-Introduction-
Forward: the Four Issues
Eternal Life: “How can I be with God when I die?”
John 5:24; Revelation 21:6
John 6:47 it does not say after “believes“ “…and repents,
confesses his sin, turns from his sin, feels sorry for his sin,
submits to me as the Boss of his life, commits to discipleship,
stays faithful all his life until the very end, invites me into his
heart by saying a prayer, doesn’t sin too much or too long, doesn’t
do any big sins, believes all the right doctrines about me,
confesses me publically, walks the isle, is baptized, takes the
sacraments, and really, really ---really believes with the right
quality of faith…has everlasting life”
Yet, sadly, we will soon discover that every one of these ideas,
and many more, are placed into so-called “gospel
presentations.”
Eternal security and assurance: “Am I eternally secured and can
I know for sure I can be with God when I die and, if so, how do I
know?”
John 6:47; 1 John 5:11-13
Then, if that was not bad enough, the ideas about eternal
security and assurance are just as confusing in the theology of
many. Some believe you can be saved and lose it while others say
you can never lose it but you can never know for sure if you have
it until you wake up in heaven. The vast majority hold to some form
of works-assurance; that is, they know they are saved because of
their behavior and good life. You have to examine yourself to see
if you are saved.
The believer’s spiritual life: “After salvation, then what?”
1 Peter 2:1-2; Ephesians 2:10, 4:17-24
How does a believer live out their spiritual life? By keeping
the Law? Keep the rules? By making commitments? By total surrender?
By working hard at it? By cleaning up our life and acting like we
think a Christian is to act? Get busy in the Church? Read the
Bible? By having the Second Blessing? By having certain mystical
experiences? By speaking in tongues? Let go and let God? Go to
confession?
How about, “If you are really saved your spiritual life and
growth will be inevitable – you will produce spiritual fruit that
can be seen by others.”
Once again, the ideas of men and the twisting of Scriptures
abounds.
The judgment awaiting believers and rewards: “What can I expect
after I’m with God?”
1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10
This doctrine is just as confused as the first three. Here are
some common ideas: All true believers will be rewarded. There will
be no difference at all between believers in eternity. There will
be no sorrow or shame in heaven. Thinking about rewards is selfish
and self-righteous.
The most poorly taught of all these four doctrines is, I
believe, this last one. Clear biblical thinking based on exegesis
and doctrinal consistency is sorely lacking.
I praise God for the clarity of Bible Doctrine found in the Free
Grace understanding of Scripture. I am firmly convinced that only
in Free Grace is the Scripture handled correctly and accurately
which is why I am Free Grace and not something else!
Everybody has a system of interpretation: either it is not well
thought out, consistent and disorganized or it is well thought
ought, inconsistent, and disorganized. Free Grace is well thought
out, consistent, and organized. Free Grace is not a system of
thinking imposed on Scripture: it is a system of thinking
discovered in Scripture!
1. A simple definition of Free Grace is written by Rene’
Lopez:
Free Grace Theology gets its name from the fact that eternal
life is truly a free gift received by anyone who simply believes in
Jesus for it.
He goes on to give us this short summary the doctrines of Free
Grace people – like Pastor David (!):
There is power in the Free Grace message because the Free Grace
message draws out key principles from God’s Word.
Free Grace people know they have eternal life. That’s powerful.
Gratitude is powerful. Love is powerful.
Free Grace people know Jesus is coming again and we will be
judged by Him to determine our degree of eternal reward. That is
powerful. Christ’ approval is something that can and should propel
us through each day.
Finally, Free Grace people truly have good news that they can
share with friends and love ones and strangers alike.
From his paper “The Basics of Free Grace Theology” at
www.scriptureunlocked.org. This paper is included in your extra
readings.
Note: Not everybody uses the term “Free Grace” in the same
manner. The definition above is how we are using the term.
Calvinists who use the same term give it a totally different
meaning so beware of just thinking the term carries the same
meaning for all who use the term.
The definition of Free Grace that we use flows out of
Dispensational interpretation of Scripture. As you can see Free
Grace doctrine will impact many other areas of Bible doctrine.
2. Why this “Great Truths of Free Grace” doctrinal study is
important
A. We are commanded to handle the Word correctly and to defend
the Truth
2 Timothy 2:15: “be diligent”: (Gk. #4704 spoudazo) earnestness,
diligence; to make every effort to do one’s best, to be eager. It
carries the idea of making something a top priority of effort,
doing your utmost and be enthusiastic about it.
This is a mandate, a command given to every believer; it is
forcible and specific allowing for no wiggle room to get out of the
doing this. The KJV translates the word as “study,” it seems,
because of the focused intent of the enthusiastic effort: to handle
the Word of God correctly and accurately. The only way this will be
accomplished is to be serious and eager in the careful study of
Bible Doctrine, in this case, the great doctrinal truths of Free
Grace.
I like the NET translation: 2 Timothy 2:15 Make every effort to
present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to
be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately.
Wuest : Bend your every effort to present yourself to God,
approved, a workman unashamed, expounding soundly the word of the
truth.
Correct learning >>> correct interpretation>>>
correct doctrine>>> correct thinking >>> correct
teaching
This is part of keeping the command to love the Lord with your
mind:
Matthew 22:37 (NASB) And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE
Lord YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH
ALL YOUR MIND.'
“present yourself before God”: in the time of our life on earth
we are to make every effort to be pleasing to our God (2
Corinthians 5:9)with the result that we will be recognized as
pleasing to Him when we arrive home and experience the Judgment
Seat of Christ. Such properly motivated hard work will receive His
approval. This approval should be our motivation or else we will
not stay faithful through time doing the day-in day-out work
necessary to accomplish the goal.
“as a workman”: one who has demonstrated over time that they are
applying the effort.
“who does not need to be ashamed”: if we have handled the Word
correctly we will not be ashamed before Him at His coming and the
following Judgment Seat of Christ. The believer must recognize that
there will be real shame before Him if we do not bend every effort,
with the right mindset, to be clear and accurate in our
understanding and teaching of the Word of God.
We should be ashamed of our own selves right now if we do not
tale this mandate seriously!
“accurately handling”: orthotomeo (# 3718) a Greek word found
only here. It literally means “to cut it straight” or to “lay it
out straight” (Alford).
The four issues that are covered in this study of “The Great
Truths of Free Grace” are critically important for us to lay them
out straight – to be as clear and accurate as we can be - so that
we know what the Bible teaches, that is, the exact doctrinally
truth.
1 John 2:28 (NASB) Now, little children, abide in Him, so that
when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from
Him in shame at His coming.
1 Peter 3:15
“to make a defense”: (Gk. #627) apologetikos deriving from the
word apolgia: the word from which we get the word “apologetics.” It
simply means to make a thought-out defense of why one believes as
they do. Originally the word meant a verbal defense in a legal
courtroom.
Kenneth Boa helps us understand the meaning of apologia:
“In the second century this general word for ‘defense’ began
taking on a narrower sense to refer to a group of writers who
defended the beliefs and practices of Christianity against various
attacks. These men were known as the apologists because of the
titles of some of their treatises, but apparently not until 1794
was apologetics used to designate a specific theological
discipline. (The Apologetics Study Bible, p. xxv)
Much of the New Testament was written for apologetic reasons.
Jude 3 is an example.
My goal in this course of study is to not only help an
unbeliever know exactly how they can receive eternal life but also,
and primarily, to help the believer understand and be able to use
the truths of Free Grace doctrine to know exactly what the Bible
teaches and to defend why you believe as you do. It is one thing to
believe it – it is quite another to be able to defend it from the
Scriptures correctly and accurately handled.
B. To understand the confusion in the church today
We will spend time looking at the confusions and errors in all
four of the issues. What are some of the confusions? What is the
source of the confusion? When did the confusion start? How is the
confusion seen in the Church today?
C. To know and keep clear what the Bible teaches on the four
main issues
As we analyze these issues we will compare the confusion with
the clarity of the Scriptures correctly handled.
D. To accept the fact that what one believes on these four
issues matters – here is just a glance at two:
Issue one: Eternal life: Galatians 1:8-9, 2:1-21; 2 Corinthians
11:3-4
Issue three Spiritual life: Galatians 3:1-3, 5:1
We will be studying these passages in the future but here is the
truth: it matters what you believe in all the four issues.
3. The four main issues confused in the church
A. The confusion today over the gospel message
There are more “gospel” presentations abroad in the Church today
than there are flies on an old outhouse:
Confess Christ publically / walk then isle / invite Jesus into
your heart / say the sinner’s prayer / pray to receive Christ /
really, really believe with 100% trust
Obey the golden rule / live a good Christian life / repent / be
baptized
Make Jesus the Lord or Boss of your life / put Jesus on the
throne of your life / deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow
Him / promise to serve Him all your life
Feel sorry for your sins / turn from self and sin / give your
heart to God
Believe in this doctrinal checklist (usually five or more
specific doctrines)
Participate in the sacraments of the Church / without the Church
there is no salvation / go to church
If you are really saved there will be some evidence or you never
had it (Calvinism) or you lost it (Arminianism).
Faith alone in Christ alone by grace alone (Free Grace,
biblical, and correct!)
I am sure we could add many, many more variations especially if
we included the cults like Mormonism and Jehovah’s Witnesses. This
confusion exists in the area of the very first of our four issues:
the Gospel message of eternal life: “How can I be with God when I
die?”
The Message of Life
John 6:26-29
Jewish belief was that receiving eternal life and entering the
Kingdom of God were the same thing – and this is true and is taught
in the Scriptures. Where they went wrong is that they believed that
“one entered the kingdom by works consisting of observing the
traditions of the Pharisees” (Jewish spiritual leaders). (The Words
and Works of Jesus Christ, J. Dwight Pentecost, p.78). In other
words, they had been taught, and they believed, that good works on
the part of the individual combined with doing the rituals of the
Jewish religion would bring them eternal life and they would enter
the promised Kingdom.
Jesus did not approve of nor accept their thinking. He did not
say, “Well, that certainly is a good way to have eternal life. I am
glad that is true for you even if it is not true for me. There are
many ways into the kingdom so keep doing your best!”
Vv. 28-29: To receive eternal life and thus to enter the Kingdom
required simple faith in Him alone and nothing else – no works of
any kind are either required or accepted. Jesus gives them an
answer that says the only work is no work at all!
Messiah Jesus is simple pointing people to Himself: “I am the
source of eternal life to all who will believe in me for that life”
is what Jesus tells them. But what is he also negating? Any human
good work or religious rituals of any kind.
Their focus has to change; their accepted beliefs have to change
for if they do not they will not have eternal life nor will they
enter into the Kingdom (live with God forever).
Vv. 39-40
Who does the Father give to the Son? All those who will believe
in the Son, Jesus Christ, alone for eternal life – that is the
Father’s will v.40. Note: the life is eternal and guaranteed by
Jesus – v.39. Furthermore, that eternal life will raise up the
believer who has physically died thus the life He gives is not
ended by physical death. And the one who guarantees this is Jesus
Himself.
This totally negates any “Jesus plus me” or Jesus plus anything
false ideas.
V.40: What is the focus for a person in the area of receiving
eternal life? Is it good works? No. Is it religious tradition? No.
the single focus is Jesus: “that everyone who beholds the Son…” You
cannot look to anything or anyone else period. There is no “Jesus
plus” in any form or fashion.
Let’s quickly review what we see in verse 40;
V. 40 – the prerequisite: focus is on Jesus alone: “beholds the
Son” and then “believes in Him”
“May have eternal life” – an absolutely free gift conditioned
only on believing in Jesus for that eternal life
“And I will raise him up on the last day”: present possession of
eternal life also includes the guarantee of being with God forever
in a glorified body – the life He gives is irrevocable.
Everyone who has ever believed in Jesus alone for eternal life
has received it and cannot lose it! It is 100% guaranteed by
Jesus.
Antonio DeRosa, from his blog free-grace.blogspot.com:
“Free Grace theology teaches that sinners receive eternal life
the instant that they are certain of Christ's promise that
guarantees their eternal security, the moment they take Him at His
word. Saving faith is taking Christ at His word wherein He
guarantees the eternal well-being of all who simply believe Him to
do so. Taking Christ at His word is certainty of one's eternal
salvation, no matter what.”
A person must have their focus right of they have not believed
right. Jesus will not share the glory of the free gift of eternal
life with anyone or anything else. Not you; not your religion; not
your church; not your rituals; not your making Him Lord; not your
promises. It is not about you – it is all about Him.
Do not allow any religious leaders to put you into the bondage
of works, religion, or rituals – it does not bring eternal
life.
The sad part is that many in the community of those who proclaim
the truth of God’s Word correctly in many ways still get the
message confused – it is simply not accurate, clear, and
consistent. Why is this?
Manfred Kober, www.faith.edu writes;
If you were Satan, which doctrine would you want to undermine?
Which area of theology would you pervert, to prevent people from
being saved? An individual may be wrong about the doctrine of the
church or deny the millennial kingdom and yet doubtless be
gloriously saved. However, if a person is wrong on the doctrine of
salvation, specifically, the prerequisites for salvation, he misses
the very heart of the gospel. One would expect Satan to attack in
the area of soteriology. And indeed he has! The informed and
discerning believer soon realizes that there is a battle raging
among evangelicals and fundamentalists over the matter for the
conditions for salvation
For example: let’s evaluate this common but wrong presentation
from a website:
Going to heaven is a SIMPLE as ABC.
A) ADMIT YOU ARE A SINNER
B) BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS, ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND
THAT YOU TRUST HIM ALONE 100% FOR YOUR SALVATION, COMMITTING YOUR
LIFE TO HIS SERVICE.
C) CONFESS THAT JESUS IS YOUR LORD, GOD, and SAVIOR TO
ANYONE.
NOTE: We will see that point “C” is especially a FALSE idea not
in accord with Scripture correctly handled.
Now, student of West Side / FGBI, ask two simple questions:
· Is it biblically correct when Scripture is handled accurately?
It is incorrect.
· Is it clear or confusing? It is confusing.
The Truth about receiving eternal life: it is by faith alone in
Christ alone. To be convinced of the truth that Jesus alone
promises eternal life to all who will believe in Him alone for that
life is what is necessary to receive the gift of eternal life.
Jesus Christ, the sinless God-man, went to the cross in our place,
as our substitute, died, and rose again so that He can offer any
person eternal life as an absolutely free gift. That promised life
is eternal and cannot be taken away or lost for any reason because
He is the one who guarantees the gift of eternal life. Believe His
promise and the Life is yours eternally.
Now here is the rest of the BIBLICALLY INCORRECT and FALSE
presentation on this website:
What's next?
Have you decided to accept the judge's offer?
The offer still stands. If you want to accept his offer, all you
have to do is pray:
Lord, I admit I am a sinner. Lord I believe that Jesus died for
my sins, was buried and rose again the third day according to the
scriptures. I do now place my complete trust 100% on Jesus Christ
alone as the only payment for my sins. I will confess my beliefs to
others regardless of the consequences AND commit my life to
you.
Evaluation: notice the five parts: first, the admission we are a
sinner. While there is not a major problem with this, for it is
true, the Bible does not ever show anyone having to admit this
before receiving eternal life. Second, the Bible never tells anyone
to pray a prayer to receive Jesus. Third, 100% trust is potentially
misleading and can be confusing. To biblically believe is to become
convinced that something is true; it is to give mental assent that
what Jesus has promised, eternal life, is true. Trust is often
treated as an emotional response of some kind and thus confuses the
issue and it can easily mislead. You know if you believe something
is true or not, if you give mental assent to the truthfulness of
something or not. The idea of 100% trust leaves open some questions
and thus is confusing.
However the last two items are absolutely promoting self and
works as a condition for receiving eternal life: fourth, to confess
one’s beliefs to others is an outward act which should be done but
to make it a condition of receiving eternal life violates the
biblical condition of faith alone in Christ alone – it adds a work
as a necessary condition. If one believes but does not confess
either before or after is not a condition. Belief in Jesus alone
for eternal life is the single requirement.
Fifth, to commit one’s life to Jesus is also a good thing but to
make it a condition to receive eternal life is to, once again, add
a human work. This is a form of what is called ‘Lordship salvation”
and it is a totally erroneous teaching that results in people NOT
RECEIVING ETERNAL LIFE. One cannot mix faith and works.
As we will see later, Lordship salvation consistently confuses
post-salvation discipleship passages and makes them refer to what
one must do to be saved and go to heaven; they further refer to a
believer’s faithfulness and positive behavioral change (so-called
“fruit”) as being necessary to know if one has eternal life or
not.
Here is another FALSE idea presented by John MacArthur, one of
the leading proponents of Lordship Salvation in America:
FALSE: “The life we live, not the words we speak, determines our
eternal destiny”
Hard to Believe, p.93
FALSE: “Entrance into the kingdom requires earnest endeavor,
untiring energy, and utmost exertion, because Satan is mighty, his
demons are powerful, and sin holds us fast” (John MacArthur, Hard
to Believe, 149).
DO NOT ACCEPT LORDSHIP COMMITMENT IDEAS AS TRUE - THEY ARE
FALSE
The Key Issue:
What exactly does the Bible teach is absolutely necessary to
receive eternal life?
John 5:24 – you know you are saved because Jesus promised you
eternal life when you believed in Him for that life. You have
eternal life by what you believe, not how you behave.
Hopefully, from the sample above of a “gospel presentation” we
can see why we have got to understand the issues and clarify the
issues from the Scripture properly, accurately, and consistently
handled.
Here is their WRONG and FALSE answer to the question of
assurance:
How Do You Know You Are Saved?
Has God so worked in your heart that you are beginning to flee
from, to hate sin? Do you have a new love for God and his Word?
Have you turned completely from your old sin life with no desire to
return to it at all? Do you desire to be around other Christians?
Do you love them? Are you willing to lose all, give up anything,
for Christ? If the answer is NO, you haven't been regenerated,
given a new spirit, the Spirit of God. Continue to ask God into
your life until this change takes place. If you have experienced
this, then your salvation is secure and you can proceed to growth
in the faith.
Now, student of West Side / FGBI, ask the same two
questions:
· Is this biblically correct when Scripture is handled
accurately? It is incorrect.
· Is it clear or confusing? It is confusing.
Is this standard they have written above even obtainable by
anybody who is being honest? The bottom line is this: salvation and
assurance has been made totally unobtainable unless one deceives
himself!
Now let’s ask two more questions:
· If you follow this are you going to be saved – that is, will
you receive the gift of eternal life? The answer is no because it
adds to the Message of Life.
· Will this bring you any confident assurance that you have
indeed received eternal life? No! Because the focus is on the
person not the promise of Jesus.
Zane Hodges writes:
False doctrine in today’s church often begins like this: “If he
is really saved, he will…
The ways of completing this statement are extremely
numerous:
“… he will be baptized.”
“… he will never deny the faith.”
“… he will persevere in good works.”
“… he will never commit murder.”
And so on. The list could be lengthened greatly.
What is wrong with these statements?
First, they are man’s statements, not God’s…. second, these
statements are an insult to the cross of Christ. As tests of our
salvation, what they basically imply is this:
“You cannot find peace or assurance by looking to Christ and His
cross alone”
(The Gospel Under Siege, p.147)
Beloved: our focus must be on Christ alone knowing that His work
alone is sufficient to bring eternal life. He promises it. Simply
believe it.
Now there are many variations of the above ABC yet they all
follow the same basic pattern. These same questions must be asked
of ALL “gospel presentations.” Just because some says, “This is the
Gospel or Good news of salvation” don’t accept it until you have
evaluated it in the light of the Truth of God’s Word correctly and
consistently handled.
The key question for issue one is this: what exactly does the
Bible teach is absolutely necessary to receive eternal life? The
Bible only teaches faith alone in Christ alone as the single
necessity to receive the free gift of eternal life. IF ANYTHING IS
ADDED IT IS A FALSE GOSPEL THAT WILL NOT SAVE.
Hopefully, from the sample above of a “gospel presentation” we
can see why we have got to understand the issues and clarify the
issues from the Scripture properly and accurately handled.
B. The confusion over eternal security and the assurance of
eternal life
1 John 2:25, 5:13; John 5:24; 2 Timothy 1:12; Acts 16:31
From the above “gospel presentation” we can immediately see a
number of issues where the church is confused today. Consider, in
addition, some of the following statements and see how they relate
to eternal security and assurance:
Is eternal security conditional? Some say it is. Here is a
sampling from various locations:
· FALSE: So what happens to a person with spiritual life (a
Christian) who is not faithful to the end of his life? Clearly, he
will experience spiritual death.
· FALSE: As long as a child of God desires to be saved, he or
she can certainly remain so
· FALSE: There is no doubt that the Bible teaches we can fall
from God’s grace. That is, having received the gift of God by His
grace, we can so live as to abandon that gift.
· FALSE: Salvation is not merely a one-time event, but an
ongoing relationality between God and the humans through Jesus
Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The following is a different form of eternal security: if you
are one of the elect (by their definition) then you have eternal
security:
· FALSE: Eternal security rests in the sovereign will of God; He
chose some for eternal life and because of this fact, nothing can
interfere with that promise coming to fruition
However, the elect person does not know for sure if they are
elect and so they do not know for sure if they have eternal
security. This brings up the doctrine of assurance.
How about assurance; can you know for sure you are saved
· FALSE: Regenerated and justified believers may indeed lapse in
their faith, resist God, and fall into sin for a period but their
unbelief and resistance is fleeting, rather than incorrigible and
final
· FALSE: A faith that fails in the finish had a fault from the
first
· FALSE: The mark of a true disciple is not that he never sins,
but when he does sin he inevitably returns to the Lord to receive
forgiveness and cleansing. Unlike a false disciple, the true
disciple will never turn away completely (for this writer read
disciple = saved)
· FALSE: You are saved by faith alone but not by faith that is
alone
· FALSE: But let us appreciate the doctrine of perseverance of
the saints and recognize that we may entertain the faith of our
security in Christ only as we persevere in faith and holiness to
the end.
· FALSE: We can never know that we are elected of God to eternal
life except by manifesting in our lives the fruits of election –
faith and virtue, knowledge and temperance, patience and godliness,
love of the brethren. It is fruitless to seek assurance outside of
holiness of life.
· FALSE: True faith inevitable results in good works
· FALSE: From the perspective of Pentecostal soteriology,
Pentecostal theology, although grounded firmly on the Word of God,
is highly participatory and experiential. As Pentecostals we see
our involvement and responsibility in cooperating with the divine
will to be instrumental in the outcome of our salvation
experience….For Pentecostals, the salvation experience has always
been about involvement with God and not merely position in
Christ.
· FALSE: “…true obedience is one of the toughest requirements of
the Christian life. Apart from obedience, there can be no
salvation, for salvation without obedience is a self-contradictory
impossibility…we need to preach again…a Christ who will either be
Lord of all or he will not be Lord at all!” (A. W. Tozer, I Call It
Heresy! Quoted in Free Grace Soteriology, David Anderson,
p.127)
All of these ideas above are confused and biblically
incorrect!
We do not want to miss the persistent theme in all of these
approaches to eternal security and assurance: they ultimately all
end up focusing on the individual. As we will discover, biblical
Free Grace assurance focuses on the Savior and His promise, not the
individual believer.
The truth about assurance: When you have come to believe in
Jesus Christ alone for eternal life, then it is God’s understanding
that you have eternal life that cannot be lost – that should be
your understanding also!
We will see this truth clearly taught in the Word of God as we
continue this study.
C. The confusion today over the spiritual life of the
believer
1 Corinthians 3:1-3; Ephesians 4:1; Galatians 5:1, 16-17; 1
Thessalonians 4:3a
When one receives eternal life it is the will of God that the
believer be “spiritual;” walk worthy, lived in freedom, and to be
sanctified.
How then is this to occur? How do I live the Christian life? Is
it possible to live a life pleasing to God? What if I have a
repeated sin I cannot seem to overcome? How can I be in God’s will?
What makes me spiritual?
Do I try to keep the Law especially the Ten Commandments?
These statements below are false, as we will see:
Those of the Reformed (Puritan) tradition will say “yes”:
· FALSE: "Is the disciple to be above his Master, the servant
superior to his Lord? Christ was ‘made under the law’ (Gal. 4:4),
and lived in perfect submission thereto, and has left us an example
that we should ‘follow His steps’ (1 Peter 2:21). Only by loving,
fearing, and obeying the law, shall we be kept from sinning." –
ARTHUR PINK
· FALSE: "The Christian must never say farewell to the law.
Thank God, we are no longer under it as a way of salvation; but we
are to keep it, we are to honor it, we are to practice it in our
daily life." – DR. MARTIN LLOYD-JONES
· FALSE: "Genuine sanctification will show itself in habitual
respect for God’s law, and habitual effort to live in obedience to
it as a rule of life. The Holy Spirit will always lead him (the
believer) to a spiritual use of the law in the pursuit of
sanctification." – J.C. RYLE
· FALSE: “The ethical absolutes of the Ten Commandments and
Christ's moral teachings guide the effort to develop intellect and
character in the classroom, chapel, and cocurricular activities.” –
GROVE CITY COLLEGE in the “history” section of the website.
About this Zane Hodges writes: “Historically Puritan theology
has been marked by its heavy stress on the Old Testament law, both
as a rule of life for the Christian today and also as a means of
testing the reality of a person’s Christian conversion” (The Gospel
Under Siege, p.v).
Do I have to have some kind of spiritual experiences? Again the
answer is NO – but below are some FALSE statements.
False statements from Pentecostals:
· FALSE: “The concept of the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that
there are two works of the Spirit: one is to lead us to accept
Christ and be baptized; the second is to fill us so we can truly
live the Christian life and do the works of God “ - PASTOR DENNIS
SMITH
· FALSE: “Speaking in tongues is always manifested when people
are baptized in the Holy Ghost” - KENNETH HAGIN, SR.
· FALSE: “According to the Assemblies of God USA, this essential
form of baptism, which is separate from a water baptism by
immersion, allows followers the experiences of an overflowing
fullness of the Spirit, a deepened reverence for God, an
intensified consecration to God and dedication to His work as well
as a more active love for Christ, His Word and the lost. In
addition to these internal changes, physical evidence of the
baptism in the Holy Spirit is initially seen through speaking in
tongues. According to the Assemblies of God USA, the Spirit of God
gives believers the ability to speak in tongues to demonstrate the
power of the Holy Spirit.” (From www.ehow.com)
False statements from Catholics
Remember that for the Catholic the spiritual life is part and
parcel of making it to heaven.
· FALSE: “If you're hoping to get to heaven, you'll need a plan
to reach your goal. Do you pray? Give any thought to the virtues?
Do works of mercy? And what about the sacraments? Been to
confession lately? Are you doing any spiritual reading?” – FROM A
CATHOLIC BISHOP
One excellent writer who came out of Catholicism gives us a good
summary of what he accurately calls Catholic “soul-gripping
superstitions advanced under the guise of spirituality.”
I trusted in relics of dead so-called Saints; holy water; making
the sign of the cross; votive candles; baptism for salvation
(infant or otherwise); a "transubstantiated" piece of bread alleged
to be Christ; apparitions of Mary; a scapular; a "miraculous
medal"; statues and images of Jesus, Mary, and the saints; endless
Rosaries, Novenas, the Stations of the Cross; abstaining from meat
on Friday; Lenten abstinences; the Last Rites to get me into
Purgatory and indulgences to get me out of Purgatory; Mass cards;
graces dispensed from Mary; the confessional, with absolution of my
sins by a priest; penance and personal suffering to purify me of my
sin; worshiping a piece of bread at the Eucharistic Holy Hour; the
Holy Father as the Vicar of Christ on earth, etc., etc. Therein
lies a bondage that few evangelicals understand.
T.A. MacMahon, “Evangelical Mysticism?” on
www.theberancall.org
From here he goes on to warn about some of these same or similar
practices are bleeding into the evangelical church especially
through the “Emergent Church” movement that is becoming
increasingly popular today.
Here are a few more FALSE ideas that float around in the
discussions of the spiritual life of the believer:
· FALSE: "Soaking prayer is a modern form of contemplative
prayer ... People put themselves in an attitude of stillness,
focusing on Jesus and open to the Holy Spirit but with no requests
or agenda. The aim is to be still in God’s presence, "waste time
with Jesus." The Toronto church sees soaking prayer as one of the
main ways in which they encourage people to be open to the Holy
Spirit…. Some of these phenomena are obvious: weeping, cries,
exuberant and prolonged expressions of praise, shaking, trembling,
calmness, bodily writhing and distortions, falling over (sometimes
referred to as 'being slain in the Spirit'), laughter and jumping.
Other phenomena are more subtle: slight trembling, fluttering of
the eyelids, faint perspiring, a sheen on the face, ripples on the
skin, deep breathing..." Wimber also said that people sometimes
experience a sense of heaviness or tiredness, weeping or
drunkenness." - ROGER HARPER "SOAKING PRAYER"
· FALSE: “We should be returning to a no-holds-barred approach
to worship and teaching so that when we gather, there is no doubt
we are in the presence of God. I believe that both believers and
unbelievers in our emerging culture are hungry for this. It isn’t
about clever apologetics or careful exegetical and expository
preaching or great worship bands. … Emerging generations are hungry
to experience God in worship” – DAN KIMBALL, The Emerging
Church
· FALSE: “MYSTICAL UNION: The union of a soul with God in deep
contemplation. It is characterized by a deep awareness of the
divine presence, and has a variety of grades, not necessarily
successive, but distinguished by spiritual writers. They are: the
two nights of the soul (senses and spirit) before mystical union,
the prayer of quiet, the full union, ecstasy, and spiritual
marriage or transforming union: - (J. HARDON, The Modern Catholic
Dictionary)
Unfortunately, for the vast numbers of Christians today,
spirituality is becoming something for subjective experience and
not for the renewing of the mind which comes from thinking and
learning Bible Doctrine. This is a FALSE and unbiblical idea.
Of course, the typical conservative “Bible preaching” church
boils the spiritual life down to something like this: stop the bad
stuff, do the good stuff – change your behavior. Don’t stay in sin
too long or sin too much or do the “big sins.” Go to church, read
the Bible, read a devotional book, give money, do some service in
the church, be nice to everybody, go to the altar often, witness
and give out gospel tracks and probably say “amen” a lot when the
preacher really gets “fired up”! (O.K., that’s a little sarcastic,
but I was raised under this thinking so I can!)
In Free Grace the key common element is that of progressive
spiritual growth that is based on the Scriptures and never some
mystical spiritual experience. However, there are Free Grace people
who are clear on how one receives eternal life but are not nearly
as clear on the spiritual life of the believer.
A Doctrinal Free Grace Church, such as West Side and the Free
Grace Bible Institute, is clear and consistent on the spiritual
life of the believer. This life is based on (1) the fellowship of
the Holy Spirit, and (2) the steady intake of Bible doctrine which
then is applied by the free choice of the believer who is filled
with the Holy Spirit and thus has the power to freely choose to
apply Bible doctrine.
D. The confusion today about future judgments and the believer’s
rewards
1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 19:27-30;
Revelation 3:21, 22:12
Below are some FALSE and confused ideas on this issue.
· FALSE: A Presbyterian reformed writer states: “The final
judgment is the last major event connected to the second coming of
Christ. When Jesus returns, the resurrection of the body will occur
and the whole human race will appear before the judgment seat of
Christ.” - BRIAN SCHWERTLEY
· FALSE: From another Calvinist website: “The only difference
between the phrases "Saved by works," and "Rewarded for works," is
one of semantics. For there are only two rewards [misthos], or
wages. One payment for good works, which is the inheritance of
eternal life. And one payment for bad works, which is the judgment
of eternal damnation…. Only a true Believer being judged "PERFECT"
receives a full reward. Anything less than a full reward is for him
who is 'not perfect,' and thus has no Salvation. Make sure you
receive a full reward. Make sure you are Saved.” – T. WARREN
· FALSE: A catholic writer: “Justification of an individual by
God, resulting in the ultimate reward of the Beatific Vision,
either immediately or after a temporal period in purgatory, is
countered by the judgment of condemnation by God, resulting in an
individual's consignment to hell…. Mortal sin, which an individual
can only commit by willful act, is the state that leads one to
condemnation, and consequently to hell.” - RICHARD GRIBBLE
· FALSE: From a Catholic Catechism: Q. 1378. What are the
rewards or punishments appointed for men's souls after the
Particular Judgment?
A. The rewards or punishments appointed for men's souls after
the Particular Judgment are Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell.
NOTE: heaven is a reward in this teaching. Heaven is not a
reward for good works. It is a gift!
Free Grace understands the biblical teaching that the believer
will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ (which is for
believers only) where they will either gain or lose rewards but
never their eternal life. Heaven is not a reward it is a gift,
faithfulness is not inevitable, and believers will be rewarded
based on their advancement to spiritual maturity (this latter
statement be especially true of Doctrinal Free Grace)
Do we see the vast confusion, beloved? If we do not work hard to
be clear and consistent then we will end up in false doctrine and
confusion. In all the areas of the four key issues a person
untrained in correct Bible Doctrine would tend come to one of
several INCORRECT and unfortunate conclusions:
1. One idea is as good as another, just practice brotherly
love
2. It doesn’t really matter what you believe
3. One cannot really know what the Bible says on these
issues
4. As long as it works for you that is sufficient
5. Doctrine divides, love unites – let’s just all get along:
after all, Jesus said “That they all may be one…” Doctrine should
not be the focus of the church
6. We just need to focus on what we have in common
7. God just accepts us all if we are sincere
8. We just need to accept one another and work together to help
others
9. We can all be enriched by the others theological
approaches.
10. Jesus would want us to be united to solve social and
political injustice, helping the poor, educational efforts, and
fighting economic disparities.
11. Don’t judge least you be judged!
12. Christianity isn’t a religion; it’s a relationship
So is Bible Doctrine unimportant or even bad? Can we know truth
from error as we study the Scriptures? Maybe only the “big issues,”
but who decides the “big issues?” Are differences about what
eternal life is, how one receives it, how does one know (or hope)
they have it, and can it be lost unimportant issues? Are the
answers to the questions of the spiritual life and afterward (like
the doctrine of rewards) simply unimportant? If the four focus
doctrinal teachings of this Bible study are not major doctrines,
than nothing is! The confusion is from Satan himself.
What is the truth?
Have we become modern Pilates? John 18:37-38
Pilate was a man of his age when he stated this seemingly
sarcastic statement of the “truth confusion” of his day and age.
There were so many competing claims to truth that he probably felt,
as many do today, that no one can know truth about anything.
Amazingly, the absolute Truth was standing in front of him and he
asked the question in sarcasm and immediately got up and left
indicating he certainly did not expect Jesus to have any truth to
give him. He no doubt felt it could be not understood, it was not
important anyway, or there was no such thing as truth except that
which was established by power.
Truth – absolute truth – is a major theme of the Gospel of John.
The Gospel presents Jesus as the Truth incarnate, absolute truth,
the ultimate reality of the universe whose Word defined truth and
reality.
John 14:6, 17:17
In order to have clarity and consistency rather than confusion
we must determine that (1) God wrote His Word to be understood, and
(2) the believer can understand it correctly. We further must know
that there is only one correct way to interpret the Scriptures and
thus to build correct doctrine. We must not be guilty of being like
those Paul mentioned:
2 Timothy 3:7 (NASB) always learning and never able to come to
the knowledge of the truth.
We must determine what the Bible correctly teaches on these four
doctrines so that we come to a true knowledge (#1922 epignosis) of
the truth. The goal of this study is to come to a true knowledge of
the truth on these four issues so we not only know the truth but we
know that we know the truth, so that we can apply the truth and are
prepared to defend it.
Of course this means that when we determine from Scripture “this
is true” we must also declare that anything contrary is false. That
is not popular! As someone has said, “it is acceptable today to
say, “this is true” as long as it is not followed up with, “and
therefore, that is false.” But biblical absolute truth does not
accept that other truth claims are also acceptable.
As Christian apologist Ravi Zacharias puts it: “The fact is, the
truth matters – especially when you’re on the receiving end of a
lie.” And He also has said, “Truth excludes its opposite.” Why I am
a Christian: Leading thinkers explain why they believe (p.268)
Geisler & Hoffman
The Foundation for Clarity: Jesus Taught “Simply Two”
The Warning About the Confusion From Jesus
The Simply Two’s: Matthew 7:13-27
Three of the four main issues of Free Grace are in the teaching
of Jesus is found in Matthew 7
Question 1 Eternal Life: Vv. 13-20
Two gates
A warning: Two trees – false teaching (Matthew 12:33-37)
Question 2 Eternal Security and assurance: Vv. 21-23
Two professions
Question 3: The spiritual life of the believer: Vv. 24-27
Two builders
Question 4: Judgment and rewards Matthew 16:24-27
Two denials
The first question: “How can I be with God when I die?”
Matthew 7:13-14
“Enter”: Greek aorist imperative active:
· Aorist imperative: a command to do something in the future
that is a simple action – a one time event.
· Active: something the subject must do
“Enter”: use your volition to make this choice
“Enter”: Jesus commands that you make this simple choice at a
moment in time to enter into the “narrow, small gate” and the
“narrow way” (v.14). This entering is at a moment in time -
“punctiliar”: like a dot - a moment in time. Not an arrow that
makes the choice a process.
Anyone can choose to violate this command but in doing so they
have chosen the alternative. Every person is faced with this
eternal destiny determining choice. But note: the choice is simple,
uncomplicated, and not confusing – there are not many gates: just
two.
The gate is Jesus: John 10:9
The way is Jesus: John 14:6 (this does not refer to discipleship
either here in John or in Matthew 7).
But what opens the gate? What puts us on the way that guarantees
our eternal life? How do we enter?
The way through the gate
John 11:25-26 Key - v.26: Do you believe that He is the one who
alone guarantees your eternal life. Jesus said “never die” and this
is the same as eternal life: you never experience separation from
God (spiritual death) because Jesus gives you eternal life with Him
forever from the moment one believes in Him alone for unconditional
eternal life.
John 14:6: “I am the…life”
John 10:28: “give eternal life…never perish”
John 3:15 - “believe / faith”: At a moment in time to be
convinced (to know) that it is true that Jesus alone
unconditionally guarantees your reaching heaven – this is His
promise.
The key is “believe,” but believe in him for what? A hot dog? A
new car? That He exists? That He helps me get to heaven by
helping/making me perform good works? That He works through the
church or some rituals to get me to heaven? That He can change my
life? That He died on the cross and rose again? That He died in my
place as my substitute? That if I pray and invite Him into my heart
he will come in?
The specific to believe
It is not “Just believe something about Jesus” it is very
specific:
· positive side: believe His promise that He alone freely gives
you eternal life;
· negative side: there is no other way to have that life
That unconditional life is eternal and can never be lost or
taken away for any reason – that is His promise. This is exactly
what must be believed to receive eternal life.
Faith has to have a focus: The focus is on Jesus alone and His
promise to give only one kind of spiritual life - Unconditional
eternal life. To believe in Jesus alone is to believe in His
promise alone – to be fully convinced of the “never die” (John
11:26) promise. Once saved always saved! Unconditional security is
promised by Jesus and this must be believed.
The narrow gate alone leads to life (zoe). That life is the
unconditional eternal life that Jesus gives to all who simply
believe His promise. Jesus can make that promise because on the
cross He did all that was necessary to pay the full penalty of sin
as our spiritual substitute. He is the only one in all the universe
who can make that promise and keep it!
The only other choice: the wide gate
Matthew 7:13-14
Wide = destruction (Greek #684 apoleia): Meaning loss or ruin.
At physical death your soul (the thinking and aware you) enters
into the “second death” which is the eternal exclusion from the
quality of life experienced by being with God forever. It is a loss
or ruin from what could have been.
Destruction: “The saddest words of tongue or pen are the words,
‘It might have been.’”
Immediately upon physical death the soul of the unbeliever goes
to the place of torment called “hades” (Luke 16:19-31) and
eventually the soul ends up in the eternal “lake of fire”
(Revelation 20:11-15). Eternity is a long time to be wrong.
Man in his arrogance thinks that believing in Jesus alone as the
only means of being right with God is not true, there are many
ways, this is too simple and is too easy.
Some see the “wide gate” as tolerance, beauty, independence, no
accountability, fun, freedom, “my way,” etc.
Jesus warns of making the wrong choice
Matthew 13:42: “the furnace of fire”
Matthew 18:18: ‘The eternal fire”
Matthew 25:46: “The eternal punishment”
Mark 9:43: “unquenchable fire”
Luke 16:24 – the rich man who was an unbeliever: “I am in agony
in these flames” and verse 28 “this place of torment”
Some facts;
· Of the 1,850 verses in the New Testament that record Jesus’
words, 13% of these talk of eternal judgment and hell.
· In 1990 Gallup survey 60% of Americans believed in some kind
of hell but only 4% thought they were going there!
· Jesus spoke more of hell than heaven.
If Jesus was wrong on hell than He was wrong about His being our
only gate / way out of this destiny. But He is right on both
counts!
Matthew 7:13-14: The way
When Jesus spoke of “the way” He was simply using another
metaphor for entrance or passage.
John 14:1-6
“the way” does not refer to maintaining some lifestyle of
obedience or good works as if the way was a path the individual had
to walk. “The way” is the same as the gate – It is Jesus’ promise
to give eternal life to all who believe in Him alone for that
life.
Belief in Jesus opens the narrow gate: “I am convinced that
Jesus alone unconditionally guarantees my eternal life – I know His
promise is true.”
However, some erroneously think about the narrow gate… “When
Jesus says it is small and narrow it means that it is difficult and
hard for the person because they have to work and struggle to get
through the gate and to stay on the narrow way.”
These falsely say that without commitment, effort, perseverance,
and good works going along with “faith” then one’s faith is not
effective for eternal life. “One cannot just believe without a real
change in living.” Just to believe without real change is called
“easy-believism” and “cheap grace.”
What makes the gate small and narrow?
The emphasis of the Matthew 7 passage is this: entrance must be
by the right focus and right means. The issue is this: How are you
seeking to enter the gate / way? Only by the means clearly stated
by Jesus can entrance be made: a simple faith in His promise of
eternal life. It is simple, easy to understand, uncomplicated, and
absolutely clear.
To seek to enter the gate / way through any other focus or means
than to believe in Jesus alone for unconditional eternal life (and
nothing else included) is to end up going through the wide gate!
That is what makes it narrow and few find it because of human
viewpoint with its importing of something more than faith alone in
Christ’s promise alone.
To require anything other than faith alone in Jesus to freely
give His unconditional eternal life (His promise) is to enter
through the wide gate to destruction no matter if someone says that
the narrow gate is entered by commitment, perseverance, or anything
else except faith alone in Christ’s promise of eternal life
alone.
A favorite verse of some who claim intense work is involved to
enter the narrow gate:
Luke 13:24-27 - Why “strive” if there is no work involved?
To strive against HVP! The issue is, once again, how people will
seek to enter – human arrogance always seeks to do something rather
than to humbly accept the free gift by simple faith alone.
“many will seek to enter”: there is a traffic jam at the door of
people trying some other method!
Vv. 25-26: no special pleading will alter the fact of only two
gates, two ways, two choices. These people call Him “Lord” and say
they have a personal relationship with Him but they did not enter
by faith alone in His promise alone.
While the primary context is to those Jews who had known Jesus
physically while He was here, the application includes all who try
to enter without coming by faith alone in Christ alone for
unconditional eternal life.
Here is a sad truth Jesus shares: All of these believe they have
believed! But they have added something to the simple offer of
eternal life by simply knowing that Jesus’ promise is true.
v.25: the shutting of the door happens at the Second Coming when
Jesus removes all unbelievers from planet earth and establishes His
Messianic Millennial reign.
The issue is simple: How are you seeking entrance? The word
“strive” is the Greek word agonizomai “to work so hard as to
agonize.”
“Some people have a lot of agonizing work to do before they
finally determine that entrance into heaven is not conditioned on
work” – neither before nor after “believing”! Marty Cauley, Fallen
From Grace But Not From Perfection, p.66
Why are they seeking to enter but are not able? Because they are
trying to come by some other way rather than that established by
Jesus Christ – faith alone in Christ’s promise alone!
The Great Truths of Free Grace 22 | Page