1049. The Common Clash Between the Gospel and the Red Letters

There is a common misconception within the Christian mindset that the words Jesus spoke to His disciples and others should also be considered as if He was speaking to all future believers. But the primary mission of Jesus was to minister to the lost sheep of the house of Israel ... Jewish people who were under a different religious system of the Mosaic law which could not bring them life or righteousness.

While there are some demonstrations, blips, and words looking forward to a new and different covenant, there is very little good news contained within the chapters and verses in those books about the gospel of grace.




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1008. Was Rahab Justified by Works and Not by Faith Only?

There was a significant lack of knowledge in the early years of the church. The cross and resurrection changed everything, resulting in the elimination of a covenant that had been in place for centuries. Consider if a Jewish person who believed in Jesus after the cross ... but still also believed the law of Moses was still to be applied for all Jewish people ... just exactly what did that mean for them? How did the blood of Jesus fit into that compared with the continued attempts to be doers of that old word? And what did it mean for Gentiles who never had the law?

When encouraging them to work at fulfilling that law, faith alone would be considered insufficient for salvation and justification. Righteousness would continue to be pursued by works plus faith. It formed a mindset that people such as Abraham and Rahab were not justified by believing, but by works being added in order to make faith perfect. How is this much different from the legalistic mumbo jumbo many of us have heard in works-based churches for so long? Let's take a closer look at the Rahab factor in the context of being justified.



   
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996. Changes After the Cross: Believing Jews Struggle With the Gentile Welcome Mat

As we read the pages of the Bible, it can be a very difficult thing to put ourselves in the shoes of the people living during the time of Jesus and those first decades after the cross. But becoming more aware of the historical aspects of that time as it relates to the gospel message may help us to understand some of the writings better. Otherwise, we may skim past significant information that has relevance for us today.

For example, Jewish people who had been working for generations under the burden of the Mosaic law and were coming to believe in Jesus ... might have struggled greatly with Gentiles (non-Jews) receiving the same Spirit of God by believing in Christ. After all, Gentiles had been viewed as outsiders, sinners, and unclean, and had no part of their previous covenant as the Jewish people who were considered exclusively set apart as God's people. It caused some division even among apostles and their companions, and would impact how the gospel would be spread and shared.



   
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978. God's Long-Term Plan for the World: A Better Covenant

The New Covenant is far better and more glorious than the old and obsolete one established with the people of Israel initiated during the days of Moses. In other words, the ministry of JESUS is superior to the first covenant containing the law. Why? The old way required the people to hold up their end of the agreement (they said they would do it—but they didn't). The new way of Jesus would be based on an oath God made—swearing to Himself—because he could swear by no one greater.

A covenant is generally agreed upon by two or more parties. But this new way was established by God—between Father and Son—so that it could not fail and fault could not be found. It would be a covenant made available to all people—both Jews and Gentiles ... because the scripture has confined everyone under sin. In other words, everyone has fallen short and is in need of Jesus—the Savior who takes away the sins of the world.



   
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977. Jews, Gentiles and the New Covenant

Many who have attended a church for most of their lives can attest that they seldom or never heard teaching that revolves around the concept of the New Covenant. They may have been taught to view the Bible as one book, and in doing so, have been confused with a combination of two very different covenants that don't always translate into the true gospel.

There are also some who don't believe there is a New Covenant available except to those who are Jewish. Paul spent a good deal of time explaining to Gentiles (in the flesh) the changes that took place since the cross and resurrection ... opening the gate to both groups to receive salvation and life by faith ... while leaving the old ministry of law in the dust.



   
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971. Jews Redeemed From the Curse So Gentiles Might Receive the Promise of the Spirit

Continuing in Galatians Chapter 3, Paul was providing these believing Gentiles with a hard-hitting explanation of why they do not want to pursue works of the law—which they were never under—in order to perfect themselves. They began in the Spirit and were being coerced into thinking they needed Jesus plus works in order to be justified. This was a common mindset among believing Jews in the early church. After all, it wouldn't be "fair" for believing Jews to be required to continue in the law while non-Jewish people were let off the hook regarding that burdensome ministry.

Redemption for both Jews and Gentiles came by a promise, through faith ... and the law was not of faith. It came by inheritance, gifted to us who have received the promise of the Spirit through faith.



   
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943. Paul Arrested - But Still Proclaimed Salvation for Gentiles (Series Conclusion)

We're concluding our series on salvation coming to the Gentiles (this is the 10th program). After the endeavor by James and the church leadership in Jerusalem of trying to convince Paul to deny what he was teaching and to participate in an Old Covenant cleansing ceremony in the attempt to make peace with Jews who were zealous for the law ... Paul was nearly killed by the zealots — many of whom believed in Jesus — and ultimately he was arrested. His course was now completely changed for the rest of his earthly days, living in chains. Having been warned twice by the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem, Paul could have avoided all of this, but he wanted to go and was prepared to be bound and even die on this journey.

Ultimately, Paul would end up under "house arrest" for a couple of years in Rome, where he invited leaders of the Jews to come to him — who were unfamiliar with "the sect" of the Jesus movement other than they knew it was spoken against everywhere. Perhaps Paul's former reputation as a Jew devoted to the ministry of the law from his younger days still carried weight among some of the unbelieving Jews ... because Paul gained an audience with them ... sharing and persuading them of Jesus from morning until evening by using the writings from the law and the prophets. Some believed, others did not.

Paul warned those Jews who refused to believe, using words from the prophet Isaiah and then this follow-up regarding their rejection of the Messiah:

Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it! And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves. Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him (Acts 28: 28-31).



   
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942. "Hey Paul, Issue a Retraction About Your Teaching" (Signed, the Jerusalem Church)

We're nearing the conclusion of our series on the challenging time of transition after the resurrection related to Gentile controversies from the book of Acts. Taking a look at Acts 21, where Paul went to Jerusalem to address some issues head-on ... knowing he may end up suffering or even facing death. This would have been about a decade after the heated debate centered around Gentiles back in Acts 15 with other apostles and elders. This time, he met with James and the leadership council from the "church headquarters" in the city. Paul was eager to share what God was doing among the Gentiles and they all rejoiced. But there was still a barrier causing a division or separation between Jews and Gentiles. That barrier of hostility was connected to the law of Moses which was still being embraced among the church leadership and their community.

Many Jewish people were also coming to believe in a risen Jesus, but remained zealous or fervent for the Mosaic law ... a law that Paul had been teaching was abolished and a ministry of death and condemnation from which Jews had been fully redeemed. These newer believers who were passionate for the law were unhappy to hear Paul was proclaiming these things and some wanted death for him. During this private meeting, those who were present from the Jerusalem church attempted to convince Paul that he should squash the rumors of his teachings, denouncing them as empty hearsay, and declare he also was zealous for the law and traditions of Moses ... while participating in an old covenant cleansing ceremony. But ultimately, Paul would not compromise his message, as he would escape death for a period of time and primarily spend the rest of his days as a prisoner ministering a gospel of grace apart from works.



   
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941. Gentiles - And Eating Strangled Meat Sacrificed to Idols

Continuing in our series about the controversies in the early years of the church regarding salvation for Gentiles and whether Jewish religious law should apply to them, we compare what James said in Acts 15 to some things Paul said about the question of eating meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. In the effort to alleviate confusion about whether Gentiles should follow the law of Moses, the declaration given in writing ended up eventually causing more confusion among non-Jewish believers in Christ. It was a significant disruption in their everyday lives.

There is quite a contrast with what Paul would say to Gentile converts in comparison to the original letter that was sent from James and the church council a few years earlier. But considering the cultural clash about some issues in that day between Jews and Gentiles, his bottom-line exhortation would be ... in spite of them being free from law and that all things were lawful ... to filter everything through love while considering those who may be weaker in faith and are more susceptible to a guilty conscience.



   
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940. The Judgment: Gentiles Remain Free From Moses (Except for the Fine Print)

The scene takes place about a decade or so after it came to light that Gentiles could be saved. In Acts 15, a contentious debate occurred between apostles and other Jewish elders and leaders in the early church at Jerusalem. Should non-Jewish believers in Christ be forced to abide by the Mosaic law ... as these believing Jews thought they were still supposed to follow? Gentiles never had the law. James provided a compromise of sorts. He sided with the team of Peter and Paul - that Gentiles should not be burdened with the law in the same way as Jews - but it often gets skipped over that he made exceptions to the "rule." James listed four things from the law that he felt Gentiles should do going forward.

We'll begin to take a look at these lawful line items, and what it would mean for the Gentiles of that time within their culture as they would be trying to live in harmony with nearby Jewish believers who still embraced Moses. These four things were not merely 4 commandments out of 613 from the law, but were more like categories which would involve much more than what it initially looked like on paper, and would unnecessarily result in a much bigger burden than what would have been initially understood.



   
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