Grace - New Covenant Motivation

Here are excerpts from an article by Wayne Duncan.

New Covenant Motivation
by Wayne Duncan


On resting and bearing fruit:

"Jesus did not assign us to simply bear fruit.  Merely having some fruit does not mean we are living the abundant life that Jesus gives.  We are called to so much more.

"By the my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples." -- John 15:8

Here we see that Father is glorified by us bearing much fruit.  I believe that the key to much fruit is found just three verses before this, in verse 5:

"I am the vine; you are the branches.  Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." -- John 15:5

Working from rest does not speak of passivity, but rather active duty from a place of rest.  This rest comes from knowing our identity and security.  It's important to know this.  The ultimate goal of working from a place of rest is not passivity, but resting from dead works.  It is based on a revelation that we are righteous because of a gift of God's grace."


On the fear of God:

"God had given Adam and Eve a mandate to be fruitful and to multiply, but when fear was introduced, they became unfruitful and hid from God.  You cannot be fruitful while you are in hiding!  You are not abiding when you are hiding!

It's interesting to me that Adam was not commanded to fear God.  Fear was not part of the motivation that God gave Adam in the garden.  God did not introduce fear into this perfect environment, it came by the knowledge of good and evil.

In Luke 1, we see John the Baptist's father prophesying over John about how he would prepare the way for the one who would bring salvation, and fulfill the covenant God swore to Abraham.  In this prophecy, Zechariah says the Messiah would, "enable us to serve Him without fear".

"Well, fearing God can have a restraining effect when it comes to sinning less:

"Through love and faithfulness, sin is atoned for; through the fear of the LORD a man avoids evil." -- Pro. 16:6 (NIV)

"By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for, and by the fear of the LORD on turns away from evil." -- Pro. 16:6 (ESV)

So, here we see fear producing a turning away from evil, or as the NIV says, "avoiding evil".  This is obviously a good thing.  But notice that it mentions here a superior way.  The way of love.  It produces atonement or purging.  Fear turns away, or avoids.  Love, however, changes the person from the inside out, and this has a purging effect.

Purge - To cleanse, clear, or purify by separating and carrying off whatever is impure, heterogeneous, foreign, or superfluous. -- Webster's Biblical Dictionary

Fear has effect on a single event at a time, purging affects everything, at every level.  This is a new creation, Holy Spirit reality.  Thus we see that although there is some value, it is inferior motivator, with partial, unsustainable results.

Here is what I consider to be the perfect motivator:

There are no cautions to this motivator.  There are no pitfalls.  There need be no balance or guidelines established.  It is the most powerful motivator, the most pure, the most effective.  This has the ability to produce much fruit, sustainably.  It upholds Jesus' call to abide.

It is superior by far to fear, and completes rewards.

The New Covenant motivation, through the finished work of the Cross, is:

Love expressing itself through faith.

We love and we believe, and therefore, we do.  Jesus said that all the law and the commandments hang on love, and that love fulfills the law.

Love changes the way you think, it changes the way you feel.

We have been given free grace, in love.  If we will receive it, believe it, be rooted and grounded in it...then we can live a life of abundantly more than all we ask, think, imagine.  That is abiding, and that is much fruit.

This is a well-motivated son of God, bearing much fruit.


Grace=Peace,


Jeremy