After clothing us with His own spotless garment of righteousness, God does not want us to be conscious of our sins anymore, like the people were under the Old Covenant. Trying to live according to the requirements of the Law will always make us all too aware of just how poorly we measure up against it. The only way for a believer to have confidence when approaching God is to be absolutely convinced that all their sins have been forgiven! Anything less will always leave a trace of uncertainty about whether God really loves them or wants to bless them. God wants us to be conscious of our righteousness. When we constantly tell God how sorry we are for this and that sin, we remind ourselves of how bad we think we are, forgetting that our sin was already forgiven at the cross more than 2000 years ago!

The writer of Hebrews wanted to instil his readers with this same confidence, showing them how the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old allows the believer to draw near to God with boldness, trusting not in their own level of obedience to the Law, but in the blood of Christ. Those who try to please God through their own efforts of Law-keeping are like the priests of the Old Covenant who constantly remained conscious of their mistakes, because no human being was or is ever able to perfectly execute the obligations of the Law:

[Heb 10:1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins].

[Heb 10:12 But this Man (Jesus), after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified].

[Heb 10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful].

Which of the following attitudes would Christ rather want us to walk around with: Feeling condemned, unworthy and guilty, begging and crawling on our knees before Him, constantly pleading for mercy? At the same time having no confidence whatsoever to approach Him because we feel we are sinners? Or would God rather want us to be conscious of the fact that we have been completely forgiven of all sins (past present and future), fully accepted and loved by Him, how we have been justified and made righteous and given authority over sickness, poverty and all other enemies of God?

We have even been seated in heavenly places with Christ! [Eph 2:6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus]. Now how can a believer that sits in heaven still think that they are a sinner? This can only happen when we try to relate to God on the basis of how well we have performed, forgetting that this is not the way that He relates to us. God is a Spirit and He relates Spirit to Spirit. And since the Spirit of a believer has been sanctified, perfected, purified and justified, this is the way that God sees us.

In Matthew 3 we see Jesus being baptised in the river Jordan. This was before He had done any miracles, before He began His ministry and before He had healed even a single person. After He was baptised the heavens opened, the Holy Spirit came down onto Him like a dove and the Father said “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” What makes this so remarkable is the fact that Jesus was accepted and loved by God before He did even one miracle or began His ministry. Why did God love Him then already? Because Jesus was God’s Son – simple as that. (By the way it isn’t written anywhere that the heavens ever closed again or that the Holy Spirit ever “lifted” off Him again).

Now the Bible tells us over and over that because of our faith in Christ, we are God’s children too. [Rom 8:16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God]. In fact we are even called God’s SONS, just like Jesus: [2 Cor 6:18 “I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty”]. Now if God loved Jesus at that stage, regardless of the fact that He hadn’t even done any miracles, didn’t have a ministry or hadn’t even preached a sermon yet, wouldn’t God (because He is the same forever) love us the same? We can therefore, whether we don’t feel like He loves us, whether we think we’ve committed the worst sin or whether we feel like we’ve been wasting our lives with insignificant activities, trust that God rejoices over us simply because of our identity: We are His beloved children, bought with the most precious commodity in the universe: The blood of Christ. [1 Pet 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot]. God is pleased with us, whether we do miracles or have a ministry, OR NOT.

In Grace
Andre vander Merwe

DEFEATING THE devil

Through Adam’s submission to satan, he became a slave to satan’s devices and by implication allowed satan to become ruler of the earth. That which we allow ourselves to be overcome by, becomes our master: [2 Pet 2:19b ...for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage] and also [Rom 6:16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?].

This is how satan managed to stand in heaven before God in the book of Job: [Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it”]. Adam was a son of God, but through his act of disobedience surrendered that position of authority to satan, who legally became the ruler of this world as even conceded by Jesus: [John 14:30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me].

The devil tried the same tactics with Jesus as what he did with Adam. Remember how satan made Adam and Eve question whether they were really like God, when in fact they were already created in God’s image? [Gen 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil]. In exactly the same way satan asked Jesus if He was the Son of God during Jesus’ 40 days in the desert. But unlike Adam, Jesus knew who He was and what was at stake. He knew He had to come and strip satan of his authority as ruler of the earth. Because satan was the ruler of earth’s kingdoms, he could legally entice Jesus to worship him and promise Jesus the kingdoms of the world in return: [Luk 4:5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. 6 And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. 7 Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours”]. Through Adam’s disobedience satan had become the prince of this world and the kingdoms of the world were legally his to give away.

But after defeating the devil at the cross and stripping him of his authority, God reappointed man to the highest position as ruler of the earth (the position that Adam had lost), along with giving believers the authority to trample on satan and his demons: [Luk 10:19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you]. God even went as far as parading the devil and his fallen angels in a humiliating manner before their enemies: [Col 2:15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross]. Through Jesus’ sacrifice, obedience and consequent death He did what Adam neglected to do: He conquered evil and ruled over the earth, guarding over it and subduing it in the manner God had commanded Adam to do. Jesus Christ destroyed the works of the devil as far as He went, healing the sick, raising the dead, casting out devils and providing for people’s physical needs (such as multiplication of food, obtaining tax money from a fish’s mouth, etc). As a normal man He portrayed to the entire mankind what it can look like to live a life fully surrendered to the Holy Spirit. Apart from being born from a virgin, Jesus had no other advantages over any other believer. Everything He did, all the miracles and wonders, He did as a normal man through the power of the Holy Spirit, just like the rest of us: [Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross]. Jesus became the last Adam, the One who restored mankind’s lost authority and restored God’s children to unhindered, unbroken fellowship with the Father. Death came through Adam’s disobedience, but life came through Christ’s obedience. [1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive] and also [Rom 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous].

Now this naturally poses the following question: If the enemy has already been defeated, why is he still causing so much havoc in the world? Why are there so many wars and diseases; why all the violence and poverty? Why are people suffering and dying by the millions daily? Because just like Adam, we are not doing our job in guarding the earth properly. The devil was stripped of his authority over 2000 years ago and the only authority that he now has is an illegitimate authority. He poses as an intimidating and powerful adversary when in fact he has no right to steal, kill and destroy anymore! That is why it is so simple to evict demons and infirmities from people’s bodies and lives, because the faith accompanied mention of the Name that destroyed them is enough to make them shiver and leave at once.

Another important factor is that God does not impose His will on mankind. Just like any love relationship between two people can only be truly beautiful when it exists as a result of the free will of both parties, in the same manner God wishes for our affection from within our own free will. He did not create dummies or robots to control. If God really wanted to stop Adam from eating that fruit in the Garden of Eden, the Spirit of God inside Adam could have easily hit the fruit out of Adam’s hand. But that would have violated God’s permissible will which allows mankind to make its own free choices.

It is therefore simple to see that God relies on His children to enforce His kingdom in the earth – we are His hands and feet! Let us therefore take up the authority which we have been given and rule the earth like we are supposed to. Let’s stop this defeated adversary in his tracks and do away with the suffering and harm he causes. Christ in us is the hope of glory!

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Please note that we have intentionally spelled satan’s name with a small “s” (even at the beginning of sentences, but not within quoted Bible verses) since we do not wish to show him any respect or acknowledge his importance anymore than we need to. This is not to say though that we are ignorant of his devices, since we have seen him steal, kill and destroy in the lives of millions of people in the world. He will however learn to know his place in our lives and the lives of those who take up their rightful place as manifested sons of God, according to the following verse: [Rom 16:20a And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly].

The Origin Of The devil

The devil (lucifer) was created as the main angel (cherub) of music in Heaven and he held that position until iniquity was found in him. When the prophet Ezekiel wrote about the king of Tyre, he was actually referring to satan – this was a type of figurative speech used when talking about someone whilst actually referring to somebody else. We know Ezekiel was talking about the devil because apart from God, there were only 3 other people in the Garden of Eden: Adam, Eve and satan talking through the snake (see verse 13 below). Note how beautiful lucifer was created:

[Eze 28:12 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 12 “Son of man, take up a lamentation for the king of Tyre, and say to him, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. 14 “You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on the holy mountain of God; You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. 15 You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you. “By the abundance of your trading you became filled with violence within, and you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing out of the mountain of God; and I destroyed you, O covering cherub, from the midst of the fiery stones. 17 “ Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, that they might gaze at you. 18 “ You defiled your sanctuaries by the multitude of your iniquities, by the iniquity of your trading; therefore I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. 19 All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever.”’”].

Lucifer (which means “Angel of Light”) was corrupted because of his own beauty and he became full of pride (v. 17 above). Through some form of cunning negotiation or scheme (hence v.15 and v 18 points out he was “trading”) he managed to corrupt about a third of the angels in Heaven as well. And since sin cannot exist in Heaven, he was cast out and these angels with him: [Rev 12:7 And there was war in Heaven. Michael and his angels warring against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels warred, 8 but did not prevail. Nor was place found for them in Heaven any more. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, the old serpent called Devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him].

The devil was now the ruler of the earth, since this was where he was cast down to from Heaven. Then God created man and placed him on the earth as well and instructed him to cultivate and guard the Garden of Eden. [Gen 2:15 Then the LORD God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to cultivate it and guard it] (GNB). What did man have to guard it against? After all, the lion and the lamb still grazed together? Against satan of course! The devil had ruled the earth until then, but now God had placed man on the earth to rule in satan’s place: [Gen 1:28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it. And have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the Heavens, and all animals that move upon the earth]. Thus because of God’s decree, man was the rightful ruler of the earth.

Then we read how through Adam’s negligence to guard the earth properly, how satan managed to use the body of a snake to entice Eve, who misled Adam as well. He led them to believe that they would become like God, when in fact they already were! [Gen 1:27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them]. They were also filled with the Holy Spirit [Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being] and carried God’s glory to the extent that they weren’t even aware they were naked. After they had eaten the fruit, they realized they were naked – actually they realized that God’s glory, which had covered them before, had lifted – which really meant they had died spiritually. Through this single act of disobedience Adam plunged the entire mankind into sin and since the seed of all the people on the earth was still inside him, every person ever born into this world would be born with a sinful nature. [Rom 5:12a Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men…].

This is why it was necessary for Jesus to be born of a virgin – so that He would not inherit the sinful nature passed on from generation to generation since Adam, but instead Jesus was conceived through God’s own seed through the Holy Spirit. This is the very same seed which is given to us when we are born again: [1 Pet 1:23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever].

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Job

This often misquoted, misunderstood book in the Bible has been the cause of much blame to fall on God for causing sickness, poverty, despair, loss of loved ones and suffering. In fact it’s almost strange if any Christian has not at some point in their life blamed God for something bad that’s happened to them, thinking: “If He allowed it to happen to Job, He’ll allow it to happen to me”.

According to some theologians Job is probably the oldest book in the Bible, written even before Moses recorded Genesis to Deuteronomy. Job was an upright and God fearing man: [Job 1:1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil]. Since the Law and 10 Commandments had not been introduced yet, there was no standard of holiness to try and measure up to and Job had free and open access to God’s presence. Then one day the following happened: [Job 1:6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them. 7 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it”]. How did satan ever manage to get to Heaven and appear before God? This is a topic we will look at in depth in our next message.

The point is, even IF satan could manage at one point to stand in heaven before God, he can’t do it any longer. Shortly after Jesus had sent out the 70 disciples, they came back to Him, rejoicing that even demons were subject to His name: [Luk 10: Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven]. Satan was cast out from heaven (again) on that day! He no longer had any right to stand before God and accuse mankind of anything! Therefore we do not have to fear that satan can report any bad conduct to God anymore. It has all been forgiven at the cross.

During the period that satan tried to destroy Job, things were made even worse by Job’s friends who came and talked with him, trying to share their “wisdom”. We saw in Job 1:1 that Job was a righteous man, but now Eliphaz accused him of being sinful and that his suffering was because of his iniquity: [Job 4:7 “Remember now, who ever perished being innocent? Or where were the upright ever cut off? 8 Even as I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same].

Job himself also accuses God of quite a few atrocious things: [Job 9:31 God throws me into a pit with filth, and even my clothes are ashamed of me. 32 If God were human, I could answer him; we could go to court to decide our quarrel. 33 But there is no one to step between us – no one to judge both God and me. 34 Stop punishing me, God! Keep your terrors away!] (GNB). Job claims it is God who is killing Him: [Job 13:15a Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him].

In the end, after going around in circles many times and having the issue even more confused by his 3 friends, God steps in and speaks to Job from within a violent storm: [Job 38:1 And now, finally, GOD answered Job from the eye of a violent storm. He said: 2 "Why do you confuse the issue? Why do you talk without knowing what you're talking about? 3 Pull yourself together, Job! Up on your feet! Stand tall! I have some questions for you, and I want some straight answers] (MSG).

God then goes on to describe the spectacular ways in which He created the universe, including animals, the oceans and the heavens and asks Job if he was ever present when these things were created. In the end Job realizes the error of his ways and his foolish words and he becomes too distressed to speak: [Job 40:3 Job answered: 4 "I'm speechless, in awe – words fail me. I should never have opened my mouth! 5 I've talked too much, way too much. I'm ready to shut up and listen"] (MSG). [Job 42:3 You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?’ Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know].

Now if we can forget about being religious and think logically for a moment: If somebody were to talk about things they did not understand, what are they actually doing? They are talking rubbish! Job was talking rubbish! He even admitted it several times! We can therefore not accuse God for punishing us, allowing difficulty in our lives, stealing from us or anything of the likes since we would be talking rubbish.

Our Father is a good God and a giver of good things: [Jam 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning].

If anybody claims they are going through a “Job experience” but does not come out twice as rich and blessed on the other side as they were going in, then they have not really experienced what Job went through but have instead experienced first hand what it’s like to be robbed by the devil:  [John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly]. These are the only 2 job descriptions in the Bible – it’s up to us to decide who is responsible for which…

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Watered-Down Law

In all honesty, those who still choose to live under the Old Covenant Law are actually living according to a “watered down” version in any case, and this pertains to EVERYBODY on the planet who is trying to live according to the Law, including even the Jews. This is because the Old Testament Law, recorded in the first 5 books of the Bible, contained very specific instructions concerning ritual sacrifices and moral living and also the punishments for non-compliance.

Even if the Jewish temple were to be rebuilt and the ritual animal sacrifices to be reinstated, no person on the planet would ever be justified through their own level of law-keeping according to the Bible: [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]. And also [Rom 3:28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law].

The requirements of the Law (also known as the “Mosaic” Law, derived from “Moses” who was Israel’s chosen leader at the time) are actually far more stringent than believed by those who still try to live according to it. The biggest problem with trying to live according to the Law is that a person can not pick and choose which laws they want to obey and which ones not. The Law is a composite unity – breaking even the smallest one makes a person guilty of all: [Jam 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law]. Therefore the person found guilty of breaking even the smallest law (like telling a lie) is actually liable for the same punishment as someone who has committed an act of horrific magnitude (like murdering someone). Now who in their right mind wishes to be judged by those standards?

The Mosaic Law was not limited to just the 10 Commandments. After presenting Israel with the 2 tablets of stone at Mount Sinai, God continued to give Israel a total of 613 laws (recorded from Exodus to Deuteronomy) which they had to keep to the last letter or stand in danger of severe punishment. Let’s take a quick look at some of these laws with the following in mind: Anybody who still argues that Christians have to live according to the Old Testament Laws but do not practice these things to the letter, are guilty of the entire Law. Many argue that only certain parts of the Law still apply since the other are only seen as rituals. Jesus made it clear however that we cannot delete a single letter from the Law: [Matt 5:18 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]. Let’s take a look at those laws:

[Lev 15:16 ‘If any man has an emission of semen, then he shall wash all his body in water, and be unclean until evening. 17 And any garment and any leather on which there is semen, it shall be washed with water, and be unclean until evening. 18 Also, when a woman lies with a man, and there is an emission of semen, they shall bathe in water, and be unclean until evening. 19 ‘If a woman has a discharge, and the discharge from her body is blood, she shall be set apart seven days; and whoever touches her shall be unclean until evening. 20 Everything that she lies on during her impurity shall be unclean; also everything that she sits on shall be unclean]. Now if people who claim we still have to live according to the Law, don’t isolate themselves for 7 days during the above circumstances, they are guilty of breaking the Law. Here’s another one:

[Lev 11:2b Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves and chewing the cud—that you may eat. 4 Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: 7 (and) the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, is unclean to you]. There goes that nice English breakfast with crispy fried bacon.

[Lev 11:9 ‘These you may eat of all that are in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers—that you may eat. 10 But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which is in the water, they are an abomination to you]. There goes calamari out the window!

[Lev 24:16a And whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death]. When last did we see someone stoned for using the Lord’s name in vain?

[Num 15:27 “And if a person sins unintentionally, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering”]. What about all those times we forgot to give to the poor, neglected to give our tithes (because we forgot to bring money to church), washed dishes on the Sabbath, etc?

[Num 15:32 Now while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp”]. Still want to do those dishes? How about going shopping on the Sabbath?

The truth is that for a believer the Law has ended. Paul wrote about how his heart yearned for the Israelites who still tried to live according to the Law after Christ had died for them (and the same applies to us today): [Rom 10:1 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness (by still trying to live up to the requirements of the Law), have not submitted to the righteousness of God (received by simply believing in Christ). 4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes] (comments my own). We receive salvation and God’s righteousness not by living under the Law, but through believing in Christ!

[Rom 10: 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation].

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

A testament or a will only comes into power whenever somebody dies. In essence an heir cannot inherit if the testator (person who wrote the testament) is still alive. [Heb 9:16 In the case of a will it is necessary to prove that the person who made it has died, 17 for a will means nothing while the person who made it is alive; it goes into effect only after his death] (GNB). Now consider this: During the 30 years or so that Jesus lived on the earth and the 3 years that He ministered before He died, under which Testament did He live? Under the OLD of course! He was still alive and we just saw in the previous 2 verses that a testament does not come into effect whilst the person who wrote it is still alive. [Gal 4:4 But when the right time finally came, God sent his own Son. He came as the son of a human mother and lived under the Jewish Law] (GNB). So if someone claims that they still have to obey the Old Covenant Law because Jesus did it, well Jesus had to obey it because He was born under the Old Testament and had to fulfill it!
The crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ is described in Matt 27, Mark 15, Luk 23 and John 19. If we take for example the book of Matthew and we see that chapter 27 was where the New Testament came into effect (because this is where Jesus died), this implies that everything before Matt 27 was Old Testament because the New Testament hadn’t been established yet! Therefore according to its legal validity the New Testament actually only begins in Matt 27 (and Mark 15, Luk 23 and John 19). Everything before these chapters is OLD TESTAMENT.

During His time on the earth we never see Jesus preaching the gospel of the Kingdom to anybody other than the Jews, because He was still living under the Old Testament and He wasn’t allowed to share any of Israel’s inheritance with non Jewish people. One time we see Jesus venturing to a geographical area outside of Galilee and was met by a Canaanite woman, who wasn’t a Jew:

[Matt 15:21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” 23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, for she cries out after us.” 24 But He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” 25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” 26 But He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” 27 And she said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour]. In essence the woman was saying: “Lord if there is any surplus left of God’s blessings, please help me!” And by faith this woman was grafted into the New Covenant even before it was time for the Gentiles to become partakers! We also see a few other similar examples in the Bible like Rahab the prostitute who hid the spies in Jericho, Ruth the Moabite, Naaman the Syrian who was cleansed of leprosy after washing himself seven times in the Jordan at the instruction of Elijah, etc. By faith they transcended time and received their inheritance long before it was actually due to be theirs.

So if the New Testament began at Golgotha with the death of Jesus Christ (remember Heb 9:16-17 above), it must mean that the Old Testament had to have been cancelled somewhere before that. We find a prophecy pertaining to this made by the prophet Zachariah at about 520BC. We’ll share the story quickly interwoven with the scriptures:

God was the shepherd of the flock of Israel under the Old Covenant, caring for them with His staff that He called “Favour” (and another one called “Union”). [Zec 11:7 Those who bought and sold the sheep hired me, and I became the shepherd of the sheep that were going to be butchered. I took two sticks: one I called "Favor" and the other "Unity." And I took care of the flock] (GNB). The staff called “Favour” symbolised the covenant He had made with the nation of Israel. The problem with this flock of sheep was that they were continually running after idols and persisted in rebelling against their Shepherd. Now the Shepherd had just about had enough and told them that He was going to quit. [Zec 11:9 Then I said to the flock, "I will not be your shepherd any longer. Let those die who are to die. Let those be destroyed who are to be destroyed. Those who are left will destroy one another"] (GNB).
He also requested that they pay Him for the services He had rendered, but if they didn’t want to pay Him that they could just leave it. [Zec 11:12 I said to them, "If you are willing, give me my wages. But if not, keep them." So they paid me thirty pieces of silver as my wages] (GNB). And on the day that Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver by Judas Iscariot, God broke His staff and ended the covenant He had made with Israel. [Zec 11:10 Then I took the stick called "Favor" and broke it, to cancel the covenant which the LORD had made with all the nations] (GNB).
If we look at the context of Zech 11 we will see “all the nations” only refer to Israel & Judah. [Zec 11:14 Then I broke the second stick, the one called "Unity," and the unity of Judah and Israel was shattered] (GNB).

Now here’s a real gem: Over 500 years before Christ was betrayed, the prophet Zachariah spoke these words: [Zech 11:13 And the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter].

30 Pieces of silver was the commonly agreed price owed to an owner if his slave was injured whilst working for someone else and also the price that Jesus was betrayed for by Judas Iscariot. Therefore we see God sarcastically say they paid a “princely price” for Him. The Son of God was betrayed for the price of an injured slave! And then we see the following scripture in Matt 27 (note the part about the “potter”):

[Matt 27:3 Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!” 5 Then he threw down the pieces of silver in the temple and departed, and went and hanged himself. 6 But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.” 7 And they consulted together and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in]. See Zech 11:13 above again – the prophesy even described the potter’s field!

We see therefore that the Old Testament came to an end when Jesus was betrayed for 30 pieces of silver and in the spiritual realm broke His staff that symbolised His covenant with Israel. But praise be to God that only several hours later He wrote a New Covenant with His own blood, a Testament that included all the nations of the earth and allowed us to become His children through faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ!

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

When did the Old Testament End? (Pt 1)

The Bible speaks numerous times about believers being heirs of God, or about us having an inheritance. There are many more examples than the ones below:

[Rom 8:17 And if we are children, then we are heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ; so that if we suffer with Him, we may also be glorified together].
[Col 1:12 giving thanks to the Father, who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light].

Now it logically follows that in order for us to become heirs of God, He had to have a testament that specified that we would inherit from Him. The Bible has 2 Testaments, namely the Old and New Testament. Both the Hebrew and Greek words used for “testament” in the Bible can also be translated to mean “covenant”. Whenever the context had to do with relationship, it was translated as “covenant”. Whenever the context was about inheritance, it was translated as “testament”:

G1242 (diathe?ke?): dee-ath-ay’-kay
From G1303; properly a disposition, that is, (specifically) a contract (especially a devisory will): – covenant, testament.

It is common logic that if a person goes to their attorney and requests to draw up a new testament, that the old one is rendered invalid. In the same way God drew up His Old Testament, but later established a new one to replace it! We’ll get to the scriptures to prove this shortly.

In Gen 12, 15, 17 and 22 we see God instating the Old Covenant/Testament with Abraham. It is important to see that the ONLY heirs of this Testament was Abraham and his natural descendants, who were called the Hebrews, who later also become known as Israel and still later were called Jews. The inheritance that God gave to them was the Promised Land, a geographical area called Canaan.
In short this was the entire Old Testament. Neither the Philistines, the Assyrians, the Egyptians nor any other nation became heirs under the Old Testament, because we see God in numerous instances acting against these nations in favour of Israel – the only nation who inherited under the Old Testament. Abraham and later also Moses became the mediators of the Old Covenant made between God and the nation of Israel. God gave them the Law which enforced the Old Covenant and is was upheld by the blood of animal sacrifices: [Heb 9:19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the Law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself, and all the people, 20 saying, "This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you"].

In Heb 9 we see a stark contrast being drawn between the blood of animals (which in essence kept the old covenant alive) and the blood of Jesus, the spiritual “animal” (have you ever wondered why Jesus was called the Lamb of God?) offered as a perfect once for all sacrifice for sin: [Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, 14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?]. And also [Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins]. [Heb 10:11 And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. 14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified].

In Gal 3 we see that God would made a New Testament that included all the nations of the earth: [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]. [Gal 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise]. Nowhere under the Old Testament was any command given to Israel to spread and preach the gospel to any other nation on the earth, because only Israel were heirs under the Old Testament. But under the New Testament in Matt 28:19 we have the great commission where Jesus commanded his disciples to take the gospel to all the nations. Jesus became the mediator of a New Covenant or Testament, writing it in His own blood: [Heb 9:15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance].

Next time we will look at the exact moment that the Old Covenant/Testament came to an end and also a very interesting fact about the implications of this on our view of Jesus’ life. Here’s a fore taste:

A testament or a will only comes into power whenever somebody dies. In essence an heir cannot inherit if the testator (person who wrote the testament) is still alive. [Heb 9:16 In the case of a will it is necessary to prove that the person who made it has died, 17 for a will means nothing while the person who made it is alive; it goes into effect only after his death] (GNB). Now consider this: During the 30 years or so that Jesus lived on the earth and the 3 years that He ministered before He died, under which Testament did He live?

Yours in Grace
Andre van der Merwe

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Practicing Lawlessness or Unrighteousness

Following up from our last message, we have seen that many verses and “concepts” in the New Testament (especially from the epistles of 1 – 3 John) have been misinterpreted in the past and used as a whip to beat the body of Christ back under the Law. In this message we will continue to destroy these arguments with truth from the Word.

In Matt 7 Jesus used the exact same terminology as the apostle John did, talking about those who “practice lawlessness”. He told them to depart from Him because He didn’t know them. Now “practicing lawlessness” may sound like something that a person is supposed to DO, but let’s look at the context. In Matt 7:15 Jesus warns about the false prophets that would come in sheep’s clothing and down in verse 21 He is still talking about these same people. We’ll look at the entire text here so the sceptics can see for themselves:  [Matt 7:15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.  16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles?  17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.  19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them]. These verses pertain specifically to the fact that an unbeliever cannot manifest the fruit of the Holy Spirit because they don’t have the Spirit living in them. They may act kindly or behave in very moral manner, but their hearts still remain evil and sinful, hence Jesus says they are “ravenous wolves” on the inside.
Also, since Jesus is the tree of life and the good vine, He can not bear bad fruit. This means that we as believers are the good fruit that He bears since His life is recreated in us. God the Father sowed His own Son and reaped more sons.

Now note that in the next verses Jesus is still talking about these same people (the false prophets and unbelievers):

[Matt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’].

In verse 21 Jesus says that “whoever does the will of the Father” shall enter the kingdom of heaven. Now hang in there for the next paragraph; it may seem disjointed, but we will pull it all together at the end.
Somewhere else Jesus also said the following: [John 3:5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.  6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again’]. Here Jesus was referring to the 2 different births (natural and spiritual) of any human being that enters the kingdom of heaven – firstly they are born from the water of their mother’s womb (He was NOT talking about water baptism, because in verse 6 He specifically talks about being born of the “flesh” which means to be born into this world) and secondly they are born in the spirit, better known as being “born again”. Now what does the Bible teach us about how to be born again? [Rom 10:9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation].
Once again it would “appear” as though we have a contradiction: In Matt 7:21 Jesus says that whoever does the will of the Father shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but from John 3:5 and Rom 10:9-10 we can conclude that whoever believes in Jesus shall enter the kingdom of heaven.
The following verse sheds some light on what it means to “do” the will of the Father and “work” the works of God: [John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent”]. As before we see that these expressions, even though they appear to imply that we have to do some external action or work, it actually refers to an action of faith, of placing our trust in Jesus Christ. This is what it means to “do the will” of the Father.

Then in Matt 7:23 Jesus tells those who “practice lawlessness” to depart from Him, referring to the unsaved again, just like we previously saw John did in his epistles. Jesus also said to them “I never knew you”. Can it be any clearer that in fact He was referring to unbelievers?  Practicing lawlessness does not mean breaking the 10 Commandments: it means not being saved.

Obeying Commandments

Let’s slam the final nail in the coffin and prove to the legalists just how fully the Grace of God has made provision for our natural human insufficiencies. Let’s try and figure this one out together. Remembering all that we have just learnt about those who “practice righteousness” and previously also about those who “commit sin”, it is obvious that John could also be talking about something else than obeying the 10 Commandments when he says that we need to “obey God’s commandments”. This is in fact a big favourite with those who still preach that we should live according to the Old Testament Laws. Let’s take a look and see what John really meant:

[1 John 2:3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him]. Some other verses address this same issue and the aforementioned “abiding in Him” issue as well (own comments in brackets):

[1 John 3:24 Now he (any person) who keeps His (God’s) commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us]. From Paul’s letter to the Ephesians we know that every believer receives and is SEALED with the Holy Spirit as a guarantee that they are indeed saved: [Eph 1:13 In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory]. We can therefore see that believers receive the Holy Spirit as a guarantee after they are born again and because He is sealed inside them He naturally will also “abide” with them, and they with Him. Now in this context, read 1 John 3:24 (above) again. Clearly John is saying that whosoever has the Holy Spirit (a believer), such a person also keeps God’s commandments. What “commandments” is he talking about?

[1 John 3:23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment].

When the very nature and character of the person of the Holy Spirit resides within a person, a natural result will be that they begin to change in their outward behaviour. People will begin to notice a difference in the way they live. It can not happen the other way round – somebody that acts in a well behaving manner can never through their good actions be changed on the inside – they need to receive the Holy Spirit first. This is exactly what the apostle John is talking about: When we believe in God and are born again, we will love one another more and more as a fruit of the Holy Spirit that abides within us. Obeying God’s commandments in the New Testament therefore means to believe in Jesus.

In our next message we will conclude this series on “Misunderstood Bible terminology” and take an in-depth look at what it means to “Walk in the Light”.

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Misunderstood Bible Terminology

In this message we’ll take a close look at some Bible terminology that can easily be misunderstood if not read through the perspective of the New Covenant. Many of these verses, especially from the epistles of the apostle John, have been used as a whip to beat the church back into obeying the Old Covenant Law. A good understanding of Grace and Righteousness would go a long way into clearing up the fog surrounding these topics of discussion, such as the terms “fellowship”, “practicing truth”, “committing sin or lawlessness”, etc.  Undivided attention and prolonged concentration is strongly recommended for this one.
Fellowship
It is commonly believed that whenever a believer messes up in regards to their moral behaviour, that they fall out of fellowship with God and that they need to confess their sins in order to restore such “fellowship”. However when viewed from this perspective the term “fellowship” (better known as “fellowshipping with God” in Pentecostal circles) would then refer to a feeling of intimacy that comes and goes depending on our ability to perform at our best. This is not what scripture has to say, in fact not even once in the entire New Testament is the word “fellowship” described in this manner, specifically when it pertains to our relationship with God. The term “fellowshipping with God” is not even used once in the entire Bible. It is a phrase that has been conjured up by people to refer to their own quiet time with God and through the last few decades it has been twisted by legalists to make believers feel guilty and stand accused of being “out of fellowship” with God if they didn’t allocate a certain amount of time per week to prayer and Bible study. On the contrary, here are a few examples of how the word “fellowship” has been used in Biblical terms:

[2 Cor 6:14b ...For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? 15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?] Take note how these opposing entities are contrasted with each other: righteousness vs. lawlessness, light vs. darkness, Christ (anointed) vs. Belial (worthless) & believer vs. unbeliever. It says that such opposites can not have fellowship with one another, meaning they are not compatible. Just as Christ can not have fellowship with Belial, in the same way a believer is not to be considered by the same measure as an unbeliever. If a person is therefore out of fellowship with Christ it means that they have not been born again and they fall under the same category as darkness, Belial, and lawlessness in the above verse.

[1 Cor 1:9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord]. We were called into the fellowship and therefore when we put our faith in Christ we are now in the fellowship.

[1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth]. This verse makes it abundantly clear that the apostle John is talking about our position in Christ, not our behaviour. We can not say that we have fellowship with God (in other words that we have been born again) if we walk in darkness (which means we have not actually been born again), because then we would be lying. In simple English: You cannot say you are a Christian if you have not been born again!!

Practicing Truth or Righteousness / Walking in Darkness
Now of course the pessimist or legalist would say, “Yes but what about the parts in the previous verse that says “WALK in darkness” and “PRACTICE the truth?” The answer is simple: once again this is not referring to our own works of righteousness, in fact it has nothing to do with our behaviour. The terminology used by the apostle John for being born again is to “practice righteousness” or “practice truth” or “walk in the light” (we will deal with “walking in the light” in the next chapter).  [1 John 2:29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him].
In contrast, when John talks about those who “commit sin” or who “practice lawlessness” or “walk in darkness” he is referring to the unsaved. This principle stays consistent throughout all 3 of John’s epistles. Predominantly however these verses have been read through a legalistic point of view, causing much perplexity in the body of Christ.

Committing Sin or Lawlessness
Another shining example is 1 John 3:4-9: [1 John 3:4 Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. 5 And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin]. Once again John is referring to the unsaved here. Whenever the New Testament refers to those who “commit sin” or “practice lawlessness” it does not have the same meaning as under the Old Testament when people were still judged according to the Law. The only sin in the New Testament is not believing in Jesus. (Read the article “The Unforgivable Sin” at our website in “Message Archive” page).
Verse 5 depicts God’s answer to mankind’s problem of sin – He took our sin away and placed us in Christ where we now are completely forgiven and seen as though we’ve never even committed a single sin! Read verse 5 again in this context. Is the light beginning to go on yet?

[1 John 3:6 Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him]. This verse mentions another “buzz” concept, namely to “abide” in Him. It’s really very simple to prove that this also refers to being saved and not to our own efforts to maintain a good standing with God. Simply do searches for the word “abide(s)” on any Bible software program and study the results.
Verse 6 further says that whoever sins has not seen God or does not know God, which implies not having a relationship with Him. Many (if not all) sincere Christians who have had an intimate relationship with God for decades still make mistakes every day of their lives despite their best efforts. If this verse meant that they are disqualified from their relationship with God if they sin even once (because it doesn’t say “sin a hundred times” or “sin four times per day”), this would amount to nobody on the entire planet being able to maintain a stable relationship with God. Clearly therefore this is not the context of this verse. Let’s look at the subsequent 3 verses (comments added in brackets):

[1 John 3:7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness (which means to be saved) is righteous, just as He (God) is righteous.  8 He who sins (an unbeliever) is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.  9 Whoever has been born of God (a believer) does not sin, for His (God’s) seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God]. The key here is verse 9. How is it possible that a believer can not sin if we’re all too aware of how many mistakes we make? Simply because John is not talking about our behaviour! He is still using the same terminology to differentiate between being saved or not. Read verses 7 – 9 again and let it sink in. In verse 8, if John meant that anybody who commits an act of sin is of the devil, it would imply that all Christians are of the devil. Clearly this is not what he meant.
There are 3 main reasons why Christians can not be called “sinners” anymore, the first being because they are no longer under the Old Covenant Law. And since there is no more Law to break (and sin is defined as breaking the Law) consequently their mistakes can no longer be called “sinning”. [Rom 4:15b ... And where there is no law there is no transgression].
Secondly everybody on the planet person is either a sinner or a saint. Not once in the entire Bible mention is made of a “neutral” position somewhere in the middle. We either have God as our Father, or the devil.
Thirdly the born again spirit of a Christian is 100% righteous and will remain 100% righteous for all of eternity in spite of less than perfect behaviour during his / her remaining time on the earth. If this were not the case, then there would be no other way to explain the following “contradicting” verses:

[1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives].

Now compare these 3 verses against the following “seemingly” conflicting verse:

[1 John 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].

The only explanation is that in the first 3 verses, even though John used the word “we”, he was in fact not referring to believers, but to unbelievers. As a shepherd and a preacher he was identifying with the lost in an open display of God’s love, saying “We have all sinned, we all need to repent”. Instead of bashing and ridiculing the unbelievers openly, he was tactfully saying something along the lines of this: “(v8) If any person claims to be without sin, they are deceived and the truth (Christ) does not live inside them (because Christ said “I am the TRUTH, the way and the life). (v9) But if such a person (a sinner) acknowledges they are sinful and in need of a saviour, God who is faithful will forgive them ALL of their sins and wash them clean of ALL unrighteousness (implying that they are now clean forever). (v10) However if any person claims they have never sinned, they make God into a liar and willingly reject the truth of His word.” Take these 3 verses and compare them verse by verse to the actual verses above.
Think about it this way: What does a person have to do to be born again? They have to confess they are a sinner, admit that they need a saviour and put their faith in Christ (Rom 10:9-10). Therefore if any person claims to be without sin before putting their faith in Christ, they are deceived and blinded to the truth. This is the heresy that John was countering in this epistle. (For a more elaborate explanation on 1 John 1:9, please read our previous message “Should Christians Confess Their Sins to God?” on the “Message Archive” page of our website).

In our next message we will continue destroying these religious doctrines that have crippled the church for too long. We will look at what Jesus had to say about those who “practice lawlessness” in Matt 7:23 as well as take a look at what the apostle John meant when he talked about “obeying commandments” in  1 John 2 and 3.

In Grace
Andre van der Merwe

Is Grace Simply a License to Sin?

This topic has presented itself in the form of numerous questions and statements in the past, such as the following:

• Does preaching Grace lead to a careless lifestyle?
• Won’t people run out and sin recklessly if they get too “deep” into the Grace message?
• We can not preach Grace to a new believer because they are not mature enough to be trusted with such freedom yet.
• Taking the Law off believers gives them a license to sin.

All these statements fly straight in the face of what the Bible teaches about Grace:

[Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, 12 teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age].

Firstly let us consider how Grace influences a person’s thinking. When we comprehend what the message of Grace is all about (how God pardoned the sins of the whole world (Heb 10:17), abolished the written code of the Law (Col 2:14), set people at liberty to live free from the fear of judgement and punishment (1 John 4:18), how believers are encouraged to have boldness when approaching God (Heb 10:19-21), that we can be confident that God will never be angry with us ever again (Isa 54:9-10) and many other truths like these), it is clear that a proper understanding of these matters will in fact NOT encourage a person to want to sin, but rather inspire such a person to be more thankful towards God for all He has done, to live a life worthy of the sacrifice made by Jesus and to deny ungodly conduct as stated in Tit 2:11-12 (above).

Mostly the arguments and questions against the Grace message, such as the ones we mentioned above, come from people who are not necessarily afraid that they themselves will be deceived into wanting to commit more sins, but their arguments are for other “weaker” Christians who in their opinion do not yet have the “maturity” to handle the responsibility that comes with such freedom. Therefore they encourage that the truth of the Grace message be taught with a healthy dose of Law mixed in to warn these “weak” Christians against the perils of sinning. How ironic isn’t it then that the Bible teaches us that sin doesn’t increase through Grace, but rather through the Law: [Rom 5:20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant] (NLT). Grace actually came in and covered the sins that were made more abundant through the Law!

So for someone to say that Grace is a license to sin, it simply serves to expose such a person’s ignorance to what Grace actually means and stands for. It reveals that they don’t understand that the power of the Holy Spirit inside a believer (reminding them of their complete 100% righteous standing before God) is an infinitely stronger empowerment for “good behaviour” than threatening someone with the Law. As a result the legalists can all relax and come to terms with the fact that the Holy Spirit can be trusted with the transforming work in the life of a believer: [Phil 1:6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ]. Nobody appointed us as each other’s moral policemen, so how can we ever try to assume that function?

The truth is that Grace can never be reduced to an “acceptable” level to compensate for the insecurities of legalists. Due to the extreme nature of the Law, Grace needs to be preached in its purest form as well in order to free people from the poison of “works based” mindsets.
In Grace
Andre van der Merwe