A Nugget from New Life Network
(by Dr. Larry Ollison)
Scripture for the Day – February 14, 2020
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)
Second Corinthians 5:17 says old things pass away and all things become new when we become born again. Water baptism represents the death of the old man and the resurrection (new birth) into new life. We symbolically bury our sin and the old man, and come up out of the water cleansed by the blood and reborn. No wonder the devil wants us to be ignorant about the blood of Jesus.
When you get saved, you are cleansed by the power of the blood and your sins are washed away, not just covered. You become a new creation in Christ and the Spirit of God moves into your heart. Life is in the blood. Genesis 9:4 says, “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”
Leviticus 17:11 says, “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for your soul.” How much clearer could it be? The scripture says the life of the flesh is in the blood.
The words “atone” and “atonement” means to cover. In the Old Testament the blood of bulls and goats covered the people’s sin.
Let me give you an illustration. We have all seen the little red wagons that children play with. If you would take one of these wagons and fill it with dirt and decide you wanted the dirt hidden, you could cover the wagon and the dirt with a canvas. Using Old Testament terms, we could say the dirt was “atoned.” But even though the dirt was covered, the reality is, it was still there. If the wind came along and blew the canvas off the wagon, the dirt (sin) would be exposed and would need to be covered again. It took works to cover the wagon and to keep it covered.
Under the new covenant, Jesus dumped the dirt out of the wagon and cleansed the wagon with His blood. No longer does the wagon need to be covered. The dirt is not there. The wagon is clean. Using New Testament terms, the wagon has been “made righteous.” It is clean and cleansed and ready to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
In Old Testament times, they had to have a continual sacrifice of the blood of bulls and goats to atone for their sin. They still had their sins. They were just covered so God wouldn’t have to look at them. That explains why the Holy Spirit did not reside permanently in the people of God under the old covenant, but can now literally live inside of the New Testament believer.
That’s why Hebrews 8:6 tells us that the new covenant is better than the old covenant. Under the old covenant sin is covered, but under the new covenant sin is eliminated. The new covenant is definitely better.
