Scripture: Hebrews 8:1-13
Sermon Series: Son of David, Son of God – Sermon 02
When Sir Winston Churchill (picture) resigned as prime minister of Great Britain on April 5, 1955, it was thought that his age and a plan to give Sir Anthony Eden, his longtime deputy, an advantage in the upcoming elections were the reasons…and they were. But Churchill had a much bigger reason. The 81-year-old statesman was keeping a promise to the love of his life, Lady Churchill (picture). Sir Winston had promised Lady Churchill to commit his remaining years to her. He said this about their marriage, “I was married and lived happily ever afterward.” Promises are very important!
We’re continuing our Christmas series, Son of David…Son of God (logo). Today we want to work through God’s promises or God’s covenants. We’re entering an election year. There will be lots of promises. Sadly, most won’t be kept. God always keeps His promises! God is the original Promise Maker and the one true Promise Keeper.
Last week we talked about God’s covenant to David that there’d be a coming King from the line of David who’d sit on David’s throne forever. The Jews were looking for this covenant’s fulfillment in the Messiah. Jesus fulfilled part of that covenant with His first coming. At His incarnation Jesus came as the Suffering Savior. But He’s coming back, and when He returns, He’ll sit on David’s throne as the Conquering King.
Old Testament prophets saw the messianic future through the lens of God’s covenant with David: Davidic rule, world dominion, the restored creation, and eternal kingdom. It’s known as the Davidic Covenant. Yet, the term covenant, other than in marriage vows, isn’t a word we use today.
Covenants are a foundational part of Scripture. God’s covenant plan runs like a thread (hold up thread) from Genesis to Revelation. They are fundamental to God’s redemptive plan to restore humanity and His creation. Beginning in Genesis God enters into one formal covenant after another as part of His rescue plan for His creation. These divine-human partnerships drive the narrative forward until it reaches its pinnacle in Jesus. God redeeming humanity through Jesus is the story of God’s covenantal relationship with human beings.
Usually, with Christmas messages we go microscopic, homing in on one aspect or character, like the shepherds or Joseph. Today we want to give you the cosmic overview of God’s covenant plan and we’re going to do it in one message (I hope you brought a snack). God’s wonderful plan culminates with the New Covenant, as found in Hebrews 8. Look at verses 10-13:
“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
God’s covenants accomplish for us the exact opposite of what sin does to us. Sin destroys everything. It causes chaos. It works from the inside out and rips us and everything else apart. Covenant is what God does to put us back together, to heal us and put human life and His creation back together again.
Christmas Promises are the story of God’s covenants. Every believer is part of God’s New Covenant. If you’re taking notes…
1. What Is A Covenant?
When you open the Bible, as soon as you start reading Genesis 1 and go forward from there, you see covenants throughout the Old Testament. You quickly learn that the only way to relate to God is to relate to Him through His covenant.
Are you in a relationship with God this morning? If your answer is “Yes,” it’s because of His covenant. Every Christian is part of the New Covenant.
So, what’s a covenant? It’s a relationship. If you lived in the ancient Near East in the time of the Old Testament or in the 1st century when Jesus walked this earth, you’d have been immersed in a world of covenantal relationships.
What’s a covenant relationship? Here’s a basic definition. A covenant relationship is “a radically loving vow to lose individual freedom for the sake of a lifelong, binding relationship.” A covenant relationship is enduring. It’s secure and creates trust, safety and intimacy like no other relationship can. Covenants are the meeting place between God’s Law and God’s love. Because it’s legally binding and sacrificially loving at the same time, it’s where God’s law and His love come together.
In contemporary culture we’re not immersed in covenant relationships. Instead, we’re immersed in market relationships or consumer relationships. There’s a big difference in covenant relationships and consumer relationships. A consumer relationship is where the individual needs of each party are more important than the relationship itself. Independence is prized above self-sacrifice and above the union of the relationship.
About once a month Jane and I shop at Sam’s Club. We load up and try to cover everything we’ll need for the whole month. So, we have a cartload of goods and take it to the front checkout. When you see the person at the checkout, what happens? You enter into a relationship. Did you know that? Every time you check out you begin a relationship. If you want to take all that stuff home, you stick a card in a machine and transfer money from your bank account. That’s a market relationship; a consumer relationship.
Individual freedom is the priority. If you want to get out of it, if there’s something you don’t like or if the price isn’t right, you say, “I’m putting that back. I don’t want it.” You can get out of a contract relationship.
In our society, radical individualism and a consumer economy are normal. As a result, we treat covenant commitments like market relationships. We see this in the marriage economy, the friendship economy, and sometimes in our relationship with God. They’re all disposable and easily broken.
For example, if we struggle to be consistent in prayer but go through a period where we don’t pray very often but find ourselves in a crisis. We’ll rush to God in prayer and say, “There’s something that’s come into my life. I need You now, Lord. I know I haven’t been in communion with You, but I need You to get me out of this mess.” That’s treating a covenant relationship like a market one. It’s only coming to God when you really need something, and we all struggle with this. It’s a bit like George Bailey (picture), “God, I’m not a praying man…”
The often-unseen reality of history is that God has chosen to covenant with human beings. He doesn’t need us, yet God binds Himself to humanity and makes an enduring commitment to people. It’s always God who initiates. God pledges and swears by His own self, His own character.
The only reason we have covenant relationships between humans is because God first created covenant. God determined He’d covenant with us. The only reason covenant relationships exist between us is because God did it first.
Did you know that the word testament is really another word for covenant? Our Bibles are comprised of two parts, the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, or the Old Testament and the New Testament.
Covenants are one of the most important themes in the Bible. They’re the key to God’s redemptive plan to restore humanity to perfection and its divine calling. Starting in Genesis, God enters into one formal covenant after another in order to rescue His world. These divine-human partnerships drive the narrative of the Bible forward until it reaches its pinnacle in Jesus Christ. To tell the story of God redeeming humanity through Jesus is to tell the story of God’s covenantal relationship with humans.
2. The Bible Has Two Types of Covenants
Most of us have signed a contract at some point in time, perhaps for the purchase of a car or house. We find various contracts throughout the Bible that are called covenants.
It’s easy to overlook the word covenant since it sounds archaic. Understanding covenant is a key to making sense of the Bible. There are two main types of covenants in the Bible: conditional and unconditional.
What is a conditional covenant? A conditional covenant is an agreement between two or more parties that requires certain terms to be met. If the terms are met, there will be one kind of result – favorable. But if the terms aren’t met, there will be a different result – unfavorable. Here are some examples of conditional covenants…
A company hires a contractor to construct a building for a certain amount of money. If the contractor fails to complete the building as laid out in the contract, the company will withhold payment. Some type of work was expected on the part of the contractor and was to have a certain result.
Conditional covenants are called a “covenants of works.” The Mosaic covenant as found in the Ten Commandments had a conditional aspect in respect to God’s promise of the land to Israel. The Israelites needed to obey and keep the covenant in continue to stay in the Promised Land. Because they repeatedly broke God’s commands, they were eventually sent into exile.
What is an unconditional covenant? An unconditional covenant is an agreement between two or more parties that involves no stipulations of any kind for fulfillment of the agreement. For example…Parents promise unconditionally to pay for all of college for their child. The child’s grades and general behavior won’t affect the keeping of the promise. Even if the child is a poor student, disrespectful, or gets involved with drugs, the parents follow through on their commitment. Or, if a person bequeaths property to someone in their last will/testament, with no conditions needing to be fulfilled by the recipient to receive the property, they get the property.
An unconditional covenant is a “covenant of grace.” Agreement or fulfillment by both parties isn’t necessary. One party makes an oath to another and keeps it, regardless of the actions of the other party.
The Abrahamic Covenant is an unconditional covenant. There was nothing Abraham could do to break the covenant that God made with him. In spite of the fact that Abraham lied and was willing to let his wife, Sarah, become the wife of another man, God would not break the covenant with Abraham. It’s important to know whether a covenant is conditional or unconditional. That distinction determines its outcome.
3. What Are The Covenants In The Bible?
The covenantal story began when God created our first parents, Adam and Eve, in His image, Imago Dei. The Hebrews word for “covenant” isn’t explicitly used, but the details of the relationship are similar to later covenants we find in the Bible.
At Creation, God invited Adam and Eve to be priests and kings, and to represent His generous rule on earth, Genesis 1:28: “And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth’.”
Our first parents could enjoy and reproduce blessings of eternal life if they continued to trust, obey and partner with God. As God lays out the terms of their relationship, He warns them not to eat from the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil because it would bring the curse of death on humanity.
In their first test of covenant faithfulness, humans failed. They disobeyed God and ate from the tree, fracturing the human-divine relationship and plunging humanity into corruption and death. We’d still be stuck in the wreckage if God hadn’t intervened. The rest of the Bible is all about how God is repairing this broken relationship.
The Bible speaks of seven different covenants, four of which (Abrahamic, Palestinian, Mosaic, Davidic) God made with the nation of Israel. Of those four, three of them are unconditional. That means that regardless of Israel’s obedience or disobedience, God will fulfill His covenant. Only one of the covenants, the Mosaic, is conditional. This covenant will bring either God’s blessing or His judgement depending on the nation’s obedience or disobedience. Three covenants (Adamic, Noahic and New) are made between God and humanity in general and aren’t limited to Israel.
The Adamic Covenant can be divided into two parts. The Edenic Covenant is found in Genesis 1 & 2. It’s unpacked in man’s responsibility toward creation. They were to cultivate the earth and be fruitful and multiply. They were to obey God’s directive regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The Adamic Covenant commenced after their disobedience. It includes the curses pronounced against mankind for sin, as well as God’s provision for that sin with His first promise of a Redeemer in Genesis 3:15.
The Noahic Covenant was an unconditional covenant between God and Noah (specifically) and humanity (generally). After the Flood, God promised that He’d never again destroy all life on earth with a universal Flood. God gave His rainbow as the sign of the covenant, a promise that the entire earth would never again flood yet is a reminder that God must always judge sin.
The Abrahamic Covenant. In this covenant, God promised many things to Abraham. He promised that He’d make Abraham’s name great, that Abraham would have numerous descendants, and that Abraham would be the father of a multitude of nations. God made promises regarding a future nation called Israel. Another provision of the Abrahamic Covenant is that the nations of the world will be blessed through the line of Abraham. It’s a reference to the Messiah, who’d come from the line of Abraham.
The Palestinian Covenant or the Land Covenant expands the land aspect detailed in the Abrahamic Covenant. According to the terms of this covenant, if the people disobeyed, God would cause them to be scattered around the world, but He’d eventually restore the nation. That’s why other ancient nations have disappeared from history, but Israel today is in the Promised Land. It’s part of the fulfillment of God’s covenant to the nation of Israel.
The Mosaic Covenant was conditional. It either brought God’s blessings for obedience or His punishment for disobedience on His chosen people. Part of the Mosaic Covenant were the Ten Commandments and the rest of the Law, which contained over 600 commands—roughly 300 positive and 300 negative. The history books of the Old Testament (Joshua–Esther) record how Israel either succeeded in obeying the Law or failed miserably to obey the commands in the Mosaic Covenant.
The Davidic Covenant amplifies the “seed” aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. God promised David that his lineage would last forever, and his kingdom would never pass away. Obviously, the Davidic throne has not been in place at all times but there is coming a day when another king from the line of David will sit on the throne and rule. This future king is King Jesus.
The New Covenant was first offered to the nation of Israel and, ultimately, all mankind. In the New Covenant, God promises to forgive sin. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law of Moses and create a new covenant between God and His people. As believers, we’re part of the New Covenant. Both Jews and Gentiles can be forgiven and free from the penalty of the Law. Humanity has now been given the opportunity to receive salvation as God’s free gift and be part of God’s forgiven, forever family.
Covenants are the backbone of the biblical story. When we understand how the covenants function, we have a good grasp of how the Bible fits together. If we see the big picture in Scripture, we’ll do better at interpreting the details. The covenants play a fundamental role in seeing the big picture.
While the covenants aren’t all the same, they’re all related. Part of understanding how the Bible fits together is understanding how the covenants build on each other and fulfill one another. Covenants need to matter to us. Wonderfully, the last one, the New Covenant, is offered to everyone. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, we can be forgiven and become God’s family. Reject it and we face God’s wrath and judgement.
Covenants show God’s true nature. If God says He’ll do something, He never breaks His promises. God’s faithfulness is evidenced in covenants. Even when humans sinned and didn’t hold up their end, He always does. We have an awesome God who always keeps His promises and covenants.
4. The Wonder Of The Unconditional Aspect Of The Abrahamic Covenant For Us
I want to take a moment and examine the Abrahamic Covenant. It so clearly shows God’s love and grace. Turn to Genesis 15:7-21 (p. 10).
God confirms His covenant with Abraham by a blood sign. Why did God do this? “And [Abraham] believed the Lord, and [God] counted it to [Abraham] as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).
God tells Abraham to take some animals, slaughter the large ones and lay them side to side, to kill the birds and lay them in a row so the animals are parallel to one another with a path to walk in between. It’s a strange ceremony, unfamiliar to 21st century Americans, but Abraham knows exactly what’s going on. It was a common practice in his day. In that day an agreement was ratified by a covenant. It was called the cutting of a covenant.
When nations came into conflict and one king conquered another, often as an act of submission and loyalty, the victorious king made the conquered peoples walk a path between pieces of slaughtered animals, symbolizing: “As long as you are obedient and loyal to me, I will protect you, I will provide you with a system of justice, and I will be one who blesses you. But if you rebel against me, it will be done to you as we have done to these animals. You will be torn apart, slaughtered, even as these animals have been slaughtered.” Walking between the torn pieces of animals was a self-curse, technically an oath of self-destruction.
God graciously adapts to Abraham’s culture. The smoking firepot and blazing fire symbolize God’s promise, the Shekinah glory. It was God who makes this covenant with Abraham, but it’s a one-sided covenant. Abraham is a non-participant. Only God walks the path through the torn animals. God is both the initiator and fulfiller. God covenants to be faithful to His promise.
As impossible it is for God to die, it’s impossible for this covenant to be broken. It’s unconditional. Literally, God is saying that He would rather destroy Himself than be unfaithful to His people.
It’s we who have broken covenant with God. Our sin demands justice. It would be the future son of Abraham who’d take on our curse, sin and guilt on Himself to secure our salvation. Galatians 3:13-14, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”
Do you realize how shocking all this is? For God, the King, to assume the place of the conquered vassal for the sake of the assurance of His people. Yet that assurance isn’t just for Abraham. It’s our assurance. In Luke 22, on the night He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). Jesus is saying: “Long ago, God, My Father, said to your father, Abraham, I promise unto death. I am here to pay the price. Not only that you might be redeemed from your sins, but that you could know that no power in the universe can prevent you from receiving the blessings God has promised to you, because I have sealed these promises with My blood.”
How do we know this covenant will be fulfilled? Look at the cross. Who hangs there? God’s own Son. God Himself was torn apart by the nails and the spear to keep His covenant. Jesus was slaughtered so that we’d be assured of the promises of God. That’s the New Covenant.
It’s the covenant that God will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those who repent and commit their lives to Him. God incarnate, the Lord Jesus, is the mediator of the New Covenant. His death on the cross is the fulfillment of this covenant. And because of it, we can receive salvation as God’s free gift. Ephesians 2:8–9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Have you accepted God’s gift of grace? Are you part of the New Covenant?
Conclusion
C.S. Lewis (picture) shares in his biography the suffering he endured because he kept a promise that he’d made to a buddy during World War I. His friend was worried about the care of his wife and small daughter if he should be killed in battle. Lewis assured him that if that were to happen, he’d look after them. As the war dragged on, the man was killed. But true to his word, Lewis took care of his friend’s family. Yet no matter how helpful he tried to be, the woman was ungrateful, rude, arrogant, and domineering. Through it all, Lewis kept forgiving her. He refused to let her actions become an excuse to renege on his promise.
The concept of covenant is lost in contemporary culture. Promises and contracts are easily broken. But regardless of how unfaithful we may be, God is always faithful to His covenants. God’s promises were made by God Himself and therefore will always be kept.
The word “yes” in Greek means certain and true. Someone said that God’s favorite word is “yes.” God’s promises are fulfilled in His Son. Since Jesus fulfilled all of God’s conditions, all of the promises come through Him. Jesus is God’s “yes.” While these promises come through Christ, they must be claimed by us personally. Each of us must trust Christ alone to claim God’s promises. God is looking for those who will say “yes” to Him.
Aren’t you glad that salvation has nothing to do with our faithfulness to God but with His faithfulness to us? Have you said “yes” to God? Have you received the promise of eternal life? 1 John 2:25: “And this is what He promised us – even eternal life.”
Until you’ve committed your life to Christ, God’s promises aren’t accessible to you. And there’s extreme urgency in being saved by Christ because one day it will be too late.
If you’re ready to receive the promise of forgiveness and eternal life, then come to God, confess you’re a sinner and repent of your sin. Believe that Jesus is the Promised One. When He died on the cross, He died as your substitute and paid the price for all of your sin.
You can do that right now. You can make this the best Christmas that you will ever have! God has promised to forgive you if you’ll accept His Son as your Lord and Savior? He wants you to trust His covenant. He wants you to trust His promises. Will you?