Episode 148: Biblical Covenants - Acts 11 & 15 - Responding to "Hebrew Roots"

Are we under the Law of Moses (Mosaic Law/Sinai Covenant/Old Covenant) today? There is so much confusion amongst followers of Jesus as to what from the Old Testament In this podcast, we will look at Acts 11:1-18 where Peter explains what happened with Cornelius and a group of Gentiles in Acts 10. We will also look at Acts 15 where under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, we learn exactly what God required of Gentile believers. We will also see that as the 1st century progressed there was in fact a shift from the Old Covenant (Mosaic/Sinai) to the New Covenant as there was no longer any way for Jews to carry out the requirements of "the Law" that was given to Moses because there was no longer a Jewish Temple. Jesus FULFILLED the Law and the Old Covenant was deemed "obsolete".Summary of the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15)GENTILES DO NOT HAVE TO KEEP THE MOSAIC LAW – ceremonial, civic, dietaryNO SEXUAL IMMORALITY (moral law) – fornication, adultery, homosexuality, etc. NO CIRCUMCISION (from Abrahamic Covenant)NO DETAILED DIETARY LAWS (only blood, strangled animal meat, meat sacrificed to idols)NO SABBATH OBSERVANCE COMMANDED (ceremonial)NO FESTIVALS COMMANDEDWhat LAW are we commanded to obey today? The Law of Christ – His Teachings and His Apostles“If you love me, you will keep/obey MY commandments” – John 14:15(9 of the 10 commandments repeated in the New Testament – the MORAL LAW)Confusion about Biblical CovenantsHow many are there?  Who were they made with? Who did they apply to?  What were/are the conditions?Which still apply TODAY?  Which commandments are we supposed to obey?What commandments/regulations/ordinances are “perpetual”? (“everlasting”/ “forever”) Were any commandments “temporary”?Seventh-Day Adventists / Messianic Judaism (*for Jewish background)(Some) Word of Faith Prosperity Teachers – blessings, curses?Hebrew Roots / Torah Observant – “Lawlessness”?Biblical Covenants - Are there 4? 5? 6?Adamic (?) / Noahic / Abrahamic / Mosaic/Sinai (Old Covenant) / Davidic / New Covenant 1. Noahic – WHO? all mankind (Gen 8-9) / SIGN? Rainbow2. Abrahamic – WHO? Abraham and his Seed (Gen 12, 15, 17, 22) / SIGN? Circumcision3. Mosaic (Old) – WHO? Nation of Israel (Exodus 19-40, Deuteronomy) / SIGN? Sabbath4. Davidic – WHO? David & his Son (2 Sam. 7, 1 Kgs. 2 & 9, Ps 2, 89) / SIGN? Throne5. New Covenant – WHO? Jews & Gentiles (Jer. 31:31-34, Ez. 36) / SIGN? BaptismJeremiah 31:31-34 - 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 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, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”