sine qua non

 

The Latin term "sine qua non"  is literally translated: without which not.  It refers to an indispensable condition or necessity.

Without oxygen man cannot live - oxygen is the sine qua non for human life.

Without understanding the OLD Covenant, A Bible student cannot understand the NEW Covenant.

The shocking truth is that despite unequivocal Biblical testimony many who believe in the Bible refuse to accept the fact that the New Covenant is a renewal of the original Covenant Yahweh made with Israel - the Ten  Commandments -nothing more and nothing less.  

THE ORIGINAL COVENANT - TEN COMMANDMENTS - Deut 4:13

"So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone.  (NKJ)

Nothing is stated more clearly in the Bible  "...His covenant...the ten commandments...on two tablets of stone."

AND HE ADDED NO MORE: - Deut 5:22

"These words the LORD spoke to all your assembly, in the mountain  from the midst of the fire, the cloud, and the thick darkness, with a  loud voice; AND HE ADDED NO MORE. And He wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me."  (NKJ)

TEN COMMANDMENTS AND HE ADDED NO MORE!

And yet this simple truth is ignored or rejected by the vast majority of those who claim that the Bible is the word of God.   The original Covenant was NOT the 613 commandments, judgments and statutes stated in the Torah - it was the 10 Commandments - period!

If one does not understand that fact it is impossible to understand the teachings of Jesus, the apostles and in particular the writings of Paul concerning the New Covenant.

The laws of the "New Covenant" are exactly the same as the original Covenant - the Ten Commandments.  The New Covenant is a renewal of the original - not a replacement.    

What is new about the New Covenant?

1. A new sacrifice.        
    OLD - ratified by the blood of animals
    NEW - ratified by the blood of the Messiah

2.  A new method of communication.    
     OLD - indirectly through the Priest
     NEW - directly through the Spirit        

3.  A new way to write the law of Yahweh.
      OLD - written on stone    
      NEW - written on the heart

If that is true then what did the apostle Paul mean when he said:

Gal 3:19   "Wherefore then serveth the law? IT WAS ADDED because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made;"

Was Paul speaking of the Ten Commandments?   Absolutely not!

Paul was referring to the SECOND Covenant Yahweh made with Israel AFTER THEY BROKE THE FIRST.  -- not the original Ten Commandment Covenant.

The Mosaic law was a second covenant (with a second set of tablets) which was made with Israel before they entered Canaan.  

Deut 29:1  
These are the terms of the covenant the LORD commanded Moses to make with the Israelites in Moab, IN ADDITION to the covenant he had made with them at Horeb.

"...the covenant...in Moab...in addition...

There were TWO covenants made with Israel - the first was the Ten Commandments "and he added no more".  The second was made in Moab and included the 613 commandments, judgments and statutes of the Mosaic law.

After they worshipped the idol, Yahweh was going to destroy the Israelites, but Moses begged the Lord for their forgiveness and the nation was allowed a reprieve, but with a much stricter set of rules designed to keep their minds on obedience to Yahweh's law.  This second covenant was the "yoke of bondage."

That is what Paul meant when he said:  "Why then the law?  It was added because of transgressions"  The Mosaic law was added to the original covenant (the Ten Commandments) because of Israel's transgressions.  

The "New Covenant" is the same as the original covenant with a new method of administration and a new sacrifice. A renewal of the prototype, ratified by the  the blood of the Messiah and administered by the Spirit.

That simple truth is the Biblical sine qua non without which it is impossible to understand these words of the Messiah:

"For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Harold and Donna Kupp

Notes:

THE ORIGINAL COVENANT THAT WAS WRITTEN ON STONES IS NOW ADMINISTERED BY THE SPIRIT 2 Cor 3:6-8

"...who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the Spirit not be  more
glorious?"  (NKJ)

THE NEW COVENANT IS WRITTEN ON THE HEART  Heb 8:10

"For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." (NKJ)

dk