03-27-2022 – The New Covenant
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March 27, 2022
“The New Covenant”
Luke 1:72-80
Last week we read
(Luke 1:67-71),
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:
68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
For He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people,
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us
In the house of David His servant--
70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from of old--
71 Salvation FROM OUR ENEMIES,
And FROM THE HAND OF ALL WHO HATE US;
where Zacharias is praising God for returning to Israel in order to offer salvation to all who will repent and believe in the Messiah, just as God had foretold through the prophets.
We also studied about the covenant God had made with David to be fulfilled on the earth during the Millennial Kingdom, a time of peace, prosperity and long life for all.
The Jewish people were looking for the long awaited Messiah to arrive. In their mind, He would conquer their Roman oppressors, initiate His earthly kingdom by sitting on His throne in Jerusalem, and He would restore Israel to the glory it had before it turned away from God, at which time, God departed Israel and remained silent for 400 years, until now.
Read Luke 1:72-75…
72 To show mercy toward our fathers,
And to remember His holy covenant,
73 The oath which He swore to Abraham our father,
74 To grant us that we, being rescued from the hand of our enemies,
Might serve Him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all our days.
Today we begin with the covenant God made with Abraham, a covenant that would eternally bless both Jew and Gentile, through faith in God’s Son, made effectual by His sacrificial death and sovereign resurrection.
The covenant we are talking about is found in
Genesis 12:1-3,
“Now the Lord said to Abram, ‘Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; and I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and so you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Hebrews 11:8-9,
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
This covenant was not just about peace, prosperity, and long life on earth of the remnant of Israel; but instead, this promise was made to Abraham’s spiritual descendants (Jews and Gentiles] who, like Abraham, were looking far beyond any earthly fulfillment, and were
(Hebrews 11:10)
10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Abraham, along with all genuine believers from all time, will live together with God in the new heavens, new earth, and new Jerusalem, where there will be no more crying, or mourning, or pain, or death, for all of eternity.
The Abrahamic covenant, through circumcision, set Israel apart from all the other nations in the world (Genesis 17), as we studied about last week. But was the blessing of that covenant based on the act of circumcision? No, it wasn’t, it was based on faith.
Romans 4:9-13,
9 Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? For we say, “FAITH WAS CREDITED TO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
10 How then was it credited? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised;
11 and he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them,
12 and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which he had while uncircumcised.
13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Romans 4:16-17…
16 For this reason it is by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to all the descendants, not only to those who are of the Law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17 (as it is written, “A FATHER OF MANY NATIONS HAVE I MADE YOU”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls into being that which does not exist.
Jesus declared
Galatians 3:6-9
6 Even so Abraham BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS RECKONED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
7 Therefore, be sure that it is those who are of faith who are sons of Abraham.
8 The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU.”
9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the believer.
Galatians 3:26-29
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.
In a sense, the blessing of salvation came through the Jews, as Jesus declared
(John 4:22),
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews.
And Paul writes
(Romans 1:16),
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Salvation comes through the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Judah, but the reason for the genealogies given in Matthew 1; Luke 3, is to set forth the human lineage through whom the Messiah [Jesus Christ] would come. He would be God in human flesh [Immanuel], He would be God’s Salvation [Hebrew, Yeshua; Greek,-Jesus], He would be God the Son, Lord of all but Savior only to those who believe in Him.
True salvation has always been by faith, not by blood line, not by nation, not by religious ritual, and not by law-keeping
(Romans 1:17),
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.
The promise given to Abraham, that would be fulfilled through Jesus Christ, was meant to be an eternal covenant.
Three times in Genesis 17
Genesis 17:7
7 I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
Genesis 17:13
13 A servant who is born in your house or who is bought with your money shall surely be circumcised; thus shall My covenant be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.
Genesis 17:19
19 But God said, “No, but Sarah your wife will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; and I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him.
God says this is to be an everlasting covenant for Abraham’s descendants [meaning all people, Jew or Gentile, who have obedient faith in God, and have been approved by God; like those recorded in the Hall of Faith, that we studied about
(Hebrews 11:1-38),
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
4 By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained the testimony that he was righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks.
5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; AND HE WAS NOT FOUND BECAUSE GOD TOOK HIM UP; for he obtained the witness that before his being taken up he was pleasing to God.
6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
7 By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going.
9 By faith he lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise;
10 for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore there was born even of one man, and him as good as dead at that, as many descendants AS THE STARS OF HEAVEN IN NUMBER, AND INNUMERABLE AS THE SAND WHICH IS BY THE SEASHORE.
13 All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
14 For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own.
15 And indeed if they had been thinking of that country from which they went out, they would have had opportunity to return.
16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was offering up his only begotten son;
18 it was he to whom it was said, “IN ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS SHALL BE CALLED.”
19 He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come.
21 By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones.
23 By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,
25 choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,
26 considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward.
27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured, as seeing Him who is unseen.
28 By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the firstborn would not touch them.
29 By faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.
31 By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.
32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets,
33 who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions,
34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
35 Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection;
36 and others experienced mockings and scourgings, yes, also chains and imprisonment.
37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated
38 (men of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground.
e.g., Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Samson, David.
The writer of Hebrews goes on to say
(Hebrews 11:39-40),
39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised,
40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.
Look at those last two verses again: all believers who lived before the coming of Christ, like those listed in Hebrews 11, looked forward to the promise, i.e., the coming Savior; where as, all believers who lived after the coming of Christ, like us, look back at the promise fulfilled in the death and resurrection of God’s own Son.
Old and New Testament believers receive forgiveness for sins and eternal life, made effectual in Christ
(Ephesians 2:8-10),
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
(pp. 2Corinthians 5:17)
for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
Read Luke 1:76-80…
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 And the child continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
The fulfillment of the Abrahamic and Davidic Covenants is realized through salvation in Christ; for neither of those covenants can provide forgiveness for sin. And so, we now turn our attention to the New Covenant.
Please open your Bible to
Hebrews 8:7-13;
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.
8 For finding fault with them, He says,
“BEHOLD, DAYS ARE COMING, SAYS THE LORD,
WHEN I WILL EFFECT A NEW COVENANT
WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AND WITH THE HOUSE OF JUDAH;
9 NOT LIKE THE COVENANT WHICH I MADE WITH THEIR FATHERS
ON THE DAY WHEN I TOOK THEM BY THE HAND
TO LEAD THEM OUT OF THE LAND OF EGYPT;
FOR THEY DID NOT CONTINUE IN MY COVENANT,
AND I DID NOT CARE FOR THEM, SAYS THE LORD.
10 “FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS,
AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS.
AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD,
AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
11 “AND THEY SHALL NOT TEACH EVERYONE HIS FELLOW CITIZEN,
AND EVERYONE HIS BROTHER, SAYING, ‘KNOW THE LORD,’
FOR ALL WILL KNOW ME,
FROM THE LEAST TO THE GREATEST OF THEM.
12 “FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES,
AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”
13 When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.
Hebrews 9:15,
15 For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:27-28;
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Hebrews 10:1-18…
1 For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the very form of things, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually year by year, make perfect those who draw near.
2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, because the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have had consciousness of sins?
3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins year by year.
4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says,
“SACRIFICE AND OFFERING YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED,
BUT A BODY YOU HAVE PREPARED FOR ME;
6 IN WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE TAKEN NO PLEASURE.
7 “THEN I SAID, ‘BEHOLD, I HAVE COME
(IN THE SCROLL OF THE BOOK IT IS WRITTEN OF ME)
TO DO YOUR WILL, O GOD.’”
8 After saying above, “SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS AND WHOLE BURNT OFFERINGS AND sacrifices FOR SIN YOU HAVE NOT DESIRED, NOR HAVE YOU TAKEN PLEASURE in them” (which are offered according to the Law),
9 then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second.
10 By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;
12 but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD,
13 waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.
14 For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
15 And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,
16 “THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART,
AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,”
He then says,
17 “AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS
I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”
18 Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Every person since Adam and Eve (except for John the baptizer and Jesus), has been born in sin. The reason is we are displeasing to God is not because of our behavior, attitude, or speech; those are only symptoms of a much deeper and eternally deadly problem, sin
(cf. Romans 3:10-12;
10 as it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
Romans 3:23-24;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
Romans 6:23;
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 5:8,
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 8:1).
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Luke 6:45,
45 The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.
The problem that condemns us is our unregenerate hearts, as
Jeremiah 17:9-10 declares,
9 “The heart is more deceitful than all else
And is desperately sick;
Who can understand it?
10 “I, the LORD, search the heart,
I test the mind,
Even to give to each man according to his ways,
According to the results of his deeds.
The New Covenant conquers sin, through the shed blood of God’s Son.
Everyone will be judged for their sinful words and actions, because those things give evidence of a heart full of sin, bringing eternal condemnation (except for those who are in Christ).
And since neither the Abrahamic or the Davidic Covenants can provide a person with victory over sin, God provided the New Covenant that conquers sin, through the shed blood of God’s own Son.
All through the Old Testament the Israelites declared obedience to God, and yet they continued to disobey God because of sin.
Joshua 24:15-18,
15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
16 The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.
18 The LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amorites who lived in the land. We also will serve the LORD, for He is our God.”
The Law given to Moses cannot be perfectly kept by any human, because the law of sin is working in us
(see Romans 7:14-25).
14 For we know that the Law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin.
15 For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.
16 But if I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law, confessing that the Law is good.
17 So now, no longer am I the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
19 For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.
20 But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me.
21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.
See Luke 1:76-77…
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
For you will go on BEFORE THE LORD TO PREPARE HIS WAYS;
77 To give to His people the knowledge of salvation
By the forgiveness of their sins,
Zacharias was a genuine believer, a priest who understood what the prophets had written, that all the covenants and promises given to Israel would be fulfilled by the Messiah, who was to come.
Zacharias had the Holy Spirit in him as he spoke this prophecy about his own son, John, through whom God would bring an end to 400 years of silence with Israel (actually between Himself and all of humanity).
John the baptizer would come on the scene to point people to Christ; to call them to confess their sins and seek forgiveness. The Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants could not change a person’s heart attitude toward sin, so God provided a New Covenant through the shed blood of Christ. Everyone who repents and believes in Him will be saved; that is what the New Covenant promises.
God chose to show mercy to hopeless and helpless sinners like you and me, in order to provide forgiveness, righteousness, and justification from God.
Notice again in Luke 1:78-79…
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God,
With which the Sunrise from on high will visit us,
79 TO SHINE UPON THOSE WHO SIT IN DARKNESS AND THE SHADOW OF DEATH,
To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
God’s tender mercy is expressed to us through His sending of the Sunrise from heaven, “To shine upon those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
2Corinthians 4:4-6,
4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake.
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
The only way to have peace with God is to have the Peace of God,
as Jesus promised
(John 14:27),
27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
(Galatians 5:22-23),
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
(Philippians 4:7),
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Zacharias’s prophecy of praise toward God, ends in
Luke 1:79. After which, Luke tells us,
79 And the child [John] continued to grow and to become strong in spirit, and he lived in the deserts until the day of his public appearance to Israel.
We are told nothing in the Scriptures about John, from the time of his circumcision to the beginning of his short public ministry, that began near the Jordan River.
See Luke 3:2-4,
2 in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.
3 And he came into all the district around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins;
4 as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet,
“THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS,
‘MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD,
MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.
What we do know is that John came to prepare the hearts of the people for the New Covenant, not a covenant of ancestral heritage and privilege, nor a covenant of religious rituals, laws, and acts of piety; but a covenant of mercy and grace from a faithful God who loves us so much, that He came down from heaven, put on the flesh of a man, and let His enemies kill Him, so that He could satisfy the righteous judgement of God on all sin, by paying the full penalty for all our sins.
Acts 2:21-24,
21 ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--
23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.
24 But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
The New Covenant in Christ, promises that Abraham, Issac, Jacob, and all genuine believers from all time, will live together with God in the new heavens, new earth, and new Jerusalem, where there will be no more crying, or mourning, or pain, or death, for all of eternity.
How you respond to God’s New Covenant, made effectual through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, will determine where you spend eternity.
1John 5:11-13,
11 And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Everyone who repents of their sin and believes in God’s Son is saved to eternal life in heaven, because all their sins (past, present, future) are forgiven; and therefore we are justified, being consider holy and righteous by God. Have you done that? Don’t leave where you are right now, without knowing that you have eternal life.
Pastor Mike Hale