Covenants in Contrast

It's actually one of the simplest books in the whole New Testament. And maybe you've already seen why that's the case. And it is because the book is really built to do one thing above all, and that is to show us that Jesus Christ is better than all of his forerunners in the Old Testament, as well as all of his rivals, that Jesus Christ is better than all of his forerunners and his rivals. And so you could really sum up the whole message of the book just by saying that Jesus Christ is preeminent. He's the greatest. And so you would be a fool to worship or put your faith in anything or anyone over. him. And so the book has just relentlessly asserted that supremacy of Christ in every category that you could think of, especially these categories that a Jewish Christian, which the book was originally written to a group of Jewish Christians probably in the mid to late 60s AD who were ethnically Jewish, religiously in their background Jewish, had come to believe that Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. He's writing to that group. And so he gives especially the assertion of Jesus' supremacy in the sort of categories that they would have fun. thought in, right? That Jesus is better speech. He's the better revelation of God. That in the former times he spoke through his prophets, in these last days he's spoken to us by his son, that Jesus is the true and better and final prophet speech of God.

That in the former times he spoke through his prophets, in these last days he's spoken to us by his son, that Jesus is the true and better and final prophet speech of God. That he is superior to Moses. That he's superior to Joshua. That he's superior to Aaron. That his conquest is better than the conquest of Canaan. That he's a better priest than the entirety of the Levittical priesthood, that he's this great immortal high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Okay? And so that's how far we've come in the book to date. And what we're going to see now this morning in chapter 8 is that Jesus is not just a better priest, but as a better priest, he's the mediator of a better covenant. He's the mediator of a better covenant than the covenantal framework that the Levittical priests operated in. And so look with me if you would at verse 1. There in chapter 8, we're going to read through the entire chapter, ask for the Lord's help, and then get to work. This is the word of the living God. Now the point in what we're saying is this. I love it when the Bible says that. Now the point is this. It makes my job easier. We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all,

set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Thus it is necessary for this priest also to have something to offer. Now, if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy in a shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God saying, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain. But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant have been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. For he finds fault with them when he says, and he's quoting from Jeremiah chapter 31 versus 31 to 34. 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. Not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant. And so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach each one his neighbor

after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my laws into their minds and write them on their hearts. And I will be their God and they shall be my people. And they shall not teach each one his neighbor and each one his brother saying know the Lord. For they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest. for I will be merciful towards their iniquities and I will remember their sins no more. In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete is growing old and is ready to vanish away. Father, we thank you this morning for your word to us in these words. God, we receive them with that authority that they are breathed out by you, that they are profitable for our teaching and instruction. They are profitable to them. to rebuke us. You have the authority this morning to do that. They are profitable to train us in righteousness. They're profitable to teach us our need for you. And so, Father, we ask this morning for soft hearts to come under your authority, to hear your words, Lord, teach us of the supremacy of Jesus. Give us a bigger sight of him. Lord, give us faith in his ministry. And we thank you for this great new covenant and its promises. Lord, give us faith to rest in them. Even today, we ask in Jesus'

that old covenant without jumping off of that cliff and dying. See, the Lord knows what he is about to do, which is at this moment in history, he is about to sweep away the last vestiges of the old covenant system of worship, especially covenantal Israel, their temple, just years or even months away from their reading of this letter. The armies of Rome were going to march under Titus into Jerusalem, lay siege to the city, kill, according to Josephus, well over a million Jewish people, and leave not one stone standing on another in their temple. God was going to covenantally divorce Israel, we could say. And so this event is just over the horizon and the author of Hebrews says, now would be a particularly bad moment to go back. Now would be a particularly foolish moment to shrink back to the comfortable familiarity of the old covenant system. And so this eighth chapter of Hebrews underlines this point, Jesus is better, his covenant is better, don't go back, does that by way of contrast, contrasting the old covenant with the new in order that we could see the greater glory. and the supremacy and superiority of the new covenant, and that by God's design. And so we'll look at four specific contrast that he makes. The old covenant was like this,

and the supremacy and superiority of the new covenant, and that by God's design. And so we'll look at four specific contrast that he makes. The old covenant was like this, the new is like this, through this chapter, and we'll actually spend the largest portion of our time in the second one of those four contrasts. And the other three will move for a little bit, move through a little bit more quickly. So the first contrast that we see in the first two verses of the chapter is that the old covenant priesthood, the Levitical priesthood, was this old covenant presthood was mediated by mortal earthly priest. The old covenant was mediated by mortal earthly priest, but the new covenant is mediated by an immortal heavenly high priest. If you look at those first two verses again, see what I mean by that. He says, now the point in what we're saying is this, we have such a high priest. Remember, he's been saying, this is who Jesus is. Jesus is this undying, immortal, divine high priest in the heavenlies, interceding for us before the throne of grace. King seated at the right hand of God, go to him for mercy and help. He's the one who, by his blood and sacrifice and mediation, we have hope. So he's saying that high priest, we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. That, in contrast to the ministry of the Levittical priests, whom we're told in verse five, don't serve that heavenly tabernacle like that, but they serve an earthly copy and

that the Lord set up, not man. That, in contrast to the ministry of the Levittical priests, whom we're told in verse five, don't serve that heavenly tabernacle like that, but they serve an earthly copy and shadow of heavenly things. We're going to talk more about the dynamic of this old covenant worship system being a copy on earth of something real in heaven that Jesus is doing in a minute. But right now, what I want you to see, the contrast that the author is making is this, don't go back to the old covenant because the priests of the old covenant, the Levites, are inferior to the priest of the new covenant, Jesus. The worship of the old covenant was administered on earth by fallible, meaning they were sinful, they could sin, they needed sacrifices of their own, mortal, you poke them hard enough and they will die, or you wait long enough and they will die. Earthly, they didn't come down from heaven, they're earthly priests. But the new covenant is administered in heaven, its tabernacle is in heaven, by a perfect, never sinned, immortal, can't die, divine, he's God, high priest, okay? And so this, this priest in the new covenant is superior to the priest of the old covenant. And one of the things we learn about him in these first two verses is that one of the ways that he's superior is that Jesus as a priest is what we'd call a perfect liturgist or minister. In verse two, we see this word

we learn about him in these first two verses is that one of the ways that he's superior is that Jesus as a priest is what we'd call a perfect liturgist or minister. In verse two, we see this word minister that he's a minister in the holy places in the true tender, the Lord set up not man. That word minister is the word that we get the word liturgy from. And maybe you don't understand that word fully. Liturgy is just like the order of service, the order of worship. Refuge has a certain liturgy, right? Every week, we follow a similar pattern. We begin with a call to worship reading where we responsibly read. God speaks in his word first. And then an elder prays and asks the Lord to bless our worship and come and meet with us here in his word. We sing to God in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, obeying the scriptures, and we open the Bible, and we look at the words there and see the exposition of scripture. And then we come to the Lord's table where we remember his death and barrel on resurrection. And then we respond again in worship before we're charged and leave. And so that order of worship is called a liturgy, right? And that liturgy, that order of worship shapes us, not just by the content what's in it, but also by the shape of it. Right? That's the whole point as you're reading responsibly back and forth with an elder in the church, it's not just to hear your voices or because we heard that people used to do that. 1800s. It's because the goal is that you would see this not as a place where you receive

the true tabernacle, the truly substantive new covenant worship of God's people. And I know that that's a lot of like, that's pretty like a lot of words there. We're going to get a little bit more down into the weeds here in this second point. I said that this was going to be the point. centered on the most and took the most time in. And this is really the widest main contrast of the whole chapter, that the old covenant was a shadow, but the new covenant is the substance casting that shadow. That the old covenant was a shadow, but the new covenant is the substance casting that shadow. So let's widen out a little bit. Look at these first five verses, and we'll see this together. It says again, now the point in what we're saying is this. We have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices. Thus, it is necessary for this priest to have something to offer. Remember, the priest had to be a human being, a man who would represent mankind to God offering sacrifices on behalf of mankind and gifts. And so the point is that Jesus as a priest is the God man. Remember, he's offering sacrifices, namely himself. He is the Lamb of God, and he offers the gift of himself before the throne. But he goes on. Now, if he were on earth, if Jesus were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law.

himself before the throne. But he goes on. Now, if he were on earth, if Jesus were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, since there are priests who offer gifts according to the law. They serve a copy and a shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God. He's talking about the tabernacle in the Old Testament. He was instructed by God saying, see that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain. Big idea, Moses at Mount Sinai. when God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt, he brought them on their way to the promised land, and he stopped them at this mountain, Mount Sinai. And Moses, as the representative of Israel, went up, he received the law written on tablets of stone by the finger of God, and then he came back down and he mediated that to the people. Right? Remember that. And so one of the things that he received on the mountain was the instructions, very detailed minute instructions for how it is that they were to make this tabernacle, this, it was like a mobile, temple, tent, a big tent that was made in very specific, minute detail to show and preach certain things. And what it was showing was something heavenly. The old covenant was an earthly copy or shadow of something heavenly. The old covenant is a shadow of the new covenant. And so the old covenant was full of types and earthly images of heavenly realities. And so we will focus specifically

copy or shadow of something heavenly. The old covenant is a shadow of the new covenant. And so the old covenant was full of types and earthly images of heavenly realities. And so we will focus specifically because the text does on the tabernacle. But there's even more. The tabernacle is not the only shadow in the old covenant of the new covenant, but it's the one in focus here in chapter 8. And so we're not Jewish, mostly. There hasn't been a temple, a Jewish temple for since 70 AD. We haven't, they Jews haven't had a temple to go and perform sacrifices in. So we're not familiar with a temple in the tabernacle the way that they would have been here in the 16th. with a temple standing and Levitical priests ministering in that temple right then. And so what we need to understand is take a minute and orient ourselves in the story of this tabernacle and temple so we can understand the point that the author is making. And so I'd like to bring you through the story of the tabernacle, and you can tell the story through scripture from Genesis to Revelation in five movements. And the first movement does begin all the way back in Genesis chapter 1 with the garden temple in Eden. The garden in Eden was a garden temple. It was like a temple. We don't have time to go into all the weeds here. There's a book by a guy

in Genesis chapter 1 with the garden temple in Eden. The garden in Eden was a garden temple. It was like a temple. We don't have time to go into all the weeds here. There's a book by a guy named G.K. Beal called The Temple and the Church's Mission. You can read a whole book on this kind of issue. But I'll try to give you a 30,000 foot view to show this because maybe you've never thought of it like that or heard this idea that the Garden of Eden wasn't just a garden. It was actually somewhat of a temple. Okay, and here's why I say that. Adam was told in this garden to work and keep the ground, to work and keep the garden. The two words are Abad and Samar. Genesis 215. The priests of the temple later were told to Abad and Samar the temple. That's first chronicles 2332. The tree of life in the garden was a living model for the lamp stand in the temple. It's just shaped like it, shaped like a tree. The temple was also, if you read through the descriptions that Moses received on the mountain for the temple and tabernacle. What was it like? Full of garden imagery. It was full of carved, wood carved, trees and flowers and pomegranates. All of it, according to First King 6, was supposed to evoke the glory of the garden. Even more than that, the ministers, the priests in the temple in the tabernacle wore on their shoulders and on their breasts precious stones like onyx that with the names of the tribes of Israel written

the temple. When Adam and Eve were driven away from the garden, remember they sin and God barred their way back how with an angel bearing a flaming sword. The way into the temple is only, you can only approach the temple through the bleeding cut throat of a sacrifice and the burned flesh of an offering. And so creation began in Eden with God preaching to us that this garden and Eden and all that came with it preaching basically that God wanted to inhabit the world and dwell with us and that we were intended to be workers and keepers in his garden temple, that we were to be priests in his temple relating to him and working and keeping his creation. But because of sin, Adam and Eve were barred from this temple and their purpose and because of sin. We are barred from our purpose unless what? Unless a sacrifice is pierced to shed his blood and burned in the judgment of God. This is preaching right from the beginning. The second movement of the story brings us to the old covenant tabernacle, this tent that eventually became a model of the temple. When God freed his people from slavery to Egypt and brought them to Sinai to receive the law, he gave Moses the instructions for the temple. That's what the text is referring to in verse 5 when it says, for when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, the tent, he was instructed by God. See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to

is referring to in verse 5 when it says, for when Moses was about to erect the tabernacle, the tent, he was instructed by God. See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown to a tent. This is a sermon. You've got to get this right. Make sure all the details are right. The model for the earthly tent was a heavenly tent. The model for the earthly tabernacle was a heavenly tabernacle. Again, what was God preaching to Israel carrying around this tabernacle with them? Carrying around this garden tent with ministers and priests. Well, he was preaching again, what? I want to dwell with you in your camp. I want to pitch my tent with you. I want you to live with me. And in fact, the tabernacle was the center of their life. When they camped, the tabernacle was at the center and the tribes radiated out from it like spokes. He wanted to be the center of their life together. And so, sorry, got something in my throat there for a minute. He wanted to dwell in there, but what did it require for him to continue dwelling? Sacrifice. Priests offering sacrifice in the temple. The people continue. sinned against God, continually broke his covenant. Israel was more like an unfaithful prostitute, if we read the prophets of the Old Testament, than a faithful bride. And so what did God do? Because this earthly tabernacle did not bring them into fellowship with God

unfaithful prostitute, if we read the prophets of the Old Testament, than a faithful bride. And so what did God do? Because this earthly tabernacle did not bring them into fellowship with God truly. Well, third movement in the story, the living tabernacle. The living tabernacle. What God did was he brought down a living tabernacle to dwell with us. What is that? It's the Lord Jesus. Jesus. He is a tabernacle walking around. He says in John, we see this peculiar sentence where the Apostle John says that the word became flesh, this Logos, who was with God and who is God. it's Jesus. And what does he say? He says, the word became flesh and he dwelt with us. The words literally tabernacled. The word became flesh and he tabernacled among us. Okay, Jesus brings the tabernacle down in his very flesh. That's why the prophet Isaiah said he would be Emmanuel, God with us, because we could not ascend to the mountain of God. We could not ascend to this real heavenly tabernacle where God himself dwelt. And so what God did was he came down. He brought the tabernacle down in the person, in the body of Jesus. We couldn't go up. He came down. And Jesus said, what, knock this temple down and I'll rebuild it in three days. They thought he was talking about Herod's temple. He was talking about his body, John tells us, that his body was the true temple.

said, what, knock this temple down and I'll rebuild it in three days. They thought he was talking about Herod's temple. He was talking about his body, John tells us, that his body was the true temple. And it was, the tabernacle not only identified with us in true humanity, but his flesh became the true sacrifice to take away our sin. And so in his death and in his burial and in his resurrection, what is Jesus doing? What is God doing in that? He's uniting us by faith to the very dwelling place of God, the tabernacle of God. He's bringing us into the tabernacle. Through the veil of his flesh, we'll see later, of Hebrews. And then what does he do? Where does Jesus go after he rises from the dead? We see it in our text. The right hand of the majesty on high. Psalm 110.1, the Lord says to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies to your footstool. Where does he go, the right hand of God? Where do we go? the right hand of God with him? We're unified with Jesus. We're united to Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. And so that our lives are now hidden with him. And so that's, Number four, this is where we're standing now in Hebrews 8, this heavenly tabernacle, where Jesus, in the living tabernacle of his flesh, ascends to the heavenly holy of holies, sits down as this great king and priest and liturgist, and he seats us there with him. And so where we are seated now, even though you're like, we're seated in wooden pews,

out of heaven. In Revelation 21, we see this prophetic picture. It's like a typological. It's a vision that is supposed to teach us through symbols and signs. And he tells us that there's this great New Jerusalem that's descending out of heaven to earth. And we're told what the New Jerusalem is. It's not actually a city. It's actually a people. It's the bride. It's the bride of Christ. The New Jerusalem is the bride of Christ. This awesome city that descends from heaven to earth. And in that That picture, something really interesting happens in Revelation 21. The city gets measured. And you're like, why are they breaking out measuring lines in the prophetic vision of revelation? Why are they getting out their measuring tape? Well, because they're telling us something very, very important about this city. If you go back to the Old Testament and you go to the tabernacle in the temple and you go to the Holy of Holies, the Holy of Holies, the Holy of Holies was a room where the high priest could go once a year and he would on the day of atonement and him alone. Nobody else could go in. If he went in without properly confessing sin and bringing sacrifice, he would die. We're told the measurements of this room. It's 20 cubits by 20 cubits by 20 cubits. It's a cube. It's like a Rubik's cube. It's about 30 feet wide, 30 feet high, 30 feet across. Okay, when we come to Revelation 21, the new Jerusalem, God's bride, this people, what is it? It's a perfect cube. Except it's massive. It's 12,000 stadium.

Okay, when we come to Revelation 21, the new Jerusalem, God's bride, this people, what is it? It's a perfect cube. Except it's massive. It's 12,000 stadium. by 12,000 stadia, by 12,000 stadia, which is 1,500 miles about, 1,380 miles each way. So what are they saying? What's the point in all this measuring in this New Jerusalem? Well, it's that God is and has been from the very beginning in his Garden Temple in Eden, bringing his dwelling place down among men to dwell with us. In the Old Covenant, this was all presented in little pictures that we call types and shadows and prefigurings, but the new covenant is the heavenly reality that that old covenant and all those types were modeled on. The whole point this whole time is that God would make all of his people to be his holy of holies. And so no longer would there be one representative of man, this high priest, who could go in once a year into the holy of holies. No, Jesus would become our high priest. We would become united as a whole people, every tribe, tongue, and nation under his blood. We would be united to him, and then he would make us the holy of holies. So that every single believer not only can go into the Holy of Holies, but he actually is the Holy of Holies, that he is the place where God's presence dwells, should blow our minds that God himself would dwell in his church and then bring his church down his dwelling place over

is the Holy of Holies, that he is the place where God's presence dwells, should blow our minds that God himself would dwell in his church and then bring his church down his dwelling place over the entire cosmos. The Old Covenant's full of these shadows. This is just one. It's the greatest contrast of the chapter that the Old Covenant was shadow. but the new covenant is substance. And the third contrast we see is that the old covenant came with promises, but the new covenant came with better promises. Hebrews chapter 8, verses 6 and 7. It says, but as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old covenant as the covenant he mediates is better. Since it is enacted on better promises, for if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. Jesus' ministry is much more excellent, he says, than the ministers and the ministry of the Old Covenant. Why? Because it's enacted on better promises. The Old Covenant made promises, but the new covenant makes better promises. The Old Covenant promises, the central promise of the Old Covenant is what? That Abraham is going to have a seed, and in this seed, all of the nations are going to be blessed. Who is that seed? It's not every offspring of Abraham. Paul tells us in Galatians who it is.

Who is that seed? It's not every offspring of Abraham. Paul tells us in Galatians who it is. Jesus. It's singular. Jesus is the seed of Abraham. The Old Covenant promised the coming of the seed of Abraham, in whom all the nations will be blessed. But what does the new covenant do? The new covenant actually provides that seed and actually blesses all of the nations. And so the author is basically asking this question, why would the Old Covenant itself, in places like Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36, and elsewhere, why would it promise within its own structure that there would be a new covenant if the Old Covenant was itself enough. Why would it promise a new one if it was already sufficient in itself? And his answer is that the Old Covenant was not sufficient in itself. So the Old Covenant does not actually save anyone. The Old Covenant does not actually save anyone. And this brings us to the last contrast to help us understand that. That where the Old Covenant condemned, the new covenant enables. Where the Old Covenant condemned, the new covenant saves and enables that at the center of those better promises of the new covenant was this great big promise that God would not just reveal the sinfulness of humanity, as the Old Covenant does, but that he would actually overcome the sinfulness of humanity. If you look at Hebrews 8 again, we're going to read this section that he quotes from the prophet Jeremiah. He begins

is that the old covenant was full of types and shadows, including the nation of Israel. See, there's this thing that Paul talks about, true Israel, spiritual Israel. It's the real people of God. And so you can't be a member of the new covenant unless you're part of Israel, a son of Abraham, but guess what? The true sons of Abraham, according to Paul? Are they the sons of the flesh? No, they're the sons of faith. You are a son of Abraham if you have faith in Christ. You are a part of Israel if you have faith in Christ. You've been grafted into Jesus, who is the true Israel, in a person, which maybe we'll preach through the Gospel of Matthew someday, and we can see this in the whole gospel. So don't let that trip you up. Don't think, I'm not Jewish, so this can't be for me. No, no, this new covenant is going to be not just for ethnic Israel, but for true Israel, united to Christ, the true Israel. Okay, so we continues. For they did not continue in my covenant, ethnic Israel. They didn't continue in my covenant. And so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They shall not teach each one of his neighbor and each one to his brothers saying, know the Lord. Why? For they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins.

and each one to his brothers saying, know the Lord. Why? For they will all know me from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins. No more. See, the old covenant contained this perfect law. Perfect law. The problem of the old covenant had nothing to do with the law, not being good. The old covenant law was perfect. If you go read Psalm 119, this will just explode over and over and over and over. The words of God are perfect. They're perfect. Who is the blessed man in Psalm 1? It's the one who meditates day and night on the law of God. He's like a tree planted by streams of water, yielding its fruit in season and out. The law is good. The law is perfect. The problem with the old covenant was not the law. It was the people. The problem with the old covenant was not the old covenant. It was the people. The old covenant could condemn every single human being under the sentence of death and unrighteousness, but it could not make even one person righteous. It could show everyone their sinfulness, but it could not overcome that sinfulness. This is why Paul in 2 Corinthians 3 calls it the ministry of death carved in letters of stone. He's looking at the picture of Mount Sinai and God giving these tablets of command to Moses

He's looking at the picture of Mount Sinai and God giving these tablets of command to Moses written with his very finger. And he says, look how glorious that came with glory. But it was a ministry of death. It was the glory of a ministry of death that condemned every single person that came under it. The new covenant is better than that. Why? Because the new covenant infuses that law into the heart. of its members. The new covenant conquers the sinfulness that the old covenant could only point at. And so Paul concludes that section in 2 Corinthians 3. In verse 9 of that chapter, he says, if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the old covenant, the ministry of righteousness much far exceed it in glory. None of this is to say that the old covenant is bad. It's to say that the people under it were bad. The new covenant is better because it makes bad people good. the new covenant is better because it doesn't just say, hey, by the way, here's 612 ways that you suck. That's what the old covenant does. If you read through it, and then you can even boil it down to two big ways that you really suck. You don't love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And you definitely don't love your neighbor as yourself. You love yourself as yourself sometimes, but you definitely don't love your neighbor as yourself. It condemns all of us, even the most righteous of us, we found condemned under the old covenant. The new covenant is great. Why? Because

but you definitely don't love your neighbor as yourself. It condemns all of us, even the most righteous of us, we found condemned under the old covenant. The new covenant is great. Why? Because it can actually make bad people good. And I hope you saw that in the prophecy of Jeremiah. How does the new covenant work? What makes it different from the old? Well, the old covenant would walk in the room and say, you think you're a pretty good guy. You're actually under the condemnation of God and deserve to be stone to death and then face eternal judgment. Like, thank you. Thank you. I felt okay about myself before this moment. That's what the old covenant comes in. And there's not. And there's nothing wrong with it. It's great. It's perfect. It's holy. It's righteous. It's glorious. It's the image. It's the moral character of God as described in human law. So what does the new covenant do? The new covenant actually then reaches in to your heart, your dead chest. It grabs onto a heart of granite, dead heart. It pulls it out. It puts a new heart in, a heart of flesh. And on that heart, God's law is written. on the new minds that he gives you. That law is written. And Ezekiel 36 even tells us he puts his spirit in us and he causes us to walk in his ways. What does the new covenant do? He saves us from our sin by in Christ forgiving us for our sin. And then he raises us up to new life

of this new covenant. The old covenant system as a system vanishes away because it's been fulfilled and implanted into the hearts of God's new covenant people. This is side note. This is why we're not waiting for a future rebuilt temple. We're not waiting for the practices and systems of the old covenant worship to return. Those are sign and shadow and fore and prefiguring. It's never coming back because the fulfillment of it is living in every new covenant member's heart. This is why it would be a fool. You would be a fool as well to trust in any home-brewed version of the old covenant that you could cook up on your own. Right? Because again, we've dealt with this over and over in the book of Hebrews where the applications seem to be very specifically geared towards Jewish Christians in 68 in the 60s AD, which we are not. Right? So what does this mean for me? Because I'm not tempted to go back to the Levitical dietary laws in general. Well, here's the problem. Not only are we tempted in the same category, we're tempted in a worse version of the same category. They were tempted to go back to God's perfect law. We're tempted to invent our own old covenant laws and then try to be justified on the basis of them. Every human being's heart is not just an idol factory. It's also a law factory. We love law because we get law. We're like A plus B equals C. If I obey this, then I'm good and I'm good enough. If my bad deeds outweigh my good

idol factory. It's also a law factory. We love law because we get law. We're like A plus B equals C. If I obey this, then I'm good and I'm good enough. If my bad deeds outweigh my good deeds is that I'm good. We are experts in inventing law. We love to invent new laws. At least the old covenant law is perfect. Our laws are fairly. terrible for the most part. The Levitical law, yeah, it had dietary laws. We invent new ones every day. Justification by cholesterol intake. Right? Justification by, justification by eating cruelty free or justification by not being one of those liberals who eats cruelty free. We've been doing this forever. We've been inventing our own Levitical law. We've been always trying to knock off in some plastic way, our own version, that we could then measure ourselves. against and say, I'm good enough, I'm justified, and satisfy the feeling of guilt that we all carry. But here's the problem. Not only are your laws imperfect, you can't even keep your own imperfect laws. I've used this illustration before, and it's an act of larceny for me to use it because I didn't even come up with it in the first place. But imagine that you had this special recording device around your neck for every moment of your life. And this recorder was magical, and it would turn on only at the moment that you walked up your own personal Mount Sinai and uttered a decree. every time that you said a thou shalt or thou shalt not, it turned on and recorded it.

that you walked up your own personal Mount Sinai and uttered a decree. every time that you said a thou shalt or thou shalt not, it turned on and recorded it. So you're in the fast lane and someone's going 79 and you say, thou shalt not go under 80 miles per hour in the fast lane. Or one of your kids is doing what kids do and they're fussing at you, fussing and whining and crying and all of the things. And you say, whining never fixes anything. No fussing. That's a rule in our house. It's one of the three rules in our house. No fussing. You fuss, you get a spanking. And if CPS is listening, I guess. I guess you get a disciplinary action. No fussing. And so it, you know, writes that law down on the recorder. And let's say you compiled all the laws in your whole life into a book. And then God, at the end, were to open another book where he's written down every idle word that you've ever spoken, where he's written down every action that you've taken, where he's written down every action that you failed to take that you should have, where he's written down every motivation of your heart, where he's written down every fantasy that you've entertained, where he's written down every desire that you had. And then you compared that book to your book, what would happen? Would you be justified according to your own law? Would I be justified according to my own three laws? No disobedience, no disrespect, and no fussing. Those are the three laws of our home. Okay? Would I be justified if we bold it down to those three? I would fail on all three over and over

three laws? No disobedience, no disrespect, and no fussing. Those are the three laws of our home. Okay? Would I be justified if we bold it down to those three? I would fail on all three over and over weekly. I fuss at my kids. I fuss at my kids about their fussing. See, here's the problem with with law. Whether it's good or not, we can't do it. We don't have the capacity apart from the resurrecting grace of God to please God at all. Even among the inmates, even among comparing humans to humans, the most righteous act that you've done, Isaiah calls it a filthy rag that you present to God. Here's my righteousness. Here's my righteousness. See, they may have been tempted to shrink back to the perfect old covenant. We're tempted to shrink back to the feudal ways of our forefathers, first Peter says. to our own homebrewed law. And none of us will ever be justified by any of it. And so as we close the book this morning, I want you to remember the point, which is what? Jesus is better. Never go back. Don't dare to trust in any rival of Jesus as a priest or a law or a covenant or righteousness, that Christ alone can save you. And the good news is that he has saved. He has offered himself. He has offered himself. as a propitiation, to absorb the wrath of God for our sin, to take away our guilt before that perfect law. He's died to take it away. He's sprinkled his blood, the blood of the new covenant.

a tabernacle Holy of Holies, a new Jerusalem bride from every tribe and tongue and nation. We thank you for your great promises that this gospel is like leaven hidden in a lump, that it is taking over, that it is going to go. into every single group and tribe and save. So let it have that effect here among us, among our tribes. Let it save here. And then, Father, send us as your living stones in a structure built up to your glory. Send us to our neighbors. Send us out into our cities. Teach us to trust you and obey you and love you to be a repentant people, a humble people, a faithful people. We thank you that in your new covenant, you have supplied all that is necessary for us to be all of that. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.