5/06/07 – 18LAW “Grace and the Old Covenant” - Part 3
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Hello!  This is Richard Vaughn

Today’s message is “Grace and the Old Covenant - Part 3”

Before we begin, let us seek God’s guidance, “Heavenly Father, as we study this most important subject regarding grace and the old covenant, I pray that You bless those listening today with the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we pray for wisdom, knowledge and understanding so that we may live in the center of Your revealed will, as we ask in Jesus Name, Amen.”
Right now, I continue to keep my pledge, to cry aloud and spare not, to lift up my voice like a trumpet and to show God’s people where they are transgressing God’s law.

Over the last two weeks, we learned that the Old Covenant was an agreement containing promises that was made between God and the children of Israel.

We also learned that the Ten Commandments was not the Old Covenant, but was the object or instrument of the Old Covenant. Conversely we found that the New Covenant also had the Ten Commandments as the object or instrument of it, and was built on better promises, because God made the promises. He would write His law in the minds and on the hearts of those who would receive Jesus into their lives. Just as the Old Covenant was ratified with the blood of an ox, so the New Covenant was ratified by the blood of Jesus and His death on the cross.
Continuing on we will now look at Romans 8: 3 the first part. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,” The flesh independent of God could not keep the law now could it? The rest of verse 3 and first part of verse 4. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us,”
Not by us, but in us. That’s the key to understanding. The natural man can’t do it. But since Jesus came in our likeness and was able to live a perfect life without sin, He now offers to live that perfect life in us. That my brothers and sisters is the New Covenant. 
Let me throw in a caution right here: There is no faster way to frustrate the working of God in your life, and to short circuit the miracle of Christ working through you, then for you to take control away from Jesus and willfully and knowingly violate one single commandment. Rather you should prefer to die, then to break a single commandment. Otherwise it makes a sham of your profession. Do you understand that?
Okay, now let’s turn to Hebrews 9:16. “For where a testament is,” A testament is the same as a covenant. Rereading now “For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.” How many people have a will? Is your will in effect now? When does your will or testament take effect? Right. At your death or the death of the testator. It must wait until after your dead.  
And brothers and sisters, the New Covenant went into effect after Jesus died on the cross. At 3 PM that Friday. Turn to Galations 3:15 “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.” You see after the covenant is confirmed or ratified, nothing can be changed, added to or subtracted from it.
Now here are a series of five questions that need to be asked of  anyone who thinks the Sabbath was under the old covenant.
1.	When was the Old Covenant set up? Of course the answer would be that it was set up at Mt. Sinani.
2.	How was the Old Covenant ratified? The Bible states by the sprinkling of the blood of the ox.
3.	When was the New Covenant set up? Of course that answer would be at the cross.
4.	How then was the New Covenant ratified? The answer of course would have to be by the blood of Jesus. 
Turn to Hebrews 9:17 and notice what it says, “For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.”
Now let’s look again at Galatians 3:15 “Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.”  
The New Covenant was confirmed or ratified on the cross, at 3PM on Friday when Jesus died. That was it. Nothing could be added. 
Now dear listener I ask you question number 5. 
5. When did Sunday keeping begin? If you say at the resurrection, you mean that Sunday keeping began after the resurrection? But Jesus died on Friday. If Sunday keeping came on Sunday, it’s a couple of days too late. It cannot be part of the New Covenant. In fact Sunday keeping should not be part of the New Testament. And it is not.
Actually, Sunday keeping began in the fourth century. But even if it began the day Jesus arose from the dead, it would have been too late for the New Covenant that was ratified on Friday when Jesus died on the cross. Nothing could be added.
Communion was instituted on Thursday and was part of the New Covenant. Matthew 26:26-28 “And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”  
Grape juice represented His blood. The communion service had to be instituted before He died. If Sunday keeping was to be part of the New Covenant, it had to be before He died. 
With this understood, now let’s turn to Galatians 4:22-24 “For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.”
The two covenants are represented by the sons of Abraham. Ishmael born of Hagar represents the Old Covenant. Isaac born of Sarah represents the New Covenant. Let’s look at just how these two represent the covenants.
God told Abraham and Sarah they would have a son. Because of her age, Sarah knew she could not. She laughed because her womb was dead, it was dried up. She doubted God’s promise. So what did she do? She took her much younger handmaid Hagar and told Abraham to have a son by her. God never acknowledged that son Ishmael as the son of promise. God told her she would still have a son.
The basis of the Old Covenant is HUMAN planning, HUMAN strength, HUMAN effort. That is the Old Covenant, “WE will do it.”
How is it possible that Sarah would have a son with a dried up womb? The miracle of Creation in a dead womb, that’s how. Under the New Covenant God did it. Do you see? Do you understand?
The difference between the old and the new is the born again experience, conversion. He writes His law in our hearts and in our minds. We experience the miracle of new life in Christ.
Now listen carefully. Sunday keeping Christians claim that Seventh Day Adventists are under the Old Covenant by keeping the Sabbath. I tell you it is just the opposite! Sabbath keeping Christians keep Sabbath because of conversion. Jesus lives His life in them and through them and thereby fulfills the law. 
Listen, it is Sunday keeping that has people under the old covenant because they do so in their own strength and not according to God’s law and His promises. In fact, Sunday keepers can’t even keep the whole day Sunday holy. 
Hagar was the example of disobeying God and using human planning, human strength. That’s the Old. That’s Sunday keeping. But Sabbath keeping is obeying God’s law through Jesus living in you. That’s the New.
Today, how can we put ourselves under the Old Covenant? Ignore God’s law and try to keep man’s requirements in our own strength. Reject Sabbath and embrace Sunday. Trust in human strength. That’s how you put yourself under the Old Covenant. The very Sunday keepers who claim we’re under the Old Covenant, are in fact where they claim we are. Rejecting God’s law and keeping a human plan in their own strength. That’s the Old. And in the love of Christ you need to help them if they are open to understanding God’s truth. 
Yes the sinner is saved by grace through faith. But grace never does away with obedience. It is grace and obedience through Christ who lives within us. To reject God’s Sabbath is disgrace.
Well time is up for this week. Next week another wonderful topic of study in God’s Word.
If you would like to worship with seventh day Sabbath-keepers, come to the Victory Seventh Day Adventist Church in South Hill at 117 W. Danville Street, in the old Citizens Bank building, just a couple doors from the library.
Until next week, Jesus said in John 5:39, “Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me”. Come Lord Jesus.