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Hard-hearted Religion

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Religion.  The very word evokes negative responses from so many.  Religion has been the cause of wars and disputes for thousands of years.  It has been the source of debate for countless numbers of arguments over which religion is right, which is wrong.  Even within my “religion” of Christianity, there is so much division that

624. Christian Hypocrisy: Keeping Portions of the Law; Throwing Out the Rest

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Chances are pretty good that your church denomination believes the “moral commands” found within the law of the Old Testament are meant to be considered a part of the Christian life. They will also declare other parts of the law have expired and do not apply today… such as animal sacrifices, various ceremonial laws, dietary laws, etc. The inconsistencies become very obvious when the old and new covenants are mixed together like this because the entire point of the entire law—all of it—was that nobody could live up to its perfect standard. Personal or moral improvement is a wonderful thing, but “trying your best” to follow a list of impossible commands will not improve your position with God. This is why all of the law was made to be abolished and obsolete… It’s all based upon God doing what the law could not do. Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf and took the old law out of the way, freeing us from any and all condemnation.



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622. “Are You Saying People Can Sin as Much as They Want?”

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When traditional church doctrine meets pure grace and God’s unconditional love, those who have been embedded with fragments of the Mosaic law that are wrongly mixed into the gospel, will instinctively react with a list of questions something like this:

“Are you saying people can go do whatever they want? Are you saying it’s okay for people to sin as much as they want? Commit adultery? Murder?” (Of course, that’s not what we’re saying).

They will proceed to warn the sheep about this radical doctrine of grace that is a dangerous, false teaching in the form of heresy, because of our proclamation that believers in Christ are not under the law that came through the Old Covenant. The law demanded that all of it be kept. Other than Jesus, nobody has ever accomplished this before. Therefore, He fulfilled it on our behalf. Just because we’re not trying to keep the law, doesn’t mean that we’re breaking it. The rule book can’t bring us life, righteousness, nor God’s approval. Jesus didn’t come with a new set of rules and statutes that would end up making us better, He came to give us His life and a new heart that has made us like Him.



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622. “Are You Saying People Can Sin as Much as They Want?”

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When traditional church doctrine meets pure grace and God’s unconditional love, those who have been embedded with fragments of the Mosaic law that are wrongly mixed into the gospel, will instinctively react with a list of questions something like this:

“Are you saying people can go do whatever they want? Are you saying it’s okay for people to sin as much as they want? Commit adultery? Murder?” (Of course, that’s not what we’re saying).

They will proceed to warn the sheep about this radical doctrine of grace that is a dangerous, false teaching in the form of heresy, because of our proclamation that believers in Christ are not under the law that came through the Old Covenant. The law demanded that all of it be kept. Other than Jesus, nobody has ever accomplished this before. Therefore, He fulfilled it on our behalf. Just because we’re not trying to keep the law, doesn’t mean that we’re breaking it. The rule book can’t bring us life, righteousness, nor God’s approval. Jesus didn’t come with a new set of rules and statutes that would end up making us better, He came to give us His life and a new heart that has made us like Him.



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621. The Mosaic Law: Given to Israel Only, Not Gentiles

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When God gave Israel the law through Moses, and the Jews agreed to keep those many commands established in the Old Covenant, it was meant only for that race and nation who would be called God’s people at that time. The law had never been given to us Gentiles, who were considered unclean, far off and separated from God without a covenant. After the New Covenant was established by Jesus Christ, Gentiles were coming to God by faith in Jesus, and the leadership from the church in Jerusalem agreed that Gentiles would not need to be troubled or burdened with what their fathers had been unable to bear under that heavy and impossible law. Plus, the Jews who had been under the law were made free from it, and became dead to it as they married another and became the bride of Christ. You can’t live by something that doesn’t give life. That’s why the old way had to be removed completely and replaced with a better covenant.



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620. The Law Package: No Changes Allowed

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The predominant mindset within most Christian churches is that parts of the law that came through Moses are to be applied to believers today, while other parts have been eliminated after the cross of Jesus Christ. This demonstrates the widespread ignorance about that law under the Old Covenant, because God had declared that as long as the law was in effect, there would be no changes to it. Nothing could be added and nothing could be taken away from it. The hundreds of commands, rules and statutes were bundled together in one package known as “the Law.” Many ingredients; but one package that was never meant to be broken up and applied in many different ways, based upon personal perspectives or man-made doctrines. This is why people needed to be delivered from the entire law package, and why we are declared to be dead to the law under a new and better covenant.



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How does Faith Establish the Law? (Romans 3:31)

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The Bible makes some interesting comparisons between faith and law: We are justified by FAITH, not by LAW (Rom 3:28, Gal 2:16) Abraham and his heirs are blessed on account of FAITH, not LAW (Rom 4:13-14) You can live by FAITH or LAW (Rom 4:14) No one who relies on the LAW is justified for the righteous live by FAITH (Gal 3:11) The LAW is not of FAITH (Gal 3:12) Summary: You can live by faith or law but not both. It’s one or the other. But what about this… Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. (Rom 3:31, KJV) The scriptures declare again and again that faith has nothing in common with law, and living under one nullifies the other. So what is Paul saying here? Is he contradicting himself when he says faith establishes the law? Here’s the same verse in another translation: Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Rom 3:31 , NASB) Like most grace preachers, Paul was slandered as someone who spoke against the law. He was labeled with the dreaded A-word: antinomian, meaning [...]

610. Gentiles: Never Given the Law; Jews: Do the Law or Die (No Doer Found)

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It comes as a surprise to many Christians who have spent years in church - those of us non-Jewish people (Gentiles) were never considered to be under the Mosaic law. Never. None of it. Not the dietary rules, the sacrificial statutes, or the moral laws. Only Israel had been placed under that law in the Old Covenant, before the sacrifice of Christ. The law brought a curse for those under it - they were required to do it… all of it. Under that covenant, only a doer of the law could be justified. The problem? Nobody had ever done it until Jesus came along and fulfilled the law on our behalf. A New Covenant would be established, where righteousness would be received through faith, apart from the works of the law. Gentiles who were without the law and had no covenant would be gifted with the invitation to enter into this everlasting covenant of life. We died with Christ and have been raised to walk in newness of life.



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606. Faithfulness

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As believers in Jesus Christ, it’s natural to have a desire to be faithful. But our ability to perform may not always be as consistent as we desire. Whereas the Old Covenant was centered on the faithfulness and obedience of the people and their (in)ability to abide by all the commandments and rules under the law, the focus of New Covenant is highlighted in the faithfulness of God. This faithfulness is centered on the obedience of Christ, which will never fail. He is the completion of our forgiveness, our hope, our life, righteousness, sanctification, and so much more. Even when our faithfulness towards Him waivers, His dedication and faithfulness towards us remains forever.



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Law Verses Grace – Which One Gets You Further?

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It’s not until we come to the end of ourself and our own self effort that we begin to see that only in and through Jesus (the person of grace) can we live a life of holiness! In fact, when we determine to live only in and through Him we will naturally find ourselves obeying […]

The post Law Verses Grace – Which One Gets You Further? appeared first on Sandra McCollom.

The Three Uses of the Law

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This is a pretty special year. If you hadn’t heard, 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The key date if you’re thinking of popping champagne is 31 October. It was on that date in 1517 that Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints’ Church in Wittenberg. Actually, forget the champagne. Get a hammer and nail something to the door of your church. Your pastor will totally get the symbolism. The Reformation that Luther and others started led to a whole new way of thinking about God, church, and the proper use of the law. In the Formula of Concord, the Lutheran Statement of Faith, the three uses of the law are summarized as follows: The Law was given to men so that (1) men may have knowledge of their sins, (2) wild men might be restrained, and (3) after they are regenerate they might have a fixed rule to live by. According to the Reformers, the law is a mirror, a restraint, and a guide. Since this is the quincentennial anniversary of the Reformation, it is a good occasion for us to discuss these three purposes. Is the law a mirror? Yes. [...]

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A Different Kind Of New Year’s Resolution

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I’ve met some people who really like to make New Year’s Resolutions and some who say, “Nah, that’s not really my thing.” With this being the last day of the year, I was thinking this morning about how my New Year’s Resolution list would look different now, under grace, from how it used to look. […]

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