A Rich History of Grace

I’m a fan of history. Most of my historical interest both before and after becoming a Christian has been focused on people of African decent. One of the pleasures of this focus since becoming a follower of Jesus is to examine this history in light of the history of redemption, the Bible. The Bible is the history of redemption because it tells the story of how God has redeemed and is redeeming his people. 

In my preparation for last Sunday’s sermon on Genesis 15 I came across a quote by theologian Herman Bavinck that gave me a new term. He said the following:

“From the very first moment of its revelation, grace assumes the form of a covenant, a covenant that arises, not by a natural process, but by a historical act and hence gives rise to a rich history of grace.”

The grace of the covenant the Lord made with Abraham in Genesis 15 is overwhelming. He takes the onus of its fulfillment completely upon himself. What God began in Genesis after humanity fell gave rise to a rich history of grace. This history shone brightly in the darkness of the cross, and it is still being written today. The new covenant in Jesus Christ is a continuation of this same covenant of grace. In Genesis 15 God humbles himself to obligate his life to his people. We see God do exactly the same thing in the person and work of Jesus Christ. 

You may ask, “why does this matter?” It matters because Abraham and Sarah fail after God makes a covenant with them. So did Noah. So did David. So did Israel. So  did Peter. And so do we. Consider what the writer to the Hebrews says in Hebrews 6:13-20:

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise. For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.

The Hebrews’ pastor sure knew that they were included in the rich history of grace, and this reality was a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. For those who have fled for refuge in Christ it is a source of strong encouragement to cling to the hope set before them. And this hope is not in ourselves, but in our God who is faithful.

Where are you in the rich history of grace?

Pastor Irwyn