Behold, I Will Do Something New
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton
Text: Isaiah 43:8-21
I. New things are special
A. They are fresher, cleaner, brighter.
B. We want new things, not old, used, hand-me-downs
C. God told His people that He had something new for them - Isaiah 43:18-21
II. A new covenant
A. God selected the decedents of Abraham, specifically the children of Israel, and established a covenant with them
1. But Israel disobeyed and repeatedly broke the terms of the covenant - Jeremiah 11:6-10
2. And in accordance with that covenant, God brought disaster on the people - Jeremiah 11:11-17
B. But God also promised a new covenant for His people - Jeremiah 31:31-34
C. Christ brought in a better covenant based on better promises - Hebrews 8:6
1. The first covenant, the Law of Moses, was flawed due to the people who should have kept it - Hebrews 8:7-8
2. The write then quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34
3. And ends with noting that by using the word “new” God made the Law of Moses obsolete, growing old from that time until it disappeared and was replaced by Christ - Hebrews 9:15-22
4. We have arrived at the new covenant with Jesus’ shed blood - Hebrews 12:22-24
D. The old covenant was canceled at the cross - Colossians 2:13-14
III. How was the New Covenant better? - Hebrews 8:10-12
A. God’s Laws will be a part of His people
1. The Old Law was written on tablets of stone and that came to illustrate the problem
2. The Israelites were frequently urged to put the laws in their hearts and minds - Proverbs 3:3-4
a. But they failed to really make the Law apart of them - II Corinthians 3:12-15
3. To become a Christian under the New Law, you have to learn it first - Romans 10:17
a. We read the law and allow it to change us - II Corinthians 3:16-18
b. We are transformed by the renewing of our minds - Romans 12:2
c. We become new creatures - Ephesians 4:22-24
B. There will be a closer relationship between God and His people
1. We become the temple of God - II Corinthians 6:16-18
2. We are being built into a spiritual house - I Peter 2:4-5
3. We are chosen to be God’s people - I Peter 2:9-10
C. His People will know God
1. Under the Old Law, Israelites were born into the nation. Boys took on the seal of the covenant by being circumcised when they were 8 days old - Genesis 17:10-11
a. They then had to be taught about God and His Law as they grew up - Deuteronomy 6:6-9
2. God’s new covenant is different. You learn about God first and then choose to be His child.
a. Jesus came that we may know God - I John 5:20
b. We show that we know God through our obedience - I John 2:3-6
D. In His Mercy He will provide complete forgiveness
1. The Old Law could not provide complete forgiveness - Hebrews 10:1-4
2. We have redemption in Christ - Ephesians 1:7
3. We remember this when partaking of the Lord’s Supper - Matthew 26:27-28
IV. A New Law
A. The New Covenant comes with new terms of agreement (laws, if you would)
B. It is a law of faith - Romans 3:27
C. The new laws are not compatible with the old - Luke 5:36-39
1. Any attempt to blend them will destroy both
2. The Old Law had become ridged and cannot contain the new
3. Yet, those use to the Old Law had no tolerance for the New Law
V. How is the New Law better?
A. The Old Law was a unbearable yoke - Acts 15:10
B. But Christ’s law frees us from that slavery - Galatians 5:1
C. The Old Law of sin and death was brought to a conclusion - Romans 8:1-4
D. We have been set free from the fear of death - Hebrews 2:14-15
E. It is still a law. It still is a burden. But it is a light one now - Matthew 11:28-30
1. His commands are not burdensome - I John 5:3
2. And we share the burdens of life - Galatians 6:2
VI. Will you enter into the covenant God is offering through Christ?
