Used With Permission

Here is one of the answers given by Melissa on her bible and theology Exam. I thought she had some good points and since this is one of the key aspects of the faith I thought it would be nice to share.

Abrahamic Covenant

God made a covenant with Abraham and his family to belong to him in a special way. He promised to make his descendants as “numerous as the stars”. The agreement between them was similar to the agreement between a king and his subjects, or a husband and wife. The covenant was renewed at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:5, 34:10), before entering into the promised land (Deut. 30) and through David. Psalm 89:3-4 reads “You said, ‘ I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David: I will establish your descendants forever, and built your throne for all generations”.  

      The covenant, as they understood it, was that God would triumph over the pagan nations, defeat the oppressing enemy forces of Israel and give them glory, honor and blessings.  In Deut. 29 God promises those that disobey God’s commandment will bring upon themselves curses, the worst of which will be exile from the promised land.  If in exile they turn back to him, then he will bring about the blessings of Deut. 30.  He also promises to change their hearts so they can finally keep the law with their hearts. God promises that it is not inacessable, i.e., up in heaven (Deut. 30:12) or across the sea (v.13), it will find them. Once this happened the curse would be over.

In the Pharesitic times, badge of belonging to the covenant was strict adherence to the law and ethnic identity. The felt that they were still living under the curse of Deut. 29, and longed for the time when they could live with a fresh understanding of the law. A question they and many before them wrestled with was “how will Israel know what to do?” Some of the thinkers before the Pharisees thought that this was in the form of wisdom, which God would give to Israel, thus setting them free. Others thought that it was a special set of laws.

Jesus is the fulfillment of that covenant. He triumphed over the enemy, Satan, bringing the people out of exile in their separation from God, and restoring us to the promises of blessings and glory and salvation. In Matthew 26 he says “...this is my blood, which seals the covenant between God and his people.” (v.28), which is a reference to Exodus 24:8, when Moses sprinkled blood over the Israelites, confirming the covenant God made with the people.

In the book of Romans, Paul deals with this issue of the covenant, and all that comes with this new understanding of it. Romans 10:9 says “ For if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised  him from the dead, then you will be saved”. The Messiah came to them, just like he promised.

  So how, then, are Gentiles included in this covenant? The Pharisees and others felt it applied only to ethnic Israelites. God’s covenant with Abraham was always the way He intended to save the world from death and destruction. In Romans 2:25-29  Paul says that a true Jew is a person whose heart is right with God, and circumcision is a change of the heart caused by the Holy Spirit (v.29). Faith in Christ is the badge, not ethnic identity and possession of the law.   

 In ch. 3: 20, he says that no one can ever be made right in God’s sight by doing what the law says. So we’re all guilty, Jew and Gentile alike (3:21- 24), which begs the question, what is God going to do?  He could either bless a nation that didn’t deserve it (love), or go back on his promise (justice). It’s love versus justice, neither side of God can allow the other to override it. This is a question of God’s righteousness, how do you bless us and punish us at the same time?  Israel was given a job (being a light to the world) and they failed. The solution is now part of the problem. They too must be punished, but then how are they blessed? There is one Israelite who would offer God faithful obedience. The faithfulness of the sinless, obedient Christ, who represented us, took our punishment of death. In this way God redeemed the world, faithful to his covenant.