A Better Covenant

Over the past few months we have taken a look at the covenants that God has entered into with mankind since the very beginning of mankind's time on this earth. In one of the sermons we considered and looked at how each of the Ten Commandments that were given and shared in writing at Mount Sinai were actually in effect prior to Mount Sinai. They may have been codified and officially given and spoken by God's own voice there at Mount Sinai, but we see examples of prior to that of all the commandments being observed, followed, and taught because they were given to God at different times, and we saw that in that sermon. This is obviously one of those critical teachings that we continue to follow because it's important for us to understand because a lot of other people believe that the Ten Commandments were done away with because they were only tied to that Mount Sinai covenant or the Old Covenant.

But as we've looked at and we see in the New Testament and other places, that just isn't true. It's not only tied to only one covenant that God's law continued before that and it was established before that and it continued after that covenant came to an end. We also looked at the covenants outlined in the Old Testament, other covenants than just the Old Covenant, starting with the Adamic Covenant and then we looked at the Noahic Covenant and also and then the the covenant that God entered into with Moses at Mount Sinai, which is commonly referred to as the Old Covenant. As a reminder and to redefine covenant in case there are some online or in attendance with us who missed those other sermons, to define covenant basically a covenant is an agreement between two parties to fulfill obligations made to one another. It contains the terms each party must fulfill for that agreement to be and to remain valid.

Each covenant was based on a statement similar to that if I if you will do this I will do that. Similar to what we would agree is a contract or handshake agreement that many people enter into today but when you enter into this with God it of course carries much greater magnitude and we know that these covenants that God entered into with mankind and the reason we phrase it that way is because he was the originator of these covenants. Mankind never one time went to our Heavenly Father and said God can I make a deal with you can I make a covenant with you? It was always one directional from our loving Father towards us because of the care and the concern that he has for us and also because of these covenants of hope and of promise and of eventually bringing a Savior to redeem us from our sins. Each of these covenants built on this plan of salvation for all of humanity and God was demonstrating and showing himself bit by bit through each covenant that he entered into that ultimately his beautiful plan would be fulfilled of bringing salvation to the world. In the previous sermons we outlined some foundational principles that are critical to understand when exploring this topic as a reminder of these previous foundational aspects I'll just briefly go over them. We know that all scripture is given by inspiration of God and God's Word makes us complete. We see that in 2nd Timothy chapter 3. So we look at the full breadth of Scripture that we have. We don't just look at certain books or even what we consider to be old and New Covenant or old and New Testament. We look at the full breadth of everything that we have in front of us. Recently we heard a pastor I never considered doing this myself but whenever he gets a new Bible he actually goes to that middle section between the Old Testament and New Testament that actually says New Testament those two or three pages there and he rips them out because he wants to see that God's Word is a continual continual message to us all the way back from Genesis all the way to Revelation. There really shouldn't be a separation of the two because often that creates confusion and that's where people say well the Old Testament that's done away with we don't have to focus on that we just we're under the New Covenant we're New Testament Christians and that just isn't the case it's not the truth of the matter that we can just throw certain aspects of God's Word away because without the Old Covenant or the Old Testament excuse me I'm mixing up my terms the Old Testament we wouldn't understand what Christ fully came to fulfill and without it we wouldn't see what he came to magnify either and so without one you can't have the other.

One of the previous foundations we also looked at is that Jesus did not come to destroy the law or the prophets but to fulfill and we'll look at that again a little bit later as it ties into this sermon as well but he didn't come to do away with the law and the third foundation that we looked at is why did Jesus come to this earth it was not again to do away with some burdensome law that could not be followed he came to save sinners he came to seek and save that which was lost and he came to redeem us to God this was his purpose and his mission and we looked at several passages referring to that the covenants of God serve as we shared before as well as a backbone to the entirety of Scripture and it reveals aspects of God's plan for humanity in each and every one these are not some old worn-out agreements but rather covenants of hope and of promise again so today I'd like to begin looking at the New Covenant which you and I are under today through all the covenants that God would enter into with mankind we see the promise of our Messiah and our Savior that he would come and with the coming of the Messiah and the purpose that he came to fulfill and with our Lord and Savior giving his life for all mankind God entered into a new covenant with mankind speaking of the purpose for which Jesus came turn with me to John 3 verse 16 this is what I think many would probably consider one of the most commonly known verses in the Bible they don't do it so much anymore I'm dating myself here a little bit but I remember watching some sporting events back in the past when somebody in the outfield at a baseball game or football game would hold a sign up that said John 3 16 don't see that too much I don't know if nobody's really doing it anymore or if the broadcast just don't show it but they would often somebody would be there and they'd hold but hold up a sign with John 3 verse 16 written on there and there's a reason John 3 verse 16 is is fundamental to our understanding of Jesus and the love of our father John 3 16 and verse 17 both 16 and 17 will look at says for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life and we know this is God's plan from the beginning of creating man in his own image he wants us to be and wanted mankind to be children with him forever in his kingdom and so he wants us and he planned for us to have eternal life but as mr.

st. Charles looked at sin entered in in that garden of Eden sin entered entered in and as God is faithful to follow through with his word and his promises he said if you eat of that tree you will die and so death has also entered in due to man's sins and so God wants us to have everlasting life and he had a plan that was established before the foundations of the earth to bring that promise and that desire to mankind verse 17 it says for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world see this is an important aspect because God is God he is so much greater than the rest of us and mankind has transgressed his law his teaching his instructions so if anyone has a right to come and condemn to judge the world and judge humanity it's God but that's not what he wants to do that is not what his plan is it says for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world but what but that the world through him might be saved this is the gospel message of hope this is that gospel message that runs all through the different covenants that we looked at of in the Old Testament but also critical to this new covenant that we are under today we know there was never a problem with the old covenant in that God made a mistake and needed to create a new covenant the problem was never with God and with what he gave to mankind because he gave it to us in a perfect way but and his laws and his instructions were not too much but the problem was with mankind and the problem was with our heart turn back to Deuteronomy 5 and verse 29 some of these scriptures we looked at previously but as we continue this topic we have to dive back in and reestablish this foundation that runs all the way through Scripture Deuteronomy 5 and verse 29 and we'll just look at this one verse because I think in a lot of people's minds when they consider the old covenant that covenant at Mount Sinai they they view it as this covenant of law more physical covenant because God promised physical blessings he promised prosperity protection crops that would yield full amounts in the right seasons he promised all these physical things and so people say well here's these physical laws and these things that God expected mankind to do in this physical mindset but if you're not critically looking at the scriptures you miss what God's intent was in Deuteronomy 5 and verse 29 going all the way back to before Israel entered into the promise land this is the instructions God gave his people and he said Deuteronomy 5 29 oh that they have such a heart in them and this is that aspect I think is sometimes not always on the front of our mind when we consider the old covenant or these other covenants that God entered into not just in Deuteronomy chapter 5 but several other times God focuses and reminds and talks to his people saying I want this heartfelt relationship with you I don't want to just have this physical relationship I want a heartfelt relationship I keep going back to that analogy that parents have with their children we set up rules we set up boundaries not because we want them to just physically follow the rules but because we know this will bring them peace it'll bring them happiness within our house our household will operate more effectively there'll be more joy there'll be more happiness within our home and so we do establish guidelines and boundaries with our children but it's not so they they just have something physical to do right take out the trash it's a physical act of taking out the trash and putting in a can we don't just give it to them because they need something to do it's because we share in responsibilities it's something they can help with it's showing them and teaching them about responsibilities and how we all serve within a family unit so God has always been about the heart not just the physical notice oh that they had such a heart of them that they would fear me and always keep all my commandments that it might be well with them and with their children forever I think we could almost take this phrase out and and talk to our children using the same language using the same words here oh that my children would obey me that they would have a heart to just be comfortable in my home because I want them to live a full life I want them to be happy I want them to be prosperous and I want to be their father their parent forever like you could see where this is that relationship that God wanted with his people and he wanted this all the way back at the beginning of Scripture all the way back to the beginning of God's interactions with mankind he's always been about the heart always all the way back to the very beginning and this has been his focus and his interactions with all in his intent for his interactions with mankind he wanted us to recognize that the problem is with our own nature with our own nature wanting to be the ruler of our lives and that's where we find ourselves but he wanted us to instead turn our life over to him to give our life as a sacrifice to him because then we would recognize that God only wants good for our lives and that he created us with the intent to be his children in his kingdom forever but again we got to go back and recognize that we have a heart problem turn with me to Romans 8 and verse 3 we're gonna kind of flip back and forth as we continue to explore this topic today but in Romans 8 at the beginning of the chapter here verse 3 Paul opens our eyes to understand this aspect that we're looking at today Romans 8 verse 3 Paul says for what the gall could not do in that it was weak through the flesh problem is with us God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin he condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit Paul again here saying that there is no problem with God's law remember he also says that God's law in his commandments are wholly just and good we'll look at that here in just a little bit but the problem is with us we have a heart problem and we like the Israelites are often a stiff-necked people I can't help it whenever I hear stiff-necked people I think back to there was a sermon or growing up as a teenager when we were working through a subject and I remember that the pastor sharing about the stiff-necked Israelites and and and I couldn't help but think of myself they saw God's hands I saw his promises they saw his deliverance they saw his miracles just like many of us see in our own lives and they just couldn't follow God they couldn't keep their focus right and they couldn't do this and I remember talking to my mom about this and saying these Israelites these silly Israelites and she kind of looked at me and said Michael the longer I live my life the more Israelite I see in myself every day and that's always stuck with me and I'll never forget that because as I've now matured a little bit I see some of the hardness of heart that continues to just hang on to my own life I continue to see the aspects of where I know what God says I should do but then my own nature grabs hold of the steering wheel and drives me into the ditch right I've seen the miracles God has performed in those answered prayers that he has demonstrated in my life yet I still stumble and trying to walk my own walk at times and seeing this is that whole process this is the problem with all of us not just Israel not just the Israelites and because they struggle differently than we do it's just the nature that we battle within us the problem again is with us because we have this heart issue let's go back to Romans 7 one chapter earlier in verse 7 because Paul says as much here Romans 7 and verse 7 and speaking of the law he says what shall we say then is the law sin certainly not on the contrary I would not have known sin except through the law for you for I would not have known covetousness unless the law said you shall not covet so he's saying the laws fine the law is good it has shown us what sin is in our lives and in verse 12 he says therefore the law is holy and the commandment holy just and good has then what is good become death to me certainly not but sin that it might appear sin was producing death in me through what is good so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful and then in the the beauty of what we have recorded in scripture some of the most encouraging scriptures is what follows here when when Paul starts talking about his own life and the struggle that he faces I think I'm so thankful that Paul was willing to let God use him in the way and to be vulnerable and to capture this part because I think at times just by the accounts that we see in Paul's wife the knowledge that he had being trained the way he was the things that he did and his road to Damascus moment when God pretty much grabbed hold of his life and spun him around to go in a new direction and then with that zeal and that fervor the miracles that God used and did through him the persecutions that he suffered the things that he endured through the boldness in his speech and his passion I think we sometimes view Paul as a superstar we view him as as unbreakable unbeatable and we can sometimes maybe even put him on a pedestal saying man he Paul is so much more advanced than I am in my own life but I'm so thankful that Paul then writes what he wrote here in the next passages in Romans 7 because in it Paul says I'm weak in the flesh I struggle like you do the things I do in my life I don't want to do and the things I should be doing I don't and he's saying this battle wait rages and inside of him because of his nature this human nature that we all have goes contrary to God's nature working within us and so we do have a battle that we fight daily within us that's why we go and we acknowledge when we fall short we apologize to others when we hurt them we go to God and we repent of our sins daily because every single day we fall short in this walk and it's not a battle that we face alone it's a battle that we are united in because we're human because we're made of the flesh and because sin entered into this world we're a product of that as well in the effects Paul just glazes out so beautifully in Romans 7 just as the struggle that he has because he like us had a heart issue that God was working on in his life so God knew that he we would need and a new covenant to be under we would need a new path to continue to go forward we would need new help that wasn't broadly given and offered to everyone else the new covenant is special in many unique ways unlike any covenant God entered into beforehand with mankind notice what God says about this new covenant and that was to come in Jeremiah chapter 31 Jeremiah 31 in verse 31 this is an Old Testament prophecy of the coming of God granting his spirit and replacing a stony heart that is within us with one that is soft and pliable a heart of flesh and which is only possible through the new covenant and only possible by putting his spirit in the lives of mankind Jeremiah 31 in verse 31 God promised this would be something that would come with the bringing of the new covenant through Jesus Christ notice what the prophet Jeremiah wrote 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 this is why it's not a renewed covenant this is why it is a new covenant that we are under some will teach and say get confused and share that that what we're under today is a renewed covenant it's just a continuation of the old but scripture is completely clear on this it is not a renewed covenant and keep this in mind as we look at some other aspects this is a new covenant and Jeremiah says not according to that old covenant that God entered into with those that he brought out of Egypt the Israelites notice he says my covenant which they broke though I was a husband to them says the Lord 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 I'll be their God and they shall be my people remember at Mount Sinai with the verbalization that God gave the Ten Commandments and he wrote them himself on the tablets of stone that is what the law was written on was stone tablets but he's saying he wants the law to be written on our hearts these hearts of flesh this is that difference this is a huge difference from the old covenant to the new covenant and God's intent for mankind this expression that we just read behold the days are coming introduces a new era in the history of God dealing and working with his people an era where God says I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts from our UCG commentary it shares this on the passage we just read in describing this new covenant in contrast to the one he made with Israel when he brought them out of Egypt God is by implication declaring the previous one old thus the term old covenant for the Sinai covenant the old covenant was as we see here essentially a marriage covenant by which God was a husband to Israel in this covenant Israel the wife had agreed to submit to God and obey his walls she did not the people never had the right heart and mind to obey the fault of the people the book of Hebrews explains was the problem with the old covenant and the reason the new covenant was necessitated and so again that's from our UCG commentary the symbols of the old of the excuse me the symbols of the new covenant were instituted during the last Passover Jesus observed with his disciples let's look at that in Matthew 26 in verse 26 this is another important reminder why it's not a renewed covenant but a new covenant that we are under because things changed they weren't done away with but they were changed with Jesus Christ being now our new high priest not a high priest of man this is another aspect that was changed that Jesus Christ himself changed with the bringing of the new covenant and ushering that covenant in Matthew 26 and verse 26 this is that Passover that Jesus observed just days before his crucifixion and his death this is what he shared well just one day before the next day in the afternoon near evening he was he was crucified so just hours before this is what he instituted with his disciples Matthew 26 and verse 26 and as they were eating Jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this of this fruit of the vine from now on until the day when I drink it new with you and my father's kingdom very similar wording to what is also found in Mark 14 and Luke chapter 22 and the Apostle Paul clearly understood the differences between the old and the new covenant as he repeated what Jesus said and we'll look at that a little bit later in 1st Corinthians the writer of Hebrews reference this concept of a better covenant and we see this in Hebrews chapter 7 so not only is it referred to as a new covenant but at times it's referred to a better covenant again designating that it is a different covenant than the old covenant that was entered into at Mount Sinai Hebrews chapter 7 and verse 11 the writer of Hebrews shares here therefore if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood for under it the people received the law what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek and not be called according to the order of Aaron so he's introducing this question remember the through Aaron being a Levite all the priests would come through the tribe of Levi right we know that from the Old Testament that was how the high priests were selected all priests would serve from the tribe of Levi but there's a change because Jesus did not come from the tribe of Levi but he came from the tribe of Judah notice it says for the priesthood being changed if necessity there was also a change of the law verse 18 for on the one hand there was an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitiveness for the law made nothing perfect on the other hand there is the bringing of a better hope through which we draw near to God in verse 22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant so it's very clear that we see the new covenant and are under a better covenant today and why was God willing to enter into a new covenant with man notice Ezekiel chapter 36 again going back we keep flipping back and forth because we have to see these connections and the and how scriptures remain constant from Old Testament to New Testament Ezekiel chapter 36 why was it that God was willing to enter into a new covenant with man Ezekiel chapter 36 and let's begin reading at verse 21 notice what God says he says but I had concern for what my holy name which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went we have to remember that the Old Covenant and under that covenant God promised physical blessings to Israel he said if you will do your part I will bring rain in the right seasons I'll fight your battles for you you don't even need an army I'll take care of them in miraculous ways you'll be there'll be peace among you there'll be prosperity you'll be a shining example of what a beautiful nation should be there'll be joy there'll be peace there'll be everything that you could ever want if you will follow and obey me but Ezekiel was very clear to say they profaned God's holy name and because God is faithful and because God will see us through and his plan will be fulfilled he says I must do something different and I will do something different because of my holy name God's not a liar he doesn't break promises what he says he will do he will finish and because of his holy name that they profaned he says I must go forward with my plan notice verse 22 therefore say that house of Israel thus says the Lord of God I do not do this for your sake Oh house of Israel but for my holy namesake which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went and I will sanctify my great name which has been profaned among the nations which you have profaned in their midst and the nation shall know that I am the Lord says the Lord God when I am hollowed in you before their eyes there's no question that God held up his part of the deal with the old covenant a hundred percent no wavering no second-guessing God did his part and this is why he is willing to enter into a new covenant with mankind that is based on these better promises that he would share his spirit with those he calls to commit their lives to him and this is why we can't boast in what we do as we walk forward in our relationship with God right this is something that when I was younger and didn't have the full understanding that that comes with spiritual maturity and God's spirit I used to think if I can somehow figure out how to live my own life perfectly if I can fix my problems then then I'll be good with God right that's kind of that childhood mindset that you have that if I do this these things then then I can make myself righteous and that's just not the case God is the one who drew us to him and opened our eyes to understand his scripture he's even the one that drew us to repentance when we decided and started working towards that process to enter into a covenant agreement with him at baptism he's the one that drew us to his way and so when we make good decisions and we do things the right way granted we made that choice we could have made the other but we're only making that good choice because God in his grace has shown us this is the better way to go and he's the one that walks with us because when we've tried to live our own lives and to fix our own problems we have often failed miserably and I can only count how many times I've done that and this is one of those that came up as a discussion at camp because some of the young adults and some of the older teens are contemplating baptism and they're wanting to recognize this is something they want to enter into with God at some point but they often will share but I know I have to fix all my problems first and we encourage them that actually that is a backward mindset to have because we'll never fix all of our problems we're never gonna iron out all our issues if we try that will always fail and fail again we make one step forward because sometimes in God's grace we do make progress but we often take two steps back and it's not until we have his spirit dwelling powerfully inside of us that then we can start making two steps forward and sometimes one step back and to be able to encourage because this is a challenge I had being a second-generation Christian this is the struggle I went through because when we try to do good we often fail and that's why we can't take credit for the goodness that lives within us because it's God's goodness that resides in our hearts go notice what was Ezekiel goes on to say in verse 24 he says for I will take you from among the nations this is God speaking gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land again referencing those promises that God made back in Deuteronomy then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them we know the Holy Spirit was never broadly poured out onto all of humanity under the old covenant it was given to a select few who would be chosen to serve God and his people uniquely but it was never broadly part of the old covenant and the giving of God's Spirit is to do what notice again verse 27 I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them this is why we can't boast about our goodness we can't boast about how good we are at following God and how much we have chosen to change our ways because it's only through God's Spirit within us that has helped us and enabled us to walk in his statutes and this is why when we do good God gets all the glory when we have a good idea to serve or to help someone he gets the glory this is why we don't glory and what we've done but we remain humble recognizing God is doing the work within us and we are so thankful that this is the God that loves us and that we serve so again the law and the commandments were not done away with but as Jesus himself explained they were magnified to go and apply deeper in the lives of his people let's look at Matthew 5 and verse 17 because Jesus again in his own words says as much Matthew 5 and verse 17 I referenced this as one of those foundational aspects but as I mentioned we're gonna go back and touch a few of these again because they're so interconnected so intertwined Matthew 5 and verse 17 Jesus said do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets I did not come to destroy but to fulfill and that word means to fill to the brim as a cup of water or a cup of coffee filled all the way to the brim you can't get any more into it it's magnified it's filled to the fullest extent and he says for sure do I say to you till heaven and earth pass away one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the ball till all is fulfilled and the second use of the word fulfilled means brought to completion and we know this is talking about the bringing of God's kingdom to this earth the the fulfillment of this physical existence when also filled then the ball be put away because we'll be made perfect will be one with God and these limitations of our physical flesh will be done away with no as verse 19 he goes on to say for whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven but whoever doesn't teaches them he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven for I say to you that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven and then he goes on in these next verses that we're not going to look at but he goes on and talks about how the law has been magnified right it's not just enough that you don't murder someone but if you think evil if you hate someone that's as bad in God's eyes as if you killed someone and we're the ones that put limitations on certain things so I'd never kill someone now that's ridiculous but have you ever been really really angry with someone to the point that you've really disliked them I think at times we all have recognized that we've allowed our human nature again to grab the steering wheel of our lives and to drive us straight into the ditch on these things that's why Jesus said unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees because they would do just the letter of the law if it said don't walk this far in the Sabbath because they made that one of their own laws then they would follow it if they had to tie then they counted out and measured out an exact 10% that was it no more no less perfect and they felt like they were righteous in these physical acts that they did and Jesus is saying you've got to go beyond just the law it's about the heart it's about the mind it's about your motivations it's about why you're making the decisions you're making in your life and he's saying this is beyond just what the Pharisees and the scribes do you got it you got to magnify this and he demonstrated that example in the life he lived in the life that he gave for each of us and it introduces this question why would Christ magnify the law for a very short amount of time only then to do away with the law when it was nailed to the cross now that's putting our own human reasoning into the scriptures here but we are permitted to do that because of the accuracy of what this demonstrates and holds for us the actual accuracy of scripture if Christ's life was to come and to do away with the law by nailing it to the cross then this aspect of magnifying the law would have been very short amount of time what was that purpose for magnifying the law if he's simply going to nail it to the cross it just doesn't add up nor does it make human sense the only aspects that make sense is that God's God's law is still in place but certain aspects of the law and commandments have been changed to fit the agreement or covenant that would come into place after his death and resurrection as our Lord and Savior make no mistake we want to be in a covenant with God we want a covenant agreement to be the foundation of what we have with God and the only way that we can be in the better or new covenant is through the acceptance of Jesus Christ's death on our behalf and to have the gift of God's Spirit working powerfully in our lives there is no other way than through this let's go back to Hebrews chapter 8 again I know that this is kind of one of those more technical sermons then then I often share as we've worked through these covenants but as I hope you're seen and you've been able to see these covenants run through scripture as a backbone as a support to everything else that we see that hangs off in scripture what God is doing and why he's done it the way that he has and so to understand this and because it's a foundational principle and it runs as a backbone it is a more technical sermon but this is important for us to understand because if this is not clear in our mind then all the other aspects of scripture kind of fall to either side with no connections back to God and so understanding these covenant agreements that he entered into and his plan ultimate plan for all of humanity is why we we are diving into this and we may dive into it for one more sermon as we look at what has changed maybe with the new covenant in a future sermon but let's go back to the book of Hebrews this time Hebrews 8 and verse 1 the writer says now this is the main point of the things we are saying we have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in the heavens a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected and not man for every high priest is appointed to the to offer both gifts and sacrifices therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer what was it that Jesus offered he offered his life both in physical form and demonstrating the way that we should interact with one another the compassion the empathy that we should have the love that we should have for one another but he also offered it ultimately in the giving of his own life the shedding of his blood which allows us to be in this covenant agreement with God and for our sins to be removed verse 4 for if he were on the earth on earth he would not be a priest since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle notice for it for he said see that you make all things according to the pattern shown on the mountain so these previous covenants were a pattern of what would fully come through Jesus Christ for six for now he has obtained a more excellent ministry and as much as he is also mediator of a better covenant which was established on better promises it's so wonderful to be able to read through these passages and realize this is the covenant that God wants us to be in and that we have this opportunity to be under this covenant a better covenant with better promises it's it's just I fail at times to put it into words just how precious this is and what a blessing for you and me to be under this type of a covenant agreement with God and again remember the old covenant only promised physical blessings we looked at that in one of the previous sermons it only promised a better physical life if one would follow the agreement of the old covenant it never promised mankind God's spirit living within us and without God's spirit there is no eternal life and so eternal life was never part of the old covenant and so this is another one of those aspects that it's not a renewed covenant it's a new covenant that God has entered into with mankind verse 7 for if that first covenant had been faultless then no place would have been sought for a second and so again referencing the problem with the first covenant but the problem was not with God notice verse 8 because finding fault with them that was the problem of the old covenant mankind was the problem people could not keep their part of the covenant and going on in verse 8 he says 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 again a direct reference and repeat of the passage we read from Jeremiah 31 and finishing in verse 13 he says and that he says a new covenant he has made the first obsolete now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ part of the Sinai covenant became obsolete but what we read in verse 13 doesn't mean that everything has been done away with Hebrews chapter 8 9 and 10 talk about all the rituals that were changed but not every aspect was done away with Jesus backs this up as well as Paul Peter James and John in their writings another major aspect that we must explore regards who the old covenant was made with when we explored the old covenant how it was expressed by God and Moses in Deuteronomy it was given to the nation to the people of Israel it was given to the tribes as they were brought out of Egypt and as God performed miracles God told this nation this group of people if you will do this I will do that it was a broad promise made that if they would obey God they would receive the blessings of that covenant but there's a unique difference in the new covenant that it has been made individually with each person God calls and each person who commits their life to God through baptism God has made this covenant not only with us today but with those saints who have gone before us and those who will still come after us that continue to make this covenant agreement between them and God individually this is why often when I counsel someone for baptism I make sure to be very clear I'm not a middleman in this process I'm a guide who points out the aspects of Scripture to understand this agreement this covenant that you're entering into but it's not between you me and God it's only between you and God and when one makes that commitment one makes that choice God and them enter into this special agreement this was not the way it was in the old covenant was given to a group of people a broad group of people through the old covenant but now the new covenant is individual with each person and with our God turn with me to first Corinthians 11 and verse 23 we read a lot of we read part of what Paul is sharing here in first Corinthians back in Matthew when we looked at that Passover evening that Christ spent with his disciples and so Paul repeats this a lot of what occurred that evening but he then he adds another aspect that again reminds us of this individual nature of this covenant and how it's made with each person individually first Corinthians 11 verse 23 Paul says for I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which he was betrayed took bread and when he'd given thanks he broke it and said take eat this is my body which is broken for you do this in remembrance of me the same manner he also took the cup after supper saying this cup is a new covenant in my blood do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me and this brings it down to that personal aspect for as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death till he comes and so individually when we come together at Passover and that service to commemorate his death and his resurrection and we take of the bread and we take of the wine we are proclaiming his death individually for each one of us knowing that he died for our individual sins and so that we can be cleansed we could be made whole and that we can be given this opportunity this future with hope and with a promise the blood of Jesus Christ which we commemorate every Passover is the binding agent of this new covenant Paul talks about this again in Colossians 2 and verse 6 and he expands it out to recognize that it's not just a one-time event it's not just that we were saved but that we continue in this hope we continue to let Christ live within us and the power of God's Spirit living within us is what changes us into new people new beings Colossians 2 and verse 6 Paul says as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord so walk in him as those marching orders that were given it's not just we gave our life we were put under the water and had hands laid on to receive God's Spirit but then there's a purpose there's a direction where to go there's work that we do in our part God gets the glory he's the one that ultimately does the work but he says walk with me obey me come with me and Paul says in verse 7 rooted and build up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught abounding in it with Thanksgiving verse 9 for in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him we're not lacking we're not short-handed we're not given most of what we need and then left to just kind of struggle and try to figure out our own way of life we are complete in Christ as we let him live within us and as we walk in him as Paul says who is the head of all principality and power in him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead so the sign of the new covenant is baptism and the laying on of hands when we recognize that we want to go in newness of life we are drawn to repentance by our God and we were ready to make this commitment we recognize this is what we're signing up for and we are coming under this new covenant with better promises and better hope for the future and that's what we all desire in our lives notice what Paul says in second Corinthians in chapter 3 as well second Corinthians is an interesting book in that Paul's writing the church in Corinth because they're having some struggles some other ministers some other pastors are coming in shared sharing God's Word but they're doing it with a wrong motivation they're doing it to make money they've shown up with commendations letters written saying oh this person's a good good minister over here this person's worthy to stand before you and to teach God's Word and yet their heart was wrong they were bringing false truth into the congregations and and so Paul's now writing saying what did we bring to you what did we come with and notice verse 3 chapter 3 and verse 1 chapter 2nd Corinthians chapter 3 and verse 1 he says do we begin again to commend ourselves like are we built puffing ourselves up are we standing before you telling you how great we are or do you need or do we need as some others epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you he's saying I don't come to you asking you to write a letter saying how great I am as a as a pastor and as or as an apostle and so these other people are doing it but I'm not doing it and notice what he says you are our epistle written in our hearts known and read by all men he goes on to say clearly you are an epistle of Christ he's saying your own example your own life is writing an epistle it's writing a letter it's showing that we are a light and we're different from society around us by the way we live our own lives by the stands we take by the choices we make the things we don't do and the things we do do he's saying our own lives are an epistle of Christ ministered by us written not with ink but with the spirit of the living God again so we can't boast in what we're doing because God's Spirit is the one writing this epistle of the right way that we should go and it's an epistle of Christ notice he says not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh that is of the heart and we have such trust in Christ through God not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves but our sufficiency is from God who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant not of the letter but of the spirit for the letter kills but the spirit gives life again was the law wrong no it pointed out the way that one should live but the law itself could not give eternal life the law pointed out the instructions which mankind continually broke and brought upon themselves the penalty of death but it's through Christ that we can have this new relationship with God that brings with it eternal life Paul speaks to this again in Galatians 3 and verse 26 and we're wrapping up I know I'm running out of time but we're wrapping up Galatians 3 and verse 26 Paul again says for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus for as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek there's neither slave nor free there's neither male nor female for you are all one in Christ Jesus and if you are Christ then you are of you are Abraham's seed and errors according to the promise and this is that great promise that you and I are part of now still today there's more that we could explore about the new covenant and I plan to God willing share some more as we continue to look at this it's again a critical one of those critical messages and understanding that we reveal that we've had revealed and that we draw from Scripture the fullness of what we see captured in all of God's Word leads and builds to this amazing covenant that we are currently under today there is no better covenant than this one and we are tremendously blessed and forever changed to be part of this new covenant and so with this greatest covenant ever given I I'm thankful that we can spend time diving into this today and I look forward to being able to dive into it further with you in another sermon