Regional Synod of Canada - Reformed Church in America

Pioneer Christian Monthly

Date - Mar/94

Contributor - Bert De Lange

Title - The Bible, The Covenant and Us

Topic - Covenant

Are you in the covenant?

That's a rather important question, when we look at how many times the Bible speaks about the covenant. The word covenant" is used almost 300 times, and the idea of the covenant occurs many more times than that.

What do you, as a Bible reader, have to do with the covenant? Is it important for you? Is it meaningful to know about it, and to live with it?

What do we mean by the covenant?

A covenant, in general, is an agreement between two parties. This agreement usually is accompanied by promises and obligations which need to be kept and fulfilled. And usually it is confirmed by a solemn ceremony.

Covenant-making of this sort was engaged in by many people (I Sam. 20:8); between tribal chiefs (Gen. 26.283 1) and between kings and nations (1 Kings 5:12).

Do you know that marriage is also called a covenant in the Bible (Ma 14, Prov. 2:17 ? And can you see why it is so called?

However, in this article we especially want to focus on the covenant of God, which is central in the Bible. The covenant He made with Abraham, which was for all Israel, points to the coming Saviour. In that covenant the Lord said: I am your God, and you belong to me. I want to take care of you in every respect. I promise you everything you need to live: a land, food, security and much more (Gen. 17:1-8).

In the time of the Old Testament, the sign of this covenant was circumcision, which was to be administered to all male babies of eight days old (Gen. 17:11, 12).

The covenant now

Abraham lived a long time ago. The Israelites, as people of the covenant, seem to have moved away from the scene.

Can we still think of a covenant of God in which we partake? An important factor to consider when deciding which answer we choose for this question is: Where do we see the church starting? Do we think that it was on the day of Pentecost, after Jesus Christ had done His work and the Holy Spirit was poured out? Or do we say the church had already begun with Abraham?

People who choose the first answer often say: The covenant is an Old Testament concept, restricted to a certain time, which isn't valid for the people of the New Testament.

People who choose the second answer (and that includes the Reformers), think a bit differently about this question. They see that the Lord had a special covenant with the people of Israel and they acknowledge that aspects of this covenant aren't applicable in New Testament times. But they state also that God's covenant with Abraham is broader than the covenant with the people of Israel for Old Testament times. They state that Abraham is not only the father of the Israelites, but also the father of all believers (Rom. 4:12-17). And they see the covenant of God still continuing for all believers and their seed.

Therefore, Peter can tell the people on the day of Pentecost: "For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God will call" (Acts 2:3 9). Also, Paul can say to the Ephesian Christians of Gentile origin: "You are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19).

So we may say that believers today still partake in the covenant, and also their children as well have a special relationship with God, even though they may not yet be believers. God's promise and calling still comes to them in a special w Could it be because of this covenant relationship, which God wants to have with believers and their families, that Paul tells a Corinthian woman that her children are holy(set apart for the lord) and that even her unbelieving husband is sanctified?

The use of the covenant for us

Does it make any different to us whether or not there is a covenant of God for us today? We can look at this question from several different sides.

Why would we worry about it? We know that God's promises are there for us, and we believe we have everything in Christ Jesus; so why bother ourselves about a covenant?

Let's look again at marriage, which is also called a covenant in the Bible. Would you think that it makes a difference whether or not you are married to someone? Of course, without being married you can have a good relationship with someone, you can mean much to each other. Today many people just live together without the whole ritual of marriage. But does that mean that marriage means nothing? Of course not! Marriage is meaningful because of the vows you make. These vows are promises of the faithfulness you may expect from each other. There can be difficult times between wives and husbands. They can sometimes even forget what the saw in each other at the time they were married. But despite the difficulties, they still stay together and try to find each other again because they are married.

So we see the importance of the covenant relationship between God and ourselves, even if we have almost reached the year 2000. We may live in this covenant - a covenant which speaks of God's faithfulness and the lasting relationship He wants to have with us, and with our children as well.

Even in a Christian family troubles can arise: For a child who has drifted away from the right path, his parent prays: "O God, bring my child back, remembering covenant! Let my child feel that he is obliged to Thee." Even if we never see any response to the covenant, we can't reject the whole idea of the covenant because of failures on our part.

It was God's decision to bring us into a covenant relationship with Him. And from the history of the Israelites we learn that God doesn't give up on His covenant even people aren't interested in it any more. God keeps the covenant, and through Him it is still calling us to know and obey Him.

Covenant and faith

One thing we shouldn't forget: We are not saved just because we are outwardly in God's covenant. We need a personal faith and love for the Lord in response to the promises given us in the covenant.

Otherwise, we make the same mistakes as the Israelites, who sometimes boasted in the covenant of God but didn't live with the covenant.

But thanks be to God - fortunately God's covenant is so rich that He promises through it everything we need to live with Him. In Jeremiah 31:33, God's covenant promise is: "I will put my law in their inward parts, and write in their hearts; and will be their God, and they will be my people."

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