I remember very clearly when I first learned this next Gospel Game Changer. We were on vacation and I was reading Alan Wright’s Free Yourself, Be Yourself (originally released as Shame Off You!). Today’s Gospel Game Changer is –

I’m not responsible for keeping the New Covenant with God – Jesus keeps it on my behalf.

This is truly amazing to think about. Under the Old Covenant, the sacrificial system came along with the Law because God knew the people would never keep their end of the deal. Every time it was broken, a sacrifice was required to mend their relationship with God.

Why don’t we still make sacrifices? Two reasons. First, the Old Covenant has been fully satisfied by the single and final sacrifice Christ made through His life, death, and resurrection.

The second reason we no longer make sacrifices is because the New Covenant is being perfectly fulfilled by Christ, as well. You see, Jesus has taken care of both the Old and the New Covenant.

Here’s what Alan writes –

…there has never been a covenant like this new one.

The two representatives are still divine and human. But please hear this: The New Covenant is not between you and God. You are not the primary representative on the earthly side.

Jesus is.

And who represents the divine side of this covenant? Jesus, again.

Scripture declares, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2: 5, NKJV). “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises” (Hebrews 8: 6, NKJV).

The New Covenant is new because it’s not between you and God. It’s between God the Son and God the Father.

In one person, Jesus Christ, humanity and divinity meet. “The Word was with God and the Word was God … and the Word became flesh” (John 1: 1, 14, NKJV). Jesus is THE Man who represents you in the New Covenant, and Jesus is THE fullness of God Himself who represents the triune God.

Yes, there are two representatives in the New Covenant, one divine, one human. But you are totally out of the drama. You’re out of the loop. There is one and only one Mediator between God and humanity. And you are not He. The New Covenant is totally new because it is not between God and His people, but between God and His Son.

This is a Game Changer for me because it removes all the pressure to perform, which, somewhat ironically, is what frees me to perform better. Not out of obligation, but out of a thankful freedom.

Today’s Good News is God is not expecting our perfection – which is a really good thing. Instead, His New Covenant with us is dependent on Jesus’ perfection – which is completely and eternally intact.

You and I are free to live the life God has designed for us. When we get into “self-pity” or “self-loathing” mode we need to be reminded that this isn’t about our performance. The security of our eternal destiny – the keeping of the New Covenant – isn’t up to us.

In my life, I’ve surrounded myself with others who know this is true and who have permission to remind me as often as necessary (which is daily) of this truth. Gather people around you who can do the same for you, it’s a game changer – and really Good News!

 

#EverydayGospel

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