blood of Jesus

668. What Can Separate You from God?

September 9, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

As a believer in Jesus Christ, it’s possible you’ve heard a list of things that can separate you from God. At the very least, you’ve been told that fellowship with God can be broken, hindered or put on hold based upon certain behavior malfunctions on your part. In some corners of Christianity, it becomes a rather long list of things you should work at avoiding, along with another list you should put effort into doing. If you have “fallen out of fellowship” with God, religion might have you reaching for a rededication prayer while seeking a renewed forgiveness from God, as if Jesus had just returned to perform another sacrifice.

For those with a spiritual separation anxiety, we have edited the list of things that can cause some type of a separation between you and God (see below):

Nothing.

655. Dead to Sin, Alive to Righteousness

June 10, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Behavior is important. Avoiding sin is profitable. But these are not the components that represent who you are as a believer in Jesus Christ. Your spiritual identity is based purely on a work that God did in you by faith as a result of the finished work of Jesus at the cross. Many new believers are told to repent from sin, stop sinning, work at avoiding sin, etc. — and if they blow it, they should seek a renewed forgiveness from God, and work at trying harder to become more holy and sanctified. This ends up pulling people into the very thing they are trying to avoid. If we would start letting believers know they are truly declared to be the righteousness of God and have been forgiven by blood that was shed once and for all, they can begin to realize and experience God's unconditional love. This unlimited supply of eternal grace provides the ability for us to be empowered in a way that religious rules and commandments cannot.

639. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 10): The Law Was Never Meant to Be the Answer

February 18, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Wrapping up this portion of the Summarizing the Scripture series, we take a look at the some common misconceptions about the law of commandments, and contrast it with what God accomplished for us through a finished work in Christ. Christians will be told by the religious authorities that the world will be a better place if everyone would just try harder to keep the Ten Commandments, along with a few other hand-picked rules and statutes. Is this really true? We’ll address this with an answer that might surprise many.

We’ve Got Nothing Left To Prove

July 19, 2017 by Sandra

When I started my worship playlist this morning during my walk the first song that popped up was He Knows My Name by Francesca Battistelli. What a great way to start my walk with these lyrics: I don’t need my name in lights I’m famous in my Father’s eyes Make no mistake He knows my name I’m not […]

The post We’ve Got Nothing Left To Prove appeared first on Sandra McCollom.

580. Revisiting “If We Sin Willfully…”

January 1, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

As we talked about a couple of podcasts ago, the writer of Hebrews was telling his readers that the animal sacrifices through the law came to an end, so they were not to go down that path anymore for forgiveness of sins, but rather they were to believe in the one sacrifice of Jesus that was sufficient for all sins for all time. If they reject the one perfect sacrifice of Jesus, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. That’s really what Hebrews 10:26 is saying.

During a discussion on social media, a statement was made by someone that the sacrifice of Jesus "does NOT cover willful sinning." That is quite a breathtaking statement - and quite sad - and it misses the entire point of the book of Hebrews. So this week we dig a little more into this controversial passage in Hebrews. We also take a look at other scriptures about sin being taken away, that have no such added conditions regarding "willful" sin. Many scriptures plainly say that we are saved by grace, through faith (by believing), and they do not add any such caveat that this isn’t true if we sin willfully. In fact, many scriptures highlight the fact that we have the forgiveness, remission and removal of ALL sin through the blood of Jesus. The book of Hebrews was not written to scare believers, but rather to assure them of the sufficiency of the blood of Jesus. The warning about "willful sin" was not directed at people who sin, but rather at people who reject the sacrifice of Jesus as the only sacrifice that takes away all their sin.

578. If We Sin Willfully…

December 18, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

A verse that is often misunderstood and used ruthlessly by religious legalists within Christianity, is found in Hebrews 10:26: “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries.” Individual verses without context will lead us into a place of misunderstanding. Various teachings from this passage have led people into a place of fear and uncertainty. Our program this week will bring a reminder of that “blessed assurance” so many have been missing.

575. How to Attain Perfection (the one-step plan)

November 27, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

God has a requirement for all of us: Be perfect as He is perfect. How do we go about this seemingly monumental task? It hardly sounds like a good news gospel if we're going to apply our own works and efforts, because we'll never meet that standard. However, there is another way for us to enter into a state of perfection - believe in the work of Jesus Christ. The Jewish people could not arrive at being perfect through trying to keep rules, commandments or offering repeated animal sacrifices; nor could they escape a sin consciousness that brought them more guilt. With one sacrifice of Himself, Jesus brought an eternal perfection… And it looks really good on you!

574. Why God Has Stopped Forgiving

November 20, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness. Jesus died once and He isn’t shedding any more blood. This shows the finality of his work at the cross. He was the perfect lamb of God that would bring an end to the previous covenant of law and repeated sacrifices that provided only a temporary forgiveness and could not remove sin. There is no longer the need to seek God’s forgiveness because He gave His all through Christ. Believe it! It was more than enough.

570. The New Way: “I Will Remember Their Sins No More”

October 23, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The ministry of the law from the Old Covenant given to Israel brought a sin consciousness and a constant reminder of sins. The New Covenant would contrast that, with sin being taken away by the blood of Jesus, so that God would remember sins no more. The old way was made obsolete after the sacrifice of Christ, and would begin to disappear in the lives of new Jewish believers as they would grow in their understanding of this finished work.

542. Repeated Repentance vs. Forever Forgiveness

April 3, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Continuing from last week's discussion about 2 Chronicles 7:14, a passage that was directed at Israelites who were under the law... In that first covenant, they repeatedly found themselves in a position of needing to turn from sin whenever a command was broken. They were continuously seeking the face of God, praying, and offering sacrifices so they could be forgiven again and again, over and over. Contrast that with Christ, who obtained a ministry that is much more excellent than the old way that came through Moses. In this new ministry, forgiveness, justification and sanctification came through what He did by the shedding of His blood, once and for all.

540. Jesus Did More Than Enough

March 20, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Are you busy working to try to establish or maintain acceptance from God? Is your idea of repentance tied into reducing your sin count so your good works will outweigh the bad? Do you find yourself feeling the need to ask God for forgiveness over and over again? Are you in a constant state of wondering where you stand with God? Our conversation this week will be a reminder that the gospel was never meant to be about us and our performance, but is entirely contained in the Person of Jesus Christ.

539. Becoming Christ Conscious Instead of Sin Conscious

March 13, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When we focus on our struggles and problems instead of the answer to them, it can be a frustrating endeavor. Jesus came to release the Israelites from a covenant that kept them in a constant state of sin consciousness. His one-time sacrifice was meant to put an end to this. If we're stuck in a mindset that revolves around trying to avoid sin with the commands of "thou shall not," it will generally cause an increase in sin, resulting in self-condemnation. The alternative is giving up and surrendering to the completed work of Jesus Christ.