Grace - We are loved with a brand new covenant

By Mick Mooney:

 

Religion will always try to sell you the lie that God wants to relate

to you based on your 'works', but the gospel proclaims the truth

that God actually desires to relate with you based on the finished

work of his Son.

 

The life of Jesus completely interrupted mankind's obsession

with religious obligations, rituals and sacrifices. He put an end to

the idea that we could reach God by our own efforts and good

works. He revealed a better way—his way. It is the new and living

way, and it is glorious! (Hebrews 10:19-22)

 

Sometimes, even as Christians, we can still cling to our old religious

mindsets that demand that we work for our provision, prove

ourselves worthy and earn our place in God's presence. We may not

say these things out loud, but they remain in our sub-conscious and

cause our faith journey to be heavy and burdensome. However, God,

in his goodness, is always offering to take that burden off of our

shoulders and replace it with the truth of our new covenant reality—

the way has already been prepared for us.

 

The reality is that Jesus died not only for the forgiveness of

our sins; he also died to establish a brand new covenant in which we

could live. In this covenant there is not only forgiveness of sins, but

also new life. It is a heavenly agreement, not based on mankind's

faithfulness, but on the perfect faithfulness of Jesus. It is eternally

guaranteed, not based on mankind's offerings, but on the perfect

offering of Jesus. It is a personal relationship in which can God

reveal himself as he truly is: the God of all grace.(1 Peter 5:10)

 

Most of us, as followers of Jesus, understand the theory that

we are loved, but it's often possible to feel a much more tangible

sense that we are somehow a disappointment to God or a chronic

underachiever in spiritual disciplines. God's heart is to bring us out

of this religious mindset into the glorious freedom of his grace. The

truth is we are radically loved.