The New Covenant
Today we begin our journey through the New Testament. The link below will take you to an article about the significance of God becoming man and dwelling with us. You will discover how his decision to be born a human was not only necessary but was an incredible act of love for his people.
In this devotional, we are going to look at what the New Testament is. I hear many Christians describe themselves as “New Testament Christians,” but this simply doesn’t make sense. Although the Bible is divided into two sections, it was all inspired by the same God, and God doesn’t change. (See 2 Timothy 3.14–17). And Jesus was very clear that he wasn’t here to abolish the Old Testament law but to fulfill it.
Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not even the smallest detail of God’s law will disappear until its purpose is achieved.
Matthew 5:17-18 (NLT)
The entire Old Testament points to Jesus. We looked previously at the Old Testament prophecies that were all perfectly fulfilled in Jesus, but even things like the sacrifice of the Passover lamb pointed to the day when Jesus would become the perfect and final sacrifice for sin. His sacrifice abolished the need for the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament.
The New Testament raised the bar of righteousness. Here are just two examples:
“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28 (NLT)
“You have heard the commandment that says, ‘You must not commit adultery.’ But I say, anyone who even looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
In essence, Jesus told us that it isn’t enough to simply obey the 10 commandments, but your heart, soul and mind must be pure in order to “earn” your way to Heaven. Clearly, this is impossible. We have all fallen short of righteousness. We have all sinned. (Romans 3:23). But fortunately, God always had a plan to redeem his children.
Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.
Ephesians 5:4-7 (NLT)
The concept of salvation through grace, while introduced in the Old Testament, found its fulfillment in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. Jesus lived a perfect, sinless life, and took the punishment that we deserved. Our salvation came at a huge cost, but it was something that Jesus did willingly. And through his sacrifice, we have the gift of grace through faith in Jesus, and we can avoid the punishment that sin deserves. We only need to accept it.
Our human minds cannot fully understand the concept of grace, but here is an illustration that might help. Let’s say that you died today, and you are now at the throne of judgement, standing before God. Satan (who is also called our accuser) is present and wants to see you tormented for all of eternity. Satan begins to list out every less-than-perfect thing you ever did in your life, and with each accusation, he wants to see you punished even more severely. Everything from the time you didn’t share with your friend, called someone a name, or flipped someone off in traffic is brought up. Satan smiles and continues. Sexual sin, theft, idolatry, abusive behavior, crude jokes, lies…. the list is endless. Imagine how quickly that list would grow. If you only sinned once a day, that is 365 sins for every year of your life, and that is a gross underestimation even for the most “righteous” person. After your thousands and thousands of sins are read by the accuser, shame, guilt and fear mount. Then, Satan pronounces your sentence. You are to spend eternity alone, in utter darkness, tormented continuously, devoid of everything that is good… forever. Just as Satan reaches for you, ready to throw you into the flames, Jesus steps in front of you. You can see the scars on his hands and feet where the nails were mercilessly driven. You see the scars where he was whipped and beaten until he could barely stand. You see the hole in his side where the Romans pierced him to prove he was dead. Jesus calmly takes that list of sins and throws them in the fire instead. He looks at you with love and says, “I have paid your debt with my life. I have already paid your sentence. Instead, come and live with me in paradise. You will live free of pain in a perfect body in a perfect and entirely fulfilling world… forever!” God smiles. Your sins, though many, have been cast away forever. You now stand perfect and righteous.
This is the truth of grace. Christ took every sin that we have or ever will commit on himself and paid that price. It is a gift, and we only need to accept it.
Becoming a Christ-follower does not mean that we will completely stop sinning. It does mean that our gratitude will give us the desire to please Jesus. It doesn’t mean that old temptations simply go away. It does mean that his Holy Spirit will come to live inside of us, helping us to overcome those temptations so we will no longer be enslaved to them. It doesn’t mean that our lives will be sunshine and roses and, in fact, things may get worse. It does mean that God will sustain us through all circumstances and that we can have a supernatural peace about them.
If you have never accepted the free gift of salvation, please don’t hesitate. For an article that talks about what it means to “be saved”, please see the final article in our series entitled “Child of God”.
Songs of Victory
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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