New Covenant

Introduction

Well, it’s January the 28th. This first month of 2024 is just about all but gone. And before it goes, let’s talk about January. What does January mean? Well, for a lot of us, it’s a month of new beginnings. That new calendar, and although it’s in some sense artificial because there’s always a new month, a new day, a new hour, but yet something about that calendar in January, getting a new calendar and flipping that over and filling in all the birthdays and holidays of that month gives you that sense that this is a new year and new possibilities and new things that we can do. And that brings with it for some at least New Year’s resolutions. But January means other things. For those of you who are visiting from other states, it means winter.

We’ve witnessed, we’ve only witnessed it on our television sets, but we’ve witnessed some of the harshest winter conditions this January. A lot of snow and a lot of ice and frigid temperatures. And so to a lot of people, that’s what January means. It’s just kind of the bleak heart of winter. But you know, January should be known for something else. It should be known as the month of contracts.

But I would imagine more contracts are entered into and exited out of in the month of January than any other month. Largely because of New Year’s resolution. A show of hands. How many of you this month joined a gym? Oh, nobody. Y’all got to get better than that. Come on. But January, you know, is traditionally that month in which you sign up for that gym membership. And sign up is the operative word. You’re signing that contract that usually lasts a whole year. I see none of you signed up for that gym. I was going to till I rode by and saw all the stairs going into the building, and that just kind of discouraged me. But also January is not just when we enter into those contracts, but some of you may be rejoicing, not because you entered into a gym contract this January, but this January marked the month that you got out of the old contract from last year.

And the only time you went to the gym is when you signed the contract. And so contracts are just a part of our life, aren’t they? Some are good, but some contracts, let’s be honest, for many of us, like that gym membership, is something we’re glad to get out of.

An agreement between peoples or parties. We speak of the old covenant and the new covenant. The old covenant was a contract that God had with the nation of Israel. And in a lot of ways, the death of Christ was the release from that contract, which had become a burden to those people. But he not only released the nation of Israel from that old ancient contract, but he brought what we refer to and scripture refers to as a new covenant. Would you turn with me to the book of Hebrews, chapter 8? We want to talk this morning about a new covenant. We have one word for new.

Sometimes the word new can just simply mean in regard to time, in regard to the calendar, it’s new. It’s more recent than the other, but sometimes the word new in our New Testaments means not just new in sense of time, but we would use the phrase that our advertisers often use, and that is new and improved. It’s new because it’s better. And that’s true of this new covenant. It’s not just new in the sense that it came after the old, but it’s also new in the sense that it’s better. It’s been improved upon. Toward the end of the nation of Judah. Jeremiah was given the information that God was going to make a new covenant with his people.

In the book of Jeremiah, when he speaks of this new and better covenant. Are you there with me in Hebrews chapter 8? Let’s start in verse 7, where it says, For if that first covenant, for if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, he says, Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord. And here’s where we begin the quote in Jeremiah chapter 31, the prophecy in the last days of Judah, the prophecy of this new covenant. 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, 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, because they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.

For this, this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind, and I’ll write them on their hearts, and I’ll be their God, and they shall be my people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, No the Lord, for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful, merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. In that he says, a new covenant.

1. If That First Covenant Had Been Faultless

Now, what is becoming obsolete and growing old is already to vanish away. A few preliminary remarks about the Hebrew writer’s commentary on this prophecy, and then I want to just look at the components of that prophecy, or really the components of this new covenant, this new contract that we have with God. The first observation about what the Hebrew writer says, he says in verse 7 there that if that first covenant, what we refer to as the old covenant, if it had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. God didn’t bring in a new covenant just because he wanted to bring in a new covenant. He brought in a new covenant because it improved upon the previous covenant. And he said, it was faultless.

Now, we kind of cringe when we read that because it had, if it was faultless, it means there was fault in that covenant, and God made that covenant. So how could God make something faulty? Well, the next verse kind of explains that because he says, Because finding fault with them.

But the true fault that lay in that covenant was not in the text of the covenant, and not with the heavenly party involved in that covenant, but with mankind. And so he says that he prophesied in the days of Jeremiah of a new, and we would say a new and better covenant that was coming. And then he comments in verse 13 in that he says, a new covenant, he makes the first obsolete. That’s speaking of when he said that. When as soon as Jeremiah uttered the words that God gave him, I’m making a new covenant. By virtue of saying that word, those words, that began the process, at least, of making the old one obsolete. As soon as you enter in the concept of something new, then the old begins being obsolete.

We know that, don’t we? You ever started shopping for a new car? What does that mean? Even just the process means that now you have an old car. Because you’re going to replace it with a new car. And then what do you do? Human nature is that you’re not only just shopping for a new car, but you’re running down the old one. Oh, this old car. The heated seats don’t work anymore. I wonder if it’s going to start. So you start thinking of all of the negative things. What you’re doing is trying to rationalize the tens of thousands of dollars you’re about to commit to buy a new car. And that old one is just, as soon as you say new car, the old one becomes out of date and obsolete.

2. A Greater Emphasis on the Heart

And so as soon as Jeremiah uttered those words, the old law, he said, began to vanish away. Because God was fulfilling his plan to make this new covenant. A new covenant that he outlines the principles of there in verses 8 through 12. And let’s talk about those elements of this new covenant and what that means for us today. The first thing about this new covenant is that it’s going to have, or it will now have, a greater emphasis on the heart. Let’s read that again, as the Hebrew writer quotes the prophet Jeremiah when he says in verse 10, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind and I will write them on their hearts.

This is going to be a largely internal. We talked about in our Bible class this morning about the inward man and the outward man. This covenant is obviously going to focus on that inward man. The word minds are heart. There’s going to be this emphasis upon the heart of man. Now, before we jump to conclusions, that does not mean that the Old Testament didn’t care about the heart. Hold your finger here in Hebrews chapter 8 and go in the Old Testament to Deuteronomy chapter 6. In the giving of this law and the repeating of this law by Moses in the book of Deuteronomy, Moses will tell us that that was God’s goal all along, was to capture the heart of man. Notice what he says in Deuteronomy chapter 6, and let’s read verses 5 and 6.

Obviously, talking about that old covenant, that old contract that he had with the nation of Israel. He says, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. That’s not a New Testament concept or not a new New Testament concept that God wants the heart, and the commandments were really geared toward the heart. And so, in what sense is this new covenant different than the old covenant? I will write my laws on their mind and in their heart. Well, he seems to be that there’s going to be a greater emphasis upon the heart, the inward man versus the outward man in the old covenant.

It seems to be by what follows in this pronouncement of this new coming covenant is that what was the exception under the old covenant is now going to become the norm under the new covenant. Israel, though God wanted their heart, he wanted them to love him with all their heart, their soul and their mind.

We know from our study of Old Testament history, they rarely did that as a nation. But now that is to be the norm. God’s law will be written in our hearts. Go over in the New Testament to understand that concept a little bit. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, Paul here is not necessarily talking about the law being written in our hearts, but in talking about something else that’s written in our hearts, it helps us understand that concept and what that will mean for us as New Covenant saints. 2 Corinthians 3, let’s start in verse 1. Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others’ epistles or letters of commendation to you, are letters of commendation from you. You are our letter written in our hearts, known and read by all.

Clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is of the heart. Paul says, Do I need a letter from you or a letter to you, something written on pen and ink? He says, No, you’re that letter. That letter written in our heart. So Paul is here speaking of the deep, intimate relationship that he at least thought he had with the Corinthians. That he didn’t need some pen and ink letter.

He knew what his relationship with them was. And he didn’t need some kind of visible written proof about that. And so if we applied that language to the language of this prophecy, that God is going to write this new covenant, he’s going to write these laws in our heart. That they’re going to become a part of us. That we need to understand this intimate relationship, that these commandments were going to be a part of who we are. And we understand the importance of this because the commandments, the laws of God, are not just some mere set of rules, capriciously and arbitrarily laid down by some lawmaker. But law, at its very essence, law is the expression of God’s eternal nature. That’s true of laws in general.

Our country has a set of laws. And an examination of those laws tells you about the nature of our country or the nature of any country. The laws a country may have in regard to prostitution or abortion or to murder tells you what that nation, or at least the people in control of making the laws for that nation, of how they feel about those things. And it tells you about the heart and the character of the lawgiver. So it is with God’s law. These are not just merely a set of rules. This is an expression of God’s nature. When God tells us, He wants us to be sure to do something. That something tells us about God and who he is and what matters to him.

And when God says, do not do this, whatever you do, don’t do this. That tells us something about God, doesn’t it? That God cares about that. God cares strongly about that.

And that’s what we’re to write in our hearts. And these laws were intended to be living principles. They were not just a multitude of petty details and complicated rules. That what God was doing was laying a foundation for behavior in our hearts. A foundation that was built upon the love for truth and justice and purity and a love for God and a love for our fellow man. God wants us to understand that that’s what these laws are all about. That they would become a part of who we are, of our inner being, our inner man. Jesus tried to communicate this when he was upon the earth. Remember what he said in Matthew chapter 22? Notice the very intentional language in Matthew chapter 22. And let’s start there at about verse 36.

Well, actually, let’s back up to verse 35. This is when the lawyer came to him, and the lawyer asked this question in verse 35. In verse 36, Teacher, what is the great commandment in the law? What’s the greatest commandment? Surely that lawyer, maybe by virtue of the fact that he was a lawyer, was thinking about what rule? What specific law? What specific set of guidelines do you think are more important than any other? But notice Jesus’ answer to the question, what is the great commandment? Jesus said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second one is like it, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Now, Jesus isn’t just simply singling out two commandments, love God, love your neighbor, and saying those are the most important. If we list all the commandments, put those two at the top of the list because they mean more than all the others that follow it. Now, is that true? I think probably so. But that doesn’t seem to be all, at least, all of what Jesus is saying, because he concludes it by saying, all of the other commandments hang on these two. And so let’s think of those two commandments as giant peg hooks. Love the Lord your God. Love your neighbor as yourself. Those are the two big peg hooks of laws. Those are the living principles that God has laid down.

Every other commandment, you could go through every other one and either hang it on that peg or hang it on that peg. And sometimes you’d have a difficulty knowing which peg it goes on, because it might be both.

And it seems to me that that’s what God was trying to tell Jeremiah, what the Hebrew writer was trying to tell us. That God was going to put a greater emphasis upon the heart. That he’s trying to get us to understand in the giving of these covenants, the giving of these laws, that he’s really laying out living principles that we can build a foundation for in our life. And so this speaks to our motivation, our motivation in keeping the commandments, our motivation in obeying God. And this shows in stark reality the abject failure of the Pharisees to do that. They missed that point completely. And this is what would cause them to major in minors and to fail in the majors. Because they didn’t see God’s law as a principle upon which we are to build our lives.

3. A New Covenant All About Relationships

And every other expression of obedience flows from that. This prophecy also tells us that this new covenant would be all about relationships. A relationship that involves obedience, but a relationship which is primary. Did you put your finger your bookmark there in Hebrews chapter 8, where he’s quoting Jeremiah 31? He said there at the end of verse 10, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

There’s the purpose of the covenant, is because God said that through these statutes, you don’t just pass some kind of test. You don’t just pass some kind of entry exam into heaven, but through these statutes, through these laws and your adherence to them, understanding that they are fundamental living principles upon which you’re to build your life, that through them you get access to me, God says. Because remember, law at its very heart is the expression of God’s nature. If you’ll do these things, if you’ll be these kind of people, then I’ll be your God, and you can be my people. That speaks of relationship. That in our minds at least should remind us of some other contract that we’re very familiar with. And I hesitate to use this comparison because it’s a contract that our society takes very lightly.

It’s vows that are made that our society does not take seriously as they should, but it reminds me of the marriage vows. I’ll be your God and you be my people. You know what marriage vows really are? And as a preacher, I’m going to work these into a marriage ceremony sometime. I’ll be your husband, you be my wife. That sounds more like Tarzan and Jane, but I’ll be your husband, you be my wife. That’s what we’re saying, isn’t it? I’ll fulfill my obligations and duties towards you in this relationship if you’ll fulfill your duties and obligations to me in this relationship. And so God is saying, I want a relationship with you. I want a relationship that’s so important that it’s bound by law. It’s bound by contract, that it’s a covenant relationship.

I’ll be your God and you’ll be my people. He goes on to say in Hebrews 8, verse 11 none of them, none of those who are my people, none of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. This deserves a little bit of explanation and clarification, doesn’t it? He’s not saying there won’t be any evangelism. He’s not saying, don’t go around and say you need to know my Lord. What he’s saying is that within this family, within this covenant people, you don’t have to say, know the Lord, because if you’re in this family, you know him already. Again, what was the goal under the old covenant is now the norm under the new covenant.

That was the goal. God wanted to have a relationship with Israel. But we recognize how they became a part of that kingdom, a part of that relationship. They just had to be born into it. And so literally, for so many years, they didn’t know the Lord because they were incapable of knowing the Lord. They were just babies. But they were still the children of God. And even when they became adults, particularly in certain dark parts of Israel’s history, they still didn’t know God. They still didn’t have a relationship with him. But they were still in a covenant with God. But Jeremiah, or God through Jeremiah, is saying, not so in the new covenant. You’re not going to be a part of this family, a part of this kingdom, just by virtue of your physical birth.

You have to enter into this kingdom. You have to enter into this relationship willingly. And so if you’re a part of this nation, this family, this kingdom, then you’re a part of it because you made the choice to know God. This helps us understand the language of 1 John, when John would say, you know, if you live in this way, you’re doing these kind of things, you don’t know God. You’re not in that covenant. You’re not living in a covenant relationship with God if you’re doing those things. And so this speaks to the heart, pardon the pun, of this new covenant, of it being a relationship that’s based upon having that law written in our hearts. The very essence of God’s nature becomes a part of our nature, and so we know Him if we’re in this covenant relationship.

4. Their Sins I Will Remember No More

He is our God and we are His people. And lastly, the most distinctive element of this new covenant, which is ours, is found in verse 12 of Hebrews 8. Again, quoting Jeremiah, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds. I will remember no more. This relationship is so transformative that it is spoken of, it’s entered into by language known as a second birth. Or by language that says you have to die and be buried and raised as a new person to be in this covenant relationship with God. And here’s the process for that. Our sins are forgiven. And that makes it possible. That gives us that clean new heart, that clean new slate on which God’s laws can now be written.

There was no room before. Our hearts were filled with other things. There was no place for God’s law. But now that our sins and iniquities are remembered no more, there’s a place for the writing of the will of God in our hearts. Whereas there was no relationship before. Now we are his people because our sins have been forgiven. It’s a contract, not like that old contract that was a burden to the nation of Israel and had fought because the people could not keep up their end of the contract of the covenant. But let’s rejoice today that we have a new covenant, a new and improved covenant, with an emphasis upon the heart of man. And let’s learn what it truly means to be in a covenant relationship with God, to have Him as our God and for us to be His people.

And let’s understand the true motive for obedience comes when we have those laws not just fencing us in, backing us into a corner, but when we have those living principles written on our heart, and that our righteousness, our godliness comes from the inside out.

Conclusion

Because through the forgiveness of our sins and through this relationship, we are new people. Not just a new covenant, but new people. Because he is our God and we are his people. Before the month of January ends, we want to encourage you to engage in a new contract. We’re not soliciting you to join the gym, because the apostle Paul told Timothy, godliness is better than physical exercise. We’re encouraging you to engage in this agreement with God. God, I’ll be your people. And I want you to be my God. Write your laws in my heart. Change who I am, not just what I do, change who I am. And forgive me of my sins and remember them no more. Can we encourage you to be a part of this covenant, to join in with Christ and be his people?

If we can help you in that in any way, let it be known right now as together we stand and sing.