We who preach grace like to draw lines between the old and new covenants. We say things like, “In the old covenant, the emphasis was do, do, do, but in the new it is done, done, done.”
We talk about how everything changed after the cross, and how we are no longer under law but grace.
Instead of encouraging people to make promises to God, we proclaim God’s promises to us.
We ask questions like, “what makes the new covenant new?”
As a new covenant preacher, I love these sorts of contrasts. Clear lines in the sand illuminate the way of grace while warning us to beware dead works.
With that in mind, I want to suggest what may be the most important word in the new covenant. (If you have a different suggestion let me know in the comments.) The most important word is found in this verse:
Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. (Colossians 2:6)
In the old covenant we gave, but in the new covenant we receive.
We receive the word (Mark 4:16), we receive love (1 John 4:19), we receive grace (Rom. 5:17), we receive faith (2 Pet. 1:1), we receive salvation (Rom. 6:23), we receive Christ (Col. 2:6), we receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), we receive righteousness (Rom. 5:17), we receive peace (John 14:27), we receive wisdom (Jas. 1:5), we receive the crown of life (Jas. 1:12), we receive the reward of our inheritance (Col. 3:24), and we receive rest (Matt. 11:28–29).
Do you see?
In the new covenant, every blessing comes to us as a free gift from God. Knowing what you have received will keep you from being deceived.
And being deceived is the danger.
Read the above verse in context and you will find it comes after a warning about not being led astray by persuasive arguments (Col. 2:4). We need to take care that we are not seduced by those who promote humanistic philosophy (Col. 2:8), religious rules and rituals (Col. 2:16–18, 20–23), and mystical visions (Col. 2:18).
How do we protect ourselves from being deceived?
“You began your walk by trusting Christ,” says Paul. “Keep doing that” (see Col. 1:23). To your faith, add no dead works, no sacrifices, and no rules.
Having received Christ by faith, walk in him by faith. It’s faith from first to last.
You might say that “faith” is the most important word in the new covenant. Faith is certainly essential. But people can get so hung up on faith (do I have enough faith? do I need more?) that they take their eyes off Jesus.
But with the word “receive,” the focus remains squarely on the Giver.
Jesus was often reminding the disciples to receive. “Ask and you shall receive” (John 16:24). “Everyone who asks receives” (Matt. 7:8). “He who receives me receives him who sent me” (John 13:20). “Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all” (Luke 18:17). “Receive the Holy Spirit (John 20:22).
The new covenant is not about what you will do or give to God. It’s about what God has done and given to you. He has given you his Son, his love, his acceptance, his favor, his peace, and everything you will ever need.
The only question that remains is this: Have you received from the abundance of God’s grace, and are you continuing to receive?
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