2015.03.22_God’s Covenant

Life on Earth Crippled With Distrust and Insecurity

People’s lives are filled with countless promises. This can easily be observed in our daily lives. In the morning people get up and leave the house hurriedly because they have an agreement with their employer as to what time they must be at work by. For many families, the wife prepares breakfast for the husband who works to provide for the family. This is a kind of agreement between the husband and wife. On the way to work, people wait for the subway on the platform because they know that the subway is supposed to come at regular intervals. At lunch time, people go out to the shops to have a meal. If a person refuses to pay simply because he was not satisfied with the food, the police may even have to be called for.

People’s lives are comprised of so many promises, including those regarding time and money. If a person provides labor, the hirer must pay his wages. If a customer pays money, the seller must give the product or services. If somebody borrows money, he must pay it back. The use of violence by the strong on the weak is unacceptable because this is what the whole society has agreed upon, and anyone that does not adhere will be subject to the penalty prescribed by the society. Thus all members of the society adhere to the promises within politics, economics, diplomatic relations, morality and so on, to maintain and develop the society.

Once people are born into the world, they become a member of the society comprised of these many promises and must conform to those social sanctions. The problem is that people do not keep promises very well. Some say that there would not be a huge issue as long as a person accepts the consequences and pays the penalty when he fails to keep such promises in the society. Yet even if the lawbreaker is punished, it cannot undo the injury or damage inflicted on the victim.

The way our society is standing is surprisingly very unstable. A considerable number of people think that it is okay to break promises with others for the sake of their own profit. Besides, not all promises within society are legally binding. Promises or agreements tacitly made between individuals cannot be governed by certain laws even if those promises were broken. Hence such promises which are not legally enforceable are more prone to be broken.

People who strived to keep their promises can feel discouraged and unfairly treated to see others who break promises, getting on with their lives fine without any loss. And they may also be tempted to do the same and break the law for their own profit. The fact that there are many of these people within society indicate that there are a great number of potential criminals ready to commit an offense as soon as a favorable environment is set up, though presently they are restrained by the law and their conscience. In fact, the majority of people are breaking the rules and laws to a certain degree where they will not be caught by the police.

In a country that has a highly developed economy, promises between the people are relatively well-kept as opposed to countries that are not as economically developed. In the instance of the former, specific laws are put in place with strict enforcement. On the other hand, although the legal system is poor in less developed countries, those gaps are filled up by moral codes, conscience, traditions, etc. Nevertheless, if the legal system is poor there is bound to be many people who would deceive others to make a profit. The problem then is that this leads to endless victims and all members of such a society are left feeling insecure.

In a society with so many breaking promises, we are used to feeling suspicious of others and hence a sense of insecurity. Our hearts are very wearied by the fact that there are so many dishonest people around us. This is quite apparent when we come to know a person for the first time, as it is not trust but suspicion that we have towards him or her. People are paranoid about suffering losses. They believe that the short time on earth is everything to their life, like a fish in a pond. Because they are so afraid of suffering any form of loss, they are determined to break promises if necessary. However they are still faced with much betrayal and despair. In other words, man’s life on the earth is crippled and ailing. Though this “disease” is invisible, its symptoms are turning up here and there.

People Who Even Doubt God’s Counsel

In the present, God is saving mankind through the church. However people think that God and His church are forcing faith from them. They argue, “How can you tell me to believe in God when I don’t even know if He really exists? Even if He does, I don’t want a god that only wants to be served. I’m already tired of being lied to in this world. Why should I have to serve anyone else?” In this life where people betray and get betrayed, they are all sensitive about somehow being put at a disadvantage. And although they are warned of the need to quickly make a choice in regards to eternal life, they do not take it seriously.

One of the most common things said by unbelievers is that they would believe in God if we can show Him to them. In other words, they are saying that they would believe if God demonstrates His mighty power, which is the same as saying they would believe only if God forces them to. As one who has been oppressed by the Devil’s tyranny, it is ironic for man to treat in such a manner what is the most important matter concerning himself. Demanding God to show Himself is no different to asking for another tyrant in place of the ruler of the world.

God is unlike the spirits (gods) of this world. Those gods demand man, “First serve me, and after that I will compensate you.” However there is no guarantee that they will actually compensate. The Devil did exactly that in the Garden of Eden when he deceived man saying, “First eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. And then you will become like God.” He did the same when he tempted Jesus in the wilderness saying, “Worship me, and I will give you the glory of this world.” The gods of this world first entice and confuse the minds of people with sweet-sounding words. Then at the critical moment, they reveal their true identity and destroy man.

The Devil is the father of all liars. Even the slightest influence of the Devil can confuse the mind of people who have been striving to live honest and truthful lives so that their attitude begins to change. When people see others they trusted starting to change their attitude or lie, after a while they completely lose all trust in people. That is why they openly resist and reject those who preach the Gospel to them. Their hearts are severely ailing.

God Who Wants Man to Trust Him Willingly

God desires to be trusted by man first. If anyone is uncertain of whether or not God can be trusted, he actually does not know who God is. God is not someone who overpowers man by His awesome majesty and power to force him to bow before Him. He also does not demand man to offer their devotion and sacrifices first, and promise to give Heaven afterwards. God is the god of a covenant. He first gave His covenant and faithfully kept it, fully demonstrating His faithfulness.

When we say we have seen God, it does not mean we saw Him with our eyes or in a vision, nor does it mean we saw Him send down lightning and thunder. God is faithful. He keeps His promises. And it is with Him that we have a covenant. If anyone claims to believe in God but cannot fully trust in Him, that person actually does not know God. Even if he attends church fervently, his faith would be closer to superstition since he is following after something he does not even trust.

God revealed Himself to the people of Israel, and their history is about how they came to know God. In the Old Testament, if frequently says, “Then you shall know that I am the Lord”. The Israelites would have heard those words as meaning, “You shall know that I keep My covenant”. Another phrase that is frequent in the Old Testament is, “Says the Lord”. The people of Israel clearly experienced the fulfillment of the promises of God sworn by His name, through the successes and failures they encountered. Their history is in itself a testament to God’s faithfulness.

During the time when nobody among man knew about God, God made Himself known to Abraham. Later, He revealed Himself to the nation of Israel with the name Jehovah. At the appointed time, God disclosed His true self through Jesus Christ. But until then, what God was teaching the Israelites was the fact that He keeps His covenant.

God wanted to establish a covenant relationship with mankind. However man is incapable of keeping the covenant. For this reason, God had the Israelites write down the covenant He made with them and place it inside the Ark of the Covenant. Thus He had them remember that they are a people who made a covenant with God. The reason He maintained His relationship with the Israelites by doing all of this was for them to confirm that God is one who can definitely be trusted. That is, He was demonstrating His faithfulness to them whilst telling them to clearly understand who He is as God and never lose sight of Him.

God showed His faithfulness through the people of Israel and later on, through the Jews. In the end, He fully demonstrated His faithfulness to the disciples that were gathered in Jerusalem. All the words He had spoken in the past became fulfilled in Jesus Christ. After that, God finally gave His name, Jesus to the whole world.

After His resurrection, Jesus asked His disciples, “Now can you trust Me?” Through the resurrection of Jesus, the disciples came to know for certain that God is absolutely trustworthy. Then Jesus told His disciples to testify of this once they receive the Holy Spirit, and then to have their disciples testify likewise. In other words, He was saying, “Aren’t you now able to testify? Have I broken any of the promises I made? I’ve fulfilled all of them. Saints of Jerusalem! Are you now assured that I am trustworthy? If so, then bear witness to the world.” When the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples after Jesus ascended, the disciples put their complete trust in God’s faithfulness. That is why God sealed their faith by sending the Holy Spirit.

From then on, Christians began to preach the Gospel and consequently, both Jews and Gentiles came to call on the name of God. As Gentiles, we received God’s grace when we had little knowledge of what the Israelites had experienced, when we hardly knew God. Without even knowing how precious the blood of His Son is, we were redeemed by that blood and thus received the right to enter Heaven. It was possible for us to receive grace so easily because the Israelites thoroughly discharged their duties to testify of God’s faithfulness.

Now we do not have to endure another 2000 years like the Israelites to confirm the faithfulness of God. We do not need to verify each and every single promise of God as the Israelites did to check if God could be trusted. As long we have the Bible, as long as the history of the Israelites remains, no one would be able to deny God’s existence so easily. That is because God has sufficiently proved His faithfulness throughout Israel’s history. Now any nation and people can be at ease and trust in God. If we confess, “God, I trust in Your faithfulness”, He deems this as right and guarantees our faith by sending the Holy Spirit.

Man is utterly weak at keeping promises. Despite knowing that He will be put at a huge disadvantage by His covenant with man, God still made a covenant. God has no reason to depend on man, and yet He bore the responsibility to fulfill countless prophecies in order that man would trust in Him. For Him who had to fulfill all the promises in the Old Testament, God could not afford to enjoy His glory on the earth even though man had been demanding Him to show His awesome majesty.

The Son of God came to the earth and led pitiable life. This was not because He lacked in power or trusted Himself to fate. The life of Jesus Christ had been planned meticulously for the fulfillment God’s covenant with the Israelites. Redeeming a sinner is practically impossible. And for the Lord who had to accomplish that, He could not afford to do anything for Himself. When people insulted and trampled Him, the Son of God bore it through nothing but patient endurance. It was not by His divine power that He endured, but in the body of man. Mankind could not be trusted, being abject slaves of the Devil and full of sin. Yet the Lord fulfilled His covenant with the Lord even if that meant sacrifice on His part, so that Israel and all mankind are blessed.

The faith of the Christian church is fundamentally different to common religiousness. Hence to discuss secular religions and our faith on the same table in itself is improper. God respects us as persons and desires us to know Him and thus put our trust in Him of our own free will. So in this way, our faith is indeed noble. God does not want someone to have blind or superstitious faith without knowing who He is. God is telling us, “You’ve witnessed how I fulfilled all of My promises to you. Now be rest assured and entrust your souls to me.”

The Lord’s Final Promise

Jesus kept all of His promises, and now there is one last promise remaining that He needs to fulfill for us. And that promise is, “I will return!” He promised us saying, “I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (Jn 14:2-3). The Lord who has kept all the countless promises written in the Old Testament will certainly keep His promise to take us to the Father’s house.

In the past, God delivered Israel from the powerful hands of King Pharaoh. In the same way God has come such a long way to rescue mankind ruled by the prince of this world. Unless a person entrusts himself to the Lord while he is still on earth, he will suffer throughout his lifetime as the Devil’s slave and perish with him in the end. Though we are low, untrustworthy people, we must humble ourselves before the Lord’s will who saved us by His own sacrifice and wants to share His great glory with us. We should rejoice and give thanks to God who loved us, and finally enter Heaven through the way He has opened for us.

Hebrews 8:10-11 says, “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; 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.” The Israelites placed God’s covenant inside the Ark of the Covenant. But now we have God’s covenant in our souls. Hence no one can take away that covenant from us.

What we must not forget is that the Lord’s final promise was given to the congregation who were praying by the Holy Spirit. Our faith life is not done alone. As every saint is a member of the church, they must all strive to form a church led by trust. A church lacking in trust has build trust even through training and discipline. When there is solid trust between the saints, the church will be able to carry out the Lord’s desired will much better. Therefore all the saints need to contribute in building trust, and thus form a church that is full of love and solicitude