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April 6, 2003
5th Sunday in Lent
Jeremiah 31:31-34
Pastor Ben Berger

The Lord Establishes a New Relationship

I've had this theory about life for a few years now. Tell me if you agree. Life is all about relationships. Isn't it? At the very least, I think you have to grant me that relationships are a key factor in our lives. Relationships are very delicate, aren't they? Easily broken. Some relationships are two-sided. Husband-Wife, Friend-Friend, Employer-Employee - these relationships are two-sided; they are based on an agreement. Each side agrees to do its part; if one side does not do its part, the relationship is broken. Other relationships are one-sided and based on a promise. A parent promises to take care of a child expecting nothing in return. If the parent fails, the relationship is broken. Everyone, whether by choice or not, whether they admit it or not, is in a relationship with God. Is your relationship one-sided or two-sided? What is it based on? Today, The LORD Establishes A New Relationship. 1) We broke the old. 2) He keeps the new.

God has always established his relationships with a covenant. Covenant is simply another word for an agreement. Like a relationship, a covenant can be two-sided, with requirements for each side, or a covenant can be one-sided.

The LORD had established an old covenant, or an old relationship, with Israel the nation. It was a two-sided covenant written on stone tablets and given through Moses. On the one hand, God promised to deliver the nation of Israel out of slavery from Egypt. On the other hand, God demanded that they worship him alone and follow his laws. We know this covenant as the Ten Commandments. It was an agreement of obedience.

God kept his part of the covenant. He looked at this relationship as a marriage. He was the husband and the nation of Israel was his wife. He said, "I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt." Every time the people of Israel disobeyed the LORD and worshiped other gods, he reminded them of their relationship and how he had kept his part. That's all you hear about in the Old Testament. Prophet after prophet reminded the people how God had kept his promise to them, how he had delivered them out of Egypt, how he had given them the Promised Land and how he promised them a Messiah. That reminder usually brought the people back to God…for a little while.

That was the problem, though; they only kept their side of the covenant or relationship for a little while. They were like prostitutes. One minute they were faithful to their husband God; the next minute they were lying legs wide open for any other god who wanted them. And the LORD was tired of it. He would not make a covenant "like the covenant he made with their forefathers…because they broke his covenant."

Many people today still try to live in this two-sided relationship with God. They think that if they keep God's law and worship him, he will owe them. They think that if they are good enough, God will reward them with the Promised Land of heaven. In fact, that would be true if anyone could keep that covenant perfectly. But, we are far from perfect. More often than not, we break that covenant and our relationship with God.

How often don't we act like prostitutes! How often don't we commit adultery with ourselves and the pleasures of this world! One minute we worship the LORD God and serve him only, the next minute we cheat on our God. We pleasure ourselves with sexual relationships that are out of place. We put human relationships with family and friends first. We simply put our wants and desires first. And, we break our relationship with our God.

As a result of our broken relationship, we suffer separation from God. We lose the joy of being with him. We forfeit the blessings he has to offer. We endanger our souls, threatening to separate ourselves from God for eternity. And for what? a few relationships that can only bring joy for a few minutes.

Do you live by the Old Covenant? Are you trying to live a two-sided relationship with God? Have you struck a deal so that if you so this and that, God will reward you? It won't work so don't even try it. We can't keep our end of the relationship; the relationship is broken.

Rather, look to new days and to the new covenant. The LORD Establishes A New Relationship. We broke the old, but He will keep the new.

"The time is coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah…It will not be like the [old] covenant…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."

This new covenant, or new relationship, is again with Israel, but this time God makes a covenant with Israel the believers. This new relationship is written on our hearts rather than on stone tablets. It's not just given by a man like Moses but is given in the Bible. And, this new relationship is one-sided; it is God-sided.

The new, one-sided relationship is a promise of forgiveness. The LORD declared, "No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

The old relationship was based on the Law. Everyone had to teach his neighbor or brother to "know the LORD," in other words to know his law. Everyone had to teach others to keep their part of the agreement or covenant. That was no longer true.

The new, one-sided relationship was based on a promise, the Gospel promise, a promise of forgiveness. God already knew how the relationship was going to work. His people were going to disobey him and prostitute themselves to other gods. Rather than live with a broken relationship, God offered to restore the relationship with his promise of forgiveness.

God kept that promise. For the nation of Israel, God once again delivered them from the hands of their enemies. For Israel the believers, God delivers us from sin. He kept his promise and restored our relationship through his Son, Jesus Christ.

First, Jesus came to this earth to fulfill the old covenant. He lived the perfect life God demanded. He only worshiped his Father. He always obeyed his laws. He never prostituted himself to other gods. Second, Jesus died to permanently establish the new covenant.

God promises to forgive our wickedness and remember our sins no more. He knows how often we have already broken our relationship with him; he knows how often we'll do it in the future - this year, this month, this week, today. It's OK. We do not have a part in the new relationship. It's one-sided; it's God-sided. Regardless of what we have done, are doing, will do, God promises to forgive us. He promises to not hold anything against us. He promises to remember our sins no more. That's all possible because when Jesus died on the cross, he paid for those sins. Every time God remembers Jesus' death, he forgets our sins.

The LORD has established a new relationship and what an awesome relationship it is! Because it is one-sided, we can't break it. Because it is God-sided, we know that he keeps it. Because of Jesus we will always have a good relationship with our God. The result or consequences of this new, restored relationship? We can once again live with God and we will have eternal life. We will always share in the joy of his loving presence and reap the benefits of his blessings.

I surely hope that you will live by the new relationship your God has established. How can you do that? Begin with daily repentance. Acknowledge that you are an adulterous wife, a prostitute and that you have often broken your relationship with your husband God. Be specific. Tell him exactly how you have hurt him, ways that only you know. Then, come back to the words of Jeremiah. Hear how the LORD has restored your relationship with him. Come back to the passion of Christ and see how and why God remembers your sins no more. Come to the feast of the Lamb to taste and see for yourself the very body and blood that gives you an eternal relationship with your God. Finally, thank God with your obedience. Really, really do your best to be faithful to him by worshiping him alone and following his commands. They are there to be a blessing to you. Most of all, remember the other relationships in your life. Through forgiveness you too can establish or restore relationships broken through sin because the LORD has established a new relationship with you.