New Covenant Believers

 As born-again believers, when we receive Christ, we become indwelled by the Spirit of God and the kingdom of God resides within us. The truth of the gospel, which is the message of His unconditional love declares the love of God, which is shed abroad in our hearts. (ref Rom. 5:5) 

As Christians, we can lose sight of this love, which is implanted in our hearts if we, in our thinking, go back and place ourselves under the stipulations and regulations of the law which we have been delivered from. (ref. Rom. 7:6) We don't lose our salvation, but we become carnal in our thinking. Paul writes in the book of Romans, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth: to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God (our right-standing with God) revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH. Romans 1:16-17 KJV,  The law is not of faith. (ref. Gal. 3:12-13) Also we read, "For in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. Gal. 5:6 KJV This is speaking of the love of God towards us. (ref. 1 John 4:16) Scripture also states, "We love Him, because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19 KJV  Also found in Scripture, "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Rom. 5:8 NIV  You could not clean yourself up to be saved; it was His unconditional love that compelled Him to go to the cross. Now the Apostle Paul tells us not to go back under the law, which we have been delivered from. (ref. Gal. 5:1-4, Rom. 7:6) The law is anything we try to merit with our own human effort or performance to earn salvation or our acceptance with God. 

2 Cor. 5:18-19 KJV  "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation."

Hebrews 8:8b-13 KJV  8b "BEHOLD, THE DAYS COME, SAITH THE LORD, WHEN I WILL MAKE A NEW COVENANT WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH: 9 NOT ACCORDING TO THE COVENANT THAT I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS IN THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT; BECAUSE THEY CONTINUED NOT IN MY COVENANT, AND I REGARDED THEM NOT, SAITH THE LORD. 10 FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAITH THE LORD; I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MIND, AND WRITE THEM IN THEIR HEARTS: AND I WILL BE TO THEM A GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE TO ME A PEOPLE: 11 AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERY MAN HIS NEIGHBOR, AND EVERY MAN HIS BROTHER, SAYING, KNOW THE LORD: FOR ALL SHALL KNOW ME, FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST. 12 FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS, AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR INIQUITIES WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE. 13 In that He saith, a new Covenant, He hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. 

Hebrews 10:16-19 KJV  16 "THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAITH THE LORD, I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR HEARTS, AND IN THEIR MINDS WILL I WRITE THEM; 17 AND THEIR SINS AND INIQUITIES WILL I REMEMBER NO MORE. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus. 

Rom. 3:25-26 KJV. "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."

This is God's unconditional love and it's the gospel message we are to believe and share. (ref. Gal. 1:6-8)

The new convenant is a biblical promise of a renewed relationship between God and humanity, established through Jesus Christ. First prophesied in the Old Testament by Jeremiah, it replaces the external law of the Old Covenant with internal transformation, offering total forgiveness of sins and direct spiritual intimacy with God. 

The minute we became born-again, we became indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Scripture says, "But he that is joined unto the Lord is one Spirit." 1 Cor. 6:17 KJV  Now as believers, we are led from within by the leading and prompting of the Holy Spirit, not by an external code of laws. 

The key differences are that (1) The Messiah, Jesus, has come and shed the blood of the New Covenant (ref. Mat. 26:28, Heb. 10:29) so that henceforth He is the Mediator of a new Covenant, so that all saving, covenant-keeping faith is conscious faith in Him; (2) The Old Covenant has therefore become obsolete. (ref. Heb.)

Old Covenant vs. New Covenant

Foundation                        

The Old Covenant                                                                               The New Covenant

Established at Mt. Sinai with Moses                                              Established at Mt. Calvary with Jesus

Requirements

Strict adherence to the Mosaic Law & physical rituals.              Faith in Christ & acceptance of God's grace

Atonement for Sin

Required continuous, daily animal sacrifices                              Secured permanently through the blood of Jesus

Focus

External behavior modification & compliance                            Internal heart transformation & spiritual rebirth

Contracts vs. Covenants: Comparison  

Contracts and covenants are not the same things. Here are some fundamental differences:

• While a contract is legally binding, a covenant is a spiritual agreement.
• A contract is an agreement between parties, while a covenant is a pledge.
• A contract is an agreement you can break while a covenant is a perpetual promise.
• You seal a covenant while you sign a contract. 
• A contract is a mutually beneficial relationship, while a covenant is something you fulfill.
• A contract exchanges one good for another, while a covenant is giving oneself to the other.
• You can opt out of a contract, while a covenant is about having the strengths to hold up your part of the promise.
• One can stop paying in a contract when one party is not fulfilling their part in a deal; however, in a covenant, the party who is not getting their needs met supports the failing party so that they can meet their obligations. 

Overall, a covenant is a better way to build relationships, both in business and in life. In a contract, if a person does not fulfill his obligation, then it gives the other party an option to back out as well. The same is not true in a covenant. You must hold up your promise even if others do not hold up their pledge. 

Covenants are a type of a contract, but they do not operate like a contract. They are a trust-based promise that relies on your integrity and discipline. While contracts are enforceable by the the courts, covenants depend on your values. 

It's interesting to think of a covenant as a union between two parties that need each other, perhaps like in ancient biblical times, farming clans who could not defend themselves would form a covenant with an army or warring clan. The union provided much needed food for the army, which travels on its stomach, and the farming clan received needed protection to survive as farmers. The weaknesses of both groups were overlooked to form a union of strength that benefitted both parties. 

1 Peter 4:8 NIV  "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins." 

Prov. 17:9 NIV "He who covers over an offence promotes love, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends."

Prov. 10:12 NIV  "Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs."

We may wonder at times, what do we have to offer God, in our covenant relationship where we are obviously the needy side of it. It's truly God's good nature, full of mercy and compassion and love, that compelled Him to go to the cross and it remains a total act of mercy providing the grace for us to walk in, as mankind was dead in the water. It's unconditional and we just have to believe. (ref. John 6:28-29) God desires us to understand and receive this unconditional love and be a yielded vessel for His love to flow through and reflect God's love to others. As believers, we are His representatives. As believers, our only job is to believe, as stated in John's gospel, John 6:28 NIV: "Then they asked him, 'What must we do to do the works God requires?' vs. 29 "Jesus answered, 'The work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent.' 

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us." 1 John 4:16 KJV

"We love Him because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19 KJV

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us."  1 John 4:11-12 NKJV

"But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in Him. By this we know that we are in Him. 1 John 2:5 NKJV

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18 NIV

"Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law; rather through the law we become conscious of sin." Romans 3:20 NIV

The law worketh wrath; faith worketh righteousness.

All that a law system can do is judge and condemn. 

"Because the law brings about wrath; for where there is no law, there is no transgression." Romans 4:15 NKJV

"But to him who does not work, but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness." Romans 4:5 NKJV

"He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." 1 John 4:8 NKJV

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. vs. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. vs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth vs. 7 It alway protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. vs. 8 Love never fails.  1 Cor. 13:4-8a NIV

This is a descriptive of God's love, as His nature is love perfected, and He is described as love. (ref. 1 John 4:8) This is how God sees us. If you understand His unconditional love for you and rest in it and realize He is not judging you for your short-comings, it's easy to overlook other people's short-comings. You cannot give out what you haven't received. Our sin debt has been paid for, as Jesus bore all the wrath towards fallen mankind on the cross and He is now extending His grace to all who would enter into a covenant relationship with Him. 

Jesus said, "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." John 13:34 KJV (ref. John ch. 17)

Scripture tells us, now the end of the commandment is love. (ref. Tim. 1:5a) Also "and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, THOU SHALT LOVE THY NEIGHBOUR AS THYSELF. Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. 13:9b-10 KJV. 

It's hard to love yourself (with all your shortcomings) unless you realize you are enjoined or in union with God in a Covenant relationship where He is no longer holding our sin against us. 

"According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love;" Eph. 1:4 KJV

"In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight:" Col. 1:22 KJV

The 2nd Epistle of Peter tells us that we as believers can be partakers of the divine nature of God which culminates in love. (ref. 2 Peter 1:1-7) It then proceeds to say, "For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins." 2 Peter 1:8-9 KJV. But as a believer we have been purged of our sins and we are now washed, sanctified and justified. (ref. Heb. 1:3, 1 Cor. 6:11, Eph. 5:26)

 

Consider Jesus, "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised for our justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 4:25 - 5:1 KJV.

As believers the love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts and we are accepted in the Beloved. (ref. Rom. 5:5, Eph. 1:6)

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness." Rom. 4:5 KJV. ........  This is the Covenant we as believers are in!