righteousness – Page 5

670. The Letter of the Law Vs. the Spirit of Life

September 23, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When believers fall into the trap of getting focused on improving behavior, it often leads them back into a place of bondage rather than the freedom Jesus came to give us. Your behavior will never reach the perfect standard God required under the law of commandments given to Israel. Trying to follow those rules and statutes only caused sin to increase. The letter of the law killed, but we now live in a New Covenant of the Spirit, which gives life. The power of grace found within the Spirit of God who lives in us is a very different ministry than what Israel went through under a system of works which did not lead to righteousness within their hearts. On this week’s program, our encouragement is to abandon the attempt to mix Old Covenant commands with New Covenant grace … because in spite of what the religious world has been teaching, they are not compatible.

669. Paul’s Testimony: I Stopped Trying to Keep the Law of Commandments

September 16, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The title of this week’s program is an obvious paraphrase, but it isn’t far off from what Paul explained when it came to being freed and delivered from the Mosaic Law with its burdensome commandments. He found out that what he thought would give life had actually proven to bring death and despair, while causing sin to increase. Today many believers will get up in front of the church and talk about how they used to do bad things and now they work on doing good things. To be clear, pursuing sin will never be a profitable venture - less sin is a good thing. But this was not Paul’s testimony. He didn’t boast about how he used to murder and then stopped after he was saved. He emphasized that we’ve been made a new creation, and the value of getting to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection. God’s life in us, has caused us to pass from death into life in a New Covenant that isn’t based upon our ability to a meet certain standard of rules and regulations. Instead, we live by the righteousness of faith with the power of Jesus Christ abiding in us.

665. The Gospel Is the Gift of God’s Righteousness

August 19, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Something commonly found in our Christian vocabulary is the word gospel. But just exactly how is it defined from a scriptural perspective? Ask a room full of believers what the gospel is, and it’s likely you’ll receive many different answers. So even something as commonplace as “the gospel” is often described in many different ways. This isn’t necessarily always a bad thing, but often our personal perspectives about what we think the gospel is will sometimes contradict what other believers think. Can’t we agree on something that should be so simple? In order to drill through all of the traditional fluff, we take a look at a foundational passage from the Apostle Paul as he reveals the primary meaning of the gospel, and how it differs from the “bad news” that was in place before Jesus came along.

663. Reigning in Life

August 5, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When the focus of our belief in God is merely built upon good and evil—trying to avoid evil and working at doing good—it will not set us free, nor will it help us to do what is good and right. Instead our mindset should be on the person of Jesus Christ and God’s love and grace. Once we begin to understand that we died and were raised with Jesus Christ—and have received His life in us—we can begin to experience the gift of righteousness that will allow us to be more aware and conscious of what He accomplished on our behalf. A deeper revelation of the gospel and the finished work of Christ will help us to escape whatever bondage empty religion will try to burden us with.

661. Living in Grace and the Will of God – Part 2

July 22, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Christians have often been working from a mindset that has encouraged them to continually seek the specific “will of God” in our everyday lives. It sounds religiously correct, and it will preach pretty good during Sunday sermons, but in some instances, it may lead people into a type of bondage that leads to fear and worry. There’s nothing wrong with seeking guidance from the Lord regarding specific situations in our lives. But you need not fear as to whether you are in God’s will as a believer in Christ.

656. “Am I Right with God?”

June 17, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Something many people wonder deep inside is the question of whether they are right with God. Even those who call themselves believers in Jesus Christ may question at times as to where they stand with God. Their fear or uncertainty is sometimes triggered by their behavior and performance. They may tend to assume their identity as a child of God is filtered through their works and actions, or religious rule-keeping. The gospel reveals something that isn't always heard through weekly church teaching, and it's the greatest news you could ever want to hear. We've been gifted with God's very own righteousness. Right-standing with Him is no longer something you'll ever have to wonder about ever again.

655. Dead to Sin, Alive to Righteousness

June 10, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Behavior is important. Avoiding sin is profitable. But these are not the components that represent who you are as a believer in Jesus Christ. Your spiritual identity is based purely on a work that God did in you by faith as a result of the finished work of Jesus at the cross. Many new believers are told to repent from sin, stop sinning, work at avoiding sin, etc. — and if they blow it, they should seek a renewed forgiveness from God, and work at trying harder to become more holy and sanctified. This ends up pulling people into the very thing they are trying to avoid. If we would start letting believers know they are truly declared to be the righteousness of God and have been forgiven by blood that was shed once and for all, they can begin to realize and experience God's unconditional love. This unlimited supply of eternal grace provides the ability for us to be empowered in a way that religious rules and commandments cannot.

652. Freedom from a Sin Consciousness

May 20, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

“How many here are sinners?” Ask that question in most churches and the vast majority of hands will go up. “How many here are righteous?” Ask that question and you’ll typically see the hands remain on their lap. Why? Empty religion that has mixed the Old and New Covenants has left people with a mistaken identity, frequently trapped in a consciousness of sin… the very thing Jesus came to deliver people from (Hebrews 10). In fact, we have been delivered from the powers of darkness, and guilt and condemnation has been removed forever. We can’t do anything about our own sin problem, but Jesus did — by giving His own life. The reason people fall into condemnation and get confused about their identity is because they have tied it into their behavior and performance, instead of the gift.

651. Subscribing to Sin Management Inc.

May 13, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

When many Christians consider repentance, it is usually viewed from the perspective of turning from sin. In essence, what they are really saying is to focus on reducing your sin count. This is not how repentance is defined. Less sinning is always going to be a positive thing for you and those around you. It’s simply not a part of the new righteous and holy nature that abides in you. However, falling into the trap of “sin management” will potentially cause us to chase after the flesh, develop a mindset of self-righteousness, and lead to boasting in ourselves while judging others who fall just as short as we have. Other than Jesus, nobody has ever been able to equal the requirement of perfect behavior as it was reflected through the law. Not one … before the cross or after. There is a better place to abide than working at managing your sin count, and that is with the power of grace found inside of a new and better covenant—where the Holy Spirit will remind us of God’s unconditional love, and that we have been gifted with His righteousness as a new creation in Christ.

649. Does “Hyper-Grace” Give People a License to Sin? (Part 2)

April 29, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Many of us have viewed grace as something that we fall back on whenever we sin or make a mistake. Grace is often seen as something we call upon when we need forgiveness. But the Bible declares the finished work of Jesus Christ removed sin and that it was taken away. The good news has revealed that forgiveness is a finished work and is received by all who believe. We can now begin to see grace as something more than a trigger we pull when we need to have sin covered or forgiven, since Jesus has already dealt with that issue once and for all. After all, Jesus never sinned but Scripture states He was filled with grace and truth. Grace isn’t just for sinners, but for us who have been gifted with righteousness and holiness in Christ Jesus. Grace empowers us to live in a way that abides in the supernatural life of God Himself, and causes us to realize truth. Grace is the Person of Jesus - He is our purpose and destination, and this free grace was given to us in Christ before time began. Beware of modern-day Pharisees who will sound a false alarm at the dangers of having too much grace, or you may both end up heading down a dead end street, where the ditch will become your destination.

648. Does “Hyper-Grace” Give People a License to Sin? (Part 1)

April 22, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The wolves who dress as sheep have issued a warning to their flock: Grace can become a dangerous doctrine and lead people into more sin. The red flags should be flying high whenever a believer hears such misguided teaching that would suggest grace encourages people to sin unless balanced with portions of the law and commandments. It’s a myth and a fable to think that grace will encourage sin, while a modernized version of the Mosaic law will decrease sin. Those who make such proclamations are providing church folks with teaching for their “itching ears.” The gospel teaches us quite the opposite… the law and commandments brought an increase in sin - and sin ABOUNDED under a system of works. But grace ABOUNDED all the more and it’s through grace that we reign through righteousness. The word "abounded" in the Greek is where we get our English word for hyper and it means to overflow beyond measure, exceeding what is needed. Jesus was grace manifested. He never encourages people to sin. Grace teaches and trains us to live godly in Christ Jesus - it empowers us to live in righteousness. Can we have too much of Jesus? Of course not. But this is what hyper-legalists are implying, and that’s the dangerous teaching we should be running from.

646. Summarizing the Scripture (Part 17): Summarizing the Series: Adam Fell; Jesus Rose

April 8, 2018 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Our final program in the Summarizing the Scripture series takes a quick look back at the past 16 weeks of conversation. There is no reason to be afraid of God’s goodness and grace. Religious rules or a modernized version of the Mosaic law will only slow you down. Jesus came to deliver people from that type of bondage and has gifted us with righteousness and life in a new and better covenant. The ministry of the Spirit within us and upon us will lead and guide into all truth, and He can change your desires because of a new heart which came by believing — grace through faith has made us into new creations — and it is now God working in and through us. Adam fell and sin entered the world… Jesus rose and took sin away.