2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Yesterday I recapped the contrasts between the old and new covenants seen in GA 3 and explained further my contention that God’s covenants are consistent with one another. Basically, His will for mankind has never changed. Today, I am led to look at the question: How do we know that the Abrahamic covenant is not the same as the Covenant of the Law? In dealing with this question, we will recap some crucial truths that we have learned in this series of messages.
To begin, we must return to GN 15: 6, “Abram put his trust in the Lord and because of this the Lord was pleased with him and accepted him.” If we look at that statement there is nothing Abram had to do except believe. We don’t see him having to carry out any tasks or other deeds. This is critical to our understanding of what Abram’s justification (being deemed acceptable and having God’s righteousness imputed to his account [RO 4: 9]. This acceptance was clearly not from the Law, but was out of God’s grace. It is also interesting to note that Abraham wasn’t circumcised until years after he was justified. GN 17: 24-27, “Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, and his son Ishmael was thirteen. They were both circumcised the same day, together with all Abraham’s slaves.” This reveals the truth that physical circumcision was nothing more than a sign of the transformation by the renewal of the mind that had taken place earlier. Circumcision itself does not bring salvation.
The Abrahamic covenant has three component promises: 1) people; 2) land for them to dwell upon; and 3) a King to rule forever. The promise of the people was first given in GN 12: 2. It was fulfilled with the births of many descendants of Abraham and really got going while the Jews were enslaved in Egypt. The promise of land was fulfilled in Joshua’s time when he and his men vanquished all the Canaanites and took over the land that is now called Israel. The boundaries of what will one day be the land of God’s people have not yet been fully realized as they are outlined in GN 15: 18-21, but there is definitely an Israel still in existence today over 3000 years after God’s promise was made. The third promise, that of a King is yet to be fulfilled but we have faith that it will be. Already things are underway. The prophecies of GN 17: 15 & 19, PS 2:7, IS 9: 6, IS 53: 10-12, and DN 2: 34-35 are in the process of coming true. Christ, the King, suffered and died on the cross for us. We have no reason to believe that God won’t keep the promise He made in 1 THESS 4: 13-17 and ZECH 14: 4 that Christ will call the believers to a meeting in the air and later, after the Tribulation, will come down from heaven with his feet touching down on the Mount of Olives to eventually establish God’s eternal Kingdom on earth. If we look at the origin of these promises, they do not come from the Law. Instead, they are acts of God’s grace. God alone knows the exact date all these end times events will occur [MT 24: 36]. The message to us is to have our spiritual houses in order to be ready for them.
It can therefore been seen that the real blessings of the Abrahamic covenant don’t come to us by doing what the Law requires. Instead, they come to us by God’s grace. That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t obey God’s laws by any means. It simply lets us know the basic truth that is best stated in JN 14: 6, “I am the truth, the way, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.” We are reminded that Christ is the fulfillment of the Law in RO 10: 4. That means that by His death on the cross, the curse of the Law is lifted [GA 3: 10, 13-14], and that we who have faith in Him live as participants in the Covenant of Grace. If we live “in Christ,” we are victors over physical death and can look forward to a life of joy and fellowship for eternity with God.
Since Abraham is the subject of today’s message, it’s important for Gentile believers to know that because of God’s grace, they are not excluded from enjoying the benefits of being God’s children. While Jews are genetically linked to Abraham, that does not insure that they will be saved. Only faith in Christ can do that. RO 11: 16-24, which I hope you will review, explains how Gentile believers are spiritually linked to Abraham along with Jewish believers. This spiritual link is the one that transcends the grave and opens all believers whether Jewish or Gentile to the privileges and rewards of being God’s children. [See also RO 1: 16-17]. It was God’s grace that is the source of these blessings bestowed. GA 3: 28-29, “So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free men, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are the descendants of Abraham and will receive what God has promised.” Now that, Dear Ones, should be a great comfort to us all.
PRAYER: O Lord, You created Abraham to be set apart from his earthly family by his willingness to obey and believe in You. We learned what this obedience was all about when he left his home in Ur of the Chaldeas [Mesopotamia-today’s SE Iraq] and without knowing Your purpose or where You would take him, followed You anyway. He was obedient to You, and You rewarded him with many descendants, protection, Your love, and a long physical life. We have every reason to believe that he was granted eternal life too. All that You gave him and promised him came out of Your grace, not because he did what the Law requires. You even came down to him and/or sent Your angel to him in the form of the priest of the Most High God, Melchizedek, and the angelic visitors who helped Abraham rescue his nephew Lot from Sodom. Your love for Abraham extends to his believing descendants as well. There is ample proof of that in Your word. While the old Covenant of the Law was in force, people were brought to faith and learned what pleases You and what doesn’t. But, You replaced that with the Covenant of Grace which brought salvation, something the old covenant couldn’t do. We offer You our deepest gratitude that You sealed this covenant by giving Your only begotten Son over to suffer and die on the cross, so that we could live. We take great joy in His resurrection and the promise of our own, if we endure in our faith in Him. With our heads bowed in reverence to You, we confess our sin and humbly offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, praise, and utmost thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will finish up our examination of GA 3 and look at the contrasts between Law and grace seen in GA 4. God’s love, the foundation of everything in His word, is all around us. When we are faithful, we directly receive that love in our lives. It takes many forms, but it is ever-present. That is the greatest privilege of being His child. It means that Christ is hidden in our lives and that we never have to face our trials and temptations alone and unarmed to deal with them. It means that we have Someone in our lives who wants to guide them to victory over spiritual death and share our sorrows and our reasons to celebrate. God’s love for each of us cannot be matched from any other source. Hallelujah! Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn