Fanning the Flames

Introduction

Many years ago, I was reading in the gospel of Luke when I came across this verse, “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’ “ (Luke 22:20).

As a naturally curious person, I had two thoughts.  First, this new covenant must be pretty important.  It literally came to us through the blood of Jesus.  It must have gone into effect through the blood of Jesus.  It must have something to do with His death on the cross.

My second thought was, “What makes this new covenant ‘new?’  Is there an old covenant?  Does ‘new’ mean brand new, or some restating of an ‘old’ covenant.  If there is an old and new covenant, how do they relate to the Old and New Testaments?”

I soon learned that a “covenant” is an “arrangement.”  The new covenant is the new arrangement that we have with God by virtue of Jesus dying on the cross in our place and us accepting by faith that His death was sufficient to take away our sin and make us right with God.  I also learned that there is an old covenant.  It was God’s arrangement with the children of Israel as described in the Old Testament.

Alongside this understanding regarding the two arrangements or covenants, I came across this verse in the Message Bible paraphrase of the New Testament.  “By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and His people, God put the old plan on the shelf.  And there it stays, gathering dust” (Hebrews 8:13).

Wait a minute.  The old covenant is over, expired, ended, obsolete, sitting on the shelf gathering dust?  Why then am I hearing so many old covenant principles being taught as instrumental in how to live the Christian life?

If you have followed my writing, you know what my lifetime of study has produced.  The old covenant is NOT for us, as New Testament saints in Jesus.  The blessings, the curses, the commands, the laments, the longings, the promise of prosperity, the weight of the Law, the stench of death, the punishments, and the condemnation are OVER.  We are no longer under the obligations or the conditions of the old covenant.

So with the old covenant being taken out of the way, why do I return now to write about it?  Because the principles of the old covenant are taught in many circles as formational in living the Christian life, and I feel compelled to return to the topic of the covenant contrasts as I see them in Scripture and elevate the superiority of life under the new covenant.

When we lay aside the outdated old covenant and embrace the new, we find joy, peace, forgiveness, acceptance, union, rest, freedom, power, and grace for the Christian journey through this life.  Join us in this series about the covenant contrasts and I believe that you will be blessed by all that the new covenant has to offer you, beloved child of God.

Hi Friends,

Rhonda and I have an exciting new project on the horizon for 2026, and we would love to have you join us in it.  We have developed a chapter-a-day Bible reading plan focused on every believer’s dynamic life with Jesus.  And we have launched a Facebook group, Christ in You Bible Reading Plan, to go along with it.  Each day in 2026, we will have an assigned chapter of Scripture to read.  And each day, Jay will post in this new group a short devotional to go with the chapter of the day.

This approach to reading Scripture together will take all of the New Testament and some of the Old and develop a beautiful portrait of what life with Jesus looks like for us.  Our devotional posts and reading assignments will start on January 1, 2026.  Between now and then, Jay will post a few updates, share the schedule for the first four months, and post some general introductory material to the group page.

We would love to have you participate with us.  Click on this link to our new Facebook group page, answer a couple of questions, and BOOM! you’re in.

Christ in You Bible Reading Plan

Here is a little bonus to whet your appetite.  Jesus’ identification as the “Son of God” is a cornerstone of the message we believe and preach.  If you begin your Bible reading plan in Genesis chapter 1 and read in chronological order, you must read 931 chapters before you hear God say, “Jesus, You are My Son!”  In this reading plan, you will hear these beautiful words on Day 3!

Will you join us on this chapter-a-day journey through the heart of the gospel as together we explore and celebrate … you in Christ and Christ in you?

When reading the book of Acts, it is important to keep two criteria in mind.  First, Acts is primarily a history book.  It is not a book of theology.  It is a chronological history of the first years of the church.  Second, Acts is about the people of God going through a complete upheaval in their practice and understanding of following God.  The apostles and the new believers are a people of God in transition.

Think about it.  Today, we have such a clear understanding of the sharp break between the old covenant and the new covenant, having the entire New Testament to inform us.  Jesus’ death and resurrection is understood to be the place where life went from the old covenant to the new.  But for the earliest disciples, things were changing radically and rapidly in their spiritual experience.

These believers in Jesus were going through a transition …

• From Law to grace
• From a sacrificial system to complete forgiveness in Jesus
• From children of Israel to children of God (Gentiles included!)
• From priests to apostles and elders
• From temple service to a community of faith
• From Sabbath observance to Sabbath rest
• From collection of the tithe to giving freely
• From God in the Holy of Holies to God in us
• From sin and sin management to Jesus and His finished work
• From Law to freedom

And I am sure there are more.

So keep all of these transitions in mind when you are confused by converted Pharisees insisting on following the Law.  Or extraordinary miracles involving handkerchiefs and shadows.  Or folks struck dead.  Or new believers receiving the Holy Spirit at a separate time.  Or the great debate in Acts chapter 15.  Or Paul, the champion of our freedom, taking part in a Jewish purification ceremony.  Give these leaders grace as they not only go through these transitions for themselves but also for the church they lead.  The book of Acts is a record of the church “figuring it out.”  And because of the transitional nature of this book, we should not build too much of a strident theology upon it.

But there is one consistent and unchanging theme in the book of Acts.  In sermon after sermon from Peter in chapter 2 to Paul in chapter 26 and every sermon in between, the message is incredibly the same.  Jesus arrived from the seed of David.  The Jews/Romans put Jesus to death.  God raised Jesus from the dead.  We proclaim forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus for those who believe.  The Holy Spirit, Christ in us, has been given to us.  And great multitudes believed.

“Who May Ascend into the Hill of the Lord?”

Throughout the Old Testament, and especially in the Psalms, the mountains are portrayed as the dwelling place of God.  “Who may ascend into the hill of the LORD?  And who may stand in His holy place?  He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood, and has not sworn deceitfully” (Psalm 24:3-4).

I underlined these verses in my Bible when I was a teenager.  I committed myself to trying very hard to keep my hands clean and my heart pure.  I aspired to tell the truth at all times.  I believed this commitment would give me entrance to the holy place of the Lord and entrance to God’s blessing.  I didn’t know how long it would take to feel that I had arrived at the top of the mountain.  Maybe a lifetime.

Little did I know at the time that reliance on my self-effort to ascend the mountain was a futile exercise.  It also wasn’t necessary.

When I believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, my hands were made clean and my heart was made pure, right then and there.  Jesus’ new covenant arrangement with me made me clean, pure, holy, and forgiven.

When Peter returned from preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, he affirmed, “God made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9).

“How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).

“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).

“Yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:22).

“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26).

And finally, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).  This beatitude was a prophecy from Jesus regarding what was coming to us under the new covenant.  A pure heart isn’t a goal to aim for.  You have a pure heart because Jesus gave you a new righteous heart.  Look back at our opening verse.  The “pure heart” requirement of Psalm 24?  It has been fully met by our faith in Jesus.

You do not need to “become” these things.  You ARE these things.  You HAVE clean hands and a pure heart as a gift of grace from Jesus.

This is such a beautiful promise of the new covenant.  There is no mountain to climb to reach the Lord’s presence.  He came to us.  He lived among us.  And when we believed His gospel message, He came to live IN us.  There is no mountain to climb!  Why?  Because the minute you believed the gospel, He whisked you straight to the top of the mountain to dwell forever in His presence.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-7).

Many believe that the Christian life begins at the base of the mountain.  We accept Christ and then begin an arduous journey of finding our way up the mountain.  We see the Christian life as a struggle to maintain our righteousness as we climb toward God’s acceptance, approval, and blessing.  When we are doing well (keeping our hands clean and our heart pure), we are making progress.  When we are doing poorly, we slide back down part of the mountain and have to begin that portion again.  Always striving.  Never arriving.

But I have good news for you.  No, GREAT news for you!  At your moment of salvation, you went straight to the top of the mountain!  We started the Christian life already on top of the “hill of the Lord.”  No climbing required.  You are already “seated with Him in the heavenly places.”  Maturing?  Yes!  Climbing?  No!  As we mature, we learn how to live out of our pure heart and clean hands.  We learn to tell the truth in keeping with our new identity as a Spirit-infused child of God.  But these efforts are not the means to reach God’s presence.  You are already there.  How?  By the blood of Jesus.

“Therefore, brothers, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).  It is really that simple.  You started this journey called the Christian life already at the top of God’s holy mountain because the blood of Jesus placed you there.

Please look closely at this powerful and beautiful answer to our Psalm 24 question.  Question:  “And who may stand in His holy place?” (Psalm 24:3).  New covenant answer:  “We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).

We are the “who.”  The holy place of God’s presence is the “where.”  We are the ones “who may stand in His holy place.”  We are the “who” by the precious blood of Jesus.  Thank you Jesus!!!