Covenants

Recently, the General Secretary of the American Baptist Churches, Dr. Roy Medley spoke about the importance of the Church Covenants as a means to define and represent the faith community. He suggested that we need a new covenant for the age we are in, defining for the 21st Century what it means to be a community of faith and followers of Jesus. A daunting prospect at best.

A few weeks later, Rev. Glynis LaBarre from National Ministries (ABC-USA), contrasted the nature of contracts and covenants. A contract is a legal, business agreement that defines the relationship between parties. The contract is based upon reciprocity, ie, I will do this for you, when you do this for me.

A covenant does not necessarily define relationships, but instead makes promises. The Old Testament covenant of God with Israel were promises made by God. The New Testament covenant in the blood of Jesus were also promises. When we enter into covenant we accept those promises and make our own. The promises are based upon the strength of character of the promise maker. They do not depend upon whether the other party fail to keep their promises. God's promises are faithful. They are not built upon a kind of reciprocity - on our behavior. They are based in the strength of God's character.

When we enter into those promises, we find ourselves changed by them. We become defined by those promises and the promises we make. In the covenant, as opposed to the contract, there is no penalty to violating a promise. There might be consequences, but not penalty. Penalty would nullify the promise of the promise maker which in God's case is "immutable."

What would be some of the covenant promises we would make as a people of faith?