Episode 17- Chapter 14 Part 1
Transcription
Hello there, and welcome to the latest in a series of podcasts that follow along with our book, The Wizard of God. This is Steve Roy, and today we're going to be looking at chapter 14. If you haven't already, you're invited to download a free digital copy of The Wizard of God from our website, wizardofgod.com, or if you prefer, you can buy a paper copy online through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. In these podcasts, we're going to be looking at a free digital copy of The Wizard of god. chapter by chapter discussing our character's journey through the land of God. So if you haven't read chapters 1 through 14 yet, and /or listened to the previous podcast, please do.
Okay, let's get started on chapter 14. In the last podcast, we heard the words of Jesus, that He is the living bread, and His bread, and the living water He pours into us, which is the Holy Spirit, have been freely granted to all who hunger and thirst. The gospel of Jesus, the Christian life is so simple, wonderfully simple. Eat the bread of life, drink the living water of the Holy Spirit, who now dwells within you continually, and you'll never again suffer from hunger and thirst.
Drink living water and you'll flow living water. This takes care of all the doings and the don'ts. and his plan, his gospel, it simply solves every problem we have and actually every problem in the world.
So why are there so many problems? Why are so many Christians in perpetual hunger and thirst? Why are the promises of Jesus seemingly not manifest, not reality in the lives of his children?
If you're a Christian surely you've asked this question. Some would say it's simply a widespread lack of faith in our parts. Okay, well then how do we get more faith? But wait, Jesus said to this American woman that he came to give us the gift of God. What should take a mountain of faith to receive a gift, should it? But there's more good news.
Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith." And that's not of yourself. It is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast." This verse teaches that the gift of faith, which is simply the ability to receive the gift, comes along with the gift of God, the living bread and water. This being true, we actually have all the faith we need. So instead of a lack of faith, could the problem be what or who we have faith in? Maybe we don't know the gift, and as a result, our faith is not in the gift of God.
Maybe it's human faith, and maybe it's misguided and mixed. Discovering the answers to these questions, of course, is all important for the Christian. How to receive from God is really the most important question, isn't it? And this podcast will begin to explore how and why Christians are falling short. of the grace or the gift of God. The Bible teaches that Jesus has truly set the captives free and granted them all things.
So why are so many Christians apparently held captive and desperately needy? I suggest one answer is there must be traps at work. Traps. Christians are freely choosing to enter.
Could it be that having been truly set free? Christians are voluntary returning to captivity? Who would be crazy enough to do this? But what if the trap were bewitching,
deceptive? What if the bondage didn't appear as bad, but good? Traps are all empowered by deception. Walking into a good trap doesn't appear like a crazy thing to do, appear to be a good thing. The prey must be deceived before they'll walk into the trap. Again, it's crucial to understand that the trapper's goal is to hide the trap so that all the prey will see is the good,the irresistible bait. Friends, although the trap is bad, the bait always looks good. appears as a good thing. This is such an important lesson. One that took me a very long time to learn.
As Christians, we've been taught to shun bad stuff and that's great advice, but can good things sometimes be bad or lead us into a trap?
In chapter 14, the four friends are being sent on a goodwill mission to the badlands. Apparently people in the badlands are having a rough time. time and the Wizard is sending a group, a delegation there, to tell them how wonderful life is in the EC.
On the surface it seems odd to choose people from a new arrivals class for such a mission but the Wizard tells the newbies that they really need, what they really need is to get their focus off themselves and on others.
This is hard to argue with. It is good and helpful to serve and focus on others instead of ourselves. But could this good thing be used as bait and a trap? One example from the Bible on how this works is the Mary and Martha story.
A very familiar story to many, but I'll read it from Luke, chapter 10, starting at verse 38. "Now it happened as they went that he, (this is Jesus) entered a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha would welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha,
you are worried and troubled, anxious about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen the good part which will not be taken away from her. Allow me to summarize this.
Jesus came to visit Martha and Mary. Martha went straight into the kitchen. Preparing food for a guest is a good thing at any time and in any culture. To say it was a tradition in Jesus' day is an understatement. It was obligatory. It was expected. It was simply what good hosts did. Amazingly, incredibly, in this instance, Mary abandoned this tradition and made the choice to sit at Jesus' feet and listen to him teach.
Martha believed Mary's choice was bad, wrong, of course. And she asked Jesus to correct Mary and tell her to get up and help prepare and serve the food. To Martha's utter amazement, Jesus told her that she was worried and asked. for no reason and that Mary had chosen the good, the important part that would not be taken away from her. Martha was shocked to hear that Mary was in fact doing good while ignoring what everyone believed was good. Notice the scripture says Mary also sat at Jesus' feet. The truth is, Martha would have loved to sit at Jesus' feet as she often did rather than be in the kitchen, but she didn't follow her heart's desire.
Instead, she did what in her mind was necessary. Friends, need is the most effective bait used to trap good people. ​​ Responsible people feel they must give themselves to meeting the need. Martha was totally shocked to learn she didn't need to prepare food. Jesus told her only one thing was needful. One thing took priority. One thing was important above all else. Fix your eyes on me and allow me to feed you. Follow me. Be led by the Holy Spirit. Not by anything else, regardless of how needful it appears. appears. The trap of need is so powerful. This is the bait that traps so many good Christians. Again, responsible people meet needs.
They give themselves to do what is needed. This is why it's so important to clearly discern true need from want or choice. Speaking of food as meals being prepared, Jesus was once dining with a group of Pharisees. Yes, he ate with Pharisees. He comes where he's invited. At this meal, Jesus told a story to a religious person, a very religious person, who had just passionately proclaimed how wonderful it will be to dine with God in heaven. This is from Luke chapter 14 starting at verse 16. Jesus says,
"A man was giving a big dinner and he invited many, and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to tell those who had been invited, "Come, because everything is ready now." And yet they all alike began to make excuses. The first one said to him, "I purchased a field, and I need to go look at it. Please consider me excused." The other one said, "I bought five yoked oxen, and I'm going to try them out. Please consider me excused." And the other one said, “I took a woman as my wife, and for that reason, I cannot come."
You can read the entire show story in Luke 14, but here is what I want to highlight. All three excuses that were given for not attending the feast were and are good excuses. They're good things. If you're and if you've invited someone to a party and they reply with these same excuses you totally understand their decision. In fact you think well of them for being such a responsible person.
I have something I need to attend to now with property, business or or family. Well, of course, no problem. Good responsible people give themselves to these things. In this case, Jesus said the host announced that the ones invited to decline would not taste the feast. This is obvious, but so important to consider. By doing something good in the kitchen, preparing her food, Martha was by default not tasting of the spirit food that Jesus was serving to Mary in the other room. So many people are trapped by need by what they've deemed decided and believe is needful.
I've often felt trapped, stuck, overwhelmed with doing good things. I felt like I was only doing what was needed. Still like Martha, I was just anxious and frustrated. overwhelmed. I believe God revealed this truth to me, that the best bait to use to trap a responsible person is responsibilities.
Just take a look around. When I ask most people these days, "How you doing?" The answer I get most often is, "Busy." And the implication is, they are too busy, tired out. Maybe maybe stressed out. These people aren't busy "sinning.” They're working to provide for themselves and their family, spending quality time with friends and family, church and community activities, running the kids to this and that, sports activity, soccer practices and games. After all, kids have sports needs, don't they?
Simply keeping up with everything and everyone on news and social media takes a lot of time. And of course, we must get involved and be aware of politics if we're responsible citizens.
Around and around it goes. On the Need-Go-Round. Good people don't spend their time pursuing random self gratifying pleasure. The vast majority of good people are exhausted at the end of the day simply doing good things.
Endlessly meeting needs are what they've deemed to be needs. Once optional things or wants have been baptized as needs, responsible people make it their life's mission to meet them. Overwhelmed by what they believe is simply doing good, doing good, being a good person by meeting needs is the bait for many. They become burned out, stressed out, with no time to spare, all the while ignoring the one thing, the best thing, the most important thing. Eating the bread of life, this is the trap. Martha had no time to spend with, receive from Jesus, she was too busy tending to, meeting what she perceived were his needs.
I spent a good while here to make this point, but I believe it's so important. All bait and traps will appear good to the prey. Bait must appear good, or it will be ineffective as bait. And in the land of god, (small g) religion has an infinite number of good works to use as bait. Again, the assignment the four friends are embarking on is a mission to do good, to help the people in the Badlands. But wait a minute! They've just arrived at the EC. They've just arrived at the EC. They've come to the wizard seeking help for themselves as a gift or a favor. They were told or imagined the wizard could and would help people find their way home.
Reveal truth, maybe even heal broken hearts freely as a gift simply because he was good. Remember this catchy tune from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
“We hear he is a wizard, a wizard, if ever the wizard was. If ever or ever a wizard was, the Wizard of Oz is one because, because, because, because, because of the wonderful things he does!”
But is the Wizard of God wonderful? Does he truly do wonderful things, give gifts, grant gracious favors? The EC clearly wants to give this impression.
The messaging is all about helping people. people. Before asking the group what they needed before meeting their needs, the wizard first asks them to do a favor for him.
Yes, it's good to go to the Badlands to help people who live there, but the wizard is asking people seeking help to help others before they themselves are helped. How can you help others who are lost find their way if you're lost yourself?
How can you give someone something you don't have yourself? Ponder this religious conundrum. Of course this condition or “favor” they are doing for the wizard changes anything they receive from him from a wonderful gift to a payment received for services rendered. True gifts have no strings attached, no conditions. All gifts require is to be received. So could the EC be using good works as bait?
If so, what's the trap? I'd like to introduce two types of traps that we'll be talking about for the remainder of the podcast. These traps were spoken of continually in the New Testament.
Sadly, they're invisible. They're unknown to the majority of Christians. The first trap in the New Testament is what the Apostle Paul calls Levin. In the book of Galatians, Paul writes, to the church in Galatia,
"The people of God have fallen into a trap. The Galatians had received the gospel gladly, joyfully, freely. They were doing well, but then some people came along and persuaded them to add an ingredient to the divine, gracious bread of heaven they'd been receiving and dining on. By the way, although this ingredient was presented as good, it gave the Galatians no pleasure."
Paul said it this way, that certain people for religious leaders were troubling the church with the intent to lead them in the bondage. Verse 6 of Galatians chapter 1, "I marvel," Paul said, "that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another.”
In other words, it's not good news. But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel. of Christ. The Galatians had moved, abandoned the grace, the free gift of Jesus, for a different gospel, which was really not good news, not a gift of grace, but only was troubling, and actually perverted. Paul said the Galatians had abandoned the grace of Christ.
Well, how does this happen? The bottom line, any attempt to add works of any kind to what Jesus has finished is a perversion that nullifies and rejects the grace of Christ.
Paul used a word to describe anything added to the gospel of Christ. He called it “leaven." I'm going to read Galatians 5 verse 7. Paul says, "You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion does not come from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. You were running the race well. Who has interfered?” it says in the Amplified, “And prevented you from obeying the truth.”
This deceptive persuasion is not from him who called you to freedom in Christ. A little leaven, a slight inclination to error. A few false teachers leavens the whole batch. It perverts the concept of faith and misleads the church. Again, that's from the Amplified.
We don't use the word leaven in modern times. Yeast is the most common leavening agent. The verse that I read explains why Paul used this term to describe the effect of the false gospel. It only takes a very small amount of yeast to change the entire batch of dough. A small pinch of false gospel works to the flesh. Added to the grace of Christ perverts and changes the entire gospel. It is no longer the gospel of Christ, it is only a perversion.
The enormous consequences of the leavened gospel cannot be overstated. This is the subject of most of the New Testament, and by the way it's also the primary subject of this book and podcasts. In Romans 1:16 Paul declares that he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God for salvation. So why are Christians, so many Christians, seemingly so powerless? Again, Galatians 1:6, “I'm amazed that you are so quickly discerning him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel, which is not another.”
There is no true gospel, and as a result, no power apart from the grace of Christ. This obviously has enormous implications for the church and for every Christian.
In Galatia the simplicity of the gospel was being distorted, polluted with leaven, with works of the flesh, and that it only takes a little leaven a pinch to pollute the whole thing is sobering to say the least.
But why is this? This is really quite simple. If the gift ceases to be a gift, of course, we won't know it as such. We won't ask and we won't receive. Pure grace. Pure grace alone equals pure gift. The terms are synonymous. And again, remember Jesus is worse, the Samaritan woman. We must know.
Receive the gift of God in order to ask and receive. The gospel is the announcement of the good news of God's will. Grace, the good news concerning Jesus and what He has done. Jesus has done all the work. You simply receive the gift of salvation and everything that comes along with it.
You simply receive it and everything that comes along with it is the entire kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit of God coming to live within you as an artesian spring of life. Again, this leaven Paul is writing about is anything added to the good news of Christ, anything, whether it is deemed to be good or bad.
The gospel is the good news about what Jesus has done, period. The false gospel, the leaven gospel, is a mixture of news about Jesus' finished work and good works we must perform in order. to receive, in essence, earn what He has done. Again, if we have to earn it in any way, it ceases to be a gift. This is so simple to everyone who hasn't been leavened by religion. How serious was this distortion of the gospel to Paul? Is it a big deal? Galatians 1 verse 8, he writes,
"But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed."
These are the most harsh, literally damning words in the New Testament. Did Paul really mean to say this? Well, listen to the next verse, verse 9,
"As we have said before, even now I say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you receive, he is to be accursed."
This word means "anathema." It's the Greek word, "to be damned." Paul isn't damning or condemning ordinary sinners here, but highly religious people, people zealous for righteousness. The Judaizers, who were the name of the people who had come to Galatia, were all about doing good through keeping the law. They were zealous for God, for righteousness, for doing good works.
Think about this. this. Who do you hear being damned by many religious teachers, ordinary sinners, or religious zealots? Zeal even for doing good without knowledge, without wisdom is a dangerous thing. Paul writes about misplaced zeal in Romans 10. Verse 1, he says,
"Dear brothers and sisters, the longing in my heart and my prayer to God is for the people of Israel to be saved. I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it is misdirected zeal.”
This is from the New Living Translation, “They do not understand God's way of making people right with Him. Refusing to accept God's way, they cling to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law. For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in Him are made right with God.”
The people who were troubling the Galatian church again were called Judaizers. They were legalistic Jews who insisted that Christians must keep the Mosaic law. In particular, the Judaizers insisted on circumcision as a requirement for Gentiles who wish to be saved.
In other words, convert to Judaism first and then you are eligible to become a Christian. Judaizers believe Jesus was the Messiah but only for those who qualify. Why would the bait of circumcision be so effective? Please understand this and we could go into a long explanation of this but under the old covenant being circumcised was a good thing. God ordained it.
It was a sign of being under the covenant at that time. What place does it have under the new covenant, the gospel of Jesus? From Galatians chapter five, I'm gonna read verse one. Paul says,
"Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed, I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law.”
We'll be looking at these verses in the next podcast, but for now, I want to look at some of the points Paul was making. We must stand fast. We must stand firm in liberty that we've been called to in Christ Jesus. We must guard against being entangled to yokes of bondage. This means yokes of bondage will be coming at us against us. If we trust in Jesus, we must stand firm in liberty that we've been called to in Christ Jesus. Circumcision, and this applies to any works of the flesh, Jesus will be of no benefit to us.
This is such a radical statement coming from a former Pharisee, but why? The Judaizers believe they could cherry pick from the law and only observe, keep certain laws while ignoring the hundreds of other commandments of the law. But Paul corrects them on the Sarah and ???? correctly teaches them that if they are under the law, law, they are debtors to the whole law. 24:31
He makes this point in Galatians chapter 3, starting at verse 10. "For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse, for it is written, cursed as everyone, who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them."
This is a direct quote from Deuteronomy chapter 27, verse 26. It says, “Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.”
And all the people shall say, Amen.
Friends under the old covenant, we are all cursed under the law. Under the new covenant, Jesus bore our curse. He became… well I'll just put this way in Galatians, I'll read again from Galatians chapter 3 starting at verse 10,
"But the no one is justified by the law and the sight of God is evident, for the just shall live by faith. Yet the law is not of faith, but the man who does them shall live by them."
Actually here's the good news coming. Christ has redeemed us, verse 13. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’ that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
Jesus has redeemed us, delivered us from the curse of the law. So any attempt to add works of the law to the gospel of Jesus is to add back the curse. Under the New Covenant, circumcision was leaven. Requiring men to be circumcised was an attempt to add something to the full complete redemption and reconciliation that Jesus had accomplished for us.
This would be adding man's work to God's pure grace, which is impossible. God's grace is pure grace. So the effect was they had severed themselves from the grace of God by attempting to add works. So circumcision, something that at one time God established as good, was being used as bait to trap those who had come to Jesus. Do you see this was an attempt by the Judaizers to mix the old and the new covenant?
These covenants are still there by God. You can't mix covenants, only accept or reject them. Mixing covenants, the old and the new, ignorance of the new covenant among Christians is so common, so widespread, it's heartbreaking. When I've taught along these lines, basically presented the basic ABCs, the fundamental truths of the new covenant, I invariably hear from the majority of people that they've never heard these things taught.
You may be feeling good about yourself, your church, because you did this or that, but the law will soon track you down, find your flaws, and condemn you. You're only building dams of sand against the rising tide of the ocean of sin that will soon wash your castles of works away. What the Judaizers missed was that the way of the law is death every time.
In 2nd Corinthians 3, Paul calls the ministry of the law, specifically the Ten Commandments, a ministry of condemnation and death. Again, we'll be talking about this verse in future podcasts, but here's a taste. This is from 2nd Corinthians chapter 3. Most people would be amazed that this is in the Bible. He said Corinthians 3 starting at verse 7,
"But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses, because of glory of his countenance." Glory was passing away.
How will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds. much more in glory.
For what was made glorious had no glory in this respect because of the glory that excels. For what is passing away was glorious. What remains is more glorious. There's a lot here called the 10 Commandments.
He calls the New Covenant the gospel, the ministry of righteousness. The Ten Commandments ministry is death. But these are good things. God ordained them, wrote them on stones. But preaching them under the New Covenant is ministering condemnation and death to the people. Pause to ponder the enormity of this. So many people are wanting to put the Ten Commandments up everywhere and I'm not saying that I'm just saying this. I just quoted what Paul said in 2 Corinthians chapter 3.
Think about how much of the ministry, this ministry of the Ten Commandments. For many it's been truckloads, but sadly it only takes a pinch to condemn and to kill us. Matthew 26. I'm coming to a close here as soon as I can in the Amplified Bible.
Getting to the good news. Now as they were eating Jesus took bread and after blessing it he broke it and gave it to the disciples. This is life. At the last supper and he said take eat this is my body and when he had taken up a cup and given thanks he gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new and better covenant which ratifies this is from the amplified which ratifies the agreement and is being poured out for many as a substitutionary atonement for the gift forgiveness of sins John 19:19. Jesus was finishing his work on the cross. Verse 28. After this, Jesus, knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, said, "I thirst." Now, a vessel full of sour wine was sitting there, and they filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on his hip and put it to his mouth. So when Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished." finished."
And bowing his head, he gave up his spirit. All things were accomplished. All simply means all, everything.
Finished means to bring to an end, to complete, to fulfill. The sacrifice of Jesus, ratified, completed, sealed the new covenant in its entirety. It is a covenant of grace for all time. There is no further works required or accepted. No further works required or accepted.
Paul taught that there can be no mixture between the law of Moses and the new covenant. Grace must be pure or it is nothing. A gift is a gift or it isn't a gift. It's the truth about the grace of God must be established, rock solid in our minds and hearts, or is only a matter of time before we will be what Paul described as bewitched. Paul defines how the false gospel works this way into the church, into the heart of the Christian. In Galatians chapter three, verse one, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you before whose eyes. eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. This is the one thing I want to find out from you. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or hearing with faith?
Are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit? Are you now being perfected by the flesh?" Most Christians are taught that salvation, which means past sins are forgiven,
is by grace because Jesus died in the cross. cross for us. It's hard for religious ones to deny this part, but a huge but. But now they say we must all do this for Jesus or that for Jesus in order to keep it, keep the salvation, and /or to receive additional benefits. These additional benefits often include forgiveness of present and future sins. The false gospel is bewitching because it's exactly what carnal man the flesh is expecting to hear Jesus has done all this for you.
Now. What are you going to do for him? How are you gonna earn it? You have to do your part, of course. Oh And you don't know what to do. Don't worry about it.
Religion has lots of suggestions for you, friends this is so simple. You can't earn a gift. You can't add works to a covenant of grace You can only accept it or reject it.
I'm going to come to a close here with some good news. The gift of God is his Son and the new life, the Holy Spirit that he grants to all who will receive.
This is the gospel of the grace of God. The new covenant was announced by the prophet Jeremiah in the Old Testament and repeated in Hebrews chapter 8. I'm going to read from the New Living Translation Hebrews 8 starting in verse 7.
This is the prophecy of Jeremiah repeated in Hebrews. In the first covenant, if the first covenant had been faultless, there would not have been a need for a second covenant to replace it.
But when God found fault with the people, He said, "The day is coming," says the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people." people of Israel and Judah This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them and led them out of Egypt They did not remain faithful to my covenant.
So I turned my back on them says the Lord, but this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day says the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds I will write it on their hearts.
I will be their God and they will be my people and they will will not need to teach their neighbors nor again need to teach their relatives saying you should know the Lord for everyone from the least to the greatest will know me already and I will forgive their wickedness and I will never again remember their sins.
When God speaks of a new covenant it means he has made the first obsolete it is now out of date and will soon disappear the first now now obsolete covenant that is referred to amounts to do good and you'll get good from God.
Do bad and you'll receive bad. The new covenant is all about what God does. Notice the number of I wills and the announcement from God. You can reread verses 10 through 12.
I have them circled in my Bible. This announces it is a gift from God. It is what God has done, the grace of God. God. It is a unilateral decision to forgive, restore, redeem, and bless. God decides to do this. Religion has no room, no place for gifts from God.
Religion is fixated on what man does or doesn't do. Religion rejects God's "I wills" and says, "Thanks for your part, God. Now we'll finish it up." The fatal flaw of the Galatians, the fatal flaw at the heart of all faults perverted gospel teaching, is found in this simple statement by Paul in Galatians 3 .3, "Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? If we begin through receiving a gift, it must remain a gift. As this gift is the Holy Spirit of God, then we must continue in the Holy Spirit." Spirit. As we've said in previous podcasts, the Bible teaches that we were dead and now alive and we're only alive in Christ Jesus for all time.
So any attempt to add to the New Covenant, the gospel, the finished works of Jesus is to reject it. I understand I've repeated the truth about how grace must be pure so many times here, but so did Paul. The grace of God, Jesus came to pour out, is the Holy Spirit. Obviously, we cannot add anything to this gift.
We can't add anything to the Holy Spirit. Well, this is not obvious to religion. Adding their dead works to what God has done is what religion is all about. It is subtle. It's bewitching because it involves us doing doing good things. Doing good things to earn favor is what seems right to people. Proverbs 14:12 says, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death."
I've spoken a lot here, I know. It's a long podcast and we're going to continue on to part two of chapter 14, but here is the simple way that seems right to God, that is right to God. You know the verse, meditate on it. It is simple, pure gospel, pure grace.
“For God so loved the world,” John 3:16, “that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him will not perish, will not die, but have eternal life.”
If all this is new, confusing, or just too much to take in, please listen to the podcast again. again. And again, if needed, these podcasts are totally free, always will be. They're a gift to you. Now may the pure grace and peace of God flood your heart with supernatural joy in believing. Bye for now.