Playlist: Law and Grace (topic)
Paul: Grace, Law, and Obedience
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe issue that is most hotly contested is the place of grace, works, and law in a Christian's life. Keeping God's law has not even one time, since mankind was created, ever justified a single person before God. The function of God's law is to define righteousness, to define sin, and to guide us along a path of life. Law's …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe issue in Galatians is not merely a belief in the God of the Jews or acceptance of a few Jewish beliefs, but rather the acceptance and adherence to the entire system of the Pharisaic/Sadducean lifestyle, combined with demon-driven Gnosticism. This system, known as halakha, was the Jewish way of life that Paul called the …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Four)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughIn the discussion of Galatians, a clear distinction emerges between bondage and liberty, particularly in relation to the elements of the world and the law of God. Bondage, as described in Galatians 4:3, conveys a sense of suppression and captivity, something difficult to bear, holding individuals from true freedom. This bondage …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Eighteen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe relationship between law and grace is not one of opposition but of harmony, as they are layered upon one another in a continuing revelation. Grace clarifies the proper position of law, building upon what was previously revealed. All biblical law, including ceremonies and rituals, originates from God, though delivered through …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty-Six)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe relationship between law and grace reveals a profound balance in the journey of faith. Justification is a judicial act by our Father in heaven, graciously given based on the sacrifice of Christ and our faith in Him. However, this grace and Christ's sacrifice do not nullify works. Faith and works are not mutually exclusive; …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Sixteen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe relationship between law and grace is central to understanding both the Old and New Testaments. Salvation is by grace through faith, as we have broken the law and face its death penalty. Justification, which is necessary for salvation, comes through God's grace via Christ's sacrifice and our faith in that sacrifice. However, …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Four)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughJustification by grace through faith is a central theme in understanding our relationship with God. Grace, at its simplest, means a gift—something freely given and unearned. When one meets the conditions of repentance and faith, God freely offers forgiveness for the purpose of justification, aligning us with His standard. …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Twenty)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughLaw and grace are integral to understanding God's purpose for humanity. Law cannot be separated from God's purpose, for it reflects the way He lives as a holy, law-abiding God. The creation itself testifies to His orderly and organized Mind, operating by law as a reflection of His nature. His law outlines the path to living as …
The Covenants, Grace, and Law (Part Thirteen)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughUnder the New Covenant, the relationship between law and grace is profoundly different from that of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant, oriented heavily towards the physical, required minimal conditions for entry, such as birth and circumcision for males, and its promises were largely tied to physical blessings like wealth and …
Our Need for God's Law
Sermonette by Austin Del CastilloThe relationship between law and grace stands at the center of this message, framed against the backdrop of a decaying social order in which law and justice are being abandoned, as described in Isaiah 59:14. This societal collapse serves as a warning of what happens when a people reject the code given by God, and it becomes the …
How Does Faith Establish the Law?
Sermonette by David C. GrabbeThe book of Romans is like a song in which some lyrics are popular but others are unfamiliar and hummed through, obscuring the overall message.
Sovereignty, Election, and Grace (Part Five)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughAre God's sovereignty, grace, and human responsibility incompatible? Are grace and works mutually exclusive in terms of salvation? In the context of salvation itself, grace and works are indeed mutually exclusive. Good works do not save us; rather, as we are being created in Christ Jesus, good works result from that creation. …
The Manifold Grace of God
Sermon/Bible Study byGod's calling us is just our initial taste of His grace. Grace is unmerited, but it is not unconditional. We have an obligation to respond to God.
As I Breathe
Sermonette by Austin Del CastilloSome in the church of God have succumbed to the lie that we do not need to be overly concerned about sinning because we are under God's grace.
Does Doctrine Really Matter? (Part Eleven)
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughThe relationship between law and grace is central to understanding God's purpose and plan. God's grace, His unmerited favor, reveals Himself to us, providing the purpose and goal of the Kingdom of God, redemption from slavery to sin through Christ's blood, and the understanding of His law that structures true Christianity. The …
James and Unleavened Bread (Part One)
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Days of Unleavened Bread, lasting seven days, symbolize a lifelong process of coming out of sin and following God, a journey that requires constant vigilance and cooperation with Him to build the character needed for eternal life. This process stands in contrast to the one-day festivals like Passover, Pentecost, Trumpets, …
Poles Apart
Sermonette by Richard T. RitenbaughIn the theological discourse, a significant tension exists between law and grace, often manipulated by satan to push believers toward extreme positions. God's approach, as revealed, does not favor one over the other but integrates both. Romans 2:4 highlights that the goodness of God leads to repentance, emphasizing His …
God's Merciful Course Correction
Sermonette by David F. MaasOur Creator mercifully set about crafting a new and improved Covenant, involving a heart transplant operation through a rigorous sanctification process. As declared in Hebrews 8:10, the LORD says, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days: I will put My laws in their mind and write them …
Strategies for Escaping Babylon (Part Six)
Sermon by David F. MaasThe material presents law and grace as symbiotically joined rather than polar opposites, a false bifurcation introduced by antinomian teachers who turn grace into license and separate it from obedience. Grace supplies the Holy Spirit that engraves God's holy and spiritual law upon the heart and mind, fulfilling the New Covenant …
Love and Works
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughGod's purpose is to reproduce Himself by transforming people into His holy image, a process that requires both grace and works in balanced relationship. Salvation is a free gift that cannot be earned by any amount or quality of human effort, yet it is granted only on the condition of faith, repentance, and continued loyalty to …
Striking a Balance
Sermonette by Richard T. RitenbaughThe Christian life follows a narrow, one-way road that climbs straight toward salvation. Travelers must move forward at all times while avoiding the ditch of legalism on one side and the ditch of liberalism on the other. Legalism stresses strict observance of every detail of the law yet neglects justice, mercy, and faith, …
Loving Christ and Revelation 2:1-7
Sermon by John W. RitenbaughSalvation is a gift of grace received through faith and cannot be earned by any works, as no one can work himself out of death or place God under obligation until coming under the blood of Jesus Christ. Meeting conditions such as repentance, faith, and continued loyalty does not alter the character of this gift, which remains …
Truly Unleavened
Sermon by Richard T. RitenbaughChristians are truly unleavened because Christ, their Passover, was sacrificed for them in a completed past act that applied His blood to cover their sins. This past action places them under grace rather than under the law. The law brings death for transgression, yet grace removes that penalty and allows them to stand before God …
God Expects a Return on His Investment (Part Four)
Sermon by David F. MaasSatan's malicious forked tongue has become a symbol of lies and falsehood, blending good and evil, truth and mendacity, into poisonous mixtures.
God Expects a Return on His Investment (Part One)
Sermon by David F. MaasWe have the obligation to bear spiritual fruit, heeding the lessons of the cursing of the fig tree, and the parables of the barren fig tree and the talents.
Amos (Part Twelve)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughGod will do what He must to bring Abraham's seed to repentance and salvation, including allowing crisis, hardship, humiliation, and calamity.
Amos (Part Thirteen)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughThe people to whom Amos writes have the mistaken assumption that because they have made the covenant with God, they can bask in a kind of divine favoritism.
Amos (Part Ten)
Sermon/Bible Study by John W. RitenbaughGod requires a higher standard of righteous behavior from those who have consciously made a covenant with Him and are acquainted with His Law.