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 relevance for us today.
For example, Jewish people who had been working for generations under the burden of the Mosaic law and were coming to believe in Jesus ... might have struggled greatly with Gentiles (non-Jews) receiving the same Spirit of God by believing in Christ. After all, Gentiles had been viewed as outsiders, sinners, and unclean, and had no part of their previous covenant as the Jewish people who were considered exclusively set apart as God's people. It caused some division even among apostles and their companions, and would impact how the gospel would be spread and shared.
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 doing but rather by Him working through us. The gift of His righteousness to us is based on work that He did to make it happen. Regardless of what we do or don't do, we are His workmanship, and you are a unique masterpiece.
The legalistic side of the fence will surely tout grace to a point, but will somehow still gravitate back to what one must do to either be saved, to maintain salvation, or to manifest good works as some type of evidence that their faith is "genuine" and not phony or dead. Paul would go on to explain why it was necessary for works to be off of the table when it comes to faith that saves ... and it all has to do with Jews and Gentiles coming together as one in Christ Jesus.
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 is there some fine print that has God requiring certain expectations from us when it comes to contributing to our justification? The religious flesh will scream that there must be more to it than the grace of God and the blood of Jesus. It sounds too easy and too good to be true!
The religious business will usually pitch a gift of grace initially, but once you sign up, there will be plenty of fine print regarding what you need to do to ensure your salvation—and it leaves people in fear, hungering and thirsting for something God already provided. Religion will set aside the grace of God to emphasize various works requirements. But Paul stated that if right standing with God comes by any other way than grace, then Christ died needlessly. He also said to the one who does not work, but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness. Some good news reminders for all of us.
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 Christmas message may largely focus on the scene with a miracle baby in a manger ... but let's not stop there.
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 does it secure salvation or justification. This occurred by grace alone, according to a promise from God ... the hope of eternal life.
Paul had been tied to a religious system of works which highlighted his performance. He counted it all as rubbish so that he "may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith."
Religious zealots will resist ... but it is all about the reality of "Christ in you, the hope of glory." The "proof" of such a faith which results in being justified, saved, and made righteous is found in an empty tomb and a risen Savior. While there are eyewitnesses to this event who have recorded it in writing, we have an even greater witness who is unseen and often ignored. It is the Spirit of God who inwardly bears witness to us of the truth of a risen Jesus and that we are indeed children of God.
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 Christ may have faith without demonstrating it outwardly in ways that we or certain religious people think that it should be expressed. But that doesn't mean they are not saved and justified. The effort to produce and then boast in works is not proof of faith. Faith is the evidence of that which is not seen. Perhaps this is why Paul said we look at what is not seen ... because justification and righteousness is granted to those who-do-not-work but believe in Him who justifies the ungodly.
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 good news everyone was waiting to hear?
On the other hand, Paul also used Abraham as his example when he wrote this in Romans 4: "For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness."
Look carefully (and honestly) at the significant difference in what was said ... and this is just one example out of many. Buying into the human ideology that declares everything written by men in the New Testament was dictated from the mouth of God will force people into coming up with all kinds of interpretations based on conjecture. Feeling the need to make it appear as though the apostles said the same thing leads to inconsistency about the gospel message. The NT pages explain to us where James was coming from in the early years after the cross when it came to the law and works ... and Jews and Gentiles. Therein lies the story of the bigger picture of the gospel which has brought the gift of God's righteousness, apart from works.
