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希伯来书8：6-9：如今耶稣所得的职任是更美的，正如他作更美之约的中保；这约原是凭更美之应许立的。那前约若没有瑕疵，就无处寻求后约了。所以主指责他的百姓说：（或作：所以主指前约的缺欠说）“日子将到，我要与以色列家和犹大家另立新约，不像我拉着他们祖宗的手，领他们出埃及的时候，与他们所立的约。因为他们不恒心守我的约，我也不理他们。”这是主说的。

        新约和旧约之间的区别到底在哪里？首先，旧约是存在双方之间的。上帝说：“如果你们服从我的诫命，我必作你们的神，你们也必作我的百姓。”这是一个大大的“如果”。旧约失败了，并不是因为上帝没有持守约定，而是因为以色列民没能将这个约定坚持到底。他们弃绝这个约定，转而敬拜别的神。而新约是单方存在的。上帝说：“我会赦免你们的罪，我是你们的神。”在新约里没有“如果”。

         其次，旧约是单给以色列民的，就是他从埃及领出来的那些人。旧约是有时间限制的，当弥赛亚到来并替代了旧约，它就不再有效了。新约是给所有时代所有人的。你甚至可以辩论说新约的内容适用于亚伯拉罕和其他一些旧约的人物。他们得救是因为相信神的应许，而不是因为对律法的顺服。

         但是耶利米书31章中不是说上帝会与“与以色列家和犹大家另立新约”吗?难道新约在耶稣之前就出现吗？当上帝向犹大的百姓说这些话的时候，北部以色列国的百姓已经被赶散了。以色列家已经不复存在了。所以当先知谈论“犹大家和以色列家”的时候，他们是在说“属灵的以色列”，这也是神圣基督教会的另一个名字。保罗在罗马书9-11章中清楚地诠释了这点。

         为什么新约更美？因为是上帝单方立约，他也必将持守这约。因为这新约是给所有时代所有人的。因为它是无条件的，在新约里面没有“如果”。

祷告：主耶稣，谢谢你为我立了新约，亲自降临并完成了新约的所有条款。我知道我已经被拯救，并拥有永恒的生命，而且我不需要做任何事情，因你已经为我做了所有的事情。一切皆靠你的奇异恩典！阿们。

Hebrews 8:  6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises. 7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said: “The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them,declares the Lord.

        What’s the difference between the Old and New Covenants?  First, the Old Covenant was two-sided.  God said, “If you obey my commands, I will be your God, and you will be my people.” That was a big “if.” The Old Covenant failed, not because God was unfaithful to it, but because the people of Israel did not hold up their end of the covenant. They abandoned the covenant and worshipped other gods.  The New Covenant is one sided.  God says, “I will forgive your sins and I will be your God.” There is no “if” in the New Covenant.  

         Second, the Old Covenant was just for the people of Israel, the people he led out of Egypt. It also had a time limit and would be in force until the Messiah came and replaced the Old Covenant. The New Covenant is for all people and for all time.  You can even argue that the terms of the New Covenant were in play even for Abraham and others, because they were saved by faith in the promise, not by their obedience to the law.

But doesn’t the quote from Jeremiah say that God will make a new covenant with “the people of Israel and with the people of Judah?” When God spoke those words to the people in Judah, the people from the northern kingdom of Israel had already been dispersed. There was no Israel.  Almost always when prophets speak about “Judah and Israel,” they are referring to the “spiritual Israel,” which is another name for the Holy Christian Church. Paul makes that clear in Romans 9-11. 

So why is the New Covenant better?  Because it is one sided and God himself will keep it. Because it is for all time and for all people.  Because there are no conditions, no “ifs” connected to the New Covenant.   

Prayer:   Lord Jesus, thank you for making a New Covenant and then coming and fulfilling all the terms of that New Covenant for me.  I know that I am saved and have eternal life, because you left nothing for me to do.  You have done it all for me.  It’s all by your amazing grace alone! Amen.