26-0201sc Transcript

(0:04) The title of our chapter is the relation of the new covenant to redemption. (0:11) We’re going to be looking at the how the new covenant is so much better than the covenant (0:18) that God gave Israel at Mount Sinai. The Ten Commandments and the commandments all together.

(0:28) The law of Moses. We’re looking at the new covenant and how we are benefited by it. (0:40) And how we are to be grateful for the fact that this is God’s grace being played out for us.

(0:50) Let’s go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. Most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for (0:59) your love, for your care. We know that you continue to be interactive with your creation, (1:08) and especially with mankind.

We’re so grateful for your grace, for your love, (1:16) and for it being reached out to us, wanting to make us your children, to reconcile us to you, (1:26) and that Jesus was willing to do the things that was necessary to accomplish the things that (1:33) was necessary to affect your plan and to bring it into effect. (1:40) We know that without his going to the cross, without him living and being the light in the (1:47) world, this would not be possible. For the sacrifice for our sins and for the death (1:54) that had to be made in our place had to be in order to bring about your plan of redeeming man (2:05) and giving them the hope of being with you eternally in heaven.

We pray that with this (2:12) knowledge we’re able to go into the world and that we will be able to, as the apostles did, (2:19) present the gospel to mankind, hoping that they will recognize that you do exist, (2:27) and that you are a rewarder of those who diligently seek you, and that you are reaching (2:34) out to all mankind. There is no one that you do not want to hear the message and to (2:42) respond to it voluntarily, becoming a disciple of Jesus and being adopted by you (2:51) as their children, as your children. We pray that we do our part in broadening the borders of your (3:01) kingdom.

We’re so grateful for you, love, and it’s in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. (3:12) Okay, we’ll start out with the 13th chapter.

The cross of Jesus is the center of redemption (3:23) Christianity. Earlier lessons considered that at Calvary Christ became something. He became our (3:31) high priest, our sin offering, and propitiation.

But that’s not the end of God’s provision for (3:39) our salvation. He has also provided at the cross something for sinners to do (3:45) in order to become partakers of the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus. (3:51) The last lesson discussed the passing of the old covenant and the promise of the new covenant.

(3:57) The new covenant has been provided at Calvary, and obedience to the terms of that covenant brings (4:04) redemption. And we’re going to be talking about that. It starts out by quoting Hebrews, (4:14) the ninth chapter, verses 15 through 20.

And it says, quoted, (4:20) And for this cause he is the mediator of a new covenant, that a death, having taken place for (4:28) the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been (4:35) called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where a testament is, there must (4:44) of necessity be the death of him that made it. For a testament is a force where there hath been death.

(4:54) For it doth never avail while he that made it liveth. Wherefore, even to the first covenant (5:02) hath not been dedicated without blood. For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses (5:11) unto all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, (5:16) with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the (5:25) people, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you.

(5:31) Hebrews 9, 15, verse 20. The death of the testator required for the covenant to be in force, (5:40) is verse 16 and 17 of Hebrews. As stated in the above passage, (5:48) quote, For it doth never avail while he hath made it liveth.

Unquote. Consequently, the terms of the (5:56) new covenant that are now required unto salvation were not required prior to the death of the cross. (6:05) The death of Christ, rather.

He’s going to deal with the thief on the cross, because that’s (6:14) where those who are faith-only proponents will turn to to justify their position. (6:25) And so he’s going to deal with that. The thief is frequently offered as proof that new covenant (6:33) baptism is not essential.

Unto remissions of sins, see Acts 2, 38, where we know and can quote, (6:44) Be baptized for the remission of your sins. Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins, (6:51) not just the remission of sins. The contention is that if he was saved without being baptized, (6:59) why not the rest of us today? But this fails to take into account two things.

(7:07) What we want to realize is he’s dealing with the thief on the cross, and the thief on the cross (7:13) said, Remember me, and Jesus says, This day you shall be with me in paradise. So that’s what he’s (7:21) referring to, and that the thief on the cross was not required to be baptized in order to be saved, (7:27) assuming that Jesus was saving him. Here’s what we have to remember.

Number one, (7:34) the thief lived and died under the old covenant. This was before Christ gave the command to be (7:41) baptized by his authority in Matthew 28 and 19. We know that Jesus came to his disciples and told (7:49) them to go into all the world, baptizing them, making disciples of them, baptizing them in the (7:55) name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

And that’s when he starts requiring baptism for (8:02) Christians. Number two, we do not know the thief was not baptized. He was commanded to be baptized (8:12) by John the Baptizer.

And here he’s comparing Mark the first chapter, verse four, and Matthew (8:19) third chapter, verses one through six. To say that the thief was not baptized is saying (8:25) more than the testament says. Then he’s referring to the palsy man.

This is where this man was (8:35) brought by his friends to Jesus, but they couldn’t get to him, Jesus, because of the crowd. So they (8:41) got up on a roof and tore the roof apart and dropped the man down into Jesus’s presence. (8:47) And that’s when Jesus says, arise, be baptized, you know, your sins have been forgiven.

(8:54) So, quote, the palsy man, found in Matthew the ninth chapter, verses two through eight. (9:01) This man was forgiven of his sins without any conditions whatever required of him. (9:10) The purpose for which he was brought to Jesus was for physical healing, (9:16) forgiveness of sins was not the intent or even the consideration of that purpose.

(9:24) As a matter of fact, Jesus healed him of his palsy to prove that he had power to forgive sins. (9:33) By one earth, Jesus forgave sins as he saw fit. Now we are under the covenant of his blood (9:41) and must comply with its stated terms in order to receive forgiveness of sins.

(9:49) One of the things, pause here a little bit, one of the things that (9:53) strikes me in my study of the scripture is that when Jesus basically would be confronted by (10:01) somebody, he would mention their faith. Like the people with leprosy, do you believe that I can do (10:15) this? And they say, yes, I do. Your faith, he basically is saying your faith has saved you.

(10:22) When you read this about the palsy man, he says, I believe your faith because, you know, (10:29) the people who brought this guy to him had the faith that Jesus could do this. So faith was (10:36) involved in them being healed. When God forgives people of their sins, what basically was transpired (10:48) before he forgives them of their sins, like Abraham.

He considered Abraham as being righteous (10:56) based on what? Based on the faith that Abraham had. So when we look at Hebrews, the 11th chapter, (11:04) what do we see? We see the faith, it’s a chapter faith, faith of, yes, demonstrated by action. (11:17) Yes, and faith is demonstrated by action.

The thing is, what pleases God? Hebrews, (11:25) the 11th chapter tells us, doesn’t it? That he is, the belief that he is and that he’s a (11:32) rewarder of those who diligently seek him. That’s what God is actually looking at. So when he’s (11:40) dealing with David, he knows David’s got faith that he exists, doesn’t he? So faith is really (11:50) important here.

When you look at Romans, the first chapter where it talks about (11:56) the person is going to be saved, faith unto faith. In other words, we need to believe that God is, (12:04) we need to believe that God is offering us redemption and reconciliation through Jesus. (12:12) And we need to believe that Jesus is that instrument.

And so when we come to Jesus, (12:17) we come to him believing and having faith that he can forgive us of our sins and give us the hope (12:25) of eternal life in heaven with God. So faith is, in my mind, the ultimate situation. If you don’t (12:37) believe that God exists, why are you even bothering? You gotta believe.

You gotta have faith. (12:45) So if you don’t believe that God exists, you’re like the rest of the people who are out in the (12:51) world. They don’t want to believe.

And one of the main reasons I think they don’t want to believe (12:57) is because it makes requirements on their lifestyle and they don’t want to change their lifestyle at (13:04) all. But let’s go on. The new covenant dedicated by Christ’s blood.

This reference to the dedication (13:22) of the old law by blood is to show that the new covenant must also be dedicated by blood. (13:30) At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus himself promised that shedding his blood would (13:38) dedicate the new covenant. And I, you know, I gotta be honest, I overlooked that.

(13:48) He points out something else that I should have known from day one of becoming a Christian. (13:59) That Jesus is dedicating the new covenant with the cup, with his blood. And so the reference (14:07) to the dedication of the old law by blood is to show that the new covenant must also be dedicated (14:14) by blood.

At the institution of the Lord’s Supper, Jesus himself promised that shedding (14:20) his blood would dedicate the new covenant. Matthew 26, 28 provides this information. (14:29) So Paul, writing about the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians, the 11th chapter, (14:36) says, Jesus took the cup after supper and said, this cup is the new covenant sealed by my blood.

(14:50) Oh, that just went past me. And you know, the implication there, just, (14:58) you know, I’ve never referred to it like that before. But I think, you know, (15:02) he opened my eyes a little bit.

I don’t know about you, but that’s me. This cup is the covenant (15:11) sealed by my blood, 1 Corinthians 11th chapter. The New English Bible is quoted there.

Remember (15:20) for future reference at the conclusion of this lesson, that the new covenant was the thing (15:26) dedicated by the blood of Christ. The prophecy is fulfilled. Jeremiah’s prophecy (15:35) of the new covenant in 31, 31 was fulfilled at the cross.

It is interesting to recall those (15:44) with whom the Lord would make his new covenant. And here again is another reference that (15:53) just went by me until now. It says that they shall be my people.

And then compared to the (16:05) statement made by the angel to Joseph, that thou shalt call his name Jesus, for it is he (16:12) that shall save his people from their sins. So the implication then is that whoever becomes a (16:21) Christian becomes his people, and he is saving them. So who’s his people? His disciples.

Those (16:31) who have been baptized for the remission of their sins. Who’s God’s people? Those who have responded (16:38) to the invitation to become a Christian. So Christians are God’s people too.

And so (16:46) this is the point that he’s making for us, and I really appreciate that. (16:53) So thou shalt call his name, for it is he that shall save his people from their sins. Matthew 1 (17:11) verse 21.

God’s people are all those who have been saved from sins. The Jews today have no (17:21) special relationship to God. Only those, whether Gentile or Jew, who have had their sins forgiven (17:30) can justly claim a special relationship to God.

See also Zechariah 9, 11. (17:40) Any questions or observations, comments? Okay. The nature of the new covenant.

(17:50) But now hath he obtained a ministry the more excellent, by so much as he is also the mediator (17:59) of a better covenant, which hath been enacted upon better promises. Hebrews 8. According to the (18:08) Hebrew letter, covenants are enacted upon promises. That’s an observation.

In other words, (18:18) when God makes a promise, he makes a covenant with them. He promised Abraham, he promised Abraham, (18:25) Isaac, and Jacob, he promises us. And his promise to us is made with a covenant.

(18:33) The nature of the new covenant is as follows. (18:38) For it is a better covenant. That is, it is a better covenant than the Mosaic covenant, (18:47) in that it provides remission of sins, which the old covenant could not provide.

(18:54) The new covenant is better because it is based upon the better blood of a better sacrifice. (19:04) A blood sacrifice is essential to remission of sins, Hebrews 9, 22. Since the blood of animals (19:14) cannot take away sins, it was impossible for the old covenant to offer remissions from the sins.

(19:23) The new covenant has been, however, dedicated by the better blood of a better sacrifice (19:31) in the person of Jesus Christ. And I don’t know if you’ve ever stopped to think about that, (19:37) we’ve covered it before, but why and how Jesus' sacrifice is better (19:46) as opposed to sacrifices that are being offered to God by the blood of bulls and goats and so on. (19:55) Well, the main thing is, Jesus' sacrifice in blood is made by a perfect sacrifice.

(20:06) Jesus was without sin. You stop to think about this. I contemplate this quite often.

(20:18) Jesus' blood was without sin. Somebody had to die for yours and my sins. (20:25) If Jesus didn’t die, we were going to have to die.

(20:30) That’s all there is to it. So, whoever dies for me has to be better than me. (20:39) He has to be better than me.

And Jesus is without sin. And can you contemplate (20:48) and comprehend the thought that Jesus' blood is so perfect that God can use it to cover (21:00) anybody’s sins? Just think about that. That is amazing.

God can use Jesus' blood because it’s (21:11) without sin, and He can apply Jesus' blood to anybody’s sins. Period. I don’t know if you’ve (21:21) ever contemplated that or not.

So, it doesn’t matter. He will never run out of who He can (21:29) forgive and die for. He can use Jesus' blood for whosoever will.

(21:38) That moment on, you know, you stop to think. He even applied it to those (21:46) that He was forgiving sins in the past. We’ll cover that some other day.

(21:53) Because it’s amazing. You just stop and think about it. So, His blood was completely better (22:03) than the blood of a better sacrifice in the person of Jesus Christ.

(22:11) It will not be canceled. The eternal covenant that Jesus has initiated, it will not be canceled (22:19) or replaced by another. Neither can anything be added to it to perfect its purpose.

It is able (22:30) to provide remission of sins and so accomplish God’s purpose for man. There are so many things (22:41) out there that they think that supplement Jesus' blood. Masons believe that their (22:54) issue is supplementing Jesus' blood.

Many people think that good deeds supplement Jesus' blood. (23:07) The Boy Scouts, the Boy Scout leaders, many of those Boy Scout leaders who you’ll find and (23:14) question them, you just ask them, I’m doing this because I want to get into heaven. I want to (23:21) supplement my sins, you know, by Jesus' blood.

Nothing’s going to supplement Jesus' blood. (23:30) Nothing. So, any questions? That’s my thought.

(23:38) So, it will not be canceled or replaced by another, and neither can anything be added to it (23:45) to perfect its purpose, like the Masonic, Masons and the Boy Scouts, those who turn to good deeds. (23:55) Nothing can perfect its purpose. It is able to provide remission of sins and so accomplish God’s (24:03) purpose for man.

Well, the object of our faith is Jesus, and our trust is in Him to provide (24:10) salvation. Yet, He will save us only as He teaches by our obedience to the terms of His (24:18) New Covenant. Disobedience is to count the blood of the New Covenant as unholy, (24:27) Hebrews the 10th chapter, verse 29.

The thing dedicated, as learned earlier, is the New (24:35) Covenant. The Hebrew writer teaches that we enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, (24:45) by the way which He dedicated for us, a new and living way, Hebrews 10. Heaven is gained (24:53) through the work of Jesus, is shedding His blood, our faith in His blood and obedience (25:02) to His covenant terms, the covenant terms of obedience unto remission of sins.

(25:09) The apostles were given a word ministry by which men were reconciled to God, 2 Corinthians 5, (25:19) 18 and 19. But they were made ministers of the New Covenant, 2 Corinthians 3. (25:27) Therefore, the words of their ministry included the words of the New Covenant. It is only through (25:34) the New Covenant that sinners can be reconciled to God.

The covenant terms of that reconciliation (25:44) are as follows, and we recognize this and we preach it. Number one, requires our faith in (25:53) Christ and His blood as propitiatory, Romans 3. Second, it requires repentance from sins (26:04) and repentance towards God. And of course, repentance is repentance towards our attitude (26:15) towards God.

We want to change our attitude about whether or not we believe in God (26:22) to full belief in God. Number three, requires confession of the deity and worship of Christ. (26:32) And that’s very important.

And then number four, it requires us to accept the term of baptism. (26:42) And so many people reject baptism, and I don’t understand why, unless they just don’t want to (26:49) get wet. They don’t want to get their head under water, or they don’t want to do it in front of (26:56) people.

I’ve had so many people over the years want to be baptized privately. I don’t know, (27:04) I don’t understand that. (27:35) Trusting in God to do it, to do as He says will help them.

But those who don’t trust God, (27:47) the same word or faith, who don’t really have faith in God, aren’t going to submit to baptism. (27:55) Right. So there’s a lot of reasons why somebody might be repulsed.

(28:09) There’s another situation where evangelicals will baptize, but it’s not for salvation. (28:18) Exactly. So they don’t mind getting wet, but they don’t see the connection to salvation.

(28:28) Exactly. The Baptists are among those people, those who are believing in the Baptist position. (28:38) And consequently also, you know, in Acts 2.38, it’s not just baptism for the remission of sin, (28:47) but that conjunction.

And just like a person, you know, believes in or baptized, (28:59) we can make a big argument on that conjunction there, (29:02) for believing in and baptism, those who believe in baptism. But so does Acts 2.38, (29:11) and baptism. It’s not just baptism for the remission of sins, repentance for the remission (29:20) of sins, and baptism for the remission of sins.

That’s what that connection is. (29:19) Right. (29:41) Absolutely.

(29:54) Right. That’s the reason why these four items are listed here, because they’re all required (30:01) for the remission of sins. I don’t know if you’ve ever met Michael White.

(30:11) He was a member of Westside Amherst. He was a professor at Oberlin College, (30:20) and he was a professor in the Bible department, which is a farce as far as Oberlin is concerned. (30:29) You try to figure out.

They transferred their religious department down to, (30:35) now I can’t even think of the name of the college. But anyway, they used to be the (30:42) religious thing. But anyway, Mike, while he was attending Amherst, (30:51) took me, because he wanted me to be a little better educated than I was.

(31:00) Whenever they would have a lectureship or anything, he would always make a point of asking me (31:07) to go and take it in. And so I would. Well, not only did Oberlin, or does Oberlin, (31:15) have a Bible department, but they also have research, and they go to Israel at least once (31:25) a year and do research.

And so Mike, during the years that he was there, I don’t know how many (31:32) years he was there, maybe three, four, he may have been there five years. But anyway, (31:41) he shared with me and shared with us at Amherst what they found out about baptism and how the (31:48) first-century Christian baptized. And this is very interesting.

The subject to be baptized, (31:59) you know, we’re talking about literally taking off the old man and putting on the new man, (32:05) and so on. The person, before he was baptized, would disrobe completely. (32:15) He would, and this is in the presence of the whole congregation, because the whole congregation (32:20) would be there.

He would disrobe, or she, disrobe completely, enter into the water, (32:29) be baptized, and then come up on the other side, enter in down here, and then come up over here, (32:37) and put on a new set of clothes. How would you like to go through that? (32:48) I thought that was very interesting. (32:54) No, it’s not recorded in the Bible, but the research brought out, you know.

(33:11) Oh, absolutely, absolutely. But, you know, when you take things literal and so on, (33:20) put off the old man, put on the new man, and so on. Yeah, it’s completely projected.

(33:41) So, anyway, Mike was full of information, I can tell you. He left Oberlin and went to (33:48) the University of Texas, and as far as I know, he’s still there. He’s quite a Jew.

(33:57) He’s written quite a few books. As a professor and doctor, you have to write, so he’s written (34:03) several books. So the relation of New Covenant baptism to redemption is seen in the following.

(34:16) One, the New Covenant laws must be received in order for sins to be forgiven, Jeremiah 31. (34:23) And the blood of Christ was shed unto the remission of sins. Since baptism is the command (34:31) unto remission of sins, we must conclude that baptism is essential as a term of the New Covenant (34:41) to receive the saving blood of Christ.

Number two, the blood of the New Covenant (34:51) washes or loses us from our sins, Revelation 1 verse 5. But we are washed from our sins when (35:00) baptized, Acts 22. Therefore, baptism is a necessary term of obedience under the New Covenant. (35:11) Number three, the blood of Christ cleanses the conscience.

But the conscience, or the heart, (35:20) is cleansed when one is baptized. That is, when his body is washed with pure water, (35:28) Hebrews 10, 22. Therefore, baptism is essential to a pure conscience by those who respect God’s (35:37) New Covenant.

And the conscience is an issue, and I have been (35:46) challenging myself to come up with a sermon concerning the conscience and how it needs to be (35:53) saved. And under the Old Testament, the conscience was not saved. All the acts of (36:04) forgiveness of sins was to make them fear for covenant worship.

It did not (36:16) cleanse them of their sins, it just made them righteously right, or ritually right, in order (36:23) to be able to approach God. So there was no forgiveness of sins. So they were always (36:30) constantly being reminded of how much they are a sinner.

And today, many people still (36:40) let their conscience, or don’t believe they’ve been forgiven. Even Christians who have been (36:47) baptized for the remission of their sins do not believe that their sins have been completely (36:54) forgotten, because they always remember them. And Paul remembered his sins, but he never condemned (37:03) himself.

He kept praising God for his grace that gave him the right to be able to preach, and to (37:12) be considered as a Christian, and to consider him as a subject for praise to God. Even because he (37:22) would remember his sins, but he also remembered Jesus, or God was forgiving him of it, and was not (37:28) going to hold it against him. And so he had a clear conscience.

And that’s how he was able to say, (37:34) I can do all things, with a clear conscience. So, but anyway, the conscience is a very important (37:43) thing. Number five, a faithful Christian life unto death is what is expected of us.

(37:55) In conclusion, the purpose of this Christian dispensation is to save men from their sins. (38:02) The new covenant of Christ is sufficient to provide salvation, conditioned upon a willingness (38:10) to obey the terms of pardon. Though man, apart from Christ’s work at Calvary, cannot save himself, (38:19) Peter at Pentecost commanded repentance and baptism as man’s response to that work.

(38:27) There is an obedience which sinful man must render by faith, in order for faith to save him. (38:36) Peter exhorts, save yourselves from this crooked generation, Acts 2.40. (38:43) Consequently, that’s the end of our lesson. (38:54) I hope you can appreciate why I thought that this was a very, very good study.

(38:58) And very, very important. So, consequently, that’s it.