We enter into the New Covenant of grace by our faith, not our faithfulness. Grace is based on the faithfulness of God to us, not the other way around.
Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. (Romans 5:1-2, NLT)1
When the Israelites came under the Mosaic covenant, their relationship with God changed dramatically. However, in this great shifting, God never changed. He had always had the ability to bless and to curse. He had always had the ability to express anger. The people didn’t change either. They sinned before the law was given, and they sinned after the law was given. They were Abraham’s descendants before the law was given, and they were still Abraham’s descendants after the law was given. The only thing that changed was the kind of covenant they were under.
With the Abrahamic covenant, there was no law, so there was no transgression.2 They were under grace and qualified for every blessing of God. In fact, when God told Abraham he was counted righteous by his faith, God called HIMSELF Abraham’s exceedingly great reward!3 If you have God, you have everything!
Under the Mosaic Covenant, the law entered and along with it entered transgression and judgment. The only way that they could qualify for God’s blessing was to obey an unreachable standard. If they disobeyed, they would be cursed as if they were God’s enemies. God had only ever used His anger against the enemies of His people for the purpose of protecting them. Now His anger was turned towards the disobedience of His people. Because with the law, sin became personal transgression, and each person became personal liable.
For about fifteen hundred years this was the relationship between God and His people. When they obeyed, they were blessed; but when they disobeyed, they were given over to calamity, hardship, captivity, and death. In the conditional covenant of law that that the people agreed to, God’s favor relied on the character and conduct.
In the unconditional covenant of grace that God made within Himself on behalf of Abraham, God’s favor never relied on Abraham’s character nor his conduct. That covenant was based on Abraham’s FAITH, not his FAITHFULNESS. It was based on the faithfulness of God and was a picture of the New Covenant that was to come.
(from pages 221-222 of Unveiling Jesus)
Want more from Tricia Gunn? Check out excerpts from the Unveiling Jesus 20-part series!
Unveiling Jesus, by Tricia Gunn, is a verse by verse study of the pure gospel of grace. It’s an amazing journey of love, identity, and freedom in Christ.
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1Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
2Romans 5:13
3Genesis 15:1″
