When the colonial leaders of early America officially broke ties from British rule (you better all know that date…July 4th, 1776!) they called themselves a new nation that had a new national identity. These early founders of our nation based this very difficult decision that led to the Revolutionary War upon what they called “the unalienable rights” that every person should have. They stated that these ‘rights’ were not just a nice idea, but that the Creator God Himself had breathed into all humans rights that can NEVER be overlooked. The opening words should be familiar…
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
Once the Revolutionary War was won and we were an official nation, it was those ‘rights’ and ‘responsibilities’ these official citizens that led to the completion of the incredibly important document that runs our lives here in the USA…. The Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution is today the world’s oldest surviving document outlining the rights of the citizens of any nation in the world.
To use the biblical terminology that helps understand what this Constitution is… it is the collective nation and government of the USA that has offered a guaranteed relationship, with its rights and responsibilities to its citizens and the written Covenant agreement is the Constitution of the United States.
Why in the world am I bringing up this illustration in the middle of our study of Hebrews and our series we call “Knowing God?” Because the story of Knowing God that we have been studying this whole year, is so tied to the fact that God offers to us a new citizenship out of what the Bible calls a “Covenant Relationship.” This relationship does not come from a human document, but instead out of His Covenant Word. This Covenant Relationship is not based on man-made constitutions, nor is it bought with the blood of human soldiers who fought of the British Empire. Instead this guaranteed Covenant relationship comes to us from the life, death and resurrection of Jesus our Great High Priest. As historically important the Constitution of the USA is in world history, it can’t hold a candle to the “Covenant” – the “Agreement,” the “Promise” of our value and citizenship that God offers us.
To prepare for this coming Sunday March 26, I ask you to spend time reading Hebrews 7:22 – 8:13. We are going walk through how Jesus is the founder of our final Covenant, what that means, and then talk about the “So What?” of this incredible truth as we come to Know God.
Examine closely these 2 verses…
Hebrews 7:22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
Hebrews 8:6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
By the way, in only 2 Sunday’s from this weekend we celebrate Easter! (Sunday April 9th). This study is leading us up to what Christ has truly done for us. Be praying now about who you would like to invite to join us for worship at Easter.
I am excited to see you this coming Sunday morning.
