An Agreement with
God
Introduction:
Life is structured by and based on
agreements. When honorable people make honorable agreements: life &
relationships are blessed. When agreements are ignored, violated, abused
– life & relationships become miserable.
I. Would you make a serious commitment w/o
an agreement? No? Why?
A.
Commitment w/o agreement leads
to pain & suffering.
B.
Commitment w/o agreement requires no mutual
investment of self.
C.
Commitment w/o agreement allows
a person to walk out; walk away; disappear w/o conscience.
D.
For an honest person –
making an agreement is the act of taking the ownership of responsibility in
commitment.
II. God always
commits to people who agree to commit to Him.
A.
When God makes an agreement
w/man it is called a covenant.
B.
There were unconditional
covenants.
1.
Gen.
9:8-17 (flood); Gen. 12:1-3 (Abraham) ; 2 Sam. 11:10-17 (David)
C.
There were conditional
covenants.
1.
Ex. 19:3-6 – Israel’s relationship
w/God.
2.
Blessings would happen IF
a)
19:5 – they obeyed His voice.
b)
19:6 – they kept His covenant &
maintained a relationship w/Him.
III. How did Israel
accept God’s covenant? How did they commit?
A.
They said yes by circumcising
every male child born into the family.
B.
Circumcision was important!
1.
Ex. 12 – No circumcision? No eating of
Passover.
2.
Fast forward 40 years – to just before
people crossed over into Promised Land.
a)
Before entering the Promised Land –
all males in Israel were circumcised.
b)
5:9 – God’s response after the
circumcision.
C.
Circumcision was not a mindless
religious ritual.
1.
Circumcision said “Yes” to God. It was Israel’s side of an agreement to
accept the responsibilities of a relationship with God.
2.
Deut. 10:12-16
IV. An Application
for Christians Today:
A.
Col. 2:9-12. In specific ways – your baptism was a
circumcision.
B.
What’s the point?
1.
Your baptism said “yes’ to God. You accepted
a relationship w/God & you made an agreement w/God.
2.
We often don’t understand that we agreed to
maintain a relationship with God when we were baptized into Christ.
Conclusion:
A.
God offers to make an agreement
w/us for salvation. It is solely by His grace.
B.
Have you responded to the terms
of His grace?