The New Covenant

How many of you like movies? Movies can be a great form of entertainment as we seek to watch a story play out before us on the big screen. When it comes to movies, you have originals and sequels. A sequel can be a tricky thing. Sometimes a sequel has little to do with the original movie. Take Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, for example. It had little do to with the first Indiana Jones movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark. If you decided to watch the second movie in The Hobbit Trilogy without watching the first, you would miss out on some key points.

Some feel that it is made up of two parts that do not have much to do with one another when it comes to the Bible. If you were to examine the Bible, you would see an Old Testament and a New Testament. The truth is that these two testaments make up one complete story. Without one, you would not fully understand the other. 

We have been going through a sermon series called Promises, where we have looked at different covenants that the LORD made with humanity at various points. It is easy to think that these are stand-alone events that only pertained to those at the moment, but we said last week that each of these covenants fit together like puzzle pieces and pointed to something big that the LORD was doing. The covenants that the LORD made with Noah, Abraham, the Israelites, and King David pointed to what we will talk about today: the new covenant.

What is the New Covenant?

When we say “the new covenant,” it is important that we are on the same page about what we are talking about. Too often, misunderstandings happen because terms are not clearly defined. The New Covenant is the promise that the LORD makes with humanity that He will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned towards Him. 

When sin came into humanity in the Garden of Eden, there was a break in the fellowship between people and the LORD. This break in fellowship results in eternal separation from the LORD and His goodness. Because we are the ones who sin, we can do nothing ourselves to make this right. Thankfully, the LORD chose to step in and make a way for redemption and restoration to take place. This way is the New Covenant.

The New Covenant Has Always Been The Plan

As I said earlier, we cannot separate the covenants of the Old Testament from the New Covenant explained throughout the New Testament. If you were to take the covenants that we’ve looked at over the past couple of weeks, along with the messages that God gave to many of the prophets in the Old Testament, you would see that this New Covenant has been the LORD’s plan from the beginning. 

The Old Covenant that the LORD established with His people required obedience to what we know as the Mosaic Law. Because the wages of sin is death, the Law required that Israel perform daily sacrifices to atone for sin. In one of his last addresses to the people of Israel, Moses looked forward to a time when Israel would be given “a heart to understand.”

The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love him with all your heart and all your soul so that you will live.

Deuteronomy 30:6 CSB

This new heart work that the LORD would do within people is part of this New Covenant. It is that the LORD will give a new heart to anyone who turns to Him by faith. This new heart will be one that would allow the person to fully love the LORD and follow Him with everything that they are. 

Jeremiah also spoke about the New Covenant. 

“Look, the days are coming” — this is the LORD’s declaration — “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt — my covenant that they broke even though I am their master” — the LORD’s declaration. “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” — the LORD’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them” — this is the LORD’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.”

Jeremiah 31:31-33 CSB

We can see that Jesus Christ came to earth to fulfill the Law of Moses perfectly and establish the New Covenant between the LORD and his people. The Old Covenant was written on stone tablets, but this New Covenant would be written on people’s hearts. Luke 22:20 shows us how Jesus would initiate this New Covenant at the Lord’s Supper.

In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

Luke 22:20 CSB

At that moment, Jesus had not gone to the cross, but He was on His way. Jesus knew what was about to happen. He knew that He would go to the cross and take on Himself the sins of the entire human race and pay for them with His blood. The New Covenant would be the final covenant between the LORD and humanity. 

One other prophet spoke about the New Covenant in the Old Testament. His name was Ezekiel. 

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances. 

Ezekiel 36:26-27 CSB

We can see that this New Covenant would have some significant aspects: a new heart, a new spirit, the Holy Spirit living within us, and true holiness. These things could never come to a person through the Old Covenant. 

For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. God presented him as an atoning sacrifice in his blood, received through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be righteous and declare righteous the one who has faith in Jesus. 

Romans 3:20-27 CSB

Jesus is Our Mediator

As we examine this New Covenant, it centers on Jesus and His work on our behalf. We are no longer under the Law but under grace. We are not left to keep the Law of God perfectly because there is no way that we can do that. Jesus can, however. More importantly, Jesus did. 

The Old Covenant has served its purpose in showing us what God desires and that we cannot do it ourselves. The Old Covenant ultimately pointed us to the New Covenant that Jesus Christ instituted. Under this New Covenant, we are given the opportunity to receive the free gift of salvation. We do so by agreeing with what the LORD has said about our sin (confessing it), trusting in what Jesus did for us on the cross and by rising from the grave, and following Him as Lord. As we do that, we experience this New Covenant and can live life as it was meant to be. 

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What is a Covenant?

Everywhere you turn there seems to be a contract waiting for your signature. It may be a new phone, a new house, a new vehicle, or something else. It just seems that it is a part of our lives today. In these contracts, conditions of a relationship between two parties are spelled out. This relationship is often not very personal. Usually, it is focused on funds of some kind.

When we hear the term “covenant”, we may think about a contract. The truth is that a covenant is much deeper than just a contract. A covenant is a promise between people which is binding on a relational level and not just legal.

Covenant is an overriding theme throughout the Bible. When you look at the Bible, you will notice that the Bible consists of the Old and New Testaments. Testament is another word for covenant. The Old Testament/Covenant is associated with the covenant between God and Israel. The New Testament/Covenant is associated with the covenant between God and all humanity through Jesus Christ.

In this new series that we are beginning this week, we will look at some of the major covenants found in the Bible. There is the one concerning Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus. Each of these covenants plays an important role in God’s over-arching plan. They also show how God was looking to relate to people.

While a covenant may be similar to a contract, there is a key difference. Any covenant God makes with man has no fine print where things are hidden. Too often, the fine print of a contract has hidden things that you are not supposed to see. God lays everything on the table when He calls a person to come to Him.

Today, we are going to look at what a covenant is. We will turn to Deuteronomy 7 and allow God’s word to show us what the basis of the covenant is.​

For you are a holy people belonging to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be his own possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth. “The Lord had his heart set on you and chose you, not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But because the Lord loved you and kept the oath he swore to your ancestors, he brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the place of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps his gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love him and keep his commands. But he directly pays back and destroys those who hate him. He will not hesitate to pay back directly the one who hates him. So keep the command—the statutes and ordinances—that I am giving you to follow today.

Deuteronomy 7:6–11 CSB

Key Components of the Covenant

The Choice of the Covenant

As we begin to look at this concept of the covenant, we come to what I believe may be the most beautiful and humbling aspect of it all. For any relationship to form, there has to be one that initiates it. Relationships do not just appear out of thin air. They come about when one person pursues another.
We see in verse 6 that, when it comes to the relationship between God and man, God is the One who initiates the covenant with man. Moses writes that it is the LORD your God who has chosen you. No person has ever chosen God first. The Bible tells us that, because of our sin, we naturally run in the opposite direction from God.​

as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one. There is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God.

Romans 3:10–11 CSB

In Deuteronomy 7:6-8, we see that God chooses to initiate a relationship with us because we would not have done it ourselves. In verse 7, we see that God initiated a covenant relationship with Israel not because they were numerous or extremely strong. It would make sense to want to have a relationship with those who have great numbers and strength.

In the early 2000s, a slang term was introduced to the world: FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). It is the term to identify the anxiety that one feels that they are being left out of the loop. Some studies have shown that 56% of social media users suffer from this type of anxiety. Many do not want to be on the short end of things. They want to be part of the bigger group.

This passage shows us that neither Israel’s size nor strength was the reason God initiated a covenant with them. What was the reason then? Verse 8 shows us that it was because of His gracious love. God’s gracious love is always the basis for His covenant. This love that God shows to mankind through covenants calls for our love and devotion to be pointed towards Him in return.

The Purpose of the Covenant

Deuteronomy 7:8-10 shows us that the purpose behind the covenant is that we might know God.​

This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ.

John 17:3 CSB

God wants us to know who He is because He is the One who has created us for a purpose. In these verses, we see three important characteristics of God that He wants Israel (and us) to know about Him.

God wants us to know that He is mighty to save (v 8).

Moses reminds the Israelites how God showed His power by delivering them from the hand of the Egyptians. This was not done by the cunningness of the Israelites, but God Himself sent the plagues, parted the Sea, and eliminated the Egyptian army to grant the Israelites freedom.

God wants us to be reminded daily of His power. He is more than able to not only handle anything that we may go through, but He can conquer it. You may be going through something at this time that you feel is too difficult for you to bear. That could very well be true. Another truth is that there is a God that loves you and can work it out for your good and His glory at any moment He chooses.

God wants us to know that He is faithful (v 9).

Moses reminds the Israelites that God is faithful in all that He does. There is not one word of His that has fallen to the ground without doing exactly what it was intended to do. God has never broken a promise, and He has no intentions of starting now. It’s not in His ability to do so.

We may see unfaithfulness all around us. Vehicles won’t start on a cold day. Computers will crash on us. Sports teams will not win the big game. People may break their word to you. While we live in a world that has so much unfaithfulness, it is good to know that there is a God that pursues us that can never be unfaithful.

​if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

2 Timothy 2:13 CSB

How has God shown His faithfulness to you? How is He wanting you to understand and see it even more clearly?

God wants us to know that He judges righteously (v 10).

Moses reminds the Israelites that God is the One who always judges righteously and right on time. We may look around at times and wonder why God allows certain evils to go seemingly unpunished. Make no mistake, there is not one injustice or sin that escapes His eye. He will pronounce judgment righteously. He also wants to give room for His work of redemption and repentance to take place.

The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

2 Peter 3:9 CSB

God has provided a way to escape the punishment of our sin. It is by trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. God has made that available to everyone, but it is applied only to those who accept it and trust in it. If a person refuses to honor God’s way of salvation, they will endure the wrath of God for their sin. Every sin and injustice will be accounted for – either by the finished work of Christ or at the hands of the person who did it.

The Call of the Covenant

In Deuteronomy 7:11, we see the call of the covenant. This call is an invitation. This call or invitation has always been the same. It remains the single invitation that God extends to people today: follow me.
This is a call to come and experience the fullness for which were created.

God will not force His covenant upon anyone. Since His covenant is always based on His love for us, it calls for a response of love from those to whom it is extended. Love is a choice that we consciously make. Love is not a feeling or emotion.

Through the covenants of God, we see Him inviting sinful people to come and see how good He is and experience the fullness of life. We may have a hard time thinking that we are worthy of such an invitation – and we would be right. We are not worthy, but that doesn’t mean that the invitation isn’t there.

“Come, everyone who is thirsty, come to the water; and you without silver, come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without silver and without cost!

Isaiah 55:1 CSB

Jesus has already paid the price for this opportunity to have a relationship with God. There is nothing that we can add to that. He invites us to come and see… come and experience who He is.

Conclusion

Covenant is an important theme that runs throughout the Bible. I hope that you can see more clearly now what it is about. In the coming weeks, we will look at some of the covenants found in the Bible. One of those is the new covenant in Jesus Christ.

You do not have to wait until we cover that to respond to that covenant. You may be hearing Jesus calling you to come and enter into this covenant now. I would encourage you who have never put your faith in Jesus to do that today. For those of us who have trusted in Jesus, how are we responding daily to the awesomeness that God opened this covenant to us?

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Bookends

Bookends are some things that we see in various places. There are some that are elaborate. Others are very common. No matter the value of them, all bookends have the same function: to hold some books in place. They may be made of plastic or 14kt gold. Their function is all the same.

I noticed something today as I was reading the Bible. It's amazing how much detail God went to share His heart with us through His Word. I would encourage you to take some time today and allow Him to show you some awesome things through His Word. Back to what stood out this morning...

What stood out was the bookends that were wrapped around the Law of God as it was summarized in Deuteronomy. The first bookend comes in Deuteronomy 6:5 where it says, "Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your stength" (HCSB).  This is what Jesus pointed to as the first and greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-37).  This is where it all started.

The other bookend is found in Deuteronomy 30:6 where it says, "The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the hearts of your descendants, and you will love Him with all your heart and all your soul, so that you will live" (HCSB).

Bookends are meant to hold things together.  In between these two bookends in Deuteronomy, one will find a summary of the Law of God - the rules that God desires His people to live by.  These two bookends not only hold the Law together, they show what God truly desires: our heart. 1 Samuel 15:22 says, "... to obey is better than sacrifice...".  God doesn't want us to just jump through some hoops and follow rules.  He wants a relationship with us.  He wants our heart.  When God has our heart and a relationship with us, the obedience to His commands will come.  No amount of rule-following will give that relationship though; It comes only through His Son, Jesus.

How are these bookends making a difference in your life today?

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An Amazing Teacher

I have to take a moment and brag. Some think that bragging should not be done by Christians, but I have a different opinion on that. Of course, bragging can go too far and become dangerous ground. If it is kept in check, it can be a very good thing. Paul said that we should dwell on things that are true, noble, and pure (Philippians 4:8).

I would like to brag on my amazing wife, Naomi. I've known for some time now that she was great. I knew when I asked her to marry me that she would be an awesome mother for my children. Today, I saw how true that is.

As I was taking our oldest son to preschool, here's a little of the conversation that took place...

Drew: "Dad, I thought we were going to my school?"
Me: "We are."
Drew: "But Dad, WE HAVEN'T PRAYED YET!!!!
Me: (as I turned the radio off) Well, let's do that now.

I realized that Naomi and Drew pray every morning on the way to school. This has become a MUST for our son. After dropping Drew off at school, I had to take a moment and thank God for the amazing teacher He has provided our children through Naomi.

Parents, it is our responsibility to lead and teach our children spiritually (Deuteronomy 6:4-9, 20-25). It is not the "job" of pastors at the local church. Make sure that you are taking the time to pour into your greatest ministry: your family.

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The Crossroads Review

This past Wednesday, we started getting back into the groove of the school year starting.  Two of our school systems that our church reaches had begun classes.  One is still waiting for that first bell to ring.  There was still a good atmosphere among the group.

Music: "There's No Greater Love"; "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"; "The Potter's Hand"

Message: "The Crossroads"  Deuteronomy 30:11-20.  With the beginning of a new year in the student ministry, we went back to where we got our student ministry name and our theme verse.  We also talked about the power of choices.

Thumbs Up: I was proud to hear that a few of our students had worn their new student ministry t-shirts with the new logo to school already.

Thumbs Down:  The sound system went crazy on us with the wireless mic making all kinds of crazy noises.  Therefore, there was no podcast of that message (and I thought it was a good one, too.)

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