The New Testament did not introduce us to a new God or a new doctrine of justification. The New Testament introduced an administration wherein Gentiles can become the people of God without becoming Jewish. Both testaments teach that God saves by grace, that atonement comes by Messiah's blood, and that salvation is received by faith, not by merit.

The covenant of Scripture is God's rescuing His people from that which would harm or destroy them; calling them and their children to live intimately with Him in faith, love, and obedience, fearful of displeasing Him; to live lovingly with one another; distinct from, envied by, and as a witness to the world; in humble expectation of receiving from Him at His appointed time everything that He has promised, signed, and sealed in blood through His appointed Mediator.

It is wrong to think of the Bible as God's answer to the question, "What must I do to be saved?" Rather, it is His comprehensive answer to that life-governing question: "What does the Lord require?" The God who saves us also guides us in every realm and sphere. He has told us how to please Him. That is why He says, "My Word is your life." He tells us to obey His Law because He loves us, not because He hates us. May God hasten the day that we grow up in the Reformation and apply the Reformation to honor God comprehensively. This generation desperately needs to learn to ask the right questions.

Steve M. Schlissel



INDIVIDUAL CDs
SP151--Sects in the City of God--Jeffery Ventrella
SP152--Justification by Faith in Pauline Theology--Norman Shepherd
SP153--The New Covenant: Membership, Apostasy and Language--Jeffrey Niell
SP154--Ethics and Covenant--Roger Wagner
SP155--Justification by Works in Reformed Theology--Norman Shepherd
SP156--Gospel and Law in Redemptive History--Andrew Sandlin
SP157--The Sensible Covenant: The Objective Reality of Covenant Membership--Randy Booth
SP158--Quesions & Answers--Panel