04/05/2026
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1L7n8SExp2/?mibextid=wwXIfr
What we just saw is that the payment for sin was not partial. It was complete. Jesus said, “It is finished,” and His burial confirmed that nothing was left unpaid. But now we step into what that actually changed. Because if the payment is finished, then the old system built around repeated payment has no place anymore.
Hebrews makes this clear. It says that in speaking of a new covenant, God makes the first one obsolete, and what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away (Hebrews 8:13). This means the entire old covenant system, built on repeated sacrifices, laws, and rituals, was not meant to last forever. It was pointing to something greater that has now come.
To understand this, you have to see how the old covenant worked. Under the law, sin was dealt with through continual sacrifices. Animals were offered again and again. Priests stood daily, performing rituals that could never fully remove sin (Hebrews 10:1–4, 11). It was a system that reminded people of sin constantly because it was never finished.
But when Jesus died and was buried, everything changed. His one sacrifice did what thousands of sacrifices could never do. It did not just cover sin temporarily. It removed it completely. That is why Hebrews says the old system is now obsolete. Not improved. Not upgraded. Replaced.
Here is the revelation most people miss. The old covenant was never the destination. It was a shadow. A pointer. It was designed to lead to Jesus. And once the reality has come, the shadow no longer has a role. You do not go back to a shadow when you are standing in the real thing.
Even deeper, this means your relationship with God is no longer based on performance. Under the old system, blessing was tied to obedience and sacrifice. But under the new covenant, everything flows from what Jesus has already finished. The entire foundation has shifted from what you do to what He has done.
This is where many people get stuck without realizing it. They believe in Jesus, but still relate to God as if they are under the old system. They measure themselves by performance. They feel close to God when they do well and distant when they fail. But that mindset belongs to a covenant that has already been brought to an end.
Through the finished work of Jesus, you are not living under a system of repeated effort. You are living under a covenant of completed work. Hebrews says that Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant, enacted on better promises (Hebrews 8:6). That means your standing with God is not fragile. It is secure.
For us today, this changes how we approach everything. You are not trying to maintain your relationship with God through effort. You are living from a relationship that has already been established. You are not bringing sacrifices to stay right with Him. Jesus has already been the sacrifice once and for all.
Practically, this means when you feel like you have to earn your way back to God, you recognize that thought for what it is. It is an old covenant mindset trying to pull you back into something that has already been fulfilled. Instead, you come back to truth. The work is finished. The covenant is new. The relationship is secure.
And this is where you rest. You are not standing before God on the basis of your performance. You are standing on the basis of Jesus’ finished work. The old system has been brought to an end. The new has come. And because of that, you can live with confidence, knowing that nothing about your relationship with God is dependent on what you can do, but fully anchored in what Jesus has already done.
