The Old has gone, the New has come.

As the reality of Resurrection Sunday leads me on to a new beginning, I am singing words which are so real, “Take my heart lord, prone to wander and seal it with Thy mercy and Thy love.”

“I am God, I am your God and I still reign – no matter what the world seems to be shouting with all the pain, sorrow, hate and selfishness. I am God and I still reign. Yet as I have created all my creatures I have given them the choice to follow me or not. At the same time I continue to woo you and love you and help you with this enigmatic thought that even as you decide to follow me and love me – your heart is prone to wander. So come and walk with me as I continue to protect it with my streams of mercy and of love”.

Last week we considered the importance of understanding that the Old Covenant has been finally ended, making way for the New Covenant. Having discussed the reality that this fact has for each one of us, as we consider the New Covenant and its full impact. I want to pick up from there and talk a little about the importance of understanding the difference between the two Covenants.

We have said that Jesus’ death heralded the definitive end of the O.C. As God withdrew over silent Saturday the world was being prepared for the momentous news of what His death had accomplished. This is the nucleus of the New C. You can read this for yourselves in Hebrews 8:6-13. This Covenant was proved real by Jesus’ resurrection on Sunday.

Here are the main components:

1. God would imprint His laws on the minds and hearts of every person who becomes part of this Covenant (vs 10b). This will be through the work of the Holy Spirit, whom God would pour out in a new way at Pentecost. This means that each person will have the presence of the Holy Spirit within them to help with their obedience.
2. Each person would have a new relationship with God from that moment onward (vs 10c,11) Every person would “know the Lord”. “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ” (John 17:3). This would mean that each one would have personal access to God through Jesus and no longer need a priest and special sacrifices to approach a holy God.
3. Each person would have complete and permanent forgiveness of their sins (vs 12). Although this truth is dealt with in one sentence in this description of the New Covenant, it lies at the very heart of Jesus’ death on the cross. It was and is always sin which separates us from God. By His death Jesus dealt with that by taking the punishment for our sins upon Himself.
4. So these all were of course, all through work of Jesus on the cross.

So, the resurrection proved that this new period in God’s story had been inaugurated. It underscored in a physical way these immense spiritual lessons. Of course, there was another aspect to God’s story which is intimately tied up with the resurrection. This is the fact that this was a demonstration and a proof of God’s promise of eternal life for each person who believes and is born of the Spirit.

The resurrection sets Christianity apart from any other religion as it underscores the meaning of the events of the cross and the fulfilment of all God’s promises throughout the O.T. Hence in the book of Acts Luke repeatedly provides proof of the reality of the resurrection. May it be and remain a reality for each one of you.