Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 262

September 19;     Hebrews 8:12;      212/260(IV);      ‘A New Covenant’

Hebrews 8:12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more."  

This chapter speaks of a new covenant God the Father, through His Son, Jesus Christ, will institute.  The new covenant is not based on behavior but love.  The outward behavior required under the old covenant is fulfilled by love under the new covenant.  The Lord Jesus was merciful to our unrighteousness and chose to forgive and forget our sins by grace.  His unmerited favor, which grace is, was performed in our spirit by the Holy Spirit when we became born again.  Our heart of stone was replaced by a heart of flesh when we become saved and God’s love was deposited into our spirit by the Holy Spirit.  The old covenant was based on external behavior and since we all are sinners, no one could fully do what the old covenant required.  The old covenant was given to reveal to us our inability to do what the Lord required by our own ability.  We had no ability to make ourselves right with God under the old covenant. The Lord Jesus did keep the old covenant law, therefore He earned all of the blessings the old covenant declared would belong to whoever did keep the law.  We know from the Word that our loving Savior did not take the blessings for Himself, but rather took the penalty for sins upon Himself on the cross.  The blessings for keeping the law legally belonged to Jesus, He gave them to us when we accepted Him as our Lord and Savior.  God is love and we can give to Him our love and appreciation.  David is a perfect example. Though not a perfect man, he loved the Lord and his life was greatly blessed.