Dear Christians: What does your god actually do?

[Aractus]

The basis of the covenant was the set of promises to the patriarchs (e.g. Genesis 12,15,17,22) which combined responsibility and blessing. Abraham's descendants would be the basis for a blessing to the world, but if (when! Dt 28-31) Israel failed, there would be exile. However after that exile there would be covenant renewal and forgiveness.

Whilst I agree that broadly speaking the covenants that God makes combine blessings and responsibilities, there are exceptions where a covenant is simply blessings with no strings attached, that is no responsibilities expected of the Israelites to receive the blessing. The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant - God does not expect anything in return. It is given well before the instruction to keep the practise of circumcision, and that is merely a seal - a sign from God - not a condition for receiving the promised land. The Jews had kept this custom anyway, they didn't break it, so for what reason did they lose their eternal inheritance?

As such, the covenant was formally completed; indeed Paul writes a lot about God's covenant faithfulness. As well, he writes about the nature of the new covenant, as mentioned in the OT.

It was was it? So why does Jesus say "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matt 5:17-18. You couldn't get a statement any stronger in favour of keeping the Law of Moses. It's not until the Jerusalem Council 20 years later that James decides that they won't require non-Jew Christians to keep the Law, but instructs that they will nevertheless abstain from meat that is strangled, meat containing blood, meat that was offered to idols, and sexual immorality. Paul goes to Syria and nearly immediately disobeys this order by telling the Corinthians specifically that the can eat meat that was offered to idols as well as meat that was strangled and contains blood - he explicitly says "eat whatever is sold at the markets and do not question it".

What Paul taught and what Jesus taught are two entirely different things.