I’ve often told students that in order to understand the Bible, they must first understand covenant.  Without a working knowledge of the concept of Biblical covenant, the Bible is a tough book to follow, and it is this lack of understanding that has resulted in a great deal of confusion and division in the church over the centuries.  In fact, many of the theological debates that go on today arise from this issue. For example, if a Christian assumes that we live under both the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, he will have quite a different understanding of the Bible and the faith than a Christian who believes that we live under the New Covenant only.  A Christian who believes that the Abrahamic Covenant is in force and effect will have an entirely different view of Revelation than one who believes that it was fulfilled by Jesus.

Now before you get the idea that this is a complicated subject, please rest assured that it is not; it’s actually a very simple one, so hang in there!

A few days back, I posted about God’s most notable attribute, and indicated that for the ancient Hebrew, this was restraint. It is this restraint that makes Biblical covenants possible, and it is Biblical covenants that make God’s promises both possible and reliable, thus it behooves any Christian to understand this issue. We’ll dive into it next time, see you then!