The New Covenant – The Word of God

• The New Covenant
• Jeremiah 31:31-34
• The Excitement of Getting Something New
• Not used hand-me-downs, but brand new!
• The Excitement of Getting Something New
• Remember how it felt to try on new shoes?
• The Excitement of Getting Something New
• Buying a new car and driving it for the first time?
• The Excitement of Getting Something New
• Or getting that new kitchen you dreamed about?
• God’s Plan to Make All Things New
• Revelation 21:5 “Behold, I make all things new”
• We can allow Christianity to become stale
• More of a duty than a delight
• More of a ritual than a relationship
• If Jesus asked you, “Why are you following me?
• Would you look Him in the eye and reply…
– “Because I am committed to Christianity?” … or
– “Because I love You with all my heart for what You did for me?”
• God promised a new covenant
• Jeremiah 31:31-34 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah --
• God promised a new covenant
• To reunite a divided and unfaithful Israel
– House of Israel divided since the divided Kingdom
– Both houses had been sent into captivity
• God promised a new covenant
• God’s plan to include all nations (the Gentiles)
– Isaiah 2:2-4 and 11:10
– Romans 9:23-26 and 15:8-12; Ephesians 2:13-18
• Not like the Old Covenant
• Jeremiah 31:31-34 “not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, …”
• The Old Covenant served its purpose
• Romans 7:7-12 – law was holy, righteous, good
• Romans 3:20 – knowledge of sin
• Galatians 3:24 - schoolmaster
• A Better covenant was still necessary
• Hebrews 8:6-7 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
• A Better covenant was still necessary
• The old covenant was external rather than internal – Heb 7:11, 18-19
• God was not as approachable as He is now – Heb 10:1-3
• Superiority of the New Covenant
• It will be inward and spiritual
– “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts ..” (Jer. 31:33)
– James 1:21; 1 Pet. 1:22-23
• Superiority of the New Covenant
• Will provide a closer relationship with God
– “I will be their God, and they shall be My people…” (Jer. 31:33)
– 2 Cor. 6:16-18; 1 Pet. 2:9-10
• Superiority of the New Covenant
• Will be with people who know the Lord
– “No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, ..” (Jer. 31:34)
• Superiority of the New Covenant
• Will be with people who know the Lord
– Old covenant entered by birth, had to be taught to know God
– We enter only by believing and obeying through baptism
• Superiority of the New Covenant
• It will provide true forgiveness for sin
– “For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jer. 31:34)
– Heb. 10:1-4, 11
• This New Covenant is Found in Christ
• Promised in the institution of the Lord’s Supper
– Matt. 26:28; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:42; 1 Cor. 11:23
• Jesus’ Will in Effect after His Death
• Hebrews 9:15-17 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where there is a Testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.17 For a Testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives.
• The Newness of the New Covenant
• God’s progressive revelation – Heb 1:1-2
• A superior lawgiver – Heb. 1-3
• A better high priest – Heb 4:14-16
• A better sacrifice – Heb 7:25-27
• A better sanctuary – Heb 10:19-20
• Based on mercy, not national birth
• God’s Commitment – “I will…”
• I will make a new covenant
• This is the covenant I will make
• I will put my laws into their minds and hearts
• I will be their God, they shall be my people
• I will forgive their iniquity
• Their sin I will remember no more
• How is your commitment and enjoyment?
• An “I will” covenant needs “I will” followers
• Has your spiritual life lately seemed more like…
– A relationship or a ritual?
– A delight or a habit?
– A devotion or a duty?
• Is your relationship internal, intimate?
• Do you know the Lord?