Taking Hold of the Covenant

Q: What does the Bible say about the covenant of grace?

The covenant of grace is God's promise to save His people through Christ, ensuring eternal life and relationship with Him. The covenant of grace is a divine promise established before time, in which God commits Himself to His elect, ensuring their salvation through Jesus Christ. As expressed in Hebrews 7:22, this covenant is a better covenant, made not based on human works but solely on grace. The Scriptures reveal this covenant as eternal, a jewel shining throughout the Bible, where God promises to forgive sins, provide righteousness, and preserve His people forever (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26-28). It predicts a time when God's law will be written on the hearts of His people, emphasizing the internal transformation wrought by the Holy Spirit as believers come to faith in Christ.

Q: How do we know the covenant of grace is true?

The truth of the covenant of grace is affirmed through Scripture and Christ's fulfillment of God's promises. The covenant of grace is validated in Holy Scripture and fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul emphasizes this in Hebrews 8:6-13, noting the flaws of the old covenant while demonstrating the superiority of the new covenant forged in Christ’s blood. This covenant is not based on human efforts or merit but purely on God's sovereign grace, assuring us that all who believe in Christ are partakers of this irrevocable promise. The evidence of its truth is visible in the changed lives of believers, transformed by the Holy Spirit and assured of their eternal security (Romans 8:31-39). Hence, the certainty of this covenant rests not on our works but on God's unchanging nature and faithfulness.

Q: Why is the covenant of grace important for Christians?

The covenant of grace is vital as it assures Christians of salvation, security, and a personal relationship with God. The covenant of grace is of paramount importance for Christians because it encapsulates the essence of God's relationship with His people through Christ. This covenant guarantees our salvation based on grace rather than works, as articulated in Ephesians 2:8-9, reassuring believers of their eternal status as children of God. It speaks to our assurance, as believers are promised that their sins are forgiven and that they will never be forsaken (Hebrews 13:5). Furthermore, this covenant fulfills God's plan of redemption, grounding the faith of believers in the finished work of Christ, thereby empowering them to live in obedience and joy as they reflect God's grace in their lives.

Q: How do Christians take hold of the covenant of grace?

Christians take hold of the covenant of grace by faith in Jesus Christ and appropriating the promises within. Taking hold of the covenant of grace begins with letting go of all reliance on personal works and resting solely on Christ’s finished work. As the preacher emphasizes, we must approach the covenant with empty hands, relying on Christ alone for salvation (Galatians 5:4). Following this initial act of faith, believers are called to continually lay hold of the covenant by trusting in God's promises through prayer, confession, and worship. This means actively engaging with the covenantal promises, such as assurance of forgiveness, the presence of God, and preservation until the end. By continually seeking and appropriating God's grace, believers experience the fullness and richness of life in Christ, which is the essence of living out the covenant.

Thus saith the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep my sabbaths and choose the things that please me and take hold of my covenant. Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and daughters. I will give them an everlasting name shall not be cut off. Also, the sons of the stranger that joined themselves to the Lord to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant.

Now, the Jews had a very elegant racial superstition, just a arrogant, unbiblical assumption, that it was impossible that anyone among the Gentiles could ever be brought into a covenant relationship with God. The Jews presumed that God's purposes of grace were for them and only for them.

But in our text that I just read to you, Isaiah speaks boldly. If you read Romans 10 verse 20, the apostle Paul tells you this was a bold move on Isaiah's part. He stood before the Jews in his day, and he said, now fellas, God Almighty is going to bring strangers and eunuchs into the kingdom of God. He's going to bring such men and women as you by nature despise into his kingdom, and he himself calls upon sinners among the Gentiles to take hold of his covenant.

Now that's my subject this evening, taking hold of the covenant. It is the privilege of all believers, and the highest comfort we can possibly have in this world, to take hold of God's covenant. Now let me try to deal with this message in a very clear, forthright way, by simply answering questions with regard to this covenant. The first question that needs to be answered, and must be answered, is what is the covenant? What covenant is he talking about here?

Now, as you read through the scriptures, you will see frequently there are various times when God speaks to men and associates himself with men in a covenant relationship. There was a covenant made with Adam, a covenant made with Noah, a covenant made with Abraham, a covenant made with Israel, a covenant made with David, and so on. There were many, many covenants in the Old Testament scriptures.

But all of these covenants reflect one or the other of two covenants which are the overriding themes of all the scriptures. One is the covenant of works, the other the covenant of grace. One is a covenant made from eternity, the other a covenant made in time. One is a covenant that is all together in our father Adam, and the other a covenant that is all together in the Lord Jesus Christ, our savior and our substitute. Now to understand the covenant is to lay hold of the key of theology so that you can understand the scriptures.

God always deals with men on the basis of a covenant. always. And you need to understand that. God does not deal with men in a strict sense individually. God deals with men on the basis of a covenant. The individual blessings and the individual privileges and the individual experiences we have are the result of a covenant relationship between us and God. He deals with men either in a covenant that was made and broken in our father Adam, are revealed with us in a covenant that was made and kept by the Lord Jesus Christ the second Adam, our covenant head and substitute.

Now the first covenant revealed in the scriptures, it is the first revealed. The first covenant revealed in the scriptures is the covenant of works that God made with Adam back in the garden. Let's turn back here and look at it. In Genesis chapter 2, Genesis chapter 2, Adam and Eve are in the garden. God's created them. And here the holy pair stands upright, righteous before God, created in the image of God. And God made Adam to be the covenant head.

Now notice, God doesn't speak to Eve. He doesn't deal with Eve. He deals with Eve in a representative. Adam's a representative. He doesn't deal with anyone but Adam because the covenant is made with Adam. Adam stands as the federal hood, the covenant representative, if you will, the substitute of all mankind. And here in Genesis chapter 2, this is what God says to Adam.

He put him in the garden, and the Lord God took the man and put him into the midst of the garden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden, thou mayest freely, here it is, all yours, take it. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die."

Now, the covenant of works that God made with Adam was a very simple covenant. All he had to do was not do something. God said, do this and leave. And Adam soon broke the covenant. And the Scripture declares that all the results of that covenant, being broken by our father Adam, is the plunging of our race into a state of sin, of depravity, of corruption, of condemnation, and spiritual death. Turn to Romans chapter 5. I want you to see it. This is the language of Scripture. Romans chapter 5, verse 12.

Wherefore, as by one man, one man, how did we get to this end? Not because we did something bad when we was a little boy, little girl. Not because we did something bad when we got a little older. Not because we came to an age of accountability and we chose to do evil. Oh no. No, we came forth from the womb speaking lies. We came into this world sinners. We came into this world to be paid.

And kids behave as they do, as they grow up, as an expression of their sin. That's what we do by nature. And so we recognize that man's problem is not outside himself, it's within himself. But the problem began back in the garden. Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for all has sinned."

Now, wait a minute, I wasn't there. I didn't do anything. Oh, yes, I was. Oh, yes, I did. Back down to my daddy Adam. Legally, before God, by God's decree, I stood in Adam. And when Adam sinned, I sinned in Adam. When Adam broke God's law, I broke God's law. When Adam died, I died, and so did you.

That's the way God arranged it. This covenant of works is what is later represented in the giving of the law to the children of Israel. In Exodus chapter 20, when Moses was called up into the mountain, God gave the law to Israel. This is what the Lord said, this is good and real.

All you've got to do now, all you've got to do is keep the law. That's all you've got to do. All you've got to do, mostly, is cast in negative terms. He says, don't worship any other god, don't take the name of god in vain, don't bear false witness, and so on. All you've got to do is do what the law says. That's all you've got to do.

And so the law was given in Mount Sinai, not as a way of life. but to demonstrate the impossibility of life on the basis of the covenant works. Whoever kept the law, you can't do it. Adam in the garden sinned, and he was a man without any sin for nature. He had never broken God's law up until that time. And now, we come forth as the sons and daughters of Adam, and we say we're going to keep the law?

What nonsense! We live in a wicked world. We have the influences of wickedness all around us and within us. It's impossible that we keep alive. You can't do that. You see, the law was given not to be a rule of life. but a room of death. Read the Word of God. Never is it said to be a room of life, it's a room of death. The law is not given to inspire righteousness, the law is called the strength of sin. So that the law identifies and condemns sin, but it can never bring it out.

So all who hope to be accepted before God and saved on the basis of the covenant of works are cursed in their effort and will perish before God. Turn to Galatians chapter 3. Galatians chapter 3. Man naturally assumes, all men just naturally assume That if you do good, God will accept you.

That's the philosophy, the religion of depraved, fallen human beings. But you're mistaken. You're mistaken because you can't do good. You start with an evil principle within. And if the heart's evil, everything done is evil. If you put your corrupt hand to do a so-called good work, the pollution of your hand pollutes the work. You can't do good. It's impossible, not in the sight of God. Now, we do what's relatively good. We do things that are relatively good in the eyes of one another, but not before God. Not before God.

Look here at Galatians 3.10.

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." You can't be saved by the covenant of works. You can't be saved by your obedience to God. In order to do so, you've got to obey God perfectly from the beginning, without any sin, without any evil thought, without any corrupt word, without any evil deed, till you leave this world. But in order to do so, you've got to start out with a good heart. You can't do it. You can't, you can't keep God's law. So fierce as cursed are you who get to be saved by the law.

By the deeds of the Lord there shall no flesh be justified in God's sight. Vain are the hopes the sons of men on their own works have built. Their hearts by nature are unclean, and all their actions guilt. Let Jew and Gentile stop their mouths without a murmuring word, and all the rest of Adam stand guilty before the Lord. In vain we ask God's righteous law to justify us now, since to convince and to condemn is all the law can do. But blessed be God, there is another covenant. The second covenant spoken of in the scripture is the covenant made with Christ, our covenant head, our surety before the world began.

In Hebrews 7.22, the Apostle Paul has been writing to the Hebrew believers who are being urged by others to mix law and grace, being urged by others to go back to Judaism.

And Paul tells how that Christ is better. He's a better priest. He has a better worship. He has a better sacrifice and so on. But he gets to Hebrews 7, and he begins talking about a covenant. And he says, Christ is the sugarcane of a better covenant. A covenant not of works, but of grace. A covenant made not between God and man, but made between God and God before the world began, and Jesus Christ, the God-man, stood in that covenant, struck haze with God, and this is what he said, I will.

I will become one of them. I will bow your law for them. I will render perfect satisfaction to divine justice by sacrificing myself. I will rise from the dead, and I will rule the world to save my people. And at the end of time, when time shall be no more, I will present every chosen sinner redeemed by my blood, saved by my grace, holy and unblamable before your presence." And the Father said, Go do it. That's the covenant of grace. Now let's look at it in the scriptures and see what the scriptures say about it. I can't read all these scriptures. I've got to read them. Let me just read two or three of them. Turn to Jeremiah chapter 31. Jeremiah chapter 31.

We rejoice to know that Christ Jesus has fulfilled everything in the covenant. He redeemed us, and having redeemed us, he will bring us home to glory by the power of his grace. There's no possibility of failure. In Jeremiah 31 and verse 31, here's the covenant. Behold, the day has come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Now, wait a minute.

He's talking about making this covenant, and you say, The older covenant? This covenant was made before the world began, but it was revealed secondly. And it's revealed in time, but it's always new. It's continually new because it's constantly flowing from God Almighty and filling us with grace and life and mercy and peace.

I'll make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Well, that's talking about those folks over in Palestine. I hope you've learned by now, no. That's talking about us. It's talking about the people of God. It's talking about the spiritual people.

Not according to the covenant that I made with the fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of Egypt, which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith the Lord. What covenant did God make with them when he brought them out of Egypt? What covenant did he make? He brought him Mount Sinai, and he said, Do this and do it. This covenant works. He said, Now, this covenant's not like that at all. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I'll put my law in the end of parts. I'll write it in their hearts. and will be their God, and they shall be my people.

And they shall teach no more, every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Look in chapter 32, verse 38.

Still talking about the covenant. And they shall be my people. And I will be their God. And I will give them one heart and one way that they may fear me forever for the good of them and for their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them that I will not turn away from them to do them good. But I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me. Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good. That's the covenant.

Look in Ezekiel chapter 60. Ezekiel 6 state. Verse 25. I'm sorry, it must be chapter 36. Let's look at that. See if that's it. Yeah, 36. Ezekiel 36, 25. Well, look back at verse 24. This is what God says. And notice how he says, I will, I will, I will.

I will take you from among the heathen. I will gather you out of all countries. I will bring you into your own land. Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you, and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh, and I will put my spirit within you, and will cause you to walk in my statutes, and you shall keep my judgments and do them. And you shall dwell in the land that I shall give your fathers, and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God. I will also save you from all your uncleanness.

I will call forth the corn, and will increase it, and I will lay no famine upon you. And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, and you shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen." God says, this is what I'll do. I'll do all these things.

Well, how do you know he's talking to us? Turn to Hebrews chapter 8. Hebrews chapter 8. Here the Apostle Paul quotes directly from Jeremiah's prophecy. I mean, he gives an exact quote. and is talking to us today in this gospel age. He says in Hebrews chapter 8 and in verse 7, For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for a second.

For finding fault with them, God said, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord.

I will put my laws into their minds, and write them in their hearts, and I will be to them a God. and they shall be to me a people. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For all shall know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will be merciful to them in righteousness, and their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.

In that he saith in you, covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. Now what does all this scripture tell us about the covenant of grace? First, it's an everlasting covenant. I will make with them an everlasting covenant. It's a covenant that stands from eternity forever. An everlasting covenant. It is a covenant of pure grace. Of pure grace. When we read Ezekiel 36, when we read Jeremiah 31, when we read Jeremiah 32, when we read Hebrews chapter 7, and it could go on and on again, go ahead and read Psalm 89. Read about the covenant. Not one word is said about your works. Not one word. Not one word. Not one word is said about your will. Not one word is said about your worth. Everything is God's work, God's will, and God's will. Everything. It's a pure covenant of grace.

But preacher, you have to take into consideration the will of man. I do. I do. A fellow wrote to me this week, spent a goodly portion of time trying to convince me the power of man's free will. And I kind of laughed as I listened to his silly arguments about the power of man's will. I recognize man does have a will. I know that. I know that. I'm not dumb. I may look at that, but I'm not plumb dumb. I know man's got a will. Man chooses his wife. Man chooses what he'll do. The man chooses where he'll go. You choose to come here tonight. You choose to do whatever you're going to get done here. Man has a will. There's no question about that.

The thing is, man's will is in bondage to his nature, and you're not going to choose what's contrary to you. It's not going to happen. If I can use the language, God's will's in bondage to his nature. There's things God can't do. He can't do it. He can't lie. Scripture says so. God can't lie. Why? Can't God do whatever he wants to? Yes, he just don't want to lie. It's not within his nature to lie. And it is not within the nature of man to do good. It is not within the nature of man to believe Christ. It is not within the nature of man to come and worship God. He won't do it. Won't do it.

Now, when man's will comes into conflict with God's will, and it's going to It's going to, in this business of salvation, that's what happens. God meets you head on. He meets your will head on. And I tell you what's gonna happen. God's either gonna break your will, or God's gonna burn you, one of the two. And when God comes in contact with your will, he says, I will and you shall. That's the reason Rex Barber's sitting right now, hearing this message and rejoicing in it. Because God said, I'll be your God, and you shall be my people. I'll cause you to come to me. I'll cause you to dwell in this land of plenty. I will cause you to love me and worship me. I'll cause you to abide with me.

The covenant read in the scripture is a covenant ordered in all things and sure, so that before the world began, God Almighty arranged everything and made it certain on behalf of his people concerning his grace and their salvation. This covenant of grace is an immutable covenant. Immutable covenant. Oh, I love things that don't change. And God doesn't change. His will doesn't change. His purpose doesn't change. His grace doesn't change. His works don't change. His love doesn't change. His covenant stays forever! He says, I'll be your God. ever, forever. For what if I sin, I visit your iniquity with stripes, but my covenant will I hold fast with Christ forever? That's what he says. Read Psalm 89.

This covenant of grace is a covenant of salvation. that was ratified by the blood of Christ. That means it was purchased and legally put into effect by the death of Jesus Christ, the testator. It is described in Hebrews 9 as the will of Jesus Christ, which is accomplished by his death. So that when sinners are saved, they come, rumor, only to enjoy and to receive the blessedness of the will of Jesus Christ, made before the world began, ratified with his blood, made effectual by his blood, applied to your heart by the Holy Spirit. The New Testament, the word testament would better be translated, when you open the scriptures, it's the New Covenant. That's what it is. You know what I'm doing here tonight? I'm reading the will to you. That's all. I'm just showing you what the will of God is. The covenant of grace. Now then, I have a little will.

A friend of mine who's a lawyer told me several years ago I ought to have a will so that if something happened to me, the state wouldn't take control of everything and Insurance and all that stuff, you know, so we had a lawyer drop a wheel. I mean, it says, something happened to me, Shelby gets everything, something happened to her, I get everything she's got, and we both had two nickels left when it's done. But, anyways, he'd drop a wheel. Particularly when Faith was a minor, see to it she was taken care of. But, when the wheel has been read, if somebody down the road somewhere takes a notion to, they can challenge it in court.

And that means the law doesn't really have to pay any attention to my will. Don't really have to. If somebody comes up with enough arguments and enough reason, the old man is crazy, you know. He lost his mind. He didn't know what was going on. And really what he wanted to do was he wanted this to go here and this to go there. And the world just falls to the ground.

But God's will This covenant will never fall to the ground because the testator who died sits in the throne of glory and he lives to see to it that his will is carried out. And it's going to be. Well, how can I take hold of this covenant? Our text speaks of taking hold of the covenant. I take that to mean that by one means or another, we are, as believers, to claim the covenant. and appropriated blessings and benefits to ourselves. But how do you do so? How do you take hold of the covenant?

I tell you, the first thing you got to do is let go of the covenant of works. That's the first thing you got to do. You got to give up being saved by your works. You got to give up being saved by going to church, being saved by baptism, being saved by reading the Bible, being saved by keeping the commandments, being saved by being a good boy, being a good girl, being a good woman, being a good man. You got to give that up.

For if you do anything by which you hope to be saved, Paul said Christ your prophet, you're nothing. Read Galatians chapter 5. Salvation is by grace. If you mix works with it, you destroy grace. Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for dress, helpless look to thee for grace. That's the only way to come to Christ. You've got to let go of the covenant of works. Secondly, initially, we take hold of the covenant by believing Christ.

Oh, God help you now to hear me. I've been talking to you for 30 minutes now about that everlasting transaction of grace that took place between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit before the world began. That transaction of grace that was fulfilled and accomplished and ratified when Christ said, It's finished. Now listen to me.

If you'd get in on this company, If you would be a recipient of these covenant blessings, if you would be an heir of the covenant, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's it. That's it. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul said to the jailer, and thou shalt be saved. The scripture says Whosoever believeth on him hath everlasting life. Salvation comes to sinners by faith in Christ. You get saved not by walking an aisle, not by saying a prayer, not by going here, going there, doing this, doing that. You get saved, if you want to use that kind of language, by believing on Christ. Will you believe him? Will you trust him? Will you take hold of the covenant? Initially, that's how you do so. Just let go of your works. Lay hold of Christ. Believe him.

But having come to Christ, having trusted him, still we must take hold of the covenant. Our text speaks of those who have come to Christ, eunuchs and strangers who have come to Christ, and it says they take hold of my covenant. That means we are to appropriate to ourselves continually, by every means possible, everything in the covenant. We go out here and spray insects. all around these buildings out here yesterday morning. But in the middle of the summer, you get your insecticide and you go spray, and I don't care how much pressure you put on that little hand sprayer, and I don't care how strong the insecticide is, there's some bugs that'll hold onto those leaves with the little tentacle suckers under every leg, and every tentacle in their legs will just hold on, and just hold on, and hold on, and hold on. as if they were holding on for life itself, with everything in them. That's what he's talking about. They're all holding on for life. He's telling us, with everything in us, to lay hold on the covenant, and don't let go.

How do you appropriate these blessings? We find what the covenant talks about. Is there a promise in the covenant to those who confess their sins? Is there promise? The promise reads like this, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins. How can I take hold of that? I confess my sin. That's it.

Is there promise in the covenant to those who seek the Lord in prayer? Listen to the word. Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Lord, I'm going to call on you. I'm calling on you now. You promised in the covenant that anybody who'd call would be saved. I'm calling on you. Is there a promise in the covenant to those who are baptized in the name of Christ? He that believeth in his baptized shall be saved. Lord, I believe. I'm confessing you now. I confess you.

Is there promise in the covenant to those who gather to worship him? For two or three gather in my name, there and I in the midst of them. I believe I'll be where the God's people meet. I will be there with them. I will be here seeking him, worshiping him. Is there promise in the covenant to those who honor him? God says him that honoreth me, I will honor. Honor God with your increase, God will honor you. Oh, Lord, I'm going to do whatever I can to honor you and honor you with everything I've got.

Is there a promise in the covenant to those who gather at the table as we're going to gather here tonight at the table of our Lord? Oh, yeah. Our Lord says when you eat this bread and drink this cup, As often as you do, you remember me, and you show forth the Lord's death to become. I'm going to eat the bread, I'm going to drink the wine. We'll remember him.

I want to show forth his death, both for myself and for you. Is there promise in the covenant to those who look for him? To live as it were on the tip of a faith? Listen to this. to them that look for him. Can you finish it? Shall he appear the second time without sin in the salvation? I'm looking for him.

How do you lay hold of the covenant? You take hold of the covenant by everything in you. Lay hold of every promise of the covenant to appropriate it to yourself. But what is there in the covenant for me to take hold of? Let me just mention it. I can't preach anymore. This covenant describes complete atonement. Do you know what that word atonement means? It means at one with. Just divide the three syllables up and you've got the word at one meant. Meant means with. Atonement is to be at one with God. at one with God.

Oh, I lay hold of that. Believe in Christ, I'm at one with God. God's got no quarrel with me. In bless His name, I don't have any quarrel with Him. At one with God. In this covenant, there is the revelation of perfect righteousness. Perfect righteousness.

When Jesus Christ lived on this earth for thirty-three years, he was weaving a garment of righteousness in everything he did, from the time he came into his mother's womb and said, Lo, I come in the volume of the book, it is written in me, I delight to do thy will, O my God, until at last he said, Father, I finished the work you gave me to do.

This was before he walked to the cross. This is just before he died. He said, I finished the work you gave me to do. What work? He worked out a perfect covenant of righteousness. His righteousness is now imputed to man. The Lord Jesus, by his death at Calvary, accomplished a complete redemption as well, by which he satisfied justice on my behalf, through which I have the atonement.

In this covenant, there is the promise of divine protection. God says, no weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper. Every tongue that rises up against you, you'll condemn in judgment. God says, I protect you, I'll keep you. In this covenant, God promises his people the blessedness of divine providence. We read back then, about the promise concerning the fruit of the trees, and famine, and so on. He's just talking about providence.

He said in Hosea 2, he said, I'll make even the beast of the field to be in league with you. Oh, what does that mean? The beast of the field? What's that wild fox running across the field got to do with me? He runs across that field in the direction he does because God has ordered it for my group. Now, all of that is just a little picture of this. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose. There is also in this covenant an unfailing intercession to be laid hold of.

Don't sin. Children of God don't sin. But when you sin, don't despair. For if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he's the propitiation for our sins. This covenant holds out the blessed promise of divine preservation. God says, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. God says, I give unto thee an eternal life, and they shall never perish. And this covenant holds out the promise of heavenly glory. You and I, who are heirs of the covenant, are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ.

But when should I take hold of God's covenant? I tell you a good time to take hold of is when you need grace. Do you need any? Do you need grace? I mean, really, do you need grace? Grace that only God can give? Take hold of the time. Do you need help? Help! He said, if you come in time of need, you'll find grace to help in time of need. You need some help? Oh God, I need your help. Need your help. Take hold of the covenant.

Come to God and take hold of the covenant when you need comfort. Comfort in the teeth of your sin. Comfort in the teeth of your foes. And comfort in the teeth of your troubles. I'll tell you what. You may not find it anywhere else. But if you take hold of this covenant, you'll find comfort. Comfort which God alone can give. And when you leave in this world, that's the time to take hold of the covenant.

When King David was dying, Folks in Israel tried to do everything they could to resuscitate him. Finally, he lay on his deathbed. There was a hush in all the land of Israel, waiting to hear words from the king. And just before he died, this is what he said.

Although my house be not so with God, yet the Lord hath made with me. I like that personal language, don't you? This is for me. It's mine. An everlasting covenant. Ordered in all things and sure. This is all my salvation and all my desire. It's all I want. Lay hold of the covenant. Well, why should I? What encouragement is there for me to lay hold of the covenant? Let me put it another way. Why shouldn't you lay hold of the covenant? Why shouldn't you? Many others, just exactly like you, have done so. You may be a proud, self-righteous Pharisee.

Well, Saul of Tarsus found mercy in the covenant you came to. You may say, well, pastor, I've been a thief. Oh, there was a thief hanging on the cross beside our Savior. The Lord looked at him and said, today you'll be with me in paradise. I expect you can find mercy too. But you don't know the demons that have possessed me. There was a maniac of Godella, the Lord Jesus met him one day, and when he met the Savior, that man who was naked and crying like a lunatic and running around, scared everybody to death, he was down sitting clothed and in his right mind, worshiping the Son of God.

He's got mercy in the covenant, you can't tell. But Don, I've been a harlot. That's all right. There was a woman of ill repute who came to the master. And the Lord Jesus said, till your sins are forgiven. He can do that for you too. He can do that for you too.

But I've been a blasphemer. The apostle Paul said he was a blasphemer. And he said, I've attained mercy. And if one blasphemer can attain mercy, so can another. of all the multitudes who have come to Christ. There has never been one that has been turned away and rejected by him. He said, Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.

Well, he wouldn't receive me. I'll tell you what, you come to a And if he doesn't receive you, we'll both go to hell. Because he's not as good as his word. He's not as good as his word. Come to him. He'll receive you. I promise you, he promises you he will. Him that cometh to God by Jesus Christ, he is able and will save to the uttermost. So come to God by Christ.

You're exactly the kind of person for whom this covenant was made. In this covenant, there is description of a fountain, a fountain that has been opened, a fountain drawn from Immanuel's veins. You can read about it in Zechariah 13, verse 1. It is a fountain that was opened for sin and uncleanness. I qualify, do you? I can come to this fountain. One thing I've got plenty of is sin and uncleanness. That qualifies me to come to the fountain and wash in him. Will you come? Wash in him. Why shouldn't you take hold of his covenant?

You've lived long enough to find out already there's nothing else to take hold of. Nothing else to take hold of. That infamous blasphemer of Voltaire, when his son lay dying, sat by his bedside and held his hand, he said, son, hold on, hold on. And his son looked into his father's empty eyes, and he said, brother, there's nothing to hold on to. And I'm telling you, there's nothing else to take hold of, but Jesus Christ and the covenant of grace in him. Take hold of the covenant. Amen.

Taking Hold of the Covenant

What does the Bible say about the covenant of grace?

How do we know the covenant of grace is true?

Why is the covenant of grace important for Christians?

How do Christians take hold of the covenant of grace?

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Taking Hold of the Covenant

What does the Bible say about the covenant of grace?

How do we know the covenant of grace is true?

Why is the covenant of grace important for Christians?

How do Christians take hold of the covenant of grace?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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