New Covenant - Colossians 2
Now in the study with which we have been engaged, I have tried to explain the historic reformed idea of covenantal theology. I have tried to show that there is an underlying unity in the gracious way God has dealt with His people in the past. I have tried to show that the principle idea behind covenantal theology is that there has always been only the one people of God. It was my intention to demonstrate to you that God’s plan of salvation has always been to redeem His people in the atoning work of Christ on the cross. I spent some time showing that the promises made to Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and even Jeremiah all found their fulfillment in the person of Christ. The reason I have done that is to try to negate the popular idea that people in the Old Testament were saved by keeping the law and that people in the New Testament were saved by faith. If I could use one phrase to summarize the content of what I have been trying to say it would be this, “Moses was a Christian.”
Remember what Paul said to the Romans… NIV Romans 3:20…Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin. But we do know that people in the Old Testament were saved. We know that they were saved by faith in Christ’s atoning work. Jesus was so bold as to tell the Pharisees that…and this is in the context of His arguing with the Pharisees about being the sons of Abraham…and in that argument they were saying that being the physical descendants of Abraham was enough to make them right with God when Jesus said this:
NIV John 8:56…Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.ʺ Now how much Abraham actually knew, I cannot say. But when Christ tells us that Abraham saw His day and glad I am not only willing to accept it, I exult in it. And it was the same with Moses. In Hebrews 11 it says this: NIV Hebrews 11:24…By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaohʹs daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. One of the things I am certain off is that they knew more than we think they knew. They knew that God is His kindness was going to provide for them a coming Messiah…a coming deliverer. And it was the same for Elijah, and David and Jeremiah. The saw the fruition of all of God’s gracious promises being fulfilled in the future. Yet they understood they already experienced a portion of those promises in that God had promised to be their God and that they would be His people. Now as our study progressed, I fear that I often hurried when I should have gone slower. One of the things that I know was confusing was the different use of the word covenant. I spoke of a covenant of works and a covenant of grace. I then spoke of the Adamic covenant, the Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the Davidic covenant and finally the new covenant. And then, in what can only be considered a classic example of how not to teach, I stressed the point that there was really only one covenant. While I believe with all my heart that is true, I should have stated more emphatically what I meant by that. You see the word “covenant” is very much like the word “law” in that it is used in various ways. Sometimes it is used to speak of individual administrations like the Adamic or Davidic covenant. At other times, it is used in an inclusive sense to speak of something as large as the Old Testament as a whole. Context has to be the guide to determine the underlying meaning. The WCF makes that distinction fairly clear. If you don’t mind I would like to ask you to turning your Trinity Hymnal to page 852 so we can look at what the Confession says. This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the Gospel: under the law it was administered by promises, prophecies, sacrifices, circumcision, the paschal lamb, and other types and ordinances delivered to the people of the Jews, all fore‐signifying 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; and is called the Old Testament. Under the Gospel, when Christ, the substance, was exhibited, the ordinances in which this covenant is dispensed are the preaching of the Word, and the administration of the sacraments of Baptism and the Lordʹs Supper: which, though fewer in number, and administered with more simplicity, and less outward glory, yet, in them, it is held forth in more fullness, evidence, and spiritual efficacy, to all nations, both Jews and Gentiles; and is called the New Testament. There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations. (WCF, Trinity Hymnal Pg. 852, Chapter 7:5‐6)I think that is fairly clear. The point that is being made is that God dealt graciously with His people in Christ in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Perhaps, I could clarify it with a graphic.
Now, I don’t think I have to spend much time expanding the idea of the covenant of works with Adam simply because the result of that covenant is written on the tombstones of history. Indeed, the Bible pretty much limits its discussion of it to only three chapters of Geneis and a good portionof Romans chapter 5.. But this second covenant of works constitutes the rest of the story of the Bible. Now in a very a real sense, it is a covenant of works but it is a covenant made with Christ. Christ obeyed the law perfectly and fulfilled all the obligations for its recipients. Because He fulfilled that covenant on our behalf graciously in His kindness, we chose to call it the covenant of grace. There is a sense in which you could say there were two covenants of works. The first was made with Adam and failed and the second one was made with Christ and succeeded. Now in working out the covenant of grace, God used a number of various covenants to bring it to pass. He was not under any obligation to do so. But He chose to do so and He chose to reveal that He was doing so.
Now in these individual covenants, there is certainly a measure of discontinuity. Not all of the covenants are administered the same way. Not all of the covenants are alike. The covenants themselves are built one upon another but there are differences and there are similarities. I feel like I've spent such a long time on that particular aspect that to continue to do so would be beating a dead horse. But let me just summarize by saying that each one of those individual covenants found their fulfillment in Christ in the new covenant.
NIV 2 Corinthians 1:20…For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ʺYesʺ in Christ. And so through him the ʺAmenʺ is spoken by us to the glory of God. The point that Paul is making here is that all of the promises that God has made in the various covenants are fulfilled in the person and work of Christ. Now while it is true of each individual covenant it is most clearly true of the covenant God made with Abraham. Certainly Mary, the mother of Jesus, thought the covenant with Abraham was fulfilled in Jesus.The section is called the Magnificat and is the prayer of the mother of Jesus when she found out she was going to bear Him as her son. NIV Luke 1:47…and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me‐‐ holy is his name. 50 His mercy extends to those who fear him, from generation to generation. 51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. 52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful 55 to Abraham and his descendants forever, even as he said to our fathers.ʺ 56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months and then returned home. 57 When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Now what is the point of Mary’s prayer? What is the logic that she so relentlessly applies in her interpretation of the events that are unfolding around her? Well simply this. Jesus is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham. And later in the same chapter Zacharias just a few verses later, the father of John the Baptist, comes to the same conclusion: NIV Luke 1:68…ʺPraise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people. 69 He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us‐‐ 72 to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath he swore to our father Abraham: 74 to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days. Do you see the point Zachariah is making? He is saying, “This baby is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham.” Mary believed that. Zacharias believed that…and so did Paul. Listen to what Paul says: NIV Galatians 3:14…He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. You see his point is that in Christ the promise that God made to Abraham is fulfilled…fulfilled to the farthest regions of the earth. Mary believed that. Zacharias believed that. Paul believed that and so did Jesus Himself.
NIV John 8:56…Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.ʺ Jesus even promised that Gentiles will be numbered with Abraham. The context of the passage is that wonderful scene where a Centurion comes to Jesus to plead for his servant. Look at what Jesus says: NIV Matthew 8:11…I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in thekingdom of heaven. 12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.ʺ 13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, ʺGo! It will be done just as you believed it would.ʺ And his servant was healed at that very hour. In fact, I think you could argue that Jesus not only saw Himself as the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant but every covenantal promise ever made. He admonished the Jews about being the point of Scripture. NIV John 5:39…You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, He was arguing with the Pharisees that He was the point of the Old Testament. Later on after His resurrection, He admonished the disciples on the road to Emmaus concerning the same thing. NIV Luke 24:26…Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?ʺ 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Now, I am making the point because after our lesson together on Hebrew 8 some of you asked me about the emphasis on the discontinuity of the covenants. It was a fair criticism based upon my failure to define the various meanings of the word covenant. Let me just recommend this one thing. Go to Hebrews 8 and see what is being argued. The point of the writer’s argument is that Jesus is a better High Priest. He is arguing about the abolition of the sacrificial system. He means something very specific about what is being abolished. That is fairly clear from the reference to the tabernacle and the veil and the offerings of bulls and goats. The things that are being abolished are the shadows and types that have been fulfilled in Christ. NIV Hebrews 8:13…By calling this covenant ʺnew,ʺ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. NIV Hebrews 9:1…Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and also an earthly sanctuary. 2 A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place. What I think is being argued to the Hebrews is that they are in danger of missing the blessing of the new covenant if they persist in the idea of going back to the system that includes the sacrifices and the sacrificial rituals. The writer seems to arguing that all those old things are passed away and have found a better fulfillment in the perfect atoning work of Christ. He seems to be saying, “Don’t go back to an inferior priesthood because you already have the perfect priest in Christ.” I don’t think it means that the promises made to Adam, Abraham and David are discontinued. I think it means that all those promises are fulfilled.
Now, in addition to all that, we have other passages where Christ is pointed to as the fulfillment of both the Passover and circumcision. NIV 1 Corinthians 5:7…Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast‐‐ as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth. Do you see what he is saying? He is saying that Christ is the fulfillment of the Passover. He is saying that Christ is the true Passover. Christ doesn’t do away with the Passover…He fulfills it. And Paul does the exact same thing in Colossians 2:8.
NIV Colossians 2:8…See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. Now, I think this last verse is particularly pertinent to those interested in the issue of infant baptism. You see it seems to me that Paul is arguing that the whole typological point of circumcision is fulfilled in Christ. Here the equation between circumcision and baptism is made directly. Paul says that we the uncircumcised are actually circumcised in the death of Christ. He goes on to add that that circumcision is fulfilled in our baptism. All that circumcision hoped to accomplish, that is the removal of sinfulness, was accomplished in His death and applied in our baptism. Of course, there are a myriad of interpretations concerning this passage but it seems that it is a good starting place for a continued study on your part. Perhaps later in the year, I’ll be able to come back and do a four week study on infant baptism by itself. At any rate, here is the essential rub of the argument that covenant theology makes. The covenant of grace is a unity. Prior to the atoning work of Christ, the sign of initiation into the covenant people of God was circumcision. After the resurrection the sign changed to baptism. That is why the sign of circumcision was not to be imposed on the Gentiles. It was the sign of the shadow. After the resurrection the sign is more inclusive and is given to Gentiles and to women. Now I have no doubt that you will want to study the issue at much greater length and perhaps we can come back and do that in the future. But by way of giving you some further resources I want to recommend two or three things.First, I want to recommend Christ of the Covenants by O. Palmer Robertson. It contains a really good discussion of the continuity and discontinuity of the covenants and will provide you with a solid understanding of what covenant theologians have taught since the Reformation. Secondly, I want to recommend To a Thousand Generations by Doug Wilson. This particular book is an examination of the case for infant baptism and will hopefully answer some of the questions that might have been raised and have been left unanswered.Finally, for those of you who don’t have the inclination to read let me recommend the tape series from Ligonier ministries of the debate between Alister Begg and R.C. Sproul on the subject of infant baptism. It will provide a fair assessment and critique of both positions by two of my favorite people. Begg takes an hour to present the believer’s baptism only side and Sproul takes an hour to present the believer’s + infant baptism side. Then there is a third tape where they discuss the differences between their two points of view.
Finally, allow me to admonish you all to a spirit of graciousness especially to those of you who have embraced the overall idea of the covenant theology. It seems to me that if the covenant of grace is the backbone of our theology graciousness ought to be the backbone of our attitude in dealing with those whofail to accept it.
From the Teaching Ministry of Tom R. Browning
To read the entire 11 week study- go here and download the pdf's.
Gage Browning
Post Tenebras Lux
Gage Browning
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The New Covenant - Jeremiah 31
There's a bunch of info out there in blogland on the New Covenant. Lot's of folks talking about it and debating it. Here is some pretty good stuff from the old man himself, Rev. Tom R. Browning. Some insights that may prove to be helpful..
The New Covenant… Jeremiah 31:27 ‐34
From the Teaching Ministry of Thomas R. Browning
Last week, I spent some time trying to demonstrate that the covenants were progressive. I tried to show that they were linked like stair steps one after another building to the climax of all that God promised to accomplish for His people. That is not to say that all of the component parts of the one great covenant of grace were exactly the same. There were elements of continuity and there were elements of discontinuity. There were things that were the same under the various covenants or dispensation of the covenants and there were things that were different. No place is that more obvious than under the Mosaic covenant. Part of that was related to the nature of the Mosaic covenant and part of that was related to the nation’s misunderstanding of the covenant. One of the inherent problems of the Mosaic covenant was the sinfulness of the people. They were commanded to obey God’s law and were promised that if they did so, they would be blessed with all manner of spiritual and material blessing. But the sinfulness of the people was an inherent problem under the Mosaic covenant. While the law of God was given as a rule for their behavior, it was also given by God as an instrument to drive them despair of confidence in themselves and was intended ultimately to cause them to throw themselves on God’s mercy. We know that such is true from the words of many biblical writers but especially from Paul. NIV Galatians 3:11… Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, ʺThe righteous will live by faith.ʺ 12 The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, ʺ The man who does these things will live by them.ʺ 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ʺCursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.ʺ 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Now, the fact that the law did not bring about the full blessing of God’s chosen people does not mean that that the law was flawed or even worse that the law was evil. The problem was not in the law but in the hearts of those to whom it was given. NIV Romans 7:7… What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, ʺDo not covet.ʺ 8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead. 9 Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died. 10 I found that the very commandment that was intended to bring life actually brought death. 11 For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death. 12 So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous and good. 13 Did that which is good, then, become death to me? By no means! But in order that sin might be recognized as sin, it produced death in me through what was good, so that through the commandment sin might become utterly sinful. Now, I want to make two points here. First, that the law needed to be internalized was understood to be true from the very beginning. NIV Deuteronomy 30:5… He will bring you to the land that belonged to your fathers, and you will take possession of it. He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your fathers. 6 The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live. That the law needed to be internalized, was made obvious by our Lord in His stern rebuke of the Pharisees. NIV Matthew 23:27…ʺWoe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead menʹs bones and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
Now, the notion that God would circumcise their hearts meant that one ‐ day God would internalize their obedience. It meant that one ‐ day, God in His kindness would reach down and change their hearts. It meant that one day God would do all that was necessary to redeem His people. The children of Israel knew and understood that external obedience to the law was inadequate. They also knew that even external obedience was impossible. They knew that they lacked the inherent ability to obey God’s law. They knew that from the ceremonial sacrifices that filled their eyes and they knew it from the smell of burning flesh. Still, they had the promise of God that one day He would change their hearts. NIV Ezekiel 11:19… I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
20 Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God. It is a promise that is repeated over an over. NIV Ezekiel 36:24…ʺʹFor I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. 25 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. But no place is the promise of God to evoke a change, to evoke a transformation more clear in the Old Testament than in the book of Jeremiah. There, God promises to institute a new covenant. It is a covenant that will not be dependent on their obedience but will in its fullness actually change their hearts and induce obedience. And they needed a change because their hearts were wicked and they were locked in the endless cycle of disobedience, deliverance and disobedience all over again. NIV Jeremiah 13:22… And if you ask yourself, ʺWhy has this happened to me?ʺ ‐ it is because of your many sins that your skirts have been torn off and your body mistreated. 23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil. But in Jeremiah, God promises the internalization of all that He sought to accomplish in them. NIV Jeremiah 31:27… ʺThe days are coming,ʺ declares the LORD, ʺwhen I will plant the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the offspring of men and of animals. 28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,ʺ declares the LORD. 29 ʺIn those days people will no longer say, ʹThe fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the childrenʹs teeth are set on edge.ʹ 30 Instead, everyone will die for his own sin; whoever eats sour grapes ‐‐ his own teeth will be set on edge. 31 ʺThe time is coming,ʺ declares the LORD, ʺwhen I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah . 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,ʺ declares the LORD. 33 ʺThis is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,ʺ declares the LORD. ʺI will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ʹKnow the LORD,ʹ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,ʺ declares the LORD. ʺFor I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.ʺ
Secondly, I want to make the point that the new covenant was not different in the sense that it was completely separate from the covenants that had been made before. God’s law was still at the forefront. It was not a different law that would be written on their hearts; it was the same law. It was new only in the sense that it was a new form or dispensation of that which God had already promised. God was about to fulfill all that He had originally promised Adam, Noah, Abraham and even Moses. This new covenant was not a complete reversal of all God had promised to the fathers. Rather, it was the fulfillment of all God had promised. Now, where was that promise fulfilled? We have a couple of hints early on. The first has to do with a prophecy regarding Rachel and her children given earlier in Jeremiah 31. NIV Jeremiah 31:15… This is what the LORD says: ʺA voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because her children are no more.ʺ
Amazingly, that same prophecy is referred to again in Matthew’s gospel when Herod killed the innocents at Bethlehem. NIV Matthew 2:16… When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: 18 ʺA voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more.ʺ I imagine that the first Jewish readers of Matthew gospel were able to make the connection immediately to the idea of the new covenant when they read Matthew 2. But the idea is further enhanced by the promise of the coming of the Lord. NIV Jeremiah 31:21…ʺSet up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, O Virgin Israel, return to your towns. 22 How long will you wander, O unfaithful daughter? The LORD will create a new thing on earth ‐‐ a woman will surround a man.ʺ Jeremiah reminds the people to set guideposts to return to the Lord but the real promise is that the Lord is returning to them. They would have known Isaiah’s promise. NIV Isaiah 40:1… Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. 2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORDʹs hand double for all her sins. 3 A voice of one calling: ʺIn the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. 5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.ʺ That is why John the Baptist’s preaching was so important. He was connecting the two events. NIV Matthew 3:1… In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Desert of Judea 2 and saying, ʺRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.ʺ 3 This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: ʺA voice of one calling in the desert, ʹPrepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him But the passage that removes all doubt is Luke 22. NIV Luke 22:20… In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ʺThis cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. Christ makes clear that He is the fulfillment of the promised new covenant. And the fact that Christ is the mediator of the new covenant is one of the principle points of the book of Hebrews. NIV Hebrews 8:8… But God found fault with the people and said: ʺThe time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ʹKnow the Lord,ʹ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.ʺ 13 By calling this covenant ʺnew,ʺ he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. In fact, I think is right to say that Hebrews 8 ‐ 10 really makes up one long continuous commentary on Jeremiah 31. Not only does the writer to the Hebrews explain that Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant, he actually breaks down the various parts of Jeremiah 31 and explains them in relationship to the new covenant and we will talk more about that next week. - Tom R. Browning (1999)
Gage Browning
Post Tenebras Lux
1 Reference
No Divisions- Josh Harris
Empire Strikes Barack
Golf for Jesus
-From Ref 21
"In his 1922 work Babbitt, Sinclair Lewis used the phrase Christianity Incorporated to capture the ethos of his fictional small town overrun by a blending of consumerism and religion. What was good for 1922, however, may be good for today. Recently, Michael Budde and Robert Brimlow have used Lewis's phrase as the title for their expose of the church's unholy matrimony with consumer and capitalist culture, a church full of those more schooled on Adam Smith, they quip, than the Sermon on the Mount. Whether taking Jesus as everybody's favorite CEO for book titles or whether using the cross for advertising logos, the co opting of Christ for business hijacks the Gospels and Christ himself. Capitalist and consumerist culture becomes the context into which the gospel is made to fit, into which Christ conforms, rather than the reverse." Read the rest here:
Gage Browning
Post Tenebras Lux