Is the Torah for Today - Part 7

For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:34)

One of the key elements of the New Covenant as described through Jeremiah is the forgiveness of sins. It appears that it is this that is the basis of all the other elements, which are the internalization of the Torah, a right relationship with God, and that the nation will all truly know God.

While forgiveness of sins was a feature of the Sinai Covenant, there is a finality in Jeremiah's words that we do not find in the older covenant. We do not get a full understanding of this until after Yeshua's arrival. What he accomplished doesn't simply give us a better spirituality, but a transformed one, due to his satisfying of God's demands and taking on himself the consequences of our sins.

By assuming our sins and their consequences, there is no longer any penalty for us to face. That is why Paul can write, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in the Messiah Yeshua" (Romans 8:1). Our relationship to God in Yeshua is one were there is no basis of condemnation at all. The Torah can no longer accuse us of wrongdoing, since the penalty for those wrongs has been completely satisfied.

Because we are off the hook, so to speak, there is no longer any barrier between us and God, which in turn ensures that we can enjoy the benefits of the New Covenant that Jeremiah lists.