The God Culture: What Was Made Old in Hebrews 8?

Timothy Jay Schwab who is The God Culture is back with another article in his Foundations series. This time it's about the nature of the new covenant. See, it's not really a NEW covenant, it's an internalization of the OLD covenant. 

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FOUNDATIONS – WEEK 16

What Was Made Old in Hebrews 8?

Key Texts: Hebrews 8:8–13 • Jeremiah 31:31–34 • Matthew 5:17–20 • Romans 7:12 • 1 John 3:4

READ THE CONTEXT — NOT A FRAGMENT

Hebrews 8 is one continuous thought.

It is quoting Jeremiah 31, and presenting the New Covenant in full:

A new covenant framework

The Law written on hearts

The forgiveness of sins

These are not separate ideas.

They are one covenant package.

THE CORE OF THE NEW COVENANT

Hebrews 8:10

“I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts…”

This is not removal.

This is intensification.

The Law is not weakened.

It is made internal.

THE CLIMAX — FORGIVENESS

Hebrews 8:12

“Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

This is the turning point.

The issue being addressed is sin and its remembrance

Not the abolition of righteousness.

Not the removal of YAHUAH’s Law.

THEN COMES THE CONCLUSION

Hebrews 8:13

“In that He saith, A new covenant, He hath made the first old…”

This is not introducing a new topic.

It is concluding the covenant discussion.

WHAT IS ACTUALLY “MADE OLD”?

Here is the key:

The former covenant administration becomes old in its function—

Especially:

the repeated remembrance of sin

the external system without internal transformation

the need for continual atonement reminders

Because now:

sins are forgiven

sins are not remembered

the Law is written internally

WHAT IS NOT MADE OLD

Not the Law.

Romans 7:12

“The law is holy… just… and good.”

Hebrews 8:10

The Law is written in the heart

Matthew 5:17

Messiah did not come to destroy it

WHY THE CONFUSION EXISTS

Because people skip verse 12.

They read:

“new covenant… old… vanish…”

But ignore:

“their sins… I will remember no more”

THE REAL TRANSFORMATION

Old system:

external obedience

repeated sin remembrance

New covenant:

internal obedience

forgiveness

no remembrance of sin

FOUNDATION TRUTH

The New Covenant does not abolish the Law.

It removes the barrier between us and it.

SIN STILL EXISTS — AND IS DEFINED

1 John 3:4

“Sin is the transgression of the law.”

If the Law were gone:

sin would have no definition

But Hebrews 8 is about forgiveness of sin—

which proves the standard still stands.

FINAL WORD

What is made new?

Our hearts

Our relationship

Our forgiveness

What is written within us?

His Law

Not abolished.

Not removed.

But fulfilled in us.

Yah Bless.

It is simply amazing that Jesus Christ and His work on the cross atoning for our sins has ZERO place amongst Tim's Foundations. Every article is a graceless, Christless endevour urging the reader to follow the law. The Mosaic covenant was made old and vanished away because Jesus Christ fulfilled it through His death and resurrection. The scriptures are very plain that we are no longer under the law because it leads us to Jesus Christ. 

Galatians 3:21 Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.

22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe.

23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.

24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus

Tim continues to dethrone Jesus Christ by making the law central to everything. For Tim, Jesus Christ leads to the law. I ask then, what need does Tim have for Jesus Christ? The answer is none.

Let's hear what Father Ted has to say about this new Foundations series article.

Ah, Philippine Fails, me lad... puts the teacup down with a heavy sigh and rubs his forehead
I’ve read Tim’s latest Foundations post — “What Was Made Old in Hebrews 8?” — and it’s the same broken record, just with a slightly different groove.What Tim is claiming

• The New Covenant does not abolish the Law.
• What becomes “old” is only the external administration (repeated sacrifices, external rituals, constant reminder of sin).
• The Law itself is written on the heart (internalized), so it’s even more binding.
• Sin is still defined as “transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4), so the Law is still fully in force.
• Jesus fulfilled it so we could keep it better, not so we could be free from it.

In short: “The Law isn’t gone — it’s upgraded!”Why this is wrong (and dangerously wrong)Tim is doing what he always does — he takes a true statement (“the Law is written on the heart”) and uses it to smuggle the entire Mosaic system back into the New Covenant.
But let’s look at what Hebrews 8 actually says in context:

“In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13)

The author of Hebrews is not just talking about the “external administration.” He is talking about the old covenant itself — the whole package — being made obsolete because Christ is the mediator of a better covenant, established upon better promises (Hebrews 8:6).
Chapters 8–10 of Hebrews are devastating to Tim’s position:

• The old covenant had fault (8:7).
• It could not make anything perfect (7:19, 10:1).
• The repeated sacrifices were a constant reminder of sin (10:1-4).
• Christ offered one sacrifice for sins forever and then sat down (10:12).
• Therefore the old system is set aside.

When Hebrews says the Law is written on the heart (quoting Jeremiah 31), it does not mean “now you must keep all the Mosaic commands even more strictly.” It means God will give us new hearts that naturally want to please Him — by the power of the Holy Spirit — not by external stone tablets and endless rules.The Pattern Is Now Crystal ClearThis is the 16th Foundations lesson we’ve looked at, and every single one follows the same script:

• Take a biblical concept (faith, repentance, grace, holiness, covenant, fulfillment, etc.).
• Strip it of its Christ-centered, grace-centered meaning.
• Redefine it so that it ultimately points back to keeping the Torah.
• Use selective verses while ignoring the clear teaching of Hebrews, Galatians, and Romans.

Tim is not restoring the gospel. He is restoring a Torah-observant system with “Yahusha” and “Yahuah” slapped on top. Jesus becomes the One who confirmed the Law, not the One who fulfilled it and brought in a better covenant.Father Ted’s plain verdict

This post is not biblical teaching.

It is sophisticated legalism.

The New Covenant does not make the Law “internal so we can keep it better.”

The New Covenant makes Christ internal so that we can live by the Spirit, not by the written code.

Paul’s words still stand:

“You are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)

Tim keeps trying to put believers back under the law “internally.” That is exactly what the apostles fought against.
quietly, shaking his head
It’s the same camel, lad. The nose has been in the tent for a long time. Now the whole body is comfortable inside, and Tim calls it “restoration.”
The real gospel says the old has been made obsolete because something better has come — Jesus Christ, the mediator of a better covenant.
Right, I’m off to read Hebrews 8–10 again and thank the Lord for the better covenant sealed with better blood.
Go on, go on, go on — have a cuppa. You’re seeing this clearly. Tim’s “Foundations” are built on sand. The real foundation is Christ and Him crucified. Keep holding fast to that. The truth is so much better than what he’s selling.