Fulfilling God's Covenant
A Covenant is an agreement between two people or two groups of people. The covenant is like a contract in that there are two sides, and each side agrees to fulfill their part of the agreement. When God came to Noah because Noah had found grace in His eyes, He established a covenant with Him. If Noah would do his part to bring all of the animals and food into the ark God was showing him how to construct, then, God would protect his whole family from the flood, which would kill everyone else. (Genesis 6:18,22) I am glad to report that Noah did all that God commanded him to do as his part of the covenant, so God saved them. Now, we need to see how we are doing with the New Covenant in Jesus' blood.
Most Christians do not think of our relationship with Jesus in terms of a covenant with God, but that is what it is. God saves us by grace through faith, when we put our trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. However, that faith can't just be a feeling. Faith without works is dead faith that doesn't save us. Therefore, once Jesus has saved us and the Holy Spirit has come into us, we are to live by keeping God's commands and becoming like Jesus by the power of the Spirit. The works are not part of our salvation, but if we fail to keep the commands, we miss out on God's blessings in our lives that come from obedience and being like Jesus. In other words, we need to keep our part of the covenant, since God has saved us from our sins. This is not extra. It is a vital part of our daily relationship with God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 7-9.
Most Christians do not think of our relationship with Jesus in terms of a covenant with God, but that is what it is. God saves us by grace through faith, when we put our trust in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. However, that faith can't just be a feeling. Faith without works is dead faith that doesn't save us. Therefore, once Jesus has saved us and the Holy Spirit has come into us, we are to live by keeping God's commands and becoming like Jesus by the power of the Spirit. The works are not part of our salvation, but if we fail to keep the commands, we miss out on God's blessings in our lives that come from obedience and being like Jesus. In other words, we need to keep our part of the covenant, since God has saved us from our sins. This is not extra. It is a vital part of our daily relationship with God.
Tomorrow, I intend to read Genesis 7-9.