Today we shall continue on our theme on the Appraisal of the Old and New Covenants.
So far we have seen that the Old Testament predicted the coming of the messaiah
while the New reveals the messaiah. We have seen that the Old Covenant tried to
control man from the outside and failed while the New Covenant changed man from the
inside. We also saw in the last Episode that God gave the Old Covenant knowing that it
was impossible to keep. And that He introduced the Old Covenant as a way of keeping
the people in check until the plan of redemption could be perfected.
Today, and subsequently, we shall look further into some fundamental differences
between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant as they apply to our relationship with
God.
The Old Covenant is a Testament of Law while the New Covenant is a
Testament of Grace

The basis for relating with God under the two covenants is diametrically different. The
OC specified God’s requirement from His people and it insisted on a strict compliance with the
provisions of the Law. While the Law revealed God’s standard for His people, it did not provide
the ability to live up to that standard, it did not show them how to keep to its provisions. It did not
provide help for them. The Law gave a list of do’s and don’t’s. But it did not change the hearts of
men so that they would want to keep the law. The result was that no matter how much they
tried, they failed to keep the law.
But the NC depends on Jesus’ sacrifice at the Cross. It emphasizes grace—what we did
not deserve that God has done for us through Christ. While the law revealed how God
wants people to live, Grace grants people salvation as a gift. So we did not get saved
because we succeeded in keeping the law. We are saved when we put our trust in the
one who kept the Law perfectly on our behalf. Grace made what was impossible,
possible. We could never be declared righteous by observing the law. However, we are
declared righteous by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Grace further grants those
who trust in God the power and ability to live in obedience to God and the enthusiasm to
please God because they have been given new hearts.
So while the OC reveals the wrath of God against sin, the NC shows the grace of God
toward sinners. It shows us how to deal with sin. To sum it up the grace of God does for
Christians what men were powerless to do under the OC.
Romans 8:3-4 states- "For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened
by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin
offering.
2. The OC was a shadow, a copy and a temporary Covenant.

Another difference between the Old and New Covenants is that the OC has types,
copies or shadows that are fulfilled in the New Testament. A type, copy or shadow is
like a picture or an image or a symbol of a person, event, or place in the Old Testament
that points to something that would happen in the New Testament. So while we deal
with the copies or shadows in the OC, we see the reality in the NC. Let’s look at a few of
the shadows, types and copies of the Old Testament.
 The High priests of the Old Covenant were a shadow of Jesus our great High
Priest. Hebrews 4:14–Since then we have a great High Priest who is passed
through the Heavens, Jesus the son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.
 The physical Tabernacle built by Moses for worship by the Israelites was an
exact copy of the Heavenly place of worship. When Moses went to meet God on
the Mountain, God showed him a picture of the tabernacle in Heaven and
instructed him to make the physical tabernacle exactly as the one in Heaven.
Hebrews 8:5-They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when
Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God saying-see that you
make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.
 The lamb that the Israelites sprinkled its blood on their doorposts so that the Lord
passed over their homes when He killed the first born of the Egyptians in the OC
was a symbol of Jesus the son of God who has redeemed His children by His
blood.
 The Blood of goats and bulls that the high priest had to sacrifice for the sins of
the people which had to be repeated every year because it could only cover and
not grant complete forgiveness of sin was a shadow and copy of the Blood of
Jesus which was sacrificed once and brings lasting forgiveness and redemption
under the NC. The OC High priests never finished working. Jesus finished His
job and sat.
All these show that the OC was a temporary Covenant.

3. The OC is referred to as the Ministry of death while the NC is referred to as the
Ministry of the Spirit
Referring to the OC in 2 Corinthians 3:6, Paul states that the letter kills while the spirit
gives life.
What does Paul mean when he says, the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life? Why does
he call the old covenant "the ministry of death," while he calls the new covenant "the
ministry of the Spirit?" Does this mean that the Law is evil?
The problem is not that the Law is evil— Paul states in Romans 7:12, that the law is
holy and righteous and good. He states in vs 14-We know that the law is spiritual; but I
am unspiritual. He states further in vs 15-I do not understand what I do. For what I want
to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. The problem is that we are powerless to keep the

law in our own strength. The old covenant is a lifeless code of moral demands- Thou
shalt! Thou shalt not!"; it made moral demands on people, but it never helped them to
keep those demands. There was no helper; comforter; teacher to help the people. The
hearts of the people were closed. There was no revelation or inner conviction to
empower the people. So the result was always failure and death on the part of the
people. Under the New Covenant, we receive eternal life which grants us the Grace and
enablement to live victoriously. The Lord regenerates our hearts, and sends the Holy
Spirit to us to help us; teach us; comfort us; to guides us and to empower us to please
Him.

4. The OC is referred to as the Ministry of condemnation while the NC is referred
to as the Ministry of righteousness
In Romans 3:9. Paul states further- If the ministry that brought condemnation was
glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness.
Paul calls the old covenant the ministry of condemnation because it exposes our guilt
and makes it abundantly clear to us that we deserve God's judgment. It was designed to
show people that they constantly violated God's moral standards, and that God
demanded death as the payment for their sins. So life under the Old Covenant was an
endless circle of sin, ritual sacrifice and cleansing through a priest and sin.
Many of us relate to God in the same way. Whenever you sin, you put a distance
between yourself and God. Then you confess your sin and sometimes perform some
ritual or we rededicate our lives to God to get right with Him. Then you sin again and the
circle starts all over. When we relate to God in this never ending circle of sin-keep a
distance from God-confess our sin-resume fellowship with God-sin again, we lose the
freedom and joy of relating with God and growth is very slow.
The New Covenant offers us permanent right standing with God through Christ.
2 Cor. 5:21states-God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we
might become the righteousness of God. Because Jesus Christ was willing to take our
sins and God's punishment for those sins which he did not deserve, God is willing to
give us the righteousness of Christ which we do not deserve.  The "righteousness" Paul
is speaking of here is not our good works or rituals. It is Christ's righteousness which
God gives to us as a free and undeserved gift.
This gift of right standing means that you can have a relationship with God that is
secure, because it is not based on what you do for God, but on what Christ has done for
you
I guess this is bad news for those who think they have enough good works to earn their
way to salvation but good news to those who realize they cant earn their way.