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JEREMIAH 31:31 & 34 (31-34)
“GOD’S NEW COVENANT
IS FULL AND FREE FORGIVENESS”
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
[Romans 3:19-28; John 8:31-36]
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD,
when I will make a new covenant with the house of
Israel and the house of Judah, ... . And no longer
shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know
me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the
LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (ESV)
INTRODUCTION: As you drive along a road you
see in the distance a mountain that appears to be
blocking it. As you approach the mountain you see
that the road indeed leads right up to it and you
wonder how you will get to the other side of it so
you can arrive at your destination. Coming still
closer to the mountain you realize that there are
various options. You can go over it, under it,
through it, around it, and up one side and down the
other of it. Those various options include the use of
prepositions—over, under, through, around, up, and
down, ... and there are many others.
Prepositions play a very important role in our
English language as well as the original languages
of the Bible—Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. This is
also true in the simple and yet profound Refor-
JEREMIAH 31:31 & 34 (31-34)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
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mation revelation that we are saved by God‘s grace
through Spirit-given faith in Jesus Christ, about
Whom Holy Scripture was written.
The common church of Martin Luther’s day was
the Roman Catholic Church. Although it taught then
as it still does today that salvation is by grace
through faith in Jesus Christ, it added then as it still
does today a very sad condition, namely, that a person must be worthy of such grace. In reality, however, grace to which any condition of worthiness is
attached is no longer grace because grace by definition is unconditional love.
So it was on October 31, 1517 (489 years ago
this coming Tuesday!), that Dr. Martin Luther nailed
his “95 Theses” (statements for debate) to the cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany. Tying in to
the first two statements above about prepositions,
the “95 Theses” was his effort to define and clarify
true Biblical teaching by identifying the three fundamental foundation-stones of such, namely, grace
alone from Christ, faith alone in Christ, and Scripture alone about Christ.
Hear now what Martin Luther wrote about the
fact that …
A. We are saved by God-given grace alone.
Martin Luther: (Ewald M. Plass, WHAT LUTHER SAYS: AN
ANTHOLOGY, VOL. III, p. 1327)
“One should not permit
sin. Yet one should exercise mercy, for we are all
JEREMIAH 31:31 & 34 (31-34)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
Page 3 of 17
made of the dough of which prostitutes and fornicators are made. If we stand, we stand by grace
alone; otherwise our piety stands on a wisp of
straw and soon collapses.”
Hear also what he wrote about the fact that …
B. We are saved through God-given faith
alone. Martin Luther: (Ewald M. Plass, WHAT LUTHER
SAYS: AN ANTHOLOGY, VOL. II, p. 707)
“God does everything to justify us. Christ has merited our justification, and the Holy Spirit implements the merit
of Christ, so that we are justified. ... actual justifying is left to faith alone, since without faith neither God nor Christ nor anything else is profitable
for righteousness.”
Finally, hear what he wrote about the fact that …
C. Our salvation is revealed in God-given
Scripture alone. Martin Luther: (Ewald M. Plass,
WHAT LUTHER SAYS: AN ANTHOLOGY, VOL. I, p. 265)
“Accursed into the abyss of hell be all obedience that
is rendered to government, father, and mother,
yea, and the church, too, at the cost of being disobedient to God! The Christian Church is God’s
maid and servant. It listens to and does nothing
but what it knows to be His Word and command
[that is, Scripture alone].”
Transition: It all comes together in the fact that
GOD’S NEW COVENANT IS FULL AND FREE
JEREMIAH 31:31 & 34 (31-34)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
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FORGIVENESS as the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah (who, by the way, is often referred to as the
weeping prophet who performed his prophecy some
100 years after Isaiah, proclaiming God’s message
of doom and despair to the unrepentant sinfully rebellious people and kings of Judah in Jerusalem in
contrast to the message of peace and prosperity
that the false prophets were telling them), this is
God’s servant who informs us that the nature of
the old covenant is the Law and the nature of the
new covenant is the Gospel.
I. THE NATURE OF THE OLD COVENANT IS
THE LAW. [32: “... not like the covenant that I
made with their fathers on the day when I took them
by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt,
my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD.”] (LUTHER’S SMALL CATECHISM
WITH EXPLANATION, © 1991 CPH, p. 54)
: “There are three
kinds of laws in the Old Testament: the moral law,
which tells all people their duty toward God and other people; the ceremonial law, which regulated the
religious practices in the Old Testament; and the political law, which was the state law of the Israelites.
Only the moral law was written into the human
heart.”
(Ibid., p. 98)
: “The [moral] Law teaches what we are to
do and not to do; ... shows us our sin and the wrath of
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
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God; ... [and] must be proclaimed to all people, but
especially to impenitent sinners ... .”
(Josh 22:5, 23:6)
“Only be very careful to observe the
commandment and the law that Moses the servant of
the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your
God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his
commandments and to cling to him and to serve him
with all your heart and with all your soul. Therefore,
be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in
the Book of the Law of Moses, turning aside from it
neither to the right hand nor to the left ... .”
“Law” is defined as (Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, Unabridged, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by
“direction, instruction, law.”
God’s Law is bitter and distasteful, heavy and
hard, difficult and discouraging. It includes
commandments and requirements. It leaves us
frustrated, broken, and destitute because ...
A. It demands perfect obedience. We learn
from God’s Holy Word that He demands us to
be holy in all that we think, desire, say and
do. He will not accept anything less than absolute perfection.
(Lev 19:2)
“You shall be holy, for I the LORD your
God am holy.”
(James 2:10)
“For whoever keeps the whole law but
fails in one point has become accountable for all
of it.” Also, …
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21st Sunday after Pentecost
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B. It was written on tablets of stone. God
gave His Law through the Ten Commandments that He etched on two stone tablets
and gave to Moses on Mt. Sinai (Horeb).
(1 Kings 8:9)
“There was nothing in the ark except
the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at
Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the
people of Israel, when they came out of the land
of Egypt.”
He later added many more laws that
regulated their worship and government in
addition to their personal relationships with
Himself and each other. In addition, …
C. It embraces all the physical descendants
of Israel. That is, God gave His Law specifically and even exclusively to the Israelites
(Jews).
(Theodore Laetsch in JEREMIAH, p. 256)
“It comprised all
Israelites, believers and unbelievers, that had been
delivered out of Egypt.”
(David M. Gosdeck in THE PEOPLE’S COMMENTARY BIBLE:
“The old covenant ... also served to
keep the Jewish people separate from the surrounding heathen ... . Their separation insured
that they would remain a people until the promised Messiah would come.”
We also find that it restricted the priesthood
to one particular family (Aaron and his deJEREMIAH, p. 204)
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
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scendants) from one particular tribe (Levi).
They alone were allowed to minister at the
Lord’s altar. Finally, …
D. It proclaims forgiveness of sins by types
to be fulfilled and hopes to be realized.
Animal sacrifices with the shedding of blood
offered by the priests and messages from
God spoken by His prophets served to communicate to the people His just anger over
their rebellious disobedience and His gracious compassion for them as His chosen
people. It all pointed ahead to the then-future
Messiah, Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood
on the altar of Calvary’s cross as the completion of the bloody animal sacrifices for the
forgiveness of sins. He did so because ...
Transition: GOD’S NEW COVENANT IS FULL
AND FREE FORGIVENESS as the Old Testament
prophet Jeremiah informs us that the nature of the
old covenant is the Law and the nature of the
new covenant is the Gospel.
II. THE NATURE OF THE NEW COVENANT IS
THE GOSPEL. [33-34: “But this is the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those
days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within
them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be
their God, and they shall be my people. And no
JEREMIAH 31:31 & 34 (31-34)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
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longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his
brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all
know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and
I will remember their sin no more.”] (LUTHER’S SMALL
CATECHISM WITH EXPLANATION, © 1991 CPH, p. 98)
: “God offers the forgiveness of sins only in the Gospel, the
good news that we are freed from the guilt, the punishment, and the power of sin, and are saved eternally
because of Christ’s keeping the Law and His suffering and death for us. ... the Gospel teaches what God
has done, and still does, for our salvation. ... the
Gospel shows us our Savior and the grace of God. ...
the Gospel must be proclaimed to sinners who are
troubled in their minds because of their sins.”
(Rom 1:16-17)
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for
it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who
believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For
in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith
for faith ... .’”
“Gospel” is defined as (Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Electronic Database. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Biblesoft, Inc.)
“the
glad tidings of salvation through Christ; the proclamation of the grace of God manifested and pledged
in Christ.”
God’s Gospel is sweet and tasty, light and refreshing, invigorating and rejuvenating. It in-
JEREMIAH 31:31 & 34 (31-34)
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
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cludes mercy and grace. It leaves us calm, repaired, and spiritually rich because ...
A. It offers forgiveness of sins. Absolution is
the spoken declaration that our sins are
washed away. It is the great need we all
have. It comes to us solely and completely
from our Savior, Jesus Christ, Who while
hanging, bleeding, suffering, and dying on
Calvary’s cross passionately prayed,
(Luke 23:34)
“Father, forgive them ... .”
We heard it earlier in our liturgy when in response to our confession of sins Pastor
Marks joyfully, delightfully, and excitedly told
us, “Almighty God in His mercy has given his
Son to die for you and for his sake forgives you
all your sins. As a called and ordained servant of
the Word I therefore forgive you all your sins in
the name of the Father and of the  Son and of the
Holy Spirit.”
The Apostle John most emphatically stated
that forgiveness is by,
(1 John 1:7)
“... the blood of Jesus his Son [that]
cleanses us from all sin.”
The Apostle Peter reassures us that
(1 Peter 2:24)
“[Jesus] himself bore our sins in his
body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live
to righteousness. By his wounds you have been
healed.”
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
That same forgiveness of sins that Christ
gained for us enables and motivates us to
forgive one another. We thereby remove obstacles to relationships that Satan plants in
his evil effort to separate us from one another
and ultimately from God Himself so that families, friends, and former foes dwell together in
peace and unity. In addition, God informs us
that …
B. It was written into the hearts of the members. (Gosdeck, p. 207) “The new covenant proclaims a salvation complete, finished, and, above
all, free for the asking. It is a salvation won in
and through Christ. There is no question how
God saves. To see Christ is to know God’s salvation. The promise is that through the proclamation about Christ those who hear and believe will
know for themselves the salvation of God.”
The Holy Spirit placed that glorious Gospel
reality of the new covenant in Christ into the
hearts and lives of all who believe in Jesus.
He did so in many of us upon whom at a
young age the waters of Holy Baptism were
applied accompanied with our Savior’s sacred words,
(Matt 28:19)
“... in the name of the Father and of the
Son and of the Holy Spirit ... .”
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
(about which that Trinitarian formula should
remind us every time we hear or read it). He
did so in others of us through the message of
His gracious Gospel that we read or heard
following which Holy Baptism was administered as a sign and seal of the new life in
Christ God gave us. It is an internal spiritual
reality that manifests itself with external attitudes, words, and actions that unify rather
than separate, heal rather than harm, console
rather than clash, and encourage rather than
discourage. And that’s not all!
C. It embraces all who know the Lord, both
Jews and Gentiles, but only believers. It is
at the same time both exclusive and inclusive. It is not exclusive in the sense that God
shows favoritism or partiality to one group of
people over another on the basis of race,
age, gender, ethnic background, social or
economic standing, or even religious denomination. For indeed,
(Acts 10:34)
“... God shows no partiality ... .”
In like manner God gives us additional instruction by the pen of the Apostle Paul,
(1 Tim 5:21)
“In the presence of God and of Christ
Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep
these rules without prejudging, doing nothing
from partiality.”
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
Rather, it is exclusive in the reality that God
has provided only one way to a relationship
with Himself, as Jesus declared,
(John 14:6)
“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
In addition, it is not inclusive in the sense
that everyone will gain entrance into heavenly
glory even though it is true that
(1 Tim 2:3-4)
“... God our Savior, ... desires all people
to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the
truth.”
Rather, it is inclusive in the sense that all
who
(Acts 16:31)
“... Believe in the Lord Jesus ... will be
saved ... .”
In order for that to happen God has given
us, His children by faith in Jesus Christ, the
joyful opportunity and responsibility to “Bring
people into a growing relationship with Jesus
Christ” as our congregational mission statement so succinctly states. We do so for the
sole purpose of rescuing souls from eternal
damnation separated from God in the fire of
hell to eternal salvation united with God in the
glory of heaven. And, finally …
D. It has the body and the reality. Everyone
(Jews and Gentiles alike) who believes in Je-
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
sus Christ as Lord and Savior compose His
body, the holy Christian church.
(Rom 12:4-5)
“For as in one body we have many
members, and the members do not all have the
same function, so we, though many, are one body
in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
All who publicly profess the same principles and practice of faith that are taught at
this altar and strive to live them out in their
personal lives may gather together at this altar to receive the real body and blood of Jesus Christ that God gives us in, with, and under the bread and wine of Holy Communion.
In our Savior’s real presence, God gives spiritual strength and growth of faith to His body
of believers with the blessed gifts of forgiveness of sins, salvation, and eternal life.
Jesus gained those gifts for all people with
His perfect life, innocent suffering and death,
and real resurrection from the dead in victory
over sin, Satan, and death itself.
(1 Cor 10:16-17)
“The cup of blessing that we bless, is
it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The
bread that we break, is it not a participation in the
body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we
who are many are one body, for we all partake of
the one bread.”
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
Christians are truly God’s precious people
with a powerful purpose!
(1 Peter 2:9-10)
“But you are a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into
his marvelous light. Once you were not a people,
but now you are God's people; once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
So it is that our Reformation heritage reminds us of the joyful fact that ...
Transition: GOD’S NEW COVENANT IS FULL
AND FREE FORGIVENESS as the Old Testament
prophet Jeremiah informs us that the nature of the
old covenant is the Law and the nature of the
new covenant is the Gospel.
CONCLUSION: The proper understanding about
the relationship between Law and Gospel is critically important for our spiritual health and welfare both
now and eternally.
Pastor Marks read in today’s Gospel Lesson that
Jesus declared,
(John 8:31-32)
“If you continue in My word, then you are
truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and
the truth will make you free.”
He then identified that truth when He said,
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
(John 8:36)
“So if the Son makes you free, you will be free
indeed.”
Pastor Marks also read in today’s Epistle Lesson
the Apostle Paul’s explanation that
(Rom 3:20-24)
“... by the works of the Law no flesh will be
justified in [God’s] sight; for through the Law comes the
knowledge of sin. But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by
the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God
through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for
there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short
of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus ... .”
I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us as we
strive to correctly know, believe, and apply to our
lives both Law and Gospel in keeping with the fact
that GOD’S NEW COVENANT IS FULL AND FREE
FORGIVENESS.
God grant it all for the sake of Jesus Christ, His
humble Son, our holy Savior. Amen.
The peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.
SERMON OUTLINE & NOTES
JEREMIAH 31:31-32 (31-34)
“GOD’S NEW COVENANT IS FULL AND FREE
FORGIVENESS”
JEREMIAH 31:31 & 34 (31-34) Page 16 of 17
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
INTRODUCTION: The simple and yet profound
Reformation revelation is that we are saved by God‘s
_______ through Spirit-given _______ in Jesus Christ,
about Whom Holy ____________ was written. True
Biblical teaching’s three fundamental foundation-stones
are grace alone from _______, faith alone in _______,
and Scripture alone about _______.
A. We are saved by God-given grace _______.
B. We are saved through God-given faith _______.
C. Our salvation is revealed in God-given Scripture
_______.
I. [32] THE NATURE OF THE OLD COVENANT
IS LAW. (Josh 22:5, 23:6)
A. It demanded __________ obedience. (Lev 19:2;
James 2:10)
B. It was written on tablets of _______. (1 Kings
8:9)
C. It embraced all the physical descendants of
__________.
D. It proclaimed forgiveness of sins by _______ to
be fulfilled and _______ to be realized.
II. [33-34] THE NATURE OF THE NEW
COVENANT IS GOSPEL. (Rom 1:16-17)
A. It offers forgiveness of _______. (Luke 23:34; 1
John 1:7; 1 Peter 2:24)
B. It was written into the _______ of the members.
(Matt 28:19)
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Sunday, October 29, 2006
Reformation (Observed)
21st Sunday after Pentecost
C. It embraced _____ who know the Lord, Jews and
Gentiles, but only believers. (Acts 10:34; Rom
2:11; 1 Tim 5:21; John 14:6; 1 Tim 2:3-4; Acts
16:31)
D. It has the _______ and the reality. (Rom 12:4-5;
Acts 2:42; 1 Cor 10:16-17; 1 Peter 2:9)
CONCLUSION: The proper understanding about the
relationship between _____ and _______ is critically important for our spiritual health and welfare both now and
eternally. (John 8:31-32; John 8:36; Rom 3:20-24)
Amen.