Ten Steps Tow ard Christ: Journey to the Heart of God
Part One : Our Covenant w ith God
March 17-18, 2012
I.
Covenant a.
The Bible is a covenant book broken into tw o sections —The Old and New
Covenants.
b.
Covenant is a relational w ord that means “to cut.” i.
You don’t “ make” cov enant—you “cut” covenant.
ii.
Covenant coveys the meaning of a sacrificial, per manent relations hip.
1.
Genesis 2: Adam w as cut and marr iage w as created. A covenant relationship betw een a husband and w ife that reflects God and us
(Ephesians 5).
2.
Genesis 17: Abr aham w as cut as God made an ever lasting covenant w ith him and all of his descendants.
a.
A number of other covenants w ere made in the Old
Testament that w ere tempor ary and inferior, but still requir ed cutting (blood sacrifice).
3.
Most important: a.
Mosaic Covenant: The Levitical law s by w hich Israel had to keep to stay right w ith God.
i.
They never c ould.
b.
“There is therefore now no c ondemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2
For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
3
For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,
4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”—Romans 8:1- 4 i.
Jesus has set us free from r ighteousness by law .
1.
Thr ough His sacrifice, w e are sanctified by grace. c.
“And you He made alive, who wer e dead in trespasses and sins,
2
in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience,
3 among whom also we all once conducted oursel ves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature c hildren of wrath, just as the others.
4
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5
even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with C hrist (by grace you have been saved),
6
and r aised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ
Jesus,
7
that in the ages to come H e might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in
Christ Jesus.
8
For by grace you have been saved through

faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
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not of works, lest anyone should boast.”—Ephesians 2:1-9 i.
Jesus’ life and death satisfied all of the requir ements and indignation of God. Now w e can enter into covenant w ith God by the sacr ifice of
Christ w ithout mer it. ii.
How do w e do this?
II.
Step One: Being Bor n Again a.
“There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the
Jews.
2
Thi s man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these
3 signs that You do unless God is with him.”
Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again
, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can
5 he enter a second time into his mother‟s womb and be born?”
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.
6
That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7
Do not marvel that I said to you, „You must be born again.‟ 8
The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
11
Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what
We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness.
12
If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things?
13
No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven.
14
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, should not perish but
15 have eternal life.
that whoever believes in Him
16
For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
19
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”—John 3:1-19 i.
Adam and Eve were created spiritually alive.
1.
God breathed His life into their nostrils. However He warned them that if they ate of the forbidden fruit, they would die.
They ate (Genesis 3), and they died spiritually.
a.
They passed this on to us.
b.
We are born spiritually dead, separated from God and with a sin nature.

i.
The only answer is to be born again by the grace of God.
b.
Three Important Scriptures: i.
“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your hea rt” (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”—Romans 10:8-10 ii.
“Behold, I stand at the door and k nock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.”—Revelation 3:20 iii.
“He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.”—Mark 16:16
1.
Matthew 28:18 —Jesus commanded us to baptize and make disciples.
2.
As we confess, believe, and invite Jesus into our hearts, we are saved from hell and separation from God, and born again of the Spirit. c.
The next step is water baptism.
III.
Step Two: Water Baptism a.
“In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,
12
buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with
Him through faith in the work ing of God, who raised Him from the dead.”—
Colossians 2:11-12 i.
Water baptism is just like the Old Testament circumcisions. It is an outward sign of an inward decision of faith in God.
ii.
Water baptism symbolizes dying to ourselves and sin and being resurrected a new person
—born again to live for God.
1.
Something supernatural happens in the waters of baptism that seals in us what began when we invited Christ into our hearts.
b.
Questions about Baptism: i.
Can I be saved without being baptized?
1.
Yes
—thief on the cross, deathbed, crashing plane, etc.
a.
If you can be but won’t, it raises doubt of your sincerity in making Jesus Lord of your life.
i.
Lord=boss/master b.
I f you won’t do the first thing Jesus commanded, it is doubtful that you will do the rest.
ii.
Does infant baptism count?
1.
No —Mark 16:16: “He who believes and is baptized.”
2.
Parents mean well. They can dedicate but not save.
iii.
Do I need to be baptized again when I rededicate my life?
1.
No —one time experience

iv.
What are the main reasons why people aren’t baptized?
1.
Fear of man/embarrassment a.
Matthew 10: “who confesses Me/who denies Me” b.
Jesus hung naked at the crossroads of the world to die for our sins.
2.
“Fire insurance” a.
They confess Christ so they won’t go to hell, but they really haven’t dedicated their life to serve Christ.
3.
Ignorance a.
They are just never taught about it.
c.
Like Old Testament circumcision, it is the covenant seal of the New
Covenant!
i.
And Jesus did it himself.
IV.
Step Three: Believer’s Communion a.
“For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the
24
Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is brok en for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 25
In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 26
For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord‟s death till He comes. 27
Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28
But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29
For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord‟s body. among you, and many sleep. not be judged.
32
31
30
For this reason many are weak and sick
For if we would judge ourselves, we would
But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.”—1 Corinthians 11:23-32 i.
Paul explains the revelation about communion that he received directly from the Lord.
1.
Communion is the covenant sign that we remember what
Jesus has done.
2.
Communion is the proclamation to us and those around us of the significance of Jesus’ death and what it accomplished.
3.
Communion is sacred because of what it represents and the price Jesus paid for us.
b.
We should take communion regularly to remind ourselves, receive life, and as an act of respect and worship.
V.
Summary: a.
Our God is a covenant God i.
He wants a sacrificial, permanent relationship with us through the blood of His Son Jesus.
b.
We enter covenant by grace as we: i.
Confess Jesus as Lord and believe God raised Him from the dead.

ii.
Are sealed through water baptism.
iii.
Remember what Jesus has done and experience the power of it anew as we worship Him through believer’s communion.