The Bible is divided into 2 sections – the Old and New Testaments. The word testament means covenant (or contract).
The Old Testament/Covenant – The Bad News ☹️
The Old Testament/Covenant was written before Jesus' birth. It highlights God's fairness and justice – eye for eye, tooth for tooth Exodus 21:24. If you poke out my eye then I'll poke out your eye. If you knock out my tooth then I'll knock out your tooth. Can't get much fairer than that (and it stops cyclical revenge)!
This covenant also lays down the Ten Commandments Exodus 20:1-17 and some. The Spirit behind each command is love. Do not commit adultery, driven by love. Do not murder, love. Do not steal, love. God wants us to love one another!
The terms of the covenant offer eternal life for total obedience Leviticus 18:5. But God's perfect justice demands punishment (death) for anything less Ezekiel 18:4 – it would be unjust to let the guilty walk free. The pass mark is 100% love. Scores of 10% and 90% are both failures.
For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.
Breaking the law is called sin. As just punishment, the sinner faces the second death, the lake of fire Revelation 20:14. Since we’ve all sinned Romans 3:23 we're all doomed under this covenant Romans 3:20. God’s fairness and justice, fairly and justly land us in hell. Terrible news! So why did God give the covenant in the first place? Did He make a mistake? By no means!
Through the old covenant, we see that God is fair and just.
Through its laws, we recognise our sin and inability to live the life of love that God demands.
We learn that we need forgiveness, a way out, someone to rescue us!
So within the old covenant, God promises a new covenant Jeremiah 31:31-34. A covenant that relies on His goodness, not ours. A covenant that gives us hope. God promises to send a Saviour and predicts the Saviour’s birth, life and death. These prophecies help us recognise the Saviour. Enter Jesus Christ!
The New Testament/Covenant – The Good News ☺️
The New Testament/Covenant was written after Jesus' birth and portrays the life of Jesus through eyewitness accounts. It reveals God's mercy and grace.
“Mercy is not getting what you deserve … hell”
“Grace is getting what you don't deserve … God’s favour and eternal life”
God keeps His promises. Jesus is born of a virgin, in Bethlehem, a descendant of King David – as prophesied. He performs miracles, is rejected, suffers, dies, and rises again – all as foretold. In so doing, Jesus fulfils Old Testament prophecy, proving Himself to be the promised Saviour. Indeed, the name Jesus means God's Salvation. He is the mercy and grace of God personified.
But why Jesus? Can’t God just forgive us without Jesus?
We learnt earlier that God is just (He never changes) and justice demands that sin be punished by death. Jesus, being the Son of God, knew this. So He came to earth and lived the perfect life of 100% pure love. He never broke a single command 1 Peter 2:22 thus He didn’t earn the death penalty. This means that He was free to bear the penalty for someone else … namely, you!
Jesus went to the cross voluntarily. There were many opportunities for Him to escape but He chose not to, knowing that there was no other way to save you John 14:6. On the cross, He took your place, and the full wrath of God was poured out upon Him instead of you. His punishment (or rather your punishment) was so great that He was disfigured beyond human resemblance Isaiah 52:14. He took all your punishment because He loves you. It wasn’t the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was His love for you. Jesus died on the cross and God’s demand for justice was satisfied. Jesus said on the cross “it is finished” John 19:30 meaning sin has been paid for in full. For those in Christ, there is no further punishment to bear. It would be unjust for God to punish the same sins twice.
Jesus didn’t die for you because you loved Him or because you’re a good person. Jesus died for you when you were ignoring Him, when you were trampling all over His commands, when you were His enemy Romans 5:8-10. Such is the love of God!
Under the new covenant, salvation is a gift from God. You can’t earn it. Grace is the undeserved favour of God, by definition you can’t deserve it.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Our Response
Jesus' sacrifice is like a nuclear power plant of grace and mercy, bulging with the love of God. But we must plug into that source through faith before we gain any power.
Faith must be more than merely intellectual. I believe that Julius Caesar once ruled the Roman Empire, but it has no real impact on my day-to-day life. Faith in Jesus must be living and active Galatians 5:6. A saving faith in Jesus will permeate the very core of your being.
It changes the way you think, what you do, where you go, and what you say Jeremiah 1:7. It changes who you are! Jesus describes it as being “born again” John 3:3. Elsewhere, the Bible describes it as being a new creation in Christ 2 Corinthians 5:17.
Genuine faith produces repentance. Jesus said that unless you repent, you will perish Luke 13:5. Repentance means to turn around — a 180-degree turn. To no longer live for “me me me me me” but to submit to Jesus as Lord, and to live according to God’s will Matthew 6:10. To embrace the 2 great commandments:
To love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength.
To love your neighbour as yourself.
Jesus said, “do this and you will live” Luke 10:28.
This isn't an attempt to earn salvation — that's a free gift. Rather, it's the true believers heartfelt response to the love, mercy, and grace of God.
Forgiveness and The Holy Spirit
Now you might think to yourself, I want to live right, but I just can’t do it! That’s a great place to be – knowing that you can’t do it and that you need God. Without God you can temporarily modify your behaviour, but your heart remains the same. Eventually you fall back into old damaging patterns.
But when you come to the Father and ask Him for forgiveness and put your trust in His Son, He cleanses you from all sin 1 John 1:9. Jesus said He will receive everyone who comes to Him John 6:37.
Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool
As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us
Once you’ve been cleansed by Jesus, you are now holy in God’s sight. The Holy Spirit – who can only live in a pure vessel – can now come and dwell in you. When the Holy Spirit enters, He pours out the love of God into your heart Romans 5:5. God will take your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh Ezekiel 36:26. Selfish desires fade. New God-given desires take root. Jesus recognises the importance of God's indwelling and teaches us to ask the Father for the Holy Spirit Luke 11:13. Take Jesus at His Word and ask every day!
Christian Living
Don’t get me wrong. You’re not going to become perfect overnight. Selfish desires remain. The battle begins. The Bible says:
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
You must learn to let the Holy Spirit lead you – saying yes to Jesus and no to self. Imagine two dogs having a fight. You feed one but not the other. Which one wins? The one you feed. And so we must feed the Spirit. In practical terms:
Read the Bible daily. This is essential. How can you obey Jesus if you don’t know what He said? Start in the New Testament, where you can read the words of Jesus directly. Some great books to start with are Matthew, Luke, John, Acts, 1 John.
Attend a Bible believing church. If you love God, you’ll want to visit His house often Luke 2:49. Meet with other true believers.
Put what you learn into practice – that is, do the Father’s will!
More Please
There's a lot more to learn about. Judgement, baptism, forgiveness. The list is endless. There's also some great online resources. But be wary, there's also a lot of bad material. Jesus warned many would be led astray in the last days Matthew 24:4-5. Stay close to Jesus and listen to Him over and above everyone and everything else. May the grace of God be with you. Amen!