1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, Chapter 7.2 The Covenant of Grace

Table of Contents

The Text

Romans 6:23 (CSB) For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Chapter

Moreover, man having brought himself under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace, wherein he freely offereth unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in him, that they may be saved; and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life, his Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe.

The Confession

Moreover, man having brought himself under the curse of the law by his fall, it pleased the Lord to make a covenant of grace

Genesis 2:17 (CSB) but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”

Galatians 3:10 (CSB) For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone who does not do everything written in the book of the law is cursed.

Romans 3:20–21 (CSB) For no one will be justified in his sight by the works of the law, because the knowledge of sin comes through the law. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets.

See what God has done for the world. Hear what God has proclaimed since the moment sin entered into the world. Reach out for this free gift of God!

wherein He freely offers unto sinners life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved

Romans 8:3 (CSB) For what the law could not do since it was weakened by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as a sin offering,

Mark 16:15–16 (CSB) Then he said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

John 3:16 (CSB) For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

You cannot earn it. You sit there and receive it. Just believe and trust in him. Listen, I have nothing else to convince you. You receive gifts on Christmas and your birthday? Do you reject those because they are free and thoughtful from people who love you dearly?

And yet, your loved ones who give you gifts don't and can't love you as much God loves you. He gives the free offering of eternal life. You do not have to perish. You do not have to sit under the wrath of His Son. You do not have to go to hell. You do not have see corruption.

Psalm 16:10 (CSB) For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.

Psalm 49:15 (CSB) But God will redeem me from the power of Sheol, for he will take me. Selah

In Christ, you have given me so much that heaven and earth could give me no more.

The Valley of Vision.

and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto eternal life, His Holy Spirit, to make them willing and able to believe

You say that you cannot believe. You say that this gift is too fantastic. It's too wild. It's too gracious. It's too good to be true. Then I say that you are beginning to believe! You are beginning to see the glory of God. You are beginning to see the beauty of the gospel. You are beginning to see the wonder of the cross. There are people who have gone to church their entire lives just numbed to the good news. There are people walking this earth thinking that God owes them something other than himself.

And you say, I cannot believe--there is no way. But hear the Lord! See what everything that he does in you in order for you to believe!

The Father calls and draws you:

John 6:44–45 (CSB) No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets: And they will all be taught by God. Everyone who has listened to and learned from the Father comes to me—

The Father gives you his own soft heart and his Spirit:

Ezekiel 36:26–27 (CSB) I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will place my Spirit within you and cause you to follow my statutes and carefully observe my ordinances.

And then he gives you the strength to believe:

Philippians 1:29-30 (CSB) For it has been granted to you on Christ’s behalf not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, since you are engaged in the same struggle that you saw I had and now hear that I have.

Psalm 110:3 (CSB) Your people will volunteer on your day of battle. In holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn, the dew of your youth belongs to you.

And then, he gives you grace, faith, and salvation for you to believe:

Ephesians 2:8–9 (CSB) For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.

John 6:37 (CSB) Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out.

What are you waiting for? Why would you resist the easiest thing you could ever do? Why would you resist the most gracious thing that you could ever receive? Why would you resist the most beautiful thing that you could ever see?

John 6:40 (CSB) For this is the will of my Father: that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him will have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

There is no planning. No overthinking. No "I am need time to think about this."

2 Corinthians 6:2 (CSB) For he says: At an acceptable time I listened to you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. See, now is the acceptable time; now is the day of salvation!

Now is the acceptable time! Today is the day of your salvation! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved!