237. New Covenant
Jeremiah 31:31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah.
The Lord will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and Judah. This is fulfilled in the New Testament, where God makes a new covenant with the people of God. “The House” is the Church, made up of all the believers in Jesus Christ. The people through sin and idolatry broke the old covenant made with God and His people through Moses. But God didn’t forget His love for people, so He will make a new covenant.
In the new covenant the Son of God keeps the people’s part of the covenant by complete obedience to the Law of God. By grace Jesus gives that perfect keeping to us who believe. By faith we are counted as righteous. On account of Christ God is obligated to keep His part of the covenant promise. Jesus is the “new” part of the new covenant. God is bound, but, of course, He wants to be bound anyway, for His love is unconditional. The blood of Christ, the “blood of the new covenant”, forever settles God’s obligations. God doesn’t need the binding obligation since He will keep His promises anyway, but we need to be assured that God the Lord will absolutely, for sure, beyond a doubt, do what He says. God binds Himself to the covenant promise so that we may be absolutely certain. He is our God; He does forgive sins; He does save; He does give eternal life.
When we have doubts and fears we may believe the Gospel again, and we may participate in the blood of the new covenant in Holy Communion. God wants to give the greatest assurance of heart and peace of mind possible, and this is the way He has chosen to do it: through Word and Sacrament.The promised new covenant gives the “blessed assurance” we need for every day. In the received new covenant we receive countless blessings and promises. Count on it. Live in it.