Do you ever feel like you’re on the outside of an inside joke? It’s like being new in town and everyone who lives there grew up together… and then there’s you. Remember the time…? No. No, I do not. Or you miss a week of school and come back to a pop-quiz on a topic you’ve never even heard of. I got all of that and more in high school. I was starting a new school in the middle of the school year in a state I’d never been to. Some of my fellow classmates were transient like me, but most of them grew up together. I was the new girl who had to play catch-up with new curriculum and learn to navigate new social circles.
While school and my home life had experienced a bit of an upheaval, church was mostly consistent. I knew God loved me, but as I got older, I started to have some doubts on whether or not I could trust Him (probably partly due to the upheaval in the other big areas of my life). I know – it’s a bit ridiculous to think that I couldn’t trust the One who died a horrific death to make a significant overpayment for my sins. I just didn’t know the questions to ask or how to ask them.
It wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I started to search out some answers. It was a bit difficult since I wasn’t going to church and God seemed so very silent, but I knew that I was tired of being on the outside when I knew I would be better off on the inside. I bought myself a Bible, tuned in to some sermons on the television, and turned the dial on the radio to a Christian station.
My relationship with God finally shifted from a position of doubt to a position of faith when I started learning about the difference in covenants. An agreement was made, it was a terrible agreement that could never be upheld on our end, so a new agreement was made that can never fail. In our meager human understanding, we might say that we know what that means, but we’re very limited in our ability to grasp the magnitude of what God orchestrated.
To make sure that anyone who is on the outside can understand and come to the inside, allow me to fill you in. There are multiple covenants mentioned in the Bible, but there are two main covenants: the Old and the New. Pretty simple, right?
The Old Covenant is something we seem to understand a bit more easily. We do good to get good. We do bad, we get bad. It makes sense to us because this is how we operate with those around us. There’s an emphasis on performance, so there’s a focus on both the highs and the lows. If you haven’t noticed, we (the entire human race) tend to zero in on the lows, don’t you think? We have so much negative self-talk, condemning judgments for ourselves and others, and even harsh accusations against God.
The New Covenant is just that – a new thing God did that doesn’t make sense in our human minds (Isaiah 43:18-19). We might say we understand it, but it’s difficult to really comprehend something that is so opposite to our nature. Seeing the flaws, the lows, and the mistakes seems to be instinctual. But the New Covenant is like hearing a foreign language – you might hear a word that you know but have no idea how to tie it into the rest of what was said in order for it to make sense. A blessing without paying for it in good deeds? I tripped, but didn’t get dirty? This doesn’t make sense!
“Just as I swore in the time of Noah that I would never again let a flood cover the earth, so now I swear that I will never again be angry and punish you. For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:9-10 NLT
The New Covenant is a bit hard for us, isn’t it? There are even some churches that don’t seem to understand it and even teach in the other direction. Remember when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana? There were so many Christians that claimed that to be God’s judgment on the sinfulness of that area of our country. God was obviously punishing them… but that would make Isaiah 54:9-10 a lie, wouldn’t it? It is our human nature to see sin. It is our human nature to point accusatory fingers at others and even ourselves… and even God.
But God chooses to not see or even remember our sins. In Jeremiah 31:31-34, God tells us that He is going to make a new covenant with us and that He will forgive our wickedness and will remember our sin no more. How is this possible?
Jesus. And the Bible is full of a history that points to the New Covenant becoming our reality. From the beginning with Adam and Eve trying out a new fashion with fig leaves, God steps in and covers them with a blood sacrifice (Jesus was the ultimate blood sacrifice). Moses striking the rock versus speaking to the rock is a picture of judgment versus grace (God’s heart has always been for dealing with us in grace). Gideon with his fleece is a picture of the water that will be wrung out to wash away the sins of the world (Jesus did that – John 1:29). David as he held the fate of all Israel in his sling when he faced Goliath is a picture of our one High Priest (Jesus) who God was so very pleased with.
And there are so many more. All pointing to the New Covenant that allows us to boldly approach the throne of Grace. (Take time to read Hebrews 10:1-25 for what scripture says about our High Priest.)
Having a better understanding of the covenant Jesus’ sacrifice provided has helped me to trust that He is indeed for me and not against me (Romans 8:31-32). God isn’t dealing with us according to our sins because Jesus took them on Himself (Psalm 103:10-12 and Colossians 2:13-14). And nothing I do can negate this covenant because He made the covenant with Himself (Hebrews 6:16-20).
Learning this has unlocked so many doors. It has brought me in after so long of being out. The regular reminders of what Jesus did for me are important – my sins are completely forgiven. Never to be brought up again. Never to be held against me. Never to separate me from my Father, my Creator, my Savior… my Friend. That is the good news – that is the New Covenant. Are you in?