GOD’S COVENANT OF GRACE (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 4/29/25

“And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament [covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament [covenant], they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.” (Hebrews 9:15)

Certain words and phrases pertaining to the Gospel may seem confusing to some. The pastor might say things during a sermon that could baffle certain less Biblically studied members of the congregation. One such word is ‘covenant.’ A covenant signifies a formal, solemn, and binding agreement or promise between two or more parties. A covenant almost always comes with a reward upon the performance of some action and a consequence for the breach of such a contract.

The shortcomings of the old covenant were not an accident; rather, God meant them to help us understand the need for the new one - a covenant of grace. In recent verses, the writer has indicated that while animal sacrifices have value, in that they can provide ritual purity, they cannot change us on the inside. Those sacrifices cannot remove the penalty of sin. On the other hand, the sacrifice of Christ can accomplish what those other sacrifices cannot.

This makes the new covenant the "promised eternal inheritance" God has always intended for humanity. The original audience of this letter was persecuted Jewish Christians. This reference to inheritance reminds them that following Christ is not abandoning their Jewish roots. Instead, it is a fulfillment of that heritage. The sacrifice of Christ is the event that provides for the forgiveness of all sins, including those that occurred during the ages before His birth.

According to this passage, animal sacrifice cannot fully atone for human sin. This is one reason that the priests of the Old Covenant had to offer sacrifices constantly. A sinful human priest has to offer a sacrifice for his sin. Christ, in contrast, offers a sacrifice that is entirely human, sinless, and utterly compelling in what it accomplishes. This is the new covenant.

The distance between God and the creature is so great that, although creatures who have been given the faculty of reason do owe obedience to Him as their Creator, they still could never have attained the reward of life except by some voluntary condescension on God's part. He has been pleased to express this in the form of a covenant.

Moreover, as humankind had brought themselves under the law’s curse by the fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace. In this covenant, He freely offers sinners amnesty, life, and salvation through Jesus Christ, the only person capable of achieving perfection. This requires faith in Him that we may be saved, and a promise to give to all appointed to eternal life His Holy Spirit to make them willing and able to believe.

This covenant is revealed through the Gospel, first to Adam in the promise of salvation by the woman’s seed, and afterwards by further steps until the full revelation of it became complete in the New Testament. This covenant of salvation rests upon an eternal covenant transaction between the Father and the Son about the redemption of the elect. It is solely by the undeserved mercy (or grace) and favor of this covenant that all the descendants of fallen Adam who have ever been saved have obtained life, because earthly people are utterly incapable of gaining acceptance with God on their terms.