant. The New Covenant would be for the Israelites together with all the other nations; everyone would be qualified to receive the blessings of the Covenant by accepting Jesus Christ. Hebrews chapter 9 talks about a better Covenant in Jesus Christ, whilst Colossians 2:13-17 talks about such old principles which could not save.

It is now clear that everyone is saved by the grace of God through Jesus Christ. It is necessary to note that whilst Jesus Christ upheld many good teachings and moral laws of the Old Covenant by fulfilling them and showing the way of love, He also modified or even changed some of them to suit the kind of freedom and grace brought through Him.

We see adultery is not permitted under grace since it violates the law of Love in Christ whilst Sabbath day keeping as taught and practiced under Old Testament requirements is no longer an issue since it has nothing to do with pure worship of God in the heart. The Sabbath law was a ceremonial law to commemorate deliverance from Egypt, whilst all the other Nine Commandments were moral obligations still upheld by the New Covenant in as far as practicing righteousness in concerned.

Thus any teaching in this time of grace if it is to be supported by scriptures borrowed from the Old Covenant has to be in line with the liberality of the gospel of Jesus Christ. All the other things which have nothing to do with purity of the heart, to include food and circumcision are no longer necessary in the New Covenant. In the area of giving, the New Covenant reveals liberal giving throughout in the Scriptures but some people because of failure to understand the Covenant of Christ still compel people to tithe (giving of 10%). The practice in the Old Testament is even different from how people have adopted it today. This law has vanished as we only have this obligation given during the Law of Moses.

Galatians 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

We therefore see that the Bible does not contradict itself but it contains two different Covenants. The Old Covenant was meant for the Jews whilst the New Covenant is the Covenant of salvation through Jesus Christ and is for everyone. Anyone who hopes to be saved must accept and believe in Jesus Christ and live by the requirements of the New Covenant. Galatians Chapter 3 teaches that anyone who seeks to go back to the Old Covenant to observe and enslave self by those laws and principles outlined there has rejected grace and will be under a curse!

The idea taught in the Bible is that we learn God’s ways through our reading of the Old Covenant, and also identify God’s promises outlined there. The New Testament comes with fulfilment of some of those promises, and is the one to govern Christian lives. We must not mix up things but know the role of the two Covenants.

In Summary, there are separate roles of the Old and New Covenants. The Old Covenant was for the Israelites whilst the New Covenant is for everyone who will believe in Christ Jesus. We make reference to the Old Testament to learn the ways of God, how things came into being, the fall of man, God’s promises, the dealings of God with men, the call of the Israelites as a nation, the promise of a saviour and so forth. We thus realize that not all things that are mentioned in the Old Covenant are to be observed by Christians. For example all the other nine commandments are moral laws which involve loving neighbours as oneself and are part of being Christ like but the Sabbath law is a ceremonial law hence is no longer observed the way it used to be in the Old Covenant.

The New Covenant is a Covenant of faith in Christ Jesus and the righteousness of God is reflected from within and any outward form of religion as observing Sabbath days, abstaining from certain meats, circumcision, payment of tithes and other legalistic principles which are not necessary for salvation under grace have been done away with.

The Old Levitical priesthood has been done away with by the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and it is not everything in the Old Covenant that has to be spiritualized to have New Testament significance. We now have Jesus Christ as our King and high priest and all believers are also kings and priests (Revelation 1:6) in Christ Jesus with the privilege to confess sins on their own, to talk with God on their own and other privileges which were not accessible under the Levitical priesthood.

 

Howard Tundu is a Pastor at Glory Assemblies of Christ and can be contacted at http://gloryassemblies.org