The new Covenant

1. The NewCovenant – 11th
July2016
“The daysare coming,” declaresthe LORD, “whenI will make a new covenantwith the people of Israel
and withthe peopleof Judah” (Jeremiah31:31).
The NewCovenantreferstothe new promise made byGod to Hispeople.The wordinthe New
Testamentof the Bible istranslatedfromthe Greekword diathēkē,meaning“acontract or testament.”
A verybasicexplanationof God’sNewCovenantwithmanisthe act of Hisgivinggrace to reconcile man
to Himself.Itisbya sacrificial actionthatatonementforrebellionandsinismade inpaymentfor
iniquity.
In orderto betterunderstandthe NewCovenant,ithelps ustoknow aboutthe OldCovenant.Inthe Old
Testament,Godsaid(paraphrased) “Thisismylaw,keepitandbe mypeople.” Itwasto be throughHis
people thatthe worldwouldcome toknow God. Buttheydidn’tkeeptheirpartand failedHim.Itseems
that man cannotevenkeepGodgivenlawsthatwere intendedforowngoodand better living.We can
learnthisfrom Exodus20:20, “Mosessaid to the people,“Do not be afraid.Godhas come to test you,
so that the fear of Godwill be with you to keep you from sinning.” The OldCovenantshowedthat
althoughGodis perfect,manisnot.None of mankind couldfulfillthe law, andthereforeGodbrought
aboutthe NewCovenant.
As Christianwe mustalwaysbearinmindthat God’s promisesare neverbroken.He remembershis
covenantforever, the promisehe made,fora thousandgenerations aswe can learnfrom Psalm105:8,
“He remembers hiscovenantforever, the promisehe made,for a thousandgenerations”.We can also
learnthat: “For no matter how manypromisesGodhas made, they are “Yes” in Christ.And sothrough
himthe “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory ofGod”(2Corinthians1:20).Many of God’spromiseshave
alreadybeenfulfilled.There are Scripturesthroughoutthe Bible thattell of variouscovenantsGodmade
withHispeople,includingsome thatwere fulfilledlaterbythe New Covenant.While manyof the old
covenantscontinuedtobe brokenbymandue to hisweaknesses,the New Covenantwouldprove tobe
a newpromise foreternity.
In the bible we canlearnof a PromissoryWord aboutGod’sNew Covenant thatwe can read inJeremiah
31. We can readthisas was foretoldinthe OldTestamentinthe bookof Jeremiah 31:31-33, “The days
are coming,” declaresthe LORD,“when I will make a new covenant with the peopleof Israel andwith
the people of Judah . It will not be likethe covenantI made with their ancestors when I took them by
the hand to leadthem outof Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husbandto
them,” declares the LORD.33
“Thisisthe covenantI will make withthe peopleof Israel after that time,”
declares the LORD. “I will put my lawin their mindsandwrite it on their hearts. I will be their God,and
they will be my people”.
Whenwe read fromthe NewTestament, the above wordinJeremiahisrepeated andcomparesthe old
withthe new.We can read thisinHebrews 8;8-9. The new and better way isthe Covenantof Grace—
the promise of redemptionfromthe powerof guiltandsin whichwasonlymade possiblethrough
Christ’ssacrifice bringingustoGod. Jesuspaidour debtinfull. We can learnfrom Hebrews 8: 6 -7, “But
in factthe ministryJesus hasreceived is as superiorto theirs asthe covenantof whichhe ismediator is

2. superiorto the old one, since the new covenant is establishedonbetter promises.7
Forifthere had
been nothingwrong withthat first covenant,no place wouldhave been soughtfor another”.Here it
saysthat God’slawwill become innerprinciples formankind - whichis writteninourhearts - that
enable Hispeople todelightindoingGod’swill. Otisthroughthe New Covenant,throughChristandthe
HolySpirit,people cannow begintohave a intimate relationshipwithGod.
Since we are nowunderthe NewCovenant,we nolongerhave the penaltyfrombreakingthe old
Mosaic Law. AsChristianwe have the grace of God to forgive usof our sins.It isGod’sfree giftto us as
we learnfrom Ephesians2:8, “For it isby grace you have been saved, throughfaith—andthisisnot
from yourselves,it isthe giftof God…”.We alsoknow as statedin John 3:17, “ForGod didnot send his
Son intothe world to condemnthe world,but to save the world throughhim.” Unlike inthe case of the
Oldcovenant,the NewcovenantwasgiventomankindNOTthe worldtobe condemned,buttosave us
frometernal damnation.Therefore inordertoreminduswe come across an importantteaching we can
learnfromHebrews 9:15, “For thisreason Christis the mediator ofa new covenant,that those who
are called mayreceive the promised eternal inheritance—nowthathe hasdied as a ransomto set
them free fromthe sinscommittedunder the firstcovenant.”