A Covenant of grace
‘We have been saying that Abraham’s faith was created to him as righteousness. Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!’
• Romans 4:9b-10.
These are challenging times for both the Church and the world at large. It’s times like these that can often make us feel like we are inadequately prepared or feel anxious about what we already have. Take a moment to consider your own life. Has a sudden event suddenly put you on the back foot? Or have you been slowly burning out and wonder if you have enough to finish what it is that the Lord has put in your life to do? In those moments it’s worth considering this question, has God given you enough of his grace to accomplish his work in you?
Paul writes to the Church of Rome regarding the covenant of grace. The question he addresses is about whether or not the grace of God’s covenant was given to Abraham before he got circumcised (became Jewish) or after? Without doubt it was before! Here we see a wonderful reality of God’s covenant of grace. That the saving grace of God for our lives is available to his people BEFORE we are able to be in a position to ask for grace.
Similarly for us our saving grace is made available to us before we are able to profess our faith. We need not ask for more grace in times of struggle and anxiety because our Lord has already promised to us that He will finish the work He begins in us (Phil 1:6). We don’t need to struggle for more, or work harder to earn more as our gracious God already knows what we need before we even ask for it (Matthew 6:8).
Whatever situation you are in. Let’s lean on the God who invites us into His covenant of grace, promising us what we need not just to begin our journey, but to finish it. May the Lord bless you and remind you of His faithfulness in every season (Psalm 23.)
恩典之約
「因我們所說，亞伯拉罕的信，就算為他的義，是怎麼算的呢？是在他受割禮的時候呢？是在他未受割禮的時候呢？不是在受割禮的時候，乃是在未受割禮的時候。」
• 羅馬書 4:9下–10
這個世代，對教會與世界來說，都是極具挑戰的時刻。在這樣的時候，我們往往會覺得自己準備不足，或對自己所擁有的感到焦慮。請花一點時間思想你自己的生命——是否有突如其來的事件讓你措手不及？又或者你正逐漸感到疲憊不堪，懷疑自己是否還有足夠的力量完成主放在你生命中的使命？在這些時刻，我們值得思想一個問題：神是否已賜下足夠的恩典，使你可以成就祂在你生命中的工作？
保羅在寫給羅馬教會的信中談到恩典之約。他所提出的問題是：神與亞伯拉罕所立之約的恩典，是在他受割禮（成為猶太人）之前，還是之後賜下的？答案毫無疑問是在之前！在這裡我們看見神恩典之約一個美好的真理：神的救恩，是在我們還未能夠向祂求求恩典之前，就已臨到我們。
同樣地，救恩的恩典在我們能夠宣認信仰之前，就已為我們預備好了。因此，在掙扎與焦慮的時刻，我們不需要再求更多的恩典，因為主已經應許，祂必成就祂在我們裡面所開始的工作（腓立比書 1:6）。我們也不需要拼命爭取或努力賺取更多，因為我們滿有恩典的神在我們尚未祈求之前，就已經知道我們所需要的（馬太福音 6:8）。
無論你正面對怎樣的處境，讓我們倚靠那位邀請我們進入祂恩典之約的神。祂不但應許供應我們開始這段旅程所需的一切，也必供應我們走到終點。願主在每一個季節中都賜福你，並提醒你祂的信實（詩篇 23篇）。
