A Change of Heart

Well, brethren, we're here at the Feast of Tabernacles, and we're focusing on the Kingdom of God being restored to this earth, and specifically focusing on the millennium, the first thousand years after Christ's return. We're looking beyond today into the world tomorrow. As we consider the millennium, as we look at this, I have a question for all of us to think about.

Within the millennium, will people be living under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant?

Will people be living under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant? Something to think about.

Well, what about us? Where do we fit in? Today, are we living under the Old Covenant or under the New Covenant? Well, the answer, obviously, is pretty obvious. We're living under the conditions of the New Covenant. Now, have we ever been accused of living under the Old Covenant? Well, yes, some of us in this room have been accused of living under the Old Covenant, but none of us ever have. None of us is even near old enough to be able to have lived under the Old Covenant. Although there are some seniors here among us—in fact, there's many seniors here among us—I talked to a gentleman here at the Feast. This is his 70th Feast of Tabernacles. That's just wonderful. That's incredible. And maybe there's more than one. I hope I don't leave anybody out. I just happened to meet this one and talk with this one individual. It's quite an accomplishment. But I'll ask the other end of the spectrum, so to speak. Are there any here for the first time? This being your first Feast of Tabernacles.

Well, very good. Welcome, and I hope you're having a wonderful time.

Back to my notes here. I have another question. Again, we're living under the New Covenant, under the terms of the New Covenant. I have another question. How do we live?

Do we live like we're living under the Old Covenant or the New Covenant? That's a different question. How do we know how we are living? To help us answer that question, I have a few more questions for us to consider. And the question is, how do we view the law? How do we view the law of God? Do we believe and practice the letter of the law? All of the time? Some of the time? Or none of the time? Or do we believe and practice the spirit of the law? Again, all of the time? Some of the time? Or none of the time? How will people view the law in the millennium?

And what will they think about it? Just think, in the millennium, as we've heard many times, we're going to be kings, priests, and teachers. What will we be teaching regarding the law of God at that particular time? How will the law be taught and observed and practiced in the millennium? So today, brethren, I'm going to talk about the covenants and the law of God, the covenants and the law of God.

We'll take a look at both the letter and the spirit of the law. There is much written in the Bible on this subject. Christ talked about it quite a bit. So did the Apostle Paul. Today, I want to emphasize, though, I'm just covering basic common, basic concepts. It's a very large subject and has many, many facets associated with it. So it's just basic concepts, foundational or fundamental principles about the covenants and the law of God. Let's start first by looking at what Christ said about the law. Turn to Matthew the fifth chapter. Matthew the fifth chapter, and I'll start reading in verse 17. This is a section that's familiar to many of us. It's part of the Sermon on the Mount. It's scriptures that some of us, especially those who have been around a while, have heard from years and years, and some not so much. In Matthew 5 and verse 17, this is, you know, in red letters, the words of Jesus Christ. It says, do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill, for surely I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law until all is fulfilled. Verse 19, whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. So from this statement we can see Jesus Christ definitely supported the law. Now he was accused of not supporting the law, but he definitely did support the law. We know what Jesus Christ said. It's a strong statement. It's a plain statement. You know, there's not a lot of ambiguity there. He says, nothing will fail until all is fulfilled.

Nothing, delete it. Not even the smallest part of a letter will fall away. You know, not even a dotting of an I or crossing of a T. Nothing's going to fail. Just as a side note, actually not so much maybe as a side note, there's an expression here he said Christ believes. He said, do not think I came to destroy the law or the prophets. This is an expression that you can look at the law or prophets, but it's also a way of referring to the Old Testament, two of the three sections of the Old Testament.

So Christ said that he's not against the law and he's not against the Old Testament teaching, which was the Scriptures that were available at that time. So the law and the prophets refer, as I mentioned, to the Old Testament Scriptures and some people get sidetracked by the word fulfill, where Christ said, I did not come to destroy, I came to fulfill. We're going to take a look at the word. It comes from the Greek word, playroo, and I'll do the best as far as my pronunciations are concerned.

The word is playroo. It's translated fulfill. It means to make full, to fill up, to the full, to render full, to complete. And that's from Thayer's Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament. In other words, Jesus said that he came to complete the law, to bring to perfection. How was he doing this? By showing the spiritual intent and application of God's law. And in the remainder of the chapter, he showed the spiritual intent and the application of a couple of the laws. I'm going to turn to some Scriptures. I'm going to refer to some, and this is what I'm going to refer to as Isaiah 42.21.

That's Isaiah 42.21. I'm just referencing that. It's a prophecy about the Messiah. And it says, the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake. He will magnify the law and make it honorable. That was a prophecy about Jesus Christ. He did that by showing the spiritual intent behind the law, the purpose of God's law. His meaning is clear, as he explains, as I mentioned, a couple of the Ten Commandments later in the chapter. He talked about the spiritual intent of the law. So again, we see that Christ has made three strong statements that he supported the law.

But again, as I mentioned, he was accused of being against it. Now, do we ever wonder why Christ said what he said? You know, why he made those statements? Do you ever wonder why? Well, personally, I'm glad that he did make the statements because it's good for us today. It makes it plain. It makes it clear, you know, as I mentioned, it's not ambiguous. But why did he say this? You know, consider the original audience.

Consider who he's talking to. He's talking to Jews. He's talking to very strict lawkeepers. He's talking to Pharisees. Again, excellent lawkeepers, at least physically speaking. So why would he say this? Why would he say something like that? Well, he honored and upheld the law in all of his statements. He is telling them not to misunderstand what he is doing. He's not pitting himself against the law or against the Old Testament.

What he was doing was refuting interpretation, excuse me, refuting the wrong interpretations and teachings of the scribes and of the Pharisees. He knows his teachings are different than the scribes and the Pharisees and the established Jewish religion. He knows they're different, and he wants to make sure that people know that he's not teaching against the law, but he's teaching against the wrong interpretations, again, of the scribes and of the Pharisees. Christ did not take away from or destroy the law in any way, but he definitely added the understanding to the law.

He magnified the law. He taught about the law, and he said, our righteousness must exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. As we read in various places, they were very righteous. I'm going to gather that they are better lawkeepers than any of us here, at least physically.

They were experts in little picky parts of the law. Again, another scriptural reference is Philippians the third chapter, verses 4-6, where Paul said he was blameless in the righteousness of the law. I'm sure that there's none of us here that can make that statement. Paul made that statement. Christ said, don't just look at the letter of the law, look at the Spirit, look at the principles, look at what God intends, look at the mind behind the law, why God said what he said, why he made the law the way that it was. We need to think more like Jesus Christ thinks, more like God the Father thinks. Let's also take a look at an example of the Apostle Paul and what was his view of the Old Testament.

Turn ahead to Acts the 24th chapter, Acts the 24th chapter, and I'll read verse 14.

At this point, Paul is being held in jail and he keeps coming before, you know, different courts. This particular time he's brought before the Governor Felix, and he's making his defense. Excuse me, Acts 24, verse 14, he said, But this I confess to you, that according to the way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. So what did Paul think about, you know, the Old Testament?

Again, this is the term, the law and the prophets, referring to the Old Testament.

What did Paul think about it? He said he believed all things that are written in the law and in the prophets. Turn over a few pages to Acts the 28th chapter.

Acts the 28th chapter, and I'll read verse 23. Again, this time Paul is in Rome.

He's under house arrest, but he does have a fair amount of freedom.

In Acts 28, verse 23, it says, So when they had appointed him a day, and that's Paul, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets from morning until evening. So here again, a reference to the Old Testament, as what we would call it, the law and the prophets. When something is repeated like that, it's important. It's repeated for a purpose. So Paul definitely supported the law and the prophets, and I'll say the Old Testament. He actually said in Romans 7, verse 12, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy just and good. So again, there's no question as far as Paul's thought about the law, although for some reason he is accused of being against the law. Just like Christ was accused of being against the law, so was Paul in his day as well as in our day for that matter.

Let's turn over a few more pages, 2 Timothy the third chapter, 2 Timothy the third chapter, and I'll start reading in verse 14. These are instructions from the Apostle Paul to the evangelist Timothy, and he's giving him instructions about, again, the Old Testament. 2 Timothy 3, starting in verse 14, he says, But as for you, as Timothy, continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom we have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the holy Scriptures. And again, this is pretty basic, but you know, what scriptures would Timothy have known from a child? Obviously what we call the Old Testament. New Testament wasn't written yet. From childhood you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus. And then in verse 16, and I know that we've turned to this scripture a couple of times, we've read it a couple of times, and obviously we're reading it again to see what more we can learn from it. Verse 16, it says, All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, reproof, correction, and for instruction in righteousness. There's a lot in that. It says all the scriptures. Again, the whole Old Testament is profitable.

And here Paul used the right term. He said it's profitable for, you know, various activities, various items. He didn't say the Old Testament was required. He said it's profitable. All the Old Testament is profitable. He used the right word. He said it is profitable. It's useful. It's beneficial. It is helpful.

Paul is not hostile to the Old Testament or the law. He said it's profitable.

We can learn. We can learn a lot from the Old Testament. You know, what about sacrifices? Can we learn from sacrifices? Well, absolutely, yes, we can learn. We can learn more about the sacrifices we make. We can learn more about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. What about circumcision? You know, like sacrifices, circumcision, physical circumcision is not required today. But we understand there's a problem with the heart, and it must be changed. What about ceremonies? Again, ceremonies. What about washings? What about the various types of offerings that were given? Yes, they're all profitable. We can learn from all of them, but all of them are not required today. They're not necessarily required, but we can learn from them. Paul said that the Scriptures, again, the Old Testament, the law is profitable. It's all profitable. Paul reasoned quite often from the Old Testament. He said, I'm not making up something new. I've got a basis. I've got a Bible. I've got holy scriptures to back up what I'm saying. He's saying he's not making up anything new, but the Old Testament, as we would say, the Scriptures that he would say, is profitable, and it's the basis, the foundation for what he taught. Obviously, other New Testament authors also often, quite often, reason from the Old Testament. According to the Expositor's Bible commentary, this is a quotation now, it says, depending on which scholars work you examine, the number of quotations and references in the New Testament to the Old may be as high as 4,105. And again, that's the Expositor's Bible commentary. That's a big number. That's a big number. Now, the person also says that, you know, depending on which scholar you tend to quote, they'll come up with a different number. But whatever the number is, it's not small, like 4,105.

That's a pretty precise number, and of course it's a very big number. The basis of Paul's teaching was, as well as other authors, was the Old Testament. Let's take a look at something that was changed, and that something that was changed was the Old Covenant. And it was changed actually in the Old Testament. It wasn't changed in the New. It was changed, and it's recorded, and we won't read it, but in Jeremiah 31, which I'll also quote later, the Old Covenant is something that was changed. The word for covenant in the Old Testament is transliterated, bereith, bereith, B-E-R-Y-I-T-H, Strongs 1285. And I'll spell it again a little slower in case anyone's writing this down, B-E-R-Y-I-T-H. The New Testament word translated covenant is diathakei, D-I-A-T-H-E-K-E, D-I-A-T-H-E-K-E, Strongs 1242.

A definition of bereith is based on the brown driver and Briggs lexicon, is a covenant is an agreement or a treaty between two or more parties.

There are conditions to be met and there are actions as the result of the conditions being met or not being met. In this case, the parties in the in the Covenant were God. Nation of Israel was another of the parties in the Covenant.

The condition was the law and depending on whether the law was kept or not kept, there were blessings or there were cursings. Generally speaking, a covenant or a treaty is between relative equals, if you will, people of the same stature. This was not the case. God and Israel were nowhere near equal. Not at all. However, God gave Israel conditions saying, I will do this if you will do that. Israel's choice was either to accept or reject the Covenant. There was no negotiations going on. Can we do something differently? Again, no negotiations. It was not a contract or a covenant between equals at all. Israel's choice was to accept or not. Turn ahead a few more pages to Hebrews the 8th chapter. Hebrews the 8th chapter and I'll start reading in verse 7. The author of Hebrews has a fair amount to say about the New Covenant and about various ramifications of the New Covenant. And I'll just cover this one section here as far as the Hebrews are concerned. Hebrews 8, starting in verse 7, it said, For if that first covenant had been faultless, so there was a problem with the old covenant, which was the first covenant, then no place would have been fought for a second because finding fault with them.

The them is Israel. It wasn't God, it wasn't the law, it was Israel.

Finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, with the house of Judah. And again, the author here is not making this up, so to speak. He's quoting from Jeremiah 31, starting in verse 31. He's quoting from the Old Testament. He says, I'll make a covenant with the house of Israel, with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant. So again, they did not continue in my covenant, the people of Israel. And he said, And I disregarded them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more. So again, here the author of Hebrews is quoting from Jeremiah 31, as I mentioned. It shows here the New Testament will actually be with everyone. It talks about Israel and Judah, but the New Testament shows that the New Covenant will be with everyone, all of the people of the world, beginning with the millennium, well beginning with us, but as far as the world's concerned, worldwide in the millennium and beyond. Romans 11 shows that the Gentiles will be grafted into Israel. And again, we understand all, you know, the New Covenant is for all through Christ. New is an interesting word, as in New Covenant. What does that mean? How does that apply? According to William Barkley in his New Daily Study Bible on the book of Hebrews, it says, the New Covenant is not only new, it is different in quality and kind. There are two Greek words, and this is continuing on in the quote from Mr. Barkley, there are two Greek words for new in the New Testament. One of them is neos, neos, n-e-o-s.

It's new in respect of time, even though it is an exact copy. Let's say as an example, you know, something that's new in time, it's an exact copy. Let's say I have a suit at home just like this. Maybe I bought it a year ago. I like the suit.

And I liked it so much, better stand by the microphone, I liked it so much that I bought another one exactly like it. Same color, same style, you know, same cut, same everything, you know, it's identical. But it's this year's suit versus last year's suit, so it was new this year, something that is new in respect to time. The other word translated new is kinos, kinos, and that's new in time and quality. And I'm going to quote now from our booklet, the United Church of God booklet, Study Guide on the New Covenant, in page 42. It says, in the New Testament, the Greek word translated new in the New Covenant is with one exception, kinos. It means new as to form or quality, or of a different nature from what is, excuse me, contrasted as old. And that's according to Vine's complete expository dictionary of Old and New Testament words. Neither Greek word translated new suggested every aspect of the Sinai or Old Covenant was replaced. Each only indicates that the more recent covenant has enhanced and improved the quality of the original documents. So basically, new is not exactly like the old. It is better. It is superior. It's been refurbished, remodeled, improved, and refreshed. So the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant in several different ways. First way is the law is written in the heart. It's written in a different place than the Old Covenant, not on tablets, not on sheepskin. It's written on our hearts.

God changes us from the inside out. We internalize His ways. We obey God not in fear or terror, but in love. Again, the law is written on our hearts. And we know that, again, we've heard the Bible study last night as well as others, that people tend to follow their hearts. You know, what we really have our heart and our desire set on, that's what we do. And that's where God is changing us from the inside out. Now, as a side issue, we might say, well, some might say, well, what law is being talked about? There is no question about what law is being referenced here. As I mentioned, this is a quote from Jeremiah, and Jeremiah would have been, what, he knew one law. He knew God's law, the Ten Commandments. Again, referencing Isaiah 2 verses 2 and 3, it says, the Word and the law will go forth from Jerusalem. Now, what law is going to go forth in the millennium from Jerusalem? Michael 4 verses 1 to 4 says that the law will be taught in the millennium. So there's no question about what law is being taught. That law is being written in our hearts. A second way the covenant is different is the covenant is within an individual. The Old Covenant was national. It wasn't with individuals. It was national. It was with Israel. And it had national promises. The New Covenant is with individuals. And, of course, its promises are a whole lot better. A third way that the New Covenant is different is the New Covenant is for everyone now. No one will have to teach his neighbor. The New Covenant is for everyone, the whole world, not just Israel. From the least unto the greatest. Again, we've read earlier in the feast that in the millennium God is going to give people a new heart. He's going to take out the heart of stone and give people a new heart. That's in Ezekiel 26. Excuse me. Ezekiel 36 verses 26 to 27.

And then in Joel 2.28, God says he's going to pour out his Spirit on all flesh.

All flesh. God is going to have a relationship with everybody. Everybody in the whole world. And I strongly suspect that we are going to be a part of that relationship. A fourth point that the New Covenant is different is grace is introduced. As God said, he's going to forgive sins. He's going to not remember the lawless deeds. In the Old Covenant, the individual had to pay a price or a penalty when they broke the law. In the New Covenant, sins are forgiven. However, just because they're forgiven, there still is a price that needs to be paid. And Jesus Christ has paid that price for us. He is our Passover.

Let's turn back to 2 Corinthians, the third chapter, and we'll see what also Paul said about the law and about the covenants. 2 Corinthians, the third chapter. And we'll look at some more instruction from the Apostle Paul.

2 Corinthians, the third chapter, and we'll start reading in verse 1. I knew it didn't look right. I'm in 1 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians, the third chapter, starting in verse 1.

Paul starts out by comparing physical and spiritual, as we'll see as we go through this passage. Paul says, do we begin again to commend ourselves, or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you? And what he's saying is that, you know, like Paul would travel around to various congregations at that time, so would Timothy, and so were other, I'll say, traveling ministers, if you will, where they would spend time in one congregation and then go to another. As they left one congregation to go to another, they would take with them a letter of commendation that would introduce them to the next congregation and, you know, tell something about their credentials. So they would have these letters of commendation. A couple of references in the Bible, if you're interested, in Colossians 4.10.

Colossians 4.10. Paul gives instructions in a letter to welcome Mark. In Romans 16, Paul wrote a letter introducing Phoebe. Others would have these letters, and Paul is saying, you know, do we need to have a letter of commendation for you? It says, you are our epistle written in our hearts, known in red by all men.

You are manifestly an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but, excuse me, is not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is of the heart. So again, Paul is talking physical and spiritual here. He says, we don't need a physical letter.

You are our letter. Changed lives are our letter. The Holy Spirit working in you, that's our letter. The Holy Spirit changes hearts. Changed lives are a proof of our ministry. And we don't need, you know, physical letters. And he's starting out, again, you think about the New Covenant. It's written on our hearts.

It's written spiritually on our hearts. Continuing on in verses 4 to 6, it says, and we have such trust through Christ towards God. Not that we are sufficient for ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God, who made us sufficient as ministers of the New Covenant. Not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Here Paul is saying that the Old Covenant is a reminder of sin and of punishment. It is that administration of death. When a person sinned, some thing or someone died.

Either it was an animal and usually it was an animal. However, for some sins, such as adultery or murder or kidnapping and others, the person himself was killed.

The person himself died. The Old Covenant was a reminder of sin. It reminded the people of sin. It did not forgive the sin. It certainly did not pay for the sin. It was a system of punishment, not of mercy or forgiveness. And it didn't do anything as far as a person's conscience was concerned. So what is the minister's role today if a person is caught in a sin? Say someone does something really, really bad like commit adultery. Under the Old Covenant, what was the penalty? The penalty was death. That person would die. Well, Christ did not put a method of punishment in his church. It's not a system of, say, a different sin of fines for lying. It's not something like if you, you know, tell a half-truth or deceive somebody, well, that's going to cost you $10. Or if you tell a little white lie, well, that's going to cost $25. Or a really big whopper, you know, that's going to cost $100. Christ didn't put that system of, say, punishment or penalties in the church. It just doesn't exist. So what is the role of a minister if someone is sinning? What is that role? It's not a policeman, you know, he's not a judge or jury, but the minister's role is to try and help the person, to teach about repentance, you know, to not punish, but to teach about repentance. Now, obviously, there is a time when ministry sometimes does have to take corrective action. And some of you may have already thought, well, what about 1st Corinthians 5 where, you know, Paul was dealing with this problem of sexual immorality. He told the people, you know, put the man out of the church, you know, take him away. He did this for the sake of the man himself, and he also did it for the congregation. It was done in love. It wasn't in punishment, it was done in love.

Paul was dealing with a specific situation. Again, Paul said, you know, for the benefit of the individual, take him away. For the benefit of the congregation, take him away. Because a little later in that chapter, 1st Corinthians 5, it talks about a little leaven, leavens the whole lump. If that condition would have been allowed to stay there, infester, and develop, you know, who knows what would have happened. Things would have spread. They usually do. However, as I mentioned, that, you know, the minister's job is to help, to serve, to repent, to help the person to repent. Under the new covenant, there is a penalty. It's not like, you know, we get off scot-free, so to speak. There is a penalty. You know, what is that penalty? The penalty is the death penalty. There will be a lake of fire. The wages of sin is death in Romans 6.23. Christ died for us to pay the penalty for us, each of us for our sins, but there is a penalty. God is serious about sin, and He doesn't tolerate it. He doesn't tolerate it at all. One of the reasons we go to the Feast of Tabernacles is to learn the fear of the Lord our God. Let's look at this one. Hold your finger here. Turn back to Deuteronomy the 14th chapter. Deuteronomy the 14th chapter, and I'll read verse 23. Deuteronomy 14 verse 23, breaking into the context, starts talking about my second tithe. It says, and you shall eat before the Lord your God in the place He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and of your new wine and your oil and the first things of your herds and of your flocks.

So again, basically our second tithe. It says we take this and then that. This is a connection where there's a purpose that we do that. There's a purpose we came here. It wasn't just, you know, to let our hair down and have a fraternity party or whatever. There's a purpose for us being here. Yes, we do rejoice, but we rejoice with a purpose that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. We're here. One of the main reasons we're here is to learn to fear the Lord our God. A good definition I heard about that a few years back of, you know, what does it mean to fear? It's not talking about terror. It's not talking about, you know, cowering down. You shouldn't have to do that. God is the loving Father. We don't need to fear Him in that way. What we do need to do is to take God seriously. And again, that's that definition that I heard a few years back. We need to take God seriously. He says what He means, and He means what He says. And He does not tolerate sin. However, again, God is for us. He's working in us to save us. He loves us. He wants us in His family. You know, John 3 16. He wants us in His family. So the New Covenant is different than the Old. It's different a lot from the Old.

It includes forgiveness and a cleansing of the conscience. It gives life. We have mercy and forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Again, He is our Passover. The New Covenant has a different focus. Again, thinking about fearing God, it's... I've talked to some people where they think there's, you know, God is some sort of like a sword of Damocles hanging over their head. And for those not familiar with that particular expression, it's a figure of speech of impending doom or catastrophe. It's based on a mythical character who had a sword suspended above his head, and it was held by a human hair. And he never knew when that hair was going to break or if it was going to break. It was constantly in fear that, you know, oh, you know, it's going to get me. Well, I'll say, if God was out to get us, He'd have gotten each of us a long time ago. He's not trying to get us for punishment. He's trying to get us into His family, to live with Him forever and ever. Again, the Old Covenant was about punishment and punishing. The New Covenant is about mercy and about love and about life. Again, James 2.13.

James 2.13. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Continuing on in 2 Corinthians 3, down to verse 7, it says, but if the ministry of death written and engraved on stones was glorious so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of His countenance, which glory was passing away. Verse 7, it talks about the ministry of death. Again, the Old Covenant. It says the Old Covenant was glorious. It says so here. It had glory. It wasn't a bad covenant. There's nothing wrong with it in that sense. It was a perfect covenant for dealing with a physical nation. But remember, the problem was with the people. The problem was not with the covenant. The New Covenant is about changing people's hearts and minds from the inside out, working with the heart. If the heart is not changed, again, another saying, a person convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.

We need to have our hearts changed to turn to God. And again, the Old Covenant was not a bad covenant. It just was superseded by a much better one. Continuing on in verse 8, it says, how will the ministry of the Spirit, again, the New Covenant, not be more glorious than the Old Covenant? Verse 9, for if the ministry of condemnation had glory, again, the Old Covenant, that ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect because of the glory that excels. For if what is passing away was glorious, what remains is much more glorious. Again, the Old Covenant was not a bad covenant, but the New Covenant is much, much more glorious. Again, quoting William Barkley, he said the Old Covenant had glory, and we read that. The Old Covenant had glory, but continuing the quote, he said it's second best. And I'll interrupt the quote again. It's not only second best, it's a huge second best. I mean, it's just completely overshadowed, new over the old.

Continuing with William Barkley, he said it's not something wrong that was superseded by right, but incomplete, superseded by the complete. Now, see, it's kind of like I think most of us at some time or other in our lives have gone camping. And let's say, you know, we have, it's nighttime, and we have a lantern. Either kerosene, maybe battery operated, and it's enough light to function to get around. You know, you can go from one tent to another, if you will. Excuse me, you're not going to crash into somebody or trip over something. You know, you can see where you're going. Depending how bright the lantern is, you might be able to play cards, or maybe even read a book. The lantern gives you light to be able to see. However, the next day, when it's daylight, the sun comes out. It completely overshadows that lantern. The lantern can be lit, you know, just sitting here it can be lit, but you wouldn't highly even notice it, because it's so overshadowed by the sun, by sunlight, by the daylight. Likewise, I'll say the lantern had a little glory. You know, it worked at night. The daylight has much more glory. It supersedes. It's over and above.

The lantern, the new covenant, is over and above the old covenant. Looking back at the old covenant, punishment cannot really change the heart. If you have a system, it'll be a deterrent for a while, but eventually it will break down. We can't threaten people to do the right thing long-term. It just doesn't work that way. It must come from the inside out, from the heart, from a changed heart. And the new covenant is about changing hearts. Once our heart is changed, so will our attitude, so will our thoughts, and so will our actions. The new covenant is about leading people to do the right thing. It's about what I call true righteousness. Continuing on in 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 12, it says, Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech, unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. But their minds were hardened, for until this day the same veil remains un-lifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.

And recall, we read in 2 Timothy 3 that the Old Testament was able to make wise to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. The words are there, but unless Christ opens up our mind, we don't see them. Continuing on, verse 15, it says, But even to this day, when Moses has read a veil lies on their heart, nevertheless, when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. So Israel was blinded. Again, the veil is taken away in Christ. We understand because the veil is taken away. We also understand that there has to be an invitation from God first. There's a calling, John 644, you know, none can come to me unless the Father draws them. The veil must be taken away in Christ, and again, an invitation from God to be able to understand, to have the opportunity to understand. Once that happens, Christ takes away the veil.

Again, looking back at the events of 31 A.D., when he died, the veil that was in the temple was rent, and we have access to the Father. So again, as repeating the No Covenant is a mindset of do's and don'ts. The New Covenant is about relationship with God. It doesn't do away with the requirements. They're still there, but it's about a relationship of walking with God, knowing Him as a Father. Back to 2 Corinthians 3 and verse 17. It says, Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, there is freedom. But we who will unveil faith, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. So here we have freedom. We have liberty.

It's freedom from sin. Not as some people read freedom to sin. It's freedom from sin.

We are to become more and more like Jesus Christ. Have more of His thoughts, more of His attitudes.

To become more spiritually mature. To more have God's laws and ways written in our hearts.

Turn ahead to 2 Timothy the second chapter this time. 2 Timothy the second chapter, and we'll see more about the mind of God, more about what we need to be doing, how to apply God's law in our lives, how to live our lives. 2 Timothy the second chapter.

This time starting in verse 14, Paul is giving instructions again. He says, Remind them of these things, charging them before the Lord, not to strive about words to no profit to the ruin of the hearers. So again, we shouldn't be striving, arguing, bickering among ourselves. God doesn't want us to do that. In verse 15, he says, Be diligent, to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed.

Rightly dividing the word of truth. We need to put scriptures together in a profitable way to see how they go together, how they fit, how they complement, how they open up meanings, a fuller, richer meaning of putting scriptures together. We need to look at principles.

We need to look at the intent. Some people at that time were principle deficient, so to speak.

They did not get the point. They argued about words.

Turn back. No, excuse me. Turn ahead. In my Bible, turn a page to verse 24.

Still 2 Timothy 2 verse 24. It says, The servant of the Lord, again, talking to Timothy as a minister, but it could apply to all of us and does apply to all of us. The servant of the Lord must not quarrel but to be gentle, gentle to all, able to teach, and patient.

We shouldn't be quarreling again. We shouldn't be arguing. I think if there's an argument taking place, chances are good that both parties are wrong. One may be technically right, but the idea is, how does God look down upon his children arguing and bickering?

Those of us who are parents, how do we look down upon our children if they're arguing and bickering?

They're both wrong, even though they say one may technically be right.

If we get into an argument, we're actually missing the point of Christianity, of love, of loving our neighbors. Now, I will say, however, if you have differences of opinion—and of course, I don't know, I'll say there's 150 people in this room—there's probably 300 or more opinions.

It's just the way that we are. So having a difference of opinion is not necessarily a wrong thing. And if you can get into really good discussions, well, this is what I think because, and the other person, well, that's what I think because. And it can be profitable, not arguing, again, not bickering back and forth, but having a proper discussion. And things can be learned. Again, if we're having a discussion of who's right and who's wrong, that's not really the discussion they have. It's more important what is right rather than who is right. God doesn't want his children arguing one with another. Turn back to Philippians the second chapter.

Philippians the second chapter, and I'll start reading in verse 5.

Again, it's a familiar scripture to many of us here.

Philippians the second chapter in verse 5, it says, "'Let this mind be with you, be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.'" Again, we need to more think like he thought, to look at his example of what he did of how he did it. "'Let this mind be in you, which also was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.' He had the mind of God, and he also was exceedingly humble. Again, but he made himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant and coming in the likeness of men, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself." We need to be more humbling ourselves as well. He humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even to the death of the cross. Let's look a little bit at the mind of God in action. Turn back to Luke 10, the 10th chapter, and I'll start reading in verse 25.

Luke 10 in verse 25 is the passage that was actually referred to in the sermonette, where there was a lawyer that came to Jesus Christ to test him. Not to find out, but to test him.

Luke 10, starting in verse 25, it says, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, wanted to get him with a trick question, saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And of course, that's an important question for everybody to ask. Important thing to think about, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And Christ said to him, what is written in the law? What is your reading of it?

So he answered and said, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. And Christ said to him, you have answered rightly, do this and you will live. But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? Now, who is my neighbor? Now, there are various ways Christ could have answered that, but he answered in this case, not with a specific definition, but with an illustration. He answered with a parable. Because just think, if he'd given a specific definition, like, who is my neighbor? Well, it's the person that lives next door to me.

Well, that means the person on the other side, that's not my neighbor. Well, what about two doors away? Well, what about people on the same block? You know, are they my neighbor? Well, what about people on the next block? And anyway, any place you draw a line, there's an argument.

What about those who are excluded? Christ did not want to exclude anybody. And he answered this question with the parable of the Good Samaritan. As I mentioned, it was referred to earlier. There was a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he was beaten and robbed and left for dead.

And then a priest came down the road, saw him, said, oh, I'm going to bypass this. There was a Levite likewise, you know, went around the man. And there was a Samaritan. And of course, there's a lot of interplay going on here. The Jewish people and the Samaritans, I'll say it nicely, they didn't like each other. They actually hated one another. But anyway, Christ is using this as a Samaritan, really, to drive a point home. It says, a Samaritan came and he saw the man, and he bandaged up his wounds, took him to an inn, gave the innkeeper money to be able to take care of him.

Then Christ said, you know, who is the man's neighbor? And the lawyer, dropping down in verse 36, says, Which of these do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves? Verse 37, he the lawyer said, He who showed mercy on him. Then Christ said to him, Go, and do likewise.

Go and do likewise. Who is your neighbor? Everybody is your neighbor. There is nobody who is excluded.

Not a lot to argue about with something like that. But as I say, if he'd have given a specific definition, well now, you know, we can negotiate, we can argue about, you know, this, that, and the other. Turn back to Matthew 22, and we'll see another situation where a man came to Christ in order to test him. Actually, another lawyer came to Christ. And he says to him, You know, what is the great commandment of the law? Matthew 22, starting to read in verse 34, it says, But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

Then one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, testing him. Again, it wasn't really to find out.

It was to test him, to trap him, and saying, Teacher, what is the great commandment of the law?

Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.

There's that expression again, the law and the prophets. The whole Old Testament is based on these two commandments. The whole Old Testament, all the law, is based on love. On the love of God, as we heard earlier in the feast, God is love. A true love, a pure love. And again, reference 1 John 4, verse 8, and verse 16. God is love. His law is an expression of that love.

God tells us how to love him, as well as how to love each other, how to conduct ourselves.

Now, the millennium at some point is going to end. The thousand years will be over.

And the kingdom of God is going to go on. The white throne judgment period at some point is going to be over. And the kingdom of God will go on. The new heavens and the new earth in Revelation 21 and 22 will come to pass. They will be a reality. And the kingdom of God will go on. In Psalm 103, verse 19, Psalm 103, 19, it says, God's kingdom rules over all.

And I'll say, for all time, God's kingdom does rule over all. God is looking for children to be like him, to think like him, to have a right heart now and literally forever, to live with him for eternity in his kingdom, to have more of his love, to have more of the mind of Jesus Christ, to have his law written in their hearts.