Discovering the New Covenant by Greg Taylor - exAdventist Outreach

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DISCOVERING THE NEW COVENANT
The word Testament or Covenant means the same thing
as a will, or some other legal contract. My wife and I have
made out several wills during our marriage. We had a will
before we had kids. We had a will made after the birth of our
first child. We made another after the second child, and
recently we updated our will again. Now if we were to die in
some tragedy, which will would be binding for our executor
to follow? The most recent, or newest one, of course. The
previous legal contract becomes null and void once the new
one takes effect. That is why only the last will and testament
is read and followed. There may be some carry over from
one will to another, but such carry over will always be
stipulated in the new will. What does not carry over will not
be specified in the new contract. The same thing would be
true of financial contracts. We just finished refinancing our
house. Our new agreement is for a lesser interest rate and
with another financing company. The purpose is the same. It
allows us to make payments we can afford for a period of
time in order to eventually own the house. Much of the
language in the new contract is the same. Many of the details
are similar. But much is changed as well. Primarily, the
difference is in the interest rate, the fixed rate versus a
floating rate. But there are other details that differ as well.
We do not send the check to the same company any more.
Our obligations to the old organization have been satisfied
by the new contract. We keep our old contract around for tax
purposes, but it is no longer binding. That loan has been paid
off by the new lending institution. Therefore we are free
from the old contract and bound to the new.
The same thing is true of the Old and New Covenants.
There are wonderful truths about God found in the Old
Covenant. However, it is imperative that we remember that
the New Covenant or Testament is the one that is binding.
There is much history and background information that helps
us understand God better. But to go first to the Old
Testament for application of God’s will for our lives would