Hebrews: The New Covenant Administration of Christ Max A Forsythe (c) Anno Domini 2004

From the Pulpit at Pilgrim's Rest Presbyterian Church in America

The New Administration
For the Lord’s Day:  the 13^th of June 2004

 Hebrews 8: 6-7

“But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. ”

Introduction:  In my county, there are three colonies of Amish.  As you all know, these are simple “Hobbit” like folk - dedicated to living simply, plainly and honestly.  The most notable attribute is their abstinence from using modern conveniences such as electricity, radio and automobiles.  The main reason is that none of these objects, along with buttons are mentioned or used in the Bible.  And so they live a quaint life style, enjoying some of the technical developments in the craft of Horse power, and even using some minimal electric power if it is home produced.

There are theological hazards to their understanding of the faith in Christ that we all know and love, but like the ancient Jews they are devoted to keeping the law faithfully if however flawed we do indeed realize their vain attempt at what must be recognized as works righteousness.  One of my Covenanter friends, now departed to glory did once assume his theology in a like mind and manner.  In fact like all too many Christian denominations and organizations – even the Reformed communities are not without frailty in this same regard.  The simple demand for obedience in the Old Covenant is appealing indeed to every generation.  That is why we still have a Jewish Religion after all of these many centuries.  In fact, that religion has become nothing more than an ethical society hoping and praying for justice at the end of the age.

Somehow or another, they and every religious group that misunderstands the Gospel is all too focused on being treated fairly on the Day of Judgment instead of being granted mercy by and through the grace of God in Christ.  Well, they may be certain of getting their precious justice on the last and great Day, but they most certainly will be dismayed at where God’s righteous and holy justice will assign them!

A horse and buggy, just like the new economy of the automobile will get you to the grocery, the court house and to the church.  However, these artificial contraptions will not take you to heaven just because you eschewed a different mode of transportation.  After all, it is not how you arrive at the pearly gates that is of utmost importance, but it is of prime importance if your name is on the final guest list: those who are known by God Himself!  And I must admonish you one and all:  no amount of effort on your part influences that Godly decision in any way, shape or form. 

As the whole scriptures impart God’s wisdom to us over and over and over again:  “God being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved – and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.  For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.  For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”  (Ephesians 2: 4-10)

Development:  Yes, there are good works to be done in abundance according to God’s outline for each and every person born again in Christ, as we well know.  But these are fruits of the Spirit done in gratitude for the amazing grace received freely from the hand of the Lord through the sufferings of Christ on our behalf and the leading of the Holy Spirit, which is the only means that we may realize what has already been done for us!

The message before us today is a vivid challenge to everyone who respects the Name of Christ to realize, understand, desire and accept the grace offered freely in the New Covenant.  The Amish as well as many other faiths, simply and sadly have the cart before the horse, presuming to their peril that all is well within their theological traditions: that faithful obedience can lead to assurance of grace and a place in heaven.

Sadly, and with charity, care and concern for the souls of everyone caught up in any tradition opposed to salvation by grace alone, we must be responsible in our witness even as the Apostle was in his letter to the Hebrews.  During World War Two, on the eve of invasion – many of the smaller European countries broadcast an appeal to their citizens to remove every road sign they could lay their hands on.  Thereby, invading armies had to relabel every intersection in order to keep the follow up formations and supplies on track.  Local patriots simply reposted the signs from time to time in order to create confusion.

In a like matter, Satan and his minions of every stripe will cause confusion even with the churches as to the means of receiving grace and finding one’s way instead through sanctification.  The Jewish model by the time of Christ was far off the original mark because the leading priests had developed their own humanistic accommodations of the teachings of Moses.  These leaders receive the worst of reprimands imaginable from no less than Jesus Himself.  The very covenant that was supposed to point in every manner to His own person and purpose had been twisted so that a very large majority did not recognize the very God in the flesh that they were called to worship.

Now let us be very careful here as we discuss the revelations of God modeled in the Old Covenant given through Moses and then compare these to the better conventions and promises of the New Covenant.  And let me be specific that the newness is not in any change of the means of salvation, but only in the final administration of those means.  John Brown helps us define the differences:

“The ‘first covenant,’ to which the Aaronical priesthood belonged, was established by law at Sinai, and it had a reference to a variety of promised blessings.  The promises referred to the earthly Canaan, with all its advantages as a good, and large and fertile country … and the quiet and peaceful enjoyment of these advantages under the special protection of God, while they abstained from idolatry, and continued to observe the law as delivered by Moses.”

 This Mosaic covenant, while faulty in the sense that it could not save, still served as a type and shadow of Christ’s true work that would be revealed when David’s greater Son was revealed.  John Brown continues:  “The covenant to which the priesthood of Christ refers has been also established by law.  It has been promulgated by divine authority.   …  This covenant is established by law with a reference to the bestowment of promised blessings on men.  These promised blessings are spiritual in their nature, and eternal in their duration; they are blessings suited to man as an intelligent, moral, religious, guilty, depraved, unhappy, immortal being, and therefore are an incalculably higher nature than any blessings which refer merely to the enjoyments of the present life.”

As simply as I can put it, the first covenant is earthly in its model of the heavenly delights.  Of course, it must be said that the astute Hebrew, blessed by the Holy Spirit could look beyond the earthly model towards the heavenly reality and thereby trust in the same Lord and Savior that we know and love.

The second covenant is spiritual in its kingdom application – no longer will the people of promise live apart in their own land with their own earthly temple.  Forevermore, with the appearance of Christ – He must be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

Application:  Every year the worldly corporations that manufacture automobiles will bring out the new improved models.  Of course we may worry that they make many more cosmetic changes than real changes to the products which we feel we must have.  Yet, who would be willing to drive one of the early models where your passenger had to manually run the windshield wipers, and you had to signal turns with your left arm and on every other trip at least change a tire?  Then of course, you would have to hand crank the engine and put up with the noise and fumes of those primitive machines.

Some years ago, I was tired of the continual development of the computer industry and decided to make no more improvements.  By the time I realized that progress was leaving me way behind, I almost lost all six thousand files that I had accumulated.  I really had to scratch to find a smaller disk drive to copy the old floppies onto and then to translate them all into a new improved format.  No – we cannot go back to a simpler Model T or even an Apple IIc if we really truly wanted to!  Neither can we go back to the first covenant of grace either!

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, has appeared on the stage of history and He has informed us directly of the better covenant no longer administered by mere men – but instead now administered by God in Christ himself!  Like the Old Covenant, the early cars and computers were maintained and administered by mere men and even the very best of our technology fails in the face of the perfect perfection of the Almighty God and Creator of all that exists.  How awesomely surpassing is the mind of Christ and the detailed understanding and management of the entire universe under his complete control!  How could we even begin to maintain that we might be able to do something important or even eternal in the strength of our own minds and hands?

If I may be so bold, all that the Apostle is telling us is this:  the New Covenant is now being personally administered by God Himself in and through Christ Jesus.  Any fool who believes that they can do better must spend eternity in a fool’s paradise: hell itself!  And only those who are willing to accept the administration of Christ Himself will know the final reality of eternity in His presence for ever and ever.  Amen.
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PREACHING RESOURCES

 Brown, John.  A Geneva Series Commentary:  Hebrews.
Brown, Raymond.  The Bible Speaks Today:  The Message of Hebrews.
Bruce, F.F.  The Epistle to the Hebrews.
Owen, John:  Commentary on the Book of Hebrews.
The Holy Bible:  English Standard Version.
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