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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

990. Faith Counted as Righteousness: God Justifies the One Who Does Not Work – But Believes

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When it comes to righteousness as a gift from God, the "faith without works" crowd struggles to explain their inconsistent approach. Some will appear to speak words about God's grace while later their lips leak legalism because the mindsets they have been clinging to are based upon false assumptions that have been hammered into them by the church Doctrine Department. If one who believes in Christ doesn't have works, does this mean their faith is phony and not genuine? The Apostle Paul didn't seem to think so.

In addition, they can never tell you specifically what precise works are required and how much. But James could ... because he was speaking about a specific blueprint—the works of the Mosaic law. It was the very thing Paul declared had been wiped out and deemed to be obsolete under a new and better covenant. Bearing the fruit of the Spirit is a good thing, but don't be deceived into thinking you are the one producing it. So which is it? It is important to come to the knowledge of the truth as to whether salvation is truly by grace through faith in what God has done through Christ ... or if it is only for the person who has faith and then has works to show for it.



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989. Why Do People Gravitate Towards Religious Rules and Law?

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Paul wrote to the Galatians with the motivation to help turn them back to grace and the ministry of the Spirit that he had introduced to them. They had come freely to Christ by faith alone and received the Spirit apart from works ... but they would later be solicited by believing Jews who warned them they also needed certain applications from the law of Moses—starting with circumcision.

It got us thinking about a question that may be difficult to answer: What if they had never been approached by the Judaizers who were baiting them into adding law/works to faith? Would they have continued on the path of grace by faith alone as Paul had ministered to them? Or would they have drifted towards feeling the need to establish or maintain their own righteousness without any outside persuasion? In other words, as humans, are elements of legalism and fleshed-based works unavoidable in this world?

As God's creation, we are faced with many choices. Ask yourself, do you believe confidently in what God did through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, to bring you life and a righteous perfection ... or do you feel it was deficient and uncertain enough for you to work at adding something to it? It may even be something related to church ceremonial practices. Will we listen to the witness from within or the wide array of audible voices from outside?



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Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

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If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

Is “Love your Neighbor” Part of the New Covenant?

by

If there is one book that highlights the dangers of mixing grace with law it’s Galatians. Which is why I am always surprised when people use Galatians to mix grace with law.

You wouldn’t think it was possible. It’s like opening a cookbook and finding recipes for poison. It’s like finding yeast in your matzah.

A little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough. (Galatians 5:9)

While writing my commentary on Galatians, I did a lot of reading. I was surprised at how often I found people trying to sneak a little law into Paul’s masterpiece on grace. It usually happened with this verse:

For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Galatians 5:14)

You have to admit, this is an unusual verse to find smack-bang in the middle of Galatians. Quoting law in a book warning about the dangers of the law is like finding a rock in a box of chocolates. It should lead us to ask questions, like this:

Is love your neighbor part of the new covenant?

No. This is from the Law of Moses (Lev. 19:18). It is 100 percent old covenant. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad law. “Love your neighbor” is a good law, an excellent law. But it is still a law, which means it has no relevance to your walk with God.

For you are not under law… (Romans 6:14)

Yet people say things like, “we must keep the law of love” and “God commands us to love our neighbors.” Hmm. The Jews having been trying to keep the “love your neighbor” law for 3,500 years. How’s that working out?

(I’m not picking on the Jews. We all fall short of God’s standards.)

If you think keeping the “law of love” is going to make you righteous and holy, or a better person, you are as foolish as the Galatians. And if you tell others that God commands them to love their neighbors, you are putting law on them. You are pushing them away from grace and promoting dead works.

Which begs the question:

Why does Paul quote an old covenant law in a new covenant letter?

Paul is not preaching a law you must obey. Read the verse in context with the one that follows and you will see that he is using the law to expose the hypocrisy of the law teachers. “Your hostility towards me and your attacks on each other prove that you are unable to keep the law that you are preaching.” It’s a devastating body blow to the legalists.

Like all the Laws of Moses, the “love your neighbor” law is not a law we can keep, and Paul is not suggesting we try. He is warning the Galatians, “These law preachers are phonies. Don’t listen to them.”

But didn’t Jesus quote this law?

Jesus quoted the “love your neighbor” law on numerous occasions and most of the time he did so in an old covenant context. For instance, when asked about the greatest commands in the law, he said “Love God and love your neighbor” (Matt. 22:36–40). If you were to rank the Laws of Moses, these are the top two. But these laws have no relevance in the new creation.

“Love your neighbor” is a great law, and how wonderful the world would be if we could love our neighbors. But history proves that we are incapable of loving our neighbors. Thankfully there is a better law called the Law of Christ. See if you can spot the difference:

Law of Moses: Love your neighbor
Law of Christ: Love one another as I have loved you

Jesus called his commandment a new commandment, meaning it was a new kind of commandment (John 13:34). The old commandment relied on your flesh – which is why we can’t keep it – but the new commandment is powered by God’s grace.

Do you see? The Law of Moses demands that you keep the law day in, day out, even if your neighbors are not the nicest people. But the Law of Christ only asks that you receive Christ’s love. Receive, receive, receive.

Christ loves us first, and as we receive from the abundance his love and grace, we find ourselves able to love others, our neighbors, even our enemies.

All this is to the glory of his grace.

—

The latest installment in my grace-based series on the Parables of Jesus, “The Parable of the Minas”, has just been released on Patreon. It is also available on E2R’s Supporters’ Page.

981. Work Harder and Run Faster (Or Try Resting)

by

Jewish people under the Old Covenant dedicated themselves to trying to follow a written blueprint (law) they believed would bring them to a place of God's acceptance. First, they felt favored and privileged as people who were born under the banner of such a covenant made between God and Israel. Now all they had to do was to actually do what the law said. They convinced themselves they were doing it—but they were really just working at establishing their own (self) righteousness, while being ignorant of God's righteousness.

Unfortunately, that failed blueprint is a considerable part of how many churches approach the idea of Christianity. Two different covenants get twisted and tangled leaving people frantically running a race in the wrong direction ... where the ditch seems to be the final destination.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

981. Work Harder and Run Faster (Or Try Resting)

by

Jewish people under the Old Covenant dedicated themselves to trying to follow a written blueprint (law) they believed would bring them to a place of God's acceptance. First, they felt favored and privileged as people who were born under the banner of such a covenant made between God and Israel. Now all they had to do was to actually do what the law said. They convinced themselves they were doing it—but they were really just working at establishing their own (self) righteousness, while being ignorant of God's righteousness.

Unfortunately, that failed blueprint is a considerable part of how many churches approach the idea of Christianity. Two different covenants get twisted and tangled leaving people frantically running a race in the wrong direction ... where the ditch seems to be the final destination.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

981. Work Harder and Run Faster (Or Try Resting)

by

Jewish people under the Old Covenant dedicated themselves to trying to follow a written blueprint (law) they believed would bring them to a place of God's acceptance. First, they felt favored and privileged as people who were born under the banner of such a covenant made between God and Israel. Now all they had to do was to actually do what the law said. They convinced themselves they were doing it—but they were really just working at establishing their own (self) righteousness, while being ignorant of God's righteousness.

Unfortunately, that failed blueprint is a considerable part of how many churches approach the idea of Christianity. Two different covenants get twisted and tangled leaving people frantically running a race in the wrong direction ... where the ditch seems to be the final destination.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

981. Work Harder and Run Faster (Or Try Resting)

by

Jewish people under the Old Covenant dedicated themselves to trying to follow a written blueprint (law) they believed would bring them to a place of God's acceptance. First, they felt favored and privileged as people who were born under the banner of such a covenant made between God and Israel. Now all they had to do was to actually do what the law said. They convinced themselves they were doing it—but they were really just working at establishing their own (self) righteousness, while being ignorant of God's righteousness.

Unfortunately, that failed blueprint is a considerable part of how many churches approach the idea of Christianity. Two different covenants get twisted and tangled leaving people frantically running a race in the wrong direction ... where the ditch seems to be the final destination.



Download  GIGBite  YouTube

Get the book

980. The Futility of Pursuing Righteousness By “Doing”

by

Paul explains in Romans 9 that under the Mosaic law contained within the Old Covenant, the Jewish people were attempting to pursue righteousness through their works and actions. They believed the commandments written and engraved on tablets of stone would get them to this destination. But they failed. They were never able to attain or arrive at the "coveted" place of right-standing with God through such a law because faith wasn't in the mix.

On the other hand, Gentiles—non-Jewish people—who never had that law of commandments ... and had no covenant with the living God ... and were not chasing after righteousness ... they somehow attained it. This happened apart from the stone tablets and not by anything they did. How is this possible? The short answer is by the grace of God. Of course, a short answer wouldn't make for a very good podcast, so we're taking a dive into this living thing to help grow in our understanding of a simple but profound gospel.



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