Most of us make countless promises throughout our lives.
Whether it was a ‘serious’ pinky-swear during elementary school or a legal business contract, there are many forms promises can take. However, the purpose is always the same. It is an agreement between two or more groups that is meant to be kept by everyone involved.
Most people don’t enter into an agreement or promise intending to break it. But how many of us can say they’ve actually kept all of the promises they’ve made throughout their lives? I personally have to confess that I don’t even remember all the ones I’ve made over the years.
However, there is One who has fulfilled every plan and purpose He set out to achieve over the past 6,000 years. Yup, it’s God. We can see clearly in Isaiah 14:24 that God has sworn He would accomplish all the things He planned:
“Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will stand.”
God is definitely not one to lie about fulfilling His promises. He has no need to. (Numbers 23:19) But as mentioned before, promises are a two-way agreement. Both sides need to keep the promise by fulfilling certain expectations at a certain time. So, we know that God keeps His end of the agreement, but what about the people on the other side?
A Promise from Long Ago: The Old Testament
When we look at the Old Testament, we can see a clear example of God making a promise, better known as a covenant, with His chosen people at that time: the Israelites. After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, God made a very important promise with them.
“‘Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words you are to speak to the Israelites.”
Exodus 19:5-6
The term ‘covenant’ may be unfamiliar for some people since it is rarely used these days in daily conversation. However, simply put, a covenant is an agreement, so it has the same function as a promise. The difference is the weight that it carries. A covenant is a formal agreement with very serious and important expectations, and is made on a grand scale. What could be more important or grand than a promise made between God and His people?
So, let’s break down this covenant according to its core elements.
The Terms and Conditions of the Old Covenant
As for the subjects or people involved in the covenant, we see that it was between God and the Israelites. However this was not just a one-sided deal that only God was meant to keep. As mentioned earlier, the Israelites had to meet and fulfill certain conditions to uphold their end. And if they did, God would make them into His treasured possession. The people needed to obey the commands of God. Moses passed God’s commands down the Israelites in the form of the Ten Commandments and the Law (Exodus 20). They knew the terms of the agreement, so the Israelites were not blindly agreeing.
Unlike how many of us tend to skim over the terms and conditions before clicking ‘agree’, the Israelites were clearly told what the covenant was that they were to keep. They readily agreed to the covenant only after the Book of the Covenant was read to them. To seal and confirm the agreement, they shed the blood of a young bull and it was sprinkled on the people. (Exodus 24:7-8)
Keeping the Covenant…Or Not
Even though the Israelites were eager to enter into the covenant with God, they almost immediately broke it. By the time of King Solomon, the entire covenant, but most importantly, the first commandment was completely disregarded and broken when he set up temples for many gentile gods (1 Kings 11). And, as we understand, where the head goes, the body soon follows. So, the people of Israel also fell into the sin of worshiping other gods. They broke the covenant they had made with God (Hosea 6:7). For this reason, God promised to make a new covenant that would be different from the first.
“The time is coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord.
“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
Jeremiah 31:31-33
You might be wondering what all of this has to do with us since we weren’t involved in the making or the breaking of the old promise. Well, it’s true that we weren’t a part of the old covenant. But the Bible doesn’t end with the Old Testament. So, the question we need to ask now is whether or not there’s a promise, or covenant, that we’re a part of and need to keep at our time. And, spoiler: the answer is Yes.
A Promise for Today: The New Testament
Many are familiar with the story of the last supper with Jesus and his disciples. But when we take a closer look into the content, we can see that an extremely important promise was made. At that dinner, Jesus made a new covenant.
“In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
Luke 22:20
In Luke 22:14-20, Jesus established the new covenant in his blood. He also promised that it would be fulfilled in the future. When we break this down in terms of the standards of a promise, we can learn the subjects, content, time frame and results of this new covenant.
The Terms and Conditions of the New Covenant
When Jesus made the new covenant, he made it with his disciples who believed in him. However, he didn’t only make the promise with the disciples. He made the promise with all who would believe in Him–Christians. So, anyone who has put their faith in God and Jesus is a part of this new covenant.
However, if someone asked you right now what this new covenant is, could you give a clear answer? For a significant portion of my life of faith, I definitely didn’t have an answer to this question. Before, I carried out my life of faith thinking that believing in Jesus was the end, not the beginning. As Christians, believing in Jesus is our ticket to knowing God. But just holding the ticket without redeeming it leaves you without the prize of eternal life.
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12
After studying the Bible in depth, I now understand the importance of knowing what this new covenant is. Knowing Jesus comes first. Then, you need to know what Jesus said and taught to be acknowledged by him. I mean, do you think it’s possible to keep a promise if you don’t know it’s content?
How to Keep the New Covenant
To start understanding in a broad sense, Jesus gives us part of the answer when he says,
“Jesus replied, ‘If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’”
John 14:23
So, if we want to show that we love Jesus, we need to obey his teachings. But what will be the result if we don’t obey? Well from looking at this verse, we see that God will love this person if they obey Jesus’ teachings. He and Jesus will come to be with them. But if you don’t obey, you can expect the opposite.
No one likes those people who only say nice things but never listen or keep their word. God is the same. We have to know what His commands are and follow them. If we understand God’s true heart and intentions, which is to save us, then we’ll be able to obey more easily. Obedience to God’s Word, Jesus’ teachings, will bring us to the kingdom of heaven.
The Importance of Doing What We’re Told
Jesus lays this out clearly in Matthew 7:21-23:
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, evildoers!’”
Ouch. There are people who worked in God’s name, who drove out demons…but Jesus still rejected them. You can do whatever you want in Jesus’ name. But if you’re not doing the will of God, if you’re not obeying what Jesus taught, in the end, it will all mean nothing. We definitely don’t want Jesus to reject us. So by heeding this verse, we need to be the ones who are doing the will of the Father. But, if we don’t know what God’s will is, then how can we follow it?
As those who have entered into a promise with God and Jesus, I sincerely hope we can all clearly know the content of this new covenant and become those who keep it. Thankfully, our Father is a gracious God. If we seek Him and ask Him to help us learn more about the new covenant that Jesus made with Christians, He will listen to that prayer and will provide a way.
God has experienced a lot of heartbreak in the past with His people breaking the covenant. So, let’s show that we truly love Him by knowing His will and by keeping the covenant with Him.
Written by Lily
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