Covenant of Grace

This year I am teaching two home-school history classes. One is a continuation of the class that I have been teaching for the last 4 years. This class is for older kids and both of my boys attend this class. The second class is for younger kids, fourth grade and under. Hannah, my daughter, attends this one. In the younger class we have literally gone back to the very beginning of history. The first event in history that we studied with the younger class was Creation. From there we move through Biblical and world history and see how and when they overlap. It has been a good reminder for me to go back and revisit some things that I haven't looked at or considered in four years.

About a week ago we studied God's covenant with Abram as recorded in Genesis 15. It was such a powerful story and is so applicable to us today as believers that I wanted to share it in a post, so here we go. (Warning; this may be lengthy.)

The first thing we must understand in examining the covenant process is to realize that this process was common place in the ancient middle east. A covenant is simply a promise between two parties to agree to follow through on a set of conditions or circumstances. These were very solemn agreements and were not to be taken lightly. Often times a covenant would extend past those who made the promise to all of their descendants.

The example that I used in the class was to imagine two neighbors who were both farmers shared a watering hole for their sheep. These two neighbors would promise each other through a covenant to allow each other access to the watering hole. They would both agree to enter into a covenant with each other and would then arrange the covenant process.

The act of making a covenant often involved cattle or sheep for sacrifice. The two parties involved would kill the animals by severing them into two pieces, the front half and the back half. They would then separate the pieces of their sacrifice by placing them a certain distance apart. This would create a pathway between the halves of their sacrifice. It also left a significant amount of blood that connected the two halves. The two farmers in our illustration would then walk on the path of blood between the severed halves of the animal. This act was a declaration of promise to hold to the terms of the agreement. This act also stated to the other who was involved that if they did not uphold their end of the covenant that there would be a penalty. They were literally stating as they walked through the sacrifice that if they violated the terms of the covenant that the other party could then do to them what they had just done to the animals. So, the making of a covenant was literally an oath of death.

That takes us to Genesis 15. I will assume that you can read the text yourself, but I will summarize the story for you. God tells Abram to gather a cow, a goat, a ram, and some birds to prepare them for the covenant process. Abram obeys and sacrifices the animals and then severs
all but the birds into two pieces, separating them and leaving the trail of blood in the middle between them. As nightfall comes, God places Abram into a deep sleep. In a vision, while sleeping, Abram sees a smoking oven and a burning torch pass between the animal halves. God then speaks to Abram and promises again to fulfill His covenant with him.

A simple reading of this narrative provides us with a glimpse one of the seemingly odd stories that make up the Old Testament. It is easy to skim over stories like this and miss what is going on within the text. However there are some important things to draw out of this passage. One of the most important is not what we read in the text, but rather what we don't read. If you read the text you will notice that the only things that walk between the halved sacrifices were a smoking oven and a burning torch. These two items are representative of God. It was a burning bush that revealed the I AM to Moses. By smoke and flame God would lead His children, Israel, out of Egypt. Mount Sinai became a smoking mountain as the most holy God handed down His law to His people in Exodus 20. So the interesting thing in this covenant between God and Abram is that God alone agrees to the covenant. This is the oddest of all covenants because it is completely one-sided. Abram does not walk through. He can't because there is nothing he can do to uphold his end of the covenant. Abram is simply left to trust by faith that God will grant through His grace what God has sworn to do.

There is only one term that is placed on the covenant for Abram and his descendants. That requirement is simply obedience to God. If Abram cannot obey God, he violates the terms of the covenant. But that is where the imagery of this covenant gets so powerful. Because God was the only one who walked through the sacrifice, He is the only one who upholds it. The statement that God makes as He alone passes through the blood is that if either party violates the covenant, then He alone will take the punishment. God cannot violate His terms of the covenant because they rest on the very promise of who He is. There is no way Abram can keep his one condition of the covenant for he is sinful and can only fail. Yet God declares as He walks in the blood that should either party fail to keep the covenant that He will pay the penalty.

For me, this is such a powerful picture of grace and mercy. For it was in this ceremony 2000 years before He would send His own son into the world that He had already promised the sacrifice. As the God the Father passed through the bloody path He was declaring that He was the sacrifice. It is as if God said, "Abram, what you have done to these animals, I will do to myself. So that I may pour the riches of my love and mercy upon you, I will send my own Son, God of very God, to fulfill this covenant promise."

So we see the covenant and the cross tied together in scripture. It adds a new dimension or another facet cut on the jewel of God's grace when we read a passage like Isaiah 53 and realize that this had been His divine purpose since before that desert night in the middle of Canaan.

4 Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

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Confessions

As I was preparing to teach the next couple of weeks I came across this history I thought I would share.

As the teenager of a heathen father and a Christian mother living in North Africa during the late 300's AD, young Augustine would fill his life with the passions of whatever he set his heart upon. Rejecting the pleading of his mother to become a believer and follower of Christ, he pursued education and specifically, pursued fulfilling the desires of his flesh through all manners of sexual lust. Before he was twenty, he had taken a concubine that he would keep for the next 15 years. He had this to say about those years, "I went to Carthage, where I found myself in the midst of a hissing cauldron of lust. . . . My real need was for you, my God, who are the food of the soul. I was not aware of this hunger." "I was willing to steal, and steal I did, although I was not compelled by any lack." "I was at the top of the school of rhetoric. I was pleased with my superior status and swollen with conceit. . . . It was my ambition to be a good speaker, for the unhallowed and inane purpose of gratifying human vanity."

As he lived his life, devoted to pleasures of selfishness, he drew ever nearer to God through various theological and often heretical studies. In his early thirties he came under the teaching of the great preacher Ambrose where he began to realize his need for something more. However, he could not reconcile his need for God with the sinful desires of his flesh. That is until August of 386. At 32 years of age, while in a garden with his friend, Alypius, the following exchange between Augustine and a Holy God took place, an exchange that fought for fleshly desires with irresistible grace.

"There was a small garden attached to the house where we lodged. . . . I now found myself driven by the tumult in my breast to take refuge in this garden, where no one could interrupt that fierce struggle in which I was my own contestant. . . . I was beside myself with madness that would bring me sanity. I was dying a death that would bring me life. . . . I was frantic, overcome by violent anger with myself for not accepting your will and entering into your covenant. . . . I tore my hair and hammered my forehead with my fists; I locked my fingers and hugged my knees.

I was held back by mere trifles. . . They plucked at my garment of flesh and whispered, "Are you going to dismiss us? From this moment we shall never be with you again, for ever and ever.". . . And while I stood trembling at the barrier, on the other side I could see the chaste beauty of Continence in all her serene, unsullied joy, as she modestly beckoned me to cross over and to hesitate no more. She stretched out loving hands to welcome and embrace me.

I flung myself down beneath a fig tree and gave way to the tears which now streamed from my eyes . . . In my misery I kept crying, "How long shall I go on saying 'tomorrow, tomorrow'? Why not now? Why not make an end of my ugly sins at this moment?" . . . All at once I heard the singsong voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or a girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the refrain 'Take it and read, take it and read.' At this I looked up, thinking hard whether there was any kind of game in which children used to chant words like these, but I could not remember ever hearing them before. I stemmed my flood of tears and stood up, telling myself that this could only be a divine command to open my book of Scripture and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall.
So I hurried back to the place where Alypius was sitting . . . seized [the book of Paul's epistles] and opened it, and in silence I read the first passage on which my eyes fell: "Not in reveling in drunkenness, not in lust and wantonness, not in quarrels and rivalries. Rather, arm yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ; spend no more thought on nature and nature's appetites" (Romans 13:13-14). I had no wish to read more and no need to do so. For in an instant, as I came to the end of the sentence, it was as though the light of confidence flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled."

Later, in his book, Confessions, Augustine would write this about his conversion experience.

"During all those years, where was my free will? What was the hidden, secret place from which it was summoned in a moment, so that I might bend my neck to your easy yoke . . .? How sweet all at once it was for me to be rid of those fruitless joys which I had once feared to lose . . ! You drove them from me, you who are the true, the sovereign joy. You drove them from me and took their place, you who are sweeter than all pleasure, though not to flesh and blood, you who outshine all light, yet are hidden deeper than any secret in our hearts, you who surpass all honor, though not in the eyes of men who see all honor in themselves. . . . O Lord my God, my Light, my Wealth, and my Salvation." (Bold emphasis mine)

As I consider the testimony of Augustine, I am compelled and convicted to give to God all of my "fruitless joys" and find in Him my "sovereign joy", complete happiness and contentment in Him alone. Consider also with me this statement by C.S. Lewis, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased." May His grace enable us to taste and see and treasure Him above all and to find in Him . . . Him, infinite joy.

All italics are quotes of Augustine taken from the book The Legacy of Sovereign Joy by John Piper

An Invitation

I have been extended the opportunity to teach one of our church's adult Family Bible Hour classes over the next couple of weeks. This class has been going through the book of Acts verse by verse and this week we will be discussing the Jerusalem council in chapter 15. I will not be teaching this week, but in the next couple of weeks following this coming Sunday I will be teaching the class. When I substitute for the class, we will leave the book of Acts behind and move forward into early church history to discuss the creeds, confessions, and councils of the early church fathers and what role those events play in our lives today. We will be discussing dates, people with names no one can pronounce, and lot's of various "ism's" (asceticism, antonomianism, Pelagianism, etc.) So, if you are in the area and would like to fall asleep to the sound of my voice, we would love to have you. Actually, it should be a very interesting study and I am looking forward to teaching the class. As a result of my study preparation over the next few weeks, there may be a related post or two that ends up here. If you've managed to read this far consider yourself officially invited to attend.

Sir Walter Raleigh

This past Monday, October 29, marked the anniversary of the death of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1618. Purely by coincidence, the history class that I teach was studying that period of time and specifically Sir Walter. A couple of things we found extremely interesting about the chap.

First of all, I love the following quote. He was sentenced to death by beheading and he actually examined the very ax that would carry out his sentence. As he looked it over, he remarked, "This is sharp medicine, but it is a physician for all diseases and miseries."

To appreciate the next tidbit you need to realize that the class is almost equally made up of boys and girls. As boys and girls are prone to be at the ages of 8 to 13, they have some very different interest when it comes to history and life. Obviously the girls enjoy the historical characters whose lives are surrounded with great love and passion, while the boys thrive on stories of death, conquests, and plagues. Well we are in luck, for Sir Walt (we are on nickname basis by this point) was a true Renaissance Man who wrote poetry, fought battles, loved passionately, and died bravely which of course pleased everyone in the class. As we finished the study on Sir Walt, ending with his death, we concluded with one last gruesome detail for the boys. History records for us that upon his untimely head and body separation, that his body was buried in Westminster and his head was embalmed and given to . . . his wife! She kept the head of her dearly departed in a velvet bag for some time until she could no longer tolerate the stench and she had it reunited with the rest of him. At this point in the class, my 10 year old son, Caleb, raises his hand and says, "I'm guessing she never remarried. Seeing as how not many guys want to date someone who carries their dead husband's head in a bag." How very true.

Promises Kept

October 31 For many people the month and the day mean one thing only; a celebration of a pagan holiday where hyperactive children are given insane amounts of free sugar and adults find yet another reason to practice debauchery that society views as normal on that day. But, when you place the year 1517 behind the month and the date, it should bring a whole new meaning to the combination of the month and the day.

Before one can understand the full importance of that date, a little historical background should be provided. At this time in history, Europeans had only one choice for church attendance, the local church in their village with a priest, a monk, or a bishop which practiced under the guidance and polity of the universal Church of Rome. During this time, the Church placed a massive emphasis upon the sins of the people and their impending judgement in purgatory or hell. One of the Church authorized means of relieving ones self from the punishment of sin and of guilt was for the sinner to practice the sacrament of penance as assigned to them by their priest. After a priest would hear confession of sins from a parishioner and witness contrition for the sins committed, absolution for the sins was granted by the priest. However, the process was not over yet for the sinner still would need to provide satisfaction for the confessed sins as prescribed by the priest. Usually the satisfaction of the penitent involved fasting, giving alms, or saying a specific prayer a certain number of times. If the sins were more severe, you could be asked to satisfy them by going on a long pilgrimage or on a crusade.

Over time, the Church’s system of penance adopted a new development. They began to allow people to pay penance for the satisfaction of their sins. This practice was a win-win situation for the Church and the penitent; money for the Church and satisfaction for the sinner without the inconvenience of time spent on prayers and pilgrimages. When the Church would receive money for sins committed they would issue to the sinner an official document of the Church that would acknowledge the payment of monies and give the sinner release from any further appointed practice of satisfaction. The official document or papal ticket would become known as an indulgence. The practice of buying and selling indulgences quickly took hold. One of the other practices involved with indulgences was that they could also be purchased for friends and relatives who had already died, thus relieving the amount of time they would have to spend in purgatory.

With that background set, we can now look at the importance of October 31, 1517. In the country of Germany at that time, in the vicinity of Wittenburg, there was an indulgence seller named Johann Tetzel. He was a high pressure salesman who had catchy jingle for his indulgences that went something like this, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” As Tetzel’s indulgence selling neared the very gates of Wittenburg, he unknowingly was about to receive the ire of a young monk who lived in Wittenburg. A young monk by the name of Martin Luther.

For a few years now, Luther had been practicing a slightly different religion then what the standard European church would practice. He had come under the grip of the Holy Word of God, specifically Romans 1:17 “The righteous will live by faith” and had been guided by the Spirit to see that his life’s practice of works righteousness could never compare to the sufficiency of Christ alone. In later years Luther would say this of his conversion, “My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement 'the just shall live by faith.' Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning...This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven.”

This recently converted monk began to see the abuses of the universal Church. He understood they impact of souls being eternally damned to Hell through the practices of buying and selling indulgences. As Tetzel neared the gates of Wittenburg, Luther took pen in hand and wrote ninety-five statements of abuse by the Church of Rome. On the thirty-first day of October, Martin took those ninety-five theses and nailed them to the door of Wittenburg Castle for all to read. With that single action, he sparked a flame that would soon sweep all of Europe in a firestorm. For that one nail held the convictions that would soon unite the reformers of the past with those who were yet to come, and it allowed the present reformers to stand and proclaim the light of the true Gospel, Christ alone.

So, while this is all well and good and yes, we can nod our heads and say that we are thankful for the early reformers like Luther, what can we take from this event in history and hold on to and make our own? I believe there are many and while my list is not exhaustive, I will share a few.

The story of the Reformation reminds me of the importance of prayer. Almost every time I read about the early reformers, I am reminded of a term that almost made me cringe the first time I heard it, posthumous joy. Picture it this way. Let us say that in the twelfth century AD there lived an old man who had been enlightened with the true joy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. There was not much he could do but pray for the Gospel to continue to be illuminated to the lost and dying around him, but pray he did. He prayed for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to come and to start a revival that would sweep through the Church and bring many to Jesus. He prayed faithfully from the day of his conversion until the day of his death and never saw that revival come. Now picture that same man in Heaven as centuries later or in eternity future he sees God’s sovereign hand answering the prayers of the faithful as the Reformation begins. Picture that man walking with Luther and John Huss in Glory and saying, “I prayed you would come and God faithfully answered my prayers.” Imagine then the posthumous joy of the saints of God as they glorify the One who is Faithful and True. We are never promised an answer to our prayers in our lifetime, but we are commanded to pray. James 5:16b

The second thing I am reminded of is the power of Scripture. Luther was one of the most devoted followers of man-made religious practices, but it was God’s Word that moved within him and planted the seed that sovereignly grew into Salvation. Hebrews 4:12

I also think of the faithfulness of God and how He fulfills His promises to us. Christ promised that His church would stand and the gates of Hell would not prevail against it. At times in the darkness of the middle ages and at various times in history, it appears as if thought the Church has disappeared or almost destroyed. But God kept His promise and He will continue to do so. Hebrews 10:23

Finally, I am reminded of how thankful I truly am for Jesus Christ. When I look at all of the man-made devices of “salvation,” I am in awe of the sufficiency of Christ alone. If I was left to find my own means of salvation I would never make it. There is nothing I could do that would be enough to make up for what I have done. There is nothing I can add that helps save me a little bit more. It only upon Christ that my hope rests and I am so thankful that it is the only way. Hebrews 4:14-16
If you are interested in reading about other aspects of the Reformation click here Challies.com.