A study on the Biblical teaching of old and new covenants.

1. NAILED TO THE CROSS
Bridging the Old and New Covenants

2. What is a Covenant?
• covenant (n.) c.1300, from Old French covenant
"agreement," originally present participle of covenir
"agree, meet," from Latin convenire "come together"
(see convene). Applied in Scripture to God's
arrangements with man as a translation of Latin
testamentum, Greek diatheke, both rendering
Hebrew berith (though testament also is used for
the same word in different places). -
etymologyonline.com
• "Covenant" and "Testament" both mean the same
thing, an agreement, coming from the Hebrew word
"Berith."

3. The Old and New Covenants
• "7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have
been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day
when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them,
says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind
and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be
My people. 11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his
brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of
them to the greatest of them. 12 For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds[b] I will
remember no more.”[c]13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has
made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing
old is ready to vanish away." - Hebrews 8:7-13

4. "...Having Nailed It to the Cross."
• "11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins[c] of the
flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in
baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith
in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And
you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of
your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having
forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the
handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was
contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having
nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and
powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over
them in it. 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or
regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are
a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." -
Colossians 2:13-17

5. "My Blood of the New Covenant"
• "26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread,
blessed[b] and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and
said, “Take, eat; this is My body.” 27 Then He took the
cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink
from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new[c]
covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the
vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with
you in My Father’s kingdom.”" - Matthew 26:26-29
• Christ's death on the cross, represented here by the fruit
of the vine, marks the beginning of God's new covenant
with His people. This is when the old covenant becomes
obsolete.

6. Were the 10 Commandments
Different from the Other
Commandments?
• "22 “These words the Lord spoke to all your assembly, in the
mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness,
with a loud voice; and He added no more. And He wrote them on
two tablets of stone and gave them to me." - Deuteronomy 5:22
• "18 And when He had made an end of speaking with him on Mount
Sinai, He gave Moses two tablets of the Testimony, tablets of stone,
written with the finger of God." - Exodus 32:18
• "And the Lord said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first
ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the
first tablets which you broke." - Exodus 34:1
• The only difference between the 10 commandments and those that
followed were that the 10 were written by God and the others were
spoken by God.

7. Are the 10 Commandments
Part of the Old Covenant?
• "11 “Then you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain,
and the mountain burned with fire to the midst of heaven, with
darkness, cloud, and thick darkness. 12 And the Lord spoke to
you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of the words,
but saw no form; you only heard a voice. 13 So He declared to
you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the
Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of
stone. 14 And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you
statutes and judgments, that you might observe them in the land
which you cross over to possess." - Deuteronomy 4:11-14
• "28 So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he
neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets
the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.[a]" -
Deuteronomy 5:28

8. Are the 10 Commandments
Part of the Old Covenant?
• "4 And we have such trust through Christ toward God. 5 Not
that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as
being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who
also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant,
not of the letter but of the Spirit;[a] for the letter kills, but the
Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written and
engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of
Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because
of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing
away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more
glorious?" - 2 Corinthians 3:4-8
• The new covenant replaces the old covenant--that which
was "written and engraved on stones." The 10
Commandments.

9. But We DO Follow the 10
Commandments, Don't We?
• "Do not do to others that
which angers you when
they do it to you." -
Isocrates, 436-338 BC
• "And just as you want
men to do to you, you
also do to them
likewise." - Jesus, Luke
6:31
• Do we follow the
teachings of
Isocrates?

10. Should We Keep the Sabbath?
• Not only is the Sabbath not repeated as a command, but
Paul explicitly tells the Colossians not to expect others to
keep the Sabbath.
• "16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or
regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17
which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance
is of Christ." - Colossians 2:16-17
• The question shouldn't be, "Should we still keep the
sabbath, tithe, use instruments in worship, etc.?" The
new covenant is a clean slate. We need only ask, "Does
it mention x, y, or z in the New Testament?"

11. How Often Did Christians Meet?
• There is no scriptural precedent for a "new Sabbath." Sunday is
not a "day of rest."
• The first Christians met everyday.
• 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and
fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear
came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done
through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and
had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and
goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So
continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking
bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and
simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the
people. And the Lord added to the church[h] daily those who were
being saved." - Acts 2:42-47

12. What About the
First Day of the Week?
• "19 And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
“This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20
Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant
in My blood, which is shed for you.” - Luke 22:19-20
• Christians met on a regular basis, specifically to take the Lord's Supper.
• "7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break
bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his
message until midnight." - Acts 20:7
• "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia,
so do you also. 2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to [a]put
aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come."
- Corinthians 16:1-2
• "19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the
doors were shut where the disciples were assembled,[c] for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, “Peace be with you.”" - John
20:19

13. How Often Should We Take
the Lord's Supper?
• The Passover, which the Lord's Supper is replacing, was an annual
memorial.
• The Lord's Supper isn't called a "memorial," but Christ says, "do this in
remembrance of me."
• anámnēsis (from anamimnḗskō, "bring to mind") – properly, deliberate
recollection, done to better appreciate the effects of what happened.
(biblehub.com)
• remind (v.)1640s, "to remember," from re- "again" + mind (v.). Meaning
"to put (someone) in mind of (something)" is first recorded 1650s.
Related: Reminded; reminding. (etymologyonline.com)
• "25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, “This
cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it,
in remembrance of Me.”" -1 Corinthians 11:25

14. Examples of Non-Annual
Memorials
• Headline: MONTHLY MEMORIAL MASSES (udayton.edu)
"Once every month a Memorial Mass is held for members of
the extended UD community who have died recently or who
have had an anniversary of death."
• Headline: Weekly memorial for veterans moves to Municipal
Building on Sunday (http://oakridgetoday.com) "...the group
that has met each week for more than 400 Sundays to ring
the Friendship Bell in remembrance of those killed in Iraq
and Afghanistan..."
• A "memorial" or a "remembrance" is simply a reminder of
something important.

15. Did Christians Really Meet on the
First Day of the Week?
• 107AD IGNATIUS: let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's
Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief
of all the days of the week. (Ignatius, Epistle to the
Magnesians, chp 9. Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1, pg. 62-63.)
• 130AD BARNABAS: Wherefore we Christians keep the
eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead
and when he appeared ascended into heaven. (15:8f, The
Epistle of Barnabas, 100 AD, Ante-Nicene Fathers , vol. 1,
pg. 147)
• 190AD CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: He does the
commandment according to the Gospel and keeps the
Lord's day, whenever he puts away an evil mind . . .
glorifying the Lord's resurrection in himself. (Vii.xii.76.4)

16. Detailed Early Account of Meeting
on the First Day of the Week
• And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together
to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are
read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president
verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise
together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine
and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and
thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there
is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given,
and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to
do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the
president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness
or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers
sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is
the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on
which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world;
and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was
crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn,
which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught
them these things, which we have submitted to you also for your consideration." - Justin
Martyr (114-165), First Apology #67

17. It's All About Context
• The single most important thing in
understanding the meaning of a word or phrase
is understanding its context.
• Example: "So there remains a Sabbath rest
for the people of God." - Hebrews 4:9
• Is this saying that the Sabbath is still something
that should be observed by people of God?

18. What "Sabbath" Means in
Hebrews
• "4 Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His
rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed we
have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word
[a]they heard did not profit them, because [b]it was not united by faith
in those who heard. 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as
He has said, “As I swore in My wrath,They shall not enter My rest,”
although His works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For
He has said somewhere concerning the seventh day: “And God rested
on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this passage,
“They shall not enter My rest.” 6 Therefore, since it remains for some to
enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them
failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 He again fixes a certain
day, “Today,” saying [c]through David after so long a time just as has
been said before, “Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your
hearts.” 8 For if [d]Joshua had given them rest, He would not have
spoken of another day after that. 9 So there remains a Sabbath rest for
the people of God." - Hebrews 4:1-9

19. Does the Old Testament Matter?
• "4 For whatever things were written before
were written for our learning, that we through
the patience and comfort of the Scriptures
might have hope." - Romans 15:4
• We can still learn from the writings of the old
covenant, even if we no longer have to obey its
laws.

20. Why the Old Testament
REALLY Matters...
• "And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the
queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to
Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was
reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and
overtake this chariot.”
• 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do
you understand what you are reading?”
• 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip
to come up and sit with him. 32 The place in the Scripture which he read was
this:
• “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is
silent, So He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken
away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the
earth.”[b]
• 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the
prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his
mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him." - Acts 8:27-36

21. The Bottom Line
• OT = Understanding
• NT = Instruction