Text:  John 3:17, 2 Cor. 3:4-11, Rom 7:6

Introduction:

It is of great importance that we, as ministers of the New Covenant, know what our ministry is. We don’t have the ministry of Moses in the Old Covenant, but we have the ministry of Jesus and the New Covenant. 

Let’s take a closer look at this.

A. Jesus was not sent to condemn but to save (John 3:17)

1. Many times we see that Jesus HAD reason to condemn people – they were not without faults! But He knew that His ministry was not to condemn, but to save.

Examples:
- Luke 19:1-10. People had been condemning the dishonest tax-collector, Zacchaeus, but it had never brought any change to his life. However, when he was met by Jesus’ unconditional love and favor, it brought a real change to his life - not an external behavior-modification, but a real heart-transformation.
- John 4:7-30. The Samaritan woman was not met by condemnation, but by a word of knowledge given in love and respect. As a result, the woman and many others were saved.
- John 8:3-11. The woman caught in adultery was condemned by the Law of Moses, but Jesus did not condemn her. Earlier she had met Mr. Law but that day she met Mr. Grace.

2. Jesus did not come to condemn sinners, but to solve their sin problem. He came to remove the sin by paying its full penalty Himself. Then He came to live inside of us – so His life is formed in us.

Example:
- The Law is like a mirror. It reveals what is wrong with us, but it has no arms to stretch out to help fix our hair. However, when we are born-again we receive a brand new life inside. (Ezek. 36:26-27.)

B. We are not sent to condemn but to save (John 17:18 and 2 Cor. 5:18-21)

1. We are ambassadors for Christ – He is continuing His ministry through us - not to condemn but to save.

2. God does not impute sins to people, and neither do we.
Amplified Version of 2 Cor. 5 says: God is not counting their sins and holding them up against them.

3. We don’t have the ministry of condemnation but the ministry of reconciliation.

C. The ministry of the Old Covenant versus the ministry of the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3:4-13 and Rom 7:6)

1. Study carefully these verses that are comparing the two ministries. Observe which ministry brings the most results and is most glorious.

2. We are not under the Law of Moses. Let’s be careful that we don’t keep ministering in its “oldness,” or we will be preaching the Gospel still under the atmosphere of the Law. (Rom 7:6)

Example of ministering in the oldness of the letter, bringing condemnation:
”If you just had more faith, God would have done more miracles here. But your problem is that you are just like the people in Nazareth, you don’t have enough faith.”

To minister in the newness of the Spirit we will instead be preaching the good news, that because of Jesus everything is now available by grace alone! Jesus, our righteousness, lives in us, and HE is now our faith. So we don’t have to try to produce our own faith, we can just look to Him who IS our faith. 

Conclusion:

HOW MUCH MORE GLORIOUS the fruits of the New Covenant ministry are! Let’s not mix the Old and the New Covenant ministries, but let’s be 100% New Covenant ministers. Then we will see the glorious fruits thereof!