2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Just when I think it’s time to end this long series of devotions on covenants, the Lord gives me more to write. Since He’s in charge, I am trying to follow His commands. Today, I am directed to look at some very important truths that apply to all participants in the Covenant of Grace.
- We are under grace and not under the Law:
That means that the legalistic approach to faith that traditional Jews have is not for us. Instead, we are certainly to keep the Ten Commandments, but we don’t have to worry about the “curse” [GA 3 :10] of trying to keep 613 laws from the Talmud [Rabbinical commentaries and stories about the Law]. God reached down to us first and invited us to have a personal relationship with Him and to join Him in His work. There are a couple of places in the Scriptures that give us wonderful direction on how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. I refer here to JN 15 and RO 12-16. Having a personal relationship with God is another way of saying abiding in Him. That means, we trust God enough to allow Him to make us vulnerable. We allow God to our Friend, and we are a real friend to Him. When we do this successfully, we are aware of God’s presence during every minute of our lives. Some people have said that they connect with God only when they are praying or studying His word. But, I believe truly abiding is God is not only during those times, but during all times. That means when I’m cleaning my home, at the grocery store, visiting with friends, at work, driving my car, or whatever I do God is right there with me. Worship occurs not only when attending services in church, but in different forms all the time. The other part of being God’s new covenant partners is our service for Him. This too takes many forms, some of which are outlined in 1 COR 12: 27-30. Some serve in teaching the word, some in intercessory prayer, some in nurturing through fellowship, and some bringing the word to the lost through evangelism and missionary service. Some serve in rearing future believers, and others in bringing righteousness to the workplace. We now understand the function of the law is to help us to know God’s will from Satan’s [RO 7: 7]. While the law doesn’t grant us salvation, we know that repentance and faith in Christ does. - RO 8: 17 tells us that believers will be “joint-heirs” to God’s Kingdom with Christ:
As Christ’s friends, He has been willing to tell us God’s plan for us [JN 15: 15]. As joint-heirs to His eternal Kingdom, we are not Christ’s slaves, but will rule the Kingdom with Him. Because we can trust in the truth of RO 8: 29, we can take comfort in knowing the “Christ is the first among many brothers” to be resurrected and inherit the Kingdom. I have often said that there is a trend in the Scriptures, that God reveals the future to those who He holds in esteem. That was certainly true of the OT prophets, like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel. It also applies to Christ Who shares almost all of God’s omniscience. Don’t be offended by my using “almost all” here. I do that because of what we are told in MT 24 when Christ was teaching about His second coming [MT 24: 29-31]. MT 24: 36, “No one knows, however, when that day and hour will come-neither the angels in heaven nor the Son; the Father alone knows.” The bottom line is that we who believe and endure in our faith can look forward to walking streets of gold with Christ and the Father forever. That’s certainly possible because of our new covenant relationship with the Lord. We know we must get our lives in order now. - We are granted eternal forgiveness:
I can’t imagine anything more destructive emotionally and painful than having to be in relationship where the other party to the relationship holds a grudge against us and acts on that. Perhaps, many of us have had that experience. Nothing one says or does seems to get rid of the grudge held against us. That is what it would have been like for without God’s gracious offer of salvation made to us by Christ’s death on the cross. Even the old covenant with its granting of forgiveness year by year wouldn’t have qualified us as God’s friends. Nor would it give us the hope of the resurrection that we have. RO 3: 24-25 really states succinctly what God has done for us by the spilling of His Son’s blood on the cross. Christ is a fully satisfactory and complete, once and for all sacrifice for the sins of the world. What a pity for people who reject Him that they don’t know the forgiveness that God’s grace has extended. Because we inherited sin from Adam and Eve, and we added to that by our own sin, we would have been sentenced to spiritual death without the saving grace of Christ’s Atonement [RO 3: 23; RO 6: 23]. Christ gave us a way out of this, a way that lasts forever. God not only forgives our sins eternally, but He also forgets them [JER 31: 34; HE 8: 12].
We are truly a blessed people when we live “in Christ.” We need to examine our own lives to see how these Covenant of Grace truths impact them. We must ask ourselves how important are they to us?
PRAYER: O Lord, what a magnificent gift of grace the new covenant is for us! Through this relationship, You have placed us in a grace economy-one that extends to us eternal forgiveness, reveals the depth of Your love by the sufficient sin-sacrifice of Your only Son for us, makes us joint-heirs to Your Kingdom with Him, and lets us know that You have not only forgiven our sins but have forgotten them. Dearest Abba, You love us enough to have transformed our minds by renewing them [RO 12: 2] and written Your laws on our hearts. You have given us the Holy Spirit to guide, encourage, convict, and teach us Your will. By Your command, Christ was resurrected to become our Advocate and Intercessor [HE 8: 1-2]. His death opened the heavenly Holy of Holies to all believers [HE 9: 12]. You directed Your Son to tell us that if we remain in Him and His words in us, that You will grant us anything that we pray for in His name [JN 15: 7]. You knew that when we remain in Christ and His words in us, we would know Your will. Wherever we are, no matter what challenges we face in our everyday lives, You are with us to love and direct us, giving us the discernment and the courage to face spiritual warfare knowing we will be victorious. There are not enough words to describe the ways that You show us Your love every minute of our lives. We bow before You in humility to offer You our eternal adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, honor, glory, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, I directed to make a careful examination of HE 9: 1-10: 25, which I hope you will read. We will look at issues like the old covenant, new covenant, priest, Holy Place and Holy of Holies, and heaven to see what God has said about them. I truly hope you feel the aura and warmth of God’s love surrounding you today, as I do. Peter and I add our love to God’s for you.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn