The new is better...

"For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: 'The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord.

"'This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.'

"By calling this covenant 'new,' he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:7-13, NIV)

Under the old covenant, the people's side of the bargain was pretty daunting. Follow all the rules all the time. Always do what you’re supposed to do. Never do what you're not supposed to do. Follow the rituals. The blood of sheep for this. The blood of a bull for that. And there's no power within to help. It's all willpower and determination. And it's impossible for any sin-bent man or woman to do.

The human side of the new is by far better and much easier. What do you have to do to get in on the new? Put your faith in Jesus. Confess your sinfulness to God. Believe Jesus died for your sins. Accept God's gift of eternal life. Amazingly simple, right?

Still, most people reject these terms. A few of Jesus' words tell us why.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." (John 3:16-21, NIV)

People reject the new covenant because their sin is exposed. Under the old covenant, you could cover up your sin with a sacrifice or two. In the new, God asks you to confess your sin and be done with it. Those who love darkness, those who want to keep on sinning will not admit their failings, will not believe. They miss out on eternal life and so much more. God's promises for those who enter into this new covenant with him are amazing! Listen to what he offers those who believe.

"I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts." (Hebrews 8:10, NIV)

The old covenant offered no power to fulfill it. Men and women bent toward sin were told not to sin, but their bent overpowered their will and they sinned. It happened over and over and over again. They knew the law. They broke it. They sacrificed a bull. They knew the law. They broke it. They sacrificed a goat.

Those who enter into God's new covenant receive the power to say no to sin. Listen to the words God inspired Paul to write down.

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say 'No' to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope - the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:11-14, NIV)

When God gives us his salvation by grace, we receive the power to say no to sin. The law is written on our hearts. We are given the "want to" to stop sinning. We are given the "want to" to live holy lives. The Holy Spirit within us is our helper in both. He gives us the strength we need to overcome our bent toward sin. When we let him control our actions, our decisions, our words, we can do the good he designed us to do.

"I will be their God, and they will be my people." (Hebrews 8:10, NIV)

Peter says a lot about the new relationship God has with us in his first letter to the church.

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

"Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us." (1 Peter 2:9-12, NIV)

If you are a believer, you are part of a chosen people. You belong to God. Your job as one of his new covenant people is to declare his praises and live a good life, a life that points the world to God, a life that is attractive to those who are watching. You have the power to do that. I do too! It's what we were created to do.

"...we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10, NIV)

"No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest." (Hebrews 8:11, NIV)

Under the old covenant, very few knew God intimately. Only a handful of Jewish men and women ever heard him speak to them. Most of the people had to get direction from him through someone else - a priest or a prophet.

Under the new covenant, God is known by all who put their faith in Jesus. God listens to the heart cry of every one of his children. He hears you when you pray. He hears me when I praise. He hears each question and answers.

Yes, God speaks to each believer personally. He guides you. He guides me. He helps each one who loves him. He teaches truth to young and old alike.

Do you understand? You are not dependent upon a pastor to understand God's truth. You do not need someone else to tell you the path you should take. Human go betweens are no longer necessary! God himself is your guide and teacher and he will lead you. He might do so through the counsel of another godly woman or through the words of a sermon. But he might just give you his direction as you’re praying or reading your Bible alone one night. Pay attention. You are known by God. You know him. He will teach you.

"...I will forgive their wickedness and remember their sins no more." (Hebrews 8:12, NIV)

I remember some of the wicked things I've done. My guess is you do too. I bet you still beat yourself up for some of those sins. You can stop that now. If you have believed on Jesus, God has forgiven you. If you have confessed your sin to God, he does not remember it any more.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:9, NIV)

That's a new covenant promise. Wickedness forgiven. Sin remembered no more.

God is good, isn't he? When the old covenant was broken to pieces by fallen human beings, he didn't give up. He made a way for a new covenant to be made. He sent his Son Jesus to be the perfect sacrifice for sin and then he offered eternal life to all who would ask for it in faith.

Have you asked?

If you will believe, you will be given all that the new covenant offers. Power to say no to sin and yes to what is right. An intimate relationship with God. Direct guidance from him and forgiveness for your sin.

Praise God...the new covenant is better by far than the old!

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