Jesus Christ---Our Mediator
"God's New Covenant"
Our Text: Book of Hebrews Chapter 8
What is a mediator?
This is a person who intervenes between two other persons.
Why do we need a mediator?
Human leaders such as Abraham and Moses mediated God's will to the people of Israel and whoever would join them.
It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who "Mediates God's Will" [of our salvation] between God and all the human race but individually!
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Sin interferes with our relationship with the Lord Our God. If not for the Lord Jesus Christ, [who is our mediator between us and Father God], then we could not know the truth of salvation.
We could have no relationship with Our God!
We could not know the truth!
If we did not know the truth then we could not be free!
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall [make] you free.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall [make] you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Notice that word "Make".
We are not "set" free!
To be set free would mean we could be captured again.
God set the Sun in it's place!
God "set" the Moon and all the stars in their place!
God does not "set" a lost sinner in place!
God "makes" every child of His to be free.
God "makes" a new creature, therefore Born Again".
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
I sure am glad that Our Lord does not just throw the clay away!
Jesus Christ is God's Superior High Priests and He "Mediates" a ministry based on a New Covenant which is much better than the Old Covenant of the Law!
*****Our Text:
Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
The first thing we should remember about the work of Christ's ministry is what we have already read:
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Our great High Priests lives to make intercession for all that call on His name!
We know that the right hand of God is a reference to God's Almighty Power!
Now we see the main point and the most important point of the first seven chapters in this Book of Hebrews!
Jesus Christ is the Minister of a better Sanctuary!
Jesus Christ is the Minister of a better Covenant!
Jesus Christ "was" the better Sacrifice!
Jesus Christ "has" the better promises!
Jesus Christ "is" the Minister of the True Tabernacle!
If we think back to the Books of Moses, we know that the Earthly Tabernacle was made by the pattern of the tabernacle in Heaven.
Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exo 25:9 According to all that I shew thee, [after the pattern of the tabernacle], and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
As Our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ presents to His Father the gifts of the spiritual sacrifices of the believer, including the sinners prayer.
He then can present the benefits of His sacrifice on behalf of every believer in anytime of need to the believer!
There will be a Second Coming of Our Lord!
In the clouds to Rapture, His Church!
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Then sometime afterward, at least seven years, He will come to this Earth to rule by sitting on the throne of David!
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
It was impossible for Christ Jesus to fulfill His Priestly function in a Tabernacle that was on this Earth!
By God's own Word this was the function of the Aaron and his descendants.
Jesus Christ was not a priest in the order of Aaron!
Jesus Christ is a priests in the order of Melchizedek!
The "ministry" of Christ Jesus is built on the basis of His resurrected life!
His throne in Heaven is a fulfillment of prophesy!
Psa 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Melchizedek was both priest and king.
Aaron was a priest who could never be king.
Jesus Christ ministers in the House built by God Himself!
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Jesus could only sit down because He had finished the work for our redemption!
*****Heb 8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
The title "high priest" was not an honorary title!
A high priest was ordained to serve others!
They were ordained to offer the gifts and the sacrifices that were brought to them by the sinful people.
These sacrifices could not be offered just anywhere!
Only in God's appointed place could these things be done!
Jesus Christ then by logic had to have a sanctuary!
Jesus could not be high priest while on this earth because it would violate the truth of the Bible, the Laws of Moses.
The sanctuary of Our Lord then has to be in Heaven and not on Earth.
These are the only two places mentioned in creation. All the heavens were part of Earth's creation.
Every high priest that came before Our True High Priest were all about ritual and ceremony. They were only a shadow and a pattern of the things that that Jesus brought.
When Jesus offered Himself on that cross there was nothing ritual nor ceremonial about it!
Jesus is not a symbol!
There was no ritual for Him to observe!
Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment of all these things!
Jesus is the fulfillment of "all" Old Testament prophesy!
The Apostle John said:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
*****Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
We use the word "type" a lot. A "type" is an Old Testament picture of a New Testament truth!
In this verse we the word "pattern". This is the Greek word "tupos" and this is where we get our English word "type".
We can get that same understanding of "type" from the Hebrew word "tabnith" from the Old Testament.
When we studied the Book of Exodus we learned that every piece of material, every color, and every construction technique use in the design of the tabernacle was actually a "type' Of Christ!
The Candlestick in "type"--Jesus the Light Of The World.
The table where the Shewbread was placed was in "type"--Jesus the Bread Of Life.
The golden alter was in "type"---Jesus Our Great Intercessor.
The Laws of Moses them selves were in "type"---Jesus is the only One to have ever kept the Law, so He is the fulfillment of the Law.
The Manna was in "type"--the Bread of Life Today.
Aaron's Rod was in "type"---The Resurrection.
We could go on an on but the Tabernacle and all things of the Tabernacle were in fact "A Pattern" of the things of Heaven and "types" of Our Lord Jesus Christ!
The entire Jewish worship system, as given by Moses is in fact only a "type" or a pattern, a shadow of the Heavenly things and the true Tabernacle, not built by hands but built by God Himself!
We need the reality of Jesus in our lives daily!
Christianity is not another religion, Christianity is just the TRUTH!
*****Heb 8:6 But now hath [he obtained a more excellent ministry], by how much also [he is the mediator of a better covenant], which was established upon [better promises].
For all those that think they can lose their salvation, God placed this verse in the Bible.
The New Testament we have written down for us by the Holy Spirit, is our copy of the New Covenant that God makes with each of us individually.
It is more excellent and it is Better, Better, Better than anything of the Old Testament, the Old Covenant!
We have a better High Priest.
We have a better Sacrifice.
We have a better Tabernacle.
The Mosaic Covenant brought obedience through the fear of God!
The New Covenant brings a Covenant of Grace and Mercy to those that come with a willing heart and a willing mind!
Jesus Christ is not only the Mediator of the New Covenant, "He Is Also The One Who Guarantees The Truth Of It"!
We are not only saved but we have an intercessor, a mediator, and a guarantor, to keep us that way!
Jesus truly stands in the middle between God and man!
There would not be a new covenant if the old one could do these things.
These Jewish believers knew that such a covenant was to come:
*****Heb 8:7 [For if that first covenant had been faultless], then should no place have been sought for the second.
Heb 8:8 [For finding fault with them], he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
We should not think that there was a problem with any covenant of God. Verse 8 plainly states that the problem was with them, the people, and not the covenant itself!
There has never been anything wrong with God's Law!
The problem is always you and I!
No one has ever been able to keep the Law!
We simply cannot measure up to the requirements of the Law!
The announcement of this New Covenant is based on the prophesy of Jeremiah:
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
This promise to Israel has not been fulfilled at this time but will happen during the seven year tribulation period.
So we are not confused Jesus Christ announced the New Covenant on the night of the Lord's Supper!
Luk 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
Luk 22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Luk 22:17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
Luk 22:18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, [This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you].
This New Covenant became effective with the crucifixion of Our Lord and is now our guide for Christianity and the Church!
These Hebrew believers needed to turn to this New Covenant through the Blood of Jesus.
The New Covenant spoken by Jeremiah was for the "house of Israel" and "the house of Judah".
Israel will be restored which is the prophesy of the Millennial Kingdom!
Everyone saved in this time of "Grace" are to worship and serve God under "the covenant of Blood".
*****Heb 8:9 [Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers] in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; [because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord].
We can immediately see that this New Covenant is not a continuation of the Old Covenant, which was the Law!
The New Covenant REPLACES the Old Covenant!
God's New Covenant does not depend on Man's faithfulness!
God's New Covenant depends only on God's faithfulness to His Promises!
The phrase "I regarded them not" simply means God ceased to care for them. This same Greek word is used six times in the New Testament and it means to neglect, to take lightly, to be made light of, negligent, and regarded them not in our verse.
When God removes His caring hands from any nation as He did to Israel, they became wicked. In fact they became so wicked that they crucified Our Lord who was innocent of any wrong.
I believe we can see that God has the same feelings for America because the proof is what we see.
America is becoming more and more wicked and Americans are becoming more and more tolerant of this wickedness, even turning a blind eye to what is happening to the land we love.
*****Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
The Law of Moses provided God's standard for a righteous life but it did not provide the power of obedience.
Sinful people need a new heart!
Sinful people need to be "Born Again"
Every sinner, and we are all sinners, that trust the Lord will receive a new divine nature:
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: [that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature], having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
What does the old nature look like?
Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Those old laws were written on stone!
God's new covenant is written in the hearts and the minds of every believer!
God's "grace" makes it possible for an internal transformation so we can be more like Jesus!
In the new covenant it is not the obedience to the old laws of Moses which we put so much effort into but it is by yielding to the Holy Spirit, who abides in every believer, that will make us righteous in the eyes of God!
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
*****Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, [and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more].
The Laws of Moses, including the Ten Commandments, cannot bring forgiveness!
They are simply our standard to live by!
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
It is only through the sacrificial blood of Jesus that forgiveness can come!
Not Mohammed's blood.
Not Buddha's blood.
Not any man's blood but Christ Jesus, The Son of God!
And surely not the blood of any animal!
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, [which he hath purchased with his own blood].
Only the blood of God Himself!
What does it mean that God "remembers our sin no more"?
This does not mean that Our Powerful God can forget, because that is simply not true!
If God forgot anything then He would not be God!
God recalls everything we have done, in fact He writes down everything we have done!
Psa 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they not in thy book?]
These things are written down but God will blot them out. This does not mean they erased but He will not see them anymore.
Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Why?
For God's sake, it is necessary for redemption!
Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
Once our sin is forgiven, it will never brought up before us again!
If only we could forgive like our Lord God forgives!
God sees only "Grace" and "Mercy" where our sins used to be!
This matter of sin is settled eternally!
*****Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
God has replaced the old with the new!
Shortly after this Book was written the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed.
The Jews had no Temple to worship in. They had no Temple for their sacrifices.
They had no priests to perform the rituals of forgiveness.
Their system of worship had grown old and had vanished away. God had shown Israel in "type" the things He had taught them in this Book of Hebrews.
This again is prophesy fulfilled:
Hos 3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
It is only after these things that Israel can be restored:
Hos 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
This can only happen in the New Covenant!
This New Covenant is of such a high quality that it can never be replaced!
There can never be salvation by the Laws of Moses!
Legalism in our places of worship are hindering the growth of the Church!
We cannot remain "Babes in Christ" and do the work that Jesus has commanded us to do!
Missions are already suffering because we do not as hunger for the Word of God and remain as "babes"!
We cannot control what happens anywhere else but we are obligated to The Lord Jesus Christ to do what is right in this House where He has placed us!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
"God's New Covenant"
Our Text: Book of Hebrews Chapter 8
What is a mediator?
This is a person who intervenes between two other persons.
Why do we need a mediator?
Human leaders such as Abraham and Moses mediated God's will to the people of Israel and whoever would join them.
It is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who "Mediates God's Will" [of our salvation] between God and all the human race but individually!
1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
1Ti 2:6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Sin interferes with our relationship with the Lord Our God. If not for the Lord Jesus Christ, [who is our mediator between us and Father God], then we could not know the truth of salvation.
We could have no relationship with Our God!
We could not know the truth!
If we did not know the truth then we could not be free!
Joh 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall [make] you free.
Joh 8:36 If the Son therefore shall [make] you free, ye shall be free indeed.
Notice that word "Make".
We are not "set" free!
To be set free would mean we could be captured again.
God set the Sun in it's place!
God "set" the Moon and all the stars in their place!
God does not "set" a lost sinner in place!
God "makes" every child of His to be free.
God "makes" a new creature, therefore Born Again".
Isa 64:8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Jer 18:4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
I sure am glad that Our Lord does not just throw the clay away!
Jesus Christ is God's Superior High Priests and He "Mediates" a ministry based on a New Covenant which is much better than the Old Covenant of the Law!
*****Our Text:
Heb 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
Heb 8:2 A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man.
The first thing we should remember about the work of Christ's ministry is what we have already read:
Heb 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
Our great High Priests lives to make intercession for all that call on His name!
We know that the right hand of God is a reference to God's Almighty Power!
Now we see the main point and the most important point of the first seven chapters in this Book of Hebrews!
Jesus Christ is the Minister of a better Sanctuary!
Jesus Christ is the Minister of a better Covenant!
Jesus Christ "was" the better Sacrifice!
Jesus Christ "has" the better promises!
Jesus Christ "is" the Minister of the True Tabernacle!
If we think back to the Books of Moses, we know that the Earthly Tabernacle was made by the pattern of the tabernacle in Heaven.
Exo 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.
Exo 25:9 According to all that I shew thee, [after the pattern of the tabernacle], and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
As Our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ presents to His Father the gifts of the spiritual sacrifices of the believer, including the sinners prayer.
He then can present the benefits of His sacrifice on behalf of every believer in anytime of need to the believer!
There will be a Second Coming of Our Lord!
In the clouds to Rapture, His Church!
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Then sometime afterward, at least seven years, He will come to this Earth to rule by sitting on the throne of David!
Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
It was impossible for Christ Jesus to fulfill His Priestly function in a Tabernacle that was on this Earth!
By God's own Word this was the function of the Aaron and his descendants.
Jesus Christ was not a priest in the order of Aaron!
Jesus Christ is a priests in the order of Melchizedek!
The "ministry" of Christ Jesus is built on the basis of His resurrected life!
His throne in Heaven is a fulfillment of prophesy!
Psa 110:1 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Melchizedek was both priest and king.
Aaron was a priest who could never be king.
Jesus Christ ministers in the House built by God Himself!
Eph 1:19 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power,
Eph 1:20 Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come:
Jesus could only sit down because He had finished the work for our redemption!
*****Heb 8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices: wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer.
Heb 8:4 For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law:
The title "high priest" was not an honorary title!
A high priest was ordained to serve others!
They were ordained to offer the gifts and the sacrifices that were brought to them by the sinful people.
These sacrifices could not be offered just anywhere!
Only in God's appointed place could these things be done!
Jesus Christ then by logic had to have a sanctuary!
Jesus could not be high priest while on this earth because it would violate the truth of the Bible, the Laws of Moses.
The sanctuary of Our Lord then has to be in Heaven and not on Earth.
These are the only two places mentioned in creation. All the heavens were part of Earth's creation.
Every high priest that came before Our True High Priest were all about ritual and ceremony. They were only a shadow and a pattern of the things that that Jesus brought.
When Jesus offered Himself on that cross there was nothing ritual nor ceremonial about it!
Jesus is not a symbol!
There was no ritual for Him to observe!
Jesus Christ was and is the fulfillment of all these things!
Jesus is the fulfillment of "all" Old Testament prophesy!
The Apostle John said:
Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
*****Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
We use the word "type" a lot. A "type" is an Old Testament picture of a New Testament truth!
In this verse we the word "pattern". This is the Greek word "tupos" and this is where we get our English word "type".
We can get that same understanding of "type" from the Hebrew word "tabnith" from the Old Testament.
When we studied the Book of Exodus we learned that every piece of material, every color, and every construction technique use in the design of the tabernacle was actually a "type' Of Christ!
The Candlestick in "type"--Jesus the Light Of The World.
The table where the Shewbread was placed was in "type"--Jesus the Bread Of Life.
The golden alter was in "type"---Jesus Our Great Intercessor.
The Laws of Moses them selves were in "type"---Jesus is the only One to have ever kept the Law, so He is the fulfillment of the Law.
The Manna was in "type"--the Bread of Life Today.
Aaron's Rod was in "type"---The Resurrection.
We could go on an on but the Tabernacle and all things of the Tabernacle were in fact "A Pattern" of the things of Heaven and "types" of Our Lord Jesus Christ!
The entire Jewish worship system, as given by Moses is in fact only a "type" or a pattern, a shadow of the Heavenly things and the true Tabernacle, not built by hands but built by God Himself!
We need the reality of Jesus in our lives daily!
Christianity is not another religion, Christianity is just the TRUTH!
*****Heb 8:6 But now hath [he obtained a more excellent ministry], by how much also [he is the mediator of a better covenant], which was established upon [better promises].
For all those that think they can lose their salvation, God placed this verse in the Bible.
The New Testament we have written down for us by the Holy Spirit, is our copy of the New Covenant that God makes with each of us individually.
It is more excellent and it is Better, Better, Better than anything of the Old Testament, the Old Covenant!
We have a better High Priest.
We have a better Sacrifice.
We have a better Tabernacle.
The Mosaic Covenant brought obedience through the fear of God!
The New Covenant brings a Covenant of Grace and Mercy to those that come with a willing heart and a willing mind!
Jesus Christ is not only the Mediator of the New Covenant, "He Is Also The One Who Guarantees The Truth Of It"!
We are not only saved but we have an intercessor, a mediator, and a guarantor, to keep us that way!
Jesus truly stands in the middle between God and man!
There would not be a new covenant if the old one could do these things.
These Jewish believers knew that such a covenant was to come:
*****Heb 8:7 [For if that first covenant had been faultless], then should no place have been sought for the second.
Heb 8:8 [For finding fault with them], he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
We should not think that there was a problem with any covenant of God. Verse 8 plainly states that the problem was with them, the people, and not the covenant itself!
There has never been anything wrong with God's Law!
The problem is always you and I!
No one has ever been able to keep the Law!
We simply cannot measure up to the requirements of the Law!
The announcement of this New Covenant is based on the prophesy of Jeremiah:
Jer 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jer 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Jer 31:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jer 31:34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.
This promise to Israel has not been fulfilled at this time but will happen during the seven year tribulation period.
So we are not confused Jesus Christ announced the New Covenant on the night of the Lord's Supper!
Luk 22:15 And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer:
Luk 22:16 For I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God.
Luk 22:17 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:
Luk 22:18 For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.
Luk 22:19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
Luk 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, [This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you].
This New Covenant became effective with the crucifixion of Our Lord and is now our guide for Christianity and the Church!
These Hebrew believers needed to turn to this New Covenant through the Blood of Jesus.
The New Covenant spoken by Jeremiah was for the "house of Israel" and "the house of Judah".
Israel will be restored which is the prophesy of the Millennial Kingdom!
Everyone saved in this time of "Grace" are to worship and serve God under "the covenant of Blood".
*****Heb 8:9 [Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers] in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; [because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord].
We can immediately see that this New Covenant is not a continuation of the Old Covenant, which was the Law!
The New Covenant REPLACES the Old Covenant!
God's New Covenant does not depend on Man's faithfulness!
God's New Covenant depends only on God's faithfulness to His Promises!
The phrase "I regarded them not" simply means God ceased to care for them. This same Greek word is used six times in the New Testament and it means to neglect, to take lightly, to be made light of, negligent, and regarded them not in our verse.
When God removes His caring hands from any nation as He did to Israel, they became wicked. In fact they became so wicked that they crucified Our Lord who was innocent of any wrong.
I believe we can see that God has the same feelings for America because the proof is what we see.
America is becoming more and more wicked and Americans are becoming more and more tolerant of this wickedness, even turning a blind eye to what is happening to the land we love.
*****Heb 8:10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
The Law of Moses provided God's standard for a righteous life but it did not provide the power of obedience.
Sinful people need a new heart!
Sinful people need to be "Born Again"
Every sinner, and we are all sinners, that trust the Lord will receive a new divine nature:
2Pe 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:
2Pe 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: [that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature], having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
What does the old nature look like?
Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Those old laws were written on stone!
God's new covenant is written in the hearts and the minds of every believer!
God's "grace" makes it possible for an internal transformation so we can be more like Jesus!
In the new covenant it is not the obedience to the old laws of Moses which we put so much effort into but it is by yielding to the Holy Spirit, who abides in every believer, that will make us righteous in the eyes of God!
Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
Rom 8:4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
*****Heb 8:11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
Heb 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, [and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more].
The Laws of Moses, including the Ten Commandments, cannot bring forgiveness!
They are simply our standard to live by!
Gal 3:24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.
It is only through the sacrificial blood of Jesus that forgiveness can come!
Not Mohammed's blood.
Not Buddha's blood.
Not any man's blood but Christ Jesus, The Son of God!
And surely not the blood of any animal!
Act 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, [which he hath purchased with his own blood].
Only the blood of God Himself!
What does it mean that God "remembers our sin no more"?
This does not mean that Our Powerful God can forget, because that is simply not true!
If God forgot anything then He would not be God!
God recalls everything we have done, in fact He writes down everything we have done!
Psa 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: [are they not in thy book?]
These things are written down but God will blot them out. This does not mean they erased but He will not see them anymore.
Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.
Why?
For God's sake, it is necessary for redemption!
Isa 44:22 I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.
Once our sin is forgiven, it will never brought up before us again!
If only we could forgive like our Lord God forgives!
God sees only "Grace" and "Mercy" where our sins used to be!
This matter of sin is settled eternally!
*****Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.
God has replaced the old with the new!
Shortly after this Book was written the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed.
The Jews had no Temple to worship in. They had no Temple for their sacrifices.
They had no priests to perform the rituals of forgiveness.
Their system of worship had grown old and had vanished away. God had shown Israel in "type" the things He had taught them in this Book of Hebrews.
This again is prophesy fulfilled:
Hos 3:4 For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:
It is only after these things that Israel can be restored:
Hos 3:5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
This can only happen in the New Covenant!
This New Covenant is of such a high quality that it can never be replaced!
There can never be salvation by the Laws of Moses!
Legalism in our places of worship are hindering the growth of the Church!
We cannot remain "Babes in Christ" and do the work that Jesus has commanded us to do!
Missions are already suffering because we do not as hunger for the Word of God and remain as "babes"!
We cannot control what happens anywhere else but we are obligated to The Lord Jesus Christ to do what is right in this House where He has placed us!
Questions?
Let's Pray!
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