GraceUncovered

Authors home articles Gracelife

GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

807. The 800 Club: Looking Back – Avoiding the Mixture of Two Different Covenants

by

As we reflect on surpassing 800 weekly podcasts, a primary theme over the years has been trying to help others to see the Bible in the context of two different covenants—the Old and the New. Being mindful of this as we turn the pages will help us to avoid getting confused about what the gospel is and what it is not. This can apply to the books of the law, the Psalms, prophets, the teachings of Jesus, and the writings from the apostles ... pretty much anything we read.

The New Covenant began after the death of Jesus. It was unlike the covenant God made with Israel when they came out of Egypt during the days of Moses. The Old way resulted with sin increasing, and brought guilt and reminded people of sins. It was weak and useless because forgiveness was never complete. The entire package needed to come to an end and be replaced with something new and better. While empty religion has tried to present a “revised” covenant where the Old and New are combined, Jesus fulfilled the law contained within the Old Covenant, and that finished work has brought to a place of grace and perfect love from God. Jesus became the guarantee, because He is the covenant.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

806. The 800 Club: Looking Back – Sanctification – It Is Finished

by

Since our 800th program, we’ve been looking back at some of our most essential conversations when it comes to being established in the knowledge of the truth. One piece of good news that seems to elude religious folks is that our sanctification is not a work in progress, but was completed by Jesus Christ and gifted to us as a new creation in Him. Works-based religion yearns to try and make the gospel about what we do, thereby putting us in the spotlight instead of where it belongs—on the finished work of Jesus. They will dress it up to appear humble enough by saying salvation is an instant gift, but sanctification is a gradual process which we get to participate in through self-improvement while establishing some sort of moral high ground.

God makes it clear there is no boasting when it comes to our sanctification because it’s something Jesus already took care of for us, leaving no doubt that we’ve already been declared holy and set apart. Israel wasn’t able to achieve this by works and commandments … and we can’t either. We can rest from that effort and believe Jesus did enough to complete the job. Being sanctified isn’t something we’re trying to become, it’s who we are and part of our new identity in Him.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

805. The 800 Club: Looking Back – Forgiveness by Blood – Not Repeated Confessions

by

As we reflect on the benchmark of more than 800 podcasts, one of the topics we’ve spent some time on is the misunderstanding of thinking believers need to continuously ask God for a renewed forgiveness. The concept comes from a single Bible verse that often misses the context surrounding it. Thinking that one needs to keeping seeking more forgiveness for each individual sin by repeatedly asking God to extend another round again—it diminishes the power of the blood of Jesus and His finished work. And you won’t be able to confess every single wrongful thought and action, leaving you to wonder where you stand with God and whether you are truly forgiven. The gospel reveals that we already are forgiven in Him by the blood of Jesus, through one sacrifice. This brings us into a place of peace and rest, and frees us to forgive others.

We've talked about this many times in the past here on the Growing in Grace podcast.  Here are a couple of those times, if you want to explore this a little more:

A six-part series on 1 John 1:9 begins here (click on Newer Post at the bottom left of each post to get to each of the six parts), and a single episode that we did as part of a series called "Born Identity" can be found here.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

804. The 800 Club: Looking Back – Embracing Hyper-Grace

by

We’re celebrating over 800 podcasts, looking back at some of our key discussions from over the years. Several years ago, we were listed in a book, along with other grace ministries, and were accused of “running from the words of Jesus.” Of course, we’ve always embraced the red letters, but there is a context of two different covenants to consider. Hyper-grace accusers are established in a legalistic mindset which tries to combine two very different covenants into one as they tout the need for a “balance” between law and grace.

So just exactly what does hyper-grace mean? It’s not what the religious business is trying to sell you, and Paul actually provides an explanation of God’s unlimited and overflowing grace in the book of Romans—where he declared that grace is indeed hyper. Don’t buy into the myths and fables that grace gives a license to sin or is considered to be cheap grace when there is “too much” of it. It is actually a legalistic, mixed-covenant approach which cheapens the law and will “license” people to keep sinning … but sinful behavior is never sourced or encouraged by the grace of God—quite the opposite. 

During this episode we mentioned a past three-part series entitled The Dangers of Mixing Law and Grace.  You can listen to the series here:
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

803. The 800 Club: Looking Back – “Avoiding Fruit From The Morality Tree”

by

Adam could eat from any tree he pleased, except one. God warned him to stay away from one tree in order to avoid death and the condemnation that would come with it. It wasn’t just a tree of good and evil, but it was called The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It represented the law that would later come through Moses—because the knowledge of sin would come through the law (Romans 3:20). It’s a place where humankind attempts to establish their own righteousness, based upon their own efforts—instead of resting and believing in who God already created them to be.

Many well-meaning believers in Christ are eating from the same tree today, perhaps having the same good intentions as Adam. Today, religion declares: “We should try to become more like Jesus!” This is the result when one fails to comprehend their identity acquired/inherited from the life of God. We’re celebrating over 800 podcasts, looking back at some of our key discussions from over the years.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

802. The 800 Club: Looking Back – We Have No Relationship With the Mosaic Law

by

We continue to celebrate the recording of our 800th program as we look back over some foundational discussions we’ve had over the years. Have you ever had religious folks from church tell you that we’re meant to try to live by the standard of law that God worked out in a covenant with Israel which came through Moses? The problem is … they cheapen the law by eliminating significant chunks or changing it to fit their mold. This was a perfect standard that required perfect results—which nobody has ever accomplished.

The world needed a Savior who could fulfill the law for us and bring us into a better covenant of grace. Perfection would come to us, but not by what we do. Grace isn’t cheap, it cost Jesus everything and it was free for us. But cheap law dominates many man-made church doctrines and leads people away from the gospel.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

801. The 800 Club: Looking Back – The Law-Based Words of Jesus

by

Celebrating our milestone of 800 programs, we’re looking back at some of the vital discussions we’ve had over the years. One of those topics is the many times that Jesus was not providing new information or directives to those who would eventually become Christian believers, but quite often His focus was to minister the Mosaic law to the Jews who were under it. This included the entire Sermon on the Mount. His purpose was not to try to get them to be better law-keepers, but to show them their inability to live by the requirement and reveal the need for a better option—a Savior who could fulfill the law, free them from it, and provide salvation for the world.

We’ve been accused of hyper grace by legalistic “ministries” who have stated we’re running from the words of Jesus. We’re actually running to the words of Jesus but prefer to consider them within the proper context of both the Old and New covenants.

Past podcast episodes that we mentioned in this episode:
•The Non-Christian Teachings of Jesus (Growing in Grace #444​)
•Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (series) (Click for Part 1, then click "Newer Post" for each subsequent episode.)
•Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (YouTube playlist)


Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

800. The 800 Club: Looking Back – Believers Identified as Righteous

by

This week reaches a new milestone for our Growing in Grace podcast with the manifestation of program #800. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be reminiscing about some of the subjects that we feel have been some of the most significant when it comes to understanding the gospel of grace and what the finished work of Christ has provided for us. One of those is the gift of God’s righteousness.

Most church buildings are filled with believers who have assumed they are “sinners saved by grace,” when no such phrase is written within the pages. It’s a fake I.D.! We have inherited certain attributes from God as new creations in Christ and one of those is that we are now identified as righteous—the righteousness of God in Him.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

799. Paul: Saved and Justified by Grace – Not by Good Works (It’s A Spirit Thing)

by

This week we’re wrapping-up our series on Paul’s many exhortations about salvation as a gift by grace through faith, apart from works … and how it contrasted with what James and other Jewish leaders believed during many of those years in the early church. Paul puts the icing on the cake with the gospel in a nutshell when he reminds Titus:

“But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:4-7).

Paul went on to say that foolish discussions about the law should be avoided because it was useless and unprofitable. Why? The law had been put aside and ended with Christ. So, while Paul exhorts believers to good works—which can be profitable—they are a byproduct of our new identity in Christ as righteous and justified people. They contribute nothing towards our justification. A legalistic mindset will suggest that faith without works is dead—but Paul was repeatedly trying to show it’s the other way around—works without faith is dead.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

798. Paul: Beware of Those Desiring to Be Teachers of the Law

by

Back in the early church, one of the greatest challenges Paul and his company faced was to expose those who would promote a different gospel, which often blended the keeping of the Mosaic law with the message of Jesus. At the beginning of his letter to Timothy, Paul instructed him to confront those who were spreading such strange doctrines, as they desired to be teachers of the law, even though they did not understand what they were talking about. He went on to explain the law was never meant for believers in Christ.

As Paul explained to the churches in Galatia, it was a tutor to bring people to faith. Once faith is in place, people are no longer under the tutor (law). The hypocrisy of modern-day law advocates within the Christian church can be easily exposed—as they are selling a weakened version of God’s original, perfect standard, while ignoring the vast majority of what was given to Israel. Partake of either law or grace, but they were never meant to be mixed. One brought death, the other provides life.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

797. Paul: “Work Out Your Salvation” – In Context

by

Those who prefer to smother others with their brand of self-imposed religion will do all they can to quote Bible verses out of context to fit their pre-assumed mindset that works must be added to faith and grace when it comes to justification and salvation. The goal appears to be to put the responsibility of our eternity back on us and what we do instead of Jesus and what He did. It results in fear and uncertainty instead of peace and assurance.

This week we’re in Paul’s letters known as Philippians and Colossians … where Paul continues to communicate a gospel of grace which was very different from the message of a works-based approach the people were needing to break free from.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

Why Do We Need A Personal Revelation of Grace?

by

My friend Michelle asked me a great question the other day after observing someone who doesn’t seem to understand grace yet. “I have a question….the message that God loved you […]

Categories

Recent Posts