The Ultimate Promise Keeper

Part 6 of "Broken for Us"--Fifth Sunday of Lent

Key Scripture for the Day:

³¹ "Behold, days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, ³² not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on 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. ³³ "For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares the Lord: "I will put My law within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. ³⁴ They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them," declares the Lord, "for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember." --Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NASB)

The BIG Idea:

Lent reminds us that we are often quick to recall our old lives and the sin that wrecked us before Jesus transformed us. We are to be as forgetful of our sin as God is because Jesus has made all things new. By understanding the Old and New Covenants God has made with humankind, we are reminded that God is always faithful to deliver God's promises to us!

God established a covenant with Abram (Genesis 15).

-        God promised the "land bridge" between the three known continents.

-        God promised descendants.

-        God promised a multi-generational blessing.

Covenant = an agreement that establishes a permanent relationship.

God not only initiated the Covenant, but God guaranteed the Covenant!

Jesus became the ultimate Promise Keeper.

ILLUSTRATION: The Men in Black movie "neutralizer pen"

For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings, and their sins I will no longer remember. -- Hebrews 8:12 (NASB)

I, I alone, am the one who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. --Isaiah 43:25 (NASB)

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us. --Psalm 103:12 (NASB)

³⁴ Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. ³⁵ Now the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free". --John 8:31-36 (NASB)

Questions for Reflection:

What is the definition of a Covenant?

Which five animals did God instruct Abram (Abraham) to bring?

Did Abraham ever go through the pieces covered in the path of blood? Who did?

How did the sacrificial system retore Israel s relationship to God?

How does understanding Abraham's covenant with God enhance your perspective of the death of Jesus on the cross?

Why do you think Jesus yelled, "It is finished!" just before He died? When you think of your sin, do you think of it as "finished"? Explain why or why not.

 

How far away does the Lord cast our sin?