The Gonzo Journalism of Grace: Book 1 - The Paradox of Law and Grace

rhēma Christou ό λόγος τού Θεού en Christō
GOD SAVE ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS!

or the gonzo journalism of grace
TRILOGY
BOOK ONE – THE PARADOX OF LAW AND GRACE
These men have the freedom of futility,

Heaven is not a reward.
You have brought us back to Eden,
To eat of the tree of life.
The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the
churches. To the one who conquers, I will permit him to eat from the
tree of life that is in the Paradise of God.1
Jesus Christ, 95 A.D.
written and edited by DL Coulon
Copyright © applied for 2007 by DL Coulon

2
Preview
Now this is his commandment: that we believe in the name of his Son
Jesus Christ.2 And his commandments do not weigh us down, because
everyone who has been fathered by God conquers the world. This is the
conquering power that has conquered the world: our faith. Now who is
the person who has conquered the world except the one who believes that
Jesus is the Son of God? 3 “The one who conquers will in no way be
harmed by the second death.” 4
3 4
YÉÜ }âáà tá |Ç TwtÅ tÄÄ w|x? áÉ tÄáÉ |Ç V{Ü|áà tÄÄ ã|ÄÄ ux

Åtwx tÄ|äxA 5
Christ
Man Adam
“Let nobody deceive you with empty words, for because of these things
God’s wrath comes on the sons of disobedience. Do not participate in the
unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 6 The one who
believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will not
see life, but God’s wrath remains on him.” 7
“Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one

transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness
leading to life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the
one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one
man many will be made righteous.” 8
“I tell you, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner
who repents” 9
5 6
Justification is the divine announcement of saving faith - a heavenly
child has been born. God created the original fraternal twins, Eve from
Adam. God created the unique maternal twin, Christ from the virgin
stock of Adam. God gives man the twin works of the gospel of grace for
the propagation of a new child of heaven. The seed principle is
conceived in life from death, salvation from forgiveness. Which has been
oddly divided and unforgivably separated in the dark heart of a barren
negative gospel of sin that has aborted divine imputations that define,
and result in, the quickened moment of conception from eternal death
into eternal life. The rightful claims of the gospel of the grace of God will
expose this heart of darkness. The circle is a symbol of unity and the
never-ending. Twin intersecting arcs are the Ichthys. God has freed
Himself from judgment to return to Eden and create new heavenly men
from condemned earthly men.
Going up the river was like

traveling back to the earliest
beginnings of the world, when
vegetation rioted on the earth
and the big trees were kings. …
The air was warm, thick,
heavy, sluggish … The long
stretches of the waterway ran
on, deserted, into the gloom of overshadowed distances. On silvery sand-
banks, hippos and alligators sunned themselves side by side. … I turned
to the wilderness really, not to Mr. Kurtz, who, I was ready to admit, was
as good as buried. And for the moment it seemed to me as if I was buried
in a vast grave full of unspeakable secrets. I felt an intolerable weight
oppressing my breast, the smell of the damp earth, the unseen presence
of victorious corruption, the darkness of an impenetrable night.
The Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
7 8
“The Necessity for Atonement”
First of all, penalty, as an element of law, appeals to an instinctive fear.

Far better is it that evil tendencies should be restrained, and outward
conformity to law secured, through such fear than not at all. We
therefore hold all divine punishment to have a strictly rectoral function.
Punishment is the resource of all righteous government. The whole
change in the divine economy is this – that on the sole ground of the
vicarious sacrifice of Christ all who repent and believe may be forgiven
10
and saved.
Dr. John Miley,

Arminian humanist theologian
“The Necessity for At-one-ment”
God has never proposed the amendment of sinners now, nor will He in
eternity. He has provided at infinite cost a perfect regeneration and new
creation through faith in Christ. This may be received or rejected by
men. 11
Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer,

Grace of God theologian
9 10
Saved from what?
“The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from
heaven. Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust, and
like the one from heaven, so too those who are heavenly. And just as we
have borne the image of the man of dust, let us also bear the image of the
man of heaven. Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: Flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable
inherit the imperishable.” 12
God has brought man back to Eden in order that man may be perfected
and be with Him always. The sovereignty of God and man’s free will has
been designed to meet in one place. The law is an instrument of God.
Faith is perfect obedience. In Grace and Innocence, God has only one
command that guarantees the perfection of mankind by the exercise of
his God given free will …
11 12

BOOK ONE – THE PARADOX OF LAW AND GRACE
Since there is so much delusion in a counterfeit, the person most difficult

to reach with the gospel of divine grace is the person who is trying to do
all that a Christian ought to do, but is doing it as a means of becoming
accepted before God. His willing acknowledgement of the value of the
Christian life, his unquestioned reception into the fellowship of believers,
and his real sincerity in all Christian activities constitute his greatest
hindrance. Such a one is more deluded than the person who
acknowledges no relationship to God. Both fall short and are lost
through their failure to believe on Christ as the all-sufficient Savior; but,
naturally, the person who has no false hope is more apt to become
conscious of the fact that he is lost than is the person who believes he is a
Christian.
Lewis Sperry Chafer
13 14
Preface
Subsequent to the pre-

mature loss of many
charismatic leaders of this
country, during a time of great
social change and
disillusionment, those of my
generation experienced a war
where the enemy was never
defeated. And this, during a
time when “God is Dead” had
been made into a popular
slogan. The religion that
prompted that observation is
still alive and well today.
Many types of Nirvana were
thought to be a valid
spirituality by those who were
inclined to move with the
times. Times change and
spirituality removed from Jesus Christ has always been a myth. To this I am
a witness. I dedicate this book to those who will become a witness to the
gospel of God’s saving grace.
15 16
“True Christian living and service flow out of the new creation which is
the result of the saving work of God and are divinely recognized by the
promise of rewards. The Bible revelation concerning rewards not only
presents a great incentive to holy and faithful living, but is a necessary
counterpart of the doctrines of free grace. The divine plan of salvation
under free grace is to save men “without money and without price.” This
means that no exchange is made. Man receives all that he has as a gift
and only as a gift. It also means that there are no after payments to be
made “on the installment plan,” as though some attempted correctness
of life or conduct could qualify the transaction of grace. What is done for
man is done graciously. God will not suffer His gift to be confused with
useless attempts to pay, or return, anything to Him in exchange. It is
equally evident that it is not His purpose that Christian service shall be
rendered as an attempt to return something for what He has done,
notwithstanding the fact that such motives in service are sometimes urged by
the misinformed. God is said to be actuated by at least three motives in
saving men: First, they are said to be “created unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that they should walk in them.” This, it is evident, is
the least of all. It is, however, the only motive that is sometimes presented.
“We are saved to serve” is a common phrase which if taken alone would
represent the Father as seeking our service only and as debased to the level
of the most sordid commercialist. It is true rather that we are saved in order
that we may serve. There can be no true service apart from salvation.
Service then becomes a divinely provided privilege.
Second, we are saved that “we might not perish, but have everlasting
life.” This would seem of greatest importance, for it represents our
unmeasured and eternal blessing in Him.
But there is a third divine motive infinitely beyond these which, we may
believe, is the highest motive of saving grace: namely, we are saved “that in
the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness towards us through Jesus Christ.” The result of that kindness
toward us will be seen to be the final form in which we appear in the glory
when we are “conformed to the image of his Son.” Every being in the
universe will know what we were and will behold the spectacle of what we
are in that final and eternal glory. This transformation will have measured
the grace of God for us, and on that scale which will be wholly satisfying to
Himself. He will have made a demonstration of His grace before all created
beings which will be to His own exceeding joy.” 13
Lewis Sperry Chafer
17 18
Table of Contents Detailed Commentary: Grace and the Non-Grace of Law......................... 128
The Ancient Gentile Truth of Law and Grace ............................... 139
Righteousness, Grace, and Faith................................................... 145
GOD SAVE ME FROM YOUR
YOUR FOLLOWERS!...............................................................
FOLLOWERS! 1 The Righteousness of Sweeney Todd ............................................ 157
The Denial of Grace ........................................................................ 159
OR THE GONZO JOURNALISM
JOURNALISM OF GRACE ............................................................. 1 The Final Judgment ........................................................................ 167
The Miracles of Christ in Behalf of His “Neighbors” and His Message
TRILOGY .............................................................................................................. 1 of “the Kingdom is at Hand” was a Total Failure ......................... 177
BOOK ONE – THE PARADOX OF LAW AND GRACE....................................... 1 The Amazing Second Revelation of the Apostle Paul .................. 183
The Church, the Body of Christ................................................................... 185
PREVIEW ........................................................................................................... 3 Detailed Commentary on the Ascension and Session of Christ............... 197
PREFACE ......................................................................................................... 15 FOREWORD ................................................................................................... 205
TABLE OF CONTENTS........................................................................................ 19 Statement of the Author’s Purpose ............................................. 207
PRELUDE ......................................................................................................... 25 Author’s Comments ....................................................................... 208
The Consistency of an Inconsistent Bible ....................................... 27 What Is Another Gospel?............................................................... 209
Introduction to the Historical Background to the Doctrine of the Statement of Method ..................................................................... 209
Value of the Death of Christ ............................................................ 31 Declaration ...................................................................................... 211
Early Christianity............................................................................................ 31 Arminianism and the Separation of Church and State ............... 213
The Middle Ages............................................................................................. 32 Closing Comments by the Author ................................................. 216
The Value of the Death of Christ ..................................................... 33 RELIGION ....................................................................................................... 219
A. The Erroneous Theories of the Atonement ................................................ 35 The Scales of Justice ...................................................................... 221
B. The Explanation of the Value of the Death of Christ................................... 37
PART ONE - NIGHT AND DAY .................................................................. 223
C. The Extent of the Death of Christ................................................................ 40
D. The Effects of the Death of Christ ........................................................... 44
RELIGIOUS HUMANISM................................................................................... 225
POLITICS ......................................................................................................... 59 Opening Discussion ........................................................................ 227
Introduction to the Historical and Political Facts Concerning Arminianism is Religious Humanism ............................................. 242
American Values of Freedom That Have No Valid Reason to be Part The Gospel of the Grace of God ..................................................... 249
and Parcel of Christian Thought...................................................... 61 Not Until “Thy Will Be Done” Does “Thy Kingdom Come” ........... 257
Atheism........................................................................................................... 62 Behold, All Things are Become New! ............................................ 266
Deism and the Age of Reason/Enlightenment............................................. 63 Concluding Summary Remarks ..................................................... 271
Free Will ......................................................................................................... 65 THE SUPREMACY OF NOTHING ....................................................................... 283
Philosophical Views of Free Will .................................................................. 66 Intuition, the Supremacy of Nothing, Theory, Truth, and the
Theological Paradox of Free Will ................................................................. 67 Supremacy of Christ ....................................................................... 285
Modern Thought on Free Will Derived From Skeptism (Scottish: Hobbs, THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST ................................................................ 297
Hume) or Idealism (English/French: Locke, Paine, Kant) ......................... 67 THE VALUE OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST - LEXICON .............................................. 301
The “Best Sellers List” in Colonial America ............................................... 68
Propaganda in Colonial American Literature............................................. 72
Typology - The Death of Christ is Demonstrated in the OT ......... 303
Encyclopedia .................................................................................................. 73 Biblical Terms Related to the Death of Christ ............................. 307
Thematic Essay: Political and Social Thought of the Enlightenment ........ 74 Preliminary Considerations About the Value Of Christ’s Death 309
Thematic Essay: British Political and Social Thought................................ 81 God’s Truth About What Christ Accomplished in His Death –
Introduction to the Contradictory Dispensational Ages in the Bible92 Forgiveness and Justification. The First Pauline Revelation:
THE KINGDOM ................................................................................................. 97 “justification by faith.” .................................................................... 312
Historical Premise ............................................................................ 99 Proof Verses ................................................................................... 317
Statement..................................................................................................... 102 THE VALUE OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST.............................................................. 321
Introduction to the Elementary Argument for Grace ............................... 104 The KJV Translation of Romans 8:1 is Misleading and Not to be
An Example of Gonzo Journalism................................................................ 118 Trusted ............................................................................................ 323
Closing Comments ....................................................................................... 123
19 20
The KJV Invented Word, “Atonement,” Is Greatly Misleading.... 324
Why is “atonement” and the history of the KJV important?................... 334
Detailed Commentaries On a Misleading Idea of Atonement ..... 354
The New Commandment of Koinonia and The False Professing
Christians of Today Exposed in 1 John. ........................................ 363
Detailed Commentary on Koinonia ................................................ 366
The Nine “Words” of NT Grace for the Believer: A Graceful View That
Corrects False Views of - The Great Commandment, the New
Commandment, and the Great Commission.............................................. 372
SALVATION .................................................................................................... 395
Salvation: The Objective in Evangelism ......................................... 398
Major Religions Practiced in the United States .......................... 404
SIN ............................................................................................................... 409
The Origin of Sin .............................................................................. 411
Justification - Salvation From the Penalty of Sin – Imputed
Righteousness – The Believer is Dead to the Law ...................... 421
Sanctification - Salvation From the Power of Sin – Imparted
Righteousness – The Believer is Dead to the Sin Nature or Flesh425
The New Creation Began on the Lord’s Day – The Believer’s New Life
in Christ ........................................................................................... 427
APPENDIX ..................................................................................................... 433
The Positive Gospel......................................................................... 435
1. The Doctrine of Imputation........................................................ 435
2. THE DOCTRINE OF PROPITIATION ...................................................... 439
3. THE DOCTRINE OF PUNISHMENT ...................................................... 441
4. THE DOCTRINE OF FORGIVENESS ..................................................... 442
5. THE DOCTRINE OF THE NAME - CHRISTIAN ........................................ 446
6. THE DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIANITY ...................................................... 448
7. CHRISTOLOGY ................................................................................. 450
8. THE DOCTRINE OF COMMANDMENTS ............................................... 455
9. The Doctrine of Faith.................................................................. 459
21 22

23 24
Prelude
14
25 26
The Consistency of an Inconsistent Bible
Pelagius (360?-420?) denied the existence of original sin and the need
for infant baptism. He argued that the corruption of the human race is not
inborn, but is due to bad example and habit, and that the natural faculties
of humanity were not adversely affected by Adam's fall. Human beings
can lead lives of righteousness and thereby merit heaven by their own
efforts. Pelagius asserted that true grace lies in the natural gifts of
humanity, including free will, reason, and conscience. He also
recognized what he called external graces, including the Mosaic law and
the teaching and example of Christ, which stimulate the will from the
outside but have no indwelling divine power. For Pelagius, faith and
dogma hardly matter because the essence of religion is moral action. His
belief in the moral perfectibility of humanity was evidently derived from
Stoicism. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft
Corporation. All rights reserved.
27 28
“As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord.” –Col. ii. 6
THE life of faith is represented as receiving – an act which implies the

very opposite of anything like merit. It is simply the acceptance of a gift.
As the earth drinks in the rain, as the sea receives the streams, as night
accepts light from the stars, so we, giving nothing, partake freely of the
grace of God. The saints are not, by nature, wells, or streams, they are
but cisterns into which the living water flows; they are empty vessels into
which God pours His salvation. The idea of receiving implies a sense of
realization, making the matter a reality. One cannot very well receive a
shadow; we receive that which is substantial: so is it in the life of faith,
Christ becomes real to us. While we are without faith, Jesus is a mere
name to us – a person who lived a long while ago, so long ago that His
life is only a history to us now! By an act of faith Jesus becomes a real
person in the consciousness of our hearts. But receiving also means
grasping or getting possession of. The thing which I receive becomes my
own: I appropriate to myself that which is given. When I receive Jesus,
He becomes my Saviour, so mine that neither life nor death shall be able
to rob me of Him. All this is to receive Christ – to take Him as God’s
free gift; to realize Him in my heart, and to appropriate Him as mine.
Salvation may be described as the blind receiving sight, the deaf
receiving hearing, the dead receiving life; but we have not only received
these blessings, we have received CHRIST JESUS Himself. It is true that
He gave us life from the dead. He gave us pardon of sin; He gave us
imputed righteousness. These are all precious things, but we are not
content with them; we have received Christ Himself. The Son of God has
been poured into us, and we have received Him, and appropriated Him.
What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain Him!
Charles H. Spurgeon
Morning and Evening Devotions
November 8, Morning
29 30
The following excerpts are from Wekipedia, an on-line encyclopedic The Middle Ages
reference.
Augustine’s teaching on grace was considered the touchstone of orthodoxy
Introduction to the Historical Background to the Doctrine of the within the western church throughout the Middle Ages. Nevertheless, within
Value of the Death of Christ an Augustinian context, theologians continued to debate the precise nature of
God and man’s participation in salvation, as well as attempting to work out a
Early Christianity place for the church’s emerging system of sacraments in the overall scheme
of salvation. Thomas Aquinas, the most influential Catholic theologian of
Pelagius was a British monk who journeyed to Rome around 400 AD and the Middle Ages, taught that, from man’s fallen state, there were three steps
was appalled at the lax behavior within churches. To combat this lack of to salvation: (1) infusio gratiae - God infuses grace into the human soul - the
holiness, he preached a Gospel that began with justification through faith Christian now has faith and, with it, the ability to do good - this step is
alone (it was actually Pelagius, not Luther, who first added the word alone to entirely God’s work and is not done by man, and once a man has faith, he
Paul's phrase) [1] but finished through human effort and morality. He had can never entirely lose it - however, faith alone is not enough for salvation;
read Augustine's Confessions and believed it to be a fatalistic and (2) fides caritate formata - with man’s free will restored, man must now do
pessimistic view of human nature. Pelagius' followers, including Caelestius, his best to do good works in order to have a “faith formed by charity”; and
went farther than their teacher and removed justification through faith, then (3) meritum de condigno - God then judges and awards eternal life on
setting up the morality- and works-based salvation now known as the basis of these good works which Aquinas called man’s “condign merit.”
Pelagianism. It should be mentioned that the only historical evidence of the Aquinas believed that by this system, he had managed to reconcile
teachings of Pelagius or his followers is found through the writings of his Ephesians 2:8 (“By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of
two strongest opponents — Augustine and Jerome. yourselves: it is the gift of God”) and James 2:20 (“faith without works is
dead”) and 2:24 (“by works a man is justified and not by faith only”), and
In response to Pelagius, Augustine adopted a theological system that had provided an exposition of the Bible's teaching on salvation compatible
included not only original sin (which Pelagius denied), but also with Augustine's teachings.
predestination, limited atonement, and irresistible grace. Critics maintain
that part of Augustine's philosophy might have stemmed from his expertise A second stream of medieval thought, involving such thinkers as William of
in Greek philosophy, particularly Platonism and Manichaeism, which Ockham, Duns Scotus, and Gabriel Biel, rejected Aquinas’ system as
maintained a very high view of a man's spirit and very low view of a man's destroying man’s free will. The Ockhamists argued that if a man loved God
body.[2] Against the Pelagian notion that man can do everything right, he simply because of “infused grace”, then man did not love God freely. They
taught the notion that man can do nothing right. Thus, he reasoned, man argued that before a man received an infusio gratiae, man must do his best in
cannot even accept the offer of salvation — it must be God who chooses for a state of nature (i.e. based on man’s reason and inborn moral sense). They
himself individuals to bring to salvation. argued that just as God awards eternal life on the basis of man’s condign
merit for doing his best to do good works after receiving faith as a gift from
A group of Italian bishops, led by Julian, defended the Pelagian view against God, so too, the original infusio gratiae was given to man on the basis of
the Augustinian concept of predestination but were rejected by Pope meritum de congruo “congruent merit”, a reward for man’s doing his best in
Innocent I at the Council of Ephesus in 431. Later a monastic movement in a state of nature.
Southern Gaul (modern-day France) also sought to explain predestination in
light of God's foreknowledge, but a flurry of writings from Augustine (Grace Aquinas’ followers, referred to as the Thomists, accused the Ockhamists of
and Free Will, Correction and Grace, The Predestination of the Saints and Pelagianism for basing the infusio gratiae on man’s works. The Ockhamists
The Gift of Perseverance) helped maintain the papal authority of his defended themselves from charges of Pelagianism by arguing that, in the
doctrines. Ockhamist system, God was not bound to award the infusio gratiae on the
basis of congruent merit; rather, God’s decision to award the infusio gratiae
on the basis of congruent merit was ex liberalitate Dei, an entirely gracious
31 32
act on God’s part. Martin Luther’s condemnation of “justification by works” “Christ died for our sins.” In spite of the fact that some religious leaders
clearly condemned Ockhamism. Some proponents of ecumenism argue that object vigorously to the Doctrine of the Atonement, that the Death of Jesus
the Thomist view of salvation is not opposed to Luther’s view of grace, and, Christ was sacrificial and necessary for man’s redemption, we proceed on a
since Ockhamism was rejected as semi-Pelagian by the Catholic Church at sound biblical basis to pursue this great subject.
the Council of Trent, theology of salvation need not pose a bar to Protestant- The word “atonement” in the Authorized Version of the Bible is an Old
Catholic reunion. (The major streams of Catholic thought on the theology of Testament term. It appears only once in the New Testament (Romans 5:11)
salvation are Thomism and Molinism, a theology developed by Jesuit where it is translated “reconciliation” in the Revised Version. It is not
thinkers in the 16th century and also held today by some Protestants such as entirely fanciful to suggest the idea of at-one-ment because the word
William Lane Craig and Alvin Plantinga.) atonement is used to refer to the atoning death of Christ through which the
sinner is reconciled to God, restored to His favor.
However, since the Catholic Church’s rejection of Jansenism in the bull To atone for means to make amends. In the Bible atonement is
Unigenitus, it has been clear that Calvinism could not be accommodated associated with man’s sin. God commanded Israel to set aside one day each
within Catholicism. Arminianism, on the other hand, while it might not year, the tenth day of the seventh month, which He called “the day of
square entirely with Catholic theologies of salvation, probably could be atonement” (Leviticus 16:29-30; 23:27-28). The people were to bring a sin
accommodated within the Catholic Church, a fact which Arminianism’s offering, an innocent animal sacrifice “whose blood was brought in to make
Protestant opponents have often pointed out. (Augustus Toplady, for atonement” (Leviticus 16:27). God had said, “For the life of the flesh is in
example, famously claimed that Arminianism was the “Road to Rome.”) the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for
your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul”
Many Protestants believe that Thomism’s requirement of man doing his best (Leviticus 17:11) “. . . and without shedding of blood is no remission”
in a state of grace in order to earn condign merit is a form of “justification (Hebrews 9:22).
by works” and is therefore semi-Pelagian. They therefore believe that all In this study we will give thought to the biblical teaching how the death
Catholic salvation theology is semi-Pelagian, and, as such heretical, or at of Christ and the shedding of His blood atones for man’s sin. Upon entering
least semi-heretical. into a consideration of this majestic theme, it may be well to remind
ourselves that the Death of Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary is a
The Value of the Death of Christ historical fact. Some books of fiction about the Death of Christ have come
into my hands. They have a tendency to leave the mind in the dangerous
The Atonement of Christ state of dreamy unreality and poetic imagination. But “sound doctrine” deals
by with facts and not fiction. In the New Testament alone, we find almost two
Lehman Strauss, Litt.D., F. R.G.S. hundred references to Christ’s Death. Though many theologians have
differed on the meaning of the Cross, the fact of our Lord’s Death has been
accepted in the history of the Church. Some theologians are frank to accept
At the very heart of the Christian system lies the all-important doctrine the fact of Christ’s Death, and just as frank to say that they have no
of the Atonement. The Apostle Paul, himself an advocate of “sound rationale, no theory, no doctrine of the Atonement.
doctrine,” in a condensed statement of what the Christian Church believes, We believe that men are regenerated, redeemed, reconciled to God,
said, justified, forgiven, adopted, not by the Doctrine of the Atonement, but by the
Atonement itself, by the sacrificial and substitutional death of our Lord Jesus
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ. We cannot hope to treat thoroughly so great a subject in this brief
Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was study, but simply to state the basic elements of the Atonement so that
buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures (I believers may have a firm foundation for their faith.
Corinthians 15:3, 4).
Though the Gospel according to Paul included a sinless and a
bodily-resurrected Christ, he gives first place to the fundamental fact that
33 34
A. The Erroneous Theories of the Atonement sin and return to God. A debt must be paid for sin, and Christ has paid that
debt on the Cross of Calvary.
All of the great Doctrines of the Bible have been challenged by the Dr. Loraine Boettner has said that “the advocates of the moral influence
enemies of Historic Christianity. A distinguished University Professor wrote theory are never tired of ridiculing the idea that God must be propitiated.
a book entitled, The Human Life of Jesus, in which he flatly denies what the They give no hint of the Scripture doctrine of the subjective effects of sin on
Bible teaches about the Atonement. He writes, “I venture to suggest, in the human heart by which it is alienated from God and unable to respond to
disagreement with the interpretation commonly followed, that Jesus could any appeal of right motives however powerful. They see no impassable gulf
not have meant that sin, however grave, is pardoned in those who believe in between the holy God and sinful man, and consequently, they see no reason
Him.” He continues by stating that Jesus looked upon His crucifixion as why satisfaction should be made to divine justice.”
merely “a dramatic symbol of sacrifice,” and that “the idea of vicarious Another popular theory of the Atonement is known as “the
repentance had not figured in His teaching.” He admits that “the kingdom of governmental theory.” It was developed by a famous jurist named Hugo
heaven is to be bought at a price, but each of us must pay the price himself.” Grotius shortly after the turn of the seventeenth century. The governmental
These ideas are merely human and have no Scriptural support whatever. theory is approached purely from a legal aspect, and the famous jurist’s legal
Another religious leader, famous for his outspoken repudiation of the approach appealed to many. The essence of this theory is that God’s law and
Historic Christian view of the Atonement, writes, “A father who had to be government must be upheld. It acknowledges that man is a sinner, but that
reconciled to his children, whose wrath had to be appeased or whose the loving God who dwells above does not wish to punish sinners, though
forgiveness could be purchased, is not the Father of Jesus Christ. . . . Certain He cannot allow the dignity and high standard of His law to suffer.
widely used hymns still perpetuate the theory that God pardons sinners Now there is an element of truth in this theory, namely, that the law is
because Christ purchased that pardon by His obedience and suffering. But a holy, and sin shall not be allowed to go unpunished, and that an “orderly
forgiveness that is paid for is not forgiveness.” government of the universe can continue only as men do have respect for
To the natural man such a view is accepted as reasonable. But having law.” But according to Grotius, the only reason that Christ died was to show
his understanding darkened, the natural man does not comprehend God’s the antagonism of God’s law to sin, and that the punishment which Christ
view of the Atonement. These erroneous theories on the subject now under suffered was merely to impress others with the importance of keeping the
consideration are simply a restatement of older ideas. law. In the final analysis, Christ was punished for sin merely to keep up
The most widely believed of the erroneous theories of the Atonement is appearances, to maintain the standard of the law and an orderly form of
“the moral influence theory” which was popularized by Henry van Dyke government.
and others. It looks upon the Death of Christ as a dramatic display designed The weakness of the governmental theory is in the fact that sinners are
to impress men with a sense of God’s love, and to produce in men a moral not made to see and feel how awful sin is in God’s sight, and that Christ, in
impression. It rules out the biblical idea of vicarious sufferings and His Death, had the sinner’s guilt imputed unto Him. God is represented as
substitution, and looks upon the Atonement as a mere influence which punishing an innocent and just person merely to make an impression upon
persuades men to do right. Christ’s work on the Cross is explained to be that others. This theory would have us believe that “the cross is but a symbol,
of a martyr for a righteous cause, and it is held up as the finest example of designed to teach, by way of example, God’s hatred for sin.” This makes the
self-sacrifice. Christ is merely our example and not our Saviour since His sufferings of our Lord to have a general and impersonal relation to sinners,
death was not an expiation. There is no need of a sacrifice for sin since the and that all which Christ purchased was a pardon which is offered indif-
loving God Who dwells in Heaven will not be severe with His creatures here ferently to all men. But the governmental theory is disproved and discredited
below. The moral influence theory holds that God is the Father of all men, by the plain teaching of both the Old and New Testaments.
and that He does not hold man accountable for sin.
Let us beware of such a distorted view of Atonement which shuts out
the biblical Doctrine of Regeneration and Redemption as well as other
characteristic doctrines of Christianity. No amount of feeling caused by
thinking upon the sufferings of Christ can enable a guilty sinner to forsake
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B. The Explanation of the Value of the Death of Christ Believers are warned to resist the Devil (James 4:7), and to exercise great
care and caution lest they fall into reproach and the snare of the evil one (I
In attempting an explanation of the Atonement, it is important that we Timothy 3:6). The Devil controlled Cain when he murdered his brother Abel
know something of what motivated the death of Christ. The idea that our (I John 3:12); he tempted David to sin in numbering the children of Israel (I
Lord died a helpless martyr is nowhere taught in the Bible. Those who have Chronicles 21:1); he fired the passion of Judas Iscariot when he betrayed
no understanding or appreciation of Jesus Christ’s work for us, lack Jesus for thirty pieces of silver (John 13:2, 27); he blinded the mind of Peter
understanding also on the subject of the nature and effect of sin in all men. to the necessity of the atoning Death of Christ (Matthew 16:22-23); he
Many Scriptures teach clearly that the Atonement of Christ is an expiation of sought to shake Paul’s faith by inflicting bodily suffering upon the great
human sin, so that sin is that which made the Atonement necessary. Christ Apostle (II Corinthians 12:17). These are but a few examples which show
became incarnate in order that He should die for human sin. Whether or not the immense burden of sin and suffering caused by the Devil.
the Son of God would have become Incarnate if man had not sinned, we do The question of sin and its awful effects compels our thinking if we are
not know, nor do we intend to speculate. It is sufficient for us to know that it to possess an adequate understanding of the Atonement. God has decreed
was sin which made the Cross a must in the experience of the Son of God. from the beginning that death must follow sin, not only physical death which
Notwithstanding the false teaching of Christian Science, the existence of is the separation of the soul from the body, but also spiritual death, or the
sin in the world is an undeniable fact. The Bible reveals and emphasizes eternal separation of the whole man from God (Genesis 2:16-17; cf. Romans
sin’s true nature and penalty. Ever since the transgression of Adam, the 6:23). Since all men have sinned (Romans 3:23, 5:12), it follows that all
whole human race has groaned under the awful weight and bitter penalty of must die because the righteousness of God demands that sin’s penalty be
sin. The experiences of daily life testify that there is something wrong with paid. Sin is offensive to the holiness of God, so much so, that it excites His
man. Now God is not to be blamed for the terrible evil in the world. He holy wrath. Where there is sin, the wrath of God can never be turned away.
simply made man a free agent, and man has abused his privileges. Several passages of Scripture tell us of God’s wrath:
When Griffith Roberts was Dean of Bangor, he said, “It was better for
Adam that his hands were free to take the forbidden fruit, than that he should He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that
have been compelled to go about all the days of his life with his hands tied believeth not the Son shall not see life: but the wrath of God abideth
behind his back.” Freedom is one of God’s great blessings to man, and sin on him (John 3:36).
entered into the world when man abused his privilege of freedom. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness
The problem of evil has engaged the attention of thinking people for a and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness
long time. With every war, famine, epidemic of disease, great loss of life, (Romans 1:18).
has come the question, “If there is a God of love and mercy, why does He . . . because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children
allow so much human suffering?” Let us have no hard thoughts about God in of disobedience (Ephesians 5:6).
connection with the problem of sin and its accompanying sorrow and
suffering. In Holy Scripture Satan is shown to be the cause of evil and its The wrath of God is nothing like the uncontrolled passion in men, but rather
continuance in the earth. The warfare against evil is not with flesh and blood His holy and just indignation against sin.
but against principalities and powers, against the spirit hosts of wickedness Because of two great facts, the holiness of God and the sinfulness of
in the spirit world (Ephesians 6:12). The morals and moral judgments of us man, Atonement is made an absolute necessity if sinners are to be pardoned
humans show that man is under the control of an evil power. and brought to God. When we have the true conception of the holiness of
All sin is the result of Satan’s evil plan and purpose to get men to live God, we will have the true conception of sin, and when we have the correct
and act independently of God. The Devil sinned from the beginning (I John view of sin, we will have an adequate view of the Atonement. The only
3:8), and since he is the god of this world (II Corinthians 4:3-4), he has held reason that men are offended at the preaching of the Cross is because they
the world system in control. All who disobey God are said to be the children have no adequate sense of sin and the holiness of our Lord. When a man
of disobedience in whom Satan works (Ephesians 2:2). Satan is the greatest refuses to face sin, he will find it easy to dispense with what the Bible
hindrance in the church, attacking the servant of the Lord (I Thessalonians teaches about the Atoning Death of Christ.
2:17-18), and limiting the effectiveness of the Word of God (Mark 4:15).
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In defining sin, the Westminster Confession says that “Sin is any want 9:14), nevertheless it was the Son who left Heaven’s glory, and “took upon
of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.” This is perhaps the Himself the form of a Servant, and was made in the likeness of man, and
best known of man’s definitions of sin. The Bible says that “whatsoever is being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient
not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23), that is, whatever a man does or thinks unto death, even the death of the Cross” (Philippians 2:5-8). There is no
which is not an act or a thought proceeding from faith in God and guided by explanation of the Atonement apart from the fact that the eternal Son of
God, is sin. The sin may be committed in ignorance, but it is no less a sin. God, without spot or blemish, Who knew no sin and did not sin, was made
Sin committed in ignorance may not receive as great a punishment as sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II
committed willfully and deliberately, nevertheless all sin is punishable and Corinthians 5:21). As His Blood was shed upon the Cross, a merciful and
must be punished. loving God was able to cleanse and pardon guilty sinners, because the
We learn from the Bible that a man may sin in several ways. Let us look Divine Substitute took upon Himself the penalty for sin. God hates and
at some of them: A man may sin in his thoughts, for “the thought of punishes sin, but He loves the sinner, and in order to redeem those whom He
foolishness is sin” (Proverbs 24:9). loved, “the LORD laid on Him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
There is no satisfactory explanation of the Atonement apart from the fact
An high look and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked is sin that Christ came into this world in order that He should die in the sinner’s
(Proverbs 21:4). place. He said,
A man’s desires, known only to God and himself, may be sinful, for Jesus The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and
said, to give His life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed He foretold His death and fully explained its object. It was an essential part
adultery with her already in his heart (Matthew 5:28). of the Divine plan to justify condemned sinners. Christ was “delivered up by
When a man has been taught to do good, and he refuses to obey, he the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23). Indeed this
sins, for “to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is is the heart of the New Testament.
sin” (James 4:17).
C. The Extent of the Death of Christ
But the sin that is greater than all sins is the rejection of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Jesus said that when the Holy Spirit is come, “He will reprove the
The provision of the Atonement for sin is for all men everywhere. The
world of sin . . . Of Sin, because they believe not on Me” (John 16:8-9).
doctrine of Election has been misunderstood by some to mean that Christ
The love and mercy of God are infinite and matchless, still the penalty
died for a few elect people who had been given to Him by the Father and
for sin must be paid. Thus it was, in the eternal past, before the foundation of
who were therefore chosen in eternity past to be His people. It is quite true
the world, that God determined and planned that atonement should be
that the Atonement, having been planned and worked out by God Himself, is
provided for His fallen creatures who would be deceived by Satan. If no plan
His own personal property, and that He is absolutely sovereign in the use He
of atonement had been proposed and perpetuated by the Godhead, all would
chooses to make of it. Furthermore, we recognize that through the
be hopeless for mankind. And so, in the counsels of the Godhead, the Father,
Atonement the way is now open for God to forgive and redeem as many as
the Son, and the Holy Spirit, it was decreed that One should come and offer
He chooses to call to Himself. It is His divine prerogative to save few, many,
Himself as a Divine Substitute in the sinner’s place. This necessitated the
or all of the human race as He deems best. God alone is the Savior of men,
Substitute taking upon Himself a human body. The eternal Son of God was
and we acknowledge also from the Scripture, and from what we have seen in
that Substitute. And so “the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us”
the world, that He does not save all. But, as relates to the extent of the
(John l:14). “God was manifest in the flesh” (I Timothy 3:16). “God was in
Atonement, it is incorrect to say that Christ died only for those whom God
Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself” (II Corinthians 5:19).
saw fit to save.
While the work of Atonement, which includes the bearing of sin, is the
I will go on record as one who affirms belief in the absolute sovereignty
work of the Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit (I John 3:16; 4:10; Hebrews
of God, and that nothing does or can occur except by His will. But belief in
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the sovereignty of God does not suggest that God acts arbitrarily without Universalism, which holds that Christ died for all men and that eventually all
good reasons, reasons so good and so weighty, that He could in no case act men will be saved, if not in this life, then through a future probation. This
otherwise than He does. Any view of divine sovereignty that implies view has made a strong and successful appeal to the feelings of many, and it
arbitrariness on the part of the divine will, is not only contrary to Scripture is a belief almost as old as Christianity. Universalism says, “We believe that
but is revolting to reason. In His sovereignty God claims the right to dispose there is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ,
of His creatures as He will, but it is unthinkable and unscriptural, to say the by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole family of
least, that divine sovereignty arbitrarily condemns some men and in hard mankind to holiness and happiness.” In other words, Universalism teaches
despotism sends them into the lake of fire. the universal fatherhood of God, and the final harmony of all souls with
I believe also in God’s foreknowledge, that is, that future events are God.
foreknown to God, and that history will follow that foreknown course of One variety of Universalism holds that this has been made possible
future events. Since God’s foreknowledge is perfect, He knows the destiny through the Death of Christ, and their followers quote I Corinthians 15:22
of every person from eternity. But this does not in any wise rule out the for their proof text “. . . For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be
biblical truth of free agency in man. Foreknowledge is not merely an made alive.” But they misinterpret the text. The entire fifteenth chapter of
arbitrary God saying: “I know what I will do.” To be sure He does know First Corinthians has to do with the resurrection of the body, and it is by the
what He will do, but in the matter of an individual’s acceptance or rejection power of the living Christ that the bodies of all men will be raised, some to
of Jesus Christ as Saviour, it is only fair to add that God knows what that everlasting life and some to everlasting condemnation. And if the
individual will do. Universalist insists upon using the statement, “in Christ shall all be made
Calvin used the truth of God’s perfect foreknowledge to set forth the alive,” to mean spiritual life, then he has no right to insist that all will
mistaken idea of limited Atonement. He said that “God would have been receive spiritual life apart from being “in Christ.” If a man is not “in Christ,”
inconsistent in sending Christ to die for those He positively foreknow would he must be “in Adam,” and only those who are “in Christ” are in the place of
be lost.” After Calvin’s death, other men wrote on his ideas. One writer, in life. This leaves all outside who are anti-Christ and who, because of pride,
attempting to illustrate the above quotation from Calvin says, “Even a man selfishness, lust and indifference have refused to accept Christ.
does not expect what he knows will not be accomplished. If he knows, for Or, let us look at the verse from another viewpoint. The whole context is
instance, that out of a group of thirty persons who might be invited to a addressed to believers, and all believers who fall asleep in Christ are in
banquet a certain twenty will accept and ten will not, then, even though he Adam from the standpoint of the physical, or else they would not have died.
may still make his invitation broad enough to include the thirty, he expects After one becomes a Christian he does not escape physical death which God
only the twenty, and his work of preparation is done only on their behalf. pronounced upon Adam when he sinned and fell. In the body we are in the
They do not deceive themselves who, admitting God’s foreknowledge, say man Adam by whom comes death, but by being in Christ by grace, we are
that Christ died for all men, for what is that but to attribute folly to Him assured of the resurrection from that death. In the first case it is by necessity
whose ways are perfect? To represent God as earnestly striving to do what of nature--it is heredity, in the other it is by our own free choice--it is
He knows He will not do is to represent Him as acting foolishly.” personal.
But did the writer use a sound illustration ? I don’t think so! When God That there is a sound biblical view on the extent of the Atonement
invites all men to be saved, the preparation is the same whether few, many, between these two extreme views seems very clear. The teaching of
or all accept. The Atonement was just as necessary for one sinner as it was Scripture regarding the satisfaction and propitiation made through the Death
for one million sinners. If only ten percent of the human race accepts Jesus of the Son of God means that He died for all. The provision of the
Christ as Saviour, He did not die in vain. There could be no waste. The Atonement is for all.
number who receive or reject Christ has nothing to do with the preparation
of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Belief in God’s He (Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also
foreknowledge in no wise demands belief in His arbitrary condemnation of for the sins of the whole world (I John 2: 2).
certain of His creatures. Such is an extreme view on limited atonement.
Another view that sets forth a way of salvation through Christ is The message of the Gospel is that Christ died for all.
Universalism. An extreme view on unlimited atonement is offered by
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For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the
man Christ Jesus; Who gave Himself a ransom for all . . . (I Timothy suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that He by the
2:5-6). grace of God should taste death for every man (Hebrews 2:9).
The Atonement is unlimited in scope, available for all. The love of God Scriptures could be multiplied that show the universality of the
displayed in Christ on the Cross at Calvary reached out to the whole world, provision of the Atonement, but these will suffice to make it clear “that He
and when God gave His only begotten Son, it was “that whosoever believeth (Christ) died for all” (II Corinthians 5:15). The opportunity of being born
in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). God’s again, of beginning again in this life, is given to all men, for when Christ
desire is to save all men. died as our substitute, universal Atonement was provided [but not a
universal personal forgiveness and salvation, this writer]. The risen Christ
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our saviour; Who will said to His disciples,
have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth (I Timothy 2:3-4). Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature
(Mark 16:15).
Since God’s will and wish is that all men be saved, He has made ample
provision for the salvation of all. The Gospel call to the entire world is a sincere one. Our Lord had a
wider outlook than Judaism. It is true that He was sent especially to the lost
The Lord . . . is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should sheep of the house of Israel, nevertheless He most certainly taught His
perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9). disciples that they were to be witnesses unto Him “both in Jerusalem, and in
all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts
A well-known passage in Ezekiel 18:32 says, 1:8), and He was not sending them on a fool’s errand.
The Atonement is sufficient for all men, but it is efficient only for those
For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord who believe! The effectiveness of the Atonement in any one’s life is
God: wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye. conditioned by faith. When one refuses to believe, his unbelief does not
suggest a non-existence of the provision of salvation. God provided for the
Here the Lord pleads with men to turn to Him for life. We know that many salvation of all men entirely apart from, and independent of, faith. Christ
did not turn, His pleading having gone unheeded. What mockery this died for all men whether all men believe it or not. There is universal
language of God would be if they could not turn! That the Atonement is provision in the universal offer, and the fault is man’s if it be not universal in
universal in its offer and provision is clear from the following Scriptures, point of effect.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men D. The Effects of the Death of Christ
(Titus 2:11).
We are to look now at some of the effects of the death of our Lord Jesus
Again we must accept this statement on its face value and concede that the Christ as it regards God, and then as it regards man.
grace of God has brought salvation within the reach of all men. The Apostle
John sounds the same note when he says, Satisfaction
As it regards God, the death of our Lord Jesus Christ effected
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the
satisfaction. Before the sinner could enter into God’s holy presence, God
Saviour of the world (I John 4:14).
had to be satisfied, not arbitrarily, but because His holiness and
righteousness demands satisfaction where sin enters in. The doctrine of the
The writer to the Hebrews says,
vicarious death of Jesus Christ as satisfying the law and justice of God, in
the place of guilty and condemned sinners, cannot be overlooked. When one
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begins to compare the value of the sufferings and death of the Son of God as and it satisfies the righteous demands of the holiness and justice of God.
it pertains to God, and then as it pertains to those who are saved by it, he Indeed God is satisfied!
feels almost at a loss to do so. Yet it is almost unthinkable that the
Atonement could mean as much to the sinner as it does to God. The Propitiation
satisfaction that the sinner receives from Christ’s death is meager compared
The value of Christ’s death as a vindication of God’s righteousness is
with the satisfaction received by the Father.
indicated by the word propitiation. Here we enter upon an intricate aspect of
The moral law which God gave in the beginning expressed fully the
the doctrine of the Atonement. The word “propitiation” appears in the
very nature of His being. One look at the law which is holy, just, and good
English Bible three times. The Apostle John uses it twice in his First Epistle.
(Romans 7:12) showed man what the nature of God was like. When man
Speaking of Jesus Christ, he writes,
violated the holy law of God, he sinned, thereby contradicting that nature.
As a holy God, He hates sin, else He would not be holy. As a just God, He
He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for
not only rewards righteousness, but punishes sin. The death of Christ
the sins of the whole world (I John 2:2).
provided the adequate punishment for sin which was necessary to satisfy the
law and justice of God. Since all sin is primarily against God, He alone
And again,
needed to be satisfied with the work of the Cross. And He was.
“How could the vicarious suffering and death of Christ make full
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent His
satisfaction to the Justice of God?” We welcomed this question from a
Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:10).
thinking young man. In a commercial or pecuniary debt, it is not so
important who pays, but what is paid. If the debt is a matter of dollars and
The Greek word here is “hilasmos,” and means “that which
cents, it matters little, or not at all, who pays it. But Christ in His sufferings
propitiates.” It signifies expiation. Numbers 5:8 speaks of “the ram of
and death was not paying a commercial debt. He was paying a penal debt.
atonement” (propitiation), and again in Psalm 130:4, “There is forgiveness
No finite, fallen creature, an offender against God could ever pay in time or
(propitiation) with Thee.” Here is the sole ground upon which God shows
eternity the obligation which he owes. The truth abides that “the soul that
mercy to guilty sinners. Christ alone, through the shedding of His Blood in
sinneth, it shall die,” and since all have sinned, no sin-laden human being
His sacrificial and substitutionary Death on the Cross, is the Propitiation,
could pay the price for a fellow-being to the satisfaction of God. When a
that which expiates or propitiates. He extinguishes the guilt of the sinner by
sinner bears his own penalty, he is lost forever. On the other hand, when a
suffering the penalty for sin. Notice that it does not say that His death was
sinner accepts Jesus Christ as His Sin-Bearer, he is saved forever. The
the propitiation, but that He himself is the Propitiation. It is the Person of our
difference lies in the fact that God was behind the Atonement.
Lord which gives efficacy to His atoning work. In Romans 3:25 the Apostle
The penalty for sin must be paid by one who is holy if the justice of God
Paul speaks of Christ,
is to be satisfied. In any study of the Atonement, the sinlessly perfect and
holy character of Jesus Christ is a truth of the first magnitude. The secret of
Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His
God’s satisfaction lies in the character of the One Who paid the debt for
Blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are
sinners. God was satisfied with the work of the Cross because the One Who
past, through the forebearance of God.
died at Calvary was His own beloved Son, described in the following
Scriptures as the One Who “did no sin, neither was guile found in His
Here the Greek word is not “hilasmos,” meaning “that which propitiates,”
mouth” (I Peter 2:22), who was “without sin,” inherited or personal
but “hilasterion,” which means, “the place of propitiation.” The word
(Hebrews 4:15), and Who is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from
“hilasterion” is used in Hebrews 9:5, where we read: “And over it the
sinners” (Hebrews 7:26). Paul testified that He “knew no sin” (II Corinthians
cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat (hilasterion, or the place of
5:21), while John declared that “in Him is no sin” (I John 3:5). Jesus was
propitiation).”
tempted, but in His essential nature He was God, and God cannot sin.
“Propitiation” means “mercy seat” in Hebrews 9:5, and we must go
Therefore, as the perfect God-Man, the blood He shed has abiding efficacy,
back to the Old Testament to see what the mercy seat was typically to the
Israelite. The mercy seat was the golden lid or the Ark of the Covenant in
45 46
the Holy of Holies. Once a year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest from God. God was merciful when He provided for man the Saviour, and
sprinkled the sacrificial blood of an innocent victim to atone for the broken man is saved when he believes in and receives the Lord Jesus Christ. God
Law. The tables of stone on which were written the holy Law were kept in has paid the penalty for sin, and on that basis His mercy is extended to you
the Ark. The sprinkled blood covered the broken Law and made possible a today.
meeting place between God and the sinner (Exodus 25:21-22; Leviticus
16:2, 13-14). The mercy seat was made of pure gold (Exodus 25:17), and For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in
covered the whole Ark. mercy unto all them that call upon Thee (Psalm 86:5).
Jesus Christ, the pure Son of God, is the sinner’s Mercy Seat, and His . . . With the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is plenteous
Blood covers all our sin. According to Scripture, therefore, the mercy seat in redemption (Psalm 130:7).
the Tabernacle was a type of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord fulfilled the
type and symbol perfectly. After His death and burial He arose from the SUBSTITUTION
grave, ascended into Heaven, and on the ground of His shed Blood made
In its effect toward mankind, the Death of Christ is looked upon as a
possible a meeting place where the sinner could come to God.
substitution. Though we have never found the words substitute or
substitution in the Bible, the idea of substitution is clearly seen in the work
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own Blood He
of Christ upon the Cross. The word substitution does not represent all that
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption
our Lord accomplished in His Death, but it does indicate that Jesus Christ, as
for us (Hebrews 9:12).
the sinner’s Substitute, bore the awful judgments of God against sin.
We often hear the work of the Cross referred to as the vicarious
Christ Himself is the Mercy Seat sprinkled with His own precious Blood.
sufferings and death of the Saviour. The word vicar refers to an agent or
In our Lord’s propitiatory work there is no thought of God placating
deputy who has been authorized to act in the place of another. Fallen man
Himself or of appeasing His own anger. God’s feeling toward mankind has
stands before God owing an obligation which he cannot pay in time or
never changed. There never was a time in man’s history when God did not
eternity. He needs an authorized substitute to stand in his place and represent
love him. God always has desired to bless man with salvation and its
him. The Lord Jesus Christ is that Substitute so that we are benefited by His
accompanying peace and joy, but the sin of man placed an obstacle in God’s
death in a unique way. The death of the sinless One was substituted for the
way, separating the sinner from Himself. It is true that God hates sin and
death of sinners. Stephen died as a martyr for the truth, but in no way does
will always hate sin. The Death of Jesus Christ did in no wise change God’s
his death benefit us.
view of sin.
The substitutionary aspect of the Atonement was clearly anticipated in
The Death of Christ was a purely legal operation. The Judge took upon
the Old Testament. When God chose the harmless, gentle lamb as the
Himself the penalty so that the judgment seat becomes the mercy seat. The
principal animal for the sacrifice, He was teaching His people that they were
prayer of the publican, “God be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13), is
forgiven and spared only because another who was innocent took their place
literally, “God be propitious to me a sinner.” This passage is sometimes mis-
and died in their stead. Furthermore, every sacrificial offering in Old
understood and misused. This man stood on Old Testament ground before
Testament times was an execution of the sentence of the Law upon a
the Death of Christ, and he was actually asking God to offer that one
substitute for the guilty one, and every such offering pointed forward to the
Sacrifice for sin which would put that sin away and thus provide a ground
substitutionary death of Christ. We see the type in the case of Abraham and
upon which a holy and righteous God could bless him with salvation.
Isaac (Genesis 22:1-13). It was a test of Abraham’s faith. God had told him
Remember, he was not asking God to be generous or lenient with him. He
to take Isaac and offer him as a sacrifice on Mount Moriah. Abraham did as
was merely asking God to be propitious, and in making such a request he
he was told, bound Isaac on the altar and made ready to slay him. God spoke
was justified.
to him and stayed his action. Then Abraham saw in a thicket nearby a ram,
Now we can see plainly that such a prayer need not be uttered today.
which God Himself had provided. Then we are told that “Abraham went and
God has been propitious in Christ. The eternal Son became our Mercy Seat,
took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of Isaac”
and to ask God to do what He already has done would be rejecting the Death
(Genesis 22:13).
of Christ. God cannot be lenient with sin, and sinners need not beg mercy
47 48
Notice the words “in the stead of.” The substitute sacrifice that saved legitimate use of these and numerous other passages imply an actual substi-
Isaac from death is a beautiful foreshadowment of Christ being substituted in tution.
death in the stead of the sinner. It illustrates the substitutional element in the
redemptive work of Christ. The prophet Isaiah wrote, RECONCILIATION
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did
The Death of our Lord Jesus Christ effected reconciliation. The word
esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for
“reconciliation” can be defined as “that effect of the Death of Christ upon
our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
the believing sinner which, through divine power, works in him a thorough
peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
change toward God from enmity and aversion to love and trust.” There was
have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord
never a need for reconciliation before the fall of man, but when the disaster
hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all ( Isaiah 53:4-6).
occurred in the Garden of Eden, discord crept in where harmony should have
The New Testament abounds in passages which show that the Lord
reigned. Man lost his heavenly citizenship and was made to be an alien.
Jesus Christ took the place of guilty sinners in His death. The following
Adam’s sin had separated him and his God (Isaiah 59:2), and what was true
statements which were uttered by our Lord teach us that He anticipated
of Adam, has in essence become true of all his posterity, so that man needed
dying as the sinner’s substitute. He said,
to be reconciled to God. Keep in mind the fact that the need for
reconciliation is on the sinner’s part. Man became an enemy of God; God
The Son of man came . . . to give His life a ransom for many
never became the enemy of man. Man ceased loving God; God never ceased
(Matthew 20:28).
loving man. Now reconciliation can never result until the existing enmity is
. . . I lay down my life for the sheep (John 10:15).
removed, and since there is no enmity in the heart of God it must be
. . . The bread that I will give is My flesh, which I will give for the life
removed from the heart of man. How is such an act accomplished?
of the world (John 6:51).
Here we are to see the love of God at work. While God loathes man’s
This is my body which is given for you . . . This cup is the new
sin, His great heart of love yearns for the sinner and moves toward him in an
testament in my Blood, which is shed for you (Luke 22:19-20).
endeavor to effect a reconciliation. Right here we can see a marked
difference between human and Divine love. Human love is expressed in
In almost all of his writings, the Apostle Paul taught that Christ’s Death was
Romans 5:7 where we read, “For a good man some would even dare to die.”
substitutional. He wrote,
Human love scarcely ever takes action unless it finds something in its object
to compel it to do so. But the love of God is distinct and different from any
God . . . hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we
other kind of love, for “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while
might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Corinthians 5:21).
we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8), so that, “when we
Jesus Christ . . . gave Himself for our sins . . . (Galatians 1:3-4).
were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the Death of His Son”
. . . The Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me
(Romans 5:10).
(Galatians 2:20).
At the Cross man proved to be the enemy of God by his fiendish
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a
exhibition of human hatred against God’s Holy Son. Yet it was in that very
curse for us . . . (Galatians 3:13).
act that Divine love was moving toward its object, for there “God was in
. . . Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us . . .
Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself . . .” (II Corinthians 5:19). When
( Ephesians 5:2).
Christ died, God’s attitude toward sin had been dealt with to His satisfaction
. . . Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it (Ephesians
so that man can be reconciled to Him. When Jesus put away sin by the
5:25).
sacrifice of Himself, He brought to an end the estrangement between God
and man. You say, “There are still many enemies of God.” You speak the
The Apostle Peter said that He (Jesus) “bare our sins in His own body
truth. But God has done His part. Now man must repent and turn to God. To
on the tree” (I Peter 2:24); and that “Christ also hath once suffered for sins,
refuse to do so is to reject that reconciliation which was made in Christ. God
the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (I Peter 3:18). The
in Christ comes to man, pleads with him to return, offers to forgive him and
49 50
to put away all his sins if he will but trust Him. And when the sinner learn that reconciliation turns the heart of the criminal toward the Judge in
receives Jesus Christ as his Saviour, he too will say with Paul, love.
Another aspect of the ministry of reconciliation is taught in Paul’s
. . . We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we Epistle to the Ephesians. Let us read the following verses with care,
have now received the atonement (reconciliation) (Romans 5:11). For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and, hath broken down
the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His Flesh the
Have you received the reconciling work of Christ which He effected by His enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to
Death? In Colossians 1:20 and 21, we read, make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that He
might reconcile both unto God in one body by the Cross, having slain the
And having made peace through the Blood of His Cross, by Him to enmity thereby (Ephesians 2:14-16).
reconcile all things unto Himself; by Him, I say, whether they be It seems quite clear that the “enmity” spoken of here is not between a
things in earth, or things in heaven. And you, that were sometimes holy God and sinful man, but between Jew and Gentile. Under the law it was
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He entirely out of order for a Jew even to eat with a Gentile. The enmity
reconciled. between the two is common knowledge, and it can easily be traced in
history. Actually “the middle wall of partition” was the Law by which the
In these verses we see a two-fold aspect of reconciliation. Verse 20 tells Jew was bound.
us that God will reconcile “all things” to Himself, whether those “things” are When Peter came to the house of Cornelius, he expressed the Jewish
in earth or in heaven. We are reminded that the whole creation has been view on this matter (Acts 10:28), and afterward his brethren took him to task
affected by sin. God had said, “cursed is the ground” (Genesis 3:17), and for eating with Gentiles (Acts 11:2-3). In the temple of old there was a wall,
“we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together separating the court of the Gentiles from the court of the Israelites, and upon
until now” (Romans 8:22). The reconciliation of “all things” in Colossians which was written, “Let no Gentile, let no man of the nations, go beyond this
1:20 is the removal of the curse from the earth and the heavens. The cursed wall on pain of death.” In Herod’s temple the dividing line was a stone wall
earth is the cause of the suffering, sorrow, catastrophes and death which about five feet high, and this wall became the “enmity,” the cause of bitter
come every day to the peoples of the earth. Indeed the earth needs to be feeling between the Jew and the Gentile. But early in our Lord’s public
purified. Yes, and the heavens also! Sin began in Heaven, when Lucifer, the ministry He spoke to the woman of Samaria, and this in turn resulted in the
son of the morning, rebelled and sought to exalt himself above the throne of evangelization of a Gentile city (John 4:1-39). He went into Galilee to bring
God (Isaiah 14:12-15). Reconciliation to God of all things in earth and light to the Gentiles who were in darkness (Matthew 4:12-16), and thus
Heaven has been provided for in the shed Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled the prophecy according to Isaiah (Isaiah 9:2). When He cleansed the
(Hebrews 9:22). temple (Mark 11:15-17), the Lord Jesus quoted Isaiah 56:7 when God said,
But verse twenty-one of Colossians, chapter one speaks of the “Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.”
reconciliation of all believers to God, “And you, that were sometimes
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He REDEMPTION
reconciled.” The reconciliation of “all things” in verse twenty-one is future.
Then He went to the Cross, and, once for all, broke down the wall in His
Here we see the glorious work of Christ in behalf of sinners which becomes
Death when He died for both Jew and Gentile. He did not attempt to
effective the moment one believes. The believer rejoices that he has been
improve upon either, but He made possible any number of either becoming
brought back into favor with God and fully restored. We who are Christians
“one new man,” reconciling them to each other, and then reconciling both to
were alienated from God and enemies in our minds. We chose our own way
God “in one body.” How wonderful it all is! Redeemed Jews and Gentiles
which was opposed to God’s, but now through the payment of the penalty by
united through faith in our Lord’s Blood now make one new man. How far
Christ, we have been reconciled to God, “in the body of His flesh through
reaching are the effects of His Atonement!
death” (Colossians 1:22). And because we are reconciled to God, personal
In our consideration of the effects of our Lord’s Death upon the Cross,
relations have been settled. In a former lesson in this series on Justification
no single term in itself as mentioned above could represent His entire saving
we saw how judicial relations between God and man are settled. Here we
work. That work is far too extensive to be contemplated in any single phase
51 52
of it. The theme is so vast that a few ideas could never indicate its fullness. price, it must be paid by the redeemer (Leviticus 25:27). Christ alone could
And yet, perhaps no word has been used more to represent the saving work pay the price of the sinner’s redemption, and this He did. “Christ hath
of Christ than the word redemption. But we must guard against confining redeemed us” (Galatians 3:13) with His own “precious Blood” (I Peter 1:18-
ourselves to this or any other single term lest we restrict the work of the 19).
Cross. Redemption means to buy back something that had been temporarily In the New Testament, three different Greek words are used to translate
forfeited. Dr. L. S. Chafer says, redemption, and without an understanding of these words the distinctions
which they teach are lost to the reader of the English text:
Redemption is an act of God by which He himself pays as a ransom the
price of human sin which the outraged holiness and government of God (1) Agorazo, which means to purchase in the market.
requires. Redemption undertakes the solution of the problem of sin, as (2) Exagorazo, which means to purchase out of the market.
reconciliation undertakes the solution of the problem of the sinner, and (3) Lutroo, which means to loosen and set free.
propitiation undertakes the problem of an offended God. All are infinitely
important and all are requisite to the analysis of the whole doctrine of The scene is that of a slave market, and the sinner is pictured as being in
Christ’s finished work, a work finished to the point of divine perfection. slavery, a bond-slave to sin, or as Paul says “sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).
Though parts of one complete whole, these great themes should never be He is dominated by Satan (Ephesians 2:2), condemned (John 3:18),
treated as synonyms. sentenced to die, for “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). The Son of
The biblical idea of redemption means to redeem a thing that is God became our Kinsman-Redeemer when “He also Himself likewise took
rightfully one’s own, but for a time is in the possession of another whose part of the same (flesh and blood)” (Hebrews 2:14), took the place of the
price must be legally met. Like every phase of the great doctrine of sinner-slave, was made a curse for us, and shed His Blood as the
salvation, redemption is entirely the work of God Himself. When any man is ransom-price of our redemption (Matthew 20:28). When He made the
redeemed, God Himself does it. purchase in the market, He paid for every sinner-slave who was in bondage
The biblical idea of redemption is not confined to the teaching of the to sin, so that redemption was provided for all. (See I Corinthians 6:20; 7:23;
New Testament but is found throughout the whole Word of God. Someone and II Peter 2:1). This is agorazo, the purchasing in the market.
once said that the whole Bible is redempto-centric. We will have little But redemption is more than merely paying the price. After our
difficulty in tracing the doctrine of redemption in the Bible if we keep in Kinsman-Redeemer paid for us in the market, then He took us out of the
mind that the terms ransom and redemption are practically the same in market. He has taken us out of the market so that we shall never again be for
meaning. Wherever you have redemption it is implied that a ransom price sale or exposed to the lot of a slave. Of course He takes out of the market
has been paid. only those who will go with Him, and when the sinner is willing to trust his
The Old Testament doctrine of redemption expresses the thought of Redeemer Who paid the ransom price, he is assured of deliverance from the
setting free by payment of a ransom price. The thing redeemed might be a hopelessly enslaved condition of bondage to sin. This goes beyond agorazo,
person or an inheritance. If a man became burdened with debt, and after the mere payment of the requisite price in the slave market. It takes us out of
mortgaging his entire property he still could not satisfy the claims of his the market. This is exagorazo, the purchasing out of the market. It is used at
creditors, he might mortgage himself, his own strength and ability. Actually least four times in the New Testament, twice with reference to the
he would become a kind of slave to his creditor. But, says God, redemption of Jewish believers from the curse of the broken Law (Galatians
After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may 3:13; 4:4-5).
redeem him (Leviticus 25:48). The third Greek word used to translate redemption is Lutroo, and it
Notice that the redemption must be accomplished by a relative, the next indicates that the redeemed one is “loosened” or “set free.” This word directs
of kin, which idea has lead to the meaning of the title Kinsman-Redeemer. our thinking to the actual liberation. The disciples, on the way to Emmaus,
Boaz became Ruth’s kinsman-redeemer (Ruth 4:4-6), a beautiful type of our said, “We trusted that it had been He which should have redeemed (lutroo)
Lord Jesus Christ Who came from Heaven to earth that He might be a Israel” (Luke 24:21), referring, of course, to the deliverance of the Jews
perfect Kinsman-Redeemer for us. Not only must the kinsman be the next of from Roman tyranny. The corresponding noun appears in the following two
kin, but he must be able also to pay the price of redemption. Whatever the passages where the same subject is in view. Zacharias said, “Blessed is the
53 54
Lord God of Israel; for He hath visited and redeemed (wrought redemption awful slavery and death. Now His desire is that we voluntarily yield
for) His People” (Luke 1:68). Anna “Spake of Him to all them that looked ourselves to Him.
for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38). This is redemption in its fullest In the believer’s redemption there is a three-fold experience, one of
meaning, for Jesus Christ did not pay the ransom in order that the sinner’s which is already past, the second being in the present, the third being yet
bondage should be merely transferred from one master to another. It is as Dr. future.
L. S. Chafer has said, “He has purchased with the object in view that the
ransomed one may be free. Christ will not hold unwilling slaves in (1) Our Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself to redeem us from the penalty of
bondage.” And yet redemption does include a sort of new slavery, for the sin.
believer is redeemed, not only “out of” the market of sin, but “unto” God.
Our redemption song is, . . . we have redemption through His Blood, the forgiveness of sins,
according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7). (See also
. . . Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy Blood . . . Colossians 1:14.)
(Revelation 5:9).
Notice the words “we have redemption.” This is not something that we are
Notice that we are redeemed “to God.” Now we know that this can seeking after, nor that which we hope to receive, but it is our present
mean the future redemption of the body and its ascension into God’s possession--“we have redemption.” Because all who were under the law
presence. But can it not refer also to the believer’s present separation unto failed to keep God’s Law, they were under its curse,
the Lord? Do we not, in a voluntary sense, become bond slaves of Jesus
Christ? The Apostle Paul referred to himself as “a servant (bondman) of For as many as are the works of the law are under the curse; for it is
Jesus Christ . . . separated unto the gospel of God” (Romans 1:1). Paul was written, Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are
redeemed, not only from his former manner of life, a slave unto sin, but he written in the book of the law to do them (Galatians 3:l0).
was redeemed unto God, voluntarily becoming Jesus Christ’s bondman. If any man hoped to be redeemed by the Law, he must be a doer of all
This truth is typically set forth in the Old Testament. The seventh year that the Law involves, for “He is debtor to the whole law” (Galatians
in Israel’s national life was a year of release for the poor and of the Hebrew 5:3).
servant. Read Exodus 21:1-6 and Deuteronomy 15:16-17. If a slave served Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he
his master for six years God said that “in the seventh he shall go out free for is guilty of all (James 2:10).
nothing” (Exodus 21:2). But he was not forced to go. If the slave loved his
new master, he could voluntarily remain as a slave. The voluntary Now we have not kept the whole Law, and we know it. But our blessed
relationship was sealed by the master piercing the slave’s ear through with Redeemer fulfilled its every righteous demand, and then suffered and died
an awl. Now the Christian has been set free by the Redeemer, but he has the upon the Cross bearing our curse, for it is written, “Cursed is everyone that
choice to yield himself to the One who has redeemed him. Our Lord Jesus is hangeth on a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:33, Galatians 3:13). All who seek
the perfect example of a voluntary servant, the description of which is found shelter under His shed Blood are redeemed from the guilt and penalty of sin.
in Psalm 40, Every believer is “justified (declared righteous) freely by His grace through
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24). We may not always
Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened feel saved, but “we have redemption.” Some would tell us that we are fallen
. . . Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me, I from grace, but “we have redemption.” The Devil would lead us to believe a
delight to do thy will, O my God . . . (Psalm 40:6-8). lie, but “we have redemption.” The redemption that is in Christ Jesus has
settled the sin question, so that we have been delivered from the wrath and
This Old Testament portion is quoted in Hebrews 10:7, and it speaks of our righteous judgment of a holy God. Redemption from sin’s penalty is the
Lord as the yielded Servant Who is in every respect the perfect fulfillment of believer’s present possession.
the type. As the yielded Servant, “He became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8), that He might redeem us from sin’s
55 56
(2) Look now at the second aspect of redemption. The work of the Cross our body” (Romans 8:23). For that day we are waiting, watching for the
consists of far more than deliverance from the penalty of sin, for it is set coming of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall change our vile
forth clearly in the Scriptures that the Death of our Lord makes possible also body (or, the body of our humiliation), that it may be fashioned like unto His
deliverance from the power of sin as well. The Apostle Paul wrote, glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue
all things unto Himself (Philippians 3:20, 21). In our present physical
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, weakness and infirmity we are looking ahead to the redemption of our
teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live bodies, when “we shall be changed” (I Corinthians 15:52), and “ye shall be
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that like Him” (I John 3:2). Oh, glorious redemption! Oh, wonderful Redeemer!
blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us About the author: Dr. Strauss taught Old Testament history for eight years
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of at Philadelphia Bible Institute, and served as pastor of the Calvary Baptist
good works (Titus 2:11-14). Church, Bristol, Pennsylvania, from 1939 to 1957. He was pastor of
Highland Park Baptist Church (Highland Park, Michigan) until the end of
We stress repeatedly the fact that salvation is not of works, for no works 1963 when he resigned to devote full time to an itinerant Bible conference
of ours could avail for our redemption. In other words, we are not redeemed and evangelistic ministry both in the States and abroad. Dr. Strauss was
by our being good or trying to do good, but redemption by the Blood of residing in Florida and writing his 19th book at age 86 when the Lord called
Jesus Christ does provide for the Christian’s deliverance from the power of him home in June 1997. His written materials are used by permission.
sin. We cannot be content to know that we have been delivered from Hell. (www.bible.org)
Christ died to deliver us from things that are unholy. We are saved unto
good works (Ephesians 2:10). This is the practical aspect of our redemption,
deliverance from the power of evil in this life.
Two verses of Scripture come to mind, both from the pen of the Apostle
Paul, and both introduced by the words, “This is a faithful saying.” The first
says that it is a faithful saying, “that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners” (I Timothy 1:15). The second tells us that it is a faithful saying,
“that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good
works” (Titus 3:8). We have been redeemed from sin’s penalty; we are being
delivered daily from sin’s power. May we ever walk close to “Him that
loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own Blood” (Revelation 1:5).
(3) The third aspect of redemption looks ahead into the future,
extending to the deliverance of the body as well as the soul and spirit. Both
body and soul are under the sentence of death, and both need to be
redeemed. Writing to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul said,
. . . after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of

promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption
of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory (Ephesians
1:13, 14).
This passage informs us that God has a purchased possession yet to be

redeemed, so that we are “waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of
57 58
Politics
59 60
Introduction to the Historical and Political Facts Concerning On-line News Hour (online.com) – Interview with Jon Meacham, author of
American Values of Freedom That Have No Valid Reason to be Part The American Gospel: God, the Founding Fathers, and the Making of a
and Parcel of Christian Thought Nation:
I believe in one God, and no more; and I hope for happiness beyond this life. Jeffrey Brown:
I believe in the equality of man, and I believe that religious duties consist in
doing justice, loving mercy, and endeavoring to make our fellow citizens But it also did not mean, from what you write, that this is a Christian
happy. But, lest it should be supposed that I believe many other things in nation?
addition to these, I shall, in the progress of this work declare the things I do
not believe, and my reasons for not believing them. Jon Meacham:
Thomas Paine By no means. By no means. A Christian nation is, first, a theological
“Father of the American Revolution” impossibility. Jesus said to Pilate, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it
quoted from The Age of Reason
were of this world, then would my servants fight.” In the Epistle to the
Hebrews, the author says, “We have no lasting city but seek the city which is
to come.” The Psalm that says, “Put not thy trust in princes.”
The following entries are excerpted from Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. ©

1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Atheism
In the Western intellectual world, nonbelief in the existence of God is a

widespread phenomenon with a long and distinguished history. Philosophers
of the ancient world such as Lucretius were nonbelievers. Even in the
Middle Ages (5th century to 15th century) there were currents of thought
that questioned theist assumptions, including skepticism, the doctrine that
true knowledge is impossible, and naturalism, the belief that only natural
forces control the world. Several leading thinkers of the Enlightenment
(1700-1789) were professed atheists, including Danish writer Baron Holbach
and French encyclopedist Denis Diderot. Expressions of nonbelief also are
found in classics of Western literature, including the writings of English
poets Percy Shelley and Lord Byron; English novelist Thomas Hardy;
French philosophers Voltaire and Jean-Paul Sartre; Russian author Ivan
Turgenev; and American writers Mark Twain and Upton Sinclair. In the
19th century the most articulate and best-known atheists and critics of
religion were German philosophers Ludwig Feuerbach, Karl Marx, Arthur
Schopenhauer, and Friedrich Nietzsche. British philosopher Bertrand
Russell, Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, and Sartre are among the
20th century’s most influential atheists.
61 62
Atheism is primarily a reaction to, or a rejection of, religious belief, and thus Deism emerged as a major religious and philosophical view in England. The
does not determine other philosophical beliefs. Atheism has sometimes been most prominent 17th-century Deists were Edward Herbert, John Toland, and
associated with the philosophical ideas of materialism, which holds that only Charles Blount, all of whom advocated a rationalist religion and criticized
matter exists; communism, which asserts that religion impedes human the supernatural or nonrational elements in the Jewish and Christian
progress; and rationalism, which emphasizes analytic reasoning over other traditions. In the early 18th century, Anthony Collins, Thomas Chubb, and
sources of knowledge. However, there is no necessary connection between Matthew Tindal sharpened the rationalist attack on orthodoxy by attempting
atheism and these positions. Some atheists have opposed communism and to discredit the miracles and mysteries of the Bible.
some have rejected materialism. Although nearly all contemporary
materialists are atheists, the ancient Greek materialist Epicurus believed the Although these challenges to traditional and orthodox interpretations of
gods were made of matter in the form of atoms. Rationalists such as French Christianity aroused much opposition, the Deists did much to establish the
philosopher René Descartes have believed in God, whereas atheists such as intellectual climate of Europe in the 18th century. Their emphasis on reason
Sartre are not considered to be rationalists. Atheism has also been associated and their opposition to fanaticism and intolerance greatly influenced the
with systems of thought that reject authority, such as anarchism, a political English philosophers John Locke and David Hume. In France, the
theory opposed to all forms of government, and existentialism, a philosophic philosopher Voltaire became a particularly effective proponent of Deism and
movement that emphasizes absolute human freedom of choice; there is intensified his predecessors' rationalist critique of Scripture. Nonetheless, he
however no necessary connection between atheism and these positions. retained the English Deists' view that a deity certainly exists. Versions of
British analytic philosopher A. J. Ayer was an atheist who opposed Deism, some of them approaching atheism, were advocated by many other
existentialism, while Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard was an prominent figures of the European Enlightenment.
existentialist who accepted God. Marx was an atheist who rejected
anarchism while Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, a Christian, embraced Deism was also influential in late-18th-century America, where Deistic
anarchism. Because atheism in a strict sense is merely a negation, it does not views were held by Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and George
provide a comprehensive worldview. It is therefore not possible to presume Washington. The most vociferous Deists in America were Ethan Allen and
other philosophical positions to be outgrowths of atheism. Thomas Paine.
Deism in Europe and America played an important role both in exposing
Intellectual debate over the existence of God continues to be active, traditional religion to rationalist criticism and in encouraging the
especially on college campuses, in religious discussion groups, and in development of rationalist philosophy. Elements of the Deists' ideas have
electronic forums on the Internet. In contemporary philosophical thought, been absorbed by Unitarianism, Modernism, and other modern religious
atheism has been defended by British philosopher Antony Flew, Australian tendencies.
philosopher John Mackie, and American philosopher Michael Martin,
among others. Leading organizations of unbelief in the United States include Of the basic assumptions and beliefs common to philosophers and
The American Atheists, The Committee for the Scientific Study of Religion, intellectuals of this period, perhaps the most important was an abiding faith
and The Internet Infidels. in the power of human reason. The age was enormously impressed by Isaac
Newton’s discovery of universal gravitation. If humanity could so unlock the
Deism and the Age of Reason/Enlightenment laws of the universe, God’s own laws, why could it not also discover the
laws underlying all of nature and society? People came to assume that
Deism, a rationalist religious philosophy that flourished in the 17th and 18th through a judicious use of reason, an unending progress would be possible—
centuries, particularly in England. Generally, Deists held that a certain kind progress in knowledge, in technical achievement, and even in moral values.
of religious knowledge (sometimes called natural religion) is either inherent Following the philosophy of Locke, the 18th-century writers believed that
in each person or accessible through the exercise of reason, but they denied knowledge is not innate, but comes only from experience and observation
the validity of religious claims based on revelation or on the specific guided by reason. Through proper education, humanity itself could be
teachings of any church. altered, its nature changed for the better. A great premium was placed on the
discovery of truth through the observation of nature, rather than through the
63 64
study of authoritative sources, such as Aristotle and the Bible. Although they act is itself a cause and not an effect; it is beyond causal sequence or the law
saw the church—especially the Roman Catholic church—as the principal of causality. The question of human beings’ ability to determine their actions
force that had enslaved the human mind in the past, most Enlightenment is important in philosophy, particularly in metaphysics and ethics, and in
thinkers did not renounce religion altogether. They opted rather for a form of theology. Generally, the extreme doctrine in which freedom of the will is
Deism, accepting the existence of God and of a hereafter, but rejecting the affirmed is termed libertarianism; its opposite, determinism, is the doctrine
intricacies of Christian theology. Human aspirations, they believed, should that human action is not willed freely, but is rather the result of such
not be centered on the next life, but rather on the means of improving this influences as passions, desires, physical conditions, and external
life. Worldly happiness was placed before religious salvation. Nothing was circumstances beyond the control of the individual.
attacked with more intensity and ferocity than the church, with all its wealth,
political power, and suppression of the free exercise of reason. Philosophical Views of Free Will
In many respects, the homeland of the philosophes was France. It was there Freedom of the will has necessarily been a concern of metaphysicians, who
that the political philosopher and jurist Charles de Montesquieu, one of the attempt to formulate theories explaining the nature of ultimate, universal
earliest representatives of the movement, had begun publishing various reality and the relationship of human beings to the universe. Some
satirical works against existing institutions, as well as his monumental study metaphysicians hold that if the universe is rational it must be based on a
of political institutions, The Spirit of Laws (1748; trans. 1750). It was in sequence of cause and effect: Every action, or effect, must be preceded by a
Paris that Denis Diderot, the author of numerous philosophical tracts, began cause and must form a part of the unbroken chain of causation extending
the publication of the Encyclopédie (1751-1772). This work, on which back to the First Cause, that is, God, or the Divine. An act of absolute free
numerous philosophes collaborated, was intended both as a compendium of will on the part of a person or an animal is, however, an uncaused act outside
all knowledge and as a polemical weapon, presenting the positions of the the causal chain; to accept the possibility of an uncaused act negates such
Enlightenment and attacking its opponents. The single most influential and divine, rational order and makes the universe seem irrational. Viewed in this
representative of the French writers was undoubtedly Voltaire. Beginning manner, this question has never been satisfactorily resolved. During the
his career as a playwright and poet, he is best known today for his prolific Middle Ages, the inexplicability of free will led to intense argument among
pamphlets, essays, satires, and short novels, in which he popularized the religious philosophers and to the famous dilemma known as “Buridan's Ass”
science and philosophy of his age, and for his immense correspondence with (see Buridan, Jean).The validity of free will has also been a subject of
writers and monarchs throughout Europe. Far more original were the works considerable debate among ethical philosophers. It would appear that a
of Jean Jacques Rousseau, whose Social Contract (1762; trans. 1797), Émile system of ethics must imply free will, for the denial of the ability to choose a
(1762; trans. 1763), and Confessions (1782; trans. 1783) were to have a course of action would seem to negate the possibility of moral judgment. A
profound influence on later political and educational theory and were to person without moral judgment is not responsible for his or her actions. In
serve as an impulse to 19th-century romanticism. The Enlightenment was an attempt to resolve this problem, ethical philosophers have taken a great
also a profoundly cosmopolitan and antinationalistic movement with variety of positions, ranging from absolute determinism to absolute
representatives in numerous other countries. Kant in Germany, David Hume libertarianism. The Greek philosophers Socrates and Plato maintained that
in England, Cesare Beccaria in Italy, and Benjamin Franklin and Thomas people could will their own actions, but that those actions alone were truly
Jefferson in the American colonies all maintained close contacts with the free that accorded with the good or harmony of the whole. Thus, only a wise
French philosophes but were important contributors to the movement in their action is free. Baruch Spinoza, the Dutch philosopher, reinterpreted free will
own right. as self-determination, that is, insofar as a person fits into God’s nature and
the world’s own nature. Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, believed
Free Will that a person must be free because freedom is a necessary postulate of the
moral consciousness; the Kantian categorical imperative is beyond any
Free Will, power or ability of the human mind to choose a course of action theoretical analysis. The prevailing philosophical opinion has been that
or make a decision without being subject to restraints imposed by antecedent partial self-determination exists, and that, although many considerations
causes, by necessity, or by divine predetermination. A completely freewill
65 66
other than will are involved in the formation of moral judgments, in certain the same time defending the right to think freely. One view called Deism
circumstances a core remains, however small, of creative decision. saw God as the cause of the great mechanism of the world, a view more in
harmony with science than with traditional religion. Natural science at this
Theological Paradox of Free Will time was striding ahead, relying on sense perception as well as reason, and
thereby discovering the universal laws of nature and physics. Such empirical
Free will is important in theology. One of the basic tenets of traditional (observation-based) knowledge appeared to be more certain and valuable
Christian theology is that God is omniscient and omnipotent, and that every than philosophical knowledge based upon reason alone.
human action is foreordained by God. The doctrine of predestination, the
theological counterpart of determinism, seemingly precludes the existence of After Locke philosophers became more skeptical about achieving
free will. Because morality, duty, and the avoidance of sin are also basic knowledge that they could be certain was true.
elements in Christian teaching, how, it is asked, can people be morally Some thinkers who despaired of finding a
responsible once predestination is accepted? Many attempts have been made resolution to dualism embraced skepticism, the
by theologians to explain this paradox. Saint Augustine, the great Father and doctrine that true knowledge, other than what we
Doctor of the Church, firmly believed in predestination, holding that only experience through the senses, is impossible.
those elected by God would attain salvation; no one, however, knows who is Others turned to increasingly radical theories of
among the elect, and therefore all should lead God-fearing, religious lives. being and knowledge. Among them was German
Freedom, for him, was the gift of divine grace. This doctrine was opposed philosopher Immanuel Kant, probably the most
by the British monk Pelagius (see Pelagianism) and particularly by his influential of all because he set Western philosophy
followers, who maintained that Adam's sin concerned only Adam and not on a new path that it still follows today. Kant’s
the whole human race, and that everyone, although helped by divine grace to view that knowledge of the world is dependent
attain salvation, has complete freedom of will to choose or reject the way to upon certain innate categories or ideas in the human
God. Eventually, Roman Catholic theologians stated the doctrine of mind is known as idealism.
prevenient grace to explain free will; according to this doctrine, God
bestows on individuals the grace to will themselves into a state of grace. Psychologists have found it difficult to explain free will; their method of
During the Reformation, the question of free will became a religious scientific causality predicates determinism. The rational philosophers of the
battleground. Many Protestant sects, notably the Calvinists, emphasized the 17th and 18th centuries, who were, in a sense, psychologists, attempted to
Augustinian doctrine of predestination and the complete exclusion of free state mechanistic laws that would include mental phenomena as they did
will (see John Calvin). Calvinistic predestination was considered a physical phenomena, such as gravity; free will, being anarchistic by
paramount heresy by the Roman Catholic church; and the Council of Trent definition, could not be patterned into law. In the 20th century, certain
in the 16th century condemned all who denied free will. Still the problem psychologists—including the Americans Rollo May, Gordon Allport, and
was not resolved. The French Roman Catholic prelate Jacques-Bénigne Abraham Maslow and especially the advocates of existentialism—have
Bossuet offered yet another approach, which became widely held; he stated recognized the element of spontaneity in the human mind that is admitted to
that free will and divine foreknowledge are certain truths that must be lie outside any possible scientific law. This spontaneity can be interpreted to
accepted even though they are not logically connected. be free will, or at least a measure of self-determination that people feel
themselves to possess and by which they make moral judgments.
Modern Thought on Free Will Derived From Skeptism (Scottish:
Hobbs, Hume) or Idealism (English/French: Locke, Paine, Kant) The “Best Sellers List” in Colonial America
Efforts to resolve the dualism of mind and matter, a problem first raised by By the mid-1700s American prose was first and foremost political. Many
Descartes, continued to engage philosophers during the 17th and 18th 18th-century thinkers believed in the ability of reason to control human
centuries. The division between science and religious belief also occupied destiny and improve the human condition, an enormous change from the
them. There, the aim was to preserve the essentials of faith in God while at belief in predestination that broadly speaking characterized the 17th century.
67 68
In America as well as in Western Europe, the 18th century was known as the Enlightenment in annual editions of Poor Richard's Almanack, a collection
Age of Enlightenment. In the American colonies Enlightenment thought was of practical and humorous information first published in 1732. Thousands of
expressed chiefly through political discourse. American thinkers asserted a people read the book. In 1743 Franklin was among the founders of the
growing belief in the supremacy of reason over church doctrine; they also American Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, which sought to promote
emphasized the importance of the individual and freedom over and above useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through scholarly research
established authorities and institutions. America's great Enlightenment and community service.
writers—Franklin, Thomas Paine, and Thomas Jefferson—also played major
roles in the American Revolution. Franklin began his literary career as a publisher but made his greatest
contribution to American literature as a writer. In his writing Franklin
Before the Enlightenment, most American intellectuals were ministers. By advocated hard work as the key to success. His views come across clearly in
the 1750s a non-religious culture had developed in Philadelphia and other the maxims, proverbs, and homespun wisdom that filled his Poor Richard's
colonial cities, stimulated in part by easy access to European books and Almanack, which was published annually from 1733 to 1758 under the pen
magazines and the appearance of locally published newspapers. Men and name Richard Saunders. Franklin’s almanac sayings were collected in The
women from the families of merchants and lawyers were prominent Way to Wealth (1757) in the form of a speech by a character named Father
participants in this new culture, but many skilled artisans also became Abraham. It is one of Franklin’s great statements on the self-made man. Like
familiar with the scientific discoveries and radical political philosophies of much of Franklin's writing, the work reached an enormous audience through
Enlightenment thinkers. translations into European languages. Franklin’s Autobiography was first
published in full in 1868, 78 years after his death; it is considered an
Enlightenment culture, in combination with merchant wealth, gave a major American classic because of its portrait of Franklin and American life during
boost to the production of high art as opposed to popular or folk art. Serious his time.
artistic work had previously found little support in the colonies. Merchants
began to hire skilled artisans to decorate their houses with elaborate plaster
ceilings. Their wives ordered fine furniture and expensive silverware. To
dignify their newfound status, merchants commissioned artists to paint their
portraits. This patronage subsidized the early careers of the first important
American painters, Benjamin
West and John Singleton Copley,
both born in 1738. Although
these two artists were born and
did their early work in America,
they only attained real fame after
moving to London, a city that had
a much richer artistic culture than
anyplace in the American
colonies.
Philadelphia became the center of

the Enlightenment in America
partly because of the presence of Thomas Paine became a leading figure in the cause of American
Benjamin Franklin, who independence with the pamphlet Common Sense (1776). This enormously
championed many Enlightenment popular political document asserted that the American colonies received no
ideas. Franklin popularized the advantage from Great Britain and that every consideration of common sense
69 70
called for them to establish an Propaganda in Colonial American Literature
independent republican govern-
ment. Written in a straightforward Propaganda for distinctly political ends is as old as history. The Bible, for
style using the language of the example, relates that the Assyrian king Sennacherib attempted to terrify the
common person, Common Sense Kingdom of Judah into surrendering by the use of threatening propaganda
was published six months before (see 2 Kings 18-19). Julius Caesar wrote De Bello Gallico (On the Gallic
the Declaration of Independence War) to enhance his reputation in Rome and to speed his rise to power.
was adopted. At that point, most
colonists still believed that their The quality of the propaganda literature of the American Revolution is
grievances with Great Britain could outstanding. Before the Revolution the letters circulated by the patriot
be settled peaceably. Paine Samuel Adams and such pamphlets as Letters from a Farmer in
profoundly shook this belief, Pennsylvania by John Dickinson sought to inform and unify American
insisting that there was no turning opinion in the quarrel with Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence,
back and making his readers feel that each person had the power and written by Thomas Jefferson, was a masterpiece of rational propaganda
responsibility to participate in the cause of revolution. intended to crystallize public opinion at home and justify the controversial
American cause abroad. During the period when that cause seemed closest
Although it lacked the searing rhetoric of Common Sense, the Declaration of to military defeat, the radical writer Thomas Paine wrote a series of
Independence was a crucial achievement in both politics and American pamphlets titled The Crisis, which rallied and sustained American morale for
prose. It was structured in the form of an assertion that the long struggle. After the war, when controversy raged over the adoption
of the federal Constitution, the articles written by Alexander Hamilton,
was then proven through specific examples. The declaration was written by James Madison, and John Jay, and known collectively as The Federalist (see
a committee made up of Franklin, Jefferson, John Adams, Roger Sherman, Federalist, The), explained the new constitution and persuaded Americans to
and Robert R. Livingston, though Jefferson was ultimately responsible for ratify it (see Constitution of the United States). The Federalist was also an
most of the phrasing. The declaration and the Constitution of the United effective propaganda instrument among the citizens of the new American
States (1787) were key statements of American freedom, but as collaborative nation.
documents they necessitated compromises to satisfy all of their authors. One
of the most significant compromises was the absence of any mention of Thomas Jefferson claimed that he used "neither book nor pamphlet" when
slavery. Slavery was antithetical to the ideals of the American Revolution, writing the declaration, but his work reflected a broad understanding of
but for the sake of unity with the Southern colonies, whose economy was 18th-century political thought. Perhaps the greatest influence on Jefferson
rooted in slavery, no protest was made against it as a social evil. came from Enlightenment thinkers. These philosophers believed that the
natural world was organized in a logical and reasonable pattern. While
A final flurry of political writing at the close of the century arose from the acknowledging that this pattern derived from the ultimate wisdom of God,
debate over ratification of the Constitution. Federalists supported the strong they also held that the world was understandable through the powers of
central government outlined in the Constitution, while an anti-Federalist human reason. The writings of French, English, and Scottish Enlightenment
faction opposed it. A series of essays supporting ratification was published philosophers frequently presented the concept that all men are created equal
in 1787 and 1788 and circulated in pamphlets. The essays, later published as and possess certain inalienable rights. Jefferson’s belief in the social contract
The Federalist, were written by James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and came from British political philosopher John Locke, who argued that
John Jay. government existed by consent of the governed and that people should rebel
if their natural rights were violated. Even the long list of grievances against
*(One of Ben Franklin’s many nome de plumes was a woman named King George III reflected 18th-century philosophy. According to prevalent
Silence Dogood) thinking during the Age of Enlightenment, any deviation from the natural
and reasonable course of events, including the perceived abuse of the
71 72
American colonies, resulted from the actions of evil men rather than a whim mathematical articles and wrote the famous preface. Philosopher Jean
of nature. Jacques Rousseau and scholar Louis Jean-Marie Daubenton also worked on
the project. The greater part of the work, however, fell to Diderot, who was
The publication of Common Sense by Thomas Paine in January 1776 helped specially charged with the articles relating to the arts and trades, as well as
convince many Americans of the need for independence. In this pamphlet, those on history and ancient philosophy. In addition, he undertook the
Paine, a magazine editor and writer newly arrived from England, attacked general revision and coordination of the material contributed by the others.
the king, the idea of royalty, and even the notion that there should be an
aristocracy. In eloquent yet biting language, Paine also made a direct appeal The Encyclopédie presented definite philosophical views and was
for a manifesto or proclamation establishing American independence. The considered radical by conservative elements of society, who subjected it to
pamphlet had an electrifying effect on hundreds of thousands of colonists. condemnation and its editor to persecution. This aspect of the Encyclopédie
By the spring of 1776 local Committees of Correspondence and some state has given it an important place in the history of modern thought. Those who
legislatures began to call openly for independence. were associated with it or accepted its views became identified as
Encyclopedists, a term that denoted a definite social philosophy and defined
Encyclopedia a movement. The Encyclopédie was published between 1751 and 1772 in 28
volumes, including 11 volumes of illustration plates. Five supplementary
In form the Encyclopédie is essentially an encyclopedic dictionary, volumes with more than 200 plates appeared in 1776 and 1777, and an
containing both the common words of the language and proper names, analytical table of contents in two volumes appeared in 1780. Many editions
accompanied by lexical descriptions and definitions and also, in most cases, followed.
by encyclopedic comments. Its purpose as described in its preface was “to
exhibit as far as possible the order and system of human knowledge, and as a Thematic Essay: Political and Social Thought of the Enlightenment
dictionnaire raisonné [descriptive dictionary] of the sciences, the arts, and
trades, to contain the fundamental principles and the most essential details of Thematic Essays combine a broad survey of a particular topic with key
every science and every art, whether liberal or mechanical.” supplementary readings to create a comprehensive learning experience. This
essay by historian Isaac Kramnick traces the cultural and political factors
Encyclopedists, the writers of the 18th-century French Encyclopédie, ou that led to the development of the Enlightenment. Accompanying the essay
dictionnaire raissoné de sciences, des arts et des métiers (Encyclopedia, or are Sidebars consisting of excerpts from the works of some of the
Systematic Dictionary of Sciences, Arts, and Trades), commonly called the movement’s most influential thinkers.
Encyclopédie. It was edited by the French philosopher Denis Diderot in
Paris between 1751 and 1772 and voiced the advanced opinions of the time By Isaac Kramnick
in philosophy, politics, and religion. The contributors were many great
French writers of the day, including Montesquieu, Voltaire, Jean Jacques The Enlightenment was a philosophical movement based on the belief that
Rousseau, and Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm. See Encyclopedia. science and human reason can triumph over political and religious tyranny.
An intellectual spirit that knew no national boundaries, it drew proponents
A French translation of Chambers's Cyclopaedia was the foundation of the from America, England, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland, Spain, and
famous Encyclopédie ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des Russia.
métiers (Encyclopedia or Systematic Dictionary of Sciences, Arts and
Trades), commonly called the Encyclopédie. The task of revising the Although its advocates were widespread, 18th-century French thought is
translation of Chambers's Cyclopaedia was given to French encyclopedist, usually regarded as best embodying the principles of the Enlightenment,
philosopher, and dramatist Denis Diderot. In his hands it developed into an particularly the writings of Denis Diderot, Charles Montesquieu, Jean
immense intellectual enterprise. Associated with Diderot was a large group Jacques Rousseau, Voltaire, and others. Known by their French label the
of the most distinguished scholars of the age, including mathematician and philosophes, these writers helped define Enlightenment philosophy by
philosopher Jean le Rond d'Alembert, who undertook the editing of the publishing their magisterial, 17-volume collaboration, the Encyclopédie
73 74
(1751-1772). This work was designed as a catalog of all human France in the last quarter of the 18th century. These ideals, in turn, gave rise
understanding, containing an exhaustive range of definitive articles on to a move toward romanticism in art and literature. It also provided the basis
science, the arts, history, and philosophy. The writers expressed unorthodox for the political liberalism and spirit of reform that spread throughout the
views in this work, arguing that science and reason could triumph over the 19th-century Western world.
blindness of religion and tradition. Although these views caused French
royalty and the clergy to condemn the book and persecute its authors, they The events of the 1680s provide glaring evidence of the different settings for
served to introduce and declare Enlightenment principles. Enlightenment thought in France and Britain. Religious tolerance and
freedom of publication generally flourished in the liberal atmosphere of
The philosophers regarded three Englishmen as the prophets of the Augustan England. This period, characterized by literary grandeur under the
Enlightenment; thus, they dedicated their Encyclopédie to Francis Bacon, restored monarch Charles II, earned its name for its resemblance to imperial
John Locke, and Isaac Newton. American statesman Thomas Jefferson, a Rome under Augustus. In France, on the other hand, Louis XIV dealt a
disciple of the Enlightenment, agreed with this assessment, ordering for his ringing blow to religious tolerance in 1685 when he revoked the Edict of
library in 1789 a composite portrait of the same three men. They had, he Nantes. The revocation ushered in a century of oppressive and absolute rule
wrote to a friend, laid the foundation for the physical and moral sciences of in France, with first the persecution and then the flight of the French
modernity and were “the three greatest men that have ever lived, without any Protestants, known as Huguenots. Further, royal and clerical control and
exception.” censorship of publications led to the arrest of Voltaire and other writers.
Before long, the works of Diderot, Montesquieu, Claude Helvétius, and Paul
II. HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL SETTING Henri d'Holbach were condemned and suppressed. Finally, the Encyclopédie
itself was banned in 1759.
To set a precise date on an intellectual movement is impossible, but most
important events of the Enlightenment took place during the 100-plus years III. POLITICAL THOUGHT OF THE FRENCH ENLIGHTENMENT
from the 1680s to the 1790s. The movement’s beginnings were marked in
Great Britain by the Glorious Revolution of 1688. This bloodless overthrow Montesquieu and Diderot, attempting to avoid suppression, often invented
of King James II provided a constitutional arrangement that effectively fictional foreigners whose observations criticized French political
abolished the line of Stuart monarchs and ushered in religious tolerance and institutions and the Catholic Church. The harsher realities of repression and
a strengthened Parliament. The dawn of Enlightenment thinking in Great persecution lent the political writings of the French Enlightenment a tone
Britain was heralded by two publications. The first was published in 1687, that is more bitter and less compromising than that of the British. Not that
Newton’s Principia, which used mathematics to explain observed despotism, when freed from religious zeal, was utterly incompatible with the
phenomena such as gravitation. The second, Locke’s “An Essay Concerning French Enlightenment. Several of the philosophes, including Voltaire,
Human Understanding” (1690), emphasized formulating ideas through Diderot, and Helvétius, envisioned the political ideal as an “enlightened
experience. despot,” a reforming monarch. Their ideal monarch was personified by
Frederick II of Prussia and Catherine II of Russia. The “enlightened despot,”
Two milestones signal the beginnings of the movement in France. First, in while sponsoring religious tolerance, was committed to rational reform of
1685 King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes, which had granted the political, legal, and economic aspects of an age of reason. Examples of
limited tolerance to French Protestants in 1598. The second milestone was such reforms include Frederick introducing new agriculture and
the writings in the late 1680s of religious skeptic Pierre Bayle and scientist manufacturing methods, and Catherine attempting to modernize Russian law
Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle. Both authors questioned the prevailing by establishing a legislative commission.
religious attitudes in styles that would become characteristic of the
Enlightenment movement. Political differences notwithstanding, the intellectuals of the French and
British Enlightenment operated in relatively similar social settings. They
The end of the Enlightenment is best linked to the realization of its ideals, shared the profound transformation of Western life brought by commerce
which occurred in the revolutionary fervor that swept through America and and industrialization. Far from being alarmed at this great change, they
75 76
generally embraced the new commercial civilization and its values. They public authority, it would be reserved for the private sphere of individual
saw it as a progressive, reforming force that would undermine aristocratic preference and individual practice. Public matters in a commercial society
privilege and religious fanaticism. Theirs was also an age of increasing concerned markets and property, not the saving of souls. Voltaire
literacy: For the first time in history, reading ceased to be a monopoly of the approvingly described the Royal Exchange in London as the place where
rich and the clergy. Intellectuals eagerly wrote for an audience of new “the Jew, the Mahometan, and the Christian transact together, as though they
readers, having not yet become alienated from the “philistine” public in a all professed the same religion, and give the name of infidel to none but
posture of romantic weariness. bankrupts.” Jefferson, in turn, rendered the same liberal, tolerant theme in
simple American folk wisdom: “The legitimate powers of government
IV. REASON AND REFORM extend to such acts only as are injurious to others. But it does me no injury
for my neighbor to say there are twenty gods, or no God. It neither picks my
The central message of Enlightenment intellectuals was that unassisted pocket nor breaks my leg.”
human reason, not faith or tradition, was the principal guide to politics and
all human conduct. “Have courage to use your own reason—that is the motto Faith in progress required that the aristocratic, feudal past be viewed
of Enlightenment,” the German philosopher Immanuel Kant wrote in 1784. critically, and once again Voltaire guided the Enlightenment. History, he
wrote, in 1754, is “little else than a long succession of useless cruelties” and
To Enlightenment thinkers, everything, including political and religious “a collection of crimes, follies, and misfortunes.” Progressive Enlightenment
authority, must be subject to a critique of reason if it were to command the philosophers had no respect for the superstitious past and its political
respect of humanity. Particularly suspect were religious faith and traditions in general, which could not pass the skeptical test of reason. The
superstition. Humanity was not innately corrupt, as Catholicism taught, nor American philosopher Thomas Jefferson summarized this ideal, attacking
was the good life found only in a blissful state of otherworldly salvation. what he labeled “the Gothic idea,” which dictates that one “look backwards
Pleasure and happiness were worthy ends of life and could be realized in this instead of forwards for the improvement of the human mind.” Jefferson
world. The natural universe was not governed by the miraculous whimsy of argued that Americans would have nothing to do with such errors: “To recur
a supernatural God. Rather, it was ruled by rational scientific laws, which to the annals of our ancestors for what is most perfect in government, in
were accessible to human beings through the scientific method of religion, in learning, is worthy of those bigots in religion, and government,
experiment and observation. by whom it is recommended, and whose purpose it would answer. But it is
not an idea which this country will endure.”
Science and technology were the engines of progress, enabling modern
people to force nature to serve their well-being and increase their happiness. Enlightenment thinkers such as Jefferson viewed humanity as no longer
Science and the conquest of superstition and ignorance provided the chained to the past, with its irrational, repressive, and unjust institutions.
prospect to endlessly improve and reform the human condition, to progress Guided by their reason, enlightened men and women could change and
toward a future that was perfection. The Enlightenment elevated the reform their political world. They could shake off the oppressive weight of
individual and the moral legitimacy of self-interest. It sought to free the tradition and custom. For most Enlightenment writers this meant political
individual from all kinds of external corporate or communal limitations. reforms. They directed these reforms against what they considered the
Further, it sought to reform the political, moral, intellectual, and economic tyrannical power of the Church, the nobility, and the monarchy. Such
worlds to serve individual interests. reforms were for the benefit of the free individual.
More than anyone else, Voltaire, with his motto Ecrasez l'infâme ("Crush V. LIBERAL INDIVIDUALISM
the infamous thing"), symbolized the war against the evils, including torture
and persecution, bred by religious fanaticism and superstition—the At the heart of the Enlightenment’s social and political thought lies a
“infamous thing.” But virtually all Enlightenment theorists followed the lead profoundly radical individualism. Enlightenment philosophers pro-claimed
of Locke’s famous “Letter on Toleration” (1689) in demanding freedom of the individual as the creator of meaning, truth, and even reality. The
religion. They argued that if religion were removed from public life and Enlightenment’s political ideal set the individual free politically,
77 78
intellectually, and economically. It demystified the political universe, as
rational acts of consent replaced the magical power of thrones, scepters, and These Enlightenment ideals are associated principally with the British
crowns. The individual (understood in the Enlightenment as male and philosopher and economist Adam Smith and the French Physiocrats, the
property-owning) did not receive government and authority from a 40 name used for proponents of the economic theories proposed by Anne
God who had given his secular sword to princes and magistrates to rule by Robert Jacques Turgot and Françoise Quesnay. However, such ideals
divine right. Nor did the individual keep to his lower place in a divinely pervade the era and are found in the writings of Voltaire and Jefferson as
inspired hierarchy, in which kings and noblemen had been placed above him well.
as society’s natural governors.
Jefferson knew exactly what he was doing when he changed Locke’s trilogy
Government, Enlightenment theorists argued, was voluntarily established by of rights “life, liberty, and property” to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of
free individuals through a willful act of contract. Individuals rationally happiness.” Property, and the individual’s right to it, was but one form of the
agreed to limit their own freedom and to obey civil authority in exchange for larger human right to individual happiness. The Enlightenment’s
public protection of their natural rights. Government’s purpose was to serve revolutionary objective, enshrined in Jefferson’s text for the Declaration of
self-interest, to enable individuals to enjoy peacefully their rights to life, Independence, was to place the sacredness of each individual’s quest for
liberty, and property. It was not to serve the glory of God or dynasties—and happiness at the heart of politics. No longer was there assumed to be a
certainly was not to dictate moral or religious truth. Christian conception of the good life or the moral life, defined by the church
and state. The Enlightenment assumption was that each individual pursued
The Enlightenment saw the individual as free in the intellectual and moral his or her own happiness and individual sense of the good life—as long as in
world as well. Governments should only be concerned with the worldly doing so they did not interfere with other people’s lives, liberty, or pursuit of
matters of life and property, not with immaterial things such as the salvation happiness. Or as Jefferson put it, as long as “it neither picks my pocket, nor
of souls. Public authority, be it secular or spiritual, was not to enforce breaks my leg.”
unquestioned and absolute truths upon individuals. Matters of belief and
moral conviction had to be reserved for the private realm, where each VII. THE AMERICAN AND FRENCH REVOLUTIONS
individual was free to believe as he wished. Public law no longer enforced
God’s higher truths nor any ideal of the moral life; it merely kept order. For many, the Enlightenment’s rejection of feudalism and aristocracy along
Clerical or royal censorship and persecution of free individual minds was the with its faith in progress through unfettered individualism were realized in
lightning rod for contempt. the American (1775-1783) and French (1789-1799) revolutions. The French
philosopher the marquis de Condorcet described America as, of all nations,
“the most enlightened, the freest and the least burdened by prejudices.” Its
VI. REMOVING ECONOMIC RESTRAINTS respect for human rights, he wrote, provided a lesson for all the peoples of
the world. He offered what would be the characteristic praise of America,
As the liberalism of the Enlightenment would free the individual from where there were “no distinctions of class” and where property was secure
intellectual constraint, so it would also liberate the individual from economic and hard work encouraged. In America no spiritual or political aristocracy,
restraints on private initiative. The Enlightenment rejected the ideas of a he wrote, held “a part of the human race in a state of humiliation, simplicity,
moral economy in which economic activity was understood to serve moral and misery.” Diderot, in turn, saw America as “offering all the inhabitants of
ends of justice, whether these ends were realized through church-imposed Europe an asylum against fanaticism and tyranny.” For Turgot, the
constraints on wages and prices or through magistrates setting prices and American people were “the hope of the human race, they may well become
providing food to the poor. Church, state, and guilds (powerful trade its model.” Anglo-American political philosopher Thomas Paine joined the
associations) would no longer oversee economic activity. Instead, chorus, writing that the cause of America was “the cause of all mankind.”
individuals would be left alone to seek their own self-interest in a free
voluntary market, which would work toward the good of all through “an The French Revolution, as well, seemed to realize much of the
invisible hand.” Enlightenment’s agenda. The politics of the aristocratic and monarchical old
79 80
order were replaced by parliamentary institutions and the Declaration of the consisting of excerpts from the works of some of Britain’s most influential
Rights of Man and of the Citizen. Feudal restrictions on individual economic thinkers.
activity were removed. Primogeniture (the firstborn son’s right to property
inheritance), enforced tithes, and obligatory service to the lord of the manor By Isaac Kramnick
gave way to new economic ideals focused on individual property rights and
free market principles. The revolutionaries waged a vigorous campaign to
“de-Christianize” France. The state took over schools and church property, Many of the central ideals of government that are taken for granted today
making the clergy civic employees. have their origins in the traditions of British social and political thought.
Respect for the rule of law and rejection of arbitrary and despotic authority
VIII. LEGACIES OF ENLIGHTENMENT THOUGHT are rooted in the English tradition. The parliamentary system of government
that exists in many countries is a legacy of British political and social
The excesses of the French Revolution, especially Maximilien Robes-pierre thought. Peaceful, evolutionary reform—as opposed to violent,
and the Reign of Terror, led many observers associated with the revolutionary change—and respect for individual rights also derive in part
conservative and romantic movements of the late 18th and early 19th from British political thought. Indeed, the basic notions of liberal and
centuries to condemn the Enlightenment as having too exalted a view of conservative stem from British tradition, as do the workings of politics and
human reason. These observers argued that the Enlightenment neglected the government in much of the world today.
roles played in human nature by feelings, imagination, spirit, and intuition.
Similarly, the Enlightenment, with its zeal for political reform, was criticized The British model of parliamentary democracy has influenced many nations,
as misunderstanding the useful roles that tradition, custom, and habit play in including the United States. The thought behind this system of government
society. began to take form during a particularly tumultuous period in British history:
the English Revolution of 1640 to 1660. The seeds of the revolution were
Today, environmentalists criticize the Enlightenment’s worship of science planted in the 16th century, when the monarchy and the British Parliament
and technology, citing the damage done by human-produced innovations competed for political authority. During that period a fundamental
such as pesticides and auto exhaust. Devout Christians find fault with the transformation occurred: Thinkers began to challenge the very assumptions
movement’s strictly secular vision of the state. Communitarians, who and ideals underlying British government. At the beginning of the 16th
believe in a cooperative way of life, take issue with its rampant century, the ruling ideas in England were those of the nobility who held the
individualism. Still, Enlightenment social and political ideals live on today view that they were God’s agents on Earth. Since their power over common
in the rhetoric of those who argue for reason, reform, and tolerance in the people derived from God, the resulting political and social inequality was, in
face of custom, tradition, and orthodoxy. effect, divinely ordained.
About the author: Isaac Kramnick is the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of II. DIVISION OF POWER UNDER THE TUDORS
Government at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He is the author of
several books, including The Godless Constitution: The Case Against In the 16th century the ruling Tudor monarchy increased the level of
Religious Correctness (1996). Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 cooperation among royalty, local aristocrats, and wealthy merchants.
Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Although the Tudors maintained their belief in the divine right of kings—the
doctrine that rulers derive their right to rule directly from God—they
Thematic Essay: British Political and Social Thought demonstrated an unprecedented willingness to share power with the elites of
the realm. Division of power in England dated back to the Magna Carta,
Thematic Essays combine a broad survey of a particular topic with key sealed in 1215 by King John, which decreed that the king's nobles must be
supplementary readings to create a comprehensive learning experience. This consulted over issues of taxation. In the late 16th century Queen Elizabeth I
essay by historian Isaac Kramnick traces the development of British shared authority and actively sought guidance from the British Parliament.
political and social thought. Accompanying the essay are Sidebars At that time Parliament consisted of the House of Lords, representing landed
81 82
aristocrats, and the House of Commons, representing the wealthy government failed, however, and the Stuart monarchy was restored in 1660,
commercial classes. In cooperation with Parliament, the Tudors established a when Charles II ascended the throne. Both he and his successor, James II,
mixed constitution, a set of rules both formal and informal that regulated the reasserted the divine right principle of ruling without Parliament and
workings of government. The British constitution differs from the sympathized with the Catholic cause. In 1688 opponents of James II forced
constitutions of the United States and many other nations because it is not a him to abdicate the throne and replaced him with William III and his wife,
single document; instead it is a complex collection of acts of Parliament, Mary II, who were crowned as joint rulers in 1689. This Glorious
judicial rulings, statutes, and conventions. Revolution of 1688, as it came to be called, occurred without bloodshed and
restored the division of power between Parliament and the monarchy.
The British constitution, as it evolved under the Tudors, established that
power would be shared among the monarchy, the aristocracy, and the The tumultuous half-century of crisis that preceded the Glorious Revolution
wealthy commercial class. In the religious realm the Tudors compromised as inspired a reconsideration of government and produced many enduring
well. They followed the Protestant break from the Roman Catholic Church strands of British political and social thought. In deriving their theories
and established Anglicanism as the national Church of England. regarding government and society, thinkers of the time explored a rich
Anglicanism maintained many features of Catholicism, such as a variety of ideas. They examined British and classical history for inspiration,
hierarchical clergy presided over by archbishops and bishops, but it included proposed truths about human morality, and questioned whether society
some important differences from Catholicism, such as allowing Anglican actually benefited from stern leadership.
priests to marry.
IV. COMMON LAW AND THE ABSOLUTE RIGHTS OF
III. THE CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS AND THE ENGLISH ENGLISHMEN
REVOLUTION
In the 17th and 18th centuries some thinkers looked to England’s legal
After Elizabeth I died in 1603, James I became the first of the Stuarts to history to justify a greater role for Parliament and rule by law rather than by
ascend the English throne. The Stuarts had ruled Scotland since 1371. James royal authority. Jurists such as Sir Edward Coke and Sir William Blackstone
and his successor, Charles I, rejected the constitutional middle ground that played a key role. They developed the theory that English common law, an
the Tudors had established and governed as absolute monarchs, refusing to intricate set of legal precedents and customs that had evolved over centuries,
share authority with Parliament. Their authority came directly from God, in combination with statutory law created by acts of Parliament, formed the
they claimed, and they ruled alone by divine right. In addition to opposing foundations of the absolute rights of Englishmen. At the time rights for
the sharing of power, James and Charles repudiated the Tudor theological women were not even considered. These moderates argued that the rule of
compromise. They sought to return England to the Catholic fold, and they law took precedence over arbitrary decree by a monarch. Both statutory and
actively persecuted radical English Protestants, called Puritans. Some of the common law guaranteed the sanctity of an Englishman's life, liberty, and
Puritans fled to settle the New England colonies in America. Those Puritans property, including the rights of trial by jury, representative government, and
who remained became central actors in the great constitutional crisis of the habeas corpus (protection against illegal imprisonment).
17th century known as the English Revolution.
In the hands of 17th-century jurists such as Coke, common law emerged as a
Between 1640 and 1649 Parliament raised an army, led by military major constraint on the power of the Stuart kings. Coke claimed that
administrator Oliver Cromwell, that fought to overthrow Charles I and his common law was the surviving legacy of an ancient constitution that had
royalist followers. Charles was captured, arrested under charge of treason, appeared in Saxon England but was subsequently lost. Coke believed that
and executed in 1649. Cromwell abolished the monarchy and the House of the ancient constitution had both established royal authority and placed
Lords, and became the first commoner to rule a great European power. limitations on it. Despite the loss of the ancient constitution, its tenets were
England was declared a commonwealth, in which government was to reaffirmed through common law and charters, including the Magna Carta.
function according to the common consent of the people. Cromwell’s
83 84
By the 18th century, jurist and legal scholar Sir William Blackstone emerged called to a particular occupation, it was a man's duty to labor diligently and
as the central spokesman for rule by law. Blackstone’s Commentaries on the to avoid idleness and sloth. The virtuous man realized himself and his talents
Law of England (1765-1769) became the definitive statement on the British through labor and achievement. The corrupt man was unproductive,
constitution. In his writings, Blackstone produced the first clear and indolent, and in the Devil's camp; he failed the test of individual
relatively concise summary of constitutional law. In doing so, he supported responsibility. The ruling classes of idle nobility and useless monarchy were
the ideals of the ancient constitution as the source of parliamentary the enemy that God had sent the hardworking Puritan to slay.
government and common law as a constitutional alternative to arbitrary rule.
VI. THOMAS HOBBES
V. THE CONTRIBUTION OF PURITANISM
The political and constitutional crisis of the 17th century produced two of
The militant Puritans who supported Cromwell, particularly the Levellers, the most important figures in the history of British political thought. The
took more extreme measures to defend the rights of Parliament and first, philosopher Thomas Hobbes, challenged the assertions of both the
Englishmen during the constitutional crisis. Members of Cromwell’s parliamentary side and the Stuart royalist camp. In Leviathan (1651),
military force, the New Model Army, believed that God chose them to purge Hobbes repudiated the royalist argument that God gave kings absolute and
England of its pro-Catholic monarch. Cromwell's soldiers also opposed what indivisible power to rule, arguing that human beings make a conscious
they regarded as the unmerited privilege of the idle aristocracy. Cromwell’s decision to be led. Long ago, living as free and equal individuals in a state of
army demanded voting rights for all men holding property, rather than just nature lacking any political authority, people voluntarily contracted to create
for wealthy landowners. One part of his army, the Levellers, took the a common governmental power over them. According to Hobbes, total
demands a step further and argued that all men should be able to vote, a freedom in the state of nature left each man insecure and frightened at the
revolutionary idea in the 17th century. The Levellers asserted that "the unrestrained power of other individuals, all of whom were driven by
poorest he that is in England hath a life to live as the greatest he." Some in insatiable self-interest. Thus, Hobbes argued, government emerged from a
the radical Puritan camp, called Diggers, advocated communal property, rational and prudent act of will. Formerly free men consented to give up
claiming that the Bible tells of the early Christians holding goods in their freedom and to be governed, or, as Hobbes put it, to be held in awe by
common. a common sword. The restraint that government imposes on personal
freedom is thus justified by the security and order that government provides.
Behind the social and class radicalism of the Puritans lay the Protestant work
ethic. From antiquity, social and political thought had been essentially Leviathan infuriated the royalists by challenging the notion of divine right,
limited to the concerns of men of leisure, ignoring those who worked for but it also upset the supporters of Parliament because Hobbes advocated
their livelihood. Political power by right belonged to those with the leisure absolutist rule. Hobbes argued that the consent of the people to be led
time to be concerned with the public good, a task beyond the capacity of justifies an all-powerful government. Either a legislature or a monarch may
those who had to work hard. The Protestants reversed these assumptions exercise power as long as authority over society is complete. Any challenge
with their embrace of the work ethic. Puritan writers such as Richard Baxter to this authority jeopardizes the peace and security provided by government
and John Bunyan produced influential texts describing a cosmic struggle and is thus both illegitimate and dangerous. In Hobbes’s view, disobeying
between the forces of industry and idleness. Their texts vibrate with the government will return individuals to the chaos and fear of the state of
conflict between productive, hardworking energy and idle, unproductive nature, where nothing restrains the appetites of competitive men. Many
sloth. supporters of Parliament saw Hobbes's idealized government, which he
labeled Leviathan, to be just as authoritarian as the government that the
Protestants viewed work as a battleground for personal salvation. Men Stuarts attempted to impose.
served God by busying themselves in work that served both society and the
individual. The doctrine of the calling gave each man a sense of his unique
self, as God imposed the work appropriate to each individual. After being
85 86
VII. JOHN LOCKE forming militias for common protection express this public spirit and
guarantee independence from autocratic rule.
In 1688 Parliament triumphed in the Glorious Revolution, securing the
division of power between the throne and the legislature. John Locke, in his The principal republican theorist of the 18th century was statesman Henry
Second Treatise on Civil Government (1690), best captured the predominant St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, who headed the opposition in
political theory that ensued after this final settlement of the constitutional Parliament to statesman Sir Robert Walpole’s leadership of the House of
crisis. Much like Hobbes, Locke conceived of civil government as a rational Commons. Bolingbroke contrasted the republican commitment to public
creation, established by people wishing to leave a chaotic state of nature. spirit and civic virtue with the political corruption that he perceived in
Locke, however, was more optimistic about the nature of human beings. He figures such as Walpole. Bolingbroke greatly expanded the definition of
described a state of nature in which people tend to respect one another's corruption beyond simple venality: He considered all leaders who lacked
natural rights to life, liberty, and property. The assumption that human civic virtue to be corrupt. He regarded such men as preoccupied with self
beings are inherently good is at the heart of what has come to be called and uninterested in the public good. According to Bolingbroke, this type of
Lockean liberalism. corruption brings about a cycle in which states decline and require periodic
revitalization and renewal to return to the original and pristine republican
However, Locke acknowledged that conflicts will inevitably arise over commitment to civic virtue.
property, and the occasional thief will disregard the natural rights of others.
Therefore, Locke maintained, individuals consent to be governed; in this Bolingbroke was widely read in the American colonies, and some scholars
claim, he echoed Hobbes. Locke differed dramatically from Hobbes, interpret the American Revolution (1775-1783) as a republican effort to
however, in asserting that the people, having consented to be governed, can throw off corrupt British rule and return to public-spirited self-government.
change government if it interferes with the natural rights of those who Other scholars focus on the influence of Lockean liberalism on the American
contracted to obey it, or if it fails to protect individual rights. Locke's Revolution. Locke, too, was widely read in 18th-century America. His belief
description of the people's power to change governments was embodied in in the natural rights of men to life, liberty, and property are concerned less
the Glorious Revolution and was later enlisted by Thomas Jefferson during with republican civic spirit and more with individual self-interest, which can
the American Revolution in the argument of the Declaration of be discerned in much of the political rhetoric surrounding the revolution.
Independence (1776).
IX. THE SCOTTISH ENLIGHTENMENT
VIII. REPUBLICANISM
Another group of 18th-century British thinkers, Scottish intellectuals from
The English Revolution produced another school of political thought, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and St. Andrews, offered a conception of human
republicanism, which was drawn from classical Greek and Roman theories nature and an interpretation of history rather different from those put
of government. The word republic derives from the Latin res publica, which forward by Lockean liberalism and neoclassical republicanism. Thinkers
literally means “public things.” The book Oceana, published by scholar such as Francis Hutcheson, David Hume, and Adam Smith did not depict
James Harrington in 1656, describes a republican utopia. In Oceana, men as the independent and autonomous individuals described by Locke.
government is not a personal possession of a monarch but is rather the Men, they insisted, are moved to community by a common moral sense that
common business of the people. Citizens participate in selecting produces sociability and benevolent cooperation. These thinkers regarded
representatives in government and serve in the military to secure the the quest for a moral life as the product of a disinterested and rational
common good. Republican writers such as Harrington and British statesman perception of the common good. Moral sense provides all men with an
Algernon Sidney, his contemporary, argued that citizens should run their intuitive knowledge of what is right and wrong. All men are equal in the
own public affairs. Citizens, according to Harrington, are motivated by view of this school, since they all possess the moral capacity for sociability
public spirit or civic virtue, a willingness to set the common good above and benevolence.
their own individual interests. In Harrington’s conception, bearing arms and
87 88
The Scottish school proposed a unique interpretation of history. Unlike the In Reflections on the Revolution in France, Burke also rejected the
republican thinkers, Scottish writers such as Hume, Smith, Adam Ferguson, democratic convictions of the revolutionaries. He considered the people
and Lord Henry Home Kames, did not see history as Bolingbroke’s ignorant and impetuous and argued that they are best governed by their
repeating cycle of destructive corruption and virtuous revitalization. Nor did social and intellectual superiors. Since the capacity for reason in most people
they see the present as an era of luxury and selfishness, falling short of the is severely limited, according to Burke, the wisdom of the past is always the
goals of republicanism. Rather, they depicted history as evolving in terms of best guide. That wisdom is best articulated by the church, the aristocracy,
distinct stages of development, each characterized by the primary mode of and the monarchy, which represent the social and political institutions most
economic production. Societies move through four progressive stages: the deeply rooted in the past. In making these assertions, Burke repudiated not
ages of hunting, herding, agriculture, and commerce. The highest stage, only the French Revolution but also the prior two centuries of British
commerce, produces economic abundance and a freer, more civilized social political and social thought.
order. For Hume and Smith, modern market society, not the classical or
Saxon past, produced freedom and happiness. XI. 19TH-CENTURY LIBERALISM
X. THE CONSERVATISM OF HUME AND BURKE
Two fundamental historical developments shaped British social and political
thought in the 19th century: the rise of democracy and the industrial
In addition to playing a significant role in the Scottish Enlightenment, Hume revolution. Britain extended the right to vote to virtually all adult men by
was important in the development of the British conservative tradition. In Of 1867. The rise of political parties and mass circulation newspapers opened
the Origin of Government and Of the Original Contract, he described up the political process even more to popular participation and the play of
society as the product of convention and habit rather than of a rational public opinion. Meanwhile, the transformation of Britain from an agrarian to
decision on the part of any group to leave the chaotic state of nature. People an industrial, factory-based economy overturned traditional patterns of life.
obey their governments not from some ancestral promise of partnership in a
social contract but from the mere fact that a government has been
established for a long time. Obedience and subjection are so familiar to John Stuart Mill in On Liberty (1859) expressed concern about the new
people that they do not try to understand the origin and cause of their emphasis on public opinion and the participation of ordinary people in
government. Furthermore, according to Hume, obeying government is politics. Mill feared that what he termed the tyranny of the majority would
convenient and useful. People obey government because common sense tells threaten individual rights, especially the rights to think, hold beliefs, and
them that stability and order in society will be maintained. speak about unpopular or unconventional topics. No law, however strongly
backed by the popular will, should interfere with the rights of individuals
unless it prevents actions that harm or injure others. Free expression never
The most important British conservative was Edmund Burke, whose harmed another and thus should never be constrained by government, he
Reflections on the Revolution in France (1790) is still considered the classic wrote. Mill also opposed laws that attempted to police the morals and beliefs
statement of conservatism. Burke believed that the revolutionaries in France of others, as long as these beliefs or practices, which Mill considered private
and the British radicals of his day, who were calling for universal voting issues, led to no physical harm.
rights and an end to the monarchy, had a misguided faith in reason and
abstract ideas. They assumed that a simple belief in natural rights, or
freedom and equality, was a sufficient basis for reforming existing Mill and other 19th-century British liberals also opposed government
governments. Radicals and revolutionaries, Burke wrote, underestimate the intervention in the economic realm, despite increasingly strong demands to
complexity of institutions and the depth of their roots in history and curtail the brutality and hardship of labor in factories. As industry developed
tradition. Burke was suspicious of all intellectuals who sought to create an in Britain, many social reformers called upon the British government to
ideal new political order instead of accepting what history had produced. In regulate hours of work, wages, health, and sanitation in the factories and in
Burke’s view, injustice and misery are best overcome through gradual society. Over time, much new legislation imposed restrictions on factory
efforts at improvement and reform, not through destructive revolutionary owners. The principal opponents of such industrial legislation were the so-
change. called Manchester liberals, named after the primary industrial city in Britain.
89 90
Their central text, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations (1776), argues that the have been brought up to be dependent on men and to be concerned only with
growth and development of the economy occur most efficiently when the domestic life and caring for children. She believed that these characteristics
government does not intervene. were not expressions of an essential feminine nature but were instead
cultural inventions that men created to serve their own interests. Given equal
The Manchester liberals’ doctrine of laissez-faire, or noninterference in schooling, Wollstonecraft argued, women would compete as equals with
trade, sat well with the Lockean ideal of limiting the government’s function men in the arena of public achievement. In 1869 Mill echoed
to protecting rights and property. Economist Richard Cobden promoted Wollstonecraft's early feminist thought in his essay The Subjection of
completely free trade as the ideal policy and urged governments to drop all Women. Mill championed women's equality in several books and sought
tariff restrictions, which he believed inhibited the free and natural flow of legislation to give women the right to vote. Women in Britain and the United
trade. Social philosopher Herbert Spencer, the 19th century's most vigorous States did not gain the right to vote until the 20th century, however. Still, the
opponent of governmental regulation, related the ideal of unregulated origins of the feminist crusade are evident in British political thought as
economic life to scientist Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection. early as the 18th century.
Spencer argued that business operates best as a struggle for the survival of
the fittest. He believed that government legislation intended to assist the XIII. CONCLUSION
poor would inhibit the evolution of civilization, punishing the fit to prop up
the unfit. The crisis of the 16th century served as a catalyst for a reconsideration of the
role of the individual in society and government. Over time, the British
XII. SOCIALISM AND FEMINISM political system and society evolved and incorporated elements of the
various strains of thought that emerged. The result was a complex but highly
The revolutionary socialist ideology of German political philosopher Karl flexible and stable government and society. Nations around the world have
Marx had very little influence in Britain, even though Marx spent much of followed the British model in shaping their parliamentary governments and
his adult life in London. Much more important in shaping English socialism constitutions.
were the writings and political skills of the Fabian Society, a group of
intellectuals founded in 1884 that included playwright George Bernard Shaw About the author: Isaac Kramnick is the Richard J. Schwartz Professor of
and future prime minister James Ramsay MacDonald. The group took its Government at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. He is the author of
name from Fabius, a Roman general who seldom attacked his enemy several books including The Godless Constitution: The Case Against
directly, preferring to wear the enemy down with delaying tactics. The Religious Correctness (1996). Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005
Fabians rejected the Marxist revolutionary model and believed socialism Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
would come to Britain through a natural and peaceful evolutionary process
and also through democratic parliamentary politics. This social democratic Introduction to the Contradictory Dispensational Ages in the Bible
approach assumed that over time Parliament would pass laws in the interests
of the workers, aided by the development of a workers’ party, the Labour Dr. John Walvoord writes:
Party. The Fabians also believed that the tendency already apparent in 19th-
century factory legislation would expand and culminate in the state owning A. The Meaning of Dispensations
and operating industrial enterprises and thus presiding over a just and
efficient planned economy. In the study of Scripture, it is important to understand that scriptural
revelation falls into well-defined periods. These are clearly separated, and
Along with this nonrevolutionary democratic socialist vision, the origins of the recognition of these divisions and their divine purposes constitute one of
feminist political thought are evident in British political thought. As early as the important factors in true interpretation of the Scriptures. These divisions
the late 18th century, Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of are termed “dispensations,” and in successive periods of time different
Woman (1792) asserted that women deserved the same rights as men. In the dispensations may be observed.
work, Wollstonecraft wrote that women are the rational equals to men but
91 92
A dispensation can be defined as a stage in the progressive revelation of God various dispensations are so diverse and even at times contradictory, it is
constituting a distinctive stewardship or rule of life. Although the concept of important that he recognize those portions of the Scriptures which directly
a dispensation and an age in the Bible is not precisely the same, it is obvious apply to him if he is to realize the will of God and the glory of God. In
that each age has its dispensation. Ages are often mentioned in the Bible considering the whole testimony of the Bible it is almost as important for the
(Eph 2:7; 3:5, 9; Heb 1:2). Ages are also distinguished in the Bible (John believer who would do the will of God to recognize that which does not
1:17; cf. Matt 5:21-22; 2 Cor 3:11; Heb 7:11-12). concern him as it is for him to recognize that which does concern him. It is
obvious that, apart from the knowledge of dispensational truth, the believer
It is possible that the recognition of dispensations sheds more light on the will not be intelligently adjusted to the present purpose and will of God in
whole message of the Bible than any other aspect of Biblical study. Often the world. Such knowledge alone will save him from assuming the hopeless
the first clear understanding of the dispensations and God’s revealed legality of the dispensation that is past or from undertaking the impossible
purposes in them results in the beginning of useful Bible knowledge and in world transforming program belonging to the dispensation which is to come.
the fostering of a personal interest in the Bible itself. Man’s relation to God
is not the same in every age. It has been necessary to bring fallen man into Because of imperfect translations, some important truth is hidden to the one
divine testing. This, in part, is God’s purpose in the ages, and the result of who reads only the English text of the Bible. This is illustrated by the fact
the testings is in every case an unquestionable demonstration of the utter that the Greek word aion, which means an age, or dispensation, is forty
failure and sinfulness of man. In the end, every mouth will have been times translated by the English word “world.” Thus, when it states in
stopped because every assumption of the human heart will be revealed as Matthew 13:49, “So shall it be at the end of the world,” there is reference not
foolish and wicked by centuries of experience. to the end of the material earth, which in due time must come (Isa 66:22; 2
Pet 3:7; Rev 20:11), but rather to the end of this age. The end of the world is
Each dispensation, therefore, begins with man being divinely placed in a not drawing near, but the end of the age is. According to Scripture, there are
new position of privilege and responsibility, and each closes with the failure in all seven major dispensations, and it is evident we are now living in the
of man resulting in righteous judgments from God. While there are certain extreme end of the sixth. The kingdom age of a thousand years (Rev 20:4, 6)
abiding facts such as the holy character of God which are of necessity the is yet to come.
same in every age, there are varying instructions and responsibilities which
are, as to their application, limited to a given period. A dispensation is normally marked off by a new divine appointment and
responsibilities with which it begins and by divine judgment with which it
In this connection the Bible student must recognize the difference between a ends. Seven dispensations are commonly recognized in Scripture: (1)
primary and secondary application of the Word of God. Only those portions innocence, (2) conscience, (3) government, (5) law, (6) grace, (7) millennial
of the Scriptures which are directly addressed to the child of God under kingdom.
grace are to be given a personal or primary application. All such instructions
he is expected to perform in detail. In secondary applications it should be In studying the seven dispensations, certain principles are essential to
observed that, while there are spiritual lessons to be drawn from every understanding this teaching. Dispensationalism is derived from normal, or
portion of the Bible, it does not follow that the Christian is appointed by literal, interpretation of the Bible. It is impossible to interpret the Bible in its
God to conform to those governing principles which were the will of God normal, literal sense without realizing that there are different ages and
for people of other dispensations. The child of God under grace is not different dispensations. A second principle is that of progressive revelation,
situated as was Adam, or Abraham, or the Israelites when under the law; nor that is, the fact recognized by practically all students of Scripture, that
is he called upon to follow that peculiar manner of life which according to revelation is given by stages. Third, all expositors of the Bible will need to
Scripture will be required when the King shall have returned and set up His recognize that later revelation to some extent supercedes earlier revelation
kingdom on the earth. with a resulting change in rules of life in which earlier requirements may be
changed or withdrawn and new requirements added. For instance, while God
Since the child of God depends wholly on the instructions contained in the commanded Moses to kill a man for gathering sticks on Saturday (Num
Bible for his direction in daily life, and since the principles obtaining in the
93 94
15:32-36), no one would apply this command today because we live in a
different dispensation.
Although seven dispensations are frequently distinguished in Scripture, three

are more important than the others, namely, the dispensation of law,
governing Israel in the Old Testament from the time of Moses; the
dispensation of grace, the present age; and the future dispensation of the
millennial kingdom [the thousand year period of kingdom law]. 15
95 96
The Kingdom
97 98
Historical Premise theocracy under God so much, why were they constantly being defeated,
enslaved, and dispersed as a result of their non-observance of the Torah?
What has been gained by the enthusiastic focus on the Christian All this is not to say that God and morality were not held in high
family, concerning matters that are psychological, behavioral, and legal, regard in early colonial America. A little appreciated fact is that a much
when all the while, inside the church there is no difference in the rate of different “populist” Christianity existed in Colonial America than that which
divorce and unwed or unwanted pregnancies? Divorce, pregnancy, and has dominated Protestantism since the 1850’s. This dissimilarity is above
abortion may be said to be completely voluntary in more than 99 of 100 and beyond any moral considerations. A sovereign grace Puritan of the
incidents. Also, there is an extreme overemphasis by many so-called 1700’s is not the free will Arminian of 2008. The Christian of the “First
Christian organizations against secular attacks upon Christianity. The Great Awakening” is not the Christian of the “Second Great Awakening.”
presumption being that current legal activities to defend religious freedoms The distinction, once again, is not morality, or rules for living – it is the
maintain the greater democratic freedoms of the United States. Keeping in doctrine of salvation (Soteriology). The core difference being what is
mind the just previous section of Historical and Cultural Facts, is this believed about the value of the death of Christ for salvation. Did Christ pay
assertion accurate? In 21st century American society it is rather difficult to the full price or not? This was the essential difference of “justification by
distinguish Christianity from the historical beginnings of political thought faith” between Luther and the Roman Church in the Protestant Reformation.
that began in the post-Reformation and Protestant led English Civil War. This difference continually returns and makes its home inside Christianity.
Christianity has been joined to political thought and used by atheist and deist Cults are not in view in this discussion. However, the so-called orthodox
(e.g., Freemasonry i) to extend their influence and control. The great Christian salvation - in which cults share the same Soteriology of “parolee”
contributors to American political thought, John Locke and Thomas Paine, salvation – is in view. In the blood of Christ, denominational distinctions
were English Deists and certainly not Christians. John Hancock, for one, and disappear and contain no vital difference. The death of Christ is either
others who signed the Declaration of Independence were freemasons. Also, considered the single focus, or, it is merely adapted to “rules of life,” or, so-
George Washington appears in a famous painting sporting full freemason called biblical Christian commands for continued salvation. The two are not
regalia and the famous freemason “apron.” separate “opinions;” rather, one is false and one is true. They cannot occupy
Beyond the era of the founding fathers, the freemason William Taft, the same space. Christ did not die two separate deaths. So, then, historically,
the US President between Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, was a American Christianity is properly packaged and separated into apple barrels
professed Unitarian. Both recent Presidents named Bush are members of the and orange crates. The distinction of probationary salvation and its
freemasonry “Skull and Bones Club.” Which is an ivy-league fraternity. “In traditional form of overly stressed dramatic preaching about hell-fire exists
God is our trust” is one line in the Star Spangled Banner. “In God We Trust” today in the vast populist presence of Arminianism that was spread
was not mandatory on all US currency until 1955. This motto was not throughout the early frontier America (1810-1850) by stump-jumping, turn
originally a national movement. It first appeared on a few Union coins in or burn circuit riders who were farmer preachers performing for their
1864 - during the War Between the States. Fierce individualism is a tenet of evening meal and traveling money.
an unencumbered free economy conceived in the Enlightenment era and is Much of the present-day social contention over Christian freedoms
not a NT Christian nor an OT Jewish ethic. Freedom and liberty from the would be eliminated and disappear if transferred to the common area of civil
power and penalties of sin contained in the gospel of saving grace does not freedoms. But, only if the underlying Holy Grail of a tax-exempt status were
translate into the “pursuit of happiness” coined by Jefferson (or “property” voluntarily relinquished. “Give unto Caesar what is Caesar’s” is not an anti-
as originally written by John Locke). If the Jews desired their non-voting Christian idea, it is the plain teaching of Jesus and the NT Apostles in many
verses of the Epistles. Should this occur, the ACLU would then have no
i privileged adversary and, thus, no socially offended underdogs that can be
The earliest of the U.S. lodges, founded by authority of the Grand Lodge of England,
were the First Lodge of Boston, established in 1733, and one in Philadelphia, established elevated to the status of a “specially protected citizen.” Also, there would be
about the same time. By the time of the American Revolution, about 150 lodges existed no “cash cow” for judgment awards to fund their extortive activities.
in colonial America. American Freemasons today make up more than three-fourths of the More importantly, what kind of Christianity is being paraded
total number of all members throughout the world; world membership exceeds 5 million.
through the courts of America? Does God really bless America because of
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights
reserved. the unique worthiness of today’s “populist” American Christianity? The
99 100
character of Christianity that threatens her enemies in the modern secular (Heb.=destruction). As perceived by Balaam, the donkey delays the prophet
world is quite a different hazard than that which jeopardized the 1st century in his pursuit of a reward for cursing the immoral enemies of a king named
secular enemies of the church. Aside from His blasting condemnation of the Balak (Heb.=to make empty). These enemies threaten the religious freedoms
spiritual sin of the Pharisees, Jesus did not condemn sinners for being of the king and his followers. But, as we are shown in this story, Balaam is
immoral. He cleansed the temple of spiritual sin and “thieves” who were actually serving the wrong king. He serves an easy world conformity. In this
“money changers.” Also, Jesus allowed demons that He had exorcised to scenario, Jesus, as the Angel of the Lord, appears and says to Balaam: “And
destroy 2000 income producing pigs that were illegally owned by Jews. The the ass saw me, and turned from me these three times: unless she had turned
villagers promptly ran Him out of town. The Apostles, who were poor as dirt from me, surely now also I had slain thee, and saved her alive” (Num 22:34).
themselves, took away income also. They did this by silencing a persistent In the temptation of Christ recorded in Matthew 4:3-10 there is an
slave girl who was a fortune teller and converting people to Christianity. The uncanny parallel between Balaam’s donkey and Christ in the threefold
well-to-do owners of the demon-possessed slave girl lost their livelihood and sequence of physical need, self-harm, and worship. Some insightful teachers
the conversions threatened the powerful metalsmith union that produced advise a new Christian to first seriously study the temptation of Christ rather
idols and depleted the local Jewish synagogues of tithe paying Jews. (The than the Gospel of John. Jesus is love, yes; but what was his experience in
continued practice of Judaism for acceptance before God became spiritual love? and, what might the Christian expect?
sin after the death of Christ.) The Ephesian believers burned 50,000 man-
days (almost 200 man-years) worth of “books of magic and spells” several Statement
years after their conversion. All of the above mentioned financially injured
and non-believing parties sought legal retribution. The common thread is Many books have been written about grace. Most are one-sided and
monetary loss of income earned by “spiritual” sin against God in the form of outside-in homiletic treatments where grace is approached more by
denying Jesus Christ, not moral sin. sentimentality than zealous defense. Abraham was declared righteous by
The epistolary NT gives explicit details to determine a false teacher God when he believed in what God said. Only one other man in the OT was
by their doctrine, not their morality. The first three Gospels, with advice declared righteous by God (other persons are named by the NT in Hebrews
intended primarily for a future time, state just the opposite. The greatest 11). The grandson of Aaron, Phinehas, was a priest who acted in the defense
“spiritual” sin committed today is by those who enjoy a fabulous life-style of God’s honor in response to the false teaching of Balaam which had
from preaching a false Christianity. The “poor little donkey,” the teachings seduced the Israelites. Through Abraham, the entrance into grace is typified.
defended by the NT writers against the internal enemies of the early church Through Phinehas, faithful action within grace is typified. I understand these
had to contend with adversaries who bear much resemblance to today’s two men as demonstrating the meritless gift of grace through faith and the
“populist” Christianity. A popular Christianity that esteems riches and meritorious rewards of action because one has received the free gift of grace.
recognition to be the deserved rewards for continued faith in Jesus Christ. Both together encompass the Christian life. This is in contradiction to
Should Christianity genuinely be a “health and wealth” contract only the behavior grounded in biblical commands and a reward of salvation for
foolish would turn it down. Since this idea is false, who are those that offer continuing faith.
and who are they which accept such a contract? “Do not rich men oppress Grace is the all-important theme of this work. The enemies of grace
you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that are found in the house of her friends. If there is no outrage at the parasitical
worthy name by which ye are called? … For if there come unto your nature of a false Christianity that ridicules the grace that sustains true
assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a believers; that holds the true children of God up to mockery and contempt
man in vile raiment; … Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are for holding to the “law of Christ” and not the Law of Moses; that
become judges of (with) evil thoughts?” (James 2:6, 7, 2, 4). unreservedly asserts the child of God is lying about God’s Word when
It may be said that there exists a pecking order - an order of assurance in the blood of Christ for salvation is claimed. Then where, I ask,
importance and prestige held by a “populist” Christianity. A direct example is the love for Christ in those who will not and cannot defend the honor of
between “two forms” of Christianity may be found in chapter 22 of the book Christ who died so that they could live? May it be recognized and well
of Numbers. In this chapter, a poor little servant donkey, who later actually understood that the assumption of a higher ground of morality is the same
speaks, receives a beating from the false teacher, Balaam turn of logic that is used by secular moral relativism to silence any
101 102
arguments about moral standards. A Christianity based on broken legal This having been said, the very existence of this correct historical record
commands that can destroy God’s grace is in league with the world - invites the grossly false and insulting misconceptions that have been
certainly not Christ and the teachings of grace. This is a much more vital preached as so-called “true” doctrines of “the gospel” by false Protestants
threat than secular atheism. The fact that the unsaved are atheist is hardly teachers for centuries. Is this to say the Bible is used against the Bible. An
news or a threat to a properly informed Christian. The correct response of a emphatic affirmative is the one answer. Bear in mind the corrupted religion
worthy and pious mind is to recognize the tactical diversion of an extra- depicted above, from the OT with Micah as the example. Does this seem
biblical threat from an atheistic world-view for what it is, namely: Get a terribly confusing? Confusion is not of the Lord’s making; but perplexity is
grip, man, that’s the mission field not the battlefield! the stumbling stone that discourages the unsaved who are curious and
But, then, how may the proper battle be fought? By being a proper entangles the believer who is immature. Lazy minds crippled by 10 second
witness who defends God’s saving grace in the presence of the mission field. sound bytes are not able to digest the mature spiritual “meat” of God’s grace
By exposing “spiritual” sin and cleaning first the house of the Lord. How contained in Scripture. No clear distinction can be made between law and
then may “spiritual” sin be known and proven beyond all doubt? How may grace until a knowledge of both is obtained by contrasting one to the other.
the false friends be exposed for the “spiritual” crime from which they earn To properly separate myth and false doctrine in “populist”
their livelihood? How may true believers who are zealous for the honor of Christianity from the pure teachings of NT grace, and, to understand grace
Christ remove this insult to the grace of God, first from their own lives and from the “inside-out,” as opposed to a superficial “outside-in,” is a
then the stain from the honor of Christianity? The answer is simple – by formidable task. Beyond any personal doubt, this fact has been demonstrated
understanding grace. The process is not so easy. The transformation of the as a result of this extended effort. Over 7000 pages of theological instruction
spiritual mind takes much Scripture and dedicated attention. Also, a guide is and references, along with three Bible translations, have been scoured and
needed. Someone or something, who Christ has instructed and prepared for gleaned to assemble the doctrines of central importance. These teachings of
such a purpose. Someone who has been there and come back to tell others. God’s grace have been selected to produce the proofs used in this
This book is a guide that will detail that journey. investigative report.
To begin to understand the position and moral high ground assumed A correct exposition of grace needs a highly subjective and
by a false Christianity, one must first appreciate that God’s offer of salvation radically honest comparison to non-grace. A passionate and dedicated,
in Christ, on the sole condition of faith, is a very straight forward highly subjective, non-fiction - a gonzo journalism of grace - was used to
proposition. However, sadly, as religious and pretentious men would have it, identify the source, not symptoms, of misleading propaganda that would
no straight forward proposition is preached by a “populist” Christianity. A diminish the reverence that the grace of God deserves. The word
higher moral ground than grace has been claimed. In a word – a Mountain, “propaganda” has its origin in the 1700’s. It is derived from the Latin
the symbol of a kingdom. Willful ignorance is extremely hard to separate expression, Congregatio de propaganda fide, "Congregation for the
from convenient ignorance. In the OT this is dramatically illustrated: “Then Propagation of the Faith.”
said Micah, Now I know that the Lord will do me good, seeing I have a
Levite to my priest” (Judges 17:13). Concerning Micah, Dr. C. I. Scofield Introduction to the Elementary Argument for Grace
writes, “A striking illustration of all apostasy. With his entire departure from
the revealed will of God concerning worship and priesthood, there is yet an Dr. Lewis Chafer writes on the origin and the effect of doubt that is
exaltation of false priesthood. Saying, “Blessed be thou of Jehovah,” created by the Law of Moses which is combined, or joined with the future
Micah’s mother makes an idol; and Micah expects the blessings of Jehovah Kingdom of Law:
because he has linked his idolatry to the ancient levitical order.” 16
The Gospel record of Jesus Christ in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Regarding the assumption of the law by Gentiles it is said: “For
and the first chapter of Acts has been divinely written to be historically when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature (practice) [alt.
correct. The record within the four Gospels is chronologically accurate. imitate what Jews naturally born under the law practiced] the things
There exists only minor perceived exceptions which do not actually conflict; contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
but only provide different details of different incidents at different times. which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also
Many common scenarios are contained in the first three Synoptic Gospels. bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else accusing
103 104
one another” (Rom 2:14-15). Thus the anticipation of assumption of the law various objects and movements, colors and shapes - interesting, dangerous,
by Gentiles {in the age of grace}is revealed, and the precise effect of the delightful – could be observed in a moment of motionless and quiet
law upon them. The conscience is molded and they stand before a self- reflection. Now, when the moment is over and its time to move on to other
imposed condemnation. To such there is no blessing. All that the legal pursuits a critical aspect of vision comes into play – one must first safely
conscience can do is to accuse or excuse for failure. Let it never be supposed determine what is directly in front of them.
that because of self-imposed legality and misguided conscience, there is any With you as my guide, my point of view, I ask: What is the most
divine recognition of Gentiles as being under the law. God must be true to critical danger, what is the most key piece of information that I would have
His eternal purpose as revealed in His Word, and men stand, or fall, before you, the reader, know before you take a safe step in the direction of
Him now on the sole basis of their attitude toward the saving grace of Christ. understanding grace? To do this I need to provide a depiction of the
Those who are now lost may honestly suppose that they do the will of God landscape to navigate by. A place on a map for you to begin a sure, safe
in perpetuating the principal of the law with its blasting curse; but they are journey. One that I have already taken; but only by a most trying and
lost notwithstanding, apart from Christ. It is the people of the past age who haphazard journey myself can I suggest an easier route. For this reason, I
will judged by the law. The Gentiles who now practice the things contained must impose upon your patience again, while I belabor the obvious, and
in the law are not said to be subject to divine judgment because of broken request that you follow me to another familiar location – a kitchen - the
law; they are, by that self-imposed law, either self-accused or self-excused, warm hearth and heart of home. A safe place, emotionally reassuring, and
according as they have created a conscience in the law. The law produces filled with pleasant memories for almost everybody. But, there are
the effect only of discomfort, misdirection, confusion, and limitation of their uncountable accidents and possible dangers in a kitchen. Does this make a
own conscience. 17 kitchen inconsistent?
A kitchen serves the necessity of nourishment. As one may not be
What does self-imposed law mean? What motivates this imposition sustained by the memory of food, a daily intake is needed. This is not to
and where does the law come from? Why does law create doubt instead of ignore dine-in “street food,” nor ready to eat food in a “bag.” Still, the food
the joy of graceful forgiveness and the assurance of salvation? What is the came from a kitchen and you must trust that it was handled in a sanitary
difference between Law and grace? “There is therefore now no manner and rely on your senses to determine if it is safe to eat. Is a kitchen
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the consistent? In the final sense of the consumer - food comes from a kitchen
flesh, but after the Spirit” (Rom 8:1 KJV). In the KJV translation, the last half somewhere.
or thought in this verse is considered to have been added by scribes. What else is there about a kitchen that is consistent, although
“Therefore there is now no dangerous? Knives, heat, containers, and their contents of food are basic
condemnation for those who are in essentials that are hazardous. However, these hardware and food items are
Christ Jesus. For the law of the not harmful in and of themselves. And, not all food needs to be cut. Neither
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set does all food need to cooked in a container. People cause the hardware and
you free from the law of sin and food contents to inflict injury. By their action or inaction, people cause the
death” (Rom 8:1-2 NASB). food that comes out of a kitchen to be unsafe for consumption. (Unfit for
The first step in under- consumption is a non-dangerous consideration.) So, may we agree that
standing grace is the most difficult, people working in a kitchen are the consistent cause of danger to themselves
as there is nothing to build on. It’s and that the food they prepare is the cause of harm to others? Also, may we
all new. One need first take a step agree that, in general, the only inconsistent or dangerous aspect of any
backwards to see more clearly. I’ll kitchen is in the way people use the contents to prepare food?
begin with a comparison to one’s Thanks for your patience with an over-detailed, but necessary
vision from a single point of view discussion. I’m not altogether comfortable using a non-footnoted style of
that expands into the distance to explanation, but I’m trying and hope you find the following a surprising,
encompass a great deal of visual amazing, simple clarification that unravels much of the confusion contained
information. Within this view, many in the field of view when one first looks into the opening three historical
105 106
accounts of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels. The image of a “kitchen” is the The hardware in God’s kitchen is used as prescribed to prepare the food
most valuable and advantageous place to begin your journey to find safe, of forgiveness in each of the above generations:
spiritual food and to explain why some food prepared by inconsistent people
is unsafe for consumption. The Bible is God’s consistent kitchen. In His (1) The knife and fire were used by priests who were directed by the
“kitchen” He has written the instructions for the proper preparation of the sacrificial laws. A sacrifice was offered in response to broken commands,
food of forgiveness (grace obtained by substitutionary sacrifice) to be given statutes, and judgments in the OT. These laws detailed how and what should
to three different “generations,” or divisions of man. i ii be killed and burned as a secondary substitutional sacrifice (no container, the
These generations are divided by the cosmo-historic events of the food content {blood} was spilled). This sacrifice was permitted by God’s
death and return of Christ: grace as “a covering” for sin until Christ died to redeem all sin. This food of
forgiveness (the priest ate certain parts of the sacrifice) had to be prepared
(1) The chosen generation of people in the theocratic by properly instructed and ceremonial pure men “over and over again.”
commonwealth of Israel, related to God by covenant and the Mosaic Law.
The Jew of the past generation as the people of the Exodus. (2) Because Christ was the unique God-man, He was both container
(God) and primary substitutional food content for forgiveness (sinless man)
(2) The generation of everyone between the death and return of who was both killed (although He voluntarily went to the cross) and burned
Christ. Comprised of the unsaved Jew and the Gentile. And, all believers, (the cosmic suffering of hell on the cross before He gave up His human life).
present and past, who are the heavenly Church, which is the Body of Christ. In ordinary terms, the food has been prepared and cooked. The “Last
The present time of “whosoever will believe” in this generation of grace. Supper” does not spoil (like the OT manna from heaven that was kept in a
golden container inside the ark of the covenant) and remains “in Christ,” in
(3) After the return of Christ, the future Jew of Israel and the God the Son’s incorruptible and glorified human body. Thus Jesus is the
Gentile of the chosen Nations that will serve Israel. The future generation of “bread of life” sent down from heaven and the container of salvation.
everyone accepted into the Kingdom of Law, and those born during the next Spiritual food for forgiveness in the time of grace may only be had by faith
1000 year period. that it exists “in Christ.” Christ contains all the food of spiritual forgiveness.
When one exhibits saving faith in Jesus, for one of many things, God the
i
Holy Spirit baptizes that person into the “Body of Christ” along with all
The details of Abraham are distinct, as his progeny of faith and flesh comprise two of other past and present believers that are forever joined to Christ. i
these three generations under discussion.
ii
In every age God has always provided salvation. Before the cross it was unknown to (3) After the return of Christ to the earth, the container has
man that Jesus Christ would die for “the sins of the world.” But, the requirement for already reached its intended size and will not increase. The full number of
salvation has always been to trust in God’s provision for sin – even when that provision
believers to be placed into “the Body of Christ” is complete. ii His death will
was unknown or only prefigured as in the sacrificial system of the Mosaic Law. Always
present and foremost, however, was the need for a sacrifice or a substitute.
a. God provided Adam and Eve with a covering of animal skins (Genesis 3). i
May it be understood, this simplified explanation can be stretched to the point of
b. God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice of an animal (Genesis 4). absurdity by those so inclined. Detailed and footnoted proofs are amply provided in all
d. At the Exodus from Egypt, a sacrifice was required (Exodus 12). the following discussions.
ii
e. The Levitical system revealed to Moses centered on animal sacrifice for sin The return of Christ and the end of the first resurrection (Rev. 20:4, 5, 6). I would
(Leviticus 17:11). assign all of Revelation 20:4-6 as applying to the completed Body of Christ: “Blessed and
holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power,
So, since the time that Christ was announced by John the Baptist as the “Lamb of God but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years.”
that takes away the sins of the world” (although John himself did not fully understand The following is correct as far as Scripture directly reveals that which obtains in the
this, John 1:29), the post-crucifixion world of men has been well-prepared by God to future kingdom. The balance of conjecture from other inferred Scripture is as correct as
understand the final and substitutionary sacrifice that permanently expiates sin and any other “scenario” I have read. I suggest it is tidy and logical from a dispensational and
provides propitiation for man’s sin. premillennial view. It is in agreement with Chafer, Walvoord, and Ryrie up to the point
where they themselves admit to positing a scenario. In this suggested view, the passage in
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cleanse Israel and the Nations as a commonwealth and corporately; but not
Revelation 20:4-6 is left with the undisputed plain sense of what may be read by anyone the individual living Jew and Gentile. There will be no preparation of “food
(e.g. there is no need for an annotation of many possible variations that seem to cast content” for individual forgiveness. The “Last Supper” has been served. No
doubt on the veracity of these verses applying only to “saints”). The error is to
“Christianize,” or join OT passages of prophecy that applies only to earthly or earthly knife will be used on a secondary substitutional sacrifice. However, there
reanimated Jews. OT prophecy addressed to the covenanted nation of Israel should not will be “memorial” sacrifices (Ezk 43) that look back to the death of Christ,
include the unrevealed “mystery” of glorified saints in the NT Church as the Body of like the Lord’s Supper” does today; but, these future animal sacrifices, like
Christ. Only during the age of grace through faith, the time between the ascension and the ones of the past, do not “take away” sins. Nor, will they serve to restore
return of Jesus, are the Jew and Gentile alike joined together under the sin of unbelief in the future sinner’s blamelessness as they did in the past Mosaic generation.
the unseen Jesus Christ. Any system of theology that does not admit to a literal return of Only fire will be used as a “working” tool and the fatally sinful individual
Christ, e.g. dispensational and premillennial, cannot cope with a sensible, non-
spirtualized, and accurate interpretation of Scripture regarding the future kingdom. will go to this fire himself. This future Kingdom of Law will be in effect for
The triumphant Messiah who restores the glory of Israel was a clear and highly held 1000 years.
primary promise of OT prophecy. The generation of Jews in the Exodus who did not And so, dear reader, that’s the simplified explanation and the
believe and enter the “promised land,” died during the years of wandering around the depiction of a landscape that will help ensure that your first step is safe and
desert. The two “spies,” Joshua and Caleb, who did see the promised land, who did headed in the right direction. Please beware of the pervasive hazards of
believe the promise - did not die. The Messiah who died for the sins of the world was not Mosaic and future Kingdom Law in the first three Synoptic Gospels. Be it
a clear teaching of the OT. The NT clarifying prophecy uttered by John the Baptist that
identified Jesus as “the Lamb that is slain for the sins of the world” was not fully known that God has given Law uniquely to the Israelites, past and future.
understood or appreciated by John during his lifetime, nor the Apostles, until after the Law does not apply in this in-between division of time. Self-imposed law is
death of Jesus and the fulfilling of OT Scripture that was explained by the glorified Jesus futile. Misuse of the law principles is to be defined as mixing them with
when He “opened their minds” and their “hearts burned within them.” grace principles, or mingling by-works with by-faith instructions. The worst
There is a distinction between reanimation, resurrection, and living translation fully result of a lethal admixture will be to prohibit saving faith and the lesser
revealed in Scripture. Therefore, I suggest that a final group of living saints, who have impact will completely retard the “supranatural” aspect of grace. The
survived the Apocalypse, are translated to heaven along with the deceased, resurrected
OT Jewish saints (who are part of the heavenly Church, e.g. Abraham, Phinehas, and keeping of fellowship with God, the means of spiritual growth which is
those mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, etc.). In addition, also, the “saints” who died spelled-out in the grace portions of Scripture, and the joy derived from
during the Apocalypse. This will happen just before the return of Christ to rule the future fellowship with other believers will be lost in a view of Scriptures and the
Kingdom of Law. This event will complete “the first resurrection” of saints in Revelation daily rule of life that comes with a legal view of salvation.
20:4-6. A sentimental objection exists which is grounded in a false Jesus
Thereby, the generation that enters the future earthly Kingdom would include who forgives sin through a theoretical “governmental leniency” obtained by
reanimated OT Jews (cf. Job 19:25-27) who are not called “saints” (cf. the reanimation of
the Jew whom Jesus loved – Lazarus – who died the first time before Jesus; the Apostle His death. Also, a myopic focus on the first three Gospels - where Christ is
Paul, a Jew “born out of time,” who died after being stoned by pagans and Jews at Lystra presented in His humiliation - is demonstrated. In the Gospel of John, Jesus
and then was reanimated to complete his earthly life; the “dry bones” of Ezekiel 37 and is never presented as the sheep led to slaughter; rather, He is portrayed as the
the promise in verses 11-14). These are the OT Jews who had faith and looked forward to unique God-man who controls and determines “all things.” This
the Messiah and the future kingdom; but were not tested by belief in the incarnate sentimentality is prevalent among those who themselves prepare “law” as
Messiah, the Son of God, who became the unseen Jesus who died for their sins. the food of forgiveness for salvation. They insist that a “rod of iron” - the
(Consider: (1) the testing of the Apostles in which Judas was a disciple who followed
Jesus, but gave up on the kingdom being ushered in by Jesus as the promised Messiah kingdom of law which is the earthly authority and force that leads to the
and, also - along with the vast majority of Jews - was never a believer and rejected Jesus burning altar of divine law - is inconsistent with a meek and humble Jesus
as the Son of God who was the rightful King of Israel, and (2) the question about the portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels. These inconsistent people only desire to
promised kingdom addressed to the glorified Jesus, before His ascension, by the Apostles take up parts of the Bible and parts of law and grace. Thereby, the extreme
in Acts chapter 1). These are the reanimated Jews, who along with living Jews and
Gentiles of the last generation that have passed the judgment to enter the kingdom; but,
who, along with their progeny, are untested by 1000 years of kingdom law on a generation Gentiles who pass the “judgment of the nation,” the completed and perfected
regenerated earth that ends with a final test when Satan is released for a short season. heavenly Church, the perfected angelic host, and a host of fallen angels who are to be
For these reasons, I suggest the following created beings enter the future earthly captured and brought to justice during the future thousand year period.
kingdom: the believing reanimated OT Jew and the last generation Jew, the last
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intensity that separates pure law and superabounding grace is reduced to a Kingdom Law as the food of forgiveness, they may only add a fiery death to
tangle of confusion for the unlearned and unwary. A tangle that can be easily the food. This can merely bring about another kind of death for those already
manipulated by the teachers of confusion as convenience dictates. Beyond spiritually dead. It’s a great crime to torture the unsaved with a religion of
doubt, Jesus came to reveal the love of His Father for lost humanity; but, death that they can never live-up to in this generation of grace. An age where
apart from the cross there can be nothing except the consuming hell fire of the “mystery” of iniquity, the force of evil, is working triple-overtime to
judgment. Law and grace may not be mixed. The wrath of God was satisfied defeat grace. This force will be removed in the future Kingdom of Law; but,
by redemption in Christ. Outside that circle, only the burning wrath of God at the same time, the future individual will be burdened with an obligation of
may be had. This is the wonder of amazing grace. For confirmation read and personal righteousness that is amplified far above the Mosaic Law. So, to
notice the “tone” of the red-letter Jesus as He speaks to the seven churches accept Kingdom Law as the required rule of life today, is to accept a double
in the opening chapters of Revelation. threat without the power of grace to offset the fire of certain defeat.
Inconsistent people cannot serve safe food. A “blind guide” is The final word: only in the unmixed, uncontaminated teachings of
unable to properly navigate the kitchen of God. He or she (like Martha, the grace, using no knife and no fire for preparation (like the OT Sabbath meal
sister of Lazarus) is compelled to busy themselves with preparing food; but that had to be prepared the day before), may Christ be carried as the
there is no food content to prepare for forgiveness in this generation, Jesus complete and living “Last Supper” - just as He is, resurrected and glorified -
has died and lives again, never to die a second time. Jesus lives because His straight out of the kitchen of God’s Rest and Completed Truth, to be offered
sacrifice is complete. The full price of the gift of grace for men has been for salvation to the unsaved - just as they are, spiritually dead; but, because
paid by God. Death - which is all the sin in the world ever to be committed - He died for them, they can die with Him. Because He lives, they will live
could not keep Christ in the grave. He defeated death. Therefore, death no with Him. The very same offering remains eternally for those who believe.
longer has a claim against Him and those who believe in Him for salvation. Christ is sufficient for complete salvation and complete sanctification.
Believers need no longer struggle, and agonize against the Law to fight off This offering of Christ as the food of forgiveness is the “hard to
death. (Mary, the second sister of Lazarus, who herself had entered into accept” motif of the “I AM the bread of life” and the “Paschal Lamb” that is
God’s rest, believed Jesus was going to die and live again. She rested in the clearly stated many times in the fourth Gospel (cf. John 6). “The cup of
presence of Jesus). The food from the Mosaic Law generation is no longer blessing which we bless, is it not the communion [Gk. koinonia, unity of
acceptable. It’s rancid and lethal. The Law was nailed to the cross and has believers] of the [spilled blood, completed once and fully accepted by God,
been on the ground since Christ died. substitutionary penal sacrifice for eternal salvation in His righteousness]
The food for this generation of grace is living food that was blood of Christ? The bread which we break [the broken body He exchanged
perfectly prepared by God without “human hands.” Christ was provided by for a living body of believers], is it not the communion of the body of
God. Christ was both the One who Sacrifices and the Sacrifice. This food Christ? For we being many are one bread (loaf), and one body: for we are all
enables the believer to forgive only because he is already forgiven by God partakers of that one bread (loaf)” (1 Cor 10:16-17). And finally, the very
and to love other believers because Christ loves all believers. Should the plain statement by Jesus in John 6:56, “As the living Father hath sent me,
compulsive blind guide toss into the container a bit of food for forgiveness and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.”
prepared under the guidelines of the Mosaic Law, it will render the food
lethal. As the unsaved are already spiritually dead, they won’t notice the The Future Kingdom of Heaven On Earth Will Not Become the
food is deadly. Also, those who have been made spiritually alive recognize Kingdom of God On Earth Until After the 1000 Year Period; But, the
that the food is unfit for consumption. “Mystery” Form of the Kingdom of Heaven (Mtw 13) Is the
There is no “new” food prepared by God for forgiveness in the “Mystery” of the Body of Christ and Is Now the Kingdom of God On
future generation. There is only Law for forgiveness – forgive to be Earth note to self: part of this subsection needs polishing
forgiven. There are no instructions for men to prepare new food for
forgiveness in the Kingdom of Law. Christ was the sacrifice for all time. If all the kingdom distinctions (which will be covered in the
There is only the sure prospect of fire for not forgiving to be forgiven after sections below) seem confusing, this is yet another proof that John the
one has failed to “love your neighbor as yourself.” Accordingly, when the Baptist, Jesus, and His disciples were not preaching the gospel of saving
“blind guides” in this generation of grace prepare the unsaved a bit of grace in the first twelve chapters of Matthew. In these opening chapters,
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immediately following the OT prophetical books, the promised Messianic So, at the future return of Christ to the earth, those who accepted
kingdom was preached by John the Baptist (who knew nothing of grace and His offer of salvation are the believers who are transformed, their bodies will
Christianity) to be “at hand.” To further clarify the above, bear in mind, that have been changed into a glorified body like that of His own (i.e., no blood,
at the return of Christ with “His Body and Bride,” those men living on the “flesh and bone”). This implies, conclusively, that all men since Adam, until
earth who have accepted the global second preaching of the “the everlasting the second preaching of the gospel of the kingdom of the law, who did not
gospel” of the kingdom of law,” will enter the kingdom [1st preaching accept a Savior, Jew and Gentile alike, will spend eternity in perdition. That
began=John the Baptist, Luke 16:16; new kingdom law, not the Mosaic Law is the sovereignty of God, who “will have mercy upon whom I will have
(Luke 3:7-14); first preaching closed=New Brotherhood (Mtw 12:46-50)), mercy.”
will be judged for entrance into the Kingdom of Law (same as the future Accordingly, mortal earthly men under the Law of Moses and future
kingdom of heaven=God {the heavens} ruling on the earth; the kingdom of living men accepted into the Kingdom of Law – those who will become
God is the universal rule of God and may only be entered by the new birth in immortal because of a transformed environment – have consistently served a
the age of grace; the present mystery (Mtw 13) form of the kingdom=the form of God’s Law for earthly rewards. Only, and this cannot be
kingdom of grace in the hearts of believers, ruled by Christ from heaven is overstressed, only those individuals made righteous by faith in Christ, from
“the kingdom of God” on earth)]. Returning to the Bride, in the future all ages prior to the future Kingdom Law, are under grace and receive
Kingdom of Law, she is the collective church as the Body of Christ; she is “heavenly” rewards. Law and grace are two opposite principles that motivate
the Co-Ruler, the Cohort (L. enclosure) of Christ; and she will exercise the a manner of life. A life that may share a common external appearance; but,
rule of Law in the future 1000 year Kingdom. She, with Christ, will send much like the internal sin of Kingdom Law is amplified from the external sin
living sinners to hell. There is no personal grace available, there is no of the Mosaic Law into the negative matters of the human heart, so too, a
enablement to “do” the law provided by the indwelling Holy Spirit - only graceful manner of life and service comes only from the positive, loving
immediate rewards and instant extreme punishment - in the future Kingdom heart of a forgiven, undeserving sinner saved from death and the effort of the
of fiery Law. Law and its condemnation - that ends in a fiery hell. The opposite principles
Faith in the salvation offered by a Savior, has been open from the of heart-filled love and mind-numbing fear may be seen in the following
time of Adam and will continue in the time that Christ rules the earth with a statements: (a) grace – believe that you receive eternal heavenly life, and
rod of iron. Salvation by grace may appear to some merely a play on words; then do as you are personally directed in the spirit of Christ to receive
but rather it is the all important distinction between by-works and by-faith heavenly rewards, and (b) law – do the letter of the law that you maintain
salvation. Faith in the promise of complete forgiveness that takes in bodily earthly life to continue receiving earthly rewards.
and spiritual transformation by grace, by the actions of God in heavenly An individual must change their earthly destiny to be free of “the
realms, and faith in the promise of salvation by-works, by personal actions law of sin and death.” To do this, one need first have a choice to possess a
performed in an earthly environment, is the vital difference. There will be a heavenly destiny. Jesus is the way, and the truth, and the life. Only by grace
time of transition, during the divinely restarted and introduced period of the through faith may a believer be “translated into the kingdom of the Son of
last seven year period of Mosaic Law (Daniel’s 70th week, ch. 9), when both His love” where there is no threat of a second spiritual death or the
the gospel of saving grace and the gospel of the future kingdom of law will possibility of a return to the old death. Physical death still applies to
be preached on the earth. This is identical to the historical time of the first everyone. So, it may be said: Clearly, without a heavenly destiny earthly
three Gospels. Until the herald of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist, Moses and men are consistently under the law of sin and death, because the following is
the prophets were preached. John preached the new kingdom of law (the true of three historical divisions of men: (1) The unsaved in this generation
promised Messianic age was at hand and the accompanying new law was are not only born spiritually dead (this is not accounted against the unsaved);
expounded). Jesus continued this same “gospel” with His Sermon on the but, also, are condemned to an eternal fire by personal sins (redeemable by
Mount until He was rejected as the Son of God who was also the legitimate grace through faith); additionally, by participation in the sin of Adam as the
human heir to the throne of King David - through the genealogy of His progenitor of the race of men (redeemable); last of all, by the one “new” law
natural mother and His step-father. Jesus then began to preach the gospel of of obedience (redeemable) to obey the gospel of saving grace – believe on
saving grace because His sacrificial death was required in the plan of the the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved. (2) The chosen
ages programmed by God before the foundation of the world. people of a chosen land, the Jew, were under the Mosaic Law System that
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dictated death by stoning for capital disobedience. (3) The future earthly Jew “blind guides” of this generation who compulsively prepare the “food of
and Gentile, who enter into the Kingdom of Law System and will be under forgiveness” inflict a deadly harm upon themselves and others. Meritorious
the fiery law of immediate eternal hell for capital disobedience. Thus it is works do not and - do not - offset sin by creating forgiveness, nor do they
reasonable to say: Those who are under law are consistently under law and secure additional grace for forgiveness. Sorry, there is bad news for the
those who have accepted grace remain consistently under grace. Although, sportsman, sinners who know they have nothing to offer are saved by grace -
God has only given only the Jews a system of law. Never the Gentiles. And, not winners with plastic trophies.
grace will not be offered in the Kingdom of Law. If the immortal individual How may law and grace be mixed - in the mind and heart – so that
makes it through the 1000 year testing, they enter into the eternal state only one becomes “double-minded”? How do inconsistent people prepare the
after Jesus Christ destroys the last enemy – death. deadly food of forgiveness using that which has been provided in God’s
Satan/death have been defeated and Christ is victorious. He has kitchen? The principle identifies the “food content.” The implications are
overcome, yet still, both remain active. They are not destroyed. Everyone in transparent in two NT verses, “except your … righteousness … exceed …
this generation has the opportunity to come to Christ for salvation by grace the scribes and Pharisees … ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of
through faith. Is God unfair when He allows evil to continue; but continues heaven [law]” and “Not by works of righteousness which we have done …
to leave a grace salvation open? When the next step in His master plan of the he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
ages will close the door to a new heavenly race of men? Should this and the Ghost.” The following oppositional verses (from a multitude) will
various generations of forgiveness make God and the Bible inconsistent? demonstrate the intense difference between the death of fiery Kingdom Law
People are inconsistent, not God’s Truth. and the eternal life and joy of grace:
The OT Jew was required to be very careful and observant of the
temple artifacts and the Law of God. Not everyone owned a copy of God’s The Rule of Life for the Future Kingdom of Law Generation
word. Today, a copy of God’s Word is not a talisman (although the unsaved
do get a bit weird around a Bible), but, it does deserve very careful and For I say unto you, That except your righteousness exceed the
honest observation of just how the contents are used. The Bible is God’s righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the
kitchen and forgiveness through grace is served to those who are hungry. As kingdom of heaven [law]. (Mtw 5:20)
a secondary lesson, one need understand how the kitchen was and is to be
used, safely and appropriately, to prepare the proper food of forgiveness for Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye
the correct divisions of time. For this generation, the primary lesson is that shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to
the kitchen contains all the food that is necessary. The consistent food is you again. (Mtw 6:14-15)
already prepared and there is no need for accidents or spoiled food to come
out of a kitchen that needs no further help. Only the waiters are needed to Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth [not heaven].
carry the food to the tables where the hungry are waiting. Inconsistent (Mtw
people who insist on preparing deadly food should take notice. 5:5)
The good news and the bad news is - only grace is offered in this
generation. Anyone who mixes grace with law, by-faith with by-works, Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy [not salvation].
cannot change their destiny by using law. The law is indivisible, one part (Mtw
commits the individual to all the parts of the law. And, the future kingdom 5:7)
law, like the previous Mosaic Law, will be impossible to fulfill, even by-
works, without the grace of Christ as the sacrificial substitute for sin. But if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also
Because of the grace of a transformed earth and new prevailing forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
circumstances, it will be possible to fulfill the law in the future Kingdom of Father forgive your trespasses. (Mtw 5:20)
Law. Considering what has been discussed, it is possible to conclude by But I say unto you whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
saying: Like the OT man that was stoned to death for picking up firewood to shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his
cook his Sabbath meal - on the Sabbath - the inconsistent “people” and brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say,
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Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. as a substitute for your devotion, only as a sign of devotion]. (2 Cor 8:8, 12;
(Mtw 5:22) cf. v. 5)
And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for All of the “Lord’s Prayer to His Father” for His future believers.
it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that (John 17)
thy whole body shall be cast into hell. (Mtw 5:29)
Much more then, being justified by his blood, we shall be saved from
But the children of the kingdom [of law] shall be cast out into outer wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to
darkness there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Mtw 8:12) God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be
saved by his life.
That thine alms may be in secret and thy Father which seeth in secret This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved
himself shall reward thee openly. (Mtw 6:4) you. (John 15:12).
All of “The Lord’s Prayer” for the future Kingdom of Law. (Mtw An Example of Gonzo Journalism
6:8-15)
Inconsistent people in early New Testament times were primarily
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, Jewish “legalists,” who sought to mix the Mosaic Law with grace. Today’s
do ye even to them: for this is the law and the prophets. (Mtw 7:12) inconsistent people have hi-jacked grace with a “social gospel” that has laid
claim to a vision of the future Kingdom of Law in the here-and-now that
The Rule of Life for the Present Generation of Grace may only be consistent with the presence of Christ on the earth. A complete
fool would consider a rule of life under fiery, blasting Law as merely a
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his sporting challenge. Law, when properly conceived, may only elicit a
mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the reaction of doubt in the responsible individual who is required to perform at
Holy Ghost. (Titus 3:5) a level of divine standards. I must say, I’m required by my conscience to
say: Millions upon millions of so-called Christians check their mind at the
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth door when they enter a church to listen and repeat that which is nothing
on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into more than generations of sporting foolishness and “friendship with the
condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24) world.” Dr. Lewis Chafer comments upon this prevailing biblical error in the
And I give unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither following:
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (John 10:28)
There is a dangerous and entirely baseless sentiment abroad which
There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ assumes that every teaching of Christ must be binding during this age simply
Jesus. (Rom 8:1) because Christ said it. The fact is forgotten that Christ, while living under,
keeping, and applying the law of Moses, also taught the principles of His
I [Paul] speak not by commandment [concerning tithes, alms, giving], future kingdom, and, at the end of His ministry and in relation to His cross,
but by occasion of the forwardness (zeal) of others, and to prove the He also anticipated the teachings of grace. If this threefold division of the
sincerity of your love. … For if there first be a willing mind, it is accepted teachings of Christ is not recognized, there can be nothing but confusion of
according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not [there is mind and consequent contradiction of truth. 18
no NT command to tithe; God only blesses a “happy” giver; obligatory
giving and sacrificial giving is prideful and not blessed by God; one blessed By way of clarification, an important analogy may be held in mind:
dollar has more effect than a thousand with no blessing; one must first “give The eye perceives color by way of nuerophysics using three primary color
himself’ to the Lord before any gift of money is blessed; money cannot serve receptors. The pure physics of color is distinctly different. Each
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electromagnetic vibration of color is identified by a specific wavelength and that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come
a level of intensity. Light vibrating at a strong amplitude or intensity is white unto one of another nation; but God hath showed me that I should not call
within its own predetermined wavelength. This same wavelength produces any man common or unclean” (Acts 10:28). Aside from a slavish devotion to
grey as the intensity of the vibration lessens. When the intensity drops to tradition and a literary absurdity – because an absurdity is impossible and
zero the light is nonexistent and the color is black. Should a person be untrue - how can the words in Matthew be claimed as the parting words of
considered biased in favor of black because he measured the contents of two Jesus, as the “The Great Commission,” or purpose and mission statement for
sealed containers to find that one registers white and another registers zero – this generation of grace? I emphatically claim this tradition is wrong-headed
black: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and and is typified by an icon – the Mountain – a symbol of law (Decalogue) and
men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John the burning altar in the temple that are both the antithesis of grace. Law
3:19). The following explanation of the text contained at the end of each produces the knowledge of sin, not the control of sin. I suggest law and
Gospel record will bear out the accuracy of sporting foolishness in my grace are depicted in the following actions of Jesus: Jesus, possessing the
assertion. A foolishness that even an ancient group of ignorant fisherman Holy Spirit, overcame temptation on a mountain; Jesus gave the future
would not accept. Kingdom Law Sermon on a mountain; Jesus said that faith my remove a
In addition to being an historical record, the Bible is a book for the mountain; Jesus was transfigured on a mountain (future kingdom); and,
present as well as the future age. The four Gospels at the beginning of the Jesus spoke from a mountain at the end of Matthew. That which is
NT are not disconnected, self-supporting records where each provides a symbolized by a mountain deserves the negative thrust of the reasons,
complete testimony concerning the person and purpose of Jesus. The four distinctions, and arguments that I have set forth in the above. The Law of
are one and share different themes of truth. The scenarios and words spoken itself is faultless. The way Law is misused for self-salvation by a motive of
by Jesus at the end of each Gospel are as distinct as the beginning. However, by-works - in an age of grace salvation only - is the sin against God’s grace
a common thread of doubt may be found at the end of the Gospels that by-faith. I suggest that Scripture will absolve me, and, all believers: “Do we
records the story of the “Great Commission” to preach the gospel of saving then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law”
grace. This story details the who, what, why, where, when, and how of the (Rom 3:31). Dr. Lewis Chafer comments, “The law has never been kept by
gospel of saving grace. It is highly subjective and radical biblical truth that those who try to keep it. It is kept, however, by those who humbly
qualifies as the gonzo journalism of grace. To begin, only a brief study is acknowledge their helplessness to do anything well pleasing to God, and
needed to prove the order of progression in the four endings, namely: (1) who turn and find shelter in Christ who has met every demand of the law for
Mark, (2) Matthew, (3) John, (4) Luke, and then, (5) Acts. them. Such, and only such, have ever vindicated the holy law of God. The
The place where inconsistent people find a compelling vision and people who attempt to keep the law have always outraged the law.” 19
blindly accept the challenge of doubt is at the end of Matthew. How may one The theme of the Gospel of Matthew depicts Jesus as the rightful
find grace in a scene which duplicated the supranatural scenario of “The heir of David, the Jewish King of Israel, and the promised Messiah of the
Transfiguration on the Mount” (a preview of the future Kingdom of Law), Kingdom of Law that was preached and rejected; but not canceled. His
which was given to the inner circle of disciples – Peter, John, and James. death, resurrection, ascension, advocacy in heaven, and the age of grace
How may this ending be rightly construed and preached ad infinitum as the intervenes. The resurrected and glorified Jesus will return to claim His
purpose and the defining mission statement of Christianity contained in the throne. At the end of this recorded account, the eleven disciples (figure of
last words of Jesus. Why is it inferred - where does it say - the disciples went Moses), some of whom “doubted,” met with Jesus (God) on the motif of an
away leaping with joy for the opportunity to “teach all the nations” OT mountain (authority, the Ten Commandments) in Galilee. There they
commandments? By the standard set forth as the “Great Commission” the received the words of Jesus - as the so-called “populist” “Great
leading Apostle failed miserably. The Apostle Peter did not preach the Commission” would assert - to teach commandments to all the nations.
gospel to “dogs,” the Gentiles, until God forced him into a trance while he The Gospel of Mark (thematically – Jesus as servant), minus the
was hungry and waiting for dinner. Then God was good enough to give him religious corruption of scribal additions, authentically ends at verse 8. There
a nightmarish vision of food. This did not happen until well over five years the women who followed Jesus, fled from the angel who showed them that
after the death of Christ. Proven in Scripture by the very words of Peter, the body of Jesus was gone; who told them Christ was risen; and, gave them
spoken to the Gentile he was about to share the gospel with, “Ye know how the message that the disciples should meet Jesus at a set location in Galilee.
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They trembled and were amazed at the “empty tomb,” and: “neither said for a latter audience. The Gospel of John properly ends with the climax of
they any to any man, for they were afraid.” And so, this account ends with the doubting Thomas exclaiming, “My Lord and my God.” Wherein the last
the unseen dead servant, attended by an angelic servant who conveys a words of Jesus are: “Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed:
message - to overwhelmed servile women – who in turn are asked to carry a blessed are they that have not seen, and yet believe.” The Apostle John, who
message for other servants of the servant to travel to a prearranged location alone of the Gospel writers, interprets and states what is behind and below
at a mountain in Galilee. A chain of faith and obedience regarding a the actions and words of Jesus in his parenthetical comments, ends his
message is established in the authority of the unseen servant of God – Jesus Gospel with these words: “But these are written that ye believe that Jesus is
Christ. the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have [eternal] life
In the Gospel of Luke (thematically – Jesus as man), i the ending begins through his name.” Therefore, the Son of God, who is unseen, may be
with a full gathering of the doubting disciples who, “were terrified and believed on for eternal life because of the witness of John’s Gospel.
affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.” witnessing and partially The above accounts may be placed in order of occurrence and
believing the reality of the transformed, glorified, and resurrected Jesus, who summarized as follows: (1) In Mark, after the first scene at the empty tomb,
shows them his hands and feet, “And while they yet believed not for joy, the frightened, doubting servants delivered the angelic message with the
and wondered.” After opening their minds to the Scriptures, as He had done authority of Jesus to the other servants. (2) Then in Matthew, these
earlier with a few disciples on the road to Emmaus, He tells them to do two doubting servants met Jesus at the mountain scene of OT divine authority
things, “Thus it is written, and thus it behoved [was commanded, binding, and received instructions about teaching and baptizing all nations. They
necessary] Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day. And that were told by the King to teach commandments. A King who was given
repentance [change of direction, change of destiny] and remission authority, “all power,” from His Father. Jesus told them to teach “all things
[completed forgiveness, expiation, the taking away of all sin] of sins should whatsoever [as much as] I have commanded.” They arrived and left in
be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye doubt. (3) In John, the doubting Thomas proclaimed Jesus to be “My Lord
are witnesses of these things. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father and my God.” Here in John, future believers, who do not doubt, will learn
[the Holy Spirit] upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be that they are blessed with eternal life by believing in an unseen Jesus who is
endued with power from on high. … And he led them out as far as Bethany the Son of God. That they “might have life through his name.” (4) Finally,
… And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, in Luke, the doubting disciples believe, but not to the point of joy. They are
and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to supernaturally given the details of OT prophecy as proofs for their witness to
Jerusalem with great joy.” Accordingly, Luke ends with the incredible other men that a change of destiny and forgiveness of sins is available
transformation of a man who opened the minds of witnessing men about the because Jesus Christ suffered and died. But, they are told to wait on the
truthful witness of Holy Scripture concerning Him and His death (300+ power of the Holy Spirit before they begin preaching in Jerusalem the new
predictions). This man told them that a change of destiny is possible because message they have just learned. The scene closes when the blessed disciples
he died as the OT had predicted and that his death took away sin. He told witness Jesus ascend into heaven and their partial belief turns to a great joy.
them to preach these things about himself to other men beginning in In addition, Luke in the companion book to his gospel, records the last
Jerusalem and to preach them in his name, Jesus Christ; but to wait until settings and words of Jesus. The final scene moves to the Book of Acts (1:3-
they had power from heaven through the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. 11) where additional insight to the resurrection ministry of Jesus is given
Then, these men saw this man go up into heaven and believed with great between the time of “doubting Thomas” and the ascension of Christ. This
joy. The man left joyful men as “witnesses” to other men that an incredible last scenario gives further insight into the distinctions of the present time of
transformation and change of destiny is available in His name - Jesus Christ. the indwelling Holy Spirit for power (v.4), the first preaching of the
Men derive all benefits from the death and resurrection of Christ. Kingdom of Law by John the Baptist contrasted to the different baptism of
In the Gospel of John (thematically – Jesus as God), chapter 21 is a the Holy Spirit for “power” in this age (v. 5), and the future fulfillment of
widely accepted “original” addition or epilogue, added by the Apostle John the Kingdom of Law with the return of the King (vs. 6-7). Two men (angels)
witness to the disciples at the place where Jesus ascended, confirming His
i return in a like manner (v. 11). So, rightfully the last red-letter words of
Sidenote: The Gospel and the Book of Acts were written as a legal brief to be used in
the Apostle Paul’s defense in Rome, where only Peter was well known. Jesus and the “Great Commission of Grace” is the expanded preaching of
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the “where” from Jerusalem to Samaria and then to the “uttermost part of the In John-Luke-Acts, the group of disciples who had received the so-
earth,” “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon called “Great Commission,” from the resurrected Jesus on the glorious
you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, mountain, had departed and returned to Jerusalem in doubt - not great zeal
and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” (Luke 1:8). and fervor, Then they are found grouped together in the Gospel of John.
As before stated the Bible is not a book for one age. The gospel of grace Here in John, on the road to Emmaus, Jesus had “opened the minds” of two
is not contained in the ending of Mark-Matthew. Under extreme prevailing disciples to the what and why of His death. When they stopped for the
circumstances of the tribulation, the future second preaching of the gospel of evening and began to eat, Jesus revealed Himself to them – His resurrected
the kingdom will use these verses and images. The gospel of grace for this self, the who of His message. These same disciples returned to Jerusalem
age - in a future time - will be recognized as completely different than the that very night to witness this event to the other disciples. Jesus then
Kingdom of Law. Much like, in Acts 15, years after the death of Christ, the appeared to this group, sans Thomas, and showed them his wounds. Eight
divinely inspired council of Jerusalem recognized the gospel of saving grace days later, one Sunday to the next, He appears again and shows Himself to
was open to Jew and Gentile alike and concluded the temporary setting aside Thomas. His identity as the Son of God is confirmed – the who of what and
of Judaism was the will of God. It may be seen from this study of the closing why. At this juncture, Luke picks up with the full gathering of the disciples
messages in the four Gospels, from the witness of God’s Book of Truth, that in the close presence of watching Jesus eat; but who still do not believe to
human doubt remained with the disciples as a consequence of authority, or the point of joy. In Luke 24:44-52 the disciples are given the full who, what,
the influence of Law and Commandments (viz., Mark-Matthew). why, where, how, and when of the gospel of saving grace. They are to begin
preaching in Jerusalem, but are to wait on the power of the promised Holy
Closing Comments Spirit. Then an expanded scenario is given in the Book of Acts (1:3-11). As
the indisputable last actions and words of Jesus recorded in the Bible, this
The lesson of the OT is that the Israelites consistently failed at Law. As section of the NT is the proper “Great Commission” for the generation of
a concluding summary of the story contained in the gonzo journalism of grace. Only after, Jesus blesses the disciples and ascends into heaven do they
grace; in Mark-Matthew, you have an unseen Jesus, who does not reveal the enter into the total belief of “great joy.”
why and what of His death and resurrection nor the purpose of His message In the NT account of Luke, all the elements of the progression of
to others. He speaks to His disciples through a supernatural mediator and spiritual salvation typified in the OT are verified; expiation and redemption,
servile women. The men arrive at a mountain and stand silent, at a distance water and the Holy Spirit, joy, and power. Dr. C. I. Scofield writes:
from Jesus (déjà vu OT imagery). Aside from the confirmation of the new “Numbers 21:17 The spiritual order here is beautiful: (1) atonement (vs. 8,
official names of the Holy Trinity, they are told to teach nebulous, 9; John 3:14, 15); (2) water, symbol of the Spirit bestowed (v. 16; John 7:37-
“whatsoever” commandments to unlawful people from Gentile nations. They 39); (3) joy (vs. 17, 18; Rom 14:17); (4) power (vs. 21-24)” (Old Scofield
are not told to teach the gospel of the kingdom - that the kingdom was at Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, P 195)
hand. As John the Baptist and later, both Jesus and themselves had taught. Historical scholarship will bear out the record that Luke wrote his
The Jews had rejected and killed the herald of the King, John the Baptist, Gospel in tandem with the Book of Acts to introduce the Apostle Paul and
and the King Himself who had triumphantly entered Jerusalem on a donkey. “Pauline” i doctrine to those influential people in Rome (familiar only with
This dejected and forlorn group of men, belonging to a now lost cause and in Peter) who would have a part in Paul’s upcoming capital trial. The so-called
fear of reprisal, are not told to teach commandments because Jesus is about “Great Commission” in the Gospel of Matthew has no such distinction. This
to restore the Davidic Kingdom. Their natural, subjective questions and
reactions would have been: For whom should we teach commandments to i
“Paul was the divinely chosen agent to develop the Christian system for New
Gentiles? For what reason, what purpose are we to go to all nations of
Testament readers since previously it had appeared only in part with the teachings of
“dogs”? Why teach any commandments by breaking commandments? The Christ. To the Apostle was given the two distinct revelations: (1) that of the way of
Jesus we knew did not send us to preach the kingdom to “dogs.” They arrive salvation and of life under grace … (cf. Gal 1:11-12) and (2) that of the doctrine of the
and leave in doubt and disbelief. The message from Christ is received as a Church, which is Christ’s Body (Eph 3:1-6). These two bodies of truth include the great
failure. They leave without any close communion or witness from Jesus and New Testament message which is Christianity, something Paul termed “my gospel”
no clear “Great Commission.” (Rom 2:16). For a time he stood alone in the defense of the new system of Christianity
(Gal 2:11-14). (Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 7, p 249)
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failed “Great Commission” has been put forward as the Alpha directive of AMPLIFIED BIBLE For the love of Christ controls and urges and impels
Christianity to deceitfully obscure NT teachings of grace found in the us, because we are of the opinion and conviction that [if] One died for all,
Epistles. This dumbing-down of Christianity has been very successful in then all died: And He died for all, so that all those who live might live no
confirming a non-grace system of legal effort. A legal effort of by-works longer to and for themselves, but to and for Him Who died and was raised
salvation that Paul unequivocally and emphatically denounced countless again for their sake. Consequently, from now on we estimate and regard no
times in his epistolary Scripture. Legal effort has no part in God’s plan of one from a [purely] human point of view [in terms of natural standards of
salvation that comes from His gifts of grace made possible only by value]{cf. Peter’s confession to the Gentile above (Acts 10:28)}. [No] even
redemption in the blood of Jesus Christ. Who would demand a sporting though we once did estimate Christ from a human viewpoint and as a man,
challenge to compete with the value in the death of Christ? Another gospel yet now [we have such knowledge of Him that] we know Him no longer [in
allows Christ to determine entrance into the game of salvation, yes. terms of the flesh].Therefore if any person is [engrafted] he is a new creation
However, the individual is then required to compete with Him to win their (a new creature altogether): the old [previous moral and spiritual condition]
own salvation. Beyond absurd is beyond description. has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come! But all things are
The above is a clear distinction between misleading tradition and from God, Who through Jesus Christ reconciled us to Himself [received us
defining truth that identifies God’s “Great Commission of Grace.” The into favor, brought us into harmony with Himself] and gave to us the
proper and correct starting point for understanding grace. The following is ministry of reconciliation [that by word and deed we might aim to bring
the Apostle Paul’s restatement and expanded revelation of the motive and others into harmony with Him]. It was God [personally present] in Christ,
object, the purpose, of “The Great Commission” in Luke 24:44-52: reconciling and restoring the world {lost humanity}to favor with Himself,
not counting up and holding against [men] their trespasses [but canceling
Christ is the True Vine (new vine, Israel was the old vine). Remain one them], and committing to us the message of reconciliation (of the restoration
with Him and the fruits of a new nature will oppose the old sin nature and its to favor). So we are Christ’s ambassadors. God making His appeal as it were
sinful desires. through us. We [as Christ’s personal representatives] beg you for His sake to
lay hold of the divine favor [now offered you] and be reconciled to God. For
THE GREAT COMMISSION OF GRACE IS TO PREACH RECONCILIATION our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in
and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and
2 Cor 5:14-21 For the love of Christ constraineth [unifies, controls] us; examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be , approved and
because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that acceptable in right relationship to Him, by His goodness].
he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth (no longer) live
unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. The Apostle John gave the “Great Commandment of Grace” that may be
Wherefore henceforth (no longer) know we no man after the flesh: yea, added to Paul’s “Great Commission of Grace” stated above: “And this is his
though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth (no longer) [God the Father’s] commandment, That we should believe on the name of
know we him (so) no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he [Christ] gave us
creature (creation): old things are passed away; behold, all things are commandment” (1 John 3:23). The populist “Great Commission” in the
become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself Gospel of Matthew may be seen for what it is: a great empty and hollow
by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, truth intended for a future time. The verses, in and of themselves, are God’s
that God was in Christ, reconciling the world (lost mankind) unto himself, perfect truth, beyond doubt; but, to apply this truth to go forth and teach
not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the Kingdom Law commandments instead of the gospel of grace centered in
word [Gk. logos=divine expression] of reconciliation. Now then we are the prophetical death, resurrection, and return of Jesus - as proven by
ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you determining the proper last words and instructions of Jesus in Luke 24:44-52
in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin and Acts 1:1-9 - is a futile effort conditioned by willful inattention to
for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Scripture.
him. KJV The intent and purpose of Jesus cannot contradict itself. Only the
interpretation of Scripture by men can be inconsistent. It makes little
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difference to biblical truth that many systems begin by denying a future will expand upon this theme. Within the following sections of this effort, an
kingdom. Two different messages and symbolic scenarios are demonstrated exhaustive set of proofs identify the source of the many false beliefs
above in Mark-Matthew and Luke-John-Acts. The two different messages preached by “another gospel.” The guidance of Scripture and the influence
had two different results, one failed and one succeeded. Beyond argument, of the Holy Spirit have immeasurable value in “rightly dividing” the Word
this truth is demonstrated in the uncomplicated, inductive study of biblical of God.
text. Therefore, a Protestant system that preaches an iconic “Jesus on the
Mountain” from selected texts in the Synoptic Gospels as the cornerstone of Detailed Commentary: Grace and the Non-Grace of Law
a legal system - filled with a sentimental view towards grace and a
dishonest, deductive homiletic – may only teach doubt as the conditional In his Systematic Theology, Vol 4, Dr. Lewis Chafer comments with
release from the penalty of sin in a parolee salvation. Anyone who uses such authority and detail regarding the above discussion:
a system is deliberately guilty of defrauding and fleecing the public with
“another gospel” (Gal 1:8) and another Jesus – a Jesus who is inconsistent THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE TEACHINGS OF GRACE
with Christianity. There were no Christians produced by the Mosaic Law,
only obedient children of Israel; there will be no Christians produced by a In this discussion, the Law of Moses will be limited to the Decalogue;
future Kingdom Law, only obedient children of the future kingdom. for no legalists proposes to carry forward into grace the judgments which
The Fatherhood of God applies uniquely to a Christian. A Christian is a governed the social life of Israel, or the ordinances which governed their
child of God and may only be produced by grace through faith in a one-time religious ritual in the land. However, the moral commandments of the
obedience to the gospel of saving grace when they believe Jesus Christ for Decalogue are almost universally imposed upon the church by these
perfect forgiveness and a now-but-not-yet perfect salvation. Any admixture legalists. In justification of this imposition, the plea is usually made that
of law with grace cannot produce the pure faith needed to rest completely on apart from the direct application of the Decalogue there could be no divine
the finished work of Christ. authority or government in the earth. In no sense does this question involve
As previously mentioned, the precepts of Mosaic Law were restated as the issues of world government; for God has never addressed either the
amplified requirements in the teachings of the Kingdom Law. Similarly, the teachings of the law or the teachings of grace to the whole world. The world
precepts of the Mosaic Law have been superceded by heavenly high has borrowed certain moral precepts from the Bible for its self-government;
requirements contained in the restatements of the teachings of grace. Also, in but it does not follow that God has accepted the world on the basis of the
a like manner, the Mosaic Law was “nailed to the cross” at the death of teachings of the law or the teachings of grace. Until this appeal is heeded,
Jesus; so too, as it is patently a future requirement, Kingdom Law has no the individual is neither under law nor under grace, as a rule of life; but is
hold over the believer nor the unsaved in this age. The two systems of Law “under sin.” The issue is, therefore, between law and grace as governing
may only have a secondary meaning in the teachings of grace, “If truth for principles in the life of the Christian. Must Christians turn to the Decalogue
the children of God under grace is to be drawn from the teachings of the law for a basis of divine government in their daily lives? Scripture answers this
of Moses, or the kingdom, it should be acknowledged that it is taken from a question with a positive assertion: “Ye are not under law, but under grace.”
system foreign to grace, and that it is suitable only by way of a secondary If this be true, are the great moral values in the Decalogue discarded? By no
application.” i means; for it will be seen that every moral precept of the Decalogue, but
The passionate disparity between grace and law, present and future, one, has been restated with increased emphasis in the teachings of grace.
turns on the force of one, all-encompassing word – doubt – “there is no fear These precepts do not reappear under grace in the character and coloring of
in love … because fear hath torment” (1 John 4:18). At the wedding in Cana, the law, but, rather, in the character and coloring of pure grace. The
Jesus replaced the drudgery of ritual cleansing water with the joy of following brief comparison will demonstrate the fact that the moral values of
exceptional wine. Doubt is replaced by “great joy” when Jesus presents the the law are reciprocated in the teachings of grace.
new believer with “all things” contained in His heavenly blessings (Luke
24:52). I have merely sketched a “stick-man” and the balance of this effort 1. “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” 1. “We … preach unto
you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God” (Acts
i
Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol 4, p 204 14:15).
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promise of the Decalogue is omitted. This promise occurs in connection with
2. :Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, … Thou shalt not the precept concerning the obedience of children. It reads: “Honour thy
bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.” 2. “Little children, keep father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the
yourselves from idols” (1 John 5:21). LORD thy God giveth thee.” The fact that the law presented a promise to
obedient children is pointed out in the New Testament (Eph 6:2), with no
3. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain.” 3. “But inference that the promise is in effect now, but as a reminder of that which
above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the obtained under the law. It would be difficult for any individual, or child, in
earth, neither by any other oath” (James 5:12). the Church to establish a claim to a God-given land, or to demonstrate that
any law now obtains by which long life is guaranteed to those who are now
4. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” 4. No such command is obedient to parents. Again, concerning Israel and her relation to the land it is
found in the teachings of grace. written: “Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land,
and verily thou shalt be fed”; … “For the upright shall dwell in the land” (Ps
5. “Honour thy father and thy mother.” 5. “Children, obey your parents 37:3; Prov 2:21). No land has been given to the Christian. He is a “stranger
in the Lord: for this is right [the legal promise of long life is omitted]” (Eph and a pilgrim” here, an “ambassador,” a citizen of heaven. If he is taught in
6:1). the Scriptures, he is not looking for a long life here; but he is looking for the
coming of the Lord. He is not clinging to this life; for “to depart, and to be
6. “Thou shalt not kill.” 6. “Whosoever hateth his [believing] brother [a with Christ … is far better.” The serious manner in which people apply an
Christian] is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life Old Testament promise, impossible under grace, to themselves is a
abiding in him” [cf. Cain and Abel] ( 1 John 3:15). revelation of the measure of inattention with which the Scriptures are too
often read and quoted. Since every adaptable precept of the law is restated in
7. “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” 7. “Neither fornicators, nor grace, it is not necessary to violate the Scriptures by forcing the law into the
idolaters, nor adulterers … shall inherit the kingdom of God [this is not a sphere of grace. The Decalogue, in its moral principles, is not only restated
letter of the law verse – it is a principle of grace; this is not to say the in grace, but its principles are greatly amplified. This is illustrated, again, by
“mystery” form of the kingdom of heaven does not include false professors the same precept concerning obedient children. In the teachings of grace, the
of faith; it is to say a so-called living believer may not habitually sin without whole issue of obedience is taken up at length, and to this is added the
guilt and confession and inherit the rule of God over the universe; this is an instructions to parents as well. Under the teachings of grace, the appeal of
assurance verse for those who genuinely desire to walk a Christian life the first commandment is repeated no less than fifty times, the second twelve
because they are forgiven and accepted; not because they are trying to be times, the third four times, the fourth (about the sabbath day) not at all, the
forgiven and accepted] fifth six times, the sixth six times, the seventh twelve times, the eighth six
times, the ninth four times, and the tenth nine times. Yet, further, that which
8. “Thou shalt not steal” 8. “Steal no more” (Eph 4:28). is even more vital should be noted: The teachings of grace are not only
gracious in character and of the very nature of heaven itself, but they are
9. “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” 9. “Lie not” (Col 3:9). extended to cover the entire range of the new issues of the life and service of
the Christian. The Ten Commandments require no life of prayer, no
10. “Thou shalt not covet.” 10. “Covetousness, let it not be once named Christian service, no evangelism, no missionary effort, no gospel preaching,
among you [a higher obligation to the Christ given, charisma, the spiritual no life and walk in the Spirit, no Fatherhood of God, no union with Christ,
gifts shared between believers; and the obligation to maintain the God given no fellowship of saints, no hope of salvation, and no hope of heaven. If it is
unity that exists between all believers “in Christ”]” (Eph 5:3). asserted that we have all these because we have both the law and grace, it is
replied that the law adds nothing to grace but confusion and contradiction,
While some principles of the Mosaic Law are restated under grace, and that there is the most faithful warning in the Scriptures against this
those aspects of the law which are foreign to grace are omitted. The admixture. A few times the teachings of the law are referred to by the writers
command to keep the seventh day is omitted wholly. … So, also, the one of the Epistles by way of illustration. Having stated the obligation under
129 130
grace, they cite the fact that this same principle obtained under law. There is, first indication of His rejection by that nation. Following these indications of
however, no basis here for a commingling of these two governing systems. His rejection, He, as recorded in chapter 13, announces by seven parables
The law of Moses presents a covenant of works to be wrought in the energy the features of the new age and indicates its character at its beginning,
of the flesh; the teachings the teachings of grace present a covenant of faith during its course, and in its end. At the opening of chapter 13, the sphere of
to be wrought in the energy of the Spirit. –P 208-11 the divine purpose is changed from its focus on the nation Israel to include
the whole world, and Israel is seen only as a “treasure” hid in a field (13:44).
MAJOR THEMES OF NEW TESTAMENT PROPHECY The seed of the gospel is sown in the world and the harvest is an outcalling
of those who believe. These will be received and preserved as the children of
THE OLD TESTAMENT having closed without realization of the presence God, while those who do not believe are to be rejected and judged. This new
of the Messiah or of Israel’s kingdom, the New Testament opens with the age at its beginning was said to be evil (Gal 1:4), and its course is
appearance of the King and the offer to Israel of her long predicted kingdom characterized by the parallel development of both the evil and the good
(cf. Matt 1:1; 2:1-2; 4:17; Rom 15:8). The same records go on to declare the (Matt 13:24-30, 36-43). Its “last days” and its evil character are set forth in
rejection of the King and His Kingdom (Matt 23:37-38), and indicate that all one of the most extensive bodies of New Testament Scripture ( 2 Thess 2:1-
these divine purposes will be fulfilled without failure when the King returns. 12; 1 Tim 4:1-3; 2 Tim 3:1-5; James 5:1-10; 2 Pet 2:1-3:8; Jude 1:1-23; Rev
Certain new prophecies are introduced in the New Testament in addition to 3:14-22). In no sense of the word does the Bible predict a converted earth in
the continuing unto consummation of Old Testament themes. The major this dispensation (Matt 13:1-50; 24:38-39; 2 Tim 3:13), but it does anticipate
New Testament themes are: (1) the new age, (2) the new divine purpose, (3) the perfect realization of the purpose of God.
the nation of Israel, (4) the Gentiles, (5) the great tribulation, (6) Satan and
the forces of evil, (7) the second coming of Christ, (8) the Messianic II. THE NEW DIVINE PURPOSE
kingdom, and (9) the eternal state. The New Testament introduces the Church as a new classification of
humanity in addition to the Jews and the Gentiles who have been seen
I. THE NEW AGE throughout the Old Testament (1 Cor 10:32). By the word Church (note its
As before stated, the present dispensation, which has extended already first use – Matt 16:18) reference is made to those of all kindreds and tribes
nearly two thousand years and which lies between the two advents of Christ, who in this age are born-again, and thus, by receiving the new resurrection
was never anticipated in any Old Testament prophecy. Also, in virtue of life of Christ and by being baptized with the Spirit, are in Christ, forming
being mentioned as a “mystery” (Matt 13:11), it is declared to be one of the with Him the New Creation. Into this company both Jews and Gentiles are
sacred secrets hidden in the counsels of God until the appointed time of its gathered (Eph 3:1-6) through the preaching of the gospel of divine grace.
revelation; for a “mystery” in the New Testament use of the word is This redeemed company is now related to Christ as His sheep (John 10:6-
something hitherto unrevealed (note Rom 11:25; 2 Thess 2:7; Col 1:27; Eph 16), the branches in the Vine (John 15:1-6), the stones in a building (Eph
3:1-6; 5:25-32; 1 Cor 15:51). The phrase “the kingdom of heaven” refers to 2:19-22), as a kingdom of priests (1 Pet 2:5; Heb 8:1), the New Creation (2
any rule that God may exercise at any time in the earth. Being limited to the Cor 5:17), the Body (Eph 1:22-23; 3:6), and they will be related to Him as
earth, it is to be distinguished from the “kingdom of God,” which kingdom His Bride in heaven (Rev 19: 7-8; 21:9). When the divine purpose in the
embraces not only that which is good within the sphere of the kingdom of outcalling of the Church has been completed, Christ will come to receive His
heaven, but all in heaven and the whole universe that is subject to God. own (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess 4:13-17). Those who have died will be raised (1
While the long-predicted millennial reign of Christ in the earth is the final Cor 15:23; 1 Thess 4:13-17), and all, whether by resurrection or translation,
form of the kingdom of heaven and that which was foreseen by all the shall receive a new body like His glorious body (Phil 3:21).
prophets and announced by Christ in His earthly ministry, the present New Testament prophecy carries the Church through all the pilgrim
dispensation, being the form of divine rule in the earth in which God is experiences on earth (Rev 2:1-3:22), sees her received into heaven at the
ruling to the extent that He is realizing the accomplishment of those things coming of the Lord, and sees her returning with Him to reign with Him on
which are termed “mysteries,” is rightly called the “mysteries of heaven” the earth (Rev 19:14; 20:6). …
(Matt 13:11), or the kingdom in mystery form. The first twelve chapters of
the Gospel by Matthew present Christ as Israel’s Messiah and record the VII. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
131 132
This the greatest theme of all prophecy was the subject of the first for acceptance with God. They are, rather, directions and divine beseechings
prediction by man (Jude 1:14-15), and is the last message of the Bible (Rev addressed to accepted persons regarding their walk before God. Twice these
22:20). It is the dominant feature of all Old Testament prophecy concerning appeals are termed beseechings (Rom 12:1; Eph 4:1); not the command to a
the Day of Jehovah and, likewise, is the major theme of New Testament mere servant, but the polite and considerate request to a member of the
prophecy. Beginning in connection with the first evidence of Israel’s household and family. They consist in information and persuasion extended
rejection of His Messianic claims, this great event was continually upon the to those who could not otherwise learn regarding that which, from a
lips of Christ (Matt 23:37-25:46; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 21: 5-38). Again, it is heavenly viewpoint, is rightfully expected of them. In all this, there is a
emphasized by the Apostle Paul (Rom 11:26; 1 Thess 3:13; 5:1-4; 2 Thess fundamental dissimilarity between these teachings and both the Mosaic
1:7-2:12), by James (5:1-8), by Peter (2 Pet 2:1-3:18), by Jude (1:14-15), system which imposed a curse on those who failed (Deut 28:15-68) and the
and by John in the Revelation. kingdom {LAW} injunctions which hold over its subjects the dangers of hell
fire (Matt 5:22, 29-30). No excuse is available for the failure to observe the
VIII. THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM difference between either a system which proposes a curse or a system
Continuing this major theme of Old Testament prophecy, the New which proposes hell fire and a system which declares that “there is therefore
Testament again adds many details. The kingdom teachings of Christ, now no condemnation “ (Rom 8:1) … The grace teachings are not, for
addressed to Israel as recorded in the Synoptic Gospels, portray the character convenience, isolated in the Sacred Text. The three economies appear in the
and glory of that coming age, while the Apostle John reveals its duration to four Gospels. … Large portions of the New Testament are wholly revelatory
be a period of one thousand years (Rev 20:4, 6). … –P 386-87, 389 of the doctrine of grace. -P 183-85
Due recognition of the essential character of each of the three crucial
The Three Systems of Forgiveness Found in the Four Gospels ages is key to the understanding of the exact manner of the divine rule in
each age. The rule of God in each case is adapted to the conditions which
Whatever grace proposes to teach, its teachings are addressed only to obtain. Since the respective characteristics of the ages are widely different,
those who are saved by grace. … These teachings, being addressed to the manner of the divine rule in each is common, and is, doubtless, the
Christians only, are never intended to be imposed on the Christ-rejecting greatest error into which many a devout Bible interpreters fall. It is perhaps
individual, or the Christ-rejecting world. This fact cannot be emphasized too easier to confuse the present age with that which immediately precedes it, or
forcibly. The Word of God makes no appeal to the unsaved for a betterment with that which immediately follows it, than to confuse it with conditions
of life. There is but one issue in this dispensation between God and the which are remote, although there need be no confusion of these immediately
unregenerate man, and that is neither character nor conduct; it is the personal succeeding but sharply separated periods of time, for they are divided by
appeal of the gospel of the grace of God. Until the unsaved receive Christ, age-transforming events. The age of the Law of Moses is separated from the
who is God’s gift in grace, no other issue can be raised. Men may moralize present age of grace by the death of Christ, when He bore the curse of the
among themselves, and establish their self-governments on principles of law and finished the work by which man may stand justified before God
right conduct; but God is never presented in the unfoldings of grace as forever, and justified as he could not of been justified by the law of Moses;
seeking to reform sinners. Every word regarding the quality of life is likewise by the resurrection of Christ; the advent of the Spirit; and the
reserved for those who are already rightly related to Him on the greater issue dispersion of Israel. The age of grace is separated from the kingdom {LAW}
of salvation. –P 182-83 by the coming of Christ to the earth – the time when He comes to remove
Attention should not be diverted from the fundamental truth, … that the Church, to reign, to bind Satan, to regather Israel, to terminate human
there are three ages - that of law, that of grace, and that of the kingdom governments, to lift the curse from creation, and to cause righteousness and
{LAW} – which are separated from each other by world transforming events peace to cover the earth as the waters cover the face of the deep. The divine
… These economies are complete in themselves, needing no addition government could not remain the same after the world-transforming,
whatsoever, and each is as holy and pure in itself as the Creator who is the spiritual victories of the cross, as it had been under the Law of Moses.
Author and Designer of them. … Likewise, the divine government cannot remain the same in the earth after
The very nature of grace precepts precludes them from being reduced to the world-transforming temporal victories of the second coming, as it had
a decalogue. They are free in character in the sense that they are not required been under the reign of grace. All this is reasonable; but, what is far more
133 134
impelling and compelling, this is what is precisely revealed by God in His Answer: “This do, and thou shalt live.” Again: “What shall we do, that we
Word. There are, then, three separate and distinct systems of divine might work the works of God?” Answer: “This is the work of God, that ye
government disclosed in the Scriptures, corresponding to three separate and believe on him whom he hath sent.” One answer is related to the law of the
distinct ages to be governed. kingdom; the other is related to grace, wherein Christ is seen as the “living
Kingdom {LAW} teachings will be found in those Psalms and bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall
prophecies of the Old Testament which anticipate the reign of Messiah in the live forever.”
earth, and in the kingdom {LAW} portions of the Gospels. These teachings It is to be concluded, therefore, that the sinner is saved by grace apart
as found in the Old Testament and the New are purely legal in essence, both from every human demand other than that he receive that grace as it is for
by their inherent character and by the explicit declaration of the Word of him in Christ, and that the saint is kept by grace unto good works but not by
God. The legal requirements of the kingdom {LAW} teachings are greatly good works. The righteous Father must insist on the good works in the life
advanced, both in severity and detail, beyond the requirements of the Law of of His child; but He does not make these works the condition of His
Moses.” -P 168-69 faithfulness. This is the vital distinction, then, between the order relating
“The kingdom {LAW} of God is come nigh unto you” (Luke 10:9). As divine blessing with human obligation in the two systems – law and grace.
certainly as the King was before the nation, so certainly the kingdom One is a covenant of pure works; the other is a covenant of pure grace.
{LAW} was before them, and this was the appeal of the gospel of the Consideration should be given to the fact that rewards, which are bestowed
kingdom {LAW} which was given to “the children of the kingdom {LAW}” in addition to the blessing of he saving grace of God, are offered to the saved
only. When the King was rejected, His kingdom {LAW} was rejected. one on the principle of merit; and, on the other hand, grace was offered to
When His kingdom {LAW} was rejected and its realization delayed until the the people under law [Mosaic], in addition to the demands of the law, in the
return of the King, the application of all Scripture which conditions life in provisions of the sacrifices. In no case do these added blessings condition
the kingdom {LAW} was delayed as well, and will be delayed so long as the the exact character of the covenant of grace, on the one hand, or the
King tarries. This necessary delay is easily accepted with reference to the covenant of works, on the other hand. –P 228-29
earthly, national glory, which is the theme of the kingdom {LAW} teachings The by-works principle of the law, and the by-faith principle of grace
of the Old Testament; but it is equally true that there is a necessary delay in cannot cooperate, or coexist, either in the salvation of a sinner, or in the rule
application of he last detail of human obligation related to the earthly of life for the believer. The by-works principle of the law is not limited to
kingdom {LAW} as set forth in the New Testament. ({LAW}, this writer). - the fleshly effort to do the particular things found in the Law of Moses, or in
P 178-79 the law of the kingdom. It is the fleshly effort to do anything by which one
Every teaching of the [future] kingdom {of LAW} which contemplates seeks to become acceptable to God. Therefore, when the teachings of grace
the responsibility of the individual is, in like manner based on a covenant of are attempted with a view to being accepted of God, they become purely
human works, and is, therefore purely legal in character. This may be legal in their character. In like manner, when the elements which are
observed in all the kingdom teachings of the Old Testament and the contained in the law and restated under grace are attempted in the power of
kingdom teachings of the New testament. Grace is extended to the nation the Spirit and on the basis that acceptance with God is already gained
when, apart from all merit, she is placed in her land, and restored to divine through Christ, these precepts become purely gracious in their character.
blessing; but the rule of the King will be on a basis of pure law, and the This principle may be extended to the larger sphere of any and all self-
responsibility of the individual to that rule necessarily will be in conformity imposed law, regardless of Bible injunctions. In which case it will be seen
to the same. –P 226-27 that the doing of any good works with a view of being accepted of God, is
The grace order between the divine blessing and the human obligation is purely legal in character; contrariwise, the doing of any good works because
preserved in every offer of salvation to the sinner and in every purpose one believes himself accepted through Christ, is purely gracious in character.
looking toward the preservation of the saint. Since this is the basis of the The legalist may thus enter the field of the teachings of grace and suppose
divine purpose in the ages and the only hope of the sinner, or the saint, it himself to be subject to the whole Bible, when, in reality, he has no
should not be questioned upon a superficial consideration of the Scriptures. conception of the blessings and relationships in grace. A person either
There is the widest possible difference between two replies of Christ to chooses to accept Christ in the confidence that Christ is all he will ever need
practically the same question: “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” to make himself acceptable to God, or he chooses to depend on the best that
135 136
he can do for himself by good works. The latter is the normal bent of the
natural mind. The proposition of becoming acceptable to God by being
good, appeals to the fallen heart as the only reasonable thing to do and, apart
from that which it has pleased God to reveal concerning grace, it is the only
reasonable thing to do. It therefore becomes a question of believing the
record God has given concerning His Son (1 John 5:10).
Since there is so much delusion in a counterfeit, the person most
difficult to reach with the gospel of divine grace is the person who is trying
to do all that a Christian ought to do, but is doing it as a means of becoming
accepted before God. His willing acknowledgement of the value of the
Christian life, his unquestioned reception into the fellowship of believers,
and his real sincerity in all Christian activities constitute his greatest
hindrance. Such a one is more deluded than the person who acknowledges
no relationship to God. Both fall short and are lost through their failure to
believe on Christ as the all-sufficient Savior; but, naturally, the person who
has no false hope is more apt to become conscious of the fact that he is lost
than is the person who believes he is a Christian. The law cannot save, and
the one who transforms the teachings of grace into a legal system by
attempting to do them in order that he may be right with God, and has not
believed on Christ, is still unsaved. Turning to meritorious works as a basis
for salvation, be those works a precise counterfeit of a true Christian life, is
to be under a by-works relation to God, and therefore to be under
condemnation; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified in His
sight. –P 231-32
Amazing, indeed, is the blindness of heart that is not instructed by the
tragic experience of failure on the part of the countless millions who have
been lost under the by-works covenant! Yet men are still turning to their
own works, both moral and religious, in the vain hope that through them
they may be accepted of God. To such He must ever be as unapproachable
as the mountain of awful fire, thunder, lightning, and earthquake; but to the
one who turns to the sufficiency which is in Christ, God becomes the Father
of all mercies, and His power and grace are exercised in the behalf of that
one for all time and eternity. The awful throne of God’s holy judgment
becomes a throne of infinite grace. –P 232-33 20
137 138
The Ancient Gentile Truth of Law and Grace
139 140
The Ancient False Gospel of Material Rewards for a Self- Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace: thereby good shall come
Righteousness that Deserves God’s Salvation unto thee.
Receive, I pray thee, the law from his mouth, and lay up his words in thine
Acts 28:4, 6 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on heart.
his [the Apostle Paul’s] hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this If thou return to the Almighty, thou shalt be built up, thy shalt put away
man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance iniquity far from thy tabernacles.
(justice) suffereth not to live. … Howbeit they looked when he should Then shall thou lay up gold as dust, and the gold of Ophir as the stones of
have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a the brooks.
great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, Yea, the Almighty shall be thy defense, and thou shalt have plenty of silver.
and said that he was a god. For then shalt thou have thy delight in the Almighty, and shalt lift up thy
face unto God.
Job was a Gentile (any non-Jew) descended from Noah. He lived during Thou shalt make thy prayer unto him, and he shall hear thee, and thou shalt
a time comparable to the first Jew, Abraham. A time when the revelation of pay thy vows.
God was personal and unrecorded. God was then known as El Shaddai, God Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the
Almighty, the One who directs and provides for man. He later revealed light shall shine upon thy ways.
Himself as Jehovah, the Self-Existent One, to Moses at the scene of the When men are cast down, then thou shalt say, There is lifting up; and he
“burning bush.” shall save the humble person.
Accordingly, this incident in the life of Job occurred before a divine He shall deliver the island of the innocent: and it is delivered by the
system of rewards and punishments for behavior had been established. The pureness of thine hands. (Job 22:15-30)
Mosaic Law was not given until later, to Israel. And this, so that the chosen
nation of Israel might be a witness of Jehovah to the Gentile nations and The Ancient Gospel of God’s Grace That Includes Suffering
people of the world.
A small and exacting God who punishes sinners and the God who The fourth and youngest friend of Job, Elihu, unlike his older three
created man for His glory - a God who refines His servants with disaster – friends who were religious dogmatists, did not accuse Job of being a sinner
may not be distinguished in the appearance of suffering. The distinction is and a hypocrite who was responsible for his own misfortunes. He spoke this
revealed in the heart of the one who suffers. A friend of Job, Eliphaz, spoke message of God’s graceful care for those who trust in Him.
the following man-centric, false message about God’s recognition and
rewards for those who seek His hand. This so-called friend, Eliphaz, was a For I am full of matter, the spirit within me constraineth me.
religious externalist and moralizer who considered himself specially Behold, my belly is as wine which hath no vent; it is ready to burst like new
qualified to speak for God because he had experienced a religious “vision” bottles. …
early in his life. The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given
me life. …
Hast thou marked the old way which wicked men have trodden? Behold, in this thou art not just: I will answer thee, that God is greater than
Which were cut down out of time, whose foundation was overflown with a man.
flood: Why dost thy strive against him? For he giveth not account of any of his
Which said unto God, Depart from us: and what can the Almighty do for matters.
them? For God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not.
Yet he filled their houses with good things: but the counsel of the wicked is In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in
far from me. slumberings upon the bed;
The righteous see it, and are glad: and the innocent laugh them to scorn. Then he openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction,
Whereas our substance is not cut down, but the remnant of them the fire That he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.
consumeth.
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He keepeth back his soul from the pit, and his life from perishing by the
sword.
He is chastened also with pain upon his bed, and the multitude of his bones
with strong pain:
So that his life aborreth bread, and his soul dainty meat.
His flesh is consumed away, that it cannot be seen; and his bones that were
not seen stick out.
Yea, his soul draweth near unto the grave, and his life to the destroyers.
If there be a messenger with him, an interpreter, one among a thousand, to
shew unto man his [God’s] uprightness:
Then he is gracious unto him, and saith, Deliver him from going down to the
pit I have found a ransom (atonement)[redeemer].
His flesh shall be fresher than a child’s: he shall return to the days of his
youth:
He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall
see his [God’s] face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness.
He looketh upon men, and if any say, I have sinned, and perverted that
which was right, and it profited me not.
He will deliver his soul from going into the pit, and his life shall see the
light.
Lo, all these things worketh God oftentimes with man.
To bring back his soul from the pit, to be enlightened with the light of the
living. (Job 32:18-19; 33:4, 12-30)
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Righteousness, Grace, and Faith
145 146
The ABC’s of Righteousness, Grace, and Faith them. By this performance, every suggestion which might arise in the mind
of the unsaved that a vital difference might exist between themselves and
The righteousness of God is revealed in His law given to men. From a Christians is obliterated, and the unsaved are encouraged to believe that a
sense of obligation, the best that man can do for God is to try and keep from Christian is one who merely acts in a certain way and such actions are all
breaking God’s laws. The idea of personal satisfaction for sin is contained in that God requires of any person. … To the end that infinite love may be
the law. Where there is law, there is the knowledge of sin and the wrath of gratified, He accomplishes infinite transformations. Compared to this, the
God is upon those who sin because God’s holy nature requires Him to pass thought that men are rescued from their plight, though a thought that
judgment on sin. His mercy cannot express itself through law in order that transcends all human understanding and naturally appeals tot eh mind of
His righteousness remain. This is a well accepted statement. But, was it man, is secondary to the extent that man is secondary to God. The truth that
unlike God, was it outside His nature and character (He who kills, heals, and the salvation of men affords an opportunity for God to gratify His infinite
curses) to possess the knowledge of good and evil? Was the original love for His creatures, is a theme which is too often neglected. It will always
command “do not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil be remembered that because of His divine character of holiness, God can do
… when you eat … you will die” a righteous command or a test? Can nothing for sinners until satisfaction for their sin has been secured – this is
unrighteousness demonstrate the righteousness of God? Adam possessed no accomplished in the finished work of Christ. …
knowledge of death. A test is designed to measure something. Might there Ephesians 2:7 declares: “That in the ages to come he might shew the
be a greater and higher moral righteousness of God apart from the law? exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ
The righteousness of God apart from the law - when expressed through Jesus.” There was that in God which no created being had ever seen. They
love - is grace. God’s grace may only be obtained through a faith that had seen His glory, His majesty, His wisdom, and His power; but no angel
recognizes no personal obligation is worthy of that which has already or man had ever seen His grace. Other attributes might be subject to a
completely satisfied God. The satisfaction of penalty for all the sins of the variety of demonstrations; but the manifestation of grace is restricted to what
world has released God to freely express His love through gifts of grace. A God may do for those among men who, in spite of the fact that they deserve
grace that fully satisfies the infinite mercy and love of God for lost men and His judgments, are objects of His grace. As every other attribute or capacity
women. A stunning statement. How is this possible? It is demonstrated every of God must have its perfect exercise and exhibition – even for His own
time someone is saved by grace through faith. The righteousness of God satisfaction - in like manner His grace must also have its infinitely perfect
apart from the law was designed to be demonstrated by saving faith. The revealing within the restricted undertaking by which He saves the lost. To
idea of a perfect, vicarious satisfaction for sin is contained in the say that a sinner is saved by grace is to declare that, on the ground of a
substitutionary suffering and death of Christ that was ordained “before the Substitute’s death and in response to faith in that Savior, God has wrought a
foundations of the world.” This perfect righteousness of God is properly work so perfect in its entirety and so free from the cooperation from other
expressed in the gospel of the grace of God. There is only one positive beings that it is a complete and all-satisfying-to-God demonstration of His
command - or test - incumbent upon the unsaved, “Obey the gospel.” grace. A statement of this kind may be made as easily as words may form a
Similar to Adam who had no knowledge of death, the unsaved have no sentence; but who on earth or in heaven is able to comprehend the infinity of
knowledge of eternal life. They must accept God at His Word. Dr. Lewis such a salvation? This demonstration, it should be added, will, by the very
Chafer comments: nature of the case, have its outshining in the life of each individual thus
saved. It may be assumed that, had but one of all the human family been
To the unsaved, God makes no appeal to their manner of life; no selected for the supreme honor of exhibiting eternally before all created
improvement or reformation is required of them. … He requires of the beings the infinity of sovereign grace, the salvation of that one would be no
unsaved that they hear and heed the gospel only. Over against this, every different than the salvation of any one of the unnumbered throng from every
divine injunction concerning a God-honoring faithfulness is addressed to the kindred, tribe, and people who are saved by grace.” 21
Christian from the moment he is saved. … Next to the delinquency of In the following statements: A is the promise of eternal life, B contains
misstating the gospel with its immeasurable penalty (Gal 1:8-9), is the so the two primary and foremost commands of before and after eternal life is
prevalent practice on the part of preachers of presenting Christian-life truth received, and C is the is the experiential verification of eternal life. The
to the unsaved without warning them that such truth is not addressed to righteousness of God apart from the law is explained to in the quotation
147 148
from Romans that follows. (all Bible verses are from the NET, 2nd Beta he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, but his brother’s were
Edition, 2003) righteous.
3:13 Therefore do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world
A - John 5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my hates you. 3:14 We know that we have crossed over from death to life
message and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not because we love our fellow Christians. The one who does not love
be condemned, but has crossed over from death to life. remains in death. 3:15 Everyone who hates his fellow Christian is a
murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in
B – John 12:44 But Jesus shouted out, “The one who believes in him. 3:16 We have come to know love by this: that Jesus laid down his
me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me, 12:45 and the life for us; thus we ought to lay down our lives for our fellow Christians.
one who sees me sees the one who sent me. 12:46 I have come as a light 3:17 But whoever has the world’s possessions and sees his fellow
into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain Christian in need and shuts off his compassion against him, how can the
in darkness. 12:47 If anyone hears my words and does not obey them, I love of God reside in such a person?
do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save 3:18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue but in
the world. 12:48 The one who rejects me and does not accept my words deed and truth. 3:19 And by this we will know that we are of the truth
has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day. 12:49 and will convince our conscience in his presence, 3:20 that if our
For I have not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself conscience condemns us, that God is greater than our conscience and
who sent me has commanded me what I should say and what I should knows all things. 3:21 Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn
speak. 12:50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. Thus the us, we have confidence in the presence of God, 3:22 and whatever we
things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.” ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do
13:34 “I give you a new commandment—to love one another. Just the things that are pleasing to him. 3:23 Now this is his commandment:
as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 13:35 Everyone that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one
will know by this that you are my disciples—if you have love for one another, just as he gave us the commandment. 3:24 And the person who
another.” keeps his commandments resides in God, and God in him. Now by this
15:9 “Just as the Father has loved me, I have also loved you; remain we know that God resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us.
in my love. 15:10 If you obey my commandments, you will remain in
my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commandments and remain Romans
in his love. 15:11 I have told you these things so that my joy may be in
you, and your joy may be complete. 15:12 My commandment is this—to 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for
love one another just as I have loved you. 15:13 No one has greater love salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the
than this—that one lays down his life for his friends. 15:14 You are my Greek. 1:17 For the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel from
friends if you do what I command you. 15:15 I no longer call you [by] faith to [for] faith, just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will
slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. live.”
But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything
I heard from my Father. 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you 3:1 Therefore what advantage does the Jew have, or what is the
and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that remains, so that value of circumcision? 3:2 Actually, there are many advantages. First of
whatever you ask the Father in my name he will give you. 15:17 This I all, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God. 3:3 What then? If
command you—to love one another. some did not believe, does their unbelief nullify the faithfulness of God?
3:4 Absolutely not! Let God be proven true, and every human being
C - 1 John 3:11 For this is the gospel message that you have heard shown up as a liar, just as it is written: “so that you will be justified in
from the beginning: that we should love one another, 3:12 not like Cain your words and will prevail when you are judged.”
who was of the evil one and brutally murdered his brother. And why did 3:5 But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of
God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous,
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is he? (I am speaking in human terms.) 3:6 Absolutely not! For righteousness in the present time, so that he would be just and the
otherwise how could God judge the world? 3:7 For if by my lie the truth justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness.
of God enhances12 his glory, why am I still actually being judged as a 3:27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded! By what principle? Of
sinner? 3:8 And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may come of works? No, but by the principle of faith! 3:28 For we consider that a
it”?—as some who slander us allege that we say. (Their condemnation is person is declared righteous by faith apart from the works of the law.
deserved!) 3:29 Or is God the God of the Jews only? Is he not the God of the
Gentiles too? Yes, of the Gentiles too! 3:30 Since God is one, he will
The Condemnation of the World justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.
3:31 Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! Instead
3:9 What then? Are we better off? Certainly not, for we have we uphold the law.
already charged that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin, 3:10 just as
it is written: The Illustration of Justification
“There is no one righteous, not even one, 4:1 What then shall we say that Abraham, our ancestor according to
3:11 there is no one who understands, the flesh, has discovered regarding this matter? 4:2 For if Abraham was
there is no one who seeks God. declared righteous by the works of the law, he has something to boast
3:12 All have turned away, about—but not before God. 4:3 For what does the scripture say?
together they have become worthless; “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
there is no one who shows kindness, not even one.” 4:4 Now to the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but
3:13 “Their throats are open graves, due to obligation. 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in
they deceive with their tongues, the one who declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as
the poison of asps is under their lips.” righteousness.
3:14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 4:6 So even David himself speaks regarding the blessedness of the
3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
3:16 ruin and misery are in their paths,
3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.” 4:7 “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and
3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” whose sins are covered;
4:8 blessed is the one against whom the Lord will never count
3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who sin.”
are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole
world may be held accountable to God. 3:20 For no one is declared 4:9 Is this blessedness then for the circumcision or also for the
righteous before him by the works of the law, for through the law comes uncircumcision? For we say, “faith was credited to Abraham as
the knowledge of sin. 3:21 But now apart from the law the righteousness righteousness.” 4:10 How then was it credited to him? Was he
of God (which is attested by the law and the prophets) has been circumcised at the time, or not? No, he was not circumcised but
disclosed— 3:22 namely, the righteousness of God through the uncircumcised! 4:11 And he received the sign of circumcision as a seal
faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still
distinction, 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. uncircumcised, so that he would become the father of all those who
3:24 But they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption believe but have never been circumcised, that they too could have
that is in Christ Jesus. 3:25 God publicly displayed him at his death as righteousness credited to them. 4:12 And he is also the father of the
the mercy seat accessible through faith. This was to demonstrate his circumcised, who are not only circumcised, but who also walk in the
righteousness, because God in his forbearance had passed over the sins footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham possessed when he was
previously committed. 3:26 This was also to demonstrate his still uncircumcised.
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4:13 For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he 10:1 Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God on
would inherit the world was not fulfilled through the law, but through behalf of my fellow Israelites is for their salvation. 10:2 For I can testify
the righteousness that comes by faith. 4:14 For if they become heirs by that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not in line with the truth.
the law, faith is empty and the promise is nullified. 4:15 For the law 10:3 For ignoring the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking
brings wrath, because where there is no law there is no transgression instead to establish their own righteousness, they did not submit to God’s
either. 4:16 For this reason it is by faith so that it may be by grace, with righteousness. 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law, with the result that
the result that the promise may be certain to all the descendants—not there is righteousness for everyone who believes.
only to those who are under the law, but also to those who have the faith 10:5 For Moses writes about the righteousness that is by the law:
of Abraham, who is the father of us all 4:17 (as it is written, “I have “The one who does these things will live by them.” 10:6 But the
made you the father of many nations”). He is our father in the presence righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will
of God whom he believed—the God who makes the dead alive and ascend into heaven?’” (that is, to bring Christ down) 10:7 or “Who will
summons the things that do not yet exist as though they already do. 4:18 descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). 10:8
Against hope Abraham believed in hope with the result that he became But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your
the father of many nations according to the pronouncement, “so will heart” (that is, the word of faith that we preach), 10:9 because if you
your descendants be.” 4:19 Without being weak in faith, he considered confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that
his own body as dead (because he was about one hundred years old) and God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10:10 For with the
the deadness of Sarah’s womb. 4:20 He did not waver in unbelief about heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one
the promise of God but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. confesses and thus has salvation. 10:11 For the scripture says, “Everyone
4:21 He was fully convinced that what God promised he was also able who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 10:12 For there is no
to do. 4:22 So indeed it was credited to Abraham as righteousness. distinction between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord is Lord of
4:23 But the statement it was credited to him was not written only all, who richly blesses all who call on him. 10:13 For everyone who calls
for Abraham’s sake, 4:24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be on the name of the Lord will be saved.
credited, those who believe in the one who raised Jesus our Lord from 10:14 How are they to call on one they have not believed in? And
the dead. 4:25 He was given over because of our transgressions and was how are they to believe in one they have not heard of? And how are they
raised for the sake of our justification. to hear without someone preaching to them? 10:15 And how are they to
preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How timely is the arrival
of those who proclaim the good news.” 10:16 But not all have obeyed
the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?”
Israel’s Rejection Culpable 10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard
comes through the preached word of Christ.
9:30 What shall we say then?—that the Gentiles who did not pursue 10:18 But I ask, have they not heard? Yes, they have: Their voice
righteousness obtained it, that is, a righteousness that is by faith, 9:31 but has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.
Israel even though pursuing a law of righteousness did not attain it. 9:32 10:19 But again I ask, didn’t Israel understand? First Moses says, “I will
Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but (as if it were possible) make you jealous by those who are not a nation; with a senseless
by works. They stumbled over the stumbling stone [Jesus Christ], 9:33 nation I will provoke you to anger.” 10:20 And Isaiah is even bold
just as it is written, enough to say, “I was found by those who did not seek me; I became
well known to those who did not ask for me.” 10:21 But about Israel he
“Look, I am laying in Zion a stone that will cause people to says, “All day long I held out my hands to this disobedient and
stumble stubborn people!”
and a rock that will make them fall,
yet the one who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
153 154
[ Pause ]
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God
that showeth mercy (Rom 9:16)
155 156
The Righteousness of Sweeney Todd I am overcome and fallen from a grace I can never deserve. I am
held hostage to doubt, blackmailed by religion, and left to make sense of
For the last time the shiny blade does its job. Tightly in my wet palm, it all! … Lies! Damnable lies! They are wrong. … Faith has made reason
I grip the ragged yellow page. I know it by heart. Yet, no better than I do my friend. … Oh, glorious day! I am forgiven! You died my death and
my unfaithful wife: “Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom shed your blood for me. Save me! Give me your resurrection life, sweet
tribute is due; custom to whom custom is due; fear to whom fear; honor faithful Jesus. Love me! Fulfill the law for me, before I leave this wicked
to whom honor. Owe no man any world to be with you – today in Paradise!
thing, but to love one another:
for he that loveth another hath
fulfilled the law. For this, Thou
shalt not kill, Thou shalt not
steal, Thou shalt not bear false
witness, Thou shalt not covet;
and if there be any other com-
mandment, it is briefly
comprehended in this saying,
namely, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thy self. Love
worketh no ill to his neighbor
therefore: love is the fulfilling of
the law.”
My head is shaved. Time to
pay. … No stay of death will
stop what’s coming my way. …
My thoughts are razor sharp. They slash and bleed my doubting heart. …
Am I saved? Am I saved? ... If I can lose my salvation that means there
are unforgiven sins of mine that Christ did not die for and I am lost. If
my sin after saving faith can defeat my salvation, how was my sin
forgiven in the first place? Is it not the blood of Christ that washes away
all my sin? If I can be saved again, then I am back to where I started and
I am lost. If salvation is a reward then Christ died for nothing and I am
lost! Oh, wretched man that I am! Condemned to die! Who will save me
from the miserable followers of a God they command: “Save thyself!
Save thyself! Come down from the cross”?
157 158
The Denial of Grace
159 160
The Judgment of Works Anything short of complete trust in Christ as Savior, no matter how
religious, is unbelief that will lead to the truth of the Biblical second death
revealed in full by the Ascended Jesus to John the Apostle as the judgment
\Ç tÄÄ à{x U|uÄx ÉÇÄç ]xáâá {xtÄxw à{x uÄ|ÇwA g{x ÂxçxáÊ áçÅuÉÄ|éx of works at the Great White Throne. Jesus is the Savoir of wicked humanity
and brother to the redeemed in Christ. Jesus will sit in Judgment over
~ÇÉãÄxwzxA wicked humanity as the redeemed in Christ watch.
Adam and Eve were created in Innocence, but it was corrupted by the
degeneration of the Fall. Imperfect knowledge and sin has been the estate of
every generation since. Wicked mankind is helpless to choose anything
except the “imperfect knowledge” of a fallen cosmos diabolicus that is not in
harmony with the nature and character of God. Which is the very definition
of sin. Free will is perfected by perfect knowledge and by this only - the
revelation that comes through faith that Jesus Christ died for our sin and is
the Living Resurrected Substitute for an imperfect life, not a dead man on a
cross that needs our righteousness to resurrect Him. A believer keeps his
original sin nature the same as an unbeliever. Nothing a believer does in life
adds or subtracts from an eternal salvation secured by the sustaining work of
Jesus Christ in Heaven as our High Priest. Unbelievers and believers suffer
consequences for sin in this life, certainly, but unbelievers do not have such
benefits as the peace of mind provided by faith in a trustworthy Father and
the guarantee of eternal peace with the Son of God.
The unbeliever is rebelling against
a King he can never defeat. To scoff at
the truth of Jesus Christ and the offer
of Himself as the Substitute for your Luke16:16 “The law and the prophets were in force until John [the Baptist];
just pun-ishment is cold comfort in since then, the good news of the kingdom of God has been proclaimed, and
this life only. The same cold comfort everyone is urged to enter it. NET
is afforded to a religious philosophy
that points to Heaven as a reward. John 6:63 The Spirit is the one who gives life; human nature is of no help!
Condemning God for unsaved The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. NET
aborigines, when you yourself deny
Christ, is akin to starving yourself to Gal 4:3 So also we, when we were minors, were enslaved under the basic
death because of famine somewhere forces6 of the world. 4:4 But when the appropriate time had come, God sent
across the world. Bear in mind that all out his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 4:5 to redeem those who
but eight people were destroyed by the were under the law, so that we may be adopted as sons with full rights. 4:6
flood. Bear in mind that all Gentiles, And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
save a very few, until Christ, were who calls “Abba! Father!” 4:7 So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if
without a hope of salvation. God revealed Himself to Abraham and the you are a son, then you are also an heir through God.
Apostle Paul. God reveals Himself in Scripture, Old and New Testament. NET
161 162
sake. 4:6 For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,” is the one who
6tn Or “basic principles,” “elemental things,” or “elemental spirits.” Some shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge of God in
interpreters take this as a reference to supernatural powers who controlled the face of Christ.
nature and/or human fate.
Clarence Larkin, in the closing page of his classic book The Spirit
World, writes the following:
The Wicked or Ungodly will not be judged to see whether they are entitled
to Eternal Life, but to ascertain the “degree” of their punishment. The sad
feature of this Judgment will be that there will be many kind and lovable
people there who are not saved, and who will be classed among the
“ungodly” because they rejected Christ as a Savior. The “Books” will be
opened in which the “Recording Angel” has kept a record of every person’s
life, and they will be judged every man according to his “works.” Some will
be sentenced to a more severe punishment than others, but none will escape.
The worst of all this is, that those who were not so bad must spend eternity Concerning the veil that is cast by Satan over the minds of men, F.C.
with the ungodly, and that in the “Lake of Fire.” Jennings writes:
2 Cor 4:3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are He so weaves the course of this age: its religious forms, ceremonies, external
perishing, 4:4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of decencies, respectabilities, and conventionalities as to form a thick veil, that
those who do not believe so they would not see the light of the glorious entirely hides “the glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus,” which consists
gospel of Christ, who is the image of God. 4:5 For we do not proclaim in righteous mercy to penitent sinners only. This veil is not formed by evil
ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ living depravity, or any form of what passes for evil amongst men; but by
163 164
cold formality, heartless decency, proud self-complacency, highly esteemed
external respectability, and we must add church membership - all without
Christ. It is the most fatal of all delusions, the thickest of all veils, and the
most common. It is this way because it is religious, respectable, decent
“seems right to a man but the end thereof is death”; for there is no Christ, no
lamb of God, no Blood of Atonement in it. (Satan, pp 29-30) (quoted in
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, Vol 2 p.98)
The fatal delusion “that seems right to a man but the end thereof is death”
will conclude in a very real, non-metaphorical hell.
“As heaven is a place, so also, is hell a place. Words such as Hades (Mtw
11:23; 16:18; Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 1:18; 20:13-14) - a place of “torment”
(Luke 16:28). Figurative language is used by Christ Himself - “everlasting
fire” (Mtw 25:41); “where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not
quenched” (Mark 9:44); “the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone”
(Rev 21:8); bottomless pit (Rev 9:2); “outer darkness,” a place of “weeping
and gnashing of teeth” (Mtw 8:12); “fire unquenchable” (Luke 3:17); and
“the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have
no rest day or night” (Rev 14:11).” 22
165 166
The Final Judgment
The Great White Throne
The heavens and the earth , which are now, by the same word are kept in
store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men … [when] the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that
are therein shall be burned up.23 Then I saw a large white throne and the
one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence,
and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the
small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another
book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was
written in the books, according to their deeds. The sea gave up the dead that
were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and
each one was judged according to his deeds. Then Death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. If
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was
thrown into the lake of fire. 24
167 168
The Great White Throne and the Judgment of Works been made; for there will be none present whose names are written in that
book. God’s irrevocable answer to human sin is the lake of fire, which is the
second death. He may save men from it only as a Substitute answers the
holy demands made of them and they receive that Provision for them. Too
often men are blinded by the awfulness of this divine judgment against sin
and contend that, since God is love, He will not finally execute all that is
here predicted; but be it said again that, if God could save even one lost soul
on the ground of His compassion apart from the righteous judgments
wrought out by Christ in His death, He could save all lost souls by mere
compassion, in which case the death of Christ becomes not only needless,
but the greatest blunder of the universe. The glorious truth which needs ever
to be proclaimed is that lost souls may be saved, which truth is good news
indeed, but they may be saved only in and through Christ. Apart from Christ
as Savior, there is no salvation. Even infinite wisdom, power, and love can
provide no other escape from the holy judgments of God against sin. What
God may do with those who die having never heard the gospel is not
revealed, nor could it be revealed. The Scriptures present the unevangelized
as wholly lost. Their estate is the impelling call to missionary endeavor. If
men might be saved by their ignorance of the gospel, it were well never to
take the gospel to them lest, being enlightened, they reject the message and
come to be lost forever. Christians being instant in season and out of season
are to present this gospel to all who are yet living on the earth. This
Dr. Lewis Chafer: judgment scene lends no support to the fancy that men who reject Christ in
this life will have another chance in realms beyond death. The unsaved
At the end of the thousand years [the millennium] this the last and all remain what they were when death intervened and until they stand thus
inclusive resurrection will take place. The number of those to be resurrected before God’s great white throne to be judged according to their works.” 25
is incomprehensible. It is estimated that for every living person now on the
earth at least one hundred have died and been buried. So far from being “the This writer:
land of the living,” strictly speaking, earth is now the greatest cemetery that
that could ever be conceived. It is out of this state of bodily death that the For the Christian, faith and hope is swallowed up in seeing God and
dead will rise to judgment. Their resurrection serves to bring all of only love remains. For the unsaved, death and the corporeal conviction that
remaining humanity before God in judgment and to prepare them for their death is the end will be swallowed up in seeing God. When only an endless
conscious destiny in the lake of fire. The books are opened and men are waiting will remain – not death, or extinction.
judged according to their works. It will be remembered that in all ages – men Time is a construction and creation of God. Death as a curse
have been under the inherent law or obligation to satisfy the design and encompasses the triple aspects of the physical, the spiritual, and the eternal.
purpose of their Creator. The believer has been perfected before God forever In the light of the revealed truth of God’s Word, death and the word wait
and therefore answers in his Christ-wrought perfection every demand of God become synonyms: “n (plural waits) time spent waiting: a period of time
upon him. In the present age, however, men are condemned not only for spent while expecting something to happen. The wait seemed to go on
their unholy estate, but on the ground of their failure to respond to divine forever.” 26 Death, as ordained by God, when fully comprehended, may only
grace as it is offered them in Christ. At the present time evil works are be seen as an ad interim instrument of God. Death comes full circle from the
wholly climaxed through an attitude of unbelief toward the Redeemer. The Fall of Adam in Genesis to the abolishment of death in Revelation.
Lamb’s book of life is opened – evidently to demonstrate that no mistake has
169 170
Understood as such, death becomes a divinely decreed state of waiting.
In this age, God, who himself is not bound by time, permissively “waits”
upon the living to “obey the gospel of the grace of God.” The redeemed wait
until they are released from the flesh of Adam and the sin nature and, the
time of completion when they are clothed in the same glorified body as
Christ their Savior. As a result of Adam’s sin, those who die without
accepting the gift of forgiveness, eternal life, and the righteousness of Christ
must await sentencing when their full measure of torment in the eternal
damnation of the second death [wait] is determined by Christ: “In dying
[waiting] thou shalt die [wait]” (Gen 2:17, literal Hebrew translation). That
which follows is a dramatized account of a most real future Judgment of the
lost and their works.
171 172
The Judgment of John Miley repeat the three line phrase, “Holy! Holy! Holy! - Holy! Holy! Holy! -
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!”
I WILL SEE you sooner or later,
either nearby among the crowds
of the blessed elect or at a
distance. If at a distance - when
a cold chill runs down my back
- as my eyes find you naked in
your evil and stripped of all
borrowed goodness. Stand-ing
alone and clothed in a
resurrected body fit for a
criminal. Alone and small in
front of a high, gleaming,
glistening Great White Throne
that shines with the glory of
Christ Jesus seated in
Judgment. Jesus the King of
kings and the Lord of lords with
an Iron Rod in His fist. I watch
as you bend your knee and
confess that Jesus is Lord. He
then cries out loudly, to the You stand erect, not bowed, your shoulders braced against your heaving
ends of Heaven, “I never knew sobs. During the thousand years or more that you spent with the condemned
you! Be gone from Me, you lawbreaker!” Thus, openly confirming the followers of religion, open rebels, and the lost from previous ages who were
record your self-excluding sin of rejecting Him as the all sufficient waiting on this day, you gained perfect recall and know your greatest sin
Substitute for your rebellion and the Master of your destiny. The attending was to spread the gospel of death, “for what seems right to a man but the end
angel blots out your name from the Book of Life. Another angel then reads thereof is death.” Truth has pierced through to your very soul. You know
off your unforgiven acts in unbelief and calls out each of the light filled that there is no higher Judge, there is no redemption for those who did not
occasions in your darkened life when the Holy Spirit witnessed through trust the One who was the Death of death for a forfeit life that now is yours
Saints the truth of the Gospel of the Grace of God that saves eternally. to bear for all eternity. As you hear your own Requiem of Damnation, a river
Then, at the Throne, Heaven shrinks - and the degree of eternal anguish of regret, that Mercy can never answer, streams from your eyes and flows
assigned to your fate, when announced by the King, becomes like a terrible down the curves and hollows of your naked body of shame - then disappears
judgment in a small room. On one side of the Throne the redeemed Saints of into the dry stones you stand on. These, your last tears for all eternity.
Heaven in unison, in multitudes, sing His praises in the minor chords of Silently, in great reluctance, I see Christ pour your unclaimed eternal
sorrow, the never to be told agonies only the glorified God-Man knows full life in the Church, His Body, slowly into the bowl of the unredeemed, back
well. Chords of sound from the natural world that He created. Chords the into the sea of the lost. The life He exchanged for His Blood at the Cross, the
Saints learned in earthly sorrow. On the opposite side of the Throne, the exchange of His infinite capacity to suffer separation from His Father for
Angels recite His praises in a host after host of ten thousand. Now, in a your limited capacity to suffer separation from Him - for all eternity. The
sustained thunderclap of accord, the singing Saints and the reciting Angels portion made out to His glory. It was never your portion. It was His gift with
your name on it, a gift waiting for you to claim with your trust. The twenty-
four elders enter and surround you, each in turn says, “So be it.” The last
173 174
Amen over your soul. An Angel reads, “Close the Book, put out the Candle,
ring the Bell.” Another Angel closes the Book, the Light leaves the Throne,
and a double note Bell tolls three times. Six notes for the mark of a man with
no Christ for a Savior.
A Saint and an Angel from your life step out from the witnessing Host
of Heaven. A loved one who prayed for your salvation, and a familiar face
sent by Jesus to warn you. They lift you, first your weight, then themselves
and carry you from the darkened Throne and then across the Gulf of
Perdition to your final destination of endless, fruitless repentance. Where
unrelieved torment, not torture, has been gauged to your degree of rebellion
and this the worm that never dies - your eternal memory of the unforgiven
sin that separates you from the Love that is life in Jesus Christ.
There in Ghenna, the final destination of the Darkness of Judgment, the
Everlasting Lake of Fire, in solitude your soul will live a Second Death for
all eternity, in waiting you will wait, in separation you will be separated,
until the everlasting ages of the ages. In your willing self-confident religion
of rejection you chose the fate of Satan. Satan, that ancient Serpent who
strove in countless ways to deceive as many as would refuse an eternal
salvation in the Light of the Righteousness of Christ Jesus. His deception,
your rejection, has led you into the final reality and personal responsibility
of the truth of the just curse of the Fall–
“The soul that sins shall surely die [wait in separation from the love of
Christ for all eternity].”
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The Miracles of Christ in Behalf of His “Neighbors”
and His Message of “the Kingdom is at Hand” was a
Total Failure
But His death “took away the sins of the world” and His resurrection
and ascension provides an eternally new life for all believers who live
because He lives. The divine plan ordained by God “before the
foundation of the world” - revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ - is an
absolute success and endures forever each time it is accepted.
John 15:22 If I [Jesus] had not come and spoken to them, they would not
be guilty of sin. But they no longer have any excuse for their sin. 15:23
The one who hates me hates my Father too. 15:24 If I had not performed
among them the miraculous deeds that no one else did, they would not be
guilty of sin. But now they have seen the deeds and have hated both me
and my Father. 15:25 Now this happened to fulfill the word that is
written in their law, ‘They hated me without reason.’ 15:26 When the
Advocate comes, whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of
truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me, 15:27 and
you also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.
NET
The Crux Interpretum
Lev 17:11 for the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I [Jehovah] have
given it to you upon the altar to make an 1atonement (Heb. kaphar=to
cover) for your souls [Heb. soul/life]: for it is the blood that maketh an
atonement (a covering on the altar by means of the life of the animal) for
your soul (Heb. soul/life). KJV
1
(17:11) (1) The value of the “life” is the measure of the value of the
“blood.” This gives the blood of Christ its inconceivable value. When it
was shed the sinless God-man gave His life. “It is not possible that the
blood of bulls and of goats could take away sins” (Heb 10:4). (2) It is not
the blood in the veins of the of the sacrifice, but the blood upon the
altar which is efficacious. The Scripture knows nothing of salvation by
the imitation or [moral] influence of Christ’s life, but only by that life
yielded up on the cross. 27
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The Exchanged Life lives, greater works today than he did in the days of his flesh. That is what
he is saying.
Ray C. Stedman writes:
It is rather startling to realize that the work of the Incarnate Christ, that is,
John 14:12 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in me will also do the Jesus Christ of Nazareth working and walking among men, was, at its end,
works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I go to the apparently a total and complete failure. We marvel as we read the story or
Father. RSV the beginning of his ministry. Those miracles he did, astonishing things,
raising men from the dead, healing the sick, opening the eyes of the blind,
Now, in Verse 12, the promise is tremendously plain. Jesus said, “He who delivering men, women and little children from the oppression of demons,
believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these touching with his hands the withered arm of a man and immediately it
will he do.” That frightens and staggers us. It is theoretically acceptable, but springs into full growth and life again. We read the tremendous words that
it is practically unbelievable. We refuse to accept it at face value. We came from his lips, The Sermon on the Mount, the parables beside the
wonder if there is not a catch somewhere. There must be, we say, for is Jesus seashore, these mysterious, marvelous, compelling things that he said. And
really saying that Christians living today, in this 20th century, do not only the we do not wonder at the crowds that followed him, hounding him, following
works which he did but greater works than these? Is that what he is saying? him even into retreat, insisting upon his ministry, so that the news spread
The promise is so staggering that we attempt to immediately to soften it. We like wildfire throughout the land of Israel that here was a prophet in the
say to ourselves, “Can this be true of me? After all, I am not Jesus Christ, Israel again. Men left their work and their cities and their ordinary activities
and, therefore, I cannot be expected to do what he did.” But how do you of life and went out to hear what he had to say, following him hours upon
square an excuse like that with a verse like this? For in it Jesus plainly says, end.
“He who believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works
than these will he do.” That was the beginning. But when you come to the end, where are the
crowds? Long before, they had already begun to diminish. “Many went back
Here is where we need to listen very carefully to exactly what it is he is and walked no more with him” (cf. John 6:66 KJV), the writers of the gospel
saying. For Jesus is not saying here that a sincere, dedicated Christian of tell us. Already many of the searching things that he had been saying had
1964 will actually be able, in his sincerity and his dedicated religious effort, separated the weak from the strong, and many had gone back and refused to
to do what Jesus did in the 1st century, let alone do greater works than he follow him anymore. By the last week the actual number of disciples had
did. In other words, he is not contrasting our labors now with his labors then. been reduced to a comparative handful. And even these, in the hour of his
He is not saying that dedicated Christian men and women are really going to capture and appearance before Pilate, forsook him and fled. In the time of
transcend what he accomplished as the Son of God Incarnate among men. his need they left him. There was only a tiny band of one man and three or
What he is saying is, as the Risen Christ, he will do through us greater works four women that gathered around the foot of the cross. That was all the
than he did as the Incarnate Christ living among men. Do you see the Incarnate Christ had to show for the marvelous ministry in the power of the
difference? Spirit which he had manifested among men. A total failure! That is the value
of the work he did.
Notice what he links with this: “because I go to the Father.” What does he
mean? Why, it was his going to the Father that released the full potential of Now do you see what he means when he says, “greater works than these will
the Godhead for human lives and affairs. While he was here on earth the you do, because I go to the Father?” His ministry among men, as a man, was
fullness of God was available to man only in one human body, the body of a failure. It did not remain; it had no enduring effects. Those who came,
Jesus. By the strength and indwelling life of the Father he did all the works attracted by the things they saw, faded back into the shadows when
that we marvel at as we read the story of his life. But what he is saying now persecution began to grow. No one stayed with him. But there is a very
is, that as the Risen Christ, ascended to the throne of his Father, he himself significant promise uttered in the midst of this Upper Room Discourse that
will do through us, in terms of our personalities, and by the activity of our he addresses to these disciples. In John 15:16 he says to them, “your fruit
should remain.”
179 180
John 15:16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you
should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain.
What you do in the power of the Spirit will not fade away. Those that you
win to Christ, those that are brought by the ministry that you will be
ministering will abide, and this cause will nourish in the earth and spread
unto the uttermost parts till every nation shall hear the word, and out of
every tribe and nation of earth shall come, at last, fruit that shall remain.
This is what he means, “Greater work than these shall you do, because I go
to the Father.” It is his work in us. 28
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The Amazing Second Revelation of the Apostle Paul
“That your fruit should remain” (John 15:16) is guaranteed by the

present ministry of Christ ascended in heaven. Whereby, He maintains
the continued justification of all believers in His own righteousness. For
this reason, the first revelation of the Apostle Paul - salvation from the
penalty of sin and “justification by faith” - is without condition and
inviolable. The second revelation given to Paul was that the completion
of the Body of Christ - in the fullness of Christ – which is the divine
purpose of God in the gospel of saving grace. God is presently working,
not to reform men from the sinful and earthly creation in Adam (cf. all
of 1 Cor 15); but to transform believers into a new race of men who
are heavenly sons and daughters of God who will be perfected and
“made in the image Christ.”
Double-click to hear John chapter 15
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life—that they know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
NET
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The Church, the Body of Christ divisions are practically never treated in works of Systematic Theology,
while the second, if mentioned at all, is usually restricted to peculiar features
This section is an abridged excerpt from the preface of Dr. Lewis of some sect or branch of the visible church with specific reference to
Chafer’s Systematic Theology, 29 copyrighted in 1948, and is addressed to organization and ordinance.
the new students of Dallas Theological Seminary: The Book of Acts and the Epistles introduce the fact of a new
classification of humanity termed the Church which group is, also, properly
“While it is true that the Bible is the source of the material which enters designated as a part of the New Creation since each individual within the
into Systematic Theology, it is equally true that the function of Systematic group has experienced the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor
Theology is to unfold the Bible. In its natural state, gold is often passed over 5:17; Gal 6:15).
by those with undiscerning eyes. Likewise, the treasures of divine truth are The works of Systematic Theology generally have recognized the
observed only by those who are trained to recognize them. … It is a short redeemed people of this age, but only as a supposed sequence or
step indeed from the ignorance of doctrine to the rejection and ridicule of it, continuation in the progress of the divine purpose in Israel. They refer to
and it can be safely stated that there is no rejection of sound doctrine which “the Old Testament Church” and to “the New Testament Church” as
is not based on ignorance. together constituting component parts of one divine project, thus failing to
While the seminary student needs as much today to major in Systematic recognize those distinctions between Israel and the Church which, being so
Theology as ever, the trend unfortunately, is to substitute philosophy, radical in character, serve to indicate the widest possible differences between
psychology, and sociology for theology. This may be somewhat accounted them – difference as to origin, difference as to character and responsibility,
for by the fact that Biblical doctrine is a revelation and the substitutes are and difference as to destiny. There are at least twenty-four far-reaching
within the range of the thinking of the natural man. … distinctions yet to be observed between Israel and the Church, while there
The question as to the evil effects of an abridged theology may be are about twelve major features common to both; but the obvious similarities
considered with a full recognition of the fact that an abridgement of doctrine do not set aside the differences. The fact that revelation concerning both
in the seminary leaves the pastor disqualified by so much, and his limitation Israel and the Church includes the truth about God, holiness, sin, and
will be reflected in the stunting not only of his own spiritual life but of the redemption by blood, does not eliminate a far greater body of truth in which
spiritual life and activity of all who wait upon his ministry. … it is disclosed that Israelites become such by natural birth while Christians
Why unabridged? Simply because a part of anything is never equivalent become such by spiritual birth; that Israelites were appointed to live and
to its whole. A lifelong investigation into works on Systematic Theology has serve under a meritorious, legal system, while Christians live and serve
resulted in the discovery that in the field of doctrine at least seven major under a gracious system; that Israelites as a nation, have their citizenship
themes are consistently neglected. Few readers, indeed, are in a position to now and their future destiny centered only in the earth, reaching on to the
detect what is left out of a work on theology. These omissions are: (1) the new earth which is yet to be, while Christians have their citizenship and
divine program of the ages [e.g., dispensations, KJV world=Gk. aions, ages]; future destiny centered only in heaven, extending on into the new heavens
(2) the Church, the Body of Christ; (3) human conduct and the spiritual life; that are yet to be (for both earthly and heavenly blessings see Rev 21:1-22:7;
(4) Angelology; (5) typology; (6) prophecy; and (7) the present session of 2 Pet 3:10-13; Heb 1:10-12; Isa 65:17; 66:22). …
Christ in heaven. That the loss of he whole range of doctrine sustained by (3) In His death and resurrection the same two widely different
these omissions may be pointed out, it is necessary to indicate some of the objectives are discernable. To Israel His death was a stumbling block (1 Cor
important features of each doctrine. 1:23), nor was His death any part of His office as King over Israel – “Long
live the king!”; yet, in His death Israel had her share to the extent that He
II. THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST dealt finally with the sins committed aforetime, which sins had been only
covered according to the provisions of the Old Testament atonement (Rom
Ecclesiology, or the doctrine of the Church, incorporates three main 3:25). By His death the way was prepared for any individual Jew to be saved
divisions – (a) the rue Church, the Body of Christ, (b) the organized or through faith in Him; and by His death a sufficient ground was secured
visible church, and (c) the walk and service of those who are saved in this whereon God will yet “take away” the sins of that nation at the time when
dispensation. Though of tremendous importance, the first and third of these “all Israel shall be saved” (Rom 11:27). However, the nation Israel sustains
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no relation to the resurrection of of Christ other than that which David records the former estate of Gentiles and Jews and the present estate of those
foresaw, namely, that if Christ died He must be raised again from the dead in who are now saved, whether of one group or the other. We read concerning
order that He might sit on David’s throne (Ps 16:10; Acts 2:25-31). Over the Gentile, “that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the
against this, it is revealed that Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise,
it (Eph 5:25-27), and that His resurrection is the beginning of the New having no hope, and without God in the world” (Eph 2:12). Of the Jew we
Creation of God, which includes the many sons whom He is bringing into read, “Who are Israelites; to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory,
glory (Heb 2:10). In that New Creation relationship, the believer is in the and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the
resurrected Christ and the resurrected Christ is in the believer. This twofold promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom concerning the flesh Christ
unity establishes an identity of relationship which surpasses all human came, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.” (Rom 9:4, 5). But of the
understanding. It is even likened by Christ to the unity which exists between Church we read, “Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
the Persons of the Godhead (John 17:21-23). By the baptism of the Spirit, hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
wrought, as it is for everyone, when one believes (1 Cor 12:13), the saved according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
one is joined to the Lord (1 Cor 6:17; Gal 3:27), and by that union with the that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: having
resurrected Christ is made a partaker of His resurrection life (Col 1:27), is predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself,
translated out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his
love (Col 1:13), is crucified, dead, and buried with Christ, and is raised to grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved” (Eph 1:3-6).
walk in newness of life (Rom 6:2-4; Col 3:1), is now seated with Christ in With the same fundamental distinction in view, the Apostle makes
the heavenlies (Eph 2:6), is a citizen of heaven (Phil 3:20), is forgiven all separate enumeration of the Jews, the Gentiles, and the Church of God (1
trespasses (Col 2:13), is justified (Rom 5:1), and blessed with every spiritual Cor 10:32); and again in Ephesians 2:11 he refers to the Gentiles as the
blessing (Eph 1:3). This vast body of truth, which is but slightly indicated Uncircumcision [unsanctified], and the Jews as the Circumcision made with
here, is not found in the Old Testament, nor are the Old Testament saints hands [sanctified by self]; but in Colossians 2:11 he refers to the
ever said to be related thus to the resurrected Christ. It is impossible for Circumcision made without hands [sanctification made by God]. The latter
these great disclosures to be fitted into a theological system which does not designation indicates the supernatural standing and character of those who
distinguish the heavenly character of the Church as in contrast to the earthly comprise the Body of Christ.
character of Israel. This failure on the part of these systems of theology to Though in its time established and imposed by Jehovah, Judaism did not
discern the character of the true Church, related wholly, as it is, to the merge into Christianity, nor does it now provide the slightest advantage to
resurrected Christ, accounts for the usual omission from these theological the individual Jew who would become a Christian. With reference to
writings of any extended treatment of the doctrine of Christ’s resurrection Christianity, Jews and Gentiles are now, alike, “under sin.” They need
and all related doctrines. … identically the same grace of God (Rom 3:9), and that grace is offered to
Two revelations were given to the Apostle Paul: (1) That of salvation to them on precisely the same terms (Rom 10:12). Nicodemus, who was
infinite perfection for the individual Jew and Gentile alike through faith in apparently a most perfect specimen of Judaism, was told by Christ that he
Christ and on the ground of His death and resurrection (gal 1:11, 12). That must be born again, and the Apostle Paul prayed that the Israelites who had
this salvation is an exercise of grace which far surpasses anything hitherto “a zeal for God” might be saved. They were at fault in that after the new and
experienced in the Old Testament, is clearly revealed in 1 Peter 1:10, where limitless privileges in grace had come through Christ (John 1:17), they still
it is stated, “Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched clung to the old meritorious features of Judaism, “going about to establish
diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.” (2) That their own righteousness” and not submitting themselves to the imputed
of the new divine purpose in the outcalling of the Church (Eph 3:6). This righteousness of God (Rom 10:13).
new purpose is not that Gentiles are merely to be blessed. Old Testament The one who cannot recognize that the Church is a new heavenly
prophecy had long predicted Gentile blessings. The purpose consists in the purpose of God, absolutely disassociated from Jew and Gentile (Gal 3:28;
fact that new body of humanity was to be formed from both Jews and Col 3:11), but sees the Church only as an ever increasing company of
Gentiles, a relationship in which neither Jew nor Gentile position is retained, redeemed people gathered alike from all ages of human history, will perhaps
but where Christ is all in all, (Gal 3:28; Col 3:11). The Apostle likewise do well to ponder the following questions: Why the rent veil? Why
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Pentecost? Why the distinctive message of the Epistles? Why the “better his motive, (b) his high standards, (c) his method in his warfare against the
things” of the book of Hebrews? Why the Jewish branches broken off? Why world, the flesh, and the devil, (d) his sins, (e) his relationships, (f) his
the present headship and ministry of Christ in heaven? Why the present witness, (g) his sufferings and sacrifice, his life of faith and prayer, and (h)
visitation to the Gentiles and not before? Why the present indwelling by the his contest for rewards.
Spirit of all who believe? Why the baptism of the Spirit – unique in the New 1. HUMAN CONDUCT IN GENERAL AND IN ALL AGES. From the beginning,
Testament? Why two companies of the redeemed in the new Jerusalem? God, in faithfulness, has disclosed to man the precise manner of life that He
Why only earthly promises to Israel and only heavenly promises to the requires of him. What may be termed inherent law embodies all that a
Church? Why should the divinely given rule of life be changed from law to Creator expects and requires of His creature. It is well expressed by the
grace? Why is Israel likened to the repudiated and yet to be restored wife of phrase, “Be ye holy; for I am holy.” This law has been binding on that
Jehovah, and the Church likened to the espoused bride of Christ? Why the portion of humanity in all ages to whom no other law has been addressed.
two objectives in the incarnation and resurrection? Why the new day – the However, God has disclosed His specific will to particular groups of people
Day of Christ – with its rapture and resurrection of believers and with its in various ages. Identification of the particular responsibility God has
rewards for service and suffering - a day never once mentioned in the Old imposed upon man in each age is not difficult. During much of human
Testament? Why the “mysteries” of the New Testament, including the Body history man has sustained a meritorious or legal relation to God; that is,
of Christ? Why the New Creation, comprising, as it does, all those who are God’s declaration to man concerning conduct was, in substance, If you will
joined to the Lord and are forever in Christ? How could there be a Church, do good, I will bless you (Deu 28:15-68). All governmental, social, and
constructed as she is, until the death of Christ, the resurrection of Christ, the family affairs, of necessity, proceed upon the principle of the recognition of
ascension of Christ, and the Day of Pentecost? How could the Church, in human merit. It is not difficult, therefore, for men to generally understand
which there is neither Jew nor Gentile, be any part of Israel in this or any the legal aspect of divine government, but it is difficult apparently for them
other age? to understand the grace aspect of divine government. i The fact that God, in
Like the doctrine of the resurrection of Christ, the doctrine of the true sovereign grace, now either bestows, or assures, all His saving benefits
Church with her supernatural and exalted position and her heavenly destiny before allowing the individual to do aught for him seems perhaps too good
is largely omitted from theological writings only because these aspects of the to be true; but it is true, and, until this fact is recognized, the Christian will
truth cannot be fitted into a Judaized system to which Systematic Theology not be able to walk with God intelligently from a true grace-motive.
has too often been committed. The stupendous spiritual loss of such an Though the Bible sets forth the divine requirements for human conduct
omission is only slightly reflected in the failure on the part of believers to in each age, there are three extended systems of divine government which in
understand their heavenly calling with its corresponding God-designed secession cover the period of human history from the time when the first
incentive to a holy life. written Scriptures were given to the end of the mediatorial reign of Christ,
namely, (a) the Mosaic law, embodying the manner of life prescribed in the
III. HUMAN CONDUCT AND THE SPIRITUAL LIFE law age, which age existed from Moses to Christ, (b) the grace rule of life,
embodying the manner of life prescribed for the present age, which extends
It is possible that the modern emphasis upon human conduct expressed from the first to the second advent of Christ, and (c) the kingdom rule of life,
in the phrase, “It matters little what you believe, it is the life that counts,” as, embodying the manner of life prescribed for the yet future kingdom age,
when first uttered, a protest against the omission of the theme of human which age follows the second advent. Though too often confused, the divine
conduct from works of Systematic Theology. True to its limitations, the government is different in each of these ages, being adapted perfectly to the
world of practical men is more interested in a justification by works than it is relation which the people in their respective dispensations sustain to God.
in a justification by faith. Much of the Bible is hortatory [encouraging or
strongly advising a course of action], and the contemplation of the doctrine
of human conduct belongs properly to a science which purports to discover, i
1. It may be observed that the divine requirements of righteousness are of such a nature
classify, and exhibit the great doctrines of the Bible. This particular theme that, in the last analysis, God can never depart from a meritorious basis when dealing
includes: (1) human conduct in general and in all ages – past, present, and with men. Grace is possible only because of the fact that the all-sufficient merit of Christ
future; (2) the peculiar and exalted walk and daily life of the Christian: (a) has been made available, and satisfies the claims of every divine requirement for those
who believe.
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Each of these systems of human government is wholly complete in itself. The motive which actuates the conduct and service of the one who is
The Mosaic law contained the commandments, the statutes, and the perfectly saved in Christ is of necessity radically different from any and
ordinances, and was an expression of God’s will to Israel to whom alone it every legal incentive. To the saved one, being perfected forever in Christ,
was addressed. In the teachings of grace addressed only to the Church, God made accepted in the Beloved, and now a recipient of every spiritual
has disclosed in full the manner of life which becomes those who are already blessing, no meritorious appeal is appropriate; and the only motive for
perfected in Christ. The kingdom rule of conduct embodies that precise correct conduct remaining for such a one is that of walking worthy of the
responsibility which will be required when Christ is reigning on the earth, calling wherewith he is called. Living with a view to securing the favor of
when Satan is in the pit, and when the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the God, and living in the favor of God already secured in Christ, are two widely
earth as the waters cover the sea. It is most reasonable that there should be different motives. One is legal, the other is gracious, and the gracious
widely different precepts indicated for various groups of people so diverse in manner of life is governed by divine beseechings which are adapted to those
their relationships. Human obligation toward God could not be the same who are under grace (Rom 2:1, 2; Eph 4:1-3).
after the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the Day of As to their demands, the standards of living for the Christian under
Pentecost, as it was before those events. In like manner, human obligation grace far exceed those required of people in other dispensations. This is not
toward God cannot be the same after the removal of the Church to heaven, to imply that one is more holy than the other, but rather to declare that one
the return of Christ to reign, and the establishment of the kingdom of heaven requires far more achievement than the other. The law said, “Thou shalt love
over all the earth, as it was before. thy neighbor as thyself,” but Christ said, “A new commandment I give unto
As to the essential character of these three systems of human conduct, it you, That you love one another; as I have loved you” (John 13:34). The
may be observed that two are legal and one is gracious. Two simple tests are manner of life that becomes a child of God will be found to be almost
available in determining those precepts that are legal in distinction to those superhuman in every particular. In fact, God does not have two standards,
that are gracious: (a) that which is legal is demonstrated to be such because one for the earth and one for heaven. Being a citizen of heaven, the believer,
of accompanying meritorious conditions which determine the divine though still on earth, is appointed to live according to the high and holy
blessings (cf. Ex 20:12; Ps 103:17, 18; Matt 5:3-12; 6:14, 15); while that ideals of his native country (cf. 2 Cor 10:5; Gal 5:16; Eph 4:1, 30; 5:2; 1
which is gracious is an appeal based on divine blessings already bestowed ( Thess 5:19; 1 Pet 2:9; 1 John 1:7). This divine ideal is twofold: first, victory
cf. Rom 12:1, 2; Eph 4:1-3, 32; Col 3:1). There is much in common among over evil in every form; and, second, the realization of all the will of God in
these three great governing systems. Every one of the ten commandments, Spirit-wrought character and service. Spirituality includes both of these
excepting the fourth, is restated in the grace system. The first commandment achievements. To be divinely delivered from every form of evil is negative
alone reappears in that system in one form or another upwards of fifty times, and, when realized, does not relieve the necessity of a positive, spiritual
but when thus appearing, it, like other legal features, is always restated in output in the Christian’s life to the glory of God. The spiritual life is the
order that it may conform precisely to the essential character of grace. (b) greatest New Testament theme next to that of salvation by grace. Every
Again, that which is legal is demonstrated to be such by the fact that only phase of this supernatural life is set forth in the doctrinal portions of the New
human ability is appealed to; while that which is gracious is evidenced by Testament Epistles. The preacher must know these truths if he is to
two facts, that divine enablement is provided and its exercise is anticipated. experience any measure of divine power either in his own life or in his
In general, the law system is set forth in the Old Testament (cf. Ex 20:1- ministry. Similarly, he must know this body of truth if he is to guide others
31:18); the grace teachings are revealed in portions of the Gospels, the Book in the path of holy living and intelligent service. Seminaries, generally, offer
of Acts, and the New Testament epistles; while the kingdom system is set no instruction in this important field of doctrine; but, over against this,
forth in the Old Testament predictions concerning the Messianic period, and conventions for the specific study and deepening spiritual life have sprung
in those portions of the synoptic Gospels which record the kingdom up in various localities. These, it would seem, are, to some extent, a protest
teachings of John the Baptist and of Christ. The present importance of these against the tragic failure of theological institutions to prepare pastors and
distinctions, especially those that are related to the Church, is obvious. teachers for one of the greatest ministries God has committed to them.
2. THE PECULIAR WALK AND DAILY LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN. Conforming The Christian’s method in his warfare with the world, the flesh, and the
to the general divisions of this subject as intimated above, it may be devil is also a specific revelation. At the moment of salvation the believer
observed: enters upon a threefold conflict which is superhuman in its forces and far-
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reaching in its possibilities both as to tragic failure or glorious victory. The loss of the joy of the Lord; and, third, the effect of the Christian’s sin upon
whole scope and character of the world-system directed, as it is, by its god, God Himself, and that relief from condemnation which Christ secures as
Satan, and offering its attractions and allurements, is faithfully and Advocate in heaven. At length the New Testament presents both the ground
extensively portrayed in the New Testament. So, also, the doctrine of the of cure through a specific propitiation for the Christian’s sin (1 John 2:2),
flesh (σάρξ), with its every present enmity against the Spirit and all things and, by precept and example, the way by which a sinning saint may return to
spiritual, is as faithfully declared in order that the saved one may not only full fellowship with God – a doctrine embodying explicit directions
understand his new complex being, but know, as well, the way in which the harmonious with the Christian’s saved estate, and which is as important,
life, in spite of the flesh, may become spiritual (πνευµατικός) to the glory of indeed, as is the life and service of the saints on earth.
God; and, likewise, the believer faces the arch-enemy of God who is a The Christian sustains varied relationships which are each and every one
relentless, cruel foe, and who with superhuman strength and strategy is set forth in the New Testament Epistles with specific instructions. He
“walking about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” The only sustains a relationship to God the Father, to God the Son, to God the Holy
provision for the victory in this threefold conflict is a simple confidence in Spirit, to Satan, to the world-system, to himself, to human governments, to
the power of Another. This plan should not seem strange to one who has the body of Christ, to the unregenerate, to ecclesiastical authorities,
already discovered the marvelous results that are secured when the Lord has husbands to wives, parents to children, children to parents, masters to
been trusted for salvation from his lost estate. It is faith that overcomes the servants, servants to masters, the strong to the weak, the weak to the strong.
world (1 John 5:4); it is confidence in the Spirit of God that overcomes the The Christian is a citizen of heaven and after he is saved is detained here
flesh (Gal 5:16, 17); and it is faith that overcomes the evil one (Eph 6:10- in this world in the capacity of a witness. He is a pilgrim and stranger, an
16); 1 John 4:4; cf. Jude 1:9). ambassador from the court of heaven. In His High Priestly prayer Christ not
It is not enough to enjoin Christians to be good. In the light of the only said that the saved ones are not of this world, even as He is not of this
superhuman manner of life belonging to their high calling, their own world, but that He has sent them into the world as the Father sent Him into
limitations, and the threefold conflict which they wage, their problem is one the world. To them is committed the word of reconciliation and they are the
of “how to perform that which is good” (Rom 7:18), and until the Apostle ones to whom each great commission is addressed. After dying for lost men,
learned the precise features which govern the life of faith he knew only there could be no greater desire or purpose in the heart of Christ than that
defeat (Rom 7:15-24). The body of truth bearing on the life of victory by the this gospel should be proclaimed to those for whom He died. The pastor is a
Spirit is as extensive and its principles as divinely arranged as are the same divinely appointed leader and teacher in the promotion of this enterprise. …
features in the doctrine of salvation. In this body of truth, one is confronted The Christian is called to suffering and sacrifice along with the
by that particular aspect of Christ’s death which is unto the judgment of the experience of great peace and celestial joy. The suffering will be endured
sin nature. This aspect of His death is the righteous foundation for all God’s and the sacrifice be made with gladness just so far as the truth of God has
work in sanctification. This is not merely a question of deciding what is right reached his heart, and the truth will normally reach his heart only as it is
and what is wrong; it is distinctly a problem of claiming divine power in brought to him by a faithful pastor deeply taught in the Word which God has
God’s prescribed way to live according to the very standards of heaven. Let given.
none suppose that these features of truth are known intuitively. On the Similarly, efficacious faith and prevailing prayer, which should be the
contrary, they call for the most careful classroom instruction in addition to abiding experience of both pastor and people, come only through a
heart-searching prayer and far-reaching adjustments in his life if the pastor is knowledge of the Scriptures and obedience to them.
to be himself a man of God and one who is intelligent in the directing of The doctrine of rewards to be bestowed at the judgment seat of Christ
spiritual lives. for faithfulness in life and service is a counterpart of the doctrine of divine
The character and cure of the Christian’s sin is one of the most grace, and no preacher or layman will be intelligent in his endeavor nor be
extensive doctrines in the Word of God including as it does, first, God’s possessed with one of the greatest divine incentives who is not actuated by
threefold preventative for the Christian’s sin – the Word of God, the these provisions and revelations.
indwelling Spirit of God, and the interceding Christ in heaven; second, the The major aspects of the doctrine of human conduct and the spiritual life
peculiar effect of the Christian’s sin upon himself in the loss of fellowship are thus briefly stated. It is all intensely practical and will naturally occupy a
with God, the loss of the peace of God, the loss of the power of God, and the large place in the message of the faithful preacher. This theme incorporates
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more than a mere system of ethics. The whole field of human conduct is the realization of all that He thus expects is anticipated in Psalm 2:1-12;
involved with its major age-characterizing systems of divine government, Daniel 2:44, 45; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10, and Revelation 12:10 (in which
and added to this are the more specific features of he Christian’s passages it is stated that the whole world of humanity is to be given to Him
responsibility. Though belonging to God’s revelation and though of and that He will rule them in uncompromising righteousness), it should be
surpassing importance, there is practically no recognition of the features of observed that the kingdoms of this world do not become the kingdom of
human conduct or of the spiritual life set forth in works on Systematic Christ by virtue of human service and ministry, but by the sudden and
Theology generally and, by so much, uncounted numbers of preachers have mighty power of God and in the midst of humanity’s rebellion against God.
been sent out from seminaries without adequate Scriptural preparation for on Upon His ascension it was given to Christ to become “head over all
of the greatest tasks that confronts them. things to the church which is his body” (Eph 1:19-23). Through His death
and resurrection, He received an exaltation and a glorified name (Phil 2:9,
VII. CHRIST’S PRESENT SESSION IN HEAVEN 10), an added joy (Heb 12:2), an experience through suffering (Heb 2:10),
and to Him it was given of His Father to be “head over all things to the
The present session of Christ in heaven, the last of these major themes church.” By this, as in other Scriptures, it is indicated that the Church had its
of doctrine to be considered, is more generally mentioned in works on beginnings in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ, and the
Systematic Theology than the themes already presented; but when so descent of the Spirit. This Headship is not one of mere authority or ministry;
introduced it is too often restricted to the space of a few paragraphs and the it is rather the fact of an organic union between the Head – Christ, and the
material embodied extends no further than a slight recognition of the fact of Body – the Church.
Christ’s present intercession and advocacy and the relation the Holy Spirit Beginning with His ascension, Christ undertook a threefold priestly
sustains as Advocate on earth to the advocacy of Christ in heaven. The vital ministry in heaven:
truth as to the measureless value to the believer of Christ’s present session in As the bestower of gifts (Eph 4:7-16), and the director of their exercise
heaven and the far-reaching ministry it becomes to the Church is not (1 Cor 12:4-11), and as typified by the Old testament priest consecrating the
included in their brief discussion. Sons of Levi (Ex 29:1-9), Christ is ceaselessly active in heaven. In this
Ignoring almost wholly the forty-day post-resurrection ministry of connection, the whole field of Christian service is rightly introduced and the
Christ with its demonstration of the fact that the resurrection body of Christ distinction is to be observed between the believer’s threefold universal
is adapted to life upon the earth as He will yet live here during a millennium activity as priest, and his exercise of a gift.
of earth’s peace, and with the briefest reference to the ascension without As Intercessor, Christ continues His ministry in heaven which He began
recognition of Christ’s two entrances into heaven, and the riches of truth this here on earth (John 17:1-26). This undertaking extends to the shepherdhood
disclosed in His antitypical work as the fulfiller of the redemption type care of those who He has saved. He ever liveth to make intercession for
wherein the high priest presents blood in the Holy of holies and wherein the them, and for that reason He is able to save them evermore who come unto
representative wave-sheaf is waved before Jehovah as prophetic of the first God by Him (Heb 7:25). He does not pray for the world, but for those who
fruits in the resurrection, these authors move directly on to a slight the Father has given unto Him (John 17:9). The intercession of Christ has to
recognition of the fact that Christ is now seated on His father’s throne in do with the weakness, immaturity, and limitations of the one for whom He
heaven. The far-reaching distinction between Christ’s own throne – the prays. His intercession is said to secure their safekeeping forever.
throne of David which is the throne of His glory, which throne He will As Advocate, and as the One who now appears for us in heaven (Heb
occupy here on earth – and the throne of His Father, on which He is now 9:24), Christ has to do with the Christian’s actual sin. In event of sin in his
seated, is not generally observed by these authors. life, the Christian has an advocate with the Father. An advocate is one who
No discussion of he present session of Christ will be adequate that does espouses the cause of another in the open courts, and there is abundant
not include certain major revelations: reason for Christ to advocate in behalf of the one who so constantly sins and
On the widest plain of His mediatorial ministry, Christ seated in heaven whose sin must otherwise condemn him eternally. As Advocate, Christ
is “expecting.” The Greek έκδέχοµαι conveys the meaning of one awaiting pleads the efficacy of His own blood on behalf of the sinning child of God,
the reception of something from another. The fact that Christ is now in the and the thing He accomplishes is so perfect that, while thus advocating for
attitude of one who is expecting is disclosed in Hebrews 10:12, 13. While the sinning Christian, Christ wins the title, “Jesus Christ the righteous.”
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Not only is the doctrine of the Christian’s sin centered in the present the movement back again with the immeasurable fruits of His conquest.
heavenly ministry of Christ, but Christ’s intercession with His advocacy Much emphasis is placed in the New Testament upon the exceeding
forms the basis of the truth of the eternal security of all who are saved. A full greatness of the occasion which the eternal Son of God came into the world.
understanding of the Scriptures bearing on the extensive theme of the Here, as elsewhere, an equally great achievement is indicated, namely,
Christian’s sin, as to the effects upon himself, and upon God, is of primary Christ’s return or ascension back to His former place and glory. It is written
importance to the minister in his own inner life, and to those whom he that He prayed as He was about to leave this world: “And now, O Father,
attempts to guide into intelligent Christian living. glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee
In the light of 1 John 1:4-9; 2:1-2, and 1 Corinthians 11:31, 32, it could before the world was” (John 17:5).
not be doubted that there is special divine attention given to, and provisions Acts 1:9-11. “And when he has spoken these things, while they beheld,
made for, the specific sins which are committed by the children of God. The he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And men stood
importance of such truth is recognized when it is seen in its vast extent, its by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye
practical bearing on spiritual power and godliness, and in the fact that it is as gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
adapted to the needs of the sinning saint as salvation is adapted to those who heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
are lost. Yet the recognition of the peculiar character of the Christian’s sin The historical facts related to Christ’s final ascension are here set forth
with both its prevention and cure as divinely provided, along with the whole in simple terms. Having indicated the divinely arranged delay in the
field of truth concerning Christ’s present ministry in heaven, is woefully realization of Israel’s earthly kingdom (Acts 1:6-7) and having defined the
lacking in courses for ministerial training.” scope of the responsibility of His own in the world in this age together with
the provided power of the enabling Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), Christ departs
Detailed Commentary on the Ascension and Session of Christ into heaven. This Scripture traces His movement no further than that He was
removed from human sight. That He ascended above all authorities and
This detailed sub-section is excerpted from Dr. Lewis Chafer’s Volume powers in angelic realms, that He assumed vast authority, and that He is
on the doctrine of Christology which is inter-related to salvation: seated upon His Father’s throne must be understood from other portions of
the New Testament. Of great significance is the fact that, as His last words
“Ephesians 1:20-23. “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him in the world, He gives a comprehensive statement respecting Israel’s
from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far kingdom to the effect that – though it is in no way abandoned – its time of
above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, which is to realization is left indefinite relative to human understanding but fully
come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all determined in the mind and purpose of God, and a statement that the present
things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in age, if wholly indefinite with respect to its duration, is to be characterized by
all.” a believing witness unto Himself in the power of the Holy Spirit. Such
The span of the ascension of Christ is measured in this Scripture. Not themes are eminently fitting – and they alone would be – for the final word
only has He left the tomb and returned to His native place, but He is exalted He has left in this world. As a theme, Christ’s activity and responsibility in
above all others, with all authority in heaven and on earth committed to heaven belong to the next division of this chapter.
Him; yet His humanity is present too. There is a man in the glory. His
glorified humanity is retained forever. II. THE SESSION
Ephesians 4:8-10. “Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high,
he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, The present ministry of Christ in heaven, known as His session, is far-
what is it but that he also descended first into the lower [the incarnation of reaching both in consequence and import. It, too, has not been treated even
Christ, not a post-death descent into hell] parts of the earth? He that with passing consideration by Covenant theologians, doubtless due to their
descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he inability – because of being confronted with their one-covenant theory – to
might fill all things.)” introduce features and ministries which indicate a new divine purpose in the
Reference to this portion has been made by the writers quoted above. Church and by so much tend to disrupt the unity of a supposed immutable
The text contemplates the whole movement down to earth and to death and purpose and covenant of God’s. Since, as will be seen, certain vital
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ministries of Christ in heaven provide completely for the believer’s security, intelligences, made to be Head over all things to the Church, which is His
the present session of Christ has been eschewed by Arminians in a manner Body (cf. Eph 1:22-23; Col 1:18). Out of this Headship various
equally unpardonable. This neglect accounts very well for the emphasis of responsibilities arise which will, because of their vital import, be traced as
their pulpit ministrations [the “social gospel” and the acts of Christ as the major divisions of this theme. The point of present emphasis is the essential
supposed example of a “Good Samaritan”]. The Christian public, because fact of Christ’s Headship over the one Church, which is His Body. That it is
deprived of the knowledge of Christ’s present ministry, are unaware of its termed the Church, which is His Body differentiates it from every other form
vast realities, though they are able from childhood itself to relate the mere of the organized or visible church, which organized church at best is no
historical facts and activities of Christ during His three and one-half years of more than an outward representation (with wheat and tares) in one locality
service on earth. That Christ is doing anything now is not recognized by and in one generation of that larger company of all believers in every
Christians generally and for this a part-truth kind of preaching is wholly locality and in every generation who, being individually joined to Christ and
responsible. It yet remains true, whether neglected by one or the other kind perfected in Him, are one Body. This Headship is organic and real. Into Him
of theologian, that Christ is now engaged in a ministry which determines the are all the saved ones placed by the baptism of the Spirit and He is over
service and destiny of all those who have put their trust in Him. Various them as the Head to that Body which they thus form. It is certain that Christ
aspects of His present ministry are here indicated. was not Head over all things to the Church until He ascended into heaven.
1. THE EXERCISE OF UNIVERSAL AUTHORITY. An inscrutable mystery is The Church was not yet formed during His earthly ministry (cf. Matt 16:18),
present in the fact that all authority is committed by the Father to the Son. In nor until the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. This assertion is not only
the light of the complete evidence that the Son is equal in His Person with sustained by uncomplicated, direct teaching of the New Testament but by
the Father, it is difficult to understand how authority could be committed to the types as well. It was precisely fifty days after the wave sheaf – the type
the Son which was not properly His in His own right. Whatever may be the of Christ in resurrection – when the two loaves were waved which are the
solution of that problem, it is certain that “all power” is given unto Christ type of the Church, yet to be raised also and presented in glory. The loaf
(Matt 28:18). And that power, while it was used in the beginning for the represents an uncounted number of particles sealed into one unit. Thus, also,
creation of all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, including the Church is one through formed out of a multitude of people from every
thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, is exercised now to the end kindred, tongue, and tribe. The Church is the supreme heavenly purpose of
that all things may hold together (Col 1:16-17). The very seating of Christ God and Christ’s Headship over it is as exalted as that which is pre-eminent
far above all intelligences (Eph 1:20-21) implies that He is over them in in the mind of the eternal God could be. The teaching ministry of Christ may
complete authority. Thus, in a similar way, it is written that the Father hath well serve as an illustration of His Headship relation to every member of His
put all things under the feet of the Son, excepting of course Himself (1 Cor Body. In John 16:13 it is recorded that complete instruction is ever being
15:27). This power will be exercised in the coming kingdom age to the end given to each yielded believer by the indwelling Spirit. It is clearly pointed
that all rule, authority, power, and every enemy – even death – shall be out that the Spirit does not originate the message which He imparts, but
subdued (1 Cor 15:24-28); but that same authority is possessed by the Son rather speaks in the believer’s heart whatsoever He hears. The One to whom
inherently and then is exercised in those ways in which it is required. It is, the Spirit listens and whose message the Spirit transmits is none other than
therefore, essential when drawing a picture of the exalted Christ and in Christ, who stated “I have yet many things to say unto you” (vs. 12). It is
contemplating His Person and present activity He should be seen as the One thus the wonderful privilege of each member of the Body of Christ to
who, under the Father, is above and over all things in the universe in the receive direct messages of instruction and comfort from his exalted Head up
sense that they owe their very existence to Him, are held together by Him, in glory.
and are governed by Him. 3. THE BESTOWER OF GIFTS. According to the New Testament, a gift is a
2. HEAD OVER ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH. Unavoidably, this theme divine enablement wrought in and through the believer by the Spirit who
recurs in this chapter, though considered already under the Christ’s indwells him. It is the Spirit working thereby to accomplish certain divine
resurrection. Much, indeed, is made in the prophetic Scriptures of the future purposes and using the one whom He indwells to that end. It is in no sense a
relation of Christ will sustain as King to Israel and the nations at that time human undertaking aided by the Spirit. Though certain general gifts are
when He shall have returned to the earth; but now in the present age Christ mentioned in the Scripture (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12;4-11), the possible variety
is, through the same exaltation by the Father which placed Him above all is unlimited because no two lives are lived under exactly the same
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conditions. However, to each believer some gift is given, although the consider the Christian’s sin in relation to the holy character of God. Through
blessing and power of the gift will be experienced only when the life is the present priestly advocacy of Christ in heaven there is absolute safety and
wholly yielded to God. (In Romans 12, then, the truth of verses 1 and 2 security for the Father’s child even while he is sinning. An advocate is one
precedes that of verses 6-8.) There will be little need to exhortation of God- who espouses and pleads the cause of another in the open courts. As
honoring service for the one who is filled with the Spirit; for the Spirit will Advocate, therefore, Christ is now appearing in heaven for His own (Heb
be working in that one both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil 9:24) when they sin. It is written: “My little children, these things write I
2:13). In like manner, certain men who are called His “gifts unto men” are unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the
provided and locally placed in their service by the ascended Christ (Eph 4:7- Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1). His pleading is said to be
11). The Lord did not leave His work to the uncertain and insufficient with the father, and Satan is there also, ceasing not to accuse the brethren
judgment of men (1 Cor 12:11, 18). The bestowment of gifts is but another night and day before God (Rev 12:10). To the Christian, the sin may seem
instance in which the personal and individual supervision of the exalted insignificant; but a holy God can never treat it lightly. It may be a secret sin
Christ over each member of His Body is disclosed. Each one is appointed to on earth, but it is an open scandal in heaven. The Psalmist wrote: “Thou hast
the exercise of a spiritual gift and that “as he [Christ] will” (1 Cor 12:11). set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance”
4. THE INTERCESSOR. This ministry of prayer began before He left the (Ps 90:8). In marvelous grace and without solicitation from men, the
earth (John 17:1-26), is carried on for the saved rather than the unsaved Advocate pleads the cause of the guilty child of God. What the Advocate
(John 17:9), and will be continued in heaven as long as His own are in the does in thus securing the safety of the believer is so in accordance with
world (John 17:20). As Intercessor, His work has to do with the weakness, infinite justice that He is mentioned in this connection as “Jesus Christ the
the helplessness, and the immaturity of the saints who are on the earth – righteous.” He pleads His own efficacious blood and the Father is free to
things over which they have no control. He who knows the limitations of His preserve His child against every accusation from Satan or men and from the
own and the power and the strategy of the foe with whom they have to very judgments which sin would otherwise impose, since Christ through His
contend, has become unto them the Shepherd and Bishop of their souls. His death became “the propitiation for our [Christians’] sins” (1 John 2:2). The
care of Peter is somewhat an illustration of this truth (Luke 22:31-32). The truth concerning the priestly ministry of Christ in heaven does not make it
priestly intercession of Christ is not only effectual, but is unending. The easy for the Christian to sin. On the contrary, these very things are written
priests of old failed partly because of death; but Christ, because He ever that we be not sinning (1 John 2:1, Greek); for no one can sin carelessly who
liveth, hath an unchanging priesthood: “Wherefore he is able also to save considers the necessary pleading which his sin imposes upon the Advocate.
them to the uttermost [hence, without end] that come unto God by him, The priestly ministries of Christ as Intercessor and as Advocate are directed
seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25). David unto the eternal security of those who are saved (Rom 8:34).
recognized the same divine shepherding care and its guarantee of eternal 6. THE BUILDER. One passage of great significance bears upon Christ’s
safety, when he said, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps 23:1). present undertaking in heaven as a Builder. He said: “I go to prepare a place
One of the four reasons assigned in Romans 8:34 for the believer’s for you,” and this in connection with the statement that in His Father’s
safekeeping is that Christ now “maketh intercession for us.” The house, or universe, there are many abodes (John 14:1-3). Evidently not one
effectiveness of the intercession of Christ in the preservation of each of those abodes is in His estimation suitable for His Bride. Thus it comes
believer is declared to be absolute. As quoted above, “He is able also to save about that He is preparing an abode which will be even more glorious than
them to the uttermost,” that is, to save and keep saved forever those who all within God’s creation at present. He is now thus engaged.
come unto God by Him and this on the ground of His ministry of 7. CHRIST EXPECTING. Over and above all the present stupendous
intercession. ministry of the resurrected, exalted Saviour already noted is the attitude
5. THE ADVOCATE. The child of God is often guilty of actual sin which which He is said to maintain toward the day when, coming back to the earth.
would separate him from God were it not for his Advocate and what He He will defeat all enemies and take the throne to reign. Important, indeed, is
wrought in His death. The effect of the Christian’s sin upon himself is that the revelation which discloses the fact that Christ is now in the attitude of
he loses his fellowship with God, his joy, his peace, and his power. On the expectation toward the oncoming day when, returning on the clouds of
other hand, these experiences are restored in infinite grace on the sole heaven, He will vanquish every foe (cf. Ps 2:7-9; Isa 63:1-6; 2 Thess 1:7-10;
ground that he confess his sin (1 John 1:9); but it is still more important to Rev 19:15). Hebrews 10:13 records His expectation, which reads: “From
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henceforth expecting that his enemies till his enemies be made his
footstool.” This will be realized in connection with His return to the earth in
power and great glory, which return os the theme of the next chapter in this
treatment of Christology.
In concluding this chapter on the ascension and session of the
resurrected Christ, attention is again called to the immensity of His
undertakings – some accomplished when He ascended from the tomb and
others when He ascended visibly on the clouds of heaven. To this may be
added the continued saving of souls, even all who come unto Him (Matt
11:28; John 6:37). As High Priest over the true tabernacle on high, the Lord
Jesus Christ has entered into heaven itself there to minister as Priest in
behalf of those who are His own in the world (Heb 8:1-2). The fact that He,
when ascending was received of His Father in heaven is evidence that His
earth-ministry was accepted. The fact that He sat down there indicated that
His work for the world was completed. The fact that He sat down on His
Father’s throne and not on His own throne reveals the truth, so constantly
and consistently taught in the Scriptures, that He did not set up a kingdom on
the earth at His first advent into the world, but that He is now “expecting”
until the time when His kingdom shall come in the earth and the divine will
shall be done on earth as it is done in heaven. “The kingdoms of this world”
are yet to become “the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall
reign for ever and ever” (Rev 11:15), and the kingly Son will yet ask of His
Father and He will give Him the nations for His inheritance and the
uttermost parts of the earth for His possession (Ps 2:8). However, Scripture
clearly indicates too that He is not now establishing that kingdom rule upon
in the earth (Matt 25:31-46), but that rather He is calling out from both Jews
and Gentiles a heavenly people who are related to Him as His Body and
Bride. After the present purpose is accomplished He will return and “build
again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down” (Acts 15:13-18).
Though He is a King-Priest according to the Melchizedek type (Heb 5:10;
7:1-3), He is now serving as Priest and not as King. He who is coming again
and will then be King of kings is now ascended on high to be “head over all
things to the church, which is his body” (Eph 1:22-23).” 30
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Foreword
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Statement of the Author’s Purpose Author’s Comments
The most unlearned of men become ripe scholars in the school of grace There are no new statements in these pages. I had the freedom to
when the Lord Jesus by His Holy Spirit unfolds the mysteries of the kingdom investigate and report, what, possibly, others are not motivated to observe
to them and grants the divine anointing by which they are enabled to behold because of their training or associations. Spiritual blindness is maintained by
the invisible. a force independent of men (2 Cor 4:4); yet man remains responsible for his
own actions. More than half of religious professionals have never once read
Charles H. Spurgeon completely through the Bible. A similar number actually believe what they
have read. Men do not become spontaneously dishonest until they become
This extended polemical discussion has been written because the thoroughly deluded. This happens as they seek to mimic popular religion
distortion of the gospel message is such a wide-ranging theme. Also, this is and/or politics.
not a sterilized account of the gospel that can be read by the average ten In the New Testament (NT), excepting the recorded arguments of Jesus
year-old and sent out by nationwide subscription to indolent pastors. Pastors, against the self-concerned Pharisees, there is little in the Epistles of the NT
who are shepherds that prefer to avoid controversy by feeding the minds and beyond condemnation and warnings about “certain men” and “false
hearts of the faithful with the pabulum of obedience to the “social gospel.” brothers” that would afford a comprehensive understanding of what false
Which is the only gospel that can fit into the distorted boundaries claimed by teaching included, added, or excluded from “the gospel.” Only a detailed
a limited system of “parolee salvation.” study of 1 John will identify the false beliefs that prompted the
This paper would be considered gonzo journalism compared to what is denominational split in that 1st century church.
distributed, preached, and discussed in most church gatherings. Despite the God raises His children to be messengers. Messengers, who, should they
tremendous amount of Bible verses and expert commentary that is offered accept, are given the ability and then a task that Christ assigns to them. The
for consideration, some of the more reactionary types at these gatherings person who ministered to the early churches, not the few appointed church
would promptly respond: It’s a lie from hell! and; It’s straight out of the offices of elders and deacons, was never decided by ballot nor
devil’s mouth! Or worse yet, many would simply cast it off as an “opinion.” considerations based on secular credentials. The accurate knowledge of the
God did not create and maintain His Word of Truth through the vagaries gospel should be the unifying common ground of all believers who share,
of thirty-five centuries to offer men a medium for the forming of opinions; and those who have been assigned to share, God’s message of divine grace
rather, in the NT He desired to convey His message to three distinct ages. with those who will believe. Many true believers know they are saved, just
Ages in which three individual groups of mankind are offered different, but not exactly why or how. Neither do they know exactly why or how the other
complete, blessings. The Old and New Testament together is a record of gospels they hear are false. Sadly, through no fault of God – but certainly
God’s many covenants with men from the past, the present age, and one known before the foundation of the world - self-appointed “juggling
future age. We live in the unpredicted, not-to-be-repeated “mystery” imposters” are preaching many gospels. This is the single and greatest
(Matthew chapter 13) age of grace. An age where the only divinely “ancient” contributor to an unappealing Christian dishonesty witnessed by
recognized distinction between the unsaved and the saved is trust in what the unsaved.
God says about Jesus Christ. An age where men are “justified by faith” (Gal The notable German author and patriotic martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer,
3:24) not law (Rom 10:4; 2 Cor 3:11-14; Gal 3:19, 25). An age where called for a reinterpretation of Christianity to attract an unconcerned secular
nothing other than faith enters into God’s decision to save some and not world in the stormy days before the cataclysm of WW II. God has given man
others. Therefore, the critical and essential importance of an accurate the richly laden Epistles to the Galatians, the Romans, the Ephesians, and the
understanding and defense of the gospel of saving grace against all forms of Hebrews. These are the interpretation of His timeless message and offer of
distortion cannot be overstated. saving grace to a modern secular world. The willing servant need only learn
why and how “the message” applies to him before sharing this
understanding with others who may be drawn to the truth of the powerful
and living Word of God.
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What Is Another Gospel? the New Creation in Christ is the second and magnificent Pauline
revelation. This grace teaching concerns the provisions made for the
This is a gospel without faith. It is a gospel of doubt. “Another gospel” daily, and future life of the believer. (2) The Arminian rule for daily life,
is easily identified by its creed. Individual “professions of faith” will be blind to the grace teachings of the NT, has attached itself to the future
grounded in pragmatism. A humble-pie is filled with the non-belief of the kingdom laws for Jews (to be enacted after the return of Christ) revealed
following statement: I continue to hope I will go to heaven; but I’ll believe it in the Synoptic Gospels. Accordingly, the entire message regarding the
when I see it! Be it understood, the theory of Save Thyself is a demonstration rule for daily life is misplaced in the drudgery of a law that is yet future.
of disbelief in the presence of the Cross. Such disbelief “cannot see the While this certainly remains a “fine moral platform,” it has no power to
kingdom of God” (John 3:3). fundamentally change the individual.
Statement of Method Only grace can overcome the power of sin. God’s Law, like any law,
has not been designed with the power to stop sin and crime. Remedy and
Ignorance, intolerance, unteachableness, and slavish devotion to human deterrent have widely different meanings. If punishment is the remedy for
leaders are the roots of doctrinal confusion with the attending evils which sin why did Christ need to die? And, why is perdition eternal? Should not
that confusion engenders. The names Calvinism and Arminianism may well the correct application of remedial punishment restore every soul to a state
be dismissed if only a clear understanding of the word of God may be of grace? Law may only expose the hopeless condition of the sinful flesh and
gained. However, these appellations do represent, in the main, two inflame and frustrate contrary desires.
conflicting schools of theological thought. Even if by the off chance that an individual has been introduced to
and/or pieced together enough of the gospel of God’s grace to possess the
Lewis Sperry Chafer inner witness - to have exhibited saving faith - that in turn was recognized
by God, that person’s efforts will never lead to effective service, the
The opposite of protest is to conform. This writer does not claim personal joy of communion with God, or spiritual maturity while they are
Calvinism to be the name of the truth contained in the Bible. That name blinded to the Bible’s truth about the grace of God and separated from Holy
must remain with Jesus Christ in the form of biblical Christianity. However, Spirit taught true believers in whom they could share the love of God.
Arminianism is a proper term for a system of conformed theology (both However, that person would be just as saved eternally as any true believer.
intra and extra-biblical) that is in opposition to a Protestant reformed They would be “undercover” Christians, even to themselves. Vacillating
theology. However, historic reformed theology, though holding to an between faithless doubt and the inner witness of an assured salvation by the
effectively saving view of how one is saved, is itself incomplete, namely: Spirit of Christ.
The primary focus of this work in Book One – The Paradox of Law and
A. THE FIRST PAULINE REVELATION AND THE SECURITY OF THE Grace will be to defend the first Pauline revelation, “justification by faith.”
BELIEVER’S SALVATION: (1) “justification by faith” is only one of two
This editorial work and commentary has been created by comparing biblical
vital Pauline revelations reclaimed by the original reformers in the 16th truth to the preaching and practice of traditional fiction in order to give
century, (2) The 17th century Protestant Arminian salvation doctrine evidence and clearly explain why “the gospel” about God’s offer of salvation
disputes and distorts this vital assurance of God’s eternal sufficiency and cannot coexist in “two conflicting schools.” This presentation is a running
care. Accordingly, Arminianism preaches a false, distorted gospel to the argument to contrast the “gospel of the grace of God” against “another
unsaved. A gospel so distorted and lacking in grace that it has no gospel.” Detailed studies of God’s grace in Scripture are introduced.
“power” to save anyone. A system of performance may only call upon Followed by the historical development of the ungracious principles of
the resources of self - “elbow grace” will clean dishes, not souls. “another gospel” which are then given amplification. In particular, by the
use of this method, it is anticipated that the exposition of the spiritual and
B. THE SECOND PAULINE REVELATION THAT DISCLOSES THE RULE OF factual error contained in “another gospel” will be effectively conveyed and
LIFE FOR THE BELIEVER AND THE PURPOSES OF GOD: (1) A vital union of
completed to the satisfaction of those who read this work.
all believers baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ as part of
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The second volume, Glorious Grace, is a personal appeal in which the the all-determining factor in an intelligent “free will” decision to trust in
reader is introduced to the reasons why God’s grace is needed and the Jesus for salvation.
promises He makes to all who will believe on His Son for salvation. Both As with many proofs of faith, it is an argument sorely lacking in
Book 2 and Book 3 rely heavily on the many direct editorial citations of a credible personal knowledge that would attempt to judge someone else’s
select few, highly regarded authorities on the grace of God. experience and insist that salvation is determined by free will or God’s will.
The third volume, The Tribunal, is presented in the form of a public An all-important distinction is lost in this “mind-blinding” deconstructive
indictment of the almost unheard of, yet predominant Protestant adherence argument. A false, man-centered philosophical per-spective is revealed by
to the Arminian Rectoral or Governmental theory i of atonement. This the plain fact that it matters not - to the subject under discussion - what
theory allows the over-development of Arminian concepts of free will and a occurs in the realm of “free will” or God’s will on the front-end. From a
graceless self-determination at the expense of the truth of the value in the God-centered perspective, from a theological as opposed to a philosophical
death of Christ. view, the back-end of salvation determines saving faith. Only God can
Finally, the third volume is dedicated to the biblical proofs and recognize saving faith. Human speculative rationalism has no vote.
arguments against the error of the disgraceful Arminian arguments for a Personally accepted trust in the divine knowledge of the object of belief,
salvation not secured in the sovereign grace of God. The Governmental Jesus Christ, saves a soul, not the indeterminable metaphysics of a hurly
theory is the core rationale behind the graceless gospel of a required burly, mumbo jumbo - willful desire. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
performance salvation that is peculiar to the blood shed by the Jesus Christ thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31) was the response given by
of “another gospel.” the Apostle Paul to the Philippian jailer’s question, “Sirs, what must I do to
be saved?” (Acts 16:30) before the Apostle witnessed “the word of the Lord
Declaration i
” to the jailer and “all that were in his house” (Acts 16:32). Then and only
then, did the jailer wash his prisoner’s wounds and was himself, “he and all
The assertion that Arminianism corrects the errors of Calvinism is his,” “baptized” by the Apostle Paul (Acts 16:33). After which, the jailer
simply not true. Both systems of theology have problems; but, sadly and “rejoiced, believing in God (having believed God) with all his house” (Acts
irreversibly the former has left the bible to establish an anomalous (Gk. 16:34).
uneven ii) theory of Christian salvation. More importantly it must remain Supported by its Governmental theory of atonement, post-Reformation
accurate and true that the gospel of saving grace is the only theology Arminianism has ingratiated itself to human vanity through an extreme, false
approved by God’s Word. Men are saved by grace through faith; but how similitude, or shared characteristic, in the substitution of unlimited free will
many professing believers can correctly define God’s grace in their own (a hypothetically uncaused cause without a repeatable effect) for faith in
lives? Accordingly, the personal possession of an understanding of grace is Christ. It is false because God made the truth of the gospel possible.
Therefore, man’s free will, and – God’s grace - has been limited to and is
constrained to, namely: faith and total trust in the full value of “all things”
that are available and given to each believer through the death of Christ.
i
The Rectoral or Governmental Theory of the value of Christ’s death was Contrary to an Arminian single-minded focus on a limited forgiveness from
originated by Hugo Grotius (1583-1645) of Leyden, Holland. This theory … has the penalty of sin for salvation, forgiveness itself is only a single negative
held a strong influence over men of liberal minds, and has been, since its consideration and cannot be compared to the riches of grace bestowed freely
introduction, about the only notable competitor against the time honored upon those who truly depend on Jesus as their Savior. One cannot see the
doctrine of satisfaction, which doctrine, though formulated by Anselm, has been kingdom of God by short-changing Jesus Christ with an admission ticket
the accepted view of the believers who form the church in all her generations.
countersigned by Arminian free will, which is, namely: a free will that
(Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 139)
ii denies the supranatural works of grace; a free will that is centered in the
2. unusual: strange and difficult to identify or classify
"Individuals would occasionally give rise to new species having anomalous
material world; and, a free will which is considered powerful enough to
habits." (Charles Darwin On the Origin of Species 1859) Encarta ® World
i
English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights “As in the OT, this phrase focuses on the prophetic nature and divine origin of
reserved. what has been said” NET – study note (Acts 16:32).
211 212
reject God’s salvation after the many divine changes wrought by God’s and shorter than the Bible) and tithe supported religious leaders are supposed
grace upon a believer. to interpret the Bible. So what? Interpretation becomes innovation when a
The true gospel of justification by faith is limited to and contained in document is assumed, as the theory of Constitutional law is taught, to be
sola fide – faith alone. Sadly, and in contradiction, Arminianism has elastic and conformable to contemporary needs. The Supreme Court
established a “mind-numbing” diversion by substitution. On the one hand, overstepped their authority sixty years ago, and has over-zealously quoted
by slight of hand, Arminianism has removed complete reliance in the the “separation of church and state” i decision thousands of times and the
substitutionary blood of Christ from the requirements of saving faith. On the Constitution itself, only a fraction of this number. Exceedingly vigorous
other hand, the false claim of “parolee” salvation is prioritized above the diligence is proof of motive not necessity.
primary consideration of sola fide and focuses instead on the assumption of In a similar manner, Arminianism has been relying, for its very
man’s unlimited free will. In this imaginary scenario of salvation based on existence, on the novelty of a distinguishing theory detailing the value in the
unlimited free will and the power to choose to undo divine salvation by death of Christ for more than 350 years. Together, both the accumulated
grace, I would ask: Can one choose not to be unsaved after they willfully body of Constitutional law relating to the “separation of church and state”
commit some “high” sin; or, after they willfully do not confess many “low” and the Arminian “theory of atonement” exist on the weight of a lie. Only
sins? Can one choose not to have their disobedient “free will” scourged into the existence of a myth is reinforced by the preaching and practice of
submission by God, once and for all time - after regeneration and a new fiction.
birth from above? Can one choose not to be taken from this world, “that they The vital truth is: God, the Almighty Judge of the Universe, has decreed
should not be condemned with the world,” because of their poor Christian the separation of salvation and performance. Nevertheless, countless people
witness? An absurdity is revealed as impossible and untrue. are misled by the appeal of an easily grasped opinion that “salvation by
Free will is the corrupted condition, not the inalienable right, of men. grace through faith” may be lost or forfeited. They insist, by reason alone,
The Catholic notion of “prevenient grace” and the Arminian notion of that salvation must be decided by personal performance. This is an artificial
“common grace” is extra-biblical. But most importantly, as stated above, union, a conflation, a conformation ii of salvation to performance. There is
free will is not faith. Free will may only be perfected by the acceptance and
surrender to divine knowledge. Free will may not be used by men to pipe a i
tune that God should dance to. The sovereignty of God is all in all. Extracted from a letter by Jefferson to a Baptist congregation who had
supported his recent election campaign. A letter written many years after the
Unlimited free will may not be claimed as a privilege, or “an inalienable
Constitution was framed. The Danbury Baptist initiated a request that Jefferson
right” by men. Furthermore, as so many inverted and misleading rationalized
not include any new laws about separation. So, you have Jefferson responding in
arguments are remedied by re-inversion, or setting back aright, so too, the a personal letter of confirmation and assurance: “The Constitution guarantees
argument for unlimited free will in salvation. God requires from man not the separation of church and state.” Jefferson’s point was because “separation”
only that he exercise his free will; but that he also place His God-created was not included in the Constitution, the government had no right to make any
free will entirely and completely on faith - by trusting “in Christ” for the gift laws in regard to religion. Laws neither inclusive nor prohibitive. Because no
of salvation. Salvation in Christ is for faith, not merely free will. express right had been granted, religion was Constitutionally a taboo, out-of-
bounds object of any Federal laws. And thus, in context, separation in the source
Arminianism and the Separation of Church and State letter means the reverse of its “unconstitutional” application by a Supreme Court
Judge. Hence, a great example and parallel of a dangerous lie, that once started,
There exists an artificial legal precept in American law that is mirrored continues to be self-supporting by the repetition of fiction. The most honorable
by Arminian salvation theory. Both of these man-made constructions contain highest court of the most free and democratic example in the world, the USA,
the religious-political idea of an obligation to a city discussed in a previous has limited religious expression through the pragmatic means of conforming the
section. One could not create, nor wish for, a more demonstrative parallel in Constitution to an outside, invalid, and post-dated source. Go figure! Better yet,
that “another gospel” is identical to the oft repeated fiction that “separation consider what interpretation of law is so secure that only a fetus may ever lose
of church and state” was included in the establishment clause of the United their US citizenship and become de facto private property.
ii
States Constitution. It is true that the tax supported Supreme Court is conformation - 4. creation of conformity: bringing the process of one thing
supposed to interpret the Constitution (a document much more organized into accord with another. Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005
Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
213 214
no Scriptural support for teaching this view. Much less, for the unsaved, or, The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry
the truly saved to believe in it for salvation. Thus, a gospel has been derived
from a philosophical, man-centric theory of atonement i to create a 3:7 But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone
conformed theology of “justification by faith” that has been combined with tablets—came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes
un-justification by sin that stands in stark opposition to the Protestant fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which
Reformation theology of Martin Luther and John Calvin. Reformed theology was made ineffective), 3:8 how much more glorious will the ministry of
contains the same gospel message that has been shared by uncounted the Spirit be? 3:9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced
millions of believers and martyrs of the faith since the earliest days of condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces
Christianity. The Apostle Peter first gave this message to the Jews gathered righteousness excel in glory! 3:10 For indeed, what had been glorious
in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost - when the Holy Spirit first descended now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what
upon believers – the day the true church was born. Despite unconvincing replaced it. 3:11 For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how
arguments to the contrary, a church born of God, which is the new Body of much more has what remains come in glory! 3:12 Therefore, since we
Christ, may not be unborn. have such a hope, we behave with great boldness, 3:13 and not like
The Arminian message cannot be God’s true gospel of grace because the Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from
foundation is a theory of benign sentimentalism that is missing from God’s staring at the result of the glory that was made ineffective. 3:14 But their
revelation of Himself. Despite populist emotionalism to the contrary, Jesus minds were closed. For to this very day, the same veil remains when they
Christ was no bearded lady. By definition there is only one original truth hear the old covenant read. It has not been removed because only in
among many imitations. The genuine may be known by the startling Christ is it taken away. 3:15 But until this very day whenever Moses is
revelation that God’s glorious grace is self-assertive and aggressive - not read, a veil lies over their minds, 3:16 but when one turns to the Lord, the
benign and complacent. The glory of the gospel exceeds that of the Mosaic veil is removed. 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of
Law because of the proactive work of the Spirit of God (cf. 2 Cor 3:18). the Lord is present, there is freedom. 3:18 And we all, with unveiled
faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the
A Living Letter same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord,
who is the Spirit. NET
2 Cor 3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t
need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people Closing Comments by the Author
do, do we? 3:2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts,
known and read by everyone, 3:3 revealing that you are a letter of Christ, The shifting of writing sequence and short pieces of fiction are used on
delivered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, occasion in this journalistic effort. The inclusion of a long citation is
not on stone tablets but on tablets of human hearts. intended as preparation for a discussion that follows. Also, citations are
3:4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 3:5 Not that included in the Appendix of a volume for reference. In keeping with the
we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming requirements of the subject matter, this author is pleased to have included
from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 3:6 who made us the many short quotations and the extended citation of highly qualified and
adequate to be servants of a new covenant not based on the letter but on distinguished writers. These authorities on the unbounded grace contained in
the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. the gospel of divine grace have made immeasurable contributions over the
last century that will continue until marana tha (Our Lord come).
This effort is a comprehensive report on the message of God’s abundant
grace. Perhaps, some, who, because of astonishment, will not stagger
[Strong’s #1252 = withdraw, oppose, hesitate ☺ discriminate, contend,
i
Theories which conceive the work of Christ as terminating on both man and doubt, waver, etc.] “at the promise of God through unbelief.”
God, but on man primarily and on God only secondarily … the so-called
“rectoral or governmental theory of atonement” is the primary theory.
215 216
Abide in Me as I Abide in You
God would say to the children of His grace,

To those who possess the power of faith:
Trim your sails and loose your rudder.

Let the breath of my Spirit carry you home.
And the rainbow water flying from your bow,

Will be a stream of life in the river of now.
“At that day you shall know that I’m in my Father, and you in me, and I in
you. Because I live, you will too” 31
Rom 4:20 - 5:2 He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God. And being fully
persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. And
therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. Now it was not written for
his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; But for us also, to whom it shall
be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead; Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised for our
justification. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. By whom also we have access by faith into
this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory [glory is a
place for believers, heaven is home] of God.
DL Coulon
217 218
Religion
Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty,

deceitful philosophy [theology] that is according to human traditions
and the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.32 For
if Abraham was
declared righteous by
the works of the law, he
has something to boast
about—but not before
God. For what does the
scripture say? “Abra-
ham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” Now to
the one who works, his pay is not credited due to grace but due to
obligation. But to the one who does not work, but believes in the one who
declares the ungodly righteous, his faith is credited as righteousness.33
219 220
The Scales of Justice threat of expulsion, radical Islam
and popular Christianity have
A recent poll indicates that a expositors who put upon the
majority of churched Americans supplicants a pay-as-you-go duty to
hold the belief that heaven is a give them God’s money, as the tithe
reward for good deeds. Personal or zakat. So, also, each religion
sins and meritorious acts will be reveres and maintains the bones of
weighed on a set of scales by the the same dead patriarchs. Mutually,
God of the Bible Himself. This they are a stipulated assortment of
reckoning will determine one’s communal postures, prayers and
final destiny. In Western culture ordinances to gain the favor of God.
this fits the very icon of justice - The followers of each believe that
and blind faith. I consider the day to the question of heaven is answered by death. At which time a just God is
day reality of this kind of belief to obligated to give them what they deserve. They share in the belief that
be a martyrdom. A martyrdom of doubt, or sacrificing for a cause which heaven is a reward.
denies the certain knowledge that you and, those you love, will be together God save me from your followers! From those who pronounce God as a
in heaven. On the other hand, a Muslim with a better grasp of his sacred text four syllable word; religious garb and rings that need to be kissed; from
in Sirah 9:111, has a sure way to heaven. He has a guarantee of salvation those who pronounce sin in a high nasal pitch; from those who film
when he suicides for Islam. The effect of which he hopes to make heaven his themselves screaming your praise and wiping their mouths and foreheads
day to day reality. The two maintain widely differing ideas of the eternal with the same cloth; from greed and the prosperity gospel; from those who
state and what is expedient, I admit, but a parallel means of obtaining a film themselves healing in huge sports arenas not hospitals; from killer
heavenly end may be noted – that of what man may do for God. martyrs and their bombs; from those who film themselves separating the
Further similarities exist between the Muslim who follows radical Islam head from the body of an innocent kidnapped victim; from those who pride
and the American who follows populist Christianity. The soon-to-be-gone themselves as your 144,000; and those who accumulate vast records of birth
Muslim, true to his teaching, earnestly believes God’s reward is carnal and death in order to conscript and
pleasure now in exchange for his jihad (a struggle by heart, tongue, hand, or baptize the dead into a non-Christian
sword to please God heaven.
and lead a virtuous But first and foremost, save the
life34). As he is taught, lost from those who, through
the Amer-ican, who has ignorance or by design, insult Your
only a hope and no Son and Your untold grace by
assur-ance of heaven, following a false hope in religious
sincerely believes God humanism to teach salvation by
will reward him a Christ is in continued faith. Only
measure of health, because Your justice was completely
wealth, and happiness satisfied in the blood of Your Son,
now in exchange for his Jesus Christ, may we believe the
jihad. The two share Good News that salvation in Christ
much in common. Both is for faith to release us from the law
focus on the here and now and, are little inclined to wait for results. Under of sin and death.
the
221 222
PART ONE - NIGHT AND DAY
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And
God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the
light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and
the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the
morning were the first day.
Genesis i. 3-5.
223 224
Religious Humanism
The spirit of tolerance toward the preaching of “another gospel,”

instead of the Gospel of Christ, is usually justified by the assuring
statement that the Word of God needs no defense, and therefore any
controversy with these perverters of the truth would be a needless and
aimless warfare. To this it may be replied: No defense of the whole truth
is ever made from a fear that man will destroy the eternal Word itself,
but that defense is made from a God-given compassion for the multitude
who are being beguiled away from all hope by the sophistries of these
teachings; for any true burden for the lost will extend to the misguided as
well as the unguided.
With the many pious substitutes for the one Gospel of Grace today,
and the ecclesiastical influence and blind enthusiasm of their promoters,
evangelism has new enemies to face, and her glorious work can never be
accomplished by waving the white flag of tolerance before her foes.
Lewis Sperry Chafer
Rom 8:2 For the law of the 1Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me
free from the law of sin and death.
225 226
Opening Discussion builder is God. … For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the
1
coming one” (Heb 11:9, 10; 13:14). And also, “The third heaven (its location
(8:2) Hitherto in Romans the Holy Spirit has been mentioned but once however wholly unrevealed) is the abode of God – the Father, the Son, and
(Rom 5:5); in this chapter He is mentioned nineteen times. Redemption the Holy Spirit, and until this age has never been entered by any created
is by blood and by power (Ex 14:30, note). Rom. 3:21-5:11 speaks of the being – angel or human. The present divine purpose is to populate the third
redemptive price; Rom. 8 of redemptive power. … The blood of Christ heaven. It is called glory (Heb 2:10) and represents a place rather than a state
redeems the believer from the guilt and penalty of sin (1 Pet 1:18) as the of mind or being (John 14:1-3). Those who enter will be “made meet” (Col
power of the Spirit delivers from the dominion of sin (Rom 8:2; Eph 2:2). 1:12). More specifically, they will become actual sons of God (John 1:12;
35
3:3). They will be perfected forever (Heb 10:14), justified (Rom 5:1), and
made partakers of Christ’s πλήρωµα (John 1:16), which is all fullness (Col
Gal 1:6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you 1:19), the very nature of the Godhead bodily (Col 2:9).” 37 And lastly, the
into the 1grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7 Which is not another; but new Jerusalem that Abraham looked forward to, “But ye are come unto
there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and
1
to an innumerable company of angels. To the general assembly and church
(1:6) The test of the Gospel is grace. If the message excludes grace, or of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all,
mingles law with grace as the means either of justification or and to the spirits of just men made perfect. And to Jesus the mediator of the
sanctification (Gal 2:21; 3:1-3), or denies the fact or guilt of sin which new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than
alone gives grace its occasion and opportunity, it is “another” gospel, and that of Abel” (Heb 12:22-24).
the preacher of it is under the anathema of God (v. 8, 9). 36 Consequently, true Christianity is, and, has been racially corrected in the
broadest sense. It is a new race of men that must remain ethnocentric. As
Religious humanism – An oxymoron and synonym for apostasy used in wheat blossoms white, the tare - which resembles wheat - blossoms black
this discussion to define spiritual systems, based on human merit, which and poisonous. So too, Christianity is unrelated to any and all man-made
inevitably are interpreted to reflect contemporary concepts of “humanism.” systems of religious culture. “But God forbid that I [Paul] should glory, save
Today its focus is centered on a therapeutic self-preoccupation where man is in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto
the locus and God is delegated to play the supporting role. At bottom, me, and I unto the world. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision [religion]
religious humanism is little more than a subculture with slightly different availeth anything, nor uncircumcision [no religion], but a new creation [a
ideas, norms, and things from that of any particular main culture. new birth]” (Gal 6:14-15).
Consequently, there is no culture shock to be experienced. A humanistic gospel cannot sponsor the mystical union of Christ with an
True Christianity cannot be identified as a subculture. It is “not of this individual to create a Christian. Which is the earthly function of all
world” as the words of Jesus proclaim: “Ye are from beneath; I am from generations in the regenerated Body of Christ by the means of the power of
above: ye are of this world; I am not of this world” (John 8:23) and, “I pray the gospel of the grace of God unto eternal life. i “For though you have ten
for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ
for they are thine. … I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated Jesus I [Paul] have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech
them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” you, be ye followers of me” (1 Cor 5:15-16). Eternal life is the gift of God
(John 17:9, 14). Christianity exists above, but lives and works among all when one is “reborn from above” ii (John 3:3). “For the payoff of sin is
cultures. It is the supra or epiculture. Unique unto itself. Culture shock is
essential to the very definition of what the NT reveals to be the divine estate
i
and the new experience of the Christian. Making of him or her one who has Should anyone doubt these claims, they are affirmed in the credits to supporters in a
been regenerated and Spirit baptized into the Body of Christ. Whereby he or recent PBS airing of, The History of Unbelief. The AEU is one supporter. These
she becomes a stranger in a strange land - a pilgrim and a sojourner. “By organizations also support the glut of books about militant ATHEISM that have been
faith he [Abraham] sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country published recently.
ii
… For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose architect and 8tn The word a[nwqen (anwqen) has a double meaning, either “again” (in which case
it is synonymous with palivn [palin]) or “from above” (BDAG 92 s.v. a[nwqen).
227 228
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23
NET). Dr. Lewis Chafer writes:
This priceless treasure, which is the gift of God, should not be confused
with the mere endless existence which all possess. It is a life added to that
which has been experienced before by itself. Christ said: “I am come that
they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John
10:10). This life is no less than “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col 1:27).
It comes free because a gift of His love. It at once relates the one who has
received it to God and to things eternal. Christ likened it to a birth from
above. (John 3:3, R.V. margin) “for those which were born … of God” (John
1:13).
Thus all depends on receiving Christ and being saved through Him.
John has said so again: “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not
the Son of God hath not life” (1 John 5:12). 38 What then is a “good person” in the eyes of God? A relative standard of
A sharp distinction must be made between human existence which by its cultural innocence does not escape the judgment of God. Why insist a
nature continues forever and the gift of God which is eternal life. In the last convicted fiend, who has motive, cannot trust in Christ for an assured
analysis, humanity is not wholly conformed to time. Every human being will
salvation while ignoring the well-to-do malefactor who has no legal guilt or
be living on forever, even after it has been decreed that time shall be no motive? The Bible clearly reveals that the possession or lack of worldly guilt
more. Thus humanity intrudes into eternity and must, in the end, conform to is not the divine standard of righteousness, the prime cause, nor the answer
the eternal mode of existence. Each human being has a beginning. In this he
to the need for man’s salvation. When addressing relative guilt, the
is unlike God. Each human being, however, has no end of his existence. . In foolishness of comparing people to people (2 Cor 10:12) becomes quite
this respect he is to some extent like God. That human beings have no end is evident: For who has been 100% as evil as they might have been? Improved
a solemn thought; but on those who receive God’s gift of eternal life the
individual behavior is a secondary aspect of God’s solution to “His” sin
very life of God is bestowed. That life is a partaking of the divine nature. It problem. For these reasons, a partial salvation by Christ cannot answer the
is no less than “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Thus by regeneration all
logical need for a completely satisfactory salvation in Christ.
who believe become possessors of that which in God is itself eternal. In 1 In this respect, Dr. Lewis Chafer expounds on the radical difference
Corinthians 13:12 it is declared, accordingly, that the believer one day will between a true Christian and a religious humanist:
know even as now he is known of God, that is, the infinite mind will be
superceded by the mind of God. Even now it is said that he has the mind of The widespread Arminian emphasis upon human merit has tended to
Christ (1 Cor 2:16). Little, indeed, may be anticipated respecting the coming obscure one of the primary realities of a true Christian, which reality is
transcendent experience of those who now possess eternal life when they
secured, not by merit, but by divine grace, in answer to saving belief in
shall enter into the experience of eternal life in full. 39 Christ. That reality is that the believer is regenerated and thus is introduced
into a new estate, a new existence, a new relationship which is well defined
Proven by ecumenics and biblical warnings, Christendom, when using as a new creation. In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it is written: “Therefore if any man
today’s majority standard, is an admixture of humanistic goals into “another be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all
gospel” (2 Cor 11:4; Gal 1:6-9) designed strictly for the economies of
things are become new.” The Apostle likewise declares that “we are his
simulation and a self-advancement in which only “good people” workmanship, created in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:10). This passage reveals the
participating in a well-ordered subculture may go to heaven. truth that, as a result of the divine workmanship, the Christian is no less than
a divine creation – a form of being which did not exist before. That new
being is said to partake of the “divine nature,” which implies that it is as
enduring as the eternal God. Similarly, the same Apostle writes: “For in
229 230
Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but come of it”?—as some who slander us allege that we say. (Their
anew creature” (Gal 6:15). Upon this specific aspect of the truth the Lord condemnation is deserved!)” (Rom 3:7-8 NET).
placed a great emphasis when speaking to Nicodemas. It is significant that, In the Arminian’s self-validating accusation of antinomianism against
when declaring the necessity of the birth from above, Christ did not select a God’s sovereign grace, one major theme of the NT is completely denied.
dissolute character, but He chose one who ranked highest in Judaism and Obedience to the law (nomianism, Gk. erga nomou, “works of the law”) has
whose character was beyond reproach. It was a personal message when He no delivering power and, consequently, the real master continues to be sin.
said to Nicodemas, “Ye must be born again,” and the universally As proven by Scripture, “For no one is declared righteous before him by the
acknowledged mystery of it must not be suffered to detract from either the works of the law, for through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Rom
reality or the necessity of that divine regeneration. 40 3:20 NET) and “I [Paul] do not frustrate the grace of God: for if
righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain” (Gal 2:21 KJV).
The Apostle Paul claimed, “But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel
which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, Knowledge and con-
neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal 1:11-12). fession of personal
And also Paul asserts, “For this cause also we thank God without ceasing, sinfulness is not sal-vation
because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye in Christ, rather, crucifixion
received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, with Christ sets a believer
which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thess 2:13; see also free from the law of sin and
Jas 1:18; 1 Pet 1:23). And finally, Paul claims: “But have renounced the death. This is not to be
hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word taken as a “new” death. The
of God deceitfully; but by manifes-tation of the truth commending ourselves unsaved died spiritually
to every man’s conscience in the sight of God … For we preach not with Adam. Christ suffered
ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ the agony of hell on the
sake. For God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath cross. And released His
shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in incarnate life only after all
the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the sin was satisfactorily re-
excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us” (2 Cor 4:2, 5-7). deemed. He died a
Quite the opposite of Paul’s claims are used when the non-biblical sacrificial death that was
gospel of religious humanism teaches followers to not trust in the Word of demonstrated by the water
God, Christ, and His righteousness to become a “good person” - to be made and the blood that poured
“meet” or qualified in the eyes of God. These followers are taught to trust in from the spear wound
themselves for adherence to the unquantified, unclear, legalism (nomianisn) inflicted into His side by
that will merit a false salvation in the legendary scales of justice. The the Roman soldier - after His death. Accepting the offer of the gospel of
antithesis of these humanistic systems is branded and ridiculed for the so- grace is to agree that His voluntary death for sin was your death - that His
called antinomianism i of the immorality produced by reliance on faith in the resurrection is your resurrection from eternal death into eternal life. This
grace of God for salvation. The Apostle Paul answered this age-old charge, awesome reality seems too simple; but how often do we daily witness the
“For if by my lie the truth of God enhances his glory, why am I still actually blindness of crippling denial in others? It is no small thing to cure spiritual
being judged as a sinner? And why not say, “Let us do evil so that good may blindness. “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter
into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
The Apostle Paul reveals, “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster …
i
antinomianism - 1. Christian doubting the force of laws: in Christian doctrine, the unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Gal 3:24 KJV); “Knowing
belief that Christians are not bound by established moral laws, but should rely on faith this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
and divine grace for salvation. Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005
Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is
231 232
freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also The same lie that would claim a benevolent, primordial potion of mud
live with him” (Rom 6:6-8); “I [Paul] am crucified with Christ: nevertheless was the original brew that begat a plague of murderous primates that has
I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the increased sixfold in the last 150 years. At this juncture a brief look Through
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself a Window i to some of the aspects of a contemporary American humanistic
for me” (Gal 3:20). “It is a faithful saying: If we have died with him we shall view is warranted. That which underlies Western civilization’s religious
also live with him” (1 Tim 2:11). The ordinance of baptism is the mere humanism can be traced back to a form of pragmatic materialism known as
shadow of a prior reality. Who then is the Christian hypocrite? The white- Sophistry (rhymes with commercial democracy), credited to Democritus in
haired pundit making grand claims of alliance with a Christian God in a the 5th century B.C.. He advised material success as the goal of life because
public baptism or the front line enlistee who is saved through faith in the truth was unobtainable.
obscurity of a waterless desert? Demo-critus predated
Salvation is the “gift of God” (John 4:10; Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8) to those Socrates and Plato.
who believe the truth of the true gospel of grace – where faith is the positive The relatively ad-vanced
response of those who take God at His word, “For I [Paul] am not ashamed troglodytes and naked apes
of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one mentioned above are able to
that believeth …” (Rom 1:16). Dr. C. I. Scofield writes the following NOTE mask a fundamental
in The Old Scofield Study System: psychopa-thology only
because others serve the needs
The Heb. and Gr. words for salvation imply the ideas of deliverance, of convenience. These so-
safety, preservation, healing, and soundness. Salvation is the great inclusive cialized primates who today -
word of the Gospel, gathering into itself all the redemptive acts and until God finally and fully
processes: as justification, redemption, grace, propitiation, imputation, intervenes - are irretrievably
forgiveness, sanctification, and glorification. Salvation is in three tenses: (1) destroying the life of the
The believer has been saved from the guilt and penalty of sin (Lk 7:50; 1 planet they live on. A
Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15; Eph 2:5, 8; 2 Tim 1:9) and is safe. (2) The believer is depleted world is the realized
being saved from the habit and dominion of sin (Rom 6:14; Phil 1:19; 2:12, end time event, the Silent
13; 2 Thes 2:13; Rom 8:2; 2 Cor 3:18; Gal 2:19, 20). (3) The believer is to Spring ii of all evolutionary
be saved in the sense of entire conformity to Christ (Rom 13:11; Heb 10:36; and hu-manistic notions of
1 Pet 1:5; 1 John 3:2). Salvation is by grace through faith, is a free gift, and progress. Additionally, a
wholly without works (Rom 3:27, 28; 4:1-8; 6:23; Eph 2:8). The divine 1,400 year old religious
order is: first salvation, then works (Eph 2:9, 10; Tit 3:5-8).” – P. 1192 hatred, recently made fabulously wealthy and flush with petrodollars,
declares all humans were born Muslims and holds the world responsible for
Belief in a monotheistic God other than God who was born of a virgin failing Islam. And lastly, the engine of capitalism no longer exclusively
Jewess descended from King David; an out of this world higher power (than emits benefits to societies by devouring natural and human resources.
yourself); some fancy notion of an afterlife; a one-dimensional God of love As it exists today, a “free market” is ever increasing its unchecked
who condemns no one; or a non-Scriptural salvation not grounded wholly – position in limited liability financial services to fuel an engine that devours
absolutely and entirely without reservation - on trust in the God-man Jesus
Christ is pointless lip service to a godless lie.
i
Through a Window, written by the English anthropologist, Jane Goodall, in 1990 which
documented the carnivorous hunting and sharing, premeditated gang murder, and
cannibalistic behavior of chimpanzees.
ii
Silent Spring, written by the American marine biologist, Rachel Louise Carson, in 1962
which prompted the governmental ban of DDT.
233 234
the very benefits and value that it fostered in developed societies.i The reduction programs with the reservation that spending cuts were far better
unregulated, non-bank instruments of leveraged hedge funds may account than tax increases. Greenspan was reappointed as chairman of the FRB in
for as much as 50 per cent of market trades in a single day. By this means, 1996 and 2000. During Greenspan’s years with the FRB, the United States
the capitalistic engine of greed is emitting more and more risk into the experienced the longest economic expansion in the nation’s history.
market and transferring value to the investors and owners of these funds.
The future shock is when the non-voting majority stock holders (a.k.a. John Ayn Rand
Q. Public) find the shelves stripped and no one legally responsible for a theft Ayn Rand (1905-1982), American novelist and philosopher, whose
that also depleted their pensions and savings. championing of the gifted individual established her as a controversial figure
This will happen when government can longer bail-out the losses in 20th-century literary and philosophical debate. Rand upheld individualism
generated by this greed. True capitalism died in 1929 on “Black Tuesday.” over collectivism and egoism over altruism. She staunchly defended reason
Since then, a “fixed” system has been the American norm. A system of as the tool that sustains and nourishes the individual against the forces that
government subsidies and regulated, transparent “free market” trade. can weaken it.
However, recently, an unregulated, non-transparent capitalism has found it
more profitable to eat its children. Individualism
The following excerpts shed some light upon the contemporary Individualism, in political and economic philosophy, the doctrine,
dogmatics of capitalism. These beliefs are held to be true for what may be promulgated by such theorists as English philosopher Thomas Hobbes and
termed “elitist units, i.e., corporations” (a group regarded as an individual by British economist Adam Smith, that society is an artificial device, existing
law and/or a group acting as a single unit). These entities are not led by the only for the sake of its members as individuals, and properly judged only
talented or the rough individualist fantasized and acted out by pop culture. according to criteria established by them as individuals. Individualists do not
Rather the ethics of these created entities are defined in such non–fiction as necessarily subscribe to the doctrine of egoism, which regards self-interest
The Virtue of Selfishness: A Concept of New Egoism (1964) written by Ayn as the only logical human motivation. They may instead be guided in
Rand. The unregulated freedom of these artificial units supercedes the political and economic thinking by motives of altruism, holding that the end
citizen and is considered to be an inalienable right and entitlement by of social, political, and economic organization is the greatest good for the
today’s democratic legal and financial thieves who have learned to conjure greatest number. What characterizes such individualist thinkers, however, is
wealth by subtractive value. their conception of the “greatest number” as composed of independent units
and an opposition to the interference of the state with the happiness or
freedom of these [financial, this writer] units.
Alan Greenspan Individualist tendencies or theories play a part in all the sciences that
Alan Greenspan, born in 1926, American economist, born in New York deal with a person as a social being. Although individualism would
City and educated at New York University. Greenspan also studied at theoretically consider the state as placing an artificial restraint on a person's
Columbia University under noted economist Arthur F. Burns. Greenspan individual tendencies, practical distinctions between individualism and its
taught economics at New York University from 1953 to 1955 and also antitheses, such as socialism, are often difficult to make. Like individualism,
formed a consulting firm. He was deeply influenced by his friendship with socialist or collectivist (see Collectivism) theories may place high value on
novelist Ayn Rand and her philosophy of objectivism, which exalts laissez- the well-being and free initiative of the individual. Individualism differs
faire capitalism and promotes “rational selfishness,” the belief that people from such theories in asserting that the welfare of the individual is of the
should live for their own rational self-interests. At Rand's urging, he became highest value and that each individual exists as a unique end, with society
an adviser to Richard Nixon during the 1968 presidential campaign. … serving only as a means to accomplish the ends of the individual [“elitist
In January 1992 Greenspan was appointed to a second term as head of unit,” this writer]. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft
the FRB. He opposed tax cuts, believing that they would contribute to the Corporation. All rights reserved.
growing federal deficit. He supported President Bill Clinton's 1993 deficit-
In stark contrast to the world-system and its sub-culture of religious
i
Reference, the writings of John T. Bogle, notable for the Vanguard Fund.
humanism, the distinction between the destiny of the saved and the unsaved
235 236
is determined by one’s response to Jesus Christ as Savior – not personal
behavior. Behavior does not save a soul from damnation. God saves. “HE who looks at his own character and position from a legal point of
Salvation is by trust in the value of the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus view, will not only despair when he comes to the end of his reckoning, but if
Christ. Christ who came and revealed God the Father to mankind. Christ he be a wise man he will despair at the beginning; for if we are to be judged
who gives God the Holy Spirit for the regeneration and Spirit baptism of on the footing of the law, there shall no flesh living be justified. How
condemned mankind. For this reason, by definition, whosoever values blessed to know that we dwell in the domains of grace and not of law! When
anything whatsoever more than salvation through Jesus Christ and the one thinking of my state before God the question is not, “Am I perfect in myself
triune God is a non-believer and guilty of unbelief, yes, but more accurately, before the law?” but, “Am I perfect in Christ Jesus?” That is a very different
that person is, by biblical warrant - an atheist, “Formerly when you did not matter. We need not enquire, “Am I without sin naturally?” but, “Have I
know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods at all” been washed in the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness?” It is not “Am
(Gal 4:8 NET). I in myself well pleasing to God?” but it is “Am I accepted in the Beloved?”
This is literally illustrated in the final public and private departing words The Christian views his evidences from the top of Sinai, and grows alarmed
of Jesus: (1) “But Jesus shouted out, “The one who believes in me does not concerning his salvation; it were better far if he read his title by the light of
believe in me, but in the one who sent me, and the one who sees me sees the Calvary. “Why,” saith he, “my faith has unbelief in it, it is not able to save
one who sent me. I have come as a light into the world [cf. Mtw 4:4:8; John me.” Suppose he had considered the object of his faith instead of his faith,
3:19. Grk. cosmos=indicating lost humanity], so that everyone who believes then he would have said, “There is no failure in Him, and therefore I am
in me should not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not safe.” He sighs over his hope: “Ah! My hope is marred and dimmed by an
obey them, I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world [Grk. anxious carefulness about present things; how can I be accepted?” Had he
apollumi=the lost, the “marred” condition of all the unsaved that are regarded the ground of his hope, he would have seen that the promise of
doomed to eternal perdition after the “last day”], but to save the world [the God standeth sure, and that whatever our doubts may be, the oath and
lost who will perish]. The one who rejects me and does not accept my words promise never fail. Ah! believer it is safer always for you to be led of the
has a judge; the word I have spoken will judge him at the last day. For I have Spirit into gospel liberty than to wear legal fetters. Judge yourself at what
not spoken from my own authority, but the Father himself who sent me has Christ is rather than at what you are. Satan will try to mar your peace by
commanded me what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that reminding you of your sinfulness and imperfections: you can only meet his
his commandment is eternal life. Thus the things I say, I say just as the accusations by faithfully adhering to the gospel and refusing to wear the
Father has told me” (John 12:44-50 brackets mine NET). (2) “You believe yoke of bondage.” 41
in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1ff NET); “Jesus replied, “If anyone
loves me, he will obey my word, and my Father will love him, and we will In respect to an Arminian view of salvation, Dr. Lewis Chafer writes the
come to him and take up residence with him. The person who does not love following:
me does not obey my words. And the word you hear is not mine, but the
Father’s who sent me” (John 14:23-24 NET); “When the Advocate comes, They claim that God had no other decree respecting the salvation of men
whom I will send you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out than that He would save those that believe, and condemn and reprobate those
from the Father—he will testify about me” (John 15:26 NET). To believe in who do not believe. Beyond this, man is responsible apart from any divine
God and not Christ is to view Christ as a “revealer” without a revelation. relationship. Having sent His Son into the world to remove the insuperable
Which remains an indecipherable riddle as the two are inseparable. To obstacle of sin and having removed man’s inability by a bestowal upon him
believe in god is far removed and light years away from knowing Christ as of a supposed common grace, man is left to make his own choice, though of
God. course, the gospel must be preached unto him. According to this plan, God
Concerning the wasted anxieties inherent in a false gospel grounded in determines nothing, bestows nothing apart from the removal of inability, and
religious humanism, Dr. Charles H. Spurgeon writes: secures nothing. Certain individuals are chosen of God only in the sense that
He foresaw their faith and good works – which faith and good works arise in
“If ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Galatians v. 18. themselves and are not divinely wrought. In the end, according to this
system, man is his own savior. A salvation which originates in such
237 238
uncertainties, builds upon mere foreknowledge of human merit, and exalts of δόκιµος is seen in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto
the human will to the place of sovereignty, cannot make place for the God, a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of
doctrine of security, since eternal security of those who are saved depends truth.” This injunction does not imply that salvation depends on faithful
on the sovereign undertakings of God.” 42 study; it rather asserts that those who are saved should study lest they be
disapproved and that is precisely the Apostle’s meaning in the text under
Another point regarding the Arminian’s dethroning of God, inverts the discussion. The Apostle’s desire to be free from the trifling, irresolute, half-
ideal between what God’s imparted grace may do in behalf of the believer’s hearted manner of preaching which His Lord could never condone is worthy
service and conditions God’s grace to depend upon man’s continuing work of a great servant of God, and may well be taken to heart by all who are
for God. Hence, by this convolution, Arminian salvation has been construed called to preach the Word of God. There is no note of insecurity here. How
to turn upon man’s work for God. This is a criminal misconstruction of could the man who wrote the eighth chapter of Romans be fearful least he be
salvation. cast away from God? Or how could the Holy Spirit who said “They shall
Rightly divided, present salvation and divine future rewards for service never perish” now imply that they might perish? Other Scriptures belonging
(works) are separate and not interdependent. Man is saved “unto good in this classification are Romans 8:17; Revelation 2:10; and all references to
works,” not because of good works. Man is saved by God’s unmerited grace rewards throughout the New Testament.” 43
through faith; never is it said to be because of man’s faith - or anything else
on the part of man. Dr. Chafer illuminates this distinction in the following: One of the many translation errors in the KJV which encourage
interpretations that nourish religious humanism in general and faith in a
1 Corinthians 9:27. “But I keep under my body, and bring it into salvation not based completely and securely on Christ, is specifically 1 John
subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself 5:4-5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the
should be castaway.” [“Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that
that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified” NET]. overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Again the distinction between rewards for Christian service and Concerning the centuries of misguided preaching contained in this one error,
salvation is in view. The subject is introduced, so far as this context is Dr. Chafer writes:
concerned, with the Apostle’s question, “What is my reward then?” (vs. 18).
And this question is preceded and followed by an extended testimony on the The real meaning in this passage is hidden by the failure in the A.V.
Apostle’s part relative to his own faithful service. Already in 3:9-15 he has translation to put the last part of verse 4 in the past tense. It should read,
distinguished between salvation and rewards; but in this passage he “And this is the victory that overcame the world, even our faith.” In other
considers only his reward. In this testimony, he likens the Christian’s service words, everyone, without exception if born of God, does, by that birth
to a race in which all believers are participating and in relation to which they overcome the world – being saved out of it. By believing one becomes an
must strive lawfully, and be temperate in all things. This reference to service overcomer, for overcomer means simply the same general distinction that is
as a race is followed by the Apostle’s closing testimony in which he declares in view when the term Christian is employed. Is an overcoming in daily life
that he brings his body into subjection “lest that by any means, when I have There is an overcoming in daily life as described in Revelation 12:11; but
preached to others, I myself should be castaway.” The rendering of άδόκιµος the larger use of this specific term is found in the seven letters to the seven
[Strong’s Concordance #96=adŏkimŏs, derived from #1384=dŏkimŏs, this churches in Asia (cf. Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). If the thought of
writer] by the word castaway is not sustained by all. This Greek word is “those that are saved” is read into each of these letters, the meaning is made
only the negative form of δόκιµος, which certainly means to be approved or clear. 44
accepted. As for his standing before God the believer is already accepted
(Eph 1:6) and justified (Rom 5:1). As for his service, or that which man may Dr. R. E. Brown, a specialist and authority on Johannine grammar, in his
do for God, he must yet appear before the judgment seat [the “bema seat,” NOTES and COMMENTS on The Epistles of John in The Anchor Bible, also
judgment of the righteous, not the “great white throne,” judgment of the identifies a translation error here at 1 John 5:4 in the KJV:
damned, this writer] of Christ, where rewards are to be bestowed and failure
in service will be burned (cf. 2 Cor 5:9-10; 1 Cor 3:15). The precise meaning
239 240
“NOTES - 5:4b. Now this is the conquering power that has conquered the (1 John 1:12-13). In choosing faith as the link to divine power, the Johannine
world. … The normal English translation of the noun nikē is “victory,” but writer joins other NT thought. In Matt 17:20 and Luke 17:6 Jesus says that
that loses the connection with the verb nikan, “to conquer,” which follows it. faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains and transplant trees. In
(Nikē occurs only here in the NT, and indeed in Hellenistic Greek was Gal 5:6 Paul states that the only thing of avail is faith working through love.
yielding in frequency to the related noun nikos.) I prefer “conquering power” What is different in the Johannine presentation of this victory is that here
to “conquest”; for here nikē is a metonymy for the means of victory, or the faith is not simply trust in God’s power but a specific christological
power that grants victory (BAG 541; BAGD 539). … The aorist participle understanding of Jesus as God’s Son. Only such a faith gives eternal life and
used here has been given different temporal values (Schnackenburg, makes us God’s children with a share in Jesus’ victory. The conqueror of the
Johannesbriefe 254), which affect the meaning of the passage. (Originally world is not simply the person who believes – the secessionist do that, in a
participles had no absolute time value but expressed states of action in sense – but “the person who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (5:5b)” 45
relation to the main verb.) … (1) Present meaning: the Vulgate rendered it as
vincit, “conquers,” and that translation influenced Wycliffe, Luther, Tyndale, Arminianism is Religious Humanism
and the KJV (also NEB and Moffat). Nikan was used in the present tense in
the preceding line (5:4a), and the present participle will appear in the next As the professing, 1st century, second-generation secessionist in the
verse. The present rendering, then, offers the least difficulty here as regards Epistle of 1 John did not pass the tests of true regeneration which proved
sense. Grammatically it is possible; for one can posit a comprehensive aorist their saving faith in Christ as the Son of God, so likewise today, the great
(BDF 332) covering a victory still taking place (Vellanickal), although a majority of those who claim Christ have not been regenerated nor baptized
perfect tense would be more normal for that. One would then conclude that a by the Spirit and placed “in Christ”; rather they remain “in the world” as
shift from a aorist participle in 5:4b to a present participle in 5:5 is just the “false brethren.” The NT says that false teachers (apostates) will be known
Johannine predilection for variation without difference of meaning. by their doctrine. The secessionist of today preaches, teaches, and lives a
Nevertheless, an aorist participle would normally indicate action before the peculiar Christianity under the threat of an agency that may serve to render
main verb, and thus a relative past (BDF 339). … COMMENTS – The the true child of God unregenerate again. This agency is sin. Not little sins
previous unit ended with a ringing victory cry: “All that is begotten by God to be sure, but great and terrible sins.
conquers the world,” although the author did not make clear how that This begs the question and conclusion which arises in a pious mind -
present and ongoing victory is to be related to the past conquest of the world that should this be true - then there are sins which the Christian can commit
by Jesus at the end of his ministry (John 16:33), or to the past conquest of that Christ did not bear on the cross. Ah! but here is the rub - if the truth be
the Evil One by Christians at the time of conversion (1 John 2:13-14). The told - a little understood and rarely admitted answer remains in the mind of
present unit [5:4b-8] will contribute to a solution by stressing that our faith is the tutored Arminian or seminarian professor who has done “much more”
the agency of conquest – a faith in what Jesus did in his ministry and death, than simply reject the absolute predestination of the Protestant John Calvin.
and a faith that remains firm despite the present struggle caused by the Calvin shared belief in the eternally secure salvation based on faith alone
secessionists who “belong to the world” (4:5), a world that is still being rediscovered by Martin Luther. The Arminian has abandoned the gospel of
conquered. the Protestant Reformation altogether - to become doctrinally
Although the description of faith as “the conquering power that has indistinguishable from the Roman Catholic and, the Muslim, in matters
conquered the world” (5:4bc) and the believer as “the one who has regarding the security of the believer’s salvation. The sad, unhappy, estate of
conquered the world” (5:5ab) is peculiarly Johannine, the basic ideas have the Arminian is that if Christ did not suffer and die personally and literally
solid biblical foundation. On pp. 279, 497 I pointed to passages which for a sinner’s sin, then surely that sinner is not redeemed in the shed blood of
insisted that Israel’s victories over enemies were never won purely by Christ and his faith is for nothing! The Arminian neologian plays games
human agency but by God’s help (also Ps 98:1-3; II Sam 23:10). In a with the word “forgiven” to redefine divine forgiveness and substitution
dualistic context the same theme is echoed in the Dead Sea Scrolls (1QM while stepping over the blood of Christ. The Apostle John wrote towards the
3:5, 9): “The mighty deeds of God shall crush the enemy … God has struck end of the first century: “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the
all the sons of darkness.” If I John attributes the victory to “this faith of world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that knoweth God
ours,” it is because through faith we are children of God and share in His life
241 242
heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being
truth, and the spirit of error” (1 John 4:5-6). transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which
For the Arminian who knows the theory upon which his salvation is is from the Lord, who is the Spirit” (2 Cor 3:17-18 NET). Dr. Lewis Chafer
based, the death of Christ is posited and claimed, without hesitation or writes: “The greatest thing God can do, reverently speaking, is to make
reservation, to be the sole condition which freed the Father. The Father who someone like His Son. Such, then, will be the destiny of everyone who
is deemed the forgiving Ruler of a perceived cosmic commonwealth who is believes (Rom 8:29; 1 John 3:2). Since grace only represents what God can
now free to assign an administrative, benevolent, up-to-date, present tense and will do for those who trust the Savior, it needs function apart from all
waiver of obligation for some sins; but not all, since that would not be fair to human works or cooperation. It calls for no more than confidence in the only
His subjects who are “good people.” The “good and faithful servants” who One who can save. The Scriptures assign to the operating of grace the only
never incur a moment of fatal weakness. This variety of salvation may be salvation now offered to sinful men.” 47
termed “dynamic,” as sins are either forgiven or not as they occur, and, Dr. Charles Ryrie defines the Governmental theory of the value in the
salvation itself hangs in the balance. This altered salvation, where the debt death of Christ: “Grotius (1583-1645). Also Wardlaw and Miley. God’s
still remains and the obligation is partially waived, can in no way be defined government demanded the death of Christ to show His displeasure with sin.
as a “state of grace.” When viewed objectively, this is quite literally a “state Christ also did not suffer the penalty of the Law, but God accepted His
of perfection” that must be maintained “until the end.” Furthermore, this suffering as a substitute for that penalty.” 48 The straightforward answer is:
notion of salvation has a soft underbelly of disbelief and false humility, as it The fact that there are sins that Christ did not die for “is not a problem” in
clearly asserts, “I hope I’ll be saved, but I’ll believe it when I see it!” the mind of the peculiar Arminian secessionist. Because, for him, and the
On the matter of God’s grace, Dr. John Walvoord writes: “Being free convicted heretical Dutchman, Hugo Grotius, who was the author of
through the substitutionary death of Christ, God knows no limitations and Arminian salvation, Christ did not bear the sins of others. As in none-nada-
does not cease working until, to His own satisfaction, He places the justly zip-zero. The “dirty little secret,” (because the shepherds hide it from the
doomed sinner in heaven’s highest glory, even conformed to the image of dumb sheep) is that Arminian salvation through Christ is grounded in the
Christ. Saving grace is more than love; it is God’s love set absolutely free Rectoral or Governmental theory of atonement. This scheme is a non-
and made to triumph over His righteous judgments against the sinner, “By biblical, 350 year old subjective theory of forgiveness that is derived from
grace are ye saved through faith” (Eph 2:8; cf. 2:4; Titus 3:4-5).” 46 Grace is the Rectoral or Governmental estimation of the meager value contained in
neither God’s love nor His mercy. Present tense grace is what God’s love is the shed blood of Christ and, wherein also, His resurrection is given “no
free to do for the lost after Christ has died on their behalf. The shed blood of value” that may be shared by believers. The Apostle Paul said of his gospel,
Christ was the mercy of God that satisfied (propitiated) His judgment against “But we have rejected shameful hidden deeds, not behaving with
sin, “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of deceptiveness or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the
Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God. But even
life. (John 3:14-15 NET). Thus a grace salvation is based on what Christ if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, among
has done in the past. There was no delayed or limited dealing with sin at the whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe
cross. Christ said, “IT IS FINISHED.” It must be stated - grace is not the so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
present arbitrary forgiveness of some sins by the mercy of God. image of God” (2 Cor 4:2-4 NET).
Accordingly, the basis of salvation by the grace of God is static and Arminianism has adopted the Grotian scheme of salvation. It was
immutable. The accomplished foundational fact was that substitutionary conceived after the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century, And it is
judgment was placed on the innocent Savior when “He was made to be sin.” based in large part on the Catholic writings of the Scholastic, Thomas
This is the basis for the gospel of God’s grace. God is satisfied and free to Aquinas, and the heretic Socinus. This scheme denies Christ bore the sins of
give His present grace. The only question that remains: Is the individual the world in His body. So the truth is for the peculiar Christian - the
satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus Christ? Thus, the believer’s Arminian – that his sins may only be forgiven and some sins are considered
sanctification until he or she is - finally and fully – conformed into “the unforgivable, as there is no substitutionary blood redemption in Jesus Christ
image of Christ” by God’s free grace is dynamic. “Now the Lord is the for any nor all of his sins. Accordingly, the Arminian is left to offset his sins
Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom. And we
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with his “good works.” He is the master of his own fate. He alone can sit on Belief and eternal life are asserted again by the Apostle John, “The one
the Scales of Justice to determine his fate. who believes in the Son has eternal life. The one who rejects the Son will
“Love covers a multitude of sins,” yes, but whose love? When the key not see life, but God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). In John 5:24
difference between unmerited grace and Arminianism balances on the head Jesus makes the claim again, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth
of one unforgivable sin or many: is it not an ironic disclosure and public my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall
display of the absence of Christ to preach a salvation dependent upon sins not come into everlasting condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
that can outweigh the sacrifice made by Christ? The absence of Christ is the In John 17:2-3 when praying to the Father Jesus says: “As thou hast
only sin that tips the Scales of Justice in the direction of damnation. The given him [the Son, Himself] power over all flesh, that he should give
gospel truth is: Sins have been “taken away” by the Lamb of God and sin eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is eternal life, that
has combined into a fifth element. This quintessence is the one new sin of they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.”
rejecting the Savior who was “made to be sin for us.” Salvation includes the Contrary to Arminian thought which says personal behavior will send a
gifts of complete and total redemption for all sin, the very righteousness of believer to perdition, the lack of “the gift of eternal life” that is irrevocably
Christ, and His eternal life. Thus, the sin of unbelief has been elevated above received (“For the gifts and call of God are irrevocable” Rom 11:29 NET) at
all others in this age. Jesus witnessed the gospel of the grace of God to the moment of saving faith is the condemning factor for those who will be
Nicodemas when He said: “For this is the way God loved the world: He resurrected and judged at the end of this age, “Marvel not at this: for the
gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
perish [be lost or remain lost, Gk. apollumi, those resurrected at the second And shall come forth ; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of
resurrection of the condemned] but have eternal life [those resurrected at the life, and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John
first resurrection of life, whose names have not been blotted out of the Book 5:28-29). Those who “have done evil” are judged because their names are
of Life]. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, not found in the sacred “Book of Eternal Life.” Those who have done evil
but that the world should be saved through him. The one who believes in because they have not “obeyed the gospel (of the grace of God),” the one
him is not condemned. The one who does not believe has been condemned command incumbent upon the unsaved to believe completely in Jesus for
already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of salvation. Instead, because of a false gospel of “performance” they profess a
God” (John 3:16-18 NET). Christianity they do not possess. These are they to whom Jesus will
truthfully professes, “And then I will profess unto them, I never knew you:
depart from me, ye that work iniquity” and “Then shall he say also to them
on his left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
for the devil and his angels” (Mtw 7:23; 26:41).
This is unmistakably revealed and confirmed in Revelation 20:14-15:
“Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second
death—the lake of fire. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book
of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.” What peculiar gospel
then does the Arminian have to offer? Surely it is markedly different from
that promised by the resurrected and ascended Christ, who promises all
believers that their names will remain forever in the Book of Eternal Life:
“He that overcometh [the Christian who has conquered and been given
victory (in the past and present tense) through his faith in Christ for
salvation, cf. above], the same shall be clothed in white raiment [clothed in
the righteousness of Christ, not in the supposed merit of self-righteousness
wherein heaven becomes a reward for “good people”]; and I will not blot
out his name from the book of life, but I will confess his name before my
Father, and before his angels” (Rev 3:5 brackets mine, KJV). This book of
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life was known by Moses. As it was mentioned immediately after he light of the well-worn idiom of τητρέω (tēreō) in eschatological contexts, in
returned from the mountain with the two tablets to witness the pagan revelry which God or Christ keeps the believer safe until the parousia (cf. 1 Thess 5:23;
of the Israelites, “And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Oh, this 1 Pet 1:4; Rev 3:10; other terms meaning “to guard,” “to keep” are also found in
people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. Yet now, similar eschatological contexts [cf. 2 Thess 3:3; 2 Tim 1:12; 1 Pet 1:5; Jude 24]),
if thou wilt forgive their sin -; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy it is probably better to understand this verse as having such an eschatological
book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever tinge. It is at the same time possible that Jude’s language was intentionally
hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Ex 32:31-33). The ambiguous, implying both ideas (“kept by Jesus Christ [so that they might be]
infinite question concerning salvation and the sovereignty of God is: When kept for Jesus Christ”). Elsewhere he displays a certain fondness for wordplays;
does God blot out the names of those who will be judged? In the past, before this may be a hint of things to come.
the foundation of the world? Or in the ongoing present, at the moment of
death? The small word “will” is generally considered to be indicative of The follower of Arminianism is taught to humbly hope for a future
future prophetic. Either way, the undeniable end result remains – many salvation. One must conclude that the Arminian’s peculiar “gospel” is
names will not be in the Book of Eternal Life on the Day of Eternal limited, and, may only offer forgiveness for some sins. This is an incomplete
Judgment. and negative gospel of personal sins which offers a “chance run” at
Where then is individual performance “required” for salvation? A salvation. Which is patently conditioned upon and limited by a moment of
performance which makes salvation a reward for “good people.” One will personal weakness, and, not upon the strength of any continued faith until
look the NT over in vain to find one verse correctly translated and put in the end.
proper context that conditions salvation on performance. All teaching on this The trade name, Arminian, is but a form of religious humanism that is
point is rationalized and inferred. But the NT does condemn performance in limited to rationalism, or natural reasoning and conclusions void of biblical
the place of God’s grace as a basis for salvation through faith. “Many will truth and spiritual revelation. This view of an incomplete salvation based
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and upon a superficial view of morality has been prefigured in the OT by
in thy name cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works?” Balaam. He was a prophet for hire, made famous by his talking donkey.
(Mtw 7:22). Truly, claiming merit for performance becomes a condition for “And God came unto Balaam, and said, What men are these with thee? And
Jesus to respond by saying, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work Balaam said unto God, Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, hath sent
iniquity [lawlessness]” (Mtw 7:23), and “‘Tie him up hand and foot and unto me, saying, Behold there is a people come out of Egypt, which covereth
throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing the face of the earth: come now, curse me them; peradventure I shall be able
of teeth!’ For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Mtw 22:13-14). to overcome them, and drive them out. And God said unto Balaam, Thou
shalt not go with them; thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed”
Jude 1:1 Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that (Num 22: 10-12). Dr. C. I. Scofield writes:
are sanctified by God the Father, and 1 preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
Balaam is the typical hireling prophet, seeking only to make a market of his
1
(v. 1) Assurance is the believer’s full conviction that, through the work of gift. This is “the way of Balaam” (2 Pet 2:15), and characterizes false
Christ alone, received by faith, he is in possession of a salvation in which he teachers. The “error of Balaam” (Jude 11) was that he could see only natural
will be eternally kept. And this assurance rests only upon the Scripture morality – a holy God, he reasoned, must curse such a people as Israel. Like
promises to him who believes. 49 all false teachers he was ignorant of the higher morality of vicarious
atonement, by which God could be just and yet the justifier of believing
Jude 1:1 From Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those sinners (Rom 3:26). The “doctrine of Balaam” (Rev 2:14) refers to his
who are called, wrapped in the love of God the Father and kept for5 Jesus teaching Balak to corrupt the people whom he could not curse (Num 31:16,
Christ. NET with Num 25:1-3 and Jas 4:4). Spiritually, Balaamism in teaching never rises
above natural reasonings; in practice, it is easy world-conformity. See Rev
5tn Or “by.” Datives of agency are quite rare in the NT (and other ancient 2:14 note. –P. 196
Greek), almost always found with a perfect verb. Although this text qualifies, in
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Rev 2:14. The “doctrine” of Balaam (cf. 2 Pet 2:15, note; Jude 11, note) was not understand the position of the believer in grace – and the Arminian and
his teaching Balak to corrupt the people who could not be cursed (Num his negative gospel demonstrates no signs of such an understanding – what
31:15, 16; 22:5; 23:8), by tempting them to marry the women of Moab, basis is there for one to correctly comprehend and teach what is involved in
defile their separation, and abandon their pilgrim character. It is that union a fall from grace?
of the world and the church which is spiritual unchastity (Jas 4:4). Pergamos
[the third period church under imperial favor, settled in the world, A.D. 316
to the end) had lost the pilgrim character and was “dwelling” (v. 13) “where
Satan’s throne is,” in the world (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). –P. 1332
3
Jude 11. Cain (cf. Gen 4:1), type of the religious natural man, who believes
in a God, and in “religion,” but after his own will, and who rejects
redemption by blood. Compelled as a teacher of religion to explain the
atonement, the apostate teacher explains it away.
1
(v. 11) Balaam. The “error” of Balaam must be distinguished from his
“way” (2 Pet 2:15, note), and his “doctrine” (Rev 2:14, note). The “error” of
Balaam was that, reasoning from natural morality, and seeing the evil in
Israel, he supposed a righteous God must curse them. He was blind to the
higher morality of the Cross, through which God maintains and enforces the
authority and awful sanctions of His law, so that He can be just and justifier
of a believing sinner. The “reward” of v. 11 may not be money, but
popularity, or applause. –P. 1328-29
Exactly at this juncture, might those who have not checked their mind at
2
Pet 2:15. Balaam (see Num 22:5, refs.) was the typical hireling prophet, the door before entering into a Christianity that asserts the loss of salvation,
anxious only to make a market of his gift. This is the “way” of Balaam. 50 sincerely ask: How can I be saved again if I committed an unforgivable sin
that caused me to lose my salvation? and, also, more importantly: How is it
A rationalized past, present, and future sin is offered by Arminian that everyone may be forgiven in the first place if all sins are not forgiven?
apologists as a demarcation to counter any fine points of inquiry into the sins The Arminian’s scheme of salvation may only be seen as a house of cards
that would destroy the believer’s salvation. Whereas the gospel of the grace which cannot withstand close scrutiny nor close inquiry. It is as much a non-
of God clearly teaches that God has redeemed all sin and made satisfactory biblical system of salvation as any cult dependent on the writings of its
allowances for the past, present, and future power of sin that affects all founder and has no support in the NT.
believers in their moments of personal weakness. The Arminian is weakened Nor the OT, as no patriarch was saved or could have been saved by this
by reliance upon his own effort to maintain his salvation, while the system – King David was guilty of a murder more heinous than
“overcomer, the victorious believer,” has been and is made strong and secure Shakespeare’s Macbeth, many OT prophets, without any hesitation, boldly
in the grace of God by one moment of personal saving faith in the completed asked God for death, and, Tamar and Rehab, who are listed in the genealogy
work of Jesus Christ for salvation. of Christ, were bold, committed prostitutes – not victims. As a result,
Arminianism fails even as a rational expression of a “system of salvation”
The Gospel of the Grace of God that may be stated as, salvation by Christ (by the law, by Christ as an
example) is for continued faith.
A “falling from grace” is the euphemistic mantra of a peculiar gospel to Whereas, God’s expressed message of grace in His Book of Eternal Life
indicate that one has lost, or may lose, their Christian salvation. In only one offers a salvation in Christ that is designed for faith. A salvation that is
place is the phrase “fallen from grace” (Gal 5:4) used in the NT. If one does eternally kept and secured by our completely satisfied God Himself who has
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been propitiated by the redemption and reconciliation wrought through the to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in
divine and sinless, substitutionary shed blood of our Lord Jesus Christ His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Son because we believe the gospel of the grace of God, which is:
2:8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves,
“Now the righteousness of God [Jesus Christ Himself, not the self- it is the gift of God [the gift is an unmerited salvation through faith in the
righteousness of a professing Christian] without the law is manifested, being work of Christ because of “his great love with which he loved us” that is
witnessed by the law and the prophets [as predicted in the OT]; Even the satisfied by his free grace towards us. His grace gives us life and we are
righteousness of God [is needed by and imputed to all believers] which is by seated together with Christ in the heavenly realms]; 2:9 it is not from works,
faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe for there is no so that no one can boast. 2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been
difference: For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; Being created in Christ Jesus for [His] good works that God prepared beforehand
justified [declared innocent and “not guilty” because of their position or so we may do them. NET
standing in the imputed “righteousness of Christ”] freely by his grace
through the redemption [substitutionary death as payment to take away 1 Cor 15:1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the
(expiate) the sins of the world] that is in Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand,
forth to be a propitiation [satisfactory payment for sin, redemption=Gk. 15:2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I
“apolutrosis” for the “apollumi”] through faith in his blood [substitutionary preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 15:3 For I passed on to you as
sacrifice, blood sprinkled on the mercy seat], to declare his righteousness of first importance what I also received—that Christ died for our sins
[righteousness of God] for the remission of sins that are past [since Adam, according to the scriptures, 15:4 and that he was buried, and that he was
through animal sacrifices that were instituted temporarily by God], through raised on the third day according to the scriptures, 15:5 and that he appeared
the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that to Cephas, then to the twelve. 15:6 Then he appeared to more than five
he might be just and justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive,
boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Nay: but by the law of faith. though some have fallen asleep. 15:7 Then he appeared to James, then to all
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified [because Christ, having borne the apostles. 15:8 Last of all, as though to one born at the wrong time, he
the believer’s sin on the cross, has been “made unto him righteousness” (1 appeared to me also. 15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be
Cor 1:30.] by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom 3:21-28,brackets called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 15:10 But by the
mine, KJV). grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me has not been in vain. In
fact, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God with
2 Cor 5:18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself me. 15:11 Whether then it was I or they, this is the way we preach and this is
through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 5:19 In the way you believed. NET
other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not
counting [imputing, KJV] people’s trespasses against them, and he has given Dr. Lewis Chafer explains the one condition of salvation in the following
us the message of reconciliation. NET extended quotation:
Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which Notwithstanding all that has been divinely accomplished for the
he loved us, 2:5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive unsaved, they are not saved by it alone. Salvation is an immediate display of
together with Christ—by grace you are saved! i — 2:6 and he raised us up the power of God within the lifetime and experience of the individual, and is
with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 2:7 easily distinguished from those potential accomplishments finished nearly
two thousand years ago in the cross. As has been stated, salvation is a work
of God for man, rather than a work of man for God. No aspect of salvation,
i
16tn Or “by grace you have been saved.” The perfect tense in Greek connotes according to the Bible, is made to depend, even in the slightest degree, on
both completed action (“you have been saved”) and continuing results (“you are human merit or works.
saved”).
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Great stress is laid on the value of good works which grow out of a The question confronting each individual, therefore, is that of the basis
saved life, but they do not precede salvation or form any part of a basis for upon which this new creation can be gained. In such an undertaking man is
it. This it is revealed that the first issue between God and an unsaved person powerless. All his ability must be forever set aside. It must be accomplished
in this age is that of receiving Christ, rather than that of improving the for him, and God alone can form a new creation; He alone can deal with sin;
manner of life, however urgent improvement may be. This insistence seems He alone can bestow a perfect righteousness; He alone can translate from the
to mere human reason to be an indirect, if not aimless, means of obtaining powers of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son.
the moral improvement of men. The need of moral improvement is most If it were only a question of the power to transform men the creative
evident, and simply to try to help men to be better would seem to be the power of God has always been sufficient; but there was a greater difficulty
direct and logical thing to do. However, the divine program strikes deeper caused by the fact of sin. Sin must first be judged, and no favor or grace can
and declares a new creation out from which good works can flow and apart be divinely exercised until every offense of righteousness has been fully
from which there can be no acceptable works in the sight of God. Unsaved met. God cannot look on sin with the least degree of allowance, and so He
men are thus shut up to the one condition upon which God can righteously can grant His favor only by and through the cross wherein, and only
make them to be new creatures in Christ Jesus. wherein, the consequences of sin have been forever met in His sight. Thus
With regard to the necessity of a new creation the unregenerate are blind salvation can be accomplished, even by the infinite God, only through Jesus
in their minds (2 Cor 4:3, 4). So also a multitude of professing Christians are Christ. Hence it is that a simple trust in the Savior opens the way into the
poorly taught about this need. This results in a well nigh universal infinite power and grace and God. It is “unto everyone that believeth,” “For
misconception of the demands of the gospel. When dealing with the there is none other name under heaven given to among men whereby we
unsaved, false issues are often raised and these unscriptural demands appear must be saved.”
in many forms. Satan’s ministers are said to be ministers of ministers of This one word “believe” represents all a sinner can do and all a sinner
righteousness (2 Cor 11:14, 15). They waive aside the Bible emphasis on a must do to be saved. It is believing the record God has given of His Son. In
new birth, which is by the power of God through faith and which is the only this record it is stated that He has entered into all the needs of our lost
source from which works acceptable to God can be produced, and devote condition and is alive from the dead to be a living Savior to all who put their
their energy to the improvement, morally and righteously, of the individual’s trust in Him. It is quite possible for any intelligent person to know whether
character. Such workers, in spite of their sincerity and humanitarian motives, he has placed such confidence in the Savior. Saving faith is a matter of
are by the Spirit of God said to be “the ministers of Satan.” personal consciousness. “I know whom I have believed.” To have deposited
Blind to the Gospel. The fact that the unregenerate are blinded by Satan one’s eternal welfare in the hands of another is a decision of the mind so
in regard to the true gospel of grace is the explanation of the age-long plea of definite that it can hardly be confused with anything else. On this deposit of
the moralist: “If I do the best I can, God must be satisfied with that, else He oneself into His saving grace depends one’s eternal destiny. To add, or
is unreasonable” [cf. the sacrifice offered by Cain contrasted with Abel’s, subtract, anything from this sole condition of salvation is most perilous. The
and Cain’s reaction, this writer]. Granting that anyone has ever done his Gospel is thus often misstated in various and subtle ways. The more
best, it would still be most imperfect, and He is far from unreasonable in common of these should be mentioned specifically:
demanding a perfect righteousness, impossible to man, while He stands Belief Is Not Hope. First, The unsaved are sometimes urged to pray and
ready to provide as a gift all that His holiness requires. This is exactly the hope for an attitude of leniency on the part of God toward their sins: whereas
offer of the Gospel. The Scriptures do not call on men of this age to present they should be urged to believe that every aspect of favor and expression of
their own righteousness to God; but it invites the unrighteous to receive the love has already been wrought out by the God Himself. They are not
very righteousness of God which may be theirs through a vital union with believing God when they beseech Him to be reconciled to them, when He is
Christ. The appeal is not self-improvement in the important matters of daily revealed as having already accomplished a reconciliation. The Gospel does
life, but that “the gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our not inspire a hope that God will be gracious: it discloses the good news that
Lord” might be received. When this eternal issue is met the more temporal He has been gracious and challenges every man but to believe it. A criminal
matters of conduct are urged; but only on the grounds of the fact that divine pleading for mercy before judge is not in the same position as a criminal
salvation has been wrought for sinful man wholly apart from his own works. believing and rejoicing in the assurance of a full pardon and that he can
never be brought again into judgment.
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Belief Is Not Works. Second, It is a most serious error to intrude any often based on Scripture which is addressed to the covenant people, Israel.
form of human works into a situation wherein God alone can work. People They, like Christians, being covenant people, are privileged to return to God
are sometimes led to believe that there is saving value in some public on the grounds of their covenant by repentance. There is much Scripture
confession of Christ, or profession of a decision. “With the heart man both in the Old Testament and in the New that calls this one nation to its
believeth unto righteousness.” This is salvation. “With the mouth confession long-predicted repentance, and it is usually placed before them as a separate
is made unto salvation.” This is the voice of the new-born child speaking to unrelated act that is required. The preaching of John the Baptist, of Jesus and
and of its Father. The only condition on which one may be saved is to the early message of the disciples, was, “repent for the kingdom of heaven is
believe. at hand”; but it was addressed only to Israel (Matt 10:5, 6). This appeal was
Belief Is Not Trying. Third, It is equally as great an error to give the continued to that nation even after the day of Pentecost or so long as the
unsaved the impression that there is saving virtue in promising to try to “lead Gospel was preached to Israel alone (Acts 2:38, 3:19. See also 5:31). Paul
a Christian life.” No unregenerate mind is prepared to deal with the mentions also a separate act of repentance in the experience of Christians (2
problems of true Christian living. These problems anticipate the new Cor 7:8-11. See also Rev 2:5).
dynamic of the imparted divine nature, and could produce nothing but The conditions are very different, however, in the case of an unsaved
hopeless discouragement when really contemplated by an unregenerate Gentile, who is a “stranger to the covenants of promise, having no hope and
person. There is danger, as well, that by forcing the issues of future conduct without God in the world,” and equally different for any individual Jew in
into the question the main issue of receiving Christ as Savior may be this age. In presenting the Gospel to these classes there are one hundred and
submerged in some difficulty related to the proposed standards of living. fifteen passages at least wherein the word “believe” is used alone and apart
There is an advantage in a general morality, “Sabbath observance,” from every other condition as the only way of salvation. In addition to this
temperance and attendance on public and private worship; but there is no there are upwards of thirty-five passages wherein its synonym “faith” is
saving value in any, or all of them. It is true that a person who enters into used.
these things might be more apt to hear the saving Gospel of grace than There are but six passages addressed to unsaved Gentiles wherein
otherwise; but on the other hand, the sad fact is that these very things are repentance appears either alone or in combination with other issues. These
often depended upon by the religiously inclined to commend themselves to are: God “now commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 11:18);
God. In the Bible a clear distinction is found between conversion and “Repentance and faith” (Acts 20:21); “The goodness of God that leadeth to
salvation. The former is there found to indicate no more than the humanly repentance” (Rom 2:4); “All should come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). That
possible act of turning about, while the latter refers to that display of the repentance is not saving is evidenced in the case of Judas, who repented and
power of God which is manifested in the whole transformation of saving yet went to perdition. It is worthy of note that there are twenty-five passages
grace. wherein “believe,” or “faith,” is given as the only condition of Gentile
Belief Is Not Praying. Fourth, A person is not saved because he prays. salvation to one passage wherein repentance appears for any reason
Multitudes of people pray who are not saved. Praying is not believing on the whatsoever. It would seem evident from this fact that repentance, like all
Lord Jesus Christ, though the new attitude of belief may be expressed in other issues, is almost universally omitted from the great salvation passages,
prayer. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” In no Scripture is that such repentance as is possible to an unsaved person in this dispensation
salvation conditioned on asking or praying. It is faith in the Savior Who is included in the one act of believing. The statement in 1 Thessalonians 1:9,
gave His precious blood a ransom for all. The publican, living and praying 10 may serve as an illustration. Here it is said: “Ye turned to God from idols
before the cross, pleads that God would be propitiated to him a sinner. The to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven.” This
issue now can only be one of believing that God has been so propitiated. represents one all-inclusive act. Such is the accuracy of the Bible. Had the
Belief Is Not “Seeking.” Fifth, No person is now required to “seek the record been that they turned from idols to God, the act of turning from idols
Lord.” In Isaiah 55:6 it is said to Israel, “Seek ye the LORD while he may be would have stood alone as a preliminary undertaking and would suggest a
found,” but in the New Testament relationship we are told to believe that the separate work of repentance. In Acts 11:21 it is stated that many “believed
“Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” and turned to God.” This is not difficult to understand. The born-again
Belief Is Not Repentance. Sixth, It is an error to require repentance as a person might thus turn to God after believing; but there is no revelation that
preliminary act preceding and separate from believing. Such insistence is too
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God is expecting works suitable for anything from that which He has termed gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the
to be dead in trespasses and sins. kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Believing Is Receiving. To believe on Christ is to see and believe the all-
sufficiency of His saving power grace This most naturally includes (13:43) The kingdom does not become the kingdom of the “Father” until
abandoning all other grounds of hope, and experiencing of such sorrow for Christ, having put “all enemies under his feet,” including the last enemy,
sin as would lead one to claim such a Savior. It is doubtful if the sinner of death, has “delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father” (1 Cor 15:24-
“this present evil age” can produce greater sorrow than this, and of what 28; Rev 20:2). There is triumph over death at the first resurrection (1 Cor
avail would greater sorrow be? No estimate is possible of the wrong that has 15:54, 55), but death, “the last enemy,” is not destroyed till the end of the
been done in demanding the unsaved of this age to experience some millennium (Rev 20:14). 52
particular degree of sorrow for sin, over which they could have no control,
before they could be assured that the way was open for them to God. Mtw 13:33 Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is
Multitudes have been driven into unrealities or into hopeless doubt as they like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till
have thus groped in darkness. The good news of the Gospel does not invite the whole was leavened.
men to any sorrow whatsoever, or to works of repentance alone: it invites
them to find immediate “joy and peace in believing.” Repentance according (13:33) Summary: (1) Leaven, as a symbolic or typical substance, is always
to the Bible, is a complete change of mind and, as such, is a vital element in mentioned in the O.T. in an evil sense (Gen 19:3, refs.). (2) The use of the
saving faith; but it should not now be required, as a separate act, apart from word in the N.T. explains its symbolic meaning. It is “malice and
saving faith. The Biblical emphasis upon Gentile repentance or any wickedness,” as contrasted with “sincerity and truth” (1 Cor 5:6-8). It is evil
repentance in this age will be more evident when the full meaning of the doctrine (Mt 16:12) in its threefold form of Pharisaism, Sadduceeism, and
word “believe” is understood. Herodianism (Mt 16:66, Mk 8:15). The leaven of the Pharisees was
Seventh, Moreover, no Scripture requires confession of sin as a externalism in religion [legalism] (Mt 23:14, 16, 23-28); of the Sadducees,
condition of salvation in this age. A regenerate person who has wandered skepticism as to the supernatural and as to the Scriptures [neo-orthodoxy]
from fellowship may return to his place of blessing by a faithful confession (Mt 22:23, 29); of the Herodians, worldliness – a Herod party amongst the
of his sin. 1 John 1:9 is addressed only to believers. “If we confess our sins, Jews (Mt.22:16-21; Mk 3:6). (3) The use of the word in Matthew 13:33is
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all congruous with its universal meaning. 53
unrighteousness.” The unsaved person must come to God by faith. “For by
grace are ye saved through faith” (Eph 2:8). 2 Cor 11:4 For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus different
Believing is related in the Bible to two other actions: “Hear and believe” from the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the one
(Acts 15:7; Rom 10:14); “Believe and be baptized” (Acts 8:13; Mark 16:16 you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up
R.V.) In the latter passage it may be noted that baptism is not mentioned with it well enough! NET
when the statement is repeated in the negative form. “He that believeth and
is baptized shall be saved; and he that believeth not shall be condemned.” 2 Cor 11:26 I have been on journeys many times, in dangers from rivers, in
The unsaved person is condemned for not believing rather than for not being dangers from robbers, in dangers from my own countrymen, in dangers from
baptized. Thus believing here, as everywhere, is the only condition of Gentiles, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the wilderness, in dangers at
salvation. 51 sea, in dangers from false brothers, NET
Not Until “Thy Will Be Done” Does “Thy Kingdom Come” Gal 1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called
you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel— 1:7 not that
Mtw 13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 wanting to distort the gospel of Christ. NET
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and
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Gal 2:4 Now this matter arose because of the false brothers with false (15:24) Kingdom (N.T.), Summary: … Kingdom truth is developed in the
pretenses who slipped in unnoticed to spy on our freedom that we have in N.T. in the following order: (1) The promise of the kingdom to David and
Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. NET his seed, and described in the prophets (2 Sam 7:8-17, refs.; Zech 12:8),
enters the N.T. absolutely unchanged (Lk 1:31-33). The king was born in
Jude 1:4 For certain men have secretly slipped in among you—men who Bethlehem (Mt 2:1; Mic 5:2), of a virgin (Mt 1:18-25; Isa 7:14). (2) The
long ago were marked out for the condemnation I am about to describe— kingdom announced was “at hand” (Mt 14:17, note) by John the Baptist, by
ungodly men who have turned the grace of our God into a license for evil the King, and by the Twelve, was rejected by the Jews, first morally (Mt
and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. NET 11:20, note), and afterward officially (Mt 21:42, 43), and the King crowned
with thorns, was crucified. (3) In anticipation of His official rejection and
The leaven of the false doctrine spread by false churches (the woman in crucifixion, the King, revealed the “mysteries” of the kingdom of heaven
the parable) and false brothers known as “certain men” who distort the (Mt 13:11, note) to be fulfilled in the interval between His rejection and His
gospel with “another gospel” are not a surprise to the informed Christian return in glory. (Mt 13:1-50). (4) Afterward He announced His purpose to
who “rightly divides,” and does not mingle grace with law or one time “build” His church (Mt 16:18, refs.), another “mystery” revealed through
period with another. For instance, the “The Lord’s Prayer” for this age of Paul which is being fulfilled contemporaneously with the mysteries of the
grace, not the kingdom to come, is the entire 17th chapter in the Gospel of kingdom. The “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” and the “mystery” of
John. The most misunderstood NT books are the first three Gospels because the church (Eph 3:9-11) occupy, historically, the same period, i.e. this
of their minimal spiritual content. For instance, the vital difference between present age. (5) The mysteries of the kingdom will be brought to an end by
a false and the true gospel of grace may well be attributed to the view one the “harvest” (Mt 13:39-43, 49, 50) at the return of the King in glory, the
has been taught, has accepted, and holds towards The Sermon on the Mount church having previously been caught up to meet Him in the air (1 Thess
(Mtw chapters 5-7). Jesus, in plain fact, was speaking to Jews about the 4:14-17). (6) Upon His return the King will restore the Davidic monarchy in
literal Jewish expectation of a Davidic kingdom that was to be brought in by His own person, re-gather dispersed Israel, establish His power over all the
the expected Jewish Messiah – HIMSELF. L. S. Thornton has written: “‘The earth, and reign one thousand years (Mt 24:27-30; Lk 1:31-33; Acts 15:14-
Christian doctrine of a new life stands in contrast to the contemporary 17; Rev 20:1-10). (7) The kingdom of heaven (Mt 3:2, note), thus
Jewish expectation of a new world. Doubtless the two doctrines overlap in established under David’s divine Son, has for its object the restoration of the
the New Testament. But the relation between them might be not divine authority in the earth, which may be regarded as a revolted province
inappropriately described in terms of kernel and husk’” (Cited by Morris, p. of the great kingdom of God (Mt 6:33, note). When this is done (vs. 24, 25)
209, fn. 1). Compare the utterly dumbstruck response of Nicodemas - a “top the Son will deliver up the kingdom (of heaven, Mt 3:2) to “God, even the
drawer,” pragmatic, “seeing-is-believing” Jewish theologian - to the Father,” that “God” (i.e. the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) “may
concepts of “rebirth from above,” “eternal life,” “perish,” and “believe to be all in all” (v. 28). The eternal throne is that “of God, and of the Lamb”
see” spoken by Jesus in John chapter 3. Not until Acts chapter 15, did the (Rev22:1). The kingdom-age constitutes the seventh Dispensation (Eph
Jewish Christian leaders and the Apostles “officially” accept that the 1:10, note). 54
Gentiles were to be included as the objects of God’s new purpose - to
temporarily set aside the Jewish Davidic kingdom promises and grant the Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
Gentiles “repentance unto [eternal] life” (Acts 11:18). In 1 Corinthians the together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are
theme of the kingdom is finalized. Dr. C. I. Scofield writes: on earth; even in him:
15:24 Then, finally, when he delivers up the kingdom to God, even the Dr. C. I. Scofield writes in his introduction to the four Gospels of the NT:
Father, when he has done away with every rule, and every authority and
power (for he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet), the last “Not all, but the majority of the covenants and promises of the OT were
enemy, death, is destroyed. made to the “commonwealth” of Israel. Accordingly for the Jew of the
Synoptic Gospels, to be born a Jew was to born into the kingdom of God.
Only gross inattention by readers and an absurd man-centric system of
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theology can explain why it is “assumed” Jesus was speaking to an audience in these chapters. Also, if this is the correct interpretation, then salvation is
“on the Mount” that was sophisticated enough to understand a Gentile surely through good works.
Christian world view better than His own Jewish Apostles would until years
after the day of Pentecost. This “commonly” held corrupting view discolors
and clouds any clear understanding of true Christianity. It makes a train
wreck of God’s glorious message of grace that is contained in the death and
resurrection of the payment for sin and a meritorious life which He provided
through Jesus Christ the Savior of sinners and the source of righteousness
and eternal life for believers.
While the ethical teaching is God’s flawless perfection, the almost
universally preached homiletics about the “Sermon on the Mount” are
misleading and misapplied. Typically, they exclusively address the power of
the flesh, or the performance of the individual to overcome sin: “The
Sermon on the Mount is law, not grace, for it demands as the condition of
blessing (Mt 5:3-9) that perfect character which grace, through divine
power, creates (Gal 5:22, 23). The doctrines of grace are to be sought in the
Epistles, not in the Gospels. … The Gospels do not unfold the Gospel of the
Church. The word occurs in Matthew only. After His rejection as King and
Savior by the Jews, our Lord, announcing a mystery until that moment “hid
in God” (Eph 3:3-10), said, “I will build my church” (Mt 16:16, 18). It was,
therefore, yet future; but His personal ministry had gathered out the
believers who were, on the day of Pentecost, by the baptism with the Spirit, Others consider the sermon a blueprint for Christian living today. To use
made the first members of “the church which is his body” (1 Cor 12:12, 13; it this way would require deliteralizing much of what is taught in order to be
Eph 1:23). The Gospels present a group of Jewish disciples, associated on able to obey it in this unrighteous world. Further, if this is truth for the
earth with a Messiah in humiliation; the Epistles a Church which is the body church, then why did our Lord not mention the Holy Spirit, so important for
of Christ in glory, associated with Him in the heavenlies, co-heirs with Him Christian living, or even the church itself?
of the Father, co-rulers with Him over the coming kingdom, and, as to the Still others understand its primary purpose to relate to Christ’s kingdom
earth, pilgrims and strangers. … Christ is never called King of the Church. message. The forerunner, John, had announced the kingdom (Matt 3:2);
“The King” is indeed one of the divine titles, and the Church in her worship Christ Himself began to preach that message (Matt 4:17); now He explained
joins Israel in exalting “the king, eternal, immortal, invisible” (Psa 10:16; 1 what was involved in true repentance. The kingdom they preached and the
Tim 1:17). But the Church is to reign with Him. The Holy Spirit is now kingdom the people expected was that messianic, Davidic, millennial
calling out, not the subjects, but the co-heirs and co-rulers of the kingdom (2 kingdom promised in the Old Testament. Christ gave no indication that they
Tim 2:11, 12; Rev 1:6; 3:21; 5:10; Rom 8:15-18; 1 Cor 6:2, 30).” 55 should have understood otherwise by changing the meaning of the kingdom
He was talking about. But the people had placed their hopes so much on a
Dr. Charles Ryrie discusses the Jewish kingdom substitution error. This political kingdom that they forgot there were spiritual requirements for even
error preaches a salvation based on personal performance that dis-regards that political kingdom. So the Lord explained what was involved in spiritual
the grace salvation offered by God continuously from the Gospel of John to preparation for the Davidic kingdom.
the Book of Revelation: Preached in relation to the kingdom, this discourse seems mainly to
emphasize getting ready for the kingdom. Some of he requirements to be
“Some view this discourse [the Sermon on the Mount] as an exposition practiced totally would necessitate the establishment of the kingdom with its
of the way of salvation. The problem of such an interpretation is simply that righteous government (Matt 5:38-42) though the general principle may be
the great salvation words like redemption or justification do not occur at all followed anytime. So the sermon is a call to repentance for those who had
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disassociated inner change from the requirements for establishing the Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them,
kingdom. Therefore, it has relevance for any time that the kingdom is Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those
imminent – which includes the time Christ preached it, and the future time works do you stone me? The Jews answered him, saying For a good work
of the Tribulation. It also pictures conditions as they will be in the kingdom we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man,
when it is established. But, like all Scripture, it is profitable for disciples in makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I
any age since it is one of the most detailed ethical codes in the Bible.” 56 said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God
came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father
A false, peculiar gospel places an untenable burden on the Synoptic hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I
Gospels. Wherein the historical earthly ministry and miracles of Christ are am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But
held-up as the means to maintaining a current probationary salvation, if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and
physical healing, and financial well-being. In direct opposition to this believe, that the Father is in me and I in him. Therefore they sought again to
unconvincing tenet of a “parolee” salvation is that the stated purpose of the take him: but he escaped out of their hand (John 10:22-39).”
miracles, signs, and wonders were to establish belief in the divine origin and The Synoptic Gospels were recorded to prove to the Jew that Christ was
Jewish mission of Christ. Prophet, Priest, and King – the promised Jewish Messiah-King who was
The works of Christ were easily accepted by the Jews; but not the divine distinctly Servant and Man. As such, Jesus was unique. No one today can
origin of the works. They were driven to a murderous rage when He claimed strictly “imitate” what He did without the risk of being perceived as insane
that He could give “eternal life” to His sheep who would “never perish” or or criminal. And, also, much more to the point, this is counter-intuitive to
be plucked out of His hand. Because He and the Father were One in desiring what God’s revealed Word speaks to a Christian under grace. In the main,
to provide a secured salvation that is wholly dependent upon the work of the events recorded in the Synoptic Gospels are intended for the instruction
God. The “Jews” would not accept that Jesus was “God”: “These words of the unsaved who lack any spiritual understanding through the enablement
spake Jesus in the treasury, as he taught in the temple: and no man laid of the indwelling Spirit. Dr. Chafer writes: “When Christ said, “If I had not
hands on him; for his hour was not yet come. … I said therefore unto you, done among them the works which none other men did, they had not had sin:
that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am [I AM=God] he, but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father” (John
ye shall die in your sins. Then said they unto him, Who art thou? … They 15:24). He disclosed to some extent the reason why he wrought miracles.
understood not that he spake to them of the Father” (John 8:20, 24, 25, 27).” His mighty works attested His claim to be the Messiah and so His rejection
Neither did the Jews believe that the works performed by Jesus were was without excuse because of that evidence.” 57 As a stark illustration of
from God the Father. Which in effect, exposed their disbelief in the Father this contrast stands the often repeated exemplary, called the Lord’s Prayer
and side-stepped the claim by Jesus that He could give eternal life with the (for the kingdom) in Luke 11:1-4 and the actual Lord’s Prayer (to His Father
assurance that it would never be lost. Who are the “Jews” of today’s peculiar for all believers) which is recorded in John chapter 17. Dr. C. I. Scofield
gospel who deny irrevocable regeneration and the gift of eternal life to writes: “Used as a form, the Lord’s prayer is, dispensationally, upon legal
preach that man, unaided by the power of God, may mimic the historical ground, not church ground; it is not a prayer in the name of Christ (cf. John
teachings and works of a man named Jesus for a valid salvation?: “And it 14:13, 14; 16:24); and it makes human forgiveness, as under the law it must,
was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. And Jesus the condition of divine forgiveness; an order which grace exactly reverses
walked in the temple in Solomon’s porch. Then came the Jews round about (cf. Eph 4:32).” 58
him, and said unto him; How long dost thou makest us to doubt? If thou be Christ “in the flesh” was sent for the Palestinian Jewish nation, which
the Christ, tell us plainly? But ye believe not, because ye are not of my was under the rule of the Pax Romana, to accept Him as their Messiah-King;
sheep, as I said unto you [John 6:44; 8:47]. My sheep hear my voice, and I but as recorded in the Synoptic Gospels this most valid opportunity came
know them and they follow me [John 8:12]: And I give unto them eternal and went. As the following passage in the Gospel of John reveals, after the
life; and they shall never perish [John 6:37], neither shall any man pluck “national” rejection of Christ as the Messiah, some individual “Jews”
them [John 6:39; Rom 8:35-39; 1 Pet 1:5] out of my hand. My Father, which believed on Christ to free them from the rule of the Romans; but not in
gave them to me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of Christ for salvation - as He so clearly rejects them and escapes their
my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one [John 14:9; 15:23, 24; 17:21-24]. murderous response to His “words”: “Then said Jesus unto them, When you
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have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do Behold, All Things are Become New!
nothing of myself; but as my father hath taught me, I speak these things.
And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do
always those things that please him. As he spake these words, many believed
on him. Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed on him, If ye continue
in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s
seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be
made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever
committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house
for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free,
ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to
kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have
seen with my Father: and ye do that which ye have seen of your father. They
answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If
ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now
ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of
God: this did not Abraham. Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they
unto him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
Jesus said unto them, If God were your father, ye would love me: for I
proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent
me. … Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my
Father who honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: Yet ye have Precisely because it applies to the Christian today who is under grace,
not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, I know him not, I shall the “most important teaching” left by Jesus were His many declarations that
be a liar like unto you: but I know him and keep his saying. Your father He did not speak or do anything except by His Father (Heb 10:5-10), as in:
Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. Then said the “Here I am: I have come—it is written of me in the scroll of the book—to
Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? do your will, O God” (Heb 10:7 NET). Primarily then, the story of grace
Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I and the Church begins at Acts chapter 2 and ends at Revelation chapter 3.
am [I AM]. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, Herein lies the domain of the believer’s interest and concern. This being
and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed accepted, a Christian who is saved by grace could not exist until the death,
by” (John 8:25-42, 54-59). resurrection, and ascension of Christ. Christ “in the flesh” had no power to
save. Only the glorified Savior gives us the gospel message to believe in for
salvation. Concerning John 8:12-30, Dr. Robert L. Deffinbaugh writes:
I am impressed, once again, with the unity of our Lord Jesus and the
Father. Jesus does not act or speak on His own initiative. He speaks and He
does what is pleasing to the Father. Surely this is what we must do. I see in
greater clarity, the significance of our Lord’s temptation (Matthew 4:1-11;
Luke 4:1-13). Satan sought to entice our Lord to act independently of the
Father, even if it appeared to be by means of some seemingly insignificant
act. Our salvation is the result of our Lord’s complete unity with the Father,
and His submission to the Father’s will.
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Is it any wonder then that Satan, the great deceiver, is carrying out his In the general signification of the doctrine, assurance is a confidence
opposition to our Lord as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)? He that right relations exist between one’s self and God. In this respect it is not
endeavors to give us new “light,” to cause us to look at things in a different to be confused with the doctrine of eternal security. The latter is a fact due to
“light.” But his “light” is not the “light” of the gospel, of God’s Word. His is God’s faithfulness whether realized by the believer or not, while the former
“new revelation,” which contradicts what God has said. And so when he is that which one believes to be true respecting himself at a given time.
tempted Eve, he deceived her into believing that God was not good, and that Assurance may rest upon personal righteousness, which assurance was in the
His one command was not really for man’s good. He convinced her that past age a recognition of one’s own righteous character; but in the present
God’s warning was a lie and that disobedience was the way to godliness. He age it is a recognition of that righteousness of God which is imputed to all
is still seeking to “enlighten” men today, but with a “light” that comes from who believe. Isaiah declares, “And the work of righteousness shall be
the darkness. And for those of us who have trusted in Jesus as the “Light of peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever” (Isa
the world,” Satan seeks to keep us from walking in the light. Let us beware 32:17). Thus also the Apostle writes of the confidence which is engendered
of that which is labeled “light”—especially when it is “new light”—testing it by understanding (Col 2:2), and they who understand God’s provisions and
to see if it conforms to the “light” of God’s Word. who have entered intelligently into them have just this. Likewise in Hebrews
There is little that is “new” in our text, and with good reason: there is no 6:11 there is reference to “the full assurance of hope,” and in 10:22 to “full
need for anything “new.” How often today men are attracted by what is assurance of faith.” Although it may be concluded that assurance is
“new” more than by what is true (see Acts 17:21). Even the Corinthian altogether experi-mental, resting as it does on a true faith, a true hope, a true
saints seem to be enticed by “new” teaching and tired of the simple understanding, and an imputed righteousness, such feeling may lead one to
proclamation of the cross of Christ. Let us beware of leaving the “light” say without any presumption, “I know that I am saved,” or, as the Apostle
behind for new and novel teaching. Let us hold fast to what is true. Let us testified of himself: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that
hold fast to Him who is the truth, the way, the life. 59 he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2
Tim 1:12). So far as the Scripture cited above is concerned, assurance rests
In the following citation, Dr. Chafer comments on the contemporary, not only on the Word of God but as well upon Christian experience. 60
present-day ministry and current “session” of Christ in heaven that
guarantees the eternal security of salvation and provides assurance to the The death of Christ gives meaning to faith in Christ as the Savior of all
believer: mankind. Accordingly, the Christian is concerned with his living “glorified
and ascended” Savior. A Savior who is currently working for the
The whole of Christ’s present ministry in heaven has been practically safekeeping and benefit of those regenerated with the gift of eternal life. The
ignored by theologians and especially Arminians, to whom this ministry is Apostle Paul states unmistakably in 2 Corinthians 5:14-17 that for the
repulsive since it guarantees the eternal security of all who are saved. Seven Christian to view “Christ after the flesh” is to overlook the fact they have
aspects of His present ministry are to be recognized, namely: (1) exercise of died with Christ and live a new life joined to the power of the risen Christ
universal authority. He said of Himself, “All power is given unto me in where “all things” have become new: “For the love of Christ constraineth us;
heaven and in earth” (Matt 28:18); (2) Headship over all things to the because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then all were dead: And that
Church (Eph 1:22-23); (3) bestowment and the direction of the exercise of he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto
gifts (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:4-31; Eph 4:7-11); (4) intercession, in which themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore,
ministry Christ contemplates the weakness and immaturity of His own who henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known
are in the world (Ps 23:1; Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25); (5) advocacy, by which Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore
ministry He appears in defense of His own before the Father’s throne when if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [creation]: old things are passed
they sin (Rom 8:34; Heb 9:24; 1 John 2:1); (6) building of he place He has away; behold, all things [“all things,” Gk. ta panta, cf. Col 1:16-20] are
gone to prepare (John 14:1-3); and (7) “expecting” or waiting until the become new.”
moment when by the Father’s decree the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdom of the Messiah – not by human agencies but by
resistless, crushing power of the returning King (Heb 10:13). …
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For the love of Christ controls us, (2) Jesus is God. Some may teach that Jesus was a man becoming a god,
since we have concluded this, that and that therefore we, like him, may become gods. This is not what the Bible
Christ died for all; therefore all have teaches, and it is not what Jesus claimed. He claimed to be God, who
died. And he died for all so that those became man. John declared this in the first verses of this Gospel. If Jesus
who live should no longer live for was not the sinless “Lamb of God,” His death would be of no saving value
themselves but for him who died for for us.
them and was raised. So then from now It is impossible to have the kind of faith that John envisages without
on we acknowledge no one from an having a certain high view of Christ. Unless we believe that He is more than
outward human point of view. Even man we can never trust Him with that faith that is saving faith.
though we have known Christ from (3) Jesus is the only way to know and to worship God. There is no
such a human point of view, now we do salvation apart from Christ, and there is no true worship of the Father which
not know him in that way any longer. rejects, denies, diminishes the Son.
So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a Ignorance of Christ is the root of not knowing God. People today say,
new creation; what is old has passed ‘Well, I believe in God, but I don’t believe in Christ.’ They’re talking in a
away—look, what is new has come! riddle. You can’t know God without Christ. And when you come to know
NET Christ, you come to know God. These are inseparable.
A man can know the Father only as He knows Jesus. It is a key doctrine
The following is a quotation by the of this Gospel that it is in the Son and in the Son alone that the Father is
early twentieth century theologian Herman Bavinck: “God’s honor consists revealed. No one has ever seen God. It is the Son who has ‘declared’ Him
precisely in the fact that he redeems and renews the same humanity, the (18). This is fundamental. If a man really comes to know Jesus then he will
same world, the same Heaven, and the same earth that have been corrupted know the Father also, and acknowledge the Father’s testimony to the Son.
and polluted by sin. Just as anyone in Christ is a new creation in whom the The two go together (cf. Weymouth: ‘You know my Father as little as you
old has passed away and everything has become new (2 Corinthians 5:17), know me’). But to reject Jesus is to place oneself out of reach of the divine
so this world passes away in its present form as well, in order out of its testimony.
womb, at God’s word of power, to give birth and being to a new world.” 61 (4) Jesus Christ is the key to eternal life. Those who trust in Him are
Dr. Robert Deffinbaugh summarizes a passage in the Gospel of John saved; those who reject Him will die in their sins. There is no other way to
8:12-30 that contains four uncomplicated truths about Christ: God. Following Jesus Christ as His disciple is not only the way to heaven, it
is the only way to escape the darkness of this life. Jesus is to be the central
There are a few simple truths which John continues to proclaim and focus of our life. We are never to turn to anything or anyone else as the
emphasize in his Gospel, and which our Lord reiterates again and again in divine source of light and life. This is the consistent message of the New
our text. Let me review them briefly. Testament. 62
(1) Jesus Christ is unique, unlike any other man who has walked on this
earth.
For Christ does not speak of it as what belongs to him in common with
others, but claims it as being peculiarly his own. Hence it follows, that
out[side] of Christ there is not even a spark of true light … It must also be
observed, that the power and office of illuminating is not confined to the
personal presence of Christ; for though he is far removed from us with
respect to his body, yet he daily sheds his light upon us, by the doctrine of
the Gospel, and by the secret power of his Spirit.
He alone has “come down from heaven,” speaking with God’s
authority to mankind. He alone can testify of heavenly things.
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“He is the image of the “religion” which crushes instead of liberates. But true grace has nothing to
invisible God, the firstborn do with our performance or worthiness. Grace is our Father, the sovereign
over all creation, for all things Lord, running to embrace a prodigal son or daughter. We deserve His stern
in heaven and on earth were rebuke and disinheritance, but because of His incomparable, unconditional
created by him—all things, love, we are forgiven, made clean and beloved. He writes our names on His
whether visible or invisible, hand and calls us His children. What an incredible gift!” 63
whether thrones or dominions, As recorded in the book of Acts, a strong negative or positive reaction is
whether prince-palities or a good indication that the gospel is working. Nevertheless, there is no
powers—all things were diversity in the gospel message itself. Whether the gospel be centered with
created through him and for Christ as Judge or loving Lamb, Christ is the Savior above “all things.”
him. He himself is before all “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under
things and all things are held heaven given among men, wherein we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). As
together in him. He is the head predicted by His servants, God’s message of grace continues to be
of the body, the church, as downplayed and altered.
well as the beginning, the Today the word gospel is often misused to the point that meaning
firstborn from among the dead, disappears. It is incorrectly applied as a synonym to anything that is true or
so that he himself may become truthful. In ancient writing, the Greek root word for “gospel” was almost
first in all things. For God was non-existent outside the NT. The word is a superlative, indicating
pleased to have all his fullness unbelievable, fantastic “good news.” Because there is only one true gospel
dwell in the Son and through him to reconcile all things to himself by for this age, there are many other messages that may be claimed as “the
making peace through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things gospel,” or even super-sized into a “full gospel,” and squared-off to make a
on earth or things in heaven” (Col 1:15-20 NET). “Therefore let no man “four corner gospel.” All very ingenuous. But, these are in fact, “another
glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, gospel” (2 Cor 11:4; Gal 1:6, 7) spread by “false brethren” (2 Cor 11:26; Gal
or the world, or life, or death or things present, or things to come; all are 2:4; Jude 4). i
yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s” (1 Cor 3:21-23 KJV). Contrary to one moment of saving faith, a distorted message will
condition a future salvation upon human performance and not upon the
Concluding Summary Remarks blood of Jesus Christ that releases the power of God to save a soul. This may
be termed a “negative gospel” as it cannot sustain, or preserve salvation. The
To my continuing astonishment, the idea that grace means an assured individual is burdened with the task to maintain and improve his or her new
salvation is hatefully received and maliciously denied by many professing state of forgiven perfection or lose it. Also, out of ignorance to the spiritual,
Christians. My personal guide to salvation is, “There is no faith in fear. but none the less real changes wrought immediately by God in a new
There is no fear in faith.” Because of the perfect love of Christ we may have believer, it is mistakenly assumed that salvation may be forfeited, or “given
confidence that we are and always will be loved. This is based on a passage back” to Christ. As one might return a gift in a box. This concept is a
in 1 John, “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in contradiction to God’s message revealed in His Word as “the gospel of the
the day of judgment: because as he [Jesus] is, so are we in this world. There grace of God.”
is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath The grace gospel may be designated the “positive gospel.” To state the
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because two directly opposite messages: (1) the gospel message based on the
he first loved us” (1 John 4:17-19). negative performance of the individual leaves one with many things not to
The gospel artist, Kim Hill writes concerning the restoration that is do, (2) the gospel message based on the positive performance of Christ gives
available to all God’s children: “Only By Grace - This song has been one of
my favorites for years because of how beautifully it communicates the i
For a more detailed discussion see Appendix – The Gospel Defined.
meaning of grace. I think most of us get caught up in a performance based
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the individual someone to believe in for an assured salvation unto eternal gnashing of teeth” (Mtw 8:12). Christ was rejected by the nation of Israel as
glory. It may now be seen that the positive, by comparison to the negative, is their Messiah-King. “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the
truly beyond the ordinary - unbelievable and fantastic. In his final letter to circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the
his young friend Timothy, the Apostle Paul said of the gospel: fathers” (Rom 15:8). “… Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?
The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar” (John 19:15).The
2 Tim 2:8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of offer of an earthly kingdom is restricted to the Jews to whom God made the
David; such is my gospel, 2:9 for which I suffer hardship to the point of promises contained in the conditional Mosaic and Davidic covenants. These
imprisonment as a criminal, but God’s message is not imprisoned! 2:10 So I promises have been withdrawn until after the Church age ends, “Go ye into
endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God, that they too may all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and
obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory. 2:11 This saying is is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mk
trustworthy: 16:15-16). The Church age will end when “the full number” of believers in
If we died with him, we will also live with him. the Body of Christ is reached and Christ returns to earth in power and glory.
2:12 If we endure, we will also reign with him. Until the return of Christ the “gospel of the kingdom” will not be sanctioned
If we deny him, he will also deny us. (ref. Mtw 24:14). This will be immediately before the end of the tribulation
2:13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself. period. And will mark the end of all human government and all who reject
NET Christ. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Mtw 24:14).
The gospel of the grace of God is not “the gospel of the kingdom” as This teaching is further reinforced by the statements of Jesus when He
many mistakenly suppose. Because of misguided teaching that contains no spoke to the people of His hometown, “To preach the acceptable year of the
truth or power “unto salvation” one may become ineffectually engaged in LORD [Jehovah]. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the
preaching and witnessing a gospel that is “no gospel” at all. Great grief and minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue
remorse for personal actions, and, the divine penalty were taken away once were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is the
for all by the Divine Scapegoat, the Lamb of God. So that - no one - might scripture fulfilled in your ears” (Lk 4:19-21). Dr. C. I. Scofield writes:
use them against a child of God. Especially, by one who dares to preach
God’s “message of reconciliation.” The three Synoptic books of the NT A comparison with the passage quoted, Isa 61:1, 2, affords an in-stance
“taken the wrong way” will not save anyone. These books, respectively, of the exquisite accuracy of Scripture. Jesus stopped at, the “acceptable year
reveal Jesus as King, Servant, and Man. The deity of Christ as Savior and of the Lord,” which is connected with the first advent and the dispensation
Jesus as the unique God-man is not fully developed for saving faith until the of grace (Gen 3:15; Acts 1:11, note); “the day of vengeance of our God”
Gospel of John in chapters 1-12. This is the Book of Seven Signs belongs to the second advent (Duet 30:3; Acts 1:11, note) and judgment. –P.
(signs=supernatural works that contain spiritual significance). “And many 1077
other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not
written in this book. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is Acts 1:11 Which [the two angels] also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have [eternal] life ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into
through his name” (John 20:30-31). And, lastly, the three Synoptic books are heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”
not an instruction for daily living in grace after one comes to saving faith.
The Christian is dead to the law and “inlawed” to Christ. (1:11) The Two Advents – Summary: (1) The O.T. foreview of the coming
The historical Lordship, or kingdom gospel had as its focus Christ Messiah is in two aspects – that of rejection and suffering (as, e.g. in Isa 53),
Incarnate, not Christ Glorified, “And Jesus went about all Galilee teaching in and that of earthly power and glory (as, e.g. in Isa 11; Jer 23; Ezk 37). Often
their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom …” (Mtw 4:23). these two aspects blend in one passage (e.g. Psa 2). The prophets
A “gospel of the kingdom” has no God sanctioned power for faith and themselves were perplexed by this seeming contradiction (1 Pet 1:10, 11), it
salvation while Christ remains ascended in heaven. “But the children of the was solved by partial fulfillment. In due time the Messiah, born of a virgin
kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and according to Isaiah, appeared among men and began His ministry by
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announcing the predicted kingdom as “at hand” (Mt 4:17, note). The Christian position in grace is the result of the work of Christ, and is fully
rejection of King and kingdom followed. (2) Thereupon the rejected King entered the moment that Christ is received by faith (John 1:12, 13; Rom 8:1,
announced His approaching crucifixion, resurrection, departure, and return 15-17; 1 Cor 1:2,30; 12:12, 13; Gal 3:26; Eph 1:3-14; 2:4-9; 1 Pet 2:9; Rev
(Mt 12:38-40; 16:1-4, 21, 27; Lk 12:35-46; 17:20-36; 18:31-34; 19:12-27; 1:6; 5:9, 10). The weakest, most ignorant, and fallible believer has precisely
Mt 24, 25). (3) He uttered predictions concerning the course of events the same relationships in grace as the most illustrious saint. All the after
between His departure and return (Mt 13:1-50; 16:18; 24:4-26). (4) This work of God in his behalf, the application of the word to walk and
promised return of Christ becomes a prominent theme in Acts, Epistles, and conscience (John 17:17; Eph 5:26), the divine chastenings (1 Cor 11:32; Heb
Revelation. 12:10), the ministry of the Spirit (Eph 4:11, 12), the difficulties and trials of
Taken together, the N.T. teachings concerning the return of Jesus Christ the path (1 Pet 4:12, 13), and the final transformation at the appearing of
may be summarized as follows: (1) That return is an event, not a process, Christ (1 John 3:2), have for their object to make the believer’s character
and is personal and corporeal (Mt 23:39; 24:30; 25:31;Mk 14:62; Lk 17:24; conform to his exalted position in Christ. He grows in grace, not into grace.
John 14:3; Acts1:11; Phil 3:20, 21; 1 Thes 4:14-17). (2) His coming has a 65
threefold relation: to the church, to Israel, to the nations.

(a) To the church the descent of the Lord into the air to raise the On the other hand, the entrance into and the eternalness of Christianity
sleeping and change the living saints is set forth as a constant expectation is explicitly defined in Scripture. Just as each believer’s position is identical,
and hope (Mt 24:36, 44, 48-51; 25:33; 1 Cor 15:51, 52; Phil 3:20; 1 Thes so too, the entrance into salvation. There is no more vital truth. “That no
1:10; 4:14-17; 1 Tim 6:14; Tit 2:13; Rev 22:20). flesh should glory in his presence. But of him [God] are ye in Christ Jesus,
(b) To Israel, the return of the Lord is predicted to accomplish the yet who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
unfulfilled prophecies of her national regathering, conversion, and and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him
establishment in peace and power under the Davidic Covenant (Acts 15:14- glory in the Lord” (1 Cor 1:31). The greatest moral sin that one man or, free
17 with Zech 14:1-9). … individual units of men, can commit is to call God a liar, deny the evidence
(c) To the Gentile nations the return of Christ is predicted to bring the of salvation by the grace of God, and engage themselves to “profit” from
destruction of the present political world-system (Dan 2:34, 35; Rev 19:11, religious humanism.
note); the judgment of Mt 25:31-46, followed by world-wide Gentile The Apostle Paul says of the gospel, “But as we were allowed of God to
conversion and participation in the blessings of the kingdom (Isa 2:2-4; be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but
11:10; 60:3; Zech 8:3, 20, 23; 14:16-21). 64 God, who trieth our hearts” (1 Thess 2:4). Again Paul says, “For Christ sent
me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest
On the one hand, this writer fully recognizes the progressive nature of the cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (1 Cor 1:17). For the
authentic spiritual development commonly termed sanctification. The Bible record, Pelagius, Socinus, and Grotius were historical inventors of a negative
speaks of the spiritually less and the spiritually more mature Christian performance gospel. They were all condemned in human courts and never
brothers, disputes over permissible foods, and the law of liberty in Christ. absolved. With the Bible as their foundation, Augustine, Luther, and Calvin
Accordingly, there is no “one size” that fits all for the believer’s walk in preached the gospel of the grace of God.
Christ. The NT makes complete and satisfactory provision for the sins of the The overarching theme of this presentation is salvation. Surely He by
sinful nature committed by all believers (Rom 5:8; 1 John 18, 10). More which “all things” were created and the most precious thing in all of God’s
importantly, no denomination may resolve this issue. Spiritual growth is as creation - the human life and the divine sinless blood of God the Son - was
varied as the individual and is not accomplished by personal adherence to a not sacrificed for men to arbitrarily interpret and preach a sectarian, partisan
creed through the power of the flesh, or self-determination. Thereby, gospel of salvation. Such activities are fruitless. Dr. Scofield writes in his
contrary to common teaching, a great distinction exists between salvation notes: “In verses 13 and 14 [Gal 1] the Greek word for ‘the Jews’ religion”
and sanctification. The Christian’s walk will never effect his salvation or is Ioudaismos (Judaism). In Acts 26:5 and Jas 1:26, 27, threskia – religious
position en Christō. Because of salvation en Christō the eventual service – is translated “religion,” and in Col 2:18 worshipping.” Excepting
sanctification of the believer is assured. All believers will be perfected into Jas 1:27, “religion” has always a bad sense, and nowhere is it synonymous
the “image of Christ.” Dr. C. I. Scofield writes: with salvation or spirituality.” 66 The Bible is most unlike the United States
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Constitution in that it may not be amended nor is it open to progressive the sinner. “By grace are ye saved through faith” (Eph 2:8; cf. 2:4; Titus 3:4-
reinterpretations. Only by knowing and sharing God’s one true message of 5).” 67
salvation may other men and women come to know Christ as their Savior. Balaam was the OT type of the apostate NT Christian. In the following
The gospel that bears good fruit is stated in Scripture: “John 14:6 … I citation, Dr. Scofield gives a summary of apostasy:
am the way, the truth, and the [eternal] life: no man cometh unto the Father,
except by me. Mtw 7:14 Because strait [narrow, standing close together, Apostasy, “falling away,” is the act of professed Christians who
agreement with] is the gate [faith in the truth], and narrow [straightened and deliberately reject revealed truth (1) as to the deity of Christ, and (2)
compressed, simple] is the way [the gospel], which leadeth to [eternal] life, redemption through his atoning and redeeming sacrifice (1 John 4:1-3; Phil
and few there be that find it [Me=eternal life]. 15 Beware of false prophets, 3:18; 2 Pet 2:1). Apostasy differs therefore from error concerning truth,
which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening which may be the result of ignorance (Acts 19:1-6), or heresy, which may be
wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of due to the snare of Satan (2 Tim 2:25, 26), both of which may consist with
thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good true faith. The apostate is perfectly described in 2 Tim. 4:3, 4. Apostates
fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring depart from the faith, but not from the outward profession of Christianity (2
forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every Tim 3:5). [“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from
tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 such turn away.”] Apostate teachers are described in 2 Tim. 4:3; 2 Pet 2:1-
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21 Not every one that saith 19; Jude 4, 8, 11-13, 16. Apostasy in the church, as in Israel (Isa 1:5, 6,; 5:5-
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that 7), is irremediable, and awaits judgment (2 Thes 2:10-12; 2 Pet 2:17, 21;
doeth the will of my Father [to obey the gospel] which is in heaven. Acts 6:7 Jude 11-15; Rev 3:14-16). 68
The word of God continued to spread, the number of disciples in Jerusalem
increased greatly, and a large group of priests became obedient to the faith There is an important consideration to be held in mind before accepting
[obeyed the gospel]. John 6:40 For this is the will of my Father—for the doctrines of any so-called theory of atonement, or the redemptive
everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and remedy for sin. Because the Bible declares itself to be God’s message to
I will raise him up at the last day. (NET) Mtw 8:10 … Verily I say unto you man it is theocentric. Any message in the Bible directed to man must,
[the Centurion who owned a dying manservant], I have not found so great therefore, be decidedly anthropoexcentric. For this reason, I conclude, a
faith, no, not in Israel. 11 And I say unto you, That many [Gentiles who theory, system, message, or claim supposedly drawn from the Bible, that is
possess a dead spirit who are born a slave to the “cosmos,” ] shall come anthropocentric (man centered, created by man, and executed by man)
from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and invalidates itself. It is a message of both extra and intra-Biblical claims. Dr.
Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12 But the children of the kingdom [the Lewis Chafer comments on this error:
religious Pharisees who were born a Jew] shall be cast out into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” The student of truth will ever be called upon to recognize counter claims
God’s grace is intended for sinners, not “good people” participating in a [to the claims of Scripture] which are both extra-Biblical and intra-Biblical.
sub-culture who seek after blessings and divine recognition of their extra- That which is extra-Biblical embraces the whole field of humanly devised
ordinary “beauty, brains, and bucks.” Categorically, “sinners” religions and philosophical speculations. The intra-Biblical embraces all
unquestionably includes everyone and whosoever will believe on Jesus cults and partial statements of divine truth which, though professing to build
Christ as Savior and receive salvation for their souls from the law of sin and their systems on the Scriptures, do, nevertheless, by false emphasis or
death – to the glory of Christ and God – by the Completed Satisfaction neglect of truth, succeed in arriving at a confusion of doctrine which is akin
wrought in the death of the Son of God. Dr. John Walvoord writes: “Being to and perhaps more misleading than unmixed error. …
set free through the substitutionary death of Christ, God knows no If fallen man does not naturally know his sinfulness, much less does he
limitations and does not cease working until, to His own satisfaction, He have native capacity whereby he can know the divine remedy which is not
places the justly doomed sinner in heaven’s highest glory, even conformed only revealed to man in the Word of God but has demonstrated its efficacy
to the image of Christ. Saving grace is more than love; it is love set in every instance in which man has met its terms and claimed its values. This
abundantly free and made to triumph over His righteous judgments against redemption not only provides a perfect salvation for the individual believer,
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but extends to the new heaven and the new earth with sin dismissed forever. God. “That as sin [the sin nature i] hath reigned unto death, even so might
It is conceivable that man might dream of a utopia, but what human being grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ” (Rom
could devise the plan of salvation and cause and cause it to be successful in 5:21):
every instance without exception? How could man devise a plan which
discredits human merit, which secures the saving power of God, and which
tendeth ever to the glory of God and the disillusionment of human vanity?
Why should man in his fictitious utopia be concerned that it shall be wrought
out only in that manner which preserves the infinite holiness of the One who
redeems? It is only after man is redeemed that he can even feebly apprehend
the mighty workings of divine grace in the salvation of the lost. Yet if one
hesitates to receive the Bible as God’s Word, he is left with no other choice
than to believe that man is the author of redemption and that it has no more
saving value than a fallen man can impart to it. 69
That which follows this section, will give exposure to the empty
religious humanism of those who claim a probationary salvation as defined
by Arminianism. Arminian salvation (soteriology) through Jesus Christ
adamantly asserts that Christ did not personally bear the sins of the Christian
nor the sins of the world for the following reasons: (1) punishment may not
be imputed, therefore it was impossible for Christ to bear the sins of the
world, (2) for had that happened (according to the Arminian view which
chooses to deny the irrevocable receiving of eternal life and the Holy Spirit
that only comes through believing that all sins are forgiven in Christ) there
would be no need for faith, as all sins would be forgiven, and (3) that God is The term “soteriology” comes from two Greek terms, namely, sō ter
love, therefore God had no wrath against sin. And, consequently, He had no meaning “savior” or “deliverer” and meaning “word,” “matter,” or “thing.”
reason to be completely satisfied (propitiated) by the redemption provided in In Christian systematic theology it is used to refer to the study of the biblical
the foolishly mistaken idea of a vicarious penal and substitutionary death of doctrine of salvation. It often includes such topics as the nature and extent of
Christ His Son. the atonement as well as the entire process of salvation, conceived as an
A complete defense of the Arminian view of redemption in the shed eternal, divine plan designed to rescue lost and erring sinners and bring them
blood of Christ contained in the Rectoral or Governmental theory of back into eternal fellowship with God. Many regard it as the primary theme
atonement is quoted below. This quote is a defense by a widely recognized in Scripture with the glory of God as its goal. …
and established authority on the Arminian concept of forgiveness, Dr. John The Example or Moral Influence (or “subjective”) view has been
Miley. This quotation may be found in the section titled The Necessity for advanced by theologians such as Pelagius (ca. 400), Faustus and Laelius
Atonement, Book 2 – The Tribunal. Socinus (sixteenth century), and Abelard (1079-1142). Though there are
As a summary of the contradicting views concerning the value in the certainly different moral example views, their essential agreement consists
death of Christ, in An Introduction to Christian Belief: A Layman’s Guide, in arguing that the cross demonstrates how much God loves us and this,
Dr. Greg Herrick defines three major “theories.” The first two are commonly then, awakens a response of love in our hearts; we then live as Jesus himself
mingled together and used to rationalize the “loss” of salvation based on the
believer’s walk. Only the Completed Satisfaction view, which results from i
Penal Substitution, can be supported by the Word of God to bring about (5:21) “Sin” in Rom. [chapters] 6, 7 is the nature in distinction from “sins,”
saving faith for salvation in Jesus Christ through the irrevocable grace of which are manifestations of that nature. Cf. 1 John 1:8 with 1 John 1:10,
where this distinction also appears. (The Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I.
Scofield, p 1198)
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lived. While there is biblical support for this idea (e.g., Phil 2: 6-11; 1 Pet full accounting for all that the Bible affirms, recognizes and includes the
2:21), it is incomplete as it stands and fails to recognize the more crucial typical foreshadowings of the Old Testament, and is as much concerned to
aspects of scriptural teaching on the issue. … be in accord with these as with the New Testament antitypical teachings; it
The Governmental view of the atonement, advanced by Hugo Grotius sustains from the Word of God the actual substitution by Christ both in the
(1583-1645), places a high value on the justice of God and the demand of his field of disobedience which He bore in the room and stead of the sinner, and
holy law. In this view, the death of Christ upholds God’s moral government in the field of obedience which He offered to God in behalf of those who are
in that it demonstrates His utter commitment to His holy law. He could have void of obedience; it incorporates the truth that Christ by His death ended
forgiven men, however, without the death of Christ, but this would have left the entire merit-system for all who believe; it respects the peculiar and far-
men without the true knowledge of His commitment to His Law. The death reaching doctrines of redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation; it gives
of Christ, then, is not as a substitute for us, but rather God’s statement about unreserved consideration to the death of Christ in its relation to the sin
what he thinks about his moral government of the universe. This view has nature and the personal sins which flow out of it; it accounts for those
much to commend it, but as a global theory it simply cannot account for the specific personal sins committed by Christians; it also advances into angelic
tight connection between three important facts in Scripture: (1) the realms and into heaven itself. Compared to all of this, a theory which cannot,
reconciliation of the believing sinner; (2) the forgiveness of sin; and (3) the by its limitations, expand beyond a gratuitous or sovereign forgiveness of
death of Christ. Peter says that “Ch rist died for sins, once for all, the the personal sins of those who are unsaved is less than a human gesture
righteous for the unrighteous, to bring [us] to God” (1 Peter 3:18; cf. Rom where naught but the mighty arm of the infinite One can avail. Nor should it
5:8). be overlooked that so-called theories are not only hopelessly inadequate but
The Penal Substitution view of the atonement—the view most often they dishonor God by assuming that He can disregard, if not insult, His own
associated with the Reformers, in particular, Calvin—argues that Christ died holiness by an attitude of leniency toward sin; and, as has been stated, if
in the sinner’s place and appeased the wrath of God toward sin. Thus there divine leniency for sin is once admitted, a principle is introduced which
are a cluster of ideas in this view including redemption (ransom), sacrifice, denies the Word of God and besides, if extended to all sin, would account
substitution, propitiation, and reconciliation, Though there are tensions in the death of Christ foolishness. …
this view, and though the other views each contribute important insights to This entire volume with its exposition of Soteriology is an elucidation of
the idea of Christ’s atonement in the NT, this one perhaps rests on the best the doctrine of satisfaction and that this entire work of on theology is
scriptural support, and brings together the holiness and love of God, the grounded in that sublime reality. 71
nature and sacrifice of Christ, and the sinfulness of man in a way that all are
properly maintained. 70 The Apostle Paul’s closing doxology in Romans states: “Now to him
that is of power to stablish [to turn resolutely in the right direction] you
Dr. Lewis Chafer comments: according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the
revelation of the mystery [of the Church, Eph 3:3-10, Col 1:26], which was
THE DOCTRINE OF SATISFACTION kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the
scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting
As has been observed, the belief that Christ met the righteous demands God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith [obey the gospel]:
of God against sin has been the view of true believers in all their history, and To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen” (Rom
because of the fact that it is the plain testimony of the Word of God and the 16:25-27).
natural conclusion whenever an unprejudiced induction of the Bible teaching
bearing on this theme is made. It remains, as it has been, the unquestioned
belief of expositors, conservative preachers, and evangelists. …
As in contrast to all other theories regarding the value of the death of
Christ - including the Rectoral or Governmental – which entire group
restricts the work of Christ to the one undertaking of providing a way by
which the sinner may be forgiven, the doctrine of satisfaction, because of its
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The Supremacy of Nothing The vile person (fool, NASB) shall be no more called liberal (noble),
The Words of God in the Book of the Prophet Isaiah nor the churl (rogue) said to be bountiful (generous).
For the vile person will speak villany (nonsense), and his heart will
Who hath formed a god, or molten a graven image that is profitable work iniquity (wickedness), to practice hypocrisy, and to utter error
for nothing? against the Lord, to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause
Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counselor the drink of the thirsty to fail.
hath taught him? The instruments also of the churl are evil: he deviseth wicked devices
Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong (schemes) to destroy the poor with lying words, even when the needy
72
reasons. speaketh right.
Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the
potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me
not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no
understanding?
Woe to them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and
their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? And who
knoweth us?
He feedeth on ashes: a deceived heart hath turned him aside, that he
cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie in my right hand?
Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and
with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass
through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and
under falsehood we have hid ourselves:
It shall even be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he
eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man
dreameth, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite:
Behold ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination
is he that chooseth you
Now go and write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that
it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
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Intuition, the Supremacy of Nothing, Theory, Truth, and the defined theology as primarily a speculative discipline, Duns Scotus saw
Supremacy of Christ theology as primarily a practical science, concerned with theoretical issues
only insofar as they are ordered toward the goal of saving souls through
INTUITION revelation. He argued that through faith a person may know with absolute
certainty that the human soul is incorruptible and immortal; reason plausibly
An intuition is confidence or belief which springs immediately from the may argue the existence of such qualities of the soul, but it cannot strictly
constitution of the mind. It must ever be so; hence intuition is a necessary prove that they exist.” Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft
human function. Therefore, it may be said that intuitive knowledge is that Corporation. All rights reserved.
which the normal, natural mind assumes to be true. It includes such themes
as time and eternity; space, cause and effect; right and wrong; mathematical To be intellectually convinced of the source of your own childhood
demonstration; self-existence, the existence of matter, and the Person of wonder is not saving belief. A creator God could exist without the attributes
God. These and other primary truths, being already accepted by the rational of three distinct and separate personalities sharing one essence or nature.
mind, are little enhanced by added demonstration, nor or they greatly The Bible reveals that God is a person. The “personhood” of God was His
increased by counter argument. Intuitive knowledge is little more than a bias testimony about Himself in the OT, and, the revelation of the incarnate God-
in the direction of certain truths. Each intuitive theme offers a field of man, Jesus Christ. The perfect revelation of God was the supremely perfect
endless research and conceals inexhaustible stores of reality. This is Man. The testimony of the NT is God’s witness to His Son, and, the Son’s
particularly true of the knowledge of God. The very universality of the belief testimony was restricted to what the Father would have Him say or do. Two
in God proves that it is intuitive. Such general knowledge is not the divine sources have given their word about each other. The Spirit of God
superstition of perverted minds, for it is evidently more assertive when does not give testimony about Himself. He uses the Word of God [the water
culture and education obtain. In the midst of a universe of transcendent of life] to witness the Son to those who will believe God’s testimony about
marvels, whether observed in their telescopic grandeur or microscopic Himself, “Except a man be born of water and Spirit, he cannot (see or) enter
perfection, the rational mind can find but one explanation for the the kingdom of God” (John 3:3ff, 5). Unless one can see the entrance to
phenomenon which is observed, namely, a God of infinite wisdom and eternal life, he will remain outside the kingdom of God – suspended in a
power. It is true that some men have sought to move themselves away from state of childhood wonder.
this intuitive conception of God and profess to be agnostic. The Bible
recognizes this abnormal mind when it says: “The fool hath said in his heart, THE COSMOLOGICAL ARGUMENT: It is true there was a time before the
There is no God” (Ps 14:1; 53:1). 73 origin of man. God has written the record of time onto the pages of primeval
“In his system of philosophy Duns Scotus [John Duns Scotus, 1266?- light. The “big bang” theory is now fact. Men have looked into the blinding
1308] closely analyzed the concepts of causality and possibility in an explosion of the origins of the cosmos. They know the material universe is
attempt to set up a rigorous proof for the existence of God, the primary and 13.8 billion years old. This is an argument proposed by matter itself for the
infinite being. He held, however, that in order to know the truth in all its existence of an uncaused-first-cause. Thus the cosmological argument for
fullness and to fulfill one's eternal destiny, a person must not only make use the existence of God.
of the insights afforded by natural knowledge or philosophy but must also be Aside from the puerile foolishness of an infinite regression of causes,
taught by divine revelation. Revelation supplements and perfects natural what caused the big bang? To begin, some will say there is no God. For
knowledge, and, in consequence, no contradiction can exist between them. starters, a universal negative is a logical impossibility. The immense time
For Duns Scotus, theology and philosophy were distinct and separate element required to move about the universe – even at the fastest known
disciplines; they were, however, complementary, because theology uses speed of light – proves this assertion false. No truly honest person can
philosophy as a tool. In his view, the primary concern of theology is God, rationally claim the nonexistence of “anything.” Anything could move to
considered from the standpoint of his own nature, whereas philosophy another place or come into being anywhere - as the hypothetical witness
properly treats of God only insofar as he is the first cause of things. With moved about the universe to prove his negative claim.
regard to the nature of theology as a science, however, Duns Scotus departed
sharply from his Dominican forerunner, Thomas Aquinas. Whereas Aquinas
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THE TELEOLOGICAL ARGUMENT: The biography of the theory of (the reality of God must exist outside the mind to be perfect) are
relativity has been poorly publicized. Einstein first postulated a special demonstrated.
theory that may be understood by college level calculus. He later proposed a
general theory that few men can fully appreciate. A final unified theory is THE SUPREMACY OF NOTHING
still unresolved.
Similarly, in his day, the scientific milestones of Isaac Newton were To say that “all living things” in God’s creation may be determined by
adopted as proofs for both Deism and Atheism in the Age of the record of time, or based upon antecedent random cause and effect,
Reason/Enlightenment. The men who championed the opposing theological would be to apply a known result (things as they now appear) to an
views for the cause of the Newtonian model of the universe knew nothing of unknowable fact (things as they did appear). It would be a logical
Newton’s personal theism and experiments in alchemy. “antecedent clause”(hypothesis or assumption). It would be to position the
In the special theory postulated by Einstein - all motion is relative assumed chaotic origin of all life on the existing foundation of time, which
because there is no absolute rest. Which is an issue between two self- may or may not support it because time is determined by place, or position
exclusive truths, “if not one then the other.” He proposed that the speed of in space. Also, an event may only occur at the intersection of two lines of
light was constant –another truth. From this he proposed that kinetic energy space and time. As a consideration of this proposal made by evolutionists,
would be converted to mass. Another truth. So, I ask, How may Einstein’s the following discussion is offered (see also Book Two - Glorious Grace, The
proof of three absolute truths, prove “truth is relative”? Or, the anecdotal Vanishing Point -P 664:
extension of “moral relativism”?
In its original use among knowledgeable men, “relativity,” was a Assumptions
philosophical dictum to indicate something that was dependent on a
contextual factor, or the result of how something else was used. The idea of (A) Assuming no God. (B) Defining a cosmic state of nothing as a lack
things being in a state of proportion to something else, relativity (E=mc2), is of events, not substance or material, but rather as an “absolute” rest of all
not the same as relative terms that observe a change in circumstantial material in an irreversible state of non-activity. (comment to “absolute”
diversity such as “big” and “small” (BigA>SmallA). Before it was rest: “absolute” zero is a theoretical state of no motion and no pressure
successfully demonstrated to the world, it was counterintuitive at best and, derived from a total lack of heat to excite atoms into motion; there is no
foolish in the extreme, to propose that the splitting of an atom releases opposite state or limitation to heat generated atomic motion and pressure.)
massive amounts of energy. Thus, the apparent quandary of the very “big” (C) Of necessity, accepting that an uncaused “something” in motion
result from the very “small” context. The atomic bomb itself proposes the originally existed. It just was. (D) Accepting on authority (as do most
argument for the existence of intelligent design and absolute truths. Should astrophysicist) that the universe was not created by nor may it be sustained
the universe be chaotic, why does it not self-destruct? Thus the teleological by means of infinite and unlimited chaos. What is proven about the universe
(design, goal-directed activity) argument for the existence of God. does not agree with pure chaos. (E) Using chaos and evolutionary
naturalism as the foundation of an “a posteriori” argument:
THE ONTOLOGICAL ARGUMENT: God has left no concrete record of the
origins of Adam and Eve for discovery and rational consideration. No Premise
material proof of body, spirit, and soul creation will be found until Christ
Himself returns to establish an undeniable modern authority. God’s Word Two hypothetical automobiles, moving randomly about an infinite empty
reveals that Adam was simply created from dirt (stardust) and then Eve from space, may change position relative to each other; but, they will not change
the flesh of Adam. These divinely created paternal twins - who were fully state until they collide at some speed. The speed of collision would
formed adults possessed of wit and sexuality - disobeyed God’s one determine the change of state. This would be the “zero” event. A universe
command. Therefore, the irreversible conclusion, based on living men, is driven by pure, infinite expansion from a single burst would be void of a
that the first child was born of created, but sinful human parentage. For “zero” event (e.g., predictably, automobiles moving uniformly at the same
these reasons, the moral or anthropological (though fallen, the nature of speed and direction on a freeway do not collide –this is non-chaotic).
man still shares in the divine nature of God) and the ontological argument
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(1) Would it be possible that these two automobiles were the result of a
series of chaotic events that repeatedly destroyed (collision and The ancient Greeks had an often repeated maxim: It is better for a man
fragmentation) and then repeatedly reassembled the automobiles (collision that he was never born.
and fusion)? Should this be true, chaos would be then be the cause of
intelligent design. And, any point between one “zero” event and the next Comments
would not be chaotic; but the infinitely duplicated path to the next “zero”
event. Where a new cycle of fragmentation and fusion would begin once The phenomenon of personal existence demands explanation. To reject
more. intentional design, even as a force of nature, and insist on “natural
(a) This would be an infinite cycle of limited development (never selection” as a predictable consequence of mutation is to say that a properly
improving upon the original automobiles) and redevelopment. (b) This rounded ball rolls down hill because of chaos. On the one hand, it is
would be an inherently goal-directed activity. (c) It’s predictable. dishonest to the principles of naturalism, empiricism (scientific method), and
materialism for evolution to both champion an idea of development, or
(2) Would it be possible that the post-zero event collision of fragments forwardness, with the claim that life ends in nothing. Forwardness is
deplete the initial “energy” and completely eliminate any events after some inseparable and logically tied to a natural design or force of the universe
“final” collision? Should this be true, chaos would then regress into a that is governed by limited development. On the other hand, to claim nothing
perfect state of absolute rest defined as nothing. Where movement and as the end of life and by default –the universe – and to then both deny design
occurrence would finally end. and not accept, but ignore the plain conclusion of regression and depletion
(a) This would be depletion of movement regressed into a state defined - that is joined to a natural design of a perfect nothing - is intellectually
as nothing where the universe slips into an eternally comatose state of dishonest.
absolute rest and non-activity. (b) This would be an inherently goal To be consistent and truthful to the rational thought and conclusions of
directed-activity. (c) It’s predictable. their own theories - the chaotic origin of the universe and evolutionary life –
the intelligentsia who take such great academic pride in their certainties
Hypothesis/Antecedent Clause about life and death should admit “nothing” to be the goal of all research
and thought.
Reasoning from 1 and 2, “if one then not the other.” Any “zero” Because, by their own claims, the in-between state of man and the
event produced by the depletion of chaos and energy cannot be part of a universe, as they exist today, came from something and will regress into a
universe that has an infinite cycle of regression and progression of causes superior non-complex nothing. Their theories conclusively prove the
(development and redevelopment). It may be agreed that to do something supremacy and the final existence of “nothing.”
once by design is non-complex and superior to a more complex design which
duplicates the same process an infinite number of times. Conclusions
The intrinsic design, or natural force of the universe must be consistent
throughout. The purpose of life and matter must agree because life is 100% So then, what proves life occurred spontaneously out of chaos and at
material. For this reason, life is either on the path to another “zero” event one point in time and space only? This is an unproven hypothesis where the
or it is not. If not, then, it is on a path to a “final” event. Evolutionist assert predicate, the object of the action in the verb of the sentence or statement is
that life ends in nothing. Nothing, therefore, is the natural force that drives - nothing. Whereby, God and/or a natural force of creative design is not
the universe and life. Consequently, the universe and life are not proven to be, but is merely considered to be - non-existent. This is much like
progressive; but of a certainty, chaos and evolution are completely denying the particular events of one’s birth, which patently must be taken on
regressive and on a predictable path to the non-complex perfection of the authority of others. Atheism is not a tangible philosophy, religion, or
nothing. And, thus, man is the superior offspring of an inferior missing link. world-view; rather it is a reaction to theism that may be linked variously to
Which in turn was the inferior result of an original “something.” In many concrete philosophies. Without theism – atheism is non-existent.
conclusion: Evolutionary man will eventually regress and join the universe Whereas theism does not relay upon atheism for existence. No tangible proof
in the supremacy of nothing . can be found in the “reverse or negative truth” of any atheistic mental
289 290
construction for the non-existence of God. This is demonstrated by using a result that the concept of evolution is moving towards. Evolution has no
consistent logic that leaves out any positive consideration for a creative alternative material or natural truth. I have proposed a rational basis for
God, namely: natural design, which is pure unproven speculation, yet it remains logically
and hypothetically as valid as any proposed by evolutionists. (I have not
On the one hand, life began as a spontaneous natural event here on entered into consideration the new discovery of “genomes” which
earth (which is one of only two possibly true positive statements). On the complicate DNA to a mind boggling degree.)
other hand, if life did not begin as a spontaneous natural event here on earth The spiritual truth is the only alternative to a natural concept of human
(which is the single possible true negative that may be proposed) then either origin. Consideration for this truth has been actively silenced by legal
- (a) life never happened, which is a false negative, or (b) life migrated from manipulations. And, as a sidebar, truly educated professionals are well
another planet, which only side-steps the single possible true negative that aware of the age-old fact that the ability to reason effectively -, the capacity
life did not begin as a spontaneous natural event. for rational thought - is severely limited in the vast majority of people.
Even so, why would life have a better chance to originate somewhere Overly zealous activity against something that neither “picks my pocket
else, and, how would it exist here? The truth of the statement that life began nor breaks my leg” proves motive not diligence. The proponents for the
spontaneously has only the force of its own authority and the fact of human theory of evolution, with unreserved dishonesty and a lack of respect for
existence to support its possible validity. This is a closed, exclusive system science, law, and truth has secured a twofold, non-scientific, activist victory
that has no alternative truth. It is itself an alternative truth. Other creatures, to recruit sympathizers by repeatedly attacking the same vital area, namely:
as far as we know, are not concerned about such matters. Which
demonstrates to me a vital living difference between man and beast. First, in the classrooms and courts, not the laboratory. And this only
For these reasons, the spontaneous origins of man when used by beginning in the late half of the 20th century. The famous Mr. Scopes was
evolutionist to prove the “non-created” origins of man is simply an act of levied a small fine and not permitted to teach evolution in the classroom.
“whistling in the dark.” Because, within their own reality, there is nothing Evolution did not re-enter the classroom, through unapproved textbooks,
to be afraid of. Man exists prima facie, and, for the present, no one can until the late 60’s. When the illegal textbooks appeared and were ordered to
prove his origin. There are no modern authorities for the origin of man. So be removed, a civil action - well prepared in advance - was filed. Under the
what if there are not any? ruling of the recent legalized fiction of separation-of-church-and-state the
Gravity and electricity, although lacking a theoretical consensus for books were allowed and the gate was open for the writers of textbooks, not
authority, continue to be a predictable factor in our lives. Colors surely scientists, to introduce evolutionary thinking and conclusions into the cross-
existed before a neuro-physical detection system called the human eye first over sciences studied by school children. And, naturally, by virtue of their
perceived them. Cosmic microwaves contain an ancient record of the education, these generation “X” and “Next” children grew-up to write
universe and existed long before they were discovered and reproduced by professional papers and books of their own.
men. Secondly, evolutionist have stepped out of science and atheism into a
The theory of evolution is a rationalization that has been conjured out of world-view to claim they have successfully silenced forever the
nothing to explain away nothing –the non-existence of a creative God. anthropological, or moral argument for the existence of a directly involved
Therefore, intelligent men and women can rest assured in the supremacy of God with qualities like intelligence, morality, and creativity. The moral
nothing. Or can they? Thomas Jefferson, when speaking of another’s argument for the existence of God is based on the observation of these same
religious freedoms, said, “it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” immaterial qualities in man. The force of the counter-argument held by the
Which in essence is to say, It is nothing to me. new evolutionary moralist has been driven home by informing three
generations of “open-minded” school children that Einstein, as the greatest
Social Implications philosopher of the modern age, proved by “the unified theory of relativity”
the philosophical dictum that everything is morally relative and only
Pure chaos does not drive the universe. As discussed in the above, proportional to and unified with everything else. To which there is no end of
“spontaneous origin” must have a natural affinity to whatever logical circumstantial diversity. Thus, within this calamity of comprehension, the
purpose drives the universe. This is only important to determine the end evolutionary moralist proposes that a new higher morality must, by
291 292
necessity, be based upon the proven theory that big is big and small is small, formed long before man (e.g., the idea of an earth created by God to
and all things are relative. “appear” old) may in no way determine conclusively that ancient fauna
The argument for a new morality has gained much force and momentum carried the seeds of mankind.
in my lifetime. Theoretical proofs against a traditional concept of morality The theory of evolution, at best, is “biological materialism.” Rooted in
were not bandied about when I was a “flower child.” The military draft and ancient animalism, that denies the immaterial aspirations of man’s psyche,
a corrupt war seemed to be strong enough persuasion against inhibitions. this theory is extended and conveniently used to explain the origin, morals,
Inhibitions that were simply called “hang ups.” and destiny of “all things” that possess an evolved life force that is assumed
I offer the following example to demonstrate how the ingrained theory to be driven only by the sexual urgings of genetic survival. A common
of evolution, which has been around a long time, is used in conflation with culture of “relative” and innocent desires are claimed to be true of humans
the much more recently introduced theory of “anecdotal” unified relativity who do no “harm” to another life-form.
to offer an almost undetectable and circular argument against the legitimacy Evolution would propose a universe without a god, or, if you please, in
of what is considered the low morality of traditional moral intolerance. a less militant and palpable view of Deism, allowance is made for a very
Therefore, unlike the old blind husband, January, in The Canterbury Tales egalitarian god who is far removed, impersonal, and morally neutral in
written by Geoffrey Chaucer; but more like, May, the young cheating wife - relation to any distinction in the affairs of fauna - ants, whales, men, snakes,
who was given the special powers of “glib” by the Fairy Queen - the bacteria – namely, all interdependent life-forms as we know them. Child and
modern moralists claims a socially imposed agreement with “choice” is the maggot possess equal value and purpose in this imagined cosmos of chaos.
mandatory virtue of the new moral high ground: The usual brilliant debate offered by scientific discipline is totally
lacking in this particular area. An indoctrinated academic regime has
(1) Morality is logically counterintuitive to the proven theories of relocated evolution and diversity into all areas of lower and higher
evolution and relativity because men are only one of thousands upon education. A collection of biology, psychology, sociology, the philosophy of
thousands of past and future life-forms evolved from a common source of ethics, and the dreams and aspirations of mankind have been moved into a
life, which absolutely makes all things unified and relative. (2) Morality is dark corner of hopeless despair. Witnessed only by a theological
logically counterintuitive because only the uneducated and mean-spirited impossibility - nothing.
would speak against such a formidable array of academically accepted and Creative evolution as the origin of man remains an unproven
published proofs i in favor of modern evolution and relativity. (3) Morality is hypothesis. It denies any “ghost in the machinery” that animism would
logically counterintuitive by reason of (1) and (2) which are true because propose and gives the theory of material animalism the scientific credentials
there is no end of future diversity in life-forms. Therefore everything will (albeit bogus) to offer an assumed explanation for the origin of life and the
always be unified and relative. evolution of a self-named animal called homo sapiens, “wise man”; but it
These theories support each other and are the twin pillars of man’s cannot demonstrate its primary assumption that all life had a common
social and scientific progress to benefit the future of our planet in the 21st origin. This theory is jeopardized by the vital question, “Is the life in man
century. Things are as they are because they must be. The theories prove the same as the life in the family pet?” But more importantly, do they share
them to be true. Thank you, so very much! in the same death?
Life and death extend far beyond human sensibilities - into what
Closing Statement unregenerate man is prohibited from knowing - into the infinite domain of
God’s authority. When one recognizes this, he has answered in the
In creative evolution, man is grouped with all currently living affirmative the “ontological” argument (the philosophy of reality, Anselm,
organisms, which are then proposed as “a posteriori” proof of unobserved 1100 A.D.). And, also, in so doing, he/she has answered the cosmological,
facts and results from the record of primordial organisms. Because the the teleological, and the anthropological argument to the satisfaction of the
bodily remains of organisms are fossil fuels that “appear” to have been only persons who matter, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. An eternal blessing will follow after believing the proofs offered by
i God about Jesus Christ.
Proofs that are self-policed to prohibit the inclusion of any “intelligent design” papers
into professional peer publications.
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THEORY
“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this
Equally flawed by the convenient misuse of facts and results that deny is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on
the suprarnatural, is the restrictive Protestant “Rectoral or Govern-mental the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath
theory of atonement.” This theory willfully deletes stated facts and results to made him a liar; because he believeth not the record God gave of his Son.
propose a new limited value in the infinite value of the death of Christ. The And this is the record, that God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life
death of Christ reaches far beyond forgiveness for sins into the infinite is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he who hath not the Son
realms of the counsels of God through the works of grace that perfectly hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name
satisfy His love. of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye
What God has revealed regarding His divine purposes are the many may believe on the name of the Son of God.
aspects of the value of Christ’s death that obtains the power of grace for Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of
undeserving men. Primary positive facts in the voluntary death of Christ are Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal
redemption, reconciliation, and propitiation. Because of these facts, the gift life. For this is the way God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son,
of forgiveness, the righteousness of God, and eternal life result on the one so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life
condition of belief that they exist because Jesus Christ is God’s offer of (NET). For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but
salvation. Whereby, God joins man to Himself and to the body of all other that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
believers in Christ - through the baptism of the Holy Spirit - when He condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath
accepts the individual’s trust in His message. not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. He that hath
Religion is man’s unsuccessful attempt to bind himself to God. Grace is received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. He that believeth
the power of God to successfully bind man to Himself for all eternity. A on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not
different message than the saving grace of God lacks the essential content see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
for saving faith and will fall short of successfully uniting man to God. This But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet
may be called a negative gospel. Whereas the successful union of man to sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his
God may be said to reach into infinity on the positive side of a number line. blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were
Then, so too, man’s inborn separation from God and his spiritual death enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more,
reach into an infinite negative direction that only the positive message of being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
God’s saving grace has the power to reverse. Who his own self bare our sin his own body on the tree, that we being
dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes (singular
Central to the theme of this paper is the manifest reality that saving faith =injury, wounding NET) ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray;
is determined by a force that will defeat man’s free will. The will of man is but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop (Overseer) of your souls.
guided by what he knows and what he desires. Much like a fraudulent And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of
business prospectus, a negative message may be naively declined more times his Son Jesus Christ, and love one [believer] another, as he gave us
than naively accepted as true. Either way, the individual remains unsaved commandment.
and the active force of deception succeeds in maintaining a negative Beloved, let us love one [believer] another: for love is of God; and
direction! Any skilful rejection is only possible because of a present unity everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not
with God. One may also, regardless of many and various reasons and any knoweth not God. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because
profound depth of conviction, “naively” reject God’s positive message of that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live
divine grace that regenerates the spiritually dead with the gift of eternal life. through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and
But, the truth yet remains - one can never “skillfully” reject God’s sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
testimony. His word is Truth. Beloved if God so loved us we ought also to love one [believer] another.
No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one [believer] another, God
TRUTH dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected [made complete] in us. Hereby know
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we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. not the freedom, the free choice to make a clearheaded decision to modify
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior one’s destiny? A destiny created by the supremacy and finished work of
of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God Christ who is the Author of new promises and possibilities.
dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believe the love
that God hath to us, God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in “He hath made him to be sin for us” (2 Cor 5:21 KJV) “But now in Christ
God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of
boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. Christ” (Eph 2:13 NET) “and through him to reconcile all things to himself
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath by making peace through the blood of his cross –through him, whether
torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because things on earth or things in heaven. And you who were at one time strangers
he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his [believing] brother, and enemies in your minds as expressed through your evil deeds, but now he
he is a liar: for he who loveth not his [believing] brother, whom he hath seen, has reconciled you by his physical body through death to present you holy,
how can he love God who he hath not seen? And this commandment have without blemish, and blameless before him –if indeed you remain in the
we from him, That he who loveth God love his [believing] brother also.” faith, established and firm, without shifting from the hope of the gospel that
(1 John 5:9-13; John 3:15-18, 33, 36; Rom 5:8-10; 1 Pet 2:24-25; 1 John you heard. This gospel has also been preached in all creation under heaven,
3:23; 1 John 4:7-10; 11-21 KJV) and I, Paul, have become its servant.
Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my physical
THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST body—for the sake of his body, the church—what is lacking in the
sufferings of Christ. I became a servant of the church according to the
Col 1:15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation, stewardship from God—given to me for you—in order to complete the word
1:16 for all things in heaven and on earth were created by him—all things, of God, that is, the mystery that has been kept hidden from ages and
whether visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions, whether generations, but has now been revealed to his saints. God wanted to make
principalities or powers—all things were created through him and for him. known to them the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which
1:17 He himself is before all things and all things are held together in him. is Christ in you, the hope of glory. We proclaim him by instructing and
1:18 He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the teaching all people with all wisdom so that we may present every person
firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all mature in Christ. Toward this goal I also labor, struggling according to his
things. power that powerfully works in me. (Col 1:20-29 NET ).
1:19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in the Son
1:20 and through him to reconcile all things to himself by making peace How then may an extra-biblical theory of Governmental atonement
through the blood of his cross—through him, whether things on earth or produced by men, which in essence reduces the ultimate - the value of the
things in heaven. death of Christ - and then asserts this reduction of salvation to be the only
NET ultimate, retain any saving value in a gospel of limited, conditional, parolee
salvation that may only be successfully completed by an heroic self-effort?
In literature, the focus of tragedy is on the tragic hero – a great person John Morreall writes in his work, Comedy, Tragedy, and Religion:
of high social standing who in a moment of tragic choice displays a tragic
flaw of character. Aristotle called this flaw “hamartia,” which is the NT CONVERGENT VERSUS DIVERGENT THINKING
Greek translated as “sin.” The plot of tragedy demonstrates the element of
human choice. This means that the tragic person or “hero” is always While there is no such thing as tragic fantasy there are comedies such as
responsible for the downfall, and in biblical tragedy the tragic person is also a Midsummer Night’s Dream which is all fantasy. …
deserving of the catastrophe. God’s grace has provided an undeserving Most thinking in tragedy is what psychologist call convergent thinking
substitute in Jesus Christ who suffered the “hamartia,” the final – trying to find the correct answer to a problem, as in mathematical
consequence of all catastrophe in the place of every responsible person. computation. In this mode there is no room for making unusual connections
“For freedom Christ has set us free” (Gal 5:1 NET). What is salvation if between ideas. In comedy a different kind of thinking comes into play –
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divergent thinking, thinking in which there is no single correct answer,
where unusual relationships and analogies are explored, and no train of
thought is out of bounds. Divergent thinking need not be aimed at answers.
But when it is, it looks for many answers rather than one. …
EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT VERSUS DISENGAGEMENT
One reason why tragic heroes show little creativity and critical thinking
is that they respond to challenges with emotions. Whether considered
positive, like pride, or negative, like fear and sadness, emotions lock heroes
into self-concern and into their own perspectives, just as they do to us in real
life. In emotional states we tend to act in automatic, habitual and less
intelligent ways; and the stronger the emotion, the less rational our actions.
That is why rage and even love are called “blind.” Strong emotions tend to
magnify the situation at hand, and block rational thinking that would put
things into perspective. Tragic heroes driven by emotions, tend to be
extremists: to reach the goal set by their emotions, they will sacrifice
everything else, including their own lives and the lives of those they love.
Hamlet will prove the King’s guilt and try to execute perfect justice no
matter the cost. Ahab will kill Moby Dick or die trying.
Comic characters, by contrast, tend to keep an unemotional clear-
headedness, even in extreme situations. Confronted by misfortune, they do
not sink into self-pity or shake their fists at the sky – futile responses that at
best would make them feel good for the moment. They think rather than feel
their way through the problem, engaging their imagination and ingenuity
instead of their emotions. -P 24-27
1 Cor 1:18 For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are
perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1:19 For it is
written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will thwart the
cleverness of the intelligent.” 1:20 Where is the wise man? Where is the
expert in the Mosaic law? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not
made the wisdom of the world foolish? 1:21 For since in the wisdom of God
the world by its wisdom did not know God, God was pleased to save those
who believe by the foolishness of preaching [of the thing that is preached].
1:22 For Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks ask for wisdom, 1:23
but we preach about a crucified Christ, a stumbling block to Jews and
foolishness to Gentiles. 1:24 But to those who are called, both Jews and
Greeks, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1:25 For the
foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is
stronger than human strength. NET
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The Value of the Death of Christ - Lexicon
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Typology - The Death of Christ is Demonstrated in the OT Leviticus 16:5
The two goats. The offering of the high priest for himself has no anti-type in
Dr. Lewis Chafer: Christ (Heb 7:26, 27). The typical interest centres upon the two goats and the
high priest. Typically (1) all is done by the high priest (Heb 1:3, “by Himself”),
REQUIRED SACRIFICES the people only bring the sacrifice (Mt 26:47; 27:24, 25). (2) The goat slain
(Jehovah’s lot) is that aspect of Christ’s death which vindicates the holiness and
1. THE PASCHAL LAMB. Israel’s national and abiding redemption, as righteousness of God as expressed in the law (Rom 3:24-26), and is expiatory.
well as the safety of the firstborn in each home, was secured by the paschal (3) The living goat typifies that aspect of Christ’s work which puts away our
lamb. So far-reaching is this redemption that Israel was required, in sins from before God (Heb 9:26; Rom 8:33, 34). (4) The high priest entering the
recognition of it, to re-enact the Passover throughout all her generations – holiest, typifies Christ entering “heaven itself” with “His own blood” for us
not as a renewal of redemption, but as a memorial. … The six essential (Heb 9:11, 12). His blood makes that to be a “throne of grace,” and “mercy
requirements to be found in the paschal lamb were: a lamb without blemish, seat,” which else must have been a throne of judgment. (5) For us, the priests of
a lamb that was tested; the lamb slain; the blood to be applied; the blood a the New Covenant, there is what Israel never had, a rent veil (Mt 25:71; Heb
perfect propitiation against divine judgments; the lamb partaken of as food. 10:19, 20). So that, for worship and blessing, we enter, in virtue of His blood,
where He is, into the holiest (Heb 4:14-16; 10:19-22).
That Christ is the antitype in all this could hardly be doubted.
The atonement of Christ, as interpreted by the O.T. sacrificial types, has
2. THE FIVE OFFERINGS (Lev 1:1-7:38). The five offerings are: the burnt
these necessary elements: (1) It is substitutionary – the offering takes the
offering, the meal offering, the peace offering, the sin offering, and the offerer’s place in death. (2) The law is not evaded but honored – every
trespass offering. These are properly classed as sweet savor offerings, which sacrificial death was an execution of the sentence of the law. (3) The sinlessness
grouping includes the first three, and non-sweet savor offerings, which of Him who bore our sins is expressed in every animal sacrifice – it must be
grouping includes the last two. … sweet savor offerings represent Christ without blemish. (4) The effect of the atoning work of Christ is typified (a) in
offering Himself without spot to God (Heb 9:14), and that this is the promises, “it shall be forgiven him”; and (b) in the peace-offering, the
substitutionary to the extent that, as the sinner is wholly void of merit before expression of fellowship – the highest privilege of a saint.-The Scofield
God (Rom 3:9; Gal 3:22), Christ has released and made available upon Reference Bible, pp. 147-48
grounds of perfect equity His own merit as the basis of the believer’s
acceptance and standing before God. On the other hand, it should be The specific features thus required are: the bullock for the high priest,
remembered that the non-sweet savor offerings represent Christ as a the substitution of the animal for the sinful person, the upholding of the law,
sacrifice for sin and as such the Father’s face is turned away and the Savior the perfect character of the sacrifice, the sin covered by the blood of the first
cries, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Ps 22:1; Matt goat, and the guilt taken away by the dismissal of the second goat.
27:46; Mark 15:34). The ground of a forgiveness both just and complete in 5. THE RED HEIFER (Num 19:1-22). The New Testament doctrine of
the death of Christ is thus foreshadowed in the non-sweet savor offerings. cleansing for the believer is stated in 1 John 1:7, 9. Defilement is removed
3. THE TWO BIRDS (Lev 14:1-7). As on the Day of Atonement when two by the blood of Christ upon confession. The type of such cleansing, which
goats were required to fulfill the entire picture of Christ’s death, so two birds also served a grand purpose in the economy of the Mosaic system, is seen in
are required in the cleansing of leprosy – the type of sin. The first bird slain the ordinance of the red heifer. Of this J. N. Darby writes:
speaks of Christ “delivered for our offenses,” while the second bird, dipped
in the blood of the first bird and released, speaks of Christ “raised again for The heifer was completely burned without the camp, even its blood, except
our justification” (Rom 4:25). that which was sprinkled directly before the tabernacle of the congregation, that
4. THE DAY OF ATONEMENT. Again the larger extent and is, where the people were to meet God. There the blood was sprinkled seven
accomplishment of Christ’s death is set forth typically in magnificent detail times (because it was there that God met with His people), a perfect testimony in
by the events and specific requirements of the Day of Atonement – the the eyes of God to the atonement made for sin. They had access there according
bullock for the high priest, and the two goats – Dr. C.I. Scofield states: to the value of this blood. The priest threw it into the fire cedarwood, hyssop,
and scarlet (that is, all that was of a man, and his human glory in the world).
“From the cedar down to the hyssop,” is the expression of nature from her
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highest elevation to her lowest depth. Scarlet is external glory (the world, if you – it is but dimly understood by the majority who partake today – but
please [expensive red dyed clothing, this writer]). The whole was burned in the doubtless it all had great significance in the sight of God.
fire which consumed Christ, the sacrifice for sin. Then, if anybody contracted 4. THE OFFERING OF ISAAC (Gen 22:1-14). In this memorable
defilement, though it were merely through neglect, in whatever way it might be,
experience, Abraham appears as the type of the Father offering His Son.
God took account of the defilement. And this is a solemn and important fact:
Abraham was spared the final ordeal, but, according to Romans 8:32, “God
God provides for cleansing, but in no case can tolerate anything in His presence
unsuited to it. It might seem hard in an inevitable case, as one dying suddenly in
spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all.” Isaac is a type of
the tent. But it was to shew that for His presence God judges of what is suited to the Son who is a willing sacrifice and obedient unto death. The ram caught
His presence. The man was defiled and he could not go into God’s tabernacle. in the thicket is the type of a substitute offered in the place of another.
To cleanse the defiled person, they took some running water, into which they 5. JOSEPH (Gen 37:2-50:26). Though Joseph as a type of Christ is
put the ashes of the heifer, and the man was sprinkled on the third and on the exceedingly rich in its vital truth, only the placing of Joseph in the pit – a
seventh days; then he was clean. –Synopsis of the Books of the Bible, new ed., I, type of death – and the lifting out – a type of resurrection – are germane to
264-65 this thesis. However, to this may be added the truths that, like Christ, Joseph
was beloved of his father and was hated by his brethren.
The essential features of this ordinance were: an animal without 6. MANNA IN THE WILDERNESS (Gen 16:14-22). From the use Christ
blemish, the slaying of the animal, every part consumed by fire, the retaining made, as recorded in John 6, of the manna as a type of Himself, none could
of the ashes for cleansing, the mingling of the ashes with water, and the doubt the typical import of the manna from heaven. Thus Christ as bread
application of the water and the ashes for the cleansing of defilement. come down from heaven has given His life for the world.
7. THE SMITTEN ROCK (Ex 17:5-7; Num 20:7-13). According to 1
MISCELLANEOUS TYPES OF CHRIST’S DEATH Corinthians 10:4, Christ is that Rock. By His death the water of life is
released; but He could be smitten but once. The smiting of the rock a second
1. THE COATS OF SKINS (Gen 3:21). Jehovah undertook in behalf of the time is estimated by God to be so great a sin that it precludes Moses from
first sinners of the human race. It is declared that He Himself clothed them completing his task of taking the people of Israel into the promised land. The
with skins, the implication being that blood was shed. Reason rather than death of Christ is infinitely sufficient and admits of no re-enactment. It
revelation asserts that animal sacrifice was then introduced by God and that would be difficult to discover the exceeding sinfulness of Moses’ sin apart
it was from this action on Jehovah’s part that Abel knew the truth by which from the antitype – Christ in His death.
he was guided in presenting an acceptable sacrifice to Jehovah. Few types 8. THE TABERNACLE (Ex 25:1-40:38). In this one structure with its
are as complete as this. God undertakes for man, the imputation of sin to a details, the most extensive typology of the Old Testament is presented and
substitute is implied, and the covering of the sinner is revealed. there is much that is related to the death of Christ. The tabernacle itself is a
2. NOAH’S ARK (Gen 6:14-8:19). The history of the flood is replete with type of Christ as the only way to God; the ark of the covenant sprinkled with
suggestions of vital truth. Among these, the safety of those in the ark seems blood is the place of propitiation; the shewbread is another type of Christ as
to be a definite preview of the safety of those in Christ Jesus. Pitch was used the Bread of Life given for the world; all references to silver speak of
to cover the ark and by it the waters of judgment were resisted. The word redemption; the brazen alter represents those judgments against sin which
translated pitch is from the same word everywhere translated atonement. The Christ bore in His death; the candlestick is a type of Christ as the light of the
significance of the use of this word has been pointed out by many writers. world; the golden altar represents that aspect of Christ’s death which was
3. BREAD AND WINE AT THE HAND OF MELCHIZEDEK (Gen 14:17-24). sweet incense unto God; and the brazen laver foreshadows the cleansing of
Melchizedek bringing forth bread and wine to Abraham suggests two the believer-priest through the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7, 9). 74
important truths, namely, (a) Abraham throughout the epistles of the New
Testament is presented as a pattern of a Christian under grace and not a Jew
under the law. Grace on God’s part is made possible only through the death
of Christ, who said “Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was
glad!” (John 8:56). (b) The partaking of the bread and wine on Abraham’s
part may have been but dimly understood by either Melchizedek or Abraham
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Biblical Terms Related to the Death of Christ 1. As personal and thus related to the historical fact of actual sin. Such
guilt is nontransferable. History and its records can never be changed.
Dr. Lewis Chafer: 2. As an obligation to justice, which is the theological use of the term
guilt. This is transferable in the sense that an innocent person may discharge
SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY introduces no theme more difficult than an the obligation of one who is guilty.
attempted analysis of the values secured by Christ in His death – with
respect to its necessity; its effect upon God, upon man, upon angels; and the Justice
principles involved in its application. 75 Generally speaking, whether as used in the Old Testament or the New
Testament, the term justice is a synonym of righteousness. The conduct of
Atonement one toward another is in view, and especially the truth that God acts towards
Whether it be accurately or inaccurately employed, the student will men in justice. So perfect in itself is the plan of salvation through Christ, that
become aware of the fact that the word atonement (Lev 5:10) is the term God is said to be just (not, merciful) when He justifies the ungodly (Rom
upon which men have seized to express the entire work of Christ upon the 3:26; 4:5). God is ever just in all His ways.
cross. That such a word is sorely needed cannot be doubted. The almost
universal use of atonement for this purpose may go far to give it Justification
authoritative acceptance regardless of its inaptitude for the immense service Theologically considered, the term justification means to be declared
thus thrust upon it. Objection to the use of the as employed generally, arises righteous. It is true that, being in Christ, the believer is righteous; but
from the fact that the word is not a New testament term, and when used in justification is the divine acknowledgement and declaration that the one who
the Old Testament some seventy-seven times it is a translator’s attempt at is in Christ is righteous. That which God thus publishes He defends.
interpretation and poorly represents the meaning of kaphar, which it Justification is immutable.
purports to translate, which word originally meant to cover. Though
etymologically the word atonement suggests at-one-ment, it feebly relates to Penalty
the New Testament truth which presents Christ as the lamb of God taking Though immeasurable by the finite mind, both reason and revelation
away the sin of the world. assert that penalty for sin is no more than that6 which God’s holiness
requires. It is God’s judicial authority expressed. It is that which Christ
Expiation satisfied. Whatever these demands were, it is now to be believed that Christ
The New Standard Dictionary (1913 ed.) defines the meaning of this has met these demands for those who trust Him.
term thus: “The active means of expiating, or of making reparation or
satisfaction, as for an offense or sin; the removing of guilt by suffering Propitiation [Godward]
punishment; atonement, or an atonement.” In general, the term expiation is As already stated, propitiation is the Godward effect or value of the
more inclusive and definite than atonement. cross. Since Christ has died, God is propitious. This truth is the heart of the
gospel and that which is to be believed.
Forgiveness and Remission
… divine forgiveness of sin is made possible only through the cross of Reconciliation [manward]
Christ, and is never exercised apart from expiation – whether anticipated, as … It represents the manward effect and value of the cross. Since the
was in the Old Testament, or realized, as it is in the New Testament word signifies a complete change, the term cannot be applied properly to
economy. God who is immutable, but it does apply to man, who by the death of Christ
is placed in a changed relation to God and to His judgments against man. By
Guilt his own choice man may be turned about or converted respecting the rightful
Guilt (Gen 42:21; Rom 3:19; 1 Cor 11:27; James 2:10), which means claims of God upon him.
that the guilty one has offended God’s character and will, is predicated of
every person in two respects:
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Redemption and Ransom [sinward] presents no ready-made theory of the value of Christ’s work on the cross;
These two terms are practically the same meaning. Redemption implies however, there is little difficulty, comparatively, to be encountered when the
the payment of a ransom price, and, in the redemption which Christ has plain teachings of the Word of God are taken in simple faith. The attempt to
wrought, the divine judgments against sin having been measured out, these formulate a philosophy which purports to analyze God and all His works is
stand paid by Christ’s voluntary sacrifice. This again, is not something yet to fraught with insuperable problems. Inductions must be made and have been
be done; but, being already accomplished, is something to be believed. made with great care covering all that God has disclosed from Genesis 3:15
to the song of triumph with which the Bible closes. Out of such inductions
Sacrifice certain truths emerge and these, when rightly arranged, might constitute a
While this term usually means to relinquish that which one may hold in theory; but it is to be remembered that such a theory thus formed is, at best,
possession, its doctrinal meaning is that of an offering to God. Thus every characterized by the human element and is to that extent subject to error. A
animal slain in the Mosaic economy was a sacrifice, and these looked on in theory never creates a fact; it reaches its fruition when it explains a fact
anticipation to the one final and perfect sacrifice which Christ became for which already exists. Men have not originated any truth respecting the
lost men (Heb 9:26; 10:12). purpose and value of Christ’s death; they have sought only to trace the
meaning of that which God has accomplished. … Primarily, the death of
Satisfaction Christ answers a necessity and purpose in God. Human philosophy is
The forces of modern thought have been for nearly a century arrayed strained beyond measure in its attempts to trace the majestic realities related
against the doctrine of satisfaction. The offense of this doctrine is the claim to that death. Obviously, no theory can be formed by man respecting
that God, having certain holy, inherent demands against sin, which claims Christ’s death that will be complete in all its parts. At best, what God has
arise from His outraged righteousness and character, has accepted as said should be received and believed. If such a procedure gives the
satisfying the payment which Christ has made. … intellectual pride of man no great latitude, perhaps by so much the truth may
be preserved in its purity and simplicity.
Vicarious and Substitutionary 2. THE DEATH OF CHRIST IS UNIQUE. Not only is Christ’s death without
Again the two words being considered are identical in meaning and refer parallel in all human history both with regard to the way it was endured, and
to the suffering of one in the place of another, in the sense that by that the measureless achievement said to have been wrought by it, but it was a
suffering on the part of one the other is wholly relieved. A vicar is an voluntary crucifixion. He offered no resistance, for He said, “No man taketh
authorized or accepted substitute in office or service, and not merely anyone it [my life] from me, but I lay it down of myself” (John 10:18). It is far from
providing a benefit in general. Christ suffered and died that men might not natural for one who is innocent to an infinite degree, to project himself into a
be required to bear their burden of condemnation. To reject this truth is to felon’s death. Of no other could it be said that he is God’s lamb taking away
reject the plainest doctrine of Scripture, to reject the gospel, and the only the sin of the world, or that it “pleased Jehovah to bruise him,” and that
righteous ground on which God may exercise grace toward [forgive] the lost. Jehovah “laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:6, 10). The philosophies
76
of men are no more qualified to penetrate into this most crucial of all divine
undertakings than they are prepared to penetrate into the realms of infinity or
Preliminary Considerations About the Value Of Christ’s Death into the Person of God. Nevertheless, the burden laid on the theologian is in
evidence here as elsewhere. His is the task of systematizing and interpreting
Dr. Lewis Chafer: the precise revelation God has given. Mere speculation is debarred; yet, in
spite of this obvious truth, very much of the literature bearing on the
1. GENERAL FACTS REVEALED. … The fact that the Bible so exalts the meaning of the death of Christ is permeated with human conjecture.
importance of Christ’s death – even making the world, if not the universe, 3. ITS EXTENT. The almost universal disposition to restrict the value of
redempto-centric – along with the corresponding human experience of sole Christ’s death to the one truth that it is a ransom or redemption from sin
relief and benefit in things spiritual by and through the cross has compelled leads unavoidably to various errors. That His death is the ground of imputed
serious men to formulate theories respecting the whole divine undertaking. righteousness and justification, that it is the basis on which a Christian may
As the Bible offers no ready-made system of theology, in like manner it be forgiven and may walk in divine enablement, that it provides eternal
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blessedness for Israel, that it is the foundation on which an oncoming sinless it lies paralleled between type and antitype. Since so much typology pertains
eternity will rest, and that, objectively, it means more to God than it means to the death of Christ, this peculiar body of truth must be given its full
to all men and angels combined, seems to never to have occurred to many import if the full value of Christ’s death is to be recognized. That it is
inventors of theories respecting the value of Christ’s death. It is evident that omitted is a self-evident fact and the effect of its neglect is obvious.
a theory which comprehends no more than forgiveness of sin - as glorious 7. THEORIES MAY BE QUESTIONED. Strictly speaking, there could be no
as that truth may be – will be more given to error than to truth. theory relative to the value of Christ’s death. That death is a fact and the
4. ITS THREE DIRECTIONS. The problem of sin when restricted to Bible asserts its manifold effectiveness. Human speculation is ever active
unregenerate men is met by the death of Christ and that value points and reason has raised its objections to every divine revelation. That deep
objectively in three directions – a redemption toward sin, a reconciliation mystery is present in the greatest of all divine undertakings, should be no
toward man, and a propitiation toward God. Though all originates in God, it surprise or cause for distress to devout minds. The heart of man – however
yet remains true that He who originates provides and receives a ransom; that much it may be disciplined – can and should do no more than believe the
He who originates provides and acknowledges His own Lamb as the One record God has given concerning His Son. The careful study of all that is
who bears away sin, thus providing a reconciliation; and He who originates revealed to the end that its true message may be comprehended, is certainly
provides, by Christ’s death, that by which He Himself is propitiated. enjoined (2 Tim 2:15); but rationalistic arguments which contradict
revelation are foreign to a true theological method. 77
Though rationalism condemns these truths as being contradictory, they are
the very heart of the divine revelation regarding the saving work and grace God’s Truth About What Christ Accomplished in His Death –
of God. Forgiveness and Justification. The First Pauline Revelation:
“justification by faith.”
It is but another instance added to many already encountered in which
revelation surpasses reason and the devout soul may know by simple faith Dr. Lewis Chafer:
what he otherwise could never know.
It hardly need be indicated that a theory which purports to set forth the WHEN ANTICIPATING His cross Christ said, “For this cause came I into the
value of Christ’s death and yet omits any part or parts of this threefold world” (John 18:37), and, again, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to
division of Christ’s work upon the cross can only mislead and deceive. save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). In light of these sayings, it may be
5. DIVINE SATISFACTION THROUGH CHRIST’S DEATH IS NOT PERSONAL concluded that, as before asserted, the theme of the sufferings of Christ in
SALVATION. The satisfaction respecting the divine judgment against sin death is the ground of all right doctrine and the central fact in this cosmic
which Christ provided in His death does not itself constitute the salvation of universe. It exceeds the importance of the material universe – in so far as the
those for whom He died. The unsaved are forgiven and justified not at the universe provides sphere wherein evil may be tested, judged, and banished
time of the cross nineteen hundred years ago, but when they believe; and the forever. … The general theme of that which Christ accomplished in His
saved who sin are not forgiven and cleansed on the date of Calvary, but sufferings and in His death may, in an attempt at clarity, be divided into the
when they confess. Regardless of the truth that the disposition to believe, in following fourteen divisions: (1) a substitution for sinners, (2) Christ the end
the one case, and to confess, in the other case, is wrought in the individual of the law principle in behalf of those who are saved, (3) a redemption
heart by the Holy Spirit, it yet remains true that these transforming blessings toward sin, (4) a reconciliation toward man, (5) a propitiation toward God,
are conditioned on what is declared to be the elective choice of men. That (6) the judgment of the sin nature, (7) the ground of the believer’s
treatment of the doctrine of satisfaction which invests it with those absolute forgiveness and cleansing, (8) the ground for deferring righteous divine
provisions which necessitate the salvation of those for whom Christ died judgments, (9) the taking away of precross sins once covered by sacrifice,
without regard for the element of human responsibility, is but another (10) the national salvation of Israel, (11) millennial and eternal blessings
rationalistic deduction which is grounded on a partial revelation and, upon Gentiles, (12) the spoiling of the principalities and powers, (13) the
therefore, like all part-truth, is subject to great error. ground of Peace, (14) the purification of things in heaven. 78
6. TYPE AND ANTITYPE. None who accept the Scriptures as the Word of
God can doubt the divine arrangement, purpose, and sanction of the truth as
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THE DIVINE REMEDY FOR PERSONAL Sin nine times by English word remission. The underlying thought which the
word forgive universally conveys when expressing the act of God is that of
As related to divine forgiveness, there are unforgiven, or forgiven. A putting away, releasing, or pardoning. It is the taking away of sin and its
form of unforgiven sin is seen in the case of the unpardonable sin, which condemnation from the offender, or offenders, by imputing the sin to, and
was committed only when Christ was here on earth, and which sin is not imposing its righteous judgments upon, Another. Covering all generations of
now possible, both because of the fact that Christ is not here as He was then human life upon the earth, no statement could be conclusive than that found
nor is He in the same relation to the Holy Spirit, and because such a penalty in Hebrews 9:22, “And without shedding of blood is no remission.” In the
as is imposed on those who committed the unpardonable sin sets up a direct period covered by the Old Testament records, we find the word forgive used
contradiction of divine grace in salvation. There cannot be an unpardonable only of God in His dealing nationally or individually with Israel and her
sin and a whosoever-will gospel at the same time. … proselytes. Gentile standing before God preceding the death of Christ is
In a previous discussion the specific character of personal sin has been described in Ephesians 2:12 wherein it is declared that they were without
presented, and it was there pointed out that personal sin of whatever form is Christ, without commonwealth privileges, without covenant promises,
only the legitimate fruitage of the sin nature. However, the divine cure for without hope, and without God in the world. There is but little Scripture
personal sin, it should observed, is of a wholly different character than the bearing upon the forgiveness of the sin of Gentiles in the days before Christ.
divine cure for the sin nature. Being by birth a partaker of the sin nature, Some Gentiles, we are told, did offer sacrifices, and their forgiveness is thus
there is no personal guilt charged against the individual because of that implied. To Israel, whether as a nation or as individuals, divine forgiveness
nature, though there is condemnation on the ground of the inherent was an act of God which was based on and followed the offering of
unlikeness of that nature to God. On the other hand, both guilt and sacrifices (national – Num 15:24-25, and individual – Lev 4:31), though,
condemnation are attributed to the individual because of personal sin. The being a people related to God by covenant based upon sacrifices, they were
divine cure for personal sin is twofold, namely, (1) forgiveness and (2) at times both nationally (Num 14:11-20) and individually (Ps 32:1-5)
justification. It is recognized that the two themes – forgiveness and forgiven on the ground of confession of sin. When forgiveness was extended
justification – belong primarily to Soteriology, and under that main division on the ground of confession, it was, as in the New Testament (cf. 1 John
they are to be treated again. With some disregard for precise divisional 1:9), made righteously possible only as based on sacrificial blood. Herein is
boundaries it has seemed good to incorporate into this work some reference seen the major distinction which exists between divine forgiveness and
to the divine remedy for each major aspect of sin. human forgiveness and human forgiveness. At, best human forgiveness can
FORGIVENESS. In approaching the doctrine of the forgiveness of do no more than to pass over, waive, or abandon any and all penalty that
personal sin, three erroneous impressions, quite common indeed, may be exists. In such forgiveness the injured party relinquishes any and all claim to
pointed out – one of which has to do directly with this subject. (a) In their any form of satisfaction which otherwise might be demanded or imposed
treatment of the whole doctrine of sin, theological writers have too often upon the offender. Such forgiveness, so far as it ever exists, is only a
restricted their discussion to the one theme of personal sin, which misleading voluntary gratuity in which the offended party surrenders all claim to
practice has imposed incalculable limitations on the doctrine as a whole. (b) compensation. On the other hand, divine forgiveness is never extended to the
It is by many assumed that the forgiveness of personal sin is the equivalent offender as an act of leniency, nor is the penalty waived, since God, being
of personal salvation. To such persons, a Christian is no more than a infinitely holy and upholding His government which is founded on
forgiven sinner, whereas, of upwards of thirty-three divine accomplishments undeviating righteousness, cannot make light of sin. Divine forgiveness is
which together comprise salvation, forgiveness is but one of them. (c) The therefore extended only when the last demand or penalty against the
distinction of divine forgiveness of the unsaved and that of the Christian offender has been satisfied. Since no human being could ever render divine
must be clearly recognized, and will be so recognized in this treatment by satisfaction for his sins, God, in measureless mercy, has provided all the
reserving the discussion of that phase of the doctrine which concerns the satisfaction, even divine propitiation, which the sinner could ever need. This
Christian until a later division of this general theme is reached. is good news. The following from Dr. Henry C. Mabie is well stated: “God
As an act of God, forgiveness is common to both Testaments, the Himself, as Carnegie Simpson in his book, ‘The Fact of Christ,’ has so
English word forgive, in its various forms, being a translation of five strongly shown, ‘is the moral law, is the ethical order,’ in a sense that no
Hebrew words and four Greek words. One of the Greek words is translated man, no earthly father is. While among men, and particularly men as
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forgiven sinners, ‘forgiveness to others is the first and simplest of duties, to depend on the presentation of a specified sacrifice. During the present
with God it is the profoundest of problems.’ If He as the world’s moral age, it is made to depend, for the unsaved, on faith in Christ; but for the
Governor, even with the profoundest fatherly love, forgives, He must do it in saved, who are already under the value of Christ’s blood, forgiveness is
a way that will not legitimize sin on the one hand, and as will win the heart made to depend upon confession and is impelled by the fact that God has
to penitence and faith on the other” (The Divine Reason of the Cross, p 130). already forgiven (Eph 4:32).But during the coming age divine forgiveness is,
Under the Old Testament order, the value of the divinely provided and on the human side, made to depend upon a willingness of the offender to
efficacious sacrifice of Christ was accepted in anticipation and symbolized forgive those who have sinned against him (Matt 6:14-15). The two
by the shedding of blood. In due time God justified that expectation, and all principles – forgiving to be forgiven, forgiving because forgiven – cannot be
of His acts of forgiveness which had been based upon those offerings were harmonized; nor is such an effort required since they belong to different ages
proved to have been righteous by the bearing by Christ of those sins which and represent two widely diverse divine administrations.
were previously forgiven (Rom 3:25). As a verification of the fact that, in It may be concluded, then, that divine forgiveness of sin in whatever age
the old order, sacrifices preceded divine forgiveness of the offender, we read or under whatever conditions, though varying in the requirements on the
the following statement four times in Leviticus, chapter four: “And the priest human side, is always based upon the sacrifice of Christ and consists in a
shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath committed, and it shall be removal of sin in the sense that it is no longer charged against the sinner, but
forgiven him” (vss. 20, 26, 31, 35). Correspondingly in the New Testament, is charged against his Substitute. No better word can be found to express this
divine forgiveness is invariably based on the one sacrifice for sin which removal of sin by forgiveness than that employed in Romans 11:27
Christ has made. But one passage need be cited : “In whom we have concerning the yet future divine dealings with th e sins of the nation Israel:
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the “For this is my covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins.”
riches of his grace” (Eph 1:7). If question be raised here concerning the fact 2. JUSTIFICATION. The words just and justify often occur in the Bible
that before His death Christ forgave sin, it should be remembered that such and are usually related directly or indirectly to justice as an element of
forgiveness preceded and was in anticipation of Hid death. Being Himself human character. According to Scripture usage, to be just or justified may
the sacrificial Lamb that was to be slain who would elect to bear all sin, He mean no more than to be free from guilt or innocent of any charge. With
said of Himself, “The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins” respect to their characters, The Old Testaments saints are described upwards
(Mark 2:10). However, it should be observed that divine forgiveness, being of thirty times as “just” persons, and it is said under the designation, it would
based as it is upon the perfect satisfaction which the death of Christ supplies, seem, they are to appear in the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22-24).
can be, and is, as perfect and complete in character as is the work of the Speaking to those who are still under the old order and by the parable of the
Substitute on which it is based. Thus, according to Colossians 2:13, divine lost sheep, Christ refers to one hundred individuals of whom ninety and nine
forgiveness is seen to reach to “all trespasses” – past, present, and future – “just persons,” needing no repentance (Luke 15:3-7). In like manner, by his
for the one who is saved. The perfection of this transaction and the extent of good works man may be justified in the eyes of his fellow men. This is the
it are said to be such that the believer is now on a peace footing with God – distinctive teaching of James 2:14-26. However, of far greater import is that
“We have peace with God” (Rom 5:1) – and “There is therefore now no justification of man by God, which justification is based on the imputed
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). Such righteousness of God. Of the Old Testament saints, Abraham is said to have
unqualified forgiveness belongs only to the Christian’s perfect standing, attained unto imputed righteousness (Gen 15:6; Rom 4:1-4), and David
being “in Christ Jesus.” As a counterpart of this, there yet remains to be declares the man to be “blessed” unto whom God imputeth righteousness
considered, as it will be in XXII, “The Christian’s Sin and Its Remedy,” the without works (Rom 4:6; cf. Ps 32:1-2). The Scriptures thus record that
important divine method of dealing with those sins which the child of God Abraham obtained by faith unto imputed righteousness and implies that he
commits after he is saved and the fact that he is wholly forgiven through the was justified by faith since he was not justified by works. David wrote, “For
blood of Christ, being perfectly accepted in the Beloved. in thy sight may no man living be justified” (Ps 143:2), and Bildad, who
Though, on the divine side the freedom to forgive sin is always secured, expressed the beliefs of the ancients, said: “How … can man be justified
directly, or indirectly, through the blood of Christ, the requirements on the with God?” (Job 25:4). Though anticipated in the Old Testament, divine
human side vary to some extent with the different ages of time. During the justification of men, as more fully revealed in the New Testament, is the
period between Abel and Christ, forgiveness was made, on the human side, highest consummating work, but one, of God for the believer, being
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surpassed only by the eternal glory which is to follow: “And whom he Romans 4:25; 8:3; 1 Corinthians 15:3; Galatians 1:4; Hebrews
justified, them he also glorified” (Rom 8:30). Though the precise features of 10:12; 1 Peter 3:18; Isaiah 53:5, 8.
this great doctrine are set forth in the Word of God, directly or indirectly, (3) As bearing our sins.
Romish perversions and Arminian unbelief have gone far in robbing Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 2:24; Isaiah 53:6, 11, 12.
multitudes of Christians of any adequate understanding of the benefits that (4) As being “made sin” and “made a curse for us.”
justification affords them. 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13
Imputed [imparted] righteousness is secured by a vital union with II. PASSAGES WHICH ASCRIBE TO THE DEATH OF CHRIST
Christ, while divine justification is a judicial decree of God which is based (1) The removal and remission of sins, and deliverance from their
on, and is an acknowledgement of, imputed righteousness. There is a logical penal consequences.
order – though not chronological, since each and every step is wrought John 1:29; Hebrews 9:26; Matthew 26:28; 1 John 1:7; / Luke 24:46,
simultaneously at the moment saving faith is effective – which leads to that 47; Acts 10:43; 13:38, 39; Ephesians 1:6, 7; Colossians 1:13, 14;
consummating justification which is by divine decree. These steps are: (1) Revelation 1:5, 6; John 3:14-17; 1 Thessalonians 5:9,10.
Upon believing, the individual enters actually and completely into the values (2) Justification.
secured for him by the death of Jesus Christ. This includes the remission of Isaiah 53:11; Romans 5:8, 9; 3:24-26
sins; but far more, indeed, since that death became the ground of divine (3) Redemption.
justification. The precise rendering of Romans 4:25 is of surpassing Matthew 20:28; Acts 20:28; Romans 3:23, 24; 1 Corinthians 6:19;
importance as relating as relating divine justification to the death rather than Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:12; 1 Peter 1:18, 19;
to the resurrection of Christ. We read: “Who was delivered for our offences, Revelation 5:9
and was raised again for our justification.” In all, three causes for divine (4) Reconciliation to God.
justification are to be distinguished: (a) a primary – the sovereign love of Romans 5:10, 11; 2 Corinthians 5:18, 19; Ephesians 2:16;
God, (b) a meritorious – the substitutionary death of Christ, and (c) an Colossians 1:21, 22.
instrumental – faith. The text in question is concerned only with the III. PASSAGES IN WHICH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST IS REPRESENTED
meritorious cause and and is one of the few texts in the New Testament (1) As a Propitiation for sin.
bearing on this phase of the truth (cf. Rom 5:9, where justification is said to 1 John 2:2; 1 John 4:10; Hebrews 2:17; Romans 3:25.
be by the blood of Christ; and 2 Cor 5:21, where imputed righteousness, the (2) As a Priest.
ground of justification, is said to be possible because of the fact that Christ, Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 3:1; 2:17; 10:21; 4:14; 7:26.
by His death, was made to be possible because of the fact that Christ, by His (3) As a Representative.
death, was made to be sin for us). “It is finished,” which phrase was on the Hebrews 5:1; 7:22; Romans 5:12, 18, 19; 1 Corinthians 15:20-
lips of Christ when about to die, would be emptied of much of its meaning if 22; 45-49.
it did not witness to the fact that the basis of divine justification is IV. PASSAGES WHICH REPRESENT THE SUFFERING OF CHRIST
established forever. (1) As “sacrificial.”
Under this head, “Behold the lamb of God,” etc., should reappear.
Proof Verses To these may be added: 1 Corinthians 5:7; Ephesians 5:2;
Revelation 7:14, 15; Hebrews 9:22-28; 10:11-14.
I. PASSAGES WHICH SPEAK OF CHRIST V. PASSAGES WHICH CONNECT OUR LORD’S SUFFERINGS WITH HIS
(1) As dying for sinners. INTERCESSION
Matthew 20:28; Luke 22:19a; 22:19b, 20; John 6:51; 10:11, 15, 18; 1 Timothy 2:5, 6; 1 John 2:1, 2; Revelation 5:6; already quoted,
15:12, 13; Romans 5:6-8; 8:32; 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15; 5:21; reappear, and Phillipians 2:8, 9, 10.
Galatians 2:20; 3:13; Ephesians 5:2, 25; 1 Thessalonians 5:9, 10; 1 VI. PASSAGES WHICH REPRESENT THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST
Timothy 2:5, 6; Titus 2:13, 14; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 3:18; 1 John (1) As procuring the gracious influence of the Holy Spirit.
3:16. John 7:39; 16:7; 14:16, 17; 15:26; 14:26; Acts 2:33; Galatians 3:13,
(2) As suffering for sins. 14; Titus 3:5, 6.
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(2) As conferring all Christian graces which are fruits of the Spirit.
John 1:16; 15:4, 5; 1 Corinthians 1:4-7; 1:30; Ephesians 1:3, 4;
2:10; 4:7; Colossians 2:9, 10.
(3) As delivering us from the dominion of Satan.
1 John 3:8; John 2:31, 32; Hebrews 2:14, 15; Colossians 2:15.
(4) As obtaining for us eternal life.
John 3:14, 15; 5:24; 6:40,47, 51; 10:27, 28; 14:2, 3; 17:1, 2;
Romans 5:20, 21; 6:23; 2 Timothy 2:10; Hebrews 5:9; 9:15; 1 Peter
5:10; 1 John 5:11; Jude 21.
VII. PASSAGES WHICH INDICATE THE STATE OF THE SAVIOUR’S MIND IN
THE PROSPECT AND IN THE ENDURANCE OF HIS SUFFERINGS.
John 10:17, 18; Luke 12:50; John 12:27; Matthew 26:36-44;
27:46
VIII. PASSAGES WHICH SPEAK OF THE MEDIATION OF CHRIST IN
RELATION
(1) To the free calls and offers of the gospel.
John 14:6; 1 Corinthians 3:11; 1 Timothy 2:5; Acts 4:12
(2) To the necessity of faith in order to obtain the blessings of the
gospel.
John 1:12; 3:18, 36; 6:35; Acts 13:38, 39; 16:31; Romans 1:16;
3:28; 5:12; 10:4; Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 2:8, 9.
IX. PASSAGES WHICH SPEAK OF THE MEDIATORIAL WORK AND
SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST IN RELATION
(1) To His covenant with the Father.
John 6:38-40, 51
(2) To His union with believers.
John 15:4; Romans 6:5; 2 Corinthians 4:10; Galatians 2:20;
Ephesians 2:5, 6; Phillipians 3:10; Colossians 2:12; 3:3.
X. PASSAGES WHICH SPEAK OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST
(1) As a manifestation of the love of God.
John 3:16; Romans 5:8; 8:32; 1 John 4:9, 10.
(2) As furnishing an example of patience and resignation.
Hebrews 12:1-3; 1 Peter 2:20, 21; Luke 9:23, 24.
(3) As designed to promote our sanctification.
John 17:19; Hebrews 10:10; 13:12; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians
1:4; Ephesians 5:25-27; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24.
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The Value of the Death of Christ
The value of the death of Christ is the chief part of our salvation, the
anchor of our Faith, the refuge of our Hope, the rule of Charity, the true
foundation of the Christian religion, and the richest treasure of the
Christian Church. So long as this doctrine is maintained in its integrity,
Christianity itself and the peace and blessedness of all who believe in
Christ are beyond the reach of danger; but if it is rejected, or in any way
impaired, the whole structure of the Christian faith must sink into decay
and ruin. 79
Francis Turretin (1623-1687)
As to be expected, there is no point in human history where the divine

sovereignty and human responsibility, or free will, come into more vivid
juxtaposition than they do in the crucifixion of Christ. … Two
immeasurable facts – as far removed from each other as the east is from
the west – were spoken by Peter in his Pentecostal sermon, “Him, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23). In
precisely the same manner in which there is no gratitude due Judas,
Herod, or Pontius Pilate, there is no doctrine based on what they did.
The transforming power of Christ’s death is not in the human tragedy; it
is in the divine reconciliation. The death and resurrection of Christ are
counterparts of one divine undertaking. None will predicate of man that
he had any part in the resurrection; yet the divine accomplishment in the
cross is as void of human cooperation as is the resurrection.80
Lewis Chafer
The same one and true Mediator reconciles us to God by the atoning
sacrifice, remains one with God to whom he offers it, makes those one in
himself for whom he offers it, and is himself both the offerer and the
offering.
Augustine
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The KJV Translation of Romans 8:1 is Misleading and Not to be and as extended as the eternity which it includes. What greater ground of
Trusted peace could be presented than that a fallen being, cursed with sin and its
ruin, should enter a sphere of relationship with God wherein there is no
Dr. Lewis Chafer: condemnation now, or in eternity to come. If the answer be made that the
promise is for the present and not the future, it will be seen that the Apostle,
(1) salvation for the unregenerate person which is consummated in when arguing in the following context concerning this wonderful primary
justification (Rom 3:21-5:21); (2) salvation for the believer from the power statement, treats it in every instance as of eternal duration; that is, by his by
of sin, or unto sanctification (Romans 6:1-8:17). … his own interpretation it reaches on forever. Though some restatement be
involved, attention must be called to the truth that this blessedness is not
After having set forth the essential character of salvation in its two made, in this declaration, to depend upon human worthiness, but upon the
major aspects, the Apostle must answer the pertinent question whether such fact that the one thus blessed is in Christ Jesus. It will be recalled that, on the
a salvation, which is unrelated to human merit, will endure. righteous ground provided by Christ in the sweet savor aspect of His death,
This great chapter [Romans 8] – second only in significance to John 17 and on the ground of the fact that the believer is translated into the new
– opens with an all but incredible proclamation which serves as a primary Headship wherein he partakes of all that Christ is - even the righteousness
statement, the truth of which is proved by seven major arguments and these of God – there remains no longer any vestige of the legal, merit system
occupy the text of the chapter. This amazing, unqualified, divine assertion which would cast its shadow of doubt over the perfection of God’s
which it pleased God to record and to fortify with infallible proofs is as manifestation of His sovereign grace. Acceptance with God is sealed
follows: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in forever, and on a basis which is righteous in every respect to the end that
Christ Jesus.” The added words, “who walk not after the flesh, but after the God Himself is declared to be just, and not merely merciful, when He
Spirit,” found in the A.V., are not, as recognized by all devout scholars (see justifies eternally the ungodly who do no more than “believe in Jesus” (Rom
R.V.), a part of this text in its original form, but have been added, perhaps by 3:26; 4:5). It becomes, therefore, an uncomplicated accomplishment on the
those who could not suffer to stand a statement so clear and assuring. i This part of God. Arminians are wont to make no other reply to this revelation
intended element of human worthiness is not only foreign to the original than that “It is too good to be true,” and that they would like to believe it if
text, but is a contradiction of all the truth previously set forth in this Epistle they could. Nevertheless, this wonderful revelation is the heart of the New
and of that which follows. In like manner, this intrusion tends to disrupt Testament message respecting sovereign grace and these great declarations
every revelation respecting salvation by grace which is found in the New yield to no other interpretation. 81
Testament. This added phrase - “who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit” – does belong properly in verse 4 where the believer’s responsibility The KJV Invented Word, “Atonement,” Is Greatly Misleading
is in view. When challenged with the unqualified statement, “There is
therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,” the FORGIVENESS
reader is faced with the question whether this literally and irrevocably true.
If it is true, it guarantees a state of blessedness as expanded as heaven itself Would one trust their well being to another who compounded a drug
formula by referring to Webster’s Dictionary? Might the safe operating
i
NET Rom 8:1 tc The earliest and best witnesses of the Alexandrian and Western parameters for a nuclear powered 1,200 megawatt Large Steam Turbine
texts, as well as a few others (Í* B D* F G 6 1506 1739 1881 pc co), have no additional Generator be maintained by small children? The blood of Christ has
words for v. 1. Later scribes (A D1 Y 81 365 629 pc vg) added the words mhV kataV infinitely more effect and power than either of the examples mentioned
savrka peripatou'sin (mh kata sarka peripatousin, “who do not walk according to above. The destiny of all men and creation rests in the death of Christ. A
the flesh”), while even later ones (Í2 D2 33vid Ï) added ajllaV kataV pneu'ma (alla proper and complete understanding of forgiveness is primary and vital. It
kata pneuma, “but [who do walk] according to the Spirit”). Both the external evidence should be the loudest and clearest part, but not the singular content, of any
and the internal evidence are compelling for the shortest reading. The scribes were presentation of the gospel message given by someone who is saved and
evidently motivated to add such qualifications (interpolated from v. 4) to insulate Paul’s
understands salvation. Dr. John MacArthur gives testimony to the power of
gospel from charges that it was characterized too much by grace. The KJV follows the
longest reading found in Ï. the cross declared in Romans chapter 8:
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to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always
“He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how lives to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25).
will He not also with Him freely give us all things. … Christ Jesus is He If we understand what Christ did on the cross to save us from sin, we
who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, understand what it means to be secure in His salvation. If we believe that
who also intercedes for us” (Rom 8:32, 34 NASB) God loved us so much when we were wretched and ungodly that He sent His
Son to die on the cross to bring us to Himself, how could we believe that,
Freely give translates charizomai, which means to bestow graciously or after we are saved, His love is not strong enough to keep us saved? If Christ
out of grace. In some of Paul’s other letters the same word carries the idea of had power to redeem us out of bondage to sin, how could He lack power to
forgiveness (see 2 Cor 2:7, 10; 12:13; Col 2:13; 3:13). It therefore seems keep us redeemed?
reasonable to interpret Paul’s use of charizomai in Romans 8:32 as including Christ, the perfect Priest, offered a perfect sacrifice to make us perfect.
the idea of God’s gracious forgiveness as well as His gracious giving. If so, To deny the security of the believer is therefore to deny the sufficiency of
the apostle is also saying that God freely forgives us all things (cf. 1 John the work of Christ. To deny the security of the believer is to misunderstand
1:9). God’s unlimited forgiveness makes it impossible for a believer to sin the heart of God, to misunderstand the gift of Christ, to misunderstand the
himself out of God’s grace. … In verse 34 Paul reveals four realities that meaning of the cross, to misunderstand the biblical meaning of salvation. 82
protect our salvation in Jesus Christ.
First, he says Christ Jesus … died. In His death He took upon Himself Salvation is determined by one’s personal beliefs regarding forgiveness.
the full penalty for our sins. In His death He bore the condemnation that we Men will either accept eternal life or remain in eternal judgment solely on
deserved but for which we are forever freed (8:1). The death of the Lord what they believe about the death of Christ. Many gospels, based on various
Jesus Christ on our behalf is the only condemnation we will ever know. theories of inferred covenants and atonement, share a message of incomplete
Second, Christ was raised from the dead, proving His victory over sin forgiveness as a basis for man’s voluntary reformation. The biblical gospel
and over its supreme penalty of death. The grave could not hold Jesus, of the grace of God contains the message of reconciliation and completed
because He had conquered death; and His conquest over death bequeaths forgiveness for the regeneration of men who are “made the righteousness of
eternal life to every person who trusts in Him. As Paul has declared earlier in God in him [Christ] … For he [the Father] hath made him to be sin for us,
this letter, Christ “was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was who knew no sin” (2 Cor 5:21). Dr. Lewis Chafer writes:
raised because of our justification” (Rom 4:25). His death paid the price for
our sins and His resurrection gave absolute proof that the price was paid. Theologians are wont to distinguish between personal and vicarious
When God raised Jesus from the dead, He demonstrated that His Son had satisfaction to God for sin. When the sinner bears his own penalty, he is lost
offered the full satisfaction for sin that the law demands. forever and his achievement though a failure, is a thing which originates in
Third, Christ is at the right hand of God, the place of divine exaltation him which he offers to God. This is personal satisfaction to God. On the
and honor. Because “He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the other hand, when the sinner accepts the vicarious Sin-Bearer, he is saved
point of death, even death on a cross, … God highly exalted Him, and forever and the achievement originates with the Savior and is offered to the
bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil 2:8-9). David sinner. This vicarious satisfaction to God. These two principles – personal
foretold that glorious event when he wrote, “The Lord says to my Lord: ‘Sit and vicarious satisfaction to God – are better known by the terms works and
at My right hand, until I make thine enemies a footstool for Thy feet’” (Ps faith. The principle of works represents all that man can do for himself; the
110:1). … principle of faith represents all that God can do for man. The one is void of
Fourth, Christ also intercedes for us. Although His work of atonement mercy; the other is the greatest possible [past] display of mercy. The one has
was finished, His continuing ministry of intercession for those saved through no promise of blessing in it; the other secures every spiritual blessing in
His sacrifice will continue without interruption until every redeemed soul is Christ Jesus. … The doctrine of the Bible is that God saves His own people
safe in heaven. Just as Isaiah prophesied, “He poured out Himself to death, – those who trust Him – from His own wrath (cf. Ps 38:1; Isa 60:10; Hos
and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of 6:1; Job 42:7-8). Unconfused and without counteraction the one against the
many, and interceded for the transgressors” (Isa 53:12). Jesus Christ “is able other, God experiences both wrath and love at the same time and each to the
extent of His infinite being. … The Christian … discovers that the grace by
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which he is saved is exercised toward him by the very tribunal which for the free gift of forgiveness, eternal life, and the righteousness of God to
condemned him. A throne of awful judgment has become a throne of grace. the saving perfection of one’s soul. The definition of sin is “to miss the
83
mark, to not share in the prize.” Which implies to hit something else,
“whatever is not of faith is sin.” Dr. C. I. Scofield comments on the grace of
But much more so, forgiveness is merely one aspect of subtraction in a God:
salvation that provides many additions. Christ was and is the sinners
substitute for both past penalty and future perfection. The ability for Matthew 27:19
Christian character is provided only through the regeneration of salvation, With the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ begins the “dispensation
not forgiveness. Nor, as some so strongly assert to be “the gospel,” is of the grace of God” (Eph 3:2), which is defined as “his kindness toward us
character built upon a progressive freedom from the need of forgiveness. through Jesus Christ”; and , “the gift of God: not of works, lest any man
Which might lead to an eventual salvation. should boast” (Eph 2:7-9). Under grace God freely gives to the believing
Sin separates man from his source of ultimate good. Man is born sinner eternal life (Rom 6:23); accounts to him a perfect righteousness (Rom
spiritually dead and separated from God. Personal sins are the result of this 3:21, 22; 4:4, 5); and accords to him a perfect position (Eph 1:6). The
separation. Man did not originate sin. Eve was deceived but Adam sinned predicted results of this sixth testing of man are: (1) The salvation of all
freely. Sin was brought into the world by Satan. Innocent babes have their who believe (Acts 16:31); (2) judgment upon an unbelieving world and an
inborn sin freely covered by the blood of Christ. After the “age of apostate church (Mt 25:31-46; 2 Thess 1:7-10; 1 Pet 4:17, 18; Rev 3:15,
responsibility” men and woman are free to accept or reject the truth of God’s 16).
grace towards sin – Jesus died that believer’s may live. (1) Man’s state at the beginning of the dispensation of grace (Rom 3:19;
Any system of Christianity that would take this truth and teach a low Gal 3:22; Eph 2:11, 12). (2) Man’s responsibility under grace (John 1:11, 12;
view of forgiveness, holds to a low view of sin, and therefore, a low view of 3:36; 6:28, 29). (3) His predicted future (Mt 24:37-39; Lk 18:8; 19:12-14).
God. The “repentance of sin” means to change your mind and turn to the (4) The judgment (2 Thess 2:7-12). 84
truth about sin. No one may be a “little sinful.” All sin and one sin holds
ultimate (final, definitive) condemnation and judgment. The sacrificial death ATONEMENT
and shed blood of Jesus Christ was required to remove this ultimate
condemnation for sin. Redemption from sin and judgment must be believed Understanding the KJV redefinition of the “effect” of OT animal
to receive ultimate sinlessness in the name of Christ. “Therefore, there is sacrifices as “atonement” will demonstrate the immeasurable injustice left in
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1, see also the wake of this translation. How many Christians today know that this word
John 3:18; 3:36). was invented as at-one-ment? Which was possibly rightly defined as a
A rarely published fact is that all men are completely redeemed and “theological” union with God; but wholly and inexcusably applied as a
have been prepared by God (reconciled to His standard) to receive the value translation (along with numerous other English words) of Hebrew words that
of salvation and the remission of sins. But, sadly, all have not been told to indicated OT forgiveness. This was the misappropri-ation of a NT concept
believe in the divine gift of a completed and satisfactory redemption to inferred back into the OT. An injustice to the unwary reader that is
receive salvation from all sin. continued today as many false conceptions concerning the death of Christ
Need it be said that making Jesus Lord of your life has everything to do and its value to the sinner is hidden by “juggling imposters” who preach
with expecting recognition for obedience as the basis for a “new relation” doubt for faith in their commentaries on the catch-all word “atonement.”
with Jesus Christ. This is an undesirable relation. Lordship salvation
removes Christ from His right-hand seat on God’s throne of Grace (Mtw 13, 1 John 5:4-13 For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world: and
mystery form of the kingdom of heaven) and places Him on His future this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith. Who is it that is
throne of blazing judgment with a “rod of iron” (Mtw 24-25, the rule of the victorious over [that conquers the world but he who believes that Jesus is the
heavens over the earth, Dan 2:34-36, 44; 7:23-27). How far from right, how Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on that fact]? This is He
far from left, top, and bottom can sin be? Rather, Lordship is a distraction Who came by (with) water and blood [His baptism and His death], Jesus
from the true gospel. It has nothing to do with believing in the death of Jesus Christ (the Messiah) – not by (in) the water only, but by (in) the water and
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the blood. And it is the [Holy] Spirit Who bears witness, because the [Holy] salvation is a reward that must be earned. Climb the ladder and never stop
Spirit is the Truth. So there are three witnesses: (the “Comma Johanneum” from the boys, least you fall off! Onward you Salvation Army soldier.” Only the good
Catholic Latin Vulgate, introduced to the English speaking world by the KJV in 1 John 5:7, is decidedly not part of
any early Greek manuscripts)
report of a fine reputation for morality and humanitarian effort can result
the Spirit, the water and the blood: and these three agree from such a religious philosophy. Which, by rights, is perfectly aligned with
[are in unison; their testimony coincides]. If we accept [as we do] the earthly success and recognition. Dr. Lewis Chafer illustrates the following
testimony of men [if we are willing to take human authority], the testimony contrast:
of God is greater (of stronger authority), for this is the testimony of God,
even the witness which He has borne regarding His Son. He who believes in “There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ
the Son of God [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] has the Jesus” [Rom 8:1. cf. John 3:18; 5:24] … the one who is bold enough to
testimony [possesses this divine attestation] within himself. He who does not challenge the full measure of truthfulness which this text asserts is, by
believe God [in this way]has made Him out to be and represented Him as a inexorable logic, compelled to deny every factor which enters into the
liar, because he has not believed (put his faith in, adhered to, and relied on) doctrine of sovereign grace. The Arminian contention that the salvation of a
the evidence (the testimony) that God has borne regarding His Son. And this sinner is a cooperative affair with some responsibility resting upon God and
is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in some on the sinner – an important contention if the dignity of the sinner is to
His Son. He who possesses the Son has that life; he who does not possess be preserved – is not only foreign to the divine revelation, but is a
the Son of God does not have that life. I write this to you who believe in contradiction of the very principle which that revelation sets forth. Men are
(adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in the peculiar either perfectly lost in the first Adam, or perfectly saved in Last Adam, and
services and blessings conferred by Him on men], so that you may know by so much there could be no middle ground or compromise; … Passing
[with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, yes, from one Adam to the Other is no human undertaking. God alone can do
eternal life. AMP such a thing, and the sinner’s relation to it could be no more than believe on
Him to do it in His own way, in and through Christ Jesus. In this way no
1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. man can boast (Eph 2:9). …
The upholders of the Arminian system have never evinced ability to
(15:22) Adam was a contrasting type of Christ (vs. 45-47; cf. Rom 5:14-19). comprehend the truth regarding a perfect standing in Christ which is as
(1) “The first man Adam was a made a living soul” (Gen 2:7), i.e. he derived enduring as the Son of God. To the Arminian, standing before God is just
life from another, that is, God. “The last Adam was a life-giving spirit.” So what a feeble believer makes it by his daily life. Under those conditions the
far from deriving life, He was Himself the fountain of life, and He gave that Christian may fail and be lost again. For the moment it seems to be forgotten
life to others (John 1:4; 5:21; 10:10; 12:24; 1 John 5:12). (2) In origin the that every believer sustains an imperfect daily life and therefore, on that
first man was of the earth, earthy; the Second Man is the Lord from heaven. basis, all must be lost forever. The New Testament teaches that those who
(3) Each is the head of a creation, and these also are in contrast: in Adam all believe are saved from the merit system by having all its demands satisfied
die; in Christ all will be made alive; the Adamic creation is “flesh”; the new in Christ, and thus the believer endures forever. In the Arminian system
creation, “spirit” (John 3:6). 85 God becomes a colossal failure, unable to realize His purposes in grace. 86
As confusion would have it, invariably, the OT sacrificial concepts are “If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy
now applied to convey the NT value in the death of Christ. Resulting in a neighbor as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit
critical misinterpretation (utterly void of truth) that God may simply forgive sin, and are convinced [convicted] of the law as transgressors” (James 2:8-
some and not all the sin of a believer. An incomplete forgiveness leading to 9). Does God break His own commandment to recognize merit in a man’s
a loss of salvation, rooted in OT death by “stoning” for high crimes and religious efforts, to “have respect to persons?” In these systems of sadistic
misdemeanors, is upheld by many so-called Christian theological systems. mutual judgment and envy it is asserted that no mere believer can ever know
These Methodist systems of painstaking character construction flourish beforehand who might successfully earn their way into heaven. Doubt is the
by speculating that the highest ideal of Christianity is “moral reformation or opposite of faith. I personally testify that any witness of salvation assured by
eternal damnation” and “Save Thyself, it’s every man for himself - for sovereign grace to someone who holds to this belief will be greeted by a
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nasty look and a rabid response of contempt, rather than any show of mild without God in the world” (Eph 2:12), and as for a lost estate there is now
curiosity. The irony is, there is much truth in falsehood. No one will enter “no difference” even between a Jew and Gentile (Rom 3:9; 10:12). It
heaven who holds to a low view of forgiveness and the value in the shed follows, then, that no commandments are now addressed to Jews. In the
blood of Christ. present age the first issue between God and an unsaved person - Jew or
Taken from the favorite book of Arminian interpretations of “faith in Gentile – is not one of correction or direction of daily life, but of personal
doubt” and “faith in works,” the book of James [which contains many ethical salvation through faith in Christ. Therefore, directions for daily life are not
parallels to the promised Jewish kingdom expounded by Jesus in the Sermon addressed to the unsaved in this age. …
on the Mount], I offer the following enlightenment: Faith without complete Christ drew certain contrasts between that which enters into the Mosaic
forgiveness in the blood of Christ is dead (not that it can be lost by an system and that which will obtain in the kingdom (Matt 5:17-48). The oft-
Arminian Christian, it never was alive in any so-called Christian) and, show repeated formula is, “Ye have heard that it was said [by Moses] … but I say
me your works (not Paul’s law-works, in James these works are acts of love unto you.” In none of these contrasts, however, did Christ use the term my
to a “sister” or “brother” in Christ, much like 1 John exhortations, see commandments. This designation was not used until He came to the upper
James 2:14-15) “and I will shew thee my faith by my works (of love for room the night before He was crucified, at which time He introduced the
Christians, “law of Christ,” see Gal 6:5)” (James 2:18ff. See also 1 Cor 13; body of truth especially belonging to the Church in the present age of grace.
Gal 5:6; Col 1:4; 1 Thess 1:3; 1 Tim 1:5; Philem 5; Heb 10:23; 1 Pet 1:22; 1 There is nothing accidental here. This phrase on the lips of Christ designates,
John 3:14, 23). and by it He distinguishes, the range of truth which belongs to the present
The “law of Christ” is the “law of liberty” in James 1:25 and 2:12. It is age. Thus at the end of His ministry on earth and after the forty days of
the thrice repeated “my commandment” to love your fellow Christian given instruction following His resurrection, He directed His disciples to teach all
by Jesus in the Upper Room Discourse and the Lord’s Prayer to Our Father things that He had commanded them (Matt 28:20), but did not include the
(John chapters 13-16 and 17). It is the highest ideal of unity to be realized in Mosaic system. It is to be noted that Christ’s first injunction was “a new
earthbound Christianity (1 John 3:23; 2 John 1:5). It is the Great commandment” (John 13:34), and that love is enjoined here as the evidence
Commandment of Grace that has superceded the usefulness of the Great required to indicate that marvelous unity which all believers form (cf. John
Commandment of Law (Mtw 22:36-40). “But that no man is justified by the 17:21-23) – a unity wrought by the Holy Spirit and to be kept or manifested
law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Gal by love one for another. No such unity ever existed before. That which is
3:11) and, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one included under the words “my commandments” was taken up and expanded
that believeth” (Rom 10:4). Dr. Lewis Chafer clarifies the distinction by the Apostle Paul in his epistles. References to Christ’s commandments
between an OT commandment and a NT commandment: are many – John 13:34-35; 14:15, 21; 15:10-12; 1 John 2:3; 3:22-24; 4:21;
5:2-3; 2 John 1:4-5. Cf. Matthew 28:20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:3; 1 Cor
The term commandments is found in and represents an integral part of 14:37; Galatians 6:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:2. 87
both the Mosaic and Christian systems, but with widely different
significance. In fact, the variance between the two systems is clearly A Grace command is always beyond human ability to perform without
represented by these different uses of the word. Of the three major the supranatural enablement of regeneration and the indwelling Holy Spirit.
classifications of humanity commandments are addressed in the Scriptures to A Law command is intended for the natural man, unaided by divine
the Jew and the Christian, but not to the Gentile, or for that matter anyone transformation and the Spirit of God. The Christian in grace is “in-lawed to
unsaved – either Jew or Gentile – in this age, the reason being that divine Christ.” But this “law” becomes lost in counterfeit offers of salvation based
commandments serve only to direct the daily life of those who are in right in a perverted conception of “atonement” and OT Law. Which is an
relation to God. For the Jew in the older order this affiliation was wrought incomplete forgiveness and an unmeasured performance for salvation that
by a physical birth which brought him into covenant relation to God, and for transforms no one. There can be no Christian love, no at-one-ment between
the Christian this is achieved by a spiritual birth which brings him into a people who are not indwelt and enabled by the Spirit of God. Divine
sonship relation to God. Of the Gentiles, however, it must be said: “That at regeneration and organic union with Christ into the Body of believers is the
that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of vital heart of “brotherly love” and Christianity (a state of being Christian).
Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and
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knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness has blinded his eyes. I ecumenical committee of about forty men to produce his Authorized
write unto you little children [true believers], because your sins are forgiven Version. i
you for his name’s [Jesus Christ] sake” (1 John 2:11-12), and, “Since by Much earlier Wycliffe, the later Tyndale, Coverdale, Matthews, and The
your obedience to the Truth through the [Holy] Spirit you have purified your Great Bible translations along with the Geneva Bible, which was completed
hearts for the sincere affection of the brethren, [see that you] love one in Europe by English exiles, did not contain the greatly misleading English
another fervently from a pure heart. You have been regenerated (born word, “atonement.” Nor did Luther’s earlier German translation.
again), not from a mortal origin (seed, sperm), but from one that is immortal
by the ever living and lasting Word of God” (1 Pet 1:22, 23 AMP). Dr. C. I. Parenthetical Discussion:
Scofield defines the Law of Christ:
Why is “atonement” and the history of the KJV important?
2 John 1:5 Law (of Christ), Summary: The new “law of Christ” is the divine
love, as wrought into the renewed heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5; Heb Therefore, patently, the KJV is not the first, nor best completely
10:16), and outflowing in the energy of the Spirit, unforced and Protestant English Bible. It was a compromised translation and a temporary
spontaneous, toward the objects of the divine love (2 Cor 5:14-20; 1 Thess peace accord between two opposing views of Christianity contained in two
2:7, 8). It is, therefore, “the law of liberty” (Jas 1:25; 2:12), in contrast to the different English Bibles. Opposing views that would soon explode into a
external law of Moses. Moses’ law demands love (Lev 19:18; Deut 6:5; Lk long and bloody civil war. Bear in mind, during this time, there was no
10:27); Christ’s law is love (Rom 5:5; 1 John 4:7, 19, 20), and so takes the distraction of mass entertainment; no soccer teams, football jerseys and hats,
place of the external law by fulfilling it (Rom 13:10; Gal 5:14). It is the “law no fascination with pop-stars beyond “the King’s or Queen’s royal
written in the heart” under the New Covenant (Heb 8:8, note). 88 company” of traveling theatrical players and, later, a few groups like
Shakespeare’s company. Christianity and a national mandate for attendance
The word at-one-ment is a peculiar invention of the English King James at Sunday services was the only game in town for the common people. One
Version of the Bible introduced in 1611. At the time the KJV was authorized protest made by commoners was to read from the Geneva Bible while the
(1604) the Church of England was unique to all of Europe. An earlier king, cleric who was holding state sanctioned services was reading from the
Henry the VIII, had confiscated all Catholic Church holdings in England and Bishop’s Bible. All this taken together demonstrates how government was
crowned himself Head of the Church. In essence, Henry became the new inextricably connected to religion and the finances of the state church. A
Pope of England. The Church of England carried forward Catholic doctrine, brief historical sketch follows:
liturgy, sacraments, dress, and all things papal.
Queen Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry and, from whom James I After the Gowrie conspiracy of 1600, James repressed the Protestants as
inherited the crown, had the Geneva Bible (1560) dedicated to her. strongly as he had the Catholics. He replaced the feudal power of the
Shakespeare used this Bible. A Bishops’ Bible (1568, 2nd ed. 1572) was nobility with a strong central government, and maintaining the divine right
prepared for the Church of England in response to the very popular of kings, he enforced the superiority of the state over the church.
Protestant Geneva Bible that was centered in sovereign grace. Accordingly, In 1603 Queen Elizabeth died childless, and James succeeded her as
England had competing forms of Christianity contained in two different James I, the first Stuart king of England. In 1604 he ended England's war
English Bibles at the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. Nevertheless, she was with Spain, but his tactless attitude toward Parliament, based on his belief in
able to keep peace between the liturgical state church and the new divine right, led to prolonged conflict with that body. James convoked the
Protestants of the Reformation for almost forty years.
King James I was attempting to quell the unrest, centered on the i
32 … In reality, the AV translators knew Latin better than they knew Greek and the
differing Bibles, between the state church and the Protestants (Puritans bilingual text they used to prepare the NT was essentially Erasmus’ text [Beza’s edition].
mostly) with a new version of an English Bible. He commissioned a Erasmus published the first Greek NT [Novum Instrumentum, 1516; later called Textus
Receptus] in order to defend his revised Latin translation. And since the meaning of [the
Greek phrase] had changed after Jerome translated the Vulgate, Erasmus used a different
Latin verb to communicate the idea of “usurp authority.” 1 Timothy: Introduction,
Argument, Outline, Daniel B. Wallace, Ph.D. , NET Resource CD
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Hampton Court Conference (1604), at which he authorized a new translation the devout through a time of purgatory was used to build the huge
of the Bible, generally called the King James Version. His undue severity monument to Catholicism, St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.
toward Roman Catholics, however, led to the abortive Gunpowder Plot in One leader of this early American colonial movement was the
1605. Englishman, George Whitefield, a Calvinist Methodist who had split from
The accession of James I, the son of Elizabeth's cousin, Mary, Queen of John Wesley, the founder of English Arminian Methodism. English
Scots, united the crowns of England and Scotland. It also began a century of Methodism, with its Post-Reformation Arminian Governmental theory of
domestic conflict, due in part to the personalities of the Stuart kings, but atonement (a conformed theology) combined with German Pietism, a
more to the problems inherited from the previous reign. The Puritans, or doctrinal non-reformed view with a social message, entered into American
extreme Protestants, who had already been restive under Elizabeth, grew Christianity over 50 years after the founding of the new American Republic.
increasingly dissatisfied with the Church of England, which they felt was Methodism and its message of fear (turn and keep on turning –or burn) was
still too Catholic. Religious unrest reached its height when anti-Puritan popularized in the Second Great Awakening (peak in 1840s) that initiated a
William Laud became archbishop of Canterbury in the 1630s. non-biblical call to a humanitarian “Social Gospel” that would legislate a
English Revolution, also called the Puritan Revolution, general Christian utopia for the unsaved. A brief historical sketch follows:
designnation for the period in English history from 1640 to 1660. It began
with the calling of the Long Parliament by King Charles I and proceeded A Second Great Awakening began in New York in the early 1800s and
through two civil wars, the trial and execution of the king, the republican spread north, south, and west before disappearing in the 1840s. Tent
experiments of Oliver Cromwell, and, ultimately, the restoration of King meetings that were a part of this revival movement brought together
Charles II. Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft spellbinding preachers and large audiences, who camped for several days to
Corporation. All rights reserved. immerse themselves in the heady atmosphere of religion. The movement
merged democratic idealism with evangelical Christianity, arguing that
Should the KJV contain less political intrigue than today’s congressional America was in need of moral regeneration by dedicated Christians. The
legislation because the committee members were “men of God” and an men and the large number of women who were attracted to this movement
English Pope authorized the translation? The bitter acrimony between the channeled their fervor into a series of reforms designed to eliminate evils in
Church of England and the Protestant groups was no mere matter of American society, particularly in the industrializing North. These reforms
ceremony and dress. This requires a serious assessment by anyone who included women’s rights, temperance, educational improvements, humane
would call themselves an American “Christian.” English Christianity was treatment for the mentally ill, and the abolition of slavery.
unique and America was an early result. The Social Gospel, a liberal movement in American Protestantism,
Early American colonies maintained tax supported denominations. The prominent in the late 19th century, which sought to apply Christian
First Great Awakening in America (peaked in 1740’s) ended with a focus on principles to a variety of social problems engendered by industrialization. Its
the personal experience of the “New Lights” and conformity to traditional founders and leaders included the clergymen Washington Gladden and
services by the “Old Lights.” These “Lights” consisted mostly of English Walter Rauschenbusch, who tried to counteract the effects of expanding
Quakers and Puritans, Scottish Presbyterians, German Lutherans, and French capitalism by teaching religion and human dignity to the working class.
Calvinist. Proponents of the Social Gospel also opposed the tacit support given by
New and Old Lights did not differ over the core tenet of Protestant organized religions to unrestrained capitalism.
Reformation theology – “Justification by faith” and both Luther’s and The Social Gospel movement's views were formally expressed in 1908
Calvin’s adherence to Anselm’s and Augustine’s “completed satisfaction” in when the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America (a
the death of Christ. “Justification by faith” during the reformation was the forerunner of the National Council of Churches) adopted a “social creed of
strongest argument against the “works” oriented salvation of the Roman the churches.” This creed called for the abolition of child labor, improved
Catholic Church. Bear in mind that Catholicism was not based on a theory of working conditions for women, a day off each week, and the right of all
atonement that argued against the substitutionary and imputed penalty in the workers to a living wage. Many of the aims of the Social Gospel movement
death of Christ. Historical Papal decrees, or Bulls, established a “works” were espoused by organized labor in the early years of the century, and some
oriented and Church dependent salvation. The sale of “indulgences” to speed were later incorporated in the New Deal programs of the 1930s.
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Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All authors are seen to turn from Judaism altogether and to espouse a system
rights reserved. which contradicts or supercedes Judaism at almost every vital point. …
The Jewish system of government was a theocracy. God was monarch
From a fundamental perspective, this evangelical “Social Gospel” over all. It was not an alliance of spiritual forces and interests with the state;
became the politicized, mainstream Christianity of today. But with an ironic it was a complete incorporation of the two into one divine purpose. Though
twist. The call and petition for social changes were continued by groups who in the New Testament believers are enjoined to be subject to, and pray for,
denied the mother that bore them. Mother and child are now engaged in an those who in civic authority are over them, the government is, as divinely
internecine feud and mutual torment over a Christian-correct/politically- ordained in the present period, known as “the times of the Gentiles,” in the
correct American culture. Dr. Charles Ryrie illustrates the “sin” of the three hands of men; and there is no inherent unity possible between the church
religious groups who were arrayed against Jesus during His earthly ministry: which is of God and the state which is in the hands of men. The instructions
are clear that Christians are not to aspire to temporal power or to depend on
LEAVEN. Everywhere in the Bible, leaven typifies the presence of impurity civil authority for the furtherance of spiritual ends. The early church was
or evil … However, unquestionably when Christ warned of the leaven of the true to the New Testament and her phenomenal progress was made by
Pharisees or Sadducees or Herodians, He was referring to something sinful. persuasion and love. It is natural and normal for men to resort to what
1. Of the Pharisees. The leaven of the Pharisees was externalism. Though coercive power as is available to achieve their ends. And history records no
outwardly they were righteous (Matt 5:20), knowledgeable about the movement other than Christianity which has secured its designs by the
Scriptures (23:2), tithers (Luke 18:12), those who fasted (Matt 9:14) and appeal to the heart and mind. Indeed, it was one of the deflections of the
prayed (Luke 18:11), inwardly they were unclean, and our Lord denounced Church of Rome that she departed from this spiritual ideal. 90
their leaven of hypocrisy (Matt 23:14, 26, 29; Mark 8:15; Luke 12:1).
2. Of the Sadducees. Their leaven was spreading false doctrine. Their beliefs If Christian schooling is represented by and equivalent to a knowledge
were rooted in the senses; therefore, they did not believe in the existence of of the Bible as demonstrated in the majority of church attending adults, then
angels or in resurrection. Our Lord did not denounce this as often, for false Christian schools become suspect. An effective knowledge of the NT is vital
teaching is in itself something more apparent because it is more difficult to for “obedience to the law of liberty” for good works (of love towards other
hide (Matt 16:6). believers) and may not be obtained by “me and my KJV” working alone.
3. Of the Herodians. Their leaven was secularism and worldliness. As a The Geneva Bible (1560) contained many doctrinal notes and illustrations
party they supported Herod and the Romans rule that him his power. Thus about “God’s grace” that were forbidden by King James I in the production
they sought to use worldly power to promote “spiritual” ends, and Christ of the KJV.
warned against this (Mark 8:15). The prolonged predominance in America of Arminian theological
These same sins – externalism, false doctrine, and worldly methods – interpretations and practices has established an insurmountable body of
are all too apparent in some groups today. And our Lord’s warning against assumptions about Christ which are far removed from Scripture. A
them is relevant.89 scandalous witness to Christianity - easily recognized by the non-religious
unsaved - are two leading examples from this preaching and practice of
Dr. Lewis Chafer’s comments may be added to this theme: Arminian fiction that are exemplified by the embezzlement of “money” from
the believer to the cosmos (ruled by Satan) world, namely:
[How could] Jews who were steeped in Judaism (could) have originated
such a Book as the New Testament? There is hardly a feature of Christianity (1) “The believer finds Christ to be true; the atheist finds Christ to be
that the Jew does not naturally resist. … Was not Judaism from God and was false; the ruler finds Christ to be useful.” The apparent value in the death of
it not practiced for fifteen hundred years under the divine favor? Because of Christ is framed by the three previous statements. For example, when was
these indisputable facts, the Jew clutched the elements of Judaism to his the last time anyone heard a sermon about a Christian’s “money” or
heart, and still clutches them. The gospel abruptly broke in upon this “service” confined to the boundary of the “law of Christ” in the NT principle
religious monopoly and its consequent isolation. … Now … [NT Jewish] of communicate? Myself, I wot not when or where:
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Gk, koinonikos, koinonia, koinoneo, koinonos. KJV=willing to prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation. And not that nation only, but
communicate, communication, companion, fellowship, contribution, that also he should gather together in one the children of God that were
distribution, fellowship, partaker, partner. Cf. Gal 2:2, 9; 6:6; Eph 3:9; Phi scattered abroad” (John 11:51, 52) and “that he that soweth and he that
1:5; 2:1; 3:10; 4:15; 1 Tim 6:18; Heb 10:38; 13:16; Acts 2:42; Rom 12:13; reapeth may rejoice together” (John 4:36ff).
15:26, 27; 2 Cor 1:7; 8:4; 9:13; 1 Cor 1:9; 9:18; Tit 5:22; Phm 17; 1 Pet 5:1; One will search the NT in vain for a command or exhortation to “tithe”
2 John 11; 1 John 3, 6, 7. These verses are statements regarding the sharing any particular amount of personal income. The NT speaks only of gifts from
between believers or warnings not to “share” with unbelievers. The biblical one prospering local group of believers to another needy, distant group of
principle is do not be “unequally yoked” to a non-believer because: How can believers. This included gifts to the Apostle Paul – on occasion. The NT
the Lord bless both parties? The net result is the believer will lose his speaks of not accepting money from non-believers. Which leaves it the way
spiritual reward of koinonia. God likes it – a voluntary matter from the glad heart of one believer who
communicates joyfully (Gk. root=Eng. hilariously) with another believer
In my lifetime - post-tent revivals staged by faith healers - one could because of the “law of Christ,” “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill
trace the beginnings of the televangelist to Jim Bakker. Who ended up the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). Jesus pantomimed the washing of another
scandalized and locked-up in prison for his real estate boondoggle. As a believer’s feet as a hands-on, grimy illustration of “communication.” The
short memory allows for great forgiveness, he is back on TV marketing the object lesson is, explicitly: to help your Christian brother will not always be
building of a retirement community near Branson, Missouri, to the same a tidy affair involves only money.
people that sent him money 35 years ago. Protestant religion has become big Contrary to 150 years of Arminian religious twaddle, this
business. Owing in large part to the spectacular growth of the “charismatic,” “communication” does not and is not, and cannot be extended to the world at
or Pentecostal movement which has even expanded into the Catholic church. large. Jesus said of His mother and brethren: … “Who is my mother? and
This movement involves a central figure with charisma who preaches a who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples,
shallow distorted truth concerning charismatic gifts more so than any truth and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!” (Mtw 12:48-49). The
about these works of the Holy Spirit. True divine works are those performed Apostle Peter states: “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.
through the believer, not by the believer, and directed toward other believers Honour the king” (1 Pet 2:17).
in the building of the Body of Christ as a divine temple for the presence of One could feed the unsaved world for a lifetime and God would never
Christ. smile. God is not sentimental. He is transparent, truthful, and just. Humans
The vast majority of local churches have historically been less than 100 are sentimental for selfish reasons. Only the bread sent down from heaven
people. Big buildings and big stadium size screens are new. More saves eternally.
importantly, the money-giving individual has no say nor ownership in A sentimental desire to temporarily relieve some of the discomforts
today’s large church. It takes lots of money to operate a family enterprise experienced by humanity cannot be presumptuously claimed as Christian
and private pension plans. The salaries and offices for national brotherly love. The “Good Samaritan” was a racially mixed Jew obligated to
denominations are supported by local gifts, also. Many huge charitable a system of law, the “words” of God, to love others “as thyself.” The
ministries that live-off feeding the hungry require the lions share of the Christian is commanded to obey His commandment, and His “word,” to love
money that is donated. Few of them preach the gospel to the people they “one another” (fellow believer) as Christ loves us. Which remains a human
feed. This is the “Social Gospel” that assumes money given to any so-called impossibility for the unsaved. The Samaritan proved himself to be a
Christian (viz., humanitarian) effort will be rewarded by God. “neighbor” because he had “compassion” [pity and sympathy AMP] on the
Therefore, not because of a concern for false professing Christians, I unidentifiable, naked, injured, and silent man; but the Samaritan was not a
suggest money is embezzled from the pockets of the misguided “true regenerated believer with a new divinely enabled love for a new divine
believer,” who does not know NT teaching, and is redistributed back into the family, and, a new home for sinners that he could tell others about.
cosmos world where it does not communicate, or share in a divine blessing. Comparable to the misinterpretation regarding the supreme Christian ideal
Spiritual communication requires an open line between at least two or more assigned to the Samaritan to validate a “Social Gospel,” is the assumption
believers. An interpretive comment made by the Apostle John is, “And this that the parable of the “prodigal son” is about salvation, where saving faith
spake he [Caiaphas] not of himself: but being high priest that year, he is never mentioned. This parable illustrates God’s unlimited forgiveness for
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the restoration of communion and the love for His children that is not based is clearing away and the true Light (the revelation of God in Christ) is
on their behavior; rather it is based on their eternal salvation through His already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother
Son, their Savior. [Christian, born-again child of God his Father] is in darkness
Love for the brotherhood, love for God who indwells all believers, is the [condemnation] even until now. 10 Whoever loves his brother [believer]
identifying “work” of true faith as explained very plainly in the Epistle of abides (lives) in the Light [eternal life], and in It or in Him there is no cause,
James and in 1 John where the false professing Christians, who had no for error or sin. 11 But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [in Christ]
salvation to lose, were exposed by their rejection of the primary is in darkness and walking (living) in the dark; he is straying and does not
commandment which they demonstrated by their “lack” of brotherly love. perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his
The first witness to the world, by the first Jerusalem Christians, was that of eyes.
love for one another expressed through sharing (cf. Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37).
Jesus both commanded a new (Gk. kathos=fresh, novel; not neos, in the (this passage is discussed in the sub-section heading below, Koinonia and
sense of young versus old) commandment and a my commandment which the False Professing Christians of Today Exposed In 1 John)
He predicted to be “a sign” (#4592, semeion = supernatural indication) to the
world: “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I 4:7
Beloved let us love one another, for love is (springs) from God; and
have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know he who loves [his fellowmen] is begotten (born) of God and is coming
that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:34, 35) and [progressively] to know and understand God [to perceive and recognize and
“This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. get a better and clearer knowledge of Him]. 8 He who does not love has not
Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his become acquainted with God [does not and never did know Him], for God is
friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you” (John love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest (displayed) where we are
15:12-14). Decades after this announcement by Jesus, the Apostle John, like concerned: in that God sent His Son, the only begotten or unique [Son], into
the earlier NT writer James, demonstrated the reality and foundational the world so that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love: not that we
character of this commandment, this “word,” when he used it as the decisive loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (the
factor in his polemical letter against those who had not “continued in God” atoning sacrifice) for our sins. [see John 3:16]
and “went out” because of a Christological belief that was essentially 11
Beloved, if God loved us [very much], we also ought to love one
different from faith in - God the Son who was born, lived, and died as a man another. 12 No man has at any time [yet] seen God. But if we love one
in the flesh to take away the sins of the world: another, God abides (lives and remains) in us and His love (that love which
is essentially His) is brought to completion (to its full maturity, runs its full
1 John 2:4-11; 4:7-5:1 Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, course, is perfected) in us! 13 By this we come to know (perceive, recognize,
understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His and understand) that we abide (live and remain) in Him and He in us:
commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [of the Gospel] is not in because He has given (imparted) to us of His [Holy] Spirit. 14 And [besides]
him. 5 But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [commandment] … truly in we ourselves have seen (have deliberately and steadfastly contemplated) and
him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached bear witness that the Father has sent the Son [as the] Savior of the world.
maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we 15
Anyone who confesses (acknowledges, owns) that Jesus is the Son of
are in Him. 6 Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as a personal debt] to God, God abides (lives, makes His home) in him and he [abides, lives,
walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and makes his home] in God. 16 And we know (understand, recognize, are
conducted Himself. conscious of, by observation and by experience) and believe (adhere to and
7
Beloved [Gk. agapetos, Heb. yahid, “uniquely beloved,” “God’s put faith in and rely on) the love God cherishes for us. God is love, and he
beloved who are called saints” Rom 1:7], I am writing you no new who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God
commandment, but an old commandment which you have had from the dwells and continues in him. 17 In this [union and communion with Him]
beginning; the old commandment is the one you have heard [from the love is brought to completion and attains perfection with us, that we may
beginning KJV] … 8 Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to
true (is realized) in Him and in you, because the darkness (moral blindness) face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in
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love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete and perfect) love turns I sent ye in to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured,
fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear brings with it the and ye are entered into their labours” (John 4:36, 38).
thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full This vividly demonstrates the importance of real separation “unto the
maturity of love [is not yet grown into love’s complete perfection]. 19 We gospel of God” (Rom 1:1), the “true” gospel of grace. However counter to
love Him, because He first loved us. 20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates popularized religious ideas this may seem - spiritual fidelity to the “law of
(detests, abominates) his brother [in Christ], he is a liar; for he who does not Christ” is not intermittent humanitarian aide to the unsaved. This is critical
love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, Whom he has not for the individual who would discern the wise “stewardship” of time, the
seen. 21 And this command (charge, order, injunction) we have from Him: exercise of Spirit given abilities which are intended only to be used to
that he who loves God shall love his brother [believer] also. 5:1 Everyone strengthen and build the Body of believers, and sharing a limited amount of
who believes (adheres to, trusts, and relies on the fact) that Jesus is the personal income. Dr. Daniel B. Wallace comments on the Letter to the
Christ (the Messiah) is a born-again child of God; and everyone who loves Ephesians:
the Father also loves the one born of Him (His offspring). AMP
Paul concludes the body of his epistle with a treatise on spiritual warfare
Should any one jump to conclude, as many commentators do, that (6:10-20). In many respects this seems entirely out of place in this letter. In
Christian “sharing,” koinonia, must be a form of economic communism, reality, it is a perfect capstone to the queen of the epistles. This section
they demonstrate a sore lack of understanding for a “family ethic” and the addresses a question which has been implicit since 2:2, viz, what is the
basis of all human love. Those convinced of such an aberration in believer’s present relation to Satan? But the answer is not intended just to
Christianity would benefit by looking closely at the horrible excesses of the satisfy our curiosity. Rather, the answer relates intrinsically to the heart of
French Revolution that occurred after the American War of Independence this letter: Satan is presently attacking the unity of the church and we ought
and the derivative strain of “Social Gospel” that overtook the Russian therefore to stand and show that we are together. Seen in this light, our
Revolution towards the end of World War I, for a comparison to the history “struggle [which] is not against flesh and blood” means simply, “Christians,
of “activism” and government legislated “culture” in America. Especially, get along with each other! Maintain the unity practically which Christ has
our own Civil War as compared to the earlier, English Civil War (1640- effected positionally by his death.” 91
1660).
There is little doubt that Christian ethics benefit the culture they inhabit. (2) Christian’s are warned not to partner in evil by supporting false
But, Christianity is never intended to be a “government,” or theocracy. teachers: “If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine [is
Gentile (unsaved) world powers rule over men in this dispensation of grace. disloyal to what Jesus Christ taught], do not receive him [do not accept him,
Also, koinonia is a completely voluntary action by a believer, not the do not welcome or admit him] into [your] house or bid him Godspeed or
unsaved. And, it is not without problems of its own (cf. the death of Ananias give him any encouragement. For he who wishes him success [who
and his wife Sapphira in Acts 5:1-11). It is repeated among biblical encourages him, wishing him Godspeed] is a partaker in his evil doings” (2
historians that many early Roman era converts to Christianity left their John 1:10, 11 AMP).
positions as judges, attorneys, and policemen. Something that deals with an absurdity must be impossible and untrue.
The Apostle Paul declared very clearly: “What [business] of mine is it The latter prophet, Malachi, never dreamed of a Christian. So how could he
and what right have I to judge outsiders? … God alone sits in judgment on be absurdly addressing a command to give money which holds a guaranteed
those who are outside” (1 Cor 5:12a, 13a AMP). The only obligation of the promise of increase to a Christian (Mal 3:10)? This is impossible and any
Christian to the world at large is the overriding spiritual obligation to share promise of like results are untrue. Will washing in the Jordan River
the gospel of God’s grace; that they may “obey the gospel” as God guarantee a cure for leprosy, as it did the Gentile warrior, Naaham (2 Kings
commands and enter into the family of God. Spiritual blessings and rewards 5:14)? Scripture teaches that the Jew received material blessings; that the
may only accrue from associations with other believers who share “in Christian receives “all spiritual blessings in heavenly (lit. in the heavenlies)
Christ.” “And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life places in Christ” (Eph 1:3). Dr. Lewis Chafer explains:
eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together …
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In the right divisions Scripture, nothing is more fundamental or Finally, God was never referred to as the individual Father of a Jew in
determining than the distinction between Judaism and Christianity. As the OT. Only corporately was He the Father of Israel. The individual
judged by the proportion of space given to it, Judaism occupies the major Fatherhood of God is a NT revelation applying only to a believer in Christ.
portion of the Bible including practically all of the Old Testament and much We only know for certain (because of the NT) that a few individuals in the
of the New Testament. The Bible presents both of these great systems, and it OT were saved. And, solely because God took the initiative and revealed
is easily one of the greatest mistakes of theologians to suppose that these are Himself to these individuals. Beyond this, a stated system or criteria for the
one and the same. It is true there are certain features common to both, such salvation of the individual Jew in the commonwealth of Israel cannot be
as God, man, sin, and redemption; but there are vast differences between found in the OT. Any one who insists otherwise will search in vain for proof
them and these differences must be observed. (see Ch. 3, 11 of Vol 4) 92 of a mistaken assumption based wholly upon the preaching and practice of
fiction.
Like the Israelites in the Exodus, a rag and a crust is guaranteed, but In Romans 5:11 of the KJV, atonement should be translated
unlike the wandering Jew, no house on earth or material blessings for reconciliation as the same Greek word translated in 5:10 (see 1 Cor 15:21-
obedience is promised to the heaven bound Christian. Any claim to the 23). Does anyone believe that at-one-ment was “created” as a translation to
contrary, regardless of sincere ignorance, is the mimicry of a “juggling imply that the OT Jew was saved temporarily after he completed a sacrifice?
imposter” and “vain jangling” aimed at pretense to mask a manipulative Which was only effective until he sinned again? OT sacrifices were not
motive. rational, they were a demonstration of the true sacrifice to come. “For it is
One man’s idea of “seed” is another man’s covetous interpretation of a not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin.
luxury life style for himself. In short, these are shameless hucksters calling Wherefore when he [Christ] cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and
in suckers to “sow seeds.” Seeds which are then used for the lavish benefit offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared for me” (Heb 10:4,
of the greedy “dynasty of the kings and queens of God” laboring to spread 5; cf. Ps 40:6-8).
the 1906 gospel of Asuza Street by giving each other fabulous amounts of In this light, it is important to understand that the Old Testament KJV
cash as birthday gifts (ABC, CBS, NBC Evening News - November 7, word, “at-one-ment,” union of God and man, is a misapplied, failed attempt
2007). Make no mistake with sympathy either, these are sentimental suckers at the NT “ministry of reconciliation” that takes in the ideas of
who are under the “delusion” of ancient Christian assumptions that hilasmos/hilaskomai, the Mercy Seat – the place of propitiation (Jesus
“indulgences” for entrance into heaven and the power of the Holy Spirit may Christ), and the principle of “propitiation” (completed satisfaction for sin) in
be earned by giving away money to “juggling imposters” (Acts 8:20). the NT value of the death of Christ. The many results brought about by the
A gospel of greed and a continuing plea to guilt for the satisfaction of a death of Christ continues from this point, but may be ended here at the
social obligation goes hand in hand with a system of theology, blinded by gospel stage of “before saving faith.”
worldly power and externalism, that does not recognize the supranatural Thus, Jesus “took away,” expiated all the sin of the world (typified as
sufficiency of the blood of Christ. A system that fundamentally both the sacrificial and the scape goat). Thereby, all sinners have the
misunderstands salvation and defines it within a limited framework of OT “potential” to have the value of Christ’s death applied to themselves. To be
misconceptions of atonement for the forgiveness of personal sins only. conformed to God’s standard of sinlessness. Sinners are at-one, so to speak,
Arminianism is willfully ignorant to the riches of God’s grace in the NT and only in the sense of God’s work of reconciliation. God waits on all sinners to
incapable of preaching “the gospel God” (Rom 1:1). God’s unlimited grace make peace with Him through faith in Christ while they are still alive.
through faith is a mystery to any limited system. All limited systems are During this time Christ stands between the individual and God’s wrath
ecumenical in that they share in one common gospel message – faith in the against sin. But, until one believes in Christ as Savior they have not
blood of Christ is insufficient for salvation. This extends through unnamed reconciled themselves to God, or made peace with God by the only means
cults, Latter Day Saints, Jehovah Witnesses, Seventh Day Adventists, available to a sinner. Peacemaking is bilateral, both parties must make peace
Pentecostal, Salvation Army, Methodist, Catholic, and most so-called through the same Person, God’s Mediator between man and Himself. Which,
Protestant denominations who teach the loss of salvation instead of for the believer, results in justification by faith through grace. The sinner is
preaching the assurance of God’s grace in salvation for the provision of the declared not guilty of any transgression against God because of one aspect
believer’s daily walk. out of many in the value of the death of Christ.
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If the word be used at all, atonement must comprehend more than God’s Spirit of grace will lead anyone into a deeper understanding of
forgiveness as a limited release from penalty. This is limited human His message as they desire more. Guaranteed by “all” spiritual blessings in
forgiveness. God’s forgiveness by grace is unlimited and conditioned solely “the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”: “Now we have
upon trust in His offer of Jesus Christ for all the redemption needed for received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we
complete forgiveness and all the “righteousness” (merit) needed for might know the things which are freely given us of God. Which things also
salvation. we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the
Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor 2:12-
Conclusion 13).
The KJV has benefit in that most of the English translation mistakes in ATONEMENT (CONTINUED)
the Greek grammar have been widely debated, agreed upon, and published
in the last 400 years. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is available to help A curious phenomenon is prevalent in common religious thinking
anybody study the underlying original grammar and decide the meaning of a regarding “atonement” and “righteousness.” Untold millions who claim to
verse for themselves. Minor grammar corrections from newer manuscripts read and teach the Bible completely overlook the fact where the vast
that have become available continues. So one may accurately say, short of majority of Jews reported in the OT and, the NT Jewish Pharisees
becoming skilled in NT Greek, the King James Bible has the most published encountered by Christ were “wrong” about their self-righteousness.
references and is the best “correctable” translation for study. But, it must be Conformance to the Ten Commandments, more correctly the “two tablets”
said again: The KJV is not the first and best English, Protestant translation to be used for comparison, or the Mosaic Law never saved anybody. The
inspired by God. Grammarians and linguist labor today over obscure dialects Jew, including the Apostle Paul before his salvation experience, considered
in an attempt to translate the Bible. All translations are a compromise owing himself “blameless” when he conformed to all required sacrifices and
to many factors. cleansings after he sinned. Sinlessness was never a condition of being
The RV translation cleaned up various grammar mistakes; but critically “blameless.” The coming of the Jewish Messiah to “take away” sin was and
divided the Baptist (1979) and others over panatheros (virgin) that was not is today – overlooked: “By his will we have been made holy through the
in the Hebrew texts of Isaiah 7:14. Jesus was not an illiterate rube. The step- offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. … For by one offering he
brothers of Jesus, along with other Palestinian Jews, both spoke and wrote in has perfected for all time those who are made holy. … Their sins and their
Greek. Jesus and His apostles quoted from the Greek Septuagint, not lawless deeds I will remember no longer” (Heb 10:10, 14, 17 NET) and,
Hebrew texts. Paul’s states “And that I may [actually] be found and known as in Him, not
A simple “copy” of the KJV contains more than a few errors and many having any [self-achieved] righteousness that can be called my own, based
extra words. These errors have been compounded in the NKJV. Are the on my obedience to the Law’s demands (ritualistic uprightness and supposed
newer translations better? No. The glut of recent translations must be at least right standing with God thus acquired), but possessing that [genuine
ten per cent different to receive a copyright. The AMP, NET, NASB, and the righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ (the Anointed One), the
NIV have good points and bad. The Old Scofield Study Bible, 1909, 1917, [truly] right standing with God, which comes from God by [saving] faith”
previously published as The Scofield Reference Bible (not the newer revised (Phil 3:9 AMP).
editions), KJV, Oxford University Press – 261RRL, ISBN 0-19-527418-0, is As revealed in the NT, forgiveness, past and future, is thoroughly
the single best doctrinal reference to begin to find the meaning of God’s grounded in grace. The Apostle Paul was speaking of OT forgiveness when
Words of grace contained in the KJV. Summaries and chain references are he said, “Moreover the law (of Moses) entered, that the offence might
grounded in the “completed satisfaction” or “finished work” provided in the abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom
value of the death of Christ and are invaluable for understanding the basic 5:20). Here Paul is making reference to the fact that the Jews did not have a
interrelatedness of the gospel of the grace of God to all Scripture. Another system of law before Moses. Therefore, more sin after Moses. And “much
old, similar publication is The Pilgrim’s Bible (no other information more” grace.
available to this writer at this time).
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To a large degree the Epistle to the Hebrews is a treatise on the death of CLOSING COMMENTS
Christ and with special reference to the truth that the old order with its
sacrifices has been superceded by the one sacrifice of the cross. The book of Christianity is distinguished from Judaism by an interrelated set of new
Hebrews contributes more on the death of Christ than any other New revelations, or “mysteries” that were given through the Apostle Paul’s
Testament book, as Leviticus contributes most of all the books of the Old message that he spoke of as the broad ranged “my gospel.” In one such
Testament. Observe: Hebrews 1:3; 2:9; 5:1-10; 7:25-27; 9:12-15, 16-18; mystery, individual believers are revealed to be the separate, but unified
10:1-21; 12:2, 24; 13:10-13. 93 members of God’s magnificent and perfect new creation in Christ. The true
church is the living Mystical Body of Christ. This vital creation, joined in
The sins which were “passed over” through the OT Levitical sacrificial the resurrection life of Jesus, is to have communion (koinonia) with Christ
system until the just payment made by Christ were indeed acts of grace. the Head, and other “members” of the body, “But speaking the truth in love,
Which revealed the righteousness of God, not the individual, in His dealing may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. From
with past Jewish sin under the Law of Moses and the future justification of whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which
sinful believers. The Apostle Paul presented the gospel to the Jews at a every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of
synagogue in Antioch: “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love”
that though this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by (Eph 3:15-16; cf. 1:22-23).
him all that believe are justified from all things (Gk. ta panta), from which The creative hubris of man has no limitations: “None will predicate of
ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that man that he had any part in the resurrection; yet the divine accomplishment
come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets; Behold, ye despisers, in the cross is as void of human cooperation as is the resurrection.” 94 Any
and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye effort to add mutual human endeavor to the cross is vanity. The cross of
shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you” (Acts 13:38-41). Christ may be seen as the antitype of the rainbow that was given as a token
New wine will certainly burst “old skins.” The wedding wine of joy, to Noah, who was saved from judgment. This token was to mark God’s
drawn by the servants from the Canaan well, replaces the ceremonial everlasting covenant of faithfulness and His future completed judgment
cleansing water of a presumptuous self-righteousness. A better covenant against sin: “And I saw … as it were the appearance of fire, and it had
administered by an Eternal High Priest does away with the “law of sin and brightness round about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in
death” to establish “the law of Christ” in “the law of liberty.” There is no the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This
freedom, only slavery in disobedience; the freedom of salvation may only was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw
exist in “obedience to the faith.” Because of the sacrificial blood of Christ, it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake. … And the
the believer stands eternally forgiven, righteous, and secure in heavenly spirit entered unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I heard him that spake
places with the glorified Savior. unto me. And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee unto the children of
Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their
Prov 12:10 A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are
but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. impudent children and stiffhearted” (Ezk 1:27ff-28; 2:2-3, 4ff); “And
immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and
“Another gospel” can do no more than create another savior that one sat on the throne. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a
conforms to all other religions on earth, namely: man must save himself. sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like
This is a religion divorced from the primary cause of moral behavior – the unto an emerald” (Rev 4:2-3); “And I saw another mighty angel [Christ with
unbreakable union of the believer to Christ. A Savior who shares His eternal the sealed book,v.2, see 5:5-7] come down from heaven, clothed with a
life and character with the believer. A christ who cannot save completely cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun
and eternally is not only a failure - worse yet - this type of savior is the stuff …” (Rev 10:1ff)
that deceptively satisfying systems of inventive religious humanism and One “impudent and stiffhearted” man’s experience in presuming the
presumptuous fictions are made of. priestly work of God’s chosen one - the last Judge of Israel, the Priest and
Prophet, Samuel - ended in his self-destruction and eventual suicide. This
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man was Saul, the first King of Israel. Who was a type of Old and New 2 Cor 5:14-21 For the love (law) of Christ constraineth [#4912=unifies,
Testament Jew that cannot accept the sovereign grace of God and God’s controls] us; because we thus judge, that if one man died for all, then were
chosen King, Priest, and Prophet - Jesus Christ. Saul was replaced by a type all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth
of Christ, King David, who was King and Prophet, but not Priest. Another live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
man’s fictional experience in doing the work of God came to a predictable Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have
and dreadful end. This modern doctor of philosophy and the sciences was known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him (so) no more.
horror-struck when he looked into the “yellow eye” of his own ambition, his Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation): old things
monster. He voiced his inconsolable regret, “Did any one indeed exist, are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of
except I, the creator, who would believe, unless his senses convinced him, in God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given us
the existence of the living monument of presumption and rash ignorance the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the
which I had let loose upon the world?” 95 world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
Knowing that disaster (Gk. ātē) is the inevitable end of hubris, would committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors
anyone deliberately dare to presume upon God and offer themselves as a for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s
self-animated soul; hobbled together into a profane union of atoning flesh stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who
and self-righteousness, to be the substitute for God’s divine work of grace? knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
As a hideously imperfect replacement for His work of regener-ating and
glorifying the believer’s soul and body into the divine union of His New The Lord’s Prayer for the Unity and Love Between All Believer’s
Creation in the Mystical Body of Christ? And, as a believer who has died
with Christ that they might live with Christ eternally as the redeemed, I do not ask in behalf of these alone [the disciples gathered in the Upper
sanctified, and perfected companion, the Bride of Christ, the Queen and Room at the Last Supper], but for those also who believe in Me through their
Cohort of the King of Heaven? word [message, teaching, the gospel of saving grace]; that they may all be
Sovereign grace is the way of salvation. Only by grace may one stand one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in
justified, blameless, and free of transgressions. Beginning from the moment Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which you
of saving faith, the condemned individual is ultimately transformed into the have given me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are
image of Christ, exclusively, because God intends to satisfy His love with one: I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the
the grace purchased by the sacrificial blood of the Son of His love. Salvation world may know that You sent Me, and loved them even as You have loved
is only possible because of the completely satisfactory value of the love of Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me
God through Christ for sinners. Proven by His finished work and an assured where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for you
salvation for the one who trusts Him, and believes Him, and relies on Him. loved Me before the foundation of the world.
Whereas presumptuous and limited notions relating to the value of his death, O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have
aided and abetted by a greatly misleading translation of “atonement” for known You; and these have known that You sent Me; and I have made Your
forgiveness - have no value. name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which
You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:20-26 NASB)
2 Tim 1:10 … Our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and
hath brought life [eternal] and immortality [incorruptibility] to light The Union of Profane Atonement and Self-Righteousness in the Visible
through the gospel. Church
Ezk 13:22-23 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad,
whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that
he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life: Therefore
ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my
people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.
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… There will be false teachers among yourselves, who will subtly and
[They will be] treacherous [betrayers], rash, [and] inflated with self- stealthily introduce heretical doctrines (destructive heresies), even denying
conceit. [They will be] lovers of sensual pleasures and vain amusements and disowning the Master Who bought them, bringing upon themselves
more than and rather than lovers of God. For [although] they hold a form of swift destruction. And many will follow their immoral ways and lascivious
piety (true religion), they deny and reject and are strangers to the power of it doings: because of them the true Way will be maligned and defamed. And in
[their conduct belies the genuineness of their profession]. Avoid [all] such their covetousness (lust, greed) they will exploit you with false (cunning)
people [turn away from them]. … Now just as Jannes and Jambres were arguments. From of old the sentence [of condemnation] for them has not
hostile to and resisted Moses, so these men also are hostile to and oppose the been idle; their destruction (eternal misery) has not been asleep. (2 Pet 2:1-3
Truth. They have depraved and distorted minds, and are reprobate and AMP).
counterfeit and to be rejected as far as the faith is concerned. [Exod 7:11] …
For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and For we are not, like so many, [like hucksters making a trade of] peddling
wholesome instruction, but, have ears itching [for something pleasing and God’s Word [shortchanging and adulterating the divine message]; but like
gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a [men] of sincerity and the purest motive, as [commissioned and sent] by
considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the God, we speak [His message] in Christ (the Messiah), in the [very] sight and
errors they hold. And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off presence of God. (2 Cor 2:17 AMP)
into myths and man-made fictions. (2 Tim 3:4, 5, 8; 4:3, 4 AMP).
Detailed Commentaries On a Misleading Idea of Atonement
Let no one defraud you by acting as an umpire and declaring you
unworthy and disqualifying you for the prize, insisting on self-abasement Dr. C. I. Scofield:
and worship of angels, taking his stand on visions [he claims] he has seen,
vainly puffed up by his sensuous notions and inflated by his unspiritual Exodus 29:33
thoughts and fleshly conceit. And not holding fast to the Head, from Whom Heb. kaphar, “to cover.” The English word “atonement” (at-one-ment)
the entire body, supplied and knot together by means of its joints and is not a translation of the Heb. kaphar, but a translator’s interpretation.
ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God. If then you have died with According to Scripture the legal sacrifice “covered” the offer’s sin and
Christ to material ways of looking at things and elemental notions and secured the divine forgiveness; according to the translators it made God and
teachings of externalism, why do you live as if you still belong to the world? the sinner at-one. But the O.T. sacrifices did not at-one the sinner and God.
[Why do you submit to rules and regulations? –such as] Do not handle “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins”
[this], Do not taste [that], Do not even touch [them], Referring to things all (Heb 10:4). The Israelite’s offering implied confession of sin and of its due
of which perish with being used. To do this is to follow human precepts and desert, death; and God “covered” (passed over,” Rom 3:25) his sin, in
doctrines. [Isa 29:13] Such [practices] have indeed the outward appearance anticipation of Christ’s sacrifice, which did, finally, “put away” the sins
[that popularly passes] for wisdom, in promoting self-imposed rigor of “done aforetime in the forbearance of God” (Rom 3:25; Heb 9:15). See
devotion and severity of discipline of the body, but they are of no value in Rom. 3:25, note. The word “atonement” does not occur in the N.T.; Rom.
checking the indulgence of the flesh (the lower nature). [Instead, they do not 5:11, meaning reconciliation, and so rendered in the R.V.
honor God but serve only to indulge the flesh.] (Col 2:18-23 AMP)
So then, we may longer be children, tossed [like ships] to and fro Leviticus 16:6
between chance gusts of teaching and wavering with every changing wind of Atonement. The biblical use and meaning of the word must be sharply
doctrine, [the prey of] the cunning and cleverness of unscrupulous men, distinguished from its use in theology. In theology it is a term which covers
[gamblers engaged] in every shifting form of trickery in inventing errors to the whole sacrificial and redemptive work of Christ. In the O.T. atonement is
mislead. (Eph 3:14 AMP) the English word used to translate the Hebrew words which mean “cover,”
coverings,” or “to cover.” Atonement (at-one-ment) is, therefore, not a
translation of the Hebrew, but a purely theological concept. The Levitical
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offerings “covered” the sins of Israel until, and in anticipation of the Cross, Dr. John Walvoord:
but did not “take away” (Heb 10:4) those sins. These were the “sins done
aforetime” (“covered” meantime by the Levitical sacrifices), which God 1. The divine dealing with sin before the cross is said to have been by
“passed over” (Rom 3:25) – for which “passing over” God’s righteousness atonement, which word, in its biblical use, means simply “to cover.” The
was never vindicated until, in the Cross, Jesus Christ was “set forth a blood of bulls and goats could not, and did not, take away sin (Heb 10:4).
propitiation.” See “Propitiation,” Rom 3:25, note. It was the Cross, not the The offering of sacrificial blood indicated on the part of the sinner the
Levitical sacrifices that made “at-one-ment.” The O.T. sacrifices enabled acknowledgement of the just penalty of death (Lev 1:4), and on the part of
God to go on with a guilty people because they typified the Cross. To the God, the sacrifice anticipated the efficacious blood of Christ. By
offerer they were his confession of the desert of death, and the expression of symbolizing the shed blood of Christ, the atoning blood of the sacrifices
his faith; to God they were the “shadows” (Heb 10:1) of which Christ was served to cover sin until that day when Christ would deal in finality with the
the reality. sin of the world.
Two New Testament passages throw light upon the meaning of the Old
Matthew 26:28 Testament word “atonement,” or “covering.”
Forgiveness, Summary: The Greek word translated “remission” in Mt. a. In Romans 3:25 the word “remission” has the meaning of “passing
26:28, Acts 10:43, Heb. 9:22, is elsewhere rendered “forgiveness.” It means, over,” and in this connection it is stated that when Christ died He proved
to send off, or away. And this throughout Scripture is the one fundamental God to have been righteous in passing over sins which were committed
meaning of forgiveness – to separate the sin from the sinner. Distinction before the cross and for which the atoning blood of the sacrifices had been
must be made between divine and human forgiveness: (1) Human shed. God had promised a sufficient Lamb and had forgiven sin on the
forgiveness means the remission of penalty. In the Old Testament and the strength of that promise. Therefore, by the death of Christ, God was proven
New, in type and fulfillment, the divine forgiveness follows the execution of to have been righteous in all that He had promised.
the penalty. “The priest shall make an atonement for his sin that he hath b. In Acts 17:30 it is stated that, before the cross, God “winked at” sin.
committed, and it shall be forgiven him” (Lev 4:35). “This is my blood of This word should be translated “overlooked.”
the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission [sending away, 2. The divine method of dealing with sin since the cross is stated in
forgiveness] of sins” (Mtw 26:28). “Without shedding of blood there is no Romans 3:26. Christ has died. No longer is the value of His sacrifice a
remission” (Heb 9:22). matter of expectation to be taken as a promise and symbolized by the blood
of animals; the blood of Christ has been shed, and now all that can be asked
Hebrews 10:18 of any person, regardless of his degree of guilt, is that he believe in the work
Sacrifice, Summary: (1) The first intimation of sacrifice is Gen. 3:21, which, in infinite grace, has been accomplished for him. This passage
the “coats of skins” having obviously come from slain animals. The first declares that Christ upon the cross so answered the divine judgment against
clear instance of sacrifice is Gen 4:4, explained in Heb. 11:4. Abel’s every sinner that God can remain just, or uncompromised in His holiness,
righteousness was the result of his sacrifice, not of his character. (2) Before when at the same time and apart from all penalties, He justifies the sinner
the giving of the law the head of the family was the family priest. By the law who does no more than believe in Jesus.
an order of priests was established who alone could offer sacrifices. Those The word “atonement,” which occurs properly only in the Old
sacrifices were “shadows,” types, expressing variously the guilt and need of Testament, indicated the “passing over,” “overlooking,” and “covering” of
the offerer in reference to God, and all pointing to Christ and fulfilled in sin; but Christ in dealing with sin on the cross did not pass it over or cover it.
Him. (3) As foreshadowed by the types and explained in the N.T., the Of His sufficient sacrifice it is said: “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
sacrifice of Christ penal (Gal 3:13; 2 Cor 5:21); substitutional (Lev 1:4; Isa away the sin of the world” (John 1:29; cf. Col 2:14; Heb 10:4; 1 John 3:5).
53:5, 6; 2 Cor 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24); voluntary (Gen 22:9; John 10:18); “Who his self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” (1 Pet 2:24). There
redemptive (Gal 3:13; Eph 1:7; 1 Cor 6:20); propitiatory (Rom 3:25); was no temporizing or partial dealing with sin at the cross. This great issue
reconciling (2 Cor 5:18, 19; Col 1:21, 22); efficacious (John 12:32, 33; Rom between God and man was there dealt with in a manner which is satisfying
5:9, 10; 2 Cor 5:21; Eph 2:13; Heb 9:11, 12, 26; 10:10-17; 1 John 1:7; Rev even to the infinite holiness of God, and the only question that remains is
1:5); and revelatory (John 3:16; 1 John 4:9, 10). 96 whether man is satisfied with the sacrifice which satisfies God. To accept the
355 356
work of Christ for us is to believe upon the Savior to the saving of the soul. convictions even unto death. The sufficient answer to this error is that, since
97
He was God’s provided Lamb, no man took His life from Him (John 10:18;
In Scripture the death of Christ is revealed to be a sacrifice for the sins Acts 2:23).
of the whole world. Accordingly, John the Baptist introduced Jesus with the 3. It is claimed that Christ died to create a moral effect. Since the cross
words, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” displays the divine estimate of sin, men who consider the cross will be
(John 1:29). Jesus in his death was actually the substitute dying in the place constrained to turn from lives of sin. This theory, which has no foundation in
of all men. Although “substitute” is not specifically a biblical word, the idea Scripture, assumes that God is now seeking the reformation of men; while,
that Christ is the sinner’s substitute is constantly affirmed in Scripture. By in reality, the cross is the ground of regeneration.99
His substitutionary death the unmeasured, righteous judgments of God
against a sinner were borne by Christ. The result of this substitution is itself Dr. Charles Ryrie:
as simple and definite as the transaction. The Savior has already borne the
divine judgments against the sinner to the full satisfaction of God. In As one would expect, various views of the Atonement, both true and
receiving the salvation which God offers, men are asked to believe this good false, have been propagated throughout church history. A study of these,
news, recognizing that Christ died for their sins and thereby claiming Jesus even in a summary manner, should do two things: it should help prevent one
Christ as their personal Savior. falling into the same errors others have made, and it should help one to state
The word “substitution” only partially expresses all that is accomplished the truth more precisely because of errors that have been made.
by the death of Christ. Actually no all-inclusive term is used in the Bible.
The word “atonement” is frequently used in theology as an all-inclusive Ransom to Satan Origen (185-254)
term, but there is no word corresponding to it in either the Old or New The death of Christ was a ransom paid to Satan to satisfy any claims
Testament. In the Old Testament the concept of atoning for sin referred to Satan had against man. Ultimately Satan was deceived. The Bible does not
the temporary covering of sin by the sacrificial offerings. This provided a say anything about to whom a ransom was paid.
basis for temporary forgiveness “of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God” (Rom 3:25). In forgiving sins in the Old Testament Recapitulation Iranaeus (130-202)
period, God was acting in perfect righteousness, since He anticipated the Christ recapitulated in Himself all the stages of life, including what
coming of His Son as a sacrificial Lamb who would in no way pass over or belongs to us sinners. His obedience substituted for Adam’s disobedience,
cover sin temporarily but would take it away forever (John 1:29). 98 and this should effect a transformation in our lives.
The death of Christ is often misinterpreted. Every Christian will do well
to understand thoroughly the fallacy of those misstatements which are so
general today. Satisfaction Anselm (1033-1109) Cur Dues Homo
1. It is claimed that the doctrine of substitution is immoral on the Sinful man robbed God of His honor. God rewarded the death of Christ
ground on the ground that God could not in righteousness lay the sins of the by viewing it as a work of supererogation so that He can pass on its stored-
guilty on an innocent victim. This statement might be considered if it could up merits to us. Faith is necessary to appropriate this.
be proved that Christ was an unwilling victim; but Scripture presents Him as
being in fullest sympathy with His Father’s will and actuated by the same Moral Influence Abelard (1079-1142) Schleiermacher,
infinite love (john 13:1; Heb 10:7). Likewise, in the inscrutable mystery of Ritschl, Busnell
the Godhead, it was God Himself who was in Christ reconciling the world Death of Christ was not an expiation for sin but a suffering with His
unto Himself (2 Cor 5:19). Far from the death of Christ being an immoral creatures to manifest God’s love. This suffering love should awaken a
imposition, it was God Himself, the righteous Judge in infinite love and responsive love in the sinner and bring an ethical change in him. This, then,
sacrifice, bearing the full penalty that His own holiness required of the liberates from the power of sin.
sinner.
2. It is claimed that Christ died as a martyr and that the value of His
death is seen in the example He presented of courage and loyalty to His
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Example Socinus (1539-1604) to be put to death. It is certain He did not need to die either because of His
Christ’s death did not atone for sin, but revealed faith and obedience as own sinfulness or weakness. This problem does remain a mere abstract
the way to eternal life and inspiring people to lead a similar life. riddle. The death of Christ is explained in the Scriptures and the personal
acceptance or rejection of that divine explanation is declared to be the point
Governmental Grotius (1583-1645) Wardlaw, Miley which determines the destiny of each individual. Men are said to stand, or
God’s government demanded the death of Christ to show His fall, not by their moral, or religious standards, but by their personal choice in
displeasure with sin. Christ also did not suffer the penalty of the Law, but relation to the death and saving grace of Christ. The question is as important,
God accepted His suffering as a substitute for that penalty. therefore, as the destiny of men.
The Scriptures know but one solution to the problem of the death of
Dramatic Aulen (1879-1978) Christ – one, and only one, whether it be in type in the Old Testament, or in
Christ in His death gained victory over the powers of evil. the exact unfoldings of the history and doctrine of the New Testament. The
Bible lends no sanctions to differing human theories on this point. Such
Barthian Barth (1886-1968) speculations are but shadows of the divine revelation and their promulgation
Christ’s death was principally a revelation of God’s love and His hatred is, like any counterfeit, a misleading substitute for the real Gospel of saving
for sin. grace.
Almost every passage related to the cross could be called into evidence
Penal Substitution [Completed Satisfaction] Calvin (1509-1564) in determining the divine reason for the sacrifice on the part of the Son of
Christ the sinless One took on Himself the penalty that should have been God. In these divine records two great truths are evident: He died as a
borne by man. substitute for someone else, and that someone else is each and every
individual in all the lost world of mankind. “But he was wounded for our
All of these viewpoints may perhaps be cataloged under three basic transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
categories. (1) Views that related the death of Christ to Satan (Origen, peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
Aulen). (2) Views that consider His death as a powerful example to have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD
influence people (Abelard, Socinus, Grotius, Barth). (3) Views that hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa 53:5, 6); “Behold the Lamb of
emphasize punishment due to the justice of God and a substitution (perhaps God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29); “For God so
Anselm – though deficient – and the Reformers). Although there may be loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
truth in views that do not include penal substitution, it is important to believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16);
remember that such truth, if there be some, cannot save eternally. Only the “Because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then all were dead” (2 Cor
substitutionary death of Christ can provide that which God’s justice 5:14); “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come into the knowledge
demands and thereby become the basis for the gift of eternal life to those of the truth” (1 Tim 2:1); “That by the grace of God should taste death for
who believe. 100 every man” (Heb 2:9); “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2).
Dr. Lewis Chafer: In the clearest terms this death is here said to be a substitution. He did
not die to show men how to die gracefully, or bravely: He died that they
Every thoughtful person is compelled to assign some reason for the might not die. What He did, therefore, does not need to be done again. It is
death of Christ. The problem consists in the fact that the sinless, harmless something accomplished for every person and in such perfection as to be
Man Who most evidently was able to defend Himself against all human fully satisfying to the infinite God. In like manner these passages are
strength, and being very God could have dismissed the universe from His characterized by such universal words as “all,” “every man” and “the whole
presence by one word nevertheless allowed Himself to be crucified in world.” From this it must be believed that the death of Christ has already
seeming weakness, and afterward appeared in resurrection life and power. provided a great potential and provisional value for every guilty sinner,
Since both the death of Christ and His resurrection are fully established facts which is now awaiting his personal recognition.
of history, the question demands solution. Why did He suffer Himself thus
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Preceding the dismissal of His spirit as He hung upon the cross Jesus Each of these aspects of truth is in turn expressed by one word, surrounded
said: “It is finished.” This could hardly have referred to the fact that His own as each word is by a group of derivatives or synonyms of that word. These
life or sufferings were at an end. It was rather the divine announcement of three words are: άπολύτρωσις, translated redemption, καταλλαγή, translated
the fact that a complete transaction regarding the judgment of sin and the reconciliation, and ίλασµός, translated propitiation. The riches of divine
sufficient grounds of salvation for every sinner was accomplished. It is grace which these three words represent transcend all human thought or
important to consider what, according to the Scriptures, was then finished. language; but these truths must be declared in human terms if declared at all.
To know the meaning of three Bible words which relate the cross of As it is necessary to have four Gospels, since it is impossible for one, two, or
Christ to the sinner will throw some light upon the character and extent of even three, to present the full truth concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, so the
the work that is said to be “finished” for the whole unsaved world. Scriptures approach the great benefit of Christ’s death for the unsaved from
[reconciliation – for the gift of forgiveness; redemption – for the gift of three angles, to the end that what may be lacking in the one may be supplied
eternal life; and propitiation – for the gift of the righteousness of God Who in the others. There are at least four other great words – forgiveness,
is Christ ] 101 regeneration, justification, and sanctification – which represent spiritual
While the doctrine of security may not represent the most important blessings secured by the death of Christ; but these are to be distinguished
difference which exists between these two theological systems [Arminianism from the three already mentioned in one important particular, namely, that
and Reformation Theology], neither the claim respecting security nor the these four words refer to aspects of truth which belong only to those who are
claim respecting insecurity can be maintained apart from an effort to saved.
harmonize each with the whole body of soteriological [salvation] truth.
Bitterness between the advocates of these divergent systems could hardly be Over against these, the three words – redemption, reconciliation, and
avoided when there is no way of reconciliation between them; and this propitiation – though incorporating in the scope of their meaning vital truths
controversy is greatly stimulated by the immeasurable importance of the belonging to the state of the saved, refer in particular to that which Christ
question. The issue that is paramount is whether the saving work of Christ wrought for the unsaved in His death on the cross.
on the cross includes the safekeeping of the one who trusts Him, or not.
This is the central and precise issue in the controversy. Either Christ did What is termed the finished work of Christ may be defined as the sum total
enough by His death concerning the believer’s sins that it can be said that of all that these words connote when restricted to those aspects of their
“there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” meaning which apply alone to the unsaved. Redemption is within th sphere
(though it is not said that there is no chastisement), or He did not. Again, of relationship which exists between the sinner and his sins, and this word,
either Christ did enough by His death and resurrection in fulfilling the sweet with those grouped with it, contemplates sin as a slavery, with the sinner as
savor type, that it can be said that the believer possesses eternal life and the the salve, and freedom to be secured only through the redemption, or
perfect standing of the Son of God, being in Him [impartation of ransom, which is in Christ Jesus (John 8:32-36; Rom 6:17-20; 8:21; 2 Pet
righteousness, sanctification], or He did not. If there is no sufficient ground 2:19; Gal 5:1). Recon-ciliation is within the sphere of relationship which
for the removal of condemnation [forgiveness] and no sufficient ground for exists between the sinner and God, and contemplates the sinner at enmity
the impartation of eternal life [redemption] and the and the imputing of with God, and Christ as the maker of peace between God and man (Rom
Christ’s merit [propitiation], then the most vital teachings of the New 5:10; 8:7; 2 Cor 5:19; James 4:4). Propitiation is also within the sphere of
Testament are rendered void. It is these so-compelling features of truth relationship which exists between God and the sinner, but propitiation
which are conspicuous by their absence from Arminian writings. Arminian contemplates the larger necessity God being just when He justifies the
theologians are the product of the limited teachings which are presented in sinner, and Christ as Offering, a Sacrifice, a Lamb slain, who, by meeting
their schools from generation to generation, and therefore the deeper realities every demand of God’s holiness against the offender, renders God
are not known by them. To know these realities is to embrace them, for they righteously propitious toward the sinner (Rom 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10). Thus
constitute the warp and woof of the Pauline gospel. 102 it may be seen that redemption is the sinward aspect of the cross,
There are three major aspects of truth set forth in the in New Testament reconciliation is the manward aspect of the cross, and propitiation is the
doctrine relative to the unmeasured benefits which are provided for the Godward aspect of the cross, and that these three great doctrines combine to
unsaved through the death of Christ, and redemption is but one of the three. declare, as best any human terms are able, one divine undertaking.
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THE VALUE OF CHRIST’S SUFFERING TO THE FATHER. Yet another vital As introduced in the discussion above, the command to love one another
distinction - essential, indeed, to a clear understanding of the nature of the as Christ loves us is more than a magnificent “ideal.” It is not one among
sufferings and death of Christ – is that which may be seen when the value of other commands. It is the very heart of “the word,” the command, given by
Christ’s sufferings and death, as pertaining to the Father, is compared with God the Logos, Jesus Christ, to each believer. This “law of Christ” will
that value as it pertains to those who are saved by it. An exact computation fulfill the obligation to conform to the very nature of God. It is accomplished
of those values is not possible by any human being. That the one who is through a new love, working out the relation between Christ and all
saved will not perish, but is in present possession of eternal life, that he is believers, enabled by the daily imparted grace [power] of God to the child
united to Christ to share His peace and glory, and that he shall, when he see who seeks to “keep the commandment(s)” and learn by doing the will of
his Savior, be like Him, could never be accurately appraised by men. Over God.
against this is the truth that, regardless of His infinite love which would
bless the creatures of His hand, the moral restraint on God which sin 1 Tim 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness
imposes could not be removed even by sovereign decree; it was necessary, [Gk. eusebeia, belief that forms the basis for behavior by which man is
in light of His holy character and government, that the price of redemption restored to godliness]: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the
should be required at the hand of the offender or at the hand of a substitute Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
[the personal or vicarious payment for the sin debt owed by all men to God] world, received up into glory.
who would die in the offender’s place. By the death of Christ for sinners, the
moral restraint is removed and the love of God is free to act in behalf of How supremely insufficient is the attempt made by false professing
those who will receive His grace and blessing. No measurement may be Christians who adhere to a shallow misinterpretation of God’s Word. Which
placed on the meaning of this freedom which the cross has secured for God. is assumed to be implied in the synoptic Gospels, namely, The Sermon on
It is revealed, however, that, when thus untrammeled, God, in the the Mount. This presumption is driven and conditioned upon a man-made
satisfaction of His love, accomplishes the greatest thing that God can do, notion, a theory of atonement which defines the value of the death of Christ.
which is, so to transform the sinner who trusts Him that the sinner will This theory undervalues His shed blood and overlooks the power of His
appear in eternal glory conformed to the image of Christ. There is nothing resurrection life shared by all believers. Taken together, the presumption and
conceivable that would be a greater achievement than this; but it is wrought, the theory support the stalwart assertion that “daily behavior” through self-
primarily, to satisfy the love of God for the sinner. Those who trust Him will effort determines the outcome of a future salvation. The self-centered and
not perish, but have everlasting life. However, all this was made possible joyless “experiential” aspect of Arminian salvation is that believers can
because of the fact that God so loved that He gave His only begotten Son. never be assured that they themselves, or their believing loved ones have
What freedom to exercise such love, which is secured by the death of Christ, become the children of the living God who will be together in heaven with
means to God is as incomprehensible as the divine love itself. Christ.
To the same end, it may be added that, as the salvation of a soul Christianity has two commands: (1) belief in the Bible’s witness and
demonstrates the exceeding grace of God, which grace could not be testimony to Jesus Christ. Jesus as the preexistent Son of God who was
exhibited by any other means, the death of Christ has secured and made conceived by God of a virgin and entered this world in the flesh of a
possible that exalted experience on God’s part of the exercise of His newborn babe, who died for all the sins of the world, and, “this same man”
superabounding grace. Again, all human estimations are incapable of any rose again in glorified human flesh that all believers might share His
adequate knowledge of the value to God of Christ’s death. 103 resurrected life and “never see death,” and, (2) to love fellow believers as
Christ loves them. The common ground of the 1 John profession of a false
The New Commandment of Koinonia and The False Professing Christology and today’s Arminian profession of a false Christology is the
Christians of Today Exposed in 1 John. inescapable harmony in: (1) the assertion of a low moral ground whereby
behavior does not matter (salvific sinlessness is a given by faith because of
REVEALED BY THE “EXPERIENTIAL” [JOY] ASPECT OF THE VALUE OF THE the pre-existence of Christ, Jesus came in water [incarnation at baptism] and
DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. His death [blood] is of no value for a forgiveness that is unnecessary) or, (2)
the claim of the high moral ground whereby behavior is everything (salvific
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sinlessness is maintained by self-effort and continued faith, Jesus came by Only by the new birth is this love for one another manifested. It is a
water and blood, but the blood has only a “theoretical” value for an Christian reality. Without it, one cannot abide in Jesus as the true vine and
incomplete forgiveness). have communion (koinonia) with God and other believers “that your joy
Both professions of faith, despite the human consequences of moral might be full.”
position, are false. Both maintain a low view of the value in the death of
Christ. Therefore, true saving belief in Jesus Christ is not possible. Proven Detailed Commentary on Koinonia
by the many clear statements of Scripture that assert without disagreement
that the blood of Christ removes all sin through faith. And, secondly, Extended citation of Dr. R. E. Brown, The Anchor Bible – The Epistles of
reliance on the living, resurrected Christ, just as He is now, as the source of John:
daily behavior is missing from both assertions. The secessionists of 1 John
and the Arminian have failed to first obey the command incumbent upon the LOVE OF THE BRETHREN
unsaved and, thus, lack the ability to appreciate and obey the command
incumbent upon the saved (1 John 3:23). Over and over again … I John comes back to the theme of love of one’s
God’s graceful truth is that only through the completed and secure brother or the love of one another. Indeed, the author puts such love on the
infinite redemption of salvation is righteous daily behavior possible “to a same level of importance as correct belief in Jesus Christ: “Now this is
thousand generations to those who love me and keep my commandments” God’s commandment: we are to believe the name of His Son, Jesus Christ;
(Ex 2:6). More than anything, the primary commandment of Jesus “to love and we are to love one another just as He gave us command” (I John 3:23).
one another as I have loved you” is not the indication, rather it is the means If he considered the secessionists defective on one score, almost surely he
by which Christian behavior is perfected through love and “fulfills the law.” considered them defective on the other. His use of the term “commandment”
This is the defining argument that convicts the secessionists in I John of a in other passages dealing with such love (2:7-9; 4:21; 5:2-3; II John 4-6)
false Christological profession and apostate doctrine. suggests that, when elsewhere he hints that the secessionists did not keep the
The Arminian, with his “Social Gospel,” is blind to the divine commandments (plural: I John 2:3-5; 3:22), this charge may narrow down to
imperative spoken by Jesus, “you must [Gk. dei] be born again from above their not loving their brothers. Such a narrowing of ethical conflict to one
[Gk. anothen]” to “see the kingdom of God” (John 3:7ff, 3ff) and, “Seeing issue would be intelligible against the background of GJohn where, when
you have purified your souls in obeying the truth [the gospel] through the Jesus speaks about a commandment or commandments (plural) for his
Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with disciples, there is always mention of a demand to love (13:34-35; 14:15;
a pure heart fervently. Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of 15:10,12,17), almost as if the commandment to love, especially “to love one
incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever” (1 Pet another,” subsumed all other commandments (ABJ 29, 504-5).
2:22-23). In the “word,” the command from the lips of Jesus, “Now ye are If the author’s implication is true that the secessionists did not love their
clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in brethren, how could they have derived or justified their attitude from the
you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no tradition known to us in GJohn? Wengst (Haresie 53-59) thinks that they
more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He shifted their love to God; for, since they regarded themselves as God’s
that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for children, begotten by Him, they thought themselves capable of loving God
without me ye can do nothing. … As the Father hath loved me, so have I connaturally and in a way different from those who were not God’s children.
loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall He also thinks they wee elitists and well-off, despising the less informed and
abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and impoverished ordinary Christians of the Johannine Community (I John 2:15-
abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might 17; 3:17). That may be true, but I do not think it goes to the heart of the
remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, problem. Beyond the possibility that the secessionists may not have
That ye love one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than emphasized love of brethren or may have practiced it inadequately, did they
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye do affirm in their ethical theory that it was not necessary to love their brethren?
whatsoever I command you” (John 15:3-5, 9-14). That would be a direct contradiction of the Johannine Jesus: “This is my
commandment, ‘Love one another as I have loved you’” (15:12); “By this
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will all identify you as my disciples – by the love you have for one another” This is the first occurrence of adelphos, “brother,” which is used 16
(13:35). In line with my theory that the secessionists did not contradict the times in the Epistles for spiritual relatives (presumably female as well as
GJohn tradition but drew upon it, I propose that it was perfectly possible for male …). In GJohn adelphos is used for physical relatives (also I John 3:12)
the secessionists to affirm, “We love one another, as Jesus commanded,” and with only two exceptions, 20:17 and 21:23, both situated in the
still to earn the epistolary author’s condemnation for not loving the brothers. postresurrectional period. In the Epistles “brother” appears 6 times with
The key to this paradox lies in the definition of the “one another” or agapan, “to love,” 4 times with misein, “to hate,” and once in the expression
“brothers” who are to be loved. In the Note on 2:9b below I shall defend in “to lay down one’s life for” (I John 3:16) – two-thirds of the significant uses
detail the position that GJohn articulates no demand to love all human concern love or hate for one’s brother.
beings or to love one’s enemies – only true believers in Jesus are the The Christian use of “brother” for coreligionists is common in the NT
children of God and, therefore, brothers. When applied to the epistolary (over 200 times), being found in every work except Titus and Jude. (Only I
situation, this means that for the author “brothers” were those members in Cor 7:15 and Jas 2:15 take the trouble to distinguish “brother and sister,”
the Johannine Community who were in communion (koinonia) with him and although individual women are called “sister” in Rom 16:1; Philem 2; cf. I
his fellow witnesses to the tradition, and who accepted his interpretation of Cor 9:5.) Several factors explain this development. Already in the OT a
the Johannine gospel (angelia; see I John 1:4-5). The secessionists had left fellow Israelite could be addressed as “brother” (Jer 22:18 –a usage
and were no longer brothers; indeed, their very leaving was indicative of explicable from the tribal origins of Israel which involved physical
their lack of love. He did not regard himself as violating the commandment relationship. The close-knit community of the New Covenant at Qumran
to love one another when he bitterly condemned the secessionists, employed “brother” as a quasi-technical term for the one who had gone
characterizing them as demonic Antichrists and false prophets, and as the through the period of probation and had been admitted to membership …
embodiment of eschato-logical iniquity (anomia; 2:18,22; 4:1-5; 3:4-5). When we turn to Jesus, in a common Synoptic passage (Mark 31:35 and
Although he exhorted his own followers to love one another, the author of II par.) he says that his (true) mother and brothers are those who do the will of
John immediately afterward (vv. 5,10-11) told them to treat the secessionists God or hear the word of God. In other words he distinguishes between
in a way that was scarcely loving: “If anyone comes to you who does not relatives by birth and an eschatological family called into being by his
bring this teaching, do not receive him into the house and greet him, for proclamation of God’s will and word. The notion of a common Father
whoever greets him shares in his evil deeds.” If apostasy was the deadly sin shared by Jesus and his disciples is inherent in the “Our Father” that Jesus
of I John 5:15-17, as seems likely, the author advised against prayers for the teaches to his disciples (Matt 6:9). In John 20:17 Jesus tells Mary
secessionists. –pp 83-85 exhortation Magdalene, “Go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and
your Father” (see Matt 28:10). God is the Father of believers because he
BROTHERS begets them through His Spirit (John 3:3-6); and that Spirit is given through
the death and resurrection of Jesus (7:39; 19:30,34; 20:22). Thus the words
Note: I John 2:9b. all the while hating his brother. In Johannine usage of of Jesus to Magdalene mean that his Father is now Father of those who
loving is not the lack of love or indifference, but the hate of one’s brother (I believe in him and who therefore are his brothers (ABJ 29A, 1016-17).
John 2:11; 3:15; 4:20). Undoubtedly this mentality has been shaped by the We should note, however, that in Johannine thought the spiritual term
experiences of the Johannine Community wherein relations with “the Jews” “brothers” must be confined to “those who believe in his [Jesus’] name –
and the secessionists moved quickly to hostility. The verb misein, “to hate,” those who were begotten not by blood, nor by carnal desire, nor by man’s
occurs 12 times in GJohn and 5 times in I John, a usage that is 40% of the desire, but by God” (John 1:12-13). And indeed that belief involves an
NT frequency (39 times ). Most instances in GJohn (and I John 3:13) acceptance of Johannine christology, for I John 5:1 is precise: “Everyone
involve the world’s hatred for Jesus, his Father, and his disciples; but in John that believes that Jesus is the Christ has been begotten by God.” The
3:19-20 there is a reference to loving darkness and hating light (also 12:25). secessionists who did not share the author’s standard of belief would not
In part such a love/hate choice reflects the lack of highly differentiated verbs have been children of God by his standards. …
in the Hebrew background (see love/hate in Deut 21:15; Prov 13:24; Mal All of this seems so obvious that it is astonishing to find scholars like
1:2-3; Matt 6:24); inpart it reflects Johannine dualism. Balz and Bultman stating that “brother” in the present passage means fellow
human being, e.g., Bultmann, Epistles 28 (without advancing proof). “
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‘Brother’ means … not especially the Christian comrade in faith, but one’s term for Christians. The context of the reference to philadelphia, “brotherly
fellowman, the ‘neighbor.’” Westcott, Epistles 55, was far closer to the love,” in Heb 13:1 indicates that fellow Christians are in mind. Moving from
biblical evidence a century ago when he stated, “There is, as far as it the NT in general to GJohn, we remember that the command to love one
appears, no case where a fellow-man, as man, is called ‘brother’ in the N.T.” another was given at the Last Supper where Jesus was addressing “his own”
(He specifically included Matt 5:22 and Luke 6:41, which are not clear on (13:1). … Immediately after the command in 13:34, the Johannine Jesus
this point.) The reference to “the neighbor” shows that the basis of says, “By this will all identify you as my disciples – by the love you have for
Bultmann’s claim is not the Johannine notion of God’s children through one another.” Could it be any clearer that this is a command to love within
faith and the Spirit but the Synoptic command to love the neighbor as the Christian fellowship? And the repetition of the command in 15:12,17 is
oneself (Matt 19:19; 22:39 and par.; see Rom 13:9; Gal 5:14). It is true that in the context of the symbolic description of the vine and the branches,
the Hebrew word rea, normally translated in Greek by plesion, “neighbor,” wherein, certain branches (Christian “believers”) that do not bear fruit are
can also be translated by adelphos, “brother” (Gen 43:33; Jer 31 [38]:34); cast off, so that the love of one another concerns only the fruitful branches:
nevertheless, in the NT the two terms are not the same. The Synoptic “I appointed you to go and bear fruit. … This I command you: Love one
command to love the neighbor reaches to outsiders as well; for the Lucan another” (15:16-17). …
Parable of the Good Samaritan interprets the confines of the term “neighbor” Feuillet, Le mystere 109-13, would qualify the air of exclusivity at the
(Luke 10:27-29). Indeed, Matt 5:44 demands love of enemies. last Supper on the grounds that in fact only the disciples are present and so
naturally Jesus speaks only to the audience whom he loves. But there is a
I would point out Dr. Brown’s omission of a dispensational division, or deeper question: Why is the Johannine Last Supper so exclusively “his
his seeming adherence to a one covenant view, within his excellent own”? The account in GJohn is not simply historical; it is the reflection of
grammatical exegesis. There is a “future new covenant for Israel when the self-understanding of the Johannine Community that thinks of itself
Christ returns” (Chafer, Systematic Theology, Vol 7, 97-98): Similar to parts precisely as Jesus’ own. Dodd and Hoskyns would modify the impression of
of the NT, the OT contained predictions about Christ and of this age of grace an inward Johannine concentration by pointing to outgoing statements in
that followed His crucifixion (although not fully revealed until Paul’s GJohn, which insist on bearing witness to others. Yet a desire to make
ministry) which did not apply to the Mosaic Law system. Mtw chapters 5- converts does little to change the impression of a brotherhood confined to
7and the synoptical passages are the “King’s Manifesto,” or the rules for fellow Johannine Christians. … If one objects on the basis of John 3:16 that
daily life in the future Jewish earthly Kingdom. This when Jesus leaves His the Johannine God loves the whole world, it may be noted that such
right-hand seat on His Father’s throne of Grace and returns to earth to rule statement of love antedates the choice made by those who prefer darkness to
from His own throne with a “rod of iron” until all His enemies have been light (3:19). It is not clear that the Johannine God loves the sons of darkness.
“made a footstool” or defeated. This future system of Kingdom Law, the A narrower, inter-communitarian concept of love is not without
sixth dispensation and the seventh covenant, will be the rule of daily life on antecedents. The command of Lev 19:18 [one of 80+ statutes in Lev 18-20],
earth during the last period of human testing during the millennium that “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” seemingly referred to fellow
follows the unique offer and testing in the dispensation of grace. This current Israelites (Montefiore, “Neighbor” 158); but the Dead Sea Scroll community
age transitions into and overlaps the coming Kingdom Law age during the changed it to “love one’s brother as oneself” (CD 6:20-21), narrowing its
future Tribulation period that restarts God’s dealing with His earthly chosen extent to just the community. … The Johannine Jesus speaks to unbelieving
people of Israel as depicted in Daniel’s predicted 70th week. this writer.] Jews as to children of the devil (John 8:44). A passage such as I John 2:15,
Returning the citation of Dr. Brown – “Have no love for the world,” is tantamount to “Hate the world.” There are
alleviating factors, of course, and the overall view of outsiders is broader
But we cannot assume that the Synoptic command to love the neighbor and than that found in the Dead Sea Scrolls. At the same time the attitude is
the Johannine command to love the brother or one another have the same narrower than that found elsewhere in the NT. Montefiore, “Neighbor” 169,
extent. There are contrary indications elsewhere in the NT, e.g., in I Thess exaggerates but only partly: “What was distinctive about Jesus’ teaching
3:12; 5:15 Paul mentions loving or doing good for “one another” and “for about neighborly love came to be altered [in John] until it was similar to the
all,” an implicit indication that “one another” means Christians. Similarly I best Jewish teaching ob love, except that mutual love was demanded in a
Pet 2:17 distinguishes, “Honor all; love the brotherhood,” keeping the latter
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religious rather than a natural group, and became grounded on different followed by 2:7-8); but then he makes the telltale admission that discounts
theological doctrines.” this: the singular in 4:21 is followed by the plural in 5:2-3 (cf. also the
With all its limitations the Johannine theme of loving one another has alteration pl./sg./pl. in 3:22,23,24). Alteration of number (like variety of
real strengths also. The attitude toward the outsider is most often by tenses) is, in part, a stylistic device.
implication; the primary concern is love for the insider. That explains why in One may put the GJohn information about commandment(s) thus: Jesus
2:9b the author regards hating one’s brother as an insuperable contradiction has received as a command from his Father a total direction of life, covering
to the light (also 2:11a). It is a heinous offense by the secessionists who are his words, deeds, and death; it is not imposed from the outside but flows
misleading some of the author’s adherents on this score. In what way did the from the fact that he is the Son who acts spontaneously after the pattern of
secessionists hate their brothers? My treatment of this in the Introduction (V his Father. This “commandment” is, in turn, the prototype for Jesus’
B3c) suggests that the secessionists did not say they hated their brothers and commandment(s) to his disciples. Specifically he commands them to love
did not urge others to do so. Rather, they too spoke of loving one another one another “as I have loved you,” and his love for them reflects the Father’s
even though, since they put little salvific emphasis on human actions, they love in sending his only Son (3:16). The use of a plural does not mean that
may not have given this commandment much centrality. In my judgment the Jesus gives to his disciples a number of specific commandments (not
issue in the controversy was not entirely theoretical but practical and recorded in GJohn); rather the plural gives a comprehensive force to the
pastoral. From the author’s viewpoint, the secessionists hated the true commandment to love. That commandment involves a whole way of life that
brotherhood, for they hated him and his adherents. They would not support relates Christians to one another and to Jesus. Such a way of life would
the needy among the author’s adherents (I John 3:17); and they had include keeping the Ten Commandments [Decalogue], but that is never
withdrawn from fellowship (2:19) and were persuading others to do so (II made specific in GJohn.
John 10). Such secession would have been the supreme example of hatred of
one’s brothers, for it destroyed fraternal relations. –pp 269-73 Parenthetical comment:
COMMANDMENT(S) The Nine “Words” of NT Grace for the Believer: A Graceful View
That Corrects False Views of - The Great Commandment, the New
(See also, The Tribunal - Book Two, Appendix, The Doctrine of Commandment, and the Great Commission
Commandments.)
This writer:
Notes: I John 2:3b. by keeping His commandments. Literally, “if we keep
His commandments.” … This is the first epistolary occurrence of entole, There are no, nada, zip, zero, not any, none, and not one NT moral
“commandment,” which is used 18 times in the Epistles (14 in I John; 4 in II command given by God that is incumbent upon the unsaved. They are
John), 10 times in the singular, 8 in the plural. In reference to Jesus entole unregenerate and unrelated to God. Except only by the remotest sense of a
occurs 10 times in GJohn (6 times in the singular, 4 in the plural), covering creative act that brought forth Adam and Eve might they be related to God.
something the Father has given to Jesus, and that Jesus has given to his They cannot please God. They are morally challenged and God knows this.
disciples. Jesus speaks of a commandment from the Father telling him what They are already condemned. God tells them to believe on His Son for
to say and to do, and especially to lay down his life and to take it up again eternal life. Moral reformation comes after regeneration. Would any one
(in the singular in 10:18; 12:48,50; 14:31; once in the plural in 15:10). In assume they “know better” than God? Many religious humanist make a
13:34 and 15:12 Jesus speaks in the singular of the commandment to love career of out-smarting God by ignoring the Bible and operating on
one another, which he is giving to his disciples, while in 14:15,21 and 15:10 assumptions. Only one command is given to the unsaved (in over 30 NT
he speaks of “my commandments,” which he gives to his disciples. In ABJ verses. See Appendix) – obey the gospel. It is the Christian’s obligation to
29A, 638 and 641, I showed that the variation between singular and plural is share the gospel of God’s grace. Any concern for the unsaved in remote
not of clear theological significance; see also F. M. Braun, “La reduction” areas of the world is a failure committed by Christians from whatever
47-51. Chmiel, Lumiere 133, follows G. Schrenk in attributing significance culture and skin color they were born into, who choose not to learn the
to the fact that in I John a plural usage is followed by a singular (e.g., 2:3-4 language and relocate to these remote areas. It is not a failure of God. The
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few who would be saved, are unsaved because they have not yet heard the Unbelief in Jesus is the new and highest of all sins. It is not the
gospel. The same as those individuals who have follow a false gospel and unforgivable sin, it is the measure by which sins are forgiven. Many verses
“do not stand on resurrection ground” under grace, but without fail have in the NT connoting “a must do” apply to Jesus. For the Christian, only a
attended church for three generations. Missionary fields abound in the handful: the Christian “must be born again” (John 3:7); “he that cometh to
United States. A universal preaching of the gospel is impossible under God must believe” (Heb 11:6); “For we must all appear before the judgment
present circumstances. A vast majority of the inhabitants of earth do not seat of Christ” (2 Cor 5:10); “this corruptible must put on incorruption” (1
have access to mass media and, as always, people are constantly dying and Cor 15:53). Other than restatements as NT exhortations, “ought to do’s,” the
being born. Dr. Lewis Chafer writes: “must do” commands of the Decalogue as OT Law do not apply to
Christians. Christ has fulfilled and completes this Law for the Christian in
The minute accuracy of the Scripture is seen in Christ’s use of the the “gift of righteousness” and justification by faith.
phrase my commandments. During the days of His ministry to the nation The “rich young ruler” was given only 4 of the 5 manward
Israel, He enforced the commandments of Moses, and spoke of the new commandments by Jesus. The words of “love thy neighbor as thyself” (Lev
principles which were to be applied in the kingdom (cf. Sermon on the 19:18) is the second half of a verse that begins with the statute not to “take
Mount, Farewell Address to the Nation of Israel (Mtw 23-24) as “these revenge, or bear a grudge” against another Jew who was in the same
sayings of mine” and “I say unto you”; but at no time did He use the terms covenant relation to God. This verse is one of 80 statutes given in Leviticus
my commandments until He used it with His disciples in the upper room, and chapters 18-20 which covers all manner of relations to other Jews. It is not a
at the time when He was unfolding the new principles which were to command of the Decalogue. Jesus suggested to the young man that he sell
condition the daily living of those who should stand on resurrection ground, everything and give it to the poor. Thereby storing up treasure in heaven by
in the New Creation, and under grace. It is also significant that the first use proving “himself,” not the poor, to be a neighbor. This action, had the young
of the term commandment in this grace message is when He said, “A new ruler complied, would have been identical to the Samaritan who proved
commandment I give unto you” (John 13:34). There is, therefore, a possible himself to be a neighbor, not the unidentified man he helped. Law exposes
limitation to placed on the extent of the responsibility imposed by Christ in helpless, incurable sin and the need for God to save men. “Salvation is of the
His Great Commission wherein He said: “teaching them to observe all things Lord.”
whatsoever I have commanded you” (Matt 28:20). It is hardly probable that
He intends all the Mosaic Law, the governing principles of the kingdom, and For unto us was the gospel preached … For we which have believed do
the teachings of grace to be combined and applied to those who receive the enter into rest … There remaineth therefore a rest (keeping of a Sabbath)
message of the great commission. In the teachings of the kingdom, the to the people of God. For he that is entered into his [God’s] rest, he also
characterizing phrase is “hear and do” (Matt 7:24), while the characterizing has ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
phrase under grace is “hear and believe” (John 5:24). 104 (Heb 4:2a, 3a, 9-10)
The Jewish Sabbath command, the seventh day of rest, is omitted from 1 John 3:23-24 Now this is his commandment: that we believe in the
the NT. God has fulfilled this fourth command to observe “a day of rest” for name of his Son Jesus Christ [obey the gospel] and love one another, just
those who are in a new relation, for those who are “rightly related to God” as he gave us the commandment. And the person who keeps his
through Jesus Christ. The fourth command no longer applies. But much commandments resides in God, and God in him. Now by this we know
more so, Jesus Christ fulfilled the perfect law of Moses, grounded in the that God resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us. NET
holy nature of God, for all men that will believe the testimony of God that
He did this for them. Accordingly, the Law itself and condemnation attached A. Exodus 20:3-7
to the Mosaic Law has been removed. The kingdom teachings and principles
proposed as “my sayings” by Christ do not apply today, as they await His Godward relationship. #1-3, Grace enabled communion (koinonia) with
return to be put into effect. At that time the number of those saved in the God and a new love and respect for God the Father as “Abba,” (daddy).
unique age of grace will be complete. Several OT authors summarized the Decalogue into a shorter list of
commands. There is both a singular and plural characteristic to the Lord’s
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commands. These three commands, if one reflects at all, will show all are partakers of that one bread. … Ye cannot drink the cup of the
themselves to be three aspects of one common attitude. Simply stated, when Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord’s table,
rightly considered, none of the three may be broken separately. All three are and of the table of devils. Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we
broken together. Also, the exhortations applying to unsaved men are all stronger than he? … Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread , and
broken by any one of the five. Much like Moses broke the original “Two drink this cup of the Lord, (in an unworthy manner) shall be guilty of the
Tablets” in one prideful action that foreshadowed his premature death body and blood of the Lord. … for he that eateth and drinketh
mandated by God for his great sin of striking “the Rock” a second time. unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the
By way of explanation, the first commandment (v.3), of “no other gods” Lord’s body. For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and
is self-evident. The second commandment (v. 4-6), which details the many sleep [God has more than chastened, He has caused them to die
crafting, either physically or emotionally, of an idol is to make “another for this reason, “that we [they] should not be condemned with the
god.” And the third commandment, to “take the Lord’s name in vain” is world”]. (1 Cor 10:16-17, 21-22; 11:27, 29-30, 32ff AMP)
much more than a curse or a false oath spoken by unsaved men. For a
believer to assign the cognomen of god as a concession to ecumenical The Jew has been removed from his commonwealth relation to God and
political-correctness - “all religions have only one God, the same God”- is classed with the unsaved who receive no positive command, or blessings of
to profane, to curse, to hold in vain pride your own “godly” opinion above a long life for showing respect towards their mother and father. The Apostle
the sacrosanct name of God. The Father and Son are inseparable from belief Paul does quote this command in the NT as applying to children and their
in the one true God. parents, but the assumption is that the children he addresses are believers
Should any reader, who does not hold the Bible in reverence, jump onto and owe as much fidelity to their Heavenly Father and other believers as any
their hinds legs in a reflexive posture by taking offense at such an exclusive individual who is saved. It seems to be unreasonable to have the only
use of the name of God, I would remind them this is God’s command positive command in the Decalogue apply as a grace exhortation only to the
concerning Himself and His name, taken from the Book of His Truth. parents of the saved child. The Christian is exhorted to treat the needs and
Everyone is free to find a different book and call themselves anything they person of other believers as more important than their own. Does not the
like – except a Christian, who is a regenerated sinner that possesses a idea of “mother and father” convey this meaning also? Communion with
zealous love for the name of God. God and other believers is the prayer of our Lord in John chapter 17. This
Since the world changing incarnation and revelation of Christ as the Son enables the power to practice the command to love another as Christ loves
of God sent by the Father, and, the gift of God the Holy Spirit to all us.
believers, God may only be – God the Father, and the Son, and the Holy The “Two Tablets,” as referred to in the Semitic idiom, indicate five
Spirit (Mtw 28:19). The indivisible Holy Trinity of One I AM. commands towards God and five commands towards men. Maintaining this
division, if the fifth commandment is not applied to the believer and his new
B. Exodus 20:12 relationship to other believers (Mtw 12:48-49), who are joined in union to
God the Father in the body of Christ, then this commandment has no
Christward relationship. #5 (the “Renewed” Commandment of Christ application ‘to long days in a land which the Lord has given thee’ in the age
and the ongoing New Commandment of Koinonia), Grace enabled new love of grace. Eternal life in heavenly relation to Christ and other believers would
and new obligation towards the family of other believers, to love them as seem to be the extended benefit for a new race of heavenly people. In John
Christ loves them, “who extends faithful love to a thousand generations [cf. 2:11, the Apostle speaks of the one who “hateh his brother is in darkness,
Ps 118, “his love endures forever”] of those who love me and keep my and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that
commandment[s]” (Ex 20:6). Fellowship and communion demands darkness hath blinded his eyes.” Dr. Lewis Chafer explains the biblical
separation. meaning of “darkness”:
The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood The fact that darkness means an absence of light is used by the Scripture
of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the to illustrate truth in five different aspects. No physical reality is more
body of Christ? For we being many are one bread, and one body: for we impressive - unless it be life and death – than the phenomenon of darkness
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and light. The various uses of the term darkness in the Bible are connected 7). The darkness in which the believer may walk must be distinguished from
with: the darkness of the lost estate; his darkness is due to carnality, and its
1. OPPOSITION TO THE CHARACTER OF GOD. Writing of the holiness of limitations are seen in the fact that his sin has not disturbed personal union
God, the Apostle John has said, “And in him is no darkness at all” (1 John with God, but only his communion with Him. There are various drastic costs
1:5). Similarly, James has said, “With whom is no variableness, neither which the believer pays when he walks in darkness; loss of fellowship with
shadow of [cast by, R.V.] turning” (James 1:17). Light thus becomes a vivid God is one of them.
illustration of the transparent purity of God. His glory is radiant with 4. THE TRIBULATION. It is specifically revealed that when Christ returns
Shekinah light. Some of Christ’s intrinsic glory was manifested in His to the earth He will come to a universal condition of “gross darkness” which
transfiguration. Perfect holiness can be indicated only by celestial light. will cover the people (Isa 60:2). The tribulation period which is ended by
2. MORAL ESTATE OF THE UNSAVED WORLD. When Christ came into Christ’s advent with power and great glory will be a time “of darkness and
the world, it was said of Him that He appeared as Light which shineth in a of gloominess” (Joel 2:2). According to all major references concerned with
dark place, and yet the darkness comprehended it not (John 1:5). The perfect it, the tribulation is the hour of supreme darkness and distress over all the
Light which God is cannot be comprehended by the darkness of this world. world.
Darkness first came into this world when sin entered. Its reality is faithfully 5. FINAL ESTATE OF THE LOST. There is a place called “outer darkness”
described by God in His Word, but men do not heed or understand the divine (Matt 25:30) which becomes the last and unending abode of those who go
testimony. They “loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). In the there. That such a place has existed from the time of the fall of the angels is
beginning there was light enough, but men turned from the light. The evident since some of the angels are in “chains of darkness” due to that early
Apostle states: “Because that, when they knew not God, they glorified him departure from God, awaiting a day of judgment (2 Pet 2:4). They are not
not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, merely in physical darkness, but a place and condition utterly void of that
and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom 1:21). The experience of the Light which God is. 105
blind man is symbolical, “Whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). To
the lost world about Him Christ declared, “This is your hour, and the power C. Exodus 20:13-17
of darkness” (Luke 22:53). When one is saved he is translated out of the
power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love (Col 1:13). Manward relationship. #6-10, irrespective of #5, no Grace enabled love
Truth is itself as light and the lack of it as darkness. Of the believer it is (koinonia). Respect/honor out of a sense of “compassion” towards the
recorded that he has been “called out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 condemned individuals who have not “obeyed the gospel,” and, as a
Pet 2:5). Christian witness (e.g., the Samaritan under the Law obligation to relate to
3. THE CARNAL CHRISTIAN. Having declared that “God is light,” the his dying neighbor “as thy self”). The believer is still a “sinner” with a sin
Apostle John asserts further: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, nature, yet with the Grace enabling “power of God” not to sin and the Grace
and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth” (1 John 1:6). Fellowship enabled new obligation to witness the gospel to the unsaved. Christ died
or communion depends upon agreement, and where sin is practiced and because He loved the unsaved. A believer can carry this message; but cannot
defended by a believer there can be no perfect fellowship with God. To walk possess that love. It may only flow through him, from Christ to the unsaved,
in the light is to be subject to the light, that is to say, when God reveals to when the believer shares the gospel. The Apostle Paul “wished” that he
one whatever in the life runs contrary to the Light which God is, there could “give-away” his salvation to his Jewish brethren, in place of delivering
should be adjustments to that new revelation. To walk in the light is not to the gospel. This was a desire, not a practicality.
be sinlessly perfect; it is to be adjusted to all that God discloses unto the
heart concerning His will for one’s individual life. For one to say as a Dr. R. E. Brown’s detailed commentary on Commandments (cont’d.)
pretense or supposition that he is walking in the light when evil has been
tolerated, is to assert that which is not and could not be true. If, however, the I and II John also know of a commandment in the singular; and in I John
believer walks in the light of God by being adjusted to His will, fellowship 2:7-8 (implicitly) and in 4:21 and II John 5-6 it is a commandment to love
with God is maintained without effort and the stain of all sin is removed by one another (one’s brother) just as in GJohn. The “commandment” (sg. and
the blood of Christ, for this blessed provision goes on cleansing (1 John 1:5- pl.) is described 8 times in I John as ‘his,” and once as “from him” (4:21).
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There are scholars who contend that in some of these instances the his/him keep the commandments.”) In GJohn terein is used with logos 8 times (7 in
reference is to Christ, especially on the grounds that “it is a commandment the sg. – thus, as regards the sg./pl. issue, the opposite of the usage with
we have had from the beginning” (II John 5), i. e., from the beginning of entole, which is always pl.). Once again we have a chain of thought: Jesus
Jesus’ self-revelation during his ministry. Consistently, however, I have keeps the Father’s word (8:55); and the disciples keep Jesus’ word (8:51;
interpreted the “his” as a reference to God. Sometimes the context makes 14:23; 15:20; and 14:24 [pl.]. However, the disciples also keep God’s word
this lucidly clear (I John 4:21). I John 3:23 not only implicitly ascribes the (17:6), and other people are challenged to keep the disciples’ word (15:20).
commandment to God but makes it twofold: “Now this is His Interesting in this regard is 14:21-24: “Whoever keeps the commandments
commandment: we are to believe the name of His Son, Jesus Christ; and we that he has from me is the person who loves me. … If anyone loves me, he
are to love one another just as He gave us the commandment.” Similarly will keep my word. … Whoever does not love me does not keep my words;
interesting is II John 4, which describes “walking in truth” as “a yet the word that you hear is not my own but comes from the Father.”
commandment we have received from the Father”; for these passages show Turning to I John, we find “keeping His word” (sg.) only in 2:5 where it
the tendency to move beyond brotherly love to general behavior and faith. follows a double reference to “keeping His commandments” in 2:3-4. In 2:7
See the Comment for the significance of the shifts in usage from GJohn to I the author speaks of “an old commandment which is ‘the word’ you already
John. heard.” Such prediction, confirming the interchangeability of the terms,
“Keeping commandments” is an idiom employing the verb terein with makes sense if we remember that in the OT (Hebrew and Greek) the
the plural, 4 times in GJohn (including 15:10, the one time where Jesus technical name for the Ten Commandments was the “Ten Words”
speaks of having commandments [plural] from his Father) and 5 times in I (Decalogue): Exod 20:1; 34:28; Deut 4:13; 10:4. Whereas the Hebrew of
John. In GJohn the reference is to keeping the commandments of Jesus; in I Deut 17:19 refers to a whole law code as “all the words of this Law,” the
John to keeping the commandments of God (2:3,4; 3:22,24; 5:3). Parallel LXX reads “all these commandments”; and in both languages Ezra’s law
expressions are “to do the commandments” of God in I John 5:2, and “to code is called “the words of the commandments of the Lord” (Ezra 7:11). –
walk according to His commandments” in II John 6. The variety of the pp 250-52
expression indicates the comprehensiveness of the idea. As Lazure, Valeurs Notes: I John 2:5 [2:5 But whoever keeps His word – truly in this person
128, recognizes, the implication of the idiom is that of realizing in one’s life the love of God] has reached perfection. … In the NT “being perfect”
what those commandments ask. The verb “keep” with its durational (teleioun, teleios, etc.) is a frequently stated goal (I Cor 2:6; 14:20; Col 1:28;
atmosphere enables the epistolary author to indicate an abiding realization. Eph 4:13), most clearly held up as a covenant ideal by Matt 5:48: “You must
For “keeping” commandments the LXX employs the verb phylassein, be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” [God was in Christ
translating Hebrew samar; yet terein appears in one instance (Sir 29:1; see reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor 5:19), this writer]… For Paul (1 Cor
also “keep the Law” in Tob 14:9, and Acts 15:5; Jas 2:10). Westcott, 13:8,10) agape is what will remain when all else passes away – “the perfect”
Epistles 47, contends that while phylassein means to guard an unchangeable that outlasts the imperfect. Particularly strong in Hebrews is the theme that
deposit, terein means to observe watchfully; but the usage is scarcely so the perfection which was not possible through the Law and through the
precise. (The Vulgate recognized the difficulty of catching the exact nuance works and sacrifices it commanded (7:11,19; 9:9; 10:1) has been brought
of terein, translating the three occurrences in I John 2:3-5 by three different about through Jesus, the perfecter (12:2), the high priest who made
verbs: observare, custodire, servare.) In Prov 19:16we hear: “The person atonement through his blood (10:14; 12:23-24). Thus in the NT there are
who keeps [phylassein] the commandments keeps [terein] his own soul”; survivals of a Jewish ideal whereby perfection comes about by doing what
and Jesus says in John 17:12: “I kept them safe [terein] with your name … I God has commanded; but this is modified by the belief that only God’s
kept watch [phylassein] and not one of them perished.” Elsewhere in the NT accomplishment in Jesus enables us to do what God really wants. –pp 257-
“keeping [terein] the command-ments” occurs in Rev 12:17; 14:12; Matt 58
19:17; cf. 1 Cor 7:19; Mark 7:9.
For the sake of comparison it is useful at this time to discuss also logos, THE NEW COMMANDMENT
“word,” which is virtually interchangeable with entole, “com-mandment,” in
some of the usage just discussed. (I find meaningless the distinction made by Three Claims of Intimate Knowledge of God to be Tested by Behavior (I
Chmiel, Lumiere 134: “It is necessary to obey the divine word in order to John 2:3-11)
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Knowing God by Keeping the Commandments (1 John 2:1-3)
2:1 (My Little Children, I am writing this to keep you from sin.)
But if anyone does sin, The second unit of part One begins with the theme of knowing God, an
We have a Paraclete in the father’s presence, almost universal religious ideal in antiquity. Dodd (Epistles 29-30) shows
Jesus Christ, the one who is just; how in the Greek classical period there was unbounded confidence in human
2 and he himself is an atonement [propitiation] for our sins, reason, so that Plato could posit a knowledge of eternal realities in heaven to
and not only for our sins be contemplated by pure reason. In the Hellenistic period confidence
but also for the whole world. faltered, and the possibility of knowing God moved from philosophy to
mystery religions with their special revelations. Israel, of course, always
3 Now this is how we can be sure that we know Him: posited a special revelation to God’s people: “Let him who glories glory in
by keeping His commandments. this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord” (Jer 9:23[24]).
The fulfillment of that challenge would be facilitated in the last days: “The
4 THE PERSON WHO CLAIMS, “I know Him,” earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God” (Hab 2:14). The
without keeping His commandments, Qumran hymn that expresses the member’s sentiments proclaims, “My
is a liar; justification is with God … my light has sprung from the source of His
and there is no truth in such a person. knowledge” (1 QS 11:2-3). Matthew 11:27 and Luke 10:22 speak of
5 But whoever keeps His word- knowing the Father as a special privilege given here and now to those whom
truly in this person the love of God has reached perfection. the Son chooses to reveal Him, while Paul distinguishes, “Now I know in
This is how we can be sure we are in Him. part; then I shall know fully” (I Cor 13:12). John 17:3 identifies eternal life
(which is given to believers by Jesus) with knowing the Father and the Son
6 THE PERSON WHO CLAIMS to abide in Him (see ABJ 29A, 752-53). Philo, On the Decalogue 16 #81, considers it a
ought himself to walk supreme goal to have “knowledge of Him who truly is”; and the second
just as Christ walked. century A.D. Midrash Sifre 49(85a) on Deut 11:22 says, “Study the
7 Beloved, this is no new commandment that I write you, haggada; then you will know God and be attached to His way.” In Greek
but an old commandment that you heard from the beginning- Oriental mysticism the Corpus Hermeticum 10.9 affirms, “He who has
an old commandment which is the “word” you already heard. attained knowledge [gnosis] … is already divine.”
8 On second thought, the commandment I write you is new Why has the epistolary author chosen to introduce this concept of the
as it is made true both in Christ and in you, knowledge of God here? We saw that the I John Prologue followed the
since the darkness is passing away GJohn Prologue closely, and that the light/darkness motif of the previous
and the true light is already shining. unit (1:5-2:2) probably also came from the GJohn Prologue. There, after the
reference to the light coming into the world (John 1:19), we are told that “the
9 THE PERSON WHO CLAIMS to be in the light, world did not know him” (1:10). Then the GJohn Prologue turns positively
all the while hating his brother, to those who did accept him and become God’s children (1:12-13) with the
is still in the darkness even now, obvious implication that they did know him. That sequence may have led the
10 The person who loves his brother abides in the light, epistolary author to turn to knowledge after discussing light/darkness.
and in him there is no cause for stumbling. Secessionist theology misinterpreted the Johannine tradition on God as light;
11 But the person who hates his brother is in the darkness. it also misinterpreted that tradition on the knowledge of God.
He walks in the dark Against that misinterpretation the author argues that one cannot know
with no idea where he is going, God without keeping His commandments. His logic here stems in part from
for the darkness has blinded his eyes. the previous unit where, in relation to the theme of God as light, he argued
that there is no darkness in God and so believers should not be walking in
darkness or in sin. (The state of not being in sin, however, was to be
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achieved not by denying sin but by asking forgiveness.) From that sequence they would no longer need people to teach them to know the Lord, “for they
one might get the impression that human behavior can be deduced from a shall know me from the least to the greatest” (Jer 31:33-34). “I shall give
knowledge of God. But the opposite is also true: One gains a knowledge of them a heart to know that I am the Lord” (24:7). “A new heart I will give
God through behavior, when that behavior is governed by God’s you and a new spirit I will put within you … and cause you to walk in my
commandments. Keeping the commandments is more than an external way statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances” (Ezek 36:26-27). … It is
of verifying a claim to know God; rather it is a criterion that has an essential precisely this internal principle of knowledge, promised in the New
relationship to the claim made. In the Semitic understanding, knowledge is Covenant, that makes sense of the epistolary author’s attitude toward
more than intellectual, for it involves experience of the whole person – that commandments. Those who “keep” i God’s commandments are acting
is why “knowledge” can be used for sexual intimacy. To know God means according the Spirit God has put into their hearts, indeed according to the
to share His life, as can be seen from the parallelism between “know Him” new hearts (or natures) that God gave then when He begot them from above
in 2;4a and “abide in Him” in 2:6a. Sharing God’s life means living as His children. And those new hearts and the life according to the
according to His will., and by so keeping His commandments one comes to commandments enable the children to know the Father connaturally.
know Him intimately. i The sequence from action to knowledge is apparent Both I John and GJohn use the plural and singular of commandment
as well in I John 4:7, “Everyone who loves has been begotten by God and interchangeably. Against a Jewish background the plural would normally
knows God,” ii and in the equation in Rev 3:8,12 between those who have mean the commandments enjoined by God on Israel through the covenant,
kept Christ’s word and those who will receive God’s name. especially the Ten Commandments. This is true of the one common
The connection between way of life and knowledge of God reflects, in Synoptic instance of the plural (Mark 10:19 and par.; see also Luke 1:6).
particular, the New Covenant atmosphere of Johannine thought. In the Now, that meaning is not excluded from GJohn, but there the body of
covenant associated with the Exodus, God made Himself known through the commandments is seen under the aspect of the commandment of loving one
actions He performed in delivering Israel from Egypt (Exod 7:5,17); and it another as Jesus has loved. As we saw in the Introduction (V B3ac), while
was promised that His cultic dwelling in the midst of the people in the this may be a magnificent concept, it means that little by way of specific
Tabernacle would enable Israel to know the Lord their God (Exod 29:45- commandments is supplied in GJohn. Since the epistolary author is
46). The prophets looked upon God’s historical action in crushing the commenting on GJohn tradition to strengthen his followers against the
enemies of Israel as a way of knowing the Lordship of Yahweh (Ezek inroads of the secessionists who also claim the support of GJohn, he is not
25:5,11,17). On the other side of the coin, when Israel was unfaithful, God’s free to introduce entirely new vocabulary. While he cannot and would not
punishing action also supplied a way of knowing His Lordship (Ezek avoid the GJohn equation of commandments with the commandment to love,
6:7,10,13). Hosea (4:1-2) associates the failure to keep the Ten by speaking twice as frequently of commandment(s) and by always referring
Commandments with “no knowledge of God in the land.” Job 36:10-12 says them to God and never explicitly to Jesus (the opposite of the GJohn
that those who do not hearken to the Lord’s commands die without practice), he implicitly reminds his readers more vividly of the Ten
knowledge. The sons of Eli who broke the commandments were Commandments. When he does turn to Jesus (e.g., v. 6) , he capitalizes upon
characterized as “those who did not know the Lord” )I Sam 2:12; see also the idea that in GJohn Jesus walked in obedience to a commandment or
Isa 1:3-4).To correct such situations a more intimate knowledge of God was commandments. He not only appeals for obedience to God’s commandments
promised when God would renew His covenant with Israel. In the New on the part of the Christian, but he also stresses the interiorization of the
Covenant God would put His Law within the hearts of the Israelites; and commandments so that moral action follows what one really is. –pp 277-81
i
Bultmann, Epistles 25: “It is doubtless more nearly correct to say that ‘keeping the
commandments’ (like ‘fellowship with one another,’ 1:7) is not the condition, but rather
i
the characteristic of the knowledge of God.” Often this Johannine idiom means no more than observe (Note on 2:3b).
ii
The connection with 2:3 is apparent when we realize that the primary Nevertheless, here it may catch the continuity of behavior that the epistolary
commandment is the one to love. Chmiel, Lumiere 137, finds background for author wishes to inculcate. The fact that the opponents have seceded (2:19)
this Johannine feature in Deut 30:16 where hearing the commandments of God makes verbs of continuation (“abide,” “keep”) very important emotionally in I
and loving Him are side by side. John.
383 384
The First Wrong Claim and Its Antithesis ( 1 John 2:4-5) The perfection may have also involved loving God in response to His love
for us, and thus establishing a mutuality between God and the Christian upon
The author’s difficulty is not simply with admitted sinners who do not the pattern of the mutuality of love between God and Jesus. This is the
keep the commandments; it is with would be saints who do not think that dream the author dared to voice in 1:3: “That you may be joined in
keeping the commandments is related to the knowledge of God. His communion with us, for the communion we have is with the Father and with
opponents think of themselves as those who know (ginoskein) God. … His Son, Jesus Christ.” Divine love as creative of God’s children is what
Certainly the “I know God” of 2:4a may be a verbatim secessionist claim, brought the Johannine Community into being, and the dynamism of such
but there need be no pejoratively gnostic ring to it since the author made love exhibits itself in keeping commandments that bind the Christians to
exactly the same claim in 2:3a. The respective claims in 2:3a and 2:4a God and to each other. In Johannine theology keeping the commandments is
support my thesis that the secessionist were Christians of the Johannine not the first step to a higher love in which there will be no commandments; i
tradition who shared many ideals with the author … The claim of both the it is the perfection of love, for commandments are simply an expression of
author and the secessionist to know God is simply a reflection of GJohn, God’s will and of His very being.
which uses that language some dozen times … There is no proof that they All of this makes logical the summary in 2:5c: “This is how we can be
differed because the secessionist claimed all knowledge, or a special sure we are in Him.” We have here an instance of the Johannine theology of
revelation, or a mystical knowledge of God, or a knowledge through myths. immanence (the Christian in God/Jesus; God/Jesus in the Christian; God and
The reason they differed is given by the author: The secessionist combine Jesus in each other) which is vocalized some 35 times in GJohn and the
the Johannine claim to know God with an indifference about the way a epistles in the formulas einai en, “to be in,” and meinen en, “to remain/abide
moral life enters into that claim. While claiming the intimacy with God in” … Since the commandments, including that of love, stem from God’s
implied in “knowing” Him, they see no need to live God’s way of life as inner being, keeping them exemplifies union with that being. In the question
expressed in the commandments. This makes liars of them, not only in the of the precise meaning of immanence or indwelling, some scholars speak of
sense that they teach a false interpretation of the tradition, but more mysticism (an experience usually thought to be the privilege of the few). But
importantly in the sense that they embody a contradiction between claimed OT background of the concept points in other directions. ii First, there is a
internal principle (divine life, intimacy, knowledge) and the manifestation of cultic indwelling of God among His people. When Solomon built the
the principle (a life indifferent to divine commandments). … Since he has Temple, he wondered if God would dwell with human beings on earth (II
just denied truth to the person who does not keep the commandments, one Chron 6:18), but Ezek 48:35 predicted that this would be so much a part of
might have expected him to say that in whoever keeps the commandments the future that the name of the New Jerusalem would be “The Lord is there.”
(word) the truth of God has reached perfection. i Rather he speaks about the In Zech 2:14-15 (10-11) the Lord promises in the last day, “I will dwell in
love of God reaching perfection. On the one hand, this reminds us of the the midst of you.” … In Wis 7:26, 27 Wisdom, which is a pure emanation of
interchangeability of such Johannine terms as truth and love - Westcott the glory of the Almighty, passes into holy souls, making them friends of
(Epistles 48) remarks, “Love is the Truth realized in personal relation.” On God.
the other hand, we should recognize that the choice of “love” is not Much of this background stems from the mentality of the covenant
haphazard, for that is the commandment of Jesus par excellence. … In its relationship, both Old Covenant and New (renewed). Certainly the cultic
origin it is a love that comes from God to the Christian and is embodied in indwelling of God was a fundamental corollary of Israel’s being chosen as
God’s giving His only Son (1 John 4:7-10). This love was not motivated by God’s people. The question of Israel in the desert was, “Is the Lord in
any value that human beings possess; rather it creates their value by making [among] us or not?” (LXX Exod 17:7). When Israel violated the covenant, it
them children of God. Keeping the commandments, and especially the
commandment to love one another as Christ loved us, involves the i
perfection of the love of God, for it means that the love God had for us is In Johannine thought God gave the Son a commandment that predated his
being extended to others and allowed to recreate them as children of God. entry into the world (John 10:18; 12:49), and so there never will be a “time” in
which there are no commandments.
ii
See Feuillet, Le mystere 99-103, for the general background; also the full-
i
Or even the life of God, as in John 8:51: “If a man keeps my word scale work on the subject by Malatesta (Interiority), and ABJ 29, 510-12; 29A,
[commandment], he shall never see death.” 602-3.
385 386
could ask, “Have not the evils come upon us because our God is not in claim in this unusual way is that the “ought” leads into the theme of
[among] us?” (Deut 31:16-17). The Wisdom passages cited above are a commandment which he wants to develop.
reflection of the claim that the divine Law had been placed in the midst of The author’s objections to the claim is not over the possibility of abiding
Israel (as symbolized by the Decalogue tablets in the Jerusalem Temple). In in God, which is legitimate Johannine theology that both he and his
the prophetic reflections on the New Covenant, this divine presence was to opponents would share. i The objection is to abiding or indwelling when it is
be interiorized in individual Israelites. The passages cited above (pp.279-80) divorced from the way one lives one’s life (walks). By insisting that the
promising an intimate knowledge of God as part of the New Covenant (Jer person who claims indwelling ought to walk just as Christ walked, the
24; 31; Ezek 36) connect such knowledge with an immanence of the divine author shows that the struggle with the secessionists over moral principles is
spirit and the Law in those who accept the covenant. In Johannine theology really rooted in a struggle over christology … . In my theory, the
Jesus is the divine Word who has come down from heaven to dwell among secessionists attach the salvific gift of eternal life primarily to the
God’s people (to “tent” or “tabernacle”: John 1:14), and so represents both incarnation of Jesus, not to His life and death. ii Since they contribute no
the cultic presence of God and the indwelling Law and Wisdom. Beyond importance to the way He “walked,” they attribute no importance to the way
that, in the person of the Paraclete/Spirit Jesus makes possible a divine Christians walk. The author insists on both and sees the obligation to walk
presence abiding within those who keep the commandments (John 14:16- just as He walked as an obvious specification of the Johannine
17). This immanence goes beyond the OT expectations of the New commandment, “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34; 15:2).
Covenant, for it has a mutuality: not only God in His children, but His That is why he can insist that his demand is nothing new (novel) but a
children in God. The reason for this development is that the model for the commandment that was had “from the beginning” since it was taught to his
immanence is the intimate relationship between father and Son revealed by disciples by Jesus at the Last Supper and taught to the Johannine Christians
Jesus. The immanence of the Christian New Covenant is new because of at their entrance into the Johannine Community. (Once again, as we saw at
Jesus’ ideal, “That they all may be one, just as you Father in me and I in the end of the Comment on the previous unit, the life-setting from which the
you, that they may also be in us” (17:21). i This is not a mysticism for the author draws his arguments may have been by the
few but a new spiritual status for all who truly believe in Jesus. ii -pp 281-84 conversion/initiation/baptism paraenesis.) His demand reflects the
commandment that in Johannine circles is known simply as “the word” of
The Second Wrong Claim and the New Commandment (1 John 2:6-8) the New Covenant (1 John 2:7c, see Note), even as the Ten Commandments
or stipulations of the Exodus covenant were known as “the words” of the
The second (implicitly objectionable) claim involves abiding in God Lord in the OT.
without walking as Christ walked. It picks up the theme of immanence from In a Note on 2:6c I discussed at length the use of kathos, “just as,” in
the preceding verse (2:5c) even as the first wrong claim in 2:4 picked up the Johannine writing. In I John it is used to place demands patterned on
theme of knowing God from 2:3. I speak of an implicit objectionable claim. Christ’s past actions (just as he walked, loved, died) and on his present state
In this unit the first claim. In this unit the first claim (2:4: to know God (just as he is pure, just, or even just as he is). The comparisons are not very
without keeping His commandments) and the third claim (2:9: to be in the specific as to what moral action is to be done or what immoral action to be
light while hating one’s brother) are clearly wrong claims, for the author
describes the claimant respectively as a liar or as one who is in the darkness.
That there is a wrong claim behind 2:5 is by implication: when the author
says that the person who claims to abide in God ought to walk as Christ i
John 17:21 is the only GJohn passage that posits the indwelling (einai en) of the
walked. Presumably the reason the author chooses to handle the second Christian in God; but John 14:20; 15:2 (einai en) and John 6:56; 15:4, 5, 6, 7 (menein en)
posit the indwelling of the Christian in Jesus, who is one with the Father. …
ii
I John 4:7-11 shows that the commandment to love one another as Christ
i
To be in God is not just a matter of existing in a place (as being in a room) or of loved us was combined in Johannine tradition with John 3:16, “God loved the
passive presence (as being in the glow of a light by which one is warmed); it is a world so much that He gave the only Son.” In the Introduction (V C2d) I pointed
communion that produces oneness. out that the ambiguous verb “gave” in that axiom may have been understood
ii
Schenke, “Determination” 209-10, suggests that abiding in God is a synonym for differently by the secessionists (“gave” in the incarnation) and by the author
being begotten by God. (“gave” in death).
387 388
avoided. i In part, as I have argued in the Introduction (V B3a), that is As we return now to 2:8, the sudden introduction of darkness and light
because GJohn offers virtually no specific moral instruction either by word in the last lines of the verse reminds us that the author is still struggling to
or deed. In greater part, however, the lack of specificity reminds us that the interpret the GJohn Prologue against the secessionists. The relationship of
“just as Christ” comparison involves more than the imitation of a model. 2:8b (“made true [alethes] both in Christ and in you”) to 2:8cd (“since the
Christians have the same eternal life that Jesus had and has; ii this life, as an darkness is passing away and the true [alethinos] light is already shining”) is
internal principle, must express itself as it did and does in Him. The author’s somewhat clarified when we remember themes of the GJohn Prologue: “The
point of difference with the secessionists is that he conceives this life (also light shines in the darkness, for the darkness did not overcome it” (John 1:5)
truth, knowledge, light, love) to be a dynamic element expressing itself in followed by “The true [alethinos] light was coming into the world” (1:9).
behavior rather than a static possession. For GJohn with the incarnation of Jesus a true light shone forth on earth
Having denied that he is imposing a novel demand, on second thought offering people a choice between light and darkness (3:19-21). Darkness
(2:8ab) the author admits that his specification of the commandment to act could overcome neither the light nor those who came to the light, but it did
just as Jesus acted is new. In the Note I explained that even though the overcome those who did not walk in the light of Jesus (12:35). I John is right
author may have used the term “new” because it was fixed for this then when it speaks of a newness made true both in Christ and the Christian
commandment in the tradition (John 13:34), he has his own tonality. For in relation to the idea that the darkness is passing away. As Bultman, Klein,
Jesus the newness of his commandment was eschatological, proclaimed in and others have pointed out, the epistolary author has historicized the
“the hour” when human beings were being given an inner power (God’s own eschatological [prediction of things to come] struggle between light and
life) enabling them to love as God loved. The epistolary author draws on this darkness. But one exaggerates the difference unless one recognizes an
idea when he says the commandment is new “as it is made true [alethes]” incipient historicization in GJohn as well in the sense that it leaves room for
both in Christ and the Christian. “True” implies a correspondence with one’s the future working out of the victory won by Jesus. In Jesus’ “hour” the
inner reality, and so the commandment to love is made true in Christians Prince of this world is driven out (12:31) as part of a judgment in which the
when the eternal life that Christ gave to believers expresses itself in loving world is conquered (16:33). Nevertheless, the Spirit of Truth must come and
deeds. It is made true anew in Christ because he not only died for others in prove that the world was defeated in that judgment and its Prince
the past as an atonement for sins but because he continues the cleansing condemned (16:8-11). While the Paraclete is doing that, Jesus’ followers
effect of that atonement as a paraclete in the Father’s presence (2:1-2). have to remain in the world which hates them and have to be kept safe from
Let me pause to consider the author’s claim that he is not really writing the Evil One (17:14-16). In having Jesus look to a future continuation of the
anything new and yet, on second thought, he is - this admission is a crucial struggle, GJohn agrees with other NT works that recognize the continued
qualification of his insistence that he proclaims a gospel that was had “from presence of “the world rulers of the present darkness” (Eph 6:12) who are
the beginning.” It is no accident that the Johannine description of the “doomed to be wiped out” (1 Cor 2:6) – a picture that is not purely
Paraclete’s relationship to Jesus also involves the ideas of nothing new and eschatological but offers a faint sketch of continued salvation history.
yet an ability to declare the things to come (John 14:26; 16:13-15). The Having said that, I acknowledge that the historical pattern is stronger in
Fourth Evangelist must have regarded himself an instrument of the Paraclete I John than in GJohn and understandably so. When salvation is pictured, not
when in GJohn he reported what Jesus said and did but at the same time primarily as a punctiliar divine shining of light into the world, but as the
completely reinterpreted it. The epistolary author is playing the same continued shining of that light into the darkness, it becomes possible to give
Paraclete role in relation to GJohn (see Introduction V C2c). His attention both to the career of Jesus and to the career of Christians as part of
understanding of a tradition had “from the beginning” is no more static than that salvific process. The secessionists probably concentrated exclusively
his understanding of eternal life. upon the GJohn portrait of the incarnation as the coming of the true light
into the darkness (John 1:9), and upon their own choice to become
Christians as the disappearance of darkness for them (3:21). i But the
i
The argument with the secessionists, in my view, was not over specific sins but over a
i
whole outlook on the importance of behavior. “Enlightenment” was an early Christian designation for the experience of conversion
ii
If the author were interested only in Jesus on earth as a model, he would have and baptism (Heb 6:4; 10:32; Justin, I Apology, 61.13); and that may have been true in
confined his kathos comparisons to the past. the Johannine tradition as well, as suggested by the baptismal implications of the story in
389 390
epistolary author insists that, as the commandment of love is made true in especially the commandment to love one another (or one’s brother i) as
ongoing forgiveness by Jesus and in ongoing deeds by Christians on behalf Christ loved us. (As usual, the Johannine way of thinking is the opposite of
of their brothers and sisters, the darkness is being pushed back and the true what we might spontaneously have expected: not that loving enables one to
light is shining. For the author the choice of light over darkness must be be in the light, but that being in the light given by Christ enables one to love
made and manifested daily – one must walk in light. There is always a – because love is from God and is not purely human action.) Notice the
newness in the way one’s behavior shows one to be true to the new life of qualification of the claim in 2:9b: not “The person who claims to be in the
being a child of God. –pp 285-88 light without loving his brother,” but “all the while hating his brother.” As I
have indicated in the Note, since love is commanded, there is no room for an
The Third Wrong Claim and the New Commandment (1 John 2:9-11) antithesis consisting of indifference or neutrality; the antithesis involves
malice and hate and blindness. That is why the failure to love has such a
Just as the first and second wrong claims drew upon an immediately power to nullify spiritual claims, as attested also by Paul: “If I can prophesy
preceding theme (2:4a drawing upon 2:3; 2:6a drawing upon 2:5), so the and know all mysteries and have all knowledge … but have not love, I am
third wrong claim in 2:9a about being in the light draws upon the previous nothing” (1 Cor 13:2).
theme of light in 2:8. Indeed, it draws also on the theme of the new In 2:5 the author stated that “the love of God” is perfected in whoever
commandment in 2:7-8, which (implicitly) is the command to love one keeps God’s commandments or word; in 2:9-11 he makes clear that keeping
another, for the wrongness of the claim involves not the possibility of being the commandments or word of God and the love of brother are joined in
in the light but the thought of being in the light while hating one’s brother. Johannine thought even though GJohn does not have the famous double
In such a claimant the commandment of love has not been “made true” commandment (love of God and of neighbor) found in the Synoptics, Paul,
(2:8b), and for him the darkness has not passed away (2:8c) – he “is still in and intertestamental Judaism (p. 255 above). In the Note on 2:5b I
the darkness even now” (2:9c). mentioned the reluctance of some NT scholars to admit any connotation of
A comparison of the substance of the three wrong claims, “I know love for God in the Johannine understanding of agape, and to avoid this
Him,” “I abide in Him,” and “I am in the light” (2:4a, 6a, 9a), implies that some speak of loving God in the brother. Coppens (“La doctrine” 297),
the last is a claim of closeness with God. That is confirmed by 1:7, which however, is surely correct when he says that in no NT work is there ever a
states that God is in light. Some commentators posit a special gnostic reference to loving God in one’s brother. John in particular is clear that love
background for this claim. For instance, painter (John 121) thinks that the for God is illusory if not reflected in love for brother, but the two loves are
“heretics” may have claimed to be illumined by a supernatural knowledge, not confused. If there is any confusion, it springs from the ambiguity of the
either through mystical experience or because they thought that their nature expression “love of God” which, as I pointed out in the Note, means
partook of the essence of light. Once more I see no need for positing such a primarily love for God exhibited in Christ, a love that the Johannine
developed gnostic background to the secessionist claim which is perfectly believers must extend to their brothers and sisters who are also children of
justifiable in word and idea from GJohn. It is true that there we do not find God. Often, however, the author thinks also of a mutual love between the
the expression “to be in” (einai en) with light or darkness as an object; i but children and God their Father. In exercising that love the Johannine
in GJohn the closely parallel expression “to abide/remain in” (menein en) Christians did not have to search for God in their brothers, for as children of
occurs: “No one who believes in me need remain in darkness” (John 12:46). God they had His presence in themselves.
The passage implies that those who believe in Jesus abide in light – a claim
any Johannine Christian might make. i
Once more the author’s refutation involves not the claim but the Just as the three claims of knowing God, abiding in Him, and being in the light (2:4,6,
9) amount to substantially the same thing, so also the three conditions of keeping the
understanding of the claim. Being in light is not a static but a dynamic commandments, walking as Christ walked, and loving one another amount to the same
condition that must find expression in keeping the commandments, thing. In I John 3:11,23; 4:7,11,12; II John 5 the author speaks of the commandment in
terms of loving one another, which is GJohn terminology; but here and in 2:10,11;
3:10,14,15; 4:20,21 it is a question of loving or hating the “brother,” a more common
John 9 of how a man gained sight by washing in the pool designated as “the one sent” ecclesiastical term. In 5:1,2 the author speaks of loving the one begotten by God or God’s
(ABJ 29, 381-82). childrenI. All these terms describe the same reality, namely, one’s fellow Johannine
i
John 11:10; 12:35 have “light” as a subject “being in” people. Christian – not all people or even all who claim to be Christian (see Note on 2:9b).
391 392
The author’s judgment on the first wrong claim in this unit was: “There On the other hand, the person who manifests his hate for his Johannine
is no truth in such a person” (2:4d). The judgment on the third wrong claim brother by seceding has cut himself off from koinonia with God and Christ
is similar: the person “is still in darkness even now” (2:9c). Darkness and (1:3) i and has plunged into the realm of darkness.
falsehood (and hate), light and truth (and love) are virtually interchangeable; This choice of darkness amounts to deliberate self-blinding (2:11d). As I
and a wrong claim means one is working out of falsehood/darkness rather indicated in the Note, the NT uses the image of deliberate blindness,
than out of truth/light. To be in darkness before the light came into the world borrowed from Isa 6:10, to explain the fact that some Jews refused to believe
was bad enough (John 3:19), but it is truly tragic to be in darkness “even in Jesus. For instance, John 12:39-40 comes at the end of the public ministry
now” when the darkness is passing away and the true light is already as a judgment on “the Jews” who have resisted Jesus’ challenge in 12:35-36
shining. Once again there is a certain historicization in I John when we to walk in the light and become sons of light: “The reason they could not
consider the use of the phrase “even now” when the darkness is passing believe was, as Isaiah said, “God has blinded their eyes … for fear they
away and the light is already shining. Once again, there is a certain might see.’” Perhaps in imitation of this GJohn pattern, after having given
historicization in I John when we consider the use of the phrase “even now,” six boasts or claims reflecting secessionist theology (in two units), the
employed by GJohn (2:10; 5:17; 16:24) to describe the eschatological epistolary author concludes the second unit with the judgment that “darkness
moment of Jesus’ ministry. The epistolary author, who sees the shining of has blinded the eyes” of anyone who holds such theology. GJohn’s polemic
the light not simply as the incarnation but as the continued loving action of language, hitherto used against outsiders like “the Jews,” is now being
Jesus and the Christian, uses “even now” to describe the continued action. applied to former confreres who have become the most dangerous “sons of
For the GJohn tradition those who never believed are in the darkness “even darkness” (see Introduction V C2a). At the beginning of the first unit (and of
now”; for the epistolary author those who claimed to believe but have Part One of I John) the author had summarized the Johannine gospel as
seceded (thus hating their brothers) are in the darkness “even now.” “God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all”; and now to his own
In 2:10-11 the author emphasizes this point by a compound antithesis. satisfaction he has shown that the secessionists and any seduced by them
The positive half of the antithesis (2:10: “The person who loves his brother belong to the darkness. It is clear, then, that they do not know God or abide
abides in the light”) takes up from 2:9a the secessionists claim to be in the in Him or have communion with Him as they have boasted and claimed.
light and shows how it may be justified through love. The negative half of Having consigned the secessionists to outer darkness, the author will turn his
the antithesis (2:11: “The person who hates his brother is in the darkness”) attention in the next unit [2:12-17] to those who are Jesus’ own, i.e., the sons
takes up from 2:9b the wrong feature in the secessionist claim, namely, that of light who constitute the Johannine Community, which is koinonia [in
they made the claim while hating their brothers, and stresses its disastrous communication] with himself. –pp 288-92
results. The new features in 2:10-11 are the reference in v. 10b to a “cause
for stumbling” and the themes of loss of direction and of blindness in v.
11cd. Here one sees the plausibility of the thesis of Munoz Leon
(Introduction III A3) that the source of the sharp antithesis in I John is the
antithesis pattern in GJohn. Behind 2:10-11 may be a saying like John 11:9-
10: “If a man goes walking by day he does not fall … but if he goes walking
by night, he will fall.” i Also John 8:12, “No follower of mine shall ever
walk in darkness”; and 12:35, “The man who walks in the dark does not
know where he is going.” In the Note on 2:10b I suggested that the most
probable interpretation of “in him there is no cause for stumbling” is that in
the person who abides in light and manifests this by loving his Johannine
brother there is nothing that will cause him to sin by leaving the Community.
i
In turn, the symbolism in GJohn has OT background, e.g. Prov 4:18-19: “The paths of
i
the just shine as with light … the paths of the wicked lie in darkness; they do not know That the author connects these ideas is not a guess if we remember 1:6: “If we boast,
over what they fall.” ‘We are in koinonia with Him,’ while continuing to walk in darkness, we are liars.”
393 394
Salvation
But God demonstrates his own love for us, in that while we were still
sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, because we have now been
declared righteous by his blood, we will be saved through him from God’s
wrath. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the
death of his Son, how much more, since we have been reconciled, will we be
saved by his life? 106
395 396
Salvation: The Objective in Evangelism
Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer:
Isa 12:2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid: for the
There would be no hope for any sinner – saved or unsaved – apart from the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my
death of Christ; but sheltered under that provision, divine propitiation is salvation.
infinitely real and unchangeably effective for man.107 KJV
This writer: “Just, and the justifier of him which believeth.” Rom iii. 26.
Only through trust in Christ as Savior may men turn to the opposite BEING justified by faith, we have peace with God. Conscience accuses no
direction (KJV repent) and enter - once and for all time - the light of eternal longer. Judgment now decides for the sinner instead of against him. Memory
life from the darkness of eternal judgment by the miracle of a literal new looks back upon past sins, with deep sorrow for the sin, but yet with no
birth from above; but most essentially, beneath that trust, only by the gospel dread of any penalty to come; for Christ has paid the debt of his people to
of the grace of God may men learn the reason why those who are “in the last jot and tittle, and received the divine receipt; and unless God can be
Christ” are the light of His life and righteousness, “for you were at one time so unjust as to demand double payment for one debt, no soul for whom Jesus
darkness, but now you are light in the Lord” (Eph 5:8). To be placed “in died as a substitute can ever be cast into hell. It seems to be one of the very
Christ” is to become light, “In him was [eternal] life, and the life was the principles of our enlightened nature to believe that God is just; we feel that it
light [His eternal life] of mankind. And the light shineth in darkness [eternal must be so, and this gives us our terror at first; but is it not marvelous that
judgment]; and the darkness [eternal judgment] comprehended it not.” (John this very same belief that God is just, becomes afterwards the pillar of our
1:4-5). And, Jesus says of Himself, “I am come a light [I have brought my confidence and peace! If God be just, I, a sinner, standing in Christ can
eternal life] into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not abide never be punished. God must change His nature before one soul, for whom
[remain] in darkness [eternal judgment]” (John 12:46). Jesus was a substitute, can ever by any possibility suffer the lash of the law.
Therefore, Jesus having taken the place of the believer – having rendered a
Dr. B. B. Warfield: full equivalent to divine wrath for all that His people ought to have suffered
as the result of sin, the believer can shout with glorious triumph, “Who shall
Nothing, indeed, is more startling in the structure of recent theories of lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?” Not God, for He hath justified;
atonement, than the apparently vanishing sense of sin that underlies them. not Christ, for He hath died, “yea rather hath risen again.” My hope lives not
Surely, it is only where the sense of guilt for sin has grown grievously faint, because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died;
that men can fancy that they can at will cast it off from them in a my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, He is my righteousness.
“revolutionary repentance.” Surely it is only where the heinousness of sin My faith rests not upon what I am, or shall be, or feel, or know, but in what
has practically passed away, that man can imagine that the holy and just Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. On the
God can deal with it lightly. If we have not much to be saved from, why, lion of justice the fair maid of hope rides like a queen. 109
certainly, a very little atonement will suffice for our needs. It is, after all, Charles H. Spurgeon
only the sinner that requires a Saviour. But if we are sinners, and appreciate
what it means to be sinners, we will cry out for that Saviour who only after Dr. Lewis Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary,
He was perfected by suffering could become the Author of our Salvation.” expresses his apprehension for the barren effects created by those who
108
enthusiastically support and tolerate a false gospel message as a substitute
for the grace of God:
“All evangelism finds its consummation in one phase of the great

Scriptural word, “Salvation.” It is a word which covers more than the
397 398
objective of evangelism, in that it includes, beyond the deliverance from the From God’s perspective, salvation includes the total work of God in
present penalty of sin and the final unfolding and development of the saved bring people from condemnation to justification, from death to eternal life,
one into the image of Christ. The word includes a whole series of other great from alienation to filiation. From the human perspective, it incorporates all
doctrines and revelations in which the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are seen of the blessings that being in Christ brings in this life and the life to come.
working toward the transformation of the individual, body, soul, and spirit, The inclusive sweep of salvation is underscored by observing the three
into a celestial being and a partaker with Christ of the heavenly glory. This is tenses of salvation: (1) The moment one believed he was saved from the
the mighty working of the Triune God toward the heavenly perfection of condemnation of sin (Eph 2:8; Titus 3:5). (2) That believer is also being
everyone who believes. Blessed indeed are they who learn to yield saved from the dominion of sin and is being sanctified and preserved (Heb
themselves wholly to His saving power! 7:25). (3) And he will be saved from the very presence of sin in heaven
Because of the universal Satanic blindness upon the minds of forever (Rom 5:9-10).
unregenerate people (2 Cor 4:3, 4) the scope of the transforming work of II. THE MOTIVES FOR SALVATION. Why should God want to save
salvation is not always understood, even where such knowledge is boldly sinners? Why should He bear the pain of giving His only begotten Son to die
assumed, and many religious leaders, through this blindness, have ignorantly for people who had rebelled against His goodness? What could it possibly
turned away from the real Gospel and have sincerely espoused “another mean to God to have a family of human beings?
gospel” of social reform, ethical culture, humanitarianism, or morality. In The Bible indicates at least three reasons that God wanted to save
turning to these good but subordinate things they have revealed, both by sinners.
their careless rejection of the one Gospel of Grace and by their unbounded (1) This was the greatest and most concrete demonstration of the love of
enthusiasm for these unworthy substitutes, that the riches of the glorious God. His good gifts in nature and through His providential care (great as
Gospel of Christ have not dawned on them. they are) do not hold a candle to the gift of His Son to be our Savior. John
The spirit of tolerance toward the preaching of “another gospel,” instead 3:16 reminds us that His love was shown in His gift, and Romans 5:8 says
of the Gospel of Christ, is usually justified by the assuring statement that the that God proved conclusively that He loved us by the death of Christ.
Word of God needs no defense, and therefore any controversy with these (2) Salvation also gives God a display of His grace throughout all
perverters of the truth would be a needless and aimless warfare. To this it eternity (Eph 2:7). Each saved person will be a special trophy of God’s grace
may be replied: No defense of the whole truth is ever made from a fear that forever. Only redeemed human beings can provide this display.
man will destroy the eternal Word itself, but that defense is made from a (3) God also wanted a people who would do good works in this life and
God-given compassion for the multitude who are being beguiled away from thus give the world a glimpse, albeit imperfect, of God who is good (v. 10).
all hope by the sophistries of these teachings; for any true burden for the lost III. THE IMPORTANCE OF SALVATION. In only two instances does the
will extend to the misguided as well as the unguided. New Testament pronounce a curse … One is not loving the Lord (1 Cor
With the many pious substitutes for the one Gospel of Grace today, and 16:22), and the other is preaching a gospel other than the Gospel of the grace
the ecclesiastical influence and blind enthusiasm of their promoters, of God (Gal 1:6-9). Not comprehending clearly the doctrine of salvation can
evangelism has new enemies to face, and her glorious work can never be lead to proclaiming a false or perverted Gospel, and many statements of the
accomplished by waving the white flag of tolerance before her foes.” 110 Gospel one hears today may well come under this curse. Yet the grace of
God over powers our unclear presentations, and people are saved in spite of,
Dr. Charles Ryrie, the author of many reformed evangelical works, though not as a result of, an unclear or misstated Gospel.
gives further details regarding salvation and the gospel of grace: Positively, this doctrine is crucial simply because a Gospel witness is
the responsibility of all believers. For the preacher it is even more important,
“I. THE SCOPE OF THE SUBJECT. Soteriology, the doctrine of salvation, is for he is the link between God and the unregenerated person, and his
one of the grandest themes in the Scriptures. It embraces all of time as well message must be clear (Rom 10:14-15). Chafer, whose ministry began in
as eternity past and future. It relates in one way or another to all of mankind, evangelism, still thought near the end of his life that “in a well-balanced
without exception. It even has ramifications in the sphere of the angels. It is ministry, Gospel preaching should account for no less than 75 per cent of the
the theme of both the Old and New Testaments. It is personal, national, and pulpit testimony. The remainder may be for the edification of those who are
cosmic. And it centers on the greatest Person, our Lord Jesus Christ.
399 400
saved.” This certainly underscores the importance of studying and Israelite had to have faith in the God of that covenant if he were to be
understanding this great theme of soteriology. pleasing to Him and not be cut off.
The object of faith was always the true God (Num 14:11; 20:12; 2 Kings
17:14, Ps 78:22; Jon 3:5). This Savior God was the sole origin of salvation
(Ps 3:8; Jon 2:9). To trust in idols was not only ineffective but ludicrous, for
salvation was of the Lord.
II. THE NEW TESTAMENT USAGE. In both the Septuagint and the New
Testament the Greek verb sōzō and its cognates sōtēr and sōtēria usually
translate yasha′ and its respective nouns. However, a number of times the
sōzō group translates shalom, peace or wholeness, and its cognates. Thus
salvation can mean cure, recovery, remedy, rescue, redemption, or welfare.
This can be related to preservation from danger, disease, or death (Matt
9:22; Acts 27:20, 31, 34; Heb 5:7). But the full Christian usage means
saving from eternal death and endowing a person with everlasting life (Rom
5:9; Heb 7:25).
As in the Old Testament, the initiative of salvation is entirely with God
(John 3:16). The Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross is the sole basis for
that salvation. Other concepts like sacrifice, redemption, reconciliation,
propitiation, and justification are vital to a full understanding of the doctrine.
These will be considered later, but I mention them now lest anyone think
that the doctrine is built only on the words related to saving.
THE BIBLICAL TERMINOLOGY Salvation affects the whole person. Nevertheless, the removal of man’s
fallen nature and the receiving of a resurrection body awaits a future day.
I. THE OLD TESTAMENT USAGE. The most important Hebrew root word But this also is a part of our salvation (Rom 8:23). In addition, the curse that
related to salvation in the Old Testament is yasha′. Originally it meant to be has been on the world will be removed (vv. 18-23), and the entire universe
roomy or broad in contrast to narrowness or oppression. Thus it signifies will feel the effects of Christ’s work of reconciliation (Col 1:20).” 111
freedom from what binds or restricts, and it came to mean deliverance,
liberation, or giving width or breadth to something. Sometimes this Salvation and the unconditional new covenant is grounded in the death
deliverance came through the agency of man (e.g., through judges, Judg and shed blood of Jesus Christ. What might be the terms and conditions of
2:18; 6:14; 8:22; 12:2; or kings, 1 Sam 23:2), and sometimes through the this “new covenant”? A new covenant that is encompassed by the gospel of
agency of Yahweh (Pss 20:6; 34:6; Isa 61:10; Ezek 37:23; Zech 3:4). the grace of God which culminates in the coming millennial kingdom
Sometimes salvation is individual (Ps 86:1-2) and sometimes corporate, that described in the “Beatitudes” and Isaiah chapter 11. In Major Bible Themes,
is, of the nation (Isa 12:2, though all the world will share in it, 45:22; 49:6). written by Lewis Chafer and, later revised by John Walvoord, the details of
In the Old Testament salvation was not only a deliverance from some this new covenant are given in the following:
trouble but also a deliverance to the Lord for His special purpose (43:11-12; “The new covenant guarantees all that God proposes to do for men on
49:6). the ground of the blood of His Son. This may be seen in two aspects:
Faith was the necessary condition for salvation in the Old Testament as (a) That He will save, preserve, and present in heaven conformed to His
well as in the New. Abraham believed in the Lord, and the Lord counted it to Son, all who have believed on Christ. The fact that it is necessary to believe
him for righteousness (Gen 15:6). The Hebrew prefix beth indicates that on Christ in order to be saved does not form a condition in this covenant.
Abraham confidently rested his faith on God (cf. Exod 14:31; Jon 3:5). The Believing is not part of the covenant, but rather is the ground of admission
covenant relationship established by the Mosaic Law also implied that an into its eternal blessings. The covenant is not related to the unsaved, but it is
made with those who believe, and it promises the faithfulness of God in their
401 402
behalf. “He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the reasonable to believe that the human will may be under the control of God;
day of Jesus Christ” (Phil 1:6) and every other promise concerning the but most unreasonable to believe that the sovereignty of God is under the
saving and keeping power of God are part of this covenant in grace. control of the human will. Those who believe are saved and safe forever
There is no salvation contemplated for man in this age that does not because it is according to the unconditional covenant of God.
guarantee perfect preservation here and a final presentation of the saved one (b) The future salvation of Israel is promised under the unconditional
in glory. There may be issue between the Father and His child as to the daily new covenant (Isa 27:9; Ezek 37:23; Rom 11:26-27). This salvation will be
life, and as in the case of David’s sins, the Christian’s sin may call for the accomplished only on the ground of the shed blood of Christ. Through the
chastening hand of God; but those questions which enter into the daily life of sacrifice of Christ, God is as free to save a nation as He is free to save an
the believer are never made to condition the promise of God concerning the individual. Israel is represented by Christ as a treasure hid in the field. The
eternal salvation of those whom He has received in grace. field is the world. It was Christ, we believe, who sold all that He had that He
There are those who emphasize the importance and power of the human might purchase the field and possess the treasure (Matt 13:44).” – Pp. 147-
will and who contend that both salvation and safekeeping must be made 48
conditional on the cooperation of the human will. This may seem reasonable
to the human mind; but it is not according to the revelation given in The following list gives the approximate numerical standing of “the
Scripture. gospel of the grace of God” (as understood and to be expounded and
In every case God has declared unconditionally what He will do for all defended in this paper) among U. S “Christian” denominations:
those who put their trust in Him (John 5:24; 6:37; 10:28). This is a very
great undertaking which must of necessity involve the absolute control of the Major Religions Practiced in the United States
very thoughts and intents of the heart; but it is no more unreasonable than
that God should declare to Noah that his seed would follow the absolute *Catholic Church membership outnumbers the other top nine memberships
channels which He had decreed, or that He should declare to Abraham that combined.
He would make of him a great nation and that of his seed Christ should be **Catholic and Methodist combined membership outnumbers reformed
evangelical membership 5:1 (reformed evangelical, i.e., the inerrancy of the
born. Bible, the gospel of the grace of God, the gift of eternal life, the gift of the
In every case it is the manifestation of sovereign authority and power. It righteousness of God, the eternal security of the believer, and a literal second
is evident that God has given latitude for the exercise of the human will. He advent of Christ to establish the eternal Davidic throne during the millennium
appeals to the wills of men, and men who are saved are conscious that both on a recreated earth, and finally on a new earth and heavens in the future
eternity).
their salvation and their service are according to their own deepest choice.
We are told that God controls the will of man (John 6:44; Phil 2:13) and at
the same time appeals to and conditions His blessing on the will of man
(John 5:40; 7:17; Rom 12:1; 1 John 1:9).
Scripture gives unquestionable emphasis to the sovereignty of God. God
has perfectly determined what will be, and His determined purpose will be
realized; for it is impossible that God should ever be surprised or Religious Year Number of Clergy Serving
Body Reported Churches Membership Parishes1
disappointed. So, also, there is equal emphasis in Scripture upon the fact that
lying between these two undiminished aspects of His sovereignty – His African Methodist Episcopal Church 2000 6,200 2,500,000 N/A
eternal purpose and its perfect realization – He has permitted sufficient African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church 2002 3,226 1,209,887 3,235
latitude for some exercise of the human will. In so doing, His determined The American Baptist Association 1998 1,760 275,000 1,740
ends are in no way jeopardized. One aspect of this truth without the other American Baptist Churches in the United States 2002 5,836 1,484,291 4,325
will lead, in the one case, to fatalism, wherein there is no place for petition The Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese 2002 230 380,000 400
in prayer, no motive for the wooing of God’s love, no ground for of North America
condemnation, no occasion for evangelistic appeal, and no meaning to very Armenian Apostolic Church of America 2002 34 360,000 32
much Scripture; in the other case it will lead to the dethroning of God. It is
403 404
Armenian Apostolic Church, Diocese of America 1991 72 414,000 49 Independent Fundamental Churches of America 1999 659 61,655 N/A
Assemblies of God 2002 12,133 2,687,366 19,005 International Church of the Foursquare Gospel 2001 1,847 305,852 4,879
Baha'i2 2001 N/A 84,000 N/A International Council of Community Churches 2002 192 115,812 240
Baptist Bible Fellowship International 2002 4,500 1,200,000 N/A International Pentecostal Holiness Church 2002 1,905 213,348 1,956
Baptist General Conference 2002 902 145,148 N/A Jehovah's Witnesses 2000 11,636 998,166 N/A
Baptist Missionary Association of America 1999 1,334 234,732 1,525 Jewish2 2001 N/A 2,831,000 N/A
Buddhist2 2001 N/A 1,082,000 N/A The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod 2002 6,142 2,512,714 5,217
The Catholic Church 2002 19,484 66,407,105 N/A Mennonite Church 2002 964 112,688 738
The Christian and Missionary Alliance 2002 1,963 389,232 N/A Muslim/Islamic2 2001 N/A 1,104,000 N/A
Christian Brethren (Plymouth Brethren) 2002 1,165 85,050 N/A National Association of Congregational Christian 2002 432 65,392 507
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 2002 3,691 786,334 3,362 Churches
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ 1988 5,579 1,071,616 5,525 National Association of Free Will Baptists 2001 2,470 197,919 2,470
The Christian Congregation, Inc. 2000 1,439 119,391 1,437 National Baptist Convention of America, Inc. 2000 N/A 3,500,000 N/A
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church 2002 3,300 850,000 3,001 National Baptist Convention, United States, Inc. 1992 33,000 8,200,000 32,832
Christian Reformed Church in North America 2002 762 197,339 655 National Missionary Baptist Convention of 1992 N/A 2,500,000 N/A
America
Church of God (Anderson, IN) 2002 2,290 247,007 3,445
Old Order Amish Church 1993 898 80,820 3,592
Church of God (Cleveland, TN) 2002 6,623 944,857 5,084
The Orthodox Church in America 2002 725 900,000 792
The Church of God in Christ 1991 15,300 5,499,875 28,988
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc. 1998 1,750 1,500,000 4,500
Church of God of Prophecy 2002 1,841 110,000 3,946
Pentecostal Church of God 2002 1,197 104,000 N/A
Church of the Brethren 2002 1,069 134,844 925
Polish National Catholic Church of America 2002 145 60,000 131
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 2002 11,879 5,410,544 35,657
Presbyterian Church (United States) 2002 11,097 3,407,329 8,725
Church of the Nazarene 2002 4,983 643,649 4,516
Presbyterian Church in America 2002 1,499 310,750 N/A
Churches of Christ 1999 15,000 1,500,000 14,500
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. 1995 2,000 2,500,000 N/A
Conservative Baptist Association of America 2002 1,200 200,000 1,800
Reformed Church in America 2002 901 281,475 823
Coptic Orthodox Church 2000 100 300,000 140
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- 1995 1,160 177,779 16,671
Cumberland Presbyterian Church 2002 780 84,417 635
day Saints
The Episcopal Church 2001 7,344 2,333,628 6,057
The Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America 2002 22 1,500 16
The Evangelical Covenant Church 2002 718 103,549 589
The Salvation Army 2001 1,369 454,982 2,812
The Evangelical Free Church of America 1995 1,224 242,619 1,936
Serbian Orthodox Church in the United States 1986 68 67,000 60
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 2002 10,721 5,038,006 7,354 and Canada
Free Methodist Church of North America 2001 978 69,342 N/A Seventh-day Adventist Church 2002 4,619 918,882 2,589
Full Gospel Fellowship of Churches & Ministers 2002 902 326,900 2,210 Southern Baptist Convention 2002 42,775 16,247,736 94,231
International
Unitarian Universalists Association of 2002 1,010 214,738 1,267
General Association of General Baptists 2001 713 85,346 1,121 Congregations
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches 2002 1,415 129,407 N/A United Church of Christ 2002 5,850 1,330,985 4,295
Grace Gospel Fellowship 1992 128 60,000 160 The United Methodist Church 2002 35,102 8,251,042 24,273
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America N/A 510 1,500,000 599 The Wesleyan Church 2002 1,628 123,160 1,975
Hindu2 2001 N/A 766,000 N/A Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod 2002 1,250 403,345 1,257
405 406
N/A = not available.
1. Does not include retired clergy or clergy not working with congregations.
2. American Religious Identity Survey (ARIS), City University of New York,

2001.
Source: 2004 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches;

American Religious Identity Survey (ARIS) 2001.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights

reserved.
407 408
Sin
One of the many reasons for confusion in the doctrine of regeneration is the
attempt to avoid the inevitable conclusion that a soul once genuinely
regenerated is saved forever. The bestowal of eternal life cannot be revoked.
It declares the unchangeable purpose of God to bring the regenerated
person to glory. Never in the Scriptures do we find anyone regenerated a
second time. … In the last analysis, the experiences of this life are only
antecedent to the larger experiences the regenerated person will have after
deliverance from the presence and temptation of sin.112
John F. Walvoord
Regeneration is a most essential step in that preparation which must be

made if individuals from this fallen race are to be constituted worthy
dwellers within the highest spheres and made associates there with the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It becomes one of the greatest facts in
the whole universe. Its full extent and value will be seen not on earth or in
time, but in glory and for all eternity.113
Lewis Sperry Chafer
409 410
The Origin of Sin angels sinned under the influence of that same original sinner. … To attempt
the discovery of an understandable reason where the mind recognizes that
Sin is God’s problem. To His everlasting glory, God planned to reason failed, as it did when the angel sinned, is to undertake the impossible.
eliminate His problem before an angel or Adam were ever created. Without Sin, being a contradiction of reason and irrational in itself, is not subject to
death, the unique God-man Jesus Christ could not die for the salvation of reason. It is quite possible that an irrational creature accustomed to unholy
His creation. Without the divine imputation of the sin of man to Christ in His ways may lend sympathetic understanding to the insanity which a fellow
substitutionary and vicarious death - there is no gospel message, there is no creature exhibits, but that provides no reason which might serve as an
truth in any so-called system of theology, and most assuredly - there is no explanation for an unfallen angel’s sin.” 114
salvation or hope for humanity. “There are, no doubt, serious difficulties in the way of accepting the
Forgiveness for sin is based upon the past sacrifice of Christ, this being doctrine of a personal, superhuman, evil power as Satan is described to be. It
true, a request for forgiveness will save no one. Much more than a mere is doubtful, however, whether these difficulties may not be due, at least in
matter of semantics, as eternal damnation hangs in the balance, only belief part, to a misunderstanding of the doctrine and certain of its implications. In
and trust in the past shed divine and sinless blood of Christ for the gift of addition, it must be acknowledged, that whatever difficulties there may be in
present forgiveness saves a sinner. This may be plainly illustrated where the teaching, they are exaggerated and, at the same time, not fairly met by
“advanced tickets required” are needed for seating at a particular event, the vague and irrational skepticism which denies without investigation.
whereby, any one demanding to purchase current tickets would be seen to be There are difficulties involved in any view of the world. To say the least,
guilty of negligence, at best. Christ holds all the “advance tickets” and some problems are met by the view of a superhuman, evil world-power.” 115
promises them free to those who will trust him and take a seat. “Three general objections have been raised against the Biblical doctrine
Likewise, any man-made system of Christianity based on a subjective of Satan. (1) It is asserted that it has its origins in mythology. This
theory (create your own truth) which denies a past imputation of man’s sin conception cannot be sustained. The Bible does not systematize this division
to Christ - and denial is the only option - by so doing, that system has of doctrine more than any other. All that is set forth is with that saneness and
rejected Christ and its followers are left with only a religious false hope in restraint which characterizes the divine world-conception as a whole. (2)
exchange for a criminally negligent, present demand for forgiveness. The The second objection is that the doctrine of Satan conforms to the dualism of
essential topsy-turvy, apostatized gospel may be stated as that which Zoroastrianism. To this it may be replied that the whole doctrine of evil –
transfers “merit” from Christ to self, as in, “Heaven is a reward (for good apart from the eternal divine anticipation of it – had its beginning and will as
and faithful me)!” And, this is claimed by those who never trusted in Christ definitely come to its end. All evil exists by divine permission, but it is
for salvation and received the gift of forgiveness to begin with! Contrary to under divine restraint. (3) It is yet said that the doctrine of Satan destroys the
popular unstated assumptions, Satan and his followers are not fairy-tale unity of God; but the creation by God of other wills than His own, since, in
vampires. These enemies of God are not effected by a cross, the supposed the end, they are accountable to Him, in no way militates against the unity of
“hallowed” ground of a church, or the light of day. Consequently, they God. In the end, as from the beginning, “God is all in all.” 116
prosper and flourish in an environment centered on Christ as leader and Lord “The Bible represents Satan as an enemy of the saints of God and
(not Savior) and where homiletics on contemporary “happiness” values are especially is this seen to be true of the saints of this age. There is no
the main event. controversy between Satan and unsaved people; for they are part of this
world-system. They have not been delivered from the powers of darkness
Dr. Lewis Chafer: and translated into the kingdom of the Son of God. Satan is the energizing
power in those who are unsaved (Ephesians 2:2), as God is the energizing
“Evil began with the lapse of an angel. That lapse was followed by a power in those who are saved (Philippians 2:13). Every human being is
multitude of other angels (Rev 12:4). The same lapse was enacted by the either under the power of Satan, or under the power of God. This is not to
first man and transmitted to his race in the form of a depraved nature. say that Christians may not be influenced by Satan and the unsaved by the
Tracing backwards over this historical sequence, it is possible to recognize Spirit of God; but their position is in one domain or the other, and Satan’s
that the race was injured in the sin of its federal head, that the federal head domain is not in all matters characterized by things that are inherently evil as
was tempted by the angel who first sinned in heaven, and that a multitude of those things are estimated by the world. Satan’s life-purpose is to be “like
411 412
the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14), and he appears “as an angel of light,” and his kingdom. Defeated in this, he will be finally cast into the lake of fire, his
ministers “as the ministers of righteousness” (II Corinthians 11:13-15). His final doom. The notion that he reigns in hell is Miltonic, not biblical. He is
ministers being ministers of righteousness, preach a gospel of reformation prince of this present world system, but will be tormented in the lake of
and salvation by human character, rather than salvation by grace alone, fire.” 118
unrelated to any human virtue. Therefore the world, with all its moral
standards and culture, is not necessarily free from the power and energizing Dr. John Walvoord:
control of Satan. He would promote forms of religion and human excellence
apart from the redemption that is in Christ, and the world is evidently “Two errors regarding Satan are current, and since he alone is benefited
energized to undertake that very thing. He has blinded the unsaved; but by them it is reasonable to conclude that he is the author of them.
concerning one thing only: they are blinded by Satan lest the light of the 1. Many believe that Satan does not really exist and that the supposed
gospel should shine unto them (II Corinthians 4:3, 4).” 117 person of Satan is no more than an evil principle, or influence, which is in
man and in the world. This conception is proved to be wrong by the fact that
Dr. C. I. Scofield: there is the same abundant evidence that Satan is a person as there is that
Christ is a person. Scripture, which alone is authoritative on these matters,
“Satan: This fearful being, apparently created one of the cherubim (Ezk treats one to be a person as much as the other, and if the personality of Christ
1:5, note; 28:12-14, note) and anointed for a position of great authority, is accepted on the testimony of the Bible, the personality of Satan must also
perhaps over the primitive creation (Gen 1:2, note; Ezk 28:11-15), fell be accepted on the same testimony.
through pride (Isa 14:12-14). His “I will” (Isa 4:13) marks the introduction 2. Likewise, others believe the error that Satan is the direct cause of sin
of sin into the universe. Cast out of heaven (Lk 10:18), he makes earth and in every person. This impression is not true (a) because Satan is aiming to
air the scene of his tireless activity (Eph 2:2; 1 Pet 5:8). After the creation of promote sin in the world. He did not purpose to be a fiend, but rather to be
man he entered into the serpent (Gen 3:1, note), and, beguiling Eve by his “like the most High” (Isa 14:14); he is not aiming to destroy so much as he
subtlety, secured the downfall of Adam and through him of the race, and the is to construct and realize his own ambition for authority over this world-
entrance of sin into the world of men (Rom 5:12-14). The Adamic covenant system with its culture, morality, and religion (2 Cor 11:13-15). The
(Gen 3:14-19, note) promised the ultimate destruction of Satan through the impression that Satan is the direct cause of sin is not true (b) because human
“Seed of the woman.” Then began his long warfare against the work of God sin is said to come directly from the fallen human heart (Gen 6:5; Mark
in behalf of humanity, which still continues. The present world-system (Rev 7:18-23; James 1:13-16).
13:8), organized upon the principles of force, greed, selfishness, ambition, Isaiah 14:12-17 is only one of the many passages bearing on the work of
and sinful pleasure, is his work and was the bribe he offered to Christ (Mt Satan. This passage reveals Satan’s original and supreme purpose. He would
4:8, 9). Of that world-system he is prince (John 14:30; 16:11), and god (2 ascend into heaven, exalt his throne above the stars of God, and be like the
Cor 4:4). As “prince of the power of the air” (Eph 2:2) he is at the head of a most High. To this end he will use unmeasured wisdom and power; he will
vast host of demons (Mt 7:22, note); To him, under God, was committed weaken the nations, make the earth to tremble, make the world as a
upon the earth the power of death (Heb 2:14). Cast out of heaven as his wilderness, destroy the cities thereof, and refuse to release his prisoners.
proper sphere and “first estate,” he still has access to God as the “accuser of Though every phrase of this passage is a startling disclosure, two in
the brethren” (Rev 12:10), and is permitted a certain power of sifting or particular may be noted.
testing the self-confident and carnal among believers (Job 1:6-11; Lk 22:31, 1. The expression “I will be like the most High” (v. 14) indicates the
32; 1 Cor 5:5; 1 Tim 1:20), but this is a strictly limited and permissive supreme motive that guides all his activities after the fall. It was this purpose
power, and believers so sifted are kept in faith through the advocacy of which in all seriousness he recommended to Adam and Eve (Gen 3:5), and
Christ (Lk 22:31, 32; 1 John 2:1, note). At the beginning of the great they, by adopting Satan’s ideal, became self-centered, self-sufficient, and
tribulation Satan’s privilege of access to God as accuser will be withdrawn independent of God. This attitude on the part of Adam and Eve became their
(Rev 12:7-12. At the return of Christ in glory Satan will be bound for a very nature and has been transmitted to all their posterity to the extent that
thousand years (Rev 20:1); after which he will be loosed for a little season” their posterity are called the “children of wrath” (Eph 2:3; 5:6; Rom 1:18),
(Rev 20:3, 7, 8), and will become the head of a final effort to overthrow the they must be born again (John 3:3), and when saved, have a struggle to be
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yielded wholly to the will of God. Again, Satan’s desire to be “like the most were placed, to name the animals, and to experience the blessing of
High” is seen in his passion to be worshipped by Christ (Lk 4:5-7). When fellowship with God. As to the object of creation, Adam and Eve like all the
the Man of Sin enters the holy place and is worshipped as God (2 Thess 2:3, works of God were “very good” (Gen 1:31), that is, they were pleasing to
4; Dan 9:27; Matt 24:15; Rev 13:4-8) for a brief moment, Satan’s supreme their Creator. Their spiritual state was one of innocence, that is, freedom
desire will be realized under the permissive will of God. from sin; but their character was short of holiness, such as is seen as an
2. The expression that He “opened not the house of his prisoners” (Isa attribute of God which is a positive term, making it impossible for God to
14:17) seems to refer to Satan’s present power over unsaved people as well sin.
as his incapacity to help them in their in their eternal judgment. The entire Man, because he was made in the image of God, possessed a complete
prophecy from which this phrase is taken concerns the work of Satan as it personality and the capacity to make moral decisions. In contrast with God
will have been completed in the day of his final judgment. Doubtless there is who cannot sin, both men and angels could sin. As seen in the earlier study
a larger fulfillment yet future; however, we know that Satan is now doing all of angels, Satan sinned (Isa 14:12-14; Ezek 28:15), and the angels who
in his power to keep the unsaved from being delivered from the power of joined Satan in sinning are described as those who “kept not their first
darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Col 1:13). estate” (Jude 6). Because of the fact that Satan and the fallen angels sinned
Satan is the one who energizes the children of disobedience (Eph 2:2), blinds first, man did not originate sin, but became a sinner due to satanic influence
the minds of the unsaved lest the light of the Gospel reach them (2 Cor 4:3, (Gen 3:4-7).
4), and holds the unconscious world in his arms (1 John 5:19, NASB). [“We The account of how Adam and Eve sinned is revealed in Genesis 3:1-6.
know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the According to this record Satan appeared in the form of a serpent, a creature
evil one,” this writer] which at that time was a very beautiful and attractive animal. God had given
It is also revealed that Satan in his warfare will counterfeit the things of to Adam and Eve only one prohibition as far as the scriptural record is
God, which undertaking will likewise be in accord with his purpose to be concerned – they should not eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
“like the most High.” He will promote extensive religious systems (1 Tim According to Genesis 2:17, God said, “But of the tree of knowledge of good
4:1-3; 2 Cor 11:13-15). In this connection it should be observed that Satan and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in that day that thou shalt eatest thereof
can promote forms of religion which are based on selected Bible texts, thou shalt surely die.” This relatively simple prohibition was a test case to
which elevate Christ as the leader, and which incorporate every phase of the see whether Adam or Eve would obey God.
Christian faith except one – the doctrine of salvation by grace alone on the In his conversation with Eve, Satan introduced this prohibition saying to
ground of the shed blood of Christ. Such satanic delusions are now in the Eve, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
world and multitudes are being deceived by them. Such false systems are (Gen 3:1). The implication was that God was holding something back that
always to be tested by the attitude they take toward the saving grace of God was good and was being unnecessarily severe in His prohibition. Eve replied
through the efficacious blood of Christ (Rev 12:11). to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the
Satan’s enmity is evidently against God alone. He is in no way at enmity fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall
with the unsaved, and when he aims his “fiery darts” at the children of God, not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die” (Gen 3:2-3).
he attacks them only because of the fact that they are indwelt by the divine Eve in her reply fell into Satan’s trap by leaving out the word “freely” in
nature, and through them he is enabled to secure a thrust at God. God’s permission to eat of the trees of the garden, and she left out also the
Likewise, the attack against the children of God is not in the sphere of word “surely” in God’s warning. The natural tendency of man to minimize
“flesh and blood,” but in the sphere of their heavenly association with God’s goodness and to magnify His strictness are familiar characteristics of
Christ. That is, the believer may not be drawn away into immortality, but he human experience ever since. Satan immediately seized upon the omission
may utterly fail in prayer, in testimony, and in spiritual victory. Such failure, of the word “surely” in regard to the penalty and said to the woman, “Ye
it should be seen, is as much defeat and dishonor in the sight of God as those shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day that ye eat thereof,
sins which are freely condemned by the world.” 119 then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
“THE FALL OF MAN. Scripture does not indicate the length of time the evil” (Gen 3:4-5).
first man and the first woman remained in an unfallen state, but they were In his conversation with the woman, Satan is revealed as the arch
unfallen long enough to become accustomed to the situation in which they deceiver. The certainty of the punishment is directly challenged, and the
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Word of God expressly denied. That through eating the fruit their eyes In like manner, the facts of the old creation are actually transferred to
would be opened to know good and evil was true, but what Satan did not those who by natural generation are “in Adam.” They become possessed of
reveal was that they would have the power to know good and evil without the Adamic nature and themselves are said to have sinned in adam. This is as
the power to do good. real in constituting a sufficient ground for divine judgment as the imputation
According to Genesis 3:6, the fall of Adam and Eve into sin is recorded, of the righteousness of God in Christ is a sufficient ground for justification;
“And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was the result is the divine judgment upon the race whether or not they have
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of sinned as Adam did.
the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave unto her husband with her; and he did Although men contend, as they do, that they are not responsible for
eat.” Whether Satan pointed this out to the woman or whether she came to Adam’s sin, the divine revelation stands that because of the far-reaching
those conclusions herself, Scripture does not say. effect of representation by Adam as the federal head of the [old, this writer]
The familiar pattern, however, of temptation along three lines indicated race, Adam’s one, initial sin is transmitted in the form of a sinful nature
in 1 John 2:16 is seen here: the fact that the fruit was good for food appealed immediately, or by inheritance, from father to son throughout all
to the “lust of the flesh”; the fact that it was “pleasant to the eyes” appealed generations. The effect of the fall is universal; so, also, the offer of divine
to “the lust of the eyes”; and the power of the fruit of the tree to make them grace.
wise appealed to “the pride of life.” A similar pattern of temptation was Men do not now fall by their first sin, they are born fallen sons of Adam.
followed by Satan in the temptation of Christ of Christ (Matt 4:1-11; Mark They do not become sinful by sinning, but they sin because by nature they
1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13). Eve was deceived into partaking of the fruit, and are sinful. No child needs to be taught to sin, but every child must be
Adam followed her example although he was not deceived (1 Tim 2:14).” 120 encouraged to be good.
“THE EFFECT UPON THE RACE OF ADAM’S SIN. The immediate effect of It should be observed that, though the fall of Adam rests upon the race,
sin on Adam and Eve was that they died spiritually and became subject to there is evident divine provision for infants and all who are irresponsible.
spiritual death. Their nature now was depraved and, henceforth, the human The holy judgments of God must rest upon all men outside of Christ, (1)
race would experience the slavery of sin. In addition to the change of the fate because of imputed sin, (2) because of an inherited sin nature, (3) because
of man and the change of his environment, Scripture also reveals a profound they are under sin, and (4) because of their own personal sins. Though these
doctrine of imputation, setting forth the truth that God now charged Adam holy judgments of God cannot be diminished, the sinner may be saved from
with sin and, subsequently, charged his descendents with the responsibility them through Christ. This is the good news of the Gospel.
of Adam’s first sin. The penalties resting on the old creation are (1) physical death, which is
Three imputations are set forth in Scripture: (1) The sin of Adam is separation of the soul from the body; (2) spiritual death, which (like
imputed to his posterity (Rom 5:12-14); (2) the sin of man is imputed to Adam’s) is the present estate of the lost and is the separation of the soul
Christ (2 Cor 5:21); (3) the righteousness of God is imputed to those who from God (Eph 2:1; 4:18, 19); and (3) the second death, which is the eternal
believe (Gen 15:6; Ps 32:2; Rom 3:22; 4:3, 8, 21-25; 2 Cor 5:21; Philem 17, separation of the soul from God and banishment from His presence forever
18). (Rev 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8).
It is obvious that there was judicial transfer of the sin of man to Christ A. HUMAN SPECULATION ON SIN. Because sin is a dominant fact of
the Sin-Bearer. Jehovah has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (Isa 53:5; John human experience as well as a major theme of the Bible, it has been the
1:29; 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18). So, in the same way, there is a judicial transfer of the subject of endless discussion. Those who reject scriptural revelation have
righteousness of God to the believer (2 Cor 5:21); for there could be no other frequently provided inadequate concepts of sin. A familiar feature of the
grounds of justification or acceptance with God. This imputation belongs to nonbiblical approach is to sin as to some extent an illusion, that is, that sin is
the new relationship within the new creation. Being joined to the Lord by the just a misconception based upon a false theory that thre is a right and a
baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor 6:17; 12:13; 2 Cor 5:17; Gal 3:27) and vitally wrong in the world. This false theory, of course, fails to face the facts of life
related to Christ as a member in His body (Eph 5:30), it follows that every and the evils of the sin, and denies the existence of a moral God and moral
virtue of Christ is extended to those who have become an organic part of principles.
Him. The believer is “in Christ” and thus partakes of all that Christ is. Another ancient approach to the problem of sin regards it as an inherent
principle, the opposite of what God is, and related to the physical world.
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This is found in oriental philosophy as well as Greek Gnosticism and is the nature, is corrupted by sin (Rom 1:18-3:20). Accordingly, man in his will (
background both for asceticism, the denial of the desires of the body, and its Rom 1:28), his conscience (1 Tim 4:2), and his intellect (Rom 1:28; 2 Cor
opposite, Epicureanism, advocating indulgences of the body. The effect, 4:4) is corrupted and depraved, and his heart and understanding are blinded
however, is to deny that man really sins and is accountable to God. A (Eph 4:18).
common, although inadequate, concept that sin is just selfishness. While sin As seen in previous study, the reason why men have a sin nature is that
is often selfish, this concept does not cover all cases, for man sometimes sins it is transmitted to them from their parents. No child ever born in the world
against himself.. has been free from his sin nature except in the unique case of the birth of
All these theories fall short of the biblical standard and are a rejection of Christ. Men do not sin and become sinners; it is rather that men sin because
the biblical revelation of the character and universality of sin. they have a sin nature. The remedy for this as well as for personal sin is, of
B. THE BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF SIN. The teaching of Scripture is that sin course, the redemption which is provided in salvation in Christ.
is any want of conformity to the character of God, whether it be an act, a 3. Sin is also presented in Scripture as imputed or reckoned to our
disposition, or state. Various sins are defined in the Word of God as account (Rom 5:12-18). As revealed in connection with the fall of man in
illustrated, for instance, in the Ten Commandments which God gave to Israel the preceding chapter, there are three major imputations set forth in the
(Exod 20:3-17). Sin is sin because it is different from what God is and God Scriptures: (a) the imputation of Adam’s sin to the race, on which fact the
is eternally holy. Sin is always against God ((Ps 5:4; Luke 15:18), even doctrine of original sin is based; (b) the imputation of the sin of man to
though it may be directed against human beings. A person who sins is, Christ, on which fact the doctrine of salvation is based; and (c) the
accordingly, unlike God and subject to God’s judgment. The doctrine of sin imputation of the righteousness of God to those who believe on Christ, on
is presented in the Bible in four aspects. which fact the doctrine of justification is based.
1. Personal sin (Rom 3:28) is the form of sin which includes everything Imputation may be either (a) actual, or (b) judicial. Actual imputation is
in the daily life which is against or fails to conform to the character of God. the reckoning to one of that which is antecedently his own. Although God
Men are frequently conscious of their personal sins, and personals sins may might righteously do this, yet because of the reconciling work of Christ God
take a variety of form. Generally speaking, personal sin relates to some is not now imputing to man the sin which is antecedently his own (2 Cor
particular command of God in Scripture. It includes the aspect of rebellion 5:19).
or disobedience. Although at least eight important words are used for sin in Judicial imputation is the reckoning to one of that which is not
the Old Testament and as many as twelve in the New Testament, the basic antecedently his own (Philem 18). Though there has been disagreement as to
idea is lack of conformity to God’s character and will by acts either of whether the imputation of Adam’s sin to each member of the race is actual
omission or commission. The essential idea is that man comes short, he or judicial, Romans 5:12 clearly states that the imputation is actual, since in
misses the mark, and he fails to attain the standard of God’s own character the federal headship representation, Adam’s posterity sinned when he
of holiness. sinned.
2. The sin nature of man (Rom 5:19; Eph 2:3) is another major aspect of The next two verses (Rom 5:13-14) are written to prove that this is not a
sin as revealed in the Bible. Adam’s own initial sin caused him to fall, and in reference to personal sins (cf. Heb 7:9-10). However, Romans 5:17-18
the fall he became an entirely different being, depraved and degenerate, and implies that this imputation is also judicial, as it is stated that by one’s man
only capable of begetting posterity like his fallen self. Therefore, every child sin judgment came upon all men. Only the one initial sin of Adam is in
of Adam is born with the Adamic nature, is ever and always prone to sin, question. Its effect is death – both to Adam and directly from Adam to each
and, though this nature was judged by Christ on the cross (Rom 6:10), it member of the race. The divinely provided cure for imputed sin is the gift of
remains a vitally active force in every Christian’s life. It is never said to be God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ.
removed or eradicated in this life, but for the Christian there is overcoming 4. The resulting judicial state of sin for the entire human race is also
power provided through the indwelling Spirit (Rom 8:4; Gal 5:16-17). presented in Scripture. By divine reckoning the whole world, including Jew
Many biblical passages allude to this important subject. According to and Gentile, is now “under sin” (Rom 3:9; 11:32; Gal 3:22). To be under sin
Ephesians 2:3, all men “were by nature the children of wrath,” and man’s is to be divinely reckoned to be without merit which might contribute toward
whole nature is depraved. The concept of total depravity is not hat every salvation. Since salvation is by grace alone and grace excludes all human
man is as evil as he possibly could be but rather that man, throughout his merit, God has decreed all, as regards their salvation, to be “under sin,” or
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without merit. This estate under sin is remedied only when the individual, 2. Sin can only be cured on the ground of the shed blood of the Son of
through the riches of grace, is reckoned to stand in the merit of Christ. God. This was as true of those who anticipated the death of Christ by animal
Taken as a whole, the Bible clearly indicates the devastating effects of sacrifices as it is now of those who look back to that death by faith. Divine
sin upon man and the hopelessness of man solving his own sin problem. The forgiveness has never been a mere act of leniency in remitting the penalty of
proper understanding of the doctrine of sin is essential to understanding sin. If the penalty is remitted, it is because a substitute has met the holy
God’s remedy for it. demands against a sinner. In the old order it was only after the priest had
offered the atoning blood sacrifice which anticipated the death of Christ that
Justification - Salvation From the Penalty of Sin – Imputed the sinner was forgiven (Lev 4:20, 26, 31, 35; 5:10, 13, 16, 18; 6:7; 19:22;
Righteousness – The Believer is Dead to the Law Num 15:25, 26, 28). Likewise, after Christ has died the same truth applies,
as stated in the passage, “In whom we have redemption through his blood,
A. THE MEANING OF SALVATION. The divine revelation concerning even the forgiveness of sins” (Col 1:14; cf. Eph 1:7).
salvation should be mastered by every child of God, (1) since personal The substitutionary work of Christ on the cross is infinitely perfect in its
salvation depends on it, (2) it is the one message which God has committed sufficiency. Therefore the sinner who trusts in Christ not only is forgiven,
to the believer to proclaim to the world, and (3) it alone discloses the full but he is even justified forever (Rom 3:24). God has never treated sin lightly.
measure of God’s love. Forgiveness may impose no burden on the sinner, but he is forgiven and
According to its largest meaning as used in Scripture, the word justified only because the undiminished divine penalty has been borne by
“salvation” represents the whole work of God by which He rescues man Christ ( 1 Pet 2:24; 3:18). …
from the eternal ruin and doom of sin and bestows on him the riches of His
grace, including eternal life now and eternal glory in heaven. “Salvation is of D. THE THREE TENSES OF SALVATION.
the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). Therefore it is in every aspect a work of God in 1. The past tense of salvation is revealed in certain passages which,
behalf of man and is in no sense a work of man for God. when speaking of salvation, refer to it as being wholly past, or completed for
Certain details of this divine undertaking have varied from age to age. the one who has believed (Luke 7:50; 1 Cor 1:18; 2 Cor 2:15; Eph 2:5, 8).
We are assured that, beginning with Adam and continuing to Christ, those So perfect is this divine work that the saved are said to be safe forever (John
individuals who put their trust in God were spiritually reborn and made heirs 5:24; 10:28, 29; Rom 8:1).
of heaven’s glory. Likewise, the nation Israel will yet be spiritually born in a
day at the time of the Lord’s return (Isa 66:8). John 5:24 “I tell you the solemn truth, the one who hears my message
It is also said of the multitudes of both Jews and Gentiles who are to live and believes the one who sent me has eternal life and will not be
on the earth during the coming kingdom that all shall know the Lord from condemned, but has crossed over from death to life. NET
the least unto the greatest (Jer 31:34). However, the salvation which is
offered to men in the present age is not only more fully revealed in the Bible John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one
as to its details, but it far exceeds every other saving work of God in the will snatch them from my hand. 10:29 My Father, who has given them to
marvels which it accomplishes; for, as offered in the present age, salvation me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s
includes every phase of the gracious work of God such as the indwelling, hand.
sealing, and baptism of the Spirit. NET
B. SALVATION AS GOD’S REMEDY FOR SIN. While in the biblical
doctrine of sin there are certain distinctions, two universal facts should first Rom 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in
be noted: Christ Jesus.
1. Sin is always equally sinful whether it be committed by the heathen or NET
the civilized, the unregenerate or the regenerate. The question of many
stripes or few is taken up into consideration in the judgments to be imposed 2. The present tense of salvation, which will be the theme of the next
upon the sinner (Luke 12:47-48); but any sin in itself is unvaryingly sinful chapter, has to do with present salvation from the reigning power of sin.
because it outrages the holiness of God. (Rom 6:14; 8:2; 2 Cor 3:18; Gal 2:19-20; Phil 1:19; 2:12-13; 2 Thess 2:13).
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3. The future tense of salvation contemplates that the believer will yet be 3:15), and made complete in Christ (Col 2:10). The child of God has been
saved into full conformity to Christ (Rom 8:29; 13:11; 1 Pet 1:5; 1 John 3:2). delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of
The fact that some aspects of salvation are yet to be accomplished for the God’s dear Son (Col 1:13), and he now possesses every spiritual blessing
one who believes does not imply that there is ground for doubt as to its (Eph 1:3).
ultimate completion; for it is nowhere taught that any feature of salvation Among the stupendous works of God just mentioned, the guilt and
depends upon the faithfulness of man. God is faithful and, having begun a penalty of sin are seen to have been removed; for it is said of the saved one
good work, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil 1:6). that he both is forgiven all trespasses and is justified forever. God could not
E. SALVATION AS THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST. When contemplating forgive and justify apart from the cross of Christ; but since Christ has died,
the work of God for lost men, it is important to distinguish between the God is able to save to the uttermost all who come to Him by Christ Jesus.
finished work of Christ for all, which is completed to infinite perfection, and G. SALVATION AS RELATED TO THE SIN OF THE SAVED.
the saving work of God which is wrought for and in the individual at the 1. The forgiveness of sin is accomplished for the sinner when he believes
moment he believes in Christ. upon Christ and is a part of his salvation. Many things which constitute
“It is finished” is the last recorded word of Christ before His death (John salvation are wrought of God at the moment one believes; but forgiveness is
19:30). It is evident that He was not referring to His own life, His service, or never received by the unsaved apart from the whole work of saving grace or
His suffering; but rather to a special work which His Father had given Him the ground of believing on Christ as Savior.
to do, which did not even begin until He was on the cross and which was 2. In the divine dealing with the sins of the Christian, it is the sin
completed when He died. This was distinctly a work for the whole world question alone that is in view, and the Christian’s sin is forgiven, not on the
(John 3:16; Heb 2:9) and, in a provisionary sense, provided redemption (1 ground of believing unto salvation, but on the ground of confessing the sin
Tim 2:6), reconciliation (2 Cor 5:19), and propitiation (1 John 2:2) for every (1 John 1:9).
man. The effect of the Christian’s sin, among other things, is the loss of
The fact that Christ died does not save men, but it provides a sufficient fellowship with the Father and the Son and the grieving of the indwelling
ground upon which God in full harmony with His holiness is free to save Spirit. The child of God who has sinned will be restored to fellowship, joy,
even the chief of sinners. This is the good news which the Christian is blessing, and power when he confesses his sin.
appointed to proclaim to all the world. The blood of God’s only and well- While the effect of sin upon the believer is the loss of blessing, which
beloved Son was the most precious thing before His eyes, yet it was paid to may be removed by confession, the effect of the believer’s sin upon God is a
ransom the sinner. The offense of sin had separated the sinner from God, yet far more serious matter. But for the value of the shed blood of Christ and the
God provided His own Lamb to bear away the sin forever. The holy present advocacy of Christ in heaven (Rom 8:34; Heb 9:24; 1 John 3:1-2),
judgments of God were against the sinner because of his sin of the whole sin would separate Christians from God forever. However, we are assured
world. that the blood of efficacious (1 John 2:2 [propitiation=completed
The fact that all this is already finished constitutes a message which the satisfaction, this writer]) and the Advocate’s cause is righteous (1 John 2:1).
sinner is asked to believe as the testimony of God. One can scarcely be said The sinning saint is not lost because of his sin, even while sinning, he has an
to have believed who, having heard this message, has not experienced a Advocate with the Father. This truth, which alone forms the basis on which
sense of relief that the sin problem has thus been solved, and responded with any Christian has ever been kept saved for a moment, so far from
a sense of gratitude to God for this priceless blessing. encouraging Christians to sin, is presented in Scripture to the end that the
F. SALVATION AS THE SAVING WORK OF GOD. The saving work of God Christian “sin not,” or “be not sinning” (1 John 2:1). Beholding the Savior
which is accomplished the moment one believes includes various phases of advocating for us in heaven must cause us to hesitate before yielding to
God’s gracious work: redemption, reconciliation, propitiation, forgiveness, temptation.
regeneration, imputation, justification, sanctification, perfection, H. SALVATION CONDITIONED UPON FAITH ALONE. In the New
glorification. By it we are made fit to be partakers of the inheritance of saints Testament in about 115 passages, the salvation of a sinner is declared to
(Col 1:12), made accepted in the Beloved (Eph 1:6), made the righteousness depend only upon believing and in about 35 passages to depend on faith,
of God (2 Cor 5:21), made near to God (Eph 2:13), made a new creation (2 which is a synonym for believing. By believing an individual wills to trust
Cor 5:17), made members of the family and household of God (Eph 2:19; Christ. It is an act of the whole man, not just his intellect or emotion. While
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intellectual assent is not of real faith, and merely a stirring of the emotions is intercede for them and provide for them the spiritual life and food they need
short of faith, believing is a definite act in which the individual wills to (Heb 7:25). According to Psalm 23:1, “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not
receive Christ by faith. want.”
Scripture everywhere harmonizes with this overwhelming body of truth. 2. Christ is the True Vine, and believers are the branches . Although
God alone can save a soul, and God can save only through the sacrifice of Israel was related to God in the figure of a vine in the Old Testament, Christ
His Son. Man can sustain no other relation to salvation than to believe God’s is the True Vine and believers are the branches, according to John 15. The
message to the extent of turning from self-works to depend only on the work figure speaks both of the union with Christ and communion with Christ.
of God through Christ. Believing is the opposite of doing anything; it is Believers are exhorted to abide in this unbroken fellowship with Christ
trusting another instead. Therefore Scripture is violated and the whole (15:10); and the results of abiding are cleansing or pruning (v. 2), effectual
doctrine of grace confused when salvation is made to depend on anything prayer (v. 7), celestial joy (v. 11), and eternal truth (v. 16). The central truth
other than believing. The divine message is not “believe and pray,” “believe of the vine and the branches is that the believer cannot enjoy his Christian
and confess sin,” “believe and confess Christ,” “believe and be baptized,” life or be fruitful in his service apart from a living connection with Christ the
“believe and repent,” or “believe and make restitution.” These six added true Vine.
subjects are mentioned in Scripture, and there they have their full intended 3. Christ is the Cornerstone, and the church comprises stones of the
meaning; but if they were as essential to salvation as believing they would building. In contrast with the Old Testament, in which Israel had a temple
never be omitted from any passage wherein the way to be saved is stated (Exod 25:8), the church is a temple (Eph 2:19-22). It is God’s present
(note John 1:12; 3:16, 36; 5:24; 6:29; 20:31; Acts 16:31; Rom 1:16; 3:22; purpose to build His church (Matt 6:18). In the construction of the church as
4:5, 24; 5:1; 10:4; Gal 3:22). Salvation is only through Christ, and men are a building, each stone is a living stone because it partakes of the divine
therefore saved when they receive Him as their Savior.” 121 nature (1 Pet 2:5); Christ is the Chief Cornerstone and Foundation (1 Cor
3:11; Eph 2:20-22; 1 Pet 2:6); and the building as a whole becomes “an
Sanctification - Salvation From the Power of Sin – Imparted habitation of God through the Spirit” (Eph 2:22). In the figure of the
Righteousness – The Believer is Dead to the Sin Nature or Flesh building, the dependence of each believer upon Christ as the Foundation and
Chief Cornerstone is evident, and the stones of the building likewise reveal
THE CHURCH: THE BODY AND BRIDE OF CHRIST AND HER REWARD interdependence of believers, with the building as a whole the temple of God
through the Spirit.
A. THE SEVEN FIGURES OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH. In Scripture, 4. Christ is pictured in the New Testament as our High Priest with the
seven figures are used to reveal the relationship between Christ and His believers as believer-priests. As pointed out in previous studies, the
church. believer-priest has a fourfold sacrifice: (a) he offers a service of sacrifice,
1. The Shepherd and the sheep anticipated in the Twenty-Third Psalm presenting himself once for all to God (Rom 12:1-2); (b) he offers a service
are used in John 10, where Christ is the Shepherd and those believe in Him of worship, in giving praise and thanksgiving to God (Heb 13:15), including
are His sheep. According to this passage (a) Christ came by the door, that is, a service of intercession, or prayer on behalf of his own needs and others’
through the appointed lineage of David; (b) He is the true Shepherd who is (Rom 8:26-27; Col 4:2; 1 Tim 2:1; Heb 10:19-22). As our High Priest,
followed by the true sheep; (c) Christ is also the Door of the sheep, the Door Christ enters into heaven through His blood shed at Calvary (Heb 4:14-16;
of entrance into salvation as well as the Door which provides security (John 9:24; 10:19-22) and now intercedes for us (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25).
10:28-29); (d) life and food are provided for by the Shepherd; (e) in contrast, As members of the royal priesthood, it is important for us to note that
other shepherds are merely hirelings who would not give their lives for the believers also offer (c) the sacrifice of good works and (d) the sacrifice of
sheep; (f) there is a fellowship between the sheep and the Shepherd – just as their substance in addition to offering their bodies as a living sacrifice (Heb
the Father knows the Son and the the Son knows the Father, so the sheep 13:16).
know the Shepherd; (g) although Israel belonged to a different fold in the 5. Christ as the Last Adam and the church as the new creation is a
Old Testament, in the present age there is one fold and one Shepherd in figure in which Christ, as the Resurrected One, replaces Adam, the head of
which Jew and Gentile alike have salvation (John 10:6); (h) As the the old order, and becomes head of the new creatures in Christ. The figure
Shepherd, Christ not only lays down His life for His sheep but ever lives to is based on th certainty of the resurrection of Christ and the significance that
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in His resurrection Christ established a new order. The believer is seen to be THE NEW CREATION. The New Testament reveals that the purpose of
in Christ by baptism of the Spirit, in contrast with being in Adam. In his new God in the present unforeseen dispensation is the out-calling of the church
position in Christ he shares all that Christ did on his behalf by way of (Acts 15:13-18, [the first church council in Jerusalem where it was agreed,
providing both righteousness and new life in Christ. Because Christ is the that according to prophecy, Judaism was temporarily suspended as God’s
Head of a new creation, it requires a new commemorative day, the first day purpose. this writer]), and this redeemed company is the new creation, a
of the week, in contrast with the Sabbath, which belonged to the old order. heavenly people. While it is indicated that marvelous glories and perfections
7. Christ as the Bridegroom and the church as the bride is the figure are to be accomplished for this company as a whole (Eph 5:25-27), it is also
that is prophetic of both present and future relationships between Christ and revealed that they individually are the objects of the greatest divine
His church. In contrast with Israel presented in the Old Testament as an undertakings and transformations. Likewise, as the corporate body is
unfaithful wife of Jehovah, the church is revealed in the New Testament to organically related to Christ (1 Cor 12:12), so the individual believer is
be a virgin bride waiting the coming of her Bridegroom. This will be the vitally joined to the Lord (1 Cor 6:17; Rom 6:5; 1 Cor 12:13).
subject of an extended discussion later in this chapter. Just as the church as
the body of Christ is the most important figure revealing the present purpose Rom 6:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his
of God, so the church as the bride is the most important figure revealing the death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.
future relationship of the church to Christ.” 122 NET
The New Creation Began on the Lord’s Day – The Believer’s New Life in 1 Cor 6:17 But the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him.
Christ
NET
“THE SABBATH IN THE COMING AGE. In full harmony with the doctrine
that the new Lord’s Day is related only to the church, it is prophesied that 1 Cor 12:12 For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and
the Sabbath will be reinstated - thus superceding the Lord’s Day – all the members of the body—though many—are one body, so too is
immediately upon the completion of the out-calling of the church and her Christ. 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body.
removal from the world. Even in the brief period of the Tribulation which Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of
must intervene between the end of this age and the age of the kingdom, the the one Spirit.
Sabbath is again in view (Matt 24:20); but prophecy especially anticipates NET
the Sabbath as a vital feature of the coming kingdom age (Isa 66:23; Ezk
46:1). Concerning the individual believer, the Bible teaches that (1) as to sin,
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST AND THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. The each one in this company has been cleansed, forgiven, and justified; (2) as to
first day of the week has been celebrated by the church from the resurrection his possessions, each one has been given the indwelling Spirit, the gift of
of Christ to the present time. This fact is proven by the New Testament God which is eternal life, has become a legal heir of God, and a joint heir
records, the writings of the early fathers, and the history of the church. There with Christ; (3) as to position, each one has been made the righteousness of
have been those in nearly every century who, not comprehending the present God by which he is accepted in the beloved forever (2 Cor 5:21; Eph 1:6), a
purpose of God in the new creation, have earnestly contended for the member of Christ’s mystical body, a part of His glorious bride, and a living
observance of the seventh-day Sabbath. At present, those who specialize in partaker in the new creation of which Christ is the Federal Head. We read:
urging the observance of the seventh day combine these appeals with other “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature [creation]: old things [as to
unscriptural doctrines. Since the believer is appointed of God to observe the position, not experience] are passed away; behold, all things are become
first day of the week under the new relationship of grace, confusion arises new. And all [these positional] things are of God” (2 Cor 5:17-18; cf. Gal
when that day is invested with the character of, and is governed by, the 6:15; Eph 2:10; 4:24).
seventh-day Sabbath laws. All such teachings ignore the New Testament
doctrine of the new creation. Gal 6:15 For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for
anything; the only thing that matters is a new creation! NET
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day of its accomplishment is divinely appointed as a day of rejoicing and
Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ gladness. Accordingly, Christ’s greeting on the resurrection morn was “All
Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them hail!” (Matt 28:9, which is more literally, “O joy!”), and being “the day
which the Lord hath made,” it is rightfully termed “The Lord’s Day.”
NET 2. Observance of the first day is indicated by various events. (a) On that
day Christ arose from the dead (Matt 28:9). (b) On that day He first met His
Eph 4:24 and to put on the new man who has been created in God’s disciples in the new fellowship (John 20:19). (c) On that day He gave them
image—in righteousness and holiness that comes from truth. instruction (Luke 24:13-45). (d) On that day He ascended into heaven as the
NET “firstfruits,” or wave sheaf (Lev 23:10-12; John 20:17; 1 Cor 15:20, 23). (e)
On that day He breathed on them (John 20:22). (f) On that day the Spirit
Peter, writing of this company of believers, states, “but ye are a chosen descended from heaven (Acts 2:1-4). (g) On that day the Apostle Paul
generation” (1 Pet 2:9), which means a distinct heaven born race, or preached in Troas (Acts 20:6-7). (h) On that day the believers came together
nationality – a stock, or kind – which has been directly created by the power to break bread (Acts 20:6-7). (i) On that day they were to “lay by in store” as
of God. As the first Adam begat a race which partook of his human life and God had prospered them (1 Cor 16:2). (j) On that day Christ appeared to
imperfections, so Christ, the last Adam, is now begetting by the Spirit a new John on Patmos (Rev 1:10).
race which partakes of His eternal life and perfection. “The first man Adam 3. The eighth day was the day of circumcision. The rite of circumcision,
was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening [life-giving] performed on the eighth day, typified the believer’s separation from the flesh
spirit” (1 Cor 15:45). and the old order by the death of Christ (Col 2:11), and the eighth day, being
Having partaken of the resurrection life of Christ, and being in Christ, the first day after a completed week, is symbolical of a new beginning.
the believer is said to be already raised (Rom 6:4; Col 2:12-13; 3:14). 4. The new day is of grace. At the end of a week of toil, a day of rest
However, as to his body, the believer is yet to receive a glorious body like was granted to the people who were related to God by works of the law;
the resurrection body of Christ (Phil 3:20-21). In confirmation of this we while to the people under grace, whose works are finished in Christ, a day of
also read that when Christ appeared in heaven immediately following His worship is appointed which, being the first day of the week, precedes all
resurrection, it was as the “firstfruits,” implying that the whole company that days of work. In the blessing of the first day the believer lives and serves the
are to follow will be like Him (1 John 3:2), even to their glorified bodies. following six days. A day of rest belongs to a people who are related to God
In the Word of God, the new creation – which began with the by works which are to be accomplished; a day of ceaseless worship and
resurrection of Christ and consists of a born-again, heavenly company who service belongs to a people who are related to God by the finished work of
are in Christ – is everywhere held in contrast with the old creation, and it is Christ. The seventh day was characterized by unyielding law; the first day is
from the old and ruined creation that the believer is said to have been saved characterized by the latitude and liberty belonging to grace. The seventh day
and delivered. was observed with the hope that by it one might be acceptable to God; the
As the Sabbath was instituted to celebrate the old creation (Exod 20:10- first day is observed with the assurance that one is already accepted of God.
11; 31:12-17; Heb 4:4), so the Lord’s Day celebrates the new creation. The keeping of the seventh day was wrought by the flesh; the keeping of the
Likewise, as the Sabbath was limited in its application to Israel as the earthly first day is wrought by the indwelling Spirit.
people of God, so also the Lord’s Day is limited in its application to the 5. The new day has been blessed of God. Through-out this age the most
church as the heavenly people of God. Spirit-filled, devout believers to whom the will of God has been clearly
THE LORD’S DAY. In addition to the fact that the Sabbath is nowhere revealed have kept the Lord’s day apart from any sense of responsibility to
imposed on the children of God under grace, there are abundant reasons for keep the seventh day. It is reasonable to suppose that if they has been guilty
their observing the first day of the week. of Sabbath-breaking, they would have been [Spirit] convicted of that sin.
1. A new day is prophesied and appointed under grace. According to 6. The new day is committed only to the individual believer. It is not
Psalm 118:22-24 and Acts 4:10-11, Christ in His crucifixion was the Stone committed to the unsaved. It is certainly most misleading to the unsaved to
rejected by Israel the “builders”; but through His resurrection He has been give them grounds for supposing that they will be more accepted of God if
made the Headstone of the corner. This marvelous thing is of God, and the they observe a day; for apart from the salvation which is in Christ, all men
429 430
are utterly and equally lost. For social or physical reasons a day of rest may ceaseless activity in all forms of worship and service; such activity contrasts
be secured to the benefit of all; but the unregenerate should understand that with the seventh-day rest.
the observance of such a day adds nothing to their merit before God. 7. No command is given to keep the first day. Since it is all of grace, a
It is not committed to the church as a body. The responsibility to the written requirement for the keeping of the Lord’s Day is not imposed, nor is
observance of the first day is of necessity committed to the individual the manner of its observance prescribed. By this wise provision, none are
believer only, and not to the church as a whole; and the manner of its encouraged to keep the day as a mere duty; it is to kept from the heart. Israel
celebration by the individual is suggested in the two sayings of Christ on the stood before God as immature children under tutors and governors and
morning of His resurrection: “O joy!” and “Go tell.” This calls for needing the commandments which are given to a child (Gal 4:1-11); the
church stands before God as an adult sons. The believer’s life under grace is
clearly defined, but it is presented only as the beseechings of God with the
expectation that all shall be done willingly (Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:1-3). There is
little question as to how a well-instructed, Spirit filled believer (and the
Scripture presupposes a normal Christian to be such) will be occupied on the
day which commemorates Christ’s resurrection and the new creation. If the
Child of God is not yielded to God, no unwilling observance of a day will
correct his carnal heart, nor would such observance be pleasing to God. The
issue between God and the carnal Christian is not one of outward actions,
but of a yielded life.
8. The manner of the observance of the Lord’s Day may be extended to
all days. Christ was not more devoted to His Father on one day than on
another. Sabbath rest could not be extended to all days alike; but while the
believer may have more time and freedom on the first day of the week, his
worship, joy, and service which characterizes the keeping of the Lord’s Day
should, as far as possible, be his experience every day (Rom 14:5).” 123
431 432
Appendix
433 434
The Positive Gospel sinned is in the aorist45 tense it refers to a completed past action. That is, all
men sinned when Adam sinned, and thereby brought the penalty of physical
“The unregenerate may be told that upon becoming regenerate they will death upon themselves by so doing. That this evil may not be deemed
be accorded a twofold provision whereby the sin nature may be divinely personal sins, the Apostle points out how all died between the period
dealt with. They may look on to such an experience the same as they may between Adam and Moses, or before the Mosaic Law was given (which law
anticipate forgiveness and justification, though, since all that enters into the first gave to sin the heinous character of transgression), and likewise how all
remedy for the sin nature so relates only to the problems of the Christian’s irresponsible persons such as infants and imbeciles died although they have
daily life, the divine dealing with the sin nature is not at any time included in never sinned willfully, as in the case of Adam’s transgression. Since God
the offers which the gospel of the grace of God extends to the unsaved. On reckons each member of the race to have sinned in Adam’s sin, this becomes
the other hand, the sin nature enters largely into the need of salvation which the one case of real imputation, that is, a reckoning to each person that
is represented by the unsaved. No more misleading message can be given by which is antecedently his own. An illustration of like seminal action may be
sincere men when the unsaved are told that they are lost because of their seen in the record that Levi, who was supported by tithes, paid tithes while
sins. To this they might reply that, since they had never been even one per being in the loins of his great grandfather Abraham (Heb. 7:9-10, meaning
cent as sinful as they might have been, they are only one per cent lost. Such when Abraham gave tithes to Melchizedek).
reasoning naturally follows that form of preaching which bases man’s lost 2. Of the Sin of the Race to Christ. In this particular field of truth the
estate on the personal sins committed. Man is lost by nature – born a lost whole gospel resides. Though the word impute is not used, similar terms are
soul, with no hope apart from the redeeming blood of Christ. A much more to be found such as “made him to be sin,” “laid on him,” “bare our sins”
weighty appeal is made when the need of salvation is made to reach to the (Isa. 53:5-6, 11; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:24). Here is a judicial imputation since
root of all the evil ever wrought. The twofold remedy is (a) the judgment for the sin was never antecedently Christ’s, for when laid upon Him it became
believers of the sin nature by Christ on the cross, and (b) the gift of the His in an awful sense.
indwelling Spirit as One who is able to give victory over every evil 3. Of the Righteousness of God to the Believer. This third im-putation
disposition. God has judged the sin nature for believers, else it could not be constitutes the Christian’s acceptance and standing before God. It is the only
said, as it is, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in righteousness that God ever accepts for salvation and by it alone may one
Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).” (Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 2, enter heaven. The entire book of Romans is more or less occupied with
pp 292-93) setting forth the doctrine respecting the imputed righteousness of God, and
as the purpose of the Romans Epistle is to reveal the truth concerning
1. The Doctrine of Imputation salvation it follows that the imputed righteousness of God must be an
“The word impute means to reckon over to one’s account, as the Apostle important factor therein. The apostolic phrase the righteousness of God
writing to Philemon regarding whatever Onesimus might owe Philemon (Rom. 1:17; 3:32; 10:3), then, means a righteousness from God rather than
declared: “Put that on mine account” (1:18). Because of the various phases the mere fact that God Himself is righteous. In Romans 3:10 it is declared
of doctrine involved, imputation becomes at once one of the major or that none among men are in the sight of God righteous; hence an imputed
fundamental doctrines of Christianity. On this account great care is enjoined, righteousness is the only hope for men on this earth. Regarding the hope of
that the student may comprehend the teaching perfectly. There are three imputed righteousness, the Apostle wrote: “… not having mine own
major imputations set forth in the Scriptures, as will be seen below. righteousness, which is of the law, but which is of the faith of Christ, the
Imputation may either be real or judicial. A real imputation calls for the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Phil. 3:9). To be fitted for the
reckoning to one of what is antecedently his own, while a judicial imputation presence of God is of immeasurable importance (Col. 1:2). This calls for a
for the reckoning to one of what is not antecedently his own. righteousness which is made over to the believer even as was Christ was
1. Of Adam’s Sin to the Race. The central passage bearing on
imputation is found in Romans 5:12-21. In verse 12 it is declared that death
45
as a penalty has come upon all men in that all have sinned. This does not type of verb in classical Greek: a verb tense used to express a past action in an
refer to the fact that all men sin in their daily experience, but as the verb unqualified way, without specifying whether that action was repeated, continuing, or
completed or how long it lasted, found especially in classical Greek Encarta ® World
English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
435 436
made to be sin for all men (2 Cor. 5:21). Obviously here must be a judicial 1 Cor 1:30 He is the reason you have a relationship with Christ Jesus, [31tn
imputation as this righteousness is not antecedently the believer’s. Grk “of him you are in Christ Jesus.”] who became for us wisdom from
Nevertheless, when imputed to him by God he will possess it forever. God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, NET
This imputation which provides the believer with all he needs before
God forever is so important that its basis is revealed in the Scriptures, and so 2 Cor 5:21 God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us,so that
it is quite essential for each believer to understand the revelation. It is made in him [40sn That is, “in Christ.”] we would become the righteousness of
unto him a legal bestowment through the death of Christ and is applied by God. NET
the Holy Spirit through His baptism of the believer into Christ.
a. Such imputation is constituted legal before God since Christ offered Unto this marvelous standing the great Apostle aspired when he wrote: “And
Himself without spot to God (Heb. 9:14). This is to say, Christ not only was be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is of the law, but
made a sin offering by His death, by which remission of sin is legally that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God
possible on the ground of the truth that He substituted for those who believe, by faith” (Phil. 3:9).
but also He presented Himself without spot as an offering well-pleasing to
God, thus providing a release of all that He is in infinite merit and making Phil 3:9 and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness
His merit available for those who had no merit. As God goes to the cross for derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by
the legal basis to remit sin, so He goes to the same cross for a legal basis to way of Christ’s faithfulness—a righteousness from God that is in fact based
impute righteousness. All of this is typically presented in the five offerings on Christ’s faithfulness. NET
in Leviticus, chapters 1-5, where Christ’s death may be seen both as a sweet
savor and a non-sweet savor in the estimation of the Father. There is that in The extent of this position in Christ cannot be estimated or understood.
His death which was not a sweet savor to God as seen in the words of Christ, In Hebrews 10:14, however, it is declared: For by one offering he hath
“My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; cf. Ps 22:1). perfected us for ever them that are sanctified,” and in John 1:16 reference is
Similarly, as cited above, Hebrews 9:14 suggests a sweet savor offering to made to the πλήρωµα [pleroma] or fullness of Christ which the believer has
God. received. That fullness is described in Colossians 1:19: “For it pleased the
Father that in him should all fullness dwell,” and again in 2:9: “For in him
Heb 9:14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,” while verse 10 repeats the
Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our consciences from message of John 1:16, namely, that the believer is filled with the πλήρωµα
dead works to worship the living God. NET [pleroma] (or, is complete) in Him.
He offered Himself without spot to God not merely to inform the father of Col 2:10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head over every ruler
Himself, but on the behalf of others. Here also He served as a Substitute. and authority. NET
When others did not have and could not secure a standing and merit before
God, He released His own self and all its perfection for them. Nothing could The legal basis for the imputing of God’s righteousness to the believer is
be more needed on the part of meritless sinners. found, then, in the sweet savor offerings and the application is accomplished
b. Imputed righteousness is applied directly on the ground of the pivotal by his being placed in union with Christ through the working of the Holy
fact that the believer is in Christ. By the baptism of the Spirit, being joined Spirit.
thereby to Christ, one is in Christ as a new Headship. As hitherto that one The three imputations named above prove foundational to all that enters
was in the first Adam, fallen and undone, now in the resurrected Christ he into Christianity. They are wholly foreign to the Mosaic system and never
partakes of all that Christ represents, even the righteousness of God which mentioned in any Scripture related to the coming kingdom. This teaching,
Christ is. Christ is thus made unto the believer righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30), along with other foundational doctrines such as propitiation, accordingly
and being in Him the believer is “made” the righteousness of God (2 Cor. should be comprehended by every student at any cost.” 46
5:21).
46
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 7, pp 191-93 (brackets mine)
437 438
2. THE DOCTRINE OF PROPITIATION of the world whether man enters into it or not. God is never said to be
“The Greek words employed in the doctrine of propitiation are: ίλασµός reconciled, but His attitude toward the world is altered when the world’s
, signifying that which Christ became for the sinner (1 John 2:2; 4:10), relation to Him becomes radically changed through the death of Christ.
ίλαστήριον, the place of propitiation (Rom 3:25; Heb 9:25), ίλεως (Matt God is propitious toward the unsaved and toward the sinning saint:
16:22; Heb 8:12), and ίλάσκοµαι, (Luke 18:3; Heb 2:17). “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only, but for the
Ιλάσκοµαι [hilaskomai] indicates that God has become gracious, sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). Attention should be called to the fact
reconciled. In profane Greek the word means “to render propitious by prayer that God saves a sinner or restores a saint without striking a blow or even
and sacrifice.” But from the Biblical standpoint God is not of Himself offering a word of criticism. It is too often supposed that human repentance
alienated from man. His sentiment does not, therefore, need to be changed. and sorrow soften the heart of God and render Him propitious. This cannot
Still, in order that He may not for righteousness’ sake be necessitated to be true. It is the legal fact that Christ has borne all sin which renders God
comport Himself otherwise, an infinite expiation is necessary, which to be propitious.
sure He Himself in His love institutes and gives. Man, all exposed to wrath, The most determining truth to which all gospel preaching should be
could neither venture nor find an expiation. But then God, in finding it, harmonized is that God is propitious; thus all the burden is taken off the
anticipates and meets the demands of His own righteousness. Nothing sinner or Christian, only leaving him to believe that through Christ’s bearing
happens to change God, as in the heathen view. Therefore it is never read His sin God is propitious.
that God must be reconciled. Rather something happens to man, who now The publican went up to the temple to pray after having presented his
escapes the wrath to come. A call for mere mercy would require the use of sacrifice, which was the custom (Luke 18:13). The Authorized Version
Έλέησον. When guilt and its punishment need to be acknowledged, reports him to have said: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” What he really
however, the word ίλάσκοµαι is used (Luke 18:13; Heb 2:17). prayed was (R.V. marg.) : “God, be thou propitiated to me the sinner.”
Christ became the Propitiator and thus the Father is propitiated. The
terminology in Hebrews 9:5 for mercy seat corresponds to the LXX Luke 18:13 The tax collector, however, stood far off and would not even
translation of the word, namely, ίλαστήριον. look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me,
1. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. The mercy seat is a throne of grace because sinner that I am!’ 18:14 I tell you that this man went down to his home
of there being propitiation. Sacrificial blood sprinkled on the lid of an ark, justified rather than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will
where Jehovah’s presence was to found, changed what would otherwise be a be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” NET
scene of awful judgment to one filled with mercy, making it in a measure the
mercy seat. However, animal blood was efficacious only to the extent that it 39tn The prayer is a humble call for forgiveness. The term for mercy
provided a just ground on which God could pass over the sins until Christ (iJlavskomai, Jilaskomai) is associated with the concept of a request for
should come and shed His own blood for them. God was propitiated atonement (BDAG 473-74 s.v. 1; Ps 51:1, 3; 25:11; 34:6, 18).
aforetime merely to the extent of deferring judgment. For this measure of
grace nevertheless it was reasonable to pray (cf. Luke 18:13). He did not ask for mercy as though he must persuade God to be propitious,
2. IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. Christ by having His own blood sprinkled, but in full harmony with the relationship existing between the Old Testament
as it were, over His body at Golgatha, becomes the Mercy Seat in reality. He covenant people and God, and on the ground of his offering or sacrifice, he
is the Propitiator and has made propitiation by so answering the just did ask God to be propitious on that special basis. Such a prayer since Christ
demands of God’s holiness against sin that heaven is rendered propitious. has died is wholly wrong. In the present age of grace one need not ask God
This fact of propitiation existing is to be believed. Certainly the adjustment merely to be merciful toward sin, for that He cannot be, and furthermore
is not to asked for if it is already accomplished. The flood-gates of divine since Christ’s death has rendered God propitious there is no occasion even to
mercy are open, the flow coming however only through that channel which ask God to be propitiated. In fact, to do so becomes rank unbelief and
Christ as Propitiator is. unbelief can save no one. The mercy seat in the Old Testament could make a
Propitiation is the Godward side of the work of Christ on the cross. The ίλαστήριον by sacrifice (Heb 9:5), but the blood sprinkled body of Christ on
death of Christ for the sin of the world changed the whole position of the cross has long ago become the mercy seat for the sinner once and for all.
mankind in its relation to God, for He recognizes what Christ did in behalf It is there accordingly that God in righteousness can meet the sinner with
439 440
salvation and restore the saint to communion. The mercy seat becomes a eternal – is αίώνιος [aeons]; although it may be used to indicate a mere ages
perpetual throne of grace. What otherwise would be an awful judgment of time, implying an end or termination, this word is almost universally
throne is changed to one of infinite mercy. 47 found in the New Testament to express that which is eternal. The new life
which the believer has received is forty-seven times said to be “eternal” or
3. THE DOCTRINE OF PUNISHMENT “everlasting.” Mention is likewise made of the “eternal Spirit,” the
1. FUTURE. Future, eternal punishment must have an adequate cause or “everlasting God,” “eternal salvation,” “eternal redemption,” “eternal glory,”
reason therefore. The Bible is the only authority on this determining theme. “everlasting kingdom,” and the “everlasting gospel.” Seven times this word
It declares that sin is infinite because of being against God. His character is is used in connection with the destiny of the wicked (Matt 18:8; 25:41, 46;
outraged by it and His authority resisted. Mark 3:29; 2 Thess 1:9; Heb 6:2; Jude 1:7).
The doctrine of punishment, then, contends that men exist forever and Some assert that αίώνιος is limited in duration when referring to the
must because of the unavoidable divine judgment against them for sin (in its suffering of the lost; but, if this were true, every promise for the believer and
every form) forever be separated from God in a state which is conscious the very existence of God would doubtless have to be limited as well. See
torment. Some have speculated on what that torment is. It has been asserted Hades.
that it is (a) remorse due to failure to secure the blessings of heaven when 2. PRESENT. (a) God punishes nations (note e.g., Egypt, Ex 7-12) and (b)
they were offered, (b) suffering of the soul which can best be described to He punishes individuals as He may decree it necessary (Acts 12:23). The
the human mind by the figures employed in the Scriptures – a lake of fire, a saints, for instance, are both chastened and scourged (Heb 12:6). 48
bottomless pit, or a worm that does not die, (c) a literal fire, pit, and undying
worm. 4. THE DOCTRINE OF FORGIVENESS
The doctrine is more emphasized by Christ than by any other in the The correct understanding of the teaching of Scripture on forgiveness
Bible. He taught that, apart from His own saving power, men die in their sins will go far in the direction of clarifying other doctrines of the Bible. Because
(John 8:24) and are raised again to judgment (John 5:28-29; cf. Matt. 5:22, of the fact that this theme is so constantly misunderstood, special attention
29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15,33; 25:41, 46; Luke 12:5). should be given to it. Forgiveness on the part of one person toward another
In the Old Testament the Hebrew word sheol (sometimes translated is the simplest of duties, whereas forgiveness on the part of God toward man
“grave,” “pit,” and “hell” ), like the New Testament Greek word Hades proves the most complicated and costly of undertakings. As seen in the
(translated “hell” and “grave”), refers to the place of departed spirits, and Bible, there is an analogy between forgiveness and debt and, in the case of
three shades of meaning are given to it: (1) the grave where activity ceases that forgiveness which God exercises, the debt must be paid – though it be
(Ps 83:3), (2) the end of life as far as human knowledge can go (Eccles 9:5, paid by Himself – before forgiveness can be extended. Thus it is learned
10), (3) a place of conscious sorrow (2 Sam 22:6; Ps 9:17; 18:5; 116:3). while human forgiveness only remits a penalty or charge divine forgiving
In the New Testament the Greek words γέεννα, άιδης, τάρταρος (this must require complete satisfaction for the demands of God’s outraged
term in verbal form) are translated “hell.” Γέεννα is a name which speaks of holiness first of all. This doctrine may be divided into seven important
human sacrifice and suffering (Matt 5:29), άιδης indicates the place of particulars.
departed spirits (Luke 16:23), while τάρταρος refers to the lowest abyss, and 1. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. This aspect of divine forgiveness, though
to it the wicked spirits are consigned (2 Pet 2:4). rich in typical significance, nevertheless is a complete forgiveness in itself.
Additional English words concerned with this theme to be found in the The all-important feature which enters into all divine remission, namely,
New Testament are: (1) “perdition,” meaning utter loss and ruin (1 Tim 6:9); payment of very obligation to injured holiness as the preliminary to
(2) “damnation,” which is often more accurately translated judgment or forgiving, is included in the offering of animal sacrifices. First, the sacrifice
condemnation (Matt 23:14); (3) “torment,” which speaks of physical pain itself was deemed by the one who offered it a substitute in that upon it fell
(Luke 16:28); “the second death,” which is synonymous with the “lake of the just penalty of death. It was when a sacrifice had thus been presented that
fire” (Rev 20:14); “everlasting fire” (Matt 18:8) and “everlasting the offender could be forgiven. Accordingly, it is declared in Leviticus 4:20,
punishment” (Matt 25:46). The Greek for everlasting - more often translated as always in the Old Testament: “The priest shall make an atonement for
47 48
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441 442
them, and it shall be forgiven them.” But, since the sacrifice served only sin. It is written: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us
typically and as a covering of sin until the appointed time when God should our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). The
deal finally or righteously with sin in the death of Christ, the transaction was simple act of penitent confession results with absolute divine certainty in the
incomplete on the divine side, sin necessarily being pretermitted. However, forgiveness and cleansing of the sin. The believer thus exercised about evil
divine forgiveness as such was extended to the offender perfectly. Two New conduct should not wait until some change of feeling respecting the sin is
Testament passages shed light upon the nature and fact of this temporary experienced; it is his privilege to accept by faith that restoration which God
divine dealing with sin. In Romans 3:25 reference is made by the word so certainly promises as following at once. It may be added here that, though
άρεσις to the pretermitting or passing over of sins aforetime, that is, confession is always directed to God (cf. Ps 51:4; Luke 5:18-19), there are
before the cross; likewise in Acts 17:30 by the word ύερεϊδον – translated times and situations when such admission should be extended to the person
“winked at” – reference is made to the fact that in times past God did not or persons wronged also. This will be especially true when those wronged
then fully judge sin. It should be remembered, however, that the vast array are aware of the evil. However, it must be emphasized that confession is
of divine promises for full and perfect dealing with every sin thus passed primarily made unto God and should in the vast majority of experiences go
over was all gathered up and accounted for by Christ on the cross eventually. no further.
2. FOR THE UNSAVED. In this aspect of the general doctrine of As for the effect of the believer’s sin upon God, it may be observed
forgiveness there is need for emphasis on the truth that forgiveness of sin is how, were it not for that which Christ has wrought and that which He
extended to the unsaved only as an integral of the whole divine undertaking undertakes when the Christian sins, the least sin would have the power to
called salvation. Of the many transformations wrought by God in response hurl the one who sins from the presence of God and down to eternal ruin. In
to simple faith in Christ, the remission of sin is but one. Hence it should be 1 John 2:1 it is asserted that Christ advocates before God for the believer
observed that the forgiveness of sin can never be claimed by itself on the without delay at the very time that he sins. By so much it is revealed that He
part of those who are unregenerate. Forgiveness is provided to them to enters a plea before God the father in the court of heaven that He bore that
infinite completeness, but may be secured only as a phase of God’s whole very sin in His body on the cross. This is so complete an answer to the
work in salvation. Though to often supposed to be the truth, remission of sin requisite divine judgment which otherwise must fall upon the believer that
for the unsaved is not equivalent to salvation. Forgiveness connotes by such advocacy He wins here the exalted title, “Jesus Christ the
subtraction, indeed, whereas all else in salvation is glorious addition. It is righteous.” There was a specific and separate dealing by Christ on the cross
therefore written, “I give unto them eternal life” (John 10:28), and in with those sins which the believer would commit. It is written, consequently,
Romans 5:17 reference is made for example, to the “gift of righteousness.” “He is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2). It is true, also, that He has
3. FOR CHRISTIAN’S WHO SIN. The foundational truth respecting the become the propitiation “for the sins of the whole world.” However, in any
believer in relation to his sins is the fact that when he was saved all his right understanding of the doctrine of divine forgiveness, a wide difference
trespasses (the past, present, and future) – so far as condemnation may be will be observed between the propitiation which Christ became for
concerned – were forgiven. This must be the meaning of the Apostle’s word Christians and that which He became for the world of the unsaved.
in Colossians 2:13, “having forgiven you all trespasses.” So complete proves 4. IN THE COMING KINGDOM. Being itself the manifesto of the King
this divine dealing with all sin that it can be said, “There is therefore now no respecting the terms of admission into Messianic kingdom as well as of
condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1). The believer is conditions which are to obtain in that kingdom, the Sermon on the Mount
not condemned (John 3:18), and therefore shall not come into judgment (Matt 5:1-7:27) affords a specific indication of the terms on which divine
(“condemnation,” John 5:24). It need only be remembered that, since Christ forgiveness may be secured during the extended period. This indication is
has borne all sin and since the believer’s standing is complete in the risen found in the prayer (Matt 6:9-13) which Christ taught His disciples to pray
Christ, he is perfected forever by reason of being in Christ. As a member in during the period of His kingdom preaching to Israel – a time when His
the household and family of God, the Christian – should he sin – of course ministry was wholly confined to the proclamation of the kingdom. It is
is, as any child, subject to chastisement from the Father, but never to be therefore imperative, if any semblance of a right interpretation is to be
condemned with the world (1 Cor 11:31-32). preserved, that this prayer, including the disclosure respecting divine
The cure the effect of sin upon himself is confession thereof to God. By forgiveness, be confined in its doctrine and application to the age unto which
this he is returned to agreement with God respecting the evil character of all it belongs. It is then that what has become known as the Golden Rule (Matt
443 444
7:12) has its proper place. The specific phrase in the prayer which discloses other believers, tenderhearted, and forgiving to one another even as God “for
the terms for divine forgiveness reads: ;And forgive us our debts, as we Christ’s sake has forgiven you.”
forgive our debtors.” No misinterpretation should be permitted here 6. THE UNPARDONABLE SIN. When Christ was on earth ministering in
regardless of sentiment or custom pertaining to this prayer formula. The the power of the Holy Spirit, a peculiar sin was possible and might have
passage conditions divine forgiveness upon human alacrity to forgive. This been committed, namely, attributing to Satan the power of the Spirit thus
could not apply to one who as a believer has been forgiven all trespasses manifested. For this sin there could be no forgiveness either in the age then
already – past, present, and future; nor could it apply to the Christian who present or the age immediately following (Matt 2:22-32). It is evident that no
has sinned and who is subject consequently to chastisement, since of him it such situation exists in the world now. It is wholly without warrant to
is written that if he but confesses his sin he will be forgiven and cleansed. suppose that any human attitude toward the Holy Spirit is a duplication of
The acts of confession and of forgiving others have no relation to each other this evil and hence unpardonable as the one sin of which Christ gave
whatsoever. This is the one petition in the prayer which Christ took up warning. An unpardonable sin and a “whosoever will” gospel cannot
afterwards for a special comment and interpretation. It is as though He coexist. Were there an unpardonable sin possible today, every gospel
anticipated the unwarranted use of the prayer in this age and sought to make invitation in the New Testament would have to exclude specifically those
its character all the more clear. The comment of Christ reads: “For if ye who had committed that sin.
forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but 7. A SIN UNTO DEATH. The Apostle John writes of a sin resulting in
if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your physical death which believers may commit. The passage reads, “If any man
trespasses” (Matt 6:14-15). No unprejudiced contemplation of this petition see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall
or of Christ’s interpretation of it has ever rescued it from being in complete give him life for them and that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I
disagreement with the fact of divine forgiveness in the grace age. It is do not say that he shall pray for it” (1 John 5:16). It will be remembered that,
written, for example, in Ephesians 4:32: “And be ye kind one to another, according to John 15:2 and 1 Corinthians 11:30, God reserves the right to
tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath remove from this life a believer who has ceased to be a worthy witness in the
forgiven you.” Here a contrast between law and grace is again set up. To be world. Such a removal does not imply that the one thus removed is lost; it
forgiving because one has already been forgiven of God for Christ’s sake is only means a form of drastic chastisement and to the end that such may not
quite removed from the condition wherein one will be forgiven only in the be condemned with the world (1 Cor 11:31-32).49
measure in which he himself forgives. The latter belongs to a merit system
such as will obtain in the kingdom; the former is in harmony with the 5. THE DOCTRINE OF THE NAME - CHRISTIAN
present riches of divine grace. As a title which belongs to those who are saved, though itself now
5. OBLIGATION BETWEEN MEN. Though, as stated above, the terms upon employed more than any other, Christian appears in the Sacred Text but
which divine forgiveness may be secured in the kingdom is that of having three times: “And the disciples were called Christian first in Antioch” (Acts
forgiven others, the motive for forgiving others in the kingdom proves 11:26); “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a
similar to that under the present reign of grace, namely, the fact that one has Christian” (Acts 26:28); “If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be
been forgiven. This principle of action as one related to the kingdom ashamed” (1 Pet 4:6). The term Christian is evidently a Gentile designation
requirements is declared by Christ in Matthew 18:21-35. A certain king for believers, since the word Christ upon which this title was constructed
forgave a debt of ten thousand talents – an enormous sum of money, suggests recognition of the anointed Messiah and no unbelieving Jew was
whereupon the one thus forgiven refused to cancel a debt in the paltry prepared to acknowledge the Messianic claims of Christ. This
amount of one hundred pence. That such an incident could have no place in acknowledgment, indeed, became the very crux of the problem of a Jew’s
the life of all who are perfected in Christ and therefore secure forever is relation to the new faith. It is significant that Saul of Tarsas, when saved,
learned from the closing verses of this portion, which reads: “And his lord “straightway … preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of
was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that God” (Acts 9:20). Messianism was ever the theme of those who preached to
was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. All might be able to identify the person who
ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matt
18:34-35). The believer who belongs to this age is enjoined to be kind unto 49
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was Jesus of Nazareth, but it was the determining test that He be 2. A NEW CREATION. An actual and wholly legitimate sonship relation
acknowledged as the Christ or the Messiah, and thus the Son of God. The to God is divinely engendered when a soul has been saved. The one who is
Jews spoke of believers as Nazarenes. This had no complimentary saved becomes the offspring of God. He becomes therefore an heir of God
implication. Very early in the days of Christ’s ministry on earth, however, and a joint heir with Christ. The Apostle John testifies of Christ that to “as
Nathaniel voiced the accepted idea when he inquired, “Can there any good many as received him, to them gave he” sonship standing (John 1:12) – not a
thing come out of Nazareth?” Also, the orator Tertullus when arguing before mere option or choice in the direction of regeneration, for He causes them to
Felix thought it well to condemn Paul as “a ringleader of the sect of the become in the most absolute sense the sons of God. As such they are fitted
Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). It will thus be observed that believers did not assign and destined to take the honored place in the Father’s family and household
the name Christian to themselves, though Peter employed it in reference to in heaven. God is now “bringing many sons unto glory” (Heb 2:10).
that which had become a recognized practice (1 Pet 4:16). It seems probable 3. A NEW STANDING. Because of the perfect identity and union of the
that this custom of designating believers was the expression of a conviction believer with Christ which is wrought by the Holy Spirit, it may be said of
that Jesus is the Messiah; it was rather based upon Christ’s familiar name as the one saved that he has been “made … accepted” (Eph 1:6). This standing
a Christian leader. The designations brethren, used about 200 times in the is not a fiction or fancy, but such by it the believer becomes at once not only
New Testament, saints, used about 60 times, disciples (beginning with its clothed in the righteousness of God, himself the very righteousness of God.
appearance in the Acts) used about 30 times, and believers meaning those This immeasurable reality depends wholly on the one fact that the child of
who believe, used about 80 times, thus hold a preference according to the God being blessed is in Christ. Such a limitless position before God is made
Acts and Epistles of the New Testament. legally possible through the sweet savor aspect of Christ’s death when as
Beyond the problem of what may be an appropriate title is the fact itself Substitute He “offered himself without spot to God” (Heb 9:14), thus
of being identified one way or another. What, according to the New releasing all that He is in Himself to be the portion of those whom He saves.
Testament and thus upon the authority of God, makes one a believer or This provision through His death is actualized and sealed unto eternal reality
Christian? Answers to this question are varied, sometimes falling so low that by a vital union with Christ.
the title Christian is assigned to one who merely holds citizenship in a so- A Christian then, is not one who does certain things for God, but instead
called Christian country. Over against this, the reality which the saved one one for whom God has done certain things; he is not so much one who
represents reaches out beyond all human comprehension. Under Soteriology conforms to a certain manner of life as he is one who has received the gift of
(Vol. III) thirty-three simultaneous and instantaneous divine undertakings eternal life; he is not one who depends upon a hopelessly imperfect state, but
and transformations which together constitute the salvation of a soul have rather one who has reached a perfect standing before God as being in Christ.
been named. All of these are wrought at the moment of saving faith in Christ 50
is exercised. Three of these great realities alone may be cited here, namely:
1. A NEW PURIFICATION. That divine forgiveness which has been 6. THE DOCTRINE OF CHRISTIANITY
achieved as a part of salvation is complete an extends to all sin – past, That body of truth which is now known as Christianity was identified by
present, and future – so far as condemnation is concerned. Romans 8:1 the early church as The Faith and This Way (Acts 9:2). According to Acts
therefore declares: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them who 6:7 a great company of the priests were “obedient to the faith,” and Jude 1:3
are in Christ Jesus.” It still remains true that the believer’s sin may, as seen contended for the faith once-for-all-delivered. Not until Ignatius of Antioch
elsewhere, lead to chastisement. Forgiveness nevertheless is unto (d. 107?) was the term Christianity introduced. It, like the word Christian,
purification and wrought through the blood of Christ. It proves so complete has come into general use today as a representation of that which the
that not one shadow or stain will be seen upon the saved one – even by the apostles revealed in the New Testament, and was itself brought into
eyes of infinite holiness – throughout eternity. Divine forgiveness is not existence by virtue of Christ’s death, resurrection, and present ministry in
based on the leniency of God, but rather on the fact that the condemning heaven, as well as by the advent of the Holy Spirit into the world. Of all the
power of every sin has spent itself upon the divinely provided Substitute. religious systems which have been fostered in the world, but two have the
God’s forgiveness is a legal recognition of the truth that Another has borne distinction being designed , originated, and (eventually, though not as yet)
the judgment for the one who is forgiven. The purification is thus as
complete and perfect as the ground upon which it is wrought. 50
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consummated according to the specific purpose of God. These are Judaism great Apostle was raised up to receive and formulate the new system, based
and Christianity. Though Covenant Theology, with its extended doctrinal as it is on the death and resurrection of Christ and the values gained at
influence, has either confused or ignored the distinctions which obtain Pentecost.
between the two divinely fostered systems, a recognition of the difference At this point certain terms with their shades of meaning may well be
them is the essential foundation of any beginning or progress in the right introduced:
understanding of the Scriptures. To demonstrate the truthfulness of this 1. NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY, which embraces that which is dis-
statement, it should be added that, while both of these systems incorporate tinctively Christian in the New Testament. New chapters are added to
instructions for daily life here on earth, it can be ascertained by reason of Judaism are added to Judaism in connection with the unfolding of that which
evidence which any unprejudic-ed person may trace that Judaism is a system constitutes Christianity.
belonging to one nation – Israel, that is earthly in its scope, purpose, and the 2. PAULINE THEOLOGY, which is doctrine restricted o the writings of
destiny which it provides, while Christianity is heavenly in its scope, Paul but which nevertheless unfolds much regarding Judaism, especially in
purpose, and the destiny which it provides. It will be seen, as well, though its contrasts with Christianity (cf. the larger portion of the Epistle to the
including much that is common to both that they are alike the outworking of Hebrews).
opposite principles, and that they are not and could not be in force at the 3. MY GOSPEL (ROM 2:16), which designation is used by the Apostle
same time. Judaism alone was in action from the call of Abraham to the when referring to all the revelation that was given him in Arabia (cf. Gal
death and resurrection of Christ and will again be the outworking of the 1:11-12) and also the revelation respecting the Church as the one Body of
divine purpose in the earth after the Church has been removed, but Christ composed, as it is, of believing Jews and Gentiles. To all this should
Christianity is the only divine objective in the present age, which age is be added the range of truth which sets forth the Christian’s peculiar
bounded by the two advents of Christ. Too often it has been assumed that responsibility in daily life, with the new and incomparable provisions for
Judaism has been terminated or merged into Christianity. A favorite holy living through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The Apostle’s
expression of this notion is to the effect that Judaism was the bud and designation “my gospel,” is equivalent to Christianity when a direct,
Christianity the blossom. Over against this misconception is the truth that constructive, and unrelated (to Judaism, etc.) consideration of Christianity is
both Judaism and Christianity run their prescribed courses unimpaired and in view.
unconfused from their beginnings into eternity to come. By far the larger As a summarization, it may be restated that Christianity incorporates
portion of Bible prophecy concerns Israel with their land, that is, the nation, the gospel of divine grace which is based on the death and resurrection of
the Davidic throne, the Messiah-King, and His kingdom. This and much Christ, the fact of the one Body with all its relationships and destiny, and the
more together form the eschatology of Judaism. Here it can be seen again new and vital way of life through the Holy Spirit’s enablement. 51
that it is exceedingly inaccurate to speak of Systematic Theology as
Christian Theology, since the former incorporates vast ranges of truth which 7. CHRISTOLOGY
are wholly foreign in their primary application to that which belongs to Recognizing that an entire volume of this work has been assigned to
Christianity. Because much theological teaching is confused in these fields Christology (Vol V), the subject may again be approached in what is
of truth, it is essential that particular emphasis be added here. intended to be a highly condensed review. The theme (has been and) is well
Though it was given to the Apostle Paul to formulate and record the divided into the seven positions in which Christ has been set forth by the
realities which together constitute Christianity, he did not himself make its Bible, namely:
initial announcement. Christ in the Upper Room Discourse (John 13:1- 1. THE PREINCARNATE SON OF GOD. The fact of His preincarnate
17:26) declared the new and vital features of Christianity. This occurred at existence is established not only by direct statements of Scripture but by
the very end of His earthly ministry and was set forth as an anticipation of every implication. Some of these lines of proof are:
that which was about to be inaugurated. The earthly ministry of Christ was a. CHRIST IS GOD. It follows that if Christ is God then He has existed
restricted, in the main, to Israel and carried on wholly within the scope of from all eternity. Evidence that He is God may be seen in His titles – Logos,
their covenants of promise. In the Upper Room Discourse are found the Only Begotten, Express Image, First Begotten, Elohim, and Jehovah; in His
important factors of the relationship to the father, to the Son, and to the Holy
Spirit which are peculiar to Christianity. However, as divinely planned, the 51
449 450
divine attributes – eternity (Mic 5:2), immutability (Heb 1:11-12; 13:8), c. BAPTISM. The baptism of Christ was a major event in His earthly life
omnipotence (1 Cor 15:28; Phil 3:21), omniscience, and omnipresence; in and of far-reaching significance since by it He was consecrated to the office
His mighty works – creation, preservation, forgiveness of sin, raising the of Priest, which office, like that of King, endures forever.
dead, and execution of all judgment. d. TEMPTATION. Judging from the extended description given this crisis,
b. CHRIST IS CREATOR. In this regard the Scriptures are explicit (Rom the temptation is possessed evidently of great importance. It became the
11:36; Col 1:15-19; Heb 1:2-12). If He is Creator, He has existed before crucial attack of Satan against the humanity of Christ, the issue being
creation. whether or not He would abide in His father’s perfect will. That He would
c. CHRIST IS NAMED AS ONE EQUAL TO THE OTHERS IN THE TRINITY. In all was assured by His very nature as God and was determined from all eternity;
references to the persons of the Godhead, Christ the Son shares equally. In yet the test was allowed so that finite minds might be satisfied about the
all purposes of God, as far as revealed, He assumes those parts which only impeccability of the Savior.
God can assume. He is thus before all things. e. TRANSFIGURATION. The transfiguration, it is declared, was a setting
d. THE MESSIAH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT IS GOD. Since Christ is the forth of the power and coming of Christ in His kingdom (Matt 16:28; Mark
Messiah of the Old Testament, He is necessarily God and from all eternity. 9:1; Luke 9:27),that is, the event pictures the glory of the coming kingdom.
e. THE ANGEL OF JEHOVAH IS CHRIST. This is clearly proved in earlier When transfigured, Christ was about to turn from the kingdom ministry
pages of the present theological work and is unfailing evidence of Christ’s which had engaged John, the disciples, and Himself over to the new
pre-existence, indeed. heavenly purpose concerned with a people qualified for glory through His
f. THE DIRECT BIBLICAL ASSERTIONS IMPLY THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF death and resurrection. It was therefore essential that the kingdom not only
CHRIST. Such assertions are numerous and conclusive. be promised but displayed, that its future certainty might not be lost from
g. THE DIRECT TESTIMONY OF SCRIPTURE IS THAT CHRIST HAS EXISTED view with the crushing disappointment which His death as a rejected king
FOREVER. (e.g., John 1:1-2; Phil 2:5-11; Heb 1:1-3). engendered.
2. THE INCARNATE SON OF GOD. The theme respecting the incarnate f. TEACHING. Probably no clearer evidence respecting the scope and
Christ occupies about two-fifths of the New Testament. The general outline purpose of Christ’s first advent can be discovered than is indicated in His
of this aspect of Christology may be stated under seven divisions: teaching, especially that of the major discourses. His ministry to Israel and
a. OLD TESTAMENT ANTICIPATIONS. These are both typical and prophetic to the Church are therein distinguished completely – to those not blinded by
in character. theological prejudice.
b. BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD. Very much that is fundamental in doctrine is g. MIGHTY WORKS. When Christ said, “If I had not done among them the
properly based on the birth of Christ. Here is to be introduced His various works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they
sonships – the title Son of God suggesting the divine; Son of man, the racial; both seen and hated both me and my Father” (John 15:24). He disclosed to
Son of Mary, the human; Son of David, the Messianic and Jewish; Son of some extent the reason why He wrought miracles. His mighty works attested
Abraham, the redemptive. Here also will be unfolded the entire theme of His His claim to be the Messiah and so His rejection was without excuse because
hypostatic union of two natures; the mediatorial aspect of Christ’s Person of that evidence.
and His death; His earthly ministry to Israel as Messiah, Immanuel, and 3. THE EFFICACIOUS SUFFERINGS, DEATH, AND BURIAL OF THE SON OF
King; His ministry to the Gentiles as Savior, Judge, and Ruler; His ministry GOD. Considering these three events separately:
to the Church as the Head, Lord, and Bridegroom. Here too is learned the a. HIS SUFFERINGS. The evidence presented in John 19:28 intimates that
twofold object of His earthly ministry, first to Israel respecting her the actual bearing of the judgments of sin fell upon Christ in the hours of His
covenanted kingdom and later to Jews and Gentiles respecting the Church suffering which terminated in death. It was just before He said “It is
which is His Body. Again, yet more of major import is brought forward, finished” that John declares of Him, “Jesus knowing that all things were now
namely, Christ’s three offices – that of Prophet, which incorporates all His accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.” What was
teaching ministry; of Priest, which incorporates the sacrifice of Himself for actually experienced by Christ in those six hours upon the cross cannot be
the world; and of King, which incorporates the whole Davidic covenant known in this world by any man; yet the value of it is received by those who
together with the predictions and their fulfillment in His future reign. believe.
451 452
b. HIS DEATH. It was required of any efficacious sacrifice that it should power in the lives of those who are His own in the world (Matt 28:18; Rom
be delivered unto death and the shedding of blood. The death of Christ is the 6:4; Eph 1:19-20). (f) He arose because His work which provided the ground
antitype of every typical sacrifice and determined the nature of that for justification was completed (Rom 4:25). (g) He arose as the pattern or
particular type. Typical sacrificial deaths through bloodshedding were such first-fruits of all who are saved (1 Cor 15:20-23; Phil 3:20-21; 1 Tim 6:16).
as God required because of the truth that Christ would thus be sacrificed. (h) He arose to sit on David’s throne and thus to fulfill all covenant promises
The range of Biblical testimony respecting Christ’s death may be examined to Israel (Acts 2:30).
in seven divisions, namely: (1) types, (2) prophecies, (3) historical In the sight and estimation of God, the resurrection of Christ is of
declarations of the Synoptic Gospels, (4) declarations of the Apostle John in sufficient import to be celebrated once every week and so the first day of the
his Gospel, Epistles, and Revelation, (5) declarations of the Apostle Paul, (6) week on which it is celebrated supplants, in the present age, the Sabbath of
of the Apostle Peter, and (7) of the Letter to the Hebrews. the old order.
If it be inquired, as constantly it is, Who put Christ to death? It may be 5. THE ASCENSION AND SESSION OF THE SON OF GOD.
pointed out that He was offered by the Father (Ps 22:15; John 3:16; Rom a. HIS ASCENSION. The departure of Christ for heaven has already ben
3:25), of His own free will (John 10:17; Heb 7:27; 9:14; 10:12), by the Spirit considered under the doctrine of ascension in this volume. It is mentioned
(Heb 9:14), and by men – Herod, Pilate, the Gentiles, and Israel (Acts 2:23; again here only to complete the structure of doctrine belonging to
4:27). To this may be added that part in His death which was contributed by Christology. Two ascensions have been indicated – one immediately after
Satan (cf. Gen 3:15). the resurrection when the return of Christ into heaven as First-Fruits and as
The death of Christ achieved a vast array of objectives. At least fourteen Priest presenting His blood occurred. The second ascension was that of final
of these are indicated in this work under Soteriology (Vol. III). departure from the earth when He took up His present ministry in heaven.
c. HIS BURIAL. As the scapegoat type anticipated, Christ carried away b. HIS SESSION. The whole of Christ’s present ministry in heaven has
the burden of sin into oblivion. He went into the grave a sin-bearer and He been practically ignored by theologians and especially by Arminians, to
came out the Lord of glory. whom this ministry is repulsive since it guarantees the eternal security of all
4. THE RESURRECTION OF THE SON OF GOD. Again, the Old Testament who are saved. Seven aspects of His present ministry are to be recognized,
witness to that which concerns Christ is seen in types and prophecies. In the namely: (1) exercise of universal authority. He said of Himself, “All power
New Testament this theme is declared (1) by the predictions of Christ and is given to me in heaven and in earth” (Matt 28:18); (2) Headship over all
(2) by the historical fact that He rose from the dead – an event more fully things to the Church (Eph 1:22-23); bestowment and direction of the
proved than perhaps any other of history. Christ was raised by the Father (Ps exercise of gifts (Rom 12:3-8; 1 Cor 12:4-31; Eph 4:7-11); (4) intercession,
16:10; Acts 2:27, 31-32; Rom 6:4; Eph 1:19-20), by the Son Himself (John in which ministry Christ contemplates the weakness and immaturity of His
2:19; 10:17-18), and by the Spirit (1 Pet 3:18). own who are in the world (Ps 23:1; Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25); (5) advocacy, by
In disclosing the factors which enter into Christianity, the Apostle to which ministry He appears in defense of His own before the Father’s throne
whom this revelation was given places the resurrection of Christ in a central when they sin (Rom 8:34; Heb 9:24; 1 John 2:1); (6) building of the place
and all important position. The death of Christ provides, but the resurrection He has gone to prepare (John 14:1-3); and (7) “expecting” or waiting until
constructs. Through Christ’s death demerit is canceled and the merit of the moment when by the Father’s decree the kingdoms of this world shall
Christ is made available, but by the resurrection of Christ the new Headship become the kingdom of the Messiah – not by human agencies but by the
over a perfected New Creation is established forever. The importance of His resistless, crushing power of the returning King (Heb 10:13).
resurrection may be seen from the following facts which in turn declare the 6. THE SECOND COMING AND KINGDOM OF THE SON OF GOD.
reasons for the rising. Christ arose (a) because of what He is (Acts 2:24). a. THE SECOND COMING. The stupendous event of the second advent of
That is, it is impossible that the He the Son of God should be held in the Christ with all its world-transforming results is to be distinguished from His
place of death. (b) He arose because of who He is (Rom 1:3-4). The coming into the air to gather the Church to Himself both by resurrection and
resurrection served to prove His position as “Son of God with power, translation. His second advent concerns the Jews, the Gentiles and the
according to the spirit of holiness.” (c) He arose to be Head over all things to angelic hosts including Satan and his angels, and is related to the Church
the Church (Eph 1:22-23). (d) He arose to bestow resurrection life upon all only as she is seen returning with Him and reigning with Him.
who believe (John 12:24). (e) He arose to be the source of resurrection
453 454
b. THE KINGDOM. Though the long promised, earthly, Davidic king-dom relation to God. For the Jew in the older order this affiliation was wrought
of Christ was offered to Israel at His first advent, it was forthwith rejected by a physical birth which brought him into covenant relation to God, and for
and postponed in the counsels of God until He comes again. One of the basic the Christian this is achieved by a spiritual birth which brings him into a
theological misconceptions is the attempt to relate Christ’s kingdom on earth sonship relation to God. Of the Gentiles, however, it must be said: “That at
simply to His first advent. Since no earthly kingdom came into view even that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of
then, it is claimed by theologians that His kingdom must be spiritual and that Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
all expectation based on covenants and promises of the Old Testament was without God in the world” (Eph 2:12), and as for a lost estate there is now
misunderstood by the apostles and prophets in so far as that may have been “no difference” even between a Jew and Gentile (Rom 3:9; 10:12). It
construed literally. Nevertheless, according to every word of Scripture, a follows, then, that no commandments are now addressed to Jews. In the
scope which extends to the greatest of all expectations, Messiah will come present age the first issue between God and an unsaved person - Jew or
again and will do literally what it has been predicted He will do for the Gentile – is not one of correction or direction of daily life, but of personal
kingdom. salvation through faith in Christ. Therefore, directions for daily life are not
7. THE CONCLUSION OF MEDIATION AND THE ETERNAL REIGN OF THE addressed to the unsaved in this age.
SON OF GOD. Following the conclusion of the millennial kingdom, which is 1. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. The divine counsels for Israel which came
itself the last form of Christ’s mediation, certain immeasurable events occur by Moses and which remained in effect until the death and resurrection of
with all their transforming results, namely: (a) Satan is released from the Christ fall into three major divisions, namely, the commandments (Ex 20:1-
abyss (Rev 20:3); (b) armies are formed and a revolt against God occurs 17) which directed Israel’s moral actions, the judgments (Ex 21:1-24:11)
again (Rev 20:7-9); (c) the passing of the old heaven and the old earth (Rev which governed Israel’s social activities, and the statutes or ordinances (Ex
20:11); (d) the great white throne judgment (Rev 20:12-15); (e) the creation 24:12-31:18) which guided Israel’s religious activities. These three forms of
of the new heaven and the new earth (2 Pet 3:10-14; Rev 21:1); (f) the divine requirement were interrelated and interdependent; one could not
descent of the bridal city out of heaven (Rev 3:12; 21:2, 9-10); (g) the actual function fully apart from the other two. The modern notion that the Mosaic
surrender of mediation, but not of the Davidic throne. From the reading of 1 commandments are still in force, but that the judgments and ordinances have
Corinthians 15:25-28 translated according to the Authorized Version, a been abolished, can be entertained only when inattention exists respecting
belief has been engendered that Christ surrenders His reign at the end of the the form and nature of the Mosaic commandments. Great grace from God to
kingdom age. Having declared that Christ receives the kingdom and its the Jews of old is observable in the fact that apart from any merit of their
authority from the Father (1 Cor 15:27), however, the passage really goes to own they were by sovereign election - each one of them – born physically
say that, after the mediatorial reign of a thousand years, Christ will go on into covenant relationship to God. Similarly, great grace was upon them
reigning forever by the same authority of the Father. It is the testimony of which, when they sinned, provided restoration into right relations with God
the Davidic covenant that He shall reign on David’s throne forever and ever through blood sacrifice. Such restoration was granted to every Israelite. The
(2 Sam 7:16; Ps 89:20-27; Isa 9:6-7; Luke 1:31-33; Rev 11:15).52 whole nation was restored. The whole nation was restored to a right
relationship with God on the Day of Atonement. There was, however,
8. THE DOCTRINE OF COMMANDMENTS always a remnant of all those in the nation who manifested a particular
The term commandments is found in and represents an integral part of renewal or spiritual reality. Some of these are listed in the eleventh chapter
both the Mosaic and Christian systems, but with widely different of Hebrews, and many more are recorded throughout the Old Testament and
significance. In fact, the variance between the two systems is clearly in the early portions of the New Testament.
represented by these different uses of the word. Of the three major Upon examination (Num 15:32-36), it will be discovered that the
classifications of humanity commandments are addressed in the Scriptures to penalty of death was divinely imposed for the breaking of the ten
the Jew and the Christian, but not to the Gentile, or for that matter anyone commandments. Concerning this severity in the penalty for infraction of the
unsaved – either Jew or Gentile – in this age, the reason being that divine Mosaic Law, it is written: “He that despised Mose’s law died without mercy
commandments serve only to direct the daily life of those who are in right under two or three witnesses” (Heb 10:28). That the Mosaic system is not
now in force is evident from the fact that not all its conditions are applicable.
52
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 7, pp 78-83 The Sabbath enjoined by the Mosaic Law is superceded for the present age
455 456
by the Lord’s Day, and the promise of long life upon the promised land
which God had bestowed has no relation to the Church. To her there was no 2. FROM CHRIST. The second use of the word commandments, when
land given, for she is definitely said to be a people who are “strangers and reference is made by it to a system or to principles governing human action,
pilgrims.” In like manner, a long life here contradicts the truth that the occurs when it signifies the commandments of Christ. When setting forth the
Christian is waiting for the return of Christ to receive him into glory (1 principles which are to obtain in the coming kingdom age (Matt 5:1-7:29).
Thess 1:9-10). The commandments of Moses are declared directly by the
Scriptures to be abolished and done away for the present age (cf. John 1:17; The Beatitudes
Rom 6:14; 7:1, 3-4; 2 Cor 3:6-11; Gal 3:23-25). 2 Corinthians 3:7 Mtw 5:1 When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. After he sat
determines the fact that it is the Ten Commandments of Moses as well as the down his disciples came to him. 5:2 Then he began to teach them by
judgments and ordinances which were done away. If it be feared that the saying:
disannulling of the commandments of Moses as such involves the loss of NET
their great principles of righteousness, it may be observed that every truth
contained in the Mosaic system of morals – excepting that related to the 2tn Or “up a mountain”
Sabbath day – has been restated under grace, but is there adapted to grace sn The expression up the mountain here may be idiomatic or generic, much
and not to law. The first of the Ten Commandments of Moses appears nearly like the English “he went to the hospital” (cf. 15:29), or even intentionally
fifty times in and adapted to the new relationships under grace. The reminiscent of Exod 24:12 (LXX), since the genre of the Sermon on the
commandments of Moses partake of the nature of elementary instructions Mount seems to be that of a new Moses giving a new law.
adapted to minors who are “under tutors and governors,” but to those who
were in such relation to God by covenant nevertheless as to be according to Christ drew certain contrasts between that which enters into the Mosaic
His will and purpose for them. This relationship which the nation Israel system and that which will obtain in the kingdom (Matt 5:17-48). The oft-
sustained to Jehovah should not be confused with the high and holy repeated formula is, “Ye have heard that it was said [by Moses] … but I say
relationship which Christian’s now sustain toward God by reason of being in unto you.” In none of these contrasts, however, did Christ use the term my
Christ. It is because of the fact that Israel was in covenant relation to God commandments. This designation was not used until He came to the upper
that the manner of life set forth in the Mosaic system could be addressed to room the night before He was crucified, at which time He introduced the
them. Observing to do all that Moses required did not bring them into the body of truth especially belonging to the Church in the present age of grace.
Jewish covenants; they were enjoined to keep the law because God in grace, There is nothing accidental here. This phrase on the lips of Christ designates,
apart from all merit of their own, had placed them in covenant relation to and by it He distinguishes, the range of truth which belongs to the present
Himself. Students who recognize and teach these most fundamental facts are age. Thus at the end of His ministry on earth and after the forty days of
sometimes accused by Covenant theologians of holding that people of the instruction following His resurrection, He directed His disciples to teach all
old order were saved and constituted what they were by keeping the law of things that He had commanded them (Matt 28:20), but did not include the
Moses, all of which is a misconception. The godly Jew was subject to Mosaic system. It is to be noted that Christ’s first injunction was “a new
blessing for his faithfulness in that which Jehovah required of him. But the commandment” (John 13:34), and that love is enjoined here as the evidence
Mosaic Law only holds the distinction of being Jehovah’s rule of life for His required to indicate that marvelous unity which all believers form (cf. John
people in the age that is past. These are the commandments which they 17:21-23) – a unity wrought by the Holy Spirit and to be kept or manifested
“brake” (Jer 31:32) and which are yet to be incorporated into (Deu 30:8), by love one for another. No such unity ever existed before. That which is
although as a covenant to be superceded by, the new covenant which has included under the words “my commandments” was taken up and expanded
still to come (Jer 31:31-34; Heb 8:8-13). by the Apostle Paul in his epistles. References to Christ’s commandments
are many – John 13:34-35; 14:15, 21; 15:10-12; 1 John 2:3; 3:22-24; 4:21;
Jer 31:33 “But I will make a new agreement with the whole nation of 5:2-3; 2 John 1:4-5. Cf. Matthew 28:20; Luke 24:46-48; Acts 1:3; 1 Cor
Israel after I plant them back in the land,” says the Lord. “I will put my 14:37; Galatians 6:2; 1 Thessalonians 4:2. 53
law within them and write it on their hearts and minds. And I will be
their God and they will be my people. NET 53
457 458
“reliance,” and who passed that message onto His apostles. Through their
9. The Doctrine of Faith lips and pens “faith,” in that sense, became the supreme watchword of
According to the simplest conception of it, faith is a personal confidence Christianity. … In conclusion, without trespassing on the ground of other
in God. This implies that the individual has come to know God to some articles, we call the reader’s attention, for his Scriptural studies, to the
degree of real experience. Not all men have faith, so the Apostle declares (2 central place of faith in Christianity, and its significance. As being in its
Thess 3:2). Thus lying back of faith is this determining factor, namely, true idea, a reliance as simple as possible upon the word, power, love, of
knowing God. Regarding the personal knowledge of God, Christ said: “All Another, it is precisely that which, on man’s side, adjusts him to the living
things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but and merciful presence and action of a trusted God. In its nature, not by any
the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to mere arbitrary arrangement, it is his one possible receptive attitude, that in
whomsoever the Son will reveal him” (Matt 11:27). This statement is which he brings nothing, so that he may receive all. Thus faith is our side of
decisive. No one knows the Father except the Son and those only to whom union with Christ. And thus it is our means of possessing all His benefits,
the Son may reveal Him. However, with that divinely wrought knowledge of pardon, justification, purification, life, peace, glory. – II, 1088
God in view, the invitation is immediately extended by this context for all
the world-weary to come unto Him and there, and only there, find rest for In its larger usage, the word faith represents as least four varied ideas:
the soul. Since God is not fully discerned by the human senses, it is easy for (1) As above, it can be personal confidence in God. This the most common
the natural man in a day of grace to treat the Person of God and all His aspect of faith may be subdivided into three features: (a) Saving faith, which
claims as though they did not exist, or, at best, as if a mere harmless fiction. is the inwrought confidence in God’s promises and provisions respecting the
Faith accordingly is declared, in one aspect of it, to be “the gift of God” Savior that leads one to elect to repose upon and trust in the One who alone
(Eph 2:8). Utter want of faith is the condition of unregenerate men (2 Cor can save. (b) Serving faith, which contemplates as true the fact of divinely
2:14) until God be revealed to them by the Son through the Spirit. The bestowed gifts and all details respecting divine appointments for service.
following quotation from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia This faith is always a personal matter, and so one believer should not
states the simple facts about that faith which is confidence in God (Handley become a pattern for another. That such faith with its personal characteristic
Dunelm, s.v., “Faith”): may be kept inviolate, the Apostle writes: “Hast thou faith? Have it to
thyself before God” (Rom 14:22). Great injury may be wrought if one
It is important to notice that Hebrews 11:1 is no exception to the rule “faith” Christian imitates another in matters of appointment of service. (c)
normally means “reliance,” “trust.” There “Faith is the substance [or Sanctifying or sustaining faith, which lays hold of the power of God for
possibly, in the light of recent inquiries into the type of Greek used by New one’s daily life. It is the life lived in dependence upon God, working upon a
Testament writers, ‘the guaranty’] of things hoped for, the evidence [or new life-principle (Rom 6:4). The justified one, having become what he is
‘convincing proof’] of things not seen.” This is sometimes interpreted as if by faith, must go ahead living on the same principle of utter dependence
faith, in the writer’s view, so to speak, a faculty of second sight, a upon God. (2) It can also be creedal or doctrinal announcement which is
mysterious intuition into the spiritual world. But the chapter amply shows sometimes distinguished as the faith. Christ propounded this question:
that the faith illustrated, e.g. by Abraham, Moses, Rahab, was simply “When the Son of Man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8;
reliance upon a God known to be trustworthy. Such reliance enabled the cf. Rom 1:5; 1 Cor 16:13; 2 Cor 13:5; Col 1:23; 2:7; Titus 1:13; Jude 1:3).
believer to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen. In short, the (3) It may signify faithfulness, which implies that the believer is faithful
phrase here, “Faith is the evidence,” etc., is parallel in form to our familiar towards God. Here is an inwrought divine characteristic, for it appears as
saying, “Knowledge is power.” A few detached remarks may be added: (a) one of the nine graces which together comprise the fruit of the Spirit (Gal
The history of the use of the Greek word pistis is instructive. In the LXX it 5:22-23). (4) It may prove a title belonging to Christ, as in Galatians 3:23, 25
normally, if not always, bears the “passive” sense, “fidelity,” “good faith,” where Christ is seen to be the object of faith.
while in classical Greek it not rarely bears the active sense, “trust.” In the While faith, basically considered, must be divinely inwrought, it is ever
koinē, the type of Greek universally common at the Christian era, it seems to increasing as the knowledge of God and experience in His fellowship
have adopted the active meaning as the ruling one only just in time, so to advances. It is natural for God not to be pleased with those who distrust Him
speak, to provide it for the utterance of Him whose supreme message was (Heb 11:6). Faith, indeed, vindicates the character of God and frees His arm
459 460
to act in behalf of those who trust Him. Thus because of the heaven-high
riches which reliance secures, it is termed by Peter once, “precious faith” (2
Pet 1:1).
461 462
Bibliography
36
Ibid., p1241
37
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer , Vol 7, p 186
38
1
Rev 2:7 NET Ibid., Vol 7, p 227
39
2
1 John 3:23 NET Ibid., Vol 7, p 142
40
3
1 John 5:4-5 NET Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 335
41
4
Revelation 2:11ff NET Morning and Evening Devotions, Dr. C. H. Spurgeon, p 501
42
5
1 Corinthians 15:22 NET Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 279
43
6
Ephesians 5:11 NET Ibid., Vol 3, pp 308-09
44
7
John 3:36 NET Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 306
45
8
Rom 5:18-21 NET (verse omission mine) The Anchor Bible – The Epistles of John, R. E. Brown, p 570 and pp 594-95
46
9
Luke 15:10 NET Major Bible Themes, Dr. Lewis Chafer, revised by Dr. John Walvoord
47
10
Ibid., Vol 2, pp 176-84, cited in Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 7, p 178-79
48
3, pp 147-153 Basic Theology, Dr. Charles Ryrie, p 356
49
11
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 2, p 362 Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, p 1328
50
12
1 Cor 15:47-50 NET (verse omission mine) Ibid., p 1319
51
13
Salvation: God’s Marvelous Work of Grace, Dr. Lewis Chafer, pp 79-80 Salvation, Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer, pp 45-52
52
14
The Biblical Studies Foundation, Winter 2001, www.bible.org Ibid., p 1017
53
15
Major Bible Themes, revised by Dr. John Walvoord, pp 126-28 Ibid., p 1016
54
16
Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, p 308 Ibid., p 1226-27
55
17
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 4, p 237-38 Ibid., p. 989-90
56
18
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 4, P 224 Basic Theology, Dr. Charles Ryrie, pp 293-94
57
19
Ibid., Vol 4, pp 239-40 Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 7, p 80
58
20
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 4, pp 168-232ff Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C.I. Scofield, p 1089-90
59
21
Ibid., Vol 3, pp 226-27, 228-29 So That You May Believe: A study of the Gospel of John – Lesson 19, Robert
22
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 4, p 430 L. Deffinbaugh, Th. M., NET Bible 2nd Beta Edition Resource CD
60
23
2 Pet 3:7, 10 KJV Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 7, pp 82; 21
61
24
Rev 20:11-15 NET - P. 157, The Last Things: Hope for This World and the Next, cited in
25
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 5, pp 363-65 Heaven, Randy Alcorn, pp 112-13
62
26
Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All
So That You may Believe: A Study of the Gospel of John – Lesson 19, Dr.
rights reserved. Robert L. Deffinbaugh, Th. M., NET Bible 2nd Beta Edition Resource CD
63
27
Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, p 150 Liner notes – Listen to Our Hearts Vol. 1, EMI Christian Music Publishing
64
28
The Holy Spirit and Prayer, Ray C. Stedman, Copyright ©1995 Discovery Ibid., p 1148
65
Publishing, a ministry of Peninsula Bible Church, requests for permission – Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, p 1211
66
Discovery Publishing, 3505 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto, CA. 94306-3695 Ibid., p 1242
67
29
Vol 1, pp viii-ix, xiii-xxxviii Major Bible Themes, Dr. Lewis Chafer, revised by Dr. John Walvoord, p 280
68
30
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 5, pp 372-379 Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, pp 1280-811
69
31
John 14:19ff, 20ff Systematic Theology,Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 1, p 23, 26-27
70
32
Col 2:8 NET (brackets mine, this writer) NET NET Bible 2nd Beta Edition Resource CD
71
33
Rom 4:2-5 NET (verse omission mine) Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 154-55
72
34
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights Isaiah 44:10; 30:8; 40:13; 29:16; 29:15; 41:21; 28:15; 29:8; 44:20; 41:24;
reserved. 32:5-7
73
35
Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, pp 1201, 88 Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 1, p 130
74
Systematic Theology,Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, pp 120-125
463 464
75
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 131 112
The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit, Dr. John F. Walvoord, p 149-51 – cited in
76
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, pp 127-30 Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 6, p 121
77
Ibid., Vol 3, pp 131-35 113
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 6, p 121
78
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 55 114
79
Cited by R. W. Dale, The Atonement, 4th ed., p 3 115
Ibid., Vol 2, p 37
80
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, p 48-49 116
The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, IV, 2695 – cited in
81
Ibid., Vol 3, pp 340-41 Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 2, p 37-38
82
The MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Romans 1-8, Dr. John 117
He That Is Spiritual, Lewis Sperry Chafer, p 102
MacArthur, p 506, 508-09 118
Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, p 1350
83
Ibid., Vol 3, p 58-59 119
Major Bible Themes, Dr. Lewis Chafer – revised by Dr. John Walvoord, pp
84
Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C. I. Scofield, p 1044 161-63
85
Ibid., p 1226 120
Ibid., pp 172-73
86
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, pp 342, 344 121
Ibid., pp 174-87
87
Ibid., Vol 7, pp 85-88 122
Ibid., pp 274-78
88
Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C.I. Scofield, p 1326 123
Ibid., pp 291-295
89
Basic Theology, Dr. Charles Ryrie, pp 248-49
90
Systematic Theology, Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 1, 28-29, 35
91
Ephesians: Introduction, Argument, and Outline, Daniel B. Wallace, Ph.D.,
NET 2nd Beta Edition Resource CD
92
93
94
Ibid., Vol 3, p 49
95
Frankenstein Or, The Modern Prometheus, Mary Shelley, Barnes and
Nobles ed., p 78
96
Old Scofield Study System, Dr. C.I. Scofield, pp 110, 148, 1038, 1300
97
Major Bible Themes, Dr. Lewis Chafer, revised by Dr. John Walvoord, pp
184-85
98
Ibid., pp 60-61
99
Ibid., pp 63-64
100
101
Salvation: God’s Marvelous Work of Grace, Dr. Lewis Chafer, pp 37-39
102
103
104
Ibid., Vol 4, p 174-75
105
Ibid., Vol 7, 107-08
106
Romans 5:8-10 NET
107
108
Studies in Theology, B. B. Warfield, pp.283-97 cited in Systematic Theology,
Dr. Lewis Chafer, Vol 3, pp 160-64
109
Morning and Evening Devotions, Dr. C. H. Spurgeon, p 538, Morning -
Sept. 25
110
True Evangelism, Dr. Lewis Chafer, pp 27-28
111
465 466

The Gonzo Journalism of Grace: Book 1 - The Paradox of Law and Grace

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rhēma Christou ό λόγος τού Θεού en Christō

GOD SAVE ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS!

These men have the freedom of futility,

Jesus Christ, 95 A.D.

written and edited by DL Coulon

Copyright © applied for 2007 by DL Coulon

YÉÜ }âáà tá |Ç TwtÅ tÄÄ w|x? áÉ tÄáÉ |Ç V{Ü|áà tÄÄ ã|ÄÄ ux

“Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one

Going up the river was like

First of all, penalty, as an element of law, appeals to an instinctive fear.

Dr. John Miley,

“The Necessity for At-one-ment”

Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer,

GOD SAVE ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS!

BOOK ONE – THE PARADOX OF LAW AND GRACE

Since there is so much delusion in a counterfeit, the person most difficult

Lewis Sperry Chafer

Subsequent to the pre-

GOD SAVE ME FROM YOUR FOLLOWERS!

THE life of faith is represented as receiving – an act which implies the

. . . after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of

This passage informs us that God has a purchased possession yet to be

The following entries are excerpted from Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. ©

In the Western intellectual world, nonbelief in the existence of God is a

Philadelphia became the center of

Although seven dispensations are frequently distinguished in Scripture, three

The Great White Throne

The Crux Interpretum

“That your fruit should remain” (John 15:16) is guaranteed by the

Double-click to hear John chapter 15

God would say to the children of His grace,

Trim your sails and loose your rudder.

And the rainbow water flying from your bow,

Be careful not to allow anyone to captivate you through an empty,

The spirit of tolerance toward the preaching of “another gospel,”

threefold relation: to the church, to Israel, to the nations.

EMOTIONAL ENGAGEMENT VERSUS DISENGAGEMENT

Francis Turretin (1623-1687)

As to be expected, there is no point in human history where the divine

“All evangelism finds its consummation in one phase of the great

2. American Religious Identity Survey (ARIS), City University of New York,

Source: 2004 Yearbook of American and Canadian Churches;

Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights

Regeneration is a most essential step in that preparation which must be

Lewis Sperry Chafer

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