When trapped within a religious maze, it gets confusing when the focus becomes about you and your dedication to God through your works and actions. Those from the "holy hierarchy" will be spouting grace and God's love one minute but in the next breath, they'll tell you to behave in a certain way to ensure you're right with God, justified, sanctified ... while on the journey to making faith perfect.
The way of the old unprofitable and expired covenant for the Jews before the cross was centered around their pursuit of righteousness and salvation based upon not just hearing the word (of law) – but actually doing it. As the Apostle Paul stated in his Romans letter, there never was nor has there ever been a successful doer in the works department. So where do we go from here? That's where the gospel comes in.
Paul offered some gems in the opening segment in his letter to the Ephesians, explaining that as adopted children, God made us accepted in the beloved and brought redemption through the blood of Jesus, according to the riches of His grace.
And let's not forget this reminder in Titus chapter 3: "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life."
However, if we don't skim past it, we'll notice a bit of a clash with a recorded statement as quoted from the Apostle Peter in Acts chapter 10. The point is ... the Jewish apostles were human—as we are—and nobody knows everything, not even close. They were also growing in their understanding of the grace of the gospel, and we should take it into account as we read the writings in the New Testament.
There was a significant lack of knowledge in the early years of the church. The cross and resurrection changed everything, resulting in the elimination of a covenant that had been in place for centuries. Consider if a Jewish person who believed in Jesus after the cross ... but still also believed the law of Moses was still to be applied for all Jewish people ... just exactly what did that mean for them? How did the blood of Jesus fit into that compared with the continued attempts to be doers of that old word? And what did it mean for Gentiles who never had the law?
When encouraging them to work at fulfilling that law, faith alone would be considered insufficient for salvation and justification. Righteousness would continue to be pursued by works plus faith. It formed a mindset that people such as Abraham and Rahab were not justified by believing, but by works being added in order to make faith perfect. How is this much different from the legalistic mumbo jumbo many of us have heard in works-based churches for so long? Let's take a closer look at the Rahab factor in the context of being justified.
A lawyer was intending to challenge Jesus publicly to test Him with a bit of a trick question: "What Shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Keeping in mind that the Mosaic law was still being applied to Jewish people who were under it before the cross, Jesus referred him to that law for the answer to his question. In short, Jesus said in order to find the life he was seeking, all he would need is to do what the law says. That was not the good news of the gospel. It sounds simple but Jesus had a way of showing His audience how difficult it is to accomplish such a monumental task.
In a new and better covenant, the way to life isn't found in what one does. Faith is not made alive by works ... and faith is not made perfect by works. Justification, salvation, forgiveness, and righteousness are gifted by God—not by a written word of the letter—but through the living Word ... Jesus Christ.
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.
It is difficult to give to others what we do not have ... or do not understand that we have within our possession. This is true when it comes to the love of God. Even many believers in Christ have doubts about God's love for them. The Bible defines or identifies God as One who is love. The world is filled with people who want to know what love is through personal experience. It begins with God.
Love can be considered the most powerful dynamic as it relates to God and His creation. Comprehending the love of Christ surpasses knowledge but brings strength to our inner being by His Spirit. Knowing this love is a revolutionary game-changer, not only inwardly, but in our response towards others—including the good, the bad, and everything in between.
Many of us were indoctrinated with "popular and mainstream" church sermons which included many things straight out of the Bible ... but the Kool-Aid we were drinking left us thirsting for more. Works-based ideologies and concepts that suggest our eternity is going to be secured based upon what we do after coming to faith and getting saved will leave even the most dedicated of doers in a place of uncertainty and despair.
For those who manage to escape that kind of spiritual and emotional prison, we often hear from people who are euphoric over their newfound discovery of God's unchangeable love and perfect grace rooted in what Jesus did once for all. But it's not unusual to get the question of "what do I do now?" Those who have been mostly limited to having a relationship with religious duty and obligation are trying to figure out how to live the Christian life from a grace perspective.
We can't live it—not on our own. Our life is not our own, but it is the life of God through Christ in us that will lead and guide us by His Spirit. Does this mean we don't seek to do anything or perform actions that are profitable and helpful? Of course not. But a change of mind will change the motivation, and it's a place of rest, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
