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\u201dThe Blessings of the Covenant of Grace\u201d
( 1
John 5:11-12)

Introduction: Last week we saw the impossibility for anyone to be
saved through the broken Covenant of Works, and what God did to
remedy the situation and to bring salvation to His elect. God sent

His Son into the world, and His Son came, taking upon Himself our nature. He stood as the representative of all His people, as Adam did his, and kept the Covenant of Works, which we could never have kept, perfectly, to merit for us a perfect and flawless record of law-keeping. But, as this was not enough, since man by his Fall

incurred a debts o great that he would never be able to payi t back,
Christ gave Himself up to be our Passover Lamb, the sacrifice to
atone for all our sins, to remove our guilt by taking the wrath of

God which was meant for us upon Himself, and He suffered and died in our place. The debt which we owed, if put in dollar figures, would be1 with countless zeros behindit; it could not have been paid for by our measly10 cents. We needed the measureless value of Christ\u2019s atoning death. On account of Christ\u2019s priceless work of redemption, He was rewarded with a people, the people that the Father chose from

all eternity to be His. And His people, because of their relationship
with the One who merited all things for them, receive many gracious
gifts as well. And that is what we want to focus on more specifically
this evening, whati t is that Christ gave to His people.
The book of1 John is a letter written by the apostle John to
show what are the true marks of a saving conversion to Christ. In
it there are many tests and many promises, but the promises pertain

to those who pass the tests. In the latter part of the book, John is arguing that if we receive the testimony of men, that is, if we will believe what men have to say, then we ought to receive God\u2019s

testimony fori t is greater. That is, why should we believe man and
not God who is absolutely sure to tell us the truth? The one who
accepts God\u2019s testimony is the one who believes in the Son of God,
for God has told us that we should. But if we do not receive that
testimony, then we are calling God a liar. What He has told us is
this, that God has given to His people eternal life in Christ. The

one who has the Son of God, the one who has believed in Him and
embraced Him, who is now in Christ, and Christ in him, has this
life. The one who does not have the Son of God, who is outside of
Christ, does not have this life.
than just the endless extension of our natural lives.I t is not
just a never ending existence, ratheri t is a quality of life which
includes many blessings, not only in the future, but also in the
present, all of which Christ Jesus merited for us, by His perfect
life and atoning death. And whatI want you to see tonight is this,
But this everlasting life, which John refers to here, is more
The Covenant of Grace guarantees to us a gracious Mediator,
andsalvation through Him, the gift of the Spirit to work faith
in us,and every spiritual blessing, in Christ Jesus.
I.First, God Freely Providesand Offers to Sinners a Mediatorand
Lifeand Salvation in Him.
A.
We Saw Last Week the Work of Christ Our Mediator in
2
Reconciling Us to God.
1.Because man was fallenand completely unable to return
to God, God provided One who would bring us back to Him.
a.
A s early as theFall, when God was pronouncing the
curse upon the serpent, He also was promisinga
Redeemer.
AND BETWEEN YOUR SEED AND HER SEED; HE SHALL BRUISE
HEEL\u201d
(Gen.
3: 15).
anddeliver God\u2019s people from judgment.
ourselves.
ti)
We could never have crawled out of the pit that
we had fallen into. The pit is bottomless.

only-begotten and well-beloved Son for us. Why should He send His Son to die for us miserable creatures?

tiii)
But God out of His love for us, sent His Son to
die for us, giving to us that which is
priceless, that which we could never have
obtained but by His infinite mercy.
b.
\u201dAND
IWILL PUTENMITYBETWEENYOU
AND
THE WOMAN,
YOUONTHE HEAD,
AND
YOUSHALLBRUISEHIM ONTHE
c. This Redeemer would crush the head of the serpent,
d. He does that which you andI could never do for
tii)
We could not have talked God into sending His
2.
Andeverything which God has for His people, He has
provided through our Mediator.
a.

Every sin which is forgiven us, every work which we offer which is laced with sin acceptedby Him, every prayer we raise, allis done through Christ,and

nothing apart from Him.
b. Without Christ,all we would have is the certain
expectation of judgment as we stand on the edge of
the eternal fire and are eventually castin.
riches, free,full and everlasting.
c. Butin Christ, we have the true and priceless
B. But This Same Salvation that You andI Have Experiencedin
Christ Is Freely Offered toAll to Partake of.
1.
The Gospel is to be preached to every creature under
heaven.
a.
This offer is to be given to everyone that lives and
b. Jesus said in Mark
16:15,
\u201dGO INTO ALL THE WORLD AND
breathes.
PREACH THE GOSPEL TOALL CREATION. HE WHO HAS
BELIEVED AND HAS BEEN BAPTIZED SHALL BE SAVED; BUT
HE WHO HAS DISBELIEVED SHALL BE CONDEMNED.\u201d
Christ,\u201d I F INDEED YOU CONTINUEIN THE FAITH FIRMLY

ESTABLISHED AND STEADFAST, AND NOT MOVED AWAY FROM THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL THAT YOU HAVE HEARD, WHICH WAS PROCLAIMEDI NALL CREATION UNDER HEAVEN, OF

WHICHI,PAUL, WAS MADEA MINISTER\u201d
(Col.
1:23).
c. Paul said that you are reconciled by the deathof
2.It is for this reason that God has established the
church thati t may publish abroad the good newsof the
3
forgiveness of sins.
a.

This is the blessing which is only possible through the work of Christ that there might be good news to proclaimin the first place.

this Gospel sincerely to everyone who lives.
b. But the church is authorized by her Lord to offer
C.Andas We Think About this Marvelous Gift of Salvation, Let
Us Not Forget that the Father is the One Who GaveI t .
1.
John tells usin our text, \u201dAND THE WITNESS IS THIS,
THAT
a
n
HAS GIVEN TOus
ETERNALLIFE,
ANn
THIS LIFE IS
IN HIS SON\u201d
(v.
1 1) .
Covenant of Grace, whilei t is the Son who represents
God\u2019s elect.
One who out of His great mercy and lovingkindness
provides for us His Son asa Redeemer.
4. We are not to think of Christ, seated at the right hand
of God, trying to stay His Father\u2019s hand of judgment
against us.
Son that He might have Him represent us before Him and
mediate the blessings of His covenant to us.
bring us before God, to give to us life and salvationin
Christ.
2.It is the Father, who represents the Trinityin the
3.It is the Father who is representedin Scripture as the
5. Rather,i t was the Father\u2019s good pleasure to send the
6.So the Father provides for usa Mediator, One who can
11.
Secondly, God Gives to His Elect His Holy Spirit to Workin
Them the Faith which Is the Only Condition of this Covenant.
A. Faith Has Always Been the Requirement for Entrance into the
Covenant of Grace.
1.
Though many might be included in the covenants which
God made with His people, faith has always been the
requirement for entrance into the reality of what was
promised.
a.
To receive the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant,

Abraham himself had to believe. When God took Abram outside and showed him allthe stars, saying to him that as many as there are,so shall his children be, the Bible says, \u201dTHEN HE BELIEVEDI N THE LORD; AND HE RECKONED IT TOH I M AS RIGHTEOUSNESS\u201d

(Gen.
15:6).
b. Evenin the Mosaic Covenant the condition of faith
was not exchangedforoneof works, forthe Law was
added to the promise made to Abraham,i t did not
replacei t .Paul says, \u201dWHATIAM SAYING IS THIS:
LATER, DOES NOT INVALIDATEA COVENANT PREVIOUSLY
RATIFIED BY GOD,SO AS TO NULLIFY THE PROMISE. FOR
IF THE INHERITANCE IS BASED ON LAW, IT IS NO LONGER
BASED ONA PROMISE; BUT GOD HAS GRANTED IT TO
ABRAHAM BY MEANS OFA PROMISE\u201d (Gal.
3:18-19).
c.And of course, the New Covenant requires faith as
well for entrance into the promises.J o h nsays,

\u201dFOR GODSO LOVED THE WORLD, THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOEVER BELIEVESI NH I MSHOULD NOT PERISH, BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE\u201d( J o h n3:

1 6 ),
and
THE LAW,
WHICHCAME FOUR
m N n R E n
AND
THIRTYYEARS
of 00

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