Is The Old Covenant Binding Upon the Church

Adam-Moses-Christ From Romans 5:13-14 we find that there was a time before the Law which was given to Moses. This period of time is described as being from Adam to Moses. This can now be categorized as a unique dispensation which we can call the dispensation of Promise. God promised Eve a kinsman Redeemer (Genesis 3:15), Noah was promised that He would never cause such a catastrophic deluge to destroy the world again (Genesis 8:21-22), many promises were made to Abraham (Genesis 12:1-7, 13:14-17, 22:17-18), and to Isaac (Genesis 26:1-4), and to Jacob (Genesis 28:13-14). John 1:17 tells us that the Law which was given by Moses was until the grace which came by Jesus Christ. Hebrews 9 and 10 tells us of the New Covenant (Testament) which is by the shed blood of Christ our Passover Lamb which supersedes the Old Covenant which was the Law of Moses. So now we have another unique dispensation which we can call the dispensation of Law. The books of Exodus-Deuteronomy detail the Law and its implementation. So far we have two divisions: Promise and Law. Let us now move on to the more controversial divisions. The Gospel of the Kingdom Luke 16:16 tells us that the Law was until John the Baptist, and that since that time the Kingdom of God is preached. It should be noted that the Kingdom is also found in the Prophets (Micah 4, et al). Also, the Law did not end with either the birth or ministry of John the Baptist as Jesus Christ rebuked those who would break even the smallest commandment of the Law (Matthew 5:18-19). Therefore we know Luke 16:16 does not refer to the end of one dispensation and the beginning of another, rather, the prophesied Kingdom to come, as well as the Messiah (Daniel 9:26-27, et al) and the one who would prepare His way and announce His coming (Isaiah 40:3>>>Matthew 3:3, et al), are come to fruition and so the message is "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand!" This message is one which was given to Israel under the Law (Ezekiel 18:30, Daniel 2:44, et al). The Jews knew full well of the Messiah as is evident in some of the peoples' remarks concerning Messiah (Matthew 2:4-6, John 4:25, et al), and they knew of the promised Kingdom (Luke 19:11, Luke 23:51, et al). With all this in mind, we see that a new dispensation has not yet begun, neither with John the Baptist's ministry nor with Jesus Christ's. The Kingdom Gospel which is the only Gospel preached by John the Baptist, Jesus Christ, and His disciples in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, is a part of the dispensation of the Law given to Israel through the Prophets. Remember, the dispensation of the Law is from Moses to Christ. So if the Law be until Christ (per the book of Galatians and Hebrews), at what point does a new dispensation begin? Well, the New Testament began after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood (Matthew 26:28, Hebrews 9). While it began no doubt after the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the new dispensation, as we shall see, was not understood until the revelation was given to the Apostle Paul. The Gospel that is preached today is not the Gospel of the Kingdom which was given to Israel, but today is preached the death, burial, resurrection of Christ for our justification, for our salvation! Ephesians 2 details this Gospel very well and by it and other passages, we can surely call this new dispensation Grace (John 1:17). One can say that this dispensation began after the death and resurrection of Christ, but it was not understood, nor was it preached until the Apostle Paul. This third dispensation can rightfully be called the dispensation of Grace (Ephesians 3:2). The Dispensation of Grace By now we should clearly see 3 dispensations in the word of God: Promise, Law and Grace. The placement of the first two dispensations is commonly understood by mainstream Christianity (although not always consistently applied, such as when ministers preach the Tithe which was given to Israel under the Law). The placement of the third dispensation, Grace, is not so commonly understood. While surely Grace was made possible by the work of Christ at Calvary, the dispensation had not yet been given to understand until the Apostle Paul. Before we look at the scriptural evidence for this, lets consider a few implications of this truth. This means that the Gospel that saves (1 Corinthians 15:1-4, et al), is not the Gospel that is preached in the beginning part of Acts. This would also mean that we have to be careful when applying scriptures from Matthew-Acts to ourselves as much of it concerns messages given to Jews under the Law. Now the scriptural evidence is abundant, so I will try to limit what I give to only essential passages, else this paragraph would seem more like an essay! Although mainstream Christianity does not commonly understand that the dispensation of Grace was not preached and understood until Paul, it is actually quite clear in the scriptures. Just as those of the dispensation of Promise knew nothing of the Law that was to be given to Moses, including the Levitical priesthood, ceremonial ordinances, etc., so too those of the dispensation of the Law, including the 12 disciples, did not know of the grace that was to come by Jesus Christ. The salvation preached today, which is by the atoning power of the blood of Christ, is not the salvation understood by those under the Law. They looked forward to a future day in which Messiah would establish His kingdom in Jerusalem and bring about a universal and eternal peace, where the enemies of Israel would be conquered and God's tabernacle would be with men; this was Israel's understanding of salvation. When I say "grace," I am referring to the gift of salvation which is received by faith in the power of the blood of the Lamb to wash away my sins (Ephesians 1-2). This Gospel was given to the Apostle Paul after his conversion on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). The book of Acts does not detail a specific time when the new dispensation was given to Paul, but we know it had to be sometime after Acts 9. Galatians 1 and Ephesians 3 tells us that the Gospel Paul preached was unique and was given to him by revelation from Jesus Christ. When we look at the substance of Paul's Gospel in Romans-Philemon, we get the clear message that we are saved by faith in the atoning power of Christ's shed blood for our sins (i.e. Romans 3:24-26). This unique message, although hinted at in the Prophets (Isaiah 53, et al ) and spoken of by Jesus (Matthew 26:28, et al), was a mystery to all before Paul. So we can safely say, with such passages as Romans 16:25, that the dispensation of Grace began with Paul. So although it was made possible by Christ's work at Calvary, it was not given to know until after Paul's conversion. Compare the substance of the preaching of the Gospel in Matthew-Acts 8 to Romans-Philemon, and you will see that without exception, Paul's Gospel of Grace is different than the Gospel of the Kingdom. The New Covenant The term "new," by implication, makes the previous covenant "old." The New Covenant is based on better promises and a better sacrifice (Hebrews 8). There are many differences between the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant to cite (http://www.hebrew4christians.com...). The question of whether or not the Old Covenant is binding upon Christians in this dispensation of Grace, given the context of what I have already presented, is a simple matter to address. Galatians 3 tells us that the blessing of Abraham to the Gentiles is made possible by the death of Christ and the faith that has come through Him: 1.) Cursed is the man who does not continue in the law (v. 10) 2.) Christ redeems us from the curse of the law (v. 13) 3.) The law does not disannual the promise to Abraham (v. 17, 18) 4.) The law was added until the promise be fulfilled in Christ (v. 19) 5.) The law is our schoolmaster until faith is come through Christ (v. 24)