Which Covenant Are You Living Under

We all want good things from God, and as our heavenly Father, He certainly wants to bless us. However, how we receive His blessings has changed over time. Most Christians don’t realize that God deals with people through covenants, and that the covenant of the Law of Moses has been replaced with the covenant of grace. A covenant is an irrevocable promise between two or more parties to carry out the terms agreed upon; to be blessed now requires that we understand and live under this new covenant.

The old agreement was conditional and depended on man fulfilling all the law before he could get blessed; otherwise, he would be cursed. The law was perfect, but too perfect for imperfect man to keep. Breaking even one commandment meant a person was guilty of breaking them all. The law was given to focus on man’s flaws, and actually strengthened sin; that’s why Jesus came to be the mediator of the new covenant.

Being born again puts us under grace; under this agreement, the focus is on what we believe, not what we do. Grace allows us to be one with Christ; we no longer count on our own righteousness through obeying the law, but now are made righteous through faith in Him. Christ is the end of the law for everyone who believes. Therefore, sin no longer has dominion over us, because we’re not under the law but under grace.

Unlike under the Old Testament, New-Testament believers can live under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, who helps us meet God’s moral standards in ways the law never could. Understanding which covenant we should live under takes all pressure off us to rely on our self-efforts. We’re now free to receive all the blessings without any of the curses.

Prayer:

Lord, mankind struggled unsuccessfully to keep the law; You showed mercy by replacing it with grace. Thank You for taking away the endless requirements to perform so that we can focus instead on Your love for us. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 28:1-3, 15
James 2:10
1 Corinthians 15:56
Hebrews 8:6, 7
Hebrews 10:9
Philippians 3:9, NLT
Romans 10:4
Romans 6:14