Unmerited Favor (10 page)

Today, all the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in your life through Jesus!

Don’t let anyone tell you that if you don’t keep all the requirements of the law, God will not make you a success, because what the law could not do, God did by sending His Son, Jesus.
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Today, all the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in your life through Jesus!

Do you see how powerful this is? Don’t let anyone fool you with obscure passages from the Bible when Jesus has given you so many clear, explicit portions of Scripture that declare His favor and blessings over your life in the new covenant! Just because someone calls himself a teacher, prophet or an apostle doesn’t mean that he has the authority to teach God’s Word. Stop disqualifying yourself with the lack of knowledge of Jesus and His new covenant. Don’t let anyone tell you that you need the law to make you righteous when you know that you are righteous today because of Jesus Christ!

The Place Of The Law On This Side Of The Cross

So
who
is the law for? In 1 Timothy 1:8–10, Paul says, “But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that
the law is not made for a righteous person
, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers...”

My friend, are you getting this? The law is
not for you the believer
, who has been made righteous in Christ! The law is not applicable to someone who is under the new covenant of grace. The law is for unrighteous people—unbelievers who have not received Jesus as their Savior. Its purpose is to bring them to the end of themselves and to help them realize that they need the Lord.

Paul makes the purpose for the law very clear in the Book of Galatians when he says, “Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.”
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That’s the role of the law—to show us that in and of ourselves, we will never be able to reach God’s perfect standards. Therefore, the law leads us to depend on Jesus, who justifies and makes us righteous through His finished work! I am
for
the law, but only for the reason God gave the law. He gave the law to point us to Jesus. The law was never designed for man to keep and no man has, or will ever be able to keep it.

The law is designed to expose all your deficiencies, but grace (unmerited favor) points you to your sufficiency in Christ.

You see, my friend, the law
demands
from man, but grace (unmerited favor)
imparts
to man. The law condemns the sinner, but grace (unmerited favor) makes the sinner righteous. The law brings death, but grace (unmerited favor) brings abundant life. The law is designed to expose all your deficiencies, but grace (unmerited favor) points you to your sufficiency in Christ. Under the law, God will leave when man fails. But under grace (unmerited favor), God will never leave you nor forsake you even when you fail.
⁹

The law makes you sin-conscious, while grace (unmerited favor) makes you righteousness-conscious. The law tells you that you have failed, but grace (unmerited favor) shows you how you are more than a conqueror in Christ. The law is about what
you
must do, but grace (unmerited favor) is all about what
Jesus
has done. The law puts the burden on you to perform, while grace (unmerited favor) puts the burden on Christ’s performance. The law makes you self-conscious, but grace (unmerited favor) makes you Christ-conscious. I trust that you are beginning to see that the new covenant of God’s unmerited favor, which God says is “established on better promises,”
¹⁰
is far more superior to the old covenant of law.

There was a time in church history during the dark ages where God’s Word was kept from man. Interpretation of the Scriptures was limited to an exclusive group of people, and they used this to control and manipulate the masses. All kinds of heresies and beliefs that were based on man’s traditions and not God’s Word were used to keep people in fear. This shows us that without God’s Word, the Church has no light. Thanks be to God that today, His Word is available in many languages. God’s people no longer have to be subject to the interpretation of the Word based on the traditions of man, but they can read the Word and search out the heart of God for themselves. In addition, God has raised up the fivefold ministry of new covenant pastors, teachers, apostles, prophets and evangelists to equip the body of Christ.

Sit Under New Covenant Ministries

Be sure that you are receiving from a ministry that is established on the new covenant of grace, and not from a ministry that slips in and out of the two covenants. Failure to rightly divide God’s Word leads to confusion and God calls this “mixture.” He cannot bless mixture, which portrays Him as being angry with us sometimes because of our failure to keep the law, but wanting to bless us at other times because of His grace. Mixture teaches that God is happy with us sometimes, but at other times, our fellowship with God is broken because of our failures.

A believer can find no peace, no assurance and no confidence in mixture. You cannot put new wine into an old wineskin because you will lose both.
¹¹
The law will lose its convicting power to lead you to Christ if it is balanced with grace. Grace will lose its essence of being unmerited, unearned and undeserved when people are told that they still need to depend on themselves and their works to deserve God’s presence and favor. It is an outright contradiction. What man calls “
balance
,” God calls “
mixture
.”

Test Everything You Hear With God’s Word

I encourage you to test everything you hear with God’s Word. I always tell my church to read the Bible for themselves instead of simply swallowing all that any preacher, including myself, says. Be wise and don’t just swallow everything—hook, line, sinker, fisherman and even his boots! Be discerning when you hear something that does not sit well in your spirit, such as when a preacher tells you that “God gives you sicknesses to teach you a lesson.” Ask yourself, “Is this in line with the new covenant of God’s unmerited favor? Are there new covenant scriptures to back this teaching up?”

The answer is obvious once you align it with Jesus and what He has done on the cross for you! Why would God give you sicknesses when Jesus has taken every sickness and disease upon His own body at the cross? With full assurance in your heart that sickness is not from God, you can have faith to be healed! But what assurance can you have if you believe the lie that the condition is from God? Now, instead of thinking that God is against you, you realize that He is on your side! Your confidence is restored, faith is renewed and His healing can flow unabated through every cell, tissue and organ in your body!

To end this chapter, let me just share with you the words of Miles Coverdale, who said, “It shall greatly help thee to understand scripture, if thou mark not only what is spoken or written, but of whom, and unto whom, with what words, at what time, where, to what intent, with what circumstance, considering what goeth before, and what followeth after.”
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Essentially, he was saying that to understand the Bible, we need to read everything in its context. What powerful advice from the man who translated and produced the first English Bible in the 16th century.

My friend, rightly divide the covenants whenever you read the Bible and you will never be ashamed. Now that you have received Jesus into your life, you are under the new covenant and it is your new covenant right to enjoy Jesus’ unmerited favor to succeed in life!

Chapter 9: God’s Covenant Of Unmerited Favor With Us

My friend, as we talk about God’s unmerited favor in your life, there is something I want you to know: God’s unmerited favor is not just something that you pray for at certain moments, such as when you are preparing for a job interview or about to deliver an important presentation. Of course, you can ask the Lord for His favor in such situations, but the reality is that His unmerited favor in your life is so much more! God’s unmerited favor is a covenant. Why settle for just having momentary experiences of His favor in your life when you have full, constant access to the everlasting covenant of His favor?

When you understand this covenant that you have through Jesus Christ, you will go beyond merely catching glimpses of His unmerited favor here and there, and become conscious of how His unmerited favor permeates every aspect of your life, beginning with your relationship with Jesus. You will begin to see His undeserved favor manifest in your family life, career and relationships. Get ready to see God’s favor becoming more and more evident in your life and be astounded by its results.

Guys, get ready to be given the best seats in the house when you bring your date out for a romantic dinner. Get ready to receive special discounts “for no apparent reason.” Ladies, begin to see how relatively empty boutiques fill up with customers after you step in because you carry God’s unmerited favor everywhere you go. And when the presence of the Lord is with you, everything you touch becomes blessed. You are a blessing waiting to happen!

God’s unmerited favor is a covenant you have with Him.

This unmerited favor that you can enjoy is a covenant you have with God. Earlier in this book, you saw how a covenant is much more than just a legal contract. To help you establish yourself in the covenant of God’s unmerited favor, let’s dive deeper into the study of covenants in the Bible. I want you to have a better understanding of the covenant that we are under today.

Throughout history, God has cut several covenants with man. These include the Adamic, Noahic and Abrahamic covenants, just to name a few. But the two central covenants are the old covenant of Moses and the new covenant of Jesus. If you understand these two major covenants and know how they are distinctively different, I believe that you will have an unshakable foundation for your faith and confidence in God’s unmerited favor.

Various terms have been used to describe these two covenants. As discussed in the previous chapter, the old covenant is so called because it is old and has become obsolete. It is also known as the Mosaic covenant (because it was given through Moses), the Sinaitic covenant (because the Ten Commandments were given at Mount Sinai) and the covenant of law (because it is based on man’s keeping of the law). On the other hand, the new covenant of Jesus, which is the covenant that we live by today, is also known as the covenant of grace (because it is based on God’s undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor) and the covenant of peace (because it expresses the shalom of Jesus).

The Major Difference Between The Old And New Covenants

Let me give you a scripture that shows clearly the difference between the old and new covenants:

For the law was given through Moses, but grace [unmerited favor] and truth came through Jesus Christ.

—John 1:17

Notice that truth is on the same side as God’s unmerited favor and both grace (unmerited favor) and truth came through Jesus Christ. When I did a study of this verse in its original Greek, I found out that “grace and truth” are actually referred to as a singular unit, since they are followed by the singular verb “came.” In other words, in God’s eyes, grace and truth are synonymous—unmerited favor is truth and truth is unmerited favor.

Sometimes, people tell me things like, “Well, it’s good that you preach grace, but we also have to tell people about truth.” This makes it seem as though grace and truth are two different things when in fact, they are one and the same. You cannot separate truth from grace and grace from truth as they are both embodied in the person of Jesus Christ. In fact, just a few verses before this, John 1:14, referring to the person of Jesus, says, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
full of grace [unmerited favor] and truth
.” Grace and truth
came
together through the person and ministry of Jesus. Grace is not a doctrine or teaching. Grace is a Person.

You cannot separate truth from grace and grace from truth as they are both embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.

This is contrasted with the old covenant of law that was
given
through Moses on Mount Sinai. We can see that God is very precise in dealing with the two covenants and does not mix them together. Grace is grace and law is law. Grace came by Jesus whereas the law was given through Moses. Jesus didn’t come to give us more laws. He came to give us His unmerited favor, which is His truth! It would be of immense profit to you to keep in mind that every time you read the word “grace” in the Bible, you translate it mentally as “unmerited favor,” because that is what it is.

The Abrahamic Covenant Of Grace

Many years ago, when I was studying God’s Word, the Lord spoke to me, saying, “Before the law was given, none of the children of Israel died when they came out of Egypt. Even though they murmured and complained against God’s appointed leadership, not a single one of them died. This is a picture of pure grace.” I had never heard anyone teach this before or read it in any book, so I quickly went through that portion in my Bible and indeed, I could not find anyone who died before the law was given!

God had delivered the children of Israel from a lifetime of slavery by performing great signs and wonders. But when they found themselves caught between the Red Sea and the advancing Egyptian army, they complained to Moses, saying, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us, to bring us up out of Egypt?”
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What audacity! And yet, did God punish those who murmured? No, in fact, He saved the Israelites spectacularly, opening up the Red Sea for them to escape from their pursuers who were closing in on them.

Before the law was given, none of the children of Israel died  even though they murmured and complained against God’s appointed leadership. This is a picture of pure grace.

After they had crossed over to the other side of the Red Sea, they continued to murmur over and over again, in spite of God’s miraculous provisions and gracious protection. At a place called Marah, they complained that the waters were bitter and God made the waters sweet and refreshing for them.
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Then, when they had no food, they grumbled to Moses again, saying, “Oh, that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full! For you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
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Their ungrateful diatribes were directed not only at Moses, but also at God. So did God rain fire and brimstone on them? No! He rained bread from heaven to feed them! It was as if every fresh murmuring brought forth fresh demonstrations of God’s goodness!

Do you know why?

It is because all these events occurred before the Ten Commandments were given. You see, before the law was given, the children of Israel lived under grace (unmerited favor), and all the blessings and provisions that they received were dependent on God’s goodness and not their obedience. The Lord delivered them out of Egypt not because of their goodness or good behavior. He brought them out by the blood of the lamb (a picture of the blood of the Lamb of God) that was applied on their doorposts on the night of the first Passover.

The children of Israel were dependent upon God’s faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant, which was a covenant based on His grace (unmerited favor). Abraham lived more than 400 years before the law was given, long before there were the Ten Commandments. God had related to Abraham based on Abraham’s faith in His grace and not based on Abraham’s obedience to the law. God’s Word makes it clear that Abraham was not justified by the law: “For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham
believed God
, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness
.’”
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How was Abraham made righteous? He believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness!

The good news for you and me is this: Today, we are under the new covenant of grace (unmerited favor), and God’s unmerited favor is upon us. His blessings and His provisions for us are based entirely on HIS GOODNESS and HIS FAITHFULNESS. Hallelujah! When the Israelites journeyed from Egypt to Mount Sinai, they were under the Abrahamic covenant of grace. Therefore, in spite of their sins, God delivered them out of Egypt and provided for them supernaturally,
not based on their goodness and faithfulness, but based on His goodness and faithfulness.
How cool is that?

The Exchange Of Covenants

God’s desire was to have a relationship with the children of Israel. When they arrived at Mount Sinai, God told Moses to tell them this: “You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how
I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.
Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then
you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people
...And
you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation
.”
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When God said this, it was with tenderness in His voice as He recounted how He had brought them to Himself so that He could forge a special relationship with them.

However, the tragedy of all tragedies occurred for the children of Israel when they responded to God after hearing this at the foot of Mount Sinai. They were proud and did not want the relationship God had envisioned. They wanted to deal with God at arm’s length, through impersonal commandments. They seemed to have forgotten that it was God’s unmerited favor that had brought them out of Egypt, that it was His unmerited favor that had opened a way for them when there was no way, and that it was His unmerited favor that had given them manna from heaven.

Now, they wanted to exchange the covenant of grace that they had been under for a different kind of covenant. When Moses told them what God had said, they responded arrogantly (which can be seen from the Hebrew syntax), saying in essence, “All that God commands us, we are well able to perform!”
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In other words, this is what they said to God, “God, don’t judge us and bless us anymore based on Your goodness and faithfulness. Assess us based on our merits. Bless us based on our obedience because we are well able to perform whatever You demand of us!”

From that moment onwards, God immediately changed His tone with the children of Israel. He distanced Himself from them and told Moses to command the people not to go near Mount Sinai for the mountain was holy. What happened? Once God’s grace was rejected, and the people presumed upon their own righteousness and obedience to respond to Him, God drew back from them. Look at the tone that He used on the Israelites after they chose to come under the covenant of law: “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud...Whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. Not a hand shall touch him, but he shall surely be stoned or shot with an arrow...”
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What a change! The Lord’s presence had been with them every step of the way in the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night. He had brought them through the Red Sea and provided for their every need. He was good to them because of His faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant based on His grace (unmerited favor). But now, He warned the children of Israel to keep away from His presence! He could no longer deal with them in the same way after they had elected to come under a different covenant in their dealings with Him—one that was based on their performance and obedience, not on His goodness as before.

In fact, in the beginning of the very next chapter after the Israelites had told God to judge them based on their performance, God gave them the Ten Commandments and the covenant of law was introduced. But were the Israelites able to live up to their boasting that they could perform all that God commanded them to do? Absolutely not! Right at the foot of Mount Sinai, they created a golden calf out of the very gold that God had given them and worshipped it as the god who had brought them out of the land of Egypt!