Good Monday morning (6.6.11),

God describes His Word in so many distinct and vibrant terms. He puts His Word above His name. The universe is held together, or upheld, by the Word. He looks over His Word to perform it. The Word never returns without accomplishing the purpose for which it was sent.

His Word contains His promises and He has a lot to say about those promises. Not one word of any of God’s promises has ever failed. God’s words and promises are pure, refined like silver in an earthen furnace, purified seven times over.

Of course, we find God’s Word in the Bible. And the Bible is a document of contractual agreement – a covenant. Like any other contract it defines the parties involved, describes the purposes of the agreement, delineates the terms of the agreement, sets forth the penalties should either party fail in their assigned duties, and explains the rewards upon fulfillment of the contract.

If you’ve ever been in business, borrowed money, hired someone to do any kind of work for you or been hired to do that sort of work, then you have been a party in a contractual agreement.

A wise person never signs any contract until he understands all the ramifications. If you sign something that means you understand the terms and you have agreed to abide by those terms. In our culture people can go to prison if they fail to fulfill their part of a contractual agreement.

The more complex the document, the more carefully it is studied. In major corporate deals teams of attorneys go over every word, every comma, every period. Nothing is left to chance because everything in the document has meaning; the higher the stakes, the more careful the examination.

Upon salvation, you and I entered into a contractual agreement with God. The Bible is our legal document, the description of each party involved, what each promises to do and what we get in return.

The Bible explains our reward for compliance and our penalty for non-compliance. It is unique in the world of covenants because it doesn’t require our agreement to be enforced. Even if we don’t sign it we will still suffer the penalties if we fail to comply.

But we have already freely and gladly entered into this agreement with God. We told Him we wanted the rewards offered. We signed our name when we yielded ourselves to Christ.

We are partakers with Him in the rewards of the Kingdom!

But we must not be deceived as so many seem to be. The Bible is the most complex contractual document ever conceived. In it, God explains in detail what He promises to deliver to us, both in this life and in the one to come.

Conversely, He has set down, in no uncertain terms, what He requires of us so that we can receive His promised provisions. When we do not fulfill our end of the bargain, God is not required to fulfill His. That is the nature of contracts.

Because the stakes are so incredibly high you would expect that each of us would diligently explore and examine our covenant. You would think that we would eagerly desire to know what is required of us.

And yet, despite the complexity, despite the highest stakes imaginable, most Christians never really know, understand, or comply with the covenant. They are willing to receive the barest minimum of the promised provisions. They seem content to exist on the meager boundaries of starvation instead of pulling up to the banquet table and eating their fill.

Why are we so willing to live so far below the standards of our covenant? Why, when the promises are so rich, are we content to be so poor?

Throughout the covenant God demonstrates His desire to fulfill the most extravagant of His promises. He padded the contract with all kinds of extras, things we would never have asked of Him, yet He wrote them in freely and signed them with the blood of His son.

Unlike many contractors today God wants to fulfill His promise to the maximum. He doesn’t scrimp on supplies to protect the bottom line! God’s bottom line is always over the top.

The only reason God holds back is because we limit His ability to perform for us by not fulfilling our part of the agreement. Read the contract. There are many provisions that only come as a result of certain actions on our part. It’s a contract. It’s binding. Because He puts His Word above His name, even God is bound by this covenant.

The most important thing you will ever do, other than accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, is to read the covenant. Read the covenant! Study the contract! Know what rightfully belongs to you and what is required of you in order to receive the benefits.

“Therefore, my dear ones, as you have always obeyed [my suggestions], so now, not only [with the enthusiasm you would show] in my presence but much more because I am absent, work out (cultivate, carry out to the goal, and fully complete) your own salvation with reverence and awe and trembling (self-distrust, with serious caution, tenderness of conscience, watchfulness against temptation, timidly shrinking from whatever might offend God and discredit the name of Christ).” Phil. 2:12

Laurie Gross