Implications of the New Covenant | Mar. 01 2026 | Pr Raph

The Implications of the New Covenant

Most pastors think that the book of Hebrews is not in touch with people’s reality in their practical lives. This could not be further from the truth.

Hebrews 8: 10-12

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.

12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Honestly, much of the preaching and teachings often focus on self-help, leadership, management, and even food health. While informative, they rarely teach the true message of the New Testament. 

Most people have heard little or nothing about the New Covenant; for many believers, it's just the name of a church, like 'New Covenant Church.' Now, we come to chapter eight of Hebrews. Here are the specific reflections regarding the content found in the provided teachings:

Many pulpits today have been hijacked by psychology under the guise of spiritual help. While psychology has its place in universities and clinics, it is fundamentally incapable of solving the core human problem: death. \

A person does not need their personality adjusted or their self-esteem boosted; they need to be born again. Psychology cannot give life to the dead, but the Word of God can.

Real transformation is not a psychological "re-wiring" done by man; it is a spiritual "upload" of God's desires directly into the heart by God Himself.

Imagine a dog told to behave like a cat—meowing, jumping, eating. Self-help may try to teach it "cat-like" techniques. The dog might meow for hours, but eventually, its true nature surfaces because it remains a dog.

Motivational speakers and coaches emphasize "keys" to success based on human willpower, discipline, and energy. This "performance-based" approach echoes the Old Covenant, placing man at the center with the message, "If you do your part, things will improve." The Gospel isn't about motivation but proclaiming what Christ has already accomplished. The New Covenant relies on God's "Better Promises" fulfilled in Christ, not on your motivation or resolutions.

If you see someone drowning in the middle of the ocean, you don't throw them a book titled How to Swim in Five Easy Lessons. 

That is what coaching and motivational preaching do—they give instructions to a person who is currently dying. Grace is the Savior diving in; coaching is just shouting from the dry land.

Our message is not leadership principles, management, or self-help; it is the "present truth" of the New Covenant. Transformation is not cosmetic; it happens simply by beholding Christ through faith.

(Hebrews 8:12) "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

This is the ultimate "clause" of our contract. While the world tells you to "manage" your mistakes, God says He has deleted the record of them forever.

We all receive spam or junk mail—unwanted, often inappropriate messages filled with immoral or shameful content.

Many believers imagine that God is constantly receiving "emails" about their failures, their past mistakes, and their secret struggles. They think the "Accuser" has God’s direct personal email address and is flooding His inbox with "junk mail" about them, making God angry or disappointed.

But under the New Covenant, God has changed His contact information. Jesus is the ultimate, unhackable Divine Firewall.

In the New Covenant, you don't communicate with God through your own "server" of performance. You are in Christ. This means: Legally speaking, the "junk mail" of your past has been permanently deleted. 

Because Christ mediates every communication, when God looks at His inbox regarding you, every "message" is "signed" by Jesus. Every communication God receives about you now carries the "righteousness of Christ".

You never have to wonder if your prayer "went to junk." You can have the same confidence that Jesus had when He stood before the tomb of Lazarus.

(John 11:41–42) 'So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."'

Because you are a child in the New Covenant, you can now be sure of your prayers.

A new World View

(Hebrews 8:6) “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

Many pastors overlook the book of Hebrews, thinking it only discusses doctrines. However, the more I study Hebrews, the more I realize that my behavior, fears, and emotions are largely shaped by my belief system. In essence, changing your beliefs can fundamentally transform your life.

Many live in a 'mixture,” believing in Jesus (New Covenant) but still connecting with God through the rules of the Old Covenant.

Galatians 2:16 6 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

The law exposes and highlights the problem, the sickness, and the inability, but it cannot fix it. Religion reveals the sickness, but it cannot heal us.

The World operates under the law

Why does it seem hard to believe in relying on the reality of the new covenant? Because we all came from a world system, a world view based on meritocracy. 

Every system in the world is ultimately like this. Now you come to Grace. In here, the system is upside down. It dares to say.

Romans 4:5) 'nd to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.’

(Romans 5:20) 'Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,'

The way of the world, the self-help, the religious mode, can diagnose that you have a trauma, a family problem, a hurt from the past, but it does not enable you to forgive. It simply says you have a problem. But it does not give us the power to overcome the problem.

But the world has a nature problem, not a behaviour problem. Sinners will never become saints because of a demand for change.

To display the Ten Commandments in public schools doesn't change the hearts of the students. 

Did you know that there was a recent wave of state-level legislation to get the Ten Commandments into public classrooms? First, it made headlines when Louisiana passed a mandate in 2024, which then created a domino effect in several other states.

A poser, of at least 11 by 14 inches, must be displayed in every single public classroom, from kindergartens to state-funded universities.

I would rather have John 3:16 in every school classroom.

I'm not saying that the law has no right use. Actually, without the law, it would be unbearable to live in this world. Paul explains that to Timothy.

1 Timothy 1:8-10 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine,

The law can enforce rules, impose restrictions, and set boundaries that help make our lives in this world manageable. However, ultimately, it does not alter the fundamental nature of things, nor does it transform a sinner into a saint.

Currently, about 31 of the 54 African nations have penal codes that criminalize same-sex relationships. Penalties in these countries vary from fines and imprisonment to life imprisonment or, in some cases, the death penalty.

Do you genuinely believe that a person struggling with sexual dysphoria, gender or identity crisis would suddenly say, "Now that the law forbids it, I won't be a homosexual'?

No thief will become an honest man because of the law. It inhibits, but it does not change people’s hearts.

Only the New Birth can change the behavioral code in the hearts of the sinner. That is actually the first clause of the New Covenant.

new birth, a New heart.

Hebrews 8:10 … I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts,

and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 

The only way is a new birth.

We are of the opinion that the godly lost are approved. However, we have no expectation that those losses would transform people’s nature. The new birth is the solution.

Before we were born-again believers, we were like caterpillars—bound to the earth, crawling in the dust, and spiritually blind. We bumped into every obstacle of sin, trying to follow the Law but only finding ourselves exhausted and trapped by our own nature. We were "dogs" trying to "meow," struggling to meet a standard we weren't designed for . But then, the Lord called us. Through the New Covenant, He initiated a divine, metabolic transformation from the inside out. By the power of the Holy Spirit, you have been turned into a beautiful butterfly. You have a new "flying lifestyle" in Christ Jesus.

Now, you might notice other creatures that fly, like flies or mosquitoes. From a distance, they seem to be doing the same thing as you—they are in the air. But their natures are worlds apart. A fly is instinctively drawn to decay, carcasses, and stinking, rotting things. It thrives on what is dying. 

You are drawn to the sweetness of the flowers. You were made for the "nectar" of God’s presence. You are a creature of life and multiplication, carrying the "pollen" of grace wherever you go.

You may accidentally land on the "trash" or "junk" of this world. You might fail or struggle with an old habit. That junk is no longer your nature. Because the Law is now written on your heart, you will never feel comfortable living in the trash again.

Even for those under the bondage of vices or addictions, your new spirit is screaming that you weren't born for the mud! Within your new nature, you know you were made for the heights. Today, respond to the nature God has already placed within you.

This is the "metabolic" change. God doesn't just forgive your past; He changes your "appetite". You don't avoid the "trash" because you are afraid of the Judge; you avoid it because you are a butterfly and simply don't eat garbage anymore.

It is a total "metamorphosis" of the spirit that makes you a new creation in Christ.

Your new DNA code contains the New Covenant.

Write — Epi-grá-pho: To engrave, to imprint, or to write upon. 

God does not use "erasable ink". He "indélibly" engraves His nature into the heart of the born-again believer. This means your identity as a child and your desire for God are now part of your permanent DNA.

Each one of the 4 clauses of the New Covenant is meant to be recorded in our hearts.

A brand New Heart

I came to mind the four parts of the heart: the right and left ventricles and the right and left atriums. 

Let’s start with the left ventricle, which is the largest and strongest chamber of the heart. It takes that pure, oxygen-rich blood and forcefully pumps it throughout the body to nourish and empower it. It is God’s new life flowing from this heart to your whole being.

God writes the new commandments of faith and love directly onto your new nature. The Holy Spirit produces fruit from within, empowering you to live righteously.

What are the new laws of the Lord?

In the New Covenant, the "laws" written on our hearts are fundamentally different from the 10 Commandments engraved in the stone tablets.

The Holy Spirit's current agenda is not to help us keep those obsolete regulations of external demands or the fear of punishment. Jesus speaks of this new law.

John 14:15 5 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Jesus is not referring back to the commandments of Moses here, but to the New commandment of love that flows naturally from a heart that understands it is already loved.

The New Covenant specifically identifies two primary commandments that define our new life of grace.

1 John 3:22-24 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

Notice that it is one single commandment with two faces. 

Think of a coin. One unit with two faces.

This verse encapsulates the central emphasis of the New Covenant: trusting in Christ's work and, through His love, living out that love towards others.

Galatians 5:6 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.

Since Christ has already fulfilled the Law, relying on personal efforts disconnects us from God's grace. Genuine transformation, therefore, occurs only through faith.

This commandment of two expressions is sufficient because love fulfills the entire law. 

Galatians 5:14 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

1 Peter 4:8 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

A mother driving her newborn home; she doesn't need a list of traffic laws or fear of law enforcement to drive carefully. Her love for her child naturally guides her safe driving. 

God's grace works the same way. The Holy Spirit doesn't give rules to control behavior but places divine love within. When you walk in this Spirit-inspired love, He inspires us to produce fruit against which there is no law.

(Romans 5:5)'and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.'

Today, our love is simply a response to His love for us.

John 13:34 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

If you ever try to teach a child the importance of eating vegetables, you know how hard it is; they seem not to have the desire. If you could, you would place a desire into their buddies. That is exactly what the new covenant did: it placed God's desires inside of us.

The law states you shall not steal. However, with a new heart, you become generous. It is no longer simply "You shall not commit adultery." Instead, you love your wife as Christ loves the church.

1 John 4:19-21 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

Simply follow the spirit.

Galatians 5:18 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Hebrews 8:10 … and they shall be my people.

Sealed by God, resilient to endure Tribulation

Ephesians 1:13 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

Let me tell you that in this world, you may face tribulation. But you have a seal that guards as God’s own possession. You had received the seal of the Spirit.

You all may face hardships and afflictions.

Psalm 34:19"Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

Tribulation comes from various reasons:

Much of the pain we experience happens simply because this world is not our final home. The Bible is clear that the present form of this world is passing away. Jesus Himself warned us, "In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world".

We are in a real spiritual battle. The enemy actively schemes against our faith. He constantly works to plant lies in our minds, trying to convince us that God is stingy, holding out on us, or not truly good.

(Psalm 37:25)"I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread."

Sometimes the storms we face are ones we created ourselves. When we make choices outside of God's wisdom, trust in our own human effort instead of God's grace, or act out of selfishness, we suffer the natural consequences of those actions.

Psalm 91:7"A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you."

However, the psalm states that regardless of the source, the Lord delivers us.

People asked me about the many wars we are witnessing. Is it possible that a believer faces this type of tribulation? My answer is: We are not under God’s wrath, which is different from tribulation. 

Romans 5:9-10 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life

To be honest, the Bible teaches that believers may face the great tribulation. But even there, those with the seal of the Spirit willnot accept the seal of the beast, because you already have a seal of ownership.

Matthew 24:21–22: Jesus speaks of a "great tribulation" such as has not been since the beginning of the world. He notes that "for the sake of the elect, those days will be shortened.”

Revelation 7:3 (sealed the servants of our God on their forehead) compared with Revelation 13:16–17 (the mark of the beast).

A complete union 

1 Corinthians 6:17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

As we became one Spirit with the Lord. The Communion points to that reality. We participate in His very flesh and blood.

The consummation of a marriage is to become one flesh.

What is His is now ours; what is ours is His.

2 Corinthians 5:21 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

If He became sin for us. 

It does not mean Jesus was sin, or a sinner, or guilty of sin; It is a matter of imputation. Our sins were imputed (attributed). At the same time, through faith, Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us.

To impute something is to ascribe or attribute it to someone. That is about every single blessing Christ deserves; now we can access it. 

2 Corinthians 8:9 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Having saved those who believe, He is now 

1 Corinthians 1:30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,