Ground and Pounded

Proverbs 27:22
Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with crushed grain, yet his foolishness will not depart from him.

This is what happens when you teach a mixture of law and grace; this is what is happening all over the world today in churches from one end of the planet to the other. From Fiji to Los Angeles the word of grace and truth that came by Jesus Christ is being mixed in with the law that was given through Moses (John 1:17). The result is exactly what God’s word says, foolishness.

Look at the typology of this scripture. First you’re taking the person and placing them in a mortar and grinding them with a pestle. What is a mortar and pestle made out of again? Oh, that’s right, stones! What were God’s commandments written and engraved on again? STONES! When you put those stones alongside the grain, that is, the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ, you begin to breed confusion.

“Here’s a rule to follow; you’re saved by grace. God loves you no matter what; don’t do that, God hates it. God wants to bless you but your sin and lawlessness is in the way; Jesus paid the price for all your sins. God doesn’t remember your sins; your sins are keeping you from God.” Can you feel the confusion, the foolishness? How on earth is anyone supposed to grab hold of God’s grace when they’re in a stone mixing bowl getting pulverized by the law?

When you mix the teaching of salvation through the grace of Jesus Christ on the cross with the teaching that upholding, even exceeding, the expectations of the law is what God requires, you are preaching a ministry that leads to death and foolishness. The concept that Jesus’ grace is to get you into heaven, but while here on earth you need to do, do, do is nothing more than foolishness.

The truth is this: God gave us Christ so that we would no longer live as fools. He gave us grace so that we would no longer be ground and pounded by the law. He, through the cross, released us from our marriage to the law and married us, instead, to Christ. There has to be a separation from the old covenant given to Moses and an attachment to the New Covenant that came through Christ. That attachment comes when we see Jesus revealed.

If you’re wondering why you’re still struggling with hate, forgiveness, pornography, lust, alcoholism, drugs, or greed, maybe it’s time to reassess what you’re learning. Are you learning a mixture of grace and law? Are you confused, thinking that you’ve been freed from your addiction through the blood of Christ but now you have to put into practice the basic principles of freeing yourself from your addiction? Stop it!

Get out of the mixture doctrine and step into the truth. Grace and truth came by Christ. We are dead to the the law, raised in Christ, and seated in His grace at the right hand of the Father. There is no need to mix yourself in with the grinding of the grain. Christ jumped in that mixer on your behalf 2000 years ago. He bore the full burden of God’s holy law when He accepted your sins and mine on the cross. He was made our sin, ground up by the law, and died our death. In His resurrection He became the bread of life. He has given all of Himself to us for freedom, love, peace, prosperity, health, and holiness.