REPEATING THEMES - 3 “COVENANTING”

Readings: Psalm 111, Genesis 9:9-16, Hebrews 10:15-25, Mark 14:22-26
Preached at First Presbyterian Church, Baldwin, NY on July 25th 2010

I’m continuing with a series I’m calling “Repeating Themes”, taking a look at some of the common threads that weave in and out of the 66 books of the Bible.

Last week we looked at the picture of God given us throughout Scripture as One who is always creating –always creating new opportunities for us to experience His love. Today I want to focus on another picture. Our God is a Covenanting God.

What is a covenant? In legal terms a covenant is simply an agreement. In biblical terms; when we agree to do things God’s way, God agrees that we will be blessed. Our relationship with God is on the basis of a covenant of grace. God doesn’t have to make any kind of agreements with us. But God does want us to be in complete agreement that God’s way is the best way that life can be lived!

Throughout the books of the Bible are a number of covenants.

• In Genesis 9:8-17 God makes a covenant with Noah and his descendants by promising never again to destroy all earthly life by a natural catastrophe. This covenant is symbolized by a rainbow.
• In Genesis 15 and 17 God makes a promise to Abraham that he shall inherit a land and become the Father to a great nation, a covenant symbolized by the act of circumcision.
• In Exodus Chapters 19-24 a covenant is made through Moses. God promises to protect Israel as long as they apply themselves to living by Gods’ rules, a covenant symbolized by Sabbath observance.
• In Numbers 25:12-13 God makes a covenant (known as the ‘Priestly covenant’) with a priest called Phinehas (who is of the house of Aaron) that there will always be a priest over Gods’ people.
• In 2 Samuel 23:5 God makes an unconditional promise to provide a godly king from the line of David, known as the Davidic Covenant.
• In one of the later books to be written in the Old Testament, the Prophet Jeremiah (31:31-34) looks forward to a new covenant when God promises; "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts"

Christians believe that the ‘New Covenant’ Jeremiah spoke of came into being in the ministry of Jesus Christ and in particular through His death on the Cross of Calvary. The Book of Hebrews describes Christian people as those who have come “to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant” (Hebrews 12:24). At the Last Supper when Jesus holds up a cup before His disciples and asks them to drink of it He describes it this way; "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

In numerous places in the New Testament Jesus is seen as being One who fulfills both the Priestly covenant and the Covenant with King David. He is the eternal High Priest (Hebrews 10:21) and the King of Kings (Revelation 17:14), imagery that has found it’s way into our hymns and sacred music. Jesus Himself spoke of how He had not come to do away with all the laws and the prophets but to fulfill their promises! (Matthew 5:17; see also Hebrews 8:6).

The New Testament Church saw them selves as being the people of the New Covenant upon whom the promise of Jeremiah had fallen through the coming of the Holy Spirit. Before His ascending to glory Jesus promised “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

That promise was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost when, as the terrified disciples met behind closed doors, the Spirit descended upon them, filling them with a new courage and boldness to declare the message of Christ’s death and resurrection to all the world. This was seen as a fulfillment of the covenant made with the prophet Jeremiah that God would write His law upon believer’s hearts.

We have skimmed the biblical material about covenants… but here’s the question. ‘Why does this idea of God being a covenanting God matter?’ What difference does it make to the way we live our lives that our God is a covenanting God?

Bear in mind that a covenant is an agreement. The simplest way of explaining it is to say that until we enter into an agreement with God that our lives are best lived God’s way, then our lives are out of sync with God. Until Abraham said “Yes, God, I believe that You want to take me somewhere” he was without a destination. Until we agree that God’s way is the way then we are going our own way.

God’s part of the covenant has been taken care of. Out of the depths of God’s grace, from God’s side, the covenant is signed, sealed and delivered. The rainbow keeps appearing after every storm. The Ten Commandments have been given. The way to know forgiveness is still through the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit is still anxious to impress God’s way upon our hearts and lives.

In a New Testament letter addressed by Paul to his young friend Timothy he tells him, “Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, is conceited, understands nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. (1Timothy 6:3-4 ). We are betrayed time after time by our belief that we, not God, know best how our lives should be lived. The bottom line about entering into a covenant with God is that it means agreeing with God that God knows best.

Let me suggest some areas we need to agree with God.

• Agree with God regarding Sin. “Come now, let us argue it out, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be like snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” (Isaiah 1:18 NRS). We can excuse it, we can deny it, we can try and cover it, but God knows better. We mess up. We are the ones to blame because we are the ones who go over the line, break the rules, are less than truthful, compromise on what we believed, are hurtful, are unloving and sometimes unkind. We are sinners. But through Christ… God has opened the way to being forgiven sinners! Nothing we can do can atone for our actions other than the grace of God. When we recognize our need and how God has met that need in Jesus Christ… then we can walk free and forgiven. To covenant with God regarding sin simply means agreeing with God that you just can’t get through without His love.
• Agree with God regarding Scripture. The Psalmist writes “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” (Psalm 119:105 KJV) Recognize in the stories of the bible’s characters the story of your own life. We are Peter, sometimes on the ball and sometimes hard-headed. We are Mary and Martha, sometimes too busy, sometimes choosing the right. We are Thomas with our doubts and unbelief. We are Ruth seeking for hope in the midst of tragedy through relationships. The Bible’s story is our story if we can but allow the Holy Spirit to read it into our lives. Covenant with God regarding Scripture. Agree that you need His Light to guide you. Study His Word.
• Agree with God regarding our Security. One of the Church Fathers, Augustine, in a famous work he called his ‘Confession’ writes; “You have made us for Yourself O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds it’s rest in You”. We seek for security in all sorts of places. Through material things. Through relationships. Through avoidance. Yet it’s a trivial pursuit. Until we reach that point where we agree with God that our lives are only complete when God is welcomed as a part of them, then we remain constantly searching and hopelessly insecure. Only the love of God brings a lasting peace. Covenant with God regarding your security. Agree with God that you are His precious child. Talk with God often and help yourself in that conversation through opening up to God in worship and through prayer.
• Agree with God regarding Eternity. This life is not all there is. God has created us to enjoy His presence and live in the here and now, with the knowledge that our relationship with Him outlasts this present life. There is something better, something more glorious, something wonderfully mysterious about life that we cannot quite grasp or truly visualize this side of the great divide. It’s not just pie in the sky. It’s not a deception. It’s part of what Jesus Christ came to reveal to us. His resurrection was the prelude! Covenant with God regarding eternity. Agree with God that the best way to live today is in the light of a better tomorrow. Agree with God that how we live today has eternal consequences.

Think seriously today about what it means to believe in a covenanting God. God wants to be in a covenanting relationship with each of us. God wants us to agree that the way of life we are called to live in Jesus Christ is the best way that can be lived. The promises of God are there for every one of us.

How do we agree with God? Through our actions. Through loving as we have been loved. Through seeking the things that Scripture tells us are the things of the Kingdom. The prophet Micah addressed his fellow countryfolk in Old Testament times: “You have been told, O man, what is good, and what does the Lord requires of you? Only to do right and to love goodness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)

How do we agree with God? A man once asked something similar of Jesus "Teacher” he said “Which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus said to him, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." (Mat 22:36-40 NAB)

Our God is a covenanting God. Throughout Scripture God calls people to enter into covenant with Him, to agree to live God’s way… forgiven of all sin, guided by God’s Word, secure in God’s love and in the knowledge that every move we make has an eternal dimension.