Hebrews 8:10 (NIV)
10This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
Hebrews 9:1-14 (NIV)
1Now the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary.
2A tabernacle was set up. In its first room were the lampstand, the table and the consecrated bread; this was called the Holy Place.
3Behind the second curtain was a room called the Most Holy Place,
4which had the golden altar of incense and the gold-covered ark of the covenant. This ark contained the gold jar of manna, Aaron's staff that had budded, and the stone tablets of the covenant.
5Above the ark were the cherubim of the Glory, overshadowing the atonement cover. But we cannot discuss these things in detail now.
6When everything had been arranged like this, the priests entered regularly into the outer room to carry on their ministry.
7But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.
8The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing.
9This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.
10They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings--external regulations applying until the time of the new order.
11When Christ came as high priest of the good things that are already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not man-made, that is to say, not a part of this creation.
12He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.
13The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
14How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone the new has come! The King James Version reads as follows: Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
The King James Version's (KJV) use of the word "behold" is an old English word that was translated from the Greek word "Id - oo" an imperative meaning to "see". And according to the Webster's New Riverside Dictionary, the word imperative describes what a person uses when expressing a command or a simple request.
It can be easily seen that 2 Corinthians 5:17 it is not merely suggesting that all things have become new, but is requesting, and dare I even say commanding us to see it as a factual truth of reality in our Christian walk today.
The things that concerned us as men and women in the past (the things that made us who we were, and what we were) no longer exists. They have passed away. And the things that concern us now, the things that make us who we are and what we are today, is new and fresh. For the same power of God that formed Adam from the dust of the ground, has made us a new creation in Christ. We now have a new direction in life, with new goals, and new attitudes. Some, having been so radically changed since coming to Jesus, that, its like the difference between night and day. Because we are growing in grace, and being conformed to the image of the Son of God We are following God; Our heavenly father, and imitating him as dear children. Children who are being raised on the word of God, and being transformed by the renewing of our minds with that word.
Colossians 3:10 says that our "new self" is being renewed in knowledge. This is because, (as Christians who have a heart felt desire to please God) we analyze our lives with the word; Putting ourselves in the role of its characters to gain insight into the will of God. Looking for instructions and guidance to live our lives by, for any and all circumstances that we may face in life.
An example of analyzing ourselves with Biblical characters can be found in Mark 5:1-5 (KJV) where it is recorded:
1And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.
2And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
3Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:
4Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.
5And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.
We do not have to be demon possessed, or, have had the experience of being demon possessed to see similarities between this man and our ownselves before coming to Jesus.
Speaking of this particular incident, Luke makes mention that, "...For a long time, this man had not worn clothes..." (Luke 8:27 NIV).
In verse 3 of the fifth chapter of Mark, we see that this man lived in tombs. Yet, how many of us has said, that, "If someone has a problem with the way I dress or don't dress, or the way I live or don't live, that is their problem, not mine. I don't have to follow their rules. It's my body, my life; I will do as I please."
Verse 4 says that this man tore his chains from off his body, and broke the irons from off his feet; He would not submit himself to the control of anyone. And just as this man, if we were to be honest about ourselves to those around us, would have to admit to one another that we have, at least once in our lives, thrown off the laws of society and good conscience which is meant to bind us to a form of conduct that would be beneficial to a safe, moral, and productive society, just to do our own thing.
How many of us can remember going so far as to not only say, but to also proclaim the attitude of: "I'll do what I want to do whether you like it or not;" "You don't control me;" "Your not my boss."
Verse 5 says that, "...night and day, this man use to cry out and cut himself with stones."
How many of you, like myself, have complained and cried out for independence and control of our own lives, just to find ourselves on a course of self destruction. Destroying our lives and reputations just as he was destroying his.
Mark 5:15 (NIV) says that after Jesus had cast the devils out of him, that, this man was "...sitting there, dressed and in his right mind..." And just as this man, Jesus has given to us, a new hold on reality and purpose of life.
Jesus saved us; clothed us in his righteousness; put us in our right mind; and set us on a journey that will take us to the very throne room of God himself. Because of his shed blood on the cross, that redeems us from the curse of the law. As Colossians 2:14 (NIV) says, "having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."
But God, is a God of balance. For as Proverbs 11:1 (KJV) states, "A False balance is abomination to the Lord: but a just weight is his delight." And though our salvation was a free gift, our walk with God as a "new man", comes with a price tag.
God has given to his children a deep heart felt desire to serve and please him. And for us who have this God given desire in our hearts, we sometimes ask, "What is the will of God for my life?" "What is God's voice; and, How do I know when God is speaking to me?" And although our salvation was free, there are those of us who do not yet fully understand that the journey we have embarked upon, as Christians, will cost us a price that must be paid.
It is these questions, and this high cost of living the Christian life in servitude to our God that I wish to write about, and make mention of in this letter.
The will of God for each and every one of us, without exemption, is found in the life of Jesus Christ himself. If you will consider the scripture of Matthew 26:37-44 (KJV):
37And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.
38Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.
39And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
40And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
41Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
42He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.
43And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy.
44And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words.
At that moment, Jesus was becoming hesitant about going to the cross. He knew what was going to happen to him, and although his love was great toward us, he really didn't want to go when he said, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me." But Jesus loved his Father more than his own wishes, more than his own wants, and more than his own desires; Jesus loved his Father enough to put aside his own feelings, and say, "Yet not as I will, but as you will."
As Christians, we are taught about the death of Jesus, and the pain that he suffered upon the cross of Calvary. How he arose again on the third day, triumphing over death, hell and destruction to bring victory to the people of God; But rarely are we taught of his true death, the death from which he never arose from; The death of self, as can be seen in Hebrews 4:15 (KJV), where we read, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
Jesus died long before coming to the cross; Jesus died the moment that he decided to do his Father's will. He lived a life of denying himself the pleasures of sin for a short season, to enjoy the pleasures of heaven for all eternity.
This is God's overall plan for you and I; To be conformed to that very same image set before us in the life of Jesus Christ, for as Jesus lived in his days on earth, so we should live today.
Sometimes, we as Christians, search for, and desire to have more specific directions in life, as we live day by day in our Christian walk. This is why we need to study the character of Paul. Paul, as an apostle, followed certain rules in his walk with Christ. Rules that we would do well to follow also.
Please consider the scripture of Matthew 16:24 (KJV), "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me." To be a follower of Christ, Paul would naturally have to follow this rule. And if one would do a character study of Paul, one would see just how much he went through as a man of God, denying himself certain luxuries of his time to take the gospel to others.
But the most important rule that Paul followed in his Christian walk is found in Acts 24:16 (KJV), where Paul says, "And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men."
This rule, is the rule of the new covenant (New Testament) found in Hebrews 8:10 (KJV), "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."
You and I are the people of God, if we are saved and sanctified by the blood of Jesus Christ. And it is the rule of the new covenant that says, "the laws of God are written upon our hearts and minds."
Consider also, Hebrews 8:10, in light of the Greek word soon-i-day-sis, a prolonged form of soon-i-do, meaning to understand, or become aware which is found in the Strong's Concordance.
Strong's Number: 4893
Transliterated: suneidesis
Phonetic: soon-i'-day-sis
Text: from a prolonged form of 4894; co- perception, i.e. moral consciousness: --conscience.
Strong's Number: 4894
Transliterated: suneido
Phonetic: soon-i'-do
Text: From 4862 and 1492; to see completely; used (like its primary) only in two past tenses, respectively meaning to understand or become aware, and to be conscious or (clandestinely) informed of: --consider, know, be privy, be ware of.
When doing anything that we do, when we become aware that it is wrong to do, that is considered to be our conscience. Feelings of guilt, or self condemnation do not precede our decisions to go against conscience; But the feelings of guilt and self condemnation, comes as a result of doing what we know is wrong to do. Showing the truth of this particular scripture of God's Word.
Knowing the voice of God, and following what he wants us to do, is as easy as following our own conscience. To be sure, mistakes will happen, but sin comes when we go against what we know is right; As James points out in James 4:17 (KJV), "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
This in itself is just cause for you and I to not go against our own conscience, but there is even more reason to add, when considering the last sentence in the scripture of Hebrews 9:14 (NIV), "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God."
We cannot be a servant of God, and serve him with a guilty conscience. This is why 1 John 1:9 is so important to us as a servant of God. It says that, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (NIV).
Anytime our conscience causes us to become aware of any wrong that we are about to do, that is when we need to repent; not after we have done wrong, but, before. Because God is speaking to us in our awareness.
The price of walking with God as a "new man" or a "new woman" is to analyze our lives according to his word. Placing ourselves in the roles of its characters so that we may gain insight into his will, and be in obedience with all of our hearts and minds. Asking ourselves, "Am I doing what they did?" "Do I love my heavenly Father enough to put aside my own feelings, my own wishes, my own wants?" "Do I love God above my own desires?"
Can we say in all honesty, that we, (like Paul) strive to have a clear conscience before God and man?
Jesus said, that, if anyone comes after him, he must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow him: "Do we deny ourselves, for the sake of Christ?"
The sum total of our Christian life, can be said in these words, "Jesus himself died so that we may live through him;" "Now we must die to self, so that he can live through us."
2 Peter 1:3-11 (NIV)
3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge;
6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness;
7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,
11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.