A Covenant of Grace

“But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second. For finding fault with them, He says,
‘Behold, days are coming, says the Lord,
when I will effect a new covenant
with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
not like the covenant which I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt;
for they did not continue in My covenant,
and I did not care for 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 into their minds,
and I will write them on their hearts.
And I will be their God,
and they shall be My people.’” Hebrews 8:6-10

God’s covenant with us is not based on human performance. It is based on Christ’s death at Calvary. Our lives are rooted in His grace, not the rewards of our talents and abilities. In the Old Testament God made covenants with men based on works. However, man couldn’t uphold his end of the covenant.

Henry Thiessen writes: “At Mount Sinai God proposed the covenant of works, and the people accepted it. They promised to do ‘all that the Lord has spoken’ (Ex. 19:8). But it is evident that the people did not reckon with depravity of the human heart, nor the power of Satan. Before Moses could deliver the Ten Commandments...Israel had made an idol and had begun to worship it.”

Even Christ’s presence was not enough to convince or convict the Jews of their need for God’s grace. They insisted on striving to obtain salvation through works and their hearts hardened to the things of God. Jesus offers us a new lifestyle and a new beginning. It is not a life of rules and regulations. It is a life of unconditional love and acceptance. The key to God’s grace is accepting His Son as Savior. When we give up the old way of doing things, God gives us a new lifestyle of grace.