New Year 2026 - Revisiting Episode 931: Freedom From the Religion of "How To"

Happy New Year all! We'll be back in 2026 with plenty of brand new grace-filled episodes. This week we're going back into the archives for an encouraging episode that focuses on our identity in Christ apart from what we do, and the freedom we have in Him.

The church system in Christianity is largely based on following formulas and three-point sermons to help people work at how to become something they think they are not. The message of the gospel of grace is based on a very different and more solid foundation. Instead of working through steps and principles on how to become a better Christian ... more holy, more sanctified, forgiven, etc. we come to realize God has gifted us as heirs with these qualities as His child.

His divine power in us has given everything we need that pertains to life and godliness—apart from works. It's not about trying harder or a "how-to" but it's about "a Him" ... where our life and identity is found in a place of peace and perfection.




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1006. Choose Life (It's Found in Jesus, Not Works and Law)

The law that came to the Jewish people through Moses was considered to be a word that they believed was able to save their souls and result in attaining righteousness. The only requirement was for them to do it—all of it. After the cross, even Jews who came to believe in Jesus lacked an understanding about a new and better covenant ... as they continued to pursue a relationship with that law of works.

The difference in gaining life is found in Christ by faith. Under the law in Deuteronomy 30, "The word is very near you. It is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it." It is referencing the word of the law. Paul quoted this reference in Romans 10 but brought a needed revealing of the gospel ... "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

The word of law that demands doing vs. the word of faith that results in justification by believing ... the difference is as far as the east is from the west.



   
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989. Why Do People Gravitate Towards Religious Rules and Law?

Paul wrote to the Galatians with the motivation to help turn them back to grace and the ministry of the Spirit that he had introduced to them. They had come freely to Christ by faith alone and received the Spirit apart from works ... but they would later be solicited by believing Jews who warned them they also needed certain applications from the law of Moses—starting with circumcision.

It got us thinking about a question that may be difficult to answer: What if they had never been approached by the Judaizers who were baiting them into adding law/works to faith? Would they have continued on the path of grace by faith alone as Paul had ministered to them? Or would they have drifted towards feeling the need to establish or maintain their own righteousness without any outside persuasion? In other words, as humans, are elements of legalism and fleshed-based works unavoidable in this world?

As God's creation, we are faced with many choices. Ask yourself, do you believe confidently in what God did through the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, to bring you life and a righteous perfection ... or do you feel it was deficient and uncertain enough for you to work at adding something to it? It may even be something related to church ceremonial practices. Will we listen to the witness from within or the wide array of audible voices from outside?



   
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979. Just Another Religion? Shrinking the Christ Life Down to a Religious To-Do List

If someone were to sincerely come up and ask you: "What is the Christian life?" How would you describe it? Let's pause this week and ask ourselves this same question. By doing so, it may lead us to pause and reflect—and perhaps learn something from the One who abides within.

Has our belief in Jesus Christ been turned into something that can be found in the smorgasbord of most of the thousands of other religions that are out there? Have we shrunk what was meant to be a supernatural, interactive relationship down to a "to-do" list of rigorous religious routines that focus more on the external ... while leading many towards self-condemnation and the judging of others?

Maybe (just maybe) life in Christ is far wider, longer, higher, and deeper than what we have known. Perhaps God wants us to experience Him in a way that abundantly exceeds our limited assumptions—significantly beyond what we could ask or think regarding the doctrines of men, theology, and Bible interpretations. You want this. In fact, you inwardly long for it ... and the good news is ... God wants you to have it.



   
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944. You Are Not Under Law but Under Grace (No "Balance" Required)

The Christian religion has notoriously attempted to mix the grace of the gospel of Jesus Christ with a hodgepodge of works-based rules and requirements that will vary with great extreme from one denominational brand to the next. Leapfrogging through various Bible verses which are often taken out of the context of the New Covenant can leave people in a place of uncertainty when it is based upon our doing instead of the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Our conversation will examine the inconsistencies in mixing various aspects of old covenant law with the assurance we have in Christ by faith. Paul made a simple and yet profound statement that is easily overlooked: "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace" (Romans 6:14).



   
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931. Freedom From the Religion of "How To"

The church system in Christianity is largely based on following formulas and three-point sermons to help people work at how to become something they think they are not. The message of the gospel of grace is based on a very different and more solid foundation. Instead of working through steps and principles on how to become a better Christian ... more holy, more sanctified, forgiven, etc. we come to realize God has gifted us as heirs with these qualities as His child.

His divine power in us has given everything we need that pertains to life and godliness—apart from works. It's not about trying harder or a "how-to" but it's about "a Him" ... where our life and identity is found in a place of peace and perfection.



   
Get the book

893. "Just Give Me a List of Commands - So I Know What to Do"

When people disagree on various things from within the realm of religion, sometimes after the debate has run its course, the go-to statement is suggesting the Bible is our final authority. This positively sounds like a spiritual truth, but there is a bit of a problem with it ... and that is ... the very thing that is being strongly disagreed upon is something found within the pages of the Bible! In reality, what is meant with such a statement is "what we think the Bible says is our final authority."

We provide some examples of this with a perspective from a group who believes there are 1,050 required "commandments" found in the pages of the New Testament. You'll notice the lists that are found in various church statements or membership agreements vary quite a bit in length, depending on the denominational brand.

Any works-based ideology will always be vague and leave believers hungering and thirsting for more assurance and peace. While one person can find security and comfort with a message of faith, grace and love, someone else may tend to see a "do this or else" within nearly every Bible verse. Their minds were programmed to make such assumptions partly because they've never been told about what the cross of Jesus accomplished. For some, it's just a rule book (and one they can't live up to).



   
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892. Freedom From a Yoke of Bondage (Law and Commandments)

Many corners of corporate Christianity have advocated for a ministry of law and works, combining a mixture of two very different covenants. The law contained within the first covenant made with Israel was what Paul described as a ministry of death and condemnation, and a yoke of bondage. And yet the "Christian religion" has taken a very small portion of that law and tried to apply it to the gospel.

These cheerleaders for "the law" are pulling the wool over the eyes of the sheep, because they are ignoring most of it. They have little clue as to what the Mosaic law states or are willingly ignoring the bulk of it. Each denominational brand will pick and choose what should apply and what should be tossed out. Jesus provided all of us with a better option than a written rule book ... His Spirit.



   
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874. Jesus Is Not a Religion

Who could forget the famous quote from Jesus: “I have come to give you religion, and to give it more abundantly.” Whoops. That doesn’t sound quite like what Jesus said—because it’s not. He came to give life. He came to bring truth. He came to show the way. He came to bring peace. And these are all contained within Him. He is all of these! Religious rule-keeping isn’t based upon faith and doesn’t result into life eternal.

Only God’s Spirit can reveal the depth of God’s love and guide us into the supernatural life we have received from belief in the risen Christ. Christianity is not meant to be a religion or the “right religion.” But sadly, we have taken many of the concepts that thousands of lifeless religions have used. And it revolves around this: Trying to DO something to get a response from God, instead of resting in His response to us.



   
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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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