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If we challenge to call ourselves christians, followers of Christ then it is but proper that we should understand Him, His teachings, His commands, His desires as that coming from the Father, as Jesus Himself said: “I and the Father are ONE” (John 10:30) and “…he who has seen Me has seen the Father…” (John 14:9). The Apostles or first century disciples whom Jesus have taught may not be here to guide us in His teachings but we have His WORD; all revealed in the New Testament. Him saying: “He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--- the WORD that I have spoken will judge him in the last day” (John 12:48). His WORD is very important in our christian lives and only in the Bible we can hear, listen, read, feel, understand, search, seek and find His teachings, His answers, His solutions, His desires, His commands… as that coming from the Father.
We must understand that Jesus brought into this world a NEW COVENANT, a New Testament, a New Agreement far greater than the Old Covenant given ONLY to the Jews (Ex. 20:1,2; 31:12-17; 34:27,28; Deut. 5:1-6), God’s Chosen nation. The Old Covenant, particularly the Mosaic Covenant (Ex. 19:1-6; 24:1-8) is an agreement between God and a nation; Israel. A nation from which the Son of God was born to bring forth the birth of a New Covenant. The New Covenant is an agreement between God and individuals. The New Covenant was prophesied and foretold by the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and the inspired quotation of the prophecy was also penned by the Hebrew writer in Hebrews 8:8-12. The New Covenant is the covenant in Christ’s blood (Matt. 26:28; Heb. 10:9,10)… the covenant of the gospel of Christ (Mark 16:15,16; Heb. 10:9,10). The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham (Gal. 3:6-29). Under it, IN CHRIST, all are “new creatures”(2 Co. 5:17)
Why the need for a new covenant? The nature of the Old Covenant although coming from God is in the nature of a legal system. Where all the do’s and don’ts were written to guide a nation; laws, ordinances and religious systems including the 10 commandments all written in the Books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. As a legal system it required sinless perfection (Leviticus 18:5, Galatians 3:12) and a pronounced condemnation upon the violator of a single commandment (Deuteronomy 27:26). As evident, the Old Covenant cannot provide remissions of sins and for any transgression of the Law condemnation follows. Whereas in the New Covenant, God said through Jeremiah: “… I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more” (Jeremiah 31:34). Truthfully, when Jesus died on the cross, the Old Covenant passed away and the New Covenant was enacted (Hebrews 8:6). By His death the giving of His lifeblood for many, redemption and forgiveness of sins were being attained. Jesus blood mediated the New Covenant (Heb. 9:15-17). Jesus blood dedicated the New Covenant (Heb. 9:18-22). Jesus blood obtained eternal redemption (Heb. 9:11-14, 24-26). Therefore the New Covenant enacted upon the better promises of remissions of sins (Hebrews 8:6-12). A means of our sanctification (Heb. 10:1-18) and is the new and living way of life for all christians (Heb. 10:19-20). This is God’s new agreement being offered to all men.
Now where does Bible study fit in?
Within Jeremiah’s prophecy of a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34), God spoke and said: “I will put my law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people… for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them…” (Jeremiah 31:33-34). Here Jeremiah prophesied salvation by EDUCATION under the New Covenant. God said thru him: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts” and then adds, “they shall know me from the least of them to the greatest of them”. Laws are placed on men’s minds by education, by teaching. That is how those under the New Covenant came to know our Father and Christ. They were taught the gospel, educated to the New Covenant of Christ. They heard the Gospel, believed and understand the essentials, repented of their sins, confessed that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God and obeyed and were baptized into Christ to become Christians. Then God writes it on our hearts as living and walking epistles of the Bible, with the help of the Holy Spirit… the last teacher, indwelling within us. Then all shall know Him from the least to the greatest of men, as prophesized.
Jesus said: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, AND THEY SHALL ALL BE TAUGHT BY GOD. Therefore everyone who has HEARD and LEARNED from the Father comes to Me” (John 6:44-45).
Jesus used the educational process, the teaching process during His ministry. Those who HEAR are the ones who LEARN HOW TO COME TO HIM. Again He said during the great commission, “…go therefore and make disciples of all nations… TEACHING THEM TO OBSERVE ALL THINGS THAT I HAVE COMMANDED YOU…” (Matthew 28:19-20). The New Covenant must be learned and taught in its entirety or totality according to its context. The New Testament must be understood within the meets and bounds of soundness and logic reasoning having in mind the infallibility and error-free of God’s Word, the Bible.
You are save because you learned and know through the Bible that your actions in this world are in accordance to the New Covenant of God. You yourself understood God’s desires and commands and NOT by what Traditions dictates, NOT by personal loyalties to your accustomed religion or to what religious leaders may influence you, NOT by the powerful use of your feelings clouding your mind of the truth, NOT by ignorance of the truthfulness of the knowledge of God and Christ, NOT by convenience of comfortable interpretations or conduct of faith, NOT by disobedience to the truth or unwillingness to obey trying to look for compromising paths to follow and lastly beware, by delusions sent by God, as it is written: “… for this reason God will send them STRONG DELUSION, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2Thessalonians 2:11-12).
That is why BIBLE STUDIES are NEEDED in Christian living, that we may continuously study HOW TO COME TO OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, who will judge all of us as we wait and hope for His coming to fulfill the final promise of the New Covenant and bring us to our Father in heaven.
Glory to God.
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