The following is the fifth in a series of eight of the benefits & blessings God has bestowed upon every one of His children:
Striving to maintain your relationship with God, so that He will not distance Himself from you by breaking fellowship with you or by severing you from Himself altogether, need no longer be a concern for you! How can this be true? It is because the success of the New Covenant, unlike the Old Covenant whose success depended upon the faithfulness of the people, depended upon the faithfulness of Jesus. This is evidence: (1) In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14); (2) And for this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, in order 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 (Hebrews 9:15-16). In other words, the success of the New Covenant depends upon Jesus, not you.
When God entered into covenant with Israel, this was His message to them: “I will do My part [bless you!], provided, however, that you do your part [keep My laws!]. As you well-know, they were unable to do their part, not even close. Consequently, they never had access to God and they completely rejected Jesus.
On the other hand, when God instituted the New Covenant, this was His message: “I will do My part [bless you with every spiritual blessing!] AND Jesus will do your part [live in perfect faithfulness and obedience to Me!].
In other words, we can (and should!) cease striving and, simply, receive His gift of grace—LAVISHED GRACE!
"This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (John 6:29 NASB).
1 comment:
"Strive" is to give great effort, or struggle, in this case, to have relationship with God. While I may not "struggle" to keep relationship with the Lord, I do have to give some effort to the relationship, just like I would to any relationship. You have watched me for the last year or so, having increased my time in prayer, which has certainly made a difference in my life and enriched my relationship with the Lord.
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