The New Covenant

I'm convinced we so often miss the meaning of what happens under the "New Covenant" or "agreement" God offered to make with us when he ushered in this new era with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, very God himself.

Take some time and read Hebrews 8:6-12 for a fuller explanation of this new covenant. It's a fascinating study! For my intents and purposes here, today, I want to focus on God's words in verse 10, which say, "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel, after those days (the days of the Old Covenant), says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts,and I will be their God, and they will be My people."

It seems to me there is a common belief, today, that God did away with his commandments in the new covenant, that he sent his only son to die a horrible, cruel and merciless death on a cross he didn't deserve...for us...to pay for our sins and give us access to eternal life in his glorious heaven and yet, he did this so basically, we would be free from the laws or "rules and regulations" of the Old Covenant and it would be easier to be saved. Let's examine this thought a little closer and see if it's valid.

God says he has made a better covenenat (verse 6) because, in the Old Covenant, people were powerless to keep the commandments of God, without the inner help of the Holy Spirit and, only a few had a personal and intimate relationship with him. They had to make continual sacrifices to atone for their sins but, in fact, the Bible states that no bull or goat can take the sins of a person away. This system was to point to the coming Messiah who would make the ultimate and final sacrifice for the sins of mankind. We refer to this as the gospel or "The Good News" and indeed it is! The BEST news we could ever hope for!

Take note that God did not do away with the law as so many think. Instead of writing his laws on stone tablets, he made a covenant to write his laws on our hearts, when we agree to be his people, or give our lives to him. He goes on to say that he will be our God and we will be his people. In reading this text, it seems obvious that God wants something in this deal, too, and he does! He said it straight up! To be ours and for us to be his! What an awesome thought!

A casual reading of the teachings of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5, commonly referred to as the Sermon on the Mount, is really quite clear.

In Matt. 5:17, Jesus spoke these words.

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoa! EXCEEDS the righteousness of the religious leaders?? Who can be saved, then, the apostles asked. Let's see what he meant.

Incidentally, the 10 commandments are found in 3 places in the Old Testament, twice in Exodus. Ex. 20:2-17, Ex. 34:11-27 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

Whoever "relaxes" the commandments? Let's look a little further.
Concerning murder vs. anger:

Jesus said in Matthew 5:21, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother [1] will be liable to judgment; whoever insults [2] his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell [3] of fire.

So, Jesus gives an example of the Old Covenant fault line and the New Covenant fault line.

Let's continue, concerning morality...

Lust
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell."

Concerning divorce, retaliation for a wrong done to us and even swearing oaths, which he now calls us not to do but to let our honesty be such that all we need to do is let our yes be yes and our no be no. What Jesus continues to do in each of these life situations we all face, is go straight to the heart of the matter, rather than the legal aspect! I'm so glad we have a God like that! He doesn't want an army of robots but those who sincerely follow him from the heart.

Don't let this frighten you, friends! God loves us and wants us to succeed in being men and women of character and lives that are marked by a decided commitment to following hard after God. He has equipped us with the Holy Spirit to give us direction and power to obey his commandments. THAT is the crux of the New Covenant.

God wants us to follow him with sincere and honest hearts, not just an outward appearance of following some rules, if you will.

Jesus told the religious leaders of his day that they washed the "outside of the cup" but inside, they were full of dead men's bones! He wasn't interested in how it appeared they were living but that they would obey God's commandments from their hearts. I Pet 1:22..."love one another with sincere hearts, fervently."

My friends, God is interested in our hearts and, if our hearts are sincerely following after God, not with a form of godliness but in the power of the Holy Spirit and his ability to give us grace to walk with God, we will see transformation begin to take hold of our lives in an exciting new way!

One more thought - ENJOY the transformation! ENJOY God! Allow him first place, without fear of what that might mean! This Christian life is a life of joy, unspeakable and full of glory, not one that gives us long, pious faces! How God is trying to teach me this truth of having that joyful heart that draws and doesn't repel those whom we want so much to reach! It's an exciting time, when he is teaching and guiding us to experience more of him and his great love and to reveal in us the purpose he has for each one.

Still Climbing,
Cher