2015-04-10
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Last week, I wrote about the difficulty caused by the wrongful covenant between the Israelites and the Gibeonites, as it impacted David, due to Saul’s army previously decimating these nearby neighbors who worked a ruse on the Jews. There is a burden placed on the participants in a covenant relationship that works to their benefit if it’s a covenant agreed to rightfully. However, it if is a wrongful covenant, as this one was, then there are tough complications that occur, as we have seen over the last couple of weeks
Today, I’m led to write about the road to redemption and how it came about. The track to redemption arose from three important covenants: The Abrahamic Covenant [GN 12: 1-3]; the Covenant of the Law [EX 20: 1-17; EX 24: 7-11]; the Covenant of Grace [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. The story of this road is prophesied in GN 3: 15, 21, “And I [God] will put enmity between you [serpent –devil] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will bite his heel...The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” While no details are given, we are told in the first verse the basic layout of the OT and NT. In the second one, we are told that blood must be shed for there to be forgiveness. This verse is backed up in LV 17: 11 and HE 9: 22, which explain the significance of the blood shed. We are given an important view into God’s heart for His human creation in PS 111: 4-5. 9-10, “He has caused His wonders to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever…He provided redemption for His people; He ordained His covenant forever—holy and awesome is His name. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.”
You’ll remember that in JN 8: 31-32, we are told that the truth will set us free. The above paragraph is the truth. It’s reconnaissance about covenants, what the Lord does for us who believe in the Lord Jesus, and the nature of His heart for us. This really does set us free. We are free from worrying, from the fear of our physical death [HE 2: 14-15], from sin’s power over us [RO 6: 6, 11], and from feeling alone and hopeless [PS 9: 9-10]. Yes, we are burdened with the responsibilities that our covenant relationships bring, but these are burdens we can take on with joy in our hearts, knowing it means we can gain eternal life and fellowship with the Lord. If we think about it, we also are given the power to overcome evil. EPH 1: 18-20 tells us we are given the same power the Father used to raise the Lord Jesus from death to eternal life to be victorious over the evil one in spiritual warfare in Christ’s holy name. In 1 COR 10: 13, we are given the knowledge that the Lord will never give us a challenge that is so severe that it will cause us to lose our resolve to remain faithful to Him. This is backed up by the knowledge from RO 8: 38-39 that nothing, no power or person can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. And, if we didn’t understand what grace is, it is carefully and effectively explained in EPH 2: 8-10. What a picture of God’s heart this is!
Imagine what it would have been like for Paul, who is one of the greatest apostles of all, who was instrumental in the spread of belief in Jesus Christ during the period of the early church. You wanted to visit Rome badly, and the people in your church were arguing with each other over clashing cultural practices. Those called Judaizers [formerly traditionally Jewish], were insisting that everyone must eat according to a kosher regime, they must worship on a Sabbath that went from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, and that all the males should be circumcised. Those called Antinomians [formerly Pagans], believed that it’s okay to do anything you want, because living by laws is not necessary to the Christian life. The law of Christ is ignored, as expressed in GA 6: 2 and JN 13: 34-35. GA 6: 2, “Carry each other’s burdens; and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” JN 13: 34-35 is Christ’s new commandment, which is, “Love one another as I have loved you. By doing this, all will know that you are My disciples.” Of course, this goes hand in hand with the original Ten Commandments [EX 20: 1-17]. The apostle Paul was faced with finding a way to convince the early church members to live peacefully, side by side with each other. This is where I believe the Lord Jesus intervened, giving Paul the wisdom to tell Judaizers and the Gentiles to respect each other’s cultures and to accept their differences, doing what is comfortable to them. As for the Antinomians, Paul was given the right words to say to convince them of the importance of living according to God’s law. This decisive argument is found in RO 2: 6-11 and RO 3: 22-26.
It’s important for all of us that we accept that FAITH + NOTHING = SALVATION. Our salvation is a gift of God’s grace through the Atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross and our faith in Him coupled with genuine repentance for our sins. Nothing we do above or beyond this will produce salvation. We can’t work our way into heaven. I can say without any concern that God extended the invitation to us to have faith first [JN 15: 13-16], and not the other way around. He is our more powerful Covenant Partner, and His love for us is unparalleled by any human being.
PRAYER: O Lord, we come before you in genuine reverence and awe. Our hearts are open to You, our heads are bowed. We acknowledge that before the earth was created, Jesus Christ existed and is the Source of Light in the world. 1 PET 1: 18-21, “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a Lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in those last times for your sake. Through Him you believe in God, Who raised Him from the dead and glorified Him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” You know, Dearest Abba, that this is important for us to understand. The apostle John tells us, in JN 1: 1-5, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” When we think of Jesus, we must think of the Word, for Jesus is Your second personality and has been made known to us. You inspired all the teaching of both the OT and the NT; You appear all over the Bible, even though Christ’s name was not given in the OT. Your supernatural power to teach us something new every time we go over the verses and passages within the Bible is experienced by all who read it. You have shown Your compassionate heart and reveal Your infinite wisdom in it’s pages. You bless us with the power to chase evil out of our lives. Your covenants that lead to our redemption have been here to benefit us and help us to walk through the “narrow gate to the hard path that leads to eternal life” [MT 7: 13-14]. We offer You our heartfelt praise and thanks for so many wonderful blessings, in Jesus Christ’s holy/mighty name. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m led to continue with this “Road To Redemption” segment of the “Our Covenant” messages.” We’ll review the Abrahamic Covenant and it’s meaning to us today. By now, God’s love for us should be readily apparent. I like to think of the Bible as His “love letter” to His human creation. We had no idea what love or faith was on earth until He reached out to us. He knew from the beginning that Lucifer, His prized angel in charge of worship in heaven, would sin along with 1/3 of the heavenly host [IS 14: 11-15; EZK 28: 11-15]. He knew Lucifer would be cast down to the earth as the serpent of the Garden of Eden, and that Lucifer (now called Satan, which means “Accuser) would tempt the first man and women [GN 3: 1-6]. God also knew sin would come into the world this way, something which He understood would need atonement. He made a blood sacrifice, first of an animal to provide Adam and Eve with the skins they wore just before their expulsion from the Garden of Eden [GN 3: 21]. Later, in His perfect time, God sacrificed His only Son, Jesus, on the cross, so that we who believe in Him may be saved from spiritual death [JN 3: 16; RO 3: 24-25]. What greater love can there be? “If God is for us, who can be against us?” RO 8: 31b. Thanks and praise forever be to Him!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24:15
© Lynn Johnson 2015. All Rights Reserved.
<-- Back to Archives