Bible Training Center
Section 11.0 – Keeping The Etrnal Covenant
introduction & articles
introduction
So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh —for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. – Romans 8:12-14
sanctification: putting to death the deeds of the body
The blood covenant with Jesus Christ is entered through repentance which is dying to self, killing the fleshly passions and desires. Keeping the covenant also involves dying. Not a one-time event as is the case with repentance, but a continual dying. It is a walk through life, a walk of sanctification.
The word ‘sanctify’ means to consecrate or to ‘set apart’ as to declare holy. Therefore, a walk of sanctification is a process of continually setting apart or separating yourself from your flesh and from the world. This is the part many believers would like to skip. Repentance is one thing, but having to suffer continually by repeatedly crucifying the flesh seems to be just too much to bear. A lot of Church doctrine seems to agree with that assessment. Many denominations believe that a salvation experience (which is often reduced to signing a card or saying a prayer) is all that is need to reserve your seat at God’s heavenly table.
There is, of course, a problem with such a view. It doesn’t agree with the Bible. If it were not necessary to continue on your salvation journey by keeping the commandments and denying the flesh daily, there would be no need for the epistles of the New Covenant.
16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.
17 For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. (Galatians 5:16-17)
Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you — unless indeed you fail the test? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Galatians 6:7-8)
24 Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. (Galatians 5:24-25)
So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)
All of the above cautions are addressed to believers, and none would have been necessary if it were not necessary for us who believe to live a certain way. We are to live a life led by the Holy Spirit. And to obey the Holy Spirit is to deny the flesh.
The walk of sanctification is described in Romans 8:13 as putting to death the deeds of the body (the flesh). This is done by the leading of the Holy Spirit and it leads to life. Sanctification is necessary for gaining eternal life.
But now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive your benefit, resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life. (Romans 6:22)
And finally:
Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
Section 11.0 - Articles
You’ve entered the eternal blood covenant with Jesus Christ. (You know all that making covenant with Jesus entails if you have read the Covenant articles.) You have crucified all that you are, and surrendered all that you have to him, in exchange for all that He is and all that He has. You and Jesus are one, united in every way. All things that are yours are His. And all things that are His are now yours. This includes not only His possessions (which is everything there is), but since His Spirit has been made to reside in you, it also means His nature and character.
If repentance was all that was involved with being born again, there would be no need for any further activity. However, there ia a requirement that extends beyond repentance.
12 So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;
13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.
Paul called the daily working out of your salvation Sanctification.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes the walk of sanctification.
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh-
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body [the flesh], you will live.
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:12-14)
Verse twelve says, “We are under obligation.” The ‘We’ to whom he is speaking are believers in Jesus Christ, repentant ones. That is, those who are in covenant with Jesus Christ.
God is big on obedience. Here are a few examples from His word.
“So you shall keep My commandments, and do them; I am the LORD.” (Leviticus 22:31)
“You should diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and His testimonies and His statutes which He has commanded you.” (Deuteronomy 6:17)
“Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him.” (Deuteronomy 8:6)
“You shall therefore love the LORD your God, and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.” (Deuteronomy 11:1)
The Bible tells us Satan is a deceiver and a liar. He is, in fact, the ‘father of lies’. He lied to and deceived Adam and Eve, and he has been lying to, and successfully deceiving, all the people of the world ever since.
There are without a doubt vastly more people in the world today who believe Satan’s lies than do God’s truth. One of the ways Satan deceives us is by blinding our eyes to the truth of the Word of God. Those who are in this condition can even read the Bible and casually pass over the most profound truths. For example, the Bible is filled with covenant references and stories, yet most people who read the Bible from cover to cover usually miss the truth of the necessity of entering into a blood covenant relationship with Jesus Christ. In a similar way, many know about confession and forgiveness, but few practice it diligently.
You have repented, and you are born again. It is a one-time event. However, it is not the end of your journey on the road to salvation. Your pilgrimage up this new road on which you now find yourself is a lifelong expedition called sanctification. Your walk of sanctification is the way you live and conduct yourself for the rest of your time on earth. It is an ongoing process that begins at the moment following repentance. The apostle Paul wrote:
Therefore we have been buried with Him [Jesus] through baptism into death [you have repented and crucified the flesh, i.e., made a blood covenant], so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life [to walk in newness of life is to walk the walk of sanctification]. (Romans 6:4)