288. Works or Grace?

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Last week we discussed how some people will often talk about grace, only to end up adding their own lists of various shoulds, musts and ought to's that Christians need to live by. This week we continue with the same line of thinking, discussing the mixture of works and grace that is taught in many Christian churches and other settings.

Is our life in Christ a mixture of grace AND our own works? Are we to carry over some Old Covenant principles and other works-based principles into this life of grace? Is a Christian who appears to have "better" works and a "better" lifestyle really better than someone who appears to be living a lifestyle that doesn't seem as righteous?

Here's this week's GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.

287. Grace... But

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Many Christians seem to talk the talk of the sufficiency of grace, only to quickly negate their own words with conditional phrases such as "but...", and they come up with lists of various shoulds, musts and ought to's that Christians need to live by, which essentially nullifies their talk of the sufficiency of grace. On the one hand, they speak of the free gift of salvation, telling people that there's nothing they can do to earn it... only to turn around and present them with a list of rules and obligations that they need to live by after they've believed in Christ.

So are you in with "Grace But Ministries" --- as Kap calls it :) --- or are you depending upon the sufficiency of grace by which you are who you are and by which you live the life that you live?

Here's this week's GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.

286. Does Christ Enable Us to Keep the Law?

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The Bible says that God is at work in us (Phil 2:13) and that He is faithful to complete the work that He began in us (Phil 1:6). Does the work that He is doing in us involve the keeping of His laws? A common teaching in the church is that even though keeping God's laws won't save us, we're still meant to keep them after we've been saved. It's said by some that the power of Christ in us will enable us to keep the law. So is that true? Are we meant to keep the law? Does the life of Christ in us enable us to keep it? What, if anything, does the Christian life have to do with keeping God's law?

Here's this week's GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.

285. Lay Down Our Lives for God?

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A common teaching throughout the church is that we are called to "lay down our lives for God." But is that what God has called us to do? If it's true that "I no longer live" (see Galatians 2:19-21), then is laying down our lives even something we can do? The Bible does talk about a life being laid down. But is there perhaps a bit of confusion about whose life it was that was laid down?

Here's this week's GIG-Bite, a quick sample of this week's program.