Do Blessings and Curses Affect New Covenant Believers?

Do Blessings and Curses Affect New Covenant Believers?

"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 for ever, for the good of them, and of 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" (Jeremiah 32:38-41).

The innermost desire of God is to accomplish the best for us in our lives, because we are entered into a blood covenant with Him. He wants to draw us unto Himself, to teach us to trust and totally depend upon Him. He wants to brings us into a relationship where we are at one with Him.

Drawing us to Himself is God's purpose for "cutting covenant" with man. His desire is to fill us with Himself: His love, His blessings, His nature as expressed in Jesus, and His grace (Ephesians 1:23, 3:19, 4:13). In this covenant relationship, He desires that we delight ourselves in Him, that we love Him with our entire beings, that we know He is all in all to us.

Many Christians want to claim all of the "blessings of Abraham" but forget about the curses that are also listed in Bible. There are curses that come upon us if we fail to keep our part of the covenant (Deuteronomy 28; Leviticus 26). However, if the Old Covenant simply was swallowed up in a better covenant, or fulfilled in Jesus, then the new covenant--also a blood covenant--still has all of the same "clauses" or parts as the old. A blood covenant is a blood covenant.

The part that changed was how the covenant was sealed, memorialized, and received. As you study these aspects of the Old and New Covenants, you will notice many striking similarities between them:

The Old Covenant was sealed with circumcision in the flesh of the male heads of households, which covered all of the women in that house as well.

The New Covenant is sealed by "circumcision" of the heart (Romans 2:29), which happens when a person is born again, adopted into the family of God through a blood covenant. The entering in to this covenant with God is publicly displayed through baptism, much like a wedding ceremony publicly seals the marriage covenant between a man and woman.

What the Old Covenant emphasized outwardly, the New Covenant emphasizes inwardly. Yet, all along, God has looked for those who are His, through more than a mere fleshly ritual. Even in the Old Covenant, what He was really after was the hearts of His people:

"Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Jeremiah 4:4).

The Old Covenant was memorialized by Passover, signifying that those under His covenant blessings were not susceptible to the curses, plagues or judgments that God reserves for those who oppose His ways. People under His covenant are blessed, while those that are not under His covenant are cursed when their "iniquity" is full (Genesis 15:16). That means the wrath of God in judgment falls when they have refused all the attempts of God to bring them to repentance and there is no other possibility of their hearts turning to Him.

The New Covenant is memorialized by Communion (Luke 22:15-20), the Passover meal that Jesus ate with His disciples during the Last Supper. Today, when we partake of Communion, we are partaking of a type of the Passover meal that the Israelites ate. The ritual of Communion does not save us, but as we mix this tradition with faith towards God, we receive the blessings of Covenant with Him. As with circumcision, the real issue once again, is our hearts toward God. That is why Paul warned that we must partake of Communion in a worthy manner and check our hearts before partaking of it.

"For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged" (1 Corinthians 11:26-31).

The Old Covenant was "received" by the animal sacrifices. However, once again, the person's heart also was involved. One could sacrifice animals for their sins, and still have a rebellious and unpleasing heart towards the Lord. Without a heart toward God which was manifested in willing obedience, the Covenant promises were null and void over that person, tribe, or nation. Disobedience to the Lord brings the curses. Today we see the fruit of disobedience to God’s laws manifested in various curses in people’s lives. Broken family relationships, extreme poverty, lack of self-discipline and many other similar things are part of the curses that we see in the world today. Being willing and obedient, however, allows God’s people to "...eat of the fat of the land" (Isaiah 1:10).

The New Covenant is received by faith in the one-time, eternal sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary (Romans 10:9,10). Though Jesus died for the whole world’s sins, many will never receive the benefits of it because they do not believe in Him. Even many Christians who are under the blood of Jesus do not fully understand, nor believe that the blessings of the New Covenant can really be theirs. From the beginning, those who entered into a covenant with God, followed more than mere outward directions given by God. Always, these directions and religious traditions were to be mixed with faith, hope and love. Otherwise they mean nothing to God.

Born again Christians are children of Abraham by faith (Galatians 3:29) through His Promised Seed, Jesus, (Galatians 3:2,19). However, without a heart manifested in willing obedience, the promises are null and void. This means the curses automatically begin to operate.

In the next issue of the Overcoming Life Digest, we will examine various aspects of the blessings and the curses and how God’s covenant partners can walk in all the blessings He has for them.

(Continued next issue)

Note: This teaching is continued from last month's Overcoming Life Digest. See Table of Contents for Archives.

(Excerpt from the book entitled: COVENANT God's Guarantee for Victorious Living by R.S. "Bud" Miller)

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