It is perfectly true, as philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards. —Søren Kierkegaard
When I talk about law and grace, there are always those who say, “But Pete, the law is the foundation and grace is the building. The Old Testament is law; the New Testament is grace. Are we supposed to ignore the entire Old Testament?”
No way. The Old Testament is not just about law, and the New Testament is not the first introduction of grace.
Listen, this is important: The Old Testament is about grace, and the New Testament is about grace. The Christ system—the faith system, the grace system—was in play way back with Abraham. That was 430 years before the law came to be. The law system was thrown into the middle of that.
In other words, it is not the children by physical descent who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring. (Romans 9:8)
The promise and covenant between God and Abraham were first, and it was a covenant of faith. “Father Abraham” was declared righteous because He believed God’s promises—and we are children of that promise! The promise to Abraham was not nullified by the law system, which was introduced later. The law was fulfilled in Jesus so that the promise stood alone once again.
Yes, Abraham looked ahead to Christ. We look back to Christ. It’s always been about Jesus.
Father of Eternity, I’m pretty amazed when I look back and realize the extent to which You’ve orchestrated grace. It’s beautiful. Today I thank You for the promise of yesterday, the grace of today, and the hope of tomorrow. Amen.