Welcome to Hank’s Place –
We are in the Lenten season leading up to Easter. Our celebration of Jesus our Savior rising from the dead, having conquered death, hell, sin, the devil – you name it – all for us.
Jesus, who inaugurated a NEW covenant between God and man – in His own blood – phew! An eternal covenant, where He is our great high priest, ever living to make intercession for us, so we can eternally draw near to God and experience Him to the fullest. Heb 7:25.
The blood of animals in the Old merely covered our sin. It was still there, and our natures, were, well, like Adam’s: sinful. But in this New Covenant, Jesus has taken away our sin, paid the price for our sinfulness, and given us new natures: righteous natures.
Sadly, many Christians, while professing the new covenant, actually live in the old! You’ll find them always referring to the need for obedience, for obeying God, and how they have to be more obedient – they are living under condemnation, for the old covenant exposed sin but did nothing to help us overcome it.
My friend, it’s not about our obedience — it’s about the LOVE of God poured out into our hearts! When we experience His love, everything changes. We love, because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19. When we walk in love, obedience doesn’t even come to mind. Rather, everything we do is done with the desire to please the One who loves us, right? Think about it!
Hebrews 8:6 speaks of Jesus, the mediator of a better covenant because of it’s better promises. These are promises of blessing and undeserved favor, God’s grace abounding — instead of promises to curse and to judge.
Here are a few “betters,” courtesy of the Enduring Word Commentary.
– He has written His laws in our minds and hearts.
– We have intimacy without condition: “I will be their God and they shall be My People.”
– We have eternal forgiveness: “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
– Whereas the old at Mt Sinai was thundered with fear and dread, the new was declared by Jesus with love and grace.
– The old demanded works. The new fulfills this covenant of works through the completed work of Jesus.
– The old had a priesthood of the Law of Moses and high priests descended from Aaron. The new has a priesthood of all believers and a high priest of the order of Melchizedek.
– The goal of the old was to point out sin, condemn it and fence it off. It ended in bondage. The new declares the love, grace and mercy of God and gives repentance, remission of sin, and eternal life. It provides true liberty.
There’s more, but get the picture today my friend: live in the BETTER, live in the LOVE OF GOD. You’ll COME ALIVE!
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