The New Covenant

The Lord made several covenants in the Old Testament. Three of them are the Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. In the first covenant, the Lord guaranteed that Abraham would have innumerable offspring who would worship Jehovah. God also promised them a land to dwell in (Gen. 12:1-3; 15:5, 18). In the second covenant, the Lord guaranteed to David that one of his offspring would sit on his throne forever (II Samuel 7:12-14). The ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant is the Lord Jesus Christ—“And he shall reign for ever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).   

The third covenant is the New Covenant. “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah” (Jer. 31:31). The New Covenant is the promise of a new heart, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and forgiveness of sins. When a person turns to Christ for salvation, the Lord promises to have fellowship with him. People can know the Lord on the basis of forgiveness of sins: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jer. 31:34).

The writer of Hebrews quotes this verse in Hebrews 10:17: “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.” New Testament believers take part in the New Covenant by receiving Christ. With salvation, all of our sins—past, present, and future—are forgiven because of the sacrifice of Christ. What joy and what peace to know that our sins will not ever condemn us with salvation in Christ!