On the other hand, much needs to be said today about Christian covenant. But this is not the place for an extensive review first of all because there are already many excellent works on Christian covenant available to the informed inquirer and, secondly, because we are dealing with the practical applications of the shift in thinking rather than the thinking itself. But there are a few highlights of Christian covenant that I wish to point out for the benefit of better understanding the solutions offered herein. In a general sense, covenant agreements are similar to contractual agreements in that both have stipulations of performance by the participating parties with agreed to sanctions against parties of non-performers. However, Christian covenant differs from other types of covenants or contracts in that the Christian covenant, as revealed in the Bible, asserts that God alone is the initiator and regulator of the relationship between God and man.
Man has no part in the establishment of stipulations or sanctions.
As initiator, God determines who, what, when, where, and why He will reveal Himself to His creation. Man, as a creature, plays absolutely no role except as the gracious receiver of God's mercy, should God so choose. As regulator, God reveals to His creation how His creation is to relate to Him. For man to attempt to interface with God outside of His revealed instruction is equal to offering Him strange fire. Additionally, God has established and reveals the ground rules by which man relates to the rest of creation.