Week of February 24 – March 3
Inside Job – Man as Chaplain
“For 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.” - Jeremiah 31:33 ESV
What comes to mind when you hear the words “inside job”? I think of a crime committed by a guy “inside” a bank or a government or military installation. This is a person who knows the ins and outs of the place—the schedule and security measures—and has access to everything needed to execute the crime.
In Jeremiah 31, God promises to pull off the ultimate inside job…but in a good way. The announcement of the New Covenant is the high point of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jesus inaugurated this New Covenant through his death and resurrection, announcing it at the Last Supper: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20).
There are four amazing benefits listed here in this passage that we enjoy by grace through faith in Christ. As Chaplains, we would do well to impress these benefits on those we love and lead.
First, God says: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (verse 33). Talk about an “inside job.” The law of God is no longer only external, written on tablets of stone. God now promises to write it on our hearts. The New Covenant brings inner transformation.
Second, God says: “And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (verse 33). The New Covenant brings new a dimension to our relationship with God. Those connected to God through faith in Jesus Christ have access to a close, personal relationship with God that they did not have before. The Spirit of God makes us sons and daughters of God, through whom we can cry “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15).
Third, God says: “[F]or they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord” (verse 34). We don’t need a prophet to speak God’s Word to us or a priest to speak to God for us. There is no need for intermediaries because we have direct access through the Spirit of God based on our trust in the New Covenant sacrifice of the Son of God.
Fourth and finally, God says: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (verse 34). The New Covenant brings true cleansing from sin. The Old Covenant sacrificial system could only cover sin and its guilt, but the New Covenant brings forgiveness so complete that it could be said that God no longer remembers the sin and no longer holds it against those connected to Him through the New Covenant. The sacrifice on the cross was once for all and complete when it comes to wiping away and cleansing our sin, and it is ongoing according to 1 John 1:9.
So, through the New Covenant, God does an “inside job.” Now, it’s not just that God is with us, “Immanuel,” as when Jesus was born and walked this earth. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, He proved that God is for us by offering this New Covenant. However, with the coming of His Spirit, God is not only with us and for us, but He is also living in us to transform us and conform us to the image of His Son. That is the ultimate “inside job.”
- How would you rate your relationship with the Lord? Are you more driven by the daily religious “to-do list” or by a pursuit to truly know the Lord in a deep and personal way? Read Philippians 3:1-14 before you answer.
- What are you doing to move those you love and lead toward a relationship with God that is not merely external but internal, real, and personal?
- Pray and ask the Lord for your family members and friends to surrender their hearts to King Jesus and enjoy fellowship with the Father through the indwelling Spirit.
Inside Job – Man as Chaplain
“For 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.” - Jeremiah 31:33 ESV
What comes to mind when you hear the words “inside job”? I think of a crime committed by a guy “inside” a bank or a government or military installation. This is a person who knows the ins and outs of the place—the schedule and security measures—and has access to everything needed to execute the crime.
In Jeremiah 31, God promises to pull off the ultimate inside job…but in a good way. The announcement of the New Covenant is the high point of Jeremiah’s prophecy. Jesus inaugurated this New Covenant through his death and resurrection, announcing it at the Last Supper: “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20).
There are four amazing benefits listed here in this passage that we enjoy by grace through faith in Christ. As Chaplains, we would do well to impress these benefits on those we love and lead.
First, God says: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts” (verse 33). Talk about an “inside job.” The law of God is no longer only external, written on tablets of stone. God now promises to write it on our hearts. The New Covenant brings inner transformation.
Second, God says: “And I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (verse 33). The New Covenant brings new a dimension to our relationship with God. Those connected to God through faith in Jesus Christ have access to a close, personal relationship with God that they did not have before. The Spirit of God makes us sons and daughters of God, through whom we can cry “Abba, Father” (Rom. 8:15).
Third, God says: “[F]or they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord” (verse 34). We don’t need a prophet to speak God’s Word to us or a priest to speak to God for us. There is no need for intermediaries because we have direct access through the Spirit of God based on our trust in the New Covenant sacrifice of the Son of God.
Fourth and finally, God says: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (verse 34). The New Covenant brings true cleansing from sin. The Old Covenant sacrificial system could only cover sin and its guilt, but the New Covenant brings forgiveness so complete that it could be said that God no longer remembers the sin and no longer holds it against those connected to Him through the New Covenant. The sacrifice on the cross was once for all and complete when it comes to wiping away and cleansing our sin, and it is ongoing according to 1 John 1:9.
So, through the New Covenant, God does an “inside job.” Now, it’s not just that God is with us, “Immanuel,” as when Jesus was born and walked this earth. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, He proved that God is for us by offering this New Covenant. However, with the coming of His Spirit, God is not only with us and for us, but He is also living in us to transform us and conform us to the image of His Son. That is the ultimate “inside job.”
- How would you rate your relationship with the Lord? Are you more driven by the daily religious “to-do list” or by a pursuit to truly know the Lord in a deep and personal way? Read Philippians 3:1-14 before you answer.
- What are you doing to move those you love and lead toward a relationship with God that is not merely external but internal, real, and personal?
- Pray and ask the Lord for your family members and friends to surrender their hearts to King Jesus and enjoy fellowship with the Father through the indwelling Spirit.