law – Page 6

827. Things Seldom Heard in Church: Jesus Fulfilled the Law

October 3, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Religious corporations which tout the keeping of the stone tablet commandments have neglected to recognize or minister the New Covenant established by Jesus. Very few church attendees have ever heard that believers in Christ are not under that ministry of commandments which came from God through Moses. But spiritual legal advocates will attempt to argue against this truth by quoting a single Bible verse: “But Jesus said He did not come to destroy or abolish the law but to fulfill!” This is a true statement from Jesus as He was speaking to His disciples early in his earthly ministry.

But what religion has frequently failed to recognize is what was accomplished by Jesus at the cross and resurrection, which allowed for the annulment of that ministry—where Jews were unable to attain righteousness—and Gentiles had no hope or covenant at all. God was able to tear down the barrier of commandments and bring these two groups together in Christ by fulfilling the law perfectly in us.

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How Condemnation Holds Us Back

June 14, 2021 by Sandra

Guilt and condemnation is such a trick of the devil, yet I lived buried under it for decades and I’ve spoken to so many friends on my grace journey this […]

How Condemnation Holds Us Back

June 14, 2021 by Sandra

Guilt and condemnation is such a trick of the devil, yet I lived buried under it for decades and I’ve spoken to so many friends on my grace journey this past 9.5 years who are also in the process of digging themselves out. Many have said, Wow, I never realized that I lived under so […]

802. The 800 Club: Looking Back – We Have No Relationship With the Mosaic Law

April 11, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

We continue to celebrate the recording of our 800th program as we look back over some foundational discussions we’ve had over the years. Have you ever had religious folks from church tell you that we’re meant to try to live by the standard of law that God worked out in a covenant with Israel which came through Moses? The problem is … they cheapen the law by eliminating significant chunks or changing it to fit their mold. This was a perfect standard that required perfect results—which nobody has ever accomplished.

The world needed a Savior who could fulfill the law for us and bring us into a better covenant of grace. Perfection would come to us, but not by what we do. Grace isn’t cheap, it cost Jesus everything and it was free for us. But cheap law dominates many man-made church doctrines and leads people away from the gospel.

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801. The 800 Club: Looking Back – The Law-Based Words of Jesus

April 4, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Celebrating our milestone of 800 programs, we’re looking back at some of the vital discussions we’ve had over the years. One of those topics is the many times that Jesus was not providing new information or directives to those who would eventually become Christian believers, but quite often His focus was to minister the Mosaic law to the Jews who were under it. This included the entire Sermon on the Mount. His purpose was not to try to get them to be better law-keepers, but to show them their inability to live by the requirement and reveal the need for a better option—a Savior who could fulfill the law, free them from it, and provide salvation for the world.

We’ve been accused of hyper grace by legalistic “ministries” who have stated we’re running from the words of Jesus. We’re actually running to the words of Jesus but prefer to consider them within the proper context of both the Old and New covenants.

Past podcast episodes that we mentioned in this episode:
•The Non-Christian Teachings of Jesus (Growing in Grace #444)
•Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (series) (Click for Part 1, then click "Newer Post" for each subsequent episode.)
•Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (YouTube playlist)

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What is the purpose of the Law?

November 2, 2020 by Paul Ellis

Watchman Nee tells a wonderful story about a clumsy servant. As long as the servant sits still and does nothing, his clumsiness is not apparent. But the moment you ask him to serve, trouble begins. He knocks over furniture, drops plates, and makes a frightful mess. In Nee’s parable, we are the clumsy servant because we are all sinners by nature. If God asks nothing of us, all seems to go well, but as soon as he demands something of us, the occasion is provided for a grand display of our sinfulness. (The Normal Christian Life, p.157) The problem is that we think we’re free but we’re not. We’re prisoners of sin but we don’t know it until the law comes along and asks us to do something we cannot do. The law reveals our bondage to sin. I know that all God’s commands are spiritual, but I’m not … I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. (Rom 7:14, MSG) Picture a prisoner living in a small cell. He’s been there so long he’s become institutionalized. His cell is all he knows. He thinks it’s his home and has decorated it with flowers made out of toilet paper. Then [...]

767. “Delight in the Law of the Lord”

August 9, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In the first Psalm, we see one of many writings referring to the law that the writers were under. They make a declaration that one who avoids wickedness finds delight in the law of the Lord, while meditating on it "every once in a while in their free time." Actually no, it states they needed to meditate day and night … and by doing so, they would prosper.

On this side of the cross, we now know that law which Israel was under couldn’t deliver the right-standing with God that they were seeking. Prosperity came only by an element of grace because nobody ever met the requirement of the law. Today, we don’t meditate on that law which has been declared obsolete, weak and useless when it comes to attaining life or sanctification. We aren’t under it and Israel was freed from it! They’ll even try to interchange the word “Word” by substituting it for what the Scripture calls “law.” So be on the lookout when the pulpit tries to twist the context.

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766. God Withholds No Good Thing – If You Walk Uprightly (And Now the Bad News…)

August 2, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Some specific Bible verses seem to be consistently more popular among the Christian sermon circuit. And yet on many occasions, the verses are plucked out of context and contorted in order to appear as though they should be applied to the life of a believer within the New Covenant of Jesus Christ.

But what if the message turns out to be a misapplied myth or fable that isn’t really compatible with the gospel of grace? We look at once such example this week from Psalms 84:11 … where a conditional promise was announced for those under the Mosaic law who walked uprightly. The problem? Nobody ever accomplished it. But God provided another solution that wasn’t based on our walk.

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765. Under Law, Sin Increased – But Grace Abounded More

July 26, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Hollow religion will try to make the gospel about you and your actions, whether good or bad. They will teach an inconsistent doctrine of abiding by a modernized version of the Mosaic law and other rules and obligations, while being pretty clueless about the details of what the old law says.

The good news is meant to be centered upon Jesus and His completed work, having fulfilled the law on our behalf. As Romans 5 explains, sin entered the world through Adam and it increased under the law given to Israel. But where sin increased, grace super-abounded all the more. Sin is not stronger than the blood of Jesus.

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764. Inheriting Eternal Life: Jesus Said to Keep the Law?

July 19, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

As believers in Christ, we are not under any of the law which was contained the Old Covenant. And yet, Jesus taught it frequently. When this occurred, who was Jesus speaking to and what was His purpose? Of course, it was ministered not to future believers—but to those (Jewish people) who were under the Mosaic law, and it was meant to bring them to the end of their pursuit of (self) righteousness by the works of that law.

So when someone would ask Jesus “what must they do” to inherit eternal life, He answered their law-based question with a law-based answer in order to bring them to the end of themselves. When looking forward to the New Covenant, He revealed life would be received by believing in Him.

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763. The Essence of Hypocrisy: Try to Keep the Law

July 12, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Church corporations have generally made it their mission to erroneously mix two very different covenants. One came to an end and the other Jesus established by replacing the Old one with a something New, established upon better promises.

Those who desire to keep one foot in the “land of the legal” have coached the sheep to do their best to follow the Ten Commandments and other selective parts of the law which came to Israel through Moses. This is one of the most hypocritical and misunderstood pieces of legalistic legislation to ever hit the church. We point out just a few of the inconsistencies.

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762. Stone Tablet Commandments Can’t Bring Life or Righteousness

July 5, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

David thought life could be found in the law which was introduced to the nation of Israel through Moses. Before he came to faith in Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul said he thought the same thing and then came to find out “the very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me.” So how is it the church culture has gotten this so backwards?

Why have religious institutions lured Gentiles into a ministry referred to as one that brings bondage while being unable to bring life or righteousness? The Ten Commandments were part of a law containing 603 other commands, rules and statutes. This is the very bundled requirement that Jesus came to deliver the Jewish people from … not to bring Gentiles into.