law – Page 14

551. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 8): Pluck out Your Eye, Cut off Your Hand

June 5, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

As Jesus continues ministering the law to His Jewish disciples during the Sermon on the Mount, we find some peculiar statements that seemed to make keeping the law something that was impossible. People often wonder just exactly what Jesus meant by cutting off body parts in order to avoid sin. It's not rocket science. Jesus meant what he said as He ministered the Old Covenant law in order to help them realize the hopeless position they were under at that time.

550. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 7): Teach the Law and Do It?

May 29, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus had a purpose of revealing to His disciples what the law truly required in order to attain righteousness. He was ultimately teaching that it would be futile for them to maintain the standard it demanded in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. Religion will try to make this out to be a new Christian teaching that Jesus was laying before His Jewish audience, but what He was actually laying down was the law. Jesus would begin to show they needed to find a different way other than through the works of that law.

549. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 6): Unsalty People & Fulfilling the Law

May 22, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was having an Old Covenant conversation with Israelites. They had been considered the salt of the earth. Those under that first covenant understood the connection between salt and the covenant, also known as the covenant of salt. In that former covenant, God found fault with the salt (the people) and salt with no flavor is good for nothing except to be thrown out. If this doesn't sound like good news, it's because it is not the gospel. By God's grace, it would be the covenant that would be tossed out instead of the people. Jesus went on to talk about the law needing to be fulfilled. He would accomplish this in us through His finished work, but first He is getting ready to show his Jewish audience how hopeless their situation was in their current state under that law.

548. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 5): The Beatitudes

May 15, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When ministers teach a combination of the law that came through Moses and blend it with the gospel of Jesus Christ as a Christian application, it will leave people confused and often condemned. Teaching those old commandments as a way of life does not reduce sin but leads to an increase in sin. Israel was trapped in a system that could not bring life or righteousness. They needed to be shown their inability to abide by the law and be redirected to something better. Jesus is about to teach the law in a way they had never heard it before during the Sermon on the Mount. He begins with something known as the Beatitudes. These were not given to get people to try harder. These are blessings that would eventually be fulfilled by Jesus.

547. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 4): The Law Increased Sin

May 8, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Part 4 in the series lays more foundation about the law and the Old Covenant and the many differences between the New Covenant which began after the death of Jesus. Most Christian teachings have assumed the commandments were meant to decrease sin, but we find just the opposite is true. It was designed to bring hopelessness and despair. Since fault was found with the people for not fulfilling their end of the agreement, God's grace and mercy would allow for the covenant to end, instead of punishing them for their sins.

546. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 3): The Law Shut Boasting Mouths

May 1, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

This is the third in a series of why Jesus taught two covenants, this week looking at some specifics within the Mosaic law from the first covenant. That was a covenant made with Israel and those of us who are Gentiles were not included. Ultimately the law brought a curse because it required all of it be kept perfectly. The New Covenant would not be anything like the Old. The first covenant resulted in death and condemnation, whereas under the second covenant, we've been removed from that and placed into life. The law was meant to shut mouths, stop boasting, and bring people to the end of themselves.

545. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 2): From Adam to Moses

April 24, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Our second in the series of why Jesus taught two covenants lays a further foundation on why Adam fell and how the covenant began through Moses with the Jewish people. A covenant must be agreed upon by at least two parties, so the law within the first covenant was not forced upon Israel, but they agreed to do all of it as required. They declared with pride it would be righteousness for them. They would have been better off humbling themselves by saying they couldn't do it. They chose to trust in themselves and their ability.

544. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 1): The Law Tree

April 17, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

We begin a series on why Jesus ministered both the Old Covenant and the New. Before we get to some of the teachings of Jesus, we'll lay a foundation that provides reasons why Jesus did this. We'll start at the beginning with Adam in the garden being faced with an element of law already at work when he was commanded not to eat from The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. It's the tree of law, and Adam's motivation on why he chose to eat from it may sound familiar in the lives of many Christians today.

537. Resting in the Finished Work

February 28, 2016 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

For those who do not understand that Jesus would minister two completely different covenants, it can seem as though He had a split personality. At times He taught the Jews requirements based on a law of works and at other times He demonstrated grace, mercy and compassion. These were often significant contrasts. People were ministered the choice of working endlessly in a system that offered no solution...Or realizing they were burdened and heavy laden and could come to Jesus in order to find rest. The latter is what Jesus wanted them to learn from Him. Whereas the law was a yoke that the Jewish people were unable to bear, Jesus' yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Podcast from the Past: Rules or Relationship?

December 27, 2015 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Mike and Joel are taking a break from creating a fresh podcast this Christmas week, but why not take a trip to the past with us! We're going back a few years to Podcast #149, entitled "Rules or Relationship?" This podcast originally aired on July 27, 2008. We hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas, and we're looking forward to more grace talk in 2016!

We'll be back next week, taking a look at the inheritance we have in Christ.

527. Is the Law An Expression of God’s Character?

December 13, 2015 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

It has often been taught that the law that came through Moses is an expression of God's character. We frequently begin to assume such phrases are actually found in the Bible. If this is an accurate statement, we should ask the question as to whether God went through a change or if his character went through some sort of transformation. Of course, we know God doesn't change, but with the New Covenant replacing the first one, we find there was a change of priesthood (Jesus Christ) and therefore a change of law occurred. Although the law was a reflection of God's perfection, we should avoid comparing it with God himself and realize it was Jesus (grace) who was manifested as an expression of God's character.

526. Is God Enabling Us to Keep the Commandments?

December 6, 2015 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Even after the cross where we abide in Christ and have entered into a new and better covenant, the religious crowd will advocate that Jesus now empowers us to fulfill the law. They claim the law from the former covenant did not end and the commandments within that law are still meant to be followed by Christian believers in order to acquire or maintain life, righteousness and sanctification. The question that never gets fully addressed is this: Exactly which of the 613 laws are to be followed and which are no longer meant to be applied? We discuss the inconsistencies with this type of mixed covenant teaching.