Holding On To The Old Covenant

The new covenant of grace is found in detail in the Bible, especially Hebrews.

Hebrews was written to Jewish people to convince them Jesus had ushered in the new covenant of grace, thus bringing an end to the old covenant of law.

However, many of them wanted to hold on to the old covenant of law with its religious sacrifices, rituals, routines, regulations, and requirements to gain God's forgiveness, righteousness, and acceptance, even though the new covenant of grace had replaced it, giving God's forgiveness, righteousness, and acceptance as a free gift to be received by faith in Jesus.

Holding on to the old covenant, after it had been replaced by the new covenant, would be like a family continuing to hold on to a picture of a loved one who has been gone for a long time, even though their loved has returned home and is standing in front of them.

Let me explain.

Let’s say a loved one has gone away from home, and has been gone for a very long time.

Every day the family looks at the picture of the loved one who is away, longing for the day when their loved one returns.

Their loved one has talked with the family, telling them he will be coming home, but he isn’t sure when.

They eagerly anticipate his coming, hoping each day might be the day he comes home.

So, every day, they look at their loved one’s picture, wondering if this may be the day he comes home.

Then finally, after a long time of waiting, their loved one comes home.

He is so full of joy to be home.

However, rather than embracing their loved one and enjoying his return home, the family continues to look at the picture, never acknowledging their loved one’s return.

No hug.

No embrace.

They totally ignore him, as if he never came home at all and continue to look at his picture, longing for his return.

This describes the very purpose for which Hebrews was written.

The continual sacrifices in the old covenant were only pictures of the coming of Jesus and his final sacrifice for sins.

He is the One the pictures represented and the One the people of Israel were longing for.

But when he came, many continued to embrace the pictures, totally ignoring or rejecting the person of Jesus and his finished work on the cross all together.

Things have not changed much today.

Many of those who believe in Jesus hold on to their denomination's, church's, ministry’s requirements to gain God's forgiveness, righteousness, and acceptance.

Even though they are believers in Jesus, they mostly ignore all that Jesus did for them through his one-time sacrifice for all people for all sin where God remembers our sins no more, even though they claim to believe in it.

Then continually seek God's forgiveness, righteousness, and acceptance by following daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly requirements, rather than receiving and resting by faith in all that God has done for them through Jesus.

That was me at one time...I totally understand...that was all I knew.

But then the day of grace came, someone shared with me about the finish work of Jesus where God's forgiveness, righteousness, and acceptance was fully, freely, and forever provided for me as a gift and was received by faith in Jesus.

That day I began to rest in all that Jesus did for me, rather than work for what God was offering for free.

Maybe this is you...you have never head the full truth of the good news of grace...the new covenant.

You have been working for what is free.

Today, by faith in Jesus, receive and rest in what Jesus has fully, freely, and forever done for you through his blood to bring you God's forgiveness, righteousness, and acceptance.