Growing in Grace

Paul told the Philippians that if anyone had reason to have confidence in the flesh based on commitment and dedication through various experiences and working diligently ... it would be him. But in spite of Paul's ability to boast—if he had chosen to do so—he counted it all as rubbish so that he may gain Christ. To gain Christ would be to attain righteousness ... not through the law or by his work...

Anyone can read the pages of the Bible repeatedly and still miss many themes and chunks of valuable information. One of these subjects which is found threaded throughout, especially in the New Testament, is the matter of two groups of people—those who are Jewish and those who are not ... referred to as Gentiles. Although Jesus came to minister primarily to Jews under the Mosaic law during His time...

As we read the pages of the Bible, it can be a very difficult thing to put ourselves in the shoes of the people living during the time of Jesus and those first decades after the cross. But becoming more aware of the historical aspects of that time as it relates to the gospel message may help us to understand some of the writings better. Otherwise, we may skim past significant information that has...

In the second chapter of Ephesians, Paul is explaining how salvation arrives for all people (Jew and Gentile) by grace through faith as a gift ... and not of works by which people can boast. As one who has been created in Christ as *His* workmanship—created not to do good works but *for* good works that we should walk in, we come to a place of humility as we realize we aren't blessed in *our* doin...

Mike and Joel are off this week - but not wanting to leave you podcastless this week, we're bringing back a previous episode. We'll be back in the new year with more new Growing in Grace episodes, including our upcoming celebration of 20 years and our 1,000th episode! Is the gospel of grace *really* as good as we’re making it out to be? Someone asked us if there was any kind of a catch … meaning i...

The Christmas holiday season brings a variety of things in our culture that people will celebrate. Some of it has much to do with the birth of Jesus, while for others, perhaps not so much and yet is still a joyous time for them. On this program we try to take a look at Christmas with a wider lens to see the bigger picture of what came together as it relates to eternity for God's creation. The Chri...

The gospel of grace is founded upon the gift of God's righteousness and justification because of what Jesus did to bring so great a salvation. It is not based on a merit system that brings blessings and approval for your good works while withholding the same because of poor performance. And while works can be good and profitable, it certainly isn't the mechanism by which we are made heirs, nor doe...

Someone who out-performs the majority of Christians with extraordinary works and extends compassion towards others outwardly, could do so with great consistency without ever having claimed to believe in Jesus Christ. They could demonstrate what appears to be fruitful behavior through their works and actions without having faith that brings justification. On the other hand, a believer in Jesus Chri...

Understanding that James did not have a full revelation of grace apart from the law of Moses at the time he penned his letter to believers from the 12 tribes of Israel will clear up much confusion for Bible readers. After offering his perspective on Abraham in the attempt to make his case for law, he said this: "You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only." Is that the goo...

When it comes to righteousness as a gift from God, the "faith without works" crowd struggles to explain their inconsistent approach. Some will appear to speak words about God's grace while later their lips leak legalism because the mindsets they have been clinging to are based upon false assumptions that have been hammered into them by the church Doctrine Department. If one who believes in Christ...

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...

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 com...

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...

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...

Jesus told His disciples that He did not come to abolish the Law and the Prophets but to fulfill. And what was meant when He said that not one jot or tittle will pass from the law? Does this contradict what Paul said about the law having been abolished by Jesus in His flesh? For those who might suggest the words of Jesus in Matthew 5 imply that the Mosaic law continues to function in some way, sha...

Nullified. Cancelled. Abolished. Annulled. Set aside. Ended. Obsolete. After the cross and resurrection, these are some words used to describe the Mosaic law of stone tablet commandments contained in ordinances within a covenant between God and the Jewish people. It had a purpose for a certain period of time but was destined to reach an expiration date ... which was until the time of Christ and Hi...

The world is filled with people wanting to know they are forgiven and in right standing with God. Even professing believers in Jesus may struggle in fear and uncertainty. The foundation of the Christian religion is sometimes a confusing mishmash of works and faith which often puts the focus on behavior and a modernized version of law keeping. Just exactly what is it that changed when Jesus shed bl...

We've received some heartbreaking letters over the years from people living in fear and torment. Much of this is because of misinformation being communicated from those claiming to be educated Bible teachers. Some are leading a local church, while others are quite popular nationally, with books, big churches, and TV or radio ministries. Some even prefer to be called "doctor." There are far too man...

Jewish people under the Old Covenant dedicated themselves to trying to follow a written blueprint (law) they believed would bring them to a place of God's acceptance. First, they felt favored and privileged as people who were born under the banner of such a covenant made between God and Israel. Now all they had to do was to actually do what the law said. They convinced themselves they were doing i...

Paul explains in Romans 9 that under the Mosaic law contained within the Old Covenant, the Jewish people were attempting to pursue righteousness through their works and actions. They believed the commandments written and engraved on tablets of stone would get them to this destination. But they failed. They were never able to attain or arrive at the "coveted" place of right-standing with God throug...

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 o...

The New Covenant is far better and more glorious than the old and obsolete one established with the people of Israel initiated during the days of Moses. In other words, the ministry of JESUS is superior to the first covenant containing the law. Why? The old way required the people to hold up their end of the agreement (they said they would *do* it - but they didn't). The new way of Jesus would be...

Many who have attended a church for most of their lives can attest that they seldom or never heard teaching that revolves around the concept of the New Covenant. They may have been taught to view the Bible as one book, and in doing so, have been confused with a combination of two very different covenants that don't always translate into the true gospel. There are also some who don't believe there...

As we keep browsing through the later part of Paul's letter to the Galatians, notice the contrast between flesh and Spirit. To Paul's dismay, the Galatians had been baited into adding works and law to their faith in Christ. Paul was trying to pull them out of the ditch and steer them back onto the road less traveled ... walking by the Spirit and bearing the fruit of the Spirit, where there is no l...

Did Paul encourage the Galatians to keep the Mosaic law? In spite of the many church teachings we've been exposed to over the years, the answer is no. But one may ask, didn't Paul encourage his audience to work on loving their neighbor as themselves? Isn't this the key summary to people fulfilling that burdensome law? If we chop up one verse without the context, some may assume this is what he sai...