The Covenant of Works
‘For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteouness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.’ - Romans 5:17
As we are going through the Covenant Series, we have been exploring God’s covenant of grace and how the work of the Gospel was being foreshadowed all throughout Genesis through God’s faithfulness to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God’s covenant of grace with this family would ultimately define His relationship with His Church through the faithfulness of Christ in fulfilling the covenant terms for salvation. However before this covenant of grace, God’s relationship with humanity was also present but through another covenant. Paul speaks of Adam as the first representative of humanity before God and his breaking of covenant (Hosea 6:7) led to all subsequent humans to have sin within their lives and be destined for death though their sin. This is the Covenant of Works, in which God promises blessing through the perfect obedience of Adam and cursed to death and toil if he fails (Genesis 3).
In Romans 5, Paul speaks of the wonderful news of the gospel in which Christ has come as the new head of humanity by which all under His headship would experience new life by grace through faith. A Christian therefore is promised life and blessing under Christ and their assurance is not to be gained by their faithfulness, but His faithfulness.
As Christians who are under the Covenant of Grace we can sometimes forget what it means for our lives to be under Christ’s headship. We can be tempted to try and assume that God’s blessing must require some of our work or be enhanced by our own wisdom and knowledge. That is simply not the case. If you are troubled in your soul, turn to Jesus. If you are anxious for the future, know that our grace is in Jesus. If you want to grow and excel in your faith, look to the cross of Jesus. If you want to be reminded of your ultimate hope, be reminded of the empty grave which Jesus has left behind. If you are a Christian, then you are assured of your place in the covenant of grace. For the power of the gospel is the power of God for salvation (Romans 1) and will also lead us to spiritual growth (Romans 6:22) and eternal life. Remember that no matter your season of life, Jesus is our Lord and not even death can prevail against Him.
行為之約
「若因一人的過犯，死就因這一人作了王，何況那些受洪恩又蒙所賜之義的人，豈不更要因耶穌基督一人在生命中作王嗎？」——羅馬書 5:17
當我們在這一系列關於聖約的信息中學習時，我們一直在探討神恩典之約，以及福音的工作如何透過神對亞伯拉罕、以撒和雅各的信實，在《創世記》中不斷被預表出來。神與這個家族所立的恩典之約，最終將藉著基督忠實地成就救恩之約的條款，來界定祂與教會的關係。
然而，在恩典之約之前，神與人類之間的關係同樣存在，只是透過另一個約來建立。保羅指出，亞當是全人類在神面前的第一位代表；而他違背了這個約（何西阿書 6:7），導致所有後代都活在罪中，並因自己的罪而走向死亡。這就是「行為之約」（Covenant of Works）：神應許亞當若完全順服，便得著祝福；若失敗，則遭受死亡與勞苦的咒詛（創世記 3章）。
在《羅馬書》第五章中，保羅宣講了福音的奇妙好消息：基督已經來到，成為新的人類元首。凡在祂權柄之下的人，都要因著恩典、藉著信心得著新生命。因此，基督徒在基督裡蒙應許得著生命與祝福；而他們的確據並非建立在自己的忠心之上，而是建立在基督的信實之上。
作為活在恩典之約下的基督徒，我們有時會忘記自己的生命是在基督的元首權柄之下。我們可能會受試探，以為神的祝福需要倚靠我們的努力來賺取，或是靠我們的智慧與知識來增添。然而，事實並非如此。
如果你的心靈憂傷，請轉向耶穌；如果你為未來憂慮，要知道我們所領受的恩典是在耶穌裡；如果你渴望在信仰上成長並更加成熟，請仰望耶穌的十字架；如果你想再次被提醒那終極的盼望，就要記念耶穌所留下的空墳墓所見證的恩典。
若你是基督徒，你便可以確信自己是在恩典之約裡。因為福音本是神的大能，要救一切相信的人（羅馬書 1章）；這福音也必引領我們在靈命上成長（羅馬書 6:22），並得著永生。
請記住：無論你正處於人生的哪一個階段，耶穌都是我們的主，甚至死亡也不能勝過祂。
