Troublesome Topic: Why Study the Covenants?

1. God’s relationship with mankind is a covenant relationship, thus, in order to fully understand our relationship with God, we need to understand ancient covenants. As twenty-first century believers, we know very little about covenant relationships. But they are the framework into which every part of Scripture fits, and the key to understanding the entire Bible as it was meant to be understood. It is the backbone the holds everything together.

2. Among the major topics about which most Christians are in the dark, this one is the most important.

3. God’s purpose is a close relationship with His creation. But what does that relationship look like and how does God want us to perceive its limitations, its benefits, and its demands? The answers are found in understanding the ancient practice of covenants.

4. What we need today in order to prepare ourselves for the tough times that are likely coming our direction can be found in a study of the covenants. This study will help us understand what should be a part, and what should not be a part of a relationship with God.

5. This study will also enable you to defend the Bible in a world that is hostile to God’s word and to His Church. It will do this by explaining many uncomfortable aspects of the law.

6. There is much misinformation out there about covenants. This study will effectively replace that false teaching. Much of the information out there about ancient covenants is erroneous because it describes the wrong kind of covenant. There are three kinds of covenants (which we will discuss later), one of which God never made with man. That is the one that some people choose to focus on.

7. This is how ancient people viewed a relationship with God. I am trying to learn how the people of ancient times understood things. The more I learn the more I realize we are wrong to set aside and ignore their perspective simply because they were ancient and we are modern.

8. In reality, almost everything in the Bible could rightly be placed under the topic of covenants because God defined His relationship with us as a covenant relationship and that ties everything together.

The next lesson in the Full and Medium Length Series on Covenants is What is a Covenant?