Law written on hearts and mercy triumphing over judgment; A better covenant based upon better promises

What covenant is in force today? Is it the mixture of the old and new covenants, is there still efficacy for Jews in the old covenant or, is there only the new covenant? Well, we have looked at the imminent expectation through out the New Testament for the end of the age, the coming of the Son of Man and, we have seen that it was linked to the destruction of the temple. So then, when the temple was destroyed in 70CE it put an end to the sacrifices and there have not been sacrifices since. In actuality there is no provision for sin and thereby, the Mosaic covenant is rendered totally ineffective.

Add to this, the predictions in the book of Hebrews: Heb 8:10-13 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. (11) 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. (12) For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." (13) In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. And further… Heb 9:8 the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still standing.

Now then, if the New Covenant is in full force and, I believe it is then we must make a couple of observations from the above text. God’s law is in our minds and written on our hearts and He (God) has forgotten our sin…it is truly in the sea of God’s forgetfulness. Still, we are human and still capable of missing the mark from time to time. Understand that missing the mark actually, is to not completely love God at all times and, to not always love our neighbor as ourselves. Our human faith is not that strong at all times. This is precisely the place where mercy continues to triumph over judgment.

The New Covenant should take the pressure off so that we can grow in the grace and the knowledge of God. What does that mean exactly? Well, to begin with it should propel the saint into resting, trusting and relying on the grace of God at all times. This actually begins with understanding God’s purpose in creation. Eph 1:4-7 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, (5) having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, (6) to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. (7) In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” We see in this narrative that God chose redemption before the foundation of the world….that is…before creation and, he chose redemption to the praise of his glorious grace. Think about this….God created the world with redemption in mind so that his glorious grace would bring him praise.