by
Pastor Walt Scott, January 2014
What
is New Covenant freedom, and how is it experienced in our life today?
I think the following will answer that, but first let me explain the
differences between the old and New Covenants.
To
begin, we as Christians do not worship, fellowship or in any way
function or relate under old covenant written law. The old Mosaic
covenant was written only for the Jewish nation. It required
conformity and adherence to 613 written laws and required animal
blood sacrifices as a covering for sin when a sin was committed.
Under old covenant law God responded in faith when Jews remained
obedient by atoning for any sins committed. God was faithful after
Jews responded in faith. Now, not functioning under old covenant
principles does not mean we don't respect old covenant law. We just
accept and receive it under different conditions. The Old Testament
is filled with God's teaching and wisdom for us, and should never be
ignored. Our creation story and history is explained there. There
also were nine covenants, and most are in the Old Testament. We all
should be aware of these. Man couldn't remain faithful and conform to
the Mosaic covenant law because man is not perfect. The sinful flesh
nature of man gravitated toward breaking God's law. God saw this and
realized a need for a better hope for all people.
Hebrews
7:18-19
The
former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless (for
the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by
which we draw near to God.
Hebrews
8:6-13
But in fact the ministry
Jesus has received is a superior to theirs as the covenant of which
he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is
established on better promises. 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 days
are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with
the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be
like the covenant I made with their ancestors 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 establish with the people 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 they teach their neighbor, or say to one
another, '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 outdated will soon disappear.
Jeremiah
31:31-34 (reference only)
The
New Covenant is this better hope. It fulfilled the promises of the
Abrahamic covenant and made obsolete the Mosaic covenant.
2
Corinthians 3:7-18
The
Greater Glory of the New Covenant
Now
if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on
stone, came with glory, so that
the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because
of its glory, transitory though it was, will not the ministry of the
Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that brought
condemnation was glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry
that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in
comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was transitory came
with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have
such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a
veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of
what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this
day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not
been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this
day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever
anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the
Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we
all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being
transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes
from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The
New Covenant came through and was established with the twelve
Apostles by Jesus Christ; this through His life, death, sacrifice and
shed blood on the cross, then His resurrection three days after being
laid in the tomb, and the subsequent outpouring of the Holy Spirit on
the Apostles at Pentecost. Through Jesus Christ's death and
resurrection came our salvation and redemption, which is a part of
the New Covenant. Under the New Covenant God is the first to
faithfully act for all people through the sacrificial death of His
Son Jesus Christ. All this because of His unconditional love for us.
Now it is our turn to accept and receive. We all have equal
opportunity for access to Triune God.
Colossians
1:13-14
For he has rescued us
from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the
Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians
2:13-14
When you were dead in
your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive
with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge
of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us;
he has taken it away,nailing it to the cross.
The
New Covenant gives all people of the world opportunity to come to the
Father through acknowledgment of who Jesus Christ is and what He did
for us. Then we can be forgiven of our sins and have hope for eternal
life in heaven. We are now under New Covenant principles of
behavior—right and wrong-- which are written in our minds and on
our hearts instead of on paper or stone. All this without Jesus
Christ changing one letter of the written law.
Matthew
5:17-19
The Fulfillment of the
Law
“Do not think that I
have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to
abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven
and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of
a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is
accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of
these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in
the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these
commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus'
life and death ushered in and demonstrated the principles of the New
Covenant of grace and truth. This grace is the unearned, unwarranted
favor and provision of God. Truth is His Word (the Bible). That is
why we attempt to emulate Him. We are reminded of it through our
conscience, as dictated by the Holy Spirit, who resides in all
Christians. The Holy Spirit leads and counsels us in fulfilling our
purpose in our walk with Jesus.
Romans
9:1
I speak the truth in
Christ-- I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy
Spirit--
Spirit--
Hebrews
10:15-18
The
Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
“This
is the covenant I will make with them
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
after that time, says the Lord.
I will put my laws in their hearts,
and I will write them on their minds.”
“Their
sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”
I will remember no more.”
Jesus'
blood erased forever all our sins once and for all; past, present and
future. All we need to do is accept and receive Him, and God is
faithful and just to forgive us. We are also required to forgive any
offense committed against us.
Hebrews
10:12
And by that will, we have
been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all.
Romans
6:10
The
death he died, he died to sin once
for all;but the life he lives, he lives to God.
1
John 1:9
If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our
sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness.
This
is how we received the freedom of the New Covenant. The secular
definition of freedom is, “The absence of necessity, coercion, or
constraint in choice or action.” I believe we can define this as
our God-given gift of free will through the New Covenant. We are
allowed to make a choice, which requires us to make a voluntary
decision FOR Triune God, or not. He wants us to come
willingly, as true believers, confident in our hope and displaying
our faith through words and action in carrying out His plan and
purpose; this in the Body of Jesus Christ (Church) and the Great
Commission.
Galatians
5:1
It is for freedom that
Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves
be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
James
1:22-25
Do not merely listen to
the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who
listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who
looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes
away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks
intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in
it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be
blessed in what they do.
Matthew
28:16-20
The Great Commission
Then the eleven disciples
went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus has told them to go.
When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. The Jesus
came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has
been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded
you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
The
other freedoms associated with the New Covenant are numerous. First,
and most important, is having no worry or anxiety or fear about
anything this life can bring, including and especially death.
Matthew
6:25-27
Do Not Worry
“Therefore I tell you,
do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about
your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the
body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow
or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by
worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew
6:32-34
For the pagans run after
all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well.
Philippians
4:6-9
Do not be anxious about
anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your
minds in Christ Jesus.
We
are aliens and foreigners here; our real home is waiting for us in
heaven with Triune God for eternity.
Ephesians
2:11-20
Therefore, remember that
formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised”
by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in
the body by human hands)-- remember that at that time you were
separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and
foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without
God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away
have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he himself is our
peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier,
the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law
with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in
himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in
one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which
he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you
who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him
we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
Consequently, you are no
longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's
people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of
the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief
cornerstone.
John
14:1-4
“Do
not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in
God; believe also in me. My
Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have
told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And
if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take
you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You
know the way to the place where I am going.”
So
there we have it. Accept and receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and
Savior and you will receive salvation, redemption, reconciliation,
sanctification and justification. It's permanent. We must, because of
the love of Christ within us, walk in faith, trust, belief and
obedience. We always have hope and His eternal love.
Romans
8:18-21
Present Suffering and
Future Glory
I consider that our
present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will
be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for
the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to
frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who
subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from
its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the
children of God.
Peace.
Amen.
