The Blessing Comes by Faith

05/03/2022 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God… —Deuteronomy 28:1-2 Did you know that today the blessing of the Lord is activated and comes into our lives by faith and not by works? In the first covenant, the blessing of God would come upon those who fully obeyed the law. Our access to God’s goodness was subject to our behavior and performance in the old covenant. There was nothing wrong with the covenant, but the people were weakened by their sin nature. They always came up short. That’s why the old covenant was fulfilled and the new covenant was decreed. In Deuteronomy chapter 28, we find a detailed description of some of the most wonderful blessings of empowerment, health and prosperity found in the Bible. God’s intention to have us walk in these blessings has never changed. In fact, He gave the life of His Son so we could realize them in our modern lives. The simple truth is that if you’re in Christ, then you are a partaker of the new covenant. The covenant that Jesus ratified with His own blood is between Jesus and the Father. The righteous requirements have been fulfilled through Jesus’ perfect, sinless life. They were completed in His sacrificial death and proved in front of every demon in hell when He defeated Satan and rose from the dead. We enter into the very life and nature of Christ by faith in Him. We are joined with Him in His death, burial and resurrection by making Him our Lord and Savior. Scripture declares that we have been raised with Him and seated with Him in heavenly realms. It even says that He is the head and we are His body. Jesus fulfilled the law, not just for Himself, but for you and me as well. He did this so we would no longer be separated from God’s goodness. We have been given a way into the wonders of God by His grace and not by our works. We are justified by faith in what Jesus did and not by our accomplishments. Being one with Christ gives us full access to all of the blessing of God. In Deuteronomy 28, we find a description of just some of what’s available to the believer. When it comes to things such as healing or prosperity, we don’t earn these blessings by living a squeaky clean, spotless life. No, these are provided freely to us though our faith in Jesus and not by works. Don’t you dare let the devil or some religious person talk you out of what Jesus purchased for you with His own blood! Peace belongs to you, healing belongs to you and prosperity belongs to you. You must grab ahold of them by faith, not by fulfilling the law or some code of religious conduct. Always remember, Jesus fulfilled the “if” for you and for me in Deuteronomy chapter 28. With this in mind, we can rest in the fact that the blessing comes by faith and not by works. Scriptural Context Deuteronomy 28:1-12 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” —John 6:28-29 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith." —Romans 1:17 For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God. —2 Corinthians 1:20 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. —Ephesians 2:8-9 Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, “The righteous will live by faith.” —Galatians 3:11 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”