Life Ministries

All Things New Series - “A New Covenant”

Hebrews 7:22-8:13 and 9:15 

1 Cor. 11:23-26

    I am in a series titled “All things new” - which has to do with the fact that in His Word, God tells us that as Christians we have been given “new life”…we call it being “born again.” Paul tells us that this is not just a restoration of our old self, but that we are a “new creation” and, as such, we live under a new Covenant - which is what we will look at today. To come we will also find that we follow a new way of the Spirit; We also look forward to a new heaven; and, as the Book of Revelation tells us, we will be given a “white stone with a new name on it.” I write this with two goals in mind; One is to inform new Christians that there is much more to the Christian life than just being “saved.” The other is to remind all Christians of what God’s Word says, because there are parts of this “new life” that we may not understand or may not have put into practice.

    The words from Hebrews 7 and 8 are actually quotes from the Book of Jeremiah where God declares; “A time is coming when I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah”. He then goes on to describe that covenant in the following verses; “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor or brother saying, “Know the Lord” because they will all know me, for I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more!” There you have it! The new covenant; The new contract between God and man.
    Now, in the other scripture, we read that Jesus is telling his disciples that the “cup” contains the blood of the new covenant”…and, when we drink of it, whenever we celebrate Communion, we in effect are remembering our contract, our new covenant, with God.
    This is also related to the fact that God’s Word is divided into two parts which we call the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word “testament” as used in the Bible refers to a “covenant” or “agreement” between two parties. The first consists of the terms which constitute the Law of God…In the Old Testament, God had a covenant with only one nation, Israel. Only those who belonged to the family of Israel could enter into this covenant relationship with God. In Ephesians 2:12 the Apostle Paul describes this to the people; “remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship and foreigners to the covenant of promise; without hope and without God in the world”…But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ….For through Him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of God’s household.” The entire Old Testament revolves around God’s dealing with this one nation. But, in the New Testament, we see how God makes a “new covenant” with mankind that allows any person to enter into this relationship.  This new covenant was made through the shed blood of Christ on the Cross.
    The Old Testament is an informational resource for the New. From it we learn many important things that we would not otherwise know or understand; like the origin of the world; the beginning of sin; the nature and character of God; Through it’s great stories and historical facts, we learn moral principles and how they are to be applied to everyday life; We learn of the prophecies declared in the Old that are fulfilled in the New. And, all these things give us hope and confidence in the inspiration and divine nature of the Bible.
    In the Old Testament we read about the “blood of the covenant” that was sprinkled on the people and the altar. In Exodus 24:6 – ( read ) it says; “Moses took half the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. Then, he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to all the people. The people responded by saying they would obey, and Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people and said; “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you”… The sprinkling of the blood ratified the contract!  The sprinkling was an external thing. God’s laws were external rules and regulations the people must follow as their part of the contract. And, listen to this, as long as they did these external things like the sacrifices, and the offerings, and the cleansings, and the feasts, the promise was “forgive-ness - and – blessing.”
    The New Covenant however, is internalized. We don’t come to have blood sprinkled on us, we come to drink of the cup in remembrance of the new covenant; the new relationship we have with God. The new covenant is not an external following of rules, but an internal desire to be righteous and holy that is motivated by love. It has the same promise of forgiveness and blessings.  It is humbling because it means that we must admit our need for Christ. It means that we cannot pay the price for our own sins. We must accept the fact that Christ paid the price on our behalf; and, each time we drink of the cup, we are in fact confirming our “new covenant” with God.