GOD’S CHOICE

Hebrews 8:12 New Living Translation

“And I will forgive their wickedness and I will never again remember their sins.”

            The author of Hebrews is quoting the prophet Jeremiah here (see this verse in its context below). Without God, man is wicked and does wicked things. He has no consistent ethical or moral compass so he does whatever his mind believes to be the right thing. In spite of our wickedness, God still sent his own son to die in our place, thus paying our entire sin debt. The key phrase for us to hold onto is “I will never again remember their sins”. Does this mean God is forgetful? Of course not, he chooses not to remember them against us any longer. 

            We all make choices every day of our life. So does God. Fortunately for us, God chose to make a new covenant with Israel the foundation of which was Christ. This new covenant wasn’t etched onto stone tablets like the first covenant, but rather on their hearts. This applies to all non-Jews as well for according to Romans 11:11-31, we’ve been grafted in to the olive root.

            Having this new covenant placed in our heart, we are to begin to live according to its’ standards.  If you live as Christ lived, acting and reacting as he would have, then you are living the new covenant out in your life.  It’s a progressive deal, not instantaneous, so you mustn’t become frustrated. It is vital, especially in this day and age when moral and ethical standards are both questioned and challenged each day, to feed your spirit man as often as you can. Get plugged into a fundamentally sound, Bible based church that isn’t afraid to preach what the Lord places on their hearts.  Read the Bible, for it will provide nourishment to your soul.  We are entering into trying times when our own faith has begun being challenged in America, something many of us thought would never happen. Strengthen your faith and trust in God while you still can and pray for God to be merciful to our country. Sadly, the dangerous combination of ignorance and arrogance is alive and well and on full display all around us.  You must always remember, the devil has already lost, don’t give in to that which you know in your heart to be wrong.  Stay strong in Christ. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing!

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible, published by Tyndale House.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NLT)

31 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”