Honestly, Arnold, if I believed what you imply here, I would have given up long ago. I refuse to believe God is so impotent as to be unable to help me be free of every taint of sin, not just escape sin's consequences through the vicarious perfection of Christ.

Just 2 quickies for now:

1. Does the Textus Receptus give the option of a compound past perfect tense in Rom 3:23?

2. God's glory is His character, yes? Is it OK to come short of His character? Or are we called to have a character like His?

1. Disobey and die immediately and forever = OC.
2. Disobey and live for a time of probation = NC.

This should be basic Adventism. Are you disagreeing with this?

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:10-14, 23-25, 31-34.

He will free you and me from every taint of sin. But it might not be according to our schedule. From the cross to the crown there is earnest work to be done, there is wrestling against inbred sin and outward wrong.

The new-covenant promise is, "I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." {MB 50.2}

Perfection of character is attainable by every one who strives for it. This is made the very foundation of the new covenant of the gospel. The law of Jehovah is the tree; the gospel is the fragrant blossoms and fruit which it bears. {AG 141.3}

The "new covenant" was established upon "better promises"--the promise of forgiveness of sins and of the grace of God to renew the heart and bring it into harmony with the principles of God's law. {AG 136.4}

The blessings of the new covenant are grounded purely on mercy in forgiving unrighteousness and sins. . . . All who humble their hearts, confessing their sins, will find mercy and grace and assurance. Has God, in showing mercy to the sinner, ceased to be just? Has He dishonored His holy law, and will He henceforth pass over the violation of it? God is true. He changes not. The conditions of salvation are ever the same. Life, eternal life, is for all who will obey God's law. . . . {AG 136.5}

Under the new covenant, the conditions by which eternal life may be gained are the same as under the old--perfect obedience. . . . In the new and better covenant, Christ has fulfilled the law for the transgressors of law, if they receive Him by faith as a personal Saviour. . . . In the better covenant we are cleansed from sin by the blood of Christ. {AG 136.6}

When the principle of love is implanted in the heart, when man is renewed after the image of Him that created him, the new-covenant promise is fulfilled, "I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them." Hebrews 10:16. And if the law is written in the heart, will it not shape the life? Obedience--the service and allegiance of love--is the true sign of discipleship. Thus the Scripture says, "This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." "He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him." 1 John 5:3; 2:4. Instead of releasing man from obedience, it is faith, and faith only, that makes us partakers of the grace of Christ, which enables us to render obedience. {SC 60.2}

1. Aaron disobeyed under the OC and he lived. Please explain.

2. When did the Jews switch from the OC to the NC?

1. Aaron disobeyed under the OC and he lived. Please explain.

He was forgiven under the abrahamic (new) covenant. There was no promise of forgiveness under the terms of the old covenant. "In the old dispensation believers were saved through the grace of Christ, as presented in the gospel, as we are saved today. The only means of salvation is provided under the Abrahamic covenant. {ST, September 5, 1892 par. 4}

2. When did the Jews switch from the OC to the NC?

"They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now by faith and love they were bound to God as their deliverer from the bondage of sin. Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new covenant. {PP 371.4}

Was Aaron ever under the terms and conditions of the OC?

Also, if being under the OC is negative, why, then, did Ellen speak of it in positive terms? "The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense. . . This covenant is of just as much force today as it was when the Lord made it with ancient Israel. . . 'All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.' This is the pledge that God's people are to make in these last days."

Was appreciating the "blessings of the new covenant" the same thing as switching from the OC to the NC? If so, why did Jeremiah speak of it happening in future?

M: Was Aaron ever under the terms and conditions of the OC?

R: The OC was only a teaching tool to lead to the NC. To be under the terms of the OC was death; the OC was "the ministration of death" (2 Cor. 3:7).

M: Also, if being under the OC is negative, why, then, did Ellen speak of it in positive terms? "The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense. . . This covenant is of just as much force today as it was when the Lord made it with ancient Israel. . . 'All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient.' This is the pledge that God's people are to make in these last days."

R: The question is, Was there only one covenant at Sinai? Read Ex 19:3-8 and Ex 24:2-8.

God brought them to Sinai; He manifested His glory; He gave them His law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of obedience: "If ye will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then . . . ye shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." Exodus 19:5, 6. The people did not realize the sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for them to keep God's law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to establish their own righteousness, they declared, "All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient." Exodus 24:7. They had witnessed the proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant and shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now by faith and love they were bound to God as their deliverer from the bondage of sin. Now they were prepared to appreciate the blessings of the new covenant. {PP 371.4}

M: Was appreciating the "blessings of the new covenant" the same thing as switching from the OC to the NC? If so, why did Jeremiah speak of it happening in future?

R: Yes, it was the same as switching from the OC to the NC. The NC would be ratified in the future, by Christ's blood, but it existed since the fall (Gn 3:15), and it was renewed with Abraham (Gn 12:3). It is the Abrahamic covenant - the covenant of grace by faith. "And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gl 3:29).

"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which My covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put My law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know Me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:10-14, 23-25, 31-34.

If breaking the OC resulted in immediate death why, then, didn't he die?
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Where in the Bible does God switch from the OC to the NC, that is, where does it say He entered into NC relations with post-exilic Israel?