Many of you who are familiar with me,  know that it is exceedingly difficult for me to be short with my encouragements from the Word.  The reason for this may be my communication style in part, but the predominant driving force of what and how much I write is simply answering the question “What can I see from scripture that I believe God wants all of us to see?”.   As I communicated previously, a tennis injury has (temporarily) left me with only the use of my left (non-dominant) hand.  Given my tendency to want to write a lot/every day, my plan was to recycle some of my older messages while my hand healed.  I no longer feel led that way.  I’m injured, but where a limitation exists, so does an opportunity for the grace and mercy of God to be made manifest, and seen as greater than the limitation.  Thus, I will continue on in the ministry of reconciliation through the Word, entrusting to God my physical ability to type, and relying as always for the Holy Spirit to be our true Teacher.

Theologians have written entire books on the covenant of grace.  My intention is not to exhaust the limits of this topic, but just to hit the broad-strokes.  My hope is the you will be left wanting more, and find that what you really want more of isn’t just knowledge about an idea, but a deeper relationship with a person, Jesus Christ.

I may bounce around some, but my main scripture focus is Hebrews 10:11-18 – “And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.  But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.  For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.

 And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
“This is the covenant that I will make with them
after those days, declares the Lord:
I will put my laws on their hearts,
and write them on their minds,”

 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”  Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” 

Now, under the law given by the prophets of the Old Testament, people would sacrifice animals.  This was to point people to their need for forgiveness of sins by God, but it was never meant to be sufficient for the payment for sins.  All of creation (including the sacrificed animal) was subject to the fall, and stained/infected by sin.  As it is written in Romans 8:21-22 – “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.”

Not only was it impossible for an animal to take away the sins of a man, even the animal was impure.  How then could purification be made?  Why am I stopping to make this point?   MANY Christians are still held in bondage to this idea.  They have simply replaced the sacrifice of animals with their own “good works”.   For those who fall into that trap – Do you not realize that it is said in Isaiah 64:6 – “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.  We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”   I’m not speaking now about non-believers, I’m speaking to my Christian brothers and sisters – You cannot earn God’s favor by what you do.  You cannot be righteous in yourself, ever, so then why do you work for God’s approval?  Don’t you see that it is prideful to believe you can offer God anything?  As it’s written in Habakkuk 2:4 – “Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.”  You, like the animal, are impure even as a believer.  Therefore, our hope must not rest in ourselves.  That is a burden that we would not ever be able to bear.  This is why those who come to Christ are encouraged by His Words in Matthew 11:30 – “For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” 

There is no sacrifice we can give, but the good news is that an acceptable sacrifice has already been made.  Three important things we can glean from one verse in Hebrews 10:12

1)       The verb tense is past… When Christ “had offered”.  The sacrifice for sins has already been made.

2)      This was not meant to cover sins up until a point, but every sin “for all time”

3)      The sacrifice was complete.  A single sacrifice was made by Christ in His body on the cross, and then he “sat down”.  Priests would never sit down, because their work was never finished.  All day they would be accepting/preparing sacrifices.  Christ’s sacrifice for sins was once and for all.  When He died, it was finished.

So what is the covenant God has made with us?  It is so important you get this…. This was a one-sided covenant.  God in His mercy chose to ransom a people (His bride, the body of believers, the Church) through His blood.  His purification of us is complete.  We are accepted because He made us acceptable on the cross.  We are righteous because He has declared us to be.

So then, are we free to sin?  If you look at the cross, and feel no love for God causing you to lay down your rebellion against Him, you don’t know Him.  Only those who are known by God, and know Him are a part of His covenant. One very important verse is Hebrews 10:14 – “For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” 

Who was perfected by the cross?  Those who are being sanctified (big word meaning made holy, obedient to God in love)  This seems like a contradiction, right?  I’m saying on the one hand, don’t try to  be accepted by God based on your works, and on the other, I’m saying only those people who evidence the work of God in them through works are truly saved.  The reality is this.  If you have heard the gospel, trust Christ, love Christ…. You will WANT to obey him, and your life will over time look more like Christ’s, and your demeanor/heart will likewise.

Brothers and sisters, my hope is for the yoke of Christ to be a delight to you.  Do you feel Christianity is a burden?  Does it seem hard to be joyful?  Rest in the covenant of grace.  Jesus loves you, and purchased you, knowing all of your struggles.  The price for your sins has been paid.  You have been made pure.

I’ll end with an old hymn (My Baptist roots coming out… shh, don’t tell).  “Jesus Paid It All”

I hear the Savior say,
Thy strength indeed is small!
Child of weakness, watch and pray,
Find in Me thine all in all

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Lord, now indeed I find
Thy power, and Thine alone,
Can change the leper’s spots
And melt the heart of stone

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

For nothing good have I
Where-by Thy grace to claim
I’ll wash my garments white
In the blood of Calvary’s Lamb

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

And when before the throne
I stand in Him complete
Jesus died my soul to save
My lips shall still repeat

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Jesus paid it all
All to Him I owe
Sin had left a crimson stain
He washed it white as snow

Grace and Peace,

Adam