#earlwoodanglican #MalcolmRichards #Hebrews

The Covenantal God

Last week’s sermon passage (Heb 8) outlined the wonders of a God who would covenant
himself to his people. A simple definition of a covenant is a legally binding relationship’,
in which all parties promise to uphold their obligations, under the threat of sanctions.
God makes 5 covenants with his people in the OT: Adam (though The Adamic covenant
is debated among scholars), Noah, Abraham, Israel, and David.
Now you could describe the divine-human covenants in the Bible as less of an equally
binding relationship and more as an opportunity for God to pour out his enormous
blessing upon his people. He blessed Adam with paradise, Noah with salvation from the
flood, Abraham with descendants, land and ‘blessing’, Israel with the Exodus and
Promised Land, and David with an enduring dynasty.
Yet each of these covenants required a response from humans. Adam was not to eat
from the tree, Noah was to build an Ark, Abraham was to ‘go’, ‘walk before me’ and
circumcise all males in his household, Israel was to follow the OT Law, and David was to
‘walk before me’.
If you want to understand how God deals with his people in the Bible, just think of ‘grace
and response’. All 5 of these covenants however are simple steps in the one big Old
Covenant, or Old Testament as we call it today. Yet as we read last week, Jer 31 said
that covenant needed replacing.
The author of Hebrews then outlined what is so ‘new’ about the new covenant. Through
Jesus’ death, God promises his people to ‘forgive their wickedness and remember their
sins no more (Heb 8: 12). This complete freedom means God’s laws are no longer a
burden, through a constant cycle of failure and sacrifice, they are a joy (i.e. written on
our hearts – Heb 8: 10). May we all follow God’s laws with joy, to please the one who
gave His all for me! Brendan McLaughlin

Timestamps:
00:00 - Prayer
00:39 - Introduction – I smell blood
04:20 - 4 Points
05:16 - Setting the scene
09:22 - The great sacrifice of Christ
13:24 - The cost of forgiveness
15:37 - It is finished


Bible Passage:
Hebrews 9 :1 - 28

Preacher:
Malcolm Richards


Application: Thankfulness, confidence, and proclamation


Prayer for the day: Sunday - Trinity 14
Let us pray [for forgiveness through the grace of Jesus Christ.]
Father, through the obedience of Jesus, your Servant, and your Son, you raised a
fallen world. Free us from sin and bring us joy that lasts forever. We ask this
through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.