The Better Testament

Q: What does the Bible say about the New Covenant?

The New Covenant, referred to in Hebrews 7:22, is an infinitely better agreement secured by Jesus as our surety. The New Covenant is described in Hebrews 7:22, where it states that Jesus is made a surety of a better Testament. This covenant is superior not merely in degrees but infinitely so, highlighting that the Old Covenant, or the covenant of works, is weak and unprofitable in providing salvation. It demonstrates that while the Old Testament reveals God's law and requirements, it lacks the power to fulfill those requirements or provide atonement. The New Covenant, established through Christ, offers all that is necessary for salvation and is described as ordered in all things and sure, meaning it cannot fail because it wholly relies on Christ’s obedience and sacrifice.

Q: How do we know the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant?

The New Covenant is better as it is established on better promises and provides true salvation through Christ's obedience. The superiority of the New Covenant over the Old Covenant is clearly articulated in verses such as Hebrews 8:6, which states that Jesus has obtained a more excellent ministry, being the mediator of a better covenant established on better promises. The Old Covenant, often associated with the law, is characterized by its inability to bring salvation or true righteousness, as it demands perfect obedience. In contrast, the New Covenant, also referred to as the Covenant of Grace, is based on the finished work of Christ, who fulfills the law and secures redemption for His people. This divine arrangement is not based on human effort but rather on God’s faithful promise, assuring believers that it cannot fail.

Q: Why is it important for Christians to understand the concept of surety in salvation?

Understanding surety is essential as it illustrates how Jesus took full responsibility for our salvation. The concept of surety is crucial for Christians because it encapsulates the nature of Christ's role in the New Covenant. In biblical terms, a surety is not merely someone who co-signs a debt; rather, it is one who fully assumes responsibility for the obligation. In Hebrews 7:22, Jesus is described as the surety of a better covenant, meaning that He is fully accountable for the salvation of His people. This is illustrated through the story of Judah and Joseph, where Judah offers himself as a surety for Benjamin. Just as Judah took responsibility, Jesus took our place under the law's demands and bore the penalty for sin, ensuring our redemption and engaging fully in the task of accomplishing salvation. This understanding fosters security and confidence in believers, knowing that their salvation does not rely on their own efforts but on Christ’s completed work.

Q: What is the Covenant of Grace and how does it differ from the Covenant of Works?

The Covenant of Grace is God's promise of salvation through faith in Christ, while the Covenant of Works is based on human obedience. The Covenant of Grace is established through Jesus Christ and provides salvation by faith, contrasting sharply with the Covenant of Works, which demands perfect obedience to the law. According to the sermon, the Covenant of Works first appeared in the Garden of Eden, where Adam's failure brought sin into the world. This covenant is characterized by the condition of perfect obedience: failing to meet these conditions brings judgment and death. Conversely, the Covenant of Grace, as articulated in scriptures like Hebrews and Galatians, guarantees salvation not based on what we do, but what Christ has accomplished. It is a relationship of grace where God fulfills all the obligations through Christ’s life, death, and resurrection, inviting believers into a secure and everlasting relationship with Him without reliance on their own abilities.

Would you turn with me to Hebrews
chapter 7? I want to read one verse of Scripture
from Hebrews chapter 7, verse 22. By so much was Jesus made
a surety of a better Testament. By so much. By this infinite amount. This is not a competition going
on. It's not like the New Testament
is just a bit better than the Old Testament. It's not a close
score. It's not two to one. It's infinity to zero. It's not even a billion to zero,
that doesn't come even close. It's infinity to zero. By this much, by so much, was
Jesus made a surety of a better testament. Now this word testament
is the same word that is quite often translated covenant. Same Greek word testament. covenant. I'm not sure what makes
the translators translate it sometimes covenant and sometimes
testament because it is the same word, but yet they're two words
in our language that have a little bit different meaning, but both
of these meanings are included in the Greek word that's translated
testament or covenant. A covenant has something to do
with an agreement or a contract like the marriage covenant. You
know what the marriage covenant is. I agree to be Lynn's only. She agrees to be mine only. We agree to live with each other
all the way to the end and to receive each other and come sickness
or health, poverty, wealth, all those things. It's an agreement.
Or it can be understood like a mortgage contract. This house
is yours if you pay so much. It's a contract or an agreement. That's a covenant, a contract.
A testament has something to do with a last will and testament. Now both of these ideas are included
in this word. The writer to the Hebrews speaks
of an infinitely better testament or covenant. And by this infinite
amount, Jesus was made surety of this better testament or covenant. Now the gospel, the gospel of
God, the truth. is impossible to understand without
some understanding of the two covenants. He says Jesus was
made a surety of a better covenant. There are two covenants. Paul
said in Galatians 2.24, these are the two covenants, the two
contracts, the two agreements, the true, the two last will and
testaments. They're not three, they're not
four, they're only two, and one is infinitely better than the
other. Now, before we consider the better
covenant, also known as the New Testament, as opposed to the
old, or the covenant of grace, as opposed to the covenant of
works, I'd like us to consider this inferior covenant. He says
that Jesus is the surety of a better covenant or a better testament.
Well, what's he speaking of when he says he's the surety of a
better testament? What testament is he talking
about? Well, he's talking about the covenant of works. And let's
look at the way the writer to the Hebrews had already described
this covenant. Look in verse 15. He says, it's far more evident
for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there arises another
priest who is made not after the law of a carnal commandment."
Now he calls the Old Testament, God's law, he calls it a carnal
commandment. That's strong language, isn't
it? He's talking about God's holy law given to Moses on the
mount and yet he calls it a carnal, a fleshly commandment. Look what he says in Verse 18,
for there's verily a disannulling of the commandment. Talking about
God's holy law, he says it's been disannulled because of the
weakness and the unprofitableness thereof. Now that's him speaking
of God's holy law. He calls it weak. and unprofitable. It has no saving power. It has
no saving benefit. It is disannulled. It's no longer
valid. It's void. That's what he calls
God's holy law. Look in chapter eight. He says in verse six, but now
hath he obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also he
is the mediator of a better covenant. which was established upon better
promises. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the
second, for finding fault with him, God found fault with him.
He said, behold, the days come, sayeth the Lord, when I'll make
a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah. Now God himself finds fault with this covenant that
he gave. And this is strong language in
speaking of this old covenant, isn't it? Unprofitable, disan
old, weak, Yet those are the words the Holy Spirit inspired
the writer to the Hebrews to use regarding God's holy law. And this is not said in any disrespect
for God's holy law. I love God's holy law. I love
everything that comes out of his mouth. This is not spoken
in disrespect for God's holy law. This is spoken in respect
of the gospel. You see, the law has no glory
in comparison to the gospel. Do you believe that? You see,
the law only gives half the picture. It tells us of God's requirements,
but it doesn't give us any power to obey his requirements. It
tells us of our need of atonement for our sin, but it doesn't provide
any atonement for our sin. It tells us of our need of a
priest, but it only provides priests who are corrupt and sinful,
who can't really represent us before God. The law is weak and
the law is unprofitable. And once again, that's not speaking
in disrespect for God's holy law. That's speaking in a high
estimation of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, what
is this first covenant that he speaks so poorly of? It's the
covenant of works. It first appeared in the Garden
of Eden, there was one tree they were forbidden to eat of, and
their right relationship with God was conditioned upon them
not eating of that tree. He says, here's all these trees
you can freely eat of every one of them, but there's one tree
that you can't eat of. It's the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil. Your right relationship with
me is dependent upon you not eating of that tree. And we all
know the story, Eve ate fruit she gave to Adam and he ate and
the scripture says they died. They did not fulfill their end
of the covenant. Now I know that Adam knowingly
chose to go down with Eve but he loved the creature rather
than the Creator and it was an act of rebellion. It was an act
of wickedness when he chose to sin against God. And when he
sinned, we all sinned. Listen to this scripture from
Romans chapter five, verse 12, for by one man sin entered the
world and death by sin so that death passed upon all men in
that all have sinned. Now that's what it says. It doesn't
say his sin was charged to their account. Doesn't say that at
all. It says when he ate of the fruit,
They did too. You see, what he did, he did
as a representative. And when he ate of the fruit,
I literally actually ate of the fruit. That was my sin. When
he sinned, I sinned. Now, I know people think, well,
how could it be fair? I wasn't even around then. I
wasn't around. How can I be charged and held
responsible for something that Adam did and then say it's my
sin? How can that be fair? Well, okay, let's just forget
about it then. How have you done on your own? Forget any connection with Adam.
How have you stood on your own? The fact of the matter is, is
you sin wickedly on your own. And in reality, the only hope
that you and I have is that just as when Adam sinned, we sinned. We disobeyed. If that can be
true, it can also be true that when Christ obeyed, I When Christ died, I died. When Christ was raised from the
dead, I was raised from the dead. You see, the only hope we have
is in this thing of representation. Somebody says, well, how could
it be fair? You're barking up the wrong tree there. The only
hope you have, the only hope I have, is that what Christ did,
He did as a representative. Now, when Adam was placed in
the garden, he ate of that fruit. He fell. and you and I fell in
Him." Now, when Paul describes the two covenants, I think it's
very interesting of all the stories in the Old Testament, the story
he picks out to illustrate the two covenants. Turn with me for
a moment to Galatians chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4. He tells
the story of Sarah and Isaac Hagar and Ishmael and Abraham. Now let's begin reading in verse
21 of Galatians chapter 4. Ye that desire to be under the
law, under this first covenant, this covenant of works. And like
I said, it was first mentioned in the gardener's only two covenants,
not three, just two. The covenant of works and the
covenant of grace, first seen in the garden of Eden. In order
to have a right relationship with God, you must obey Him perfectly. And if you don't do your part,
You've had it. That's the covenant of works.
Now, when Paul picks out a passage of scripture from the Old Testament
to describe what this is, he says, tell me you that desire
to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it's written
that Abraham had two sons. The one by a bondmaid, the other
by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman
was born after the flesh." There wasn't anything supernatural
about her birth. Now you remember the story. God made a promise
to Abraham. He said, through your seed, all
the earth is going to be blessed. 13 years pass and Sarah still hadn't
had a child and she's actually gone through menopause. And you
can't have kids when you've gone through menopause. It's impossible. And she knew that. And yet the
promise hadn't been fulfilled. And she said, Abraham, here's
the problem. I know God made this promise,
but that promise cannot be fulfilled unless we do our part. If we don't do our part, we're
never going to have a kid. Now, here's what you need to
do. bondmaid or whatever she was.
He said, you go into her and you conceive through her and
we'll have a child through her and that child will be mine.
That's how the Lord will fulfill his promise with me and you doing
our part. God's promise cannot be fulfilled
unless we do our part. Now let's go on reading. Verse
23. But he who was of the bondwoman
was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman was by promise,
which things are an allegory, for these are the two covenants.
The one from Mount Sinai, which genders to bondage, which is
Hagar, for this Hagar is Mount Sinai. This Hagar represents
Mount Sinai, the giving of the law. Listen, if any part of salvation
is dependent upon me or you to do our part, it's law. It's the
first covenant. It's the covenant of works. And
let me tell you this, the covenant of works is doomed for failure. You know why? Because it's dependent
upon me. And anything that's dependent
upon me is going to fail. Do you believe that about yourself?
It's so. The only hope I have is that
salvation is totally outside of me. It's about something that
the Lord does. But he says, these are the two covenants, verse
24, which things are an allegory. For these are the two covenants,
one from Mount Sinai, which genders to bondage, which is Hagar. For
this Hagar is Mount Sinai. In Arabian, answers to Jerusalem,
which now is and is in bondage with her children. Now he's saying
Hagar, Abraham going into Hagar. She was able to have children.
She was a young woman. There was nothing supernatural
about this child's birth. This is Abraham doing his part. He says, this is Mount Sinai.
This is salvation by works. This is salvation contingent
upon or dependent upon human obedience. Now, Sarah, you know
what happened 13 years later? She's gone through menopause
and it was impossible for her to have children. And God said,
the seed's gonna come through Sarah. And she supernaturally
had this child. And this was not through her
doing her part. This was God doing everything. He said, at
this time will I come and Sarah shall have a son. This is not
in due to Sarah doing her part. This is due to God saying, this
is the way it's going to be. Now the covenant of grace, salvation
by grace, the better Testament, the better covenant works by
God doing his part. Few illustrations. Here's a beautiful
car that'll get you wherever you desire to go. All you have
to do is start the engine. And if you start the engine,
you'll get there. That car will get you there.
You've got to start the engine. You need to do your part, but
that's not that much, starting the engine. And then you steer
it. and you hit the brakes, you press
the accelerator, you do your part, but it's getting you there.
I mean, you can't give yourself the credit. It's that car that's
getting you there, but you've got to do your part or it won't
work. Now, what good will that do somebody who doesn't have
any hands and who doesn't have any feet and who's blind? What good would a promise like
that do them? Here is a beautiful piece of art. If you can just
describe to me all the colors of this piece of art, then you'll
get it, it's worth millions. Well, what good would that do
to somebody who's blind and can't see? Play a beautiful piece of music
and you say, all you gotta do is whistle this music back to
me and you're going to be awarded untold millions. Well, what good
would that do to somebody who's deaf and they couldn't hear? What if I said to a dead man,
if you take the first step, God will meet you with all the rest.
What good would it do that man? You see, if you can't meet the
conditions of that covenant, it won't do you any good at all. Now, the first covenant is without
value. It's without benefit. It's not
saving because you and I can't come up with the goods. What
if I said to a sinful man, God will save you if you never sin
again. How could he succeed at that?
Why you couldn't keep that in for one second? A covenant that's
dependent upon human obedience in any way is doomed for failure. But thank God, there is an infinitely
better testament. It's called the New Testament
or the New Covenant or the Covenant of Grace. It's what David described
in 2 Samuel 23. Would you turn with me there? I love David. He's the man after God's own
heart. He's the sweet psalmist of Israel. He's the spokesman
for every believer. If you want to know what's in
a believer's heart, read the writings of David. You'll find
that in reading a psalm, he describes you much better than you could
describe yourself. I'm so thankful for the psalms.
I loved reading Psalm 51 this morning. What a wonderful psalm.
Now David, the sweet psalmist of Israel, King David, the man
after God's own heart. Let's look what he has to say.
These are his last words. Verse one says, now these be
the last words of David. Now look down in verse five.
He says, although my house be not so with God. And it was a mess. His house
was an utter mess. His children were rebellious.
His wives hated him. I mean, he had one trouble after
another. He didn't have one of those warm
and fuzzy homes. I mean, there was trouble. Trouble, trouble,
trouble. Although my house be not so with
God. And I think he's talking about
this house, too. This body. This body of sin. Although my
house be not so with God. David or Paul said who shall
deliver me from the body of this death. That's the house. He's
talking about Although my house be not so with God yet Yet in
spite of that yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant
This is the better covenant. This is the better Testament
He hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things,
and sure. Now it's everlasting because
it was made before I was ever around. This is the covenant
that God the Father made with the Lord Jesus Christ. six times
in John 17. You go and read that this week
as the Lord opens a door for you to do that. You read John
chapter 17 and six times the Lord Jesus refers to those the
father gave him. This is a reference to that covenant. He gave Christ a people and their
salvation was given to him. It was up to him. It was up to
his responsibility to make sure they'd be saved. Now, this is
a wonderful thing to think about. When Christ agreed to take responsibility
for me, everything that God requires of me, he looks to Christ for. Everything. Now, is that a better
covenant or what? That's infinitely better. What
do you want? Salvation dependent upon you?
Or salvation dependent upon Christ? I love the way David describes
this covenant. He says it's ordered in all things.
And it's sure. That means it can't fail. It's
incapable of failure because Christ is incapable of failure.
And he says, this is all my salvation. Now do you say that? Can you
say that with David? This everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things, ensure it's all my salvation. And not only is
it all my salvation, it's all my desire. I don't want to be
saved any other way. I simply want to be found in
the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't want to have any part
in this thing. I want Him to do it all. This is all my desire. That's a better covenant, isn't
it? You see, it saves. Now, here's the Word I want us
to close thinking with, and it's going to take me, I don't mean
close, I'm going to be finished in five minutes, but this is
the last thought. By so much was Jesus made a surety of a
better testament. Now the Bible does not mean the
same thing that we mean by surety. I know what we mean by surety
because the first time I bought a car, I didn't have the financial oomph
for him to give me a loan. I mean, I was 16 years old and
I went to the loan officer and he wouldn't give me a loan. So
I went to my good old granddad. And I said, Granddad, he told
me if you get somebody to co-sign, you'll get it. My grandfather
co-signed on that loan for me. It was to buy a 1967 Mustang
Fastback with a 289 V8. And I was so proud of that car.
And I remember my payments. They were $67 a month. And my
grandfather made good. He said if he doesn't make the
payments, I'll be responsible for them. But you know what?
I paid every single one of them myself. He never paid a dime. Now, in the scriptures, the surety
is not someone who stands good if I don't pay. In the scripture,
the surety is the one who does the paying. And this is what
our Lord Jesus Christ is. He's the one who bears complete
and full responsibility. He doesn't say, well, I'll take
care of Todd if he doesn't make it. No, he already knows about
me. And he bears complete responsibility. Now the scripture gives us a
beautiful illustration of this in Judah. Would you turn with me to Genesis
43 and let me give you some background information. Jacob had 12 sons, the 12 patriarchs,
and two of them came from Rachel, his favorite wife. Joseph and
Benjamin. And Joseph showed flagrant favoritism
toward those boys. I mean, there's no doubt about
it. They were esteemed much more highly by Joseph than the rest
of that bunch was. So parents, don't do your kids
that way. Can you imagine how many psychological
problems all those kids had, you know? He showed favoritism. Remember how he made him a coat
of many colors? He didn't make the rest of that
bunch that. And his brothers, because Joseph
was the darling of his father's eye, his brothers hated him.
And they couldn't speak peaceably to him. And when they got the
opportunity, they sold him into slavery. And you'll remember
what happened. They sold him into slavery, and they took that
coat of many colors, which I guarantee you they just resented that.
And they killed a kid and dipped it in blood and bring that coat
and said, is this your son's coat? I mean, we found it. And
his dad thought he'd been eaten by an evil beast. And oh, he
was in such grief. But Joseph is sold into Egypt. While he's there, he does very
well for himself. Joseph was a remarkable man,
but through a series of unfortunate events, he's accused of something
wrongly that he didn't do by Potiphar's wife, and he's brought
into prison. And while he's in prison, he does well. I think
this is so glorious about his character. Wherever he goes,
he does well. He prospers. While he's in prison, he does
well. And all of a sudden, the keeper of the prison makes him
the head of the prison. And all the responsibility of
the prison is with him. And then he interprets, you remember
the story, he interprets Pharaoh's dream and all of a sudden he's
made the highest man in Egypt. He was responsible for the grain,
for collecting food, for the years of famine that God had
revealed to him through that dream of the king that was coming.
And he was made the highest man in all of Egypt. 22 years had passed. since he
had been sold into slavery. Well, the famine hits the land,
and Joseph is the one who dispenses the food. If you were going to
get food, you had to come to Joseph for it. And Jacob heard
that there was corn in Egypt, and he sent his boys into Egypt
to get him some food and bring it back. And when they come in,
remember it's been 22 years, Joseph sees them, they come to
him for food. They don't recognize him, but
he recognizes them. And you remember how he had those
dreams that his brothers would bow down before him? There they
were, bowing down before him. He remembered those dreams God
gave him, but he didn't let him know who he was. The scripture
says he spoke roughly to them. And he said, who are you? Are you spies? And he used that
to find out about their father to see if their father was still
alive. And if Benjamin, his little brother, his father's favorite,
that was Rachel's boy too. If he was still alive, remember
10 came and Jacob wouldn't let Benjamin go with him. He said,
no, I couldn't handle it. If he died, he kept him behind.
So the 10 come and he said, well, I'll give you, I'll give you
corn, but understand this. You won't get any more unless
you bring Benjamin back with you. So he laid, they get all
the corn and food they need. They go back and eat for a few
months. They finally run out of food.
And Jacob says, it's time to go back. Now let's, let's begin
reading in Genesis chapter 42. This is, this is such a touching
story. Genesis chapter 42, beginning
in verse 29. Now, Jacob is telling them, it's time,
you know, the men are telling Jacob about what happened when
they came and they come with all this food. In verse 29, they
came unto Jacob, their father, unto the land of Canaan, and
told him all that befell unto them, saying, The man who is
the Lord of the land spake roughly thus, and took us for the spies
of the country. And we said unto him, we're true
men, we're no spies. We'd be 12 brethren, sons of
our father. One is not, and the youngest
is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. And the man,
the Lord of the country, said unto us, hereby shall I know
that you're true men. Leave one of your brethren here
with me and take food for the famine. of your households, and
be gone, and bring your youngest brother, Benjamin, unto me. Then shall I know that you are
no spies, but that you are true men. So will I deliver you unto
your brother, and you shall traffic in the land.' And it came to
pass, as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle
of money was in a sack, the money they thought they had paid for.
And when both they and their father saw the bundles of money,
they were afraid. And Jacob their father said unto
them, me have you bereaved of my children? Joseph is not, and
Simeon is not, and you'll take Benjamin away? All these things
are against me. Now Reuben speaks up, and Reuben
represents human religion. If you want to know what false
religion is all about, Reuben tells us. And Reuben spake unto
his father, saying, slay my two sons, if I bring him not to thee,
Deliver him into my hand and I'll bring him to thee again.
And he said, my son should not go down with you. For his brother
is dead and he's left alone. If mischief befall him by the
way in which you go, then you bring down my gray hairs with
sorrow to the grave. Now, Reubman says, slay my two
sons if I don't bring him. Is there any justice in that?
Would God's justice be satisfied by that? False religion always
has a false view of the justice of God. Always. It doesn't make God to be a just
God and a savior. Reuben says, slay my two boys
if I don't bring him back. Furthermore, what harsh thoughts of God. Here's what will satisfy you.
If I don't bring him back, here's your two grandsons, kill them.
Would that satisfy God? Would that satisfy Jacob? Would
Jacob be satisfied by that? Of course not. Religion has such
harsh thoughts of God, like he'll be satisfied if we do this or
do that. And I think this is another interesting thing about
Reuben. Reuben said, doesn't say anything
about take me or slay me, he says slay my two sons. He wouldn't
take any responsibility in this thing. And this just pictures
human religion. No sense of the justice of God,
harsh views of God, and no sense of responsibility. No taking
any personal responsibility in this thing. Somebody killed my
two boys, not me. That's Reuben, and I love the
way Jacob said, I'm not sending him with you. As a matter of
fact, if you read the prophecies regarding Reuben, what does he
say about Reuben? Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel. He wouldn't have anything to
do with Reuben. No, that's not going to work. Okay. Let's pick up reading in verse
one of chapter 43. And the famine was sore in the
land. And it came to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which
they had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them,
Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah, what tribe did the
Lord Jesus come from? Judah. And Judah spake unto him,
saying, The man, speaking of Joseph, did solemnly protest
unto us, saying, You shall not see my face, except your brother
be with you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, We'll go
down and buy thee food, but thou will not send him. We'll not
go down for the man said unto us, you shall not see my face
except your brother be with you. And Israel said, wherefore dealt
you so ill with me as to tell the man whether you had a brother?
And they said, the man asked us straightly of our state and
of our kindred saying, is your father yet alive? Have you another
brother? And we told him according to the tenor of these words,
could we certainly know that he would say, bring your brother
down? And Judah said unto Israel, his father. Now here's what a
surety is. Send the lad with me and we will
arise and go that we may live and not die, both we and Baal
and also our little ones. I will be surety for him. of my hand shalt thou require
him, if I bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee,
then let me bear the blame forever." Now that is what the Lord Jesus
said as my surety. Now what does the Bible mean
by this word surety? Well there's Two means in the
Hebrew dictionary. First, the word means to braid,
to intermix, to mingle. As a matter of fact, this same
word is translated in the book of Ezra, mingled. To twine, to
entwine, to braid, to make one. This speaks of you. I will become
united to him. And the other definition is to
bear full responsibility. So they go back to Egypt with
Benjamin and he gives them food. But if you know the story, he
placed that chalice in Benjamin's sack. And they go back and he
sends some people to arrest them and accuse them of stealing.
Stealing the king's chalice. And they're brought back and
oh, they think they're in trouble. Now let's look in chapter 44,
verse 14. And Judah and his brethren came
to Joseph's house, for he was yet there and they fell before
him on the ground. They didn't yet know who he was.
And Joseph said unto them, What deed is this that you've done?
What ye not that such a man as I can certainly divine? I can
see what's going on. And Judah said, What shall we
say unto my Lord? What shall we speak or how shall
we clear ourselves? God hath found out the iniquity
of thy servants. Behold, we are my Lord's servants,
both we and he also with whom the cup is found. We're in your
hands. And he said, Joseph speaking, God forbid that I should do so
with the man in whose hand the cup is found. Talking about Benjamin,
he shall be my servant. And as for you, get you up in
peace unto your father. Then Judah came near unto him
and said, oh my Lord. Let thy servant, I pray thee,
speak a word in my Lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn
against thy servant, for thou art even as Pharaoh. My Lord
asked his servant, saying, have you a father or a brother? And
we said unto my Lord, we have a father, an old man, a child
of his old age, a little one, and his brother is dead, and
he left us, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father
loveth him. And thou said unto thy servants, bring him down
unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And we said unto
my Lord, the lad cannot leave his father, For if he should
leave his father, his father would die. And thou said unto
thy servants, except your younger brother come down with you, you
shall see my face no more. And it came to pass when we came
up unto thy servant, my father, we told him the words of my Lord.
And our father said, go again and buy us a little food. And
we said, we can't go down. If our younger brother be with
us, then will we go down. For we may not see the man's
face, except our youngest brother be with us. And thy servant,
my father, said unto us, You know that my wife bear two sons. And the one went out from me,
and I said, Surely he's torn in pieces, and I saw him not
since. And if you take this also from me, and mischief fall him,
you shall bring down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.
Now therefore, when I came to thy servant, my father, and the
lad be not with us, seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's
life. It shall come to pass when he
see that the lad is not with us, that he'll die. And thy servant
shall bring down the gray hairs of thy servant, our father, with
sorrow to the grave. But thy servant became surety
for the lad unto my father, saying, if I bring him not unto thee,
then I shall bear the blame to my father forever. Now therefore,
I pray thee, let thy servant abide instead of the lad a bondman
to my Lord and let the lad go up with his brethren. And that's
exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ said to God's law and justice.
Let me abide in his stead. Take me, and let him go free. For how shall I go up to my father,
and the lad be not with me? Lest, perventure, I see the evil
that shall come of my father. Then Joseph, chapter 45, could
not refrain himself before all them that stood by him. And he
cried, cause every man to go out from me. And there stood
no man with him while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren.
And he wept aloud, and the Egyptians in the house of Pharaoh heard.
And Joseph said unto his brethren, I'm Joseph. Can you imagine how
scared they were at this time? I'm Joseph. What? Oh, they thought
they were in trouble. I'm Joseph, does my father yet
live? And his brethren could not answer
him, for they were troubled at his presence. They were scared
to death. And Joseph said unto his brethren, come near to me,
I pray you. And they came near and he said,
I'm Joseph, your brother, whom you sold in Egypt. Now, therefore,
be not grieved or angry with yourselves that you sold me hither,
for God did send you before me to preserve life. God did send
me before you to preserve life. For these two years hath the
famine been in the land, and yet there are five years in which
there shall neither be earing nor harvest. And God sent me
before you to preserve you a posterity in the earth, and to save your
lives by a great deliverance. So now, it was not you that sent
me hither, but God. And he hath made me a father
to Pharaoh, and Lord of all his house, and a rule throughout
all the land of Egypt. Haste ye, and go ye up to my
Father, and say unto him, Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath
made me Lord of all Egypt. Come down, and tarry not." Boy, there's no more wonderful
story in the Bible than that, is there? Now, when the Lord
Jesus became flesh, He became braided with me. He became one with me. What I
am, He became. And He bore full responsibility
for me. Bless God, I am intertwined with
Him, so that His obedience is mine. Now, think of this back
to Hebrews 7.22. By this infinite amount, so much,
was Jesus made a surety of a better testament, a better covenant. Now here's the thought I want
to leave you with. God the Father entrusted the
salvation of the elect to Jesus Christ. He gave them to Him And
He trusted Him to save Him. God the Father trusted the Lord
Jesus Christ completely. Now here's a question I want
to ask you. Do you trust Him? The Father did. The Father does. Do you trust Him to save you? Well, I do. That's the gospel. If the Father
trusts it, I sure do trust it. May God enable each one of us
to trust our surety completely. Let's pray.

The Better Testament

What does the Bible say about the New Covenant?

How do we know the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant?

Why is it important for Christians to understand the concept of surety in salvation?

What is the Covenant of Grace and how does it differ from the Covenant of Works?

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The Better Testament

What does the Bible say about the New Covenant?

How do we know the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant?

Why is it important for Christians to understand the concept of surety in salvation?

What is the Covenant of Grace and how does it differ from the Covenant of Works?

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