This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "The Promise Of Eternal Life", 9/14/2014

THE PROMISE OF ETERNAL LIFE

 

Jeremiah 31:31-37

 

Jeremiah 31:31-39

V:31. "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah."

A. This verse is one of the prophecies of the coming of Jesus Christ and His blood shed

     on the cross to atone for the sins of man. (Luke 22:20)

     1. The nation of Israel at the time of Jeremiah was under the dispensation of the Law.

     2. God promised a new dispensation of Grace.

B. Jesus' death on the cross fulfilled all the requirements of the Law.

    1. After Adam's sin in the Garden of Eden, all mankind was born in sin. (I Cor. 15:22)

    2. God promised a seed (Jesus) that would be the atonement of all sin.

 

V:32. " It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,"   declares the Lord."

A. The law was a conditional covenant.

     1. God promised Israel that if they followed His commands they would be blessed and

         the works of their hands would be fruitful.  Lev. 26:3-16

         a. Forgiveness for sins were accomplish through the sacrifice of animals by the

             Levite priests.

         b. Animal sacrifices were continuous because  the nation continued to sin.

         c. It was the intercessory prayers of the priest that brought peace between

             God and Israel.

     2. God promised that if Israel disobeyed His commands, they would be cursed.

         a. Throughout Biblical history, Israel refused to obey God's commands and

             suffered the consequences of their disobedience.

B. The new covenant of Grace sealed with blood of Jesus is an unconditional covenant.

    1. Jesus is the once for all sacrifice for all sins past, present and future.

    2. All who believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus have eternal life.

       a. Atonement of sins is not conditional on the faithfulness of man.

       b. Our salvation is not conditional on our goodness.

       c. Our salvation is base on the love of God for His people.

C. Israel could not keep the Law, so they were in  continuous need of a blood sacrifice.

   1. The Lord was a husband to Israel.

       a. Israel was the bride of the Lord.

   2. Jesus is the bridegroom under the dispensation of Grace.

       b. The Church is the bride of Jesus.

   3. Under the Law, the Levite priests were the intercessors between the people and God.

   4. Under Grace, Jesus is our intercessor, seated at the right hand of the Father.

 D. The nation of Israel was born in slavery.

      1. God sent Moses   to be their deliverer from bondage.

      2. All of us were born in the bondage of sin.

         a. Jesus is our deliverer from sin.

         b. His death on the cross freed us from the bondage of the eternal Hell.

 

V:33 "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."

A. The Law was given to control the attitude of the Israelites.

     1. The Law was  forced upon the Israelites to be their school master.

 B. The New Covenant was established in the blood of Jesus Christ

     1. The new covenant is covenant of grace

         a. The Grace of Jesus Christ was given to control the hearts of man.

     2. Any man in Christ is a new creation.

     3.  The hearts of believers in Jesus Christ is controlled by the Holy Spirit.

         a. The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus after His resurrection to be our

             comforter to teach us the Word of God.

         b. Anytime we study the Word of God, the Holy Spirit guides our

            understanding.

    

V:34. "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,"  declares the Lord. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

 A. Once we accepted Christ as our personal Savior, we are drawn to the Word.

     1. We were brought out of the darkness of the world and placed in the marvelous

         light of God's Word.

    2. The new creation in us is urged by the Holy Spirit to grow in the knowledge of

        Christ through an understanding of God's Word.

    3. God will not leave us ignorant of Himself.

 B. This verse points to the body of Christ in which all believers are included.

     1. This verse is also the prophecy of the millennium kingdom in which

         a new Israel will grow up with Christ as their reigning King.

    2. The millennium kingdom will occur after the second coming of Christ.

        a. Christ will come again  and take up the whole Church body to reign

           with him during the millennium.  ( I Thes 4:16-17, Rev 20:6)

       b. The millennium is the time when God will fulfill His promise that

            all Israel will be saved. ( Rom 11:26 , Isa 45:17)

      c. Satan will be bound during the thousand year reign of Christ.

      d. The only voice Israel will hear is the Word of Christ.

 

V:35. " This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar —  the Lord Almighty is his name."

A. God is the creator of all things in Heaven and on earth.

     1.God is authority over all creation.

        a. He caused the sun to shine by day and moon and the stars to shine

         by night.

     2. God is omnipotent.

         a. Not only does He have creative powers, but He gives illumination to

             the planets and stars.

         b. God created man to see His creation billions of miles away.

         c. God created man so that he could see and appreciate His glory.

     3. How much creative thought did it take to plan the universe?

         a. How much power does it take to suspend  objects in a orbit

            that they can't move out of?

         b.  When we look beyond ourselves we can see the unimaginable glory

              of God.

         c. When we look beyond ourselves we can see the unimaginable

              power of God.

         d. When we look beyond ourselves we can see the love of God for us

             that we cannot explain.

         e. All that we see in God's creation was done by Him for our benefit.

 

V:36 "Only if these decrees vanish from my sight," declares the Lord, "will the descendants of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me."

A. This a great promise that God made to an ungodly people.

    1. The "if" is impossible because God's sight is unlimited and hindered by nothing.

    2. Jesus said it Himself, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my Word will never

        pass away".  Mat 24:35

B. This verse confirms God promise that a remnant of Israel will be saved.

    1. All believers in Jesus Christ have been adopted into the nation of Israel.

    2. This is the promise of eternal life for all believers. Rom 8:23, Eph 1:5

 

V:37 This is what the Lord says: "Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done,"  declares the Lord."

A. This verse is the promise of God's unending grace and mercy for His people.

    1. Heaven can't be measured. The foundation of the earth can't be understood.

        a. Therefore, this is the promise of eternal life for God's elect.

        b. The "if" in this verse is impossible for man, but possible for God.

        c. God cannot lie, therefore we can rely on His Word.

    2. There is no sin so bad that God can't forgive.

    3. Once in Christ, we are sealed to the day of redemption.  Eph 4:30

    4. We can fall away from fellowship with God, but never from a relationship

        with Him.

B. Salvation is not based on our goodness, but the love of God.

    1. Our salvation is not based on our ability to impress God.

    2. We cannot impress God because we cannot fully understand Him or His works.

C. God is infinite and we are finite.

    1. God has limited us to know only what is necessary to live in this short life time.

    2. The good news is, the infinite God we serve knows what is best for us and

        does what is best for us.

D. The God we serve predestined us as His adopted sons and daughters before the

     foundation of the World.  Eph 1:4

   1. The good news is that our salvation is not based on us.

   2. The good news is that God so loved the world that He sent His Son to die for our sins.

  

God has determined that we will be His people and He will be our God.

God has so ordered our lives with trials and tribulations that we will seek

Him out to be our God.

 

The problems we face in life are God's opportunity to draw us to Himself.

 

LET US GIVE GOD PRAISE AND GLORY FOR HIS DIVINE LOVE

  

God's Prophecies For The Redemption Of Man

 

Exodus   Law Given      The Cross      Dispensation of    Rapture     Millennium   Eternity

                                                             Grace                  

+__________+_________+_____________+___________+________+_________+____

 

                                                           Church Age            Church Taken Up           Israel

                                                                                          With Christ                Redeemed

 

Rev. M. Mitchell,  Asst Pastor of GMBC