new covenant

Sep

2010

Learn to live a focused life…

“…in [Christ] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this so that no one will delude you with persuasive argument. … Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.” (Col 2:2,6 NASB)

Journal

Our salvation begins the moment we truly believe in Jesus Christ and receive Him as our Lord and Savior. It is in this moment that the Holy Spirit enters our heart with God’s eternal seal of redemption. Every true believer is sealed for eternity.

From this moment on the Spirit of the Lord is in our lives to help process life according to the will and purpose of God. Listen carefully to the apostle:

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Php 2:12-13 NASB)

Far too often the afore statement is cut off in mid stream with the words, ‘work our your salvation with fear and trembling.’ This is a grave mistake. The focus is not on ‘fear and trembling.’ Rather the emphasis is on ‘God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.’

Keep in mind that the Greek word for salvation carries into English in the sense of preservation and deliverance. Thus the Holy Spirit is always at work in our life with deliverances and preservations. (Sometimes we need to be preserved from ourselves.)

It can be said that the Lord saved us, is saving us, and will save us. (Positionally our salvation has already been secured eternally in Christ.)

So then, what is our need? Our need is to learn to trust the Lord in all the affairs of life. Walking according to the spirit is a trust issue. We must learn to trust the Lord in all circumstances of life and not simply lean on our own understanding. (This is one of those ‘relax and let go’ things.)

The apostle said,

“In everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (1Th5:18)

Trusting in the Lord requires that we humble our own hearts and recognize our special need for spiritual guidance. This is where the idea of ‘fear and trembling’ come in. These two words have to do with deep respect and awe for the Lord and for His Word. Jesus told the apostles, “Without Me, you can do nothing.”

Listen to what God said through the prophet Isaiah:

“Thus says the LORD, ‘Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. Where then is a house you could build for Me? And where is a place that I may rest? For My hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being,’ declares the LORD.

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“‘But to this one I will look, to him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.’“ (Isa 66:1-2 NASB)

If you wish to know how to pray a prayer that deals with this aspect of walking with the Lord, pray what David prayed:

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.” (Psalm 139:23,23 – It would do you well to meditate on the whole of Psalm 139.

A walk in reality

Another issue of living from the Spirit is to understand that ‘walking in the Spirit’ means to walk in the very reality of the living God.

Jesus explains it this way:

“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and disclose it to you.” (John 16:13,14)

True believers know the reality of God in their lives. The word ‘truth’ (aletheia) addresses what is true in itself, in opposition to either an error or a falsehood, or even a misguided perception about a thing.

Jesus shared with the disciples how a walk of truth and of salvation would play itself out in the lives of believers. Follow this incident:

“Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ And they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.’

Let me touch briefly on a belief held by the Jews. The Jews believed in what is called ‘the transmigration of the soul.’ They believed that the soul of a person could transmigrate forward in time and become the soul in a person in the future. Similar in many respects to reincarnation. This is why the people identified Jesus with one of the prophets.

“He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’

Here it begins to get very interesting. Something was going to happen that would show how the Holy Spirit would work in the new covenant.

Notice what Peter says:

“Simon Peter answered, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’

Why did Peter say this and not speak to the transmigration idea? The answer is given. Listen carefully and you will see it:

“And Jesus said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.’

Did you catch it? The reality of who Jesus really is came as a revelation from the heavenly Father. Peter did not come to this conclusion on his own. Thus you have how the Spirit of revelation works in the life of every true believer. It all has to do with the opening of the eyes.

Jesus continues,

“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.’

So many get confused over this statement. Jesus was not calling Peter ‘the rock’ upon which He would build His church. The rock was Jesus and the church would be built upon the revelation of who Jesus really is.

“’I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.’” (Mat 16:13-19 NASB)

The short side of this is that the keys would be the revealing of Jesus through the preaching of the gospel. The door to heaven is Jesus Himself. (There is more to be said about apostolic authority but you get the idea.)

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Learn to live by the instructions…

This is also where the Bible itself plays an important role in our learning to walk in the Spirit. There is no book on this planet like our Bible. It carries in it the very presence of the Lord. It carries between its covers the very voice of God.

Look at your Bible as a garden of delights. Don’t read it like a newspaper. Read it like you are looking into the eyes of God. Read it for the pure joy of discovering the things of the Lord. Read it for the joy of hearing.

David gave some insight into this when he said,

“Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law.” (Psa 119:18 NASB)

When David spoke of God’s law, he is not limiting this to the letter of the law of Moses. The term translated Law in Hebrew, Torah, simply means ‘instruction.’ When David said ‘Wonderful things’, you can be sure He included God’s Messiah. But he was also asking for spiritual instructions from God.

David was a man after God’s heart, and the heart of God is His Son. The faith we live by originates in and is written in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. A true new covenant spiritual faith walk wraps itself around the Lord speaking into our hearts.

Thus we hear the Lord say,

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”(John 10:27)

Here is where we need to see the very heart of the new covenant. The prophet Jeremiah had this to say about God’s new covenant in Christ:

“‘This is the covenant I will make with them after those days,’ says, the Lord; ‘I will put My laws [instructions] upon their heart, and on their mind I will write them.’ He then says, ‘And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.'” (Heb 10:16-17 NASB)

Isn’t the new covenant wonderful! God writes both His love and his life instructions in our own hearts and minds.

While you think on these things, here is a song. Perhaps the Lord would like to speak something into your heart.

Revelation Song by ‘Phillips, Craig, and Dean.’

Always in love with Jesus,

Buddy

Aug

2010

The Essence of New Covenant Life

“And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Rev 21:2 NASB)

Journal,

All who believe in the God of the Bible, that His Word is true, and that Jesus Christ is truly the Son of God, of whom they have received and accepted as their own Lord and Savior, these have secured for themselves an eternal and blessed destiny, and an eternal and blessed life. God gives all these precious believing ones the path of life they are to follow.

Jesus said,

”I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” – John 8:12

Now lets talk about this Light of life that Jesus came to give us.

The essence of life from God

In Biblical Christianity there is one issue that determines whether a person is truly a Christian or not. It has nothing to do with our religious affiliation. The crown of a believer’s walk is summed up in the term, ‘Knowing the Lord.’ That term should never be taken lightly. It is the very essence of what Christianity is all about.

The apostle Peter shares insight into the life that true believers enjoy:

“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.” (2Pe1:1,2)

Peter has much more to say, but for the moment let me point out two important principles the apostle is presenting with regard to the covenant of Christ. First, Peter is saying that all believers participate equally in the kingdom of God. We have all “received a faith of the same kind as [the apostles.]”

The term ‘of the same kind’ is the Greek word ‘isotimos.’ This is a political term and speaks of equal honor. Peter’s point is that all believers share in equal honor before the throne of God. There are no second class citizens in the covenant of Christ. We are equal in standing. (This is not an issue of stewardships, or gifting, or placement, or maturity, etc. It is a relational term.)

For the second principle pay close attention verse two;

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

The word for knowledge here is ‘epignosis.‘ This word has to do with a more perfect or a fuller knowledge. The word is very expressive. It speaks of consciousness, and recognition. It especially speaks of knowing something with a degree of thoroughness. In the new covenant it would include the idea of coming to know God’s heart. Epignosis is what a believer acquires through faith in Jesus.

To Know the Father as the Son knows the Father

To appreciate how wonderful this word is in regard to our Christian walk, listen carefully to Jesus:

“All things have been handed over to me by My Father, and no one knows [epignosis] the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know [episnosis] the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” (Matt11:27)

Did you catch it. The only ones who can truly know the heart of the Father are those to whom Jesus reveals Him. If we take this to its logical conclusion, Jesus is saying that in the new covenant, all born again people will have innate within them this ‘conscious, definitive, recognition’ of the Father.

This knowing experience of God is the crown of a believer’s life. It is a growing knowledge. And it comes to us from Jesus Himself.

(To appreciate how the word ‘epignosis’ is used in relation to the new covenant pass your cursor over the following Scriptures. Where you see ‘knowledge‘ the word is epignosis. – Cf. Eph1:17; 4:13; Phil1:9; Col1:9,10; 2:2; 3:10; 1Ti2:4; Phm1:6)

The cry of the children

The very heart of the new covenant is the ‘Abba! Father!’ experience. It really doesn’t matter your church affiliation. You cannot tell a person who knows the Lord that they don’t know the Lord. The promise of the new covenant is,

“They will all know Me, from the least to the greatest of them.” (Heb8:11)

Jesus placed eternal life on the basis of knowing God.

“This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” (Joh 17:3 NASB)

The apostle Paul had this to say:

“For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.” (Gal3:26)

And again,

“Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’ Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.” (Gal 4:6,7)

The cry of ‘Abba! Father!’ is the cry of a child who recognizes his or her Father. It can be translated as, ‘Father, my Father!.’ It is a very enduring expression. We hear it in the garden when Jesus prayed:

“And He was saying, ‘Abba! Father!’ All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; yet not what I will, but what You will.” (Mar14:36)

But there is more to this issue of epignosis. Epignosis is a deeping of our knowledge of truth. This is why Peter said,

“Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge [epignosis] of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

As the truth [reality] of God reveals itself in our hearts, the result is a multiplying of grace and peace. This is why believers go through these experiences of, “I must have been born again, again.”

No, you weren’t born again, again. Truth is at work in your life. And truth always works out the freedom of Christ in us. Paul spoke of this as ‘Christ being formed in us.’ In another place, Paul says,

“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed ot His death.” (Phil3:10)

The believer’s protection

But we have to yet go a step further. To know the Lord is the greatest protection that a believer has. This is why we can call ‘knowing the Lord’ the crown of a believer’s life. In this knowing the Lord, the believer is protected from the false prophet.

It is this knowing that causes a believer to distinguish false teaching. It is this knowing that gives the believer the deepest of assurance that he or she is in the will of the Lord. It is this ‘knowing‘ that is the sign of a person who is truly born again.

Jesus nails this down in John 10:26-29. Follow this through:

“But you do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish.” (John 10:26-28)

Jesus says there is a knowing relation between both Him and His sheep. In verse 5, He says of the sheep,

“A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not *know* the voice of strangers.”

He calls us one by one by one – He calls us by name

In the new covenant Jesus did not leave it up to the efforts of man to establish people in His kingdom. He calls us one by one by one. And He still speaks into our lives in that manner.

Our walk with the Lord is very personal. But for a believer it is a ‘knowing’ walk. We know that we are children of God. We carry that testimony in our hearts. We know that this world is not our home. We also carry that testimony in our hearts.

With that in mind I’ll conclude this journal entry with the song, ‘Jerusalem‘ by the Hoppers. Take time to listen. The Lord may have something for your heart.

In love with Jesus,

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Buddy

Jul

2010

Crucified to the world…

“But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. Amen.” (Gal6:14-16)

Readers,

I want to draw attention to the essential issue of the new covenant. The cross of Christ resulted in a new creation. Every person of the new creation is sealed in Christ with the seal of redemption. That seal can only broken by God and this He will not do. Paul says that we cannot be separated from God’s love. All who belong to Christ have an eternal seal.

When Paul says, “But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,” he is giving a summation of true Biblical Christianity.

I like the way it is translated in the NLT:

“As for me, may I never boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” (Gal 6:14 NLT)

The summing up of those who have been to the cross is two fold:

(1) Our interest in the world has been crucified.

(2) The world’s interest in us has died.

That City on Mount Zion

This is why so many of our Christian songs are about the cross and about heaven. We sing as pilgrims on a journey. We sing with longings in our heart for the city of God.

Our confession is that we are not of this world. And with the saints of old we are reaching forward to what lies ahead.

We bear witness in our heart to the cross.

Paul was a pilgrim. Abraham was a pilgrim. David was a pilgrim. Buddy Martin is a pilgrim. How about you. Are you a pilgrim?

Hear what the Bible says about God’s pilgrims:

“…they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.” (Heb 11:16 NASB)

Before reading any further take a moment to listen to one of our pilgrim songs. It is titled, ‘When I Reach That City’.

The Seal of Eternity

The new creation has been sealed in Christ for eternity. This is why the Bible accords our salvation as an eternal redemption. The Bible speaks of salvation as eternal life.

Paul addresses our redemption in Christ:

“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation–having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Eph 1:13-14 NASB)

Did you notice that heaven’s seal is based on one premise alone? It is the premise of believing in Jesus Christ. The word ‘believe’ in the Bible involves a heart connection that cannot be broken. It is with our hearts that we connect with Jesus.

“Having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise.”

The covenant of Christ…

The covenant of Christ supersedes and does away with the Law of Moses. The new covenant is for a distinct people.

The Jews outside of Christ based their salvation upon two things: being lineal descendants of Abraham, which leaves much to be desired, and doing the works of the Law, which no one ever did or could do or can do.

You can’t just pick one part of the law that you want to keep and leave the rest untouched. The Law carried a requirement and a curse. The requirement pertained to keeping the whole law. Failure to do so places one under the curse of the law.

The Judaisers followed behind Paul wherever he went, attempting to destroy his gospel message of grace. This is what Paul is referring to when he called for a curse upon those who preach a gospel other than that which the apostles had been given to preach, that is, the gospel of grace. If you don’t know for certain what the apostles actually preached, then note these Scriptures:

“But what does it say? ‘The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart’–that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Rom 10:8-9 NASB)

“But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” (Gal 1:8 NASB)

Did you make the connection?

The Judaisers of Paul’s day were telling Gentile believers that they had keep the law of Moses, which essentially meant they must become Jews through circumcision in order to be saved. They were distorting God’s grace message to the world.

Grace is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help us God

There is no way under God’s blue heaven than a person can merit salvation. The apostles made this very plain. The prophets made this very plain. The apostle says,

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Eph2:8,9)

Isaiah said,

“For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.” (64:6)

This brings us to the cross.

Listen to those awful words.

“Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”)

Finally we hear in the final gasp of the Lord,

“It is finished!”

Those words made heaven and earth tremble. The skies darkened. The curtain in the temple ripped in two. The sins of the whole world were now laid on Jesus.

What was finished? The cross fulfilled God’s work of redemption. The sacrifice was offered! From the cross they carried Jesus to the tomb. From the tomb He resurrected and ascended into glory. Out of this would come our completed salvation. This is true gospel.

This is our completed salvation. God made no mistakes. He has saved forever all who have come to faith in Jesus. No one can be any more saved that what the Scriptures tell us.

Listen with your heart:

‘But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” (Eph 2:4-6 NASB)

Here is another ‘did you catch it’?

Even when we were dead in our transgressions…

He made us alive together with Christ.

(By grace you have been saved)

And raised us up together with Him

And seated us with Him in the heavenly places.

Notice that all of this is past tense. Believers are not merely going to be saved. We are already as saved as saved can be. This is what ‘seated with Him in the heavenly places’ means.

God is at work

And this is why the term ‘new creation’ is the center piece of God’s new covenant in Christ. It is all God’s work. The new creation has already been raised up. We are a heavenly people, adorned in earthly bodies. One day all that will change.

Now take note of how the book of Hebrews begins its closure:

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, *working in us* that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb13:20,21)

Notice who is doing the works in the believer? God works in us that which is pleasing in His sight. God Himself equips us to do His will. This is why it is so important to give your brother and sister breathing room to do what the Lord has for them to do.

And this is where we must be careful with our language, our accusations, or our condemnations. No one can condemn those for whom Christ died. Paul said we are to walk by this rule.

Remember the rule?

“For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision (religious works), but a new creation. And those who will walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them.”

Paul’s point is that a person is either born from above as part of God’s new creation, or they are not part of God’s new creation. If they are part of God’s new creation, then you will see heaven’s influence in this person. When Paul says, “Neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision,” he is stating that the former covenant has no jurisdiction over anyone in the new covenant.

The reason for this great change is that in the new covenant every born again person is given the nature of Christ. God deals directly with our nature. Certainly believers can sin, but sin is contrary to their nature. When we sin, we have this grieving in our spirit. What is it that grieves in us. It is the Holy Spirit, by whom we were sealed for the day of redemption.

The work of the cross is to remove believers from their former state of being, to place them into a new state of being, and to cause believers to know the Lord personally.

Are you carrying the imprint of the cross —

True believers cannot give up their testimony of faith. We are His witnesses. Our life began at the cross. We are a new creation. There is no witness on earth greater than this, and Satan knows it. We bear witness to the power of the cross.

So I guess the only questions left are these —

Has your interest in the world been crucified?

Has the world’s interest in you died.

Just something to think about.

Always in Christ,

Buddy

May

2010

Do we share kinship with God…

“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” (Act 20:28 NASB)

Journal,

Among the Semitic people the term covenant carried the idea of ‘kinship’ with the god of the covenant. The god supposedly would adopt the people as his people. This idea carries over in the history of Israel as being the adopted people of the Lord God.

In the new covenant the idea of ‘kinship’ with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob changes. In the new covenant we become ‘blood kin’ of God, through the sprinkling of the blood of Jesus. This sprinkling of the blood is a work of the Holy Spirit. It gives all believers both a spiritual kinship to God, and a blood guarantee of a future resurrected body. This is why Paul said,

“The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are [right now] children of God.” (Rom 8:16)

And why John said,

“Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.” (1Jn 3:2 NASB)

Back to the Old Testament idea of covenant.

Among the Semitics, it was the tribal fathers who would make covenant. Cutting a covenant usually included taking a substitute sacrificial animal, splitting it in two, with both parties passing between the pieces. The fathers and their descendants were then considered to be one together. If aggression was made against either covenant partner, it was an aggression against both. If one transgressed the covenant, then what was done to the sacrificial animal was to be done to the transgressor.

Substitutional ‘blood kin’ can be seen in the tabernacle of Moses. Note Hebrews 9:19-22:

“For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, ‘This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.’ And in the same way he sprinkled both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry with the blood.”

The sprinkling of blood signified oneness with the God of Israel. Thus if anyone touched Israel, they touched the God of Israel. But if Israel transgressed the covenant, then judgment would be had.

The idea of adoption.

The people of Israel were not the spiritual children of God. They were adopted children. Until the sin of Adam could be dealt with there could be no spiritual children and most certainly no true blood kinship to God.

Moses calls attention to this:

“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; A God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He. They have acted corruptly toward Him, they are not His children, because of their defect; But are a perverse and crooked generation.” (Deu 32:4-5 NASB)

What was their defect? It was the fallen nature of Adam. All of humanity shared in Adam’s fall from the glory that was originally his.

Peter draws from what Moses said in his message on the day of Pentecost:

“‘For the promise [of the new covenant] is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.’ And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, ‘Be saved from this perverse generation!'” (Act 2:39-40 NASB)

And so the sprinkled blood of the sacrificed animal could only be a symbol. When the blood was sprinkled the people ‘came under’ the blood of the covenant. The people themselves were adopted. They were still not by nature God’s own spiritual children. Their nature was unlike His.

Paul further explains the issue of adoption.

“Who are Israelites, to whom belongs the adoption as sons, and the glory, and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple service and the promises.” (Romans 9:4)

When Paul speaks of ‘the adoption as sons,’ he precludes any idea of a spiritual birth. No one in the Old Testament could be born of God until the Lamb of God came on the scene.

Peter also calls attention to the blood of the new covenant in saying that our redemption is with ‘precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.’ He also calls attention to the futile way of life that was their inheritance from their fathers. (Speaking of the forms and shadows of the former covenant that could never remove sin or bring the people close to God. Cf. 1Pet1:16-25)

When Peter speaks of a “futile way of life inherited from your fathers,” he is not disparaging the patriarchs of Israel, nor is he drawing attention to the wickedness of their forefathers. He is simply calling attention to the same thing that Moses called attention to. The term ‘futile way of life’ fits every class of the lost family of Adam, and not simply the Jews.

This issue of salvation must never be overlooked.

The Jewish peoples during the time of Christ believed that they could not be lost because of their blood line to Abraham. John the Baptist and Jesus, and all the apostles came against any such notion. This is why John said that God could raise up stones to be children of Abraham.

Here Peter makes an even stronger case for the sprinkled blood of Jesus:

“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus Christ [repentance and faith] and be sprinkled with His blood:

“May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, …

…”to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1Pe 1:1-5 NASB)

The whole human race has been contaminated by sin.

We were all of a ‘crooked and perverse’ generation. This came from our father Adam. The bloodline of Abraham was no exception.

But now through Christ Jesus we have the reality of what the Old Testament types could only point to. The blood that Moses sprinkled on the people could only speak of their adoption to God, but it could not remove their sins, nor could it actually make them true spiritual children of God. No animal blood could do that. Only the blood of Jesus could make our kinship a reality.

The apostle Paul puts everything in place when he says that the blood running through the veins of Jesus was literally God’s blood. So when the blood of Jesus is sprinkled on the human spirit, that human being becomes a totally new creature, born of heaven.

This responds to the promise given to Abraham, when the Lord said,

“’Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them.’ And He said to him, ‘So shall your descendants be.’” (Genesis 15:5)

So – Are you kin to God?

Yes, you are kin to God if you have a heavenly birth. This means that you are born of His blood and His Spirit. You are His very child, nature of His nature, blood of His blood, and seed of His seed. It is our ‘blood of the Lamb’ that gives us the promise of a future resurrection of glory. We are marked out as the very children of God. We have a destiny that is beyond anything to be imagined.

Just something to think about.

In the meantime listen to this wonderful song that puts the gospel to music. (By Adrenne Liesching and Geoff Moore – Originally by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty.)

In Christ always,

Buddy

Apr

2010

The new covenant of the Vine…

“Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.” (Isa 5:1 NASB)

Journal,

A most beautiful picture of our covenant life in Christ is found in the analogy of the Vine and the branches. The Vine had long been a symbol of Israel’s covenant relationship with the Lord. The Psalmist said,

“You removed a vine from Egypt; You drove out the nations and planted it. You cleared the ground before it, and it took deep root and filled the land.” (Psalm80:8,9)

Isaiah drew attention to the vine, in saying,

“Let me sing now for my well-beloved a song of my beloved concerning His vineyard.” (Isa5:1)

And over the entrance of the Holy Place in Herod’s temple was the symbol of the grape vine. The grape vine represented Israel. So when Jesus spoke of the Vine and branches, His Hebrew disciples already had this covenant symbol fixed in their thinking. The sad side of the story was that when the leaders in Israel rejected Jesus Christ, they became dead branches to be discarded. The Vine of Christ would only include true believers.

(You can read a prophetic picture of Israel’s loss as the Vineyard of the Lord in Isaiah 5:2-7, and in Matt21:33-46)

With that in mind let’s take a closer look at our new covenant experience in Christ, by drawing from the analogy of the Vine and the branches.

It takes place in the upper room.

Jesus is sharing some awesome things with the disciples in preparing them for the cross and the things to come. It is during this time that He says,

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.

“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me.

“I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:1-8)

There is a much more to the analogy of Jesus being the ‘true Vine’ than meets the eye. Jesus has always been the true vine. But let’s leave that be for now. What we want to do is bring this into the new covenant experience.

The word ‘abide’ is the key in this prophetic analogy.

Abide carries strong covenant overtones. The Greek word ‘meno’ means to stay in place, or to remain within a sphere. As for covenant overtones, we have a picture of this when God speaks to Abraham, and says,

“I am God Almighty; walk before Me and be blameless. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you.” (Gen17:1,2)

Notice the Lord says that He will do the establishing of the covenant.

So, we do the walking, God does the establishing. Believers are to live by faith in the Lord Jesus. We are to walk in the knowledge of God’s strength and presence and of His love, that is, a love that we can never be separated from! This is our completeness.

The issue of abiding is at the very heart of the new covenant. We share our life with Christ. He shares His life with us. It’s not half life we share. We share in the full life of Jesus. He shares fully in our life.

The word covenant in Hebrew is the word ‘berith.’ In Greek it is ‘diatheke.’ Both words speak of a declaration of the will of God concerning His own commitment, promises, and conditions by which He enters into relationship with man.

God is the one who establishes the covenant. He is the initiator and completer. For this reason the vine is a vivid picture of our new covenant relationship with God.

The believer has one role in the Vine life. He is to look to the Lord Jesus for everything in life. Yet it is this one truth that believers sometimes stumble over. It is so easy to concentrate on working for Lord, and not on abiding in Him. Of course the end result is often frustration and even burn out.

The truth of the matter is that God has designed us to be faith-dependent on Jesus. This alone is the true secret of power!

Paul discovered this truth the same way that many of us do. The apostle said,

“Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me– to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me.

“And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.

“Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2Co12:7-10)

There is no question that Paul was a man of great zeal. His eagerness for the Lord was to be admired, but this eagerness also became a danger point in Paul’s life.

And Paul found that prayer by itself could not take care of the problem. He had to learn the vine secret. When Jesus said, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness,'” the apostle recognized that he was attempting to do too much on his own.

And so, what did Jesus tell the disciples about their vine life? He said, “Without Me you can do nothing.”

Our perfect example of the vine life is Jesus Himself.

In His earth walk, not one time do we ever see Jesus defensive or frustrated. Can we be like that? What was His secret? To answer that question, we need to ask another question. How many times do we hear Jesus say that He does nothing on His own initiative?

That is the key. (For your study consider the following Scriptures; John 5:30; 8:28; 8:42; 12:49; 14:10.)

Keep ever before you that the victory we walk in is the victory of the cross, that is, God’s finished work in Christ. It is the victory of Jesus that we are to abide in. It is His rest that we enter into. We are to trust in the Lord to work out His will in our life. It is in this arena of trust that the quiet life of abiding takes over.

Listen to these Scriptures:

“And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.” (Isa32:17)

“The Lord is exalted, for He dwells on high; He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness. And He will be the stability of your times, a wealth of salvation, wisdom and knowledge; the fear of the LORD is his treasure.” (Isa33:5,6)

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt11:29)

Now let’s go a step further.

It is in learning how to abide that we learn the outflow of God’s will. It really isn’t hard for any child of God to learn the flow of God’s will. There are only two things we need to know. First, we need to understand that God has a perfect will for all of His children. This includes His general will, and His specific will.

And, secondly we need to know that God is the only One who can work His will in our life. We don’t work God’s will. God works His own will.

Consider these key Scriptures:

“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” (Phil2:12)

Notice it says that God is at work in each of us according to His will and for His own pleasure. Now for an even broader picture;

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Heb12:20,21)

Again notice that it is the God of peace who equips us ‘in everything‘ to do His will. He does this through our relationship with Jesus Christ. Again note that God’s work has to do with His pleasure. God is pleased to work with all His children.

There is no part of a believer’s life that the Lord is not vitally concerned with. This includes our mess ups. God can take the most terrible things of our own doings, and turn them to good. This is why the prophet of old could say,

“The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.” (Lam3:22,23)

The Lord never ceases to love and care for His people. Perhaps David said it best of all. He said,

“You have also given me the shield of Your salvation, and Your right hand upholds me; and Your gentleness makes me great.” (Psa18:35)

The Lord’s gentleness.

The Hebrew word for gentleness, ‘anavah’, speaks of meekness, humility, condescension. This word paints a picture of a father giving tender instruction to his young child, in helping the child learn lessons of character. Our Father is a loving Father.

What is it that we need to learn from the Father? Let me share three simple keys to the Vine life that we need to learn. These keys include much of what we have already studied. But it will do well to review them again.

The 1st key to a victorious life is simply learning to abide in Christ. We discussed this earlier, but it needs to be reemphasized. Remember that it is His fruit that we bear. Therefore, we must learn to let our faith settle in Him absolutely. This is where God receives glory.

The 2nd key to a victorious Christian life is found in the second half of verse 7. Jesus said,

“…and My words abide in you.”

The Greek language has two words for word. Logos means thoughts and conceptions, or arrangements. It is in our meditations and study that God’s Logos flows. However, this is not the word Jesus uses here. Here Jesus says, ‘…if my Words (rhema [hray’-mah]) abide in you…’

Rhema speaks of that which has been uttered by a living voice. We are always to seek from the Lord Himself, that is, His voice in our hearts, for instructions for our lives. This is Christ ministering His Word in the heart of a believer. There are many voices in world, but there is only one voice we are to seek for and listen to.

The 3rd key is the love key. Jesus said,

“Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (John15:9.)

To abide in His love is to keep always before us His love for us. Meno means to settle down in the knowledge of His love. God’s love is your protection. The apostle said that nothing can ever separate a believer from the Father’s love for us that is found in Christ Jesus.

So now you know the story of ‘the covenant of the Vine.’

Here is your song. There is a message in ‘God Will Make A Way”. Listen carefully. The Lord wants to speak to your heart.

Don’t be discouraged. The Lord will see you through.

Your friend and brother in Christ,

Buddy

Dec

2009

Honoring God with first fruits…

“Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Pro 3:9-10 nasb)

Journal,

Ever had a burn out hearing about ‘paying’ tithes? Actually no one in the new covenant is supposed to ‘pay’ tithes. Though the word tithe is a Bible term, it cannot be applied to the new covenant in the same sense as it is found in the covenant of Moses. I think this area of ‘paying tithes’ is likely one of the most misunderstood issues today.

Here’s snippets of the Scriptures most often used for the ‘paying’ the tithe:

“Will a man rob God … You are cursed with a curse … ‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.'” Mal3:8-10)

Now that I have your attention, let’s look at another term that speaks more in line with how believers can honor the Lord in the new covenant. The term ‘first fruits’ speaks to honoring the Lord, but it must be understood correctly.

The struggle folk often have is wondering where a tithe fits in the new covenant. Actually it doesn’t fit, not in the sense of what it relates to under the law of Moses. No one has to tithe to be saved. Next we hear, ‘But wouldn’t NOT tithing put us under a curse?’ The simple answer is, no. The Law of Moses is not the instrument of righteousness for God’s people of the new covenant. Jesus alone is our righteousness.

Yet, the apostle says that the Law of Moses is good if we learn to use it lawfully. Using it lawfully speaks of learning to view the Law through the lens of the new covenant. This simply means that the Law does contain certain principles of guidance that we can appropriate into our walk with the Lord. These principles of guidance pertain to life itself. They are not simply a matter of which covenant they belong to.

A place to begin is where Paul says that the curse placed upon a non-performance of the Law of Moses is removed in Christ. The Law of Moses was a separate covenant given only to the nation of Israel. Even at that, the Law was nailed to the cross. This means that the Law as a covenant is no longer in effect.

If the curse has been removed, what then remains? What remains is the blessings of the Lord, that is, the blessings that belong to a walk of righteousness. But even the blessings have to be understood properly.

This is where the term ‘first fruits’ takes on a special meaning for new covenant believers. Listen to the Sage:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes … Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.” (Pro3:5-10)

Did you catch it The issue of first fruits is an issue of honoring the Lord from one’s heart. This is what the first fruits is teaching. The apostolic writer said that in the new covenant, God places His laws into our minds and writes them on our hearts. What laws is he speaking of. Certainly not the Law of Moses. (Heb8:10)

The laws the Holy Spirit writes in our hearts are the laws of learning how to live. They are laws of life. Listen to these New Testament Scriptures: (Pay close attention to the words in ‘CAPS’. They are for emphasis only.)

“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure–pressed down, shaken together and running over. FOR BY YOUR STANDARD OF MEASURE IT WILL BE MEASURED TO YOU IN RETURN.” (Luke 6:38. Notice how the Lord says our returned ‘blessings’ are measured by our own measure of giving.)

Another:

“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him. Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.” (Gal6:6,7. God expects His servants to be provided for. To be a receiver of good teaching with no regard to blessing the teacher is something God does not overlook.)

And again:

“This I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. EACH ONE MUST DO JUST AS HE HAS PURPOSED IN HIS HEART, NOT GRUDGINGLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” (2Co9:6-8. In this case the giving is in regard to helping others who belong to the Lord.)

What we need to key in on is that giving must always be in accordance with our heart. Our giving is never to be grudgingly, or under compulsion.

See where the struggle comes in? The laws of life don’t swing back and forth according to the covenants. Spiritual laws are always in place. One of the greatest of God’s laws is the law of sowing and reaping. The difference in the new covenant is that the Holy Spirit teaches us how to give, what to give, where to give, and when to give. It will always be a thing of the heart. If it is not in your heart to give, then don’t give.

However, you also need to be forewarned. Don’t expect the blessings of the giver if you have not learned to be a giver yourself. So ask yourself these questions; ‘Am I having all sufficiency in everything?‘ Or, ‘Do I have an abundance for every good deed?’ ‘Or am I living on barely get along avenue?” Keep in mind what Paul said about not being deceived.

A young couple in our church shared this testimony. They were into tithing on a regular basis. But things were slipping. They would wait until everything else was paid, then they would write a check to Christian Challenge. Even at that, some times they would hold on to their tithe checks for a while just to make sure things balanced out right.

Their ears perked up over something that Nathan or I had said by way of a passing remark. They went home and talked about whether they were honoring the Lord, as they should. This is where they made a decision. From that moment on the very first check they would write would be their first fruits. It would be on the gross and not on what ever was left after taxes. (I’m simply relating a testimony. Not telling you to do anything.)

Guess what? They got so excited. The very next week the blessings began to roll in. They started naming the things that began to happen to their finances. It was as if the windows of heaven had opened.

Here is the lesson. What the Bible teaches is that we should always sow with a view to righteousness. Jesus told us not to judge by appearance, but to judge with righteous judgment. This means that we must let the Lord lead us in what is right in His sight. We do this by learning to listen to Him.

So what do we have left? Perhaps this – It is crucial to understand that righteousness is not simply a confession we make because our salvation in Jesus Christ is completed. Yes, our salvation is complete in Christ. However, righteousness is also a path that we learn to walk in. It is a way of living. Do you want to be a wise man or woman? Learn to walk in the ways of the Lord.

With this in mind, never think that simply giving from first fruits is going to be a cure all for everything in life. It does not work that way. There may be other issues that need to be considered. The apostle said that we must examine ourselves to make sure we are in the faith.

Why not begin by counting your blessings. And in doing this, ask the Lord if He has any special directions for your life. He has promises to lead you in the paths of righteousness. After all, He is your Father.

So I will simply leave you with what the apostle told his young disciple:

“Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.” (2Ti 2:7)

Here is your song for today:

Your servant in Christ,

Buddy

new covenant

Learn to live a focused life…

A walk in reality

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The Essence of New Covenant Life

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