Tag: grace

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Discussions Torah

Genesis 44:18–47:27: Yosef foreshadows Yeshua’s grace

"Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Gen. 45:1-24)" by Gustave Doré, 1866
Gustave Doré (1832-1883), "Joseph Reveals Himself to His Brothers (Gen. 45:1-24)," Doré's English Bible, wood engraving, Wikimedia Commons, 1866.

Aesop’s ancient saying “familiarity breeds contempt” could easily sum up how Yosef’s brothers treated him in his early years and how many leaders of Yisra’el treated Yeshua. The prophetic parallels between Yosef and Yeshua the Mashiakh sharpen further in the Torah section Vayigash (“he approached”).

In it, the brothers’ contempt turns to fear when they realize their plots against Yosef have put them at his mercy. It’s also a picture of the Day of the LORD, when Yisra’el then the world must confess, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the LORD.”

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

John 15:25–16:11: Tag-team Comforters of Israel

It is not a slip of the pen that the apostle Yokhanan (John) uses the same Greek to describe Yeshua as our Advocate and the Holy Spirit as our Helper. Both know our deepest anguish. Yeshua lived it Himself, and the Holy Spirit experiences it in us. They work as a team.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

John 1:17 and Rom. 3:28: Two-faced scriptures on law and grace?

Yeshua attends Shabbat services in the Nazareth Synagogue, reading from the Isaiah scroll. Photo from FreeBibleImages.org via the Lumo Project at www.LumoProject.com.

What is “grace” in the New Testament of the Bible, and who gives it? Did Yeshua’s grace replace or usurp God’s grace? No, God gave us grace when he gave mankind the Torah and then He gave us even more grace when He gave us Yeshua. One does not replace the other. Works of Torah obedience are only of use to the believer after one trusts in God for salvation — not before — because salvation cannot be earned.

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Apostolic Writings Be a Berean series Videos

Video: Mystery of Double-Minded Scriptures on Grace and Law

Be a Berean video series

Here is part 2 of the Be a Berean video study series by Sean Hilton. In this episode, Sean explores dozens of ‪ ‎New Testament‬ verses that seem to say be contradictory on whether the Law (aka the ‪Torah‬) is what believers in ‪‎Yeshua‬ the Messiah‬ (‪Jesus‬ Christ) should be keeping or is “nailed to the cross.” Sean asks those interested in knowing God better whether the Bible is double-minded on grace and the Law.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions Questions

Can one be ‘under grace’ yet obey God’s Torah?

Richard Agee

How do we explain to others about being “under grace” and still obey the Torah? Are we “under grace” or “under law”? Paul explains this in his letter to the Romans.

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Apostolic Writings Discussions

Acts 15 — to circumcise new believers or not to circumcise, to hassle them on Torah or not to hassle

Acts 15 recounts a “watershed” moment among believers in Messiah Yeshua (Jesus) — should believers among the nations be allowed into the assembly of Israel and how. These events didn’t happen in a vacuum. Events from Acts 1–14 — Peter’s encounter with Cornelius and Paul’s first tour of Asia Minor — led to this momentous ruling by the elders. The passage from Amos 9 of restoration of a tabernacle for all believers is important. The Yerushalayim council ruled that we mustn’t “trouble” new believers as they learn Torah.

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Questions

Question: What is the relationship between law and grace?

Richard Agee

Question: What is the relationship between law and grace? Some say verse such as the following suggest grace abolishes the Law, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14).