In The New Covenant (Part 1), we learned what the New Covenant was about, why it came to be, and what the terms were. While discussing these terms (Belief, Confess, Repent, Baptism, Remain Faithful), I acknowledged this was an oversimplification. I sincerely hope one does not turn this into a formula. If you study the conversions in the New Testament, you’ll quickly see that all of them were radically different. There was no Step 1, Step 2, or Step 3 formula for success. That is what we weren’t through. A quick packaged recipe for easy success. But that isn’t what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches love. And love is messy. Love takes time. Love takes obedience unto death.
Counting The Cost
If you’ll recall, I said a simple prayer when I was ten years old and was baptized. I was young, immature, and a child. Are there children that can get a handle on a life-altering covenant when they are ten and make a soul tie to Christ? Probably. Was I one of them? No. The Bible teaches that before we submit to Christ and die to him, we must understand the cost.
Luke 14:28-30
For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’
Look around. How many “Christians” do you see that have not sat down and counted the cost? Are those who follow Jesus beginning to be seen as a laughing stock in this culture? Do you see them being mocked? Do you know who Christians were considered to be in the New Testament? Christians were known for being troublemakers (Acts 17:6). They went around proclaiming Jesus was the Messiah and were turning the world upside down. Yet, they counted the cost, chose to make Jesus their Lord, and went in 100%!
Respond To The New Covenant
Our God is amazing! For thousands of years, He has been reaching out to us. The history of man is this: God gave life to us and issued a covenant. Then we turned away from God; since then, God has continually reached out to us. We constantly reject God, and eventually, 2,000 years ago, He came in the flesh to rescue us from death, and we killed Him. But it turns out death could not hold him (Acts 2:24). He triumphs over death and offers us a final and last covenant. The best one of them all! The Covenant of Salvation.
We live in this time. If we repent and obey God, we can enter the Covenant of Salvation and follow Jesus. We can do what we did. We can be set free. With this freedom comes gratitude and a new purpose. Our new goal becomes Jesus’ purpose.
Luke 4:43
But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”
As we begin sharing the Good News of Jesus and proclaiming the kingdom of God, something happens. God begins to open our minds and gives us more truth and more freedom. We begin to understand all the good things we have in Christ (Philemon 1:6).
So go! If you haven’t yet, repent and die to your old self and allow Christ to reign. Then ask somebody if they would like to study the Bible with you. It will not be comfortable or easy, but you can do it. And God will use that faith to change your life.
