Taught by Grace

I’m excited to embark on a verse-by-verse journey through the book of James. You may have noticed that there haven’t been any new episodes since the end of April. I decided to take a few weeks off to hit the reset button a bit. During that time, I’ve been preparing for the next series, which will be a study through this book. 

As we go through it, you’ll notice that it is an overly-practical book. James’ quill was soaked in the ink of practical Christian living. These exhortations are not general either. James doesn’t just say “put your faith in practice! Do more!” No, James dealt with specific issues - trials, sinful temptations, and oppression. He addressed the sins of partiality, lust, and an uncontrolled tongue.

James wrote to call believers to put their faith into practice. They knew what to believe, but their beliefs had not yet shaped their behavior. This is an incredibly relevant book for us today. I hope you will join me as we travel through this challenging and edifying book! 

In examining the events surrounding the last week of Jesus’ life, we put particular emphasis (and rightfully so) on the death and resurrection of Jesus. Jesus paid for sin on the cross and proved that sin was paid for in the resurrection. There was, however, a crucial event that took place between the cross and the garden - the burial of Jesus.

This is one of those events in the life of Jesus, such as the ascension, that we glance at, but don’t gaze upon. You may be thinking, why does the burial matter? Of course he was buried because that’s where dead men go, don’t they? There’s more to it than that. If you need proof that the burial is important, I point you to Paul’s description of the Gospel in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4:

1 Corinthians 15:3-4 - For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; [4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

The burial is included alongside the death and resurrection of Jesus. If it is that important, we must ask why. Why does the burial of Jesus matter?

There are a few reasons: 

In every piece of literature you read, you determine the meaning based on what the author said. Whether it is fiction like Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare, The Fellowship of the Ring by Tolkien, or The Magician’s Nephew by CS Lewis. Perhaps, you pick up a science, math, or English textbook. Maybe you take dieting, exercising, or cooking books off of the shelf. In all of these books, you go to them with one fundamental question, “What does the author say and what do they mean?” We read books, not looking for hidden meaning or disputing what is said, but to see what the author said.

If you picked up a book on exercise and said, “No, this is really about Aristotle or Plato’s views on human ethics.” you would be looked at like a mad man because that is not what the author meant. When you read a human book, you must submit to the authority of the author and not put your meaning where he put meaning.

The author of his or her book is the authority of that book, therefore, you interpret their book by what they say. Why do we interpret Scripture differently? If we give authority in that way to human authors, why would we not submit to an even greater authority - God. He is the authority of Scripture. Not you. Not me. That means, when we come to a passage of Scripture we must as “what does God say?” and “what does God mean by what He said?”

From Bethlehem to Egypt to Nazareth to the Jordan to the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum to the Garden of Gethsemane, we have the life of Jesus in the Gospel accounts. Jesus was baptized, tempted, followed, believed, and rejected. He cleansed, healed, restored, and resurrected. He taught the multitudes and the disciples. No one has lived a greater life than Jesus, but each of those places and events succeeded one another to culminate in the pivotal point of redemptive and human history - the crucifixion.

Jesus did not come to simply give men a better way to live. Neither did He come to take care of physical infirmities without addressing the greatest sickness. Jesus did not come on a mission of morality or medicine, but redemption. He came, as 2 Corinthians 5 tells us to reconcile sinners to Himself. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners and the only way was through the cross.

In the words of John MacArthur:

The cross is the declaration that Jesus paid it all. 

To be in Christ is the greatest possible position a person can be in. If you are not in Christ, nothing else matters. If you are in Christ, nothing else matters. The complete identity of the believer can be wrapped up in the phrase - In Christ. For in Christ, we are righteous, sanctified, and glorified. In Christ, we are holy, just, and pure. In Christ, we are united with one another. In Christ, we have hope that is eternal.

Easter Sunday is rapidly approaching. In a couple of weeks, many will gather on that day to remember what Jesus has done. For some, it will be just another day. For others, it will be the first time in a long time they’ve been in church. For you and me, however, I hope we will march towards that day with a greater understanding of what Jesus has done and is doing for us.

So then, over the next few weeks, we are going to dive into those events leading up to and following the finished work of Jesus on the cross. This week, we’re going to summarize those events from Palm Sunday forward that led to Jesus being nailed to the cross. Then, we’ll look at the crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus in the following weeks.

In this episode, I’d like to give you a brief overview of the events that preceded the cross. We will not examine these to simply stuff our heads with historical facts. The account of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection is not fantasy but fact. These events are historical, but they are not just history. We must not simply answer the question ``what happened?” but “why did it happen?” The Christian faith is founded upon what Jesus has done, but if there is no meaning to what He did, we have missed it.

What is Antinomianism? Unlike Legalism, which we looked at in episode 93,  this may be a newer term to you, so let’s begin by breaking down the word. Anti- means to be against or without and nomian comes from the word “nomos” which means law. Unlike the Legalist, the Antinomian does everything he can to eradicate the law of God as coming to bear upon a person's life. It has a weak view of grace that believes in grace that saves but not grace that sanctifies. 

At the heart of both of these systems of thought is the misconception of God’s grace. Legalism says that grace is not enough for salvation or sanctification. Meanwhile, Antinomianism has a limited view of God’s grace in saying that obedience to God’s Word is antithetical to grace. Both systems miss what God’s grace truly is. We take a glance at this system in this episode. 

If God is for us, who can be against us? You've heard, read, and thought about that before, but really? Romans 8 absolutely affirms that God is on the side of those who are in Christ. It is proven and applied in these verses. In this week's episode, we pause our journey through Genesis to dive into Romans 8:31-39 to see that God is undeniably on the side of those in Christ. 

You cannot be condemned because the only one who has the right to condemn you has justified you (8:33-34).

The reality that God is for us should produce in us a steadfast assurance and confidence knowing that we can face whoever and whatever because God is on our side and He is greater than all of those. God is for us, may we live in confidence!