The “I wills” of the New Covenant

The following is an extract from my forthcoming book, Letters from Jesus: Finding Good News in Christ’s Letters to the Churches. The ebook comes out next month; the paperback comes out next Easter. Enjoy! — The Philadelphians are often esteemed as a model church because Jesus never rebuked them—as though escaping censure was the high point of Christian living. (What a sad way to read these love letters from Jesus. “I got a letter from the Lord and he didn’t scold or threaten to kill me. I’m so blessed.”) Each of the seven letters reveals something of the goodness of God, but nowhere does God’s grace and kindness shine brighter than in this letter to the powerless Philadelphians. In less than 250 words, the Lord gives one of the most stunning summaries of the hope held out in the gospel, and he does this by making promises. Because many people don’t know what makes the new covenant new, they miss these treasures. They read these letters with an old covenant mindset and come away quaking in their boots. This is why it’s essential to understand the difference between the old and new covenants. The old covenant was characterized by people making [...]