For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)

For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For WHOSOEVER shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:12,13)

I would love to hear your thoughts on these two verses and how they reconcile with the conclusions of your original article: “Calvinism, Arminianism, So What?”. Blessings to you!

One of the differences in law between the 2 covenants is that under the OC, God commanded all Israelites to write His law on their hearts, and He did it for only a remnant by regenerating them. But under the NC, He writes His law on the hearts (regenerates) of ALL His people.

In my book, I wrote a chapter titled “But the Law Is Written in the Heart in the New Covenant.” I identified that law as the law of Christ. God’s law changed from the law of Moses to the law of Christ.

Of course, if you’re talking about the ALL the differences between the 2 covenants, that would include…

1. New creation
2. New promises
3. New temple
4. New priest
5. New sacrifice
6. New rest
7. New exodus
8. New passover
9. New land
10. New Israel
11. New law
12. New restoration
13. Etc.

Those are just some of the new blessings the Lord poured out on us in the NC. That is a consistent New Covenant Theology.

You asked a complex question that requires a long answer. But to try to make a long answer short…

Yes, Jer. 31 is a prophesy about the New Covenant for the Jews. And if our hermeneutic is that the OT interprets the NT, then we will believe that the NC is for the Jews alone. But if our herm. is that the NT interprets the OT, then we will ask, “Who do the NT apostles interpret as Israel today?”

Most scholars have recanted the view that the NC is for Jews alone. Most believe that the NC is for believing Jews and Gentiles. Others (Biblical Theologians and New Covenant Theologians) take that a step farther and say that the NC is for the New Israel, Jesus and those IN Him, believing Jews and Gentiles. Where do they get such ideas? From the New Testament apostles’ interpretation of Old Testament prophecy.

I don’t have time to quote all the NT verses that show the Church (believing Jews and Gentiles) included in Israel. So I’ll leave you some links if you desire to research more. Also, the day is coming when God will restore Jews in Christ, in the Church (Rom. 11).

http://www.patheos.com/community/euangelion/2011/07/13/the-church-and-israel-part-6-five-theses/
http://ids.org/author/author-geoff-volker/does-the-church-replace-israel-part-1/
http://ids.org/author/author-geoff-volker/does-the-church-replace-israel-part-2/
http://ids.org/author/author-geoff-volker/does-the-church-replace-israel-part-3/

Thanks for your encouragement.

I have an orthodox Jewish friend in Jerusalem who confirmed the rabbis don’t believe in the 3-fold division of the Law. If the reabbis did believe it, surely the Covenant Theologians would have quoted them long ago. Since your Adventist friend claims otherwise, the burden of proof is on him to document the evidence.

This is the first explicit 3-fold mention in history: http://www.newadvent.org/summa/2099.htm

I have just read your material with great interest and enjoyment. It is a timely and invaluable resource. Certainly is for me right now, more than you can ever realise.

I agree wholehearted with your conclusions. Many Christians, when they see the word ‘commandments’, go on auto pilot and immediately read it as referring to the Ten Commandments. It’s astonishing how Christian writers and theologians will wax eloquent about the differences between law and grace, the old and the new covenant etc etc and yet in the very next breath, assert, “Of course this does not apply to the ten commandments, it is the Christian’s duty” It never ceases to amaze me how Christian logic breaks down when confronted with the Ten Commandments. The mindset which automatically sees law as the Decalogue, is without doubt attributable to social conditioning. For centuries a wrong application has been made of the Decalogue in both the UK and the USA. I understand that the Puritans took the concept of ten commandments as man’s sole standard of duty, with them from old England to the States, where it grew in influence to where it is today.

Interestingly I challenged a Seventh-day Adventist about the divisions they have made to the Mosaic Law and I was told that the Jews do make these distinctions. You say they do not! So, Greg, if you can show otherwise it would be very useful. I would appreciate where you got your information from that the Jews in Jerusalem do not recognise these arbitrary divisions. Certainly they are not Biblical.

I think that the Christian gospel is currently under attack big time. It is being undermined from within the Christian community. There are a growing number of Judaistic and Messianic Christian cults behind this apart from Reformed Theology. Just go to ‘Which Day is the Sabbath’ on YouTube and you will find them there making their voices known and demanding a return to the Mosaic Law. Its unbelievable!

God grant us all eyes to see that in Christ there is a righteousness apart from the works of the law which makes us more lawful than those who accuse us of being lawless!

Brian Hyde