2. God’s covenants were always meant to bless mankind. His covenants are his ways of expressing his promises to his creation.

3. While all his promises elicit human response, some are conditioned by human performance. Such was the case of the Mosaic Covenant – the old covenant. God’s blessings upon Israel were conditioned on their obedience to the Law given to them.

4. In the case of the new covenant, God’s promises are not conditioned on man’s faithfulness but on Jesus Christ’s finished work on the cross. This is why Jesus is the only mediator of the new covenant – the ultimate covenant founded on better promises (v. 6).

5. Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:2-3, 7) Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19:5-6) Messianic Covenant (Galatians 3:13-14) (Romans 3:20-26) OLD NE W Blessi ng Obey the Law Believ e in Christ

6. But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. (Romans 3:21–22)

7. 1.The promise of a new heart a.“I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.” (v. 10b)

8. b.The righteous requirements of the perfect Law of God could not be fulfilled by sinful men under the old covenant. 1.The promise of a new heart

9. b.The new covenant however provides exactly what is needed: the desire and power to obey God (Ezekiel 36:26-27). 1.The promise of a new heart

10. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (Ezekiel 36:26–27)

11. 2.The promise of a new relationship a.“I will be their God, and they will be my people.” (v. 10c)

12. b.Under the old covenant, obedience is motivated greatly by fear – fear of failure to fulfill the Law. 2.The promise of a new relationship

13. b.Under the new covenant, obedience is motivated by love – love for the Lord who loved us first and fulfilled all the requirements of the Law on our behalf (Romans 8:1-4). 2.The promise of a new relationship

14. Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

15. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering.

16. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1–4)

17. 3.The promise of a new knowledge a.“No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” (v. 11)

18. b.Compared to the old covenant, the new covenant has given all of us who believe in Jesus Christ the privilege of knowing God directly through the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-17, 26; 16:13-15). 3.The promise of a new knowledge

19. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you. (John 16:13–14)

20. 4.The promise of a new life a.“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (v. 12)

21. b.Unlike the old covenant, the new covenant begins with forgiveness of sins to those who trust in Jesus. It is this cleansing that gives us a fresh start in life – a full and meaningful life (John 10:10). 4.The promise of a new life

22. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)