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What is this "Good News"?

God loves us so much that He himself came to redeem us by way of His begotten Son Jesus, because not one person could/can save themselves by their own efforts.

John 3:16   For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life.

The Old Covenant (the old "contract/deal" of laws which brought blessings and curses from God), written upon stones (2 Cor 3:7), had its purpose for its time; but it was BAD NEWS for mankind, because no one was able to keep it. 

The New Covenant is instead focused on OUR RESTING in the FINISHED WORK of Jesus Christ and is the GOOD NEWS.

• There are a number of things that many Christians STILL do not fully comprehend today!  Many still do not understand that ever since Jesus Christ arose, the world has been living in the age of the New Covenant, NOT the Old Covenant. This is TRULY the Good News!!  ("Gospel" means "good news")

• A covenant is a contract/deal. IF we were still living under the Old Covenant, the new testament would be much different, and we wouldn't be any better off than those living back in 1,000BC, because at least their sins could be covered for one full year by a sacrifice in the temple and then they would be blessed.

• The Good News really does means REST. Here is a powerful summary of the differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. The New Covenant shows us how much God loves us! Understanding and believing this will bring you TRUE PEACE and REST.

• Many people still do not understand that true Christianity is not a religion - - it is a relationship with God!

• The Sabbath REST is a SHADOW of the things that were to come.  The SUBSTANCE is the true REST we have in the finished work of Jesus by believing.  When God rested on the seventh day after he finished all his creations, God didn't rest because he was tired - - he did so because HIS WORK WAS FINISHED!
  (Hebrews 4:1-4; Col 2:14-16)
  God knew way back at the beginning all that would occur throughout time (God is not restricted by time) and set His plan in motion from the start to redeem us!
  God invites us to enter into that realm where everything has been finished for us.  Believe it!

In order to help create a better understanding, the following table presents many essential differences between the Old and New Covenants.
Highly recommended: The New King James Version and The Message bibles for study purposes.
 

Table: Old Covenant (the Old Deal) vs. New Covenant (the New Deal)

Old Covenant (Law > Works > Imputation of Sin > No Rest)	New Covenant (Grace > No Condemnation > Rest > Fruit)	Reference
- Old Covenant (Mount Sinai, gives birth to bondage;   as in Hagar the bondswoman & son Ishmael)	- New Covenant (Mount Zion, gives birth to freedom; Sarah the freewoman & son/heir Isaac)	Gen 21:10, Gal 4:21-5:1 Rom 5:16-6:1 2 Cor 3:6 Heb 8:6-13 Heb 12:22-24
- All mankind became sinful through ONE (Adam);   sin unto death	- All those who believe are made righteous through ONE (Christ Jesus); by one Man's   obedience many will be made righteous	Rom 3:22 Rom 5:14-19 Rom 6:10 Rom 8:1-4 Rom 10:9-10 2 Cor 10:4-5
- Slaves of "sin unto death"   (sin used as a noun here, NOT a verb)	- Slaves of righteousness	Rom 5:12,6:6 Rom 6:16-22 Eph 4:1
- The law was given (via Moses was handed to man)	- "Grace and Truth" CAME (God came to dwell with us—very personal)	John 1:17
- Spirit of bondage to fear; ministry of death   ("sin unto death")	- Spirit of freedom	Gal 5:1
- The law (the old covenant) exposed man's faults	- The new covenant reveals God's faultless cleansing and redemption of men	Rom 3:20,5:20 Rom 7:7 John 18:38 John 19:4,6 Heb 7:22-28
- Condemnation - Law (your works/efforts before God to keep the law) - You do do do	- No Condemnation - Grace & Truth (your effort only stands in the way) - It is done. Finished. Jesus Christ’s finished work	Rom 8:1 Rom 4:7-8 Col 2:14-16 Rom 11:6 2 Tim 1:9
- Law was a schoolmaster	- Grace by faith	Gal 3:23-27
- Sin no more and God will bless you	- God blesses you for believing in Jesus as savior, and provides us with unmerited favor   by God’s grace	Ex 20:6-7 Heb 6:13-14 Eph 1:6note1
- You do do do (your works/efforts)	- The LORD already has DONE (performed) all perfectly for you; the "Finished Work"	John 17:4-5 John 19:30 Rom 6:10
- Boast in your love for God	- Boast in God's love for you  (John 21:20 – This demonstrates John’s boasting of the Lord’s   love for him…..NOT boasting of his own love for the Lord)	Rom 2:17,23 Rom 4:2 Gal 6:14 John 19:26 John 20:2 John 21:7 2 Cor 12:9
- You give; you do, your works   (What you are to God)	- You believe and receive (HIS supply; HIS grace; HIS working in you   (What God is to you)	Col 1:29
- Sin consciousness; the strength of sin is the law	- Righteousness conscious; if you have sin consciousness it is insulting to God and Jesus,   because it is like saying to Jesus you didn't do a good job and your blood is not enough	2 Cor 3:6 Heb 10:12
- Bondage (sin unto death)	- Freedom to reign in life	Rom 5:17 Rom 5:21 Rom 7:9-10
- When people are under bondage (under law) and   feel guilty with condemnation, they are doomed to   repeat sins (verb) over and over	- When people are free from guilt (no condemnation), they'll get free of anything	Rom 8:1 Rom 4:7-8
- No matter what you do, you still are in the "prison"   of a sinful nature because of what Adam did (man   as defendant in a courtroom says "that's not fair")	- When you are "in Christ" you are a "new creature" and you are in the "prison" of   righteousness (Satan as Prosecutor says "that's not fair").  Since Jesus took your place,   you take his place with Father God who now sees you perfect through Christ with your new   true identity as Christ’s likeness. At varying speeds and degrees, day by day, the   Holy Spirit transforms us to that likeness.	Rom 5:14 Rom 6:5-6 Rom 6:16-22 Rom 8:101 John 4:17 Eph 2:4-7 2 Cor 3:18 Heb 7:22-28
- Focused on ourselves	- Focused on Jesus instead of self; as we behold him in the scriptures we will be transformed   to Jesus' glory/likeness without our efforts. See and focus on Jesus in the scriptures   (e.g. in the Old Testament the pictures/shadows of Jesus such as Joseph, Boaz, the   sacrificial lamb meal at Passover and blood on doorposts before leaving Egypt, etc., and in the   New Testament as the “substance” of Jesus.)	Mat 17:4-5 Mat 14:22-23 Luke 10:38-42 Rom 7:24 2 Cor 3:18 John 12:3-8
- We were “married to Mr. Law”	- The vows are cancelled (til death do us part—we are dead to sin, dead to the law)   Now, believers (both Gentile and Jew) are “married to Christ Jesus” note2	Rom 7:4 Rom 7:1-6
- The law is holy, but NOT ONE person could   keep it.note3	- Grace. Devine substitution: God came in the likeness of flesh to fulfill the law perfectly in our   place.4   Now, everyone who wants Christ Jesus as their savior qualifies for the Free Gift of   Righteousness.	Rom 3:2 Rom 3:10; 4:13 Rom 5:16, 6:14 Rom 11:32 Gal 3:22 John 1:14
- You do good, get good (blessings); you do bad get   beat (curses)	- Believe and get righteousness GIFT & you will not want to do bad. (If a pig's heart and mind were   changed to that of a cat, it would not like being in the mud any longer. It may end up in mud   from time to time (sin as a verb/action), but it won't like it there and won't dwell very long there   and will leave.)	Rom 6:14 Rom 6:1-15 Rom 5:16 Gal 3
- Self righteousness through our efforts of keeping   the law (our works)	- Righteousness only through the perfect finished work of Christ Jesus, not of our works/efforts	Rom 4:2-8 Eph 2:9 John 17:4-5
- Self-righteous Pharisees made it seem as   though they kept the law, but they knew none   of them perfectly did	- Jesus does not condemn us (followed by Grace & Truth transforming us via the Holy Spirit—   not by our efforts) "Grace & Truth" = Jesus Christ	John 8:11 John 1:17 Matt 5:20 Mat 23:1-5 Mat 23:25-28
- Right doing (keeping the law) was supposed to lead   to righteousness and God’s favor (but not one can   do it all perfectly according to God’s exacting def-   initions, so God found fault with the Old Covenant)	- Right believing leads to right living (as a fruit in its season)	Rom 6:21-22 Rom 7:4-5 Gal 5:22 Eph 5:9
- Justified by the works of the law (but none can)	- Justified by faith, not by our efforts; Justified by the Faith of Jesus (Justified by His grace   through redemption in Christ Jesus). [Law of Faith—Faith is a law. (Rom 3:27)]	Gal 5:4 Acts 13:38-39 Rom 3:20-24 Rom 5:1 Rom 4:6 Gal 3:23
- Obedient to the law	- Obedient to the Faith; obedient to the Faith OF the Son of God (Jesus)	Acts 6:7 Rom 1:5,16:26 Eph 4:13
- Self led	- Holy Spirit led (God leads us personally through the Holy Spirit)	Gal 3 Rom 8:2 Rom 8:10,14
- NO REST	- REST through the finished work of Jesus Christ, the Son of God (man generally finds it   difficult to rest)	Mat 11:28-30 Heb 4:1-3 Heb 4:9-11
- Sins exchanged with sacrificed unblemished   lambs	- Sins exchanged once with the FINAL "No Fault in him" sacrificial Lamb of God (Jesus Christ)	John 1:29,36 Rom 6:10 Heb 7:26, 9:12 Heb 10:10 Rev 5:6, 7:17 Rev 19:9
- Cleansed and sins covered by animal blood for   the next full year (per God's commands)	- Cleansed and redeemed by the blood of Lord Jesus Christ forever (past, present, future),note4   according to the riches of His grace (not according to our knowledge of our sins)	Lev 16:34 Eph 1:7 Rom 5:9 Gal 3:14
- Get clean and then come to God (i.e. take a bath   before getting cleansed--everyone entering the   temple area had to rinse off/cleanse by walking   down into the cleansing pool)	- You come as you are to Jesus - - HE IS the bath	Titus 3:5 Lev 16:23-24
- The priests continually STOOD in the temple,   because their work was never finished (no rest)	- Jesus SAT DOWN at the right hand of God, because the work was finished. Believers in   Jesus Christ as the Son of God and savior also "sit down/rest," because the job was   finished for them; believers are righteous by faith (not through their own efforts)	John 17:4-5
- You must forgive first in order to be forgiven by God   (Mat 6:14-15)	- God forgives you first and then you become more and more forgiving to others   (this also applies about loving)	Col 3:12-131 John 4:19
- Love God with all your heart, soul and mind, or   else you will be in big trouble	- God demonstrated how much he loves us by His sacrifice, which causes us to want to love  him back	Ex 20:5, 20:7 Deu 30:6 John 3:16 Rom 5:8
- Israelites were singled out to be blessed (and   cursed if they did not perform correctly)	- Gentiles as well as Jews are welcomed to God's Grace	Gal 3:28 Rom 10-12 Gal 3:27-29
- The Sabbath REST is a shadow of the things that   were to come (not the substance)	- The SUBSTANCE is the TRUE REST we have in the finished work of Jesus by believing in him	Hebrew 4:1-11 John 17:4-5 Col 2:14-17
- Old Testament is full of shadows of Jesus	- New Testament is full of the substance of Jesus	Heb 8:4-7

Notes:
1)  In this verse: ....“made us accepted in the Beloved.” The original Greek word “accepted” is “charitoo” meaning “highly favored.”
2)  After receiving your salvation by the gospel of grace of Christ Jesus and free gift of righteousness, going back and forth with “Mr. Law” and condemnation is like going back and having an affair while married to the other. It is spiritual adultery.
3)  Rom 7:12 The law is like a mirror. It does not have power to make you holy and good. It can only show you your flaws.
4)  If someone paid off your mortgage or other loan for you, you wouldn’t keep making those payments would you? The loan obligation would be completed, with no more contract requirements needed from you. You would be “free” from that obligation/contract. Now consider if your loan balance had been $50,000 and that person overpaid when they paid if off for you by paying $1,000,000 instead of the $50,000. That’s what Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) did………his sacrifice was a significant OVERPAYMENT of our debts. Even considering that our past, current, and future sins are all paid for, it was STILL and OVERPAYMENT.

General notes:
Note: Living according to the flesh means living by your self efforts and only what you see (self-led instead of spirit-led (Rom 7 & 8)
Note: Rom 6:16 The original Greek word for “obey” is “hupakouo” which means “to listen to, to subscriber to, be attentive to.”
Note: God’s exacting standards of keeping the law: Example – Just a thought of lust is the same to God as adultery. Jesus explained God’s standards
         a number of times in various ways and various examples to bring people to the end of themselves so that they would be ready for and cry out for a savior.

 Galatians 4:21-30 (commentary notes)
The Holy Spirit cannot flow when the Law is in the church.  It would be like Hagar (Law) coming back to raise Isaac because Sarah (Grace) couldn't do a good job of it. As a Christian you are not able to blossom until the Law is out of your life. The Law is like a stone blocking the resurrection life.  But, you cannot remove the stone (Law) from "dead people" (people "of the world").  You cannot remove the ten commandments from "people of the world," because they still need the "thou shall nots."  But even when they follow the ten commandments they do so outwardly, not from their heart.  It does not give them true holiness.  But it is still needed to govern the world.  But, in the church, it is a hindrance, because resurrected (born again) people are "alive in Christ."  God wants inward transformation, not just outward conformity.

 

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