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GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

788. James and the Elders Encourage Paul to Deny What He Was Teaching

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The Apostle Paul declared over and over again that the law which came through Moses was something Gentiles had no part of and Jews had also been freed from its impossible demands. It could not bring life, but had a purpose of death and condemnation, having been replaced by a more glorious ministry of the Spirit. James and the elders from the Jerusalem church had very little problem with Gentiles not being required to try to keep most of the law—because they had never been under it. But James and his council viewed Jews differently and with an attitude of superiority, even after the cross, which resulted in believing they had a different gospel with a different set of rules which were rooted in that law for justification.

They rejoiced that Gentiles were coming to Jesus, but stumbled over Paul’s teachings that the Jews who lived among the Gentiles should also “forsake Moses.” James and the elders ordered Paul to publicly denounce the accusations against him by saying he believes in keeping the law … and to do this by participating in an old covenant purification ceremony—as if the blood of Jesus was not enough. In other words, they wanted Paul to deny what he had been teaching about grace through faith, apart from works of the law.



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Happy New Year – The Best Is Yet To Come!

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Who’s ready to leap into 2021??? I know 2020 was challenging, far beyond what any of us would have ever imagined. Even devastating for many who lost loved ones, who lost jobs, who lost homes… I want you to know you are in our prayers. I hope you realize that God would never send a […]

787. The Evidence Mounts: James Touted Law – 30 Years After the Cross

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While continuing our series on Paul and James, and faith compared to works, we spend some time this week summarizing what we’ve been covering. Since our short weekly programs are chopped up, we wanted to review some of what has been covered so far in order to help connect the dots on the tremendous struggle that is revealed in New Testament writings during those early years of the church. And what was that struggle? Most of the early church leadership—including James—believed the law was still meant to be a part of the equation for Jewish believers … and many were perverting the gospel by trying to burden believing Gentiles with portions of the law.

We also take a look at more evidence where James and the elders in Jerusalem convince Paul to participate in an old covenant exercise where ceremony and sacrifice would occur in order to show the Jews that Paul was also a law keeper and had not forsaken Moses. This event from Acts 21 would have been nearly 3 decades after the cross, and about 20 years after James wrote his Bible letter. More to come!



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Exposing the Enemy

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Mystical Theories About the Devil

It’s amazing how much myth surrounds teaching about the devil, and how much has been accepted as truth without question.

Most of what people believe is based on other people’s experiences or the insights of those who profess to know more about the devil than the Bible reveals. This inevitably denies the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus and causes the gospel to be powerless in our lives.

We must not believe things that are not clearly substantiated in Scripture. We should never base truth on assumption.

There are popular books about the devil. They make great novels but are not scripturally true.

Who and What the Devil Is Not

Most mythical beliefs about the devil are theories based on who people believe him to be in his original state and rob God of His glory and power, ultimately exalting Satan’s power.
One theory is that the devil was the worship leader in heaven with supreme authority as the covering cherub.

“Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.” —Ezekiel 28:14 (KJV)

This theory also suggests Satan was the one who covered the throne of God, making him the one closest to God. Let’s look at what is actually revealed in the scriptures.

“No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father….“ —John 1:18 (AMP)

This scripture is clear that Jesus is the One who has always been in the bosom and intimate presence of the Father— face to face with God—throughout eternity.

Another undermining theory is that Satan still has authority or power over people on earth. It includes that sinning gives the devil the legal right to attack believers. We call it “opening the door to the devil.”

This has undermined the faith of thousands and strengthened legalism, law and performance righteousness in people’s lives.

Generational Curses

Many believe in generational curses. This makes the power of God of no effect in our lives.
Jesus delivered us from the kingdom of darkness and translated us to the kingdom of his Son (Col. 1:13).

After His resurrections, Jesus said to his disciples, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Mat. 28:18). He didn’t say “some power” nor “EXCEPT for when you sin.”

Authority and power is not ours to relinquish. Satan has no degree of power on earth. Jesus is the only authority.

Paul’s Answer to Satan’s Authority

Paul countered all the error and said that God is the One who makes us able (qualifies us) to
be partakers of the inheritance, through Jesus.

“Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light.” — Colossians 1:12 (AMPC)

Nothing we do can qualify or disqualify us. God alone qualifies us.

Delivered, Reconciled and Complete

Jesus delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His Son (Col. 1:13).

God has made peace with us, reconciled us (made friends with us), and we are presented Holy, unblameable and unreprovable in His sight (Col. 1:20-22).

In Jesus, God is the One who makes us complete, perfect and safe from the devil (Col. 2:8-10).

“Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world!”—1 John 4:4

The cross has reconnected us to the power of God that has established us in God’s never-ending love. This is the power to resist the onslaught of the enemy. Learn the truth that exposes the devil for who he really is. Completely overpowered, captured and displayed as totally stripped of all authority and power on the earth.

Spoiled Principalities and Powers

“You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.” — Colossians 2:13-15

In ancient times, there were two kinds of victory — when the enemy flees from you, and when the enemy is captured.

The victor paraded the defeated king in the streets with their thumbs and big toes cut off, proving they would never be able to stand or hold a weapon against you again.

Satan has been totally overpowered, captured and displayed—stripped of all power on the earth—with no right to work in our lives, no matter what!

The post Exposing the Enemy appeared first on Arthur Meintjes.

785. Growing in Knowledge (Bible Authors Didn’t Know Everything)

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In Acts Chapter 10, when Peter had his vision from God directing him to reach out to Gentiles, historians estimate it occurred anywhere from 5 to 15 years after the resurrection of Jesus. Although Peter was being used mightily by God in multiple ways, there was much he didn’t understand when it came to the gospel. The apostles were not all seeing and all knowing – they were humans who were growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Up until this time, Peter thought he and other Jews were still under the requirement to follow the law of Moses, even though he was preaching Jesus for people to be saved. Through this experience, he came to realize the gospel was meant not only for Jews, but for Gentiles who had no relationship with the law.

Things like food and Gentiles, which had been considered unclean or unacceptable under law, God now had declared to be clean. But imagine if Peter had written letters to believers and church folks which ended up in the Bible before he had this revelation about freedom from law. Undoubtedly, his writings would have looked much different and inconsistent with what the Apostle Paul was communicating in his letters. The book of James is considered to likely be the oldest New Testament writing (or the first) after Jesus rose. Like most Jews, James had a similar assumption about the law when he wrote his letter – much like Peter did. And this continues our series about the subject of Paul, James and justification.



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783. Opposing Views from Paul and James: What Now?

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As our series continues regarding the apparent differences between Paul and James on the subject of justification, this week's program results in a spontaneous conversation which discusses what it means if they did actually view some things in an opposing fashion. As we've personally concluded in recent weeks, Paul and James were not in perfect harmony with their statements and we review some possible reasons why this could have been the case.

The letter James wrote to Jews who were scattered throughout the region is believed to be the earliest book written in the New Testament after the resurrection. During this period of time, James believed the Mosaic law was still in place and that individual works played a factor in being justified. We've seen evidence of this in the book of Acts, Galatians, and his own letter. Bible teachers will panic if this is true and will fear it invalidates the entire Bible. That’s why they feel the need to corroborate their preconceived assumptions that P&J couldn’t have possibly been in disagreement. But maybe we've just been inaccurately assuming some things about these written pages that have us missing a bigger point.



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782. Paul Opposed Peter to His Face

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In Galatians Chapter 2 we find the story as told by Paul about how he opposed Peter to his face … and in front of other people of whom he considered to be hypocrites. You see, Peter would live like the Gentiles (apart from the law) and he would hang-out with them, which God had revealed was perfectly fine. But when certain men from James showed up, Peter would separate himself from the Gentiles for fear of these people and their lawful doctrine which opposed the truth of the gospel. It’s as if Paul was telling Peter he should know better than to try to blend in with the Jewish hypocrites, including false brethren who were deceiving Gentiles into believing they needed portions of the law to be mixed with faith in Jesus.

 We can begin to clearly see Paul’s writings reflect an opposition to the teachings brought forth from some of those that were associated with the church in Jerusalem, where James was considered a leader. The letter written to the Galatians is centered around the freedom both Jew and Gentile have in the New Covenant, and it was a different gospel than what was coming from the Jerusalem church.



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780. Faith, Works and Justification: Did Paul and James Disagree?

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We’ve all seen it. Time and time again, Paul declared the gospel is based upon justification gifted freely by faith, through the blood of Jesus, apart from works. James said something that appears to be quite the opposite. Bible teachers will fear such a contradiction diminishes the validity of the written pages and therefore, may affect the credibility of the entire Bible and bring doubt to the truth of Jesus Christ.

Teachers and ministers begin to feel the need to try and explain that there was no disagreement between the two, and that their views simply complimented each other … as both legalistic and grace teachers put their spin on trying to assure people that Paul and James were in perfect harmony. Both guys use Abraham to make their case for justification but even their context from the Old Testament is different. We attempt to bring a different perspective in considering they were not in agreement at all, and yet it takes nothing away from the truth of Jesus.



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What is the purpose of the Law?

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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 [...]

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779. Paul, James and the Gentile Dilemma

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Following up on last week’s look at Acts Chapter 15, there was great debate among Jewish believers as to whether non-Jewish people (Gentiles) should be required to follow the law of Moses as they were coming to belief in Christ and getting saved. After all, Gentiles had no relationship with that law and now it was presenting a dissension among those who felt the law was still a necessary component with Jesus added to it. James appears to reach a compromise which was accepted between both parties … or was it? We’ll discover the possibility this controversy would continue and the debate between law and grace was just beginning as we look at various passages in the weeks ahead.



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778. Grace or Works: The Apostles Vs. The James Gang

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This week’s program dives into Acts chapter 15 where Peter, Paul and others met with the Jerusalem church council which included James and former Pharisees. The apostles were making the case during a heated debate that God was saving the Gentiles and receiving the Spirit freely. The council had accepted that Gentiles could be saved, but believed they needed to be “brought into the fold” by including and applying the law of Moses with the newfound life given by God’s Spirit.

The debate was about choosing whether salvation is by grace through faith alone … or whether works of the law needed to be included. In the end, James spoke on behalf of the church board with a surprising change of opinion—or judgment—by saying the Gentiles should not be troubled with keeping the Mosaic law. Although not everyone agreed, the revelation being brought forth was that Gentiles would not be brought into the old way of law, but that Jews were also freed from it. It couldn’t be a grace/law mixture for one group (Jews) and not the other (Gentiles).



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Living in the Fullness of God

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As believers, the promise of sharing in the abundant (Zoe) life of God and living in His fullness is a great privilege. It’s not some future goal. It’s reality because we are seated together with Christ in heavenly places.

Jesus said,

“… the person whose ears are open to My words who listens to My message and BELIEVES and trusts in and clings to and relies on Him Who sent Me has POSSESSES NOW eternal life….” —John 5:24 (AMP)

“And this is the RECORD that God hath given to us ETERNAL LIFE, and this LIFE is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath LIFE; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have ETERNAL LIFE, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” —John 5:11-13

John assures us that we already have the very life of God.

Peter said,

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3).

Few things are more frustrating than knowing the promise of abundant life, but experiencing little or none of it daily. To experience it, we must interpret the gospel correctly.

Filled with All the Fullness of God

Paul’s prayer gives us insight in Ehesians 3:14-20

“…to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man” (v. 16).

He emphasizes being empowered from the inside out. The Kingdom of God is inward, and everything God does is through our hearts from the inside out.

The Indwelling of Christ

Then Paul tells us how God empowers us from the inside out. Paul says,

“…that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (v. 17).

When we receive Christ, He comes and dwells in our hearts, but I also believe he’s saying we should consciously focus our hearts on Christ and Him crucified—to allow Christ to dwell in the deepest, most intimate recesses of our hearts (our belief systems). Paul then says,

“…that ye, being rooted and grounded in love” (v.17).

When we focus on Christ, we discover that we’ve always been the focus of God’s love—an unending, unconditional love. The Kingdom of God is inward, and everything God does is through our hearts from the inside out.

Able to Comprehend

Verse 18 says, “… to comprehend … what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge.”
Comprehend means to lay hold of so as to make one’s own. When we focus our attention on Christ, we are able to lay hold of God’s fullness.

Paul says,

“…that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God” (v. 19).

This happens effortlessly when we focus on Christ and become established in God’s unconditional love. It doesn’t come through effort—only through right believing.

God Is Able

God is the One who is able.

“Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (v. 20).

Able means to have the ability and power to do. It’s the exhaustive power to perform, carry out, fulfill, bring to pass, and produce. It’s not only God’s intention for us to live in His fullness; He will make it happen!

Exceeding abundantly means superior in quantity or excessive. This term is a super superlative— something that is beyond expression.

The idea behind “above all that we ask or think” is to ask for a bucket full, but there’s still an ocean left over. God is able to do what we think, and then over and above! According to the power—miracle working power (ability, energy, and might) of influence, and enablement—that works IN US.

Living the abundant life is the influence of God’s unconditional love working in our hearts. Receive what He did by grace, and realize that His finished work is active in you, right now!

– Arthur

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