God is the source and supply of all our lives, as demonstrated by his calling and equipping his people for service in a covenantal relationship with him. The call of God takes place by virtue of the work of Christ, and the service takes place by means of the Spirit. There is no synergism in the covenant in which God contributes his part and we do ours in order to accomplish something together that is greater than either of our efforts in isolation. God is not looking for our help. The importance of the cross in salvation and on the work of the Spirit in justification and sanctification makes it evident that the initiative, origin, and sustenance of the new covenant is due solely to the unilateral and merciful work of God on behalf of his people.
It is the Spirit, in bringing one to Christ for forgiveness of sins, who brings into being the new life of the new creation. One can claim faith in Christ and remain faithful to him only by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our covenantal relationship with God is from beginning to end based on God’s previous act of redemption and continuing acts of provision. This is the great indicative reality of the gospel.
At the same time the fact that we are people of the new covenant drives home the absolute necessity of living in obedience to God’s commands as the expression of our faith in his promises. Keeping God’s commands is what trusting in God as the source and supply of our lives looks like in everyday life. Given God’s justifying and sanctifying work in the lives of his people as guaranteed and brought about by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, there is no excuse for habitually failing to trust God’s gracious provisions and promises in Christ. Faith that trusts God to meet one’s needs invariably expresses itself through love as the fulfillment of the law. (Gal. 5:6, 14; Rom. 13:10).
As I had mentioned earlier, God commands his people not to steal because he has committed himself to meet their needs. To steal is to disbelieve God’s promise in this regard. As some of you have argued, God commands his people not to covet because he has already promised to satisfy their deepest longings, ultimately in himself (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5). Therefore to say all that I need to be happy is found in something material is to commit idolatry by failing to trust God’s covenantal commitment that he will be enough for us.
The fundamental point concerning our covenantal relationship with God in this regard is that every command from him is a call to trust in his promises and provisions, culminating in his greatest provision, the joy and delight that come from experiencing the transforming effect of his personal presence. For this reason, although God’s provisions and promises are all undeserved as unconditional gifts of grace, they are at the same time conditional upon the obedience that comes from faith (Rom. 1:5, 15:18, 16:26).
For as Paul warned the Corinthians, “Do you knot know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?” (1Cor. 6:9). We are saved “by grace… through faith” as the “gift of God,” a gift that includes being re-created in Christ Jesus in order that we might do “good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph. 2:8-10). The necessity of obedience to God’s commands, as the expression of faith in God’s promises, is therefore not works righteousness, since both the promises of God and the power to trust them are gifts of God’s unmerited, saving grace. IN OTHER WORDS, God gives what he demands, and we he demands is the obedience that flows from faith (Rom. 1:5, 16:26).
Persistent disobedience, without concern for repentance, is the life of unbelief. God’s wrath is meted out on all who dishonor God by a hardened refusal to acknowledge his provisions and trust in his promises (Rom. 1:18-21), which shows itself in an inability to obey and callousness toward his commands.