The Covenant Agreement

Pastor Kristopher Freeman

Pleasant Union General Baptist Church

Sunday, July 13, 2008

 

Scripture Text: Joshua 8:30-35

 

This is the first sermon in a five-part series on Covenant our contract with God, built and constructed using the five main elements of the General Baptist Church Covenant.

 

The Covenant Agreement is based on the opening paragraph of the General Baptist Church Covenant and article one of five in the main sections of the document.

 

Having given ourselves to God, we now give ourselves to His church and covenant with it and with each other, as also with God:

 

1.      That we will forsake all unrighteousness, even the appearance of evil. We will abstain from all questionable pursuits and pleasures; we will forego all hurtful habits; we will avoid all evil associations.

 

Taken from the General Baptist Doctrine and Usage book, the General Baptist Church Covenant was adopted in 1893 at the General Association, after the following took place:

 

At the General Association of General Baptists in 1891, held at Mt. Vernon, IN, a committee consisting of D.B. Montgomery, Wilson Blackburn, Jesse G. Lange, Absalom Pearce, Thos J. Davis, Thomas M. Strain, Geo W. Moore, William Clark, T.A.H. Leslie, D.L. Fraser, John V. Poole, and A.D. Williams, were appointed to prepare a small work on the doctrines and usages of the General Baptists, and report the same at the next session for adoption or rejection. At the next session of the General Association in 1892, held at New Bethel, Stoddard Count, MO, the committee reported and the Doctrine and Usages was officially adopted, Nov. 11, 1892 and now goes forth to our people and the world as the voice of the General Association. Attesting were James P. Cox, clerk; and A.D. Williams, moderator.

 

Included was the General Baptist Church Covenant in the third section called forms of the official work. The covenant was a standard of conduct and an agreement between the church and its fellow members, and though not required to be used by General Baptist churches, was recommended for adoption in each General Baptist Church. There have been revisions in 1911, 1942, 1949, and 1970. In 1970, the statement and we will touch not, taste not, handle not any unclean thing was removed from article one of the covenant and an additional article was added at the end concerning members relocating and uniting with another church.

 

So at first glance, this series may appear to be about membership. It is not.

 

This series may appear to be about conduct in the church. It is not.

 

This series may appear to be a lesson on General Baptist history. It is not.

 

While all of those things may be woven into the sermons in the next five weeks, this series is really about two elements:

 

1. Accountability
2. Faithfulness

 

This is a man-written document based on the Word of God, just like each sermon is designed to be a man-spoken address based on the Word of God.

 

We begin by looking at our agreement with God and His church, which is the body of Christ. When we come to know Jesus as our personal Savior, we make an agreement, a contract, a covenant with God as his child.

 

The General Baptist leaders of 1893 put on paper their covenant with God and with His church. It brings us to the story of todays text as Joshua led the Israelites to the mountains of Ebal and Gerizim in the land of Canaan.

 

Joshuas Conquest and the Peoples Renewal

 

The army of Joshua and the Israelites had just completed a major battle conquest in the city of Ai in Canaan. There, 30,000 of Joshuas men defeated the warriors of Ai in a sweeping victory. Following this dynamic triumph, Joshua called the people to Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, the places told by Moses in Deuteronomy 11 for which the people would be gathered in Canaan.

 

Joshua divided the groups into two halves, and renewed their covenant with God. The ark of the covenant was there to symbolize this event, and Joshua made an altar of unfinished (whole) stones from Deuteronomy 27:4, upon which he took the role of the king (though he was the leader) and wrote a copy of the law of the stones to symbolize the renewal of the covenant before the people.

 

These two mountains were very symbolic to the Israelite people. This was the place where Moses had pronounced that the curses and blessings on the land would be spoken. As Israel entered into the promised land, they would gather at this place to receive the pronouncement.

 

From the Place of the Curse to the Place of the Blessing

 

Isnt it like God to shadow our life in Christ in this passage? Mount Ebal was the place of the curse. But when Joshua gathered the people to Ebal, it was there he constructed an altar using unfinished stones, which Deuteronomy 27:4 says are whitewashed with lime.

 

These unfinished stones would differ from the ungodly altars of the Canaanites which were made with finished and decorated stone. But God uses people who are rough around the edges and carry the dirt of the world to change them mightily with sacrifice and take them from a life of the curse to the life of the blessing. The unfinished stones represent us as we come to God and through the covenant we have made with His Son, he has washed us white as snow.

 

God does not need the finishing of the world to make us or to save us. He takes us as we are.

 

As Joshua divided the people, half stood on the other side. Mount Gerizim was the place of the blessing. God wants to take you from where the devil lives in the place of the curse, to where Jesus is in the place of the blessing.

 

It is there our lives are changed and we make covenant with Him.

 

What covenant are you under?

 

Joshua renewed the covenant of the law, which was the Law of Moses, given to Moses the prophet of God and Aaron the High Priest. Joshua, of course, was the successor to Moses and confirmed the law as he led the people into the Promised Land.

 

But the covenant of the New Testament was one of grace. Consider these scriptures found concerning the time of Christ and His covenant which was set up for the New Testament and modern church.

 

The Covenant of Grace

 

The law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:17

 

Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:20-21

 

For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace. Romans 6:14

 

As we covenant with God, there are three things we need to understand based on the first two paragraphs of the General Baptist Church Covenant.

 

1. You belong to God.
1. He created you.
2. He bought you back through Jesus Christ.
3. He provides for you.
2. You are part of the body of Christ.
1. The church is the body of Christ.
2. The church is a fellowship.
3. The church is a family.
3. You have a responsibility to God and to the body of Christ.
1. You are asked to keep the covenant.
2. You are asked to be faithful and committed.
3. You are asked to avoid sin and hurtful things.

 

1. You belong to God

 

God is the creator of the universe and the creator of mankind. Because He created you in love, He gave you a choice to love him and accept Him.

 

This is confirmed in John 3:16:

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

 

To accept the sacrifice that Jesus made for you, you must accept Him as Savior. This is Gods free gift to you in Ephesians 2:8-9:

 

For you are saved by grace through faith, that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.

 

As a child of God, He provides for you. He provided for the children of Israel and they learned to love and trust Him. This went all the way back to the time of their father Abraham, who first called God Jehovah Jireh at Mount Moriah, where when offering his son Isaac to the Lord, God provided a ram in his place.

 

God has promised he would provide for all His children.

 

And my God shall supply all your need, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

 

2. You are a part of the body of Christ.

 

The church is not a building, it is a people. This group of people is called the body of Christ. The church is also a fellowship and a family.

 

When you covenant with God, you become a part of His family. You get to fellowship with other Christians. You inherit the promises of God as a part of the body of Christ.

 

3. You have a responsibility to God and the church.

 

The church exists for two reasons: to worship God and to tell people about Jesus.

 

In doing this, we have an enemy named Satan who wishes to trap us in sin and keep us from fulfilling what God has for us. Satan uses sin to try and destroy us, and keep us from knowing and experiencing God.

 

When we give in to the temptation of sin, we begin to fall away from our covenant with God. While you are not expected to be perfect because no one was perfect except for Jesus Christ you are expected to be obedient to God and stay away from sin.

 

The book of James is a very practical book of the Bible that tells us a lot about life. Listen to this passage about sin from the book of James:

 

But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your yes by yes and your no be no, lest you fall into judgment. James 5:12

 

In the world which we live, too many people say yes to God and then do not live according to their covenant. So their yes is not yes.

 

Too many people claim to stay away from sin, but then fall into temptation daily and let Satan control their lives through sin. When they say no, do they really mean no?

 

God desires for you to covenant with Him. He wants to do great things for you. But you in turn must be obedient to Him.

 

And remember

 

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up. James 4:7-8, 10.

 

There are four questions to ask yourself:

 

1. Am I faithful to Him?
2. Am I part of the family?
3. Am I a good witness of Jesus Christ?
4. Am I committed to the covenant I made with Him?

 

Next week we will discuss The Covenant Desire.

 

Be blessed,

 

 

Pastor K