Tag: testament

From Shadow to Reality:

Embracing the New Covenant in Hebrews

Brent Pollard

The Book of Hebrews is a crucial piece of writing that serves as a bridge between the Old and New Testaments. It demonstrates how the arrival of Jesus Christ fulfilled old promises. The narrative in the text shows how the old covenant, which relied on law and sacrifice, transformed into the new covenant, which operates through grace and redemption. This transformation is evident in chapters 8-10. Though God made the old covenant, it was only a temporary solution until the perfect one arrived – Christ’s selfless love. The text explains how something was amiss with the old covenant, but Christ’s sacrifice provided the ultimate solution to this problem.

Even though people performed the holy rituals and sacrifices of the old covenant with devotion, those actions were only a representation of what Christ could accomplish. In Hebrews 10.1, the author states that Jesus fulfilled what was happening in heaven, and the Tabernacle and its sacrifices only served as mere shadows. As our everlasting High Priest, Christ’s work goes beyond the earthly Tabernacle. He entered the heavenly sanctuary to offer His blood instead of animal blood, which secured our eternal salvation (Hebrews 9.11–12).

Jesus brings a better covenant based on better promises as we move from darkness to light (Hebrews 8.6). His sacrifice was a one-time offering that cleanses our consciences and allows us to have a relationship with God without hindrance (Hebrews 9.14). The key to this new covenant is Jesus’ sacrifice. Unlike the old covenant written in stone, God writes the new covenant in people’s hearts. It transforms people from within and empowers them to serve God with faithfulness (Hebrews 8.10).

The transition from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant brought a significant change not only in the way people worshipped God but also in how God related to them. With Jesus’ death, a new way opened up for us to confidently enter the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 10.19–20). Jesus acted as the mediator and witness of this new covenant. Under the old covenant, people observed the Day of Atonement once a year, which reminded them of their sins. However, Christ’s sacrifice is complete, sufficient, and everlasting (Hebrews 10.12–14).

The teaching in Hebrews serves as an encouragement for Jewish Christians to keep their faith strong by choosing the fullness of Christ’s sacrifice over the old covenant’s useless rules. This message is just as relevant today for all believers. We should celebrate the new covenant that Christ’s death made possible, which is not just a covenant of temporary rituals but an everlasting inheritance. The New Testament calls us to lead a holy life, have faith that we will be saved, and develop a personal and life-changing relationship with God. In short, the new covenant is superior in every sense as it completes God’s story of redemption and sets us on a path of eternal fellowship with Him.

Understanding the difference between the old and new covenants is as important today as in the early church. It not only helps us to understand the history of the Bible, but it also shapes how we practice our faith, dropping old rituals in favor of worship and service per a new, living faith. This change requires reassessing traditional practices. One such practice needing reevaluation by many professing the name of Christ in light of the new covenant is using mechanical instruments in worship. This topic is debated among believers, as some argue it aligns with the spirit of worship under the new covenant. However, it reflects an attachment to old practices that the new covenant has rendered obsolete since those like David, the writer of songs accompanied by musical instruments, lived under the old covenant.

The Hebrews writer states that, in contrast, we under the new covenant offer up the fruit of our lips (Hebrews 13.15). It’s the Spirit’s guidance that leads us to worship in truth and spirit (see John 4.23-24), pointing to a faith that is vibrant and active, rooted in the internal transformation Christ’s sacrifice brings. To fully realize the benefits of the new covenant, embracing this spirit-led rule of faith—secured by Jesus’ blood—is essential. Our worship and devotion to God should thus reflect the inner change wrought by Christ instead of a reliance on outdated rituals. As we navigate these changes, it is the heart transformed by Jesus that directs our service, a theme as central to the message of Hebrews as it is to our contemporary journey of faith.

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Following Instructions

Saturday’s Column: Learning From Lehman

David Chang

Have you ever gotten something—maybe a piece of appliance or a new faucet that you needed to assemble or install—and it seemed too simple? You see all of the pieces that came in the box, and you recognize all of it and their functions. Maybe, because it looked so simple and straightforward, you overestimated your ability to put it together and went straight into installing it by yourself without reading the manual. What happens usually? Well, if you’re lucky (or just that skilled), you may do it just right. But most times you either get stuck and eventually are forced to read the manual anyway, or you think you installed it correctly but actually didn’t do it all that right. Whatever the case is, there are times in our lives when we may have foregone the instruction manual because they are tedious or you think you know the steps, only to find out soon that there is a good reason why the instruction manuals are included with the product!

Even the simplest looking assembly comprised of just a few steps can quickly become quite intricate if there are specific order and method to the process. And if one, out of the abundance of their self-confidence, refuses to read the manual for that crucial piece of information, the process can be very frustrating indeed. Maybe you’ve had to witness someone stubbornly try to put together or operate something without first reading the manual for it.

I’ve heard people describe the Bible as an instruction manual for life. Although this is an oversimplification of the Word of God, I think we can agree for the most part that the Bible contains instructions and concepts that directly impact our lives—both physical and spiritual. We should not develop a dysfunctional view of Scripture as a mere checklist of things to do to get a passing grade to get into heaven, but we should also recognize that the Bible as a whole is a guide for us to internalize as we navigate this life.

The Bible and its contents are profound yet simple, and everyone can understand it. Logically speaking it must be so, because throughout Scripture there is a consistent expectation for the people of God to study and understand the laws (in the Old Testament) and the teachings of Jesus Christ and his apostles and disciples (in the New Testament). We know that “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (II Tim. 3:16-17). The gospel is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). The doctrines, precepts, principles—all of these things contained in Scripture both Old and New Testament are there for us to read, to understand, and to let impact our lives in a meaningful and transformative way.

Now then, how are we to do so without examining the book? The Bible may not be as simple as a checklist of things or like an instruction manual for some furniture assembly, but we cannot deny the reality that it contains guidance that we need for our navigation through this life into eternity. It would be foolish and inefficient at best for us to recognize such a fact but still fail to read it and study its contents. Do not be stubborn and try to go through life without the guide revealed to us by the very Creator who is the source of life itself. Make sure to foster that need to meditate on God’s Word regularly.