Sunday
Morning Bible Study
September
2, 2018
Announce
This Thursday is Movie Night
And… there’s popcorn.
Baptism:
What is baptism all about?
Baptism is a step of obedience we take after we’ve decided to follow Jesus.
Some of you were baptized when you were babies, and though we appreciate
your parents’ desire for you to get connected to God, the Bible teaches that
baptism is for believers, not babies.
It will not save you – you are saved by trusting in Jesus.
It will not change your life – your life is changed by following Jesus.
It will make a statement – you can invite your family and friends and let
them see that you are going to follow Jesus.
Baptism is an outward expression of what God has already done in your life.
If you want to know more, look at our website, under “About” / “Baptism
FAQs”, or talk to a pastor.
Here’s a taste of what some of our previous baptisms have looked like:
Introduction
We don’t know for sure who wrote the book of Hebrews, but we do have a
pretty good idea of who it was written to.
Hebrews was written to Jewish believers.
The author expects the
readers to be well acquainted with Levitical worship and sacrifice.
He will constantly quote the Old Testament in a way that expects that the
reader understands what he’s talking about.
We also know that these believers were encountering very strong
persecution.
Times were so bad that some were beginning to wonder if they shouldn’t quit
following Jesus.
We will see three elements woven throughout this letter to the Hebrews.
1. Both Testaments
Even though the Old Testament has become “obsolete” (Heb. 8:13), the entire
book of Hebrews is built upon the clear foundation of the Old Testament.
(Hebrews 8:13 NKJV)
In
that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. Now what
is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
You aren’t going to understand Hebrews, or even the New Testament correctly
unless you learn the Old Testament.
2. Jesus is superior
He’s superior to angels.
He’s superior to Moses and the Torah.
He’s superior to the Levitical priests and their sacrifices.
3. Don’t quit
The ultimate goal of the book is to encourage those who are struggling with
difficult times, and help them to endure.
8:1-6 The Real Tabernacle
:1 Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have
such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens,
:2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord
erected, and not man.
the main point - kephalaion (“head”)
- the chief or main point, the principal thing
:1 We have such a High Priest
High Priest – archiereus –
chief priest, high priest
Chapter seven was all about Jesus being a better high priest than those who
were descendants of Aaron.
:1 seated at the right hand -
Majesty - megalosune -
majesty; of the majesty of God
The writer has been expounding on the Messianic Psalm 110, and has focused
on PS. 110:4, which connected Jesus to Melchizedek. This reference is from the beginning of the
Psalm.
(Psalm 110:1 NKJV) The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right
hand, Till I make
Your enemies Your footstool.”
Illustration
:2 a Minister of the sanctuary
sanctuary – hagios – holy
Used here in the genitive plural, this is
the word used in the phrase, “holy of holies”.
(Hebrews 9:3
NASB95) Behind the second veil there was a tabernacle which is called the
Holy of Holies,
The High Priest was the only one allowed into the Holy of Holies once a
year.
:2 a Minister …of the true tabernacle
minister - leitourgos - a
public minister, a servant of the state; a minister, servant; of the temple; of
one busied with holy things; of a priest
tabernacle - skene - tent,
tabernacle, (made of green boughs, or skins or other materials); of that well
known movable temple of God after the pattern of which the temple at Jerusalem
was built
true - alethinos - that which has not only the
name and resemblance, but the real nature corresponding to the name, in every
respect corresponding to the idea signified by the name, real, true genuine
The very first Jewish worship place was a tent, erected by Moses, and known
as the “Tabernacle”.
From the time of Solomon on, there was a more permanent structure, the
Temple.
The Tabernacle was Moses’ worship place in the wilderness.
Jesus is connected with a different tabernacle.
More in a minute,
If you are a Jewish reader, and you’re reading about Jesus being a High
Priest after the order of Melchizedek, you might get to wondering, “Where
exactly does this priest work?”
The High Priests of the order of Aaron originally worked first in the
special tent Moses set up called the Tabernacle, and then later the Temple that
Solomon built.
Where did Jesus do His “High Priest” work?
He does His work in the “true tabernacle”, which we’ll see in a moment is
actually heaven.
:2 which the Lord erected
erected - pegnumi – to
make firm; to pitch a tent
While Moses is the one who set up the Tabernacle in the wilderness, God had
already set up a “Tabernacle” of another kind.
:3 For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices.
Therefore it is necessary that this One also have something to offer.
it is necessary - anagkaios - necessary; what one can not
do without, indispensable
this one - touton - this;
“this one”
:3 this One also have something to offer
Part of a priest’s duties were to offer gifts and sacrifices to God. Jesus is no different.
What did He have to offer?
The writer won’t get around to answering that question until chapter nine
(9:14).
(Hebrews 9:14 NKJV)
how
much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered
Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve
the living God?
:4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are
priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
:5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was
divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See
that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the
mountain.”
:4 there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law
The author is writing before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
If Jesus had not ascended to heaven, He would not have been a priest not
only because He wasn’t a descendant of Aaron, but because there were already
priests around to do priestly work.
:5 serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things
copy – hupodeigma – pattern, model; example
shadow - skia - shadow; an image cast by an
object and representing the form of that object
Both the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon were just “copies”
and “shadows” of something else.
divinely instructed - chrematizo
– warn; to give a divine command or admonition, to teach from heaven; to be
divinely commanded, admonished, instructed; to be the mouthpiece of divine
revelations, to promulgate the commands of God
Moses was “warned” about making sure he made an accurate model of heaven.
to make - epiteleo - to
bring to an end, accomplish, perfect, execute, complete
Teleo has been a theme through
Hebrews. Maturity, completion. Moses was told to “complete” the tabernacle.
pattern - tupos - the mark of a stroke or blow,
print; a figure formed by a blow or impression; of a figure or image; an
example
shown - deiknuo - to show, expose to the eyes
:5 see that you make all
things according to the pattern
The writer is quoting again from the Law.
Several times (4x) when Moses is given instructions about various parts of
the Tabernacle, God would say something like this:
(Exodus 25:40 NKJV)
And
see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown
you on the mountain.
Moses had been given a glimpse of what he was to build,
and what he saw was a glimpse of heaven.
In describing the pattern for the candlestick:
(Exodus 25:40 NKJV)
And
see to it that you make them according to the pattern which was shown
you on the mountain.
The tent itself:
(Exodus 26:30 NKJV)
And
you shall raise up the tabernacle according to its pattern which you were shown
on the mountain.
The bronze altar:
(Exodus 27:8 NKJV) You shall
make it hollow with boards; as it was shown you on the mountain, so shall they
make it.
Lesson
Heaven’s Model
The Levitical priests served in the Tabernacle and the Temple, and these
were designed to be shadows or models of heaven.
Jesus, on the other hand, does His priestly work in the Real Temple, heaven
itself.
I grew up in the family of an engineer.
My dad designed airplanes for McDonnell Douglas.
One of the things I did as a boy with my dad was to build model airplanes.
I even have some pretty special professional models at home of aircraft my
dad designed but were never made.
As cool as those models are, they aren’t the real thing. They don’t fly. They don’t carry passengers.
If I want to fly to New York, I won’t be flying any of them.
They’re just models.
In my twenties I worked for a year at McDonnell Douglas.
One of the tours they take new employees on are the mockups.
At that time the company was still designing the C-17 cargo plane. I
remember walking through the mockup of the cargo bay.
Yet that mockup didn’t fly.
It was just an example, a model.
When you study the Tabernacle, you find that there is something comparable
to each part in other parts of Scripture where heaven itself is described.
There was an altar with fire and incense burning on it.
When Isaiah had his vision of heaven …
(Isaiah
6:6–7 NKJV) —6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal
which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he
touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin
purged.”
There was a bronze pool called a “sea” that provided water to cleanse the
priests.
In John’s vision of heaven you read,
(Revelation
4:6a NKJV) Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like
crystal.
The inner room in the Tabernacle was called the Holy of Holies, and it was
meant to be a picture of God’s throne room.
The only thing in this room was the Ark of the Covenant.
The lid of the Ark was called the “mercy seat”, a model of
God’s throne.
Molded onto the lid were angelic beings, cherubim. In John’s vision of heaven you catch a
glimpse of them:
(Revelation
4:6b NKJV) …And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were
four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
We had a couple of funerals this weekend – two beloved grandmothers who
both knew Jesus.
The Bible tells us that when we die, when we are “absent from this body”,
that we are present with the Lord.
That’s heaven.
How do I know God is in heaven?
You see it in the model.
The model has God’s throne in it.
Heaven is where God is.
As valuable as the models are, ultimately your goal isn’t
the model, but the real thing.
As we continue our journey through the book of Hebrews, you will see that
Jesus’ whole purpose is about getting us into the throne room of God. He died to get us into heaven.
:6 But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is
also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
:6 Mediator of a better covenant
The focus now shifts from Jesus being better than the Levitical priests, to
Jesus’ New Covenant being better than the Old Covenant.
Mediator - mesites (“middle”)
- one who intervenes between two, either in order to make or restore peace and
friendship, or form a compact, or for ratifying a covenant; a medium of communication,
arbitrator
covenant - diatheke - a
disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to be valid, the last
disposition which one makes of his earthly possessions after his death, a
testament or will; a compact, a covenant, a testament
:6 which was established on better promises
better - kreitton - more
useful, more serviceable, more advantageous; more excellent
promises - epaggelia -
announcement; promise; the act of promising, a promise given or to be given; a
promised good or blessing
established - nomotheteo (“law”
+ “place”) - to enact laws; to be legislated for, furnished with laws
Perfect passive indicative
The passive form was also used here:
(Hebrews 7:11 NKJV)
Therefore,
if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received
the law), what further need was there that another priest should
rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the
order of Aaron?
Such a strange choice of words to talk about Jesus bringing about the New
Covenant.
The writer seems to be pricking the Jewish readers who were hung up with
the “law”, the Old Covenant.
We might tend to think of the New Covenant as the “anti-law” Covenant.
Yet Jesus “legislated” or “legalized” the new covenant through better promises.
And because of this …
:6 He has obtained a more excellent ministry
He has a far better “ministry” than the Levitical priests.
more excellent - diaphoros -
different, varying in kind; excellent, surpassing
This is the “comparative” form of the adjective, “more” excellent.
he has obtained - tugchano -
to hit the mark; of one discharging a javelin or arrow; to reach, attain,
obtain, get, become master of
Perfect, active, indicative
Last week we saw a related word based on the root:
(Hebrews 7:25 NKJV)
Therefore
He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him,
since He always lives to make intercession for them.
to make intercession - entugchano
(“in” + “hit the mark”) – to go to or meet a person; to pray, appeal,
intercede
Lesson
Ministry
There are two different Greek words in the New Testament that are
translated “ministry” or “minister”.
One of them is:
diakoneo – serve (deacon)
Matthew uses it to describe how the angels helped Jesus
after the devil tested Him in the wilderness:
(Matthew
4:11 NKJV) Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered
to Him.
When Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law…
(Matthew
8:15 AV) …the fever left her: and she arose, and ministered unto
them.
It’s a word that describes a household servant. It’s about
serving or helping others.
It’s actually used in Hebrews as well.
(Hebrews
1:14 NKJV) Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister
for those who will inherit salvation?
(Hebrews
6:10 NKJV) For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love
which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the
saints, and do minister.
The word used here, and six other times in Hebrews is:
leitourgia – priestly service (liturgy)
This is what priests do when they offer prayers and
sacrifices.
This kind of “ministry” is aimed at God.
We saw last week that part of Jesus’ ministry is to pray
for us (Heb. 7:25).
(Hebrews
7:25 NKJV) Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come
to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
We’ll see in coming weeks that He will bring a certain
offering (Heb. 9:14)
(Hebrews
9:14 NKJV) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead
works to serve the living God?
We often get into a rut of thinking of ministry only in terms of how we
help one another.
That’s diakoneo.
There is another kind of “ministry”.
It’s what we do to and for God.
It’s what we do in the tabernacle, before His throne.
The early church in Antioch practiced this priestly kind of “ministry”, and
it resulted in them sending out their first missionaries.
(Acts 13:2 NKJV) As they ministered
to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and
Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Notice their ministry was to God.
This kind of “ministry” looks like prayer and worship.
Our writer in Hebrews will tell us:
(Hebrews
13:15 NKJV) Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise
to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
Some of that takes place during the first half of the service where we
sing. We call it “worship”, and sometime
it even involves raising your hands.
Video: Tim
Hawkins – Hand Raising
Worship really isn’t about raising or not raising your hands.
Worship is about what takes place when my heart connects
to God, and I express my praise and love to Him.
Jesus said,
(John
4:24 NKJV) God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in
spirit and truth.
Keep in mind that if this is truly “ministry” (leitourgia), then it’s prayer and praise directed to God.
Sometimes we pray, all we are thinking about is the people
around us, and not God.
Sometimes we fall into the trap of singing on Sunday
morning (or not singing) because of the people around us.
We should have God as our focus.
This word, or forms of it are sprinkled all throughout Hebrews:
(Hebrews 1:7 NKJV) And of the
angels He says: “Who makes
His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.”
(Hebrews 1:14 NKJV)
Are
they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who
will inherit salvation?
(Hebrews 8:2 NKJV) a Minister
of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not
man.
(Hebrews 8:6 NKJV) But now He
has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator
of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.
(Hebrews 9:21 NKJV)
Then
likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the
ministry.
(Hebrews 10:11
NKJV) And every priest stands ministering daily and offering
repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
8:7-13 The New Covenant
:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place
would have been sought for a second.
faultless - amemptos -
blameless, deserving no censure, free from fault or defect
sought - zeteo - to seek
in order to find
:7 that first covenant … a second
Back in chapter seven, the writer raised the issue, “Why does there need to
be a new priesthood after Melchizedek if the Aaronic priesthood was good
enough?”
The answer was that the Aaronic priesthood wasn’t good enough.
Now with the “covenants”.
If the Law of Moses was enough to get you into heaven, then why would there
be something prophesied about called a “new covenant”?
:8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are
coming, says the Lord, when I will
make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—
:8 finding fault with them
finding fault - memphomai -
to blame, find fault
The Old Covenant was okay, but the people weren’t.
The people didn’t “continue” or obey the Old Covenant. (v.9)
God makes a new covenant based on grace instead of law.
:8 I will make a new covenant
I will make - sunteleo - to end together or at the
same time; finish, complete; to effect, make
There’s our “teleo” theme again –
finish, mature, complete.
Future active indicative
It was actually in v.5 (“to make the tabernacle”)
One of the themes of Hebrews is to go on to maturity.
For the Jewish readers, they may want to cling to the “Old” Covenant under
Moses, but it’s the New Covenant is at that place of maturity.
new – kainos – new;
recently made, fresh; of a new kind, unprecedented
covenant - diatheke - a treaty, a will; a covenant, a testament
We might call it a “contract”.
The word is found 33 times in the New Testament, 17 times in Hebrews. The
book with the next most occurrences is Galatians, where it is found 3 times.
The Hebrew word is berith.
It too carries the idea of a “treaty”, or an alliance of friendship.
Your marriage is supposed to be a “covenant” (Mal. 2:14)
(Malachi 2:14 NKJV)
Yet
you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has
been witness Between you
and the wife of your youth, With whom you have dealt treacherously; Yet she is
your companion And your
wife by covenant.
Noah had a covenant with God (Gen. 9:9)
(Genesis 9:9 NKJV) “And as for
Me, behold, I establish My covenant with you and with your descendants after
you,
Abraham had a covenant with God (Gen. 17:2)
(Genesis 17:2 NKJV)
And
I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.”
Moses had a covenant with God (Ex. 19:5)
(Exodus 19:5 NKJV) Now
therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you
shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is
Mine.
Moses’ covenant is called the “Old Covenant”, or the “Old Testament”.
Lesson
The New Covenant
This is the meaning of the words “New Testament”. The New Testament is
God’s new covenant, God’s new contract with mankind.
This wasn’t an idea that was cooked up by the New Testament followers.
There was a prophecy in the Old Testament about God making a New Covenant with
mankind.
Verses 8-12 are directly from Jer. 31:31-34, written 800 years after the
Old Covenant, and 600 years before Jesus.
(Jeremiah 31:31–34
NKJV) —31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and with the house of Judah—32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the
day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,
My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds,
and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My
people. 34 No more
shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know
the Lord,’ for they all shall
know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their
iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
This won’t be the last we’ll here of Jeremiah’s prophecy of the New
Covenant. It will pop up again in Heb. 10:16-17.
(Hebrews 10:16–17
NKJV) —16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after
those days, says the Lord: I
will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He
adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
Jesus connected Himself to the New Covenant at the Last Supper.
(Matthew 26:27–28
NKJV) —27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them,
saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many
for the remission of sins.
It’s His blood that brings forgiveness
This is the crucial focus of the New Testament, that God
Himself has taken care of our sins through the blood of His Son.
This same phraseology is found four places (Mat. 26:28;
Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20; 1Cor. 11:25)
(Mark
14:24 NKJV) And He said to them, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which
is shed for many.
(Luke
22:20 NKJV) Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This
cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.
(1
Corinthians 11:25 NKJV) In the same manner He also took the cup after supper,
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you
drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
:9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the
day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because
they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
took them - epilambanomai -
to take in addition, to lay hold of, take possession of, overtake, attain,
attain to; to lay hold of or to seize upon anything with the hands, to take
hold of, lay hold of; metaph. to rescue one from peril, to help, succour
continue – emmeno – to
remain in, continue; to persevere in anything, a state of mind etc.
disregarded – ameleo – to
be careless of, to neglect
The New Covenant would be different from the Old, the Law of Moses, which
they received when they came out of Egypt.
This continues to quote directly from Jer. 31.
: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 in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be
their God, and they shall be My people.
:10 this is the covenant that I will make
covenant - diatheke - a
disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to be valid, the last
disposition which one makes of his earthly possessions after his death, a
testament or will; a compact, a covenant, a testament
I will make - diatithemai - to arrange, dispose of,
one’s own affairs; to dispose of by will, make a testament; to make a covenant,
enter into a covenant, with one
This is the root word of the word “covenant” (diatheke).
“the covenant I will covenant with …”
The Greek here is literally, “this is the covenant that I will covenant
with the house of Israel”
:10 I will put My laws in their mind … hearts
I will put - didomi - to
give; to give something to someone
mind - dianoia - the mind
as a faculty of understanding, feeling, desiring; understanding; mind, i.e.
spirit, way of thinking and feeling
hearts - kardia - the
heart
The Old Covenant was built on Ten Commandments written on stone tablets.
The New Covenant will be written on our hearts.
Your life is not to be influenced by some outward, cold authority.
Your life is to be influenced by what God puts inside of you.
He wants our lives to be guided from the inside out.
The New Covenant is about what’s inside.
Lesson
Inside Out
Ezekiel also hints at the New Covenant:
(Ezekiel 36:26–27
NKJV) —26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will
take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put
My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My
judgments and do them.
I think Paul is alluding to this when he writes,
(Romans 8:4 NKJV) that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
When we walk in the power of the Holy Spirit, God helps us
to walk in a way that is pleasing Him, in a way that actually looks like the
keeping of the commandments.
Paul writes more about this:
(2 Corinthians 3:3
NKJV) clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written
not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but
on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.
:11 None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying,
‘Know the Lord,’ for all
shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.
neighbor - plesion - a
neighbor; a friend
know - ginosko - to learn
to know, come to know, get a knowledge of perceive, feel; to know, understand,
perceive, have knowledge of
shall know - eido - to
see; to perceive with the eyes; to perceive by any of the senses; to perceive,
notice, discern, discover; to know; to know of anything; to know, i.e. get
knowledge of, understand, perceive
:11 for all shall know Me
There will be a day when there will no longer be a need for witnessing
because everyone will know the Lord.
This part of the New Covenant has not yet happened.
Lesson
It’s Who you know
The New Covenant brings us into a relationship with God.
He doesn’t want us to know about
Him, God wants us to know Him.
The New Covenant is about knowing God
We can know Him because the obstruction of sin has been
removed that keeps us from Him.
Illustration
A small town prosecuting attorney called his first witness
to the stand in a trial-a grandmotherly, elderly woman. He approached her and
asked, “Mrs. Jones, do you know me?” She responded, “Why, yes, I do know you
Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a young boy. And frankly, you’ve
been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, you
manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a
rising big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you never will amount to
anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.” The lawyer was
stunned. Not knowing what else to do he pointed across the room and asked,
“Mrs. Williams, do you know the defense attorney?” She again replied, “Why, yes
I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. I used to baby-sit
him for his parents. And he, too, has been a real disappointment to me. He’s
lazy, bigoted, he has a drinking problem. The man can’t build a normal
relationship with anyone and his law practice is one of the shoddiest in the
entire state. Yes, I know him.” At this point, the judge rapped the courtroom
to silence and called both counselors to the bench. In a very quiet voice, he
said with menace, “If either of you asks her if she knows me, you’ll be jailed
for contempt!
Some of you might be thinking that you’re not sure if you really want to
know God.
What if he’s like that cranky old lady?
Nobody loves you more than He does.
Even though He knows everything about you, He still loves you.
:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
:12 I will be merciful to their unrighteousness
merciful - hileos -
propitious, merciful
unrighteousness - adikia -
injustice, of a judge; unrighteousness of heart and life; a deed violating law
and justice, act of unrighteousness
Whereas the Old Covenant was all about needing to perfectly obey the Law or
face the consequences, the New Covenant is all about mercy.
:13 In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first
obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish
away.
:13 “A new covenant,” … made the first obsolete
made … obsolete - palaioo -
to make ancient or old; to become old, to be worn out; of things worn out by
time and use; to declare a thing to be old and so about to be abrogated
becoming obsolete - palaioo -
to make ancient or old; to become old, to be worn out; of things worn out by
time and use; to declare a thing to be old and so about to be abrogated
growing old – gerasko
- to grow old; of things and institutions: to fail from age, be obsolescent
ready - eggus - near, of
place and position; of times imminent and soon to come pass
vanish away - aphanismos - disappearance; destruction;
from aphanizo - to snatch out of
sight, to put out of view, to make unseen; to cause to vanish away, to destroy,
consume
The fact that Jeremiah’s prophecy uses the word “new” means that there
would be a day when the “old” will be discarded.
Keep in mind those of you who find yourself tempted to think that we must
strictly follow the Law of Moses.
The Old Covenant is made obsolete by the New Covenant.
:12 their sins …I will remember no more
sins - hamartia - sin; to
be without a share in; to miss the mark; to err, be mistaken
lawless deeds - anomia -
the condition of without law; because ignorant of it; because of violating it;
contempt and violation of law, iniquity, wickedness
remember - mnaomai - to
remind; to be recalled or to return to one’s mind, to remind one’s self of, to
remember; to be recalled to mind, to be remembered, had in remembrance; to
remember a thing; be mindful of
The New Covenant is about extreme forgiveness.
God doesn’t just forgive, He forgets.
Lesson
Forgetfulness
Sometimes it’s pretty hard to forget a person’s sin. We can try to forgive,
but it’s hard to forget.
Illustration
A newly ordained preacher and his young wife were talking about being more
considerate of each other. The good wife promised that she would stop being so
critical of his sleep-inducing sermons. He, in return, promised to honor her
privacy and stop looking through her dresser drawers. The preacher was true to
his word, and never looked through his wife’s dresser drawers; the good wife
was never openly critical of her husband’s sermons; and their marriage
progressed smoothly.
After 50 years, their children gave a great party to celebrate the golden
anniversary of the preacher and his wife. Many people came to congratulate the
happy couple, and brought lovely gifts. That evening, as they were putting the
gifts away, the preacher saw that his wife had left one dresser drawer slightly
open. He tried as hard as he could to withstand the temptation, but he finally
opened the drawer and looked inside. There he found 3 eggs, and $10,000.00 in cash.
He was greatly puzzled by this, and went to question his wife. “Oh,” she said.
“Well, you remember when we spoke of being more considerate with each other all
those years ago?” The preacher, feeling profoundly guilty, answered “yes.”
“Well,” she continued, “I promised to stop criticizing your boring sermons, but
every time you gave a sermon that was a real snoozer, I put an egg into that
drawer.” The preacher smiled. “Well, that’s not so bad. 50 years of sermons and
only 3 eggs! But what about all that money?” His wife quietly responded, “Every
time I got a dozen eggs, I sold them.”
The good news is, God doesn’t keep ANY marks on how many times you’ve
sinned, if your sins have been forgiven.
Because Jesus has paid the price for our sin, our sin is completely forgiven.
Corrie Ten Boom used to say,
When God buries our sins in the deepest sea, He posts a sign which
reads: No Fishing!
I think there’s a sense in which we need to learn to forgive this same way.
(Ephesians 4:32
NKJV) And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
even as God in Christ forgave you.
Sometimes it’s necessary to be careful about some people who continually
abuse us and take advantage of us.
But unforgiveness will come back to bite us.
Choosing not to forgive will lead to bitterness and
resentment.
Resentment is one of those things that will lead you right
into sin.
You are only hurting yourself when you choose to hold on
to a grudge instead of letting it go.