Dave began today’s sermon by reminiscing on the joys (or otherwise) of Virol and cod-liver oil:
For those of you who are too young to remember these food supplements, Virol was a malt-based, thick, toffee-like substance packed with vitamins and guaranteed to do children good; cod-liver oil had an equally vile taste. Reading the Old Testament prophets can be a bit like taking those things: good for us, ultimately, but not necessarily a pleasant experience!
Nonetheless, the hope we find in Jeremiah 31:31-34 is good news indeed. Here, we see the new covenant promised. In order to understand the wonders of the New Covenant, we have to look at the old covenant, explained in Exodus 24:6-8. On the one hand, God promised to be Israel’s God, to cause them to prosper, to protect them and to deliver them. In turn, they were to be his people, to obey Him and to keep His law at all times.
But Israel, Jeremiah tells us, broke the covenant. Countless times this was the chief feature of the covenant – that it was broken. Similarly, Paul wrote in Romans 7 about the difficulties we face keeping the covenant, not only because of the wrong things we do, but because of the sin in our very natures.
The new covenant is a covenant of sovereign grace. It accomplished what the Law and the old covenant could never do. The new covenant will last throughout eternity and is based upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We need to do more than ‘turn over a new leaf’; we need a new life, and that life is possible through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. The new covenant is that covenant in His blood that we remember every time we celebrate Communion. By God’s grace we believe and experience the wonderful truth that our sins are forgiven and we have God’s law written on our hearts.