The New Covenant

Sermon Outline for Sunday, November 28, 2021

 

This covenant was made with the house of Israel and guarantees the coming millennial glory of the nation. However, some of the clauses of this covenant embrace the church.

 

Jeremiah 31:31 ESV

“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,

 

Matthew 26:27–28 ESV

And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

 

Hebrews 8:8 ESV

For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah,

 

It [the old covenant] could reveal sin but not remove it, and being defective it could not save or justify guilty sinners. It failed to meet the deepest needs of sinful man … sin had made it ineffective. The real cause of the covenant’s weakness was man’s sinfulness; therefore God finds fault with them.

 

The point is this: if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a new covenant. But man, symbolized in Israel, did not keep the old covenant. Two things happened:

• Man failed to keep the covenant or law.

• The law was not able to infuse the power to keep the commandments.

 

Therefore, God had to do something or else man would be lost eternally. This is the glorious gospel—the wonderful news of the new covenant. God did something. Note the words: “I will make a new covenant” (v. 8). And note: the new covenant differs entirely from the old covenant made with Israel when God led them out of Egyptian slavery under Moses.

 

1. The Benefactors of the Covenant

 

• God Himself is the great Benefactor. He stands solidly behind the provisions of this remarkable agreement with the nation of Israel. The terms of the contract are—

a. Pledged by the word of God ~ “I will.” The pledge is unconditional.

b. Procured by the work of Christ

• This is the significance of Matthew 26:27–28, where Jesus refers to His shed blood as “My blood of the covenant” (New American Standard Bible).

 

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2. The Benefits of the Covenant

 

a. Regeneration

• All Israel, in a coming day, will experience regeneration. “A new heart.” This anticipates the commencement of the millennial reign of Christ

b. Redemption

• The Hebrew people who enter the Millennium will all be cleansed from sin (Rom. 11:26).

 

Romans 11:26 ESV

And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob”;

 

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3. The Beneficiaries of the Covenant

 

a. The stated beneficiaries

• The eschatological clauses in the covenant belong exclusively to Israel. Failure to discern this will lead to confusion.

b. The subsequent beneficiaries

• The soteriological clauses in the covenant belong inclusively to the church. God has brought us in under these clauses and given us our standing in grace there.

 

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Pastor Andy Lambert ~ pastorandy@cvcog.church

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