Episode 006: Moses in a Jesus Costume

In this episode of Renegade Grace, Jess tackles one of the oldest lies humanity has ever believed: "You can do it on your own." From the Garden of Eden to modern Christianity, the temptation has remained the same— independence from God dressed up as maturity, discipline, and spiritual effort.

Together, we'll explore:

• Why the original temptation wasn't evil, but self-sufficiency 
• How we've turned faith into another form of work 
• The subtle ways Christians create "Law 2.0" and mix Jesus with self-effort 
• Why dependence on Christ is meant to be the source of our action, not the backup plan when our strength runs out 
• What it means to truly live "just as you received Christ" 

If you've ever felt exhausted trying to be a better Christian, wondering whether you're doing enough, believing enough, praying enough, or striving enough then this episode is for you.

Because the gospel doesn't begin where your strength ends.

It begins where Christ's life begins.

And maybe the most powerful prayer you'll ever pray is this:

"God, I can't. You can. I'm going to let You."

Show Notes:

Link to Jess’s Books: CLICK HERE

Instagram: @renegadepastor

Email: jess@renegadegrace.com

Website: renegadegrace.com 

Verses Referenced in Today’s Episode: Colossians 2:6–7; Ephesians 2:8–9; Romans 10:17; Zechariah 7:11; Romans 7:6; John 17:22; Colossians 1:27; 2 Corinthians 1:8–10; Hebrews 10:3; Romans 7:7–13; Romans 5:20; 1 Corinthians 15:56–57; Romans 8:4; Hebrews 8:13; James 2:10; Galatians 3:10; Galatians 5:3; 2 Corinthians 3:7; Colossians 3:23–24; Ephesians 1:3; Matthew 22:37–40; Romans 11:17-18; Colossians 3:2–3; John 13:34; 1 John 3:23; Romans 12:1; Ephesians 2:10; Matthew 11:28–30; 1 John 5:3.

Greek Words: Phroneó (5426)

Listener Reflection Questions:

• In what areas of your life do you struggle most with self-reliance?
• Do you see faith more as receiving from God or achieving something for God?
•  Have you added any version of "Law 2.0" to your walk with Christ?
• What would it look like for dependence on Christ to be your starting point instead of your backup plan?
• How does the truth that Christ lives in you change the way you approach your daily challenges?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What if the Christian life was never meant to be Jesus plus your effort? What if faith isn't about trying harder to believe, but learning how to receive? Could it be that we've turned faith into just another form of work? Could it be that we've created law 2.0 and called it spiritual growth? We've got plenty to explore today, so you know what to do. Buckle up, Buttercup. Welcome back to the Renegade Grace podcast. I'm still here, still Grace Obsessed, still your host, Jess Jess, and apparently rhyming today. So we are continuing today with our Relearning the Gospel series. And we are actually almost to the end of our series. So that's kind of exciting. I've had a ton of fun tackling some of these big old doctrinal topics together. So what we talked about so far, what I consider to be the kind of foundational pillars of the gospel: a new covenant, finished forgiveness, new life, new nature, complete closeness. And all of these things form and inform not only what we believe about God, but also what we believe about ourselves. And these beliefs naturally lead to behavior, how we live out our lives on here on planet Earth. So these last two episodes in the series are really going to be about talking about all that we've learned and allowing it to impact how we live out our faith every day. Now, don't go get any ideas that I'm about to a really good bait the switch here on you and give you a whole list of do's and don'ts dressed up in pretty grace language. No, we are still all grace here on this podcast. There's just this bad, I think, idea that action and grace are in opposition to each other. They're not. Action and grace are not in opposition to one another. In fact, grace is the activating force for the believer. I actually heard a pastor friend of mine recently say in one of his messages grace is not opposed to effort, it's opposed to merit, which I think is kind of a riff off of a Dallas Willard quote. And I think I would personally even slightly adjust that and say my version of it, which would be grace is not opposed to action, it's opposed to earning. In other words, good works are results, not a requirement. Today we're talking about what I'm calling divine dependence. You can call it faith if you want, because that is ultimately what divine dependence is: faith and trust in God. But I think that word faith comes with preconceived ideas. For many of us, when we hear the word faith, our minds immediately go to salvation. And so then faith kind of becomes simply about receiving Christ as our savior, and we don't really think much about it beyond that. Alternatively, we may see faith as something for every day, but as a lever by which we open the door to getting more from God. You know what I mean? I grew up being taught this version of faith. Now, I grew up pretty conservative in a all-Bible and no Holy Spirit space. And I think actually this idea is probably even more prevalent in more charismatic spaces, but it was still what I was taught. I was taught this idea that faith was how I got more: more blessing, more healing, more favor, more anointing, maybe even just God listening to me more. All of this was about the amount of my faith, the effort of my faith. And if this is what we mean when we say the word faith, then faith has actually ceased to be faith and has instead become a work. This view of faith makes it about belief merit rather than restful receiving. Faith then becomes a striving to believe enough. Paul says, faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ. How much striving, effort, and merit does it take to hear something? No, see, hearing's about receiving, receiving truth from outside of your own effort, receiving sound from outside of your own ears, taking in what is given to you. There's an action, sure, a choice, choosing to listen, choosing to receive, unplugging your ears, maybe, as the prophet Zachariah would say to Israel. There's an action, right? But there's no earning. In this passage, which is uh from Romans chapter 10, Paul is specifically talking about salvation, faith in Christ to receive eternal life. But faith doesn't change from salvation to daily life. Not really. In fact, there is this really great verse in Colossians, which says, Just as you receive Christ, so walk in him. My favorite translation of the verse says, Just as you receive Christ, continue to live your lives in him. Just as you receive Christ, that's how you live out your life in him. So how did you receive Christ? Was it through spiritual discipline, behavior modification, ardent commitment to doing godly things? No. As we learn in Ephesians chapter 2, you received Christ by grace through faith. And so your walk is also by grace through faith. You don't receive him through faith and then walk in him through good effort and commitment to getting closer. Paul tells us in Romans 7 that because of our freedom in Christ, we get to serve from the new life of the Spirit in us, not based on some old written code and the obligations found within it. So, what does that look like to live our lives in Him, rooted in faith? Well, ultimately, it is simply radical reliance, divine dependence, totality of trust. Okay, sorry, I got caught up in the alliteration there. It is a turning away from independence and self-reliance and believing that Christ in you is more than capable of training you in godliness. It sounds simple, I know, because it is. And also, we humans seem to greatly struggle to actually believe this. We are desperate for something that we can control and contribute. And sure, we frame it as good and godly, as if we're doing good things for God. You know, so he quote gets the glory and all that. Look, God already has all the glory, okay? What you do or don't do doesn't diminish his glory or add to it. And in fact, if you want to get technical, Jesus says in John 17 of us who believe in him, that he has actually given us his glory. And it's connected to our union with him. Christ in us, the hope of glory, as Paul says. But I digress. Back to the topic at hand. You've heard me say it here before from the very beginning. The temptation offered to humanity wasn't evil, it was independence. In the garden, the serpent doesn't say go be bad, right? He says you can be like God on your own. You don't need to depend on him. You can take it, you can do it, you can handle it. See, sin didn't start with rebellion. It started with self-reliance, independence. And we've been buying that same exact lie ever since. Oh, right. It doesn't sound like that anymore, of course. Now it sounds like do more, try harder, be disciplined, level up spiritually. And we call it maturity, spiritual disciplines, pursuit of holiness. But what we've actually done is consecrated independence. We've turned Christianity into self-improvement with a Jesus sticker on it. We think if I pray more, if I study more, if I behave better, then I'll get whatever from God. Whatever I'm missing that I need more of, if I do these things and I'll get that from God. And you know what? That's not faith. That's control dressed up as devotion. Here's the reality you can't do it. You don't have it handled. It's beyond your strength. Scripture actually says that. You know, in Second Corinthians, Paul tells a story from his own experience in ministry, saying that he and those who were with him were burdened beyond their own strength. To the point where they despaired of life, he says. He goes on to say, but we have a God who raises the dead. In other words, the burden was so great and beyond our strength that we were pretty sure we're gonna die, but still we have hope because death never stopped our God before. See, it's not about God, quote, not giving you more than you can handle. It's about the fact that there is nothing he can't handle, and he's in you. The gospel doesn't empower your independence, it replaces it. Typically, this is the point in the podcast where I would maybe tackle some but whatabouts, you know, the commonly used scriptures that seemingly counter the topic at hand. However, I don't know any Christian that would argue against depending on God. We all agree on this. We all agree that we should depend on God. Of course, that's obvious. Unfortunately, what we commonly do within the church, and often I think without realizing it, is simply just place it in the wrong order. What do I mean by that? Well, we typically put it at the end of our effort rather than placing it at the beginning as the source of our action. Let's talk through what that looks like and why that order matters. When dependence on God is placed at the end of our effort, it sounds like this you need to contribute your spiritual effort, do the best you can, and God will help you with the things you can't do. This is exactly what I learned in church. Actually, the exact phrase was do your best and God will help you with the rest, which rhymes, so you know it's true, right? Uh it sounds good, kind of him, even, until you actually really think about it. Because really that's a doctrine of self-effort plus God for what's left over. Self-righteousness plus Jesus' righteousness just for why what I can't get myself. Works for what I can, faith for whatever I can't. Is that really the gospel? Is that really even dependence at all? I say no. Really, that's just law 2.0, law remix, Moses wearing a Jesus costume. I spent quite a bit of time talking about the law in our Dueling Covenants episode, which I think is episode two. And then also I talked about it some in our first episode when I talked about law and graves. So if you haven't listened to those yet, that's totally fine. Let's just do a quick review of what we know about the law. Firstly, it's all or nothing. Living under the law means you have to keep all 613 commandments, no picking and choosing your favorites. Paul and James both talk about this in scripture, and even the law itself talks about this. Next, law keeps you focused on sin and shame. Hebrews chapter 10, verse 3, it talks about how the law reminds people of their sin year after year. It does not offer power over sin or management of sin. It offers only a reminder of the sin. It can identify sin, but it has no power over it. That's why it keeps you focused on sin and shame. The law actually breeds more sin. Romans chapter 7, Paul teaches us that when he put himself under the law, it produced in him coveting of every kind. Just a couple chapters before that, in chapter five, he tells us that the law caused sin to increase. So the law breeds more sin. Finally, the law is deadly. First Corinthians 15, verse 56 says the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. The law is the power of sin, the result of sin is death. Romans chapter 6 would say the payoff of sin is death. And guess what? The power of sin is the law. So that's the good summary of what we know about the law. I've actually been seeing a lot more Christians these days trying to adopt actual Jewish law and customs under this kind of claim that we've been grafted in to Israel, or that we are the new Israel and therefore are obligated to live by the Mosaic law. The growing popularity of this idea is frankly pretty surprising to me. Scripture doesn't say that we were grafted into Israel, more like we were grafted into God's family. In fact, in the metaphor Paul uses in Romans chapter 11, the Jew and Gentile branches remain distinctly different from one another. They are very distinctly different branches on the same family tree. In fact, the only other covenant that is ever mentioned in Scripture that we as Gentiles get to also enjoy because of our new covenant in Christ is the promise to Abraham. Not Moses, Abraham, which, by the way, is also a covenant of faith and not effort. Righteousness by faith, that's the promise of Abraham. In fact, Paul says of us Gentiles that we were a people of no covenant or promise, and that we were brought near by the blood of Jesus. Not Moses, Jesus. Jesus brought us near. Romans says that Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law in us. Fulfilled, not actively inspires us to keep it, fulfilled the righteous requirement of the law in us. Past tense, as in it is finished. And if that's still not clear, the book of Hebrews straight up says, to Jews, by the way, that God has made the old covenant of Moses obsolete. Listen, don't misunderstand me, okay? I love, love Jewish culture and history and tradition. In fact, I spent a couple of years very recently attending a Jewish synagogue regularly, studying under Jewish rabbis, and learning the beauty of scripture read through a Jewish lens. I greatly value all of those things. And I highly respect my Jewish brothers and sisters, some of whom I personally call friends and love dearly. And also, Jesus did not come to make me a Jew. He came to make me a child of God. I mean, literally the entire book of Galatians is about that. I would not say, however, that this return to hardcore adherence to Mosaic law represents the majority of the modern church. That's definitely not the majority. The majority, most of us, are Protestant, Gentile Christians. And instead of trying to keep the law in fullness, we've kind of created our own remix version, like a Spotify playlist where we've picked our favorite songs, our favorite law songs, and made a mashup. So here's the various ways that I've heard this taught. You ready? All right, here they are. We're not under the ceremonial law anymore, but we are obligated to the moral law. We only need to keep the Ten Commandments, but Jesus for everything else. We're not under the Old Testament anymore because of Jesus. But if any rules from the Old Testament are repeated in the New Testament, then we have to keep those. We just have two laws now. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. As long as you read your Bible, pray, and go to church, God will reward you, be pleased with you, or be close to you. Look, all of these are still Jesus plus our effort. And let me be really clear additions to Jesus are subtractions from the gospel. Jesus is not an ingredient in the gospel. He is the gospel. Not only that, but these ideas simply just don't align with the whole scripture. So let's just tackle them, right? That's what we like to do. We're just gonna tackle them. Let's talk about them. First up, we're not under the ceremonial law anymore, but we're obligated to the moral law. Alright, so nowhere in scripture is there any kind of split between the moral law and the ceremonial law in terms of keeping the law. As I said earlier, it's all or nothing. According to both James and Paul. James says this in James chapter 2, Galatians, Paul says this in Galatians multiple times. You can't split it up. It's all or nothing. You have to, if you want moral law, you have to take ceremonial law. You have to take sacrificial law. All of it. All or nothing. Next one. We only need to keep the Ten Commandments, but Jesus for everything else. The Ten Commandments. All right, that's a big one. I live here in Texas. You know, it's required by law in classrooms, apparently, in the in Texas. I'm out of school, so I don't have to worry about that anymore. The Ten Commandments are specifically called a ministry of death in 2 Corinthians chapter 3. In Romans 7, the law that caused sin to have power over Paul's life was coveting, which, in case you missed it, is one of the Ten Commandments. I believe it's number nine. So what were we saying about the Ten Commandments still being applicable? According to Paul, they're a ministry of death and give sin power. So maybe not. Maybe not the Ten Commandments. All right, next one. We're not under the Old Testament anymore because of Jesus. But if any rules from the Old Testament are repeated in the New Testament, then we have to keep those. I actually had a Bible professor in college say this to me, and I heard this growing up too. And to that I say, says who? Says who. Because it certainly doesn't say that in Scripture. I'm sorry, but that's just made-up nonsense. As long as you read your Bible, pray and go to church, God will reward you, be pleased with you, or be close to you. The reward is Christ. You have every spiritual blessing in him, including his pleasure. And you can't get any closer because you're already fully united. That's Colossians, Ephesians, and 2 Corinthians. Also, just as a bonus side note, did you know that most of the early church couldn't even read? And even if even those that could, they certainly wouldn't have had a Bible in their home. So were they distant from God? Was he displeased with them because they weren't studying enough? If our Christian walk is about our study, then the whole of the early church failed as Christians. Hmm. Doesn't seem to make sense to me. Last one. I saved this one for last. We just have two laws now. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. So I saved this one for last because it's personal. This is actually what I myself believed when I first transitioned from legalism to grace. So actually, early on in my journey to understanding the fullness of the gospel, I landed here. I mean, I got it from Scripture, Jesus said it, it's rooted in love, which, you know, from my perspective was the heartbeat of the gospel. It even sounds easier and lighter than 613 commands, right? Well, until you actually think about what it takes to really love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, until you catch yourself trying to make sure God knows that you love him, until you're loving anything else is a division of your devotion and robbing God of what he's owed, until you find yourself exhausted trying to love your neighbor at the expense of yourself. Oh, there I was again, back in a working, earning effort mindset. Is that what Jesus meant for us? Jesus does say this in Matthew chapter 22, but why does he say it? It's actually a response to a question, specifically to Jewish law experts. They came to him asking him a question about what? Christian living? No. It's a question about the law. They were testing him. And that question was which law in the law of Moses is the best one? He masterfully answers, not by choosing his favorite law, but by summarizing the whole of the law into two lines. Love God with your whole being, love others like you love yourself. He goes on to say the whole law. Hangs on those two things. So are these new laws given to Christians? No. He's actually not even talking to his own followers at the moment. He's literally talking to law-keeping Jews, asking him law-keeping questions. Why do we think this is about us as New Covenant Christians? I mean, I get it. I I thought this was about me. I I thought this was for me, as even knowing grace and understanding grace. I thought it was even a grace perspective to have. Like, oh yeah, not the law anymore. Like, we're not under that. It's just about loving God and loving others, right? It's not about us. It's it's two law keepers about law keeping. I do think there's something we can learn from this, which is that love is the completion of the law. You see, love came down from heaven, and and love stretched its arms wide on the cross and took on the sin of the world so that we could become the righteousness of God. And then love came to reside in us. And love explodes from our inner being and created us as little loves. So, of what value is the law to us when we are people of love by nature? No matter what it looks like, however you package it, whichever way you spin it, even if it's in Christian language, you cannot mix merit and grace any more than you could mix light and dark, death and life, freedom and slavery. They are by nature opposing entities. Dependence on Christ is meant to be the starting point, not the backup plan. If dependence is the destination, you've started in the wrong place. The gospel doesn't begin where your strength ends, it begins where Christ's life begins. The Christian life is not effort for Christ followed by dependence on Christ. It is dependence on Christ expressed through action. When Christ becomes the supplement to our effort rather than the source of our action, we traded the gospel for religion. So then what does it look like to put things in the right order? It is dependence on Christ as the source of everything that you do. And here's the thing: God's rigged the game on this because He has in fact come to live in you and be one with you. So most of the time, that whole, you know, depending on Christ as your source thing, you do it without even thinking, like breathing. It's just your everyday, your every moment, unconscious action. Other times, yeah, it it takes intention, a refocus on where the source of your strength is, which, spoiler alert, isn't your self-effort. Paul says, set your mind on things above. Colossians chapter three. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. Why? Why do we do that? Paul goes on to say, because you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Set your mind on things above because you are a creature of heaven, because your identity is heavenly. I actually went on a bit of a nerdy rabbit hole deep dive this week on this verse, because that's what I do. Because I am a nerd, okay? The the Greek word that's used here for the phrase set your mind. It's it's one one Greek word used for that phrase, set your mind. It's super interesting. So properly, it means to regulate from within as an inner perspective shows itself in a corresponding outward behavior. Okay, now that's a lot of words. So what's going on inside expresses itself on the outside, basically. And one commentary I read about the word itself said it essentially equates to personal opinion fleshing itself out in action. And that the idea is is pretty difficult to translate in English because it combines the instinctual and cognitive aspects of thinking. Okay, that's another big long words. So let's simplify it. In other words, what you believe affects how you behave. So Paul says let both what you instinctively know and what you've learned about who God is, and by extension who you are, impact how you live. Let both what you instinctively know and what you've learned about who God is impact how you live. Jesus does give his disciples a new command. He does. One that they in turn pass to us. Not an old command, not a summary of the Mosaic Law. One new command, which is this love one another just as I have loved you. Did you catch that? Not love your neighbor as yourself with your self-effort. Love one another just as I have loved you. So what's the source? Christ's love for you. How do you live it out? By knowing you're loved, by trusting his love, by relying on his love, by depending on his love. Love at the source, always, because love is his identity. God is love, and love is in you. Look, I'm not gonna lie and say that it's easy, but it is simple. It's not complicated, even though we may at times feel like it's very difficult. Some days it certainly is for me. People are hard. Humans are hard. Planet Earth is hard. Which is why I imagine we're encouraged to focus on the things of heaven. Because the things of earth leave a lot to be desired. It's especially true for me in this moment as I'm recording this podcast. Life's hard. So, what do we do when it's hard? Well, I'm gonna leave you with a very practical prayer that I frequently use when I'm having difficulty being dependent. And uh I can't take credit for this one. I stole it from my friend Drew, so I have to give him credit. But I've been using it for over a decade now, and I found it to be incredibly helpful. So here's the very simple prayer of divine dependence. God, I can't. You can. I'm gonna let you. That's it. It's that simple. I can't, you can, I'll let you. And I think that's what Paul means when he says in Romans 12 to offer our bodies. Here it is, Lord. I'm gonna let you use it. I'm gonna let you use me for the good stuff you've already prepared ahead of time so I can do it. See, when we depend on Christ as our source for action, we find that what he said is actually true. His yoke is actually easy, and his burden is actually light. Or as the Apostle John echoes in 1 John chapter 5, his commandments are not burdensome. All righty. Well, that does it for today. Thanks for tuning in. And be sure to join me next time for our final episode of the Relearning the Gospel series. We're gonna wrap it up by talking about freedom and fruit. And hopefully, I will also announce the name of our next series. So that'll be exciting. You'll want to join me for that episode. Also, if you've been enjoying the podcast and if you're willing, it would be super awesome if you could leave me a five-star review on whatever podcast platform where you're listening. That helps the podcast get more visibility and hopefully it puts it into the ears of more people, which would be cool. We want people to know the truth of the freedom of grace. So the more ears we can get into, the better, right? If you want to keep up with me in between episodes, you can check me out on my website, which is renegadegrace.com. All my stuff is there. I actually post weekly on my blog there called Grace Thoughts. And my books are on there. And also, like if you ever want me to speak somewhere, you can fill out a form there to do that. Yeah, you can also check me out on social media. So all my contact info is in the show notes, and as always, there's a list of all the verses that were referenced during the teaching today. So thanks for listening to Renegade Grace. Until next time, remember Grace already did the work. You just get to live from it. Okay, love you. Bye.