Have
you ever entered into an agreement (Covenant) and lived to regret it?
Regretting it, so much so, that you change the agreement in the midst of it. This
is very possible with fallen beings like us; however, God is beyond that! I
chose this title deliberately because I had hoped it would get your attention.
So many believers have a disconnect with Who God is, and the Old Covenant
versus the New Covenant. Some take their thoughts so far that they almost sound
like there was one God in the Old Covenant and a different one in the New Covenant.
I understand the confusion because I experienced it early in my
Christian walk. I felt led by the Spirit to deal with this as I finish this
series on Jesus from the book of Hebrews.
We have one God, Who reveals Himself in three persons. Of
course that does not make sense…I know that’s what your thinking…it's normal. How can a finite person (me) fully comprehend an Infinite God? From the
book of Genesis all the way to the end of Revelation God takes the most
difficult “Truths” and progressively reveals them to us. God’s
intent from the beginning was to create a being that He can share Himself with
and allow them to experience and enjoy Him. One of those “Truths” is
God’s
covenant with us that allows us to be forgiven of our sins and re-created into
children of God.
Here is our Passage:
Hebrews 8:1–13 Here is the main point: We have a High
Priest who sat down in the place of honor beside the throne of the majestic God
in heaven. 2 There he ministers in the
heavenly Tabernacle, the true place of worship that was built by the Lord and
not by human hands. 3 And since every high priest
is required to offer gifts and sacrifices, our High Priest must make an
offering, too. 4 If he were here on earth, he
would not even be a priest, since there already are priests who offer the gifts
required by the law. 5 They serve in a system of
worship that is only a copy, a shadow of the real one in heaven. For when Moses
was getting ready to build the Tabernacle, God gave him this warning: “Be sure
that you make everything according to the pattern I have shown you here on the
mountain.” 6 But now Jesus, our High
Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood,
for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on
better promises. 7 If the first covenant had
been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace
it. 8 But when God found fault
with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel
and Judah. 9 This covenant will not be
like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led
them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so
I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
10 But this is the new covenant
I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws
in their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my
people. 11 And they will not need to
teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,
‘You should know the Lord.’ For
everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. 12 And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.” 13 When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it
means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon
disappear.
God did not
regret and change, what He did was begin with a covenant that would serve a
purpose to open the door to a covenant that would fulfill all that God desired.
The New Covenant is the final revelation of what God knew would be best and
bring into harmony His will with a fallen creation.
Here is the basic
definition of Covenant: Agreement made between two parties
There was a
problem with the Old Covenant, which we will see at the end, but let us first
see how much better the New Covenant is:
(1) We have a New Walk
No longer are we walking
based on laws that are written outside of us, now we live our life based on the
Truth being put inside of us by the Holy Spirit!
Hebrews
8:10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel
on that day, says the Lord: I will
put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be
their God, and they will be my people
John 14:15-17 "If
you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he
will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- the Spirit of truth.
The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you
know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
John 16:13 But when
he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not
speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what
is yet to come.
(2) We have a New Relationship.
We are now adopted children
of God. Not His nation, but His family!
Hebrews
8:10 But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel
on that day, says the Lord: I will
put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be
their God, and they will be my people
Romans 8:16 The Spirit
himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.
(3) We have a Complete Revelation.
Concerning the things God desires us to know, we
now have a full Revelation through His Word and His Spirit illuminates that
revealed Truth so we can fully understand it.
Hebrews
8:11 And they will not need
to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying,
‘You should know the Lord.’ For
everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already.
1 Cor. 2:11-12 For who
among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In
the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have
not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we
may understand what God has freely given us.
1 John 2:27 As for
you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need
anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as
that anointing is real, not counterfeit--just as it has taught you, remain in
him.
(4) We have a New Forgiveness.
Where as
with the Old Covenant the sins of the believer were only covered by the blood
of animals. Believers were saved by grace through the faith they had of the
future Redeemer that was to come. Now that Christ has fulfilled the debt, the
moment we place our faith in Him, all our sins are forgiven and wiped away!
Hebrews 8:12 And I will forgive their wickedness,
and I will never again remember their sins.”
Col. 2:13 When you
were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God
made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
Now to the BIG
question?
What was the
problem with the Old Covenant? The answer really is simple – look in the
mirror. The Old Covenant was made between God and us. We cannot live in
perfection, so the covenant could not work. Why would God do that? Again,
remember progressive revelation – God, step by step had to guide mankind to the
reality that on their own, they could never achieve the perfection required to
live in the presence of God for eternity.
He made the
Old Covenant with us to lead us to the Truth of the New Covenant!
The New Covenant was made
between God Himself only. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God
formulated the plan…He paid for the plan…He guarantees the plan. We
cannot subtract from it, we cannot add to it, it is complete. We have the
choice to accept it or reject it, that is all. When a person comes to the end
of themselves and realizes there is nothing they could do to win God’s forgiveness…the New Covenant is there,
waiting for them to Trust in what God did to offer them forgiveness and eternal
life. Salvation encompasses much more than eternal destination. It begins the
moment you place Faith in Christ. Purpose and a sense of destiny enter your
heart. Everything that happens in your life can now be used by God to help you
know Him better, yourself better and to see this life from an eternal
perspective. 
Romans 8:28-29 And we
know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have
been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also
predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the
firstborn among many brothers.
Have you accepted the New
Covenant? Trust in what Jesus did for you and receive eternal forgiveness and
eternal life!
