The grace given under the new covenant is incomparably greater than the grace of any other time. The requirements placed on the participants are vastly more demanding. The rewards and opportunities for glory truly are staggering. The punishments for not meeting the requirements are as severe or more severe than those suffered under the prior dealings of God.

The grace given to us (to the Jew first and also to the Gentile) under the new covenant includes the covering of the blood as our protection against the wrath of God, the authority of the blood to forgive our sins, the power of the blood to purge our sins, the body and blood of the Communion Table, the dwelling of the Spirit of God in us forever, the dwelling of the Father and the Son in us, the conception and forming of Christ in us, the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit, the wisdom and power of the Holy Spirit to enable us to bear witness of the atoning death and triumphant resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Presence of Christ with us to the end of the age, and the assurance in writing that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God in Christ.

In addition we have the Gospel accounts and the writings of the Apostles to guide and instruct us.

We can see at a glance that the grace that has been given to us under the new covenant is infinitely more complete, infinitely greater, than that of any past era.

The current definition of grace is woefully lacking. Grace is being presented as a lifelong waiver of all the laws of righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God. It is as though God's plan for bringing forth righteousness and praise before the nations (Isaiah 61:11) has suddenly been abandoned in favor of excusing the conduct of a special group of Gentiles and carrying them away to Heaven to live in mansions. This doctrine is incorrect. It is not scriptural.

Notice the presentation of the new covenant in the Book of Hebrews:

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: (Hebrews 8:10)

The new covenant does include grace for removing our sins from God's memory (Hebrews 8:12). But the forgiveness of our sins is not the most important feature of grace under the new covenant. The most important feature is the Divine writing that takes place in our minds and in our hearts. God puts His laws in our minds. God writes His laws in our hearts.

Under the new covenant, grace is not primarily the forgiveness of our sins. Grace includes the forgiving of our sins but primarily is the authority, virtue, wisdom, and energy to make a new creation. Sins were forgiven under the old covenant (Leviticus 5:13). The difference between the two covenants is that sins are not merely forgiven under the new covenant, they are removed from our personality and Divine Virtue takes their place.

To be continued.