commandments – Page 3

850. Old Covenant: Purified Flesh (Dead Works); New Covenant: Purified Conscience

March 13, 2022 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The law of works left people in a state of hopelessness through a system of failed commandment-keeping and repeated animal sacrifices seeking more and more forgiveness. Jesus offered Himself one time to free people from that ministry of condemnation which could only attempt to make the flesh look polished. But the flesh profits nothing and the works were dead. Jesus ushered in a better covenant where His blood sealed the deal—and it all began after His earthly ministry with His death.

Eternal redemption. Eternal Spirit. He did it all.

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832. Things Seldom Heard in Church: The 10 Commandments Not Written on Our Hearts

November 7, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In the 8th chapter of Hebrews, the writer was looking back at a prophetic statement from the book of Jeremiah. He was explaining how the previous covenant containing the law was not the same as the New Covenant which was established by Jesus, our new High Priest. God declared to Jeremiah the New would not be like the Old when it was given to Israel at the time they were delivered from Egypt!

When God spoke about His laws being put in our minds and written upon our hearts in this better covenant, the assumption by many church folks is that this is a reference to the Ten Commandments. But why would God want to write something on the hearts of His people which brought condemnation, resulted in sin increasing, and wasn’t based upon faith? In the previous chapter, the writer had just declared that old ministry as one that became nullified or cancelled because it was weak and unprofitable, unable to bring a required spiritual perfection. Our hearts now contain and reflect something new and better than a law of sin and death—it’s “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” It’s based upon the ministry of God’s Spirit in us, the gift of righteousness, faith, love and liberty.

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831. Things Seldom Heard in Church: We Don’t Love God Because Law Commands Us

October 31, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Continuing from last week’s thread … in John’s first epistle, he explains the love of God from the perspective of the New Covenant. This also connects with our love for Him and for others. Jesus was asked what the greatest commandments were under the law (from the first covenant given to Israel). Jesus answered with this from Matthew 12: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Nobody has ever achieved being able to follow those commandments which had the entire law wrapped up in them. This is quite different from what John stated, where the truth revealed that it wasn’t that we loved God, but He loved us. As we begin to receive and understand the fullness of this perfect love, it allows us to freely love God apart from the commandment—because we want to do so—and that love which abides in us also enables us to love others in the same way God loves us. Perfect love casts out fear and provides us with confidence in the day of judgement. It’s better than depending on your own inconsistent strength and abilities which always leave people falling short.

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830. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Keeping Commandments – New Covenant Style

October 24, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

This week, we look at a couple of verses—from 1 John chapter 2—that the legalistic mindset will focus upon outside the context of the New Covenant. It’s a perspective based upon a mixture of law and grace which comes from sources who believe “maintaining” salvation involves the working of our own efforts instead of the work of Christ alone. They’ll pitch salvation as a gift apart from works, but then try to sell you an extended warranty, suggesting you can forfeit so great a salvation based upon your actions. It’s nothing but complicated double-speak.

John writes about keeping commandments, but he isn’t very specific in listing them out. Covenant clashers would try to have us believe he is referring to the Ten Commandments and may selectively throw in a few extras for good measure. If John was encouraging believers in Christ to embrace a stone tablet ministry of commandments, then he not only contradicted the Apostle Paul, but also would have contradicted himself in this very same letter. Peter and Paul stated the commandments which came through Moses were burdensome and unbearable. Jesus said the same thing. But John said the commandments he was referring to are not burdensome. Either John disagreed with them … or (and let’s go with this) he is referring to something different as it relates to the New Covenant.

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765. Under Law, Sin Increased – But Grace Abounded More

July 26, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Hollow religion will try to make the gospel about you and your actions, whether good or bad. They will teach an inconsistent doctrine of abiding by a modernized version of the Mosaic law and other rules and obligations, while being pretty clueless about the details of what the old law says.

The good news is meant to be centered upon Jesus and His completed work, having fulfilled the law on our behalf. As Romans 5 explains, sin entered the world through Adam and it increased under the law given to Israel. But where sin increased, grace super-abounded all the more. Sin is not stronger than the blood of Jesus.

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764. Inheriting Eternal Life: Jesus Said to Keep the Law?

July 19, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

As believers in Christ, we are not under any of the law which was contained the Old Covenant. And yet, Jesus taught it frequently. When this occurred, who was Jesus speaking to and what was His purpose? Of course, it was ministered not to future believers—but to those (Jewish people) who were under the Mosaic law, and it was meant to bring them to the end of their pursuit of (self) righteousness by the works of that law.

So when someone would ask Jesus “what must they do” to inherit eternal life, He answered their law-based question with a law-based answer in order to bring them to the end of themselves. When looking forward to the New Covenant, He revealed life would be received by believing in Him.

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763. The Essence of Hypocrisy: Try to Keep the Law

July 12, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Church corporations have generally made it their mission to erroneously mix two very different covenants. One came to an end and the other Jesus established by replacing the Old one with a something New, established upon better promises.

Those who desire to keep one foot in the “land of the legal” have coached the sheep to do their best to follow the Ten Commandments and other selective parts of the law which came to Israel through Moses. This is one of the most hypocritical and misunderstood pieces of legalistic legislation to ever hit the church. We point out just a few of the inconsistencies.

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762. Stone Tablet Commandments Can’t Bring Life or Righteousness

July 5, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

David thought life could be found in the law which was introduced to the nation of Israel through Moses. Before he came to faith in Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul said he thought the same thing and then came to find out “the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.” So how is it the church culture has gotten this so backwards?

Why have religious institutions lured Gentiles into a ministry referred to as one that brings bondage while being unable to bring life or righteousness? The Ten Commandments were part of a law containing 603 other commands, rules and statutes. This is the very bundled requirement that Jesus came to deliver the Jewish people from … not to bring Gentiles into.

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761. The Ten Commandments No Longer Have Glory

June 28, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Although empty religion has made it sound as though the Ten Commandments and some other selections from the expired law are meant to be applied to the Christian life, we find quite the opposite in New Covenant writings. The Apostle Paul reveals this was a ministry that came to an end and no longer has any glory at all. Why? Because of the ministry of the Spirit, which has a glory that surpassed it.

His fruit now abides in us because He abides in us … and we bear what He produces. This is a more powerful and liberating way to live than to pursue the flesh by trying to keep stone-tablet commandments that leave people in lifeless condemnation. For those who think the top 10 were somehow separate from the rest of the law and are meant to still apply, we address the hypocrisy of this.

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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.