After salvation, how then, shall we live?
Is Grace the best path, or is Law the best path?
Many come to sites like JGIG that address issues of Law and Grace thinking that those in the Grace camp preach either easy believism, antinomianism, that Grace is a license to sin, or that we believe/teach all three.
Let Me Address the ‘Easy-Believism’ Misperception First
Some will make a charge of ‘easy believism’ against those who preach the Gospel of Grace, using this single verse from Scripture:
James 2:19
You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that — and shudder.
They then try to equate that belief of demons with faith in Christ. Demons do understand – they know Who Jesus is – they believe that fact – but they don’t put their faith in His Work. It is not the same thing at all. The unspoken accusation here, whether intended or not, is that belief by humans, without the added performance of Law, is no better than the belief of demons. What a motivator, eh?!
Broken people who have been saved by Grace through Faith, in the midst of healing and restoring by the Spirit of God, don’t believe like the demons believe. They are placing their faith and trust in the God Who came in the flesh to die a horrible death to satisfy the wrath that should have come on them and are instead receiving complete forgiveness that He freely gives, enabling Him to impute to them the Righteousness of Christ, resulting in New Life – the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – making them a New Creation in Christ (Romans 5 and 2 Corinthians 5:16-21)!
No, the belief that demons exercise is something quite different indeed.
Now that THAT’S out of the way, let’s move on to the antinomian and license to sin charges.
The Misperceptions that Grace Teaches Antinomianism and/or a License to Sin
This is what the Scriptures say about what Grace teaches:
Titus 2:11-14
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It [grace] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
You’d think that would be the end of it, but no . . .
Setting aside, for the moment, the fact that a gospel gained by Grace through Faith but not maintained by Grace through Faith from first to last (Romans 1:16-17) is really no gospel at all (Galatians 1:6-9), another huge issue in the Grace/Law debate, for the purposes here, I’ll limit this post to the following:
Team Law relies on outward works of the Law as fruit of salvation – performance based evidence.
For Torah folk, whom JGIG tends to address primarily, that means the keeping of Old Covenant Laws: Feasts, days, dietary laws, wearing tzit tzit, etc. For other team Law folks it may be baptism by sprinkling vs. immersion as proof of salvation or the speaking of tongues as the ‘proof’ or ‘fruit’ that one is truly saved, etc., what to wear, whether or not to go to movies, haircuts, head-coverings, etc., depending on the stream of thought in which one swims. There are bunches more examples, but you get the idea.
Team Grace sees Grace and the Holy Spirit as that which/Who empowers us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives. Evidence of salvation lies in the production of the Spirit’s Fruit. When one is truly saved, Fruit happens.
We don’t produce fruit; we bear fruit.
Fruit is the inevitable outflow of the work of God’s Spirit and Grace in and through us, those being the Fruits of the Spirit as stated in Galatians 5:22-26. Those Fruits often manifest in the flesh as works of love and service to others, opening up avenues for the sharing of the Gospel with the Lost. One can absolutely be demonstrating the Fruits of the Spirit while not Feast or day keeping, observing dietary laws, wearing tzit tzit, etc.
It’s interesting to note that Spirit-led Fruit tends to look outward with concern for others, having a heart for the Lost, while performance-led fruit tends to turn one’s focus inward, always self-examining to make sure they are in line with whatever system of law they’ve put themselves under. If they have time, they busy themselves examining other Christians, exhorting them to also put themselves under law in order to achieve holiness before God so that they, too, can avoid God’s wrath. Little time (if any) is left over for the Lost.
Regarding the keeping of Law, let’s take a look at what we see in Galatians:
Galatians 5:16-18
16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Galatians 5:22-23
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The first Fruit of the Spirit is love. The rest of the Fruits, in my opinion, are all elements, or subsets, if you will, of love. If one is loving (verb), they are, most likely, exhibiting joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against such things. This echoes Galatians 5:18, “If we are led by the Spirit we are not under law”, after which the Fruits of being led by the Spirit are listed.
A commenter at JGIG’s Facebook page asked this excellent question out of frustration:
Andrea wrote,
“But I can’t love because it is a command – Because I am under grace [and not under law]. Do see how you guys make absolutely NO SENSE?!”
Andrea was referring to the quoting of this passage:
1 John 3:21-24
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
It’s a great question! If we’re not under Law, but after the Cross God commands us to love – sometimes referred to as the Law of Christ – what’s up with that?!
Here’s the really cool thing:
Love is a Fruit of the Spirit as well as a command. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Though love is a command, it’s also a fruit.
Do fruit-producing plants strive to produce fruit? No . . . the branches bear fruit because they are attached to the vine/tree/plant which nourishes them. Fruit is the by-product of LIFE, and it takes time for fruit to be produced. If you are in Christ and are led by His Spirit, love will be a fruit produced in you. If you are alive in Christ, abiding in Him, allowing His Holy Spirit to live through you, love is an unavoidable by-product of that relationship, fulfilling God’s command to love!
Commanding the one in Christ to love is like commanding a person who has life in them to breathe because it’s a law. If a person has life in them, they automatically breathe – it’s something that we just DO.
If we are in Christ, loving others is something that we just DO.
To command those in Christ to love is a ridiculously-unfair-in-our-favor-win-win-deal!
Here’s the other really cool thing:
We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
By resting in the love of Christ and letting Him live His Life through us, bearing His Fruits, God’s command to love is obeyed (John 15:12, 1 John 3:23) and the Law is fulfilled (Romans 13:8-10, Galatians 5:14).
That is Grace.
And because of Grace and being led by the Spirit, when we love, we are not murdering, stealing, committing adultery, worshipping other gods, bearing false witness . . . do you see where this is going?
Can you begin to see how Jesus is our Sabbath Rest?
Note that fruit does 
not come out fully formed and completely ripe.
Good fruit takes time.
Don’t judge the blossom because it’s not yet a strawberry.
Let me take the example of a morbidly obese person, say, around 300 lbs. or so. You may look at the person in question and make observations, thinking unkind thoughts about their size, their ‘obvious’ eating habits, their ‘obvious’ undisciplined lifestyle, their ‘obvious’ sin of gluttony, etc. Please do not misunderstand; I’m not saying at all that obesity is a sin. This is an illustration.
Now let’s take a look at what you don’t see, because you CANNOT see what GOD sees, and you may be greatly misinterpreting what’s going on in someone’s life or how you perceive leadership to be handling a situation. Be careful how you interpret what you think you see:
Perhaps that 300 lb. person used to be 500 lbs., and with God’s help, they have dropped 200 lbs. They have good days and bad days, calorically speaking, but they are a work in progress, keeping their eye on the goal, persevering, and relying on God’s Mercy and Grace to see them to the finish line. Some in that position will reach their goal in a relatively short period of time; for others, it will take a lifetime. For some, it may be a simple case of an over-active love for food. For others, maybe they have an underlying medical condition. For still others, it may be a comfort thing, where they are replacing the lack of care and love in their lives with food. Whatever the issues, God is faithful to progressively address and minister to those issues over time.
Now let’s apply that same concept of what you can and cannot see to all different kinds of situations and sin scenarios. I won’t detail any here; we all have people and situations familiar to us that we’re thinking of right now.
Here’s the thing: While some are radically delivered from their addictions and/or lifestyles, for many, though positionally they have been forgiven of all their sins, it can be a life-long process for them to have victory over sinning.
For most, behavior is a manifestation of heart issues, and those things are not dealt with by employing behavior modification techniques. Those are things that take time to heal – not that God can’t deliver immediately and completely – that can and does happen – but for many, like skittish animals that have been abused, it takes time (for some, a lifetime) for the deeply wounded to learn to trust Who God is, how completely He loves and accepts them, and who they are in Him.
That said, God does save completely:
Hebrews 7:18-26
18 The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless 19 (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.
20 And it was not without an oath! Others became priests without any oath, 21 but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him:
“The Lord has sworn
and will not change his mind:
‘You are a priest forever.’”
22 Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.
23 Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. 25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.
As a result, we have unlimited and uninterrupted access to the Grace of God:
Hebrews 4:14-16
14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
However the woundedness manifests in sinful behavior, it is God’s desire to see the positional New Creation in Christ in the spirit become the New Creation in this life:
2 Corinthians 5:16-21
16So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
20We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
What struck me as I re-read the above portion of Scripture is that God is
committing to us, the Body, this message – that in and through the Work of Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting people’s sins against them. I don’t often look to commentaries, but my sense in reading, “that this is the message of the Gospel that God is committing to us“ means that it is something that God is entrusting believers with, that we would communicate this Gospel of Grace, this Good News, to others, indicated by the ‘ambassadors’ language following. I found this, from Barnes’ Notes:
Tyndale renders this: “and hath committed unto us the preaching of the atonement.” The meaning is, that the office of making known the nature of this plan, and the conditions on which God was willing to be reconciled to man, had been committed to the ministers of the gospel.
The Scripture goes on to say that “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us.” What kind of ambassadors of the message of reconciliation are we being?
How can we be proper ambassadors to the world if we, as the Body of Christ, are holding sins against people that God no longer holds against them?
I’m not speaking of Universalism, here, at all. What I am saying is that all sin was dealt with at the Cross; the sins of the entire world were propitiated for by the Work of Christ:
1 John 2:2
2He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
That being the case, all do need to respond by faith to believe in the Work of Christ and receive that forgiveness and the free gift of righteousness (Romans 3:21-26, Romans 5:12-21, Romans 10:9-15).
By grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), we are then positionally declared justified and righteous not because of anything we have done or ever will do beyond receiving God’s free gift of righteousness, but because of Who Jesus is, His actions as the Last Adam – His Perfect Righteousness – which is imputed to us.
Note that imputed righteousness is preceded by imputed sin. It doesn’t seem fair: ” . . . as by one man sin entered the world, and death by sin . . . therefore as by the offense of one, judgement came upon all . . .” Neither is imputed righteousness ‘fair’: “ . . . For the judgment which came from one offense resulted in condemnation, but the free gift which came from many offenses resulted in justification. 17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (From Romans 5)
We are condemned by the sin of the First Adam (though the Scriptures cover the sin issue from two angles: sin was imputed to you, but by the Law we were all found guilty; no one is righteous). We who receive the gift of righteousness are declared righteous by the actions of the Last Adam (Christ Jesus). Not only that, but the result is this:
Romans 5:20-21
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
It’s very convenient for a religious spirit to ‘deal with’ believers sinning by applying the nice, neat, template of Law (an improper use of the Law, as the Law was made for the unrighteous, not believers, who in Christ, are declared righteous). One can just throw the Law out there and hope that the ‘target’ will ‘get it’ and turn from their evil ways (reduction in sinning) under the threat of ‘or else’.
Note that people sin under Law; people sin under Grace.
Yet according to the Scriptures, Team Law’s approach has the exact opposite of the desired effect (a reduction in sinning):
Law was given to increase sinning:
Romans 5:20
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase.
Law stirs up sinning:
Romans 7:7-8
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. For apart from the law sin was dead.
Law produces death:
Romans 7:9-11
9 I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. 10 And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. 11 For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it [the commandment] killed me.
Law produces fruit unto death:
Romans 7:5
5 For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.
Law is the power of sin:
1 Corinthians 15:56
56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
What do Grace and the Spirit produce (Team Grace)?
Grace teaches us godliness:
Titus 2:11-14
11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It [grace] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
The Spirit produces life:
Romans 8:5-6
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; (see also Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, and Ephesians 6:14-17)
The Spirit produces the Fruits of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:22-25
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
How there is even a debate . . . I get it, but I don’t get it.
For those of us who aren’t dealing with the big, obvious sins (other than spiritual pride, arrogance, and judgementalism, that is), we need to be actively aware of the struggling believer’s secure position in Christ in the midst of their condition in the flesh. That active awareness should translate into gently lifting up those who struggle with their condition in the flesh, establishing them in the reality of their position in Christ, reminding them of the Throne of Grace that they/we can approach in Christ in their/our time of need. That’s talking about help when it comes to sinning, folks, and the Throne spoken of is not a throne of judgement (from the Law), but the Throne of Grace!
Apparently, the Thessalonians were really good at this:
1 Thessalonians 5:11-24
11Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
12Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you. 13Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other. 14And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 15Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.
16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19Do not put out the Spirit’s fire; 20 do not treat prophecies with contempt. 21 Test everything. Hold on to the good. 22Avoid every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.
It is important to understand that the Gospel does not place any condition on the wounded and broken except to believe on the One God sent. The command to love one another is ultimately fulfilled through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit as He produces His Fruit through us – we bear that Fruit; it is a by-product of life in Him. Our sins – past, present, and future, along with the sins of the whole world, were paid for at the Cross, Christ Jesus having taken the wrath of God upon Himself to spare us that wrath. If we receive that forgiveness, we receive the Life of Christ, sealed with His Holy Spirit, adopted as sons through Christ Jesus and co-heirs with Him, Who then begins His work of healing and restoration in us.
Dear Believer, read through the letters to the early Body of Christ.
Read them out loud.
Discover who God says you are in Christ.
Lift up those areas of weakness and sinning in your life – “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-16)
Grace recognizes that for a lot of people, it’s not so neat and tidy; it can take longer for some than for others, for all – a lifetime, and it can be messy. But where sin increased, grace super abounded, and God is faithful:
May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.
May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it!
Highly Recommended Related Audio Teachings (free downloads):
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Other articles of interest:
- Millennial Prophecy – Measuring Unrevealed Prophecies in Light of Revealed Truths
- Gateways into the Hebrew Roots Movement – An Examination of ‘Identity Crisis’ and Related Teachings of Jim Staley
- Tzit Tzit For the Believer In Christ?
- 12 Undeniable Truths That Drive Law ‘Keepers’ Crazy
For more resources regarding the Hebrew Roots/Messianic movements see the Post Index and the Articles Page. General study helps, discernment, and apologetics sites can be found HERE. Good, foundational studies with a special emphasis on Old Covenant/New Covenant Truths can be found HERE. Make use of the tabs with drop-down menus found at the top of this site – there’s tons of info there, and it’s very navigable.
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Filed under: Belief Sytems, Christianity, Discernment, Formulas, Grace and Law, Hebraic Roots, Hebrew Roots Movement, Holy Spirit, Law of Christ, Legalism, Religion, Sacred Name Movement, Teachable/Unteachable, Uncategorized | Tagged: "Law Keepers", Belief Systems, Christianity, Discernment, Discipleship, Grace and Law, Hebraic Roots, Hebrew Roots Movement, Holy Spirit, Hyper-Grace, Identity Crisis, Legalism, Religion, Teachable/Unteachable |
Joyfully Growing in Grace 
// Do fruit-producing plants strive to produce fruit? No . . . the branches bear fruit because they are attached to the vine/tree/plant which nourishes them //
There’s a lot of truth in what you say above. But I’m not sure you really answered the question of “How then shall we live”? Shouldn’t we obey God’s commandments by the power of the holy spirit? Your answer seems to be “No” — that we keep some *other* set of commandments. But where are these commandments written? Are we only to keep the commands of the New Testament as many say? That doesn’t make any sense though, since the NT hadn’t even been compiled during Jesus’ time. Plus, if the NT contradicts the Tanakh, we have a big problem on our hands.
Take the 7th day Sabbath for example. God clearly commanded it for his people (it’s the 4th commandment after all). Are we to keep the 10 commandments or not? And if not, which commandments are we to keep? You seem to want to uphold grace (which is commendable), but do away with the law. But how does repentance make any sense of there is no law — no standard — to turn away from?
Rob, the question is answered – in the bearing of Fruit.
It is in surrendering to the Spirit of God and letting Him live His Life through us where His Fruit is produced; we simply bear it. I don’t say that we ‘keep’ some other set of commandments.
We see this in 1 John 3:23-24 – “23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.” That is God’s Torah after the Cross. And the first commandment is entered into by faith; the second by abiding in Him in order to bear His Fruit: “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (from Gal. 5)
These are the same actions taken by Abraham, yes? The Law did not come for another 430 years, yet God said that Abraham obeyed – by faith and surrender. Just as Abraham was obviously on a learning curve, so are we who are in Christ. Just as Abraham, our lives are spent ever learning how to hear and obey God – without Law, but by God’s Grace.
Another well-researched, well-thought out post. Thank you for taking the time to sit at the feet of Jesus learning and listening and then sharing it with the world. I think most people forget how much time it takes to study and learn and then put into a post that is easily understood. May God continue to richly bless you! You have a ministry that I have greatly benefited from. We may never meet on this earth, but we will when we stand before our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
Wonderful! How wonderful it is to be in the Grace of our Daddy!
I love your blog and I applaud you for standing up to Torah followers. However, I disagree with your belief that Christ died for everyone. If Christ is our husband, would He let any of whom He is in love be lost eternally? Redemption means to “buy back”. We are kidnapped and held hostage by sin. But if we are a believer, Christ paid the ransom price for us to be freed so that we could become His possession. What kind of redemption do we have if most of the captives remain forever in captivity even though the ransom has been paid? How could Christ purchase every person if all along He knew that most would not ultimately be freed? Isaiah 53 :10-11 says: “He will see his offspring {the fruit of his work}….and be satisfied.” How could Christ see people for whom He died in everlasting torment and “be satisfied”?
Christ’s atonement was universal (John 1:29, 1 John 2:2), universal in the sense that God is calling out a people from every tongue, nation and tribe (Rev 5:9).
Christ gave His life for His sheep, His people. No one for whom Christ died will reject it. Christ’s mission was accomplished!
I’m guessing that you’re coming at this from a Calvinist perspective. Please forgive me if I’m assuming wrong and am off base.
You wrote, “What kind of redemption do we have if most of the captives remain forever in captivity even though the ransom has been paid? How could Christ purchase every person if all along He knew that most would not ultimately be freed?”
Well, if He didn’t ‘purchase’ every person (and that’s only part of the Gospel!), then we have to throw out a whole lot of promises of God and Scriptures that say He did. There are no qualifiers or caveats on those Scriptures save one: that we believe in Christ and His work.
I could go into a lengthy comment here, but there are two posts that should answer your comment regarding both the core issues regarding salvation and our security in Christ, respectively:
Grace or Law? How Then, Shall We Live? (that would be the post above, ha)
Hebrew Roots Movement – Hebrews 10, Willful Sin, No More Sacrifice, and Judgement, Oh My!
Reblogged this on Mayim Chayim and commented:
A lot of what I would say, already said.
I’ve ran across you a few years back on a discussion forum. I had no idea your ministry was so well founded, and am grateful. Thank you! Coming from the perspective as a grace oriented Jew from within the MJ movement I find your work here a breath of fresh air.
Thanks, Shimshon, for the kind words. WordPress makes me look good, ha! Actually, it’s been a joy to put together resources which lift high Christ and His Work and help to equip believers about who they are in Christ. I’ve learned so much along the way – mostly about how cool the Gospel is and how God has orchestrated it so that it always, Always, ALWAYS stands. And the Gospel and who Jesus is, what He accomplished, and who we are in Him is a joy to write about!
JGIG – I appreciate your ferver to spread the information you believe in. After looking over this article, I’m wondering about what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. “Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ “And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’
How can you fit this passage in with what you’ve described here? I mean, these are Jesus’s own words and He fully knew what He was about to do for us (die for our sins and pay the penalty for us). Is it possible to call on the name of the Lord, and even see/feel Him work in our lives, but then, if we don’t repent and stop doing lawlessness, acutally never really know Him?
Two things:
1) Before the Cross, Christ preached the Law to those under the Law. This free audio download explains it really well:
• The New Covenant Explained
2) What Law-keepers refuse to acknowledge is that righteousness cannot be credited to any account that is not completely faultless according to the Law as it was given. That means TOTAL obedience, ALL the time (see Ex. 23:13, Deut. 8:1, 12:27-28, Jer. 7:21-26, Josh. 1:6-9 for verification).
So we have Christ giving an impossible directive – that those who practice lawlessness cannot see the kingdom of heaven.
So if lawlessness/righteousness/perfection cannot be achieved (as evidenced all throughout the Scriptures), then what hope is there?
Romans 5:17-21
17 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!
18 Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people. 19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
20 The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, 21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Colossians 1:9-29
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. 29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.
It sounds like you’re implying that the moment that Jesus died, everything that he said is completely nullified? How would you interpret this passage?:
Jesus himself says this: Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.
Then you’re hearing something I’m not saying.
2 Timothy 2:15
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Are you in First Adam or in Last Adam? Are you in the Old Covenant or in the New Covenant? Once you determine the answers to those questions, you can determine if Christ is addressing you as a New Creation in Christ or if He’s addressing those who are not. And then there are those times when Christ is addressing those who are relying on their own righteousness.
Where do you fall on the above spectrum?
A few really good articles which address this issue can be found here:
Do Everything Jesus Said?
Chop Off Your Hand?! Was Jesus Serious?
Whose Medicine are You Taking? The Dangers of Taking Scripture Out of Context
Rightly Dividing the Word: How to Read Your Bible Without Getting Confused
A person making a confession of their sins and repenting from their sins will be washed in the blood of the Son of God and be made clean from all unrighteousness. But how does a person stay free from sin? Isn’t sin disobedience (1 John 3:4)? So if a person doesn’t obey the commandments, they are still living in sin. Romans 6:1-2 says that God forbids that to be the case. Only by hearing and obeying what is written can a person have faith (Rom. 10:17). Belief without faithful works of the Law means nothing.
Apparently you believe that Christ did not provide forgiveness for your future sins, which is unfortunate, since all of your sins were in the future when Christ did the Work of the Cross.
Fortunately, what you believe is not supported by Scripture, for though sin is defined by the Law, in Christ, God is not counting our transgressions against us (2 Cor. 5:18-19) and we are given the gift of the very righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21, Rom. 5:17). Grace teaches us to say no to ungodliness (Tit. 2:11-14), while the Law stirs up sin in our lives (Rom. 5:20, Rom. 7:5) and is the power of sin (1 Cor. 15:56).
So continue on in the Law (which you aren’t keeping anyway) and let sin continue to be stirred up in you or choose to be led by His Spirit and Grace and learn to say no to ungodliness \o/!
If all sins (past, present, and future) have been fully forgiven to all, what would be the application/lesson of Acts 5:1-11? If Jesus completely abolished the law, then why would Paul quote Deut. 25:4 in 1 Timothy 5:18 asking followers to give “honorarium” to teachers? There is substantial contridiction in thinking that Jesus came to disregard the will/commands of the Father. But there is much harmony in seeing that he came to support/teach/follow the Fathers ways. My prayer is that eyes will be opened just as Lydia’s were in Acts 16. Blessings.
Seth, how many of your sins were in the future when Christ did the Work of the Cross? If Christ’s Work didn’t forgive future sins, then none of yours were forgiven because you had not been born yet! See Mt. 26:28, Mark 3:28, Luke 24:47, 2 Cor. 5:18-19, Eph 1:7, Col. 1:13-14, 1 Jn. 2:2. Perhaps Ananias and Sapphira had attacks of conscience, not judgement from the Lord. For one thing, they are not identified as believers; for another thing, the text does not say that God struck them dead, but that ‘upon hearing these words’ (Peter’s word of knowledge) they ‘breathed their last’. The text also says that upon hearing what happened with Ananias and Sapphira that great fear came upon the whole church. Remember that the book of Acts is an **account** of what happened in the fledgling Body of Christ – not all that happened was what necessarily should have happened, but rather an account of what did happen. Did the Body need to be fearful of judgement from God, being in Christ? No. All judgement for sins was meted out at the Cross, and God is not holding men’s sins against them (2 Cor. 5:18-19). The only sin for which there is judgement is the sin of unbelief (John 3:16-17, John 6:28-29, 1 John 3:23-24).
As for 1 Tim. 5:17-18, it’s just common sense, with Paul giving an example from the Law. That doesn’t mean that all believers are still bound to Old Covenant Law. Paul makes exceedingly clear elsewhere that those in Christ are dead to the Law, have been severed from the Law, and in Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness for all who believe (Rom. 7, 10, Gal. 2, Eph. 2, Col. 2).
Compare this promise:
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them (from Ps. 32)
With this fulfillment:
18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. (from 2 Cor. 5)
That is Good News indeed! \o/