The Implications of the New Covenant Most pastors think that the book of Hebrews is not in touch with people’s reality in their practical lives. This could not be further from the truth. Hebrews 8: 10-12 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Honestly, much of the preaching and teachings often focus on self-help, leadership, management, and even food health. While informative, they rarely teach the true message of the New Testament. Most people have heard little or nothing about the New Covenant; for many believers, it's just the name of a church, like 'New Covenant Church.' Now, we come to chapter eight of Hebrews. Here are the specific reflections regarding the content found in the provided teachings: Many pulpits today have been hijacked by psychology under the guise of spiritual help. While psychology has its place in universities and clinics, it is fundamentally incapable of solving the core human problem: death. \ A person does not need their personality adjusted or their self-esteem boosted; they need to be born again. Psychology cannot give life to the dead, but the Word of God can. Real transformation is not a psychological "re-wiring" done by man; it is a spiritual "upload" of God's desires directly into the heart by God Himself. Imagine a dog told to behave like a cat—meowing, jumping, eating. Self-help may try to teach it "cat-like" techniques. The dog might meow for hours, but eventually, its true nature surfaces because it remains a dog. Motivational speakers and coaches emphasize "keys" to success based on human willpower, discipline, and energy. This "performance-based" approach echoes the Old Covenant, placing man at the center with the message, "If you do your part, things will improve." The Gospel isn't about motivation but proclaiming what Christ has already accomplished. The New Covenant relies on God's "Better Promises" fulfilled in Christ, not on your motivation or resolutions. If you see someone drowning in the middle of the ocean, you don't throw them a book titled How to Swim in Five Easy Lessons. That is what coaching and motivational preaching do—they give instructions to a person who is currently dying. Grace is the Savior diving in; coaching is just shouting from the dry land. Our message is not leadership principles, management, or self-help; it is the "present truth" of the New Covenant. Transformation is not cosmetic; it happens simply by beholding Christ through faith. (Hebrews 8:12) "For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” This is the ultimate "clause" of our contract. While the world tells you to "manage" your mistakes, God says He has deleted the record of them forever. We all receive spam or junk mail—unwanted, often inappropriate messages filled with immoral or shameful content. Many believers imagine that God is constantly receiving "emails" about their failures, their past mistakes, and their secret struggles. They think the "Accuser" has God’s direct personal email address and is flooding His inbox with "junk mail" about them, making God angry or disappointed. But under the New Covenant, God has changed His contact information. Jesus is the ultimate, unhackable Divine Firewall. In the New Covenant, you don't communicate with God through your own "server" of performance. You are in Christ. This means: Legally speaking, the "junk mail" of your past has been permanently deleted. Because Christ mediates every communication, when God looks at His inbox regarding you, every "message" is "signed" by Jesus. Every communication God receives about you now carries the "righteousness of Christ". You never have to wonder if your prayer "went to junk." You can have the same confidence that Jesus had when He stood before the tomb of Lazarus. (John 11:41–42) 'So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me."' Because you are a child in the New Covenant, you can now be sure of your prayers. A new World View (Hebrews 8:6) “But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.” Many pastors overlook the book of Hebrews, thinking it only discusses doctrines. However, the more I study Hebrews, the more I realize that my behavior, fears, and emotions are largely shaped by my belief system. In essence, changing your beliefs can fundamentally transform your life. Many live in a 'mixture,” believing in Jesus (New Covenant) but still connecting with God through the rules of the Old Covenant. Galatians 2:16 6 yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified. The law exposes and highlights the problem, the sickness, and the inability, but it cannot fix it. Religion reveals the sickness, but it cannot heal us. The World operates under the law Why does it seem hard to believe in relying on the reality of the new covenant? Because we all came from a world system, a world view based on meritocracy. Every system in the world is ultimately like this. Now you come to Grace. In here, the system is upside down. It dares to say. Romans 4:5) 'nd to the one who does not work but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.’ (Romans 5:20) 'Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,' The way of the world, the self-help, the religious mode, can diagnose that you have a trauma, a family problem, a hurt from the past, but it does not enable you to forgive. It simply says you have a problem. But it does not give us the power to overcome the problem. But the world has a nature problem, not a behaviour problem. Sinners will never become saints because of a demand for change. To display the Ten Commandments in public schools doesn't change the hearts of the students. Did you know that there was a recent wave of state-level legislation to get the Ten Commandments into public classrooms? First, it made headlines when Louisiana passed a mandate in 2024, which then created a domino effect in several other states. A poser, of at least 11 by 14 inches, must be displayed in every single public classroom, from kindergartens to state-funded universities. I would rather have John 3:16 in every school classroom. I'm not saying that the law has no right use. Actually, without the law, it would be unbearable to live in this world. Paul explains that to Timothy. 1 Timothy 1:8-10 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, The law can enforce rules, impose restrictions, and set boundaries that help make our lives in this world manageable. However, ultimately, it does not alter the fundamental nature of things, nor does it transform a sinner into a saint. Currently, about 31 of the 54 African nations have penal codes that criminalize same-sex relationships. Penalties in these countries vary from fines and imprisonment to life imprisonment or, in some cases, the death penalty. Do you genuinely believe that a person struggling with sexual dysphoria, gender or identity crisis would suddenly say, "Now that the law forbids it, I won't be a homosexual'? No thief will become an honest man because of the law. It inhibits, but it does not change people’s hearts. Only the New Birth can change the behavioral code in the hearts of the sinner. That is actually the first clause of the New Covenant. new birth, a New heart. Hebrews 8:10 … I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. The only way is a new birth. We are of the opinion that the godly lost are approved. However, we have no expectation that those losses would transform people’s nature. The new birth is the solution. Before we were born-again believers, we were like caterpillars—bound to the earth, crawling in the dust, and spiritually blind. We bumped into every obstacle of sin, trying to follow the Law but only finding ourselves exhausted and trapped by our own nature. We were "dogs" trying to "meow," struggling to meet a standard we weren't designed for . But then, the Lord called us. Through the New Covenant, He initiated a divine, metabolic transformation from the inside out. By the power of the Holy Spirit, you have been turned into a beautiful butterfly. You have a new "flying lifestyle" in Christ Jesus. Now, you might notice other creatures that fly, like flies or mosquitoes. From a distance, they seem to be doing the same thing as you—they are in the air. But their natures are worlds apart. A fly is instinctively drawn to decay, carcasses, and stinking, rotting things. It thrives on what is dying. You are drawn to the sweetness of the flowers. You were made