Tag: New Covenant

Can Anyone Really Escape If They Ignore Jesus?

“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 into their minds,
And I will write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
And they shall be My people.
“And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen,
And everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’
For all will know Me,
From the least to the greatest of them. “For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And I will remember their sins no more.” When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear. Hebrews 8:8-13 (NASB)

The writer of Hebrews continues to plead with these early Jewish Believers not to return to the rituals of their old faith. He reminds them of the prophesies of Jeremiah that there would be a new covenant. Jesus Christ had come to be the final sacrifice. When He did, He made the first covenant to be obsolete.

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But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come,[a] with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.12 Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 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. Hebrews 9:11-14 NKJV

The new covenant has not become fully realized by the Israel nation yet! However, it will be one day when Christ returns. For the moment, the new covenant has been extended to all who accept Christ as their Savior. This means Jew and Gentile alike.

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Why Is the New Covenant Our Only Hope?

 

The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God. And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:

“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
‘You are a priest forever.’”

Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant. Hebrews 7:18-22 NIV

A new covenant—how precious and wonderful is that!! A covenant not based on my ability to keep the law; rather, a covenant based on the power of God’s oath. For God, swore on His own name to keep this covenant. There was no higher power than He on which He could have sworn.

Of all the people I know; there is no one less worthy and more in need of grace than I. How quickly do I realize that when I see those selfish thoughts that come into play or the moments of quick judgement that come into my heart! My own battle with sin is much like the constant flapping of my wings in the fashion of a hummingbird, rather than that of a soaring eagle. I am forever needing to return to the nectar to satisfy my thirst. I note the inner turmoil when I with all my heart want to display Christ; yet, become irritated by someone at work or annoyed when waiting in line or traffic.  Why do I who has received so much grace, stumble so quickly at giving that same grace?

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