The basis of the Christian life is not to attempt to live by Christian morals but rather we live by the very life of Christ. When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, man entered the era of works. He would now determine good and evil on the basis of performance. God's life and grace in us can produce good works. But trying to focus on avoiding evil and doing good because we think we have an obligation to do so will only result in frustration, guilt and condemnation. There are two trees to choose from. Abide in the Tree of Life (Jesus).
Avoiding the Morality Tree
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| Growing in Grace is a weekly podcast featuring casual conversation with Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke about growing in understanding the gospel and living in the freedom that comes through Jesus Christ. We keep things fresh with new episodes every Sunday! You can find all past episodes here or on iTunes. Special thanks to our podcast announcer, Amy Wolter. | |
I remember God revealing to me about morality a couple of months ago. He showed me how that is what Adam and Eve did, they ate from of the knowledge of good and evil tree. God commanded them not to but to eat every tree besides that. Since the tree of life symbolized Christ, we are to eat off him(He is life).
ReplyDeleteI always hear "Good morals." When in reality, we are not living of good morals but the very Christ.
The Bible says that we are his workmanship,created in Christ Jesus UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.{Eph 2:10}
Thanks for posting, looking forward to next week:)
Yep, exactly. It's the fruit of our labors vs. the fruit of the Spirit. God is at work in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure. :)
ReplyDeleteI listen to you guys on a regular basis and I really enjoyed this one too. You mention Steve McVey's book Grace Walk, I have it and all his books, but I just listened to his Youtube video titled "Adam is Dead". I am so disturbed by it. I feel he has slipped from the truth into a snare. If you watch that video, he clearly proclaims Universalism as in everyone is going to heaven whether they realize it yet or not. He bases this on one scripture. He completely ignores all the scriptures that do not support universalism. He uses "just as in one man, all died, so as in one man (Jesus) all shall be made alive" I believe in the grace life and the exchanged life and living out of what we already are and I believe that there are so many truths in his books and messages that have freed countless people from bondage and legalism (have freed them in Christ), but if he embraces universalism, then I know he is deceived and I cannot trust his messages anymore. Please, I really want to hear from you and what you think about this. I really need to discuss this so I will be patiently waiting for a response from you Joel and Mike. Sincerely Cory-Lynn (if this isn't the appropriate place to discuss, could you give me your e-mail address?) thanks :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Cory-Lynn,
ReplyDeleteKap and I go back with Steve to the early days of Grace Walk, in that we both read Grace Walk back when it was new in the mid 90's, and like you we've read his various other books as well. We've also met him in person on different occasions and while we're not "close" with him, we do consider him to be a friend.
I think I speak for both Kap and myself in saying that we do differ with Steve in regards to some of the things he now teaches, although he has clearly stated that he doesn't believe all will go to heaven and he believes a faith-response is necessary. What he now teaches is labeled by many as "Trinitarianism," rather than "universalism." I won't get into it all here, but suffice it to say that I've personally spent many, many hours discussing the scriptures from which the doctrine of Trinitarianism is founded, and the more I've studied the scriptures in-depth, the more I've disagreed with the doctrine and have come to other conclusions.
But all of that said, again I think I speak for both Kap and myself in saying that even with our differences, we still highly respect Steve and value him as a friend.
One of the things I've discovered in walking in grace over the years is that not everyone is always on the same page. :D There may even be huge doctrinal differences between believers. We don't all have to agree on everything, and we are indeed free to reject teachings that we disagree with. And at the same time, we can still honor and respect the people who have helped us get to where we are.
Thanks Joel,
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to look up Trinitarianism. I can't say I've heard of that before. After I posted this question to you, I did a search on Universalism on your site and found a good discussion you had with a Mike and a Howard where you clearly stated that you don't agree with Universalism. There were other interesting things that were exchanged that I would have loved to discuss also. Today I also posted on your #365 Saints or Sinners podcast. Would you be able to read it, as I would love a to hear what you think on that as well. Much Appreciated
Cory-Lynn
Joel, I can't find anything on Trinitarianism that doesn't say its just a form of Universalism. Can you please explain the difference to me?
ReplyDeleteCory-lynn
Hi Cory-Lynn,
ReplyDeleteThe best I can probably do is to point you to an article Steve wrote about a year and a half ago, in which he responded to the idea that what he was teaching is universalism. Of course my thoughts don't line up with everything he says in the article, but I believe his own explanation of what he believes and doesn't believe would be far better than I could attempt to convey. The article is called There Is No Such Thing As Trinitarian-Universalism.