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THE OLD WAY AND THE NEW WAY

Boyce Mouton · 8 pages · 4,451 words

THE OLD WAY AND THE NEW WAY “ Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.” (Heb 12:14)

OUR STUDY TODAY WILL FOCUS ON SANCTIFICATION, OR HOLINESS WITHOUT WHICH NO ONE WILL SEE THE LORD. THE BIBLE MENTIONS TWO WAYS TO ACHIEVE THIS GOAL, THE OLD WAY AND THE NEW WAY.

“So, my brothers, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.” (Rom 7:4-6)

THE OLD WAY

The Hebrew word for "sanctify" is "qâdash." It means "to consecrate," "be holy," "be separate" or "be hallowed." In consideration of its various stem forms it can be generally understood as "set apart to or for God" which imparts a quality of being “holy” or “sacred”. The noun, sanctification, essentially means the state of being clean or holy.

Moses wrote regarding Israel: “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The Lord did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deut 7:6-8)

Out of all the people on earth God chose Israel. They were to be a “holy nation”.

  • He led them out of Egypt with a high hand and an outstretched arm.
  • He guided them though the wilderness with a pillar of a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night (Ex. 13:21, 22).
  • He gave them His Covenant, or “written code” at Sinai.
  • He fed them for 40 years with manna which the Psalmist called “bread of angels” (Ps. 78:25).
  • Their clothing did not wear out, their feet did not swell, and their shoes did not ever need to be replaced (Deut. 8:4; 29:5).
  • He commanded them to be separate, and not to be contaminated by their heathen neighbors (Deut. 7:1 - 6).
  • Those who broke the “written code” died without mercy. Remember! “Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three
  • witnesses.” (Heb 10:28).
  • While they all came out of Egypt, were baptized into Moses, ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink: “Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.” (1 Cor 10:5)
  • THE “OLD WAY” DIDN’T WORK TO MAKE MEN HOLY! GOD DESIGNED THE “OLD WAY” WITH ANOTHER PURPOSE IT MIND. GOD DESIGNED IT TO BE A SCHOOLMASTER TO BRING US UNTO CHRIST THAT WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY FAITH ( GAL. 3:24) GOD DETERMINED BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD TO SANCTIFY HIS PEOPLE BY A NEW AND DIFFERENT WAY! (1 PET. 1:17 - 21).
  • One thing missing in the “old way” was faith. Remember! “The law is not based on faith” (Gal. 3:12). The writer to the Hebrews explained: “the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” (Heb 4:2)
  • Neither did the “old way” have anything to do with the heart. As you know, “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt 15:19). No one can be truly holy unto the Lord without a change of heart!

The “written code” or “Old Covenant” was given by God to his people at Mt. Sinai. It was not a happy occasion. It was frightening! Mt. Sinai was covered by fire, darkness, gloom, and a storm. Even Moses trembled with fear (Heb. 12:18 - 21). The immediate results of the “old way” were also frightening!

  • 3,000 died when the Old Covenant was given. Paul described it as a “ministry that brought death” (2 Cor. 3:7)
  • The Old Covenant was written on tablets of stone. There is no life in a stone. There is no mercy or flexibility in a stone. The fruit produced by the is death (Rom. 7:5). Stones are cold, rigid, and inflexible. When people violated the Law of God they were often killed by being “stoned” to death.
  • Take, for example, the case of a man who dared to gather sticks on the Sabbath. God Himself ordered: “The man must die. The whole assembly must stone him outside the camp” (Nu. 15:32 - 36).
  • The “old way” involved pressure from without. The”old way” was going to “make” you be holy whether you wanted to be or not. The “old way” would force people to conform to God’s will. It didn’t work! Under that system the Hebrew people could not even be trusted to make a sacrifice unless it was under the watchful eye of Levitical priests (Lev. 17:1 - 7).
  • God knew the “old way” wouldn’t work and revealed this to Moses. God told Moses: “Take this Book of the Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. There it will remain as a witness against you. For I know how rebellious and stiff-necked you are. If you have been rebellious against the Lord while I am still alive and with you, how much more will you rebel after I die!” (Deut 31:26, 27)
  • The old way of the Law did not do away with sin, it empowered it (1 Cor. 15:56).
  • God found fault with the old covenant, that’s why he wrote a new one (Heb. 8:7).
  • God is all knowing. He is never surprised by anything. The “old way” was designed by God

to accomplish something different. It was a 1,500 year illustration to prove the futility of seeking to be justified by law. The truth of the matter, as we have already said, that the Law was a schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that we might be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24).

THE NEW WAY

As we have already pointed out, the “old way” of making people holy didn’t work. That’s why God designed a “new way” that would work. God designed the “new way “ to involve the Holy Spirit. That’s why Paul wrote that now “We serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code” (Rom. 7:6). This “new way” is the “Gospel”. It really is “Good News”.

  • The “new way” involves a “new covenant” that is not like the covenant that God made with His people when He took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt (Heb. 8:7 - 13).
  • While the “old way” failed by trying to change people by pressure from without, the “new way” succeeds by transforming “believers” by means of God’s indwelling Spirit.
  • This “new way” also involves the “new birth”.
  • This “new birth” comes when we are “born again”. Our first birth came from a corruptible seed, but our “new birth” comes from an incorruptible Seed, even the Word of God that lives and abides forever (1 Pet. 1:23).
  • This transformation takes place by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2).
  • Since sin arises out of the heart (Mk. 7:21) the “new way” involves taking away our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh (Ez. 36:26).
  • The “new way” comes when God puts His Spirit within us and causes us to follow His decrees (Ez. 36:27).
  • This “new way” will work, for He Who has begun a good work in us will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6).

THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THESE TWO WAYS IS SEEN AT CORINTH

The synagogue represents the “old way”, and the church represents the “.new way”. In Corinth they were right next door to each another. Remember! The Jews in the synagogue believed in the Law and are represented by Ishmael (Gal. 4:21 - 31). When they opposed Paul and became abusive, he went right next door in the house of Titius Justus and met with those who believed in Christ. Those who follow the “new way” are allegorized by Isaac (Acts 18:7).

One of the first families to become part of the church was none other than Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue. Crispus, and his entire household believed in the Lord Jesus. Symbolic of the Jew’s desire to make men holy by force is the fact that they regularly beat disobedient people in their synagogues (Matt. 10:17; 23:34; Mk. 13:9; Acts 26:11, etc.). At Corinth they even beat Sosthenes, the synagogue ruler, in public (Acts 18:16). When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, a man named Sosthenes was with him (1 Cor. 1:1). It is quite probably the very man whom the Jews beat in

public. Praise the Lord! He abandoned the “old way” ‘and became a follower of Jesus Christ.

As we have pointed out, the “old way” predicted failure for those with hearts of stone (Deut. 31:26, 27). The people were rebellious the day the “written code” was given, and they became even more rebellious with the passing of time. As Jesus said: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are” (Matt 23:15).

The “new way”, by contrast, is not filled with force or fear, it is filled with optimism and joy. The church as Corinth, as you probably know, was a troubled and immature congregation in a very sinful city. Yet, even under such negative circumstances Paul still expressed great confidence in the Corinthians. Note: “He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful” (1 Cor 1:8-9).

Here are some other Scriptures about the “new way” and confidence for your consideration:

  • “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6)
  • “Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask” (Philem 21).
  • “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence” (Heb 4:16).
  • “we are confident of better things in your case” (Heb 6:9).
  • “So do not throw away your confidence” (Heb 10:35).
  • “And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming” (1 John 2:28).
  • “I have great confidence in you” (2 Cor 7:4).
  • “I am glad I can have complete confidence in you” (2 Cor 7:16).
  • “we have confidence before God” (1 John 3:21).
  • “In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17).

Here are several reasons why the “new way “ involves confidence.

1. First, the “new way” involves a “new heart”. As you know, “out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander” (Matt 15:19). When a man’s heart is transformed, so also is his life. That’s why God promised through Ezekiel: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (Ezek 36:26-27). Not only did God give the Corinthians a new heart, He also made them “new creations”. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17)

2. Second, not only are believers “in Christ”, Christ is also “in believers”. Jesus announced this radical new concept on the night before Calvary. His disciples had followed Him for over three years, but now He was going where they could not follow (Jn. 13:36). He promised, however, not to abandon them or leave them like orphans. He promised to return to them in the person of the Holy Spirit. It would constitute a new and revolutionary relationship with Christ. Now Jesus would no longer lead them from without, but from within. He promised that He and the Father would actually come to them and dwell in their hearts (Jn. 14:23). As we have said, this new form of guidance would now come from “within”. This promise is not just for the Apostles, it is for all believers. Remember! Christ in you is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

3. In the third place, the change Jesus makes in our lives is so dramatic that we are actually “new creations” in Christ Jesus. Please consider: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor 5:17)

4. In the fourth place, the “new way” gives us a new relationship with God. The “old way” made slaves, but the “new way” makes sons. This is precisely what Paul wrote to the Galatians: “Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not aware of what the law says? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise. These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar. Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.” (Gal 4:21-26)

5. In the fifth place, this family of believers (which is the church), is God’s special environment which enables us to mature in Christ. Paul referred to the church as “family” in Gal. 6:10, and Paul wrote the same thing to the Ephesians (Eph . 3:14-16). Peter also described the church as a family (1 Pet. 4:17). God designed His family to help us grow up and mature in Christ: “It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph 4:11-13)

6. Members of God’s family, of course, have an advantage that others do not have. Consider, for example, how the Corinthians were constantly considered brothers in spite of their many problems and immaturity.

  • They were divided over human leaders but Paul still appealed to them as brothers (1 Cor. 1:10).
  • With reference to their ignoble background Paul wrote: “Brothers, think of what you were when you were called.” (1 Cor 1:26)
  • “Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly — mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?” (1 Cor 3:1-3)
  • “Now, brothers, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, "Do not go beyond what is written." Then you will not take pride in one man over against another.” (1 Cor 4:6).
  • “But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.” (1 Cor 5:11)
  • “I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? But instead, one brother goes to law against another — and this in front of unbelievers!” (1 Cor 6:5-6)
  • “For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol's temple, won't he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols? So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.” (1 Cor 8:10-13)
  • In 1 Cor. 8:11 he warns that a weak brother could destroyed by their knowledge.
  • Ink 1 Cor. 8:13 Paul promised that if eating meat caused his brother to fall into sin , he would never eat meat again.
  • In 1 Cor. 10 Paul warned them against falling away from Christ, but still admonished them as brothers.
  • The bothers were to wait for one another while taking the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 11:33).
  • Paul did not want the brothers to be ignorant about spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:1).
  • Instructions on tongues was given to the brothers (1 Cor. 14:6).
  • Paul warned the brothers to stop thinking like children (1 Cor. 14:20).

I THINK YOU SEE THE POINT! Even though they were weak, immature, ignorant, and sometimes immoral - Paul still considered them brothers. When you become a Christian you become a child of God by faith. Jesus might be ashamed of some people, but if you are a child of God He will not be ashamed of you. This is precisely what the Scriptures teach: “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Heb 2:11). Fraternity is based upon paternity. Since Jesus is a child of God, when you become a child of God, Jesus is not ashamed to call you His brother.

7. In the seventh place, we can have confidence because God created angels as ministering spirits to help His children. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” (Heb 1:14). In addition to angels, God also provides all other spiritual resources that are needed: “All things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future — all are yours, and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” (1 Cor 3:21-23) In addition to resources we can see, we are also surrounded by a great cloud

of heavenly witnesses whom we cannot see (Heb. 12:1. 22 - 24). Remember! The things we see are temporal, it is the unseen things that are eternal (2 Cor. 4:18).

Jesus once told a parable about a wedding feast and a man who was bound hand and foot and cast into outer darkness because he didn’t have on a wedding garment (Matt. 22:1 - 14). This probably refers to those who cast off their own filthy garments, and clothe themselves in the righteousness of Christ. God obviously does look differently upon those who have been baptized into Christ and put on Christ (Gal. 3:27). We cannot stress to strongly the good news that “THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS” (ROM. 8:1)

HOW CAN YOU BECOME A PART OF THIS NEW WAY?

First we must emphasize that this “new way” is available to everyone in the world.

  • Jesus commissioned His apostles to make disciples of “all nations” (Matt. 28:18 - 20).
  • They were to preach the Good News to “all creation” (Mk. 16:15).
  • The fact that the Gospel invitation is for everyone is emphasized by the repeated use of the word “whoever”.
  • “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
  • “Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven.” (Matt 10:32)
  • “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt 10:39)
  • “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matt 23:12)
  • “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life” (John 3:36)
  • “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.” (John 6:37)
  • Etc.

Before signing up to follow Christ, however, please count the cost and examine your own intentions! (Lk. 14:28 - 33) God is able to discern our “thoughts” and “intentions” (Heb. 4:12). Man looks on the outward appearance but God looks upon the heart (1 Sam. 16:7). Annanias and Sapphira, for example, were a part of the early church. They even gave an offering of money to the Lord. Because their intentions were bad, however, they both died (Acts 5:1 - 11).

1. THEREFORE, IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW CHRIST IN THE “NEW WAY” YOU MUST FIRST MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INTENTIONS ARE PURE! Our all knowing God is a jealous God and will not be fooled or trifled with. Jesus said it like this: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” (Matt. 5:8).

2. Second, you must believe in Jesus. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Paul described the good news, or Gospel, in this way: “Now, brothers, I want to remind

you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures . . .”

3. While we are not saved by our own works, Jesus still commanded that repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached in His name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem (Lk. 24:47). There is no doubt about it, God commands all men everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30). The Bible word for “repent” literally means to change your mind. If you do not repent, you cannot be saved!

4. God, in His infinite wisdom, also associated “confession” with “salvation”. Note: “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (Rom 10:9-11). If we confess Christ on earth, He will confess us before the Father, but if we are ashamed of Him on earth, He will be ashamed of us before the Father (Matt. 10:32, 33; Luke 9:26). Please don’t ever be ashamed of Jesus!

5. There is no doubt about it! Every believer needs to be baptized. It is the only command in the Bible given in “the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19). Every example in Scripture reveals that believers were immediately baptized. This not only happened “the same day” people believed (Acts 2:41) but even the same hour of the night (Acts 16:33). The fact that the Ethopian Eunuch stopped his chariot and was immediately baptized is a strong indication that he was surrendering his life to the authority of Christ (Acts 8:36 - 39). If we do not “obey” Jesus, we have no right to call Him Lord (Lk. 6:46 - 49).

6. Baptism is not the end of our Christian life, it is the beginning. It symbolizes both death and resurrection. Please consider: “Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Rom 6:3-9)

7. We must never forget that “Christ in you is the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). We are saved by Jesus, and not by our own works of righteousness. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph 2:8-10)