Our Covenant God
Tim Keller | January 9, 2011
Overview
We’re looking at the characteristics— also known as the “attributes”— of God according to the Bible. One of God’s attributes is that he is a covenant God— He is a God who makes covenants, and he is a God you can only relate to through covenants.
We will unpack what this means by noting three things: 1) What the covenant is; 2) What the new covenant solves; and 3) How it changes and transforms us.
Outline
Jeremiah 31:31–34
God makes a special promise, or covenant, with His people in the book of Jeremiah. This promise means God will put His teachings into the hearts and minds of His people. It’s like saying, “I’ll be your God, and you’ll be my people.” Knowing who God truly is matters a lot because it affects how we feel and act. The characteristics of this promise show us how to change and find answers.
1. Understanding the promise
The Bible talks about a covenant, a strong and lasting promise between God and people. It’s like a marriage, full of love and commitment. Understanding God as a promise-keeper, who combines both rules and love, holiness and kindness, helps us understand our mistakes, our nature, and our role in the world.
2. The solution the new promise brings
The tricky part about the promise in the Bible is that God asks us to follow His rules, but He also promises never to leave us. This can make us wonder if the promise is conditional or not. Pastors have an important job in encouraging us to do better and comforting us, especially when we’re too focused on ourselves. The new promise, which comes to us through Jesus, combines rules and love by writing the rules on our hearts, making everything work together.
3. How the promise can change us
God’s promise, shown by Jesus’ sacrifice, can change our lives in a big way. It can guide our conscience, help us judge our culture fairly, make us more loyal, and help us trust more. It frees us from the trap of just following rules or just doing what feels right in the moment. It lets us question materialism, and reminds us to value relationships. Christianity shows us a God who gives of Himself in love, and that can transform our lives through the good news of the gospel.
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