Introduction: We like new things. New things are sometimes better than the old things they replace. New shoes. New clothes. A new washing machine. New tires on your car. A new roof on your house, and so on. Here in 2 Corinthians Paul gives us a lesson on why the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant.
But first: What is a "covenant?" What is the "Old Covenant," and what is the "New Covenant."
A covenant is a legal agreement between two or more parties. In modern life we see the term used most in real estate. Sometimes when you buy a house in a particulary sub-division, there will be a covenant that you must agree to when you buy the house, and this covenant imposes restrictions on what you may do with your house and land.
There are many covenants mentioned in the Bible, but today we will zero in on two MAJOR covenants: the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The Old Covenant is the agreement that God made with Israel as a nation, through Moses. The first half of the Bible is really called the "Old Covenant" because it chiefly deals with the nation of Israel. (Testament is the Latin word for covenant.) Sometimes this old covenant is called the Mosaic Covenant, the National Covenant or the Covenant of the Law. The New Covenant is the agreement between God and those who receive His Son as their Savior.
In this passage in 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul tells us seven ways in which the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant.
I. The Old Covenant was legalistic, the New Covenant is Spiritual (2 Corinthians 3:6).
The Old Covenant imposed over 600 rules and regulations on the Israelites. Moral laws, but also ceremonial laws, laws about religious practice, laws about diet, laws about dress, laws about "uncleanness," and many detailed civil laws. In order to avoid breaking any of these 600 laws, the Pharisees added hundreds more. For example, in order to prevent working on the Sabbath day, they decided how many steps you could walk, and how long a letter you could write.
Christians are not obliged to live by these rules and regulations (Gal. 4:9-11 and 5:1). We DO try not to break the 10 commandments, but even there we are not bound by the precise letter of the Law. (For example, we need not meet on precisely the 7th day, and we need not begin the Sabbath exactly at sundown and end the Sabbath precisely at sundown the next day.)
Anyone trying to gain Heaven by having their good works outweigh their bad deeds is still trying to live by the Old Covenant, and it can't be done.
II. The Old Covenant brought death and condemnation. The New Covenant brings life and righteousness (2 Corinthians 3:6-9).
Sometimes we hear people say: "We ought to live by the 10 Commandments!" If you mean "We ought not to break them." Then you are correct. However, you cannot live by the 10 Commandments, you can only DIE by them! We have all broken the 10 Commandments, and the penalty is death and damnation. You will never get to Heaven by living by the 10 Commandments (Galatians 3:10-11).
III. The Old Covenant was glorious. But the New Covenant has surpassing glory (2 Corinthians 3:10).
How was the Old Covenant Glorious? God appeared over the Tabernacle as a cloud, and as a fire. God saved Israel from bondage in Egypt, and gave them a religion of animal sacrifices. God spoke and gave Israel the Law.
But the New Covenant is far more glorious! God became one of us! He gave His own blood to pay for our sins. He spoke and gave us the Gospel!
John 1:17:
"For the law was given through Moses; but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
IV. The Old Covenant has faded away. The New Covenant lasts forever (2 Corinthians 3:11).
Many verses tell us that the Old Covenant is over and done with: Galatians 3:23-25; Colossians 2:13-17; Hebrews 7:18-19; 8:6-7, 13.
V. The Old Covenant put a barrier between God and man. The New Covenant opens up the way to God (2 Corinthians 3:12-16).
Under the Old Covenant, there were the barriers of the bronze altar, the priesthood, the tabernacle itself was forbidden territory, and no one could penetrate the veil to the holy of holies, except the high priest, and that only one day per year. When Jesus died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom.
VI. The Old Covenant brought bondage. The New Covenant brings freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).
Gal 5:1:
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
Rom 6:14:
"For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
Rom 7:6:
"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code."
VII. The Old Covenant had no power to change your heart. The New Covenant transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18).
2 Cor 5:17:
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"
Conclusion: Are you in the New Covenant, or still trying to get eternal life by obeying the 10 Commandments? All who receive Jesus as their Savior and Lord are born again by the power of the Holy Spirit, and are baptized into the Church, the body of Jesus Christ, and made partakers of the New Covenant. Salvation is by grace, through faith, not of works! Amen.