Covenant Breakers
By Jack Jackson

What is a covenant? It is vow between two or more people that is promise by each member to keep their end of their agreement or vow.

Who can be a covenant breaker? Only a person that first enters into one.

Like most of the professing Church, when I became a Christian, I prayed a salvation prayer where I admitted I was a sinner (had broken His Laws); stated that I believed that Jesus was Lord and Savior and had died for my sins and resurrected from the dead; and then asked Him to forgive my sins as I promised to repent of my sins (turn from doing them anymore) and live for Him as my Lord (became a living sacrifice).

Maybe you and I may not have realized all that was included, but by our vows we entered into a covenant relationship with God where He became our righteousness, and we were supposed to become His living sacrifice. His vow to us was that He is able to save that which continues to come to Him. But we should not stop there. We must not forget the vow we made to Him: to repent from and turn from our sinning; and to live our lives as living sacrifices, holy, and acceptable to Him.

How are you doing on your vow to God? Your covenant with God? How important is it to God that we keep our vows?

Ec 5:5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.

As I prepared to preach from Romans 12:1-2 I was drawn especially to Psalm 50 which I will discuss after first looking at Romans 12:1-2, very familiar passages:

Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

The question I asked myself, and all who read this is "If you were God, would you accept the sacrifice you have been offering Him?" The reasonable sacrifice is ourselves, holy; our whole life here while we live it out. According to the verse above, it is to be "holy" or set apart to Him. Is your life set apart for His use? Does the world see you as "set apart"? If not, is your sacrifice really acceptable at all to God? Many of us just "accepted Jesus" as if He was somehow blessed by our accepting of Him. The question is did He accept you?

Before we look at Psalm 50, let first go back and look at the last words the Lord had to Israel in Malachi, specifically 1:6-10, to see what God expects of sacrifices:

Mal 1 A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name?
7 Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
8 And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the LORD of hosts.
9 And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
10 Who is there even among you that would shut the doors for naught? neither do ye kindle fire on mine altar for naught. I have no pleasure in you, saith the LORD of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand.

Now, I again ask us "what type of sacrifice have you been offering up to God?" Are you giving God your best? Maybe it was once your best, but is it now lame, blind and/or polluted again by the world? Know that if this describes your sacrifice of yourself, God's word tells you how He sees it. He says it shows we despise His name; that it is nothing short of evil to God. Does your living sacrifice to God show that you honor your Father in heaven? Does it show your Master and Lord that you fear Him?

Now let's look at Psalm 50:

Psalm 50:1 The mighty God, even the LORD, hath spoken, and called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.
2 Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined.
3 Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour before him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about him.
4 He shall call to the heavens from above, and to the earth, that he may judge his people.
5 Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.
6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself. Selah.
7 Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God.
8 I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt offerings, to have been continually before me.
9 I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.
11 I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine.
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.
13 Will I eat the flesh of bulls, or drink the blood of goats?
14 Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High:
15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
16 But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?
17 Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee.
18 When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers.
19 Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit.
20 Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's son.
21 These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
22 Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.
23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.

Please note that in verse 1 God has been calling the earth, or those of the earth. But even though He calls all, not all come and not all that start coming finish. Also know that His Spirit will not always strive with man (Gen. 6:3). Sometimes, He will even give a person over to their desires, such as was evident with vile affections (Romans 1:26). And since the Father is without respect for person, and judges according to every man's work, 1 Peter 1:16 cautions us to pass the time of our sojourning here in fear. Please note that fear in this passage is "phobos" which is the word we get phobia from, which is a real fearful condition.

Verse 3 of Psalm 50 says the coming of the Lord will be "tempestuous", the Hebrew word means horribly fearful. Jesus came first to offer salvation, through a covenant, but shall come again tempestuously as a righteous judge of all. Verse 5 defines His saints as "those who have made a covenant with Him, by sacrifice". Can you see how our salvation prayer is a promise to believe and receive Him, and to repent from your sins and offer ourselves a living sacrifice? By accepting His sacrifice on our behalf on the cross as well as being willing to in turn sacrifice ourselves from that point forward, we enter into that sacrificial covenant with Him. Does that make it no longer grace? Of course not! The fact He offers the covenant at all is grace in itself, and that is the point of grace. Grace is that He was willing to die on the cross for us at all. But God's word says that our reasonable service, based on His offer to save us, is that we present ourselves a living holy, acceptable sacrifice. When He then comes to judge (verse 6) the heavens will declare Him righteous, and all who He deems righteous, based on His covenant, because He is the Judge.

But Brethren, please don't make the same mistake many in Israel did. Know He is not looking for your offerings of works as a substitute for your being a living sacrifice, holy, and acceptable to God. He wants, no, He expects nothing short of your loving obedience to His will. When we are dissatisfied, and complain aren't we just coveters, which Col. 3:5 defines as idolatry? And doesn't 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 promise that among others, that no idolater shall inherit the kingdom of God? We can be former idolaters, as we offer ourselves as living sacrifices, holy, and acceptable to God; but, be not deceived, when we remove ourselves from that alter, we are covenant breakers and traitors, and sell our birth rights, as Esau did for a morsel of meat. How short sighted it is to sell your birthright (being born again), your inheritance, for sinful pleasure here; especially knowing Esau was then rejected and found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears (Hebrews 12:12-17). Many who formerly had the birthright, the inheritance, will find they sold it for the pleasures of the flesh while here, and in doing so showed God they willfully despised His blood shed for them which formerly sanctified them (Hebrews 10:23-31).

Instead of presuming on the grace of God, why not instead offer yourself up to Him as a truly holy and living sacrifice, acceptable to God. Is He not worthy? Is that not what He expects?

Psalm 50:14 is a condition we should look closely at. We are to offer to God thanksgiving and be willing to not just speak our vow, our covenant promise with our lips; but, fulfill it (pay it), to show Him we truly meant it from the heart. Thank God we have been delivered from the bonds of sin, that we may now obey from the heart (Romans 6:17), proving that which is acceptable to Him. Those who are doing so and call on Him in the day of trouble will be delivered and shall glorify Him (Psalm 50:15); however, He has terrible news for those who don't keep their vows, and try to still hold Him to His statutes (His end of the covenant). In verse 16 He shames any one who would presume to live wickedly and even dare try and hold Him to His statutes and His covenant. In verse 17 He says such are those who hated instruction and cast His word behind them. Have you hid His words in your heart that you might sin against Him, or have you been a hearer only, casting His words behind you? Are you one who only wants God around when you need something? And yet would dare to presume on His grace while you are a partaker in adultery (remembering Jesus said that looking with lust is already adultery)?

Consider taking verse 22 to heart: Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver. Does that verse need any interpreting? Do we all know God is serious about not forgetting Him? Therefore, repent and offer Him a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, while you have breath. Offer Him genuine praise and thanksgiving, which comes from a satisfied heart, delivered from sin, for this glorifies Him. Tame the tongue which defiles, for him that ordereth his conversation aright He will show the salvation of God (Psalm 50:23). Finally, can you see the similarity of this in Hebrews 13:5? Many only know the second half of that verse, the portion that pleases our flesh "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee"; however, who is the "thee" that He is speaking about? Verse 5 begins with the answer to who would constitute as a "thee": "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have:" Can you see how in both the Old Testament and New Testament the message doesn't change? When the Lord is saying "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" He is directing His promise only towards those who are offering themselves as a living holy sacrifice, who control their tongues so their conversation is aright, not filled with covetousness? Don't be a Covenant Breaker! Don't risk being forsaken and/or torn to pieces, repent right now.

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