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Devotional

Day 1: When Covenants Expire

The old covenant served as a tutor, revealing humanity’s inability to achieve righteousness. But when Jesus fulfilled the law, He established a permanent new covenant. The writer of Hebrews compares the old system to an expired contract—still useful for learning, but powerless to save. God designed this transition to free us from endless striving. [26:43]

The law’s purpose was never to make us holy, but to expose our need for a Savior. Jesus didn’t abolish the law—He completed it. Now we relate to God through Christ’s perfection, not our performance.

Many still live like Pharisees, measuring their worth by rule-keeping. What expired habit or religious ritual are you clinging to? “For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.”
(Hebrews 8:7, NASB)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal one area where you still rely on rules instead of Christ’s finished work.
Challenge: Write down three things you used to do to “earn” God’s favor, then cross them out while thanking Jesus for His grace.

Day 2: Ignorance and Self-Made Righteousness

The Jews in Romans 10 stumbled over Christ because they preferred their own religious efforts. Paul exposes the deadly pattern: ignorance of God’s gift leads to self-reliance, which blocks grace. They polished the law’s demands while missing the Messiah standing before them. [03:19]

God’s righteousness comes only through faith in Christ. When we grasp this, we stop negotiating with God through rituals or penance. Jesus became the “end” of the law—both its fulfillment and termination.

Where are you still trying to negotiate with God? “For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”
(Romans 10:3, NASB)

Prayer: Confess any pride that makes you add conditions to Christ’s sacrifice.
Challenge: Identify one relationship where you’ve been judgmental, then affirm God’s grace for that person aloud.

Day 3: Dividing Truth, Keeping Christ Central

Timothy’s mandate to “rightly divide” Scripture wasn’t about academic precision—it was about making Jesus the lens for every text. The old covenant concealed Christ in shadows; the new covenant reveals Him as the substance. Preachers who moralize David’s courage without pointing to David’s greater Son misuse the Word. [19:25]

Every Bible story whispers Jesus’ name. The law’s demands, the prophets’ pleas, and the psalms’ praises all find their “Yes” in Him.

When you read the Old Testament, do you hunt for rules or for Christ? “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”
(2 Timothy 2:15, NASB)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for being the key to understanding all Scripture.
Challenge: Read Psalm 23 today, underlining every phrase that points to Jesus’ shepherd-heart.

Day 4: From Tutor to Transformation

Galatians 3 compares the law to a strict schoolmaster who escorted us to Christ’s classroom. The law shouted, “You’re failing!” Grace whispers, “You’re forgiven.” Once the law drives us to Jesus, its job ends. Now we learn from the Spirit, not stone tablets. [37:01]

The law diagnosed our sin; Christ delivers the cure. Transformation happens not by fearing punishment, but by receiving our new identity as God’s beloved children.

What area of your life still feels like a report card? “Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
(Galatians 3:24, NASB)

Prayer: Ask the Holy Spirit to replace your performance anxiety with childlike trust.
Challenge: Share one way Christ’s grace has changed you with a fellow believer today.

Day 5: Dead to Law, Alive to Grace

Roman Christians struggled to believe they’d truly escaped the law’s grip. Paul thunders: “You died to the law!” Like a widow freed from her marriage vows, we’re now wed to Christ. The law’s voice holds no power over those swimming in grace’s ocean. [42:09]

Holiness now flows from intimacy, not intimidation. When we grasp our union with Christ, sin loses its appeal. We obey not to earn love, but because we’re already loved.

Where do you still feel enslaved? “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
(Romans 6:14, NASB)

Prayer: Declare your freedom from legalism aloud: “I am under grace, not law!”
Challenge: When a condemning thought arises today, counter it by quoting Romans 6:14.

Sermon Summary

Ignorance of the new covenant stands behind a lot of unbelief. Paul shows it straight in Romans 10:3-4: ignorance of God’s righteousness pushes Israel to build their own, and that self-effort refuses grace. The text turns this into a pattern that still runs: not knowing what God has already done in Christ drives people back into doing, and doing hardens the heart against receiving. The gospel then announces, God has done something through Jesus Christ; now the believer must know, believe, and receive. When that knowledge is thin, faith is thin.

The law is not bad, but it is temporary. The law is perfect; the people under it are not. Hebrews 8 says the first covenant was found at fault because it could expose sin but could not fix the heart. God used that covenant to reveal utter helplessness and then hand the sinner to Christ. So the old covenant functions like a tutor and a shadow. Galatians 3 calls the new covenant “faith,” because in it righteousness, sonship, and life come by believing, not by doing.

Rightly dividing the word of truth becomes crucial. The whole Bible is God’s word, but the two covenants are not the same administration. In the old, the law sits at the center; in the new, Jesus and His finished work sit at the center. The old conceals the new; the new reveals the old. When those lines blur, believers end up like someone standing on two boats, wobbling between condemnation and confusion, always tired, never stable.

Hebrews 8:13 calls the old covenant obsolete, like expired food. Christ has fulfilled it. Romans 10:4 says, “Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” That is why gift-righteousness must be confessed without flinching. To deny being “100 percent righteous before God” in Christ is not humility; it is unbelief. At the cross Jesus became sin without sinning, so that the believer becomes righteous without self-righteousing.

Romans 6:14 seals the new arrangement: not under law but under grace. The believer died to the law and now lives in union with Christ. Law can expose but cannot transform. Grace transforms the heart and then the behavior. True evangelism flows from that heart, set on fire by the gospel. The gospel is the power of God, and when Jesus and His new covenant sit at the center, the church stops chasing hype and starts walking in power.

Key Takeaways

1. Ignorance breeds self-effort and unbelief. Ignorance of God’s gift-righteousness pushes the soul back into building its own standing by works. That self-project does not just fail; it refuses to submit to grace. Faith grows where the finished work is known and received. [03:19]
2. The law tutored, Jesus fulfills. The law exposes sin and helplessness, then hands the sinner to Christ. Its job was never heart-transformation but signposting. Fulfillment in Jesus does not dishonor the law; it honors its purpose by completing it. [38:06]
3. Rightly divide old and new. Scripture must be taught with the covenants distinguished, Jesus in the center, and the storyline of redemption kept straight. The old conceals the new; the new reveals the old. Mixing them breeds condemnation, confusion, and spiritual instability. [19:07]
4. Righteousness is received, not achieved. In Christ, righteousness is credited, not earned. Refusing that status sounds humble but actually contradicts the gospel. Gift-righteousness frees the heart to love God without bargaining and to obey without fear. [34:52]
5. Grace empowers inside-out holiness. Law can restrain but cannot renew; grace reshapes desire and then conduct. Union with Christ, not rule-keeping, breaks sin’s dominion. Growth flows from identity, not from grit. [42:09]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:25] - Why covenants matter
[01:11] - You need to know
[03:19] - Ignorance to self-effort to unbelief
[06:27] - Old shadow, Christ fulfills
[08:07] - Mixing covenants breeds instability
[11:09] - Standing on two boats
[12:34] - Gospel, not hype, ignites revival
[16:27] - Law-centered vs Jesus-centered
[19:07] - Rightly dividing the word
[22:07] - Evangelism fueled by awe
[26:43] - Hebrews 8: the transition
[29:29] - Old covenant is obsolete
[32:30] - Christ the end of the law
[34:52] - Righteousness credited by faith

Bible Study Guide

Bible reading
Romans 10:3-4 (ESV)
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Observation questions

According to Romans 10:3-4, what progression occurs when people are ignorant of God’s righteousness?
What does Hebrews 8:13 compare the old covenant to, and why?
What does Romans 6:14 declare about believers’ relationship to the law?
How does the sermon describe the spiritual state of someone trying to live under both old and new covenants? (See [11:09])

Interpretation questions

Why might ignorance of God’s gift-righteousness lead people to rely on self-effort instead of grace?
The law is called a “tutor” in Galatians 3:24. What does this metaphor reveal about the purpose of the old covenant?
How does mixing old and new covenant principles create spiritual instability, as illustrated by the “two boats” analogy? (See [11:09])
Romans 6:14 states believers are “not under law but under grace.” How does this distinction shape a Christian’s identity and behavior?

Application questions

In what areas of your life do you still feel pressure to “build your own righteousness” through effort instead of resting in Christ’s finished work? How can you shift your focus?
The old covenant is compared to expired food (Hebrews 8:13). Are there habits, teachings, or mindsets you need to “stop eating” because they belong to an obsolete system?
How might you practically “rightly divide” Scripture this week—studying the Old Testament while keeping Jesus and the new covenant at the center?
The sermon says grace “reshapes desire and then conduct” (See [41:27]). What specific heart attitude or behavior could you surrender to grace for transformation this week?
When sharing your faith, how can you focus more on awe of the gospel (See [22:07]) than on methods or pressure?
Do you ever struggle to fully believe you are “100% righteous before God” in Christ? What truth or Scripture could you meditate on to combat this unbelief?
The law exposes sin but grace empowers holiness. How can you rely on your union with Christ (not rules) to overcome a recurring struggle?

Sermon Clips

75s

“the law taught us how sinful we are. The law taught us How helpless we are to save ourselves. The law taught us how impossible it is to approach God by our own strength. The law taught us. Amen? The law taught us. by teaching us how helpless we are, the law pointed us to Jesus Christ who can help us. Amen. Amen. And now that the law has brought us to Christ, we don't need to live under the law anymore. We live under the power of new life in Christ. Amen.”

51s

“Amen. Have you ever tried to stand on two canoes? Have you ever tried that? Now if you if you are a good leg splitter, maybe you'll survive, but most of us will not. If you try to stand on two boats, it's very unstable. It'll be very tiring, and eventually, you'll fall. Many Christians are living life like this. One foot on old covenant. One foot on new covenant. And they wonder why their Christian life is so tired.”

64s

“In the heart of many believers, they're still mixing old covenant and new covenant. Still standing on two boats. And that is the problem. Why there's so much unbelief? Why we struggle to believe that God truly loves Why we struggle to believe that we are righteous in his sight? Why we struggle to believe that we are brand new in Christ? You see what I'm saying? And by the way, the law cannot transform our heart, but Jesus transform our hearts then transform our behavior. Amen. That's the power of this new covenant.”

62s

“Before the new covenant came. Why is the new covenant called the system of faith? Because in the new covenant, we're not saved by doing, we are saved by believing. We don't become righteous by doing, we become righteous by believing. We don't become a child of God by doing, we become a child of God by believing. Amen. Amen. And so, the new covenant is a system of faith. That's why it says before the new covenant came, before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law.”

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