Coffee and The New Covenant Part 1 The "Newness" of the Covenant

Hi there. Welcome to Reformed Ex Mormon. I am Pastor Brayden and I hope you're having a wonderful and blessed day today. Today we are going to be starting a new series which I'm calling Coffee and the New Covenant and this is going to be a part one of a multi-parted series and we're going to be focusing on the newness of that covenant, the new covenant.

Jeremiah 31 and the Promise of a New Covenant

We're just going to be examining why we go through these different videos on different topics and subjects regarding the new covenant. We're going to be looking mostly at Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 -34 and making heavy references and use of the book of Hebrews.

Now this part is going to be focusing on the newness, that which is the inauguration, the institution of this new covenant and the distinctions that are found between a Credo Baptist and a Pedo Baptist.

I would consider myself a Reformed Baptist myself and I would highly, highly, highly suggest that you pick up this book which is called The Reformed Baptist Manifesto The New Covenant Constitution of the Church and here's the authors for you.

It's a great book and it's a privilege of mine, a blessing of mine actually to be able to read like-minded men that have written about this topic that I too have come to the same conclusion on. Now as the title goes, this is Coffee and the New Covenant.

Right now I'm drinking a lovely cup of coffee that was made out of a French press, out of my favorite mug which is What's Wrong With You People by R .C. Sproul. Absolutely delicious cup of coffee, very bold, rich and delicious.

This is not a tie-in or a plug-in by any means but my wife and I are trying to step up our coffee game as we are trying to become more seasoned and reformed and refined in that kind of a way. But this is the coffee I'm drinking from right now.

It's Greater Goods Coffee Company. My wife and I are subscribed to this mailing of coffee subscription and so we get a new coffee every once in a while and this one is I think by far, so far my favorite one that we've had.

So I would highly suggest you picking up some of the coffee from them. But let us just go ahead and start here in Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34. It says, Behold days are coming declares the Lord when I make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. My covenant which they broke although I was a husband to them declares the Lord.

But this is the covenant which I make with the house of Israel. After those days declares the Lord I will put my law within them and I and on their heart I will write it. And I will be their God and they shall be my people.

And they shall not teach again each man his neighbor and each man his brother saying know the Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more.

Hebrews 8 and the Fault in the First Covenant

So where is this distinction of the newness of this new covenant that is made? Well this whole verse that I just read, these verses are quoted in their entirety found in Hebrews chapter 8 verses 8 through 12.

And so we're just going to turn there real fast to make note of some important stuff. And as we're turning there I would just first point out that the very beginning of these verses of Jeremiah chapter 31 verses 31 through 34 says that God will make a new covenant.

And in verse 9 here in Hebrews chapter 8 and out of verse 32 and Jeremiah 31 it says, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers. Now the reason that I point these things out is that it's been my experience, I'm not trying to create a straw man by any means, but in my experience from discussing this with pedobaptists is that the thinking is that the covenant of grace, the covenant that saves us was instituted that in the garden.

And that throughout time, including up to today, there's been different administrations of that same covenant of grace. And so we would see different covenants made with different groups of people throughout the time that is that same covenant of grace just with different signs, different administrations.

So they would think on this that the Abrahamic covenant for example, in order to participate in that covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, which is an administration in their mind of the covenant of grace, is that you first have to be born of the line of Abraham.

And this would be according to Genesis chapter 15 and Genesis chapter 17. And that if you were born of it on the eighth day, you received the sign of the covenant, which is true. You did receive the sign of the Abrahamic covenant in that day on the eighth day you were circumcised.

Now they would say that that's the covenant of grace in a different administration. I being a reformed Baptist say that that is a covenant of works because it required man's obedience to it. And it was just a covenant that was to separate a group of people that was to bring about the line of the Messiah according to Galatians chapter three, whom the seed of Abraham is truly Christ and whom we have faith in thus we are the offsprings of Abraham.

And in my thinking, what I see is the distinction there is that it's a physical people with a physical reward and a physical punishment for obeying or not obeying these things as no one was saved because they were obedient to the law.

As we know that no one is righteous. No, not one for we all fall short of the glory of God. And the law was given to hold us all accountable before God. And therefore these covenants are having fault there in because it includes man's obedience to it.

In fact, Hebrews chapter eight verses six through seven says this, this is right before quotes from Jeremiah 31, but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry. This also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises for the first covenant has been faultless.

Had if the, for, if the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion for a second. So when I read this text and I compare that to Jeremiah 31, 31 through 34, as well as the quote from it here.

And from the Greek Septuagint found in the book of Hebrews in chapter eight and chapter 10, I would see that the new covenant is not like the prior one. And that according to the inspired author of the book of Hebrews here in chapter eight, that the first one had a fault there in, and the second one is better and had an occasion and a need for it because the first one had fault in it.

What was the fault? Is it required the obedience of man? What's the difference that we see here from that of the old covenants and that of the new covenants? Well, if we go back in time and we were to look at the old covenant and we were to see the children of Abraham, the nation of Israel, we would see that there would be many people that would be on the outside obedient to God in the covenant.

They would be covenantally obeying God, but just because they were being obedient through the means of circumcision and other ceremonies, they were not really having faith and trust in God and looking forward to the promise of the Messiah.

In fact, when we see that, that therefore means that they were never accredited righteousness because of the works of their hands, because if they would, that would mean that they could be saved by their works, which we see in the Bible.

Romans chapter three, verse 28, for we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Now, when we see this, that would mean that you, if you were an Israelite in those days, being the children of Abraham, you could go to your neighbor and say, no God.

You can look to your other covenant member of the Abrahamic covenant and say, no God, look to him for salvation. Look to him to be reckoned for righteousness. Look to him for favor. Now, what's the difference between that and today as Christians?

If you are truly born again, you are truly a Christian. I mean, you have professing faith in Christ. You have been included in the blood that was spilt on the hill of Calvary for you and I. That means that none of us can go to another one and say, no God, because we all know him already from the least to the greatest of us.

It's a perfect covenant, meaning that its effect is a definite, powerful, supreme covenant that has been made that all those that participate in this covenant are truly saved. They are truly God's people.

They are not just one on the outside of these things. In fact, in my opinion, the better thinking of this idea of the Abrahamic covenant as it was pointing us forward, as it was a mere shadow of that of the substance of Jesus Christ.

In John chapter 3, when Jesus tells Nicodemus how one is to enter into the kingdom of God, he says, you must be born again. And so just like in the Old Testament, we see that you had to be born of the Abrahamic covenant in order to receive the sign, I say amen to that.

In order to enter into the new covenant, you must be born again, be covered by the blood of the lamb, and by doing that, you have a forgiveness of sins. God remembers your sins no more. You know God. He knows you.

You have a relationship with him therein. You are a covenant member and therefore you receive the sign. It would be my thinking that according to these texts, that it would actually be in violation to baptize anybody, including your children, including those that you love, if they do not have a profession of Jesus Christ.

If they have not truly been born again, you're actually going against God's word because they are not members of this new covenant. Now, when was this new covenant instituted? As I made mention of, that the pedo-baptist usually says it's in the garden.

I would say that in the garden, we see a promise made in Genesis 3, verse 15, and we see covenant of works being instituted and continued all the way until Christ, whom is the fulfillment of these things, obeyed them completely as he lived the life I could not live, and therefore he died the death that I deserve, was buried and rose again on the third day, being the gospel message.

Hebrews 10 and Christ the Mediator of the Better Covenant

In Hebrews chapter 10, after it quotes from those same verses of Jeremiah 31, 31 -34 again, it says here in verses 18 -22, it says this, now where there is a forgiveness of these things, there is no longer an offering for sin.

Since therefore, brethren, we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, the mediator of that new covenant, by a new and living way, which he inaugurated for us through the veil that is his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

As we can see in here, Christ is the mediator of that better covenant. It is through the blood of Jesus Christ that we are members of this, which he inaugurated through what? The veil, which is his flesh.

It was inaugurated after the word became flesh, lived the perfect life, died that death that you and I deserve, buried and rose again on the third day. That is the way that this new covenant has been inaugurated.

Old Testament Salvation and the 1689 London Baptist Confession

Now you might ask, how then does anybody in the Old Testament, prior to the cross, they are saved? Well, the 1689 Lenten Baptist Confession of Faith, chapter 8, paragraph 6 says this, although the price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ until after his incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit arising from his payment, that where Christ nailed our sin debt to that cross and paid it fully, that payment that was paid by God in flesh, were communicated to the elect in all ages from the beginning of the world through those promises, types, and sacrifices in which he was revealed and signified as the seed which should bruise the serpent's head, and also the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, for he is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Now when we think about this, that's why we would look at Romans chapter 4 and we see that Abraham was justified when he believed in God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness before circumcision.

He was a member of the new covenant before it was instituted. We would even actually see this here in the book of Hebrews right after chapter 10 where we just quoted from. In Hebrews chapter 11 it goes through a long list of Old Testament names that had faith in God and therefore were saved.

It's because they were made members of this new covenant in the old. They were made members of the new testament, the new covenant. Now when we think about this, it would be my opinion again that I think the Reformed Baptist has the superior reading of this text.

It makes more sense to say that in order to be a member of this new covenant, you have to have the law put upon your heart which is regeneration. You will know God so there is no way of you not being a member of this covenant in the future as many pedobaptists might have a child that's raised up to God for his glory and they end up being unbelievers who were baptized with this sign.

Well according to this text in order to be a new member, all the members of this covenant, you the Christian and I the Christian, in order to be members of this covenant we must all know God. And so what's the sign of those things?

Baptism, the Lord's table. And we must be believers before we do these things. I hope that this has been helpful to understand the differences between credo-baptism and pedo-baptism. I hope that you have enjoyed your cup of coffee for the day and I hope that if you are not a member of this new covenant yet, I would urge and call and beckon to you to repent and believe in the gospel, Jesus' life, death, burial and resurrection as you are in desperate need of a savior because you have sinned against God and your flesh, you are weak and unable to be obedient therein but Christ has lived that life that you and I cannot live.

Look to him alone for salvation. God bless and go in peace.