Transformative Power of the New Covenant in Christ
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The New Covenant is extremely important to us, and it's extremely important that all of us understand and embrace and absorb and make it our own. The New Covenant, or the new agreement, is between God and man. That's simple but that important. The agreement between you and your boss pales in significance to the agreement between God and you. [00:00:24]
The Old Covenant, with its regulations and commandments, has been rendered obsolete by the New Covenant, which calls us to a higher standard of living, one that is not merely about external adherence to rules but about internal transformation and purity of heart. This transformation is a process that requires our cooperation and a deep commitment to purity. [00:04:31]
What is a well-run life? A well-run Christian life, living according to the new agreement, is one that is laser-focused on its goal. Here's the goal of the new agreement: Romans chapter 8 verse 29, "He predestined you." It is as if an angel has come, God himself has come and told you, "Here is the goal for your life: to become conformed to the image of His Son." [00:07:39]
This is the goal of the new agreement: to be transformed to be just like Jesus. So then it becomes extremely important for us to understand what it is about Jesus, even as he was a carpenter, that we can be like. Let's even stop for a second here and let us ask ourselves, "Lord Jesus, do I want to be like you?" [00:12:37]
If we ought to be like Jesus, that should become so much more important. It should almost look like all other goals don't even exist. Or like the way Jesus said it, one should look like love and the other one should look like hate. If you don't hate the most loved ones in your family compared to your love for me, you're not worthy to be my disciple. [00:14:38]
We must make this zeal and goal all day. It'll change us. It'll change what we prioritize in our life. It'll change how we spend our time. It'll change what we value. It will change how we respond when things go wrong. All of this comes back to, "Lord Jesus, let me look at the agreement, and the agreement you made was that I will be like you." [00:17:22]
If you have this hope fixed on being like Jesus, this is what we would do: we would purify ourselves as he is pure. So this gives me a very clear idea of what Jesus was when he was twelve years old, making copper, making tables, or going to school. I have no idea what he was doing when he was twelve years old or twenty-two years old, but one thing I know is that he was pure. [00:20:23]
We must be absolutely floored by the impossibility of our being able to live up to the agreement. That's extremely important before we come to this point that God will do it. We must absorb the weight that it is impossible for us to fulfill the new agreement by ourselves. That shows us our need. Blessed are the poor, those who are needy, those who lack. [00:27:01]
We are so surrounded by the message of grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, that it becomes a cheap grace because we have not recognized the impossibility of it all because we have lowered the standard. The standard is that we must become like Jesus in the purity of his character. [00:29:01]
We need faith, not that God will move us out of the wilderness, as we heard, not that God will move us out of the desert. We need faith that this is a new thing God is gonna do in your life. This is the new agreement that God will make a roadway in the wilderness, that God will make rivers in the desert. [00:30:35]
We never need to feel guilty as we are making this journey forward. We always need to understand the great weight of what every sin does, but we don't need to feel condemned because the blood of Jesus can cleanse us when we confess our sins to him. [00:35:29]
Sin is more serious than cancer. That's what this means for putting it all together and trying to say this is the new agreement. Why is sin more serious than cancer? Because you'll never go to hell because of cancer. Well, you don't deal with your sin, you'll go to hell for eternity. [00:40:07]
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The Old Covenant, with its regulations and commandments, has been rendered obsolete by the New Covenant, which calls us to a higher standard of living, one that is not merely about external adherence to rules but about internal transformation and purity of heart. This transformation is a process that requires our cooperation and a deep commitment to purity. [00:04:31]
What is a well-run life? A well-run Christian life, living according to the new agreement, is one that is laser-focused on its goal. Here's the goal of the new agreement: Romans chapter 8 verse 29, "He predestined you." It is as if an angel has come, God himself has come and told you, "Here is the goal for your life: to become conformed to the image of His Son." [00:07:39]
This is the goal of the new agreement: to be transformed to be just like Jesus. So then it becomes extremely important for us to understand what it is about Jesus, even as he was a carpenter, that we can be like. Let's even stop for a second here and let us ask ourselves, "Lord Jesus, do I want to be like you?" [00:12:37]
If we ought to be like Jesus, that should become so much more important. It should almost look like all other goals don't even exist. Or like the way Jesus said it, one should look like love and the other one should look like hate. If you don't hate the most loved ones in your family compared to your love for me, you're not worthy to be my disciple. [00:14:38]
We must make this zeal and goal all day. It'll change us. It'll change what we prioritize in our life. It'll change how we spend our time. It'll change what we value. It will change how we respond when things go wrong. All of this comes back to, "Lord Jesus, let me look at the agreement, and the agreement you made was that I will be like you." [00:17:22]
If you have this hope fixed on being like Jesus, this is what we would do: we would purify ourselves as he is pure. So this gives me a very clear idea of what Jesus was when he was twelve years old, making copper, making tables, or going to school. I have no idea what he was doing when he was twelve years old or twenty-two years old, but one thing I know is that he was pure. [00:20:23]
We must be absolutely floored by the impossibility of our being able to live up to the agreement. That's extremely important before we come to this point that God will do it. We must absorb the weight that it is impossible for us to fulfill the new agreement by ourselves. That shows us our need. Blessed are the poor, those who are needy, those who lack. [00:27:01]
We are so surrounded by the message of grace, grace, grace, grace, grace, that it becomes a cheap grace because we have not recognized the impossibility of it all because we have lowered the standard. The standard is that we must become like Jesus in the purity of his character. [00:29:01]
We need faith, not that God will move us out of the wilderness, as we heard, not that God will move us out of the desert. We need faith that this is a new thing God is gonna do in your life. This is the new agreement that God will make a roadway in the wilderness, that God will make rivers in the desert. [00:30:35]
We never need to feel guilty as we are making this journey forward. We always need to understand the great weight of what every sin does, but we don't need to feel condemned because the blood of Jesus can cleanse us when we confess our sins to him. [00:35:29]
Sin is more serious than cancer. That's what this means for putting it all together and trying to say this is the new agreement. Why is sin more serious than cancer? Because you'll never go to hell because of cancer. Well, you don't deal with your sin, you'll go to hell for eternity. [00:40:07]
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