October 20, 2023
Passage Read: Hebrews 7-8
Meditation Verses: 8:10-12
Thought
The New Covenant is that the Lord forgives our sins and remembers our wickedness no more, which allows us to know the Lord because He puts His laws in our minds and writes them on our hearts. He becomes our God and we become His people. The New Covenant is not just that our sins are forgiven, but that we are changed, we are made aware of His laws; they are written into our hearts and minds so that we are able to remember them and keep them. We are able to know the Lord personally and individually. And while this should be true of every believer, it seems like there are many who are not changed, who don't know the Lord and who don't care to know Him or His ways. They have either not truly believed or they do not realize their obligation to turn away from their former wickedness and walk in their new life. The Church is partly to blame, issuing no serious call to righteous and holy living, but making excuses for worldliness. So that needs to change. But every believer should have within them this new nature that desires to know the Lord and walk in His ways, so the individual is equally responsible for his own repentance or lack thereof. No believer has any excuse to fail to live up to their New Covenant transformation. And if they persist in living according to their old nature, they will be judged as belonging to their old nature. They will be left out of God's kingdom.
Application
Repentance and a changed life are not optional. Not everyone has the same opportunity in length of days to show their changed life, but every believer has everything they need for that changed life and should act accordingly. I have been forgiven and freed from the consequences of my former sins, and I've been changed and have full access to God's commands and instructions so that I know how to live this new life and put away the sinful behavior my flesh still insists on. I need to walk in God's righteous ways and make no provision for my flesh and the sin that dwells there.