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?