justification

982. We Can’t Undo the Work of the Cross (The New Covenant Guarantee Cannot Fail)

September 29, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

We've received some heartbreaking letters over the years from people living in fear and torment. Much of this is because of misinformation being communicated from those claiming to be educated Bible teachers. Some are leading a local church, while others are quite popular nationally, with books, big churches, and TV or radio ministries. Some even prefer to be called "doctor."

There are far too many people today who have been told that their salvation and justification is not guaranteed ... that it is up to them to do things to try and maintain an acceptable position with God. Let's take a closer look at the truly good news found within a better covenant that cannot fail because God swore by Himself with a promise—because He could swear by no one greater. It ushered in a permanent, eternal High Priest.

This assurance allows us to draw near to God through a better hope which is an anchor for the soul, sure and steadfast.

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982. We Can’t Undo the Work of the Cross (The New Covenant Guarantee Cannot Fail)

September 29, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Get the book

982. We Can’t Undo the Work of the Cross (The New Covenant Guarantee Cannot Fail)

September 29, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Get the book

982. We Can’t Undo the Work of the Cross (The New Covenant Guarantee Cannot Fail)

September 29, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Get the book

974. Door #1: Stand Firm in Liberty; Door #2: Entangled in a Yoke of Bondage

August 4, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

As Paul nears the end of his letter to the Galatians, he begins to wrap up his thoughts expressed previously, with a big "therefore" to start chapter 5. The exhortation is centered on standing firm in the freedom which came to them through belief in Christ alone, while avoiding the temptation of doing something to make themselves acceptable to God.

They began their journey in the Spirit until some "bewitchers" came along to steer them into a mixture of the Mosaic law and grace. Paul reveals that attempting to be justified by law and works instead of faith working through love will send them in the opposite direction of grace. This is the good news gospel. If Paul had written and suggested that they need to do more to prove outwardly they are Christians—starting with circumcision and other works of the law—that would have been a burdensome epistle and quite a "different gospel."

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974. Door #1: Stand Firm in Liberty; Door #2: Entangled in a Yoke of Bondage

August 4, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

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966. “Be Doers of the Word” (But What IS the “Word” in This Instance?)

June 9, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

James made a statement in his letter to the twelve Jewish tribes ... believed by most historians to be the earliest writing in the pages known as The New Testament. "Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves" (James 1:22). This passage, along with what follows has a consistent but curious theme of externals, doing and works—and all under the topic of righteousness, salvation and justification.

In program #2 in this brief series, we continue to take a closer look at the entire context of what James said shortly before this (and after). Have you ever stopped and asked yourself what he meant by "the word?" Modern-day believers may skim over it and think that James is telling us to be a doer of the Bible (whatever that means). But in order for these Jewish believers to be able to meet this goal of identifying as a doer, it would have to be something specific that they were already familiar with ... and something they could see, hear and do—dare we say—something being read and heard in synagogues every week on the Sabbath.

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949. Salvation as a Gift – But What About Sanctification?

February 11, 2024 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Even many who are stuck in certain degrees of legalism might agree with our recent discussions about salvation being offered as a gift by grace through faith. But they can't resist the temptation to somehow make works a part of the equation. One way of doing this is to suggest salvation is free and instantaneous (then listen for the "but"), BUT sanctification is a gradual process that we participate in - meaning our behavior and works. Before you know it, well-meaning believers are taking credit for their "sanctification" and thereby are receiving more blessings as they boast about themselves.

It may sound correct to the religious mindset, but let's take a look at how God has already gifted us with sanctification through Jesus Christ, just as He did for salvation. We'll land in a place where our boasting is in Jesus and what He provided for us that we could not do for ourselves.

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836. Saved by Grace Through Faith – Not of Works

December 5, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

We’re jumping into Ephesians this week and landing on a few popular verses in the 2nd chapter. Paul is revealing the good news of salvation which comes by grace through faith, apart from works. It’s right there in black and white, but the legal eagles will still try and convince the hearers that there is a requirement of self-effort to maintain or secure one’s salvation. They would prefer to have you believe the riches of God’s grace is simply too good to be true.

We look at the passage in context and discuss more about the faith vs. works factor when it comes to our salvation and justification. Bottom line? There is nothing for anyone to boast about.

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833. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Rahab “The Believer”

November 14, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Her story is in the book of Joshua in the earlier days of Israel becoming a nation. Many years later, this woman named Rahab was still known as “Rahab the harlot,” as referenced a couple of times by New Testament writers. Like many people today, she was identified by something she did. In this case, it was considered negative, and something looked down upon.

Something that easily gets lost in between this gentile woman’s occupation and her willingness to help Israeli spies … is that she was a believer in the one true God before she ever did anything to help the Israelites. She wasn’t one who was under the law. There was nothing that she (or anybody) could “do” to be accepted by God—she was justified in the same way as all people are … whether Jew or Gentile. She believed in God by faith because of what she heard that He had done.

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815. Ungodly People Justified With Righteousness – Apart From Self-Improvement

July 11, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Christian believers have frequently fallen into the religious trap of thinking they are identified as “just a sinner” who needs to keep working harder at becoming something they think they have not attained yet. The mindset established is that they are “hungering and thirsting” for righteousness while working to make behavioral improvements in order to become “more righteous” and gradually coming to a place where they will (hopefully) make themselves more acceptable to God.

While lifestyle and changes in behavior can be a positive thing in this life, it has nothing to do with who God has declared you to already be as His child—having inherited His very nature and now gaining access to all things pertaining to life and godliness. The idea that we are trying to climb a spiritual ladder of self-improvement is a fairy tale which leaves people in the same hopeless position as those who were under the law in the faulty first covenant. It leads to one of two dead end streets: self-righteous hypocrisy or guilt and condemnation. Jesus did the work so we could live in a place of peace and rest.

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814. The 800 Club: Looking Back – The Clash Between Paul and James

July 4, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The final program in our Looking Back series revisits the subject of the apostles Paul and James … and the question of whether they were in disagreement and had different points of view on the subject of justification. We did a 21-part series on this last year.

The common mindset in the world of Christianity is that Paul and James had to be in agreement in order for the Bible to be considered completely valid. Whether coming from a legalistic perspective or one that is more based upon grace, both camps will arrive at that same assumption while trying to explain conflicting statements from the apostles in a way that fits into their narrative or doctrinal perspective. But both will also need to bend, twist and reshape Bible verses to fit the theology—whatever that happens to be. And although the explanations may vary, the purpose remains the same … convince ourselves that Paul and James could not have possibly been opposed on such an important issue as justification. Is it based upon grace? Works? A combination of both?

However, maybe there is a bigger picture to see. We quickly offer a number of things to consider on this topic—which may once again cause some of us to not only arrive at a different point of view, but to shift our thinking to an entirely different paradigm—which involves backing away from the verses for a view of the bigger picture.

Since this episode is essentially a summary of our original series, you may wish to take some time to go through the original series itself, which took place during Podcasts 778-799 (except episode 786, which was a Christmas episode). Click here for the first episode, and then click "Newer Post" at the end of each post for each subsequent episode. Or you can listen to the entire series via our YouTube playlist.