877. The Law of Stone Tablets Was Not Based on Faith - So Why Was It Given?

Once upon a time, God made a covenant with a guy named Abraham. It would be based upon a promise God made to him, and by believing that promise, it was counted as righteousness to Abraham. His justification was not based upon anything he did, but by what he believed in regard to the word God spoke to him. Several hundred years later, God made a covenant with a nation known as Israel, which would be based upon the Jewish people and their ability to obey a law of 613 commandments (works). They failed, but this would not annul the promise regarding the covenant God made with Abraham.

So why was the law given? Paul gives us at least a partial clue in Galatians 3. The law was in place as a guardian for those who were under it … but only until the promised Seed should come (Jesus). That old law was not of faith (Galatians 3:12), but when Christ arrived, faith came. Once faith made the scene, the Jewish people would no longer be under the old guard (the law of works). The promise made to Abraham came to fruition with a new and better covenant established through Jesus Christ after His death and resurrection. This new and everlasting covenant would annul/cancel/set aside the failed and faulty covenant made with Israel. This would open the door for all people to come together as one in Christ.



   
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757. Hebrews 11: Past Giants of Faith Didn’t Receive What Was Promised

Hebrews 11 is often referred to as the faith chapter, or the hall of faith. The writer lists a bunch of people from the Old Testament who had performed great acts of faith—many who had never been under the law of Moses. We see a diverse group with everyone from Abel to Rahab the harlot. But the writer is making a bigger point… as he has through the letter written to his Jewish audience.

After describing the faith of these people, at the end of the chapter he explains that none of them were able to receive what was originally promised. They were not able to be made perfect through their actions. But we have received the promise through something better—the New Covenant of Jesus Christ. He is our faith, our assurance and our guarantee. It surpasses the faith of those who could perform righteous acts without ever attaining righteousness, which could only come through the person of Jesus.



   
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710. Born Identity: We Are Heirs

An inheritance is not received by one’s commitment. It is not something that has been earned by working for it. It’s gifted. It’s not based upon law, but upon promise.

In order for a will (or covenant) to take effect, there has to be the death of the one who made it. Jesus died in order for us to receive an eternal inheritance, with an unbreakable seal - the Holy Spirit of promise.



   
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694. Delivered from Bondage (The Law of Commandments)

Continuing with our short series on “The Law is Not of Faith.” In the book of Galatians, Paul uses the women of Abraham (Sarah and Hagar) as illustrations while comparing the two covenants - the Old and the New. One gave birth to a child of promise (Sarah) and the other came from Mt. Sinai and gave birth to bondage. We know this is where the Mosaic law was given birth - including the Ten Commandments. It was something the Jewish people were freed from because of the child of promise. Religious doctrines which encourage us to live by the old commandments from that covenant have missed the point… we can’t live by something that is unable to bring life or righteousness to us. There is no passage that states we should abide by certain laws while others have expired. There is no exhortation in Scripture that trying to keep the commandments from the previous covenant will improve morals, reduce sin, and bring sanctification. In fact, we find the opposite within new covenant writings. We have something better in Christ: It’s called faith (and the law is not based upon faith).



   
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692. A Life of Faith Apart from the Law

Faith. Grace. Righteousness. Forgiveness. Life. Salvation. These are gifts we’ve been delivered into since God established a New Covenant where both Jew and Gentile have been invited into the covenant - Christ Jesus is that covenant that has been given and established after the cross. These things were not attainable for those Jews living under the religious system of the Mosaic law from the Old Covenant. Their efforts at trying to abide by the many commandments fell far short of the requirement. The new way came by an oath or a promise. The premise of most Christian church doctrines tragically resembles a train-wreck where law and faith have crashed head-on, leaving people in a state of anxiety, pain, fear and bondage. Our program this week covers many of the differences between the law of works compared to the ministry of faith and grace… and why we should avoid the mixture.



   
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636. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 7): A Promise of Faith Contrasted With A Covenant of Works

The promise of a covenant bringing righteousness by faith or belief as it was given to Abraham, would eventually bring what we often refer to as the New Covenant, which was ushered in through Jesus Christ. Several hundred years after God made this covenant with Abraham, another covenant would be established with the people of Israel, and would include the law which came through Moses. This law would bring a curse requiring that all of it be kept perfectly, causing God to find fault with the people in that covenant. Fortunately, that covenant of law would not nullify the covenant of promise made 430 years earlier. The promise of faith would end up kicking the law of works to “kingdom come” (because the law is not of faith). This week in our series, we’re transitioning from Abraham to Moses and the Law.



   

635. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 6): Abraham Did Not Waver at God’s Promise

In this sixth part of the series, we wrap up our brief look at Abraham and the significance of his part in God’s redemptive picture, which is a picture described throughout Scripture. Interestingly, in spite of what appears to be a fleshly effort by having a child through his servant Hagar, the Bible declares Abraham was not weak in faith, and did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith. Righteousness was credited to him because of belief, just as it is to us today, apart from law or works.



   

634. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 5): Abraham and the Child of Promise

Hundreds of years before God gave the law to Moses, there was Abraham. Through him God brought forth a promise, where he would become the father of many nations that would occur through a child promised to him and Sarah. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It was by faith the promise arrived, not works. The Apostle Paul explains how Abraham’s two sons represent the two covenants—both the Old and the New. The son born from Hagar (the bondwoman) was born according to the flesh, whereas the son from Sarah (the freewoman) through promise. One gave birth to bondage, symbolic of Mount Sinai, and the other gave birth to freedom, which would include justification for Gentiles through faith.



   

529. Jesus Died; We Inherited

We have been gifted with an inheritance that could not be earned. This inheritance is "imperishable, undefiled and unfading." Inheritance is based upon the will and desire of the giver and it goes into effect after their death. So it is with our inheritance which was given through the new covenant of Jesus Christ:

"For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 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." (Hebrews 9:15-17)



   

485. They Did Not Receive the Promise

The writer of Hebrews spent nearly the entire book comparing the former covenant to the New Covenant. Chapter 11 is sometimes referred to as the hall of faith as it reflects on well-known people from the Old Testament. The subject of faith wasn't a new topic from the writer, but was the result of what was said in the ten chapters leading up to it. Though these elders had gained approval and saw tremendous acts occur from God through faith, they did not receive what was promised. Christ is that promise that we've obtained in the New Covenant. He is the very substance of what was hoped for and provided something better for us with His perfection.


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426. The Nature of Grace: Once Bestowed, Never Withdrawn

God's act of grace towards mankind was an action completely independent from us, not dependent on us. Any failure of dedication or devotion on our part does not cause the withdrawal of bestowed grace under the New Covenant. Whether before or after the cross, one could never establish righteousness before God through our self-efforts and devotion. It's something we've been gifted with through the blood of Christ and the covenant established between Him and the Father. The entrance of grace did not arrive through a revolving door.

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