Thus, it is that love is not without hope,
hope is not without love,
and neither hope nor love are without faith.
__St. Augustine__
Friday, July 6, 2007
Sunday, July 1, 2007
the New Covenant vs. the Old Covenant
I have been thinking a lot about the New Covenant vs. the Old Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:7-18). If you don't have a Bible handy, go to http://www.biblegateway.com and look it up.
It amazes me that over 2000 years after Christ died, a heartbreakingly large portion of the church still believes in a ministry where the Old Covenant of "death and condemnation" is still used as a viable option in today's society. Sure the "fire and brimstone" ministry might have worked on some scale but the fact remains that this type of ministry ends up hurting the cause more than helping it. We can no longer continue to reach out the the marginalized and outcasts among us with tracts and billboards telling them that they are going to hell in a hand basket. This type of ministry leaves people feeling hollow and resentful.
The ministry of the New Covenant brings life instead of death, meaning instead of insignificance, hope instead of despair. And that makes this covenant far outweigh it's predecessor.I think Paul said it best when he told the Corinthians to "Do everything in love." (1 Corinthians 16:14) I don't profess to have all of the solutions, but I think that's a good start.
There IS another way.
It amazes me that over 2000 years after Christ died, a heartbreakingly large portion of the church still believes in a ministry where the Old Covenant of "death and condemnation" is still used as a viable option in today's society. Sure the "fire and brimstone" ministry might have worked on some scale but the fact remains that this type of ministry ends up hurting the cause more than helping it. We can no longer continue to reach out the the marginalized and outcasts among us with tracts and billboards telling them that they are going to hell in a hand basket. This type of ministry leaves people feeling hollow and resentful.
The ministry of the New Covenant brings life instead of death, meaning instead of insignificance, hope instead of despair. And that makes this covenant far outweigh it's predecessor.I think Paul said it best when he told the Corinthians to "Do everything in love." (1 Corinthians 16:14) I don't profess to have all of the solutions, but I think that's a good start.
There IS another way.
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