The Promise and Sign of the New Covenant
In Part VIII of our study we saw that the Old Covenant is obsolete. The New Covenant is not like the Old Covenant. Christians have been given a New Covenant with a better Mediator and better promises. Tonight I would like to explore the New Covenant further by looking at the promise and sign of the New Covenant.
Please read through the following verse and try to determine what the promise is:
John 3:16 (NASB)
16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
The promise we receive in Jesus is eternal life. But what is this covenant promise based on? Is it based on faith like the Abrahamic covenant or is it based on works like the Old Covenant? It appears from our text that the promise simply comes through faith. There is nothing that a person can do to earn or deserve the promise of the New Covenant. The New Covenant is a unilateral covenant within the Triune God and no person can do anything to merit having a part in the covenant. Benefiting from the promise of the New Covenant is by grace alone. It is a gift. Let’s read the surrounding verses as well as a few more passages to drive the point home.
John 3:14-18 (NASB)
14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
14 "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
15 so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17 "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Romans 3:21-22 (NASB)
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
Romans 10:8-13 (NASB)
8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
8 But what does it say? "THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART"—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching,
9 that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10 for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
11 For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED."
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
13 for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."
These passages make it clear that the promise of the New Covenant is through faith alone. The New Covenant is not like the Old Covenant which was conditioned upon works/obedience. The New Covenant is like the Abrahamic covenant which was based on faith alone, not works.
So now we have the promise of the New Covenant which is an unconditional covenant based on faith alone. That just leaves the sign of the New Covenant. The New Covenant has a new repeatable sign, not like the repeatable sign of the Old Covenant, the Sabbath. Examine these verses for the sign of the New Covenant:
Mark 14:22-24 (NASB)
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is My body."
23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 And He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take it; this is My body."
23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it.
24 And He said to them, "This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.
19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 (NASB)
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me."
25 In the same way He took the cup also after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me."
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.
The repeatable sign of the New Covenant is the Lord’s Supper. Every time we observe this sign we proclaim the fact that we are in the New Covenant purchased through the blood of Christ. Every time we eat of the bread and drink the wine we testify that Jesus is our suzerain Lord and savior.
Not only does the New Covenant have a new repeatable sign, but it also has a new entry sign:
Colossians 2:11-12 (NASB)
11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
Baptism replaces circumcision, the entry sign of the Old Covenant, as the new entry sign to the New Covenant. Circumcision was only a shadow of what was to come. Circumcision symbolized and looked forward to the removal of the “flesh” which Jesus Christ would accomplish by giving us new life in the Spirit. Baptism is an outward acknowledgement of what Christ has done once for all, cleansed us of sin and raised us to a new life in the Spirit. There is no reason to continue the entry sign of the Old Covenant because we are not under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant was replaced by a New and better covenant. The old entry sign was replaced by a new and better entry sign that witnesses to Christ’s complete and finished work.
But all this leaves the questions of, “What about the repeatable sign of the Old Covenant, the Sabbath? Should New Covenant Christians still be required to observe both the Old Covenant repeatable sign and the New Covenant repeatable sign? Are those who don’t observe the Old Covenant sign sinning, being disobedient, lacking in holiness, or missing out on a special blessing? Should we try to correct New Covenant Christians who aren’t observing the Old Covenant sign?”
The Bible is not silent on these questions. We will explore them further in Part X.
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