THE COVENANT, THE CURSE, AND THE CROSS

On March 23, 2021 Pastor Bill Hicks shared an article on the Rest of God's Ministries site.  The Covenant, the Curse, and the Cross. 'Understanding Genesis 15'  I am sharing parts of this article with you today.

He begins . . . Today we will explore the context and background upon which the word of God paints that cruel execution we call the cross!  What does it mean?  How can an execution become the guarantee of Salvation?  The Holy Bible teaches us that the 'good news' or 'gospel' is something preached even unto Abraham in the book of Genesis.  I have often taught that if you cannot teach the gospel from Genesis, you don't know the gospel!  Let's examine Genesis Chapter 15 and come to understand the two fold aspect of the gospel taught clearly in scripture.

A little background first . . . The Apostle Paul begins with the teaching of God's dealing with Abraham, in Galatians 3:16-18 as well as Romans Chapter 4.  Paul, wishing to clarify the matter, offers the relationship of god and Abraham as the example of the way in which we must view the work of Christ and particularly the cross.  Now, Paul will show us where to go for our orientation to gain the perspective needed to properly view God's actions so as to make sure that we understand the cross of Christ and the full picture of his gospel.

"Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham, and the scripture, fore seeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, 'in thee shall all nations be blessed.'  So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham."  (Galatians 3:7-9)

The gospel was preached unto Abraham and we would do well to consider the manner in which it was conveyed!  Our relationship with God is not the result of the capricious or whimsical mood of some 'god' but in stark contrast, our relationship has its basis in a contract designed, written, and signed by our almighty unchanging Creator God.  His judgements are sure.  His promises are as firm as the foundations of the earth.  And His contracts are immutable especially when they are guaranteed by His very person!  This is GOOD NEWS!

The "Gospel" was preached unto Abraham through the promises made and GUARANTEED to him and he believed God and received the imputed righteousness of Christ even before the cross, by faith in the sacrifice to come, it is enough for me to state that God's mechanism for revealing his intent to mankind is contractual and covenantal.  this is no way minimizes the reality of the different periods in which God sought to reveal his covenants, both old and and new.  The fact that our God is the covenant making God, repeatedly making contracts even though emphasizing different conditions, is significant.  We are continually encouraged to be aware of and familiar with the covenants.  However, it may be difficult to ask many today to view the cross in this light simply because of the influence of teachings that seek to neutralize the work of Christ wherein he fulfilled the contractual promises made by God.  Surely understanding the extent of God's commitment and faithfulness would help us to understand the cross.  In the cross we can see that God spared nothing to keep his covenant and his word.  Still it is necessary to understand what a covenant is more clearly to appreciate it more fully.

What's the difference in how we view the cross?  The very definition of the "Gospel" is being discussed here.  The covenant, the curse, and the cross are inexorably joined in order to focus our attention on the perfect love and character of our God and that in response to that love, we can be brought by our faith in His ability into union with the Holy God through Jesus Christ.  Christ's death on the cross was predicted and performed as an objective achievement and commitments promised by God from the foundation of the world.






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