1072. Now What? When There Is Nothing Left to Forgive

Most church customers who believe in Jesus have been taught they are just sinners (saved by grace) with unclean hearts ... and need to keep seeking a renewed forgiveness from God whenever they fail or fall short. This often becomes a heavily embedded routine that isn't exactly going to strengthen one's true identity as a person who is declared to be righteous and holy, apart from works. It keeps Christians in a state of a sin consciousness—similar to Jewish people under the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant—bringing a continuous reminder of sins day to day and year to year.

The gospel of grace has revealed forgiveness by God has been completed through the blood of Jesus, once for all, and many centuries ago. God remembers sins no more in a new and better covenant. They were taken away! Now we begin to see the inconsistencies of the 'Christian religion' insisting we remind God for personal sins that He said would no longer be remembered.

Christ fulfilled forgiveness forever, having thrown sins as far as the east is from the west. With that in mind, how does one 'kick the habit' of confessing every single wrongful thought or action that they can't possibly keep up with? How does a believer in Christ respond when tempted ... and is it possible to overcome unhelpful habits that are not really a part of who you are in Him? The answer is yes, we are well equipped to receive supernatural assistance.




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690. Christian Catch Phrase Alert: Identifying Ourselves as Followers of Jesus

One of the things that we often focus on here at Growing in Grace is built around helping believers in Christ to understand the identity we now have in Him as a new creation. Sadly, people are seldom taught they are righteous, holy, complete, forgiven, perfected, saints, etc.

But a catch phrase that is often used to identify us as believers: We are “followers of Jesus.” Just exactly what is a follower of Jesus today? Get ready for a wide variety of different answers because it’s one of those talking points within Christianity which people don’t think too much about. Typically, we might think it has to do with following the teachings of Jesus. But as previous programs have revealed, Jesus often taught things related to the Old Covenant which targeted Jewish people who were under the law - impossible demands - now made obsolete since the cross.

Almost all references to those who were followers of Jesus are found in the four books of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John)… people who literally and physically followed Jesus from one place to the next. But their following ceased at the cross as they were relocated to a New Covenant where they would be led by God’s Spirit. You’re not merely a follower, you are a child of God, living in union with Him.



   
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609. The Wall of Law Torn Down: Jews and Gentiles Brought Together

In Ephesians chapter 2, Paul explains the gospel in the context of two different groups: Those who were born of the Jewish race, and the Gentiles who were born from another tribe or nation, outside of Israel. The Jews were under the law and had a hope within their (first) covenant with almighty God. We who would have been considered Gentiles were without a covenant, without hope, and without God in the world. The Jews were near, Gentiles were far off. What is it that divided or separated these two groups? It was the law of commandments found in ordinances. The Jews pursued righteousness through their works under the law but could not attain it, because “the law is not of faith.” Jesus broke down this wall of separation (the law and commandments) and brought the two together as one man, into one body (the body of Jesus Christ). Instead of works, it is through faith that Jews are made righteous, and we Gentiles are no longer far off or strangers and aliens, but are now members of the household of God.



   

608. Jews, Gentiles and the Gospel

Today in the New Covenant, Jew and Gentile have been merged together as one. However, gaining an understanding of the separation or the differences between them prior to the cross will help us to see a clearer picture of the gospel, and why Jesus ministered (to the Jews) in the way that He did. Because it is often erroneously assumed by Christians today that Jesus was always ministering a New Covenant teaching that was meant for everyone, believers will lack understanding that references to Gentiles were simply non-Jewish people — those born outside of the Jewish race. Coming to a realization of this will help us to avoid getting confused when it comes to the (expired) old covenant law, and the New Covenant that we abide in today.



   

533. Carry Your Own Cross?

When we assume Jesus was always speaking to us personally, we may get the covenants confused and miss the point of the message being spoken to those who were under the law at that time. A true disciple becomes like their teacher, which would mean leaving all of their family and giving up all their possessions. It would also mean they would literally be required to carry their own cross as He would do. When Jesus said to count the cost, He was showing them they could not pay the price that would be necessary to complete the task at hand. Only Jesus could carry the one cross that would pay the price in full with His blood.



   

532. God Justifies the Ungodly

Sin is bad. It causes pain, hurts and destroys. We should exhort one another to live from the life of Christ in us which is based on perfect love. However, religion will attempt to convince you the work of Christ was not fully completed at the cross and will try to lay the burden of maintaining an acceptable relationship with God with your performance of works. As a believer in Him, you have been credited with the gift of righteousness. Our conversation this week centers around the result of Christ's finished work, the taking away of sin and what it means for us and our relationship with him.



   

506. The Gift of Sanctification

In the world of Christian legalism, justification may be presented as a free gift, but sanctification is often taught to be a progressive process that we must work at in order to possess or experience. This misunderstanding of what was accomplished for us through the work of the cross will eventually lead people back into a mentality of works and guilt, or self-righteousness and boasting in themselves. Jesus has (already) become our sanctification, and it cannot be defined outside of what he did on our behalf.

The word "sanctified" means "set apart," "purified," "made holy." Sanctification is a matter of being set apart to God, by His gift, by grace through faith. This is a finished work. All believers are heaven-ready right now at this very moment, because they have been sanctified once and for all!



   

502. The Finality of Unconditional Forgiveness

Forgiveness under the Old Covenant was based upon certain conditions, which included repeated sacrifices from priests under the law which could never take away sin. This ministry provided a temporary forgiveness and covering, but sin still lingered. If forgiveness still needed to be dispensed repeatedly to us in Christ, this suggests Jesus would need to return to perform more sacrifices – over and over again – because without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Where statements by Jesus and the Apostle Paul appear to contradict each other regarding forgiveness, they can be explained by recognizing the work of two entirely different covenants, producing very different results. The Old Covenant consisted of continual sacrifices that only provided a reminder of sins. The New Covenant consisted of one sacrifice that took away all sin.



   

501. All Your Sins Forgiven and Forgotten

Christians tend to be under the mindset that we should keep seeking forgiveness from God, and that He will keep forgiving repeatedly on an as-needed basis. But this diminishes the perfect completion of the finished work of the cross. Jesus came to take away sins and usher in a New Covenant where God would no longer deal with us according to our sins, not count them against us and He would remember them no more. Was Jesus successful with His mission? Of course, the answer is yes and we take a look at what that means for us in Christ.


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499. God Has Made Peace With You

It has often been said that someone has made their peace with God, as if the Lord needed some kind of assurance from us. The truth is, God has made peace with us through the cross of Jesus Christ. As we recognize that our justification has been established through faith apart from works, we begin to experience this peace. While Jesus did not come to bring peace to the world, He did bring it to us who are in Him. Though we're currently living in a fallen world where tribulation and suffering occurs, in the midst of it Jesus Himself is our peace.


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446. The Mount Message to Israel: Stop Trying!

We continue examining what Jesus spoke to the Jewish people under the law during the Sermon on the Mount. Again, many Christian teachings and doctrines have been erroneously established from these passages. So let's see what Jesus had to say about the Jews trying to establish their own righteousness compared to seeking God's righteousness. And what about the Lord's Prayer in this passage? Uh oh. Beware of sacred cow crossing ahead!


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445. Jesus on the Mount: A Message for Jews or Gentiles?

It's commonly referred to as The Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7. Why is it so important to know who was targeted in this message? Much of what Jesus said here is often applied as some sort of new covenant teaching for Christians. This week we take a closer look into who Jesus was speaking to and the context around the things He said. Are we running from the words of Jesus? Absolutely not. There was always a purpose for what Jesus said. But attempting to apply Old Covenant teachings about the Mosaic Law and turning them into a standard for Christian living does not bring people into the freedom that God intended.


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444. The Non-Christian Teachings of Jesus

There is a page in most Bibles before the book of Matthew and written on it is "The New Testament." This single page added by the publishers of the book has caused much confusion about when the Old Covenant ended and the New Covenant began. As we look at Matthew and the beginning of the ministry of Jesus, what was His purpose during that sermon on the mount? Who was He talking to? We lay a foundation for upcoming podcasts to try to help us realize that Jesus wasn't providing a new teaching of Christian rules and laws but was revealing the true meaning and purpose of the Old Covenant law, soon to be obsolete.


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418. WHJD (What Has Jesus Done)

For years people thought the question to ask is "What Would Jesus Do?" Sometimes in order to get the right answers we need to be asking the right questions. Rather than taking a wild guess at what Jesus would do in a given situation, we think it would be more beneficial to focus on what Jesus did through His completed work at the cross. The new life that came to us did not come through the scriptures found in the Bible but came through The Word who was manifested and became flesh... The living Word, the person of Jesus Christ Himself.

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