commandments – Page 2

760. Contrasting the Ten Commandments With the Gospel

June 21, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Church-goers and believers have frequently been disoriented and in a place of confusion by being exposed to a combination of two very different covenants, resulting in “the Christian religion.” Often we’ve been taught to cling to a ministry that Jesus came to deliver people from.

The Ten Commandments is our starting point on this week’s program, with more to come in the weeks ahead. The Apostle Paul called those stone tablets from the Old Covenant the ministry of death and condemnation—hardly a recipe for life and peace.

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726. New Covenant Commands from Jesus

October 27, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Commandments given under the law to Israel through Moses didn’t squelch sin, but caused it to increase. That’s clue number one that Christ came to put an end to that system in order to redeem people from that law. This would occur by Jesus becoming the replacement for that failed covenant which was based upon works, not faith.

So what about the commandments of Jesus that He shared with His disciples as He looked forward to the new and better covenant which would manifest after His death and resurrection? Just exactly what are those commands? Are there any conditions attached? Are they performance based with no room for failure? The eyewitness known as the Apostle John explains it for us.

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725. Where Do I Stand if I’m Not Keeping the Commandments Perfectly?

October 20, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Ever since the cross and resurrection, church-ianity has pushed a counterfeit gospel known as law-keeping, which believers become hooked on and frequently have a difficult time breaking free from. The Bible tells us the commandments contained within the law from the Old Covenant were not based upon faith. Faith came when Christ arrived. Trying to live by the command caused sin to increase. Living in the Spirit allows us to bear His fruit instead of our own rotten tomatoes.

We don’t serve in the old way of a written code but by the new way of the Spirit. The old way will leave you wondering where you stand with God in any given minute. You will never be at peace while trying to live up to a standard that required perfect behavior … and take notice that legalistic Christianity only will only require you keep a very small portion of what the law demanded. The rest gets hypocritically tossed aside. The remedy for breaking free from the slavery of the addiction of works is God’s grace.

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724. Why Did Peter Cling to Law After it Ended with Jesus?

October 13, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Religious legalists will argue that Peter adhered to rules from the law of Moses for years after the resurrection of Jesus. They make the false assumption that because God moved through him in such miraculous ways—such as shadow healing—Peter must have had a perfect understanding of the gospel. But like the rest of us limited humans, Peter was “growing in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Through a vision, God began to show Peter the change of law that occurred within a New Covenant which is based upon faith instead of a law of works … and he began to repent (have a change of mind). Later in the book of Acts, he would even argue the case before former Pharisees that Gentiles who were being saved and never had the law, should not be burdened with the futile attempt of trying to keep what they and their fathers were unable bear.

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723. Did Paul Claim He Was Blameless by Keeping the Mosaic Law?

October 6, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

During a recent podcast series about the dangers of mixing law and grace, someone challenged us with a comment that the Apostle Paul stated “he had never committed an offense against the Torah” (law). This is a great example of how context gets lost and contradictions begin to fly—when we zero-in on a single verse from the Bible.

Anyone can make Scripture apply to their own preconceived doctrinal assumptions. We address Paul’s statement about having been found righteous and blameless under the law as he seemingly bragged about his record. He’s actually saying the opposite in this passage (and many others).

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722. True or False: God’s Grace Encourages Sinful Behavior

September 29, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

We recently received a correspondence that included a comment: “You can’t keep all of the Law, so don’t even try to keep any of it? Ok. How’s that adultery working out for ya??”

This was submitted from Program #711: The Dangers of Mixing Law and Grace (Part 1).

We take a few minutes to address this mindset which is rooted in a commonly misunderstood theory from the world of lifeless religion. Paul declared we are not under law, but under grace. Just because this is our reality in the New Covenant doesn’t mean God unleashed the dogs so they could run out into traffic. Grace does for us what the law could not … teaching us to deny ungodliness apart from fleshy, self-righteous effort.

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721. The Greatest Commandments in the Law (But Nobody Has Ever Done Them)

September 22, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Religious teaching will tell us to work at keeping the law of commandments, but it’s only a small portion that we hear about while most of it is ignored—which causes hypocrisy to loom very large. And when a commandment from the Old Covenant is broken, modern-day legalists will disobey the Law’s requirement to execute punishment—sometimes including death for what we consider to be minor offenses.

Even the greatest commandments from the law (according to Jesus) caused people to fall short of the perfect requirement … because nobody has ever loved God with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. Nobody has loved God by being diligently obedient to the command, but now we’re able to do so—and to love one another—not due to our effort of obedience, but because we have come to know and believe in God’s love for us. (1 John 4:10-16). It’s a different way—and a better covenant.

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714. Sin Increased Under Law – Grace Abounded More Through Jesus

August 4, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Hollow religion says a written code of commandments is needed in order to reduce sin and increase morality. There is just one problem with this approach … it’s the precise opposite of what Scripture reveals to us.

The law came for a purpose - to increase the trespass … not to reduce it. It’s only by grace and the gift of righteousness found in Jesus Christ that will allow for us to reign in life.

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702. Born Identity: You Are Righteous

May 12, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Sadly, most believers in Jesus Christ have been taught they are identified as sinners and have failed to realize the gift of God’s righteousness that has been inherited by faith, apart from works. The Jewish people pursued righteousness under the law by trying to keep the Ten Commandments, plus 603 other commands and rules from the law which came through Moses. Yet they never attained a state of righteousness through that law. Nobody was righteous under that system… not one. On the other hand, Gentiles who weren’t even chasing after right standing with God attained righteousness by faith. We have been gifted with His righteousness. In Him, we are in a state or condition that is acceptable to God because of what Jesus did for us (and not what we do for Him). It is not progressive, nor does it increase or decrease based upon our performance or behavior. Growing in our understanding of this grace that has been poured out upon us - and abides in us - now empowers us to outwardly reflect the light of Jesus Christ.

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698. Is it “Biblical”? (Part 2)

April 14, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Is it biblical? When we hear this question, usually someone is asking if it’s in the Bible. Another motivation may be to find out if it’s a principle based upon the truth of the Bible. Since anyone can quote Bible verses and appear to be fitting them into a jigsaw puzzle in order to create a picture which fits their own belief system, this question may be overemphasized. It’s also interesting to see how many things found within the Mosaic law are sometimes considered as a part of Christianity, while other things within the very same pages are completely ignored. For example, in Deuteronomy 22, there are instructions on what to do if you come across a bird’s nest in a tree or on the ground. Following the instructions to the letter would mean… “that it may be well with you and that you may prolong your days.” It’s as “biblical” as any other of the 613 commandments and statutes but it's hardly a mantra of the church today. So while the church continues to pick and choose old covenant commands to be considered “biblical” from a doctrinal perspective, they fail to realize you either have to follow the entire law or it all had to come to an end. Christ became the end of the law.

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697. Is it “Biblical”? (Part 1)

April 7, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The first part of this week’s program wraps up what we’ve been discussing… with a reminder about the legalistic minded who quote certain passages which they think implies our eternal life and inheritance is based upon what we do and how we behave. We’re not dismissing the importance of behavior, but our inheritance is not based on that. The second half of the program starts a new conversation about the “biblical” catch phrase we often find in Christianity. We’re often trying to define and determine what is “biblical” and what is not. Another saying that is commonly heard is whether they are a “Bible believing church.” Just what does it mean when we determine whether something is deemed to be biblical while another version of belief is not? We’ll be laying down some thoughts that may cause people to reconsider how they define what is biblical.

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695. Love Is Better Than Law

March 24, 2019 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In the third chapter of Galatians, Paul stated “the law is not of faith.” We’ve progressed to Galatians chapter 5, where the apostle attempts to encourage these people to avoid the pitfall of going from the freedom of grace back into the law of works. They had been bewitched and deceived into another gospel that really wasn’t the gospel at all. If they were going to choose the system of written commandments (such as circumcision), they would be obligated to keep the entire law - all 613 commands. Those who were attempting to be justified by law (works) had fallen from grace. Paul went on to admonish not to use their freedom as an opportunity for the flesh. So how does one walk in the Spirit and avoid the desire of the flesh? It’s done apart from the law of works and it’s rooted in the perfect love of God which was manifested through Jesus Christ… this is where we abide as believers inside of a New Covenant.