Another Gospel: The Mixing of Old and New Covenants

Another Gospel: The Mixing of Old and New Covenants
Bernard Pyron

The Judaizers in Acts 15 and in Acts 21: 20-22 wanted to mix the Old Covenant, its ceremonies, with Jesus Christ as the Messiah they understood him to be.

"For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." II Corinthians 22: 4

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. 9. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed." Galatians 1: 6-9

In Galatians Paul is saying that the teaching of the so-called Judaizers that all who profess to be Christians must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses (Acts 15: 1, Acts 15: 5) to be saved is another Gospel. Those who accept a Christ who teaches that all Christians must be circumcised and must keep the other laws of Moses have another Jesus. By keeping the law of Moses the Pharisees in Acts 15: 5 meant keeping the Old Covenant restrictions of what can be eaten (Acts 15: 20-21), and keeping the sabbath, the holy days, the new moon, etc (Colossians 2: 16-17).

"Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." II Corinthians 3: 6

The spirit of the Judaizers who taught about a Christ, but their Christ is another Jesus, was that of the letter - the letter of the law - and not of the Holy Spirit which brings spiritual life.

A similar spirit was behind those in the 19th century who, claiming to be Christians, taught that God now has two peoples, all Old Covenant Israel its multitude, and the Capital C Church. This theology was called dispensationalism thought Christian Zionism is a more accurate name. Just as the spirit of the First Century Judaizers of Acts 15: 1, 5 and Acts 21: 20-21 sought to mix the Old Covenant with the New Covenant, so the Christian Zionists have compromised the New Covenant by their teaching that the Old Covenant people remain the chosen people of the Lord, even while God has created the Church, from ekklesia, the meeting, congregation or assembly.

Scripture is almost never written in a highly explicit way, but even texts which are not metaphoric are often subtle. It is not given to all to understand these texts which are subtle and/or metaphoric (Matthew 13: 11). That there is no longer a chosen people based only on their flesh, on their physical DNA. is found in the teachings of Paul Romans 2: 23-24, 28-29, Romans 9: 6-8, Galatians 3: 3, 16, 26-29, if you have ears to hear and eyes to see it. The implications of these texts are not spelled out in detail, leaving room for the literalists and those who deal in the letter to convince many that the chosen people by the physical blood line is still in effect.

Statements of Jesus Christ himself also imply that the people of the Old Covenant are no longer the chosen people (Exodus 19: 5-6). such as John 3: 3, and John 3: 5, that everyone must be born again of the Spirit to be in the kingdom of God, and Matthew 23:38, that the Old Covenant house is desolate, meaning it is spiritually desolate and that the Spirit and Christ are not in it. Peter in I Peter 2: 5-9 quotes Exodus 19: 5-6 and clearly says "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people..." "Ye" are born again Christians.

Hebrews 10: 9 says "He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."

And so the more subtle and metaphoric nature of many verses in scripture can be used by those who teach false doctrines to get people to believe these false doctrines.

The founders of Dispensationalism, or Christian Zionism - John Darby, C.I. Scofield and Lewis S. Chafer - imply that those of the bloodline from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob are entitled by that bloodline to being treated by God in a special way than those not in the bloodline. The dispensationalist teaching that they, as a house, all would be saved at a point in the future implies that, whether its everyone in physical Israel who ever lived or just those alive at some one point in time.. This is a way of saying they are the chosen people because of their bloodline.

http://anothervoicerev184.blogspot.c...-of-jesus.html

"Return of Jesus Christ, The Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, By Lewis Sperry Chafer 1871-1952."

Chafer says "The nation Israel, God's chosen earthly people, to whom at least five-sixths of the Bible is addressed and with whom the great covenants are made (Rom 9:4-5) -- which covenants secure to that nation a land, a nation, a throne, a King, and a kingdom -- are now scattered throughout all the nations of the earth (Deut 4:26-28; Deut 28:63-68; Jer 16:13), and are to remain scattered until they (a remnant; ed.) are gathered into their own land (Deut 30:3-6; Isa 11:11-12; Isa 14:1-3; Isa 60:1-22; Jer 23:6-8; Jer 32:37-44; Jer 33:7-9; Eze 37:21-25; Mic 4:6-8) under the reign of Christ Jesus at His return."

Lewis S. Chafer refers to physical Israel as God's earthy chosen people. And early dispensationalists talk about the church as being only a "parenthesis" within dispensations.

John Darby said that the "Church has sought to settle itself here, but it has no place on the
earth... [Though] making a most constructive parenthesis, it forms no part of the regular order of God's earthly plans, but is merely an interruption of them to give a fuller character and meaning to them..."

John. N. Darby, 'The Character of Office in The Present Dispensation'
Collected Writings., Eccl. I, Vol. I, p. 94.

"Them" are all physical Israel, or Old Covenant Israel. The church, for Darby exists to "give fuller character and meaning to all physical Israel." Darby thought that the purpose of the Christian church, the ekklesia as a meeting, assembly or congregation of Israel reborn in Christ, made into The Body of Christ like the Catholic capital C Church, was to honor all physical Israel.

"Israel is an eternal nation, heir to an eternal land, with an eternal kingdom, on which David rules from an eternal throne so that in eternity, '...never the twain, Israel and church, shall meet." Lewis S. Chafer, Systematic Theology (Dallas, Dallas Seminary Press, 1975), Vol. 4. pp. 315-323..