"..Jesus has been given priestly work which is superior to theirs,..the covenant which he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things. If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, there would have been no need for a second one..By speaking of a new covenant, God has made the first one old; and anything that becomes old and worn out will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:6-13 GNB)

paradigm, paradigm shift - From the Greek word paradhma (paradigma),... a paradigm is simply the predominant worldview in the realm of human thought..A paradigm shift occurs when cultures transform their way of thinking from one thought system to another. For instance, prior to Copernicus and Galileo (ca. 1600), most people believed that astral bodies revolved around the earth (geocentrism); but after the Copernican Revolution (ca. 1600), it became obvious that the earth revolved around the sun (heliocentrism) -- thus, a major paradigm shift occurred from geocentrism to heliocentrism..Simply put, then, a paradigm shift is a pivotal change in humanity's way of thinking regarding a particular worldview.

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In part 2 (Click here to read it), we looked at the part our thoughts play in determining the quality of our lives and why we had to renew our minds to start living in the new covenant of grace.

Approaching the new covenant while holding the paradigm of the old is a prevalent problem in the body of Christ today. This situation is not incidental neither is it a new one. It is exactly what Christ and later Paul, dealth with during their time on earth. This state of affairs suites the devil to the ground, as it offers him the opportunity to steal from us the benefits of the new by filtering them out through the old.

1. "Jesus also told them this parable: "You don't tear a piece off a new coat to patch up an old coat. If you do, you will have torn the new coat, and the piece of new cloth will not match the old. Nor do you pour new wine into used wineskins, because the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will pour out, and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins! And you don't want new wine after drinking old wine. 'The old is better,' you say."

(Luke 5:36-39 GNB)

2. "Beware lest anyone rob you through philosophy and vain deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world, and not according to Christ..let no one judge you in food or in drink, or in respect of a feast, or of the new moon, or of the sabbaths. For these are a shadow of things to come, but the body is of Christ. " (Colossians 2:8-17 MKJV)

There are significant changes in the paradigm within which the new and the old covenants operate and so the two cannot be morphed in an attempt to placate those committed to the old while trying to embrace the new. You have to jetison the old and embrace the new. Embracing one negates the benefit of the other, there is no crossover, hence the call for a complete paradigm shift.

1. "The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads..even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Benjamin; a strict and devout adherent to God's law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting Christians; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God's law Book. The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I'm tearing up and throwing out with the trash--along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ..Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant--dog dung. I've dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn't want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ--God's righteousness." (Philippians 3:3-9 MSG)

2. "you who are justified by Law are deprived of all effect from Christ; you fell from grace." (Galatians 5:4 MKJV)

3. "For whoever shall keep the whole Law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all." (James 2:10 MKJV)

4. "Brothers, truly my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is for it to be saved. For I bear record to them that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they, being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes." (Romans 10:1-4 MKJV)

5. "..the blood of Christ (who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God) purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new covenant, so that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, those who are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. For where a covenant is, the death of him covenanting must be offered. For a covenant is affirmed over those dead, since it never has force when The one covenanting is living." (Hebrews 9:14-17 MKJV)

It is therefore evident that we must establish a clear demacation between both covenants and make a clear choice to follow the new. Lest we "..set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness is through law, then Christ died without cause." (Galatians 2:21 MKJV)

The old passed away

Making way for the new

The old talked the talk

But had no power

To help me walk the walk

All I saw, its bony fingers

Telling me I failed again

The new is here

To deliver me

From this old law of death

Now I live

Condemnation free

Courtesy of the life of Christ

Him living His life through me

Selah

(To be continued..)

click here to read part 4

To view others instalments in the series, click here