THE NEW COVENANT | Northstar Church

“The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord.“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” – Jeremiah 31:31-33.

Many Christians get confused about the differences between the Old and New Covenants. The primary difference is that the Old Covenant is the law, and the New Covenant is the grace and righteousness that we attain by faith in the atonement of Jesus’s cross.

The first covenant (Old Testament) was and is not flawed; man’s willingness and ability to keep it was and is flawed. Israel had continued to break the first covenant with God by turning from Him, over and over again, even with prophets continually warning them that what they were doing was wrong. Hebrews 11 talks about some of the great figures in the Old Testament but says in verses 39-40, “All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”

God made a new promise that was different and better. The old covenant was made to a nation, a collective of people. The new covenant, on the other hand, goes beyond the promise to a specific nation and becomes personal between God and us. It’s the covenant inaugurated by the work of Jesus. This covenant was fulfilled by Jesus and confirmed His last night on earth during Passover: “He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you” (Luke 22:19-20).

The new covenant is God’s promise to mankind that He will forgive sin and restore communion with those whose hearts believe in His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus’ death on the cross is the basis of the promise. He defeated death by His resurrection and restored life for those who believe in Him.

We are the people of the new covenant. We can have a personal relationship with our God. This relationship is not based on keeping a set of laws but rather on forgiveness, mercy, and grace.

“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises” ( Hebrews 8:6 ESV).

Discussion questions:

What makes the New Covenant effective and better than the old one? Why is this important?
What promises or characteristics of the new covenant are particularly comforting, reassuring, convicting, or meaningful to you right now?