The grace [in Greek, unmerited favor] of God is a covenant. When you understand this covenant that you have through Jesus Christ, and become conscious of how His unmerited favor permeates every aspect of your life, you will begin to see His undeserved favor manifest in your family life, career and relationships.
Throughout history, God has cut several covenants with man. These include the Adamic, Noahic and Abrahamic covenants. But the two central covenants are the old covenant of Moses and the new covenant of Jesus. If you understand these two major covenants and know how they are distinctively different, you will have an unshakable foundation for your faith and confidence in God’s unmerited favor.
Various terms have been used to describe these two covenants. The old covenant is known as the Mosaic covenant (because it was given through Moses), the Sinaitic covenant (because the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai) and the covenant of law (because it is based on man’s keeping of the law). On the other hand, the new covenant of Jesus, which is the covenant that we live by today, is also known as the covenant of grace (because it is based on God’s undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor) and the covenant of peace (because it expresses the shalom of Jesus).
It’s interesting to notice that before the law was given, none of the children of Israel died when they came out of Egypt. Even though they murmured and complained against God’s appointed leadership, not a single one of them died. This is a picture of pure grace. Before the law was given, the children of Israel lived under grace (unmerited favor), and all the blessings and provisions that they received were dependent on God’s goodness and not their obedience. The Lord delivered them out of Egypt not because of their goodness or good behavior. He brought them out by the blood of the lamb (a picture of the blood of the Lamb of God) that was applied on their doorposts on the night of the first Passover.
The children of Israel were dependent upon God’s faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant, which was a covenant based on His grace (unmerited favor). Abraham lived more than 400 years before the law was given, long before there were the Ten Commandments. God had related to Abraham based on Abraham’s faith in His grace and not based on Abraham’s obedience to the law. God’s Word makes it clear that Abraham was not justified by the law, but he believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. [simple_tooltip content=’2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”’](Romans 4:2-3)[/simple_tooltip]
God’s desire was to have a relationship with the children of Israel. So when they arrived at Mount Sinai, God reminded them with His tender voice how He had brought them to Himself so that He could forge a special relationship with them – that it was God’s unmerited favor that had brought them out of Egypt, that it was His unmerited favor that had opened a way for them when there was no way, and that it was His unmerited favor that had given them manna from Heaven. [simple_tooltip content=’4 ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine.
6 And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”’](Exodus 19:4-6)[/simple_tooltip]
Now, they wanted to exchange the covenant of grace that they had been under for a different kind of covenant. When Moses told them what God had said, they responded arrogantly (which can be seen from the Hebrew syntax), saying in essence, “All that God commands us, we are well able to perform!” (Exodus 19:8). In other words, this is what they said to God, “God, don’t judge us and bless us anymore based on Your goodness and faithfulness. Assess us based on our merits. Bless us based on our obedience because we are well able to perform whatever You demand of us!”
From that moment onward, God immediately changed His tone with the children of Israel. He distanced Himself from them and told Moses to command the people not to go near Mount Sinai for the mountain was holy [simple_tooltip content=’9 And the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” So Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes.
11 And let them be ready for the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
12 You shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up to the mountain or touch its base. Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death.
13 Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow; whether man or beast, he shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come near the mountain.”’](Exodus 19:9-13)[/simple_tooltip].
The Lord’s presence had been with them every step of the way in the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. He had brought them through the Red Sea and provided for their every need. He was good to them because of His faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant based on His grace (unmerited favor). But now, He warned the children of Israel to keep away from His presence! He could no longer deal with them in the same way after they had elected to come under a different covenant in their dealings with Him—one that was based on their performance and obedience, not on His goodness as before.
In fact, in the beginning of the very next chapter after the Israelites had told God to judge them based on their performance, God gave them the Ten Commandments and the covenant of law was introduced. But were the Israelites able to live up to their boasting that they could perform all that God commanded them to do? Right at the foot of Mount Sinai, they created a golden calf out of the very gold that God had given them and worshiped it as the God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt!
The Terms Of The Old Covenant
Deuteronomy 28 records the wonderful blessings from God that affect every area of our lives, including our families, careers and finances.
“Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the country. Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks… The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.” —Deuteronomy 28:3–4, 12
These were blessings that were promised under the old covenant of law. But how would these blessings come upon you if you were under the old covenant? God answered this question when He said, “And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail…if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, and are careful to observe them. So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.” (Deuteronomy 28:13-14). The key operative word to access God’s blessings under the old covenant is one big “IF”—IF you can keep God’s commandments perfectly, then you can enjoy His blessings! This basically means that the old covenant of law was entirely contingent on your works and ability to keep God’s commandments impeccably. Only then could you be blessed! But what happens IF you fail to keep God’s commandments perfectly? Under this old covenant of law, the Lord said:
“But it shall come to pass, if you do not obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, that all these curses will come upon you and overtake you: Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the country … Cursed shall be the fruit of your body and the produce of your land, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks … The Lord will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke in all that you set your hand to do, until you are destroyed and until you perish quickly, because of the wickedness of your doings in which you have forsaken Me.” —Deuteronomy 28:15–16, 18, 20
Under the old covenant, you would be blessed if you kept God’s law perfectly, but you would also attract horrific curses when you failed! God wanted to bless His people based on His unmerited favor, but because they wanted to be blessed based on their own law-keeping, He had to humble their self-consuming arrogance. He showed them His perfect standards that no man could ever maintain—He gave them the old covenant of law.
What Was The Law Given For?
We need to understand that the law wasn’t given for keeping it. The law is an impossible standard and it was designed to silence all human efforts to earn God’s blessings. That is why the children of Israel needed the right offerings and sacrifices to cover them. They could never have kept the law perfectly the way God demanded it.
Jesus came to show man the pristine standard of God’s law, both internally and externally [simple_tooltip content=’22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.
28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.’](Matthew 5:22, 28)[/simple_tooltip]. The Pharisees had brought God’s law down to a level that could be upheld through their own efforts, so that they could boast of their ability to keep the law. But Jesus came to expose their utter failure and showed them that God’s law was an impossible standard for man. It was Jesus who said, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you… And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you…” (Matthew 5:29-30). Clearly, He did not mean for man to take His words literally, otherwise, the church would look like a huge amputation ward! No, Jesus merely brought the law to its purest form so that every man would come to the end of himself and see his need for the Savior!
“There is none righteous, no, not one…Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” —Romans 3:10, 19–20
These verses are loaded with several truths. First, it tells us that the law was designed to show “all the world” that they are guilty of sin before God. NO flesh can be justified by the deeds of the law. All humanity needs the Savior to rescue them! This passage also explains why the law was given. God gave the law to expose man’s sin, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
If you can understand this last statement, you will understand one of the greatest misunderstandings occurring in the church today. There are people who think that some believers are struggling with sin because there is not enough teaching on the Ten Commandments. These people are under the impression that if you preach strong and hard about the law, and about all the “Thou shalt nots,” believers would be free from sin! In all the 1,500 years that the children of Israel were under the old covenant of law, did the law didn’t stop sin from occurring. Is there any scriptural basis that a strong emphasis on teaching the Ten Commandments will bring about holiness and stop sin? Absolutely not, because the Ten Commandments were never given to stop sin, and they have no power to stop sin.
What the law actually does is that the law stirs up sin [simple_tooltip content=’The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.’](1 Corinthians 15:56)[/simple_tooltip]. The apostle Paul explains this in Romans 7: “… I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’ But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.” (Romans 7:7-8). So, the law does not stop sin. It stirs up sin and produces “all manner of evil desire”! Our human propensity to sin is aroused when a law is given.
Paul goes on to say: “I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.” (Romans 7:9–10). According to Paul, when you introduce the law, there will be a REVIVAL OF SIN! And that’s not all. Apart from reviving sin, the law also kills and brings death!
That is why the enemy always pours accusations on you using the voice of a legalistic. He uses the law and the commandments to show up your failures, to put a spotlight on how your behavior has disqualified you from fellowship with God, and to constantly point out how you are undeserving of His acceptance, love and blessings! The enemy uses the law to heap condemnation upon you and give you a sense of guilt and distance from God. He knows that the more condemnation and guilt you experience, the more likely you are to feel alienated from God and to continue in that sin.
The Fulfillment of the Old Covenant
On the cross the sinless Savior fulfilled all the righteous requirements of the law. The old covenant that had been so shabbily treated by the children of Israel could now be satisfactorily concluded. Thus, with his final breath, Jesus declared, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The old covenant began when Moses received the law; it ended when Christ fulfilled it.
For God has done what the Law could not do, [its power] being weakened by the flesh [the entire nature of man without the Holy Spirit]. Sending His own Son in the guise of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, [God] condemned sin in the flesh [subdued, overcame, deprived it of its power over all who accept that sacrifice], (Romans 10:4, AMPC)
It is very important and vital for you to know that you are under the new covenant of God’s unmerited favor and no longer under the law. Many good, well-meaning and sincere believers today are defeated by their lack of knowledge of the new covenant and all the benefits that Jesus has purchased for them at the cross.
1Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: 3 Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, 4 Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving-kindness and tender mercies, 5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (Psalm 103:1-5)
This is the heart of God. He wants you to remember all the benefits that Jesus has purchased for you with His blood! It is His heart to see you enjoying every single benefit, every single blessing and every single favor from Him in the new covenant of His grace. Forgiveness of sin is yours. Health is yours. Divine protection is yours. Favor is yours. Good things and the renewal of youth are yours! These are all precious gifts from the Lord to you, and it brings Him unspeakable joy when He sees you enjoying these gifts and succeeding in life. But it is the lack of knowledge of what Jesus has accomplished at the cross that has robbed many believers of enjoying these good gifts and benefits.
Other Benefits of the New Covenant
- It’s a covenant of grace
In the old law-based covenant you reaped what you sow, but in the new we reap what Christ has sown. In the old you did to get, but in the new we get because Christ has done it all. This is grace and grace declares that all is a gift. Every spiritual blessing is ours in Jesus Christ [simple_tooltip content=’Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,’](Ephesians 1:3)[/simple_tooltip].
- It’s a covenant of rest
Under the old it was do, do, do, but in the new it’s done, done, done. Faith is a rest, not a work. Only when we rest in the finished work of Calvary can God begin His good work in us. And as His grace abounds, good works abound [simple_tooltip content=’And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.’](2 Corinthians 9:8)[/simple_tooltip]. Good works don’t produce faith, but faith produces good works.
The old covenant was characterized by ceaseless effort in the pursuit of holy demands that could never be met, but the new covenant is rest and peace in the Holy Spirit. Labor to enter his rest [simple_tooltip content=’Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.’](Hebrews 4:11, NIV)[/simple_tooltip].
- It’s a covenant of new life
Old covenant preaching will make you harden your heart to the goodness of God [simple_tooltip content=’But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.’](2 Corinthians 3:14)[/simple_tooltip]. But new covenant preaching removes the veil and reveals the Lord’s glory. As you behold him you become like him, transformed by the Holy Spirit [simple_tooltip content=’But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.’](2 Corinthians 3:18)[/simple_tooltip].
Under the old the best you could hope for was self-improvement that never lasts. But in the new you become new [simple_tooltip content=’Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.’](2 Corinthians 5:17)[/simple_tooltip] – a brand new person with a new heart and a new spirit. Born of the Spirit you are no more a prisoner of sin, but a co-heir with Christ.
- It’s a covenant of union
In the old covenant God lived in a temple you could never enter, but in the new you are the temple of the Holy Spirit [simple_tooltip content=’Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?’](1 Corinthians 3:16)[/simple_tooltip]. You are one with the Lord and as he is – holy, righteous, perfect forever – so are you in this world [simple_tooltip content=’Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.’](1 John 4:17)[/simple_tooltip].
You don’t need more faith, more anointing, or more of God. That’s old covenant thinking. You are complete in Christ [simple_tooltip content=’and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.’](Colossians 2:10)[/simple_tooltip]. In the new growth happens as we acknowledge every good thing that is already ours in Christ [simple_tooltip content=’that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.’](Philemon 1:6)[/simple_tooltip].
- It’s a covenant you can never break
The old covenant was underwritten by your frail promises to God, but the new rests on the “better promises” of God himself [simple_tooltip content=’But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.’](Hebrews 8:6)[/simple_tooltip]. In the old you loved God and forgave others because it was commanded of you, but in the new you love and forgive because he first loved and forgave you.
The old covenant was between God and Israel, but the new covenant is between God the Father and God the Son. God holds up both ends of this arrangement, swears by himself, and gives us his Spirit as a guarantee of what is to come [simple_tooltip content=’who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.’](2 Corinthians 1:22)[/simple_tooltip].
Under the old covenant, you were blessed if you obeyed, but under the new you are blessed because Christ obeyed. Your salvation is eternally secure because it is Jesus who saves and keeps you.
What we need today are not more laws to govern believers. What we need is a greater revelation and appreciation of Jesus and everything that He has done for us! In Hosea 4:6, God lamented, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…” Don’t be numbered among these people. Instead, be a person who is full of the knowledge of Jesus, His person, His love and His finished work. Don’t allow your ignorance to rob you anymore. Find out all about your covenant rights in Christ today!