The Old and the New Covenant — Stephen Kaung

The New Covenant Promised in Hebrews

We'll turn to Hebrews chapter 8, Hebrews chapter 8, we'll read from verse 8, through verse 13. Hebrews chapter 8, verse 8. For finding fault, he says to them, Behold, days come, said the Lord, and I will consummate a new covenant as regards the house of Israel, and as regards the house of Judah not according to the covenant which I made to their fathers in the day of my taking their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt because they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not regard them, said the Lord because this is the covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days, said the Lord giving my laws into their mind, I will write them also upon their hearts and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to me for people and they shall not teach each his fellow citizen, and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord because all shall know me in themselves, from the little one among them unto the great among them because I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins, and their lawlessness, I will never remember any more.

In that he says, knew, he has made the first one old, but that which grows old in age is near disappearing. Our God is a God. In the Bible you'll find God makes covenant with people from time to time.

Of course the word covenant in our days God is a God of contract. Now why do you make a contract? Why people make contracts is because they are trustworthy. So you have to put everything in a contract written down, stipulated, and signed.

In order that it may have a legal obligation and that's the reason why you'll find in this world we use contracts. Now God, so far as he is concerned, he doesn't need a contract. Whatever he says, he does Dependable as his actions.

There is no need for God to put himself in a contract with men. The reason why our God is a God of contract is not because of his own need. It is because of ours. He knows how weak is our faith. Because we are what we are.

We tend to think the same about him. In order to increase our faith to strengthen our faith God is willing to condescend himself as it were putting himself on our level and bind himself. Brothers and sisters when we find God making covenant with men making contract with men let us remember one thing that it shows God's great love because with himself there is no such need.

It is because of us. He wants to bring us to where he is. Therefore he has to come down to where we are and make a contract. Here in the book of Hebrews you'll find two covenants are being mentioned. One is called the Old Covenant and the other is called the New Covenant.

The Old Covenant at Sinai

Of course the Old Covenant refers to that covenant which God made with the children of Israel at Mount Sinai of the children of Israel. God remembered his promise to Abraham to Isaac. So God sent Moses down to Egypt to deliver his people out of Egypt into the promised land after God had brought them to Mount Sinai in the wilderness.

You remember in Exodus chapter 19 God said I have brought you to myself as on eagles would You keep my word. If you keep my covenant then you will be my people people of my possession and you will be a nation and there God covenanted with us and in that covenant it is summed up in the Ten Commandments.

So the Ten Commandments represent the Old Covenant that contract which God made with the children of Israel. It was a conditional. Why? Because in that covenant God said If you will keep my word then you shall be my people and I will be your God.

In other words they did not know what happened where the abomination of Israel did not fulfill their condition. Anyway you will find when God gave this contract or covenant to the children of Israel God said Thou shalt and Thou shalt and the people said We will do everything that God said to us.

So the covenant was made. It was as if God was taking their hand and tried to lead them on into the full covenant. But you know just like sometimes when you are walking on the street with your child you try to hold the hand of your child trying to lead him safely through the street or try to lead him to a certain place and then something affects that child and sometimes you find it is very difficult because you want to lead him one way and you find a little struggle there.

He tries to get off your hand and because he is being affected by something else and this was exactly the story of how God led the children of Israel. God was holding their hand trying to lead them into his full purpose into the promised land.

But here you will find they tried to get away from God's hand. They tempted God. They tested Him and for 40 years they were in the wilderness. They broke and because they broke the contract God. Now that was put in the book of Jeremiah when the children of Israel of the nation came to be taken captive the Babylonians.

Jeremiah's Promise of a Better Covenant

But it was during that time that God spoke to the children of Israel telling them that one day God will make a new covenant with them and it was a better covenant. It was not like the old covenant which was conditional.

It was not like the old covenant that was external. God took their hands and tried to lead them. It will be a new covenant. It will be something entirely different and it will be of God's promised land a new covenant.

The nation was this for hundreds of years. God forgotten his promise of a new covenant. Nothing was mentioned again of the new covenant until one day you remember on the night of his betrayal. Our Lord Jesus was with his own disciples during the Passover feast to his hands.

Our Lord Jesus he took the load and he gave it to his disciples and said this is my body broken for you take it do this in remembrance. And after that he took the cup he blessed it and he said the cup of the new covenant.

The mission of Dr. Jeremiah mentioned the new covenant was said anymore until that night Our Lord Jesus came and said this is the cup of the new covenant in the future God will yet fulfill his promise to the children of Israel in making that new covenant with the cup all that day.

Our Lord Jesus last night before his crucifixion what God had promised to the children of Israel in the future to his own church. Dear friends the promise that God gave to the children of Israel for the future is now in Christ today living under the new covenant as they account that God has made with his church that is with us today is the very new covenant that God promised to the children defines our relationship with God today and God's relationship with us today of dealing with God today all these are based upon.

It is therefore of great importance for us to know what this new covenant is. If we do not know what God has covenanted with us do not know how to deal with God and we do not know how God. In order to maintain a right relationship with God we have to have a good understanding.

Understanding the Terms of the New Covenant

You know sometimes in this world whether you are renting a house or buying a place or buying a business or doing something you find there is a contract and you have to sign the contract. But often times you find in the contract of course you have maybe a page or two pages or maybe more all the stipulations all the articles in that contract.

And sometimes it tells you what you must do. And sometimes it promises you what will be done to you. And here you find all the contracts. But men are such often times they put something in very fine print and you don't read it.

Probably you read the big items and you skip all the fine print. And very often you find when anything should happen it's the fine print that really matters. And because it is in the contract you have signed it you suffer loss because God does never put anything in fine print he gave us in bold letters.

But it behoves us to know what articles there what does God promise to do for us. Why do we have before God. Or is there any conditions we must fulfill before God will fulfill his promise. Well we need to know what the new covenant is.

We often say today we are living in the days of the new covenant. But what is the new covenant. What is the difference between the new covenant and the old covenant. As a matter of fact many people today and many God's children today are still living under the new old covenant.

You would be surprised how many of God's people today even though they know they are under the new covenant and yet they still live in the old covenant. Why? Because they don't know the difference between the new and the old covenant.

What is the characteristics of the old covenant. Number one it is condition. Number two. Number three is upon man. That's the characteristics of the old covenant. You must do this. You must do that. You must not do this.

You must not do that. And if you keep the ten commandments then you are my people and I am your God. Condition. God says you do this. The responsibility is on you. After you have done this you read it.

You try to memorize it. You try to tell yourself don't forget it and keep it. It is eternal. And you try that is these are the characteristics of the old covenant. The commandments are holy witness of the flesh that the law the characteristics of the new covenant.

Number one there is number two everything that God does within us. And number three all the responsibility is God. God said all you need to do. Having said these let's go from verse ten to verse twelve.

You find there are three main things in the new covenant. Let us read them and then we'll go over them one by one. Verse ten. Because this is the covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days says the Lord.

Number one giving my laws into their minds I will write them also upon their hearts and I will be to them for God and they shall be to me for people. Number two. Verse eleven. And they shall not teach each his fellow citizen and each his brother saying know the Lord.

Because all shall know me in themselves from the little one among them unto the great among them spiritual. Number three. Verse twelve. Because I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses and their sins and their lawlessnesses.

I will never remember anymore forgiveness of sins and even. But when you come to our experience it will be easier for us to understand if we start from the last one. Because so far as our experience is concerned it seems as if the last one is the first one that we are really awakened to.

Forgiveness Through the Blood of Christ

In other words made in Christ by the blood of our Lord cannot be broken. And this is God's covenant with man. Relationship of God with us today is based upon this covenant. And God deals with us today according to this covenant.

Same thing is true if we want to approach God this is our approach now. The first thing is God says I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses and their sins and their lawlessnesses. I will never remember anymore God to forgive our sins and to forget our iniquity.

We realize we are sinners. The moment when we are under conviction by the Holy Spirit. Such a reaction. How should I do that? How can I wash away my sins? Immediately let me try some good Mary may be able to cover all my past faults in a way appease the wrath of God.

Based upon this natural reasoning that all the natural religions really mean this. You know you have sinned you are convicted and you try to do something good to balance. The more you try the more you'll find you are unable.

If you are honest with yourself you know that is impossible. As you find Isaiah even our righteousnesses things that you consider as good as righteous. But even our righteousnesses are as filthy rags before God.

They are not only rags that cannot cover your nakedness but they are filthy too. Nothing to it. How can we have our sins? Forgive before Christ died the righteous God not compromise. I remember many years ago during the war time I was talking to a lady her father was a Methodist minister.

As my father was. She was brought up in a Christian family. She came to this country to study. And then she went back and one day we were talking and she told me she said how can God send anyone to heaven to forgive everybody because he is love.

She forgot God is not only love but God is righteous. God cannot love to the extent to compromise his righteousness. God loves sinners. Yes but God the wages of sin is death. How can a just God justify sinners?

No way. Only one way God has made the one who knows no sin to be sinful that we may become. It is because our Lord Jesus the just has died for the unjust. There is forgiveness for the unjust. We try to come to God.

We try to come to God and presenting with all our merits. Instead with all these merits will you consider will we be completely rejected. The offering will be like the offering of Cain. He brought the best of the fruit of his labor on earth.

And he tried to present these to God as if to say now will you accept these and forgive me. And you know the story God rejected his offering and rejected him. His brother Abel offered a more excellent sacrifice the blood of the land.

And because of that God accepted Abel on the basis. So dear friends when we come to God today there is only one way. And this is in the new covenant. If we come to God through Jesus Christ through his shed blood and God said I will forgive you and I will remember.

You know often times when we talk with people we say now if you only confess your sin and trust in the Lord Jesus accept him as your Savior because he has shed his blood for you God will forgive you to their mind.

This doesn't seem to be I have sinned. I just come to God trusting in the Lord Jesus and God will forgive me. That it is in the new covenant. God said I will forgive. I will not remember anymore. God has stated God has put his word in the covenant.

And because God has put his word in the covenant and it is unconditioned. God said I will. God does not say you do certain things that I will. God said I will. Who will come to God through Christ Jesus his sins shall be forgiven not only forgiven.

In 1 John chapter 1 it is said if we confess our sin God is faithful to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all our sins. God is merciful and loving. But here you'll find it is that God is faithful and righteous.

Faithful to what? Faithful to his covenant. Righteous to his covenant he will do whatever he has said whatever he has promised and whatever he has put in the contract he is faithful and give us great assurance.

You know many people come to the Lord they have prayed they ask God to forgive them. But their whole approach is mercy. Lord if you show mercy to me then you will forgive me. Now suppose God said I'm not going to show mercy to you.

Then what will happen? Before Christ died on the cross it was mercy. It was love they gave. After Christ has died on the cross it is more than mercy and love. It is faithful. We can go to the Lord and say God you have said it it is here.

Fulfill me the contract. Fulfill the contract. We can approach the throne of grace with both. You do not need to be in fear and trembling. You can come to God with assurance knowing that because Christ had already died your sins are not only forgiven.

You know sometimes our problem is we come to the Lord and ask for forgiveness and we think we are forgiven. But tomorrow the next day we begin to remember it. And we come again to the Lord and say Lord forgive.

And maybe in the afternoon we remember again and say Lord forgive. But the Lord says I don't remember I don't remember. He has a wonderful memory. He remembers all that needs to be remembered and forgets all that needs to be remembered.

And our mind is so distorted. We remember what we should forget and we forget what we should remember. But dear brothers and sisters thank you. Our sins are forgiven. Not only forgiven but forgotten. God said as the east is from the west so is your sin.

They have thrown our sins behind his back from the sea. He remembers no more all that we may don't need to look back. Dear brothers and sisters all our sins our sins are forgiven. If we believe in the Lord he forgives and forgets.

So we can go on. You know one of the tricks of the devil of the enemy is to try to bring back. And by doing that he is the accuser. He tried to accuse us of things already under the blood. And dear brothers and sisters if we do not know the new covenant our faith sometimes will be shaken if our sins are really forgiven.

But if we know the new covenant we can answer the blood of Jesus Christ the son of God has been cleansed. How blessed it is when Martin Luther the great reformer while he was doing the work of reformation one day Satan appeared to him and brought to him a scroll called the sins of Martin Luther and it was written within and without.

And of course lots of them were true and lots of them were false. And the adversary challenged Martin Luther and said dare you do the who are you to do the work of reformation. You are not qualified full of sins like you are.

And thank God Martin Luther knew the blood of the Lord Jesus. He knew the new covenant. He took a red ink pen and wrote upon it and said the blood of Jesus Christ the son of God cleansed me from all my sins.

Dear brothers and sisters this is where we stand on the blood of our Lord Jesus. Our sins are forgiven and not only forgiven. This is not only the past this is our everyday experience. If we repent many Christians today go back to their failures.

They think that they have to be sorry for it. Yes you need to be sorry for it. But your sorrow does not cleanse you from your sins. It is the blood. Therefore let us go on trusting in the blood of our Lord Jesus and go on.

It's under the blood whatever is under the blood God would never even one day when we shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ anything that is under the blood for this new covenant. But the new covenant is much more than just this.

Every Believer Knows the Lord

Here we find the second article and that is to say we shall not teach each his fellow citizen and each his brother saying know the Lord. Because all shall know me in themselves from the little one among them and to the great among them.

You know when the children of Israel how do they know the Lord. How do they know the Lord. The only way they could know the Lord was they had to be taught. They had to be instructed. And that was the reason why God set up the Levites to teach the people.

Now if you don't know anything you go to them and they will teach you and tell you instruct you as what the law was. Now suppose it came to a place where you do not know where you should go or what you should do.

For instance like Saul his father lost some assets and he was out to try to find his assets but he couldn't find them. Now what should he do. Should he go on or should he continue to find them or should he go back whether his father is worried or not.

Now what do you do now. In the Old Testament time you went to a seer to a prophet and the prophet would ask for you before God and would tell you what God said. In other words in the Old Testament time the knowledge of God was indirect through instruction information information.

Why. Because God was outside of you. We need people to teach us know the Lord know the Lord. You know the word know the Lord is a word which means know outwardly objective knowledge that you accumulate through information receiving instruction.

Then you say now but this is not the new covenant. The new covenant is you do not need to teach your brother or your fellow citizen say know the Lord. You don't need to do that. Why. Because everyone knows the Lord is know.

If another know is not the objective knowledge it is the subjective intuitive knowledge. It is not a knowledge that is accumulated through information. It is a knowledge that comes directly from God within your spirit.

You don't need to tell any of your brothers they know the Lord. Why. Because every child of God knows the Lord from the littlest one to the greatest. Now dear brothers and sisters do you know that this is the new covenant.

Our problem today is after we come to the Lord. Now probably we know that if we believe in the Lord Jesus our sins are forgiven and forgotten. Probably we know that thank God we are saved. I'm now saved.

Are the requirements of being a Christian. How should I live a Christian life. What things I can do and what things I should not do. And with the best of intention we begin to we go around and ask. Now I have believed in the Lord Jesus but I'm very new.

I don't know anything. Now you have to tell me what I should do and what should I do. I shouldn't do. You have to tell me told. Well you should read the Bible and from the Bible you will know. But the Bible is so thick I'm just starting to read it.

And if a problem comes I cannot find it in the Bible. What should I do. Just tell me. And even if you don't ask you will be humbled. There are so many teachers in the church today. Everyone wants to be a teacher.

After you have believed in the Lord Jesus people will begin to pile information on you. Or maybe you are anxious to gather information what you should do what you shouldn't do where you should go and where you shouldn't go and so on and so forth and all these things.

And you begin to inquire and ask. Now in one thing you should ask. We should be humbled enough to ask. But brothers and sisters there is something far basic. I'm afraid this is something that Christianity has been ignored.

Where comes our knowledge. Does it come from outside through instruction. Or does it come from within. How do you know God. How do you know God's will. Everywhere I go people ask. So the one thing that they are really interested in and they want to talk about is how do I know God's will.

How can I know God's will. To know God's will. I want to but I don't know. And then people would begin to tell them oh if you want to know God's will have to know this three things. Number one what the bible says but you say well I don't know the bible.

Number two you you pray you pray. And number three you watch. These circumstances you watch and you are all confused. You know they try to give you a formula and the formula sometimes work and sometimes does not work.

The Holy Spirit's Inner Witness and Guidance

Now how do we know God. Is it the right of every child of God to know God. The new covenant. The new covenant says every one of us you don't need to be told where in you in you. The moment you are saved you will have the ability.

The moment you are saved God has put something in you that you may know. Is it not true. The bible says the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are true. How do you know you are a child of God.

You know. How do you know. You say you know dwells in your spirit that new spirit regenerated and deep down within you cry out. You know you are a child. Now brothers and sisters this is the way from within.

Remember because we have a teacher within the Holy Spirit is the teacher the spirit. Every child of God has the Holy Spirit. Now to be filled with the spirit is different. You may not be filled with the spirit.

But that doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit is not in you. As long as you are saved regenerated the Holy Spirit dwells. He will never leave you nor forsake. Why is he in you. Therefore in first John chapter 2 verse 27 it is said the anointing the unction which is the anointing the Holy Spirit.

The anointing that is in you shall teach you in all great things and small things everything and his teaching is true. And if you obey the teaching of the anointing you abide. Brothers and sisters we all have the Holy Spirit to feel it.

It is not your feeling. You say I don't feel it. It is not your feeling. Don't try to imagine things. It is not in your mind not in your mind. How do you know God in your spirit. The Holy Spirit like the anointing he is applying an anointing.

You know if you have a wound here you apply some oil or ointment on it and it is very soothing. You feel it you know it. So that is the same thing as he operates as he begins to teach. In your spirit it is like the applying of an ointment.

It is not something overpowering. It is not something that crushing you a very smooth soothing sensation. Not in your body only in the spirit. You sense you may not know how to explain it because it is intuitive because it is not emotional but it is deep down in your spirit.

The Holy Spirit is teaching you. Oh brothers and sisters you just try to look back when you are forsaken. You don't know too much. But sometimes when you are talking with people in the midst of your talking suddenly you feel something as if telling you.

If you continue to talk you used to such talking before. Therefore you feel well. You are talking. Suddenly you feel something there. There is a challenge a restraint a little fear as if a telling on you saying if you continue to you will learn to walk inwardly with God and you will pay attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit within you.

And you will stop. But if you continue on it and you don't listen to the Holy Spirit well so far as your flesh is concerned you have failed. Everything is poured out. Not like before. After you have said many things you feel everything is poured out.

You feel very happy until you confess it before the Lord your sins are forgiven. Then you feel your relationship with the Lord is restored. The Holy Spirit is speaking with you. Very often you meet a person the Lord is saying this is not true.

This is not true. It may stand alright but sometimes you feel most people today need to learn this inward way of knowing. Because this inward way of knowing God is the true way. Often times you know we are drawn out drawn to the outside.

Our Christian life is live all on the outside. It is not an inward walk but thank God the covenant. God said we can go to the Lord and say Lord I thank you. The Holy Spirit is there teaching. You does it mean that because we do not need people to teach us know the Lord we know him in ourselves.

Therefore there should be no teachers in the church. Even in the Bible. Paul is a teacher Timothy is a teacher. And the Bible says do not despise prophecy. Now what does that mean. All those teachers are prophesying are just to correct what God has already said.

In other words you cannot base upon these. You have to base upon what is within. But you need to be checked that God has said because our spirit is weak is young. We may misread instructions. But remember our Christian life cannot be based on people's instructions.

Our Christian life must be based upon a living relationship. Instructions can only confirm they are not so. Dear brothers and sisters we all are given like our sins are forgiven. So this concludes Brother Kong's ministry on the New Covenant November 1973.