What Happens to Unfruitful Branches?

What Happens to Unfruitful Branches?

Paul Ellis

Jesus said, “if you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). In the hands of a religious person this becomes a conditional statement: You have to keep the commands of Jesus to prove your love. The problem with that, however, is the commands of Jesus are impossible to keep. As we saw in our last post, Jesus said anyone who keeps His commands, “will do what I have been doing and even greater things.” Well Jesus healed the sick and raised the dead. Can you? On your own it’s impossible, but that’s okay because you know what? Jesus has a plan. In the very next verse He begins to tell us what it is:

“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, who will stay with you forever.” (Jn 14:16)

Who is the Helper? He’s the Holy Spirit, the One who empowers us to show and tell the gospel of the kingdom(Rms 15:19). (Note that the Holy Spirit doesn’t come and go. Jesus said He will “be with you forever”!) Jesus then tells the disciples that on the day that the Holy Spirit is given,

“… you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” (Jn 14:20)

This is the most awesome, incredible thing in the world! This is the mystery that Paul sought to make known to the Gentiles – Christ is in you! And you’re in Him! Do you need a picture to help you see this? Then look at the picture on the right…

Jesus said He is the true vine and we are the branches. Look at the picture and draw a mental circle around the vine. Do you see any branches that are not part of the vine? The vine is bigger than any branch but there’s no branch that is not also vine. Touch any branch and you are touching the vine. This is how Hudson Taylor describes it:

“Here, I feel, is the secret: not asking how I am to get sap out of the Vine into myself, but remembering that Jesus is the Vine – the root, stem, branches, twigs, leaves, flowers, fruit all indeed… I have not got to make myself a branch. The Lord Jesus tells me I am a branch. I am part of him and I have just to believe it and act upon it.” (Quoted in The Normal Christian Life, pp.56-7)

Now Jesus knows that you can’t bear fruit – “no branch can bear fruit by itself” (Jn 15:4) – but He plans to bear His fruit through us. What’s our part in this? He wants us to abide in Him, which means to dwell or stay put. It means don’t run off and try to do your own thing in your own strength. What’s His part? He plans to live His life through us and go on healing the sick and delivering the oppressed and doing all the other heaven-on-earth things He did when He was here in the flesh (Mk 16:17-18).

Are you a branch with no fruit?

What happens to unfruitful branches? Jesus said the branches that don’t bear fruit are “lifted up” (Jn 15:2). They are not cut off – that is a bad translation that would’ve made no sense to a Mediterranean listener! A viticulturalist would never throw away a branch for that would be like amputating part of the vine. (If you’re thinking of suckers, see my note in the comments below.) Unfruitful branches are lifted out of the dirt and re-dressed so they can be nourished by the sun. Sticking with that metaphor, the reason why some Christians are barren is that they’re facedown in the dirt and not looking at the Son. They’re busy, distracted, stressed, and have wandered from their protos agape, their primary love. When believers lose sight of Christ’s love they tend to become religious, just like the Ephesians. The next thing you know, they’re thinking that they have do stuff like obey His commandments to prove their love or earn His.

What is the remedy for unfruitful branches? God is. He is the Gardener who does the lifting up. He is not there to slash and burn but to prune and lift. As you begin to bear fruit it will be for His glory, not yours. If you’ve been distracted doing the dead works of religion, just stop and come back to your first love which is His love. His love is like food for us. We are energized by it. I might tell myself that I am writing these posts because of my love for Him, but in truth, it’s His love for me that compels me to tell others the good news. I would not love Him except that He has first loved me (1 Jn 4:19).

God believes in you!

When Jesus said, “if you love me, you will keep my commandments,” He was not making a threat but a promise! He was saying, “If you love me you will do the works and greater works that I have done because I’m the one who’s going to do them through you. Trust me! Believe in me! Abide in me!” Why does Jesus say we will do greater works? Because 2000 years ago there was only one Christ, but now there are millions of Little Christs. Back then He was just a tender shoot (Is 53:2), but now He’s a mighty vine with branches reaching into every place.  Back then God lived in just one man, but now He lives in millions of men, women and children all around the world and He wants out! What are the greater works? They are the works of Jesus done millions of times over, every day, all over the world by ordinary branches like you and me.

Aren’t you amazed that God operates this way – through people? It’s like God is saying, “I believe in you. I have confidence that you will come to rest in my love and allow me to reveal myself to you and through you.” Carnal religion says it’s all about you and your faith so you’d better perform, but the gospel of grace declares it’s about Him and His faith so rest! Paul understood this which is why he said, “the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me” (Gal 2:20).

Branches can not bear fruit but vines can and do so naturally, without any effort. As a branch you carry the nature of the True Vine in you and He will bear His fruit through you. He promised! Do you believe Him?

At this point you probably want me to tell you what to do. “What’s the takeaway? What must I do?” We Christians are so hung up on working for God that we don’t know what to do with Jesus when He says, “just abide!” Okay, here’s something you can do. Write this down. The next time you’re faced with a problem or trial, take a moment to let Jesus love on you. Allow the Lifter of your head to turn your gaze from the dirt back to Himself and then bask in His love. He is already shining on you. He has already been gracious to you and blessed you and given you His peace. Receive it!

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” (Jn 15:9)

Note: The Greek word airo that is sometimes translated in Jn 15:2 as “cut off” or “take away,” can also mean to elevate, raise up or lift up. Here are some of examples of Jesus using the same word elsewhere: “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Mt 16:24). “They will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all” (Mk 16:18). “Rise, take up thy bed and walk” (Jn 5:8). It makes about as much sense to cut off your bed and walk as it does to cut off bits of an unproducing vine.

Hebrews 10:26 explained

Hebrews 10:26

by Paul Ellis

I get asked more questions on Hebrews 10:26 than any other verse in the Bible. Evidently, this is a verse that troubles many Christians:

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left (Heb 10:26)

Wow! That looks scary! Let’s take a quick survey. Please put your hand up if you have lived a sinless life since accepting Jesus as your Savior. Hmmm. I don’t see any hands. I have been saved for decades and – if I’m honest with you – I cannot say my performance has been flawless throughout that period. I’m pretty sure I sinned this one time back in 1987…

Ha! It’s easy for me to make jokes. I’ve been set free. I no longer mine at the pits of religion with condemnation. I’m drawing from the wells of salvation with joy!

The wrong way to interpret Hebrews 10:26

All jokes aside, Hebrews 10:26 is an oft-abused scripture. If you wanted to use this verse to scare people, there are a couple of angles you could take:

1. You could use this verse to present a “balanced” view of God, like this: “He is a God of grace and He is a God of judgment. He’s not some senile Santa in the sky. He’s a God of vengeance and a consuming fire. It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

2. You could also use this verse to preach works: “You will be judged according to the light of your revelation and those who have received the knowledge of the truth will be held to the highest standard. It’s time for judgment to begin in the house of God. If you fall away it is impossible to be brought back to repentance!”

What is the problem with these messages? Well if you listen to the first one you’re going to come away thinking that God is schizophrenic, at war with His own nature. He loves you, but He doesn’t. It’s unconditional love – with conditions. And if you listen to the second you will either end up a religious fraud or a nervous wreck. You may even wish that you had never heard the gospel because ignorance is bliss.

The tricky part with these false messages is that they are composed of true statements. Our God is a consuming fire. But the interpretation is all wrong. They are anti-cross and anti-Christ. Any message that tells you that God is double-minded or that the good news is bad news ought to be rejected. You know that, right? Good. So how do we read Hebrews 10:26?

Trampling the Son of God under foot

A key to unpackaging this scripture is to recall the audience. Hebrews was written for – surprise, surprise – Hebrews. It was for those who have grown up with the “elementary teachings” of the Old Covenant. In other words, the author writes for an informed audience. They know all about the law, sacrifices, and high priests. But what they may not appreciate is that the law was only a shadow of the good things to come. The law points to the true high priest Jesus and His eternally perfect sacrifice.

Hebrews was written to reveal Christ and His work so that we may “enter through the new and living way,” “go on to maturity,” and “draw near to God.” That last bit is the key. How do I know the two sermonettes above are carnal nonsense? Because neither will inspire you to draw near to God. Indeed, they will have the opposite effect.

Hebrews 10:26 describes those who have received the knowledge of the truth (i.e., they have heard the gospel) but they have rejected it. The writer compares those who reject grace with those who reject law:

Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? (Heb 10:28-29)

This passage is not talking about Christians but those who, like Judas, have heard the truth and spurned it. Judas spent time in the company of the Lord. He not only heard the truth, he saw Grace and Truth in the flesh. But Judas rejected Jesus as Lord. He never saw Jesus as anything other than a rabbi. Calling Jesus “Rabbi” is a bit like calling the President “Mister,” only infinitely more so. It’s not just insulting, it’s unbelief.

Jesus came to give His life for Judas but Judas wasn’t interested. He preferred his own sinful life of greed and betrayal. I am sure Judas had many opportunities to repent (i.e., change his mind) and put his faith in Jesus, but he never did. He rejected the grace of God that could empower him to say no to sin.

Jesus died for Judas. What more could He do? There is nothing! There is no more sacrifice for sins other than the one Jesus provided. To reject Jesus as Lord is to trample the Son of God underfoot and treat the blood of the covenant as unholy.

How do you insult the Spirit of grace?

If I was to give you a free car out of the generosity of my heart, but you insisted on paying for it, I would be insulted. Similarly, we insult the Spirit of grace by trying to pay, with works and sacrifices, what God has freely given us. We may call it “proving our salvation” or “appropriating what God has given” but it is unbelief. It is like saying, “I don’t believe Jesus has done it all. I need to finish what He started.”

The wrong way to read Hebrews is to think that God is judging us on our performance. Over and over again Hebrews tells us that it is Jesus and His performance that matters. It is His sacrifice that made us holy, indeed, perfect forever (Heb 10:10-14). How can we interpret Hebrews 10:26 as a warning against sin when Hebrews 9:26 says that Christ appeared once for all “to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself”? Is His a finished work or isn’t it? If it is, then sin is no longer the problem. Where there is remission of sins, “there is no longer any sacrifice for sin” (Heb 10:18). The good news is that the Son of God is the once and final solution for sin. Because of Jesus, both God the Father and God the Holy Spirit choose to remember our sins no more (see Heb 8:12, 10:17).

The warning of Hebrews

In a forthcoming post I will look at Hebrews 6:4-6, which is another passage that bothers some. But the punch-line is the same. The main warning of Hebrews is not in regard to sin but unbelief:

So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief. (Heb 3:19)

The Hebrews of Moses’ day never entered God’s rest because they hardened their hearts to His voice. In the New Testament era, many Jews were doing exactly the same thing. They received the knowledge of truth, they heard the gospel of truth, but they rejected it. They may not have said so in so many words, but by their actions they revealed their distrust.

For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. (Heb 4:2)

The author of Hebrews writes to stir up faith. Without it we cannot please God. With it we can come boldly to the throne of grace.

But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. (Heb 10:39)

Some people hear the good news of God’s grace and shrink back. They cannot believe it. “It’s too good to be true,” they say. “I’d better cover myself by doing works.” Do you see the danger? You cannot cover yourself. This is idol-worship. You are elevating yourself to co-savior with Christ. You are insulting the Spirit of grace by trying to pay for what God has already given you. This is why sermons that put the emphasis on you and your performance are dangerous. Don’t buy into any message that purports to give you a list of keys or steps that will help you achieve/accomplish/appropriate what you already have. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and the sweat of men to take away sins and it is faithless to strive for what you already have (every good thing!).

According to Hebrews there are only two kinds of people; those who don’t enter because of their unbelief and those who believe and are saved. Sin is not the variable; faith is. Where does faith come from? Jesus! He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith (Heb 12:2). Fix your eyes on Him.

Hebrews 6:4-6 explained

Hebrews 6:4-6

by Paul Ellis

One of the benefits of believing the gospel of grace is that it completely changes the way you read the Bible. You realize that God is not in the bait and switch business of drawing you in with love only to hammer you with law – He is love all the way through. When you see this you will no longer get frightened when you read a passage like Hebrews 10:26  or this one:

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. (Heb 6:4-6)

If you wear the lenses of performance-based Christianity, this could be a scary scripture, for it sounds like your salvation hinges on your behavior. Do good, get good, but fall away and you’re lost forever. If that’s how this scripture appears to you, change your glasses! What you look through determines what you see. So read this scripture through the lens of Jesus and His finished work.

So who and what is this passage describing?

Some say that this scripture is referring to Christians – those who have become sharers or partakers in the Holy Spirit. If so, then the argument being made is deliberately nonsensical. If they fall away it is impossible for them to get saved again because Jesus would have to come and die again. Since Jesus isn’t going to die again, then it’s impossible for them to fall away. Instead of being a threat to your eternal salvation, this verse actually supports it. But I know not everyone will agree.

How many times can you be born again?

I have heard one reputable teacher say that if you are saved through an act of your free will, then you can get unsaved through an act of your free will. I guess the conclusion follows the premise but how true is the premise? Were you born into this world through an act of your free will? No, you had absolutely no say in the matter. So what about your spiritual birth?

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (Joh 1:12-13).

To be born again literally means to be born “from above” or, as John puts it, “born of God.” It is 100% a work of the Spirit. You may think that you came to God of your own free will, but reflect for a moment on what actually happened. Who was it that planted and watered the seed of the gospel? (Not you.) Who was it that made the seed grow? (Not you.) Who was it that lifted the veil so that you could see things as they really are? (Not you.) Do you see? You would never have called on the name of the Lord if He had not first called on you.

I don’t mean to get all zen on you, but here’s my point: When you were dead in the trespasses and uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive together with Christ (Col 2:13). You were dead; now you are alive – all this is because of Him.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, (2 Cor 5:17-18a)

The important thing is not how you got saved, but that you are saved. When you received the gift of salvation, you became a new creation. If you were to fall away, it would be impossible for you to be born again because you have already been born again. It would be like an adult trying to return to the womb and re-enter the world through the birth canal. Just as it can’t happen in the natural, it can’t happen in the spiritual. Once you’re born you’re born! To claim that you can lose your salvation – that you can undo what God has done – is like saying that God makes mistakes. And He doesn’t.

You may act like an old creation just as a butterfly may act like a caterpillar. But when you do, you are acting contrary to you true identity. We used to say that Christians who fell into sin were back-sliders. But a more accurate description is that they are hypocrites. They are acting contrary to their true identity in Christ.

Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Heb 12:14)

“Be holy” is not an instruction for improving performance; it’s an admonition to be who you truly are. Be holy, because you are, in fact, holy. “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus once for all” (Heb 10:10).

Eat the bread of life, don’t just taste it

Others say that this scripture (Heb 6:4-6 remember?) is referring to unbelievers. It is describing those who have tasted but not eaten the heavenly gift. They have seen the light but preferred the darkness. They may have received the gospel with joy but the seed never took root and grew. When trouble came they fell away. To my mind this is a perfect description of Judas.

Along with the other disciples Judas was involved in a supernatural ministry that saw him casting out demons and healing the sick (Mk 6:13). He may have even prophesied in Jesus’ name. Judas tasted the goodness of the word of God but ultimately he rejected it. When he walked out of the first communion he walked out on Jesus. He was basically saying, “No, your blood and your body are not good enough for me.” Judas preferred a DIY religion to the grace of God.

Hebrews 6:4-6 says that it is impossible for people like Judas to be brought back to the place of repentance. Why? Because they have heard the truth and rejected it. They have followed the way of Cain, held to the teaching of Balaam, and are in danger of ending up like Korah. Those who have never heard the good news of God’s grace may yet receive it. But those who have heard and hardened their hearts toward it, are well and truly lost.

A hard heart is a deadly thing. It will keep you from repenting, it will keep you restless and in bondage to works:

So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert.” (Heb 3:7-8)

Judas heard the voice of the Living Word but hardened his heart. He became restless to the point of suicide. He never came to the place of repentance. He never entered that rest which comes only through faith in Christ.

Righteous rain

In Hebrews 5 and 6 we learn that Jesus has been designated by God as a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. To a Hebrew reader raised on the covenant of law, this would have been an astonishing announcement: “Jesus, the eternal high priest, will forever mediate a new and superior covenant of grace underwritten by the unshakeable oath of God.” There are only two possible responses to such an announcement:

Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Heb 6:7-8)

We can either receive the blessing of God that comes down from heaven like rain and, by so doing, become fruitful and useful, or we can reject what God offers us and be worthless and in danger of being cursed. The righteousness that God gives comes to us is like rain:

You heavens above, rain down righteousness; let the clouds shower it down. Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it; I, the Lord, have created it. (Isa 45:8)

God sends His rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. All we can do is respond. We can either put up umbrellas of religious works and say, like Judas, “No thanks, I don’t need it.” Or we can say, “Rain on this filthy sinner and make me clean.” The bad news of the old covenant is that no one will be declared righteous by observing the law (Rom 3:20). The good news of the new is that the righteousness gifted by God comes through faith in Jesus to all who believe (Rom 3:21).
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Three Covenants

Three Covenants

by Andre van der Merwe 

There are many covenants in the Bible, but here we will only focus on three, the first two being covenants which God had made with man and the third one which was made within the Trinity itself. If we comprehend these three covenants it will make the Bible much clearer and simpler to understand. Firstly however we must understand the difference between a covenant and a promise:

When God makes a promise, we have to put our faith in that promise for it to come to pass:

...but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. (Heb 6:12 NKJV, emphasis added) ...who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions. (Heb 11:33 NKJV, emphasis added)

However, when God makes a covenant it will come to pass, whether we believe it or not. God can not lie and when He takes an oath, He always does what He says. Let’s look at those three covenants:

First Covenant

God appears to Abraham and makes a covenant to be Abraham’s God and to multiply and bless him.

Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. (Gen 17:3-7 NKJV)

There were no strings attached. Abraham also didn’t do anything to deserve any of this; he didn’t keep any laws or live unusually holy. As a matter of fact, some theological scholars believe Abraham was an Iraqi who worshipped pagan Gods! He disobeyed God by sleeping with his wife’s servant (Hagar) and through this single act of disobedience gave birth to Ishmael, who became the father of all the Arab nations as we know them today. His wife Sarah later gave birth to Isaac, the son who was born according to the promise and who became the father of the Israelites. And we know that up to this day there exists a continuous conflict between these nations.

Abraham also lied twice about his wife Sarah (once to the Pharaoh in Genesis 12 and once to Abimelech the king of Gerar, in Genesis 20) and alleged that she was his sister. Abraham was afraid that they would kill him due to the fact that she was a very beautiful woman.

Now even though Abraham was clearly in the wrong here, God didn’t rebuke him for it but instead rebuked the pharaoh!

But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. (Gen 12:17 NKJV)

And later again God rebuked the king of Gerar and not Abraham: But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, "Indeed you are a dead man because of the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife". (Gen 20:3 NKJV)

Who was in the wrong here? Abraham! Who did God rebuke? The king! This was because God had established a covenant with Abraham and neither with the pharaoh nor the king. And because God always keeps His part of the bargain, Abraham was favored by God because of this covenant.

We just saw that Abraham had lied about his wife, but because of God’s blessing on his life he came out of Egypt (and later also out of Gerar) laden with slaves and cattle and wealth! Now by this we are not saying that people should go out and lie to other people and deceive them in order for God to bless them! We are by no means endorsing immoral living, but this just serves to illustrate that God blessed Abraham regardless of his level of obedience. God blessed Abraham even though he lied!

There was no moral standard to live up to, since the Law of Moses which included the 10 Commandments was only introduced 430 years later, which brings us to the second covenant.

Second Covenant

This is described in the Bible as the “Old Covenant”, where God gave the law and the 10 Commandments to Moses.

Israel had kept on murmuring and complaining ever since God had led them out of Egypt with mighty signs and wonders. They also didn’t want to have a personal relationship with God, but instead always asked Moses to speak to God on their behalf. They were uncomfortable with having to “deal” with God personally and preferred to remain at a distance. Despite of all the goodness that God had shown them they always kept on murmuring and complaining, even saying that God and Moses wanted to kill them!

And the children of Israel said to them, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger. (Ex 16:3 NKJV)

The tragedy of this is that in Exodus 15 (the previous chapter) Israel had just sung a song about the goodness of God and about how He had delivered them from the Egyptians when the waters of the Red Sea closed over them. And here in the very next chapter they accuse Him of wanting to kill them!

This happened again and again, time after time. Eventually, because Israel refused to believe that God was on their side, He gave them the law and all the other commandments to keep, something that didn’t require any faith from their side (faith in God’s goodness):

Then he [Moses] took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they [Israel] said, “All that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient.” And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people, and said, “This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all these words”. (Ex 24:7-8 NKJV, annotations added)

The Sin of Unbelief

In Galatians 3 we read more about why the law was given to Israel: What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made. (Gal 3:19 NKJV)

Israel’s transgression was their persistent unbelief in the goodness of God. They blindly refused to acknowledge that God wanted to bless them, love them, care for them and be their God. So the law was given unto them, but only for a certain period. God already had a master plan to restore mankind back into unbroken fellowship with Himself and He knew that the Old Law Covenant would only be in power until the Seed should come. This Seed, of course, was Jesus Christ.

For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, was it not all who came out of Egypt, led by Moses? Now with whom was He [God] angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? And to whom did He [God] swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. (Heb 3:16-19 NKJV, annotations added)

Note in the previous verses it talks about “those who sinned” and “they could not enter because of unbelief” (still talking about the same people, namely Israel). 17

Israel should never have agreed to living under the law! God would have accepted and loved them regardless of how holy (or unholy) they lived, because they were Abraham’s descendants and we just read about God’s amazing covenant with Abraham. God declared Abraham to be righteous simply because he believed God: And he [Abraham] believed in the LORD, and He [the Lord] accounted it to him for righteousness. (Gen 15:6 NKJV, annotations added)

But instead, Israel in their pride said: "All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient." (Exo 24:7b ESV)

Cursed is he who does not rise to all the Words of this Law, to do them! And all the people shall say, Amen! (Deut 27:26 LITV)

They agreed to something they would never be able to do! This must rank right up there with the Garden of Eden in the list of all time dumb things said or done. Even God said about them: And the LORD said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff-necked people! (Ex 32:9 NKJV)

God never originally meant for us to try to relate to Him in this way. Just after God’s commands were written on stone and He set the choice of curse (for disobedience) or blessing (for obedience) before Israel, He said the following to Moses: And the LORD said to Moses: “Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. (Deut 31:16 NKJV)

Does this look like God’s best plan for mankind? If even God Himself said that He knew Israel would break the Old Covenant Law, does it really seem logical that He would still want people to base their relationship with Him on the basis of how well they are able to obey a set of rules?

The Characteristics of a Covenant

One of the characteristics of a covenant is that it cannot be withdrawn from by either of the parties that made it, since a covenant is a life-long contract or agreement. For a covenant to end, either one of the parties that entered into it literally has to die. Since Israel was never able to fully keep up their side of the covenant and remain 100% obedient to all its stipulations, they were in breach of its requirements which meant that God had to keep up His side of the covenant and punish them for their disobedience.

All the horrible curses that would strike Israel for disobedience can be found in Deuteronomy 28:15-68. If God hadn’t punished them for their sins, He would have been in breach of His side of the covenant, thereby making Him a liar and of course we know that God can not lie.

There was also another problem: Since God has an indestructible life, He could not bring an end to this covenant by dying Himself. He therefore had His Spirit conceive a child through a human woman and the man Jesus Christ was born into this world. Jesus Christ lived a 100% perfectly obedient life, thereby fulfilling all the requirements of the Old Covenant Law, which brings us to the third Covenant:

Third Covenant

This is the most amazing New Covenant under which we now live! This covenant was cut within the Trinity with no human influence or intervention, but purely out of God’s heart of love towards us.

God took away the laws He gave to Moses, canceling the written code that stood opposed to us:

...having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. (Col 2:14 NKJV)

He made Jew, Greek and Gentile equal - God’s church has now become spiritual Israel. 18

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly... (Rom 2:28-29a NKJV)

God’s relationship with Israel before the introduction of the Old Covenant was a type and shadow of what He wants to have with the whole world today.

...that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. (2 Cor 5:19 NKJV, emphasis added)

It is required that when making a covenant it has to be sealed with blood. God had also confirmed His covenant with Abraham with blood (Genesis 15:9-18) and had Israel do the same: Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” Then likewise he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission. (Heb 9:18-22 NKJV, emphasis added)

In the Old Covenant Israel slaughtered animals to appease the wrath of God. In essence they were only postponing the punishment for their sins for another year, because the blood of animals could never fully serve as payment for the sins of mankind: For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. (Heb 10:4 NKJV)

So God sent His only Son, allowed Him to be crucified by the very people He came to save and accepted His blood as the full, perfect and complete payment for all the past, present and future sins of all mankind. The Father then entered into a New Covenant with His Son Jesus, stipulating that the righteousness and all the blessings that Jesus had earned through His perfect obedience were to be given as a free gift to mankind on one condition: They had to believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Every person that accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as a full and complete payment for their sins would be imputed with the perfect righteousness of God Himself: I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, My soul shall be joyful in my God; For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation, He has covered me with the robe of righteousness. (Isa 61:10a NKJV)

God would also wipe out their sinfulness through the perfect offering of the cross, imparting His perfection unto all who believe in Him:

For by one offering He hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. (Heb 10:14 KJV)

Many people call this the “divine exchange” - our sinfulness was laid on Jesus and His righteousness was given to us as a free gift. Actually He was MADE to BE sin. Righteousness therefore wasn’t just given to us: we BECAME righteousness!

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21 NKJV)

In fact the Bible is so full of references to the reality that the Old Covenant has passed away and that it has been replaced by the New Covenant, that it is very hard to miss it! The following verses clearly tell us that the Old Covenant (referring to the Law of Moses), which was only a type and a shadow of the New Covenant, has passed away: For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah [remember how we spoke a little earlier about all believers being “Jews”?] - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts [this means God will give us the desire to please Him and have fellowship with Him, to seek His heart for us]; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. [This means gone are the days where we need a priest or someone else to constantly tell us about God, now we can know Him personally and intimately!] For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” [Do you really need any more proof that God won’t ever punish you again?] In that He says, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. (Heb 8:7-13 NKJV, annotations and emphasis added)

Beneficiaries of Two Covenants!

Now, when a person becomes born again through simply putting their faith in Jesus, they are grafted into “spiritual Israel” and God plants His own Seed inside them: For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal 3:26-29 NKJV)

Here is verse 29 again, read it slowly: And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

We not only become partakers of the New Covenant, inheriting all its wonderful benefits, but through our faith in Jesus we also become heirs of the promises that God made to Abraham! Talk about a double portion, shabba! Here are some more verses: ...just as Abraham “believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” Therefore know that only those who are of faith are sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. (Gal 3:6- 9 NKJV)

You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed. (Acts 3:25 NKJV)

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Gal 3:13-14 NKJV)

God will never again refrain from doing good to us and even when He chastens us (Hebrews 12) it is an affectionate reproach from His heart of love.

Old Testament Prophesies

Some of the Old Testament prophets were given visions of the New Covenant and they painted an amazingly clear picture of the unconditional love of God towards His children; of a God that has chosen to blot out their sins and relate to them on the basis of the perfect obedience of His Son, Jesus Christ: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. (Jer 32:40 NKJV)

And I will establish My covenant with you. Then you shall know that I am the LORD ...when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord GOD’”. (Eze 16:62-63b NKJV)

The blood of Jesus was the atonement: For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matt 26:28 NKJV)

Probably the most well known prophesy that an Old Testament prophet made about the coming New Covenant is found in Isaiah 54: 20 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you [when people were still under the law], But with great mercies I will gather you. With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment [God had to serve punishment for man’s disobedience to the Old Law Covenant]; But with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” Says the LORD, your Redeemer. [What part of “everlasting kindness” is so hard to understand?] “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; For as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you [There goes a whole heap of “angry God” theories and doctrines right out the door]. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has mercy on you. (Isaiah 54:7-10 NKJV, annotations added)

Under which covenant will we choose to live?