26For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28Anyone who has rejected Moses? law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and
insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. And again, "The Lord will judge His people." (Hebrews 10:26-30).
We are all party to various types of contracts throughout life. In a contract two parties agree on certain terms of their relationship and then promise to behave in accordance with those terms. Many people are blessed to work under the terms of a labor contract. The two parties - the employer and the employees - are bound under the terms of that contract. We like to work under the auspices of a contract because it brings stability. We know what to expect and what is expected of us. If an employee violates a contract term he/she can expect discipline. If the employer neglects any agreed upon terms, it can expect the grievance procedure enacted. Thus, both sides are very concerned with contract enforcement and have tools available to ensure the compliance of the other party. When each contract expires we are all treated to a front row seat of an interesting chess match called contract negotiations. Both parties send their most skilled strategists to the table and we can be thankful for the hard work they do.
Now God has designed life so that the affairs of man would always serve as illustrations, which reveal Himself and draw us into a relationship with Him. The enactment of contracts is certainly no exception to that principle. Allow me to explain:
I. God Has Always Based His Relationship With Man On Contractul Terms.
1. The Contract in Eden: The parties - God and Adam. The terms - Adam was to care for the Garden. In return for faithfulness he could eat from any tree in the garden, except one. The discipline for noncompliance was spiritual death - a loss of intimate relationship with God and expulsion from the Garden.
2. The Contract With Fallen Man: After Adam and Eve's sin - or breach of contract - God established another contract with them. The terms were not so pleasant: Eve would have great pain in childbirth and Adam would toil over a now cursed earth which would not easily yield its fruit until the day he died and returned himself to the dust.
3. The Contract With Noah: God reconfirmed His contract with fallen man and expanded it to include the establishment of human government to suppress the effects of man's sinfulness. For His part God then promised never again to destroy the earth and its inhabitants with a flood. Then He rearranged the hydrological cycle so that it would interact with the visible spectrum of light to create rainbows under certain circumstances: "The rainbow shall be in the cloud, and I will look on it to remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth." (Genesis 9:16).
4. The Contract With Abraham: This contract included terms both for Abraham personally and for the nation of Israel, which would spring from his descendants. "And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you." (Genesis 17:7)
5. The Contract of God's Law: The most basic terms of this contract were spelled out in the Ten Commandments: "So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone." (Deut. 4:13).
II. We are Under A New Contract With God.
The old contract of the Ten Commandments demanded that we earn a relationship with God by our performance-- that is, by obeying His laws, But that contract had a built-in flaw - not a flaw with God, but a flaw in us, called sin: For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said: "...Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah" (Hebrews 8:8), Since "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," (Romans 3:23) and "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) we are all condemned under the old contract of God's Law. If you think that someday you'll be in heaven based on your good performance in life, please consider: "...no flesh will be justified in His sight," (Romans 3:20)!
It is typical of fallen human nature to try to earn a righteous standing with God rather than confessing its total inability to do so, But if that's where you're at, then you are laboring under the terms of a flawed and expired contract which will ultimately condemn you because of sin.
You need to start carefully studying the new contract book for yourself. Let's look at that new contract...
III. The New Contract Was Ratified In Blood.
Jesus foretold the ratification of the new contract at the Last Supper. "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." (Matthew 26:28). The new contract is actually a testament, since it was ratified by the death of the testator, Jesus. Thus, it is the "New Testament". The terms of this new contract have nothing to do with our own performance or "good works". The New Testament declares that eternal life must be received through the forgiveness of sins paid for by the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ:
"And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance." (Hebrews 9:15).
IV. You Must Enter The New Contract Personally.
The death of Jesus was sufficient to pay for the sins of all people for all time. However, God has revealed in the terms of the new contract that each individual must respond to Jesus with a personal faith in order to be covered under the New Testament: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law." (Romans 3:28) and
"8For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph.2:8-9). This personal faith reception of Jesus as Savior and Lord reveals a new birth in the heart of the believer and places him/her in the "bargaining unit" of the new contract: "12But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:12-13), God does a miraculous work in the hearts and minds of those who enter the new contract through personal faith: "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them," (Hebrews 10:16). It is difficult for those still struggling under the condemnation of the old contract to understand the changing values, priorities and lifestyles of those entering the new contract. They don?t realize that "for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13)
V. To Reject The New Contract Results In Judgment.
This is such a fearful prospect that I will just let God Himself speak without comment from me: "26For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. 28Anyone who has rejected Moses? law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30For we know Him who aid, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord." And again, "The Lord will judge His people." (Hebrews 10:26-30).
VI. God Never Breaks A Contract Promise.
We are always on the lookout for labor contract violations - and rightly so! Wherever men are involved eventually there will be broken promises. I'm quite sure I've violated our labor contract terms at times without even realizing it. But when God makes Himself party to a contract, He perfectly abides by the terms and performs His promises without fail: "My covenant I will not break, Nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips." (Psalm 89:34), In fact, when the Bible speaks about the certainty of God's contractual promises it simply states that, "...it is impossible for God to lie..." (Hebrews 6:18). God loves you and has bound Himself contractually to forgive your sins and give you eternal life.
He left heaven, entered the humble world of human experience and then allowed sinful man to nail Him to a cross - all that He might ratify that contract! You can either give your life to Him in full faith and love, entering the eternal blessings of the New Testament or you will remain condemned by your sins under the old contract of God's Law - facing eternal judgment. I pray that your heart would be open today to the love of God and filled with the faith of the New Testament in His blood.
