Together in Christ: 'The Day Is Coming!' — Hebrews 8:8-11, 10:15-16

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Your Support Matters!

Your donations are vital to help us keep the light shining.

 Donate Now

"The day is coming," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, 'You should know the Lord.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins."

. . .

And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, "This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."

— Hebrews 8:8-11, 10:15-16 NLT

Key Thought

God has entered into a new covenant with us in Jesus and through the work of the Holy Spirit within us as Jesus' disciples. [1] We celebrate this new covenant sealed by the blood of Jesus each time we share in Communion. [2] Paul was breathtakingly clear when he wrote his inspired declaration that the new covenant has come and we are no longer serving under laws carved in tablets of stone or written on a page. [3] When Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit upon and into us, the Spirit cleansed us and began the work of transforming us to become like Jesus. We don't need written laws like the detailed laws of the Old Testament. God's laws are now written in our hearts and put on our minds by the Holy Spirit, including through the inspired Scriptures. The Spirit transforms us to become like Jesus, something far greater than any law!

For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us... can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord — who is the Spirit — makes us more and more like [Jesus] as we are changed into his glorious image. [4]

The Holy Spirit inspired the writer of Hebrews, [5] and the Breath of God (the Holy Spirit) made a very similar point to Paul's inspired teaching. The writer of Hebrews added:

When God speaks of a "new" covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear. [6]

Does this mean the Torah, the Old Testament law, is no longer important? NO! The Torah, the five books of Moses, the law, reveals the righteous ways of God and helps us discern what is important to our Father in heaven about morals, marriage, who a person is, and how we should treat others (including widows, fatherless, foreigners among us, and the poor). [7] Jesus summed these laws into two commands: Love God with all we are, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves. [8]

The Spirit taught [9] and Paul declared [10] that God has shown us His intentions and given us a higher standard: Jesus! Jesus fulfilled the law. [11] Jesus poured out the Holy Spirit on us when we came to Him. The Spirit empowers us to develop the fruit of godly living. [12] As the Spirit transforms us to become more like Jesus, we fulfill God's intentions in the law and also reflect the righteous character, gracious compassion, and faithful justice of God demonstrated by Jesus!

In other words, those days promised in Jeremiah [13] and referenced by the author of Hebrews in today's verses and by Paul have come! We lean into the freedom and grace of this new way of living by knowing Jesus and seeking to display Him in every area of our lives as the Holy Spirit is at work transforming us! [14]

[1] 2 Corinthians 3:4-6.
[2] Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26.
[3] Paul repeatedly emphasized this truth in 2 Corinthians 3:6-17, which is his extended rabbinic commentary on Jeremiah 31:31-34.
[4] 2 Corinthians 3:17-18.
[5] None of us can be sure who the human partner was in the writing of the book of Hebrews. However, I like to attribute Hebrews to the inspired work of the Holy Spirit, something the writer of Hebrews does — Hebrews 3:7, 10:15. See also 2 Timothy 3:16-17 for Paul's assertion that "All Scripture is inspired by God..."
[6] Hebrews 8:13.
[7] Galatians 3:24-25 NKJV.
[8] Matthew 22:36-40.
[9] Hebrews 8.
[10] 2 Corinthians 3.
[11] Matthew 5:17 NIV.
[12] Galatians 5:22-23.
[13] Jeremiah 31:31-37.
[14] It is important for us to distinguish between "the law" of the Old Testament and Jesus' commands and other instructions in the New Testament for Christians. "The law" is typified by the book of Leviticus, most of which gives detailed instructions on what to do, how to do it, and what not to do. While we are free from such laws, Paul, especially in Romans 6, made it clear that freedom from "the law" doesn't mean freedom to do just anything. Rather than having details like in Leviticus, the commands for us are things like be loving, kind, gracious, forgiving, etc.

Today's Prayer

Father, Creator, almighty Lord, thank You for Your righteous character, gracious compassion, and faithful justice. Jesus, thank You for delivering us into the freedom and promise of the new covenant. O Holy Spirit, I invite You to do Your work of transformation, sanctification, and conformation to Jesus in me. I praise You, God, for all You have done and Who You are! May my life reflect Who You are. I ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Related Scripture Readings

  • Jeremiah 31:31-37
  • 2 Corinthians 3:4-18

Comments

Archived Facebook Comments

Other Devotionals from Heartlight for Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Morning & Evening
The classic twice-daily devotional from Charles H. Spurgeon.
Morning Thought: Song of Solomon 1:4
"Believers love Jesus with a deeper affection then they dare to give to any other being. They would sooner lose father and mother then part with..."
God's Holy Fire
A daily devotional about the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
'Blessings Brought by the Spirit' (Ro. 15:27)
"[The Gentile Christians] were pleased to [send financial support to Jewish Christians], and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the....."
Passion for Praise
A daily passage of Scripture emphasizing praise to our God.
'God's Guarantee Bring Us to Praise Him!'
"The Spirit is God's guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we..."
Praying with Paul
Features the apostle Paul's writings turned into daily, powerful prayers.
'A Prayer for All' (1 Ti. 2:1-7)
"Dear Father, king of nations and peoples, This is for all people everywhere - We plead for all people because they all need you. We pray for all..."

Illustration

Illustration of Hebrews 8:8-11, 10:15-16 NLT — "The day is coming," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt. They did not remain faithful to my covenant, so I turned my back on them, says the Lord. But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, 'You should know the Lord.' For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already. And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins." . . . And the Holy Spirit also testifies that this is so. For he says, "This is the new covenant I will make with my people on that day, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds."

About This Devotional

Together in Christ is a daily devotional that focuses on what Scripture teaches about godly living in relationships.

'Together in Christ' is written by Phil Ware.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

More Together in Christ