Now That's Love

"'This is the covenant I will make with

the people of Israel after that time,'

declares the LORD.

'I will put my law in their minds

and write it 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.'

declares the LORD.

'For I will forgive their wickedness 

and will remember their sins no more.'"

Jeremiah 31:33-34

They did everything wrong, yet God loved them enough to offer a new way, a radical, more personal covenant with His people.  The law was originally written on stone tablets, meant only for the people of Israel to follow, yet destined to remind them of how flawed they were, how thoroughly unable they were to stick to it at all times.  Even though God loved them perfectly, they strayed as any flawed human would, forsaking His original covenant.

Then came the Man who paved a new way, offering intimacy through God by faith, not by birthright, not by futile effort in obedience to the law and forgiveness found only through animal sacrifice.  And this fresh promise made relationship with God possible for all, no matter the background, or nationality, despite the problem of sin.  Everyone is invited.  How does this new covenant change everything?

Internal Compass.  Without Jesus, I need to try to figure out which way to go, how to live to please God, dependent upon my ability to pay attention to the letter of the law, watching my p's and q's.  Apart from my Savior, I need to live with the constant guilt of failure to meet His standard, dreading the end when I must stand before Him and give an account of my life, knowing how far I fall short (Hebrews 9:27).

With Jesus,however, I have the benefit of God's Spirit dwelling within to lead me down paths of righteousness for His namesake.  He convicts my heart when I'm headed in the wrong direction, letting me know I've strayed outside of His will, not so He can punish me but because my waywardness will hurt me.  I am securely bound to Him by grace, not by works, so I can't earn my way into His family nor can I lose my place through my failures and foolish mistakes.  I am thoroughly forgiven and empowered by the Spirit to live in a way that honors Him. Now the only sacrifices I make are the sacrifices of praise to God that come from a grateful heart (Hebrews 13:15).  I am a part of a living temple and my offerings of a life fully committed to Him are accepted by God through faith in Jesus, the always acceptable One (1 Peter 2:5, Romans 12:1).

The second covenant makes it possible for me to live in forgiveness as a well-loved child and to please Him by following the lead of His indwelling Spirit like an internal compass.

Direct Influence.  God has always been the one to initiate a relationship between the people He created and Himself.  For instance, He called Abram, sending him on a journey to an unknown destination and giving Him the designation of the father of many nations (Genesis 12:1, 17:2-4).  Abram's only choice was in believing or not.  And he chose to trust God enough to do what He said to do.    

In this new and improved covenant, God takes it a step further and teaches me directly, giving me understanding and insight as I read His Word or sit in His presence (1 John 2:27,1 Corinthians 2:13).  He even opens my heart to Him, giving me an awareness of the wretchedness of my own sin so that I will turn from it and accept His gift of salvation through faith in Jesus (Romans 2:4, 2 Corinthians 7:10, Acts 5:31).  And even the faith I use to trust in Him as my Savior comes from Him (Ephesians 2:8).  In other words, I am saved by faith from beginning to end, from first to last; it's all a work of His direct influence upon me (Romans 1:17).

The second covenant makes it possible for me to be directly influenced by God through faith in Jesus.

Forgiveness.  Under the original covenant, forgiveness was temporarily granted through the sacrifice of animals according to God's explicit instructions (Exodus 29:10-14,Leviticus 17:11).  As His people approached the temple on a regular basis, required to bring sacrifices in order to atone for their sins, they were always aware of how far they fell short of God's standard.  Their sin was always before them (Isaiah 59:12, Psalm 51:3).

Under the new covenant, Jesus gave His life as the final, permanent, complete sacrifice given once for all (Hebrews 10:10).  Those who fall under grace through faith in Jesus, find themselves with a clean slate for all time, and are presented to God as one who is pure and clean (Colossians 1:22).  Jesus' righteousness becomes mine by faith so that I'm secure in the knowledge that I'll be judged according to His perfection instead of my shortcomings (Philippians 3:9).  Through faith in Christ I am made new and the sin that has plagued me now becomes as far removed from me as the east is from the west (2 Corinthians 5:17, Psalm 103:12).  

The second covenant makes it possible for me to walk in complete and permanent forgiveness, despite my inability to earn such a benefit.

The first covenant gave the people of Israel a taste of God's goodness.  But it wasn't until Jesus that all of His children learned of His great love through the gift of His Son.  Through faith in Jesus I can now find guidance and direct influence through His indwelling Spirit and the freedom of living in permanent and complete forgiveness.  Through Christ, I have all of this and more, despite my unworthiness of such a gift.  Now that's love, that He loves even the likes of me (1 John 4:10, Romans 5:8)!

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can trust God enough to believe Him at His word:  I'm forgiven in Christ!

When do I feel branded by my failures, forgetting that God has removed my sin from me by faith in Jesus?  I'm no longer identified by my sin.

How do I walk through life like I'm weighed down by my sin instead of accepting the forgiveness that comes through faith in Jesus?