TWO COVENANTS

Does this mean we “fall from grace” every time we sin?  Do we cease to be Abraham’s seed and heirs of the promise?  If that were so, then the promise to Abraham was only conditional after all, and we are doomed to strive for salvation by virtue of our own portfolio of righteous works.

If that were the case, we would hardly ever be in grace.  We must then offer continual sacrifices, for even if we do not commit overt sins, there is yet plenty of pride, lack of love, heart idolatry, and envy in our hearts.  Can anyone claim perfection in character as well as in action?

And so, our “decision” to follow Christ, which is without question the most important decision we can make, is not the true basis of our salvation.  It was not the basis of Israel’s salvation either.  This “decision” is something we certainly are all called to make.  However, we must also understand that it is only and extension of the Mosaic Covenant, whereby we identify with Israel in its promise to be perfectly obedient.  It cannot save us, unless we are able to make good on our vow and never sin again.

Our inheritance with God is instead based upon a better covenant, the new and unconditional covenant signed by Jesus in His own blood.  Jesus’ death was the only condition by which the Abrahamic covenant could be obtained.  A “last will and testament” is not in force until the death of Him that made the will (the “testator”), as we read in Hebrews 9:16 and 17.

For where a covenant is, there must of necessity be the death of the one who made it.  For a covenant is valid only when men are dead, for it is never in force while the one who made it lives.

The blessings of our inheritance were spelled out in both the Abrahamic and the Mosaic Covenants.  However, with the Mosaic Covenant, the inheritance could be obtained only by the will of the flesh to be perfectly obedient and by the blood of bulls and goats to atone for disobedience.  On the other hand, the Abrahamic Covenant was made valid by Jesus’ death.  The inheritance is obtained by the will of God alone, and by the blood of the true sacrifice for sin, who alone could remove it into a land not inhabited.

Those who believe that their carnal decision will save them, those who believe that salvation comes by the will of man, are in the same position as the majority were in the Old Testament.  This opinion led quite naturally to the idea that keeping the Law could save men.  And so throughout the history of the church, we find men seeking the perfection of the flesh through self-discipline.  With it came the idea that doctrinal perfection (orthodoxy) was also necessary to salvation, for one had to be perfected in both body and soul (mind).

These misconceptions have served to put great burden upon the church, even as Jesus said about all those who follow the traditions of the elders.  Jesus never advocated breaking the law, nor did the Apostle Paul.  But Paul very carefully explains to us that it is impossible for us to obtain our inheritance (salvation) by means of the law covenant.  It comes instead by the death of Jesus which validated the Abrahamic Covenant, the unconditional promise that we shall receive the inheritance.  And what He has promised, He will see to it that it shall be done, for this is His will.