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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988. Considering the Words of Jesus in Context

Christians today may often have the idea that Jesus was always speaking directly to us. If we start getting honest with ourselves and take a close look at some of the words He was speaking—especially to the disciples—we'll begin to see a religious and blinding veil lifted, and consider who He was speaking to, when He said it, and why He said what He said.

The mixing of law and grace has been a common issue for a long time ... and much of it will have to do with misunderstanding the mission of Jesus while quoting Him out of context. For example, we think Jesus was teaching "us" with instructions during the "sermon on the mount." But He told His audience (the disciples) not to be like the Gentiles (or those born outside of the Jewish circle). Once we begin to understand that the mission of Jesus was aimed at delivering the Jews from the Mosaic law ... we'll also begin to realize this was necessary so Gentiles could also come to life by grace through faith.



   
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987. Doing Everything Jesus Said (Hypocrisy Exposed)

When church folks advocate and attempt to indoctrinate that we are required to keep and obey everything Jesus said, there is a very apparent and glaring problem with this mindset. You may have noticed ... they aren't doing it themselves. Hypocrisy is exposed but usually ignored, as the very thing they are touting is really just a selective version of pick and choose as they deceive themselves into thinking they are "doers" who end up landing in a pile of filthy rags known as self-righteousness.

We don't ignore or dismiss the words of Jesus. But much of what He said to Jewish people who were still under an unprofitable law of works before the cross needs to be considered in the proper context rather than trying to "Christianize" it into something that leaves believers today misinformed and off track. Jesus did not come with a new set of rules that would be harder and more challenging than the commands from the Mosaic law that nobody had ever successfully kept.



   
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986. Jesus: "Observe All That I Commanded You" (Uh Oh)

We pulled an email from the archives that we received from a listener who was explaining that their pastor believes the "sermon on the mount" was a teaching from Jesus that was meant as a list of new instructions—a Christian thing for future believers to follow and obey.

They arrived at that conclusion because of something Jesus said to His disciples after the resurrection: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

As believers in Christ living inside of a new and better covenant ... is it the goal for us today to work at following everything Jesus shared with His disciples or charged them to do? It seems like a simple answer, after all, we're talking about the red letters, right? But let's consider the bigger context of what that would mean if we were to work at applying every syllable found in each Bible verse containing the words of Jesus.



   
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840. Buyer Beware: The Quid Pro Quo of Religious Forgiveness

A Bible verse often quoted is when Jesus told His Jewish disciples that if they did not forgive others for their sins, neither would God forgive them for their sins. In context, we see that Jesus wasn’t speaking to all future believers, but rather to people who were trapped within an old (obsolete) covenant which had certain requirements related to works rather than grace. The gospel within a new and better covenant is not based on a quid pro quo — “you do this, and God will do the same for you.” This would be the opposite of the great exchange and would not be good news to the hearers.

The Apostle Paul said something very different to believers in Christ compared to what Jesus stated. Once we realize and understand the magnitude of God already freely forgiving us through the blood of Jesus … we can now forgive others in a way that people under the law would have been unable to do. The difference between what Jesus said compared to Paul is found within two covenants that are not alike. The Old was still in place before the cross, but everything changed after that.

   
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826. Things Seldom Heard in Church: "Mount Sermon" Not a New Christian Teaching

If you are under the assumption that most of what Jesus spoke was meant to be applied directly for you as a believer in Christ, you’ll end up with all sorts of inconsistencies and potential confusion in your belief system. Within those red letters found in the Bible, the majority of what Jesus spoke was aimed at Jewish people who were under a hopeless position, living under the law within what is now an obsolete covenant.

But if you’ve been taught by church ideology that when Jesus was speaking to His disciples … that He was also talking to you … then you’ll jump to some inaccurate conclusions when it comes to the gospel of grace.

Are we dismissing, ignoring or running from the words of Jesus? Absolutely not. Understanding the ministry of Jesus as a man walking the earth—and what He spoke at that time—needs to be considered in the proper context in order to come to a greater knowledge of the truth.

Five years ago we did a foundational 20-podcast series called "Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants" that will help in understanding all of this.  The first episode of that series can be found here, and you can listen to the subsequent parts from there, or you can listen via the YouTube playlist here.

   
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804. The 800 Club: Looking Back - Embracing Hyper-Grace

We’re celebrating over 800 podcasts, looking back at some of our key discussions from over the years. Several years ago, we were listed in a book, along with other grace ministries, and were accused of “running from the words of Jesus.” Of course, we’ve always embraced the red letters, but there is a context of two different covenants to consider. Hyper-grace accusers are established in a legalistic mindset which tries to combine two very different covenants into one as they tout the need for a “balance” between law and grace.

So just exactly what does hyper-grace mean? It’s not what the religious business is trying to sell you, and Paul actually provides an explanation of God’s unlimited and overflowing grace in the book of Romans—where he declared that grace is indeed hyper. Don’t buy into the myths and fables that grace gives a license to sin or is considered to be cheap grace when there is “too much” of it. It is actually a legalistic, mixed-covenant approach which cheapens the law and will “license” people to keep sinning … but sinful behavior is never sourced or encouraged by the grace of God—quite the opposite. 

During this episode we mentioned a past three-part series entitled The Dangers of Mixing Law and Grace.  You can listen to the series here:
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3

   
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730. Red Letters Were Not Always Meant for You

“Jesus said it, I believe it.” “It’s a red-letter verse!” “We should obey everything Jesus said.” “When Jesus spoke to His disciples, it means He was speaking to us.”

These are a few of the comments you’ve probably heard over the years regarding the words of Jesus. What the pulpit may have neglected to tell you is that Jesus was born under the law and spoke about things regarding the Old Covenant in order to redeem the Jewish people from that bondage — it has become a covenant that is obsolete. Religion has copied and pasted many red-letter verses onto the church wall that were never meant to be applied into the lives of believers. We don’t discard these words of Jesus, but we embrace them within the proper context of the New Covenant and awaken to grace and truth realized through the Person of Jesus.



   
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729. Red Letters + Golden Rule = Spiritual Blues

Most of us have been taught that Jesus ushered in a New Covenant at His birth and began to teach new guidelines and rules for believers and future Christians to follow. Having this mindset will cause us to begin filtering all of the Scripture through this faulty assumption, causing our lenses to see a fake gospel which isn’t really the good news at all. Even the so-called golden rule was not a new guideline for Christians, but it was an old statute from the law—a ministry that could only supply the Jewish people with death and condemnation. Jesus was on a mission to free people from such a bondage.



   
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Clash of the Covenants - new book from Mike

The brand new book, Clash of the Covenants - Escaping Religious Bondage Through the Grace Guarantee, from Growing in Grace co-host Mike Kapler is now available for Kindle on Amazon!  Remember, you don't need a Kindle in order to read.  Download the Kindle app on your computer, tablet or smartphone. 

GOD IS NOT YOUR PAROLE OFFICER, HE BROKE YOU OUT OF PRISON!

Have you been robbed by religion? Have you ever wondered where you really stood with God? For everyone trapped in a mindset of wondering whether God is angry or disappointed with them due to a lack of performance or dedication, help is on the way. In fact, it already arrived more than a couple thousand years ago.

Christian churches are filled with people who have been hearing Bible teaching built upon a foundation of mixing together two very different covenants that are not alike. Frequently embraced in most Christian circles, the practice of combining the old and new covenants has resulted in a diluted version of the gospel. This religious formula has caused many to avoid the institutional church altogether, often puts them in a state of confusion, and leaves them hungering and thirsting for a new identity of righteousness, unaware it has already been provided.

The current reality of unconditional love, peace, freedom, forgiveness, and everything else that is good, has been gifted to us by God's grace through the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is the message most people have been longing to experience, but it may require a complete change of mind from a lifetime of traditional church doctrines that have left many drowning in guilt and feeling as though they are in a state of bondage. God has provided a way of escape from the burdensome religious business—it is through a New Covenant where it is impossible for us to fail, because Jesus is the mediator and guarantee of this better covenant, and it has been established on better promises.

442. Critics of Grace and The Words of Jesus

Recently, Growing in Grace podcasters Mike & Joel were criticized among other ministries of grace in a new book steeped in legalism. The attack stems from what the author views as "hypergrace." Specifically he accuses this ministry of "running" from the words of Jesus. Of course we have 9 years of recordings that would tell a different story. There are many things in the scriptures that weren't specifically spoken to us personally, but that doesn't mean we run from them. They are truths still meant to teach us a bigger truth (the gospel) and this week we'll address some of these things while attempting to provide proper context.

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391. Jesus Taught the Law to Show How Impossible It Is

Jesus said He didn't come to abolish the Law and the Prophets, but to fulfill them. And this is exactly what He did. He taught the law. He directed the people who were under the law (the Jews) to follow the law. His law ministry was directed to people who were under the law. Why did He do this? Jesus was showing those who thought they were following the law that they really fell far short of it.

If you're going to try to justify yourself before God by attempting to follow the standards of His laws, Jesus will show you, as He did various people whom He came across, just how lofty a standard the law really is! We can then either go away sad (like the rich young ruler did) or we can come to the realization that since it's such an unattainable standard, what we really need is the gift of God's righteousness, apart from any of our own attempts at living up to God's lawful standards.

The gospel is not about us establishing righteousness through what we do. But rather it's about God establishing it for us. This is what Jesus attempted to reveal as He spoke to these people prior to the New Covenant.

Jesus Taught the Law to Show How Impossible It Is (14 Min, 9.6 MB)
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206. Identifying Ourselves Correctly in the Parables

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The words of Jesus - surprisingly to many people - are not always what they seem at face value, as we've discussed over the past few weeks here on Growing in Grace. Often we begin with a preconceived premise in our determination of what Jesus is trying to communicate, but if we start with the wrong premise then we're going to end up going down the wrong path, leading to the wrong conclusions. With this in mind, this week we take a look at how various characters in the parables that Jesus told are often misunderstood because we often start with the wrong premise of the meaning of each parable.

Often the parable of the Good Samaritan is read and taught in such a way as to make us (Christians) out to be people who should strive to be the Good Samaritan in the story. The parables of the Pearl of Great Price and of the Treasure Hidden in a Field are presented as stories that show Jesus as a precious pearl and treasure that we are to purchase after we sell all we have. Are these things really what these parables are communicating? We'll take into consideration the people Jesus was talking with in each situation and what questions He was responding to, and also take into account the surrounding context and other New Covenant truth to help us sort out who some of characters in the parables really represent.

Hint: We often try to make ourselves the heroes and/or the centerpieces of the parables. But perhaps these parables really show us how Jesus is the hero and centerpiece!