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Free Will Offerings in Old and New Covenants

The concept of free will offerings, while present in both the Old and New Covenants, is understood and applied differently across various theological traditions. The core disagreement often centers on the nature of human agency in salvation and the continuity or discontinuity of specific Old Testament practices in the Christian era.

In the Old Covenant, a "free-will offering" (Hebrew: nedavah) was a spontaneous gift, a voluntary sacrifice not mandated by a vow or as expiation for an offense [1]. These offerings were distinct from obligatory sacrifices, such as sin offerings or guilt offerings. For instance, Leviticus 22:23 specifies that an animal with a deformity could be accepted as a freewill offering, but not for a vow [2]. Jewish tradition further distinguishes between a neder (vow offering), often made in times of stress, and a nedavah (freewill offering), brought when one is moved to do so [8]. The Mishnah clarifies that in the case of vows and freewill offerings of birds, all were burnt offerings (olot), whereas obligatory bird offerings included both a sin offering (hatat) and a burnt offering [12]. These offerings were part of a broader sacrificial system that included peace offerings, which were eucharistic in nature and indicated the offerer was already reconciled with God [3].

Within Reformed theology, particularly as articulated by John Calvin, the Old and New Covenants are seen as fundamentally one in substance, though differing in administration [4, 7]. Calvin emphasizes that the spiritual promise always held the first place, even amidst terrestrial promises given to the Jewish nation [4]. The Old Covenant, while containing earthly promises, ultimately pointed to the spiritual realities fulfilled in Christ [5]. Charles Hodge, representing Old Princeton Reformed theology, views the New Covenant as being formed between God and His people, with Christ acting as mediator and surety, much as Moses mediated the Old Covenant [6]. From this perspective, while the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant, including free will offerings, has been fulfilled in Christ's singular sacrifice, the principle of voluntary giving as an act of worship and gratitude continues in the New Covenant, albeit without the ritualistic animal sacrifices.

In contrast, Lutheran theology, as expressed in the Augsburg Confession, emphasizes the limitations of human free will in spiritual matters. one tradition teaches that while humans have some liberty to choose civil righteousness and reason-based actions, they lack the power to achieve "the righteousness of God" without the Holy Spirit [11, 13]. This spiritual righteousness is wrought in the heart through the reception of the Holy Spirit via the Word [11]. This perspective suggests that any "free will offering" in the spiritual sense—that is, any act contributing to one's salvation or spiritual standing before God—is ultimately enabled by divine grace, not purely by unassisted human volition.

Catholic scholastic theology, exemplified by Thomas Aquinas, also addresses the nature of the New Law. Aquinas argues that the New Law prescribes or prohibits only those things essential for the reception or right use of grace [14]. Since grace is obtained through Christ alone, Christ instituted the sacraments as means of grace [14]. This framework implies that while voluntary acts of charity and devotion are valued, they are understood within the context of a sacramental system that mediates grace, rather than being purely self-initiated offerings that earn merit independently.

The divergence among these traditions often stems from differing hermeneutical approaches to the continuity between the covenants and the extent of human capacity for spiritual good. While all traditions acknowledge the Old Testament concept of voluntary offerings, their understanding of "free will" and its implications for spiritual offerings in the New Covenant varies significantly. The Old Covenant's "faults" were not in its divine origin but in its inability to fully address human weakness, necessitating the new covenant prophesied by Jeremiah [9, 10]. This new covenant, with its superior offering in Christ, redefines the nature of acceptable offerings from humanity.

Sources

  1. Easton's Bible Dictionary “Easton's Bible Dictionary: Free-will offering — A spontaneous gift (Ex. 35:29), a voluntary sacrifice (Lev. 22:23; Ezra 3:5), as opposed to one in consequence of a vow, or in expiation of some offence.”
  2. Leviticus “Either a bull or a lamb that has any deformity or lacking in his parts, that you may offer for a freewill offering; but for a vow it shall not be accepted. -- Leviticus 22:23”
  3. Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Thank Offering, Or Peace Offering — the properly eucharistic offering among the Jews, in its theory resembling the meat offering and therefore indicating that the offerer was already reconciled to and in covenant with God. Its ceremonial is described in (Leviticus 3:1) ... The peace offerings, unlike other sacrifices, were not ordained to be offered in fixed and regular course. The only constantly-recurring peace offering appears to have been that of the two firstling lambs at Pentecost. (Leviticus 23:19) The general principle of the peace offering seems to have been ”
  4. CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 98: place a manifest indication of favour before his eye, added the promise of possession of the land of Canaan. In the same way we should understand all the terrestrial promises which were given to the Jewish nation, the spiritual promise, as the head to which the others bore reference, always holding the first place. Having handled this subject fully when treating of the difference between the old and the new dispensations, I now only glance at it. 12. Under the appellation of children the difference they observe is this, that the ch”
  5. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 13.--WHY ONE OF THE COVENANTS IS CALLED OLD, THE OTHER NEW. (part 2): law is manifested."(4) This is the reason why the former is called the old testament, because it was revealed in the earlier time; and the latter the new, because it was revealed in the later time. In a word, it is because the old testament pertains to the old man, from which it is necessary that a man should make a beginning; but the new to the new man, by which a than ought to pass from his old state. Thus, in the former are earthly promises, in the latter heavenly promises; b”
  6. CCEL (Reformed (Old Princeton)) “Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology, Vol. 2, section 71: § 3 . Parties to the Covenant. At first view there appears to be some confusion in the statements of the Scriptures as to the parties to this covenant. Sometimes Christ is presented as one of the parties; at others He is represented not as a party, but as the mediator and surety of the covenant; while the parties are represented to be God and his people. As the old covenant was made between God and the Hebrews, and Moses acted as mediator, so the new covenant is commonly represented in the Bible as formed between God and his people, Chris”
  7. CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 46: 368 CHAPTER 10. THE RESEMBLANCE BETWEEN THE OLD TESTAMENT AND THE NEW. 225 225 As to the agreement of both dispensations, see August. Lib. de Moribus Eccles. Lat., especially cap. 28. This chapter consists of four parts. I. The sum, utility, and necessity of this discussion, sec. 1. II. A proof that, generally speaking, the old and new dispensations are in reality one, although differently administered. Three points in which the two dispensations entirely agree, sec. 2–4. III. The Old Testament, as well as the New, had regard to th”
  8. Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Deuteronomy 23:24: FREELY. 79 Hebrew, nedavah . The reference is to an offering which is freely given. For every vow offering 80 Hebrew, neder . is a free-will offering. 81 Hence our verse refers to that which is given by vow as a nedavah (freely). According to I.E. comments on Lev. 7:15 a neder refers to a vow made in a time of stress, a nedavah refers to an offering brought whenever the spirit moves a person to do so. For the talmudic point of view see Megillah 1:6. However, not every free-will offering is a vow offering. 82 One may set aside an offering without making a ”
  9. Hebrews (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Hebrews 8:7: 8:7-13 The author quotes Jer 31:31-34, an Old Testament prophecy concerning the new covenant that includes a number of striking promises. Establishing the superiority of the new covenant lays a foundation for the argument in Heb 9:1–10:18 that the Son’s offering under the new covenant was superior to the offerings of the old covenant. 8:7 The first covenant, made at Sinai, was not faultless. It was not the end of God’s plan, because it didn’t solve human weaknesses (see 7:11-28; 8:9).”
  10. Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 33.--THE PROPHECY OF JEREMIAH CONCERNING THE NEW TESTAMENT.: Observe this also in that testimony which was given by the prophet on this subject in the clearest way: "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will consummate a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand, to bring them out of the land of Egypt. Because they continued not in my covenant, I also have rejected them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the cov”
  11. Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) “Augsburg Confession (Lutheran, 1530), 1 Of Free Will they teach that man’s will has some liberty to: 1 Of Free Will they teach that man’s will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work 2 things subject to reason. But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work the righteousness of God, that is, spiritual righteousness; since the natural man 3 receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2:14; but this righteousness is wrought in the heart when the Holy Ghost is received 4 through the Word. These things are said in as many words by Augustine in his Hypognosticon,”
  12. Mishnah (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Mishnah, Mishnah Kinnim 1:1: A bird hatat is performed below [the red line], but a beast hatat is performed above [the red line]. A bird olah is performed above, but a beast olah below. If he changed this procedure with either, then the offering is disqualified. The seder [ordered ritual] in the case of kinnim is as follows: In the case of obligatory offerings, one [bird] is a hatat and one an olah. In the case of vows and freewill offerings, however, all are olot. What constitutes a vow? When one says: "It is incumbent upon me to bring an olah." And what constitutes a freewill-offering? When ”
  13. Augsburg Confession (Lutheran) “Augsburg Confession (Lutheran, 1530), Article XVIII. Of Free Will.: Article XVIII. Of Free Will.”
  14. theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, First Part of the Second Part (Prima Secundae), Of Those Things That Are Contained in the New Law, Art. 2: Article: Whether the New Law made sufficient ordinations about external acts? I answer that, as stated above (Article [1]), the New Law had to make such prescriptions or prohibitions alone as are essential for the reception or right use of grace. And since we cannot of ourselves obtain grace, but through Christ alone, hence Christ of Himself instituted the sacraments whereby we obtain grace: viz. Baptism, Eucharist, Orders of the ministers of the New Law, by th”
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