The Jesus Plus Works Gospel (Mixing Law and Grace)

By William Handschumacher



SIN--THE SECRET OF RELIGION'S CONTROL


Note: The prerequisite for this study is reading "Freedom From Sin's Oppression"


On this website we have been attempting to shed the light of Scripture on the counterfeit of religion and how it seeks to present itself as the true Gospel of Christ.

I've noticed that religion possesses an insatiable appetite when it comes to control and manipulation. Religion or a person with a "religious spirit" has to be in control. All illegitimate authority practiced in the institutional church comes from religion. Religion is uncomfortable with any environment where freedom exists. The Bible tells us that "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Cor. 3:17) This is the reason religion persecutes authentic Christianity and tries to discredit it. Real Christianity (the New Covenant) destroys the lie that allows a religious system to dominate people. Real Christianity creates an atmosphere of liberty. The sin issue is the central mechanism used by religion to control others. Lack of knowledge about our liberation from sin allows us to be victimized. The "controlling" aspect of religion operates to one degree or another in almost every church organization.

The guilt created by sin can be used in countless ways to manipulate people. Most religious leaders are not even aware of the damage being done when they use sin to control their congregations. A true minister of the Gospel desires to set people free from the guilt of sin. Most of the time leaders use sin's guilt because it's a great motivator--and it's the way they were trained in seminary. This is why such an effort is made to make the public gatherings of the institutional church--the only valid Christian meetings. This intention may never be publicly stated, but it is strongly implied. Jesus said that his church meets whenever two or more gather in his name. But religion does not always recognize this as a real meeting--because there is no "official" control. Some churches and denominations teach or imply that it is a sin to miss their services. You will regularly hear the admonishment, "God expects you to be here every time the church door is open." Or, you will get the subtle impression that your commitment to God is lacking if you don't attend every service. These admonishments sound good--but they are misleading. God expects his people to listen to his voice and to do what he says. This is why Jesus is declared to be "Lord" and the head of the church (Eph. 5:23). This is also why leaders are forbidden by the Lord to assume authority that "lords it over" God's flock. (I Peter 5:3) It is entirely possible that God will lead some people to do different things. Religion downplays this Scriptural admonishment to be Spirit led (Romans 8:14). It's OK as long as He leads you to participate with the "program". However, your actions may be declared as "too subjective" if God's Spirit takes you in a different direction. Recognizing the scriptural admonition for the Christian to be "Spirit led" takes control away from religious leaders and places it squarely in God's hands where it belongs. I'm hearing of more and more church organizations that "track" the attendance and the financial giving of its members. If you miss meetings or if you fail to tithe--you are gently reminded of your responsibility. These actions should be taken as a warning.

Churches that practice "religion" will rarely disagree with the Apostle Paul's statement in Roman's chapter 7 declaring the Christian dead to the law. It's plainly stated which makes it hard to refute. The Apostle Paul is speaking of the law of the old covenant (the Mosaic Law) which was established as God's standard for righteousness. It is the old covenant law, which gives sin the power of condemnation and death over the human race. Paul declared believers in Christ free from this law. However, religion circumvents this freedom by setting up an entirely different set of laws that are declared to be binding on the Christian or church member. These laws are subtly given more importance than Scripture. Few Christians who attend a religious church realize that they have been placed, once again, under a different form of bondage. By submitting themselves to this new religious law--the sin they were once free from is now re-energized. God doesn't recognize this false new religious law. However, the unsuspecting church-goer doesn't know that. These new religious rules are subtly linked to God in such a way that breaking the rules cause His displeasure and rejection. However, keeping the rules gives a person the feeling of acceptance and a "sense of belonging". This gives the church member a false sense of righteousness. The Bible calls it "self-righteousness". This is the source of all modern day religious manipulation. This is commonly referred to as the "Jesus Plus" Gospel. Churches that teach this kind of gospel may never openly disagree with the idea that salvation is by faith in Jesus alone. Actually, most will probably strongly proclaim that fact from the pulpit. However, on closer examination, religious laws are subtly imposed as "additional" requirements, which are necessary to be "right with God".

Below, I have listed 4 common religious laws found in the modern church. They appear to be based in biblical fact. However, on closer examination this is not true.
  • The Bible teaches us "not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together." God expects you to be here whenever this church holds services. Neglecting these meetings is sin.

  • The Christian is commanded to tithe to their local church. Failing to tithe is considered "robbing God" in Malachi 3:8

  • God has delegated his authority to church leaders and He expects all Christians to be "obedient to church authority". Neglecting the teaching of this church is disobeying God.

  • Jesus gave us the great commission as a Scriptural command. Therefore, you should witness to everyone you meet and bring him or her to church on Sunday. This church should be growing!

The first thing we should recognize is that the real church of Jesus Christ is not an organization or a business. Jesus never designed it as a business. He designed His Church as a family. It has been turned into a business in order to meet certain "tax exempt" regulations set by the government. It has also been structured as a business in order to meet the financial needs required to maintain a building, pay staff and support the pastor. These can be legitimate issues. However, the truth of the gospel is many times sacrificed in order to satisfy these issues. In many religious churches, the truth of the gospel is not a factor because it's rarely taught. Most modern day churches have the same structure as a corporation--with the pastor as CEO and the deacons or elders as the board of directors. For the organization to survive, the following mandates have to be met.
  • Attendance is needed at all public meetings. Large attendance numbers give validity to the programs of the church.

  • A regular cash flow must be maintained to meet financial obligations. Therefore, tithing should be stressed.

  • Church members need to be dependent upon church leadership. Obedience to the leadership should be stressed as "necessary" to gain God's acceptance and to be in his will. Allow the members to think that by obeying, they are part of a special group in God's end time purposes.

  • The organization must grow, or at least have a constant flow of new members to replace those that leave.

Some things like financial obligations, attendance and obedience are real issues for any church. The religious church meets these needs by using man-made religious laws to manipulate its members. Real Christ-centered churches set their members free and trust God to meet the needs. One is based in the flesh and the other is based in the Spirit.

When you understand these requirements and compare them with religious law--there's really no mystery. When properly taken advantage of, sin and the guilt created by it is used to create DEPENDANCY. The pattern of religious organizations is to create a spiritual need and then set itself up as the solution to that need. This scheme gives religious leaders tremendous authority. In many cases the authority exercised over their congregations greatly exceeds that which the Scriptures give them. Their authority results from redirecting a person's devotion to God (a powerful motivation) onto a man-made religious system. When you examine this action in light of Scripture it is clearly a wicked practice. However, the average church member doesn't even notice or care, thinking that its part of God's program. Sin is the bait in the trap. These methods of control have been used with great success for hundreds of years.

I see two kinds of religious law in use today. The first kind is outlined above and is based on getting ministry needs met using natural means. The second kind of religious law comes from the belief in a false gospel which adds the requirements of the Mosaic Law (Old Testament law) to the teachings of the New Testament. This "added law" can be found in varying degrees depending on what people are willing to accept. Paul called it a "perverted" gospel--and it is one of the most destructive because Old Testament requirements are mixed in with the New Testament gospel. Because many do not test what they hear--it all sounds "Biblical". Unfortunately, this gospel is the one many Christians experience today. It is not a new thing. The early apostles encountered this teaching. It plagued them everywhere they went. Acts 15:1-6 gives us the clearest account on one such incident:

"And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. And being brought on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the church, and of the apostles and elders, and they declared all things that God had done with them. But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses. And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of this matter."

Starting in verse 28 through 31 of the same chapter, we can read the final decision of the early church concerning the mixing of the Law of Moses into the Gospel of Jesus:

"For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well. So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle: Which when they had read, they rejoiced for the consolation." (KJV)

The early church placed four requirements on the New Covenant Christian. It is important to note that violating these requirements did not nullify a person's salvation. The early church only said that we would "do well" to observe them. In our society, abstaining from fornication is the one that carries the most importance. Except for these requirements (most of which dealt with dietary restrictions), the early church decided that the Law of Moses was NOT something the Christian needed to observe. The Bible reported that when the early believers heard this decision, "they rejoiced for the consolation". I agree with their response. It was good news. However, this decision did not bring an end to the problem. The propagation of this perverted gospel continues to this day and can be found to one degree or another in most churches.

I am not suggesting that all church attendance is the result of religion. Nor am I suggesting that all church organizations are bad. Almost every Christian I know (including myself) started their spiritual journey by getting involved in a church organization of some kind. However, I am saying that the modern church has deviated from the original intentions of the designer, which in turn causes great harm to the truth of the gospel. However, some leaders allow the end to justify the means. These are things the Holy Spirit will show you in greater detail as you continue to walk with Jesus. I remember when the Lord started dealing with me about religion. A natural tendency is to believe religion is a problem someone else has--but not you. Jesus indicated that religion has a "blinding" effect on the participants. Examining yourself in this area is a painful process. But, it's better to be aware of the seductive nature of religion before you get caught in its trap. Normal Christian fellowship is a beautiful experience. It's encouraging to get together with other believers to worship and to share our gifts with one another. The Church of Jesus Christ is a family. However, when we turn that family fellowship into a "service" and subtly change it into religious activity, we move into dangerous territory.

Jesus died an agonizing death so that you could be set free from sin's tyranny. He grieves when religion turns around and enslaves his people all over again. This is one reason He demonstrated anger and outrage at the actions of the religious system of his time. At one point he turned to the religious leaders and called them snakes and vipers! The apostle Paul referred to them as "grievous wolves" who would enter in "not sparing the flock" (Acts 20:28-30) The Bible doesn't record this by accident. Jesus wants us to know the truth.

"Ye shall know the truth and the truth will make you free." (John 8:32)






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Most recent revision April 2010