Participants: John Bradshaw
Series Code: IIW
Program Code: IIW001272
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00:00 [Theme Music] It has stood the test of time,
00:12 God's book, the Bible. 00:17 Still relevant in today's complex world. 00:22 It Is Written ... 00:25 sharing hope around the globe. 00:36 Thanks for joining me today. 00:37 This is It Is Written. 00:39 I'm John Bradshaw. 00:40 If you read very far at all into the Bible you come 00:44 across something very interesting, something which 00:46 today, throughout Christianity, generates a fair amount 00:49 of conversation. 00:51 You'll read about the Old Covenant 00:54 and the New Covenant. 00:56 What in the world were these two covenants 00:59 or are these two covenants? 01:01 How can they be understood best today and what role, 01:05 if any, do they play in our lives. 01:07 My very special guest is a man who has spent more than 01:11 four decades in Christian ministry as a pastor, 01:13 as a teacher, as a published author. 01:15 We are going to discuss the covenants today. 01:18 Pastor Skip McCarty, thanks for joining me today. 01:21 SM Thank you, John. 01:22 JB I'm grateful you have taken your time and we are 01:24 going to use it as well as we can. 01:26 The old and the New Covenants. 01:28 Let's talk about the New Covenant first. 01:32 I'd like for you to define for us what biblically 01:35 a covenant is and then what the New Covenant is. 01:39 SM Great place to start. 01:40 Covenant is something we don4t talk much about. 01:43 We don4t use that language very much today. 01:45 Anybody who has a mortgage is in a covenant. 01:47 They are in a contractual relationship. 01:49 Even if someone has a credit card they are in a covenant, 01:51 a contractual relationship. 01:52 We are involved in covenants even though we don4t talk 01:55 about covenants. 01:56 Now when you come to the Bible, the old and New 01:58 Covenants, those terms start showing up, particularly in 02:00 the New Testament. 02:01 The New Covenant, it defined very clearly by God himself. 02:06 What4s interesting is that in much of the literature 02:09 written on the covenants and on the New Covenant 02:12 specifically, the definitions are all over the map 02:15 as to what the New Covenant is. 02:17 JB Why is that? 02:18 Can't we just go to "the" definition that we find 02:21 in the Bible or are there good reasons for these very view 02:24 points? 02:25 SM The Bible is very clear as to what the New Covenant is. 02:27 It is very clear. 02:28 In Jeremiah 31 and in Hebrews 8, 02:30 God says "This is the New Covenant I will make 02:33 with the House of Israel and the House of Judah. 02:35 The only place where the New Covenant is defined, 02:37 Jeremiah 31, Hebrews 8 and Hebrew 8 quotes 02:40 Jeremiah 31. 02:41 JB Well let's read that together, Hebrews 8. 02:44 SM And the definition itself begins in verse 10. 02:50 JB For this is the covenant that I will make 02:53 with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. 02:56 I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their 03:00 hearts and I will be their God and they 03:03 shall be my people. 03:05 None of them shall teach his neighbor and none 03:07 his brother, saying "Know the Lord". 03:09 For all shall know me, from the least of them to 03:12 the greatest of them, for I will be merciful to their 03:15 unrighteousness and their sins and their lawless deeds 03:18 I will remember no more. 03:21 There's the New Covenant defined in the New Testament. 03:25 SM And in the Old Testament, because he is just quoting 03:27 the Old Testament here. 03:28 JB You said the New Covenant is defined in Hebrews 03:32 and Jeremiah. 03:33 Now hold on a minute. 03:34 Jeremiah is the Old Testament. 03:37 What's the New Covenant being explained way back 03:40 there in the Book of Jeremiah. 03:41 It wasn't even the book of Malachi, which is almost over 03:44 in New Testament times but way on back to one 03:46 of the major prophets. 03:47 Please explain. 03:48 SM Because God had made numerous covenants with his 03:50 people before that, the last one, the last major one being 03:55 the covenant at Sinai and then, because they broke 04:01 his covenant, as part of the covenant stipulations, 04:03 they went into exile. 04:06 They continued to break his covenants after all 04:08 his appeals to them. 04:09 So they go into exile. 04:10 So they have been in exile now for 70 years and they 04:13 are wondering ... well, what does that mean now? 04:15 Are we still in the covenantal relationship 04:17 with God? 04:18 Are we not in a covenant relationship with God anymore? 04:20 And God says, I'm making a new covenant with you and so 04:22 he says here is the covenant I am making with you. 04:25 And then he identifies that as we've just read here that 04:27 could not be clearer, John. 04:29 It couldn't be clearer than what you have just read. 04:31 God says, here is the New Covenant 04:33 I am making with you and then he explicitly states 04:35 what that covenant is. 04:36 Four promises. 04:37 JB Now we just read it. 04:38 Can you break it down and put it in laymen's terms for us. 04:40 SMFour promises, very clearly from God. 04:43 I am going to write my law in your heart. 04:45 JB One SMI'll be your God, you'll be my people. 04:47 JBTwo SMThe time is going to come when you are not going 04:50 to need to teach anybody about me anymore. 04:52 Everybody is going to know me. 04:54 JB Three SM I'll forgive your sins. 04:56 That's it. 04:57 That's the New Covenant. 04:57 And when you look at it carefully, that's the gospel, 04:59 the whole gospel is included there. 05:02 I'll write my law in your hearts ... 05:03 that's sanctification. 05:04 I'll be your God, you'll be my people ... 05:05 that's reconciliation. 05:06 Everyone is going to know me ... that's revelation. 05:08 And in fact, that's the mission that was given to 05:09 the church and given to Israel to teach people about God. 05:13 And finally justification, I'll forgive your sins. 05:15 The whole gospel is there, in the New Covenant. 05:18 JB So the New Covenant is found here in Hebrews 8. 05:21 It's found back in Jeremiah 31. 05:24 SM Right. 05:25 JB What's the big deal about the New Covenant? 05:27 Why did we need it? 05:28 Why did God have to come along and say, alright, 05:31 here it is. 05:32 Here is the contractual agreement that we are going 05:35 to have? 05:36 SM Okay. 05:37 This covenant here is not a contractual agreement 05:39 in the same sense of like a mortgage 05:41 or a credit card. 05:42 And like when you buy a car, you're negotiating. 05:44 You want to get the least investment that you have 05:46 to make for the most benefit you get back in return. 05:48 This is more like a will and in fact, the Greeks 05:51 had two different words for these kind of covenants. 05:53 Suntheke was a negotiated covenant, like a mortgage 05:56 and a car loan. 05:57 But Diathéké was a will and that's the term 06:00 that's used here. 06:01 That's a term that is used consistently throught 06:03 for God's covenants with us. 06:04 So the big deal is God is saying in order for you 06:08 to be saved you need what I can do for you. 06:11 JB So this is a non negotiable. 06:12 This is an essential part of our salvation experience. 06:15 SM Absolutely. 06:16 For any human being who has ever lived, God must write 06:20 his law in their hearts. 06:21 God must forgive them. 06:22 They must be reconciled to God again and they must 06:25 participate in his mission here on this earth. 06:28 JB I am going to ask you a question then I think we are 06:30 going to have to back off and get some explanation here 06:33 because you have mentioned this two or three times 06:35 and God mentioned it right here. 06:37 This is the covenant that I will make with the House 06:39 of Israel after those days, says the Lord. 06:41 I will put my laws in their mind and write them 06:44 on their hearts. 06:45 Now I am going to ask you for a one word answer. 06:47 SM Okay JB God writing his laws 06:50 in people's hearts. 06:51 That's essential. 06:52 Yes, or no? 06:53 SM Absolutely. 06:54 Absolutely. 06:55 JB Okay. 06:56 What laws? 06:57 SM The law that is given the most prominence 06:59 in the Old Testament is the Ten Commandments. 07:01 The only place in the Bible where God actually writes 07:05 himself and he spoke audibly to the people. 07:08 It's very clear from the Old Testament. 07:10 So they stand out and in fact, most theologians would 07:12 acknowledge that the Ten Commandments were written on 07:15 the heart of Adam and Eve at their creation. 07:18 The principles of the Ten Commandments, the moral 07:20 principles there are timeless, they are eternal. 07:22 They are cross-generational and that is the law that God 07:26 is writing here in their hearts because in fact, 07:28 just the very next chapter of Hebrews in Chapter 9:4, 07:32 God talks about the temple furniture of the Old Testament 07:35 and he refers to the Ark of the Covenant that had 07:37 the tables of the covenant which was the Ten Commandments 07:39 inside of it. 07:40 He is linking here his law to the Ten Commandments. 07:42 JB Now we have got some people pretty excited because 07:44 you have said in the New Covenant God wants to put his 07:47 10 Commandment law in people's heart but many 07:49 people believe and are being taught very genuinely 07:52 that Ten Commandments is Old Covenant. 07:56 New Covenant is something else. 07:58 Let's pick that up in a moment. 08:00 We'll be back with more, straight ahead. 08:05 In Matthew 4:4, the word of God says, It is written, man 08:08 shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds 08:13 from the mouth of God. 08:14 Every Word is a one-minute Bible-based daily devotional 08:17 presented by Pastor John Bradshaw and designed 08:21 especially for busy people like you. 08:23 Look for Every Word on selected networks or watch 08:26 it on-line everyday on our website, itiswritten.com. 08:31 Receive a daily spiritual boost. 08:32 Watch Every Word. 08:34 You'll be glad you did. 08:35 Here's a sample. 08:39 [music] 08:46 In 2 Thessalonians 2:10, the Apostle Paul wrote about 08:50 a certain group of people who he said received 08:53 not the love of the truth that they might be saved. 08:56 Based on what Paul is saying, only those who love the truth 09:00 will receive eternal life. 09:02 He didn't say salvation is for those that know the truth 09:05 only but those who love the truth. 09:07 I'm sure churches are crowded with people who know 09:10 the truth but it's only when Jesus touches your heart 09:13 that that truth starts to make any real difference. 09:16 While you study the Bible and do whatever else you 09:18 do for spiritual growth, keep in mind salvation 09:21 isn't only about theory. 09:22 You can be right and still be wrong. 09:25 It is when you love the Savior who you find 09:28 in the midst of the truth of God's word that things 09:30 really come alive. 09:32 I'm John Bradshaw for It is Written. 09:34 Let's live today by every word. 09:39 This is It Is Written. 09:40 I'm John Bradshaw. 09:41 My guest today is Skip McCarty and today our 09:44 discussion is centering on the question 09:47 of the covenants, the Old Covenant and the New 09:50 Covenant and just a few moments ago we discovered 09:52 that the Bible plainly says that in the New Covenant 09:55 God would write his laws in peoples' hearts and minds. 09:59 Now Skip, that alarms some people because some people 10:03 equate Ten Commandments with the Old Covenant 10:07 and the New Covenant as being without the Ten 10:11 Commandments. 10:12 Now let's explain, if we can, why the Ten Commandments 10:17 are a valid part of the New Covenant when so many people 10:22 thought they went out of style when the Old Covenant 10:24 went out of style. 10:25 SM God himself said the first promise of the New Covenant 10:29 is I will write my law in your heart. 10:31 Now Jeremiah was the first one to give us that. 10:33 In Jeremiah's time everyone thought of the law 10:36 as primarily the Ten Commandments. 10:39 What God had written with his own finger and spoke and what 10:42 was inside of the Ark of the Covenant. 10:44 The only part of the law that was actually inside the Ark 10:47 of the Covenant was so treasured it was inside 10:49 the Ark of the Covenant. 10:50 And the Ten Commandments, in fact, are identified 10:52 as the Covenant of Sinai. 10:54 Now there was more to it than that. 10:56 In Deuteronomy 4:13, it identifies the Ten 10:58 Commandments as the covenant. 11:01 JB So, therefore, because people understand that the Sinai 11:04 Covenant perhaps isn't in effect anymore, maybe the Ten 11:07 Commandments are gone. 11:08 You can see this could be confusing in some minds. 11:10 SM I can. 11:11 Here's one fascinating thing about the study of the covenants 11:15 in the Bible. 11:16 Once you identify what the New Covenant is, 11:18 those four premises: I write my law in your hearts; 11:21 be your God you be my people; everyone is going to 11:24 eventually know me (that's when Jesus 11:26 comes again). 11:27 The New Covenant eschatological is looking 11:29 forward to the future, ultimately, 11:31 for its final fulfillment; I'll forgive your sins. 11:33 These promises show up big time in the Sinai covenant. 11:37 In fact, one of the major results of this study is that 11:40 these four New Covenant promises are saturated. 11:43 The Old Testament is saturated with them. 11:46 They show up individually but they show up in clusters 11:48 in major places every covenant God made with his people 11:52 in the Old Testament, it has these promises imbedded 11:55 in them. 11:56 It has the gospel. 11:57 It has the four promises in it. 11:59 It is a gospel-bearing covenant just like 12:01 the other covenants. 12:02 JB Very interesting. 12:03 The New Covenant talks about what God is going 12:06 to do in a person's life so it seems here that 12:11 the New Covenant emphasizes surrender to God and allowing 12:15 God to go ahead and be God in our lives. 12:18 SM Yes. 12:19 JB The New Covenant doesn't emphasize "OK, here's what 12:22 you have got to do in order to be saved." 12:24 SM That's right. 12:25 JB Did the Old Covenant emphasize that? 12:27 Because I have heard it explained that under the Old 12:29 Covenant, "do this and you live, don't do this and you 12:33 die," in other words, and a lot of people right now 12:36 are going to agree with me, they've heard it said the Old 12:41 Covenant obey the commandments of God and be saved, 12:44 New Covenant, trust in Jesus and be saved. 12:48 Perhaps we should talk about what the Old Covenant was. 12:50 SM Just as the New Testament is trust in Jesus to be saved, 12:53 the Old Testament was trust in Yaweh to be saved. 12:55 Trust in God to be saved. 12:57 JB Was there ever a time when people were saved 13:00 by their works? 13:01 SM Never. 13:02 Impossible to be saved by works. 13:04 From Adam's children until this very day 13:07 and the Bible never teaches that anyone was saved 13:09 by works. 13:10 JB So under the Old Covenant it wasn't, well if you obey 13:13 these things, then you can be saved. 13:15 SM It was salvation by grace through faith. 13:17 JB How did that work in Old Covenant times? 13:19 By grace through faith? 13:20 Because many people today don't associate grace 13:22 with the Old Covenant. 13:23 It's like that was the covenant of works and the New Covenant 13:26 is a covenant of grace. 13:27 That is not true? 13:28 SM Where grace first shows up actually in the Old Testament 13:32 is where Noah finds grace in the eyes of the Lord and just 13:36 after the giving of the Ten Commandments, Moses says 13:39 "Lord, show me your glory" and God says "I am a God 13:42 whose is gracious and compassionate." He actually 13:45 reveals himself as a God of grace there. 13:47 He reveals himself for the first time in the Bible 13:49 as a forgiving God, it was at Sinai. 13:52 Sinai is a powerful grace covenant all the way through. 13:55 It emphasizes love because the formula in the Sinai 13:59 covenant was "love God and keep his commandments". 14:03 We can't love him unless he circumcises our hearts 14:05 and God acknowledges that and says "I will do this 14:07 for you." He says in Deuteronomy 30 14:09 "I put my commandments, my word in your heart" 14:13 and the Psalmist said "Your word is in my heart." 14:16 It was always God's initiative all the way through 14:19 by grace through faith. 14:21 JB Salvation has always been a matter of grace. 14:23 SM Always. 14:24 JB I would believe that and I teach that but I am 14:26 fascinated to hear you emphasize this that all the way 14:28 back, Old Covenant was not works; 14:30 New Covenant grace. 14:31 That's a misunderstanding. 14:32 SM Oh, terribly so. 14:33 JB Okay. 14:34 Explain to me. 14:35 Let's drill down on this just a little bit. 14:37 Explain how the Old Covenant was a covenant of grace. 14:39 This is a revelation for lots of people. 14:41 How was the Old Covenant a Covenant of Grace. 14:43 I know you've touched on it, but let's zero-in. 14:45 SM Let's start back with Adam. 14:47 When Adam fell, the first promise given was what? 14:51 JB I will put enmity between you and so forth. 14:54 SM Exactly. 14:55 Spoken to the serpent but was meant for Adam and Eve. 14:57 I'll put enmity between you and the woman and between her 15:00 seed and your seed. 15:02 He, the seed of the woman, will crush the head 15:04 of the serpent. 15:05 The serpent will bruise the heal of the seed. 15:07 Theologians refer to that as the Protoevangelion, 15:11 which simply means the first pronouncement of the gospel. 15:13 So the gospel shows up there in a little kernel, 15:16 right there. 15:17 IT has to be that way, because once Adam fell, 15:20 he was giving to his children sinful natures and we could 15:23 not pull ourselves out of the pit. 15:26 God has to take the initiative and he announces 15:28 that right to Adam. 15:29 He actually announces it to the serpent but it was 15:31 for Adams's sake and for humanity's sake. 15:33 Every covenant God gave his people from then on just 15:36 amplified it. 15:37 It showed a little bit more of the gracious character 15:40 of God and the terms of the covenant and so forth, 15:42 all the way through. 15:43 So when you come to the New Testament and you have these 15:45 statements like we've saved by grace through faith and so 15:49 forth, in Paul's writings, he simply is continuing 15:52 to progressively reveal what has always been true all the way 15:55 along. 15:56 Every covenant God made with his people, John, 15:58 incorporated the truths revealed in the previous 16:00 covenants and added a little bit more information, added 16:03 a little bit more of our understanding to it all 16:05 the way through to the New Testament. 16:07 When Jesus said you must be born again to enter 16:09 the Kingdom of God, that didn't start when Jesus 16:12 made those words. 16:13 That was true for Abel. 16:14 That was true for every single believer in the Old Testament 16:16 period. 16:17 They had to be born again. 16:18 Otherwise, they were lost. 16:19 JB How were you born again back then before Jesus 16:21 had come along? 16:22 SM Well, how could you be saved if you 16:24 weren't born again? 16:25 We are born with sinful natures. 16:27 When Paul writes about the war between the flesh and the spirit 16:30 in Romans 8, that was going on inside of Abel, it was going on 16:32 inside of Cain. 16:33 Every single human being has had that spiritual war going 16:36 on inside their hearts. 16:37 JB How was that reconciled back then? 16:39 Toda we recognize the spiritual war. 16:41 We go to the cross, we go to God in heaven. 16:43 We accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 16:46 We ask him to change our hearts. 16:48 Jesus hadn't come back there when Cain and Abel 16:50 and Methusalen, whoever it might have been. 16:53 So how did that work practically? 16:55 SM Well right from the very start they had sacrifices. 16:57 Abel had a lamb sacrificed that was indicating that some 17:00 innocent sufferer would die for his sins, that salvation 17:04 would come through that one. 17:06 That becomes clearer then as you go throughout in the 17:08 Old Testament and into the New Testament and it just becomes 17:10 clearer and clearer until finally they find out 17:11 it is Jesus. 17:12 He's the one. 17:12 He's the Lamb of God that takes away the sin 17:14 of the world. 17:14 So it is by putting their faith in the provision God had 17:17 made symbolically through the sacrifices of the Old 17:19 Testament that they were saved by faith through grace. 17:23 JB Magnificent. 17:24 We've got a lot to talk about and I think this is going 17:25 to take us a little while. 17:26 Wait right there. 17:29 We'll be back with more, in just a moment. 17:33 It Is Written is dedicated to sharing the gospel around 17:35 the world. 17:36 To discover more about It Is Written, I invite you 17:39 to visit our website, itiswritten.com, and browse 17:42 the dozens of pages that describe what we do 17:44 and how we do it. 17:45 Let's get to know each other better. 17:47 Visit our website itiswritten.com today. 17:52 This is It Is Written. 17:53 Thanks for joining me today. 17:54 My good fortune is to have with me Dr. Skip McCarty. 17:58 We're discussing the covenants, the Old Covenant 18:01 and the New Covenant and Skip, a few moments ago, 18:04 you mentioned a term very interesting. 18:07 You talked about progressive revelation. 18:10 You said the covenant was really revealed in a kernel 18:13 form back in Genesis 3:15. 18:15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, her seed 18:18 and your seed. 18:19 And you said that as the Bible went 18:21 on, the covenant was revealed progressively. 18:24 Would explain please this progressive revelation. 18:27 SM Let me give you an illustration. 18:29 When did God begin to forgive people? 18:31 JB Now there's a good question. 18:33 It seems to me that God began to forgive people as soon 18:35 as they were sinners. 18:36 As soon as there was something to forgive. 18:38 SM It would have to, wouldn't it? 18:40 As soon as his Spirit was able to draw repentance 18:42 out of their hearts, he would be a forgiving God. 18:44 But it doesn't mention that he is a forgiving God 18:46 until the second of the Ten Commandments. 18:48 Before the second commandment, the Bible never says God 18:50 loves anybody. 18:51 It first shows up there. 18:52 But then you read back and say, Oh, well, that's been 18:55 true from the beginning. 18:56 Of course it was true from the beginning. 18:58 And so when some of the New Testament language shows up, 19:00 such as new birth and so forth, that we talked about before, 19:02 it's talking about things that have always been true 19:04 but God just revealing a little bit more, give us more 19:06 language, give us more depth of understanding, of what 19:08 has always been happening. 19:09 The New Covenant did not start over. 19:11 It incorporated the truths that had been revealed 19:14 previously and incorporated God's law, his moral law, 19:18 that was eternal. 19:19 He reiterates what had been true in the Old Testament too. 19:22 He wants to put that on our hearts. 19:24 JB Let's talk about the New Covenant here in the time 19:27 we have left. 19:28 I want to ask you two questions. 19:30 I think they are both fundamental and important. 19:31 One is how does participating in the New Covenant actually 19:36 look in my life. 19:37 What is that going to do? 19:38 That's one question. 19:40 And the other question I really believe we need 19:42 to address is are we promoting legalism when we say part 19:50 of the New Covenant is keeping the commandments of God? 19:53 Have we just put people under a burden that they should 19:56 not be put under. 19:57 So you can take those in any order you like. 19:59 SM Okay, the New Covenant lifts whatever burden may 20:04 be there, completely lifts it off, because in the New 20:07 Covenant, God is not saying "you must do this." 20:10 God is saying "I will do this for you." 20:12 JB Do you think that is a problem that some people 20:14 have, who are afraid of legalism? 20:16 They say well, if once you start talking about the Ten 20:19 Commandments, if I've got to do this, then you are putting 20:22 me under a burden. 20:23 When perhaps what we really need to do a better job 20:25 of is teaching people that when it comes to obedience, 20:29 this is really the work of God in our lives. 20:31 SM It is the work of God in our lives. 20:33 We can't make God be our God. 20:34 God says "I will be your God. 20:36 You'll be my people." 20:37 We can't make any of these things happen. 20:39 God says "I will put my law in your hearts. 20:41 I will do this for you." 20:42 The New Covenant, John, is God's embrace of a sinner who 20:46 cannot dig himself out of the hole he is born into. 20:50 Where sin abounds, grace much more abounds. 20:52 The deeper the hole, the longer the rope. 20:54 And Jesus himself is on the end of that rope to grab 20:58 a hold of you and bring you up out of that. 21:00 This is New Covenant. 21:02 New Covenant is the grace of God. 21:04 New Covenant is saying everything you cannot do 21:06 for yourself, which is everything in terms 21:08 of salvation, I will do for you. 21:10 And what is interesting about the Ten Commandments -- 21:13 the actual Hebrew is not commandments, it's words. 21:17 That's why scholars talk about the ten words because 21:19 the Hebrew term davar is word. 21:23 Translators come to that. 21:24 They have to decide, should we translate that word? 21:26 Do we translate it command? 21:28 Do we translate it promise? 21:29 JB So instead of talking about the Ten Commandments, 21:32 we could be talking about the ten promises. 21:34 SM Exactly. 21:35 Once conversion comes, it's ten promises. 21:38 That's the whole point of the New Covenant. 21:40 It's God saying I'm going to write this on your ... 21:42 I promise you'll be this kind of person. 21:44 It lifts the burden off of a believer. 21:47 The way we become New Covenant is to throw 21:49 ourselves wholly upon God and his grace because there are 21:53 going to be many times in the best, in the most devout 21:56 spiritual life on this earth, there is going to be times 21:58 of discouragement, spiritual discouragement. 22:00 Where we wonder, "Am I doing right? 22:03 Am I on the right track? 22:04 Am I really sincere in what I am doing?" God says, 22:06 forget all that. 22:07 Trust me. 22:08 Just keep coming back to me. 22:10 Spend time with my Word. 22:12 Open your heart to me in prayer and I will do 22:14 everything for you. 22:15 I'll write my law in your hearts. 22:17 You'll be my people. 22:18 I'll be your God. 22:19 I will forgive you and I am going to invite you into sharing 22:23 who I am until the day when we are not going 22:25 to need to do this anymore. 22:26 That is what the New Covenant is. 22:28 JB Interesting, isn't it, how over time the covenants 22:32 have been explained as works and grace, 22:35 or do vs. believe. 22:37 SM Total misunderstanding. 22:39 Total misunderstanding. 22:41 Total misunderstanding. 22:42 The Bible teaches that no where. 22:45 JB How hopeful, then, isn't it, that when someone 22:47 says what's the New Covenant, and we go to Hebrews and read 22:49 that passage, this is the covenant that I will make 22:52 with the House of Israel after those days, says the Lord, 22:55 I will put my laws in their mind and I add these words .. 23:00 I will write them on their hearts and I will their God 23:04 and they shall be my people. 23:08 Isn't this a matter of infinite possibilities opening up? 23:11 What God wants to do in the heart and mind of someone 23:17 who comes to him by faith. 23:19 SM Precisely. 23:20 God is saying everything that is necessary for your 23:22 salvation and for you to have a fulfilled life on this planet, 23:25 I'm going to do for you. 23:26 JB I will even turn you into the type of person who loves 23:29 to do the sorts of things I want you to do. 23:31 SM Precisely. 23:32 JB The Ten Commandments become ten promises and we 23:36 walk in the footsteps of Jesus. 23:37 SM That is New Covenant. 23:38 JB Skip McCarty. 23:39 Thank you. 23:40 Thank you for taking the time today. 23:42 I have been blessed, as have others. 23:44 I appreciate you being here. 23:45 SM Thank you for the opportunity. 23:47 JB Today I'd like to offer you a book 23:50 that could change your life. 23:52 It's called Simply Salvation. 23:55 It deals beautifully with some of the most important 23:58 questions that could ever be asked. 24:00 How can you receive everlasting life? 24:02 How can you know that your sins are forgiven? 24:05 How can you experience the life that you were created 24:10 to experience. 24:12 I want you to have Simply Salvation. 24:16 Call 800.253.3000, that's 800.253.3000. 24:18 Supplies are limited, so you will want to call right away. 24:22 If you don't get through right away, 24:24 please do try again. 24:25 Or, you could write to It Is Written, Box O, 24:28 Thousand Oaks, California 91359 and we will mail a copy to 24:32 your address in North America. 24:33 And I want to ask you something. 24:36 If you are blessed by this television program, please 24:39 pray for this ministry and pray about supporting 24:41 It Is Written financially. 24:42 Help It Is Written to continue to reach the world 24:46 with the message of hope in Jesus Christ. 24:48 It Is Written is donor supported. 24:51 Without you and people like you we can't do what God 24:53 has called us to do. 24:54 Donate to It Is Written. 24:55 You can call 800.253.3000 or give on-line by visiting 25:01 our website itiswritten.com. 25:06 I've got just a couple of minutes with our guest 25:07 for today, Skip McCarty. 25:09 Skip, as we look over what we have talked about, the New 25:13 Covenant experience, what's the impact of that 25:15 in the life of someone who is, you know, your average 25:18 administrator or gardener or bus driver, how does this 25:21 help that person? 25:22 SM First of all, John, I think it has to say to them 25:26 "you're not just the gardener, you're not just 25:29 the business executive, you're not just, whatever, 25:31 a waitress, or whatever. 25:32 You are a child of God." 25:34 Before I was a minister, I did other odd jobs working my 25:37 way through school, different kinds of work. 25:39 But when I went to the factory, I did not just think of myself 25:41 as a just a factory worker. 25:43 I thought of myself as a child of God. 25:45 There was somebody that day in the factory that just by me 25:47 doing good work, or maybe my countenance, or something 25:50 I could say to them, could make a difference in their 25:52 life for the Kingdom of God. 25:53 That transforms life. 25:55 That is all part of New Covenant. 25:57 And so God wants to take the everyday life 25:59 and transform it. 26:01 That's all part of New Covenant. 26:03 That's God's commitment. 26:04 I will do this for you hear and now, as well provide 26:06 for you in the eternal future. 26:07 JB So the New Covenant vs. the Old Covenant is not 26:09 a series of or rules of engagement. 26:11 SM No. 26:12 JB It's an experience we enter into with God. 26:15 SM It is. 26:16 JB And thank God for that experience. 26:18 SM Precisely. 26:19 JB I want everybody to have that experience. 26:21 Let's pray together. 26:22 SM Amen. 26:23 JB Let's pray together and ask that we can have 26:25 that experience that God wants us to have. 26:27 Our Father in heaven, how thankful we are 26:29 that you have made provision for us to be true Christians, 26:32 connected to you, rejoicing, healthy, happy 26:36 and holy, because you have said you 26:40 would be our God. 26:41 You have said you will accept us. 26:43 You have said you will write your law in our minds 26:47 and in our hearts. 26:48 You will do everything needed for us to be saved and to be 26:53 your children eternally. 26:54 Lord, I thank you for that and I pray that that 26:56 experience would be ours. 26:57 My friend, as we pray together and you are wanting 27:00 that experience, will you lift up your heart to God now 27:04 and say in your mind or say out loud, Lord, I want that 27:07 experience where you are my God and I am your person, 27:12 and as Skip has said, I can just trust in you and focus on you 27:16 and let you be my God. 27:18 Let whatever be have be all yours so that you can be all 27:22 ours. 27:23 We pray this in Jesus' name, Amen. 27:26 SM Amen. 27:31 [Music] 27:43 Thanks for joining me today. 27:44 I think, Skip, we are going to get together again and do this 27:47 some more because we've got much more to talk about. 27:50 Until then, remember, It is written, man shall not 27:54 live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds 27:59 from the mouth of God. |
Revised 2015-02-06