If one has integrity, nothing else matters.
If one doesn't have integrity, nothing else matters.
--Alan Simpson

I've often said that before we begin to talk about being good Christians, we ought to talk first about being good human beings. The quotation above (by no less than a politician) recognizes the world's standard that a man should stand behind his word, even if by observation this is typically not the case. Therefore, we have contracts, oaths and other forms of agreement to ensure that a person will be forced to honor their spoken word. The underlying premise is without the contract the person will not honor their word.

While holding that thought a moment, we turn our attention to the modern-day Christian practice of making "covenant-relationship" with each other. The basic ideas presented in the theology and practice of making covenant are described very well in an article by Dr. Roger Sapp and are as follows[i]:

• Essential relationships are established between Christian believers by making covenants. These covenants are similar to the permanent and lasting commitment expected in the covenant of marriage.
  These covenants have expectations on each believer involved in them also similar to marriage.
  
  
• These covenants often involve a less mature believer or a group of less mature leaders covenanting with a more mature leader for purposes of spiritual growth, guidance and protection. Often, this relationship is referred to as "covering".
  
  
• Often, the more mature leader expects that the less mature believer will submit, obey his instructions and support him financially by ongoing giving.
  
  
• These covenants insure accountability and the maturing of the individual and local church and other good fruit.
  
  
• Breaking of these covenants is a serious matter before God.

I would add a couple of things to Dr. Sapp's summary. First, such "covenants" are often nebulous and do not reflect the nature of a true covenant, where terms and conditions are explicitly stated and agreed to by both parties. Rather, people are told over time that they are "in covenant relationship", or they attend "covenant groups", or they are in "covenant with the elders". The only clear condition that is generally understood among the congregation is this: to leave the church without the elders permission is to "break covenant", making one a "covenant-breaker". It is often compared to the sin committed by an unfaithful partner in a marriage relationship; indeed, from the pulpit the marriage covenant is the most common illustration to define the covenant among church members. The spiritual consequences of such a sin are often harped upon, and the guilty parties shunned by the faithful, as a warning to the remaining flock.

A second thing I would add is that these covenants are restricted to members of a local congregation or a particular church movement and exclude the Body of Christ in general. So the practical effect of such covenants is to create the image that there are two levels of relationship in the Church: the covenant relationships that exist inside "our" church, and relationships with those outside. Here again, no attempt is made to explain in detail the differences or provide biblical support. The only thing that matters is that the concept of being in covenant is branded in people's minds as being "inside" instead of "outside"; one who is a "covenant keeper" instead of a "divorcee"; an accepted, rather than a rejected, church member.

What Does The Bible Say About Covenants?

God has a lot of things to say in His word regarding covenants. Our very relationship with God is based on a covenant-the Covenant of Grace. Concerning relationships among believers, however, there is not one reference in the New Testament that encourages us to make covenant. As Dr. Sapp wisely points out:

When a complete twenty-seven book search of the New Testament is done, there is not found a single example of Christian believers making covenant with each other. Of course, we are not including references to marriage in our search. Marriage is thoroughly validated by the New Testament.

The vast majority of the thirty-seven direct references to covenant in the New Testament are divided between references to the Old Covenant or the New Covenant. The few remaining general references to covenant are being used by New Testament writers to explain the nature of the New Covenant. There are absolutely no specific examples of making covenant between Christian believers, leaders or anyone found in the New Testament[ii] .

If making covenant with each other were an important aspect of Christian life, then we would expect the New Testament to teach it. However, the New Testament when examined carefully on this subject, it actually teaches against this practice in several places.

To make covenant with another believer requires adopting an Old Testament practice that is not validated by the New Testament at all. Not only does this void of examples and encouragement to covenant exist but also Christ Himself warns us not to make a covenant-like commitment. The reason that this void exists in the New Testament is so extremely simple that it is often overlooked:

Christian believers are already in covenant with each other through the work of Jesus Christ.

Making covenant exclusively with a single believer or a group of believers fails to recognize or ignores that we are already in covenant with all believers. We are already in covenant with one another by virtue of what Jesus Christ has done at Calvary. The New Testament describes this as the New Covenant. Making another more limited covenant conflicts with and minimizes the importance of this Gospel truth. We enter the New Covenant automatically when we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews indicates this very clearly.

…And so much the more also Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.

…Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
Hebrews 7:22, 25

Jesus Christ is the guarantee of the better covenant, the New Covenant, for those who draw near to God through Him. Believers become partakers of the New Covenant by accepting the atoning sacrifice of Christ. His redemptive sacrifice at the cross has forever provided this blessed covenant with God for them. We are not required to do something with another believer to be in covenant. We are already in covenant through Christ. Believers demonstrate our covenant with Christ and each other each and every time we take Communion, the Lord's Supper.

Dr. Sapp made reference to the New Testament advising against the practice of making covenants. One of the key passages being referenced here was from no other than Jesus Christ Himself, where He said:

Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT MAKE FALSE VOWS (oaths), BUT SHALL FULFILL YOUR VOWS (oaths) TO THE LORD.' "But I say to you, make no oath (swear) at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is THE CITY OF THE GREAT KING. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil.
--Matthew 5:33-37

Remember what was stated at the beginning? The world's expectation, and Jesus' commandment to us, is for our "Yes" to mean yes and our "No", no. This is especially true of our relationship as believers made possible by the sacrifice of our Lord. How can we possibly make more meaningful through our own little covenant the relationships purchased at Calvary? I believe this represents an insult to the Spirit of Grace.

In the above passage, Jesus made a prohibition against the taking of vows and oaths, which is repeated by James[iii] . But what does oaths and vows have to do with covenant? Vows, oaths, swearing or promises before God, are always part of any formal covenant-making. If a believer is forbidden to swear, vow or make an oath, then he or she is forbidden to enter a covenant with another believer outside of marriage.

A simple statement is all that God requires. If anyone requires something greater, then they are requiring something that Christ has forbidden. They are failing to account for the potential situation that God might lead us in a different way or to different associations in the future. We should be free in Christ to follow in the direction the Shepard leads. To fail to do so because we are bound by a covenant is to miss out on the will of God for our lives.

Covenants Close Us In

The practice of making covenant is akin to making a foolish vow. It opens the door for guilt and fear as motivation to the believer, and produces a "formula-based" mode of Christian living. For example, one may buy into a teaching that being in covenant means to attend a certain number of church services or give a certain amount to the church financially. The covenant is reinforced by removing the person from leadership if they fail to meet the performance criteria. In egregious cases, they might even be told that failure to meet covenant conditions brings a curse. Either way, the person is motivated to follow the programmed instructions rather than seeking God for individual guidance and strength in their daily living. This removes God from the equation as the one who should guide believers in all matters, financially, physically and spiritually.

The commitment of covenant to a few also generally comes along with the theology of covering. What happens when a covering authority is in conflict with Scripture? What happens to a submitting believer who cannot resolve what he believes that God is saying with what the covering authority is saying? A covenant may mean that the conflict cannot be resolved without a serious covenant-breaking. Covenant-breaking would not be an issue if there were normal relationships of respect between believers honoring the New Covenant. Every believer, especially the elders who know scripture, would have to acknowledge that Christ's authority over a believer must take priority over any other authority arrangement. Again, the threat of covenant-breaking can be used to steer the believer in ways that conflict with their conscience.

In my own experience I have found this to be very damaging. There is a special trust deep within the human spirit that is reserved for God alone. It is our very precious treasure, this total trust. No man is deserving of total blind trust---only God, who alone is infinite, infallible and perfect in his love for us.

When we covenant with a leader in a way that requires our total unconditional trust, we become idolaters. When we sacrifice our conscience for the sake of pleasing man, we give away a little more of this trust to a master, one other than God. Possess this trust, and you possess the individual. I have witnessed a person's whole identity become wrapped around a leader or movement through this bleeding of the soul. Some by grace eventually wake up and wholly place their trust back in Christ where it belongs. They are the stronger having survived the experience. Many others, sadly, will not release the sting of bitterness that came upon recognizing their great error, and use the experience as an excuse to return to the world.

We have relationship with each other through the atoning work of Christ. Christ is the covenant-maker and He controls relationships between believers. Christ may move us from one situation to another. Therefore, our covenant commitment to Christ is unconditional and requires complete obedience but our relationships to others is conditional and subordinate to our relationship to Christ. Making a covenant with a human being improperly restricts our God-given freedom. It can place mental and physical barriers on the freedom of association with all believers that God wishes us to have. It is also sometimes necessary to leave a church due to serious sin, abuse or false doctrine of another believer or a leader. We must have this liberty of conscience to deal with such unfortunate events.

If You Have Made Covenant…

Christ said we are to let our "Yes" be yes, and our "No", no, and anything beyond this is of the evil one. An improper covenant, i.e., one not authorized by scripture that restricts our freedom to serve Christ, is a sin matter.

The Old Testament provides insight as to how to deal with the sin of foolishly making a commitment that must later be broken:

If a person thoughtlessly takes an oath to do anything, whether good or evil-in any matter
one might carelessly swear about-even though he is unaware of it, in any case he will be guilty.
He must confess in the way he has sinned, and as a penalty for the sin he has committed, he must
bring to the Lord a female lamb or goat from the flock as a sin offering, and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.
---Leviticus 5:4-6

Of course, we are not under the Old Covenant but the New Covenant. Therefore, as it states in 1st John, if we confess our sin the Great High Priest is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sin and purify us from all unrighteousness. This is what is required to set in right order your vertical relationship with God.

However, getting out of a covenant is not as simple when it comes to the horizontal relationships, those you have covenanted with. Coming out of this spiritual enclosure will often invite accusations from the enemy. Often the believer's conscience will register sin, faithlessness and disloyalty. This is normal for anyone coming out of a committed relationship. However, it is also very difficult, especially where a person's positive self-image as a Christian has been linked to their closeness in the relationships and their good standing within the organization.

It may be useful to remind oneself in the midst of likely rejection what Jesus said concerning our love for Him versus human beings. He said in comparison to our love for Him, our relationships toward mother, father and others seems almost like hate. In other words, there is really no comparison. Our relationship with Him is supremely important. A covenant that tends to bind ones heart and soul more horizontally than vertically has got to go!

What you gain by breaking an improper covenant is regaining your freedom to fulfill your destiny with Christ. That is really good news. You are now free to discover all the benefits of the New Covenant, the one you have with Christ by faith, which is really the only covenanted spiritual relationship you have beyond your spouse.

Doug Dean
March 2001

[i] Make No Covenant, An Examination of the Practice of Christians Making Covenant with One Another

[ii There is one reference to the enemies of Paul making an oath (swearing) not to eat or drink until they killed him.

[iii] James 5:12