Sermon on the Mount

863. The Light of the World Is Jesus (Not Us)

June 12, 2022 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Another case of mistaken identity is when believers assume they are spiritually identified as “the light of the world.” The misguided assumption usually stems from something Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount when He was speaking to His Jewish disciples who had not yet even received the Holy Spirit. When Jesus told his buddies they were considered the light at that time—He was referring to the nation of Israel—the only people who were in covenant with God before the cross. But later, Jesus would reveal that He is the true light of the world.

Nowhere in New Testament letters written to the churches are we identified as the light of the world. Whatever light comes from us is because we are in Him as children of the light—and He in us. This takes the pressure off us because we have no need to wonder or fear if “our” light will go dim. The light in us is not tied to works and performance which can be up and down or inconsistent. It’s the light of Christ that abides in us and it’s eternal. He is the light that shines from us.

Get the book

857. The Law Abolished – But First Fulfilled

May 7, 2022 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The law of commandments came through Moses during the first covenant made with Israel. There are some in both legalistic and grace circles who will teach things about this law from very different covenant perspectives, but will often both be of the persuasion that the law itself was not abolished. There may be many reasons for this ideology—with one of those having to do with something Jesus said during the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5.

Whatever your opinion may be on the subject, our goal during this series will be to help provide a viewpoint for consideration in order to bring as much consistency as possible when it comes to the message of the grace of the gospel.

Get the book

848. 17th Anniversary Program – Part 3

February 27, 2022 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

This is our 3rd and final program reflecting on our 17 years of doing the Growing in Grace podcast ... and some of the primary subjects that have dominated our conversations. Much of what we talk about will be the opposite of what people hear throughout most church buildings. Just one example: In the New Covenant of Jesus Christ, you are never asked to give your life to Him. He came to give His life to you! Turning certain traditional mindsets inside out will help people begin to understand a more complete truth of the gospel.

Get the book

826. Things Seldom Heard in Church: “Mount Sermon” Not a New Christian Teaching

September 26, 2021 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

If you are under the assumption that most of what Jesus spoke was meant to be applied directly for you as a believer in Christ, you’ll end up with all sorts of inconsistencies and potential confusion in your belief system. Within those red letters found in the Bible, the majority of what Jesus spoke was aimed at Jewish people who were under a hopeless position, living under the law within what is now an obsolete covenant.

But if you’ve been taught by church ideology that when Jesus was speaking to His disciples … that He was also talking to you … then you’ll jump to some inaccurate conclusions when it comes to the gospel of grace.

Are we dismissing, ignoring or running from the words of Jesus? Absolutely not. Understanding the ministry of Jesus as a man walking the earth—and what He spoke at that time—needs to be considered in the proper context in order to come to a greater knowledge of the truth.

Five years ago we did a foundational 20-podcast series called "Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants" that will help in understanding all of this. The first episode of that series can be found here, and you can listen to the subsequent parts from there, or you can listen via the YouTube playlist here.

Get the book

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)

Get the book

743. 15th Anniversary Program #3

February 23, 2020 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

This is the third and final anniversary program as Mike and Joel reminisce about doing the podcast for the past 15 years. The discussion includes some of the “favorite” subjects that have been foundational to the program and how gaining an understanding of them will help free people from religious bondage.

Also, you can search for topics on the Growing in Grace website. Growing in Grace is not a donation-based or listener-supported ministry but is supported by listeners sharing the good news with others.

Get the book

Clash of the Covenants – new book from Mike

May 11, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

The brand new book, Clash of the Covenants - Escaping Religious Bondage Through the Grace Guarantee, from Growing in Grace co-host Mike Kapler is now available for Kindle on Amazon! Remember, you don't need a Kindle in order to read. Download the Kindle app on your computer, tablet or smartphone.

GOD IS NOT YOUR PAROLE OFFICER, HE BROKE YOU OUT OF PRISON!

Have you been robbed by religion? Have you ever wondered where you really stood with God? For everyone trapped in a mindset of wondering whether God is angry or disappointed with them due to a lack of performance or dedication, help is on the way. In fact, it already arrived more than a couple thousand years ago.

Christian churches are filled with people who have been hearing Bible teaching built upon a foundation of mixing together two very different covenants that are not alike. Frequently embraced in most Christian circles, the practice of combining the old and new covenants has resulted in a diluted version of the gospel. This religious formula has caused many to avoid the institutional church altogether, often puts them in a state of confusion, and leaves them hungering and thirsting for a new identity of righteousness, unaware it has already been provided.

The current reality of unconditional love, peace, freedom, forgiveness, and everything else that is good, has been gifted to us by God's grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is the message most people have been longing to experience, but it may require a complete change of mind from a lifetime of traditional church doctrines that have left many drowning in guilt and feeling as though they are in a state of bondage. God has provided a way of escape from the burdensome religious business—it is through a New Covenant where it is impossible for us to fail, because Jesus is the mediator and guarantee of this better covenant, and it has been established on better promises.

596. The Lord’s Prayer Part 4: On Earth as It Is in Heaven

April 23, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

On the last program in our series with The Lord’s Prayer, we discovered “God’s will” in regards to redemption was the sacrifice of Christ, as explained in Hebrews chapter 10. The sacrifice would be done on the earth, but after the sacrifice, Christ would not enter a tabernacle that was temporary, made by human hands, which were only copies and shadows of the original. He would enter the perfect tabernacle, into heaven itself, where He would appear on our behalf with a better sacrifice that would not need to be repeated. The prayer Jesus taught His disciples before the cross was seeking this will to be done. For us who are under a New Covenant, we now recognize the will of God has been done and accomplished through Christ, on earth as it is in heaven. This poses the question: Why ask for God to perform (again) what has already been done?

595. The Lord’s Prayer Part 3: Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done

April 16, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

In Part 3 of our series on The Lord’s Prayer, we shed more light on why this was a prayer given by Jesus to Jewish people under the first covenant, and not for those of us who are Gentiles. It was meant to be used before the cross, not after. The kingdom has already come in the Person of Jesus Christ; a kingdom must have a king, and they cannot be separated. This wasn’t referring to a future kingdom to come at the end of the world, but Jesus was speaking about something more imminent, meant for those people, at that time. In referring to God’s will being done, this wasn’t pointing towards things that occur in our daily lives, or with world events, it was about redemption that Christ would bring by doing the will of God with a sacrifice to end all sacrifices. The Kingdom has come, the King is now within you, and God’s will was done through Him. There is no need to request something from God that has already been accomplished.

594. The Lord’s Prayer Part 2: Our Father In Heaven

April 9, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Continuing with our series on The Lord’s Prayer and why Jesus provided it for Jews to pray; we look at the opening to the prayer, which acknowledges the Father in heaven. Some have believed the Jewish people under the law would not have understood the concept of God as Father, but there are a number of Old Testament passages that reveal otherwise. The prayer intro was not a new revelation to His disciples, they understood God as Father, in heaven, and that His name was holy. However, they didn’t have the concept that we now have in the New Covenant…That is, Christ in you. A better covenant has revealed to us that God doesn’t abide just in heaven, but has relocated by His Spirit to abide in us. Another clue this was a guide to be prayed only for those under the Old Covenant - Jesus did not instruct them to pray “in His name” as he would later tell the disciples to do under the New Covenant.

593. Context Leading up to The Lord’s Prayer

April 2, 2017 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

This is the first in a series of programs we’ll be doing on the subject of what is referred to as “The Lord’s Prayer.” What was it that led to Jesus telling the Jewish people under the law to pray in this way? Is it something that was meant to be repeated by people for generations to come? Right before Jesus encourages His disciples to pray in this manner during the Sermon on the Mount, He had given them a message of hopelessness and despair. He told them that by the standard of the law and commandments, they were required to be perfect. This meant right-standing with God was out of their reach, which is why they (the Jews) would need “to pray in this way.” But before the prayer is spoken, Jesus makes it quite clear it was not meant for us (non-Jewish) Gentiles who weren’t a part of that first covenant under the law.