By Dr. Anne Davis
The answer is “no”. Then why does the author of Hebrews declare, ”When He [God] said, new covenant [referring to Jeremiah’s prophecy of a new covenant], He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear” (Heb 8:13)?
Listen now to Jeremiah’s prophecy.
“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke,” declares the Lord. Jer 31:31-32
Let us carefully consider God’s words. The “covenant” is a bilateral agreement that requires two parties. God is the first party. He has given instruction in His Word that tells us how to come into His presence by walking in the ways of the Law. If you belong to God, either as a Jew or a Gentile believer in Christ, then you have entered this covenant as the second party. Your responsibility in this covenant agreement is to follow God’s instructions so you can live and walk in a way that pleases Him.
God’s Word has given us the way to walk in righteousness, which creates a relationship between God and His people IF they walk in His ways. He delivered these words of instruction to Moses on Mount Sinai, which became the five books of the Torah. The books of the Prophets and the Writings are commentaries on the Torah.
How did the people of Israel break the covenant? No matter how hard they tried, the human condition made it impossible for them to be perfect by always living in the ways of the Law.
But stop for a minute! Are Christians, who now have the Messiah and the gift of the Holy Spirit, able to be perfect by always living in the ways of God’s instructions that He gave to us in His Word? The answer, of course, is “no”! So, Christians are also breaking the covenant by not being perfect in God’s eyes.
So, what makes the New Covenant “new”? It is not “different” because the bilateral covenant still seeks to bring God’s people into His holy presence. However, believers in Christ now have a better “ability” to walk in the ways of God. Listen again to the continuing words of Jeremiah.
“This is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jer 31:33
The Apostle Paul tells us that this part of Jeremiah’s prophesy has been fulfilled. “You are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Cor 3:3). That is, believers in Christ now have a better “ability” to walk in the ways of God. How? They can become like Yeshua IF they submit to him as Lord, and they can activate the gift of the Holy Spirit IF they let the Holy Spirit guide them in the ways of righteousness.
Therefore, Christian believers have a better ability to walk by the Spirit in the ways of the Law, but they can only walk by the Spirit in part, and from time to time, so they are not yet perfect. That means they are still breaking the Law.
However, Jeremiah’s prophecy continues to reveal what is still future.
“They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ’know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jer 31:31-34
These words are still prophetic of the future and will occur when a Christian receives God’s promise of future eternal life with Him. In the meantime, Christians should not feel superior to their Jewish brethren, but should be humble in their understanding that God has given them a more advanced way to come into His presence in righteousness. They can grow more and more like Yeshua by submitting in humble obedience to him as Lord. And they can let the Holy Spirit guide them in the ways of righteousness.
So, what is your current covenant relationship with God? To what extent have you submitted to your Lord Yeshua so you are maturing in righteousness? Are you activating the Law written on your heart by your faith in Yeshua?
The “covenant” is a bilateral agreement that requires two parties. God is the first party. He has given instruction in His Word that tells us how to come into His presence by walking in the ways of the Law.
Please give us your thoughts on this article!
- Did you agree?
- Did you disagree?
- Do you have something to add?
- Do you have a personal experience you would like to share?
Dr. Anne Davis is a retired professor of Biblical Studies. Her passion is searching the Scriptures for the infinite nature of God. She’s always pursuing some biblical topic that piques her curiosity.
Leave a Reply