3.21.15–>”The Gospel in a Nutshell”

The Essence of the New Covenant

 nutshell

Hebrews 8

This is the covenant I will establish,
After those days with the house of Israel:
My laws will I place in their minds, says the Lord,
And write on their hearts; thus I shall be God
For all of them; they’ll be my people indeed.
No more will they need to teach their own neighbors,
Or their brothers and sisters, to know me, the Lord,
For from least unto greatest, each one shall know me,
For I shall be merciful to their injustices,
And as for their sins, I’ll forget them forever.

 

It is good to regularly take a step or three back to get that 30,000 foot view of our faith/worldview. Of what the New Testament is about. And therefore, how to share it more accurately. I cannot say it better than George Guthrie in his commentary on this passage:“So the new covenant, in essence, has to do with a relationship with God established by the forgiveness of sins, lived out by the internalization of God’s laws, and conceptually set against the backdrop of God’s working through the people of Israel.”

and

“…biblical Christianity, as described in Hebrews 8 must be understood minimally as involving the forgiveness of sins, a transformation of the inner life in accordance with the laws of God, and an intimate relationship with the living God.”

and

“Using Hebrews 8 we can explain that God offers us a ‘meaningful agreement’ with himself–that he agrees to be our God and to allow us to know him. God agrees, furthermore, to transform us in our hearts and minds, providing us with intrinsic motivation for doing his will. Finally, he commits to forgive our wickedness and forget our sins. This ‘meaningful agreement’ is the gospel in a nutshell.”

oh, and

“…this passage, with its quotation of Jeremiah 31:31-34, provides an excellent beginning point for sharing the good news that God wants us to be in a committed relationship that forms both the foundation and essence of a superior way of living.”

Credo Ut Intelligam

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