2002-01-01
Yesterday, we looked at the elements of an OT covenant: passing a symbol of the covenant between two halves of an animal sacrifice or symbolically between the thighs of the participants and putting on the metaphorical white linen robe of righteousness after spiritual cleansing in the mikveh. Today, the Lord leads me to discuss the elements of the Covenant of Grace, which all of these OT elements foreshadow. It is essential that I mention that forgiveness as granted during the old covenant was given on the Day of Atonement [Yom Kippur] and was for the period of one year only [LV 16]. Because the priest is human and thus, imperfect, it is necessary for him to offer a personal sacrifice first to prepare himself to carry out his duties. The prayer offered by the OT Jews, the same one used by traditional Jews today, is for God to write their names in His book of life. More is said in LV 23: 26-32 on the specifics of the observance of Yom Kippur. If we pay attention to the word, “atonement.” We can see that its parts are “at one ment,” suggesting mankind’s effort to achieve a closer relationship with God, to be in agreement with Him. The Hebrew word, “kaphar” [pronounced “kawfar”] was used, which means “to cover sin”, not “to take it away.” Taking away sin could only happen with the work of the cross, which hadn’t happened yet. With the onset of Christ’s death on the cross, the new covenant or Covenant of Grace was instituted. Forgiveness granted in it is eternal. Christ, our High Priest in heaven, didn’t need to offer an animal sacrifice first for Himself, because the sacrifice of His own life on the cross was once and sufficient to act as a propitiation for the sins of the world [RO 3: 24-25; RO 5: 18]. Christ is perfect unlike an ordinary man. Remember that the word, “propitiation” here means something which satisfies God’s righteousness and is sufficient to take away the world’s sins. 2 COR 3: 6, “It is He [God] Who made us capable of serving the new covenant, which consists not of the written law but of the Spirit. The written law brings death, but the Spirit gives life.” What Paul is saying here is that nothing but repentance and acceptance of Christ as one’s personal Savior can bring salvation. The Law was given to let people know the difference between what is acceptable to God and what isn’t [RO 7: 7]. Living under the law alone doesn’t bring salvation. Living under grace does. This concept is easy to remember if you commit Les Feldick’s simple formula to memory: FAITH + NOTHING = SALVATION. For there to be real faith, it must be accompanied by the willingness to repent of one's sins. One might even look at repentance as a way of spiritually cleansing oneself in the same sense that ancient and modern Orthodox Jews did (and do) in the mikveh. Paul really brought the matter to a clear head when he wrote RO 2 in which he rebuked the hypocrisy of traditional Jews who claimed their genetic relationship, physical circumcision, and ritual legalism were the only ways to salvation. RO 2: 29, “Rather, the real Jew is the person who is a Jew on the inside, that, whose heart has been circumcised, and this is the work of God’s Spirit, not of the written Law. Such a person receives his praise from God, not from man.” Anyone who has studied the book of John and the Pauline teachings knows that when one has repented and come to faith, God has given him the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit [JN 14: 16-17, 25; JN 16: 8,13-15; 1 COR 12: 7; 2 COR 3: 13-17; GA 5: 16, 22-25; EPH 1: 13-please allow yourselves to be blessed by taking the time to look up these citations]. The problem that some people have is that they think so poorly of themselves and have such a minimal understanding of the depth of God’s love for them that they refuse to accept the Spirit that has been bestowed upon them. Salvation, justification (being deemed acceptable by God), and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit are done deals for those who have repented and come to faith. It’s okay for believers to say, “Thank You Dearest Lord and Savior, I accept Your gift of the Holy Spirit.” Until we are able to do this, we are unable to empty our vessels of human agendas and let the Holy Spirit fill them, teaching us the meaning of God’s word and urging us on to doing what it takes to join God in His work. Of course, we can still commit sin, but if we do it will be a choice-one for which we will feel convicted by the Holy Spirit and one which He will urge us to stop. Paul spends a lot of time in RO 6 dealing with the issue of being dead to sin. We should all reread this chapter regularly to remind ourselves that participants in the Covenant of Grace have been given the choice as to whether they sin. Because of the prompting of the Holy Spirit ,we are urged to have thoughts, make decisions, and take actions that are right with God. When we don’t, the Holy Spirit is there to remind us to change what we are doing to conform to the image of Christ. It is only when we make a lifestyle out of sin, we refuse to stop sinning, that we open the door to second death. If we have gotten some idea of how greatly blessed we are to participate in the Covenant of Grace, then we can truly appreciate the love our Abba and His Son have for us. What a privilege it is to be a child of God! PRAYER: O Lord, in the OT You directed Your children to seal their covenants as You sealed the Abrahamic one. They were to offer an animal sacrifice cut in half, passing the symbol of that two-way agreement between the pieces or to do so symbolically. Those halves represented the old self and the new self. You also commanded that they donned the symbolic white linen of righteousness. Out of Your wisdom You recognized the shortcomings of the old covenant with its temporary granting of forgiveness. You wanted something better for Your children, so You made the courageous, wholly unselfish decision to give Your Son to do the work of the cross. With His physical death there, You brought about the new covenant (the Covenant of Grace) which made eternal forgiveness available to those of Your children who would repent and have faith in Jesus Christ. You didn’t stop there. Instead, You commanded Christ to send us the gift of the Holy Spirit to indwell in us, to help us understand Your word, and to urge us on to righteous living “in Christ.” We accept that gift with utmost gratitude. We acknowledge that if we sin, it is out of choice and that we will be convicted to stop that sin by the Spirit. These blatant demonstrations of Your profound love for us will not go unnoticed or unheeded. We humbly bow before You today to offer You our worship, adoration, reverence, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen. I admit to coming back to discussions of Jesus Christ often and am not ashamed of that. The Lord leads me to observe His divine nature in an effort to help us all better understand what is meant by becoming “one with it.” That will be tomorrow’s subject in connection with the Covenant of Grace. I never tire of reminding us what a privilege it is to be surrounded by the warmth and protection of our Abba’s love for us. No matter how difficult the challenges to our faith that our temporal lives bring, He has equipped us to overcome them and offers us useful encouragement to endure in our faith. That, Dear Ones, is a description of the love He has for each of us. Peter and I send you our love too. Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn