Wednesday: “A Better Covenant”
Hebrews 8:6
Yesterday we saw that regarding the basic elements, the old and new covenants were the same. The bottom line is salvation by faith in a God who will forgive our sins, not because of anything worthwhile in us but only because of His grace. As a result of this forgiveness, we enter into a relationship with Him in which we surrender to Him in faith and obedience.
Nevertheless, the book of Hebrews does call the new covenant “a better covenant.” How do we understand what that means? How is one covenant better than the other?
Where did the fault lie with the “failure” of the old covenant? (Hebrews 8:7-8).
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The problem with the old covenant was not the covenant itself but with the failure of the people to grasp it in faith (Hebrews 4:2). The superiority of the new to the old lies in that Jesus — instead of being revealed only through the animal sacrifices (as in the old covenant) — now appears in the reality of His death and high-priestly ministry. In other words, the salvation offered in the old covenant is the same offered in the new. In the new, however, a greater, more complete revelation of the God of the covenant and the love that He has for fallen humanity has been revealed. It is better in that everything that had been taught through symbols and types in the Old Testament has found its fulfilment in Jesus, whose sinless life, His death, and high-priestly ministry were symbolized by the earthly sanctuary service (Hebrews 9:8-14).
Now, though, instead of symbols, types, and examples, we have Jesus Himself, not only as the slain Lamb who shed His blood for our sin (Hebrews 9:12) but who stands as our High Priest in heaven ministering on our behalf (Hebrews 7:25). Though the salvation He offers is the same, this fuller revelation of Himself and the salvation found in Him, as revealed in the new covenant, make it superior to the old.
Read Hebrews 8:5 and Hebrews 10:1. What word does the author use to describe the old covenant sanctuary services? How does the use of that word help us to understand the superiority of the new covenant?
| Think about this: Why would knowing about Christ’s life, death, and high priestly ministry on our behalf give us a better understanding of God than one would get merely from the earthly sanctuary-service ritual of animal sacrifices? |
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The whole book of Hebrews is essentially a treatise on "a better way" . Written primarily for Jews, it was an encouragement to think differently about sin and salvation. The Jews primarily thought of the sacrificial system as a way to pay for their sins. If you sinned you fronted up to the temple with a lamb, some doves, or some meal and it was sacrificed so that your sins were forgiven. Paul makes the point that there is a better way. The sacrificial system of payment had been done away with. Christ was the new sacrifice and the new priest. For many, that was a bridge too far. It was a quantum leap in understanding that the centuries old traditions (laws) had been fulfilled by one person, Jesus, and that there are no more payments to be made.
Suppose you were paying the mortgage for a house. You had signed up to pay so much a month for the next 20 years. Every month, you make a payment to the bank. You live with the uncertainty that you may not be able to keep your job and make the payments and have to forfeit the ownership of your house. Then, some benefactor comes along and pays the rest of the mortgage and you are debt free. What a difference it makes. You no longer have to make payments, and you no longer have the uncertainty of forfeiture. The house is yours.
The analogy is not perfect but it does illustrate the notion of a debt free (saved) life.
Jesus paid the mortgage!
Amen! Yes he did. Too bad this lesson uses an oppressive and biased illustration of Jesus that waters down His greatness. These illustrations take away from the good word being given and are like idols.
Maurice - would you consider that Christ Jesus actually took the whole rotten place and gave you a brand-new house? You see, what you did not know was that the termites had started to eat away the wood, and the foundation had a big crack in it. What you also did not realize was that the ground was shifty and the next quake or flood would have certainly destroyed it.
He knew all this and gave you a brand new house, solidly framed, well insulated and build on a firm foundation. And in addition to this, He placed it on top of the hill with the greates view for you to enjoy the spectacular, endless horizon.
All your old neighbors see it and wonder how you got to live in this brand-new house on top of the hill. The neighbors knew that you could not always pay your mortgage and they also knew that it might be foreclosed.
Will you tell them about how you came into the possession of this beautiful new home? Will you let them know that your friend would be happy to take a look at their home to find out if it is solid and save? Who knows, your old neighbors might end up moving into their brand-new home right next to yours, also given to them by your friend - Christ Jesus. Matt.7:24-27KJV
Yes, your illustration is fine.
New covenant better than the old? In Hebrews, Paul is presenting a sound argument for Jesus as the Christ, the very fulfillment of the old testament types. This letter was written to the Hebrews who were rejecting the notion, and still looking for the Messiah to come. So to them, Paul is making a case for a "better" covenant in Christ, meaning that the promise has been ratified, the types fulfilled.
Let us remind ourselves that a covenant is between TWO parties. Knowing this, we can instantly realize that a better covenant results when BOTH parties remain in perfect agreement. The “fresh” covenant with those claiming to be God's people today is only “better” IF they truly accept the conditions and do them. Otherwise it is no better in those who failed to keep their promise of obedience, because accepting the covenant is promising to obey the “covenant law”, which is the very basis of the agreement. (If there is no more law, as some teach, then what exactly are the terms of the agreement today? Also, where is the "lawless" covenant for gentiles only?)
The former covenant was “perfect”, but those who departed from following the terms broke the agreement, while those who did not join the covenant breakers were still faithful and the covenant still remained between them and God(Ex 32:26). The covenant is always between individuals, not groups. Each soul must choose to accept/believe/obey. So the “better covenant” is only better IF neither party departs from the agreement.
"Read Hebrews 8:5 and Hebrews 10:1. What word does the author use to describe the old covenant sanctuary services? How does the use of that word help us to understand the superiority of the new covenant?"
Concerning the covenant discussion in Hebrews, the old covenant was a promise(from God, “who cannot lie”), and the new covenant is now ratified by the blood of Jesus, no longer being a promise, but a living reality. Yet in both old and new covenants, sinners(Noah, Job, Daniel, Paul, thief on the cross, etc) are saved "by grace through faith". So how is the new "superior" to the old? I'm sure that while most today would agree that bread and wine is “better” than bloody animal carcasses, they teach the same truth. The new(fresh) covenant is only “better” IF I allow God to “write” on my heart(Jer 31:31), otherwise it is no better than the former when the people failed to obey. "But without faith it is impossible to please [God]"(Heb 11:6).
As I read Hebrews, the new covenant is made by God with his Anointed One, his Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. This covenant can never fail. As we identify (become one) with his Son, the Son becomes the author and perfecter of our faith. Therein lies our salvation and hope – our faith is founded on the bedrock of the faithfulness of Christ. This is what the sacrificial sanctuary rituals taught in symbol and type.
The old covenant is based on the mistaken understanding that “All that the Lord has commanded we will do!” A covenant based on this promise can never succeed. We must clearly understand our situation. As Robert Whitefield cried out in his last sermon, “Works! works! A man gets to heaven by works! I would as soon think of climbing to the moon on a rope of sand.” The promises of man are just that – “ropes of sand” out of the pitfall of sin and disbelief in which the Adversary has us trapped.
How was Enoch saved in the "old covenant"? Or Elijah, among many others?
Israel in the desert broke their promise, but if we go to the original covenant in Gen 3:15, it was God's promise of what HE would do. Yes, Jesus fulfilled the types, but it is the promise of Christ that was the focus of the types, and faith in Christ before His promised death for our sin would save the repentant sinner just as it will today after the cross. The ability of God saving sinners before or after the cross was never the issue. One could claim to accept the covenant today and still fail to be saved if they fall into "same example of unbelief" as those who promised to do "all that God has said"(Heb 4:11).
I asked myself: What is God’s aim, what is His objective for the believers to keep His Covenants? Reading a bit further, Paul in Heb.8:12-13KJV quotes:”For I will be merciful to their (Israel’s) unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. (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.
Even though they had not lived up to the requirements of the Law, He was willing to forget their shortcommings. He is aware of the defect of the Old Covenant.
For it to ‘vanish away’, there must be a distinctive difference between the Old and the New Covenant. What is this difference? Was it that it had not been made clear enough from the outset that the keeping of the old Covenant was based on faith?
And again, all God’s covenant-efforts on our behalf are to ‘cleans us of [do away with] all unrighteousness’, saying: ‘their sins and iniquities will I remember no more’ - Heb.10:16-17KJV.
God is interested in a changed heart and mind that loves Him and keeps His commandments. Observing God’s Law as it was written and applied through the Old Covenant system was unable to accomplish this. Though God continuously admonished Israel to stay faithful, the people’s heart and mind remained in the same unrighteous state – sins and iniquity. Why did it not work, what was missing?
What was missing was the from heaven-send Spirit of God to: ”put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts." Nothing else will work, not then and not now – our heart and mind need the Holy Spirit to change them; changing our desires and our focus to wanting to live according to His Will.
Living according to His Will is what the religious system and God's laws were designed to accomplish in man – but they fell short; it needed God’s Holy Spirit to accomplish this work of living the Will of God by faith.
The law, the old Covenant could not provide the way of justification by faith, but the new Covenant does.
The Gospel is our *Way of Life and Truth*; all who truely believe live their lives by it. God is doing this for mankind – making us a new creature, restoring His Image in this new creation.
And this is it – it is all about faith and our heavenly Father’s Will who loves us and wants us to live the promised life.
Luke22:42KJV – Christ Jesus asked: ”Father, if thou be willing to remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done."
Mark14:36KJV – Christ Jesus asked: ”Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou willst."
Robert, you actually listed all there is to the subject matter. What I like about the notion of a covenant being new ist the fact, that since Christ died for us, the curtain to the Most Holy Place, is torn down. So we have full access to the Throne of God, without being bound to a particular location plus not having to kill all those poor lambs. The only One we need in this process is our Saviour Jesus Christ who sits at the right hand of God.
Therefore:
„Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.“ Hebrews 10: 22