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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

Am I Completely Forgiven?

by

You’d be surprised how hard it is to convince some people that God has forgiven all their sins – past, present, and future.

“Sure, I believe God loved me enough to send his Son to rescue me, but has he forgiven all my sins? I’m not so sure.”

When I started Escape to Reality 15 years ago, I wrote about forgiveness every other week because so many people just couldn’t see it. They had all these crazy ideas.

“God will only forgive me if I forgive others.”

“God’s forgiveness comes in installments.”

“Forgiveness is like a debit card you can draw upon, but you gotta maintain short accounts with God.”

“God can’t forgive me because I have committed the unforgivable sin.”

Phew.

Jesus said, “All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men” (Mark 3:28), but some people, including many Christians, refuse to believe him. They add all sorts of qualifiers and conditions.

Which is a bit like calling Jesus a liar.

The front door to grace

Forgiveness is like the front door to the House of Grace. If you don’t receive the full and complete forgiveness of your heavenly Father, you’ll have trouble receiving anything.

“But I’ve done bad things.” See the cross. Your sins are there.

“I sinned this morning.” The love of God keeps no record of wrongs. Fix your eyes on Jesus and receive his grace to sin no more.

“But what about this verse…”

There are many scriptures in the Bible that seem to say contradictory things about forgiveness.

Seem to, but don’t.

Here’s a picture that’s worth 1000 blog posts:

The cross changed everything.

In the old law-keeping covenant, the forgiveness of God was something to earn. But we don’t live under that covenant. We live under the new covenant of grace. Forgiveness, along with all God’s blessings, is a gift to receive and in Christ you have it.

See the difference? Before the cross, the message was, “All sins will be forgiven” (Mark 3:28). After the cross, the message became, “Proclaim forgiveness of sins in all nations” (Luke 24:47).

Read the Bible through the lens of the cross and you will see that forgiveness is not something God does, it’s something he’s done!

—

More articles about forgiveness.

Get answers to your questions about God and grace.

Are you a teacher? Check out E2R’s treasure trove of teaching resources!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Am I Completely Forgiven?

by

You’d be surprised how hard it is to convince some people that God has forgiven all their sins – past, present, and future.

“Sure, I believe God loved me enough to send his Son to rescue me, but has he forgiven all my sins? I’m not so sure.”

When I started Escape to Reality 15 years ago, I wrote about forgiveness every other week because so many people just couldn’t see it. They had all these crazy ideas.

“God will only forgive me if I forgive others.”

“God’s forgiveness comes in installments.”

“Forgiveness is like a debit card you can draw upon, but you gotta maintain short accounts with God.”

“God can’t forgive me because I have committed the unforgivable sin.”

Phew.

Jesus said, “All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men” (Mark 3:28), but some people, including many Christians, refuse to believe him. They add all sorts of qualifiers and conditions.

Which is a bit like calling Jesus a liar.

The front door to grace

Forgiveness is like the front door to the House of Grace. If you don’t receive the full and complete forgiveness of your heavenly Father, you’ll have trouble receiving anything.

“But I’ve done bad things.” See the cross. Your sins are there.

“I sinned this morning.” The love of God keeps no record of wrongs. Fix your eyes on Jesus and receive his grace to sin no more.

“But what about this verse…”

There are many scriptures in the Bible that seem to say contradictory things about forgiveness.

Seem to, but don’t.

Here’s a picture that’s worth 1000 blog posts:

The cross changed everything.

In the old law-keeping covenant, the forgiveness of God was something to earn. But we don’t live under that covenant. We live under the new covenant of grace. Forgiveness, along with all God’s blessings, is a gift to receive and in Christ you have it.

See the difference? Before the cross, the message was, “All sins will be forgiven” (Mark 3:28). After the cross, the message became, “Proclaim forgiveness of sins in all nations” (Luke 24:47).

Read the Bible through the lens of the cross and you will see that forgiveness is not something God does, it’s something he’s done!

—

More articles about forgiveness.

Get answers to your questions about God and grace.

Are you a teacher? Check out E2R’s treasure trove of teaching resources!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Am I Completely Forgiven?

by

You’d be surprised how hard it is to convince some people that God has forgiven all their sins – past, present, and future.

“Sure, I believe God loved me enough to send his Son to rescue me, but has he forgiven all my sins? I’m not so sure.”

When I started Escape to Reality 15 years ago, I wrote about forgiveness every other week because so many people just couldn’t see it. They had all these crazy ideas.

“God will only forgive me if I forgive others.”

“God’s forgiveness comes in installments.”

“Forgiveness is like a debit card you can draw upon, but you gotta maintain short accounts with God.”

“God can’t forgive me because I have committed the unforgivable sin.”

Phew.

Jesus said, “All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men” (Mark 3:28), but some people, including many Christians, refuse to believe him. They add all sorts of qualifiers and conditions.

Which is a bit like calling Jesus a liar.

The front door to grace

Forgiveness is like the front door to the House of Grace. If you don’t receive the full and complete forgiveness of your heavenly Father, you’ll have trouble receiving anything.

“But I’ve done bad things.” See the cross. Your sins are there.

“I sinned this morning.” The love of God keeps no record of wrongs. Fix your eyes on Jesus and receive his grace to sin no more.

“But what about this verse…”

There are many scriptures in the Bible that seem to say contradictory things about forgiveness.

Seem to, but don’t.

Here’s a picture that’s worth 1000 blog posts:

The cross changed everything.

In the old law-keeping covenant, the forgiveness of God was something to earn. But we don’t live under that covenant. We live under the new covenant of grace. Forgiveness, along with all God’s blessings, is a gift to receive and in Christ you have it.

See the difference? Before the cross, the message was, “All sins will be forgiven” (Mark 3:28). After the cross, the message became, “Proclaim forgiveness of sins in all nations” (Luke 24:47).

Read the Bible through the lens of the cross and you will see that forgiveness is not something God does, it’s something he’s done!

—

More articles about forgiveness.

Get answers to your questions about God and grace.

Are you a teacher? Check out E2R’s treasure trove of teaching resources!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Am I Completely Forgiven?

by

You’d be surprised how hard it is to convince some people that God has forgiven all their sins – past, present, and future.

“Sure, I believe God loved me enough to send his Son to rescue me, but has he forgiven all my sins? I’m not so sure.”

When I started Escape to Reality 15 years ago, I wrote about forgiveness every other week because so many people just couldn’t see it. They had all these crazy ideas.

“God will only forgive me if I forgive others.”

“God’s forgiveness comes in installments.”

“Forgiveness is like a debit card you can draw upon, but you gotta maintain short accounts with God.”

“God can’t forgive me because I have committed the unforgivable sin.”

Phew.

Jesus said, “All sins shall be forgiven the sons of men” (Mark 3:28), but some people, including many Christians, refuse to believe him. They add all sorts of qualifiers and conditions.

Which is a bit like calling Jesus a liar.

The front door to grace

Forgiveness is like the front door to the House of Grace. If you don’t receive the full and complete forgiveness of your heavenly Father, you’ll have trouble receiving anything.

“But I’ve done bad things.” See the cross. Your sins are there.

“I sinned this morning.” The love of God keeps no record of wrongs. Fix your eyes on Jesus and receive his grace to sin no more.

“But what about this verse…”

There are many scriptures in the Bible that seem to say contradictory things about forgiveness.

Seem to, but don’t.

Here’s a picture that’s worth 1000 blog posts:

The cross changed everything.

In the old law-keeping covenant, the forgiveness of God was something to earn. But we don’t live under that covenant. We live under the new covenant of grace. Forgiveness, along with all God’s blessings, is a gift to receive and in Christ you have it.

See the difference? Before the cross, the message was, “All sins will be forgiven” (Mark 3:28). After the cross, the message became, “Proclaim forgiveness of sins in all nations” (Luke 24:47).

Read the Bible through the lens of the cross and you will see that forgiveness is not something God does, it’s something he’s done!

—

More articles about forgiveness.

Get answers to your questions about God and grace.

Are you a teacher? Check out E2R’s treasure trove of teaching resources!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

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