Grace and Love in the New Covenant
The days will come, says the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant. This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. (Heb. 8:8-10)
Heb. 8:8-12; Jer. 31:31-34; Ps. 19:9-11; Rom. 3:29; II Cor. 5:21; I Tim. 1:8-11
What Is God Saying?
The Old Testament, or Old Covenant, was the shadow of things to come. It was based on laws that God gave to Moses for His chosen people. The New Covenant is the reality of righteousness and eternal salvation, given, not earned. The Old Covenant has many sacrifices repeated yearly to deal with the guilt of sinners. The New Covenant has One Sacrifice, the complete, final, and all-sufficient Sacrifice of Christ, who knew no sin and who was perfectly guiltless, and whose dying love did for us what we could not do for ourselves (II Cor. 5:21). Both Covenants or agreements are reasonable, but one is better. The difference is seen if we compare a portrait of somebody with actually meeting that person. Both are adequate, but one is real.
The Old Covenant gave people guidelines so they could know right from wrong. In reality, however, it only shows how much we fail (Romans 3:23). In the New Covenant, we see that all have sinned and failed but that forgiveness, peace, and wholeness can be received by faith alone through grace alone. That is the glory of the Gospel—the real picture of God who is unwilling that any should perish. (II Peter 3:9).
How Does This Apply To Us?
We respect the laws of the Old Testament because God's commandments for life have never been revoked. "The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart." "By them is your servant warned, and in keeping of them, there is great reward." The trouble lies in our inability to keep them. The problem arises when we try to be good enough to make God like us. The truth is God loves us, and He showed that love in Christ. The redeemed walk on in liberty and JOY because we are already loved. This is the Gospel. We don't have to keep the law to be saved, but God gives guidelines to keep us safe. God writes His laws in our hearts not as something we must keep to be saved but as something we want to keep because we have been greatly loved.
Pray With Me
Lord of the covenants, because You loved Your people, You gave them guidelines to direct them in paths of righteousness. These paths lead to the life of the overflowing cup and the House of the Lord forever. Your laws are just and true and unmistakably clear. I have tried to keep them, but I have failed. In Your boundless mercy, You gave us Jesus Christ. We are justified now by Your grace as a gift through the redemption in Christ Jesus. How much better is the New than the Old!
The laws intended to lead us to success show how much we have failed. In the coming of Christ, in the New Covenant of Your grace, You give us a new life. You have given us a great companionship and a transforming friendship. You give us purpose now and joy in the life to come. By Your grace, we are a ‘new creation in Christ; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come.’ Your perfect laws will be ‘put in our minds and written on our hearts,’ not as something we have to keep to be saved but as something we want to keep because we have been so greatly loved.
In the name of Him through whom we draw near to God. Amen.
Moving On In The Life of Prayer
There are many reasons why all our prayers should be based on grace- God's grace to us and our grace toward others. Remembering the grace of our Lord, we will not focus on negative things such as the failure to keep the law. The laws of God are good, but our record of keeping them is not good. Let us ask God to forgive us our mistakes and our sins. That is a fundamental part of prayer, but only the prelude. Since we have received His forgiveness and peace, we should quickly move on in prayer to show, share, and be that grace to others. Prayer is all about grace. We say grace before meals at the table. Let us be grace on our knees in prayer.
