Category: The New Covenant

A Seat at the Table

Throughout the Scriptures, the “table” is a picture of God’s blessing and provision.  The Israelites during their wilderness journey complained, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?” (Psalm 78:19).  The answer of course is, “Yes, He can!”  And God did prepare a table full of manna and quail for the children of Israel.

Elsewhere in the Psalms, we have this reassuring word of blessing and provision.  “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows.  Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (Psalm 23:5-6).

Fast forward to the new covenant introduced by Jesus and we have another table of blessing and provision; something we commonly call the Lord’s table.  “And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.’  And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’ “ (Luke 22:19-20).

Christ’s body and Christ’s blood are the provision that took away our sin.  And the resurrected Christ now living in us is the blessing that carries us forward in this world.  Where are you experiencing the table of new covenant provision and blessing in your life today?

Imagine, if you will, a castle sitting on a high hill.  In the magnificent dining hall, your heavenly Father sits at a great table that is covered with a scrumptious feast.  You enter gingerly.  Yes, you are in awe of the Father as you should be.  But you are also a little frightened to be there.  You have been taught by the traditions of men that even though you are a believing child of God, there is a separation between you and the Father because of your sin, your doubt, your fear, or your shame.  Maybe you feel this separation right now.

A voice breaks the silence.  Your Father calls out, “Raise your head, My child.  Get up!  I have a seat here at the table just for you.  This feast has been set for you.  You are a child of glory.  Better yet, why don’t you climb up on the lap of your Abba Father?”

Friend, can I encourage you?  You are, right now, that close to the Father.  There is no separation.  When you believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, your separation ended FOREVER.  “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

Come to the table with the assurance that we talked about last time, “We have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus” (Hebrews 10:19).  You belong here.  The table is set for you.  The Father is waiting.

Entering God’s Rest

We have been writing about the almost too good to be true grace of God.  Grace that not only is the door by which we enter the kingdom, but grace that is also the pathway where we live, move, and thrive in the kingdom.  And just like no work-to-earn in entering the kingdom, there is no work-to-earn once inside the kingdom; inside living the Christian life.  Religion demands “work”.  Grace demands “rest”.

In the book of Hebrews, the author gives a long explanation of the believer’s rest – in the here and now, not a future heaven.  Rest is the present promise of God to His children.  And He compares you and I entering His rest today to the Israelites entering the promised land many years ago.

This is what God says about the Israelites turning their back on God’s promise on the doorstep of Canaan.  “And with whom was God angry for forty years?  Was it not those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness?  And to whom did He swear that they should not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient?  And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief” (Heb 3:17-19).

Unbelief, a lack of faith, kept the children of Israel out of the promised land for forty years.  No other enemies would have been able to accomplish this.  This promised land, this place of rest, is a picture of the rest that Christ intends for us to walk in today.  And we enter that rest by faith.

The expectation that God had for Israel was to enter the land by faith.  Likewise, we too are invited to enter God’s rest by faith.   We live the Christian life the same way we entered the Christian life; by faith.  We live by believing all the promises of God; all the promises of a new birth, a new identity, a new heart, a new Spirit, a new nature, a new self, a new freedom, a new power over sin, and so much more.  And in living this life, in living into these promises, our faith overrules any attempts to work-to-earn God’s favor.

This comparison between Israel and us continues in the book of Hebrews into chapter 4 and in reference to us God declares,  “There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.  For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.  Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest” (Heb 4:9-11).

If there is any “work” to be done, it is this.  Make every effort to enter God’s rest.  Various Bible translations give the last sentence as “Let us strive to enter that rest” (ESV), “Let us make every effort to enter that rest” (NIV), “Let us be diligent to enter that rest” (NASB), “Let us labor to enter that rest” (KJV).  How do labor and rest go together?  They sound a little bit like opposites.

God’s rest is free.  God’s rest is a gift of grace.  But according to Hebrews 4, we don’t just fall into it.  I know it sounds like a paradox, but there is “work” required from us to enter His rest.  The “work” is our faith.  And in its shortest explanation, we enter that rest by believing and allowing Jesus to live His promised resurrected life through us.

The rest of God is leaning into the abundant life He promised us.  And it is exactly where He intends us to live.  It is peace.  It is joy.  It is purpose.  It is love for one another.  It is service.  It is pro-active.  And it takes diligence, effort, striving, and labor to enter His rest.

But that striving is not self-effort.  And here is the beauty.  The very Spirit of God lives in you.  The very Spirit of God empowers you.  The very Spirit of God is the wind in your effort.  And this wind that carries us along leads us to rest and ultimately to freedom.  For in God’s rest, we find freedom from shame, guilt, fear, worry, insecurity, pride, and so much more.

So stop striving for position, for knowledge, for acclaim, for religious performance, for self-righteousness.  Only one thing is worthy of striving for:  seeking and finding the path to the beautiful life of rest.  Easy burdens, light loads, and freedom.

As we travel along on the path of grace, may our melody be … simply believe and simply rest.

The Unending Gift of God’s Grace

We often think of God’s grace in terms of our initial salvation.  We are saved by grace.  We are released from the penalty of our sin by God’s free gift; by Christ’s death in our place on the cross.  When we place our faith in this free gift, we are saved.

But God’s grace continues to be extended to us long after our salvation decision.  We are not saved by God’s grace and then left with a list of instructions of “how to live the Christian life”.  No, the Christian life itself is an ongoing and never-ending gift of God’s grace.  We can only live as God would have us live by the power of His grace.  God’s grace literally fuels the life we live; a life of setting aside lawless deeds and becoming zealous for good works.

Paul explains it this way.  “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds” (Titus 2:11-14).

God’s grace has appeared to all men so that those who receive it would, in the here and now, and by His grace:

  • receive salvation.
  • be instructed in saying “no” to sin.
  • be instructed in saying “yes” to righteousness and godliness.
  • be hopeful for His return.
  • be set free from every lawless deed.
  • be made pure.
  • be Christ’s own possession.
  • be zealous for good deeds.

All of these things are made possible by God’s ongoing grace.  Remember, the Christian life itself is a gift of pure grace.  Or to put it another way, “Grace is not just a door by which we enter the Kingdom.  Grace is how we live, move, and thrive in the Kingdom.”

Too Good to Be True?

From the time we were children, we were instilled with the idea that “there is no such thing as a free lunch.  You will reach a stage in life of ownership and accomplishment only through hard work.  There may be some luck along the way, but by and large, you will work for what you get.  It is that straightforward.  It is that simple.”

Now grace comes along and turns that idea completely on its head.  Let me explain.  I am not against hard work.  We taught our children how to work, and they have carried that on into their adult lives.  I am happy about that.  The problem comes when we take our work ethic into the realm of religion.  Yes, I said religion on purpose.  Because apart from Christianity, every religion in the world taps into this “work for what you get” mentality.  You “earn” through how hard you “work”.

The Christian message, the gospel message, the good news?  You receive because you believe.  You receive because of what Christ did.  You receive because Christ did the “earning” in your place.  You receive because Christ has given life to you by His grace, completely apart from any work by you.  Simply believe!

But we aren’t so sure.  We want to be rewarded for our effort.  We want some credit.  We want to bring our work-to-earn thinking into our Christianity.  But Christ will have nothing of it.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that salvation is not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast” (Eph 2:8-9).  No work-to-earn here.

So why do we resist the idea of this free gift?  I think there are at least two reasons.  First, it just doesn’t sound right.  It goes against what we have been taught.  It goes against the outcome we expect.  I guess you could say that it appears too good to be true.  But it is true.  “He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, and that being justified by His grace we might be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7).  No work-to-earn here; just the good news of grace.

Second, we like to look at how we compare to those around us.  If everyone is getting this salvation gift for free, how can I compare my effort to the other guy?  He looks like he is not working as hard at this Christian life as I am.  How can he receive the same gifts; the gift of God’s presence, the gift of eternal life, the gift of a new nature and new heart, and so much more?  There needs to be some scale to the gift that is commensurate with my effort.

No, the gift of God’s salvation, the gift of God’s love, the gift of God’s approval and acceptance are completely free.  If there is a “work” to be done, Jesus explained it this way … “Then they said to Jesus, ‘What must we do, to be doing the works of God?’  Jesus answered them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (Jn 6:28-29).  Jesus’ answer to the “work” to be done?  Simply believe.