As a child I was taught the 10 Commandments. I memorized them, could recite them, and did my best to keep them. I have no doubt that many of you lived the same way. While I have no problems with sharing the values found in them, we must be careful that we do not approach them in the same manner as the Jews. The Old & New Covenants are very different. We would be well served to know the difference.
First of all, you need to understand that the Old Covenant was established between God & Man (Israel in particular). It was an agreement between two parties. If Israel would walk in all that God commanded them - they would be blessed. However, if Israel failed to follow after God's commands - they would not receive God's blessings. In other words, the Old Covenant was an "If...then..." Covenant.
If Israel would _____________ then God would __________.
If Israel did not __________ then God would withhold ____________.
It's quite simple for us to understand because this is how we see most covenants.
Secondly, you need to know the basis for this covenant which was The Law. The Law consisted of the 10 Commandments and somewhere around 620 other laws. According to Jesus, to fall short in one was the same as breaking them all. The Law was meant as a means to establish righteousness & holiness among the people. The Law consisted of how people handled their relationship with God and others, holy days and practices, and even what to do when you had to go to the bathroom. There was a lot to the Old Covenant but Israel agreed that it would be this way. It was not God imposing a religious system on the people, it was God giving them what they asked for.
Thirdly, you need to understand that the Old Covenant was created (in my opinion) outside of relationship. Adam & Eve chose the Knowledge of Good & Evil as a means to becoming like God rather than live in relationship with Him. As soon as their eyes were opened they began to see themselves through a different lens. No longer (they thought) could God handle their nakedness. No longer could they freely come into the presence of God. No longer was walking with Him enough. They, in essence, sought to establish their own righteousness and all of humanity followed.
The NEW COVENANT on the other hand was enacted on better promises. It is a covenant that was established between God and the Son of Man (Jesus). This is a covenant that is not based upon Law but upon GRACE (the divine enablement of God). This covenant was not created outside of relationship but INSIDE relationship. It's a covenant that isn't about performance but about POSITION. You see, Jesus coming in the flesh became the Last Adam. According to Paul's writings to the early church He took Adam's place. Adam's fall led to the fall of everyone while the Last Adam's obedience lifted us up. The First Adam introduced sin & death while the Last Adam brought us grace & life. Not only that, but according to what God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah this New Covenant that was established would not be like the old one. The NEW COVENANT has been written upon our hearts. It's no longer a set of laws written upon stone or in a scroll. Instead, God chose to establish a covenant through His Son that would be within every human being. That is the beauty of the incarnation. Jesus came into our darkness, into our shame and separation, and took it all upon Himself. He found in His Father in the midst of it and all of humanity was wrapped up in His crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. He is now seated at the right hand of His Father as the Son of God & the Son of Man. He is the mediator of this New Covenant - not us. He is the Faithful High Priest who offered Himself on our behalf. It was His purpose to lead many sons into glory, not just followers to a divine rule.
The NEW COVENANT doesn't need our performance because Jesus has done everything that needed to be done. It doesn't need our approval because Jesus has stated that "IT IS FINISHED!!!" The New Covenant doesn't need anything from us except our acceptance of what already is. It is a fulfilled covenant. And in establishing this covenant, according to the writer of Hebrews, the old one became obsolete. In other words, it was no longer needed. Not only has it become obsolete, it has completely vanished away!!! Our acceptance of the New Covenant does not make it true - it just means that we get to experience the reality of it. Much like the million dollars in the account that I shared with you last week, you will never know the benefits of it unless you acknowledge it.
The sad part in all of this is that I see so many believers still living in The Law. They are still living with that "If...then..." mentality. They keep performing thinking that somehow it makes them acceptable to God without the realization that they have been accepted in Christ. The decision of the Father, Son, & Holy Spirit to come into the far country of our lives and rescue us was something they chose to do before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). It's the absolute beauty of the Gospel: Reconciliation, Redemption, Forgiveness, & Acceptance is all in Jesus. To sum up the Apostle Paul, in the same way that all of humanity suffered because of the first Adam, all of humanity is blessed through the Last Adam. Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, and ascension are so much more powerful than Adam's failure. We died with Him, were raised with Him, and have ascended with Him. The moment we believe this reality is the moment we begin to walk in the wholeness (Sozo) He paid for.
The Spirit of God testifies with our spirits that we are sons of God. Isn't that powerful? Isn't that a greater covenant? Aren't those better promises? In the end, what God gets out of all of this is you...all of you. Not just your service, not just your obedience, not just your sacrifices, but you. And you are who/what He has always wanted. Athanasius, one of the early church fathers, penned it this way: "It was unworthy of the goodness of God that creatures made by Him should be brought to nothing through the deceit wrought upon many by the devil; and it was supremely unfitting that the world of God in mankind should disappear, either through their own negligence or through the deceit of evil spirits. As, then, the creatures whom He created...were in fact perishing, and such noble works were on the road to ruin, what then was God, being good, to do?"
Let me tell you what He did: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16) What God said He would do in Jeremiah 31:31-34, He has done. If you would only believe, you could experience this New Covenant life for yourself. You will stop seeing yourself as separated from God. You would know the love of your Heavenly Father. You will discover that life is worth living and you will begin to experience LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS.
No comments:
Post a Comment