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921. The Gospel: Passing From Death to Life – Not Bad Behavior to Good

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Following up from last week's program defining the gospel as a revelation of God's righteousness gifted to us ... another important foundational truth contained within the message of the gospel is how believers in Christ have passed from death to life. This is the good news at its core.

God has freely imparted His life to us which we have inherited as children. This brings peace, knowing it's not by works that we have done.


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920. What Is It Exactly? “The Gospel” Defined

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"The Gospel." We probably hear these words used frequently. Many of us have understood it to mean good news, which is accurate, but just what is the good news specifically? We may think of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John ... but there is very little gospel in there when compared to the writings of Paul. There can be much to discuss in a broad sense, even from a grace perspective. But this week, we'll go back to some simple basics of what we first talked about when our podcast started many years ago ... answering the question of "what is the gospel?"

919. Sharing the Good News (Gift) Without the Bad News (Works)

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When it comes to sharing the good news of Jesus, many have followed a "formula" that features a pattern of sharing bad news first. This is usually based on a form of legalism ... telling each individual they have broken God's law. However, it was a law they were never under, and it came to an end over 2,000 years ago.

There is a better option of pointing people to the One who gives eternal life other than using an obsolete law of works. By pointing out that people need to be saved because of bad works, then they often assume a mindset that works are needed to maintain their approved position with God by having good works that will outweigh their bad. The better choice is to communicate the love of God as demonstrated through what Jesus did on behalf of everyone ... which brought a New Covenant based upon believing—and not good and bad works.



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918. The New Covenant – Unchangeable Priesthood (Jesus Is Not the Law)

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There seems to be no shortage of contrasts when it comes to comparing the New Covenant to the Old. Sadly, most won't ever hear about it within the walls of their church building, so welcome to our podcast!

Perhaps nobody explains it better than whoever wrote the letter called Hebrews. While they were attempting to bring a revelation of Jesus to their Jewish brothers and sisters of that time, we have so much to gain by latching onto their explanation of what it would mean for all believers in Christ. The Old Covenant contained many offerings which couldn't take away sins, featuring many priests that were weak and sinful—who came and went because of death. It was a covenant deemed to be unprofitable with its many commandments which nobody could do.

Jesus came to fulfill the law within that Old Covenant by offering himself one time (once) for the sins of the world ... to be taken away forever. The Old way of stone tablet commandments given to Israel would be annulled, abolished, cancelled, and made obsolete. It would be completely out of service, null and void, because the new High Priest would be declared ... not by the law, but by the word of the oath (from God). Unlike the priests appointed by law, Jesus would hold his priesthood permanently, forever. Through his blood and the word of the oath, Jesus is now the mediator of a better covenant, it's a more excellent ministry than the Old, established upon better promises.



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917. Jesus Is Not an Acceptable High Priest (If the Law Was Not Completely Nullified)

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Galatians 3 explains the law was a guardian for the Jews to point them to Christ in order for them to be justified by faith. But once faith came—or once Christ came—the Jewish people would no longer be under that guardian/tutor. This isn't meant to be chicken feed for Gentiles who were never under the law.

In order for Jesus to be declared High Priest by God, there had to be a change of priesthood so there could be a change of law. Why? Because according to the law given by Moses to the Jews, priests were required to come from the tribe of the Levites. Jesus was from a different tribe (Judah) which the law said nothing about concerning priests.

The law was received by the Jews through the (Levitical) priesthood. They fit together like a hand in a glove, and you could not eliminate one without doing the same with the other. Those many priests ministered within a covenant that was weak and useless ... and would be replaced by a superior priesthood—Jesus—who was not appointed by the law like the other priests, but would carry on an eternal priesthood. If the Mosaic law still had any function whatsoever, then Jesus could not be considered as a legitimate priest. It had to end.

In Hebrews 7, the writer is explaining why that law had to completely be annulled and cancelled—not revised or tweaked.



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916. Is the Mosaic Law Still a “Tutor” for People Today?

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Since the death and resurrection of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles are justified by grace, apart from works. How can we keep from getting tangled between a mixture of law and grace ... or faith and works? Once we begin to understand that non-Jewish people (Gentiles) were never given the law that Moses handed to Israel, this will be a step in the right direction. That's right, the law was never for us to use. The Church has been thrown into a lurch by trying to balance law and grace and attempting to place believers in Christ under a combination of two different covenants—albeit a very revised version of it in our modern culture.

In the book of Galatians, Paul addresses this confusion to some believing Gentiles who had been persuaded by Judaizers they needed Jesus plus certain aspects of the Mosaic law. When Paul called the law a tutor, a better interpretation in our English language is "guardian" ... as some translations will show. Let's take a closer look at what Paul said in Galatians 3 and 4 from his Jewish perspective and how it translates to Gentiles and Jews ... then and now. We'll want to consider not only the historical background, and not just the context of the passage, but the context of the gospel itself so we can get a better view of the bigger picture.



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915. “The Whole Counsel of God”

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It was recorded once in the book of Acts that Paul used the phrase "the whole counsel of God." It's a quote that religious people like to use as a weapon of sorts to stress there is more to the gospel than grace. In other words, when people get hyper about grace, legalists will think it results in an unhealthy obsession that should include a balance of other things such as a measure of law and works, resulting in guilt and then trying to do things to make ourselves more acceptable to God.

Of course, those on the works treadmill can never really spell out exactly what the whole counsel of God is or how it should be defined apart from grace. Those who do will only be able to give you an opinion and guesswork based on a very limited perspective and likely an inaccurate one.

Right before Paul mentioned this phrase, he described what it was that the whole counsel of God revolves around, and the ministry he received from which he was called to testify about. Spoiler alert: It was the gospel of the grace of God.



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914. Were the Cross and Resurrection Really Necessary?

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There are those who will attempt to communicate that the sacrifice of Jesus wasn't necessary and wasn't the will of God. It would seem that if this were true, it would have been plainly stated by Paul or someone else within their writings instead of people today pasting individual Bible verses together as if they were pieces to a puzzle to be arranged to fit an assumed narrative or belief.

So what did Jesus say about this? Did he predict he would be “murdered,” or did he suggest something else? He knew why He came and what was coming. The OT prophecies had plenty to say about the suffering of the Messiah, and the New Testament records substantial information about the blood of Jesus and what it meant for us as it relates to forgiveness of sins, the removal of sins, eternal redemption, and much more. Without his blood being shed, we would have no covenant.

The book of Hebrews reveals it is true that God did not desire sacrifices and burnt offerings for sin ... he took no pleasure in them which were offered according to the Mosaic law (because they couldn't fully deal with the problem of the sin issue). But the writer would go on to explain how the sacrifice of Jesus Christ would bring a permanent solution, while wiping out the religious system of law and works which contained the sacrifices of animals which could never take away sin. Jesus came to do the will of God with a holy sacrifice to end all other sacrifices, once for all.



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913. How Works Fit Into the Message of Grace

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The majority of us who chose to believe in Jesus were encouraged within religious circles to work at making ourselves better, more holy, more righteous, more sanctified ... and the list goes on. We've gotten it backwards with that approach. The better way is to grow in the knowledge of God with the understanding that He has already declared us to be all of these things and more.

So instead of trying to work at becoming what we think we are not, we realize God has already equipped the believer in Christ with all things that pertain to life and godliness. This is our starting point as we run this race and it's called the finish line. Growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus will completely change our perspective and motivation in many ways—including works.



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912. Overheard From Fruit Inspectors: “Did They Have a Genuine Conversion?”

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Over the years, we've heard from believers who attended church regularly and would often walk out of the building wondering if they were still saved. They heard a works-based message which planted fear and doubt because they would begin questioning whether they were "doing enough" to guarantee their salvation. Certain people from the legalistic department who self-identify as judgmental "fruit inspectors" will suggest that some who have confessed Jesus Christ and called on the name of the Lord "didn't really mean it" and therefore, did not have a genuine conversion. They will point to works as the manifested proof in the pudding. But they fail to provide the specifics—or it will vary greatly among the denominations.

The blessed assurance or guarantee we have is found within the person of Jesus Christ and belief in Him. Although we are created in Christ for good works—God working in and through us—salvation is a gift by grace through faith (apart from works) and is not the result of any effort on our part. As Paul said in Romans 4:5: "But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness."



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911. Does Grace Empower People to Keep the Mosaic Law?

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A common teaching in the land of the legal is that the grace which brings salvation also enables believers to keep the commandments contained in the law. They will be careful to polish this so it sounds shiny and will make sense to the religious, works-based mindset. For example, they may say we're saved by grace and not by works ... but will then imply we're expected to embrace the Old Covenant law in our behavior.

So is this true? Are we meant to live by a ministry of condemnation which is contrary to us ... a ministry which strengthens sin and causes it to increase? It doesn't make sense that Jesus came to redeem Jews from the law—who then died to the law—and then have God resurrect the same law which couldn't give life and wasn't based on faith. When it comes to good works in our lives, God empowered us with something better ... not just Scriptures, not law-based commandments, but the power of His Spirit abiding in us.



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910. False Assumptions: Jews and Gentiles Were Both Under the Mosaic Law

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God established a covenant with Israel after delivering them from slavery in Egypt, and it included a law which came through Moses containing 613 commandments that they agreed to follow and that they would be required to keep. It was generally exclusive for the Jewish people. The rest of the world (gentiles) were outsiders and were unfamiliar with the covenant, without hope, and without God in the world. The Jews attempted to (unsuccessfully) pursue righteousness through the works of this law, while gentiles were doing no such thing—but would still attain righteousness.

Some will chop up the context found in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Romans. It's easy to misunderstand or misinterpret a comment such as "doers of the law will be justified" ... or that gentiles had the Mosaic law written on their hearts before the cross (and the Jews did not?). Recommended: Do not read Romans 2 without at least reading Romans 3—and Paul continues to expound further from there.

Having a basic understanding of the position of Jews under the law, and gentiles who never had that law ... will help us recognize who Paul was directing comments towards when it came to the people to whom he was writing. They were usually a mixed audience of both groups, and his language will often reveal whether his comments are to be contextualized for believing Jews who previously were under the law, or if it was for gentile outsiders who came to faith in Christ. But both groups would receive life by grace through faith, apart from the law, and be brought together into one new man—where there would no longer be the issue of Jew or gentile.



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