Tag: Journey to Jesus by Florence Littauer

Covenant 101

Standing in a nondescript side room off the church sanctuary, my husband and I were joined by our pastor, best man, and matron of honor. Just moments before, we’d exchanged vows and rings, shared a kiss, and been introduced as “Mr. and Mrs.” for the first time. It seemed anticlimactic to make our triumphant recessional down the aisle directly to a dimly lit room to handle paperwork. With a congratulatory smile, our pastor handed us pens and showed us where we needed to sign our marriage certificate. Accompanied by the license we’d gotten a few weeks earlier, our marriage would now be legally binding. This is probably the closest thing we have in modern times for a comparison to the biblical notion of covenant.

The concept of a covenant appears throughout the Bible starting with Adam and Eve and continuing until all of God’s promises are fulfilled by Jesus. Covenant is defined simply as “a binding relationship based on a promise.”  In his book The Marriage Ref, pastor and author Tyler Scott explains: “The old covenant first began to take shape in Genesis 2.  There, God makes a covenant with Adam in language that is strong, clear and definitive: The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” (Genesis 2:15-16, NIV)

The next time we see a covenant is in the story of Noah. After the flood waters receded and the ark came to rest on dry ground, Noah built an altar and made an offering to the Lord to atone for his personal sins. Then the Lord said to Noah: “I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” (Genesis 9:13-16, NIV, bold print added)

God continued to make covenants with people in stories recorded throughout Scripture, despite their sinfulness and inability to stay true to Him.  In the time period of the Old Testament, the two parties of a covenant would cut animals in half and walk between the divided carcasses. This was the symbol of stepping into a covenant relationship with one another. “When the parties of a covenant walked between the pieces of bloodied animal flesh, they were saying, in effect, ‘I will fulfill this covenant—and if I break it, may I be cut into bloody pieces like these dismembered animals.’” God made a covenant like this with Abraham in Genesis 15 when He promised to give him land and numerous descendants through whom He would bless the whole world. He did this “knowing full well that Abraham and all human beings were incapable of keeping the covenant.” (Tyler Scott, The Marriage Ref p. 34-35)

Later in the Old Testament, Abraham’s ancestors were instructed by God through Moses to make animal sacrifices to atone for their sins. The shedding of blood continued to be a central element of reaffirming covenant until the time of Jesus. These sacrifices were offered through the high priest in the tabernacle and later in the temple after it was built in Jerusalem. Author Florence Littauer explains, “There was no access to God without first making a sacrifice. Sin could only be forgiven by the substitution of an animal for the sinner himself—an innocent animal had to die in the place of the guilty man.” (Journey to Jesus, p. 210) Paul touched on this in the New Testament when he explained, “For the wages of sin is death.” (Romans 6:23a, NIV)

When Jesus came as the Messiah, He served not only as the ultimate high priest, but also as the perfect lamb to be sacrificed. Through His death, He made atonement for the sins of humans for all time. The book of Hebrews explains:

“Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son [Jesus] also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying…he came to help the descendants of Abraham. Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:14-17, NLT)

The writer of Hebrews goes on to say: “[Jesus] is the kind of high priest we need because he is holy and blameless, unstained by sin. He has been set apart from sinners and has been given the highest place of honor in heaven. Unlike those other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins.” (Hebrews 7:26-27 ,NLT)

The final blood sacrifice for the atonement of sins was made in the New Testament with Jesus’ death on the cross. Just as Abraham cut animals in two “God, through His Son, allowed himself to be torn to pieces—not because He broke the covenant, but because we did. He knew we couldn’t keep our end of the bargain, so he said, ‘I’ll do it for you.  I’ll pay the debt you can never repay.’ God fulfilled both the old covenant and the new covenant.”  (Tyler Scott, The Marriage Ref p. 34-35)

As graphic and awful as the description of blood covenants and sacrifices sounds, our sin is even more horrific to God. Yet, in His mercy, Jesus made it possible for us to be washed clean and made new. We have no need for dismembered animals and bloodshed for covenant agreements anymore. And in our spiritual lives, the requirement for blood to flow has been eliminated because of the sacrifice Jesus made. We’re included in God’s covenant simply by believing in Christ and accepting the part He played for us. And this is good news, indeed. 

What’s most striking about the Lord is that He’s always been faithful to keep His covenants, regardless of our fickle nature as humans. If you feel gratitude for this, “Yes I Will” is a fantastic song by Vertical Worship that provides words to reaffirm your commitment to Him.

Florence Litauer, Journey to Jesus, Hensley Publishing, 2004.

Tyler Scott, The Marriage Ref, Condeo Press, 2011.

Faith Foundation #5: Why Did Jesus Have to Die?

Have you ever wondered why, exactly, Jesus had to die for us? Ever thought, “I didn’t ask for a Savior, so why do I need one?” Maybe you’ve questioned if “good” people really deserve to be labelled as “sinners.” My last post explained the first of four key concepts: God Loves You. Today’s post explores the second truth: There is a problem, sin separates us from God.

The Concept of Covenant

Before we can answer these questions, we need to understand the concept of a covenant, which defined simply is “a binding relationship based on a promise.”  In his book The Marriage Ref, pastor and author Tyler Scott explains: “In order to fully appreciate the meaning of this new covenant [made by Jesus in the New Testament], we need to understand what the old covenant meant.  The old covenant first began to take shape in Genesis 2.  There, God makes a covenant with Adam in language that is strong, clear and definitive:

“The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.’” (Genesis 2:15-16, NIV)

The Covenant is Broken & Sin Enters the World

Genesis 3 describes Satan in the form of a serpent tempting Adam and Eve to break their covenant with God, thus bringing sin into the world.  He planted seeds of doubt about God’s goodness, and caused them to think He was holding out on them by not letting them eat from a certain tree in the garden.

The choice Adam and Eve made to sin and break the covenant with God had a ripple effect that changed the world for all time.  The consequences of their choice changed the relationship between God and humans and forever altered the course of human history.

Author Josh McDowell explains, “The Bible indicates that God created man and woman so he could share his love and glory with them.  But Adam and Eve chose to rebel and go their own way.  They left God’s love and protection, contaminating themselves with that self-willed, grasping, prideful nature we call sin.” (More than a Carpenter p. 153)

The Problem of Sin

McDowell goes on to explain, “God dearly loved Adam and Eve– even after they spurned Him—he wanted to reach out to them and save them from the deadly path they had chosen.  But God faced a dilemma.  Because God is not only loving but also holy, righteous, and just, sin cannot survive in his presence.  His very holy, just, and righteous nature would destroy the sinful couple.“ (Josh McDowell, More than a Carpenter p. 153)

Romans 6:23 makes this concept clear: “The wages of sin is death.”

God is not mean, cruel, unkind or exclusive. But because He is perfect and holy, sin is consumed in His presence, just like the flames pictured above would consume anything in their path.  We don’t think of a fire as being cruel for burning things; that is simply its nature.  God’s pure holiness and goodness is like this.  It simply destroys anything in His presence that is not pure and holy.

God’s Solution to the Problem of Sin

The Father, Son and Holy Spirit made an astounding decision in light of Adam and Eve’s choice to sin: “[Jesus] made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:7-8, NIV)

Josh McDowell explains, “Because He was not only finite man but also infinite God, He had the infinite capacity to take on himself the sins of the world.  When Jesus was executed on the cross more than two thousand years ago, God accepted his death as a substitute for ours.  The just and righteous nature of God was satisfied.  Justice was done; a penalty was paid. So at that point God’s love nature was set free from the constrictions of justice, and He could accept us again and offer us what we had lost in Eden—that original relationship in which we could experience his love and glory.” (p. 154)

McDowell sums up Romans 3:25-36 explaining, “When Jesus died on the cross, he died not only for us, but he also died to meet the holy and just requirements intrinsic in the basic nature of God.  The contamination was removed so we could stand clean in his presence.” (p. 155)

“When God looks at us, in spite of his tremendous love for us, he has to bring down the gavel and say death because He is a righteous and just God.  And yet, because he is also a loving God, he was willing to come down off his throne in the form of the man Jesus Christ and pay the price for us, which was his death on the cross.” (p. 156)

Why Did Blood Have to Be Shed?

Remember the idea of covenant I defined earlier? In the Old Testament, the two parties of a covenant would cut animals in half and walk between the divided carcasses. This was the symbol of stepping into a covenant relationship with one another. “When the parties of a covenant walked between the pieces of bloodied animal flesh, they were saying, in effect, ‘I will fulfill this covenant—and if I break it, may I be cut into bloody pieces like these dismembered animals.'” God made a covenant like this with Abraham in Genesis 15 when He promised to give him descendants and to bless the world through them. He did this “knowing full well that Abraham and all human beings were incapable of keeping the covenant.” (Tyler Scott, The Marriage Ref p. 34-35)

Later in the Old Testament Abraham’s ancestors were instructed by Moses to make animal sacrifices to God to atone for their sins. Author Florence Littauer explains, “There was no access to God without first making a sacrifice. Sin could only be forgiven by the substitution of an animal for the sinner himself—an innocent animal had to die in the place of the guilty man.” (Journey to Jesus, p. 210)

The final blood sacrifice for the atonement of sins was made in the New Testament with Jesus’ death on the cross: “God, through His Son, allowed himself to be torn to pieces—not because He broke the covenant, but because we did. He knew we couldn’t keep our end of the bargain, so he said, ‘I’ll do it for you.  I’ll pay the debt you can never repay.’ God fulfilled both the old covenant and the new covenant.”  (Tyler Scott, The Marriage Ref p. 34-35)

As graphic and awful as the description of blood covenants and sacrifices sounds, our sin is even more horrific to God. Yet, in His mercy, Jesus made it possible for us to be washed clean and made new. And this is good news, indeed. Click on the link and celebrate this tremendous truth with the song “My Victory” by Crowder.

 

References and suggestions for further reading:

  • Littauer, Florence, Journey to Jesus, Hensley Publishing, 2004
  • McDowell, Josh, More Than a Carpenter, Tyndale House 1977, 2005, 2009
  • Scott, Tyler, The Marriage Ref, Condeo Press, 2012