New Covenant Grace

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Category Archives: 10 Commandments

Not Just an Old Sinner

Although it is true that believers once went by the name “sinners”, the same can not be said of a born again Christian anymore. After the crucifixion, throughout all the New Testament scriptures, the term “sinner” consistently refers to a person who has rejected God, choosing to live in subjection to the carnal desires of their sinful nature. It clearly talks about a person who has NOT been born again.

Well known Grace minister, Steve Mcvey (www.gracewalk.org) writes the following:
The primary project for most Christians in the modern church is to reduce the number or frequency of sins in their lives. It’s a sin management program that they devote themselves to with great zeal and sincere commitment.
It all sounds so good on the surface. That’s the subtlety with legalism. It sounds right to the religious ear despite the fact that it contradicts and ignores what the Bible teaches. It sounds so right to some that to become Godly requires that we work hard to change our bad behaviors and replace them with good ones. To them it’s all about diminishing the number of sins that we commit and increasing the number of good things that we do. But Godliness doesn’t come from that. Godliness is not the absence of sin.
The truth is this, the reason you’re godly is because the Spirit of God lives in you… Since the Holy Spirit came into your spirit, and your spirit is the core of your identity (you ARE a spirit, HAVE a soul and LIVE in a body), then you are holy, you are Godly, because God’s Spirit is inside you. It doesn’t have to do with resisting sin, or giving into sin. The truth is, you’re just as Godly whether you sin, or don’t sin. Your identity isn’t established by what you do. It is established by what He has done!

Let’s look at a few examples of verses dealing with this matter in the Bible:

[Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us]. This verse clearly says that while we WERE still sinners, Christ died for us, which by implication means that a believer is not a sinner anymore.

[1 Tim 1:9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers...] There’s quite a lot happening in this verse:
Firstly It says that the Law (including the 10 Commandments) was not made for a righteous person, referring to a person who has been born again and who has received the righteousness of God as a free gift, making that person perfect for ever in His eyes: [Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified] (KJV).
 Furthermore this verse says that the Law was made for ungodly people and sinners and it also calls these people “lawless”. That is because under the New Covenant it is not those who fail to obey the written moral code of the Law that are considered to be “lawless”, but instead those who refuse to accept the free gift of salvation offered by God, who turn their back on His Grace and harden their hearts against the compassionate promptings of the Holy Spirit to repent and be saved. These people will retain their status as murderers, adulterers, liars, etc. because they refuse to accept the pardon for these sins that is freely offered by God to all those who choose to believe in Him.

Another scripture that proves this principle is the following: [1 Cor 6:9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God]. Verse 9 says the “unrighteous” will not inherit the kingdom. And then it goes on to describe a list of deeds done by those who have not been forgiven their sins, in other words those who did not put their faith in Jesus to be reconciled with Him. And then in verse 11 we see the key to unlock this portion of scripture: Paul says “such WERE some of you”. And then he goes on to describe what happened to those who put their faith in Jesus, saying they WERE cleansed and justified, meaning they now stand clean, innocent and forgiven before God. Isn’t that amazing?

This serves to confirm that whenever the Bible (after the cross) talks about a sinner, it speaks about a person that has not been born again. Let’s look at 3 more scriptures:

[Jam 5:20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins]. This verse says that a “sinner” can be saved from death and his sins be forgiven if he is turned from the error of his way.

[1 Pet 4:18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”]. This verse is squarely in support of 1 Tim 1:9 (above) and it clearly contrasts the “righteous” with the “sinner & ungodly”.

The next verse nails it: [1John 3:9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God]. This confirms that a born again Christian can not be labelled as a “sinner” according to their level of good or bad works, because it’s a no-brainer that everybody makes mistakes almost everyday of their lives! And yet this verse says that whoever has been born of God (born again) cannot sin, because their identity is not based on their level of adhering to the 10 commandments but instead it is based on the finished work of the cross!

Therefore we can conclude that a born again person HAS received the righteousness of God as a gift and HAS BEEN sanctified (in their spirit) and can therefore not be referred to as a sinner anymore, even if their behaviour does not always reflect this. Yes we do not always live in 100% obedience to God, but that does not influence the fact that God still sees us as completely righteous, forgiven, sanctified and holy. And obviously to those who believe we are saying that Christians can now just go out and sin as much as they want, we are not implying this at all.

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

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Did Jesus End the Law or Not? (Let’s Settle This!!)

Many people that still believe they have to live according to the Old Covenant Laws have thrown Matt 5:17-18 at Grace Preachers to try and prove their case. Let us now therefore look at what the Bible really says about living under the law, and if we are still bound to it, because all scripture has to be interpreted by scripture. First off, let’s start with this week’s main scripture:

[Matt 5:17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.]

Peter Ditzel from www.wordofhisgrace.org explains these 2 verses as follows: “Jesus is giving us two either/or conditions here: The law cannot pass until heaven and earth pass OR the law cannot pass until all is accomplished. One or the other can do it. Heaven and earth have not yet passed, so we will leave that aside. But what did Jesus mean by ALL being accomplished? He was referring to what He had just said in the previous sentence: the fulfilling or completing of the law AND the prophets. Once He had completed the law and the prophets, the law could pass. Why is it that so many people who accept that Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies have a hard time understanding that in the same way, He fulfilled the Old Testament laws — all of them?”

When you are under a contractual obligation to someone, and you fulfill all the requirements of the contract, the contract is finished & over. But if you simply destroy the contractual agreement before you have fulfilled its requirements, you are not released from its obligations, which is why Jesus said He did not come to destroy the Law. But the moment you do fulfill it you are set free from it! In exactly the same way Jesus did not come to destroy the law, but He fulfilled it, see verse 17 above again. Jesus was in all ways 100% obedient to the law for his entire life (isn’t that amazing???), thereby fulfilling its requirements. Let’s look at more verses (and there are many more than the ones below) that prove the law has passed.

[Rom 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.] Because all the righteous requirements of the law have been fulfilled in Jesus, and since we are given the righteousness of Christ and filled with the Holy Spirit as a free gift when we put our faith in Jesus, it means that in Christ we have fulfilled the requirements of the law as well, therefore the law has ended for us as well. [Rom 8:3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.]

[Matt 11:13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.] The entire law and the old testament prophets spoke of the coming of the Messiah who would forgive the sins of the whole world. The law was our tutor (schoolmaster), teaching us “right living” until we should put our faith in Jesus and begin to live by faith. Now that we put our faith in Jesus, we don’t need the tutor of the law anymore. [Gal 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.]

[Luk 16:16 “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it.”] This verse implies that if you still preach law-based living, you are NOT preaching the Kingdom, because you are preaching the things that ended with John the Baptist over 2000 years ago – read the verse again. How much clearer can it get??

[Gal 3:16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.] And also [Gal 3:19 What then is the purpose of the law? It was added because of transgressions, UNTIL THE SEED SHOULD COME to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.] This verse says that the law was given because of transgressions UNTIL THE SEED should come (and if you will read the story of Israel in Exodus you will see it was specifically the sin of self righteousness). Then when the SEED (Christ) came, the law was fulfilled and we are not under it anymore.

[Rom 3:21 But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets.] This verse says that if there were such a thing as the “court of heaven”, that the law & prophets would have stood up as witnesses, pointed their fingers to us who put our faith in Jesus and said: “This person is righteous!”

We are now not under the law anymore, but instead we live by faith. And here is a shocker, something that will no doubt shut the mouths of those who still try to be justified by obeying the law. Lets look at 2 verses first: [Gal 3:12 And the law is not of faith…] and also [Rom 14:23b … for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.] Can you see what it says when you combine these 2 verses? Can you see it??? Since the law is not of faith, and since anything that is not of faith is sin, then it means that those who try to be justified by their own good works and try to live up to some moral code (the law) are actually living in sin!!

Lastly, look at what Jesus said just after this week’s 2 key verses: [Matt 5:20 For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.] The scribes & Pharisees prided themselves in how well they kept the laws of Moses, it’s what they did for a living! These laws included all the rituals & daily sacrifices, not just the 10 commandments. In fact most people who try to live up to the Law of Moses today would pale in comparison against your average Pharisee. No, the righteousness that Jesus was talking about was not about us trying to live more obedient or more holy, He was talking about a righteousness that comes from God, given to every believer as a free gift at the point of salvation when we put our faith in Jesus, the exact same moment where Jesus is given our sin & transgressions and we are given His perfect righteousness: [2 Cor 5:21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.]

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe
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Preaching the Law

The only people Jesus talked “law” with were those who were heavy-handed with the law. He spoke harshly with the Pharisees & the scribes, who were the religious rulers of the day. [Matt 23:1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers].

Jesus wasn’t trying to get the people (including the Pharisees) to obey laws and rules more. Instead He was showing the Pharisees their hypocrisy for teaching others to keep all the rules while they themselves did poorly at that. Read verse 3-4 above again.

Like many preachers today, these religious rulers were preaching a “watered down” version of the law, making it almost possible for them to be able to obey their own man-made rules! Well have you taken a good look at what the law actually says to people who break the law?

[Deut 28:19 Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out. 21 The LORD will make the plague cling to you until He has consumed you from the land which you are going to possess. 22 The LORD will strike you with consumption, with fever, with inflammation, with severe burning fever, with the sword, with scorching, and with mildew; they shall pursue you until you perish. 23 And your heavens which are over your head shall be bronze, and the earth which is under you shall be iron. 24 The LORD will change the rain of your land to powder and dust; from the heaven it shall come down on you until you are destroyed.
26 Your carcasses shall be food for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and no one shall frighten them away. 27 The LORD will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with tumors, with the scab, and with the itch, from which you cannot be healed. 28 The LORD will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of heart. 29 And you shall grope at noonday, as a blind man gropes in darkness; you shall not prosper in your ways; you shall be only oppressed and plundered continually, and no one shall save you. 30 You shall betroth a wife, but another man shall lie with her; you shall build a house, but you shall not dwell in it; you shall plant a vineyard, but shall not gather its grapes].

Actually the list goes on – take some time to read Deut 28 from verse 15 onwards. Now if people that still want to preach the law today were to actually preach the law to its full extent, they should be including all these curses as well! If a modern day preacher wanted to preach that you still have to obey the 10 commandments, they should include in their sermon that all these curses will come on you if you don’t obey God’s laws 100% all of the time!! This is why the Grace message sounds so radical to most people, but actually it is no more radical than the law as we can clearly see from the above verses. It’s just that the law has been preached at a reduced level and mixed up with a little bit of Grace. How can we ever think to mix up or “balance” two things that are so different from each other??

The Pharisees and scribes preached that people should live holy, obedient & obey the laws of Moses and they also acted as though they were doing it themselves, but their hearts were full of evil. The Pharisees preached that as long as you didn’t commit the act of adultery, or if you weren’t angry with your brother without a reason, you didn’t break the law. But Jesus then told them that the standard of the law was actually much higher, and if a person even by accident insulted their brother or entertained a single lustful thought, they were guilty of breaking ALL the other laws as well, and the penalty was death. Jesus then showed them that if they wanted to preach the law, they should actually preach it to its full extent and also include all the horrifying consequences for breaking even a single law – consequences such as death, having their hands cut off, their eyes plucked out, stoning someone who has sinned, etc. This is what Jesus meant when He made the following statements:

[Matt 5:22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment…… But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire].
[Matt 5:27 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell].

But Jesus through the cross made an end to the law [Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross], destroying for ever its constant demands of correct “behavior”, and making us free to live for God because we love Him, and not be cause we fear punishment. [1 John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love].

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

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Will Obeying the Law Give Me Victory Over Sin?

[Rom 6:14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace].

The Law controlled us and kept us under its power until the time came when we would have faith. In fact, the Law was supposed to be our teacher until we put our faith in Jesus. But now that we have put our faith in Jesus, we don’t need this teacher (the law) anymore. [Gal 3: 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor].

The law demands that we live a perfectly holy life 100% of the time. Failure to comply will result in punishment & death. THIS WILL NEVER CHANGE. The law is what it is, and grace can not change the law’s mind. The only way to come out from under the law is to die to the law. [Rom 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God. And also Gal 2:19 For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God].

Trying to obey the law will only end up in breaking the law, because nobody on the face of the earth can obey the law 100% of the time. Nobody ever could, except Jesus. Grace also does not enable us to keep the law. Rather grace enables us to live and feed off the life of God of which He has made us partakers, filling us with His mighty Holy Spirit. Any good works that flow from us as a result of this is then in any case only a fruit of the Spirit inside us, so we really have nothing to boast about.

The Bible says the strength of sin is the law, because it is through the law that we know what sin is. It is the law that brought sin to life!

[Rom 7:9-10 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].
[Rom 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound].
[1 Cor 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law].
[Rom 3:20 Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin].

But how then are we supposed to obey God? How are we supposed to overcome this world? I am glad you asked that question. By simply believing in Jesus and the victory He has obtained for us. [1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith].

But you may also ask “What are we then supposed to do? Doesn’t God expect us to DO something?”

[John 6:28 Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent"].

Our faith is stirred when we spend time in the presence of God & have supernatural encounters with Him, when we receive revelation that renews our minds, when we worship Him and when we experience the fulfillment of seeing heaven kiss earth. When we experience these things, a natural result will be victory over sin, good works and a holy lifestyle motivated by love for God. That’s why it’s called the “fruit” of the Spirit.

Jesus talked mostly about the law only to people who were heavily under the influence of the law. He was not encouraging them to try and obey the laws more; instead He was showing them that they were hypocrites for teaching others to keep all the laws whilst they themselves could not do it either.

In Luke 18 a rich young ruler asked Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. This was the man’s first mistake. He wanted to DO something to inherit eternal life, as if he could earn it. Jesus, realizing that this man was relying heavily on obeying the law for his salvation, answered him: [Luke 18:20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’’ 21 And he (the rich young ruler) said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” 22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 23 But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich].

Jesus simply showed the man that however well he thought he may have been keeping the laws, he would always fall short. The law will always tell you that you have not done enough, that you need to do more, to be more holy and to perform better. Trying to obey the law will never give you victory over sin – it will only show you how sinful you are (Rom 3:20, see above). But praise be to God, there was one man who did it ALL on our behalf: Jesus Christ!

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

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