When Scripture shows that the New Covenant is not like the Old (Jeremiah 31:31- 34; Hebrews 8:8-13), it also gives examples of newness:
- I will put My laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people (Hebrews 8:10).
- And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, “Know the Lord,” for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest (Hebrews 8:11).
- For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more (Hebrews 8:12).
NEW COVENANT: WRITTEN ON ALL HEARTS
The old law had first been written on tablets of stone. Every fleshly Israelite belonged to this covenant on stone, even if their hearts were rebellious. The New Covenant would be different: Every covenant member would accept God’s will—it would be written on every heart and mind (2 Corinthians 3:3; Mark 13:23; Romans 6:17). No longer could unconverted people claim a special relationship with God.
NEW COVENANT: ALL KNOW THE LORD
Hebrews 8:11 contrasts with the Old Covenant, in which birth into a Jewish family placed a baby into the covenant. As the child grew, he would need to be taught to “know the Lord.” Sadly, many Jews grew to adulthood, knowing neither the Lord nor His will. Eventually, this willful lack of knowledge caused the downfall of the entire nation (Isaiah 1:3; 5:13; Jeremiah 8:7; Hosea 4:6). Such a gloomy situation is not possible in the New Covenant for it is entered by learning to “know the Lord” (John 6:45; 8:31-32; 17:3). In Matthew 28, the Great Commission says, “make disciples” (learners, followers). Thus every New Covenant member—“from the least of them to the greatest”—already knows the Lord.
NEW COVENANT: MERCIFUL
The Old Covenant was a legal system that condemned all who broke its laws (Hebrews 8:8-9; Romans 7:10; 2 Corinthians 3:6-9). Its animal sacrifices failed to remove sins (Hebrews 10:4; 10:1-3). All this changed with the New Covenant of grace and mercy, in which God remembers sins no more (Hebrews 8:12). Christ’s “once and for all” sacrifice forgives every sin and presents the sinner perfect in God’s eyes (Hebrews 10:10-18). Since nothing keeps the sinner from God, he has complete confidence to worship and serve in God’s very presence (Hebrews 10:19-
22). Here is a wonderful new relationship that the Old Covenant never could deliver.