Category: New Covenant

A Holy Nation #8

Monday, January 27, 2014

“For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45 KJV).

Today’s Scripture summarizes a book most burdensome to many.

When Jesus’ corpse was removed from Calvary’s cruel cross and entombed, Satan had never been happier. Israel, God’s people, had not only broken God’s Covenant of Law, but now they had murdered God’s Messiah, and with King Jesus dead, Israel was still his. The devil had executed his “wise” plan—he had trapped God yet again (or so he thought!). Thankfully, “[God] taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (Job 5:13; 1 Corinthians 3:19). God had His own plans—the triune Godhead had pre-planned Jesus’ death (Acts 2:23; Acts 3:18)!

Colossians 1:20 explains, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Through Jesus’ shed blood, the governments of heaven and earth that Satan polluted, will one day be “reconciled” to God. Christ’s death was not God’s defeat, but rather Satan’s (Colossians 2:14,15). Satan was horrified to learn from Paul’s ministry that he had participated in his own downfall!

Israel broke the Old Covenant, but JEHOVAH made provisions (Calvary’s finished crosswork facilitates Israel’s deliverance from Satan). Firstly, Christ’s shed blood will pay off the sin debt of the Old Covenant (1 Peter 1:18,19; 1 Peter 2:24). Secondly, it will allow JEHOVAH to ratify a whole new contract with Israel—one predicated upon His faithfulness, not hers!!

Indeed, Israel will become God’s earthly people forever, but not today. Our Dispensation of Grace must first run its course. God must first complete the Church the Body of Christ. Paul reminds us, “…That blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved… for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27).

Rather than sinful Israel struggling to fulfill God’s laws (today’s Scripture), He will fulfill them in and through her, and He Himself will make her a “holy nation….”

Who Is a Saint? #5

Friday, August 30, 2013

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV).

Behold, the identity that we Christians have in the Lord Jesus Christ!

In religion, “saints” are nothing more than intercessors who influence God to grant us favors. In Scripture, they are something else entirely. God—yea, God alone—creates saints through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork (today’s Scripture). Saints are not for our selfish desires: they are for God to use to glorify His Son Jesus Christ forever and ever and ever.

Among other things, Jesus Christ is our “sanctification” (today’s Scripture). The writer of the book of Hebrews, when describing Israel’s salvation, used the same terminology the Apostle Paul utilized to refer to us, the Church the Body of Christ. “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all…. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10,14; cf. Hebrews 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2; Jude 1).

Just as God will separate (sanctify) these believing Jews from the unsaved descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (like He separated Aaron and his sons from the common Israeli bloodline for service in the Levitical priesthood), so He has separated us from the ordinary human race. Just as He will redeem Israel from her sins and Satanic bondage using Jesus Christ’s shed blood (via the New Covenant; Hebrews 8:8-13), so He has bought us out of that slave market of sin and death (redemption; today’s Scripture).

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). In Christ, we have a new nature: we are a new type of mankind, the Church the Body of Christ, the “one new man” (Ephesians 2:15). All saints are equal in Jesus Christ—all Christians are in one body.

When God saved us, He not only delivered us from His wrath in everlasting hellfire, but He made us “saints” in Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture) to use us for His glory forever….

Israel, Stand Still! #12

Saturday, July 20, 2013

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 KJV).

Israel must stand still and do nothing in order to see her God work mightily on her behalf!

Quoting Psalm 40:7,8, Hebrews 10:9-12 says: “Then said he [Jesus Christ], Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first [covenant], that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;”

God will use Jesus Christ’s shed blood offered 2,000 years ago to ratify the New Covenant at Christ’s Second Coming (just as the Old Covenant was instituted with animals’ blood in Exodus chapter 24). Quoting Isaiah 59:20,21, the Apostle Paul penned: “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:26,27; cf. Jeremiah 31:31-34; Acts 3:19; Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:14-25).

Recall what Moses told Israel at the Red Sea: “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day:…. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace” (Exodus 14:13,14).

As in Egypt, Israel cannot save herself: she is enslaved to sin and Satan, as she was captive in Egypt. As in Egypt, God sends a Deliverer for Israel: Moses led them from physical captivity and Jesus Christ will lead them from spiritual captivity. This time, they will enter the Promised Land, fully forgiven and free forever (the context of today’s Scripture)—not because of their works, but because of Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork at Calvary.

The whole world will see redeemed Israel glorified in her earthly kingdom, and JEHOVAH will be exalted forever!

~FINIS!~ 🙂

Israel, Stand Still! #10

Thursday, July 18, 2013

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 KJV).

Israel must stand still and do nothing in order to see her God work mightily on her behalf!

The Old Covenant (the Mosaic Law) only condemns us as sinners—it never saves anyone, it only makes “all the world guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). In order for God to save and use Israel, He will have to make a New Covenant with them. Read Hebrews 8:7-13 (quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34):

“[7] For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. [8] For finding fault with them, he saith, 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 neighbour, 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.”

This is Israel’s glorious prospect—a covenant that involves JEHOVAH working to save her from sin and Satan, just as He saved her from the Egyptian bondage. It will be an extremely intense battle, and JEHOVAH Himself will die….

NOTE: If you’re interested in “attending” a grace Bible conference via internet, the Grace School of the Bible Family Summer Bible Conference is underway through today. You can find all the details (times, topics, and preachers) at www.graceimpact.org.

Israel, Stand Still! #7

Monday, July 15, 2013

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 KJV).

Israel must stand still and do nothing in order to see her God work mightily on her behalf!

JEHOVAH God had promised Abram (later Abraham) that He would make of him a nation of people through whom He would bless the whole world: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: and I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2,3).

About 500 years after that Abrahamic Covenant was given, that nation, Israel, was enslaved in Egypt, but JEHOVAH delivered them through Moses’ leadership. God then gave through Moses the Old Covenant, a system of worship for Israel to use. Alas, Israel forsook that Old Covenant! Throughout the next 1,500 years, she ignored JEHOVAH and followed the heathens in their pagan idolatry. Now, think of Israel’s dilemma. She was to be God’s people through whom we Gentiles would be blessed and saved by God, but now she has broken His covenant and fallen into Satan’s dominion. She is in a captivity far worse than her physical bondage in Egypt—she needs help with her sin problem!

Hebrews 8:8,9 explain Israel’s sin problem and, thankfully, JEHOVAH’S solution to it: “For finding fault with them [Israel], he saith, 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: not according to the [old] 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.”

Quoting chapter Jeremiah chapter 31, the writer of the book of Hebrews knows that JEHOVAH has fought and will fight for Israel’s spiritual salvation, just like He fought to save them physically in the Red Sea deliverance….

NOTE: If you’re interested in “attending” a grace Bible conference via internet, the Grace School of the Bible Family Summer Bible Conference is underway through Thursday, July 18. You can find all the details (times, topics, and preachers) at www.graceimpact.org.

A Perpetual Marriage

Friday, September 21, 2012

“And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD” (Hosea 2:19,20 KJV).

The nation Israel is engaged to the LORD, but the wedding is postponed….

In the context of today’s Scripture, the LORD is sending the prophet Hosea, who preached circa 785–725 B.C., to warn Israel of His impending judgment. “For [Israel] hath committed great whoredom, in departing from the LORD” (Hosea 1:2). Pagan idol worship abounds in Israel, and it has for centuries. Spiritually, Israel is “playing the harlot” (Hosea 2:5): she was the LORD’s wife, but now she is an adulterous wife by worshipping other gods.

God’s wrath came on apostate Israel! Eventually, the Assyrians captured and deported Israel’s ten northern tribes (722 B.C.), and the Babylonians captured and deported Israel’s two southern tribes (606–586 B.C.). From the time of these deportations to our present-day, the Jews are scattered worldwide, still waiting for their Messiah to come the first time and rescue them (sadly, they are blinded, unaware that their Messiah, Jesus, came 2,000 years ago).

But today’s Scripture is a gleam of hope for Israel: after God would judge her, He would restore her to Himself (Christ’s Second Coming to establish Israel’s kingdom). After our Dispensation of Grace ends (rapture), God will return to dealing with Israel, and she will be saved (Romans 11:25-29; cf. Hosea 2:23). Peter writes to future Israel: “which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God…” (1 Peter 2:10). Had God not interrupted Israel’s program with our dispensation, Israel would already be married to the LORD!

Israel was unfaithful to God, but never has God been unfaithful to Israel. At Christ’s Second Coming, He will fulfill His promise (today’s Scripture) to Israel. Via the New Covenant (Hebrews 8:8-13), Israel will be rejoined to the LORD, forgiven of all her sins. She will be married to the LORD forever, living with Him in her Promised Land forever (Isaiah chapters 61 and 62). Wow!

The Flesh Straineth, Christ’s Love Constraineth #4

Thursday, September 13, 2012

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: and that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again” (2 Corinthians 5:14,15 KJV).

We would do well to memorize, meditate on, and believe today’s Scripture, a wonderful encapsulation of the Christian life.

For nearly 1,600 years (Moses to Paul), Israel strained to keep the Mosaic Law. Unlike their heathen (Gentile) neighbors, the Jews had the Law of God, and other advantages (Romans 9:4,5; cf. Ephesians 2:11,12). Despite their privileged position, however, they were just as sinful as the Gentiles (non-Jews). Hence, the Gentiles observed that “God’s” people, Israel, acted just as shamefully as they did (Romans 2:17-29)!

Sinful Israel broke this Old Covenant (Mosaic Law), thus necessitating the institution of the (future) New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8:7-13). If Israel, sinful sons of Adam that they were, could not keep the Mosaic Law, should we Gentiles fare any better, also being sinful sons of Adam? I trow (think) not (1 Corinthians 10:1-14)!

Actually, when believing, Law-keeping Jews (saved in Israel’s program) demanded that Paul’s Gentile believers (saved in our program) keep the Mosaic Law to be saved (Acts 15:1-5), the Apostle Peter asked (verse 10): “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” Law-keeping is a burden, for no sinner can bear it!

The Apostle Paul reaffirms that Mosaic Law-keeping is a “a yoke of bondage:” Law-keeping is impossible for us sinful creatures, and this performance-based acceptance system makes void (cancels) God’s grace-based acceptance system which is in operation today in our Dispensation of Grace (Galatians 5:1-4). If we attempt to make ourselves acceptable to God by doing “good” works, then we ignore Christ’s perfect, finished crosswork on Calvary (the only means whereby we can be—and ultimately are—made acceptable to God, for only Jesus Christ will ever please God; Matthew 3:17).

“The flesh straineth, Christ’s love constraineth….”