Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nibert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nibert. I've entitled this morning's
message from Hebrews chapter 8, What is the New Testament? Generally, when people think
of the New Testament, they think of Matthew through Revelation,
and the Old Testament, Genesis through Malachi. What is the
New Testament? While there are Old Testament
books and New Testament books, the message in the Old Testament
and the New Testament is the same. The Old Testament does
not present one way of salvation, and the New Testament presents
another way of salvation. The Old Testament does not present
a God of wrath, but the New Testament presents a God of love. It's
not like that at all. The Old Testament is works. That's not saying that Genesis
through Malachi teaches salvation by works. It means God's first
covenant was a covenant of works. Salvation dependent upon what
man does. This covenant of works began
with Adam in the garden. He gave him one rule. Don't eat
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat
of that tree, you will die. In the day you eat thereof, you
shall surely die. Adam's standing was dependent
upon his ability to keep a law. The New Testament is grace. Now, grace has always been the
way sinners have been saved. You'll remember that Abel approached
God only through the blood sacrifice, and he was saved by the grace
of God. Sinners were saved in the Old Testament by grace, just
like they're saved in the New Testament by grace. But the point
is, the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, is works. The new covenant
is grace. Now, what does that mean? We're
going to look in Hebrews chapter 8, and I don't believe there's
a more important chapter in all the Bible than Hebrews chapter
8. And in this chapter, he tells
us what the New Testament is. And that piques my interest.
I want to know what the New Testament is all about. And I'm not just
talking about reading Matthew through Revelation. It's good
to read Matthew through Revelation, but the New Testament or the
New Covenant, the covenant of grace, what is the covenant of
grace? What is the New Testament? Now in Romans, I mean, in Hebrews
8, beginning in verse 6, this is speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ. It says, But now hath he obtained a more excellent
ministry? His ministry as the priest after
the order of Melchizedek is superior than the ministry of the priest
after the order of the Levites, the Levitical priesthood, the
law. This is juxtaposing law and grace. And it says, with
regard to the Lord Jesus Christ, he hath obtained a more excellent
ministry by how much he is the mediator of a better covenant. which was established upon better
promises. Now, what covenant do you believe
is better? Salvation dependent upon what
you do or your salvation dependent upon what he did for you with
no contribution for you? I can tell you what I know is
better. If salvation is dependent upon Him rather than me, oh,
that's better. If it's dependent upon me, it's
no good because I won't be saved. I will mess it up. I will be
disobedient. If my salvation is dependent
upon me doing something, me stopping some sin, me doing anything,
I have no hope. but my salvation is dependent
upon what Christ did for me. This is the better covenant and
it's established upon better promises. Promises of salvation
conditioned on what Christ did rather than promises to me that
I'll be saved if I do my part. Oh, the covenant of grace, the
promises of the gospel, are infinitely better than the promises of the
Old Testament, the works covenant. Now let's go on reading. Verse
seven. For if that first covenant, the covenant of works, had been
faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
Now the covenant of works is faulty. Why is it faulty? Because it can't save. The law
can expose your sin. It can show you how bad you are,
but it can't do anything to save you. All it can do is reveal
your guilt. That's all it does. In that sense,
it is faulty. It cannot save. The scripture
says in Hebrews 7, verse 19, the law made nothing perfect.
but the bringing in of a better hope did, and that's the better
hope we're talking about right now. He says, for if the first
covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been
sought for the second, the New Testament, the covenant of grace. For finding fault with them,
God found fault with the old covenant because it could not
save. Finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant, a new testament. Now if you want to know what
the New Testament is, please listen very carefully. Behold, the days come, saith
the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel
and with the house of Judah, 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." Now, he gave
the children of Israel in Egypt. And when he delivered them from
Egypt to Mount Sinai, he gave them the covenant of works, the
10 commandments, all the moral, all the civil, all the ceremonial
laws. That's the old covenant, the
Levitical priesthood. And in this covenant, he said,
I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt. Now, the language
is important. He took them by the hand, but
he didn't have their heart. They remain just as bad. Now, if there's a three or four-year-old
child, I can take them by the hand, and I can lead them anywhere
I want to, but that doesn't change their heart. And that's what
the Lord did in the old covenant. He took them by the hand, and
he brought them out of Egypt. But what does it say? Because
they continued not in my covenants, I regarded them not, saith the
Lord. You see, he took them by the
hand, but there was no new heart." Now, listen to this statement
very carefully. Law never produces love. Law only produces resentment. How you come up short, you don't
have quite enough. God's too strict. Why is he being
so hard on me? Law produces resentment. Grace, the New Testament, produces
love. Now let's look at this new covenant,
verse 10, for this is the covenant. that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws
into their mind and write them in their hearts." Now, in the
first covenant, he took them by the hand, but there was nothing
done for the heart. In this new covenant, He says,
I'll take my laws, plural, I'll take my laws and put them in
their mind and write them in their hearts. Now, what is he
talking about when he says, I'll take my laws and put them in
their minds and write them in their hearts? Is he talking about
the Ten Commandments? No. Let me show you that from the
Scripture in Romans 2. This is important for us to hear this.
We read in Romans 2, verse 14, Now this is talking about every
unbeliever. It's talking about everybody
born into this world. I don't care if it's in Asia, or Africa,
or Europe, or Australia, whatever the place is, everybody is born
with the law of God written on their hearts. They're born knowing
it's wrong to murder, it's wrong to steal, it's wrong to lie,
sexual sin is wrong, it's wrong to covet, The law of God is written
on the heart of every man. That's why when I hear people
say, we need to be taught to live, you know how to live. You
might not live right, but you know how to live because that
law is written in your heart. You know it. So he's not talking
about the 10 commandments written in the heart. But in the New
Testament, we read of six laws. God says, I'll write my laws
in their heart. Now the first law that I would
mention that's found in the New Testament is what is called the
law of sin. Paul said, but I see another
law warring in my members against the law of my mind and bringing
me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members. The law of sin. Now, the only way you can see
the law of sin is if you've been given a new heart, if you've
been born again by the Spirit of God, because the natural man
has no understanding of sin, a very superficial view of sin. But when God saves someone, they
see, like Paul, that all they do is sin. Now, understand this. I don't become a sinner when
I sin. I sin because I am a sinner. And because that I always have
this sinful nature and will carry it until I die, it means there
is sin in everything that I do. And I know that's so. I don't
have to be convinced of this. I know it from the Word of God
and I know it in my own conscience. This is what I know. The best
gift I've ever given is filled with sin. The most pure prayer
I have ever prayed, God has sent me to help for it apart from
Christ. The most effort I've given to fight sin is sinful
in and of itself. Paul said, I know that in me
that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. There is a law
of sin. And when God gives somebody a
new heart, They find out about this law of sin. That's what
makes them look to Christ only as their righteousness. They
don't have any personal righteousness of their own. I'm still a sinner. Somebody says, well, I'm not
a sinner anymore. Well, then you don't know what sin is. I'm still
a sinner. Every breath I take is proof of that to me. There
is a law of sin. And you have to have a holy nature
to be able to see that. But not only is there a law of
sin, this is a part of that new heart that God gives. He said,
a new heart will I give you. I'll put my spirit within you.
There is also a law of righteousness. Romans 9 31, the law of righteousness. A believer cannot be satisfied
cannot rest in anything but a perfect standing before the holy law
of God, a perfect righteousness. I cannot rest in anything but
a perfect righteousness before God. And the only righteousness
that's perfect before God is the righteousness of Jesus Christ. I rest only in His righteousness. I can't be satisfied with anything
short of a perfect righteousness that God's holy law looks at
and says, I'm well pleased. There's no fault in Him. Now
the third law is what is known in Romans chapter 3 as the law
of faith. Romans 3.27, the law of faith.
Now listen to me. This is the law of my nature.
I cannot not believe. Oh, my old nature never believes.
The man said, I believe, help thou my unbelief. I always got
to cry that, but my new nature believes. I cannot not believe. I cannot do anything but look
to Christ only and rest in Him. That's my nature, to look to
Christ only. I cannot not believe the gospel. That law is written by God in
my heart. I must look to Christ. I must
find Him as my all. Fourth law. We read in James
chapter 2 of the law of love. Now remember laws of nature.
This is the new nature of a believer. This is not the old nature. This
is when God puts his laws in the heart. I've got a law of
love. I must love God as he is. I do love God as he is. I love
him in all of his attributes. I love his word. I love his way
of saving. I wouldn't change Him if I could.
I love God as He is, as He reveals Himself in His Word. I love His
people. Everybody who looks to Christ,
oh, I love that person. And my dear friends, I love all
men. I love all men in this sense. I want them to have what I do.
I want them to be saved by the grace of God. I don't care who
they are. I don't care if they're my greatest enemy or the people
who wish me the most ill. I want them to be saved by the
grace of God, to know the Lord, the law of love. And then James speaks of the
law of liberty. Everybody that's been born again,
they must have liberty. What's that mean? It means they
can't, if I owe anything to God, I've got no liberty. I've got
no freedom. I've got to be free before the
law. And I've got to do what I want to. I don't want to have
a religion that's very unhappy doing things that I don't really
want to do. I want to do what I want to do. That's liberty.
The law of liberty. The Lord is that spirit. Where
the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. And then there's
the law of Christ. That's the sixth one, Galatians
chapter six, verse one. Brethren, if a man be overtaken
in a fault, a trespass, a sin, you understand how someone can
be overtaken by sin because you know yourself. If a man be overtaken
in a fault, you which are spiritual, which have a spiritual nature,
born from the Spirit, born of the Spirit, ye which are spiritual,
restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering yourself,
lest you also be tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens,
and so fulfill the law of Christ. His sin is a burden to him. Your
sin is a burden to you. Bury one another's burdens. put up with one another, love
one another, and so fulfill the law of Christ. So in the New
Testament, first of all, it's God writing his laws in a man's
heart and a man's mind. And then he says next in verse
10, I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people. Now, in the New Testament, You
have God for you. If God be for us, who can be
against us? You have God for you. You're his people. Thou shalt
call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. And he's your God. I am my beloved's,
and he is mine. In the New Testament, God says,
I shall be to them a God. That means a savior. That means
one who reveals himself. And they shall be to me a people,
the people of God. And then he says in verse 11,
And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man
his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me,
from the least to the greatest." Now, here's what happens in the
New Testament. We come to know God. And I'm
not talking about name dropping. We actually know the living God. The Lord said in John chapter
17 verse 3, this is eternal life, that they might know thee, the
only true God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. In the New Testament, you have
people that are not name dropping. but who really know God. Now, I think one of the most
powerful illustrations of this is the thief on the cross. When
he was first initially nailed to that cross, he didn't know
who the Lord was, but he came sometime during that time to
know who he is. He had been cursing Christ, making
fun of him, and all of a sudden, he grows silent. While his fellow
thief continues to curse, he says, don't you fear God? He knew that that one hanging
beside him was God manifest in the flesh. How did he know that? Same way you know it if you know
it. God revealed it through his word. He knew he was God. He knew who he was. He said,
don't you fear God? He said, you're in the same condemnation
and we're getting exactly what we deserve. But this man, he
knew he's the God man. This man has done nothing amiss. He never sinned. How did he know
that? He'd only known him a couple
hours. How did he know he'd never sinned? Because he knew who he
was. That's how he knew that. He knew
who he was. And then he said, Lord, remember
me when you come into your kingdom. He looked at that man who seemingly
was so helpless and he said, you're the Lord. You're the absolute
ruler of all things. You're in control of everything
that's taking place. You're the Lord. How did he know that? Because
he knew who he was. He said, remember me when you
come into your kingdom. You're not going to stay dead.
You're going to come back as a mighty reigning king. You're
going to be successful in whatever it is you're doing. And you'll
come back as a mighty reigning king. Remember me when you come
into your kingdom. How did he know that? because
he knew who he was. All shall know me. You see, if
you know who He is, you will trust Him. We know Him as He
is revealed in His Word. And we love Him as He's revealed
in His Word. And that's why a believer becomes
offended when they hear something contrary to Him, because they
know Him, and they love Him. And they're offended by that
which is contrary to Him. Now let's go on reading. The
New Testament. Here's what happens in the New Testament. Verse 12.
He says, I will be merciful to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities. I will remember no more. And do you hear that? I will
be merciful. Not I will if, I will be merciful. And that word merciful is the
word propitious. I will be propitious to their
unrighteousness. Somebody says, what in the world
does that word mean? It's a very important word. For
God to do something for me or you, He had to do something for
Himself. And the death of His Son was
a propitiation for sin. It means that His death propitiated
God. It removed God's reason for anger
because the sin was removed. He said, I will be propitious
to their unrighteousness. I'll remove my reason for anger
by putting away their sin. Now you remember when that publican
in the temple said, God be propitious to me, the sinner. That word
merciful is the same thing. God be propitious to me, the
sinner, do something about my sin. And the Lord said, I say
unto you, that man went down to his house justified. His sin
had been removed. He had no sin. I will be propitious
to their unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities
will I Remember no more." Now, this does not come from God having
a faulty memory. It's because of the perpetuatory
sacrifice of Christ. There's nothing there to remember.
Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It's God
that justifies. Who is He that condemneth? It's
Christ that died, yea rather that's risen again, who's even
at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for
them. The reason God doesn't remember my sin is there is no
sin to remember. And let me say this, when I'm
in heaven, when I drop this body, this body of sin, and I'm raised
incorruptible, when I'm in heaven, God will not look at me and think,
I remember what he did. No. He remembers my sin no more
because there's nothing there to remember. Even in heaven,
he's going to view me as one who never, ever sinned. Their sins and their iniquities,
now this is the New Testament. I will be propitious to their
unrighteousness. That's what Christ accomplished
on the cross. He said, I will be propitious
to their unrighteousness. And their sins and their iniquities
will I remember no more. And that's the New Testament.
It's God not taking you by the hand, but writing his laws in
your heart. The New Testament is God being
your God and you being his people. The New Testament is coming to
know the Lord because he reveals himself to you and you know him. He knows you and you know him. The New Testament is God being
propitious to your unrighteousness. Him taking His Son and sending
His Son to bear your sins. And when He died, that sin was
put away. God has a reason to be merciful
to you because He's propitiated you are no longer a sinner in
His sight. He says there are sins and there
are iniquities. I will remember no more. Now that is the New
Testament. And look what he says in ending
this chapter. In that he saith a new covenant, he hath made
the first old, talking about the covenant of works, now that
which decayeth and waxeth old. What decays? Things that are
dead. It decays and waxes old, is ready to vanish away. Thank God for the New Testament. We have this message on DVD and
CD. If you call the church, right, we'll send you a copy. Look on
our website and you get the message from there. This is Todd Nyberg
praying that God will be pleased to make Himself known to you.
That's our prayer. Amen. To receive a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send a request to todd.nyberg at gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen. Mm.