Obstructions to the New Covenant

Recently, I ran across an old writing by TA Sparks I had, which fit precisely into the
finishing pages of my book entitled, "The Dunghill: those things which block the living
presence of Christ in the Believer" I would like to share with you some of the most
dangerous forms of obstructions in the Christian life which hinder the work of God in and
through us. It is my prayer this article be considered in the light of the greater context of
this book. Without the contextual identity of the entire subject and the truth of the liberty
which exists by the work of the Holy Spirit, I fear the spirit this writing may appear to be
judgmental in nature. The central truth of the message of the cross of Christ is clear: there
is no other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. (Acts
4:12) There is simply no other pathway to justification and peace with God. There is no
other qualification to our eternal admittance into the presence of our Holy God than the
applied blood sacrifice of the perfect Lamb of God upon the cross through faith in His
word.
First of all, there are the obvious things which obstruct the working of the Holy Spirit
within us; issues more commonly referred to as sin, or iniquity. These hindrances must be
repented of and must be cleansed from our life and heart by the applied blood sacrifice of
our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We can have the stain of sin removed once and for all
by a sincere repentance and confident trust in the finished work of our Savior. The
1Scriptures declare emphatically that our sins, though red as crimson, shall be made white
like sheep's wool. 2They shall be forgotten, and thrown from the area of God’s
remembrance. God declared, He would separate them from His memory as far as the East
is from the West. In the Book of Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 16 and 17, we read the
prophetic words from Jeremiah's prophecy from chapter 31. God, in His greatest display
of grace and mercy, announces the irrevocable terms of a New Covenant. This covenant,
unlike the one instituted at the time of Moses, was based on the sole performance of God
Himself. This contractual agreement was not subject to man's works and ritualistic
observance of various practices and observances, but solely upon the work of the
Godhead on our behalf. The primary differences between the effects of this work are
itemized carefully in these scriptures for us to understand.
First and foremost, the in-dwelling life of Christ within each and every Believer, through
the work of the Spirit of God Himself, was a significant and primary difference between
the Old and New Covenant. The Apostle Paul taught throughout his writings of this
reality made possible only through the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit working
within us, to make us an entirely new creation in the eyes of the Father. 3This is not a
remaking, or a renovation of the old, but a completely new being; created in the very
likeness and image of the Godhead, as the first Adam had been created. This new
creation is designed to carry the exact likeness of Christ, complete with the very nature
and characteristics of the Heavenly Father. Every aspect of the divine glory of God, as He
has existed since before the foundation of the world, is the very same glorious nature
which He has planned for each Believer to possess. This is the culmination of His plan
for mankind and the process of the maturation of the fruit for His pleasure. The overall
plan and purpose of the work and ministry of Christ, the Messiah, while on this earth was
to prepare this 4"new and living way", through His own sacrifice on the cross, whereby
we all may enter into the divine and eternal presence of the Almighty God. That old veil,
which separated the worshipers from the presence of God, was ripped away. Now, all
those who will approach the Father through the intercessory work of Christ have equal
and open access to the seat of mercy. The eternal blood of the Lamb has been applied,
and all is made open to those who approach in faith believing. The guardian cherubim
readily open their wings to expose the amazing grace, mercy, longsuffering, and
forgiveness of the Almighty God and Father. God's own righteous justice has been
satisfied once and for all. The result: no more remembrance of sin. There is the key! The
essence of the New Covenant, and the final fulfillment in the life of the child of God, is
the reality of the "sea of forgetfulness," where this powerful blood sacrifice has overpowered
the eternal damnation which awaits those who have offended the Law of God. It
is in the depths of this “sea” where the mercy of God triumphs over all demands for
justice. The grace of God, that powerful center piece of His divine glory, conquers over
every demand for judgment for all time. 5Represented by the brilliant red color of the
rainbow, grace always forms the outer covering of the blessed rainbow of God's promise
to Noah, just as this same grace shelters us from the attacks of the enemy of our souls.
Why then do we, as human beings, have so many continuing struggles with our
conscience? When a person commits an offense against God’s law, is convicted of the
sin, and receives forgiveness by faith in the work of Christ, God declares at that same
instant the blood of the Lamb of God has provided justification to satisfy His demands
for justice. He has also declared that He has completely forgotten the sin. Why then do
we continue to hang on to a guilty conscience? Why can we not live in the blessedness of
a cleansed life? Why do we continue to allow the enemy of our soul to accuse us,
especially when it is no business of his in the first place? Until we have received the
cleansing of our conscience we will not be able to approach the throne of the Father with
the boldness required to receive from Him. We approach His holy throne 6"in full
assurance of faith" because of the work of our great High Priest; our great Intercessor.
While our conscience continually condemns us, we are not living in the full awareness
and reality of the power of the blood of the cross of Christ. This, in reality, is an insult to
God's grace and His love. This double-mindedness is born from a diabolic spirit of
unbelief. When we approach the throne of God without the confidence and assurance of
forgiven and forgotten sin, we are in a most precarious position. We are asking for mercy
without the application of the eternal sacrifice of Christ. We stand naked and subject to
eternal damnation before a Holy God. Without the living reality of Christ in our life, we
have no claim to the forgiveness offered to us by the work of Christ on the cross. The
power of His eternal sacrifice has had no permanent effect on our life. We are counted as
a stranger, an alien, to the Kingdom of Heaven. We have no basis to partake of the eternal
life we are offered in Jesus Christ. The plan of our Almighty Father in Heaven is summed
up in these simple words: 7"That Christ may dwell in your heart by faith." The entire goal
of the Father from the beginning of the creation of mankind is that the life of man and
woman would carry a genetic identity which would unmistakably identify them as sons
and daughters of the Most High. To fulfill this goal, God the Father provided a clearly
marked path for all of mankind to walk upon toward full inclusion in the family of God.
The ministry of Christ on earth was to open the pathway to the peace of the presence of
the Father, which fulfilled the plan of 8"bringing of many sons and daughters to Glory".
Praise the Lord!
Hopefully, it is made clear then, the absolute and perfect position of the Believer, to make
it possible for him to stand 9"boldly before the throne of God", is for the Spirit of the
living Christ to dwell within each one. This is not possible as long as the sacrifice of
Christ upon the cross has had limited to none effect upon their life. The ultimate plan and
divinely expressed goal of the Godhead is the in-dwelling life of Christ in the Believer’s
life. A perfectly clear conscience is representative of this fact and reality. May we press
forward in our life with Christ to the revelation of the profound work of Christ in us. This
is the 10"hope of Glory". This is what all of creation waits to see become a reality,
“groaning with eager anticipation”. Yes, indeed all of Heaven and earth and the entire
Universe awaits this 11“manifestation of the sons and daughters of the Most High God”.
The Creator, that Great Architect of the Universe, has designed an inherent empty spot in
everything which will be filled with this reality. It all rests upon the will of mankind; on
you and I. The Godhead has completed all the work. Now, it's incumbent upon our everpresent
consciousness 12"to press toward the mark of this high calling of God in Christ
Jesus". This is possible to achieve in the life of those who have received forgiveness of
sin and a clean conscience before God. May the life of Christ dwell fully within each of
us as we seek to please Him.
The second primary difference between the Old and the New Covenant I would like to
discuss is found also in the Book of Hebrews, chapter 6, in the opening verses of this
chapter. There are six specific dangerous obstructions listed in the first two verses which
will hinder the realization of the in-dwelling life of Christ in the Believer. It is not my
intent to itemize these six things, but only to refer to them in general. If we look at these
items individually, it may astonish most of us to realize these items are seemingly
harmless. However, in fact, each of these items represent the type of issues which have
divided the Body of Christ for centuries. Endless bickering and often violent arguments
have divided entire nations. These insidious items have led zealots and extremists to
commit murder of thousands upon thousands of innocent lives throughout history. A
prime example of this is seen in the aftermath of the Great Reformation period, where
men, women and children were hunted down like animals and put to death because the
Church leaders judged them as heretics. Then, nearly 100 years after this time, once
again, the now-accepted leaders of the Reformation went after those, whom history has
referred to as the Brethren of the Anabaptist Movement. Once again, thousands of
innocent lives were slaughtered on the streets of Europe and elsewhere. History records
many such black marks on the pages of humanity. Indeed, even in our day, our daily
news is cluttered with the religious struggles of extremists and zealots seeking to conquer
the infidels.
So, are these things dangerous? Oh yes, but let us look at these issues in general terms as
Paul has listed them here in this verse. This is what I would like to suggest to you: when
we walk through our Christian life completely taken up with 13"defending" the doctrines
of our fathers, (which is what these are), we have excluded the presence of the indwelling
Christ from our consciousness. We are too busy trying to get these issues settled
among ourselves to walk in the truth and light of the reality of the in-dwelling life of
Christ. Once again, the goal of the divine purpose of God is set aside and all of Creation
has to go on waiting and groaning until the time of the manifestation of the sons and
daughters of God. Clearly, these divisive issues, which seem to be present in the Church
in every generation, need to become settled by each person individually. These are
referred to here in the Book of Hebrews as "principles"; elementary issues. Throughout
the writing to the Hebrews and also to the Corinthians, Paul referred to these issues as the
14“milk”, or the “first principles of the oracles of God”. In the Book of Galatians, the
Apostle Paul went into even greater detail with the listing of these issues which divide
and destroy the unity in the Body of Christ, and render it powerless. The writing to the
Galatians detailed the type of traditions and practices which were born through the
centuries of Jewish practices and observances. Indeed, the listing is endless as history is
long. The point is, the New Covenant set aside these issues as elementary but
foundational to faith. It is important for the "babe in Christ" to settle these issues in their
own life.
There is, however, a much more serious work for the Believer to commit his life to.
Hebrews 6:1 specifically states this priority as, "let us go on unto perfection", or
completion, maturity. Let's all just simply "grow up"! Seek the in-dwelling presence of
the Living Christ as the most important goal of your life. The Apostle Paul declared near
the end of his life, “that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the
fellowship of His suffering.” May we all share in this glorious ambition with the passion
and determination present with Brother Paul, as he wrote, “this one thing I do…”. Let all
other arguments cease and fade with the importance of the realization of this one goal.
1Isaiah 1:18
2 Psalm 103:12
32Cor5:17, Gal 6:15
4 Heb 10:20
5 Ezekiel 1:28
6 Heb 10:22
7 Eph 3:17
8 Heb 2:10
9 Heb 4:16
10 Col 1:27
11 Rom 8:19
12 Phil 3:14
13 Jude 1:3
14 1Cor 3:2; Heb 5:12,13; 1Peter 2:2