Old Things Passed Away

Q: What does the Bible say about the new covenant?

The new covenant represents the fulfillment of God's promises, superseding the old covenant and establishing a relationship through grace. The new covenant, as referenced in Hebrews 8:13, signifies the transformation from the old covenant of types and shadows to the eternal and perfect fulfillment found in Jesus Christ. In this new covenant, God promises to write His laws in the hearts and minds of His people, not merely citing moral laws but the truth of the gospel itself (Romans 2:14-15). As believers, we come to understand our relationship with God through the grace demonstrated in Christ's sacrifice, fulfilling all righteousness and establishing a direct connection with the Father, wherein we are His people and He is our God (Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Q: How do we know God's mercy is true?

God’s mercy is assured through His covenant promises and the redemptive work of Christ, who satisfies God’s justice. God’s mercy stems from His covenant promises and His commitment to be merciful, as articulated in Hebrews 8:12. The assurance that God has decided to show mercy is grounded in the work of Jesus Christ, whose sacrificial death satisfied divine justice. This means that when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us (1 John 1:9) because He has already placed the penalty for our sins upon Christ. God’s declaration of mercy highlights His character as just and merciful simultaneously, ensuring that His love for His elect undergirds their relationship with Him (Romans 9:15-16).

Q: Why is remembering Christ's sacrifice important?

Remembering Christ's sacrifice is central to the Christian faith as it signifies the fulfillment of the new covenant and our redemption. The act of remembering Christ’s sacrifice at the Lord’s Supper is pivotal in Christian doctrine as it acknowledges the fulfillment of God’s promises found in the new covenant established by Christ's blood (Luke 22:20). It serves as a reminder that through His death and resurrection, every requirement of the law has been satisfied, and believers are justified before God. This remembrance calls the church to reflect on their shared faith, recognize their dependence on grace, and commit to living in light of the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, it emphasizes unity within the body of believers as they partake together in remembrance of what the Lord has done (1 Corinthians 11:26).

Q: How does God write His laws in our hearts?

God writes His laws in our hearts through the Holy Spirit, facilitating a deeper understanding and love for His Word. God's promise to write His laws in the hearts of His people, as mentioned in Hebrews 8:10, comes through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. This transformation allows believers to not only comprehend the moral law but also to embrace the gospel's truths as their own (1 John 3:23-24). It signifies an internal change where the heart becomes inclined to love God's commands rather than see them as mere rules. This internalization fosters a genuine desire to align one’s life with God’s will, illustrating that true obedience flows from a heart changed by grace, aligning our affections with those of our Savior.

Turn with me to the book of Hebrews,
chapter 8. Hebrews, chapter 8. I'd like to look this evening
at one verse of Scripture, verse 13, last one in this chapter. This is what Hebrews 8.13 says,
In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now
that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Let's pray together. Our Father, thank You again. Oh, for the blessed privilege
of coming together and being able to meet in the presence
of our precious Savior and to hear the unsearchable riches
of the glorious grace of our God. Lord, would you speak to our
hearts tonight. Prepare our hearts even now as
we remember the Lord Jesus. In His name we pray. Amen. The last time we met together,
we considered five newly revealed covenant blessings that were
revealed by the Lord Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of God who speaks,
by the very voice of the shepherd as the Holy Spirit moved upon
the Apostle to pen the words to the people of God, promises
that could never have been known by the types and shadows of the
first covenant. Covenant promises, covenant blessings. This is the one just to remember
what we looked at We were in verses 10 to 12 last time. This is the first one. The Lord
said, I will put My laws into their mind and write them in
their hearts. Now, when we're talking about
the Lord putting His laws in the minds and the hearts of His
people, We're not talking about merely the moral law, the law
that sets forth right and wrong. That's not what I'm talking about.
That's not what he was talking about. That law right there,
the right and wrong, the law, the moral law, every person born
in Adam has that law written in their conscience. Let me show
you that. Romans 2.14. Romans 2.14, Scripture 14.15
says this, For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by
nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the
law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law
written in their hearts. their conscience also bearing
witness in their thoughts, the mean while accusing or else excusing
one another." Man is born knowing right from wrong. It's in his
conscience. You take anybody, you take a
child, you take a man, you take a woman, they know right and
wrong. The Scripture says forth that
it's written in their conscience. They know it. So this law, I'll
put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts. It's
not the moral law. Every man, every woman possesses
that. The laws that he's talking about
right here, his words are actually the truth of. the gospel of His
grace. That law right there, 1 John
3, 1 John chapter 3, verse 23 and 24, this is His commandment. And this is His commandment,
that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another as He gave us commandment. God has given
That's what John is saying. And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth
in us by the Spirit which he hath given us. There's a gift
that Almighty God gives His people Himself and teaches them, I'm
going to put my laws in their mind, in their hearts, That's
what he said over in Ezekiel, I'll give you a new heart. I'm
going to write my law on your heart. Do you know how God's
people know the laws, the Word of, the truth of God's grace
and mercy? God's written it on their heart.
They've got a new heart, a new mind. Oh, they're quite aware
that they could in themselves never keep God's law. But I will
tell you this, they love it. They love God's law because it's
God's Word. They love it. They never claim
to be able to keep it. David said, Psalm 119, 97, Oh,
how I love thy law. It is my meditation all the day. I can't keep it, but I know one
that has. And that which He has done, God's
imputed to me. God's charged to my account.
And I can truthfully say God has written upon my heart the
glorious gospel of God's grace and told me and has taught me
by His Spirit all that was required before Him for righteousness
has been fulfilled by the Lord Jesus Christ. And in Him I am
complete. What a covenant blessing. I will
write my law. Put my laws in their mind. Write
them on their hearts. I will be secondly to them a
God. They shall be to me a people.
I am going to be their God. They are going to be my people.
That was newly revealed, not newly constructed, not newly
thought up by God. This is the eternal, everlasting
covenant of God's grace. Their God in mercy, all of grace, all of salvation
is according to Him. David said, Our God is in the
heavens. He's done whatsoever He pleases. Here is the third
thing. They shall not teach every man
his neighbor, every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all
shall know Me. Spiritually know Me. This is
life eternal, that they may know Thee, the only true God. God's people know Him. All shall know Me from the least
to the greatest. babes to the fathers, all of God's people, all of God's
elect shall know Him in regenerating mercy." Taught by the Spirit of God. That's how we're going to know.
God's people are taught by God through the gospel. Let me tell you how God's people
know Him. This is what the Lord said, All
are going to know Me. Do you know that all of the regenerated
saints of God, they know, by faith, they know the Father to
be the electing God. How do they know that? God has
spoken to them through His Word, chosen before the foundation
of the world. God's people know the Father
is the electing God. They know the Son is the redeeming
God. They know that. They know that
the Lord Jesus Christ laid down His life for His sheep. God has
taught them that. And they know that the Spirit
of God is the regenerating God, quickened by the Spirit of God
Himself. They're all going to know me.
Here is the fourth thing. I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. Having been reconciled to God
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, Almighty God justly is merciful. I say that, and I mean that,
Almighty God is justly merciful. We confess our sins. He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins. Almighty God's mercy is the foundation,
His love to show mercy, the foundation of His purpose to redeem His
own. Reconciled. Satisfied. Almighty God, for Christ's sake,
says, I will be merciful. Never at the expense of His justice. Never. Sin must be paid for. It must be. But He said, I'm
going to be merciful to you. I'm going to show mercy to whom
I'll show mercy. I will have compassion on whom
I'll have compassion. So then it's not Him that willeth,
not of Him that runneth, but of God that shows mercy. Who
is God going to show mercy to? Whoever He's pleased to. And
He's going to do it in absolute justice. By faith, we know this. We know. that our sin has been
taken by the Lord Jesus Christ, the guilt of it, and He was made
what we are. We know that. What a promise! We could have never known this
through the shadows and types God promised. And then lastly,
those promises and their sins, before and after conversion,
their sins and their iniquities, Will I remember no more? For the life of me, by faith,
I can enter in. I can enter into what He said
He's done. How is He going to remember them no more? Remember
them against me. How is it that He is not? Now
you know this, Almighty God is omniscient. But he said, I will
remember them no more. I'm not going to charge them
to you anymore. I'm not going to remember them against you
anymore. I will remember them no more. Cast as far as the east
is from the west. Cast behind its back. Cast into
the depths of the sea. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? God justified them. Almighty
God has said, No guilt. God Almighty has looked. God's
law looks and says, No charge. Nothing there. No charge. Justified. Well, tonight as we
close this chapter 8, I wanted to wait until this evening. We're
going to observe the Lord's Supper in just a few minutes. And I
waited on this 13th verse just to say a few words. This is,
In that he saith, based on everything, everything that we've just looked
at, verses 10 to 12, In that he saith, a new covenant, he
hath made the first old, that which decayeth and waxeth old
is ready to vanish away. We know this, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone
that believeth. We know that. A new covenant,
newly revealed, never replaced, never old, sets forth that everything
demanded by God's law for righteousness has been absolutely fully satisfied
by the Lord Jesus Christ. And that obedience, now you stop
and think, everything that was demanded by God Almighty, Christ
Himself satisfied it. Every word, every thought, every
jot, every tittle of the law. God Almighty is satisfied. That
is the righteousness by which we are robed. Robed in Him. He hath made the first old. That first covenant, that covenant
of shadows and tithes and observances, the Lord God never intended that
sinners could be saved, reconciled to God by the keeping of those
ceremonies, those ordinances, that Old Testament ordinances. Never, therefore, by the deeds
of the law shall no man, no flesh be justified. You know, that
ought to stop every man's woman's mouth. That ought to stop. Any
time that somebody brings up something that they can do, something
that they can accomplish, something that they can perform, that scripture
ought to stop every mouth. It ought to. But a man or woman
is going to have to have a new heart to understand. They don't
see it. The blood of animals. The priest
that died, all of that furniture, those golden candlesticks and
the table to show bread, the golden laver, the ark, the ark
of the covenant, that ark that was made out of shidom wood,
wood that was so resistant to decay. It was resistant to decay. But it was overlaid in gold inside
and outside. And there, talking about that
wood with the gold on both sides of it, the beauty of our Lord's
incarnation, the holiness of His person, the man, Christ Jesus,
perfect, beautiful inside and outside. That mercy seat that
went on top, that covering that overlaid, that was made out of
one piece of gold. No wood in that. That was pure. All of those beautiful pieces
of that furniture, pictures of our blessed Savior, not one of
them, not one of them put away sin. People talk about they can't
find You can't find the Ark of the Covenant. You can't find
the golden candlesticks. They say, you know, they say
they have this Shroud of Turin or something like that. And that
is an object of worship. Now, you know it is. Boy, what
do you think you'd do if you lit it on fire? These laws and these ceremonies,
they had one purpose. They served as types and pictures
that pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ. He's coming. He's coming. He's coming. Types and pictures,
shadows. But after He's come, there was
no reason whatsoever for the types to be any more. It had to disappear. Now that,
which He's made old, that which decayeth and waxeth is ready
to vanish away." Now that the Lord Jesus Christ has fulfilled
all of those types found in the first covenant to continue in
those observances, it would be idolatry. I love the old pictures. I love the types. I really do. We preach and we set forth. Looking
in the Old Testament, we preach concerning the ark when Noah
and the rock that followed that rock was Christ. That raising
serpent was raised in the wilderness. All of those beautiful types
of our precious Savior. But what we're seeing is we see
Him. We're looking at Him. But those implements, those pieces
of shadows and types, they had to be put away. To continue in
that observance would be to say, I love the shadows more than
I love the fulfillment. To continue after the observance
of the law with rituals would be to say, I don't care that
God sent a Savior. No, I'd just rather Hang on to
that which can never put away sin. You say, well, that's ridiculous. Yes, it is. But do you know man,
unregenerated by grace, believes the same thing? I'll just hang
on to that which can't put away sin. I'll just hang on to my
own works. I'll just hold on to what I can
do. I'm convinced that I can save myself. law and grace, striving to establish
a righteousness. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. He hath
made the first old, that which decayeth and waxeth old, is ready
to vanish away. In 70 A.D., that which the Lord
had prophesied at Temple was going to be torn down, and it
was. Paul wrote this epistle right
here. I believe it was Apostle Paul,
but whoever the Lord chose to write it, wrote it. I don't doubt
for a second that that Ark of the Covenant may have still been
there. All those symbols, they may have been there, The Scripture says that which
decayeth and waxes old is ready to vanish away. They're gone. In the wisdom of
Almighty God, all of those pictures and types of His blessed Son,
He's put away. And now we've come tonight to remember Him. the substance,
the Savior, the One that all of these types and shadows and
figures set forth. The blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fulfillment of what Almighty
God promised His people. I'm going to put my laws in your
heart. Write them. I'm going to be your God. You'll
be my people. I'm not going to remember your
sins and your iniquities anymore. Almighty God has justly, and
when our Lord says, we observe the Lord's table, when we read
those words in just a few minutes, this is the New Testament. In my blood, this is the fulfillment
of that new covenant newly revealed. This is the fulfillment of it.
His precious blood, broken body, that body that was given that
God Almighty might redeem His people. May the Lord bless these
words to our hearts and prepare our hearts to remember Him. For Christ's sake, amen.

Old Things Passed Away

What does the Bible say about the new covenant?

How do we know God's mercy is true?

Why is remembering Christ's sacrifice important?

How does God write His laws in our hearts?

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Old Things Passed Away

What does the Bible say about the new covenant?

How do we know God's mercy is true?

Why is remembering Christ's sacrifice important?

How does God write His laws in our hearts?

Sermon Transcript

About Marvin Stalnaker

Comments

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