“The Two Covenants: Your Blessings in Christ” by Andrew Murray. CLC Publications.

Bottom line up front – This is a critical read if one would understand the differences between the Old and New Covenants, and would desire to live a purely New Covenant life. Without this knowledge as Murray delivers it here, one will struggle to break free of the Old Covenant practices and perspectives that have pervaded the institutional religious system of today, which includes just about every last denominational and non-denominational church in the western world.

Why read this? Few people have understood and written well about the distinction between the Old and New Covenants as has Andrew Murray. In 18 chapters and six appended notes, he covers the waterfront on this topic. He explains the nature of our God as a God of covenants, the two covenants and how they relate, and the transition from one to the other. He spends the rest of the book unpacking the meaning and impact of true New Covenant living in Christian experience, in ministry, in obedience and holiness. He explains the blood of the covenant, ministry of the Spirit, as well as obedience, holiness, grace, and the priesthood under the New Covenant. This is a thorough yet approachable explanation of perhaps the most vital, misunderstood, and life-changing doctrinal information in the Bible.

The point of the book – Murray’s point is this: if we do not understand the New Covenant in Christ’s blood as Christ and the apostles described it, we do not understand the Christian faith. Instead of becoming a more faithful and victorious disciple of Christ, we will struggle against sin, self, defeat, and discouragement until such time as we gain this knowledge. All of the promises of the New Testament for the true disciple come to those who live a New Covenant life. They escape the vast majority of those in the institutional church who languish in ignorance of these vital truths.

The impact of the book – As stated above, without this knowledge as Murray delivers it , one will struggle to break free of the Old Covenant practices and perspectives that have pervaded the institutional religious system of today, which includes just about every last denominational and non-denominational church in the western world. The freedom, abundance, victory, and overcoming promised to the faithful comes to those who live in the New Covenant. You can find out about to live that life here in Murray’s writings.

“One of the words of scripture that seems to have gone out of fashion is the word, “covenant.” There was a time when it was a keynote of our theology and of the Christian life of strong and holy men. We know how deeply in Scotland it entered into the national life and thought. It made mighty men, to who God and His promises of power were wonderfully real. It will be found still to bring strength and purpose to those who are willing to place their enter life under the control of God. The inspiring assurance that they are living in covenant with a God who has sworn to fulfill in them His every promise will make them mighty too.”

“In the Old Covenant man had failed in what he had to do; in the New, God is to do everything in him. The Old could only convict of sin; the New is to put it away and cleanse the heart from all its filthiness. IN the Old it was the hear that was wrong; for the New, a new heart is provided – into which God puts His fear and His law and His love. The Old demanded but failed to secure obedience: int he New God causes us to walk in His ordinances. The New is to fit man for a true holiness, a true fulfillment of the law of loving God with the whole heart and our neighbors as ourselves – a walk truly well-pleasing to God. The New transforms a man from glory to glory after the image of Christ, all because the Spirit of God’s Son is given to the heart. The Old had no power; in the New all is by the Spirit, the mighty power of God. As complete as the reign and power of Christ is on the throne of heaven, so is His dominion on the throne of the heart by His Holy Spirit given to us.”

Similar reads – “The Power of the Blood Covenant” by Malcom Smith, previously reviewed on this site here. ”The Normal Christian Life” by Watchman Nee, previously reviewed on this site here. ”The Mystery of Godliness” by W. Ian Thomas. ”The Deep Things of God” by Norman Grubb.