Hebrews 8:10-13 The New Covenant of Perfect Love

Hebrews 8:10-13

10 “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts.

And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 11 “And they shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, ‘ Know the Lord, ’ For all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.

12 “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” 13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

Background

The difference between the old and the new covenant is the life of God’s only Son. God paid a hefty price when He decided the first covenant as faulty and inadequate in turning humanity back to Himself. God knew the only way to save humanity from certain destruction is to make a new covenant at the cost of His only Son, and this decision was borne out of perfect love. Today’s passage teaches us how believers of the new covenant should relate to God and to one another. It is through the lifestyle of perfect love that believers live the abundant life and obtain the blessings of Abraham.

Observation

The text, extracted from Jeremiah 31:27-40 is a prophecy to the Israelites concerning a new covenant that God will make with them. The new covenant promise contains three main features:

–           I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. In the first covenant, the Law is a system of moral codes purposed to lead the people towards obtaining Abraham’s blessing. In the new covenant, the Law went beyond superficial and behavioral compliances to address the hidden issues of the heart. Through the new covenant, God will regenerate hearts by removing the seat of rebellion by replacing it with the Spirit of perfect love and the fear of God: I will write them (the laws) on their hearts. In essence, the laws in the new covenant are manifested as the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control etc.

–           And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. This feature on the surface seems to be a repeat of the first covenant. However, what is really different here is the removal of men’s resistance towards acknowledging God as Lord and Father: For all will know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. The people who are under the new covenant will have a new awareness of their identity as God’s children. God has always called the Israelites His children, but the first covenant could not fulfill God’s purpose because men have rejected Him as their Father.

–           I will remember their sins no more. Despite Israel’s incessant rebellion, God has not given up on them. He said to Israel, “I have loved you with an everlasting love” Jeremiah 31:3. He does not want Israel to be destroyed but to be blessed. However, as every sin requires a just recompense, God’s unwillingness to exact justice from the people has left unfinished business that must be resolved. That resolution is found at the cross of Christ where justice and mercy meet. Justice is met when sin finds its resolution through the suffering of the Son. In the same vein, mercy is fulfilled when sinners are acquitted of their transgressions. Therefore, when God said, “I will remember their sins no more”, He puts the burden of righteous judgment behind Him having resolved it once for all by the sacrifice of His Son.

13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.

When God spoke of the new covenant, He was determined to make the first covenant useless. God’s determination to introduce the new covenant is played out in the incarnation of His Son, and His subsequent sacrifice on the cross. The obsoleting of the first covenant involves men forsaking the old covenant mindset and putting on a new mindset fitting for the new covenant.

Truth

The new covenant mentality is about learning to be loved perfectly; learning to love others perfectly; and learning to forgive ourselves and others. Experiencing the new covenant life involves forsaking our old mentality and embracing a new mindset. We cannot remain in our old mindset and expect to experience the blessings of the new covenant. What are these new mindsets?

1.  Learn to let God love us with His perfect love. There are Christians who could not trust God to lead because they have lost the propensity to trust. Every time when they face certain challenges, they start to doubt God’s love. Many were once betrayed by their friends, family members and even by authority figures they once respected. Hence, they could not accept the perfect love of God. The old covenant mindset is one of self-reliance and unbelief towards God. Until people encounter God for themselves and recognize His lovingkindness, they cannot obtain the blessings of the new covenant. God made a covenant with the people: I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, we must accept that God’s love is unlike that of ordinary men. For His love is perfect and His desire to save is not scuffed by men’s imperfection. Hence, we must do all to guard our hearts against unbelief and learn to relate with God through His perfect love.

What did God do that displayed His perfect love?

–           He sends the Holy Spirit who indwells our hearts permanently. The Holy Spirit infuses believers with the gifts and the virtues of God. With the indwelling Spirit, believers possess the capabilities of Christ and manifest the fruit and the gifts of the Spirit. Hence, with the Spirit, we are able to overcome challenges much bigger than ourselves to obtain the promises of Abraham.

–           His plans to prosper us will not change. His perfect love insures His plans to bless our family with peace, and health, and to prosper the works of our hands. God said to the people, “‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope’” Jeremiah 29:11. His plan to prosper us does not change despite our incessant rebellion. However, no matter how wonderful God’s plans may be, they are still contingent on our willingness to obey and walk by His instructions. Therefore, the more we trust Him and walk in His instructions, the earlier we experience breakthrough.

2.  Learn to love others perfectly. As we experience God’s perfect love, we are compelled to relate to others through perfect love. However, that does not mean giving handouts to every poor person we meet or laying hands on every sick person that comes our way. In perfect love, we speak the truth with the motive to build up. God made a new covenant with His people by sending His Spirit into their hearts enabling them to live a life of perfect love: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. Love does not count the faults of those who have hurt us. Love covers the faults and weaknesses of the innocent. Love compels us to go an extra mile for others. Love puts the interests of others before our own. Love accepts others without trying to change them. As believers grow in perfect love, the measure of their spiritual authority and favor with God increases.

3.  Learn to forgive yourself and others. God made a new covenant with the people: I will remember their sins no more. As God forgave us, we must hence learn to forgive ourselves for the wrongs that we have done. Those who could not leave the past behind, constantly live in regret thinking what life could have been if they have not committed those mistakes. God’s forgiveness means no more debt to pay or consequences to bear. Men may not forgive us for our mistakes, but God has certainly forgiven us; and that is all that matters. God is constantly working to restore the damage that we have done. Where the consequence of sin is great, but His grace towards us is greater. Paul said, “but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” Romans 5:20. God said to the people who was suffering because of their sins, “Restrain your voice from weeping… there is hope for your future” Jeremiah 31:16,17.

As God has forgiven us and saved us from eternal condemnation, we must also learn to forgive those who have wronged us. What kind of a person am I… If I having received divine forgiveness and spared from eternal condemnation could not forgive those who have hurt me?

Application

1. Do you find it a struggle to believe that God will eventually lift you out of your problems? Do you find it easier to trust something that you can see and hold in your hands than in God whom you cannot see? The people in the days of Moses could not trust God nor take Him at His word. As a result, they missed out on God’s promises. Let us open our hearts and invite the Holy Spirit to fill us with assurances of His promises.
2. Do you find yourself easily agitated by the behavior of some? In view of God’s perfect love towards us, let us learn to accept others as they are without trying to change them. Learn to be a blessing to people by bringing out the best in them. By being sensitive to their feelings and by being appreciative of their contributions, God’s perfect love is displayed through us.

Dear Lord, thank you for holding on to me despite my incessant rebellion. Send your Holy Spirit into my heart, as I seek to experience more of your perfect love. Anoint me with your virtues and your power and use me to be blessing to others. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.