The New Covenant

Hebrews 8:6–7 (ESV) — 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

Jeremiah 31:31–34 (ESV) — 31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

All of the other covenants collapsed because they required the faithfulness of people.

The problem of sin.

The New Covenant doesn’t rest on unfaithful people but on our faithful God.

The Broken Old Covenant

32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord.

The people of Israel broke the covenant — they were unfaithful.

God focuses on their unfaithfulness by calling himself their husband. He states they have committed adultery.

Jeremiah 3:6–8 (ESV) — 6 The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce.

Israel and Judah were unfaithful to their covenant partner, God.

Unfaithful through idolatry and unfaithful through immorality.

What we are saying is that the problem of the covenants is SIN.

Sin always shows up in two places — Idolatry and immorality. The focus of our heart and the actions of our hands.

Unfaithful through idolatry.

Jeremiah 2:2–3 (ESV) — 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. 3 Israel was holy to the Lord,

Jeremiah 2:8 (ESV) — 8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.

Jeremiah 2:13 (ESV) — 13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Unfaithful through immorality.

Jeremiah 7, Jeremiah in calling the people to repent, describes the immorality of the people of God.

oppression of the sojourner, the fatherless, widow

shed innocent blood

stealing, murder, committing adultery

Child sacrifice

Jeremiah 32:34–35 (ESV) — 34 They set up their abominations in the house that is called by my name, to defile it. 35 They built the high places of Baal in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to offer up their sons and daughters to Molech, though I did not command them, nor did it enter into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.

God's faithfulness goes beyond our unfaithfulness.

The Better New Covenant

31 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

Even though the people have been unfaithful, God will make a new covenant with them through Jesus who has always ben faithful.

Luke 22:19–20 (ESV) — 19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

The New Covenant in Jesus is the covenant of consummation.

It’s not as though God was throwing out all of the previous covenants. Instead, it is as if all f the previous covenants were finally being fulfilled in Jesus. They overlap until Jesus satisfies them all .

Behold, the days are coming. . .

On the cusp of and In the midst of terrible suffering, Jeremiah offers the hope of the new covenant.

What is so great about it? How can it be so good as to be a comfort for all they are about to go through?

This is important because if we are in the new covenant, are we really living with it’s benefits?

What will it be like? “NOT Like the old covenant.” In what way? How will it be different?

It contains the same aspects of the old covenant but in a whole new way — a better way.

You have a completely new heart — Live it.

The law written on our hearts replaces the sin engraved on our hearts.

This is a radical change from what Jeremiah states had been written on the heart before.

Jeremiah 17:1 (ESV) — 1 “The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; with a point of diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their heart,

The heart of the matter is the matter of the heart.

The problem that the people of Israel faced is the same problem we all face. Before we come to Christ, sin is written on our heart, and no amount of external rules or religion is going to fix that.

The great lie that many believe (and if we are not careful we will believe as well) is that somehow checking off a box, attending a service,

In Romans 7, Paul explains that the external law of God reveals the internal problem we all have of sin.

We don’t need a change of the rules, we need a change of the heart!

The manual of a person’s life — their desires and their will — was like a table of contents of sin.

Now, in the New Covenant, it will be the law of God.

But if sin was written there before, God would need to erase the sin in order to write the law.

External Law = electric fence

Internal Law = compass

Obedience to the law is an expression of, not a condition of the New Covenant.

We go from an external law that reveals our internal sin to an internal law expressed through external actions.

In the Old Covenant, the external law was a condition of the covenant. In the New Covenant, the internal law is a promise of the covenant.

Obedience to the law shifts from a duty to delight.

Sin is fun. If someone says it isn’t they are lying.

Sin is fun, but it is not fulfilling.

ILLUST - pixie stick — crack for kids — sweet but not filling at all. Only makes you thirsty.

As I’ve grown, my desire for pixie sticks has disappeared.

The New Bible Commentary 31:27–40 The New Covenant

In other words, the covenant will be a warm delight to the people, not a cold prescription. This had always been the ideal (cf. Dt. 10:16; 30:6), but now it would be realized, because in some way the Lord would create the desire and ability in his people (I will write …).

Because in Christ we have a brand new heart! God has rewritten our heart with new desires, new affections, new priorities.

We don’t see living out our Christian life as a ‘have to’ but a ‘get to’ — tithing, worship, serving, loving, etc.

ILLUST — loving my wife. I don’t ‘have to’ I get to

You have unlimited access to God — Use it.

From the time that God chose to have his presence dwell with his people, there has been limited access to God. There was always a separation.

When Jesus died on the cross the veil in the temple was torn. People saw things they had never seen before.

Unlimited access to the presence of God.

Jeremiah 31:33b And I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

No need for flawed mediator (priest)

Hebrews 9:6–7 (ESV) — 6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.

On the Day of Atonement one priest would go into the most holy place to make the sacrifice for the people for the year.

The priest himself would need to go through a purification ritual.

It is said that this priest would wear bells on the fringe of his garment so that if the sacrifice had been accepted. if the bells stopped jingling then they would know that God had not accepted the sacrifice and it is said that there was also a rope tied to the priest so he could be pulled out if necessary.

In the New Covenant, we no longer need a flawed, earthly priests because Jesus is now our high priest. He doesn’t need to purify himself - he already is pure. He doesn’t need to do it yearly, he did it once for all.

Even Moses had limited access to God and His glory. It was veiled.

When Jesus died the veil ripped in two. People saw things they had never seen before.

Hebrews - we can boldly approach the throne of God

WE HAVE FULL ACCESS TO GOD!!

How would the faithful Israelites have responded if they had been given this opportunity. They, who would have needed to go through the priest and wait for him to relay the experience.

Men and women for thousands of years have longed for this opportunity, yet how often do we take advantage of it?

**How often do you take advantage of your access to God?**

Unlimited access to the knowledge of God

No need for flawed teachers for the external law. We have the flawless Helper for the law on our hearts.

Pharisees got it wrong - changed, added, confused.

ILLUST - me trying to help my daughter with math. (all I really do is watch youtube videos and pretend I understand it)

Unlike those in the Old Covenant, we do not have teachers who need to teach us about God’s external law in order for us to know what God’s will is. We who are in Christ have the Holy Spirit, who, as Jesus stated will lead us into all truth.

Have you ever spoken with a new believer and they are confused as to why something that never used to bother them suddenly does?

You have full and final forgiveness - Believe it.

For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Jesus permanently removes our sin.

In the Old Covenant, the sacrifices never actually atoned for anyone’s sin.

The way the OT believers were saved is exactly the same way we are saved today — by grace through faith in Jesus. They didn’t know who Jesus was, but they were to believe that they were unable to do anything on their own to gain forgiveness apart from the mercy of God.

Romans 3:25 ESV

25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Year after year the sacrifices were made because year after year the sin was not taken care of.

Hebrews 10:11–18 ESV

11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. 15 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.

God chooses not to remember our sin.

God is not forgetful. He is omniscient which means it is impossible for him to NOT remember in an intellectual sense.

Because of his mercy God can choose to forget in a judicial sense.

Even better than having amnesia is having mercy!

When you confess you sin, it is done. gone. forever.

Conclusion

Hebrews 13:20–21 (ESV) — 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

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