God's New Covenant

When God created the world, everything was perfect! There was no sin; Adam and Eve loved each other and they loved God; there was no death or sickness or pain. This was the way God wanted things to be.

But the snake deceived Eve, and she and Adam sinned against God. Because of their sin death, sickness, and pain all became part of normal life on earth.

But the worst consequence of all was that their relationship with God was broken. In fact, everyone became an enemy of God because of their sin.

But God had a plan to save mankind from his sin. He revealed this plan in parts. The very first part was given in the Garden of Eden. God said to the snake, who is Satan, "The woman's descendant will crush your head and you will wound his heel." The woman's descendant is talking about Jesus! The promise means that Jesus would crush the power of Satan forever. Satan would kill Jesus, but God would raise Him to life after three days.

The flood is a picture of the salvation God has provided for sinners! When God destroyed the whole earth, He provided the boat as a way of salvation for those who believed Him. In the same way, though everyone deserves to be destroyed for their sins, God has provided a way of salvation for everyone who believes in Jesus.

God showed Abraham the next part of His plan for salvation. God told Abraham, "Through you all the nations of the earth will be blessed." Jesus was a descendant of Abraham. All the nations of the earth are blessed, because through Jesus everybody who believes becomes one of God's chosen people.

Another picture of the salvation God provided for sinners is the ram that God provided Abraham to sacrifice in place of Isaac. Everyone deserves to die for their sins, including you! But just as God provided a ram to die instead of Isaac, so also, God sent Jesus to die instead of you.

Later, when God sent the last plague on Egypt, He gave another picture of salvation - the Passover lamb. The Israelites needed to kill a perfect lamb and spread the blood on the door frame.

When the angel of death saw the blood, he would pass over their house and not kill their firstborn son. Jesus is called our Passover Lamb. He was perfect and sinless and was killed at the Passover. When anyone believes in Jesus, the blood of Jesus washes away that person's sin and God's punishment passes over him.

The Israelites at Mt. Sinai saw the next piece of God's plan. God made a covenant with the Israelites which made them His chosen people and a holy nation of priests whom He loved and protected and provided for. Now by believing in Jesus, anybody from any nation can become part of God's chosen people, a royal priesthood whom He loves and protects and provides for.

God's Covenant with David is the next part of God's plan of salvation. God promised David that the Messiah would be a descendant of David. The Messiah would also be a prophet, a priest and a king. Jesus is the Messiah!

Moses was a great prophet who proclaimed the Word of God, but Jesus is the greatest prophet who is the Word of God.

Jesus is the great High Priest who offered Himself as a perfect, sinless sacrifice to take away the sins of the whole world!

Jesus is also the king of the universe! He will come again and rule the world with justice and peace.

Every other prophecy about the Messiah Jesus fulfilled perfectly. Jesus even died on a cross and came back to life. All of this proves that Jesus is the promised Messiah who was sent from God.

The fulfillment of God's plan of salvation was Jesus. Jesus is God, but He was sent to earth to become a person and die for the sins of the world. Jesus' mother, Mary, was a virgin when He was born because Jesus was God's Son - God and man at the same time.

When John baptized Jesus, God the Father spoke from heaven and said, "You are my beloved Son, with you I am well pleased." The Holy Spirit also appeared as a dove. There is only one God. But God is also three - the Father, Son - who is Jesus - and Holy Spirit. This is both amazing and difficult to understand.

Jesus did many miracles that proved he is God - he walked on water, calmed storms, healed many people, drove out demons, he brought the dead to life, and multiplied one boy's lunch so that 5,000 people could eat and be filled.

Jesus was also a great teacher. He taught that you need to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

He also taught that you need to love God more than anything else, including your wealth.

Jesus taught that salvation is worth more than anything else in the world.

He taught that only some people are saved, and that those who are not saved will be gathered at the end of the world and burned in hell.

Jesus taught that God loves sinners very much and desires to have a relationship with each one.

Jesus also taught that everyone in the world has sinned and broken God's Covenant. Because of that sin, nobody can have a relationship with God since God hates sin.

But God loved the world so much that He wanted to provide a way so that everyone could have a relationship with Him by having their sins washed away. Only a sinless sacrifice could take away sin. So God sent Jesus, His Son, to earth as a human. Jesus lived a sinless life. He is the only person who ever did that.

Jesus chose to die as a perfect, sinless sacrifice to take away your sins and the sins of the whole world. Because of Jesus, any sin can be forgiven no matter how awful it is.

When Jesus died on the cross, He also suffered your punishment. Because of your sin you are guilty. You deserve God's wrath and death. But God's wrath was poured out on Jesus instead! Jesus is your substitute!

But your sins cannot be washed away unless you believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that He died to take away your sins. No one can be saved by doing good things. Nothing you do can fix your relationship with God. The only way you can have a relationship with God is by believing in Jesus, God's Son.

God makes it clear that anyone who believes in Jesus will be saved. It does not matter if you are rich or poor, man or woman, old or young, or what country or people group you are from. God loves you and wants you to believe in Jesus so He can have a relationship with you.

If you believe in Jesus, then your sins are forgiven and Jesus gives you His own sinlessness!

When God looks at you, God does not count your sinfulness against you, but He looks at Jesus' sacrifice and counts Jesus' righteousness as your own. Because your sins are forgiven, you have a relationship with God just like Adam and Eve did!

If you believe, you also become a citizen of heaven so that when you die, you will not suffer in hell. You will live forever with God in a new heaven and new earth.

One of the results of faith is that Jesus becomes the ruler of your life. Jesus hates sin and will give you the strength to fight against sin and defeat it. True faith always results in a changed life.

What about you? Do you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the only Son of God? Do you believe that you are a sinner and deserve God's punishment? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins?

If you have not believed, come to Jesus now, believe in Him and have your sins washed away. He loves you and wants to have a relationship with you. If you do believe these things, then you are a Christian and have a relationship with God!

Now join with other believers to worship God, pray, study His Word and spend time with these believers. All of these things help you to grow in your maturity and become more like Jesus.