The covenants

Question 1

Two key covenants in the bible:

Answer 1

1. The covenant God made with ancient Israel at Mount Sinai, also referred to as the “Old Covenant.”
2. The “New Covenant,” which was inaugurated by Jesus Christ, and which is the covenant that is in force for spiritual Israel, the Church.
   - The new covenant is spoken about first in the book of Jeremiah. The old covenant that God had established with His people required obedience to the Old Testament Mosaic law.

Question 2

The old covenant

Answer 2

• sinners earn the death penalty, forgiveness of those sins requires blood to be shed to satisfy that penalty (Hebrews 9:22). Under the Old Covenant, the Israelites sacrificed animals as sin offerings, shedding the blood of those creatures as God commanded.

Question 3

The new covenant

Answer 3

Christ’s sacrifice of Himself made it possible to take “away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). When Christ instituted the New Covenant with His shed blood (Luke 22:20), He made it possible for us to be truly cleansed from sin. We accept Christ’s sacrifice at baptism. Although we must still repent each time we sin in the future, Christ’s sacrifice is applied upon our repentance.