914. Were the Cross and Resurrection Really Necessary?

There are those who will attempt to communicate that the sacrifice of Jesus wasn't necessary and wasn't the will of God. It would seem that if this were true, it would have been plainly stated by Paul or someone else within their writings instead of people today pasting individual Bible verses together as if they were pieces to a puzzle to be arranged to fit an assumed narrative or belief.

So what did Jesus say about this? Did he predict he would be “murdered,” or did he suggest something else? He knew why He came and what was coming. The OT prophecies had plenty to say about the suffering of the Messiah, and the New Testament records substantial information about the blood of Jesus and what it meant for us as it relates to forgiveness of sins, the removal of sins, eternal redemption, and much more. Without his blood being shed, we would have no covenant.

The book of Hebrews reveals it is true that God did not desire sacrifices and burnt offerings for sin ... he took no pleasure in them which were offered according to the Mosaic law (because they couldn't fully deal with the problem of the sin issue). But the writer would go on to explain how the sacrifice of Jesus Christ would bring a permanent solution, while wiping out the religious system of law and works which contained the sacrifices of animals which could never take away sin. Jesus came to do the will of God with a holy sacrifice to end all other sacrifices, once for all.



   
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913. How Works Fit Into the Message of Grace

The majority of us who chose to believe in Jesus were encouraged within religious circles to work at making ourselves better, more holy, more righteous, more sanctified ... and the list goes on. We've gotten it backwards with that approach. The better way is to grow in the knowledge of God with the understanding that He has already declared us to be all of these things and more.

So instead of trying to work at becoming what we think we are not, we realize God has already equipped the believer in Christ with all things that pertain to life and godliness. This is our starting point as we run this race and it's called the finish line. Growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus will completely change our perspective and motivation in many ways—including works.



   
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912. Overheard From Fruit Inspectors: "Did They Have a Genuine Conversion?"

Over the years, we've heard from believers who attended church regularly and would often walk out of the building wondering if they were still saved. They heard a works-based message which planted fear and doubt because they would begin questioning whether they were "doing enough" to guarantee their salvation. Certain people from the legalistic department who self-identify as judgmental "fruit inspectors" will suggest that some who have confessed Jesus Christ and called on the name of the Lord "didn't really mean it" and therefore, did not have a genuine conversion. They will point to works as the manifested proof in the pudding. But they fail to provide the specifics—or it will vary greatly among the denominations.

The blessed assurance or guarantee we have is found within the person of Jesus Christ and belief in Him. Although we are created in Christ for good works—God working in and through us—salvation is a gift by grace through faith (apart from works) and is not the result of any effort on our part. As Paul said in Romans 4:5: "But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness."



   
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911. Does Grace Empower People to Keep the Mosaic Law?

A common teaching in the land of the legal is that the grace which brings salvation also enables believers to keep the commandments contained in the law. They will be careful to polish this so it sounds shiny and will make sense to the religious, works-based mindset. For example, they may say we're saved by grace and not by works ... but will then imply we're expected to embrace the Old Covenant law in our behavior.

So is this true? Are we meant to live by a ministry of condemnation which is contrary to us ... a ministry which strengthens sin and causes it to increase? It doesn't make sense that Jesus came to redeem Jews from the law—who then died to the law—and then have God resurrect the same law which couldn't give life and wasn't based on faith. When it comes to good works in our lives, God empowered us with something better ... not just Scriptures, not law-based commandments, but the power of His Spirit abiding in us.



   
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910. False Assumptions: Jews and Gentiles Were Both Under the Mosaic Law

God established a covenant with Israel after delivering them from slavery in Egypt, and it included a law which came through Moses containing 613 commandments that they agreed to follow and that they would be required to keep. It was generally exclusive for the Jewish people. The rest of the world (gentiles) were outsiders and were unfamiliar with the covenant, without hope, and without God in the world. The Jews attempted to (unsuccessfully) pursue righteousness through the works of this law, while gentiles were doing no such thing—but would still attain righteousness.

Some will chop up the context found in the 2nd and 3rd chapters of Romans. It's easy to misunderstand or misinterpret a comment such as "doers of the law will be justified" ... or that gentiles had the Mosaic law written on their hearts before the cross (and the Jews did not?). Recommended: Do not read Romans 2 without at least reading Romans 3—and Paul continues to expound further from there.

Having a basic understanding of the position of Jews under the law, and gentiles who never had that law ... will help us recognize who Paul was directing comments towards when it came to the people to whom he was writing. They were usually a mixed audience of both groups, and his language will often reveal whether his comments are to be contextualized for believing Jews who previously were under the law, or if it was for gentile outsiders who came to faith in Christ. But both groups would receive life by grace through faith, apart from the law, and be brought together into one new man—where there would no longer be the issue of Jew or gentile.



   
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909. False Assumptions: The Mosaic Law Was Divided Into (3) Different Categories

In a land known as "seminary," it is commonly taught that the law of Moses was basically divided into three different categories, typically referred to as sacrificial laws, ceremonial laws, and moral laws. Dietary commands and many other "miscellaneous" statutes are usually considered as part of the ceremonial group. The misguided approach with this is that the ceremonial and sacrificial laws were brought to an end after the cross, but the "moral laws" are still to apply. This ideology is passed on to the church sheep as it is filtered through Bible teaching from those with educational degrees. The problem? None of this is true. It's completely fabricated. The Bible says no such thing about the law being broken up with some of it eliminated and a small portion of it still in place. Such a concept should be known as cheap law.

There was one law which came through Moses (not multiple laws) ... and it was all bundled together ... of which God declared that nothing shall be added to it or taken from it. The Jews were required to do all of it. Either it all had to remain in effect, or it all had to come to an end. Cherry-picking a few rules here and there while disregarding others is exactly what the law itself says cannot be done. It's interesting to notice that many individual laws the church ignores are mixed right into the very same passages as ones they think should be kept. It's a murky mixture of a covenant combination with glaring inconsistencies.

None of the law was going to pass until it was fulfilled. Jesus fulfilled the entire law, not to mention the Psalms and the Prophets. By establishing a new and better covenant, we now live in a more glorious ministry of the Spirit, where He guides us into all truth, and by grace teaches us how to live in godliness.



   
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908. False Assumptions: "I'm Just a Sinner Saved by Grace"

Christians have been told through religious sources they are identified as sinners saved by grace, which makes sense to most people ... because after all ... everyone has sinned, and all who believe have been saved by grace. But nowhere in new covenant writings are believers in Christ identified as sinners. We have now become a new creation, inheriting the righteousness of God. If we are stuck in a mindset that thinks "I'm just a sinner," we'll abide in that place of defeat, while missing out on the empowerment of God's grace and who we have already been made to be as holy, righteous and perfected people.

Do we still fail? Yes. But our identity is not based upon what we do, but who God has made us to be. Some might try to argue that Paul declared himself the chief of sinners—as if he were bragging about what a bad person he is. It's amazing how a few words can be misunderstood and taken out of context to be twisted into an entire doctrine or mindset which doesn't line up with the gospel message. So we'll take a look at this and how it really compares to the many other places where Paul referred to fellow believers as saints.



   
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