Much Better! The New Covenant

Recently, I had the great joy of marrying a special young couple for whom I had provided pre-marital counseling.  It was cool to observe them stare into each other's eyes with that "I love you but I hope I don't pass out" look as they repeated their vows.  As they did, it reminded me that wedding vows are the closet thing we have to a covenant in our culture today.  Christ followers have entered into what Jesus called the New Covenant by very few know what this means.  This void has made us vulnerable to being ambushed by religion and the pain of the flesh.  We see them every week at Grace Life International. A covenant is an agreement between two parties pledging their commitment and responsibilities to each other.  It is binding until one of them dies.   In ancient times, it might be between a king who set up a covenant with the people he had conquered.  The people may not have been given the choice of agreeing.  This was a very authoritative, legal covenant. Another version was much more relational.  In the Old Covenant, God gave Himself to Israel as their authoritative King and their loving Husband.  Key Elements of A Covenant 1. Binding vows.  2. Responsibilities and blessings.   Each had responsibilities for the other which would result in blessings for both.  For example, you and I might commit to be responsible for helping each other if one was attacked.  The blessing would be that we would both have twice the defense for defeating an enemy.   3. The Cutting of the Covenant.   The two parties would walk in a figure eight around animals sacrificed and cut in half in two piles. Now the covenant was sealed in blood until someone died.  The sacrificed animals were also a warning of what would befall someone who broke the covenant!
4. The Covenant Meal.  Both the enjoyed a meal together, eating the cooked animals showing they had internalized the covenant in the very fabric of their being.  5. A sign of the covenant.  There was always a sign covenant as a constant reminder of the relationship.  For example, my wedding ring constantly reminds me of my marriage covenant with my wife.
 Did you know that the Old and New Covenants have all five elements (which I will share next week)?  Did you also know that when Jesus died as one of the parties of the Old Covenant, it ended and the New Covenant was inaugurated?  Read Hebrews 9:16-17.
 "Like a will that takes effect when someone dies, the new covenant was put into action at Jesus’ death. His death marked the transition from the old plan to the new one, canceling the old obligations and accompanying sins, and summoning the heirs to receive the eternal inheritance that was promised them. He brought together God and his people in this new way." I am excited for the deeper intimacy, freedom, and fruitfulness in Christ that await you as God unfolds the New Covenant for you during the next few weeks.
 Believe it!  It's the Gospel!
Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder
www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Godly Affirmations:Forgive Yourself

Years ago, a young couple, who were in a lot of trouble, came in for counseling. From a sheer human perspective, it seemed very unlikely that they could hold their marriage together.  She had committed serious adultery producing a chasm of pain between them that neither of them could traverse.  The one glimmer of hope was that their pastor had led her to faith in Christ before he referred them to me and the husband was already a believer. 

After listening to their heartbreaking story, I asked them the questions we often ask couples with marital problems, "Do you want your marriage to work?" and "Are you willing to let God work in your lives to do whatever it takes to heal your marriage?"  They both answered "Yes".

There was much to help them with over the next few months.  One was the need to forgive Biblically based on the Gospel.  We spent a lot of time understanding that the good news of the Gospel meant that Jesus had died for every sin they had committed, including her adultery and his lack of loving leadership.  For example, Colossians 2:13 says, "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins."    Please notice that we have been forgiven (past tense) for all of our sins.  The challenge is twofold.  First, do we believe God has forgiven each sin, especially that one we are so ashamed of, such as adultery?  Second, have we forgiven ourselves for that sin?

Some balk at the idea of forgiving ourselves saying it isn't Biblical.  However, loving our neighbor as we love ourselves includes forgiving ourselves just as we would our neighbor.  And more importantly, forgiving ourselves is rooted in God's forgiveness of us.  Since he has forgiven us, we can forgive ourselves.  In fact, it is prideful not to forgive ourselves since God has already forgiven us!  Colossians 2:14 says, He canceled the record that contained the charges against us. He took it and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's cross.

When I challenged the husband to make a list of everyone and to Biblically forgive, I have to admit that I was surprised to hear from him that the person he struggled to forgive the most was not his wife, but himself.  It took him several weeks before he was ready to forgive himself.  Wow!  But once he did, even his face looked different because the burden of unforgiveness towards himself had lifted.

Why don't you affirm this week that Jesus died for every one of your sins by sitting down with God and forgiving yourself.  Tell God what you have done and how you feel about yourself, then forgive yourself.  You'll be glad you did!

Believe it!  This is the Gospel!                      

Live Free In Christ, 
Mark Maulding, President and Founder 
www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Crucified - The Old Nature is Dead

   Have you ever tasted a cake that had some of the ingredients left out?  It is so awful; you will not eat another bite because it may gag you and make you throw up!  In the same way, if you leave some of the ingredients out of the Gospel, it can have devastating effects in your life.

   For example, most Christians understand that they have received forgiveness and are going to heaven but don't know that they have also been crucified with Christ or what this means.

   Romans 6:6 says, "Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin."  Old self is a reference to the old nature, that is, our identity in Adam before we were in Christ.

   The Apostle Paul is saying, "Don't you know this, Christian?  If not, you should."  What are we to know?  We are to know that our old identity of being born a sinner was crucified with Christ on the cross.  The Greek language here is very specific.  It means that this sinner identity died with Christ a final death that is complete.  (Col. 2:10-11)

   You do not have a civil war in you between the old nature and the new nature.  The old nature is dead and gone.  We now deal with the flesh which is different than the old nature.  Our new identity is saint, not sinner!

Live Free In Christ, 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder 

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding but may be shared with others!