Transition from Law to Grace || New Phone, Who Dis #4

Location, Location, Location

Welcome back to “New Phone, Who Dis?”! This series has been looking at the Old Testament sacrificial covenant and the New Testament covenant made through the sacrifice of Christ. In Part 3, we looked at the differences between the Levite tribe, who managed the Old Testament system, and the tribe of Judah, where Jesus came from in respect to he New Testament covenant. The Levitical priesthood originated from the Mosaic Law, and were chosen to serve in the tabernacle by performing sacrifices and maintaining the sacred rituals. The Israelites were required to tithe to the Levites, in order to support the Levites. Jesus, through his own ultimate sacrifice, created a new covenant. Through the uniqueness of the tribe of Judah, we learn that a lot of messianic prophecies and expectations. The new priesthood was ultimately based on the power of an indestructible life.

In Part 4, we’re looking at where these ministries took place. The Levitical sacrificial system was ministered here on earth, while the new covenant sacrificial system was ministered from heaven. We move from a tangible, earthly system to a divine, faith-based system, and where it comes from makes the difference.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: What do you expect the differences will be from an earthly system to a divine system?

Historical Mindset

Let’s begin in Hebrews 8:4, looking at the ministry happening on earth.

AMP – Now if He were [still living] on earth, He would not be a priest at all, for there are priests who offer the gifts [to God] in accordance with the Law.

NRSVUE – Now if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there already those who offer gifts according to the law.

VOICE – If He were on earth, then He would not be a priest at all because there are already priests who can offer gifts according to the law of Moses.

The author of Hebrews is suggesting a hypothetical situation. The author believes that If Jesus would not be eligible for priesthood if Jesus walked around during the Levitical priesthood. According to the Mosaic Law, priests had to be from the tribe of Levi. Jesus, being from the tribe of Judah, would not be eligible. When Hebrews was written, the temple of Jerusalem was still standing, and the Levitical priests were still performing their religious responsibilities. They were offered sacrifices and gifted in accordance with the Mosaic Law. These offerings were a temporary atonement measure to atone, where Christ’s sacrificial offering was done once and lasts for eternity.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: So, how I read this, is that Jesus wouldn’t be a priest in the Mosaic Law because of the rules and historical lineage. What do you think about that? How would you feel if you knew someone would be completely qualified for the role, but couldn’t do the role because of the historical rules?

Transition and Adaptation

Earthly symbols and rituals are a short-term stop on a long-term journey. We talked in Part 1 about the Levitical priesthood systems were starting to fade away. They weren’t disappearing altogether, for the Pharisees and law leaders in the New Testament are still trying to make this a heavy reality. They were becoming less mainstream, to put it in more modern terms. The older systems were not modernizing to the current realities of the followers of Christ. The systems under the Mosaic Law made sense given the original context, culture, and history they were originally put with. However, as time moved on, the laws didn’t. The laws did not adapt until the time and ministry of Jesus himself, who took the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) and expanded on a lot of the Mosaic laws and commands. Systems need to be ever evolving and ever adapting over time, otherwise you start to loose the original impact of what these laws meant. That’s how we eventually see the transition from the Levitical priesthood to the divine.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Think about the systems we have here in the United States. What systems need to transition given our current society?

Moving to Grace and Faith

The divine ministry shows us this adaptation, which we see in Hebrews 8:12.

AMP – “For I will be merciful and gracious toward their wickedness, And I will remember their sins no more.

NRSVUE – For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

VOICE – I will be merciful when they fail, and I will erase their sins and wicked acts out of My memory as though they had never existed.”

God will forgive iniquities. Iniquities are the moral wrongdoings or sins. In the Old Testament, forgiveness was connected to sacrificial offerings. This promise here points to a new era where forgiveness is granted through Jesus’s sacrifice. This marks an importance transition: we move from the Old Covenant, based on laws and sacrifices, to the New Covenant, based on grace, faith, in Christ’s atoning work. There’s a complete and total forgiveness offered by God, where sins are both forgiven and forgotten. In the ancient cultures, memory is connected to record-keeping and accountability. God makes the intentional decision to erase wrongdoing, offering Christians a fresh start.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: We moving away from the laws and sacrificial rituals to a focus of grace and faith in the sacrifice of Jesus. How do you view Christ’s sacrifice in your own life?

Free Through Christ

Understanding that our sins are forgiven and forgotten should give us a life of freedom, free from guilt and shame, and give us the motivation to live righteously. Unfortunately, our culture is not safe enough to do that. As a society, we have become very judgmental. We tend to hold others accountable, and sometimes to an unrealistic extent. Society was mostly built with the notion of perfectionism. When we try to combat the demon of perfectionism, we start to see society break down. Workplaces want you to perform your role with 100% efficiency, and if you can’t – you’re demoted, put on a performance plan, or terminated. Some relationships want on 100% action from one person, while the others wants to receive all the benefits without reciprocating. So much is us held to a high standard.

God doesn’t though. God wants us to love Him and love others. God doesn’t require us to be perfect in order to have a relationship with Him. God wants us to come before Him as we are and showcase that we are now ready to repent away from our behaviors and mindsets that have lead us away from Him. God wants us to come to him as we are, boldly and confidently, and seek a relationship with Him. God will never force us into one, for that removes our free-will, nor will guilt us into one, for God forgives and forgets. We still have commands to follow, don’t get me wrong. However, we’re changing the mindset of how we view the laws. We’re less so viewing them as rules that we must follow, and adapting them to follow these commands to life a godly life. They are becoming our identity and life’s standards instead of community laws/rules and regulations.

REFLECTION CHECKPOINT: Moving to grace and faith-based mindsets, how does it change your view on Christianity and the covenant that God made through Jesus.