1075. You’re Secure in Christ Because of God’s Promise, Not Your Performance

In spite of whatever ups and downs you've had on this planet ... whatever inconsistencies and broken promises you've lived or experienced from others ... no matter what the struggles ... we have a guarantee. It's Jesus. While the religions of the world (often including Christianity) will tend to focus on 'our' doing, our methods, our efforts and our good deeds to be seen by others—God made an oath with Himself that you and I can't invalidate. Therefore, neither can He—because He is the one true Promise Keeper.

Behavior improvements are beneficial for us and those around us. But you are not identified by performance and what you're "doing for God." Our eternal redemption is not established on improvements but is based on 'being' perfect through an act that a Savior did for us. God will not relate to you on the basis of good or bad performance. On the other side of that coin, true peace and freedom will be more fully experienced when we stop relating to Him on the basis of our performance and begin to embrace our righteous identity that has been gifted to us by 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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881. True or False: "Nobody’s Perfect"

We’re all familiar with the phrase “nobody’s perfect.” But is this a true statement? If one is referring to the actions, works, and behavior of people, then this is to be considered true. But if the reference is about attaining perfection apart from works and behavior, then we can point to a perfection that was inherited or gifted which came through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. A law of works was incapable of making people perfect.

The Jews may have thought they were “a work in progress” as they pursued right standing with God through their actions and attempted obedience to the Mosaic law of 613 commandments. But that law was useless in making them perfect … and perfection was the requirement. Works and repeated blood sacrifices could not make people perfect. We can’t earn our way towards God’s approval … regardless of whatever religious denominational tenets we want to use as a guide.



   
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802. The 800 Club: Looking Back - We Have No Relationship With the Mosaic Law

We continue to celebrate the recording of our 800th program as we look back over some foundational discussions we’ve had over the years. Have you ever had religious folks from church tell you that we’re meant to try to live by the standard of law that God worked out in a covenant with Israel which came through Moses? The problem is … they cheapen the law by eliminating significant chunks or changing it to fit their mold. This was a perfect standard that required perfect results—which nobody has ever accomplished.

The world needed a Savior who could fulfill the law for us and bring us into a better covenant of grace. Perfection would come to us, but not by what we do. Grace isn’t cheap, it cost Jesus everything and it was free for us. But cheap law dominates many man-made church doctrines and leads people away from the gospel.

   
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766. God Withholds No Good Thing - If You Walk Uprightly (And Now the Bad News…)

Some specific Bible verses seem to be consistently more popular among the Christian sermon circuit. And yet on many occasions, the verses are plucked out of context and contorted in order to appear as though they should be applied to the life of a believer within the New Covenant of Jesus Christ.

But what if the message turns out to be a misapplied myth or fable that isn’t really compatible with the gospel of grace? We look at once such example this week from Psalms 84:11 … where a conditional promise was announced for those under the Mosaic law who walked uprightly. The problem? Nobody ever accomplished it. But God provided another solution that wasn’t based on our walk.



   
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753. Hebrews 10: No More Offerings = No More Forgiveness Required

Under the old law of commandments which Israel had been under for many years, we discover that ministry could make nothing perfect or take away sins. It was considered by God to be faulty and that law (or laws) is not what is written on our hearts within a new and better covenant. The Old way brought a reminder of sins, but in the New Covenant Jesus established after His death, God declared He would no longer remember sins.

The removal of sins and the end of sacrifices brought a complete forgiveness, once for all. No more forgiveness is being offered because the offerings stopped and no further blood is being shed. Blood no longer needs to be poured out when sins have been thrown as far as the east is from the west.

On this podcast we referred to a blog post written by Joel a few years ago called Instant and Permanent Sanctification, as well as a previous podcast in our current Hebrews series, Hebrews 8: One Bible - Two Different Covenants (Not to Be Mixed).



   
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752. Hebrews 10: Forgiven and Sanctified (Jesus Sat Down)

When the commandments which came through Moses were still in effect during the first covenant, every priest under the law stood daily while offering the same sacrifices over and over which could never take away sins. The only time a priest would be allowed to sit is if there were no further forgiveness needed for sin … of course, that never happened.

But Jesus offered one (1) sacrifice for sins resulting in forgiveness … and not just up until that moment … but all sins for all time. Afterwards, we find His offering was more than enough as our new High Priest sat down at the right hand of God. The job was truly complete, and the work of forgiveness was finished, once for all. It also gifted us with instant sanctification and perfection—something the law could never do, no matter how hard one tried to keep it.



   
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748. Hebrews 9: The Failure of Ceremony and Sacrifice

Priests appointed through the law under the Old Covenant always went into the tabernacle to offer the blood of animals for their own sins and the sins of the people. It was a temporary solution that needed to constantly be repeated because these gifts and sacrifices could not meet God’s requirement of perfection, and left the worshippers in a state of sin consciousness.

But when Christ appeared as High Priest (after the law), everything radically changed.



   
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746. Hebrews 7: Jesus Became the Guarantee of a Better Covenant

In order for Jesus to become a permanent High Priest and for the New Covenant to be established, first the entire law of commandments which came through Moses had to be annulled and brought to an end. This promise or word of the oath occurred “after the law,” where the Son was made perfect forever.

The old priesthood and commandments from the law were defined as weak and useless by the writer of Hebrews—and couldn’t bring the required perfection for the people. This resulted in a better hope and a better covenant than what the Israelites had been under since they had escaped from Egypt. Jesus is that New Covenant of grace and we have been brought into Him.



   
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740. Hebrews 5-6: Obedience and Repentance From Dead Works

The enemy relishes to shoot Bible verses at people that are taken out of context, which can spawn fear and uncertainty into a works-based gospel, rather than a gospel based upon faith. We look at a couple of these verses in an attempt to shed some light on the bigger picture within the proper context. Sometimes the enemy is in our own back yard that we consider to be a safe place.

“Christ is salvation, but only for those who are obedient. You must obey everything Jesus said.” The fear factor: Am I obedient enough and where do I stand with God?

“It’s impossible to renew people to repentance who have fallen away.” The fear factor: Am I still saved?

This entire letter to Hebrew believers was a message of good news and reassurance found in what Jesus did … and not in what we do.



   
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