In my copy of the Holy Bible, 944 pages are called "the Old Testament," and 285 pages are called "the New Testament." The word "testament" is the same as "covenant." So 77 percent of the Holy Bible is called "The Old Covenant" and 23 percent is called "the New Covenant." Why this difference?
Are these two "dispensations" in God's plan of saving the world? Many hold to that view. They understand that the New Covenant began with the crucifixion of the Son of God.
But does it make sense that God has been experimenting, that He tried for 4000 years the Old Covenant method and finally decided that it didn't work, and now He is trying a new method? If so, can we really trust Him that He knows what He's doing?
Instead, the Bible is clear that God has always had only one method of saving people. It's called "the everlasting gospel" or "the everlasting covenant" (Rev. 14:6; Heb. 13:20). No, God is infinitely wise; He has not been poking around with trial-and-error experiments. Ever since the Garden of Eden He has had only one plan of salvation--"by grace through faith" (Eph. 2:9). Christ is the "Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).
Then why the two Covenants?
They are not two methods of salvation; they are two understandings of God's people through the ages, two opposite perceptions of God's plan of salvation, not two "dispensations" that He has used as experiments. The Old Covenant was a "faulty" understanding of His people at Mt. Sinai--God was not to blame for it. He tried His best to get them to understand His glorious "New Covenant" as Abraham understood it and was "justified by faith." But no, they were perverse; they themselves chose the Old Covenant idea. It led them to "bondage" and finally to torture and crucify our Savior (cf. Gal. 4:24). A kindergarten child can easily understand--that it's not really good, is it? (Read Galatians 3 and 4.)
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: November 12, 2002.
Copyright © 2010 by Robert J. Wieland.
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