Please continue to pray for God’s mercy and His protection. Remember He is in complete control of the winds and waves He Himself made! And He uses it all for His glory and our good.

Following the service, there will be an Easter egg hunt for children 10 and under on the commons across from the church.

Above is the Haverhill Community Church 2010 newsletter (.pdf) presented today. This is just a small sampling of the many things that the Lord is doing among us. Continue to keep Christ central & supreme in all things, as He really is and deserves to be!

Feel free to share this with others. It is a JOY to serve Him with you,
Soli Deo Gloria! (Glory to God alone!)

- Pastor Danny

Gospel Context: The Whole-Bible Story

God’s ultimate purpose in throughout history is to create a people to dwell in his presence, glorifying him through numerous varied activities by enjoying him forever. The story begins with God in eternal glory, and it ends with God and his people in eternal glory. At the center stands the cross, where God revealed his glory, perfection, beauty, and value through his Son Jesus Christ. Before the true obedient Son, stepped into history, there were 2 rebellious sons that were created and to live in God’s presence: Adam and Israel. It was through these 2 sons that God’s revealed humanity’s darkness, ugliness, corruption, and sinfulness. The biblical story of redemption must be understood within the larger stories of Adam and Israel before we get to Jesus. The story-line is as follows:

First Adam (read Genesis 3:1-15), and later Israel (read Exodus 32), was placed in God’s sanctuary (the garden and the Promised Land, respectively), but both Adam and Israel failed to be a faithful, obedient steward, and both were expelled from the sanctuary God had created for them. But Jesus Christ—the new Adam, the new Israel—was faithful and obedient to God. He accomplished everything Adam and Israel could not. Though the world killed him, God raised him to life, which meant that death was defeated. Through his Spirit, God pours into sinners the resurrection life of his Son, creating a new humanity “in Christ.” Those who are “in Christ” move through death into new life and exaltation in God’s sanctuary, there to enjoy his presence forever.

The work of Christ on earth, and especially his crucifixion and resurrection, is the climax of history; it is the great turning point at which God actually accomplished the salvation toward which history had been moving throughout the Old Testament. The present era looks back on Christ’s completed work but also looks forward to the consummation of his work when Christ will come again and when there will appear “new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet. 3:13; see Rev. 21:1–22:5).

Story Bookends
The “bookends” of the biblical story concept illustrates that in the third-to-last chapter of the Bible (Revelation 20) God removes his enemies—Satan, death, and evil—that entered the story line in the third chapter of the Bible (Genesis 3), thus completing the story of redemption. The last two chapters (Revelation 21–22) don’t simply restore the first two chapters (Genesis 1–2); they go beyond them to a world that is fully ordered and holy, in which God is fully present with his people, completing the story of creation.

Gospel Re-Definition
With such a full, rich story-line that presents so many characters, themes, and varieties of literature, it means that there are many entry points and patterns of the Gospel. With each theme, character, or literary form, there are more layers of meaning and impact. For example, Israel’s rhythm of Creation-Fall-Redemption-Restoration can be redefined for the lens of home/exile, God/covenant, and kingdom:

Finding Our Place in Story
The story of redemption does not end at the end of the book of Acts, nor the book of Revelation. It carries forward into the history of the Church and will continue until Jesus returns. When we become Christians by believing the Gospel, this means that we have found our place in the Biblical narrative. Although we may identify as prodigal sons, like Adam, or as loyal older brothers, like Israel, we all continue to need the gracious restoration that Jesus accomplished through his death and resurrection. We may begin our stories in the rebellion of Adam, and then Israel, but, by God’s grace, our stories can end in the adoption and honored Sonship that our New Adam and New Israel, Jesus, accomplished through his cross.

The Message of the Gospel

As the central message of the Bible, the Gospel is the good news about the redemption of the world through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Humanity has rebelled against God, deserving death and judgment. God has promised forgiveness and restoration by becoming a human to suffer death and judgment in our place. The Gospel is historical, theological, personal, and social in dimension.

Consider the Biblical summaries below:

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

John 3:16-21 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.

Romans 5:18-19 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Acts 17:24-31 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.

What God does with the Gospel

When God graciously redeems people in the Gospel, he causes them to be transformed through illumination, repentance, and faith. Illumination is spiritual vision that causes us see the beauty, value, and satisfaction of Jesus in the Gospel. Repentance is mournful confession of our sin and rebellion. Faith is enjoying all that God promises to be for us in the Gospel. Faith and repentance are inseparable realities, often considered 2 sides of the same coin. They are always present together.

When we first experience illumination, repentance, and faith, it is called conversion.

As we continue to experience illumination, repentance, and faith, it is called sanctification.

Our rebellion against God takes 2 main forms: disobedience (overt or open) & obedience (covert or undercover). Open rebellion is the easiest to spot as disobedience takes shape in visible ways: infidelity, addiction, violence, etc. Undercover rebellion is trickier because it masks deep rebellion with visible obedience: religious observance, strong morals, responsibility, etc. We all tend to gravitate toward one extreme or the other, so transformation can come from different places. Consider Luke 15:11-32 (the parable of the Prodigal Son), where both the older (faithful) and younger (wayward) brother are both estranged from the father. Consider also the way Paul speaks to the Galatians vs. the Corinthians:

Galatians 2:15-16 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

1 Corinthians 5:7-8 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 8 Let us therefore celebrate the festival, not with the old leaven, the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

Gospel life is lived between these extremes.

Discussion Questions:
1. How would you summarize the Gospel in a couple of sentences?
2. Can you think of some other concise statements or pictures of the Gospel in the Bible?
3. In the statement “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures” what are some things that it implies are true?
4. Why is it important to preach/teach the gospel to both unbelievers and believers?
5. We mentioned that rebellion takes 2 forms (open & undercover) – which form do you tend to gravitate towards?

Resources for Further Study:
“What is the Gospel?” by D.A. Carson (Audio – MP3)
http://theresurgence.com/files/audio/don_carson_2007-05-23_audio_what_is_the_gospel.mp3
“What is the Christian Gospel?” by John Piper (short article)
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/taste-see-articles/what-is-the-christian-gospel
“The Quest for Joy” by John Piper (short article)
http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/resources/quest-for-joy
“The Centrality of the Gospel” by Tim Keller (article)
http://www.redeemer2.com/resources/papers/centrality.pdf
“What is the Gospel” by Dan Hewitt (short video)
http://vimeo.com/12425590

We have just begun our small group ministry at HCC. We currently have 2 small groups, one meeting on Tuesdays and the other meeting on Fridays. The Tuesday group is currently geared towards discussion of recent sermons at HCC. The Friday group is charting it’s way through a large (19) series of lessons on “Understanding the Gospel”. Below is more info on this Friday small group series:

Goal: We want to grow into the Gospel by understanding the contours and categories presented in the Bible since we believe the Gospel is the lens through which we understand the Bible and life. This includes looking at the Gospel as the overarching story-line of the Bible, looking at smaller pictures, patterns, and themes of the Gospel, and looking at the meaning of Gospel terminology. Consider this something like “Gospel Foundations”. Here is the break-down:

Gospel Big Picture:
1. What is the Gospel? (The Message)
2. What is the context of the Gospel? (The Whole-Bible story)
3. Why the Gospel? (Depravity, Idolatry)
4. Without the Gospel (Curse and Judgment)
5. The Gospel as Promise (Blessing and Grace)

Gospel Accomplished:
6. Incarnation (God becomes one of us)
7. Prophet, Priest, King (The spectrum of Jesus’ ministry)
8. Atonement (Satisfying God’s wrath)
9. Redemption (Buying back slaves to sin)
10. Resurrection (Victory over death)

Gospel Applied:
11. Regeneration (Resurrecting our souls)
12. Faith/Repentance (Confessing our sins & trusting Christ)
13. Forgiveness (Clearing the debt of sin)
14. Justification (Declaring us righteous)
15. Reconciliation/Union (Because of hostility)
16. Adoption (Because of rebellion)
17. Sanctification (Because of corruption)
18. Preservation (Because of helplessness)
19. Glorification (To complete the download)

Resources for further study:
Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel? (Crossway, 2010) 128 p. – $10.23 on Amazon
John Stott, The Cross of Christ (IVP, 2006) 380 p. – $17.16 on Amazon
Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Cross: God’s Way of Salvation (Crossway, 1986) 224 p. – $12.23 on Amazon
John Murray, Redemption: Accomplished and Applied (Eerdman, 1984) 192 p. – $10.40 on Amazon
Robert Letham, The Work of Christ (IVP, 1993) 284 p. – $14.96 on Amazon

We know its kind of last minute, but summer is upon us, so please come join us this Friday (6/18/10) at 7 for fun, fire (as in fire pit) and fellowship. If you have an instrument and feel like playing please bring it along with a favorite lawn chair or blanket, bug spray and refreshment…our address is 54 South Pleasant St, in Bradford. here’s a map: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=&daddr=42.770494,-71.077659&hl=en&geocode=&mra=mi&mrsp=0&sz=17&sll=42.770487,-71.077627&sspn=0.003891,0.006877&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=17

We are planning on several of these times together throughout the summer. So if you can’t make this one, Lord willing there will be more.

Please let us know if you can make it!!!!
Danny, Cyndie, Samantha and Emma

However, at home, may your fellowship in Christ flourish throughout the day!

Blessings,
Pastor Danny & Pastor Mike

Our 13th annual HCC Block party will be held this year at GAR Park on Saturday, September 26, 2009, from 1:00 PM – 5:00 PM, and will be a time for families to enjoy an afternoon of FREE music, FREE games for children, FREE food, and LOTS of family fun.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2009/september/14.27.html

We were privileged this week to have our good friend Rick Harrington come to preach. Rick is the Teaching Pastor of First Baptist Church in Haverhill, MA (across the street from us). He is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, IL (Master of Divinity) and of Gordon College in Wenham, MA (BA). He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry degree at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

Below are the four videos from the baptisms.

Ancient Near East: a term referring to the historical period of about 3000-400 BC in the ancient regions of Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Egypt

Apocrypha: a collection of Jewish writings from the Intertestamental period (400-5 BC) which are helpful in understanding the history of the Jews prior to the coming of Jesus in the 1^st century AD

Assyria: an ancient empire along the Tigris River infamous for its brutality which dominated Mesopotamia and took Northern Israel into captivity in 722 BC

Babylon: an ancient empire along the Euphrates River which dominated Mesopotamia and under Nebuchadnezzar destroyed ancient Israel’s temple in Jerusalem as well as the entire city and took Southern Israel into captivity in 586 BC

Bible Translation: the translating of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into other languages either word for word or phrase for phrase

Canon: the collection and list of inspired books of the Bible which serve as the Church’s standard of faith and practice (the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments)

Canonization: the process of recognizing those written texts which are uniquely inspired by God or are the written revelation of God

Covenant: an ancient type of relationship with a non-relative which involves obligations and is established through an oath to God or a god

Covenant Lawsuit: a complaint of God with his people Israel issued by a prophet that Israel had broken the covenant God made with them at Mt. Sinai which would declare judgment

Dead Sea Scrolls: works of a Jewish sect found in 1947 by the Dead Sea (Qumran) dating to around 200 BC which includes copies of Old Testament books, commentaries on OT books, and other documents relating to the community whose library they were

Egypt: an ancient civilization in northeast Africa on the Nile River famous for its pharaohs, pyramids, and advanced mathematics which also held the ancient nation Israel in slavery which needed to be delivered by God through Moses around 1400 BC

Evangelical: those Christians in the Protestant tradition who believe in the inspiration, inerrancy, and sole authority of the Bible

Genre: a type or style of writing (example: poetry, letter, historical narrative)

Greek: the original language in which the New Testament was written in

Hebrew: the original language in which the Old Testament was written in

Holy Week (Passion Week): the last full week before Jesus was crucified

Intertestamental Period: time between the writings of the Testaments (400-4 BC)

Josephus (37-100 AD): a well-educated Jew who lived in Palestine until the Jewish War of 66-70 AD and is easily our most important source of information about the times of Jesus since he wrote various books, most notably a history of the Jewish War, and then also a history of the Jewish people, the Antiquities.

Mesopotamia: a term which refers to the ancient region of modern day Syria, Iraq, and Iran which occupies the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and where ancient civilizations like the Assyrians, the Babylonians, and Persians conquered

Mosaic Covenant: the Suzerain-Vassal covenant that God established with Israel at Mt. Sinai after he delivered them from Egypt around 1400 BC

New Covenant: a covenant ratified by the death of Jesus which has its roots in Genesis 3:15 and 12:1-3 and was promised to Israel (in spite of their breaking of the Mosaic Covenant) that God would forgive their sins and write His law on their heart

Persia: an ancient empire located in modern day Iran which was the largest of the ancient world and supported the rebuilding and repopulation of Jerusalem and it’s temple with Jews in captivity from 538-445 BC

Rome: an ancient empire coming from modern day Italy which dominated Europe and the greater region around the Mediterranean Sea (including Turkey, Israel, and Northern Africa) and sponsored the rebuilding of the Jerusalem temple as well as the crucifixion of Jesus around 30 AD

Septuagint (LXX): a Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which began around the 3^rd century BC and contained what we know as the Old Testament (it was the Bible of Jesus and the apostles)

Second Temple Period (Judaism): the period of Jewish history from the time of the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem in 516 BC to the destruction of Herod’s temple in 70 AD

Suzerain-Vassal Covenant: a covenant between a larger ruler (suzerain) and protected nation (vassal) sometimes issued when the larger ruler/nation steps in to help the other in a military campaign and is the type of covenant God established with Israel through Moses at Mt. Sinai around 1400 BC

Textual Criticism: the study of ancient copies of the Old and New Testaments with the purpose of finding the original wording of the texts since there is not 100% agreement in all of the copies

Resources for this week:

Nine Marks of Healthy Church, by Mark Dever

The Nine Marks site: www.9marks.org

• mediator (1 Tim.2:5)
• minister/servant (Rom.15:8,16; Eph.3:7)
• law (Rom.2:12; 3:19; Gal.2:16)
• commandment (Rom.7:13)
• bless/curse (Rom.12:14; Gal.3:10)
• righteousness (Rom.4:3: 2 Cor.3:9)
• Father/Son (Rom.1:3-4; Phil.1:2; Col.1:2)
• sin/transgression/iniquity (Rom.3:23; Gal.6:1; 1 Thes.4:6)
• atonement/propitiation (Rom.3:25)
• Sabbath (Rom.14:4; Col.2:16)
• heir/sonship/adoption (Rom.4:13; Gal.4:7; Eph.1:5)
• redeem/redemption (Gal.4:5; Tit.2:14)
• witness (2 Cor.1:23; Phi.1:8)
• offering/sacrifice (Eph.5:2; Phil.2:17)

We focused on 2 Corinthians 3:1-4:6. In this passage, he zeroes in on the Letter/Spirit contrast between the Mosaic and New Covenants.  He even goes as far as to label the Law of Moses as “the ministry of death” (vs.7) and “condemnation” (vs.9) as it was, written on tables of stone.  He contends that this “letter” brings death, surely drawing from his argument in Romans 7:7-11:

What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. Apart from the law, sin lies dead. I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment deceived me and through it killed me.

He likens the Law to the glory that was on Moses face which needed to be concealed to Israel by a veil over his face (vs.7).  Even then, there was a veil over their hearts every time they read the Law (vs.15) because their hearts were hardened by it (vs.14).  However, the glory of the New Covenant revealed in Christ is infinitely superior because it does not fade and has no end (vs.11).  It is written not on tablets of stone, but on the tablet of the heart (vs.3), drawing on Ezekiel 36:26 and Jeremiah 31:33.  Since this covenant is imparted directly by the Spirit on the heart with no outside mediator, those in it are now with “unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord and being transformed into the same image” (vs.18).  So we can summarize by saying that the Letter/Spirit contrast is about the difference in the nature of the Mosaic and New Covenants.

I. The New Covenant in Galatians 3-4

In Galatians 3-4, Paul focuses on the purpose of the Mosaic Covenant in light of the New Covenant.

Galatians 3:1 – 4:31 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.  2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith?  3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?  4 Did you suffer so many things in vain- if indeed it was in vain?  5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith- 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”?  7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.  8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.”  9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.  10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”  11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.”  12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.”  13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”-  14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.  15 To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.  16 Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, “And to offsprings,” referring to many, but referring to one, “And to your offspring,” who is Christ.  17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.  18 For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.  19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.  20 Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.  21 Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law.  22 But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.  23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.  24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.  25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian,  26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.  27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.  28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. Galatians 4:1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything,  2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father.  3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.  4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,  5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.  6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”  7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.  8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods.  9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?  10 You observe days and months and seasons and years!  11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.  12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong.  13 You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first,  14 and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus.  15 What then has become of the blessing you felt? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me.  16 Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?  17 They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them.  18 It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you,  19 my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!  20 I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.  21 Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?  22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman and one by a free woman.  23 But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise.  24 Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar.  25 Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children.  26 But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.  27 For it is written, “Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor! For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband.”  28 Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.  29 But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is now.  30 But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit with the son of the free woman.”  31 So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman.

He is trying to remind the Galatians very forcefully that no one will be justified by the works of the Law (3:11).  In other words, no one can please God at the final judgment by trying to execute their duties as prescribed by the Law of Moses.  The reasons for this are because no one is truly able to execute this covenant so we are cursed in trying to do so (3:10), and the purpose of the Law was to make transgression fully visible and never to offer eternal life (3:18-19).  This covenant came to bring us into slavery and imprisonment so that we could be rescued by Christ (vs.23-24).  So Paul is setting up two different covenantal strands that find their culmination in the allegory of Hagar and Sarah in 4:21-31.  Hagar corresponds to the slavery that exists under the Mosaic Law and is demonstrated in the contemporary Judaism that is visible in Jerusalem (vs.25).  Sarah corresponds to the freedom that exists under the New Covenant and is demonstrated in the promises God offers His people in the New (spiritual) Jerusalem (vs.26-28).  So the Mosaic Covenant existed to serve as a physical template that would anticipate the spiritual realities to come in the new age that has been inaugurated in the death and resurrection of Christ.  Thus, in order to partake of this inaugurated Covenant, we need to believe in what Christ accomplished on our behalf and so cast out the “slave woman” (the Mosaic Covenant) (vs29-31).

II. The New Covenant in Hebrews

Some other major passages that go into detail on the contrast between the Mosaic and New Covenants are found in Hebrews.

Hebrews 8:1-13 Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,  2 a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man.  3 For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer.  4 Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.  5 They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.”  6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.  7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.  8 For he finds fault with them when he says:

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,  9 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.  10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.  12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.“

13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 12:18-29 For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest  19 and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them.  20 For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.”  21 Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.”  22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,  23 and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,  24 and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.  25 See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.  26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.”  27 This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates the removal of things that are shaken- that is, things that have been made- in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain.  28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe,  29 for our God is a consuming fire.

In light of these passages, I think it is evident that the Mosaic/Old Covenant was an external code which does and can only demand. God designed it this way in order to magnify sin in Israel, as Israel is simply Adam on a corporate/national scale (Hosea 6:7). Neither Adam nor Israel could ever have kept, executed, or complied to the Law given to them. Even if they could have, there was no promise for eternal life. It wasn’t the function of the Law given to them. But, both Adam and Israel’s failure have become the canvas for God to promise grace in the death of Jesus. The death of Jesus ratified the New Covenant which does and can only promise eternal life.  In the New Covenant there is no code to keep or demand upon us, but the promise of life in Christ itself produces faith in us which will result in us keeping the law of God/Christ, which is essentially loving God and loving our neighbors.