Destined To Reign - Part 11 – The Picture of Pure Grace

Dear friends,



Everything in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation points to Jesus’ death on the cross. It is because of His sacrifice that we are under the new covenant of grace today. The old covenant will always cause you to look at yourself, whereas the new covenant will always cause you to turn and look at Christ crucified. Old Testament prophets call your sins to remembrance, while New Testament preachers call your righteousness to remembrance. Old Testament preachers tell you what is wrong with you, while New Testament preachers tell you what is right with you because of what Jesus has done, in spite of what is wrong with you. The first miracle of Moses, who represents the law, was to turn water into blood, resulting in death. The first miracle of grace was Jesus turning water into wine, resulting in celebration and life. The law kills, but the Spirit gives life.



Pure Grace From Egypt to Sinai



When God liberated the children of Israel from bondage of slavery in Egypt, He did not do so because they had kept the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments had not even be given yet. The children of Israel came out of Egypt by the blood of the Lamb. If you study the journey of the children of Israel from Egypt to Mount Sinai, you will be able to see that this is a picture of pure grace. Not a single Israelite died during this period although they murmured and complained. This period lasted about 50 days, which was between the first Passover and the first Pentecost. I have never heard anyone preach that before and neither had I read in any book before.



Even though God had rescued the children of Israel from their Egyptian slave masters by performing great signs and wonders, they failed to honor God and murmured and complained over and over again. When the Egyptian army came thundering toward them from behind and the Red Sea was before them, the children of Israel cried out to Moses saying, “Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? (Exodus 14: 11)” That was a complaint against God, and murmuring and complaining are sins. But, what was God’s response? He opened up the Red Sea and they crossed over to dry land on the other side, safe from the enemies. Even after God had taken them safely to the other side of the sea, the murmuring continued. At Marah, they complained about the bitter water. What was God’s response? He made the bitter water sweet. (Exodus 15: 23-25). In the wilderness, they cried out against Moses when they were hungry. What was God’s response? He rained bread or manna from heaven. (Exodus 16: 2-4). But still, the children of Israel complained. When there was no water again, they cried out against Moses, saying, “Why is it you have brought us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst? (Exodus 17: 3)” What was God’s response? He brought water out of the flinty rock.



Study the Bible yourself. You will find that every time the children of Israel murmured and complained, it only brought forth fresh demonstrations of God’s favor, supply and goodness. Why? Because during that period, the blessings and provisions they received were not dependent on their obedience or goodness. They were dependent on God’s goodness and faithfulness to the Abrahamic covenant, which was a covenant of grace.



The Exchange Of Covenants At Mount Sinai



Something tragic happened right at the foot of Mount Sinai. In Exodus 19: 8, the Bible says that the people cried out to Moses, saying, “All that the Lord has spoken, we will do.” In the original Hebrew text, this is actually a statement of pride. They were saying, “All that God requires and demands of us, we will be able to perform.” In other words, they were saying, “God, stop assessing us or blessing us based on Your goodness. Start assessing, judging, and blessing us based on our obedience.” So they effectively exchanged covenants, from the Abrahamic covenant which is based on grace, to the Sinaitic covenant which is based on the law.



All this while, God was with them and had fought for them. He opened up the Red Sea, rained manna from heaven, and brought water out of the flinty rock, even though they kept murmuring and complaining. But the moment they said those prideful words, God had to change His tone. He told Moses to instruct the people not to go near the mountain, for “whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. (Exodus 19 12)” Why do you think God change His demeanor here? It was because man presumed on his own strength and entered into a covenant based on his obedience. This is what we call self-righteousness. Since the people wanted to judged based on their performance, in the very next chapter, God gave them the Ten Commandments. From then on, since they boasted that they could do all that God commanded, God had to assess them based on His laws. He would bless them if they kept His commandments, but they would be cursed if they failed to do so. What the people did not understand was that they had to obey all of the Ten Commandments perfectly, because if they failed in one, they would be guilty of all. (James 2: 10)



Now, let’s see what happened when the children of Israel placed themselves under the law. After they boasted that they could fulfill all that God demanded of them, the works of the flesh were immediately manifested. They broke the very first commandment – “You shall have no other God besides me” (Exodus 20: 3) – by fashioning a golden calf and worshipping it as their God (Exodus 32: 18). Isn’t that sad? So be careful when you boast of keeping or defending the law because the work of the flesh will follow soon after.



From that point onward, every time the children of Israel murmured and complained, many of them would die. Observe this: Before Sinai, none died. After Sinai, the moment they murmured, they died. Before Sinai, every failure brought forth a fresh manifestation of God’s favor. But when the Israelites were under the covenant of law, sin had to be punished. Their blessings and provisions no longer depended on on God’s goodness, faithfulness and grace. Under the covenant of law, their blessings depended on their perfect obedience, and every failure and sin would result in judgment and punishment. That’s why the law of Moses is called them ministry of death and condemnation. You would think that after 2000 years, people would learn, but there are believers today who are still using the same refrain as the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai. They are bragging, “All that the Lord has spoke we will do.” They are insisting that they are pursuing obedience with their own ability.



We Are No Longer Under The Old Covenant



Can you see what the Lord is showing us? The Israelites’ journey from Egypt to Sinai was a picture of pure grace. It was not dependent on their goodness, but His goodness, not on their faithfulness but His faithfulness. Before the law was given, they were under grace and nobody was punished even when they failed. But immediately after the law was given, nobody was spared when they failed. The good news is that we are no longer under the old covenant of law. We have been delivered from the law though Jesus’ death on the cross. Because of Jesus Christ, we are now under the new covenant of grace, which means that today God does not assess us based on our performance, but on His goodness and faithfulness.



Why are there believers today living as though the cross did not make a difference? Instead of enjoying the new covenant of grace, they are still insisting to be under the old covenant of law and the Ten Commandments. I declare to you that the cross of Jesus make a difference. If you are still trying to live under the law, trying to be justified by your obedience to the law, you are effectively negating what Jesus has already done for you on the cross!



Under the old covenant, God said, “I will by no means clear the guilty. (Exodus 34: 7)” However, in the new covenant, God says, “I will remember your sins no more. (Hebrews 8: 12 and Hebrews 10: 17)” Can you see the contrast? It is the same God speaking, so what happened? The cross happened. The cross made the difference. Today, God does not remember your sins or hold them against you because He has already judged them in the body of His Son, Jesus Christ. Believers get confused when they do not realize that the cross has made a difference. If we are still supposed to be under Ten Commandments as many argue, then what did the cross of Jesus accomplished? With the advent of the new covenant, the Bible says that God has made the old covenant obsolete. (Hebrew 8: 13) Stop fighting to hold on to something which the Bible has declared to be obsolete.



True Gospel Always Produces Peace In Your Heart



We often heard preachers say that Christian life is difficult. We have to suffer for the Lord and pay our dues. We often were told to work hard, pray hard, and make sure that we read the Bible every day so that God would be pleased with us. Let us see with the “Good News” perspective. We do not read the Bible because we want to qualify for God’s blessings. We read the Bible to find out about our blessings and inheritance in Christ. See the difference? If I stop reading the Bible for a few days, I should not be feeling guilty, but I should be feeling hungry. God is not pleased with us on the condition that we read the Bible, pray long prayers, and pay our dues or suffer. Absolutely not! He is pleased with us just because of our trust in Jesus, who qualifies us.



The Bible never says that it is our works that qualify us. It says, “Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. (Colossians 1: 12)” It is the Father who has qualified us, and He qualified us by sending His Son to save us. He qualified us to be partakers of His favor, healing, prosperity, love, joy, peace and well-being in our families. We partake of our inheritance by giving thanks to the Father for sending His Son. We can wake up every day and say, “Father, I thank you that You have qualified me to walk in victory, healing and prosperity.” Don’t rake your brain to figure out what you must DO to qualify for God’s goodness. His goodness is already yours.



There are too many teachings today telling believers what they must do to qualify for this and that. God’s way is for us to know that, through Jesus, we are already qualified! Test whatever I shared here about the goodness of God, His grace, and Jesus’ work at the cross, against teachings that demanded you to do good works to qualify for God’s blessings. Which one produces peace in your heart?



Dear beloved, joy and peace are the trademarks of the kingdom of God. God is not the author of confusion. He is calling His people out of confusion. Ask yourself this: What produces more peace and joy in your heart – hearing about His judgment and indignation, or hearing about His goodness and grace? What brings abiding peace and joy – to know that God will never punish and condemn you again for your sins because Jesus has already been punished and condemned for you, or to hear that God is sometimes pleased but sometimes angry with you, depending on how you perform? What produces true repentance – the fear of judgment or His unconditional goodness?



My friend, if you are honest, you know that the answer is found in Jesus and His finished work. It is found in His grace, not in your own doing. By trying to qualify yourself today for God’s blessings with all your Bible reading, praying and hard work, you are saying together with the children of Israel at the foot of Mount Sinai, “All that the Lord has spoken we will do.” You are telling the Lord to assess and judge you not according to His goodness and faithfulness, but according to your goodness and faithfulness. Is that what you really want? If not, then begin to put your trust in the finished work of Christ today and enjoy the blessings that flow from His unconditional goodness!



Amen!



Dedo Suwanda



(From the book “Destined to Reign” by Joseph Prince)