Category: The New Covenant

The Completeness of the New Covenant

The questions below are a helpful way for me to reflect on the completeness of the finished work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf.

Think of these five questions on kind of a sliding scale with “not at all” on the left side of the scale and “completely” on the right side.  Where are we on this line?

________________________

Not at all                                         Completely

Question 1:  Under the new covenant, how much am I forgiven?

Am I partly forgiven?  Am I forgiven of all my sins up to my salvation, up to my decision to believe the gospel?  Are there sins that I am responsible for after that?  Am I only forgiven of the sins I remember to confess?

or

Am I completely forgiven of ALL my sins; past, present, and future?  The new covenant answer is YES, I am completely forgiven.  (Colossians 2:13-14)

 

Question 2:  Under the new covenant, how much of the Law am I under?

Do I need the moral law but not the ceremonial law?  Am I under the some of the Old Testament Law, but not the sacrifice system?  Am I under the ten commandments?

or

Am I completely set free from ALL of the Old Testament Law?  The new covenant answer is YES, I am completely free from the Law.  (Romans 7:1-6)

 

Question 3:  Under the new covenant, how much of my old self died with Christ?

Is my old self kind of dead?  Is my old self positionally dead?  Is my old self partly dead?  Which part of my old self died with Christ?

or

Was my old self completely crucified with Christ?  The new covenant answer is YES, my old self was completely crucified with Christ.  (Romans 6:6-7)

 

Question 4:  Under the new covenant, how acceptable am I to God?

Sometimes acceptable?  Mostly a disappointment?  Depends on my actions?  Maybe God doesn’t even see me?

or

Am I completely accepted and deeply loved by God at all times?  The New Covenant answer is YES, I am completely accepted and deeply loved by God.  (I John 3:1)

 

Question 5:  Under the new covenant, how close am I to God?

Kind of close?  Am I getting closer?  Not close at all?  Depends on the day?  Maybe 6 out of 10?  Depends on my behavior?  Do I alternate between getting closer to God and falling further behind?

or

Am I completely inseparable from Jesus and the Father?  The new covenant answer is YES, your union with Christ is unbreakable.  (John 14:20, I Corinthians 6:17, Colossians 3:3, Hebrews 13:5)

Jesus said, “It is finished”.  The cross worked and accomplished all that Jesus promised to us.

(Adapted from a message by Andrew Farley)

The Greatest Download in the History of the World

In the age of mobile devices, downloads have become part of our everyday lives.  I download television shows to my iPad before a trip out of town.  I download music to my phone that I enjoy hearing over and over.  I download family photos from our son-in-law photographer.  I download articles about quantum physics for later reading.

But here is a “download” that you may not have thought about.  It is the greatest download in the history of the world.

When you believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ … whoosh … the greatest download possible landed directly in your inbox.  The life of Jesus Christ, complete with the character of Christ and the love of Christ, was deposited right inside you.  Jesus promised it and God did it, just as He promised.  Christ came to live in you by His Spirit.

We have developed so many techniques to address sin in our lives through various disciplines and accountability groups and so on.  And these can be helpful.  But the power to continue in righteous living will never come from self-discipline and will power.  It will never come from trying to set up controls, either internal or external.  The power will only come through a supernatural infusion of the life of Christ in us.

The download of the life of Christ in you is the lasting power to live the Christian life with victory and peace.  Victory because grace gives us power over sin (Romans 6:14), teaching us to turn away from sin (Titus 2:11-12).  And peace because your striving to manage your sin is over.  We have peace because Christ removed the guilt, shame, and condemnation of our sin.  We are free to walk in the new self, created in righteousness (Ephesians 4:24).

Does that mean we never sin?  No, not at all.  And I have written many times about our growing up in Christ and how we learn to walk according to our new identity.  But that topic is for other posts.

For today, just ask yourself what this would look like in your present situation.  “What if the download of the life of Christ in you is the only reason you behave?”

The Timeline of the Two Covenants

Jesus said, “The Law and the Prophets were until John; since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and everyone is urgently invited to enter it” (Luke 16:16).

The “Law and the Prophets” is a phrase Jesus used a few times in the gospels to identify the old covenant.  The law given to Moses and the Old Testament prophets that follow represent the old covenant, the old arrangement between God and man.  Jesus is saying as clearly as He can that this old arrangement ended with the coming of John the Baptist.  John was the last of the old covenant prophets.

With the coming of Jesus, everything changed in our connection to God.  Jesus proclaimed “the good news of the kingdom of God.”  And the good news is that when you believe the gospel message of Jesus Christ, your sins are forgiven, you become a child of God, and you inherit eternal life.  This good news is called the new covenant.  It describes the new arrangement that we have with God based on Jesus’ finished work on the cross.  And this new arrangement of a life set free in Jesus is ours the minute we believe the gospel.

The timeline of the covenants could not be made more clear.   According to Jesus,

Moses to John the Baptist = the old covenant.

The coming of Jesus to forevermore = the new covenant.

It really is that simple.  And the most beautiful part of all is that the invitation is open to all.  “Everyone is urgently invited to enter in.”  Believe the gospel and enter into this new covenant, this new arrangement with God.  Believe the good news and enter into His kingdom.  Jesus is inviting you.  Jesus is waiting for you.  Are you ready for your “Welcome home!”?

Welcome to the New !!!

Are you looking for a Bible study for your small group this summer?  Welcome to the New !!! is a 13-week journey into the promise and provision of the new covenant; a path of discovery regarding your new identity and freedom in Christ.  Each week unpacks from the Scriptures one aspect of all that became new in us when we believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  Within each lesson are discussion questions designed to identify where these truths intersect your personal experience.

One fellow recently told me that just meditating on the promises on the front cover changed his view of the Christian life.  My prayer for you is that you experience a greater rest, assurance, and peace that comes from truly knowing who we are in Christ.  I invite you to join this journey of discovery.

Jay

Click here if you would like to check it out on Amazon.

Running the Race

In a few of his letters, the apostle Paul compared the Christian life to running a race.  It is a metaphor we often hear in sermons and devotionals.  The writer of the book of Hebrews probably made the clearest connection in Hebrews chapter 12.  “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Yes, the Christian life can be compared to running a race.  But here is a revelation you may not have thought about.  YOU STARTED THIS RACE WITH THE FINISH LINE BEHIND YOU!

Yes, the finish line is behind you.  The finish line was crossed by Jesus in your place at the cross.  Look at what He has already accomplished in you when you believed the gospel.

You are holy, “So as those who have been chosen by God, holy and beloved” (Colossians 3:12).

You are blameless, “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).

You are righteous, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

You are forgiven, “When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us ALL our transgressions” (Colossians 2:13).

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

You are pure, “And God made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9).

Simply put, the work is finished.  The cross worked to accomplish all that God promised in the arrangement of the new covenant.

So what race are we running now?  You are running a race of rest.  You are called to run from a place of rest.  The same Hebrews author also wrote, “So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.  Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest” (Hebrews 4:9-11).

It may seem counterintuitive to have “diligent” and “rest” in the same sentence of instruction for us.  But that is our race.  To run to His rest.  To be diligent to enter His rest.  To run from a place of rest.  Our rest is resting in the finished work of the cross; the finished work of Jesus.

Jesus proclaimed His accomplishment from the cross.  “Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’  And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit” (John 19:30).  We are the recipients of that work.

Yes, stay the course.  Say with the apostle Paul, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (II Timothy 4:7).

But remember in whose power you are running.  It is the wind of the Holy Spirit, the wind of Christ in you, that carries you along in the race.  And it empowers you to run the race from a place of trust, assurance, and rest.