1044. Choosing Spiritual Diversification or Investing Fully in Jesus

In the financial world of investing, it is usually wise to diversify to reduce risk. This way, different asset classes or industries which may perform poorly for a time in one area can be offset by better performance somewhere else. In the religious world, even among Christian portfolios, there is often a concern that selling out fully into God's grace is risky business ... even dangerous. It has become part of the church culture.

Did Jesus really do everything necessary to connect people to God for eternity and make them alive in Him ... or do we need to do our part to complete what He started? Will it be fully by faith or will it require expanding into various works? Are we going to put all of our eggs into one basket by investing 100% into the Jesus stock or will we feel the need to "hedge our bets" for some other type of spiritual safety net? Will we depend upon blood or behavior? Counting the cost isn't about us trying to figure out how to pay a debt that we'll never be able to fulfill. It's about trusting in Another who fully invested Himself in order for us to experience the peace found in a covenant of a promised guarantee.



   
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1043. Faith Expressing Itself Through Love

The sad reality for many weekly churchgoers is finding themselves wondering if they are doing enough to remain in God's good graces. They've been told about the risk of having dead faith if they lack in works. People who came to believe in Jesus by grace through faith—apart from works—didn't see the rug getting pulled out from underneath them when they had been previously told Jesus was their solid ground. Just exactly what works are needed? What specifically qualifies to keep the heartbeat of faith pumping?

They've heard misguided Bible teaching which they may have assumed was true and it sparked fear instead of love. They veered down a path in thinking faith is established and maintained based on their understanding of Bible verses ... or trusting in how their church leaders interpret them. Human perspectives labeled as absolute truth are limited and can change. There is a better place of peace, and it surpasses our understanding and our Bible academics. Our works are not the basis for justification or faith, but rather, experiencing the perfect love of God will allow for faith to be expressed from the inside out in a multitude of different ways.



   
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974. Door #1: Stand Firm in Liberty; Door #2: Entangled in a Yoke of Bondage

As Paul nears the end of his letter to the Galatians, he begins to wrap up his thoughts expressed previously, with a big "therefore" to start chapter 5. The exhortation is centered on standing firm in the freedom which came to them through belief in Christ alone, while avoiding the temptation of doing something to make themselves acceptable to God.

They began their journey in the Spirit until some "bewitchers" came along to steer them into a mixture of the Mosaic law and grace. Paul reveals that attempting to be justified by law and works instead of faith working through love will send them in the opposite direction of grace. This is the good news gospel. If Paul had written and suggested that they need to do more to prove outwardly they are Christians—starting with circumcision and other works of the law—that would have been a burdensome epistle and quite a "different gospel."



   
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973. Two Different Covenants: Slaves and Guardians, Children and Heirs

Bible chapters and verses can cause us to trip, skip and miss the crux of the context. Paul isn't hopscotching around on a variety of topics as he writes to the Galatians, but keeps making his points that piggyback off of one another as the letter flows. And it all revolves around a law of works that was once given to Israel and how it contrasts with life found in grace through faith for all people (Jew and Gentile).

This time, we're in Galatians 4, where there is verbiage being used about slaves, guardians, and stewards ... along with children and heirs ... and how the illustration involving some cultural things of that day compare to two covenants (the old and the new). One covenant from Mt. Sinai brought bondage because of human effort, while the other brought freedom through a promise that God made.



   
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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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965. Can We Have a Word? (A Look at the Word "Word")

The popular phrase from the Old Testament known as, "The Ten Commandments" is more rightfully interpreted as "The Ten Words." Is it a big deal? Perhaps not, but we wanted to point out a few things about this to lay some groundwork before getting into something that James wrote to his believing Jewish brothers and sisters from the twelve tribes.

James made a statement to them about being a doer of "the word" and not a hearer only. It's easy to brush past this, but let's put on the brakes and check it out in context. Just exactly what did James mean by being a doer of the word? How we answer this becomes a bigger deal. He also said that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. So what is it precisely that James believes will produce the righteousness of God? What did he mean when referring to the law of liberty? Is it a grace thing found within the New Covenant or something else? We'll dive into it and offer some perspectives over the next few programs.



   
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949. Salvation as a Gift - But What About Sanctification?

Even many who are stuck in certain degrees of legalism might agree with our recent discussions about salvation being offered as a gift by grace through faith. But they can't resist the temptation to somehow make works a part of the equation. One way of doing this is to suggest salvation is free and instantaneous (then listen for the "but"), BUT sanctification is a gradual process that we participate in - meaning our behavior and works. Before you know it, well-meaning believers are taking credit for their "sanctification" and thereby are receiving more blessings as they boast about themselves.

It may sound correct to the religious mindset, but let's take a look at how God has already gifted us with sanctification through Jesus Christ, just as He did for salvation. We'll land in a place where our boasting is in Jesus and what He provided for us that we could not do for ourselves.



   
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905. False Assumptions: Gentiles Are Defined as "Unbelievers"

Gentiles are referred to throughout the pages of the Bible, especially in the New Testament. Sometimes when Jesus mentioned them to his Jewish audience, it is assumed by the modern-day reader that he was just referring to unbelieving heathens. The meaning of the word gets more specific in the original language ... a Gentile is defined as a non-Jewish person—which would be over 99% of the world. The reason they were considered heathens and unclean from a Jewish perspective wasn't just because they were viewed as sinners, but were "covenant outsiders." At one point before the cross, Jesus sent out his disciples and told them to avoid going to Gentiles (and Samaritans). Certainly Jesus wouldn't tell them to avoid unbelieving people—that isn't why they were sent. But the gospel was to be ministered to the lost sheep of the house of Israel first.

After the resurrection, Jesus encouraged the disciples/apostles to go to the Gentiles. But that didn't really happen until years later when God came to Peter with a vision ... and Paul would eventually take the gospel to all people—with a big emphasis on Gentiles. Non-Jews were unfamiliar with the law and the promise of a Messiah, they had been without God and without hope in the world. Much to the dismay of many Jews who were clinging to the obsolete Mosaic law at that time, Gentiles would be saved in the same way as Jews—through faith in Jesus Christ, and not by a law of works.



   
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882. Legalistic Religion’s Push for Cheap Law (Grace Isn’t Cheap)

Those who advocate for a works-based attempt at getting right with God will often accuse the message of faith-based righteousness as nothing more than “cheap grace.” Of course, the Bible doesn’t caution against grace at all. Pure grace is not “dangerous ground” or something we can have too much of because God has poured out an abundance of grace—grace upon grace—which overflows beyond what is needed. There is no such thing as cheap grace because it cost God everything to bring people into a place of perfection through the bloody sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

However, there is something we don’t hear much about, but it dominates the corporate church communities … and that is cheap law. This is where the wolves will try to convince the sheep they can actually achieve success in keeping the rules and regulations of the Mosaic law (more accurately, a modernized, shrunken version of it). As members of the “hyper-grace” community, we realize the law of God given to Israel was something so holy, so good and so righteous, that nobody could possibly live up to that perfect standard. It was never given for that purpose … which is why it would be fulfilled by Jesus, allowing us to receive life by grace through faith, apart from works.



   
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455. Looking for Answers

No doubt you've run into passages in the Bible that had you wondering exactly what they meant. During those times that we are searching the scriptures for answers to our questions, having a good foundational understanding of the gospel and knowing the differences between the Old and New Covenant will help. It's easy to get confused with all the different viewpoints and opinions being discussed or when we run across scripture that seems to contradict another passage. We offer some perspective on how to avoid getting mixed up.


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