There is a wide array of different church affiliations out there around the world and many have very differing points of view on many different things. But there are some common threads found through the spectrum. First, most believe that they pretty much use the Bible as the source for their beliefs. Second, they mix an "old covenant" that Israel was under with a new and better covenant established after Jesus died.
The first covenant came through Moses and was based on pursuing righteousness by works and deeds. The second came by Jesus Christ, bringing a realization of grace and the gift of righteousness apart from works and deeds. Two very different covenants—manifested at different times—and were not alike.
Naturally, this begs the question: Why do so many Christians and churches feel the need to have a "balance" by mixing law and grace? We offer some possibilities on this week's program.
Since the death and resurrection of Jesus, both Jews and Gentiles are justified by grace, apart from works. How can we keep from getting tangled between a mixture of law and grace ... or faith and works? Once we begin to understand that non-Jewish people (Gentiles) were never given the law that Moses handed to Israel, this will be a step in the right direction. That's right, the law was never for us to use. The Church has been thrown into a lurch by trying to balance law and grace and attempting to place believers in Christ under a combination of two different covenants—albeit a very revised version of it in our modern culture.
In the book of Galatians, Paul addresses this confusion to some believing Gentiles who had been persuaded by Judaizers they needed Jesus plus certain aspects of the Mosaic law. When Paul called the law a tutor, a better interpretation in our English language is "guardian" ... as some translations will show. Let's take a closer look at what Paul said in Galatians 3 and 4 from his Jewish perspective and how it translates to Gentiles and Jews ... then and now. We'll want to consider not only the historical background, and not just the context of the passage, but the context of the gospel itself so we can get a better view of the bigger picture.
Over the years on our podcast, much of what we’ve talked about revolves around the New Covenant which was established at the time of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Sadly, many folks who regularly attend their local church are very unfamiliar with either covenant, and it’s rather shocking to see so many believers uninformed about the New because it reveals the truth of the gospel.
This week, we’ll chat about some specific differences between these two covenants and how the new way brought grace to the human race. A few nuggets we discuss … God made a covenant with the Jewish people—which they agreed to—and yet they failed miserably with that stone tablet ministry. Nobody could keep the requirement. It was all one law, not broken up into different categories. Religion has gotten it wrong by thinking some of the law ended and some of it still applies. The entire Old Covenant containing a law of works was made completely obsolete.
One of the greatest helps people will experience when it comes to understanding the gospel of grace is to know the Bible is contextualized into two very different covenants. When one assumes the Bible is “all one book” or everything in it is aimed at them directly, it can lead to confusion and have other negative impacts.
Another easy trap to fall into is the “following” of men or women who have a certain celebrity status due to a nationally known ministry through media, books, etc. This doesn’t have to apply to only well-known people in the ministry, it could occur with anyone who has influence. Of course, there is nothing wrong with enjoying or benefitting from the teaching of the gospel from those who are gifted in communicating truth.
But Paul was discouraging people in Corinth from jumping on bandwagons in his day that had people dividing into different persuasions based upon personality and possibly other unknown preferences. Some wanted to follow Paul, others wanted to identify with the teaching of Apollos or Peter. Paul stated he didn’t die for anybody, and nobody was baptized in his name. Following preachers or people is fleshly; it’s a human weakness which Paul discouraged.
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.
Church corporations have generally made it their mission to erroneously mix two very different covenants. One came to an end and the other Jesus established by replacing the Old one with a something New, established upon better promises.
Those who desire to keep one foot in the “land of the legal” have coached the sheep to do their best to follow the Ten Commandments and other selective parts of the law which came to Israel through Moses. This is one of the most hypocritical and misunderstood pieces of legalistic legislation to ever hit the church. We point out just a few of the inconsistencies.
In this sixth part of the series, we wrap up our brief look at Abraham and the significance of his part in God’s redemptive picture, which is a picture described throughout Scripture. Interestingly, in spite of what appears to be a fleshly effort by having a child through his servant Hagar, the Bible declares Abraham was not weak in faith, and did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith. Righteousness was credited to him because of belief, just as it is to us today, apart from law or works.
Hundreds of years before God gave the law to Moses, there was Abraham. Through him God brought forth a promise, where he would become the father of many nations that would occur through a child promised to him and Sarah. Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. It was by faith the promise arrived, not works. The Apostle Paul explains how Abraham’s two sons represent the two covenants—both the Old and the New. The son born from Hagar (the bondwoman) was born according to the flesh, whereas the son from Sarah (the freewoman) through promise. One gave birth to bondage, symbolic of Mount Sinai, and the other gave birth to freedom, which would include justification for Gentiles through faith.
The subject of hungering and thirsting for more of God is an excellent example of being able to see where Jesus would speak of two completely different covenants during His ministry. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matthew 5:6). He wasn't speaking to believers of today, but to Jewish people stuck in a system of hopelessness and despair. They were not blessed because they hungered, but because eventually the hunger and thirst would be satisfied. As believers in Christ, we no longer hunger or thirst for God or His righteousness. How do we know this? Later in the book of John, Jesus said, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst."
Although much of Jesus' ministry was for those under the law of the first covenant, He also shared about some things to come when the New Covenant would begin after His death. Jesus spoke of how He would go away and the Holy Spirit would come to help us. So what are some of the things the Spirit helps us with? We take a look at just a few examples that will hopefully bring some peace and comfort to you.
As Jesus looked ahead to the New Covenant, He shared with His disciples that they would have the ability to bear the fruit that only God is able to produce. He said He would no longer call them servants, but friends. He also shared about the power to love through His new commands that would not be burdensome, unlike the law and commandments that came through the law found in the first covenant given to Israel. This is about abiding in Him. How do we do that? We talk about it on this week's program.
