Category: The New Covenant

The questions below are a helpful way for me to reflect on the completeness of the finished work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf.

Think of these five questions on kind of a sliding scale with “not at all” on the left side of the scale and “completely” on the right side.  Where are we on this line?

________________________

Not at all                                         Completely

Question 1:  Under the new covenant, how much am I forgiven?

Am I partly forgiven?  Am I forgiven of all my sins up to my salvation, up to my decision to believe the gospel?  Are there sins that I am responsible for after that?  Am I only forgiven of the sins I remember to confess?

or

Am I completely forgiven of ALL my sins; past, present, and future?  The new covenant answer is YES, I am completely forgiven.  (Colossians 2:13-14)

 

Question 2:  Under the new covenant, how much of the Law am I under?

Do I need the moral law but not the ceremonial law?  Am I under the some of the Old Testament Law, but not the sacrifice system?  Am I under the ten commandments?

or

Am I completely set free from ALL of the Old Testament Law?  The new covenant answer is YES, I am completely free from the Law.  (Romans 7:1-6)

 

Question 3:  Under the new covenant, how much of my old self died with Christ?

Is my old self kind of dead?  Is my old self positionally dead?  Is my old self partly dead?  Which part of my old self died with Christ?

or

Was my old self completely crucified with Christ?  The new covenant answer is YES, my old self was completely crucified with Christ.  (Romans 6:6-7)

 

Question 4:  Under the new covenant, how acceptable am I to God?

Sometimes acceptable?  Mostly a disappointment?  Depends on my actions?  Maybe God doesn’t even see me?

or

Am I completely accepted and deeply loved by God at all times?  The New Covenant answer is YES, I am completely accepted and deeply loved by God.  (I John 3:1)

 

Question 5:  Under the new covenant, how close am I to God?

Kind of close?  Am I getting closer?  Not close at all?  Depends on the day?  Maybe 6 out of 10?  Depends on my behavior?  Do I alternate between getting closer to God and falling further behind?

or

Am I completely inseparable from Jesus and the Father?  The new covenant answer is YES, your union with Christ is unbreakable.  (John 14:20, I Corinthians 6:17, Colossians 3:3, Hebrews 13:5)

Jesus said, “It is finished”.  The cross worked and accomplished all that Jesus promised to us.

(Adapted from a message by Andrew Farley)

In the age of mobile devices, downloads have become part of our everyday lives.  I download television shows to my iPad before a trip out of town.  I download music to my phone that I enjoy hearing over and over.  I download family photos from our son-in-law photographer.  I download articles about quantum physics for later reading.

But here is a “download” that you may not have thought about.  It is the greatest download in the history of the world.

When you believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ … whoosh … the greatest download possible landed directly in your inbox.  The life of Jesus Christ, complete with the character of Christ and the love of Christ, was deposited right inside you.  Jesus promised it and God did it, just as He promised.  Christ came to live in you by His Spirit.

We have developed so many techniques to address sin in our lives through various disciplines and accountability groups and so on.  And these can be helpful.  But the power to continue in righteous living will never come from self-discipline and will power.  It will never come from trying to set up controls, either internal or external.  The power will only come through a supernatural infusion of the life of Christ in us.

The download of the life of Christ in you is the lasting power to live the Christian life with victory and peace.  Victory because grace gives us power over sin (Romans 6:14), teaching us to turn away from sin (Titus 2:11-12).  And peace because your striving to manage your sin is over.  We have peace because Christ removed the guilt, shame, and condemnation of our sin.  We are free to walk in the new self, created in righteousness (Ephesians 4:24).

Does that mean we never sin?  No, not at all.  And I have written many times about our growing up in Christ and how we learn to walk according to our new identity.  But that topic is for other posts.

For today, just ask yourself what this would look like in your present situation.  “What if the download of the life of Christ in you is the only reason you behave?”