Cross to Crown Blog

Michael Horton. Introducing Covenant Theology (pp. 20-21). Kindle Edition:

To read Deuteronomy, for example, as if it were timeless principles of blessing and cursing is to confuse this covenant concerning a national, geopolitical entity (i.e., the nation of Israel) with the eternal plan of redemption carried forward in the unconditional divine promise to Abraham and fulfilled in Christ. Again, covenant theology helps enormously in understanding both the continuities and discontinuities as we read Scripture. It helps us to see the basic continuity between the old and new covenants in terms of a single covenant of grace running throughout, as well as the discontinuity within even the Old Testament itself when it comes to the principle of a unilateral divine promise and an arrangement dependent on personal obedience to all that God commands.

Horton is so close to what the Bible actually teaches. But the distance in an unbridgeable gap. The Bible does not say anywhere that there is a "single covenant of grace running throughout." Rather, it says that Jesus runs throughout. All things are summed up and united in Him (Ephesians 1:9-10). God's purpose for history is not covenant, it's Christ.

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation… (1 Peter 2:9)

The word “nation” is ethnos from which we get our term “ethnic” or “ethnicity.” The gospel redefines ethnicity. Instead of Asian or African or Indian, the cross has now divided the world into the holy and, by implication, the unholy/profane.

How about this answer to the problem of racism? When you walk into a room filled with strangers, do you identify with people based on their skin color, facial features, and hair? Or do you identify them by their status as members of this new “ethnic group” created by the cross—the elect, royal, holy people of God? It’s a family resemblance based on holiness rather than on bloodline.

So what does it mean to be a “holy nation”? The qualifier “holy” refers not so much to moral quality as it does uniqueness, devotedness, set-apart-ness to God.

We see this clearly in the book of Leviticus, a book obsessed with holiness: holy offerings, holy places, holy people. The Lord commands: “Be holy, for I am holy.” But if you read the book, you’ll notice that it contains a whole index of clean vs. unclean: animals, foods, health issues, building materials, etc. This pervasive concern for cleanness cultivated a whole lifestyle and mindset of separateness, distinction, uniqueness. Why? So they would remember who they were as a people: a nation separate from the other nations, uniquely devoted to the one, true God. Their worship, their diet, their clothing, even their farming practices demonstrated it. They were different, unique, holy.

So what happens to these practices after the cross? Suddenly, the ceremonies and practices which kept Israel separate from the other nations no longer apply. Remember Peter’s experience in Acts 10? God showed him a virtual buffet spread with all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds. At first he resisted God’s invitation to eat, but the Lord explained: “What God has made clean, do not call common.” Peter was so confused by this radical reversal of OT laws of cleanness, God had to take him through the vision three times. But finally, he got the point: God was expanding and redefining the people of God. Previously, to be part of God’s holy group, one needed a blood connection to Abraham; now what was required was a faith connection to Jesus. The line of holiness is now drawn between believers and unbelievers, not between Jews and Gentiles.

So what practices make us holy, distinct, and separate now? Instead of ceremonial matters like diet and hygiene, what separates God’s people from others are Christ-resembling qualities like love, moral virtue, wisdom, humility, and patience in the face of suffering. This is how we are different, how we are holy. Whereas before God’s people had to avoidthe spread of corruption, now God’s people halt the spread of corruption by living as salt and light, bringing a stop to decay and darkness. It’s not what we eat that makes us different; it’s who we eat with, lovingly following our Savior by inviting sinners, outcasts, and the poor to our table. It’s not how we wash; it’s the One we trust to wash us. It’s not our prosperity that draws people in—the glitz and glamour of Solomon’s temple wowing the Queen of Sheba; it’s our joy and patience and graciousness in suffering. This is the new way we show ourselves to be God’s holy nation.

A couple of weeks ago, I asked ten questions about the Law of Moses. Josh asked if I would answer them. He specifically requested two-sentence responses. I accept that challenge. Here's the first:

Where does the Bible say that we are free to categorize the Law and dismiss just two-thirds of the categories?

Categorizing the Law of Moses for the purpose of easy reference and examination (a la biblical chapters and verses) is fine. But the Scripture nowhere suggests that there is a distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial portions of the Law which may be considered or abrogated independently.

However, whenever Reformed theologians attempt to explore and explain the riches of Scripture, they are always thinking covenantally about every topic they take up. Michael Horton. Introducing Covenant Theology (p. 14). Kindle Edition.

Therein lies the key difference between Reformed theologians (aka Covenant theologians) and New Covenant theologians. We are always thinkingChristocentrically about every topic we take up. Why? Because that's what God tells us to do. He never says, "Moses wrote about the covenant." It's,"Moses wrote about Me."

You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood…1 Peter 2:9

A priest is one with access to God. Under the Old Covenant, it was a privilege the whole nation enjoyed but only the high priest experienced in fullness. But now, in the New Covenant age, every person in the community has full fellowship with God.

This is an incredible reversal of fortune, especially for Gentiles like most of us! Under the Old Covenant, Gentiles could not enter the temple on pain of death. Not just the Holy of Holies, but the entire inner court of the temple was for Jews only. By law, Gentiles were kept outside. But now, we are no longer outsiders. We are…

…no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22

So what changed? Did God rewrite the Law to admit Gentiles? No, He fulfilled it! The ceremonial washing, the blood-soaked offerings, the symbolic rite of circumcision—all these Christ brought to completion through His death and resurrection. He made real what the ceremonies could only picture.

Do you take advantage of this new and incredible privilege? Do you often press through the veil and commune with your God? He has made you a priest. Do not let your backstage pass go unused!

{Part I of this series found here}

2. Christ took our punishment. All of it! The cross reminds us that Jesus suffered everything that needs to be suffered for our sins.

The Bible speaks of sin in terms of debt, crime, and enmity. Sins are debts against God which must be paid, crimes which must be punished, and enmity which must be reconciled. Here, simply, is how this imagery works.

Debt. In the Lord's Prayer, we pray "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Disobedience is failure to keep our obligation as creatures to obey the Creator. This failure creates a debt that can never be paid. Think about it. If you had only committed one sin in your entire life, say when you were ten years old, and from that day forward you followed God's laws perfectly, you would still be a sinner. You would still have failed to do what you were obligated to do—to obey perfectly, without exception, for your entire life. One sin is failure. Your debt of that one sin would not be paid merely by keeping current for the rest of your life. You would still need to repay the debt of one sin. How can you do that? You can't. But Christ did.

Crime. How many laws does one have to break to become a law-breaker? Only one. If you have ever broken the speed limit or run a red light, you are a law-breaker (regardless of whether you got caught). And perfect compliance with state and federal traffic laws thereafter does not make you any less of a law-breaker. Likewise, when we sin, we commit a crime against God's laws. And if one transgresses His law one time and then keeps it perfectly for the rest of his life, he is still liable to punishment for the one offense. Of course, the truth is that we have all committed innumerable transgressions against His law. How will we escape punishment from an all-knowing and utterly righteous Judge? Only if we have a substitute. And we do. Jesus took the penalty in our place.

Enmity. From birth, our disposition is self-serving. We want to please ourselves above all. Therefore, we rebel against God’s rule. We fight against His right to command our thoughts and behaviors. We strive for independence and autonomy. We wage war against the Almighty. This is who we are by nature, children of God's holy wrath which will be justly poured out upon sinners. How can such hostile opponents become friends with God? Only if God's righteous indignation is somehow assuaged. It was, in Christ. Jesus became His Father's enemy (“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”) so that we could become His children (“You are His sons crying, ‘Abba Father’”). He secured total reconciliation between God and sinners.

So we see what the cross of Jesus accomplished for us: He paid our debts in full, He received the whole penalty our sins deserved, and He made perfect peace between us and God. And now, we don't have to be afraid of God. Our guilt is taken away, and He loves us. We can boldly enter His throne room and receive more grace to overcome our temptations. He is not angry with us. Because of Christ, He has accepted us and adopted us as His children. He wants to help us become righteous. He wants us to defeat sin. He wants us to succeed. He crucified His only Son so that He could forgive us and transform us.