Date of message: 22 June 2003

Subject: A Better Covenant

Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1: 3)
Last week I shared how I had to make a decision on the refinancing of my home loan. In the course of the week I did accept the terms of the contract offered by my bank and my wife and I signed the agreement. Under this new contract I will need to pay a lower monthly installment and we were most happy with that.
But what happened here? Am I still bound by the terms of the old contract that was in existence since the day we bought the house? No, by no means! Instead we now have to abide by the terms of the new agreement. The old contract no longer has any effect on us; we have been fully discharged.
In the same light, Christ Jesus came into this world and, by dying on the cross He paid the price for our redemption thereby fully discharging our obligations. We are no longer bound by the old covenant. In fact the moment we give our lives to Jesus and receive Him into our hearts, we step by faith into this New Covenant.
In our new status, we who are Believers are now made sons and daughters of the Heavenly Father (Galatians 3: 7 - "Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham) and are blessed with believing Abraham (Galatians 3: 9).
Jesus told His disciples about the parable of the new wine and the wineskin. In Matthew 9: 17 we read: -
"Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."
Wine is intoxicating and brings joy. To place intoxicating joy into an old container or environment would immediately stifle the joy and nullify the effect of the wine. The old wineskin that Jesus was referring to in that passage pointed to the old covenant of Law. It had a fixed volume and its fabric will not be able to expand any more to accommodate the expanding new wine. New wine has not completed its fermentation and would therefore expand with time. Like the old wineskin, the Old Covenant of Law is rather rigid with its list of "thou shall" and its "thou shall not" commands.
When a person received the Lord into His heart, the Holy Spirit comes into his life and there will be joy in the heart of that Believer. Like the new wineskin, the New Covenant does not come with its set of commands or rules and regulations. Not that the life of a Believer is one of laissez faire but it is a life led by the Spirit of Christ. It is non-restrictive and it grows as the Spirit leads. The process of fermentation of the new wine is enhanced and the result is excellent wine - the best quality wine; all because of the vessel it is placed into.
What is this life led by the Spirit? In Galatians 2: 20, Paul wrote, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Believers are called to fashion their lives by faith in Christ Jesus because all had been accomplished for us in that one act of Christ on the cross.
There is no longer any need to surround ourselves with any form of legalism, whether Jewish or Christian. By believing that he can earn God's favor by what he does, the unbeliever is not trusting completely in Christ's work on the cross. By struggling to appropriate God's power to change him (sanctification), he is not resting in God's power to save him (justification). If we could be saved by being good, then Christ did not have to die. But the cross is the only way to salvation. The apostle Paul used a rather strong term when he wrote Galatians 2: 21, "I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (KJV).
Praise the Lord! Everything that is required to set aside the old covenant had already been accomplished by Christ on the cross. When we received Jesus into our lives, legally God looks at us as if we had died with Christ. Because our sins died with Him, we are no longer condemned (Colossians 2: 13-15). On a relationship level, we have become one with Christ, and His experiences are ours. Our Christian life began when, in unity with Him, we died to our old life (read Romans 6: 5-11).
And now the focus of life in the Spirit is not dying but living. Because we have been crucified with Christ, we have also been raised with Him. Legally we have been reconciled with God (2Corinthians 5: 19) and are free to grow into Christ's likeness (Romans 8: 29). And in our daily life, we have Christ's resurrection power as we continue to fight sin. We are no longer alone, for Christ lives in us - He is our power for living and our hope for the future.
The choice is now before you. You can choose Life or you can remain in the realm of the Law. Choose wisely for it will affect the way you will end up for eternity. Rejection of what Jesus had done for us on the cross signifies the rejection of God's gift of salvation and if one rejects the Gift, there is therefore no more hope.
Choose Life and put your faith in our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. Received Jesus into your life and He will come into your heart and give you eternal life. By believing in Jesus and receiving His Holy Spirit into our lives, God confers on us the position of sons and daughters in His Family, special positions reserved only for those whom He loves dearly (John 1: 12).
The Lord cannot lie. For Him, whatever He speaks come to pass and He had promised us in the Bible that those who have put their trust in Him will not be condemned but have passed from death into life (Romans 8: 1).
Pray this simple prayer and invite Him into your heart and immediately you will experience the peace of Jesus coming your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you for the better covenant, the promise of life with You forever. Thank you that You loved me so much that You sent Your Only Beloved Son to die for us on the cross and fulfill all the requirements of the old covenant of Law. And because of Jesus' death, I can now enjoy all His blessings.
Lord Jesus, thank you that You loved us so much that You were willing to die for us on the cross. Thank you that You became that Sacrificial Lamb for us and because of Your death, the judicial righteousness of the Father had been satisfied. And now, because You rose from the dead, we, who believe in You as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die but we receive Your eternal life. Thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart Your home.
Thank you that what You have accomplished for us on the cross has qualified me to become a child of God the Father. Thank you that I am now eternally forgiven, greatly blessed, highly favored, deeply loved and completely protected in the Lord and in Your most precious Name, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah, I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith. It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these blessings right now and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace. Numbers 6: 24 -26

Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee

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