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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

625. Justified Now! Sanctified Eventually?

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The religious business is well known for finding a way to put pressure on people to perform. The motivation to do so will vary by church denomination, but they all lead to robbing people of fully experiencing the grace and peace that God delivered to us through Jesus Christ. One script that is commonly found is the idea that believers are now justified through the cross, but being sanctified (set apart) is a lifelong process that gradually occurs through behavior improvement. It’s promoted in a way so that the responsibility falls upon us to seek self-improvement with God’s help, which will hopefully make us more holy, set apart, acceptable, etc. While improved behavior is a good thing, it shouldn’t be identified or confused with the work of sanctification, which God already provided by placing us in Christ Jesus.



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624. Christian Hypocrisy: Keeping Portions of the Law; Throwing Out the Rest

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Chances are pretty good that your church denomination believes the “moral commands” found within the law of the Old Testament are meant to be considered a part of the Christian life. They will also declare other parts of the law have expired and do not apply today… such as animal sacrifices, various ceremonial laws, dietary laws, etc. The inconsistencies become very obvious when the old and new covenants are mixed together like this because the entire point of the entire law—all of it—was that nobody could live up to its perfect standard. Personal or moral improvement is a wonderful thing, but “trying your best” to follow a list of impossible commands will not improve your position with God. This is why all of the law was made to be abolished and obsolete… It’s all based upon God doing what the law could not do. Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and took the old law out of the way, freeing us from any and all condemnation.



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623. Salvation Is Free! (But Watch out for the Fine Print)

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You may have heard sermons or Bible messages correctly explaining that salvation is a gift that is free and there is nothing that can be done on our part to earn it, but it is simply received by believing. Unfortunately, what will often follow is a type of legal addendum found in the fine print describing all of the things Christians must do in order to maintain acceptance, fellowship, blessings, and so on, and so forth. Although it varies depending on the denominational label, empty religion is often injected into Christianity by teaching that portions of the commands and statutes within the Mosaic law are still meant to be followed and kept within the New Covenant of Christ. They will declare that some of it came to an end and was discontinued, while other parts are meant to still apply. Exactly which of the 613 commands from the Old Covenant still apply and which were dropped? Therein lies the problem. The law was never meant to be changed or altered. In order to be able to say one was keeping it, one had to follow everything perfectly, without failure. This is why the good news should never be mixed with the bad.



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622. “Are You Saying People Can Sin as Much as They Want?”

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When traditional church doctrine meets pure grace and God’s unconditional love, those who have been embedded with fragments of the Mosaic law that are wrongly mixed into the gospel, will instinctively react with a list of questions something like this:

“Are you saying people can go do whatever they want? Are you saying it’s okay for people to sin as much as they want? Commit adultery? Murder?” (Of course, that’s not what we’re saying).

They will proceed to warn the sheep about this radical doctrine of grace that is a dangerous, false teaching in the form of heresy, because of our proclamation that believers in Christ are not under the law that came through the Old Covenant. The law demanded that all of it be kept. Other than Jesus, nobody has ever accomplished this before. Therefore, He fulfilled it on our behalf. Just because we’re not trying to keep the law, doesn’t mean that we’re breaking it. The rule book can’t bring us life, righteousness, nor God’s approval. Jesus didn’t come with a new set of rules and statutes that would end up making us better, He came to give us His life and a new heart that has made us like Him.



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622. “Are You Saying People Can Sin as Much as They Want?”

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When traditional church doctrine meets pure grace and God’s unconditional love, those who have been embedded with fragments of the Mosaic law that are wrongly mixed into the gospel, will instinctively react with a list of questions something like this:

“Are you saying people can go do whatever they want? Are you saying it’s okay for people to sin as much as they want? Commit adultery? Murder?” (Of course, that’s not what we’re saying).

They will proceed to warn the sheep about this radical doctrine of grace that is a dangerous, false teaching in the form of heresy, because of our proclamation that believers in Christ are not under the law that came through the Old Covenant. The law demanded that all of it be kept. Other than Jesus, nobody has ever accomplished this before. Therefore, He fulfilled it on our behalf. Just because we’re not trying to keep the law, doesn’t mean that we’re breaking it. The rule book can’t bring us life, righteousness, nor God’s approval. Jesus didn’t come with a new set of rules and statutes that would end up making us better, He came to give us His life and a new heart that has made us like Him.



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621. The Mosaic Law: Given to Israel Only, Not Gentiles

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When God gave Israel the law through Moses, and the Jews agreed to keep those many commands established in the Old Covenant, it was meant only for that race and nation who would be called God’s people at that time. The law had never been given to us Gentiles, who were considered unclean, far off and separated from God without a covenant. After the New Covenant was established by Jesus Christ, Gentiles were coming to God by faith in Jesus, and the leadership from the church in Jerusalem agreed that Gentiles would not need to be troubled or burdened with what their fathers had been unable to bear under that heavy and impossible law. Plus, the Jews who had been under the law were made free from it, and became dead to it as they married another and became the bride of Christ. You can’t live by something that doesn’t give life. That’s why the old way had to be removed completely and replaced with a better covenant.



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620. The Law Package: No Changes Allowed

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The predominant mindset within most Christian churches is that parts of the law that came through Moses are to be applied to believers today, while other parts have been eliminated after the cross of Jesus Christ. This demonstrates the widespread ignorance about that law under the Old Covenant, because God had declared that as long as the law was in effect, there would be no changes to it. Nothing could be added and nothing could be taken away from it. The hundreds of commands, rules and statutes were bundled together in one package known as “the Law.” Many ingredients; but one package that was never meant to be broken up and applied in many different ways, based upon personal perspectives or man-made doctrines. This is why people needed to be delivered from the entire law package, and why we are declared to be dead to the law under a new and better covenant.



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619. Where Do I Really Stand with God?

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Somewhere along the way, most of us have wondered where we stand with God. For some, this is an ongoing battle which can lead to fear and uncertainty. Are you stuck inside of a mindset that has caused you to feel compelled to ask God to cleanse you and purify you over and over again? If so, perhaps you haven’t heard the full story or understood the victory Jesus Christ won for us at the cross. It’s time to shift the (lack of) confidence from your ability to live the Christian life, to believing and trusting completely in the life of God that abides in you.



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618. Mistaken Identity

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Some words and phrases that we find within many corners of Christianity can end up bringing a mindset that that leaves people needlessly hungering and thirsting, while they seek some sort of new wave or movement from God that will make things better. Some of these Christian vocabulary words will lead to a case of mistaken identity. “Revival,” “backslidden Christian,” “rededicating your life to God…” Phrases such as these do not define the true identity we have as believers in Christ and should not be part of our mindset, because we’re now defined as righteous, holy, perfected, sanctified, and much more. It’s not up to us! His life in us is more than what is needed. He is the head of the body; Jesus is alive and well, and so are you in Him!



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617. The Mistake of Seeking What God Has Already Provided

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It’s sad to think about in many cases, Christians are not enjoying their life in Christ. Some of this may be the result of feeling as though they are not living up to certain expectations they have placed on themselves, or that they feel God has for them. Through misunderstandings about the gospel, it can be easy to develop a mindset where one feels they are constantly falling short, resulting in feelings of uncertainty and even fear of where they are positioned with God, even though they are a child who is loved by Him unconditionally. This can lead to people seeking to acquire things from God that He has already provided for us through the finished work of Christ. On this week’s program, Joel and Mike discuss some things that may help bring a better understanding to those desiring to continue growing in the grace of Jesus Christ.



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617. The Mistake of Seeking What God Has Already Provided

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It’s sad to think about in many cases, Christians are not enjoying their life in Christ. Some of this may be the result of feeling as though they are not living up to certain expectations they have placed on themselves, or that they feel God has for them. Through misunderstandings about the gospel, it can be easy to develop a mindset where one feels they are constantly falling short, resulting in feelings of uncertainty and even fear of where they are positioned with God, even though they are a child who is loved by Him unconditionally. This can lead to people seeking to acquire things from God that He has already provided for us through the finished work of Christ. On this week’s program, Joel and Mike discuss some things that may help bring a better understanding to those desiring to continue growing in the grace of Jesus Christ.



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616. Inviting God into Our Presence? (He Invited You!) (Part 2)

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Our second program in the series continues to encourage believers to reconsider a different perspective when it comes to inviting the presence of God’s Spirit into our midst. When people begin asking for the presence of God’s Spirit, or a special anointing or outpouring, it implies a temporary visitation instead of the Spirit always abiding. Believers can develop the mindset that if God can suddenly arrive, He can also depart and withdraw to a degree after the gathering is over. In Christ, we’re continuously wrapped, surrounded and enveloped with God’s presence, and the anointing abides in us through Him. As partakers of the divine nature, “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness.”



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