COVENANT – Matt Slick CARM.org
A covenant is a contract or agreement between two or more parties, wherein each party assumes contractual responsibilities. Covenant is how God has chosen to communicate to us, to redeem us, and to guarantee us eternal life in Jesus. These truths, revealed in the Bible, are the basis of Christianity. The Bible is a covenant document. The Old and New Testaments are actually Old and New Covenants. The word, “testament,” is Latin for Covenant. In the Old Testament Hebrew, the word for “covenant,” is, “b’rith.” In the New Testament, it is, “diatheke.”
God keeps His word, and is always faithful to us. The covenant is the preferred way of God to communicate to us and to ensure that He will abide by what He has promised. We can rest assured in His covenantal promises to us knowing, for example, that all who call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved.
Understanding Covenant is important for several reasons:
1. We learn that God deals with mankind covenantally.
2. Since a Covenant is an agreement, it is a promise made by God. Since we can rely on God’s word for eternity, we can take great comfort in His covenant promising us eternal life in His Son.
3. It helps us to see the Bible as a covenant document. The Old and New Testaments are Old and New Covenants.
4. With Covenant understood as a framework through which the Bible was written, we can better understand the Bible, Gods dealings with us through it, and our responsibilities to God, as well as His to us.
5. We can better understand the symbols used by God in covenant ratification: The Lords Supper, and Baptism.
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