The above title may sound a bit strange or unusual. Generally speaking, new things in religion are not true and true things in religion are not new; and yet, the Bible speaks of many new things. Therefore we wish in this article to direct your attention to a few of these new things the Bible talks about.
     New Covenant. We learn from a study of the Old Testament that hundreds of years before the New Testament was given, God promised to make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah (Jeremiah 31:31). Then as we  turn to the New Testament we find reference made to this statement by the writer of the Hebrew letter as he declared that this promise or prophecy had been fulfilled when Christ died on the cross and took the law of Moses out of the way and the New Testament was given (Hebrews 8:8). Someone asks, “Why was it necessary to take away the Old Covenant and make a new one?” Since that is a Bible question, it is a good one and it is necessary for us to know the answer. So we look to the Bible for the answer and we have it recorded in Hebrews 8:7, “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.” In other words, he is saying that because of the imperfection of the Old Covenant it was necessary for it to be taken away and a new one established or made. We all understand that under the Old Covenant they offered animal sacrifices for sins, but it was not possible to receive the remission of sins through such sacrifices (Hebrews 10:1). Therefore, the New Covenant is one of the new things mentioned in the Bible.
     New Birth. Then another new thing mentioned in the Bible is the New Birth. Under the Old Covenant the Jews or Israelites came into covenant relationship with God through, or by virtue of, the natural birth. The Old Covenant, or the law of Moses, was given only to them, and those who were born of a Jewish family were automatically of the covenant which God had given them, but under the New Covenant it is different. The New Covenant is not restricted to any particular nationality or people, but it is for both Jew and Gentile alike. Hence, one comes into the benefits of the New Covenant by virtue of the new birth; that is, a second birth. Christians are a people who have been born twice, or born again. All of us were born into our parents’ family by a natural or physical birth. But to enter the divine family, or the family of God, we must have a Spiritual birth. Remember the Lord’s conversation with Nicodemus in the third chapter of John, in which he said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3). When Jesus says a thing cannot be done, that is just the way it is. Then let us notice again, in enlarging upon the thought, he said, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). Some would tell us that the birth of water here refers to the natural birth or physical birth. But just a little logical reasoning will teach us better than that. Who is it that is born of a natural birth? Is it an infant or a man? But we notice in this text that he said, “Except a man (not an infant) be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” Hence, the new birth consists, or  is  made  up of both water and Spirit. I
am aware of the fact that there is much controversy and misunderstanding among religious people as to what the new birth is and how it is brought about. However, there is no reason for anyone to be ignorant of what the Bible teaches concerning this matter. God has revealed this information to us in such a simple manner as to eliminate all difficulty in understanding. We understand that in the natural, or fleshly birth, there is first a begetting and then a bringing forth. So it is with the Spiritual or new birth. The Bible is plain that we are first begotten by the word of truth and then brought forth from the waters of baptism. The apostle Peter expressed it this way, “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23). Then James said, “Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth” (James 1:18). Of course, “The word of truth” is the word of God or the gospel of Christ. Hence, the fearless apostle Paul said to the church at Corinth: “For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel” (1 Corinthians 4:15). Therefore, according to the Bible, instead of being born again in some mysterious or miraculous way, one is born again by the gospel, or the word of God, through obedience thereto. To Be Continued—1925 County Highway 59, Haleyville, AL 35565