Sunday, September 1st. According to Romans 12:1-2, we need our minds renewed. Our minds are renewed by learning and understanding the Bible. Since the Bible was written to tell us everything we need to know about God, think of all the misunderstandings about God in the world and in the church. We need our minds renewed because people have wrong thoughts about God, according to Isaiah 55:8, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your thoughts My thoughts.”
In the last chapter we looked at how people’s wrong thoughts about the sovereignty of God have negatively affected people’s views about God, and how disastrous that is. Because people believe “God is in control of everything” it makes people say things like, “If there is a god, it is the devil.” I’ve personally heard this. It credits God with doing what the Bible clearly says is Satan’s work (Jn.10:10). And of course, the devil loves this. And the wrong view of sovereignty makes people passive when it comes to doing the will of God. Why pray or why witness or why do anything for God if He is in control?
Now we will look at renewing our minds with the word of God concerning covenants. You can’t possibly understand the God of the Bible unless you understand the covenants which make up the entire Bible.
A covenant is a contract between two parties or people, an agreement accepted by the two. God relates to all people on the basis of covenants. Without the cooperation of both parties it’s like God is having a relationship with a pre-programed machine or programed computer. He created us in His likeness so He could have a relationship with another person somewhat on His level. In fact, Adam is called His son (Lk.3:38). So some sort of covenant must be made for there to be a relationship, some basis upon which the relationship is built. God does things under one covenant, but different things under the other.
A covenant is based on promises. One party promises to do certain things and the other will do certain other things. If you’ve ever taken out a loan from a bank you know about this; they agree to loan you their money and you promise to pay it back in increments, usually on a monthly basis.
There are only two kinds of covenants that God has made with mankind: a covenant of works and a covenant of grace. Works means you obey certain rules and rituals and then God blesses you based on your obedience to them. It’s a performance based relationship. If you don’t obey, you break the covenant and end the relationship. The grace covenant requires something of us but it isn’t our obedience or works. It is called faith. “By grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourself, it is the gift of God; not of works lest anyone should boast.” (Eph.2:8-9) In the old covenant it is “Earn!” In the new it is “Receive.” Works vs faith.
Originally God put the human race into the perfect sinless Adam and made a covenant of works with him. “You may freely eat of all the trees of the Garden, but if you eat of that one you will die to Me and eventually to the perfect world I have made for you and put you in.” Adam disobeyed. He ate and died.
So if God is g
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