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God’s Covenant
In our last study we considered the Baptist
Confession of Faith’s statement on The Fall of Man: Sin and its
Punishment. Our next study looks at the remedy with which God’s mercy
and love confronted the Fall. It is built upon the Covenant into which God
entered with His people.
A covenant is a promise, a guarantee, a
binding agreement, a contract. Long, hard, meticulous thought goes into
making a covenant. For example, the greatest covenant that a relationship
between a man and woman can enter into is the covenant of marriage. It is
not simply a legally binding contract, … but, more importantly, for it to
survive it is a uniting of the heart, soul and mind. … The Bible says the
two shall become one.
The Covenant of God, - like God, - is
eternal. The eternal God drew up the Covenant in eternity. Usually, - in our
understanding of the word, - at least two parties are there to draw up such
an agreement … but that couldn’t have happened in eternity. In eternity God
was the sole/only Party present to draw up the Covenant, with the salvation
of His people as its priority.
Did He draw up that contract/covenant based
on how He could look down through the long tunnel into time and see how we
were going to react when we were confronted by the Gospel of Saving Grace?
Is that how He worked it out … He saw we were either going to choose Him or
reject Him?
Did He know how we were going to respond to
the Gospel? When God figured it out how we were going to ‘choose’ did He
then draw up the plan of His covenant around whether we would accept Him or
reject Him? … Is that how He worked it out … who He would draw this Covenant
up for? … As I heard a Deaconess in another denomination once describe it in
her Easter ‘sermon’, - “God took an awful chance that anyone would decide
for Him at all!”
… And indeed, so He did … based upon that
type of thinking; but consider this:
If God had to build His plan upon our plans
(whether we would accept Him or not) well then it can be said that we can
take some of the credit for our salvation since we chose Him before He chose
us … and God would never have been able to have saved us if we hadn’t given
Him the go-ahead.
Since the Bible says we were all born dead to
God, it’s a nonsense to think that we, - dead in trespasses and sins, - made
ourselves to become alive in order to believe in Christ and be saved.
Salvation is not of man, but is all of God!
Some folk would say, “Ah, he’s on his
favourite subject again!” Yes, he is … but not to prove points or to win an
argument, but simply because this doctrine has the greatest effect on my
life and upon anyone who says they know and love the Saviour … that because
of the Covenant of God I, - through the eternal grace of God alone, -
would – from eternity - be covenanted by God to be made alive in Christ and
be born into His family. This is the only form of salvation that has God
totally at its origin and saves the sinner for all eternity.
Down through the history of the Church many
faithful men of God, Confessions of Faith, Catechisms, and Councils of the
Church have sought to carefully and Biblically present this great truth. It
is a fantastic study throughout Church History and Historical Theology and
Systematic Theology … but we are not in a lecture hall this evening;
nevertheless we will take time to consider the simple yet magnificent truths
that chapter seven of our Basis of Faith presents.
The Distance Sin
Created
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In order to fix something you need to
honestly face the problem. Man’s inherent problem is the ingrained problem
of sin. All the crises, dilemmas and difficulties that humanity gets
itself into and must face are because of that little three-letter word. |
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Sin
is at the heart of everything that troubles humanity. |
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It causes wars and strife … thus the
disharmony in the world. |
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It causes greed … which also extends to
affect our environment. |
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It causes pride and foolish independence
that denies God. |
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Sin formed the gulf between God and His
creation. |
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The gulf is unfathomable and ‘uncrossable’
… from our side. |
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Sin cannot be dealt with by anything is in
or of man for the distance sin created is eternal in its height,
depth, length and breadth. |
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It is truly important to understand how
great this distance is and how far we have actually fallen. |
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If you don’t believe you have fallen all
that badly you won’t take this subject particularly seriously. |
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And of course, it is not politically
correct to put ourselves down to such a degree these days … but
nevertheless, if we are going to be faithful to God’s Word we have got to
see it as He says it!
Jn. 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth
not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name
of the only begotten Son of God. |
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Condemned already!
That is how serious sin is and how God sees it … the person without Christ
is already living under the condemnation and wrath of God! |
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It’s worse than a nuclear threat … or
waiting for an asteroid to hit our planet. This is how the sinner is
already living … under the eternal condemnation of a holy, righteous and
wrathful God. |
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We cannot emphasise enough the distance
sin created … but the Bible also says,
Rom. 8:1 There is therefore
now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit. |
The Deliverance God
Appointed
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Man was born under a curse (Rom.
3:10 there is none righteous, no not one),
God’s answer to man’s curse was to make a covenant. |
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Why did God let the world fall under a
curse in the first place? Was He powerless to do anything about it? Could
He not have stopped Adam and Eve sinning? |
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He was not powerless and He could
have stopped Adam and Eve sinning but then He would have had nothing
better than two robots for company! |
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He made both of them freely responsible
adults capable of doing that which was in their own hearts. |
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However, when our first parents
demonstrated sin God, - Who does not look lightly on disobedience of any
kind, - expelled them from the garden, under the curse of death. |
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For some reason, - which is still a secret
to Himself, - that was how He planned it, for even before the sin He had
already planned the Saviour’s blood to be shed for sinners. |
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The deliverance
God appointed was in the covenant of grace. |
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As the Confession says, “God freely offers
life and salvation by Jesus Christ to sinners.” The Gospel call is made to
everyone! |
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But for the Gospel call to be made
effectual … it is be believed and accepted. Can the sincerity of a
preacher make it to be accepted and effectual,
… or the prayer of a mother or father?
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God requires the unbeliever to believe in
Him in order to be saved,
Eph. 2:8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift
of God. Grace is a gift
of God, and when God gives grace He also gives saving faith. This is a
work totally and completely of God. |
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The sinner will only ask for this covenant
gift of grace and faith when God shows the sinner their absolute need. |
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It’s not a preacher or evangelist who can
make someone to be saved, - it is solely the work of God the Holy
Spirit. |
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… As the Baptist Confession says, He
“promises to give His Holy Spirit to all those who are elected unto
eternal life, in order that they may be made willing and able to believe.”
Phil. 2:13 it is God
which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Eph. 2:8
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is
the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are
his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them. |
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Such a mighty salvation God planned;
regardless of the distance sin created God appointed deliverance
… and … |
The Covenant Confirms
it
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The basis of the Covenant is the love of
God that was evidenced in Christ. You see, it is so important to recognise
Christ as central to it all. A man-made gospel is totally inadequate and
irrelevant for it saves nobody! |
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God’s eternal covenant is built unshakably
and uncompromisingly upon the saving work of Christ on the cross. … What
about all those who have never heard His Name? … It doesn’t matter how you
and I try and work it out; the truth of the matter is that the covenant
God put into place does not change with the times, the society or the
people, - it is only through Christ that the sinner (regardless of
circumstances or anything else) can be saved. |
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He searches for them: He finds them in the
grave clothes of Romanism, Islam, Buddhism and all the various religions;
He finds them in the dead religiousity of Protestantism and churchianity.
He seeks them out in the spiritual tombs of modern philosophy and
secularism. As a consequence of Him going out and finding them He brings
them in and brings them home. |
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Do you know when Christ will come back
again? He will return to the earth when every last one of His people is
gathered in. |
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There is nothing slapdash about God’s
salvation, nothing left to chance or man’s ‘humming and hamming’. |
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God’s covenant is based upon God’s
eternal decree. It was founded in His mind in the eternal recesses of
Glory. |
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When He set His mind to save you in
eternity nothing would or could get in the way of Him saving you. |
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Yes, you opposed it and hindered it … and
others would have helped to pull you in your opposition. You didn’t have
to learn how to reject God, - it came naturally … but the God of the
covenant, in His Sovereign grace and mercy, loved you with a compelling
everlasting love and brought you unto Himself. The Confession, “The
salvation of the elect is based upon a covenant of redemption that was
transacted in eternity between the Father and the Son; and it is solely
through the grace conveyed by this covenant that all the descendants of
fallen Adam who have been saved have obtained life and a blessed
immortality”. |
Conclusion
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Titus 3:3
For we ourselves also
were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and
pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 4
But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man
appeared, 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus
Christ our Saviour; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made
heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying,
and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have
believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are
good and profitable unto men. |
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And so it is
good and profitable
to consider these things: God’s covenant … for the salvation of His
people. He alone spanned the distance sin created, He appointed
the only deliverance from sin, and He confirmed the covenant
through the atoning sacrifice of His own sinless Son on the cross of
Calvary. |
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This is the hope of all those who know and
love Him as Saviour … to His honour and for His glory alone! |
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