The New Covenant
God's people were not able to keep the old covenant. In the book of the prophet Jeremiah we read about their stubborn hearts, despite all the prophets who came to them and gave them words from the Lord:
"But this command I gave them: ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may be well with you.’ But they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in their own counsels and the stubbornness of their evil hearts, and went backward and not forward. From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day."
Jeremiah 7:23-25
But the Almighty One already had a better plan in mind: To free his people from their hearts of stone and to give them hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). Moreover, he gives those who believe in him the right to become His children (1 John 3:1)! This was possible through Christ's death and resurrection and His therefore accomplished atonement for all sins. How wonderful this is! We don't have to be slaves of sin any longer. Instead we can become His Sons and Daughters!
What was the old covenant?
A Blessing, a Curse, the Promised Land and witness to the Nations.
See, I am setting before you today a blessing and a curse— the blessing if you obey the commands of Yahweh your God that I am giving you today; the curse if you disobey the commands of Yahweh your God and turn from the way that I command you today by following other gods, which you have not known.
See, I have taught you decrees and laws as Yahweh my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it. Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding to the nations...Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
Why did the old covenant need a replacement?
Remaining Sin, Broken Covenant, Veiled Hearts and Better Promises.
For if that first covenant had not been lacking, then no place would have been sought for a second. But God found fault with the people and said: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…
For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts.
“But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.”
What is new in the new covenant?
New Creation, Lasting Righteousness in Place of Condemnation and life giving Spirit.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
If the ministry that brought condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
“And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more”. And where these have been forgiven, an offering for sin is no longer needed, therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way opened for us through the curtain of His body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
What are the promises of the New Covenant?
A New Heart, a New Spirit, Freedom from Sin.
This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “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 they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,”declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
“‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.’
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. (John 8:35-36)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete. (John 16:24)
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
Is the law the same in the new covenant?
Love Fulfills God’s Law.
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them.
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
What does it take to enter into the new covenant?
Being Chosen.
All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will remain--so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you.
He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.”
What does it take to keep the new covenant?
Abide in Me, Lay Down your Life, Keep My Commands, Love One Another.
“If you love me, keep my commands.
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.
Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.
What does it take to break the new covenant?
No Love, No Fruit, False Teaching.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit... If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
The axe lies ready at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.
So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
What did Jesus fulfill?
Everything must be fulfilled…
“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.
He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, [...] now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. “