Hebrews 11:17-29; The Testing of our Faith

Here's the message from Hebrews 11:17-29, the Testing of our Faith. May the Lord be glorified and His saints equipped. Forget the one speaking; focus on the One who is faithful. 

What is Sin?

What is Sin?

Definition: From Easton's Dictionary. Sin is "any want of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God" (1Jn 3:4; Rom 4:15), in the inward state and habit of the soul, as well as in the outward conduct of the life, whether by omission or commission (Rom 6:12-17; Rom 7:5-24)." It is "not a mere violation of the law of our constitution, nor of the system of things, but an offence against a personal lawgiver and moral governor who vindicates his law with penalties." (quote from Hodge - with no explanation as to what "the law of God" is)

1 John 3 vs 4 does not state: “Whoever commits sin transgresses the law; for sin is the transgression of the law.”

… it says: “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness”

The words ‘transgress’ or ‘break’ the law are not in the original at all. They were added in, originally by the Geneva Bible translators, in order to insist that believers were still under the Decalogue. Other translations (KJV, Jubilee 2000, American KJV) simply followed suit. On the other hand, the NIV, NKJV, ESV, Berean Literal, NASB, CSB, NET, NAS1977, ASV, ERV, Young's Literal all agree: sin is lawlessness.

Other translators think that the word ‘anomia’ (Strong's #458) should be translated ‘lawbreaking’, not ‘lawlessness’. There is a critical difference. The one assumes the existence of an applied law that is being broken, the other says there is no law in place.

Prominent and obvious is his use of a parallel expression by contrast: “Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous.” (vs 7) We can see that the sentence structure is identical. The point being that it is the ‘doers doing’ that indicates the nature of the ‘doer’. Thus, it would seem that ‘anomia’ generally is synonymous with ‘wicked’ and ‘anomia’ means ‘wickedness’ – moral deficit. It is not a specific reference to the law of God being broken … UNLESS the context, as in Romans 2, indicates specifically that that is what is being spoken of.

A disregard for law reveals a lawless attitude. Breaking a law you are under is a sin, but living without regard for the law is the essence of sin. Far deeper than an act, the desire of one’s heart reveals righteousness or wickedness. Do not covet is far more insidious than do not murder because man can detect and prosecute murder but God alone can see our motives, comprehend our hearts. We can endanger ourselves thinking we have avoided man’s detection, forgetting that no creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. This is why we must resist the call of our flesh to push “hidden sins” out of our minds; there is One to whom we must give account, and nothing is hidden from Him.

Romans 13:1-7 (HCSB) Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. For government is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For government is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath, but also because of your conscience. And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s public servants, continually attending to these tasks. Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

Paul’s focus in this passage is not “God’s law” but the laws of men. He did not write this to people living under a benevolent Roman government, but a ruthless one which demanded everyone to confess that Caesar was divine. We see several reasons to submit to the state – we bring judgment upon ourselves if we disregard its laws.

Peter had the same message, to people in similar trying circumstances. 1 Peter 2:13-20 (HCSB) Submit to every human authority because of the Lord, whether to the Emperor as the supreme authority or to governors as those sent out by him to punish those who do what is evil and to praise those who do what is good. For it is God’s will that you silence the ignorance of foolish people by doing good. As God’s slaves, live as free people, but don’t use your freedom as a way to conceal evil. Honor everyone. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the Emperor. Household slaves, submit with all fear to your masters, not only to the good and gentle but also to the cruel. For it brings favor if, mindful of God’s will, someone endures grief from suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if you sin and are punished, and you endure it? But when you do what is good and suffer, if you endure it, this brings favor with God.

Neither Paul nor Peter provides an excuse to not submit to every human authority because it’s inconvenient, unpleasant, or costly. We have clear teaching in the Bible that we do not have to submit to human authority if they demand we disobey God or forbid us from obeying Him. But taxes are required to be paid, even if we think them unjust. Speed limits are to be obeyed, even if we think them unreasonable. Aren’t you happy most people obey traffic regulations, so we can enjoy a reasonable amount of safety on public roads? If we ignore Scripture because we think the human authorities are unjust, we are walking in the flesh and not in the Spirit. And whatever is not of faith (trusting in God) is sin.

James 4:17 So it is a sin for the person who knows to do what is good and doesn’t do it. James is not speaking here of violating a written law, but of violating one’s conscience. The child of God has the law of Christ embedded in the center of his being – the two great commands that demand we love God and our neighbor. Jesus and His apostles taught what this Holy Spirit enabled love looks like; not a list of do and do not instructions. When we do not love God, when we fail to love one another, we violate the Holy Spirit enabled conscience He has given us – we are not walking by faith.

When we think about sin, we tend to think of the big sins – murder, adultery, blasphemy, and so on. These are big sins; but if we do not consider “small sins” of our everyday life, we will grow a bit hard-hearted about sin. Jesus died to pay for our ALL our sins, not only the “big” ones that we are likely not to physically commit. But we need to bear in mind that coveting another’s spouse is adultery and being unjustly angry is murder. Avoiding taxes is patriotic; evading them is sinful.

We all stumble in myriad ways every day – not only one those days when we yell at our spouses. Playing games about “small sins” hurts us and others. Being honest about sin is helpful in keeping our hearts tender before God and man. We need one another in this life, because, left alone, we can justify all sorts of “small sins” just accommodate our selfishness. It’s been said that trying to domesticate sin is like trying to make a rattlesnake a pet. It simply can’t be done. May God help us to live and walk with a right understanding of sin – for that is what had to be placed upon our Lord when He hung on the cross. Our sin filled up the cup of God’s wrath that He had to drink – all of it, down to the dregs. Jesus doesn’t condemn us when we sin; He grants us sorrow and repentance. Each of us sins in many ways in a given week; hence we are told to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles us and press on toward the prize that will not perish. Let us not wallow in our sin but rejoice that we have Jesus. Hallelujah! what a Savior! 

Distrust Among Brothers - Genesis 33

Genesis 33: Distrust Among Brothers.

It's tempting to look at biblical "heroes" as people who had victory over their flesh; set before us as object lessons in morality.

The truth is that no mortal human is presented to us in Scripture as a hero. The greatest of men is weak and sinful. All are given to us to remind us of our need of grace from the only man who conquered sin and death. 

Genesis 31:22-55; Sin in the Camp

From 10 Sept 2023, Sin in the Camp; from Genesis 31:22-55. There is a very real risk of sin causing problems in the home and local assembly of saints. The only remedy is to be found in Christ.

 

Genesis 29:31-30:24; Discord in the Family

Two things present themselves in this passage: 1.) God is involved in the lives of His people, and 2.) people are by nature sinners: jealous and self-interested. What should we learn from this, what instruction has this same God given us in our day? Unity, not uniformity. Serving one another, not self. Keeping our focus on glorifying the Lord in all we do and say. And yet we see in Scripture, saints falling prey to the same selfish ambition revealed in our passage.

 Diversity in gifting for unity in service; this is our calling in Christ. Not diversity in perversity for celebrating debauchery; this is the call of the world.

The world tells us we need to think and speak as the world or we are hateful bigots. The Lord Jesus says don't think too highly of self but also to hate evil and love truth. This is why the world hated Him and will hate us.

We are to outdo one another in love, which covers a multitude of sins. This does not mean we white wash sin; it means we do not focus on sins against us but on loving one another in spite of personal offenses. Forgive 7x70. Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ - He bore our burdens on the cross!

Genesis 26:1-17; Like Father, Like Son.

Here's the message from Genesis 26:1-17; Like Father, Like Son.

The takeaway: we sin as we've been taught, we sin as we've learned on our own. We often fail to see sin for what it is: Rebellion against Holy God.

Sin and Law

This puzzles me.

So many properly recognize that the big problem with sin is not the various actions, but the nature of sin - rebellion against God.

So many who recognize that, fail to understand the same aspect about law.

What makes a law "moral" is not the content of the law or the actions prohibited by it, but the character of the One Who gave the law.

There is at least one religion that categorizes sin into several buckets. I guess it's the same logic that others use to categorize law into several buckets. Both are a way to reduce what God has revealed into something more manageable by man. 

The Frailty of the Flesh - Genesis 12:10-20

What a worrisome life would each have if God was not sovereign!

 

Genesis 3:14-24; The Consequence of Sin

 

The Consequences of Sin – Genesis 3:14-24

On the Serpent

On the Woman

On the Man

The Garden is closed

The Savior is promised

Genesis 3:1-13, The Fall of Man

The Fall – Genesis 3:1 – 13

The Temptation to Sin

The Appeal of Sin

The Nature of Sin

The Exposure of Sin

1 Corinthians 1: A Love that Requires Action.

When the children of God bite and devour one another, they are behaving as if they are still in the flesh and not alive in the Spirit. Sadly, this is all too common among us who claim Christ. We did not learn Christ this way and He would have us STOP IT!

Paul's first letter to the Corinthian saints has the theme of their being beloved by God, engaged in grievous sin, and being exhorted to repent and walk in love. Chapter 1 is a preview to the letter.

I Corinthians 1 - the Problem and the Provision.

Greetings: vs 1 – 9: Paul declares His love for the saints.

Problem: vs 10 – 17: Paul engages them in their sin.

Provision: vs 18 - 31: Paul shows them the way back to peace.

Conclusion
If you have been accepted by Christ, then for the glory of God, accept one another. If you have been accepted by Christ, then you are able to accept one another. If you have been accepted by Christ, you will WANT to accept one another.

The sermon can be heard here.

Problems with Law Preaching

Many men say we must emphasize sin folks before the gospel preached, because the glory of Christ is better seen against the darkness of sin. So show people their sin and they can see Christ better. Many say that the way to show people their sin is to preach law to sinners, because the law brings knowledge of sin – citing Romans 7:7.

Two things need to be considered to understand the problems with this approach.

1.       To say that a person needs to understand their sin before they can rightly see the glory of Christ is actually backwards. Unregenerate people cannot be brought to spiritual life by showing them their sin. Unregenerate people cannot see the kingdom of God, much less have a right view of Christ and His glory. In fact, one must come to faith in Christ before he can have a proper view of his sin and Christ. Sin is no big deal to one who is at enmity with God; holiness is a foreign concept to these. Sin will be a serious problem for one who is at peace with God; personal holiness will be a growing desire for these.

 

2.       To say law must be preached to show people their sin fails. Romans 7:7 recounts a Jew living under the Mosaic Law coming to realize he could not keep that law and that failing to do so was sin. The law put names to the sins this man loved. In the next chapter, Paul says this: “For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so.” (Rom 8:7) Unregenerate people are in the flesh with a mindset of death (Rom 8:6) and are unable to submit to God’s law (any of His laws). Showing unregenerate people their sin by preaching law is futile, according to the Scripture. In Romans 5:20 we read that the (Mosaic) law was given to increase the trespasses; it was not given to prepare people to be saved.

In conclusion, we have Scripture that tells us the gospel is the power of God unto salvation (Rom 1:16); I am unaware of any Scripture that say the Holy Spirit or gospel preaching needs help from the law.

I’ve said it before, I think men preach law for the same reason others ask for decisions: men want to see results of their work. The Spirit will what man cannot – give spiritual life to those who are dead in their sins. The law cannot prepare a soul for the Spirit’s work anymore than walking an aisle can.

God's Providence in Man

 From where comes sin and evil? Is God good but impotent?

Psalm 14 - Concerning Practical Atheism

Operator error prevented this sermon from being recorded. The basic message is in the following notes.

Psalm 14

Spurgeon said this Psalm might be entitled Concerning Practical Atheism; it portrays and describes the way natural man thinks - as if God is not. The occasion for David's writing it is not known, but the truths revealed are universal, so the reasons are endless. Spurgeon said, "David has given us in Psalm 53 a second edition of this humiliating psalm, being moved of the Holy Ghost thus doubly to declare a truth which is ever distasteful to carnal minds." As the state of New York reminded us this week, God’s truth goes against the grain of natural man, it “is ever distasteful to carnal minds”. We who in Christ need to see His truth as precious and good for our souls, even as we weep for those who are captive to sin.

I am taking as my outline the breakdown found the Miles Coverdale Bible, printed in 1535 and based largely on Tyndale's work.  Psalm 14 looks at natural man, ending with a plea for God's mercy. Psalm 15 is the answer to that plea! This evening, it's mostly bad news.

I. vs 1-3: The Natural Man.

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,

 there is none who does good.

 2 The LORD looks down from heaven on the children of man,

to see if there are any who understand,

who seek after God.

 3 They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

We don't lightly call a man a fool. Here we see YHWH's definition of such a man - he says to himself there is no God. He may make a public profession of faith, may be a seminary grad, preacher, deacon, accepted by all the saints who know him. But in his heart, he says there is no God; he thinks he is an atheist. God doesn't believe in atheists - see Romans 1:19-21. Such men, the unregenerate, are fools.  And many local assemblies allow people to join them without any judgment find themselves overrun with professing Christians who deny God exists; and the majority rules in most local churches. When the majority knows not God, majority rule is dangerous.

To say there is no God, however, goes far beyond alleged atheism. It is the ultimate of self-rule, for the fool is actually saying there is no ruler, no governing authority. It harkens back to the garden where the serpent tempted Eve by telling her she would be as God. This is what the fool believes – that he is in the place of God, determining what is good and what is not.

When you watch or read the news – the fool is on display! He or she declares homosex and the marriage of any two people is good; that gender is fluid and gender specific pronouns (he and she) are evil! The fool says the infant might be a boy or girl or something else – we must wait and see what the toddler will decide. New York state says the murder of babies is a good thing. Evil is called good. All this is the natural condition of man.  And God is not mocked. His justice WILL prevail!

Verse 2 says YHWH looked down from heaven to see if there were any who understand – just like He did before the flood. Gen 6:11-12. Has man changed? Can he change himself? Can the leopard change his spots? The flood wiped out humanity, save eight souls, from the face of the earth because man rebelled against God. Noah was a righteous man, blameless, walked with God. And as soon as the ground grew grapes, Noah was drunk. Mankind wasn’t not changed by the flood; sin was not abolished.

Wicked men are allowed to live because there are no other kind. This is what verse 3 tells us. We who are redeemed were as they are, we see this Eph 2 (We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.) and Col 1 (Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions.). We are not better than them, we are better off, having been brought near to the Father by the blood of Christ. Even wicked men benefit from God’s mercy towards His elect. Read Gen 9:8-17 to see the covenant God made with this earth to provide times and seasons for men to live and die, until the last sheep is brought into the sheepfold of Christ.

This is why Paul used this passage and several others in his letter to the Romans. In chapter 3 Paul quoted from this passage; 5:9; 10:7; 36:1; Ecc 7:20; and Isaiah 59:7-8. The ancient preacher said, Eccl 7:20, Surely there is not a righteous man on earth who does good and never sins.  see Rom 3:9-18

The verdict is in; it’s irrefutable and final. Man in his natural state is more like an animal than a creature made in God’s image. What can we expect from natural man other wickedness?

II. vs 4-6: God convicts the wicked by the light of their conscience.

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

who eat up my people as they eat bread

and do not call upon the LORD?

 5 There they are in great terror,

for God is with the generation of the righteous.

 6 You would shame the plans of the poor,

but the LORD is his refuge.  

David saw that evil people, those who do not call upon the Lord, consume and dominate the covenant people of God. They have no knowledge of God – none that would strike fear in their hearts. These are those who say there is no God, their thoughts and imaginations are only evil continually. They have no regard for others. When you see people rioting in the streets, stealing from stores, robbing people – they are consuming people like they eat bread. When a load of sour dough bread comes out of the oven, it is not possible to resist. Evil doers who consume God’s people (that is who David is mentioning here) like a hungry man grabbing fresh bread do not call upon the Lord. If you study the line of Christ back to Adam, you will see that Seth, born after Abel’s murder, is the godly line. Gen 4:26 To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD. Godly people, such as Seth’s son Enosh, called upon the Lord.

Matthew Henry said, “While Cain, the head of the apostacy, is made a wanderer, Seth, from whom the true church was to come, is one fixed. In Christ and his church is the only true settlement. Seth walked in the steps of his martyred brother Abel; he was a partaker of like precious faith in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ, and so became a fresh witness of the grace and influence of God the Holy Spirit. God gave Adam and Eve to see the revival of religion in their family. The worshippers of God began to do more in religion; some, by an open profession of true religion, protested against the wickedness of the world around.”

When God's people live as though we've been raised from spiritual death unto life everlasting, those who are His enemies will not be at peace with us. As we love one another and proclaim Christ, without the fear of what man can do to us, those who are of the world will not know what to think. Like all of us, they will fear what they do not understand, even though they can see enough to know He is.

When Joshua led Israel into the promised land, God conquered all the kings of the earth therein and the fear of God was known far and wide. As of Joshua chapter 10, numerous cities had fallen to the small nation; the sun stood still in the sky all day; and the kings of the earth feared. See Josh 11:1-6. These kings feared being conquered by the God of Israel, so they mustered as many warriors as they could. Reminds of Pharaoh chasing the Hebrews after they left Egypt. Like a weiner dog chasing a car, once he catches it he knows not what he'll do. These kings, just like Pharaoh, had too high an opinion of themselves. YHWH tells His people, “Do not be afraid of them, for tomorrow at this time I will give over all of them, slain, to Israel.” Just as He had caused Egypt to give riches to Israel as they left, just as He cause Jericho to fall, just as He had conquered all the other kings in the land, He delivered these self-important rulers of this world over to His people for destruction. This is the Lord's doing and it was marvelous in the eyes of His people!

This is why David could proclaim vs 5 & 6. He is faithful to His people to bring about His purpose and plans! Those would take advantage of the poor (as national Israel did throughout her history!) would be held to account and His people, even the poorest soul that belongs to Him, will find refuge in Him.

III. vs 7: David glories in the salvation of God.

Ps 14:7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Here’s where the tide turns; where we get a preview of Psalm 15. In the face of all the bad news about man's war against God and His people, David knows the only answer, the only relief is for God Himself to save!

Here's where our rule for interpreting Scripture will impact us. Does the king of Israel speak of the salvation for that people only, or does he intend us to see Israel and Judah as typical for the sheep within the sheepfold of God and the sheep not therein, which Christ will seek out and bring in? Is Zion earthly Jerusalem or does it represent the heavenly place from whence our help comes?

Two old time Baptists, John Gill (17th century) and Charles Spurgeon (19th century) were historic premillennialists. Both of them saw Israel and Judah as the full number of God's elect and Zion as referring to where Christ currently sits. As an amillennial, I agree completely. Since this Psalm is not couched in a specific event in David's life, but is a general commentary on the problem mankind has and the only hope there is; it makes the most sense - I say it only makes sense - to see this as our old Baptist brothers did, with the focus on Christ and His salvation of His people.

Gill said Zion refers to "the Messiah, the Saviour of Israel, of all the elect of God, whether Jews or Gentiles; and who is so called, because the salvation of them was put into his hands, and he undertook it; and because he is the Captain and Author of it, and it is in him, and in no other. He was to come out of Zion, out of Judea, from among the Jews."

The middle part of this verse says "When God restores the fortunes of His people"; in the context of the kingdom of God, refer to the bondage of sin man is in and the action that God alone can take to remedy that situation. Again, from Gill: "The people of God are, in their unregeneracy, in a state of captivity to sin, Satan, and the law; the work of the Messiah, when he came, was to proclaim liberty to the captives, to set them free, to deliver them from their spiritual bondage: and this Christ has done; he has redeemed his people from all their sins, and from the curse of the law, and from the power of Satan, and has led captivity captive; and which has justly occasioned great joy in the redeemed ones,".

All this was done according to His eternal plan to redeem a people for Himself, a people from every nation, tongue, and tribe - not only from ethnic Israel.

Jacob and Israel shall rejoice when they see this great salvation. Gill said that the Jews refer to this as the time of the Messiah. They were right in that! Gill finishes by telling us it is "the posterity of Jacob and Israel; not his natural, but spiritual seed, such who are the true sons of Jacob, Israelites indeed; these having faith and hope in the plenteous redemption of Christ, rejoice in the view of their interest in it; they the song of redeeming love now, and these ransomed ones will hereafter come to Zion with joy, and everlasting joy upon their heads."

Now that's something to rejoice over!

Application:

What does all this mean?

The political rulers in New York give evidence that what David wrote so long is still true. To make their position clear: It’s illegal to give the death penalty to a murderer; but it’s legal and encouraged to murder a helpless person.

Does this wreck our world? It shouldn’t – God has told us people left to themselves do horrible things. What we need to keep in mind is that we were cut from the same cloth as these evil people in New York. If not for the mercy of God we would not understand His ways, be outraged for the right reasons, or have reason to cry out for Jesus to come quickly. We should be praying for these wicked people to come to faith in Christ, to repent of their sin and repeal this horrible law. If they do not, they will be filled with terror on the day He returns to judge all flesh.

When the state, even one such as New York, declares murder a health care right, we do not lose hope. Yes, our heart breaks that evil men prosper and rule over others – some of whom are our brothers and sisters in Christ. But this wicked world is no longer our home. Our hearts should ache to be done with sin and home with our Lord, even though we recognize that as long as He gives us breath we will serve Him.

So let us pray for those who are as we were, let us encourage one another to not grow weary in doing well, let us love one another in word and deed, and let us keep our eyes fixed on the unseen things so we don’t get dragged into the muck of this world.

Isaiah 26:3-4 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.

This is our Lord's promise - we fix our minds on Him, trusting Him when the world is evil. And He will keep us in His peace, for He is our rock of refuge.

The New Covenant – Security in Christ.

You can listen to this sermon here.

Even a casual read of the Bible reveals the presence of covenants. One of our old Baptist brothers, C. H. Spurgeon, had this to say about the importance of understanding the covenants of Scripture:

The doctrine of the covenant lies at the root of all true theology. ... I am persuaded that most of the mistakes which men make concerning the doctrines of Scripture are based upon fundamental errors with regard to the covenants of law and grace.

We see several covenants in the Bible, with Noah, Abraham, Moses, David. There are two that are heavily contrasted in Scripture, the ones mentioned by Spurgeon, which Scripture calls the Old and New Covenants. And there is another covenant, which I nickname the covenant of death. Adam was told he would die if he ate from the tree in the middle of the garden. He ate. He died spiritually that day and Gen 3:17 tells us the earth, the entire planet, was cursed on his account. And the Spirit spoke through Paul to tell us how this affects us: For as by a man came death … in Adam all die … (1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Whether Jew or Gentile, with Moses or without, all men share in death because all sinned in Adam and in themselves. We need a rescuer!

In addition to covenants, another basic aspect of the Bible is often lost on us, hampering our proper understanding of Scripture. This element is the Jewish nature of the Bible. During the time of Christ and the apostles, the biblical world basically revolved around national Israel and their corporate blindness towards and ignorance of the oracles of God that had been entrusted to them. While a few Hebrews in each generation were believers, the nation at large was unbelieving. Not only did they not get the message of their Messiah, they had an even more difficult time comprehending He would bring the kingdom to Gentiles! So much of what we will see in Scripture is the New Covenant contrasted with the Old - that umbrella which incorporated the covenant of circumcision, and the Mosaic and Davidic covenants. This was to make the case of the New Covenant clear for the Jews.

But it has caused confusion for us Gentiles as well. For many Christians have been led to believe that everyone, Jew and Gentile, is in the Old Covenant until and unless God brings them into the New. But the Old Covenant was ever and only given to national Israel. And when the New Covenant came, the Old became like a worn-out garment, and was being rolled up to be disposed of. By the time Jerusalem fell in AD 70, the last remnant of the Old Covenant was finished; no longer in effect. Since then, and until the end of the age, all people are spiritually dead in Adam until and unless they are made alive in Christ (Romans 5). Paul teaches us in Romans 2 that Gentiles are without the Law of Moses but are a law unto themselves (what I term God's universal law), convicted and excused by their consciences as they try to reconcile their sin with their innate, unsaving knowledge of God.

The New Covenant stands as the answer to everything that is wrong, it is God’s final Word on making all things right. The glory of being in Christ Jesus is revealed in this covenant, which binds Christ and His church together, providing redemption and eternal salvation for sinners. The sign of the New Covenant is circumcision not made with human hands followed by water baptism (Colossians 2:11-12). The Lord's Supper is another sign within this covenant, reminding us of its Author and His return (1 Corinthians 11:25). Jesus is a better prophet than Moses and is more faithful than the first Adam.

The book of Hebrews is a sermon preaching the essentials of the faith to Christian Jews, as there were rumors that some were considering a return to what they were comfortable with. In chapters 7-9 the New Covenant is contrasted with the Old Covenant, so they would see it more accurately. Chapter 9:1 even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. What follows is a description of the tabernacle of the Hebrew religion, featuring lampstands, a table and bread, the Most Holy Place with the ark of the Mosaic covenant containing the tablets of testimony, the golden vial of manna, and Aaron's staff. Levitical priests ever making sacrifices that would cover sin for a time but never able to take away sin. All of these forms of worship are summed up in verse 9 as symbolic for that age and “imposed until the time of reformation” (verse 10). There will be no re-institution of those types and symbols as the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus was sufficient, satisfying God the Father and finishing the redemptive work announced in Genesis 3:15; bringing that time of reformation.

when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption. Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (Hebrews 9:11-12 & 15)

The differences between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant are further clarified:

Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:23-28)

The Old Covenant conferred earthly blessings in the promised land; the New Covenant confers heavenly blessings and eternal life. My friend, Jeff Johnson, tells us, “the law written on stone can never change the heart of stone.”

In writing to a mixed crowd of Jews and Gentiles in the church, Paul also contrasted Old and New. Romans 8:1-2: There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. What is this “law of sin and death”? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 3:3 & 5-11: And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. The Old Covenant, the Law of Moses, specifically, is the law of sin and death mentioned in Romans 8, signified by the tablets of stone which sit in the ark of that Covenant, lost in time according to God’s will (Jeremiah 3:15 & 16). It has been ended, rolled up as a worn out garment (Hebrews 8:13).

There can be no greater contrast than what our Creator has provided through His apostle to the Gentiles. Consistently, the Old Covenant is described as stone, slavery, death, condemnation, and being worn out; for it, in all of its individual covenants, requires perfect obedience that no mortal man can deliver and yields salvation to no man. This covenant is contrasted with the New Covenant, described as flesh, liberty, life, righteousness, and eternal; delivered to the saints of God by the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus, yielding His righteousness to all His chosen people. In Gal 4, the Old Covenant is described as slavery, contrasted with the New Covenant which is described as freedom. We may wonder why any believing Jews would consider returning to the shadows of the Old Covenant - but we ought to wonder more why modern evangelicals would want us to be burdened by that yoke which no man can bear. This was the judgment of the apostles in Acts 15, when the Judaizing Christians, who demanded Gentiles be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses, were brought to the first church council to settle this hash. Peter addresses these men, reminding them of how those outside Israel were saved by grace - with no distinction in this regard between Jew and Gentile. Then he asked, Acts 15:10 Now then, why are you testing God by putting a yoke on the disciples’ necks that neither our ancestors nor we have been able to bear? In contrast, we hear from Christ that His yoke is easy and John tells us His commands are not burdensome. Rather than the Law of Moses, we live under - as Paul mentioned Sunday - the royal law, the law of liberty, the perfect law, the law of the Spirit, the law of Christ! No condemnation of the Law of Moses, no condemnation of God's universal law. Peace with God, by the blood of Christ - which He shed to cut the New Covenant.

There can be no greater hope, no greater joy, no greater peace, no greater salvation than what Christ Jesus provides for the redeemed in the New Covenant. We are complete in Christ, fulfilled in Him (Colossians 2:10). We have no other argument, we need no other plea, it is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me and for thee! How can we not praise His name!

The Old Covenant was summed up on stone tablets and kept in the Ark of the Covenant as a reminder of all that God had communicated to Israel through Moses; the New Covenant law is written on the soul of each member; each will know the Lord, having been regenerated and indwelt by God's Spirit. The Old Covenant was broken by the ongoing disobedience of Israel; the New Covenant cannot be broken because God the Son mediates it (Hebrews 9:15) and keeps us (John 10:27-30). The sins of Israel were brought up to them time and time again, with petitions from many prophets for them to repent; yet they did not because they could not; and God divorced her (Jeremiah 3:8). The sins of New Jerusalem, the redeemed saints within the New Covenant, are forgiven in Christ and God promises to remember them no more (Isaiah 43:25; Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12)! Contrary to popular conventional wisdom, God does not forget our sins. He chose to not remember them. To forget something is symptomatic of flawed recall, something one cannot rightly attribute to God. The proper view of this is to take it as written, in the context of seeing God for Who He is: perfect and without flaws; able to not remember something. You and I can try to forget something, but such memories often return to our minds. God is not like this. When He chooses to not remember something, He does not allow that thing to come to His mind. He is perfect.

With the New Covenant comes the fulfillment of the types and shadows. The universal body of Christ, composed of both Jews and Gentiles, is the true Israel of God (Romans 2:28-29; 9:6; Galatians 6:16; 1 Peter 1:1; 2:9-10). James, writing to Christians, calls them the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad (James. 1:1). Paul taught that all who believe in Christ are the true sons of Abraham (Romans 4:11-17; Galatians 3:7); that the middle wall of partition has been removed by Christ; and that the believing Jews and Gentiles are one body (Ephesians 2:14ff.). The universal church (all the called-out ones) of Christ is one spiritual building (Ephesians 2:20-22), one bride (Ephesians 5:22 & 32; Revelation 21:9ff.), and the New Jerusalem (Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12; 21:1 & 2; 21:9-11).

The veil that covers the eyes of the unregenerate was typified by the temple veil that kept the world out of the Holy place where God met with His Levitical priests. The rending of the temple veil by God symbolizes the lifting of the veil on those who have died to self and been resurrected to new life in Christ; no longer separated from Holy God, no longer part of the world. When the antitype comes, the types must go – just as John recognized that Christ must increase and he would decrease.

The newness of the New Covenant cannot be overstated, as there are so many Christians who think it is not really new or interesting. But God is unchanging and He gave some Old Testament saints illumination on this topic. Jeremiah 31:31-34 ⌊This one will⌋ not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt— “I will put My teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be My people. they will all know Me, “For I will forgive their wrongdoing and never again remember their sin.”

John Reisinger shows in two short passages the similarities and the differences between the Old and New Covenants. The Old is conditional and is a type foretelling the New, which is unconditional (as far as mankind’s participation in each).

Exodus 19:5-6	1 Peter 2:9
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be	But you are [because Christ kept the covenant for us]
(1) my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me	(1) a chosen race, … a people for his own possession
(2) a kingdom of priests, and a	(2) a royal [kingly] priesthood,
(3) holy nation.	(3) a holy nation

The nature of the New Covenant reflects the promise made to Abraham: in it are and will be people from every nation. In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free; these ethical and temporal distinctives have no more role in determining one’s status in the New Covenant than does the blood or the will of the flesh or the will of man (John 1:13).

The New Covenant is new; it’s not the Old Covenant with a “new administration” as some claim. The New Covenant shines with the glory of the finished work of Christ; it does not promise the future work of the Messiah yet to come. The New Covenant brings the fullness of Christ to every child of God; with the surety of our Lord as the guarantee that He will not forsake us. The New Covenant is where new creatures in Christ have been brought into fellowship with the Father. Without the New Covenant, we would still be under the condemnation of law and Adam’s sin as well as our own, waiting without hope. But praise God for His faithfulness! Christ has come and fulfilled ALL that the Law and the prophets demanded. And by His blood He has cut the New Covenant, bringing all the lost sheep into the fold of God.

I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father. (John 10:14-18)

The New Covenant provides God Himself as our shepherd, caring for us, tending to us, keeping us unto that great Day of Judgment where He will serve as our advocate. The New Covenant gives us the fullness of Christ Jesus, in Whom we have every spiritual blessing (Eph 1:3)! We can trust Him for He is faithful to Himself. We trust our souls to the only wise God, the judge and the justifier, Who is truly God and truly sovereign over time and space.

It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens.​ When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning for the rain, and he brings forth the wind from his storehouses. ​Every man is stupid and without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his images are false, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of delusion; at the time of their punishment they shall perish. Not like these is he who is the portion of Jacob, for he is the one who formed all things, and Israel is the tribe of his inheritance; the LORD of hosts is his name. (Jeremiah 10:12-16)

If you are in Christ, He is sufficient and all glorious! Behold your God:

Who is this King of glory? The LORD, strong and mighty, the LORD, mighty in battle. Who is He, this King of glory? The LORD of Hosts, He is the King of glory. (Psalm 24:8 & 10)

And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (Revelation 21:5-6a)

This is the Lord we proclaim, the only One Who can do poor helpless sinners any good. If you do not know this King of glory, cry out to Him for mercy while you yet have breath. All things are ready – come and be reconciled to Christ Jesus. He really does save poor sinners.