The Terms of the Covenant

A paraphrase from a recent preach by John Sheasby, followed by a paraphrase from John Crowder’s book entitled “Mystical union”. Be blessed J

“Their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more”.

The law will ALWAYS identify you as a sinner.

One of the things that mess up our relationship to God is the posture of asking for forgiveness whenever we feel guilty of sinning – i.e approaching Him with a sin consciousness – and frankly...He doesn’t know what you’re talking about.

My friend, God has NO memory of your sin. Can you receive that promise/covenant?!

Heb 10:16  "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord; I will put My Laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,"

Heb 10:17  also He adds, "their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more."

Most of us who battle with Spiritual growth are stumbling on this point. We haven’t accepted the fact that God means EXACTLY what he said here, and we continually allow ourselves to be reminded of the past.

“I will put My Laws into their hearts…”  what laws?

Do you honestly think the Holy Spirit would bother to write the Mosaic Law on your heart as rules for living, if it’s guaranteed to fail you? When it’s been declared week and miserable principles (not in itself, but mixed with our flesh…)?

What law has He put on our hearts?

Well, we need to go back to His promise – Ezekiel 36:25

Eze 36:25  And I will sprinkle clean waters on you, and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols.

Eze 36:26  And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh.

Eze 36:27  And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments and do them.

“I WILL...I WILL...I WILL...CAUSE YOU...”

Firstly, the ‘judgments’ of the Lord are not as we would envision them through the lenses of the law with it’s negative connotation – i.e ascribing guilt or passing sentence.

Judgement simply means to draw a conclusion based on the facts. The judgements of the Lord are pure, because He is the only one who evaluates rightly. He sees us NOT in our brokenness, but He sees us in Christ.

The best news of the new covenant is the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The LAW OF LOVE is what sums up the entire law of Moses. Love is the fulflment of the law, but we cannot love in our own strength and ability.

Why?

Because many people are not loveable. If you are going to strive to love, you are going to be constantly challenged to try and love the “unlovable” and particulary your enemies...

Rom 8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Romans Chapter 5 – Jesus dealt with the sin problem once and for all.

Rom_6:11  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

“Reckon” – logizomai (to take an inventory, conclude, impute, reason, reckon, suppose, think (on)).

Most people caught up in traditional theology are constantly trying to die to sin. You can’t die to sin, you have ALREADY died to sin! All you can do is “reckon” on what has happened on the cross...dead unto sin, but alive unto God.

If we begin to try uphold the law, we will begin to crumble. Our faces might be strong enough to portray a smile, but we will die inside. Paul felt this in his past (Romans 7) his attempt to remain upright via the law was crushing him, because he was trying to reckon his life in the law.

“Look to Jesus (as SAVIOUR), and live” - Spurgeon!

Rom 8:2  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

What was the law of sin and death?

It was the mozaic law (pure within itself, but corrupted by the flesh). In revealing your sin to you, the mozaic law passes judgement and condemnation over and over again. So by trying to LIVE by the LAW, you are automatically going to end up dealing with sin and death, over and over again.

Paul says:

1Co 15:56  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.

NOBODY WILL EVER GET FREE FROM SIN BY US TELLING THEM, “DON’T DO THAT”.

If we try to set ourselves free from sin by constantly telling ourselves, “I wont do that anymore”, we are empowering sin already. Because no matter how candy-coated that statement is with “ripe rewards in endurance”, the fact of the matter is you are applying LAW to a behaviour to try and stop it. Nobody can stop sinning by believing “Thow shelt not”. That is NOT what is ment by “enduring in Christ”.

Well, what do we do to walk in the freedom of LIFE?

Jesus said, “I have come, that you might have perfection and never mess up”? NO. That we might have LIFE, and have it more abundantly! You have within you, the Spirit of the gift of LIFE. With power enough to overcome and advance.

YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFEIN YOU NOW!

The Spirit of God is constantly trying to lead us all into LIFE, and we’re often stuck thinking that life is like a reward to be attained.

CHRIST IN YOU, the hope of glory. He that has the Son has LIFE.

Again:

Eze 36:25-27  And I WILL sprinkle clean waters on you, and you shall be clean. I WILL cleanse you from all your filthiness and from your idols.

And I WILL give you a new heart, and I WILL put a new spirit within you. And I WILL take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I WILL give you a heart of flesh.

And I WILL put My Spirit within you and CAUSE YOU to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep My judgments and do them.

We have the freedom, not just to access, but to LIVE in His presence with boldness – a stance that is humanly impossible when carrying a guilty conscience.

When we begin to agree with God about our sin, who we are, and what He’s done for and in us (confess=agree with), we begin to walk in newness of life. Life doesn’t come by confessing our guilt, but by confessing our innocence!

In Christ, the veil has been REMOVED! If you see yourself outside trying to get in, you’ll live frustrated. The glory of the law always fades – Up-and-down christianity is evidence of the fact that any victory you may gain by means of the law is fleeting.

2Co 3:16  But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

2Co 3:17  Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

2Co 3:18  And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.

So, when God says “I’ll write my laws on their heart”, it’s NOT about little rules and regulations, friends! It’s about the LIFE of JESUS manifesting in YOU…the hope of glory…by His Spirit!

When you begin to receive this Word of grace, you’ll see stuff begin to fall off; stuff that you may have been trying to rid yourself of for years, and the transformation into newness of life beginning to blossom as you continue to behold HIM with unveiled faces. (John Sheasby - paraphrase)

_______________

You were united with Him in His death.

What died?

The entire fallen personality. Your old depressed self. Your old sinful self. The old fearful you was buried. The old anxious you took a bullet. Your poverty died with Him. Your sickness died with Him. Every bit of darkness and disease that you once were, died with Him.

All your acne and PMS and road rage took a tumble.

The new you is happy, alive and full of the wine of His love! The new you is full of faith. The new, True Self is prosperous, bold and overflowing with life, hope, peace and fruitfulness – you are not mandated/instructed to attain this life, it’s in you…HE’s in YOU!

 The old critical, introverted you is dead. The new self is completely restored to childlike innocence and trust.

The problem comes, in what you are caught up “reckoning” (Romans 6:11)

Stop owning the sinful nature as if it’s still hanging around for you to kill!

Believe that you are indeed in Christ, and that Christ, in all His fullness, is in you.

This is not the old-school “sinless perfection” theology that the early Wesleyans and the holiness movement preachers advocated. Those guys said it is impossible for a Christian to sin. And a lot of that devolved into do-it-yourself, clean-yourself-up legalism.

We are talking about God-given righteousness that manifests in a happy, holy life.

We are not called to struggle with sin, or even struggle to stop sinning. Sin is no longer in the equation in Christ.

If you think you’re still a sinner, you will try to fight off evil with good. That is a return to the law and self-justification, and God did NOT save us to send us back to the law.

We no longer even eat from the law, no matter how pure and holy it was in itself. There was another tree in the “Garden of Pleasure”…the Tree of Life!

When you eat of Him, you live forever. (John Crowder – paraphrase)

Lets all be wonderfully blessed as we are taken deeper and deeper (as individuals and in our togetherness with fellow brothers and sisters) into HIS glory.

Be mindful of Him.

Much Love and pleasure J