Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

644. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 15): What the Teachings of Jesus Were Meant to Accomplish

March 25, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Generally speaking, the Bible talks about two kinds of people — Jews and Gentiles. Jesus said He came to minister to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The book of Galatians states He was born of a woman, born under the law in order to redeem those who were under the law. They needed to be redeemed from the curse the law brought. This wasn’t a ministry extended to us who were born outside of the Jewish race. Gentiles were never given the law. Many of the teachings of Jesus were not meant to be considered as Christian doctrine under a New Covenant. But rather, Jesus was often elevating or magnifying the law so the Jews could see it for what it really was, which was the requirement to keep it perfectly… it was impossible for them to enter life through those commands within the first covenant. It was meant to close their mouths and stop their boasting. Occasionally, Jesus would point to the new and better covenant that would be given to all people after His death, and both Jew and Gentile would become one, grafted into Himself.

643. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 14): The Transition to a New Covenant

March 18, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Many beliefs found in the world of the organized Christian church are based upon certain assumptions, which in some instances, have led people down the wrong path or the wrong mindset. This is why so many traditionalists will sound the alarm and issue “grace warnings” whenever they hear about faith-based righteousness that comes apart from the law of works. It will be beneficial for us to shift to an entirely different paradigm in order to rethink many foundational teachings we’ve been bombarded with over the years. As we do this, and begin growing in our understanding of the gospel of grace, we start to see things from a fresh and new perspective. We’ll even begin to realize some of the inconsistencies and contradictions found within our (previous) belief system.

One example from this week’s program: The New Testament page, found between the books of Malachi and Matthew. The New Covenant/Testament did not begin with the birth of Jesus, but after He died. Begin to transition into realizing that much of what Jesus taught was not a new Christian teaching for believers living in a New Covenant, but was ministry aimed at the Jewish people who were still under the law. They were without life, and in a hopeless situation living under the command. They needed something new. They needed Jesus to do the will of God and fulfill the law on their behalf.

During this week's program we mentioned the twenty-part Growing in Grace podcast series that we'd recorded a couple of years ago entitled "Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants." In that series we (obviously) went into much more detail on Jesus' ministry to the Jews who were under the Old Covenant. Here's a link to Part 1 of that series in case you're interested in listening to it. (Then click on "Newer Post" to hear each subsequent part of the series).

642. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 13): The Law, the Prophets & the Psalms Are Fulfilled

March 11, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” Paul wasn’t referring to the four books known as the gospels, but the passages from the law which came through Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. The Old Testament is filled with many hundreds of references to Jesus Christ, subtly pointing the Jewish people to a coming Messiah who would provide an eternal deliverance for the world. Jesus revealed to His disciples what all of the old Scriptures meant, as they referenced Him and His mission.

Luke 24:44: “Then he said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.’”

Jesus Christ fulfilled the Scriptures, including the law, on our behalf.

641. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 12): The Psalms: They’re More About Jesus

March 4, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

It can change the way we see everything. Reading Old Testament passages from a New Covenant perspective, through the eyes of grace. There were those who recognized Jesus as the Messiah because of what they knew to look for in the Mosaic law, the Psalms, and the Prophets. After Jesus was resurrected, He opened the minds of the disciples to understand the (Old Testament) Scriptures, by revealing what they said about Him. “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (Luke 24:44). Christians often see verses out of context when they are seeking a special Word from God within the Psalms for application in their personal life situation. While this can certainly occur, in reality, quite often it may be written from the perspective of someone who was trapped under the curse of the law, or looking forward to something better (Christ). We don’t live under that heavy requirement of those commands, but now abide in Christ. Instead of relying on some of these passages to figure out where we are supposed to go, we can look back and begin to see them as a road map that brought us to where we already are… in Jesus. That’s where we find wisdom, peace and comfort - while being led by the Spirit.

640. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 11): The Psalms: Beware of Old Covenant “Law Talk”

February 25, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

It’s common for Christians to seek comfort and direction when reading the Bible, and the Psalms and Proverbs are often one of the first places people will turn for guidance. However, it is frequently assumed that everything within the Psalms is pointing us towards precepts and principles that are not necessarily meant to be applied for us who are in Christ, living in a New Covenant. We’ll find all kinds of passages written from a very different perspective from those who were under the burden of the impossible law… something from which people have been delivered from since the cross.

639. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 10): The Law Was Never Meant to Be the Answer

February 18, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Wrapping up this portion of the Summarizing the Scripture series, we take a look at the some common misconceptions about the law of commandments, and contrast it with what God accomplished for us through a finished work in Christ. Christians will be told by the religious authorities that the world will be a better place if everyone would just try harder to keep the Ten Commandments, along with a few other hand-picked rules and statutes. Is this really true? We’ll address this with an answer that might surprise many.

638. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 9): What the Church Hasn’t Told You About the Law & Commandments

February 11, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

While scores of Christians throughout the centuries have been told to embrace the law which came through Moses, the Apostle Paul and other New Testament writers received a revelation that is quite different from that approach. While church teaching tells us some of the law has ended, while other parts are still in effect, the law itself declares nothing can be added or deleted. Approval was never given to alter it. While those who claim believers should strive harder to keep the commands, their hypocrisy is exposed by eliminating large, inconvenient chunks... and nobody can seem to agree on exactly what should remain on the list. Our program this week will provide vital information on the ministry of the Mosaic law, and why God replaced it with something far better.

637. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 8): The Law in A Nutshell – More Sin, Death and Condemnation

February 4, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Frequently we’ll find church doctrines and teachings encouraging believers to cling to a law of works, found within the commandments of the Old Covenant. The problem with this? New Covenant writings reveal why the law was given to Israel (and not to us who are Gentiles). Those commands within the law caused sin to increase (not decrease). It was a ministry that killed and condemned. The law demanded perfection but was powerless to provide the ability to attain it. It once had glory, but came to an end, where the glory faded, and now has no glory at all. Why? Because of the surpassing glory ministry of the Spirit of God, which replaced the requirements written on ink and on stone. We are now in the life of Christ, we’re empowered by the Spirit of Grace where new life flows and the fruit of the Spirit is produced, apart from the works of the law.

636. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 7): A Promise of Faith Contrasted With A Covenant of Works

January 28, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The promise of a covenant bringing righteousness by faith or belief as it was given to Abraham, would eventually bring what we often refer to as the New Covenant, which was ushered in through Jesus Christ. Several hundred years after God made this covenant with Abraham, another covenant would be established with the people of Israel, and would include the law which came through Moses. This law would bring a curse requiring that all of it be kept perfectly, causing God to find fault with the people in that covenant. Fortunately, that covenant of law would not nullify the covenant of promise made 430 years earlier. The promise of faith would end up kicking the law of works to “kingdom come” (because the law is not of faith). This week in our series, we’re transitioning from Abraham to Moses and the Law.

635. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 6): Abraham Did Not Waver at God’s Promise

January 21, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In this sixth part of the series, we wrap up our brief look at Abraham and the significance of his part in God’s redemptive picture, which is a picture described throughout Scripture. Interestingly, in spite of what appears to be a fleshly effort by having a child through his servant Hagar, the Bible declares Abraham was not weak in faith, and did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith. Righteousness was credited to him because of belief, just as it is to us today, apart from law or works.

634. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 5): Abraham and the Child of Promise

January 14, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Hundreds of years before God gave the law to Moses, there was Abraham. Through him God brought forth a promise, where he would become the father of many nations that would occur through a child promised to him and Sarah. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It was by faith the promise arrived, not works. The Apostle Paul explains how Abraham’s two sons represent the two covenants—both the Old and the New. The son born from Hagar (the bondwoman) was born according to the flesh, whereas the son from Sarah (the freewoman) through promise. One gave birth to bondage, symbolic of Mount Sinai, and the other gave birth to freedom, which would include justification for Gentiles through faith.

633. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 4): We Can Learn from Adam’s Mistake

January 7, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Part 4 of our series includes some final thoughts about Adam and the fall that took place in the beginning. We often still struggle with the same thing as Adam, but the good news is we’ve been provided with a solution since the cross. We can avoid the tree that forced humankind to live for centuries by The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. God always wanted His creation to live by His life, which we can do now that we’ve been placed in Christ. Next week we’ll talk about Abraham and how he made faith possible for a multitude of generations to come.

In this episode we briefly reminisced about our past days in Christian radio, and some of the grace-based songs we used to play. We specifically mentioned these two songs that we both really like.