The Stealth War Against
The Truth of the Gospel
By William Handschumacher
Preface
Basic Training For An Invisible War
For nearly six thousand years, the human race, in all its various expressions, tried to gain an understanding of God's ways. Yet, this knowledge was difficult, if not impossible, to obtain. The path to divine knowledge is commonly blocked by confusion, ignorance and human corruption. These negative forces created an environment that birthed the various world religions we see today. Most of these religions hold opposing views of God. Yet, each one has something in common. They all claim to be built on the foundation of "Divine truth". It's the only way to win converts. Why do they all make this claim? They know that God created people with a built-in "homing mechanism" that creates a hunger for truth. It's similar to how a magnet is drawn to an iron bar. Our "devotion to God" is one of the most powerful driving forces in human nature. All spiritual leaders, regardless of their religion, understand this truth. Many of these leaders also understood that this human desire for truth could be perverted into a powerful persuasive tool to control society and its financial resources. Unfortunately, by the time Jesus Christ arrived on the scene, this corrupting influence, like a deadly virus, was well established and extended its influence into the foundation of the early Christian Church.
Since the time of Christ, many governments and tyrants tried to extinguish society’s devotion to God and replace it with some form of secular ideology. Yet, some used a much more effective tactic. They subtly inserted themselves as a "mediator" between God and the people. As a result, they became "God's spokesperson", a privileged position that "appeared" to carry divine authority. Anyone in this powerful office could choose to make God say anything they wanted. Unfortunately, human mediators are still popular today in all forms of religion. This mindset is dangerous and can easily be found in the modern Christian Church. Yet, the Bible tells us, following the crucifixion, JESUS CHRIST IS NOW THE ONLY MEDIATOR BETWEEN GOD AND MAN. (1 Timothy 2:5)
When Jesus began His earthly ministry, the religious leaders that opposed Him had developed their "theological system" into a fine art. If we carefully study the New Testament, we learn that Jesus was essentially crucified because He threatened this false religious system, and the oppressive power of those behind it. Jesus told his audience, "you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32) and, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36) The religious leaders of the time placed society under an oppressive system of laws, many of which were man-made. Jesus offered his followers freedom from this kind of religious tyranny. Sadly, many professing Christians living today will never experience the freedom Jesus promised. Unknowingly, they have become fatalities in a nearly invisible spiritual war.
Today, religious oppression is still with us in many various forms, especially within the worldwide Christian Church. Names and methods have changed, but the underlying motivations remain the same. We are regularly told that our disagreements must be laid aside in order to further the Gospel. To encourage unity, churches teach that we’re all "God's children" as long as we "believe in Jesus". They tell us that our relationship with each other as "brothers and sisters in Christ" is the reason we should never engage in offensive arguments that cause division. Unfortunately, this statement is only partially correct. We may be surprised to learn that the Bible does not necessarily agree with the way churches prioritize unity and define the phrase, “walking in love”. Why? There is something far more important. Problems materialize when we discover the real New Testament definition of "believing in Jesus". In many cases, preachers can define that term anyway they want. Believers carelessly throw this phrase around as part of a popular “Christian lingo” without realizing that it is governed by very specific principles. For these reasons, our series of commentaries entitled, "The Stealth War Against The Truth Of The Gospel" will be offensive to some readers. It is not our intention to deliberately offend anyone, just for the purpose of being controversial. Yet, the popular "church growth and unity movement", along with many "historic" forms of false Christian theology, is forcing those of us who love Scriptural truth to take a more direct approach.
Did We Fail To Learn From History?
We’ve all heard the saying, "Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes." The Gospel of Christ appeared in the first century as a bright spiritual light and a beacon of hope for all nations. However, with each passing generation, the "light of Christ" continued to diminish. Today we call this process "incrementalism". It's a series of small changes slowly introduced over a period of many years that corrupts a central truth or ideology. The light of Christ's Gospel was reduced to a dim "flicker" during what's known in history as "The Dark Ages". Despite the best efforts of the early Christian disciples, a political power struggle began, which threatened to destroy the truth of the Gospel. Religious leaders in those days possessed a tremendous advantage over the uneducated public.
The average person lacked the knowledge to understand and interpret the Scriptures, which were written in different languages. The few books that did exist at the time, especially those that preserved the Holy Scriptures, were painstakingly hand-written. They were outrageously expensive and remained only in the possession of the politically powerful and wealthy. The uneducated public had to depend on the "clergy" to tell them what God was saying. This privileged group quickly learned that their knowledge gave them a new powerful tool to control the people. They discovered that by becoming "God's mouthpiece" you could effectively manipulate a person's devotion to God. This allowed them to control the individual, as well as their money and whatever influence they possessed in society. Most earthly religions use these same methods today--including, unfortunately, the Christian Church. In those days, any effort to end this religious tyranny and political hold on power was considered a crime that carried the death penalty.
Around 1350 A.D., God began to call some heroic individuals to bring an end to this oppressive and corrupt religious system. The plan was to translate the original languages of Scripture into the common languages of the people. This allowed the public, for the first time, to understand the Holy Scriptures without interference from the corrupt ecclesiastical system of the day. This effort involved men such as John Wycliff (1380), William Tyndale (1516) and Martin Luther (1530). Tyndale translated the first New Testament Bible into English. In anger, the Bishop of London made an unsuccessful attempt to confiscate and destroy all copies of his work. Tyndale was eventually arrested and executed. What was his crime? He threatened the religious power structure of the day by giving the public the ability to understand the Scriptures for themselves. Johannes Gutenburg invented the printing press in 1450. The first book printed on Gutenburg's new invention was the Latin Bible. Later, the first English Bibles were printed illegally, which was also an offense that carried the death penalty.
Today, almost no one is executed for printing an English Bible. No one can stop us from reading the Scriptures in our native language. It is a privilege many of us take for granted. Lives were sacrificed to give us access to this Divine knowledge. Yet, the future descendants of the oppressive religious system of Wycliff and Luther's day will continue their efforts using a different strategy. Today, they invent different "theologies", or ways of interpreting the Scripture that we now have in our own native language. In some ways, if we submit to these methods, it puts us back under the tyranny of the corrupt system of the past, where God's voice must be interpreted for us by a privileged few.
All of these individuals, and many others, collectively defeated the oppressive system that had all but silenced the Gospel of Christ. Martin Luther, a former Roman Catholic priest and German evangelist probably had the most influence. He possessed a great understanding of the Pauline Revelation and the new covenant Gospel of Grace. This "new covenant" was the foundation for everything he taught. In many ways, Luther was ahead of his time. His teaching allowed the bright light of Christ to shine once again. During frequent battles and arguments with his own peers, he made the following statement:
"If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved; and to be steady on all the battlefield besides, is mere flight and disgrace if he flinches at that point."
I am persuaded that these words carry the same meaning today as they did in the spiritually dark days of the 1500's. The Gospel of Christ is, once again, under attack from within the Christian Church. Many of us have no problem "professing Christ"--as long as we can avoid that one divisive area where the devil is attacking and fellow Christians are deeply offended by what we say. Most of us will "profess Christ" as long as it doesn't cost us our friends, or our reputation as a good church member. However, Luther warned that unless we direct our profession of Christ (or our defense of Christ's Gospel) in the small and neglected area where the battle rages--we are not professing Christ.
As I studied the Bible, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with the things commonly taught in various churches. It became more and more apparent that these teachings didn't agree with the New Testament. Yet, on the surface, it all appeared to be from the Bible. I watched as internal church politics, efforts to avoid offending church members and the constant need for more finances -- distorted the Gospel of Christ. Few objected for fear of being labeled "divisive". I was told we needed to lay down our differences and come together so that the Gospel could go forth. However, I discovered that the gospel message being preached, which sounded like it was "Christ-centered", many times contained serious distortions. I found that these distortions were the result of ignoring context. I was so concerned that I started to constantly question God about these problems over a period of years. What He taught me turned my Christian worldview upside down. When denominations, churches and evangelistic ministries remove Scripture from its God-ordained context, it causes a dangerous spiritual "paradox". Some Christian churches call their salvation doctrine "fundamental Bible teaching". Yet, some of it actually violates the context of the Bible they claim to respect. I call this situation "a paradox" because these disagreements over doctrine are irreconcilable. Yet, they must be confronted firmly (in love) and without compromise. The reason most professing Christians will never "come to a knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:4, 3:7) is because they are unknowingly taught by their church to ignore the context in which God preserved His Word. Respecting the context of the Bible is mandatory if we are to walk in truth.
This causes many of us to think that, as long as I believe in Jesus--I can believe whatever I want as long as it's in the Bible. A popular slogan I hear repeatedly is, "God's Word says it, I believe it and that settles it." We think, "if I can just find a Bible verse that supports my argument--that's all I need". However, most of us never stop to ask if God is using those verses in the same way we intend to use them. They assume, "if it's wrong, God will understand because my intentions were good".
Some older readers may recognize the picture above as the logo of an early television program. Between 1956 and 1967 CBS produced a prime-time game show entitled "To Tell the Truth". My parents regularly watched this show. The theme carries an important message for Christians today. The show consisted of the host, Bud Collyer, a panel of four Hollywood celebrities and a set of three mystery contestants. Broadcast time only allowed 2 or 3 sets of challengers to appear. The object of the game was simple--at least on the surface. All three challengers introduced themselves as the same individual, using the same name. The host read a statement describing the life and experiences of the person who all the contestants claimed to be. The panel of celebrities was allowed to question the three contestants to determine which one was telling the truth and which two were lying. At the end, each celebrity voted for whom he or she thought was the person the host described in his opening statement. Wrong guesses credited money to all three contestants, who split the winnings equally. The largest sum of money was awarded when the three contestants "stumped the panel" (no one guessed correctly). It was in the contestants best interests to fool the panel. The famous line at the end of each round was, "Will the real [person's name] please stand up!"
Some identities were discovered quickly. Yet, some clever contestants would "stump the panel". Spiritual counterfeits appear to us in a similar way.
Counterfeit Spiritual Truth Is A Dangerous Game
The modern-day believer in Christ faces the game of "To Tell The Truth" on a spiritual level. However, in the real world, being "stumped" or fooled by a religious counterfeit can be dangerous--and it can cause you to lose the life that Jesus came to give. Counterfeit Bible doctrine comes at us in much the same way as the two imposters on the television game show. They all look and sound Biblical. They all look and sound like the "real thing". Unless you ask some very direct questions and examine the facts, you will never discover their real identity.
The Bible tells us in Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." This same thought is carried over in a judgment pronounced upon Israel by the prophet Hosea when he said, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me...." These Scriptures warn us that there are some actions God will not ignore. Rejecting correct knowledge about how God grants salvation today (truth) is one such action. Just because we personally choose to believe something doesn't mean that God is somehow forced to operate according to our beliefs. Most Christians today follow a way that they think is right. They heard someone give a sermon about Jesus Christ and decided to commit their lives in obedience to His ways. There's nothing wrong with this decision. Every professing Christian starts out the same way. I started out this way. We all want to follow a spiritual path that's right, otherwise, what's the point?
The subject discussed in this commentary is not about our desires and good intentions. For the most part, the intentions of most professing Christians are always noble and righteous. The real issue is "the way" we chose to follow. If we choose a wrong way, even if we're convinced it is right, God warns us that it could carry many serious unintended consequences, and maybe even His rejection. This is the reason the apostle Paul sternly warned first century Christians to "examine themselves" to make sure they were "in the faith" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Paul gave this warning because there are generally two types of faith in the Scriptures, and a prominent group of evangelists were teaching new believers the wrong kind of faith, which led many astray. This exact same dangerous condition continues today. Most of the time we are unaware of the danger. For many, the desire to be accepted within their church will guarantee that they remain blinded to the danger for the rest of their lives.
The Great Imposter
Understanding the nature of spiritual counterfeits turned my Christian worldview upside down and ended my participation in the modern-day church growth and unity movement. Once I discovered the strategy and tactics of the enemy, I was forever changed.
Satan is the "Great Imposter". The Book of Revelation uses various titles to describe him such as, the great dragon, the devil and the deceiver of the whole world. Satan's main objective is to deceive the inhabitants of earth concerning God's plan of salvation through Christ and His free gift of eternal life. This means he tricks us into believing a lie by making us think its truth from the Bible. He has 6000 years of experience dealing with the human race. His first victims, Adam and Eve, were caught in his deceptive trap of spiritual death. They didn't discover the seriousness of their mistake until it was too late. This same fate awaits many unsuspecting professing Christians today. Satan knows our weaknesses and how to gain our trust. Paul warned that the devil's most dangerous and effective tactic is appearing as "a minister of righteousness" and "an angel of light". Most people, including many Christians, mistakenly assume that all angels, especially the ones that appear in special "visions and dreams" are sent from our Heavenly Father. Some angels are sent from God, yet the Bible tells us that others are sent by the devil.
These misleading characteristics lay a foundation for unimaginable religious deception. In modern-day language, it means that the devil has created a "look-alike" (counterfeit) religious system that is called "Christian religion". This system has its own churches, which appear to be godly. It always portrays itself as a "Christian Church". It has its own "theology" that claims the Bible as its authority, yet redefines its principles to support a deceptive agenda. This counterfeit "Christian religion" has its own prophets, who claim to speak for Christ, yet actually speak for our enemy in order to subtly lead us astray in our faith. The counterfeit church has its own ministers, who claim to be uncompromisingly committed to God's Word and a preacher of righteousness (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). These preachers appear, on the surface, to be God's most humble and dedicated servants. They can be a pastor of a "Bible-believing" church and will earn your trust by being one of the most loving and helpful individuals you would ever want to know. All of these people are convinced that they're serving the God of Heaven. They're totally sincere, yet unaware of their true spiritual condition.
In order to achieve the goals of the modern-day church growth movement, Satan's role as an "imposter of Christ" can never be fully exposed and taught because it offends the core beliefs of too many tithe-paying church members. Through silence or neglect, many leaders leave the impression that professing Christians can hold beliefs that contradict the principles of the new covenant and still remain valid members of God's family. To avoid a mass "dash for the exits", they suggest that these beliefs aren't wrong, just different. This is why we see main-line denominations and many "evangelistic ministries" departing from the truth of the Gospel for an "out of context" Biblical message that satisfies the largest number of people. This "big tent Christianity" mindset that places unity above the truth of Scripture does much damage and carries serious unintended consequences in eternity. This is the environment where our enemy sets up his counterfeit "Christian" ministry -- and many are led astray.
The Bible records one type of righteousness under Old Testament religion and a totally different type of righteousness under the new covenant of Christ, found in the New Testament. These things are easily taught out of context and go unnoticed by most Christians. That's why the "truth seekers" among us must confront these stealth "ministers of righteousness" with some hard questions about the context of their message. Remember that we're talking about a covert influence that exists in the mainstream Christian Church and not necessarily the popular religious cults that occasionally show up at our front door.
While addressing the Church at Corinth, the apostle Paul refers to Satan by another troubling title.
"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." (2 Cor 4:3-4 KJV)
Paul calls Satan, "the god of this world", who seeks to blind our minds. What methods do Satan and his "ministers of righteousness" use? Answer: They hide the light of the glorious gospel of Christ by replacing the real Jesus and His Gospel of Grace with the popular theology of "another Jesus" and a "different gospel" (Galatians 1:6, 2 Corinthians 11:4). I am reminded of an old cliché, "The devil is in the details". In our situation, the saying is literally true. Many ministers preach righteousness from the Bible. Yet, very few Christians ask the all-important question: Are they preaching Christ's new covenant type of righteousness, or something else? The devil is in the details.
When we consider the logical outcome of these things, our Heavenly Father is giving us a terribly frightening revelation from His Word. It is far more than just a warning. The devil, the great imposter who impersonates God, tricks a lot of church-going people into believing his out-of-context Bible teachings. Exposing this hidden demonic agenda that operates unhindered within the Christian Church was one of the apostle Paul's most difficult tasks. Today, a majority of professing Christians are taught to oppose the Grace of Christ by their church or denomination. They mix or replace God's Grace with a "religion of works" (also known as Old Testament "works-based righteousness") established upon out-of-context Scripture. This distorted "Biblical" message (actually a false theology in disguise) is then reintroduced as, "The Gospel of Christ" and fundamental Bible teaching. Yet, the apostle Paul warns the Church that their doctrine, which appears to carry the authority of Scripture, is actually "a different gospel" that does not come from Jesus Christ, but from our enemy.
Joe Kovacs, author of the book "Shocked by the Bible", voiced the same concerns in a recent interview with Good News Magazine. (Note: Our inclusion of these comments is not an endorsement of everything Joe Kovacs teaches, nor should it be interpreted that he is in agreement with our teachings on this subject.)
[Start Quote]
Joe Kovacs: If you understand who Satan is and the origins of Satan, you would know what he's doing. Satan, "the god of this world" [2 Corinthians 4:4, King James Version], is not the ultimate God who created everything. He is the ruler of this present society. Satan was originally an archangel of God. He was booted out of heaven because he tried to lead a rebellion of angels against God.
The Bible refers to this rebellion, saying he ascended above the clouds to be like the Most High. He has a "god complex" and thinks he can do a better job than God. Who knows what his motivation is, but apparently he was a brilliant individual. The Bible calls him an angel of light. He is able to appear as very good so he can lead people away from God.
He wants to be God and to be worshipped. I can say unequivocally that most people on earth, no matter what religion they are, think they are worshipping the true God. However, they are actually worshipping a corrupted form of satanic confusion that was begun back in the Garden of Eden.
Interviewer: Paul said in 2 Corinthians 11:4 that there was "another Jesus" with "a different spirit" and "a different gospel." Do you think this scripture reveals what Satan is doing?
Joe Kovacs: I think that Satan has transformed himself into an angel of light [2 Corinthians 11:14], and many, but not all, people think that they are worshipping the true God, the true Creator God of the universe. Yet they are actually following, unknowingly in many cases, Satan the devil. He has brought a brilliant deception upon people of this world and especially the Christian world.
Many people call themselves Christian, and yet they do things that are antithetical to what the Bible teaches. You can go through the Bible and find out what God's teachings are. You can look at what the religions of the world teach and see that they are, in fact, very different from what the Bible teaches.
[End Quote]
The book of Hebrews instructs us not to neglect the great salvation of Christ. For this reason, we should carefully consider these warnings. The "Stealth War Against the Truth of the Gospel" is fought against the devil's false form of "Christian religion". The great imposter is very good at what he does. No modern-day Christian is exempt, especially those that think of themselves as "devoted Bible-believers".
A Cause For Concern
I've listened as pastors and other concerned believers privately agonize over this worsening situation. One pastor said that he spends over 80 percent of his ministry time correcting hurtful "out of context" Bible beliefs held by Christians that visit his fellowship. Another individual conducts yearly research on "the health of the Church" and concluded that less than 16 percent of all professing Christians in the worldwide Church (all people claiming to be Christian) believe the necessary truths from God's Word for salvation--even though all of them claim to "believe in Jesus" in one way or another. Others who analyzed the research felt that his numbers were too optimistic and believe it's closer to 5 percent. If this research is anywhere near to the truth, all of us should be very concerned.
Christian music artist and teacher, the late Keith Green, commented on these disturbing trends in his gospel tract, "Unity, At What Price?" He was concerned about a growing number of churches that made Christian unity a higher priority than "the truth of the gospel". Keith correctly said that there is both a true and a false division that occurs in the Church--and that "division" is justified if it's about the distortion of the "truth". He noted that most churches wouldn't discuss the topic of "what is the gospel" because each one has their own "different" definition. Imagine that. To avoid heated arguments, they squelched all discussions about the true nature of the Gospel of Christ and emphasized the need to "walk in love" and to be "seeker sensitive" to avoid problems. In the following quote, Keith makes some thought-provoking comments....
"Today there is much talk among Christians about the need for unity. Wherever Christians gather you can hear someone saying, "If only all the believers could get together and agree, then the world would sit up and take notice! Then the devil would be running scared! Then there would be real revival!!! The whole "Ecumenical Movement" is based on such a conclusion. I admit the thought sounds wonderful--to have all those different denominations (and non-denominations) in love and fellowship with one another--that would be something, wouldn't it! Ah....but don't hold your breath....it can't happen. There'll always be a couple of real Christians around to spoil it! 'What?! You say, "How could real Christians spoil it? Wouldn't they be the very ones who would be the most loving and ready to unite?' Oh yes! True believers are full of love--love for God, love for their brothers and sisters, love of souls--in fact, love would be the very thing that would make them oppose a mass move of unity. 'What?! You say again, Why that's the most absurd thing I've ever heard! How could love keep them from wanting to get together with everyone else who confesses to love God? You're not going to get me to believe that people with such deep love wouldn't just love to see all the churches and professing Christians come together in unity? Why, what could they love more than that??' For one thing, they love the truth! Yep, they're pretty attached to it--those true believers can even seem right stubborn and ornery at times--the way they stick to the truth."
Keith added:
"You must remember, people who love the truth will divide from people who love lies!"
The famous German evangelist, Martin Luther, agreed with this position when he told his followers, "Peace whenever possible, truth at any cost." Yet, today's church operates by the rule, "Truth whenever possible, peace at any cost". This is the slogan of the modern-day church growth movement.
I mention these individuals because I know all of them understand and preach the Gospel of Christ according to New Testament principles. The problem is caused by a "different gospel of Christ" that is preached in the worldwide Christian Church that seems to originate and agree with the New Testament--but doesn't. Warning believers about this "different gospel of Christ" is the focus of this commentary. Once again, many readers may think that we're referring to the popular religious cults that occasionally show up at our doorstep. While many of the things we say also applies to them--our teaching is not aimed at these groups.
The following series of commentaries attempt to address an age-old dispute between a Jewish group known as "the circumcision" and the new covenant ministry of the apostle Paul. We will discover that this disagreement continues today under many different names, ministries and movements. Paul's first task was to preach the new covenant Gospel of Christ to "old covenant" Jews. [Note: the old covenant is recorded in the Old Testament section of our Bible] These evangelistic efforts nearly always resulted in bitter arguments, hateful words--and in some cases, citywide riots. As these confrontations continued and intensified, Paul realized that his efforts to get the Israelites (as a nation) to embrace the new covenant of Christ had come to an unsuccessful conclusion. From that moment on, his ministry changed its focus. Paul used strong and offensive words to announce the change.
"On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, BEHOLD, WE TURN TO THE GENTILES. For so the Lord has commanded us: 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." (Acts 13:44-48)
Many readers may not realize that this hostile confrontation, which caused the apostle Paul to "turn to the gentiles", gives us a glimpse into a hidden spiritual war that every Christian generation would fight in the future. The Jewish group mentioned in this Scripture was defending their "Old Testament religion", which was radically different from Paul's new covenant message. The sacrifice of Christ changed the previous religious system, which is why Jesus used the phrase “new covenant”. The Jewish circumcision (along with many Christians today) was taught the old system and didn’t want anything changed. It was the differences in these two beliefs that caused the hostility and anger. The reason God divided His Word into "The Old Testament" and "The New Testament" is because they represent two different religious systems, which were understood in the first century church as "blood covenants". Each covenant was established on a different set of religious laws. Yet, both are found in the Bible, which gives a complete record of God's dealings with the human race. A demonic plan hidden within a deceptive "form of godliness" (this is how the apostle Paul described it) was devised. It was so well conceived that it continues to blind many professing Christians today. If an enemy wanted to sabotage Christ's new covenant Church at its most vulnerable time, they would take the new covenant message of Christ and skillfully merge (or unify) it with the Old Testament theology (based on principles of the Mosaic Law) of the Jewish circumcision that viciously opposed Paul's preaching. This new unified theology is extracted from the Holy Scriptures, but ignores its context. It began in the first century shortly following Christ's crucifixion and accomplishes many destructive things under a cloak of religious deception:
- This “unified” theology corrupts (Paul uses the word "perverts") the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the cross, while claiming the authority of God’s Word. (Galatians 1:7)
- Highly trained theologians living in the first century originally designed this theology. The apostles of Christ in Acts chapter 15 denounced it. Unfortunately, similar versions continue to be taught as mainstream doctrine in most churches today. In other words, this theology is man-made and didn’t come from our Heavenly Father, which is exactly what Paul taught the early Church. It subtly mixes principles from two different systems of religion recorded in our Bible. This is a spiritually destructive practice that God never approved.
- This popular theology, which claims to carry the full authority of God’s Word, "short-circuits" God’s power in our life and ministry. Obviously, the real problem isn’t with Scripture, which is why most Christians remain blinded to the danger. The real problem is the abuse of Biblical “context”.
- Jesus redeemed us from “the curse of the Law”. However, this aberrant theology brings the curse back on our life. It tells us that we're "suffering for Christ" when the hurtful consequences show up. These consequences include all types of destructive afflictions, sickness, disease and poverty--which are the direct result of this “old covenant” curse.
- A most serious and unrecognized result of this theology is "counterfeit faith", WHICH DOES NOT WORK UNDER CHRIST'S NEW COVENANT. Paul warned about this danger in his epistles. Yet, many “Bible-believing” churches ignore Paul’s warning. Unknowingly, they defend the type of faith that Paul condemned. Many are led astray because the supporting principles for this kind of faith come from the “old covenant” writings of the Bible, which continue into the New Testament canon. Few Christians recognize that the salvation doctrine taught by many churches is not always built on the writings of the Bible that define Christ's new covenant. (2 Corinthians 13:5)
- This counterfeit faith produces a false type of righteousness and a false righteousness message, which God does not accept under Christ's new covenant. Yet, it tricks us into thinking that we're one of God's most devoted children. (Paul refers to the teachers connected to this message as "ministers of righteousness" that are actually sent by Satan to deceive--2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
- This counterfeit faith is based on what Paul called, "another Jesus" derived from the old covenant, rather than the true Jesus of the new covenant. Which Jesus do you believe in? (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)
- This counterfeit faith causes us to preach what Paul called, "a different gospel of Christ", which mixes principles from both the old and new covenants. This “different gospel” is not the true Gospel of Christ, which is based exclusively on the principles of the new covenant. Which gospel do you believe in? (2 Corinthians 11:3-4)
- All these things could cause us to miss out on God's unmerited gift of eternal life, while giving us a false confidence that heaven is our home.
We make a fatal mistake by ignoring the dangers and trappings of this "Stealth War Against the Truth of the Gospel". At the cross, Jesus defeated Satan with no possibility of a "rematch". To satisfy his vengeance, our enemy devised a plan shortly after the crucifixion to derail the new covenant Church under the Grace of Christ. Highly trained, sincere and loving religious people carried out this plan--and continue to do so today. Their sincerity, apparent devotion to Christ and commitment to preach what they call "the whole Word of God" is what continues to fool many people. It fools people because their “whole Word of God” message, which carries good intentions, fails to follow rules of context. The apostle Paul was ruthless when describing these ministers and evangelists. He wanted the whole Church to know that their message did not originate from Jesus Christ by saying; "For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." (Romans 16:18)
Most Christians live in a state of denial by refusing to see one of the best-kept secrets in the world of religion. You can preach from the Bible "out of context" and most of your audience won’t notice. If you quote enough Scripture, they will continue to believe that you’re teaching truth from God’s Word! The strategy is both simple and confusing. Introduce a convincing method of Bible interpretation (we call it “theology”) that breaks down the boundaries that God set between the old and new covenants--and merge everything together into one general Biblical message. In order for this “unified” theology to work, you must redefine (modify) the new covenant of Christ. This modification occurs when certain rules from the previous old covenant are added back in. The principles and rules, reintroduced by this false theology, are the ones God removed when Christ’s new covenant was established (Read Acts chapter 15). If the old and new covenants are to have the same "one unified message", all the differences that the apostle Paul confronted in Acts chapter 13 must be skillfully explained away to achieve harmony. Today, this is accomplished by "spiritualizing Scripture". It is a method that takes a literal truth from the Bible and reinterprets it, claiming that God has some hidden "spiritual" meaning that can only be properly understood by a special "prophetic insight" or by seminary trained "clergy". When this method is used, theologians and preachers can make the Bible say just about anything they want. If we’re going to survive this stealth war, we must understand the tactics used by the other side.
By using this theological strategy, the corrupted new covenant gospel (Paul used the phrase "perverted gospel" to describe it) now appears to be part of the "one message" of the Bible. Today, if you dare draw attention to the differences, you are accused of causing division, rejecting God's Word and failing to "walk in love" with other members of the Church. In the first century, corrupting the new covenant of Christ was the strategy of a group known as the "Judaizers". This group persecuted and opposed the apostle Paul until the day he died. Their evangelistic ministry (if you can call it that) continues today within the Christian Church under various different names. Paul taught his young disciple, Timothy, that you must "rightly divide" the Word of truth if you are to teach it properly (2 Timothy 2:15). If we have the courage to look, we can easily see that the Bible is DIVIDED into two very different parts (or covenants) and the popular "one message" theology of the modern day Judaizers is both deceptive and false.
The Differences In Old Testament Religion
And The New Covenant of Christ
It is impossible to address this topic in a few short paragraphs. Therefore, we will give a brief synopsis that covers the most important points. The major difference between the Old Testament religion of the Jews and Christ's new covenant message is how God treats sin. Under Old Testament religion, when anyone sinned--God assigned the offense to the sinner's account until such a time, at a temple ceremony, the sin-debt could be transferred to a sacrificial animal. The animal was then killed on the temple alter. Blood always had to be spilled to atone (or cover) for sin. It was God's requirement. In those days, you either chose to pay for your own sins--or, you chose God's way, allowing an innocent animal (usually an unblemished lamb) to pay the sin-debt for you. This process was repeated over and over for hundreds of years, even though the Bible calls it an "imperfect system". There were specific religious rules of confession and repentance for dealing with personal sin under Old Testament religion.
Following the crucifixion of Christ, God established a totally new religious system for dealing with sin. At the Last Supper, Jesus called it, "the new covenant in My blood". The book of Hebrews calls it "a new and living way". Under this "new covenant", Jesus is "The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). Jesus Christ, as God's sacrificial Lamb, took the sin of the human race away through His one act of obedience. When you understand the purpose of the sacrificial animal under Old Testament religion, you can easily understand the purpose of the "Lamb of God" under the new covenant of Christ. However, there is one important difference that separates the two. Under Old Testament religion, a person's sin was never "permanently" removed. Offering animal sacrifices for sin was a continual life-long process. Christ's new covenant changed all of that. The Scriptures tell us that the "Lamb of God" dealt with man's sin through His one obedient act--FOREVER.
"But this Man (Jesus), AFTER HE HAD OFFERED ONE SACRIFICE FOR SINS FOREVER, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. FOR BY ONE OFFERING HE HAS PERFECTED FOREVER THOSE WHO ARE BEING SANCTIFIED." (Hebrews 10:12-14)
The Scriptures tells us that the crucifixion of Christ represents "one sacrifice for sins FOREVER"--and that we are perfected, or considered to be blameless and without sin, because of His "one forever sacrifice".
- Christ's one 'forever' sacrifice is what allows our Heavenly Father to grant eternal life as His gift to us--without any further payment or merit on our part. (Romans 6:23)
- Christ's one 'forever' sacrifice is what allows our Heavenly Father to "freely justify" us--without any further payment or merit on our part (Romans 3:24-26).
As believers, our message to the world is clear as "ambassadors for Christ". God calls it "the ministry of reconciliation".
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES (SINS) TO THEM, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
Paul continues to describe the "forever" nature of Christ's new covenant by saying....
"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:13-14, Eph. 4:30)
Something happens immediately upon hearing and believing the authentic Gospel of Christ. We are "sealed" with the Holy Spirit, much like a farmer seals a jar of food during the canning process. The sealing is for long-term storage, which preserves our salvation (eternal life) until "the redemption of the purchased possession" at Christ’s Second Coming. The believer is not sealed--then opened when sin occurs--then sealed again when they repent--even though we should always repent when we sin. The sealing happens once. Before the crucifixion, Jesus spoke to His disciples about this future "sealing" using different words. Jesus said:
"And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, THAT HE MAY ABIDE WITH YOU FOREVER--the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you AND WILL BE IN YOU." (John 14:16-17)
Notice that JESUS DID NOT SAY that the Holy Spirit abides until you sin--then leaves--and returns when you sincerely repent. It’s proper and right to repent every time we sin. Yet, this act has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit abiding in us under the new covenant of Christ. Most of the Christian Church redefines Christ's words in order to take away or cast doubt on the "forever" aspect. Yet, Jesus said that once the Holy Spirit came to indwell--He would stay FOREVER. If these words of Christ offends your theology, maybe its time to change what you believe.
Paul called this sealing with the Holy Spirit "the guarantee of our inheritance". God Himself guarantees that our salvation is secure. Through Christ's one 'forever' sacrifice, sin cannot "spoil" the believer's salvation because our Heavenly Father assigns it to Christ's sacrifice--forever. Our final redemption occurs at the end of the age when Jesus Christ returns--as He promised. Until then, we remain "sealed" and possess a "guaranteed" salvation. Paul also speaks about this Divine guarantee in his epistles to the Corinthian Church.
"Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee." (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)
Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee." (2 Corinthians 5:5)
Christ's one 'forever' sacrifice places us in an incredible blessing. In Ephesians 3:8 Paul referred to it as one of the "unsearchable riches of Christ". To receive this blessing, God does not require any "merit" (religious performance or works). God only requires faith in Christ (trust in His blood sacrifice as the Lamb of God). The book of Hebrews warns, "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" (Hebrews 2:3) This unspeakable blessing, or what the book of Hebrews calls "a great salvation", was not available under Old Testament religion before Christ's crucifixion. Jesus, as the Lamb of God made it possible by forever changing all the previous rules. In his epistle to the Church in Rome, Paul reinforces the truth from 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 where God no longer charges sin to our account by saying....
Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. BUT TO HIM WHO DOES NOT WORK BUT BELIEVES ON HIM WHO JUSTIFIES THE UNGODLY, HIS FAITH IS ACCOUNTED FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man TO WHOM GOD IMPUTES RIGHTEOUSNESS APART FROM WORKS: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; BLESSED IS THE MAN TO WHO THE LORD SHALL NOT IMPUTE SIN." (Romans 4:4-8)
This truth is repeated again in Paul's letter to Titus....
"But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, NOT BY WORKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH WE HAVE DONE, BUT ACCORDING TO HIS MERCY HE SAVED US, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED BY HIS GRACE we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." (Titus 3:4-7)
What happens when we sin under the new covenant of Christ? 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 tells us that our sin is "not imputed to us", (charged to our account) but is redirected and credited against the one 'forever' sacrifice of Jesus Christ who is "The Lamb of God". Do you see a pattern here? This is the message of a true "ambassador for Christ". Many professing Christians claim to be Christ's ambassadors, but are not. Can this awesome blessing of having our sin redirected to Christ be abused? Yes--for a while. The apostle Paul warned that abusing this blessing is something every Christian should avoid. Eventually, God will deal with such a person in His own way. Yet, GOD WILL NEVER CHANGE THE TERMS OF CHRIST'S ONE 'FOREVER' SACRIFICE FOR SIN TO PREVENT THE ABUSE. It is on these truths that the battle is fought in "The Stealth War Against The Truth Of The Gospel". This is the battlefield where we "profess Christ" against popular false Bible teaching, as Martin Luther instructed his followers nearly 500 years ago.
Jesus Christ--As “The Last Adam” Reverses
The Curse Of “The First Adam's” Sin
There are so many aspects to what Jesus accomplished at the cross. Yet in my opinion, the clearest is found in two Scriptures taken from the words of the apostle Paul. The first is in 1 Corinthians 15:45-47:
"And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven."
It is here that Paul refers to Jesus as not only "The Lord From Heaven", but also as "The Last Adam". If you understand what's being said here, you can also understand what Paul is saying in Romans 5:17-19:
"For if by one man's offence (the first Adam) death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offence of one (the first Adam) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (the Last Adam) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience (the first Adam) many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one (the Last Adam) shall many be made righteous."
The New Testament says that all of us have sinned--there are no exceptions. We inherited our sinful condition (and the condemnation and damnation to hell that goes with it) as a free unmerited gift from the disobedience of the first Adam, who is the father of the human race. All of us received this "gift of death" without having to do anything to obtain it. Yet, Paul tells us that Jesus is the "Last Adam". I find it interesting that he didn't refer to Jesus as "the second Adam". There will not be another Adam....JESUS IS THE LAST. Through the obedience of the Last Adam (note that it's not our obedience), the free gift of righteousness came upon all unto justification of life. This means that the Last Adam COMPLETELY REVERSED what the first Adam did--and that allows righteousness to come upon all believers in a similar fashion that sin and damnation came originally--AS A FREE GIFT. The only condition I see from the New Testament Scriptures to receive this "free gift of righteousness" (as God refers to it) is faith in Christ. That means we have no excuse for failure. It means any believer in Christ, no matter how weak or deficient in good works, can't be anything but completely righteous because it is given as a "free gift". 1 Corinthians 5:21 calls this unique gift, "God's righteousness", which means it can never originate from you. It comes from God as a benefit of the "New Covenant in the blood of Christ". This is one of the most amazing Scriptures in the New Testament. Yet, few Christians believe or live it because they've been spiritually misled.
In John 3:14-16 Jesus said:
"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."
Do you remember in the Old Testament when Moses "lifted up the serpent in the wilderness?" A lethal plague had just started to attack the children of Israel. God instructed Moses to put a bronze serpent on a pole and carry it through the camp compelling those struck with the plague to look or gaze upon the serpent....AND THEY WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY HEALED. All the people of Israel had to do was LOOK UP AND GAZE ON THE SERPENT. Everyone who performed this simple act of faith was healed without exception. A person's "worthiness" (righteousness) was not an issue in this healing miracle. It's extremely profound that Jesus used this story to illustrate that when He was lifted up on the pole (the cross), that whosoever (that means you and I) looks up and believes (trusts) in Him will have eternal life. It doesn't get any easier to understand.
Much of the doctrine found in the modern church is actually contrary to what God said in His Word. Through popular teaching that distorts the context of the Bible, modern Christian leaders essentially say:
"God, your promise that freely gives eternal life is dangerous and we know you didn't really intend to give us this much freedom. As your representatives, we're adding additional requirements to the gospel to "protect" your people."
When God tells us that righteousness and eternal life are both free gifts under Christ's new covenant, that's exactly what they are, whether they offend your theology or not! My Heavenly Father is not a liar where he promises you gifts, then demands that you earn them through work. Paul attempted to address this common and dangerous religious contradiction by saying:
"And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. BUT IF IT IS OF WORKS, IT IS NO LONGER GRACE; otherwise work is no longer work." (Romans 11:6)
This simple truth offends the false religious element of the Christian church, because they wrongly mix together Old Testament religion (found in the Bible) with Christ's new covenant salvation (also found in the Bible). This "mixing" is commonly done to preserve religious power structures and traditional church doctrine. It's a disaster waiting to happen. The soon-to-occur "rapture of the Church" is a great blessing for believers, but it's a disaster and a trap for the counterfeit religious world. The rapture, which occurs before the physical Second Coming of Christ, is a future event that is connected to something called, "the resurrection of the dead" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). For this reason, you'll hear the New Testament refer to "the rapture" using this term. Some that oppose this New Testament teaching claim that the word "rapture" isn't found in the Bible--and therefore the whole teaching is false. It is true that this English word, which is actually a New Testament Greek derivative, is not used. Yet, in the Greek language of the Bible, the event that it represents is referred to by other terms, such as "caught up to meet Christ in the air" and "resurrection of the dead".
"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. FOR AS IN ADAM ALL DIE, EVEN SO IN CHRIST (THE LAST ADAM) SHALL ALL BE MADE ALIVE. But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; afterward they that are Christ's AT HIS COMING." (1 Cor 15:21-23)
The Last Adam (The Lord from Heaven) is about to perform one of the final acts that complete this great blood-bought salvation. Jesus reversed the sin curse of the first Adam's disobedience. As John proclaimed, the Lamb of God did indeed take away the sin of the world--BUT ONLY IF THEY RECEIVE JESUS' OFFER OF GRACE THROUGH FAITH IN HIS ONE 'FOREVER' SACRIFICE OF BLOOD. The only thing remaining is to restore the bodies of believers to the original state the first Adam enjoyed before his disobedience. That's what the rapture of the Church is about. It's not some kind of modern false teaching, as some Christian leaders say. WHEN THE RAPTURE OCCURS, IT WILL NOT BE A REWARD FOR CHRISTIAN SERVICE. It's the completion of Christ’s prepaid blood-bought redemption. It's Bible truth and it is imeninent.
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, BUT WE SHALL ALL BE CHANGED, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" (1 Cor 15:51-55)
There is a very convincing counterfeit element in the worldwide Christian Church that seeks to redefine Christ's "forever" sacrifice so that sin and the fear of losing eternal life continues to hang over our heads--just as it did under the Old Testament religion of the Jews. Under this "different gospel", the "forever" characteristic of Christ's sacrifice is removed and the entire new covenant of Christ is redefined. Under this "modified" gospel, if we sin, eternal life can be lost until we sincerely repent--and this cycle of fear repeats for the rest of your life. The preachers of this popular evangelistic message fail to tell us that they have made Jesus Christ, as "The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world", nonsensical. Why? Under their "gospel", the sin Jesus was suppose to take away remains to condemn us as long as we live. In other words, their "Jesus" (Paul referred to him as “another Jesus”) failed to complete the work to secure God's plan of redemption. Under this kind of religion, you can never know if you've "repented" enough to keep eternal life and its blessings. A very large, influential and diverse group within the Church teaches this theology. It diplomatically opposes God's message of new covenant Grace and downplays the eternal sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice outlined in the Scriptures. It is important to know that this is a "mainstream" influence within the Christian Church. It is not some "fringe" sect or a new movement.
Unbelief--The 800-Pound Gorilla In
The Church That Everyone Ignores
Few of us ever consider the topic of unbelief. Jesus and the apostle Paul constantly gave warnings about this deceptive spiritual condition. It continues to be the most dangerous enemy of the Christian today. The reader already knows that whenever the prefix "un" is placed before a word, it puts a negative or reverse meaning on that word. The word "unfair" becomes a word that means "not fair" or "lacking fairness"--the word "unloving" means "not loving" or "deficient in love", and so on. The same rules apply when the Bible uses the term "unbelief". When the word "belief" or "believer" is used, the Bible is describing those who are building their faith on the Divine truth of Scripture, which carries a very specific "contextual" meaning. IF WE GET THE SCRIPTURE RIGHT AND THE CONTEXT WRONG, WE HAVE UNKNOWINGLY TAKEN A DETOUR ON THE TRAGIC PATH OF UNBELIEF.
We depart from truth by building our faith on what we think is God's Word, but is actually an incorrect understanding of Scripture. This common practice leads us to misapply the teachings of the Bible. The problem is not with the Scriptures. The problem occurs when we interpret the Scriptures in a way that God never intended. It is commonly caused by the wrong doctrine of a preacher, minister, movement or a denomination. This is also an area where religious cults operate. A Christian ensnared in unbelief is unaware of their true spiritual condition. Such a person is convinced they have the truth of God's Word and will fight to defend their beliefs. UNBELIEF ALWAYS MASQUERADES AS GENUINE BIBLE FAITH. However, it is not something found only in the Christian Church. Many people (regardless of their religion) are motivated to sacrifice their lives to gain eternal rewards. They are convinced their beliefs are based on some form of "divine truth". On September 11, 2001, we witnessed the tragic results of these kinds of misguided beliefs. Over 3000 people died as a result. The hijackers of those airliners sacrificed their lives thinking they were serving god. They were dead wrong.
Unbelief in the Christian Church almost never reaches these extremes. I say "almost" because our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified by the efforts of religious leaders, who were devoted to a theology riddled with unbelief. This same fate awaited many others down through history, who were killed for preaching truth that threatened the power and influence of the institutional church. When unbelief reaches extreme levels, horrific things can happen. The 800-pound gorilla can go on a rampage. Jesus warned His disciples that a time was coming when those motivated by this perverted theology would kill them, thinking they were serving God. Jesus went on to say that those who do such things, "do not know the Father or Me" (John 16:2-3). Yet, they still claim to be God's representatives. This is simply astonishing. While most cases of unbelief within Christianity today seem to be benign, the eternal consequences can still be catastrophic--yet are usually ignored during our time on earth.
In Matthew 16:8-12, Jesus warned His disciples about the "leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees". Later in this passage, we learn that Jesus was using the word "leaven" as a negative example to describe the doctrine and teaching of these influential spiritual leaders. Most Christians today gloss over Christ's warning. The Pharisees and Sadducees were some of the most highly respected, educated men of Israel. Some wrongly believe that these men were nothing more than a bunch of "religious buffoons". This perception is not correct. From early childhood they were trained in the Holy Scriptures. They qualified as the leading experts of Old Testament religion and Jewish Law. Yet, Jesus told his disciples to beware of their doctrine. Why? The doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees appeared to be based on the Holy Scriptures. However, their teachings included literally thousands of individual principles, rules and laws, many of which were built upon the misapplication of Scripture. In other words, the Pharisees and Sadducees practiced a form of theology that used Scripture in a way that God never intended. There was nothing wrong with the Scripture as long as it remained in the context where God placed it. But, these men removed Scripture from its context, like many Christians do today, and used it as the "Divine authority" to empower their teaching.
Many churches attempt to portray Jesus as some kind of "peace and love activist". Jesus certainly preached peace and love during His earthly ministry. Yet, He never took a "peace at any cost" position when His Father's truth was being distorted. If you carefully read the New Testament, you'll notice that Jesus was always confrontational when it came to truth--and He didn't care if you were offended. When the Pharisees and Sadducees started teaching and quoting Scripture in a way that violated the intentions of His Heavenly Father, He called them out for a verbal fight. Often, this was done publicly. Many times, Jesus said things that deliberately offended these men in order to expose their false teaching. In other words, He went out of His way to pick a fight with them. During one confrontation, the Sadducees were speaking to Him about the resurrection in order to "trap him" with His own words. At the end, Jesus responded by saying,
"Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?" (Mark 12:24)
If you want to make friends, this is probably not the way to do it! You never tell highly trained religious leaders who have studied the Bible all their lives, "You do not know the Scriptures". Since it is obvious that they did have an intellectual knowledge of the Scriptures--what was Jesus referring to? He was talking about their ignorance of how God intended for the Scriptures to be understood and applied. He was referring to "context". Jesus equated this failure to "not knowing the Scriptures". It was their abuse of context that caused Jesus to warn His disciples about their teaching. This example gives us the exact same warning today. Teaching the Bible by using Scripture out of context is a hidden source of dangerous unbelief. This is why you can hold a Doctorate of Divinity, be trained in ancient Greek and Hebrew, commit the whole Bible to memory, and still teach wrong doctrine. Think about that!
This "vicious" kind of religious unbelief commonly masquerades as "God's authority". The Bible suggests that no other sin that humans commit is worse. Why? It has the power to eternally destroy lives. This problem is impossible to correct because those involved are convinced they are "preaching God's Word". It was this form of religious unbelief, which originated from within Jewish religion that plagued the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the "spiritual force" behind the effort to crucify Him. Jesus condemned this practice in Mark 7:7 by saying, ".... in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." In other places, Jesus called those who practiced this theology, "snakes and vipers". If you ever walked in the woods and suddenly stumbled across a poisonous snake (as I have), you can understand why Jesus used these descriptive words. You cannot reason with a snake, especially religious ones who think they have a mandate from God. Most of us fail to realize that removing Scripture from its Divine context--and inserting it into a context of our own design, changes Scripture from "God's Word" to a "commandment or teaching of men".
This same practice is rampant in the church today. It didn't only exist in the first century during the time of Christ. This destructive kind of theology ensnares many professing Christians today. It is not limited to religious leaders. Recently, I was listening to an argument between four believers. One dear lady was quoting Scripture after Scripture to defend her beliefs about salvation, which were clearly "very bizarre" and legalistic. The other three believers were warning her that she was failing to "rightly divide God's Word", as the apostle Paul commanded. In other words, they were lovingly trying to get her to see that her deeply held beliefs violated the context of the Bible. As the evidence mounted against her, she suddenly turned and attacked, accusing the other three of being "arrogant" and unloving, which was not true. She insisted that she had God's truth on the matter. Without going into detail, this lady was clearly walking in some very bad doctrine. She thought her beliefs were correct because the Scriptures she quoted "appeared" to give them God's authority. More likely, she was taught to believe this way at her church. The religious unbelief that Jesus warned about will probably keep this woman from the liberating truth of Christ for the rest of her life. This is tragic. I've seen this same situation repeated over and over for the last 40 years. I continue to be amazed at some of the spiritually harmful things Christians believe, simply because they ignore the rules of context in God's Word. Whenever you're dealing with this kind of unbelief, you can either confront it, like Jesus continually did, or you can walk away. If you decide to be confrontational--get ready for the fight of your life. However, make sure that you have examined yourself, to determine if you actually have the truth in this situation. When in doubt, walk away. Otherwise, your "confrontation" will become another senseless argument over whose opinion is more correct.
Unbelief exists in many different forms. A popular evangelist commented that much of our Christian praise and worship music, which is designed to glorify Christ (and it does), is subtly laced with unbelief hidden beneath the surface. These things weaken our faith like a slow poison and without our knowledge. I happen to agree with this observation. Another subtle form of unbelief is found in a teaching commonly called "the sovereignty of God". We agree that God is "sovereign". Yet, His sovereignty, as defined by the New Testament, carries a totally different meaning than the way most churches teach it. Today, churches proclaim that "God is sovereign", meaning that He does whatever He wants, whenever He wants. The teaching suggests that we have very little say in how God deals with us. If God wants us healed, He will heal us. But, if He wants us sick, we will never be healed no matter how hard we pray. This is a doctrine of unbelief that is used to divert our attention away from the reason our spiritual leaders have no power. I discovered that our Lord does not agree with this very popular belief.
At one point during His ministry, Jesus returned to His own country where he grew up as a child and began to teach in the Synagogue. The people in this area knew Him and said, "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" The Bible says that the people, who knew Jesus and his family, were offended when He taught in the Synagogue. They probably thought that He didn't have the credentials to teach religion. Their "human knowledge" of Jesus and his earthly family prevented them from receiving Him as the Son of God. As a result, their misguided belief almost completely shut down Jesus' ability to do "mighty works". The Gospel of Mark reports this amazing occurrence by saying:
"Now He (Jesus) could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching." (Mark 6:5-6)
There is an important lesson to be learned here. The New Testament does not teach that God always "does whatever he wants". It certainly wasn't true in this case, was it? Many times, God's ability to bless us is either blocked or limited by unbelief. It's the 800-pound gorilla in the church that everyone ignores. Some preach that God does not perform certain miracles anymore, such as healing us when we're sick. Common teachings like these are a potent source of unbelief that subtly undermines our faith. The roadblock to God's blessing usually results from choosing to believe a popular Christian theology that appears to be based on the Bible, yet is applied in ways that violate context. If Jesus, as God's Son, couldn't do the mighty works (that He clearly wanted to do) in His own hometown--then the way most churches teach "the sovereignty of God" is incorrect and misleading. Many people ask, "Why isn't the power of God around today?" Once again, the root problem is the kind of "theology" we choose to believe. If we choose one of the many good-sounding false theologies that appear to be "Bible-based" on the surface, unbelief is always the result. The Bible warns us that God's power will not operate in this environment. Most of the time we do not know that the problem is in us. Our churches wrongly tell us that God doesn't heal and do miracles anymore to avoid the real problem. The real problem, many times, is their wrong doctrine.
We should also look in the New Testament at the healing of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 5:25-32. This story teaches the same lesson as Mark 6:5-6. A great crowd of people surrounded Jesus and a woman with a serious life-threatening illness came up from behind, to touch Him.
"Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction." (Mark 5:25-29)
How did Jesus respond? He asked, "Who touched my clothes?" Even His disciples were perplexed by His question because everyone in the crowd was touching Him. Eventually, the woman came forward and told Him everything. It is clear that Jesus did not "will" this woman to be healed. When the healing power went out of Him--He didn't know where it went! He had to ask, "Who touched Me?" Later, Jesus told the woman that, "Her faith had made her well". This means that Jesus was not in control of this healing miracle. He said that the woman's faith was in control of His power. In this story, the Bible suggests that no one in that crowd got healed, even though they were all touching Him at some point. Since Jesus knew immediately that healing power went out of him when the woman touched him, it seems she was the only one to get a miracle in that place. Once again, this means that churches are teaching people wrong on the subject of faith and God's sovereignty. We have a responsibility to examine ourselves to see if our faith is aligned with the truth of Scripture. When this alignment occurs, miracles can and do happen. Unbelief is one of our biggest enemies in "The Stealth War Against The Truth Of The Gospel".
Jesus Christ Establishes A New Spiritual
Government That Forever Changes The
Way We Relate With God
As we learned earlier, there are many forms of unbelief within the worldwide Christian Church. One that is particularly troubling is the way most believers view their relationship with God. On the day of Pentecost, following the crucifixion, the Holy Spirit came to indwell all those who placed their faith in Christ. The first to receive this blessing were the 120 men and women gathered in Jerusalem. Jesus told His disciples about this monumental change that would occur in the way we relate to God:
"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, THAT HE MAY ABIDE WITH YOU FOR EVER; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; FOR HE DWELLETH WITH YOU, AND SHALL BE IN YOU." (John 14:16-17)
Jesus tells us several things in this passage about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. Remember that the Old Testament remained in authority, until this change that Jesus spoke about actually took place. Before the day of Pentecost, Jesus said that the Holy Spirit only "dwells with you". Under Old Testament religion, the Holy Spirit would come upon or dwell with a particular prophet or leader who was "God's anointed". If you wanted to know what God was saying, you had to come and hear the "Minister of God", who operated in this "anointing". It is amazing that nearly all of our churches today are designed around this Old Testament model. But, something marvelous happened. On the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came into the earth TO DWELL INSIDE BELIEVERS. He was no longer going to just "dwell with you". Under Old Testament religion, the Holy Spirit could come and go, especially when sin was involved. This is why, when king David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he passionately prayed, "Lord, do not take your Holy Spirit from me." More than anything, David feared that God's Spirit would leave him. The sin of kings and religious leaders, such as David in the Old Testament, commonly caused God's Spirit to leave. Jesus said that under His new covenant, this same Holy Spirit comes to LIVE IN US FOREVER. The sin, which we all commit from time to time, may grieve Him--but Jesus said the Holy Spirit would never leave, once He had taken up residence inside us. Paul referred to this act as "the sealing of the Holy Spirit".
I find it astonishing that most Christians continue to treat their relationship with God according to the Old Testament model. They pick up their Bible every Sunday morning and drive to a church building to hear the "Minister of God" explain to them what God is saying from the pulpit. The pulpit is a platform usually elevated above the congregation. It suggests that the person standing there is "anointed" by God to speak to the congregation. It also suggests that the congregation, consisting of what we call "the laity", does not possess this special "anointing" to hear God's voice and must rely upon the words of this anointed leader. This mindset is not a characteristic of the new covenant Church that Jesus established. It's actually a form of unbelief.
Christ's new covenant sets up an entirely different system. Today, the Holy Spirit lives inside all true believers in Christ. We no longer live under Old Testament religion. That means the format of a Christian gathering must change in order to align itself with Christ's new governmental system. Since the Holy Spirit now indwells all believers--all believers have the ability (potential) to hear God's voice for themselves. It means that many have something that the indwelling Holy Spirit has taught them that could benefit the whole church. They no longer need someone else to tell them what God is saying. Under Christ's new covenant, all believers can contribute to the teaching of the congregation, rather than just being limited to the knowledge of one person. Saint Paul tells us about this new format in his epistles.
"But the manifestation of the Spirit IS GIVEN TO EACH ONE FOR THE PROFIT (BENEFIT) OF ALL." (1 Corinthians 12:7)
"How is it then, brethren? WHENEVER YOU COME TOGETHER, EACH OF YOU has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." (1 Corinthians 14:26)
Very few churches follow this format today because it takes power and influence away from what we call "the clergy". Under this new system, God is far more interested in the health and maturity of His Church, than the personal success of one person's ministry. Suppressing the truth about this characteristic of the new covenant is similar to what happened in Martin Luther's day. Promoting liberty and freedom by empowering "the laity" with the truth of Christ's new covenant is usually the last thing the clergy wants. This clergy-laity mentality hasn't changed in over 2000 years.
I find it interesting that John also mentions this "teaching" office of the Holy Spirit.
"But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, AND YOU DO NOT NEED THAT ANYONE TEACH YOU; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him." (1 John 2:27)
John's words are astonishing. Maybe, a better word is "revolutionary". Why? His words challenge the foundation of modern Christian tradition. He is saying that God no longer exclusively uses the "one man" model as His primary method for teaching the Church. The indwelling Holy Spirit is now to be our source of teaching. Under Old Testament religion, when the Holy Spirit was upon the "anointed person"--He would teach that individual what He wanted the congregation to know. This special office gave that person tremendous power and authority. Under Christ's new covenant, the "teacher of the Church" lives in every true believer! This is the reason John spoke these incredible words. We now have a new model to follow. It isn't necessary to depend on anyone to "hear God for you", when you have His Holy Spirit, who knows everything about God, living inside you. Yet, most churches continue to use the Old Testament model and wonder why God's power isn't around anymore. No wonder John said . . .
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." (1 John 4:4)
Before someone gets upset, let me add this: I’m not saying that we should act like “know-it-alls”. Nor am I saying that believers today have no need of anyone else. Nothing could be further from the truth. My statement, which only repeats what the apostle John said on the subject, is valid until you add the weakness of human nature into the mix. In the next few paragraphs, we will see that most of us still need teachers. Jesus set these gift ministries in the Church to give us spiritual information and revelation that may be beyond our current understanding. God provides these teaching ministries in the church to help His people come to full maturity.
It sounds like we are contradicting ourselves, yet we’re not -- when you see the whole picture. The Holy Spirit resides inside us as the master teacher. That means we give Him the authority, as our Lord, to confirm everything we hear from other spiritual leaders and gift ministries in the Church. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit lives inside to “guide us into ALL the truth”. Jesus said that He (the Holy Spirit) would “take what is Mine and show it to us” (John 16:13-15). Many times it is other gifted individuals in the Church, who are directed by the Holy Spirit to reveal these things. It is the Spirit of Christ living in us that confirms the truth in their teaching. We won’t go into how He speaks to us in this commentary. Yet, He will speak to us about these things because, as our Lord, He has the final word on the teaching we are to obey. If He shows us that the teaching is wrong, we have no special obligation to obey it, regardless of what other popular preachers in the Church say. Our job is to make sure we are hearing OUR LORD correctly and then follow His directions.
The unquestioned obedience that some spiritual leaders demand (or subtly suggest) contradicts the way Jesus instructed His people to respond to His authority. A true minister, evangelist or leader called by Jesus Christ will always respect the authority of the indwelling Holy Spirit and His direct Lordship over that individual. Jesus is our Lord -- not a minister, pastor or evangelist – no matter how sincere or well meaning they may be. False spiritual leadership will reject this indwelling authority on the grounds that it is too subjective. True leadership trusts Jesus, as the believer’s Lord, to run the lives of His own people from His position on the inside. They preach Biblical truth and leave the results up to God. False leadership usurps this Lordship authority of Christ and attempts to exercise it for their own purposes by using intimidation, Scriptural misinformation and fear.
The reader should not think that Jesus and John are telling Christians to reject authority. It is true that the indwelling Holy Spirit has changed the authority structure of the Church from the way it existed under Old Testament religion. But, that doesn't mean all authority disappeared. Spiritual authority still exists for the purpose of maintaining order. Church leaders possess authority to keep a chaotic environment from occurring when believers come together. They also exist to confront sin should it occur among the members of the congregation. Regardless of these important responsibilities, the New Testament instructs us that leaders are not to have a dominating "Lordship-type" rule over the people. The goal of new covenant authority is to lead by allowing others to observe the quality of their life. In other words, they are to lead by example--not by intimidation or coercion that comes from some "office of authority". These efforts are actually attempts to usurp the authority of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who is also called, "the Spirit of Christ". This is one reason why both Christ and Peter opposed this practice. Here's what Peter's said when he spoke to the leaders of his day:
"Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; NEITHER AS BEING LORDS OVER GOD'S HERITAGE, BUT BEING ENSAMPLES TO THE FLOCK. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter 5:2-3)
Jesus said something similar to His disciples:
". . . Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. YET IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Mark 10: 42-45)
Christ's new covenant establishes various ministries that exist to help the Church mature. Each of these ministries possesses unique abilities that originate from God's Spirit. While all true believers have the indwelling Holy Spirit, many of us struggle to hear His voice. Those few that have learned to hear His voice, still have problems "hearing correctly". It's hard to receive teaching if you can't properly understand the teacher. Both Jesus and John assume that the believer is mature enough to hear the Holy Spirit correctly. For these reasons, God still provides "outside help" for us. When a proper level of maturity is reached, a teacher that helps us "hear God's voice" is unnecessary. These special ministries are not "offices of authority" that exist to control your life. Only Jesus Christ, now ruling inside you as Lord, is to have that kind of control. This "internal authority" represents the change that occurs under the new covenant. The indwelling Holy Spirit allows Christ to rule you directly without the help of a mediator. This is one reason the New Testament refers to Jesus as "the mediator of the new and better covenant" (read Hebrews 8:6, Hebrews 9:16, 1 Timothy 2:5). JESUS IS NOW OUR ONLY MEDIATOR--NO OTHER HUMAN MEDIATOR IS NEEDED. This condition did not exist under Old Testament religion. This is why Saint Paul referred to these ministries as "gifts", and not "offices of authority" that essentially operates as a mediator between the believer and God. Yet, some churches and denominations have wrongly changed them into powerful "offices of ecclesiastical power".
It is not our goal to exhaustively cover all aspects of the government of the Holy Spirit. We will only briefly touch on important points, and move on. There are 3 levels of Holy Spirit empowered ministry in Christ's new covenant Church. What we call "church leadership", is found in the first level. These are the "core" ministries of the apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher (read Ephesians 4:11-16). Paul also lists other spiritual ministries (the second level) that operate in the nine "gifts or manifestations of the Holy Spirit" (read 1 Corinthians 12:1-11). For over 100 years, the "cessationist movement", an influential group of churches within "Evangelical Christianity", continues to teach that certain manifestations of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and healing, have ceased. This is a false teaching. The gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 will continue until Christ's Second Coming. They currently play a crucial role in the operation of the New Testament Church. We will not discuss this problem in these commentaries.
In addition, various "ministries of helps" (the third level) exist to provide the special needs of the Church. These 3 levels of spiritual resources all represent a functioning part of the Holy Spirit's government. They are designed to help us reach our full potential in Christ. However, the words of both Jesus and John remain true. The Holy Spirit living in us (if we allow Him) will perform the task of teaching us about God and what He provides through the new covenant.
Jesus, speaking of the new government of the Holy Spirit to come, tells us:
"Howbeit WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, IS COME, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: FOR HE SHALL RECEIVE OF MINE, AND SHALL SHOW IT UNTO YOU. All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you." (John 16:13-15)
Saint Paul told the Corinthian Church:
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. BUT GOD HATH REVEALED THEM UNTO US BY HIS SPIRIT: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? EVEN SO THE THINGS OF GOD KNOWETH NO MAN, BUT THE SPIRIT OF GOD. NOW WE HAVE RECEIVED, NOT THE SPIRIT OF THE WORLD, BUT THE SPIRIT WHICH IS OF GOD; THAT WE MIGHT KNOW THE THINGS THAT ARE FREELY GIVEN TO US OF GOD. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthian 2:9-14)
These are revolutionary truths that the book of Hebrews calls "a new and living way". It is only available through the blood of the new covenant of Christ (read Hebrews 10:19-23).
We should never underestimate the ability of religiously motivated people to distort the teaching of Scripture with a convincing man-made "theology". During His earthly ministry, Jesus had to deal with this exact same problem. Should it surprise us to learn that we face the same kind of religious opposition as our Lord? In our opinion, there is no sin on earth that is more offensive to our Heavenly Father than redefining and reinterpreting what Jesus did for us at the cross. Among all the gross sins that the human race commits--I believe this one carries the most severe punishment. The apostle Paul warned that there is a curse on all those who commit this sin. (Galatians 1:8-9)
The defense of "the truth of the Gospel" is an ongoing and heated "war of words" that is recorded in the New Testament section of the Bible. The struggle continues today, regardless of those churches that try to make it disappear. The new covenant of Christ must be defended today for the same reason that Paul confronted the Jewish circumcision in Acts 13. Those of us who know and love the truth cannot allow the cross of Christ to be redefined by false, yet well-meaning religious people. If we don't actively defend the new covenant message of Christ, our opponents will bury it under a mountain of misleading and out of context Bible teaching where few can find it. We are very near to that point today. Most modern-day Christians unknowingly are taught by their churches to embrace many of the old covenant principles (the Mosaic Law) of the Jewish circumcision who fiercely opposed the evangelistic message of Paul.
Jesus told his disciples at the Last Supper that His blood would initiate "a new covenant". For this reason, we align ourselves with Paul's apostolic ministry, which reveals the details and hidden mystery of Christ's covenant (Ephesians 3:1-11, Colossians 4:3). To the casual reader, some of our comments may seem to be "anti-Jewish". This is not true. We should remember that God called the apostle Paul, a highly trained Jewish Pharisee, to preach the new covenant. Jesus said, "Salvation is of the Jews". (John 4:22) Our Lord Jesus Christ is Jewish by birth and He is the only source of salvation for the human race. Aligning ourselves with Paul's "new covenant ministry" automatically places us in opposition to the doctrine of the Jewish circumcision, along with a vast majority of groups within the modern Christian Church that teaches its legalistic principles by violating the context of God's Word. These sincere "Christian" people do much harm, especially to new believers. Regardless of our opposition to these teachings, we are not "anti-Jewish" and wholeheartedly support the existence of the nation of Israel and view its reappearance in 1948 as a fulfillment of Bible prophecy for the last days.
The Early Historical Roots
The struggles of Wycliff, Tyndale and Luther were not the beginning of this spiritual war. It started many hundreds of years earlier. A man by the name of Saul encountered the resurrected Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus and was blinded as a result. Jesus later appeared in a vision to a disciple named Ananias and told him to go lay hands on Saul so that he could receive his sight. Ananias objected for a good reason. Saul had legal authority to arrest all believers in Christ that he encountered. Jesus ignored his objection and told Ananias to, "Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name's sake." (Acts 9:10-15)
This is an extraordinary event. Saul (later renamed Paul) was a highly trained Jewish Pharisee. He hated Jesus and all those who believed on Him. He was one of the strongest advocates of the Old Testament message of the Jewish circumcision. However, Saul became a believer in Christ and God gave him the honor of receiving and documenting the principles of the new covenant in the New Testament canon of Scripture. Saul's radical change in direction became his lifelong testimony. It was commonly said, "The faith he once sought to destroy is the one he now proclaims." Years later, this same man, now the apostle Paul, warns about a counterfeit religious belief invading the Church, which opposes the "grace of Christ" and has the power to lead believers astray in their faith.
"I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed." (Galatians 1:6-9 NKJV)
Today, what Paul called "a different gospel" is commonly accepted as “foundational doctrine” in many churches, movements and denominations within the worldwide Christian Church. He warned that this different gospel "turns us away from the grace of Christ". It exists under countless different names. Many professing Christians are taught by their church to ignore this gospel’s true characteristics. In this commentary, we use the general term “reformed theology” to describe this influence. Some will disagree with our choice of words because this brand of theology has many different "flavors". Webster's Dictionary defines the word "reformed" as, "a change into an improved form or condition". This definition perfectly describes the goal of this popular stealth theology, which takes us away from a correct understanding of God’s Word.
In a general sense, reformed theology seeks to introduce a method of Bible interpretation that changes, or reinterprets the Holy Scriptures into a format that is easier to understand. This effort has been steadily moving forward since the days of the first century church. It's not some kind of "new belief" or movement. On the surface, the goal of "simplifying the Scriptures" seems to be noble, but the results are disastrous. The context of the Bible must be either redefined or ignored to accomplish this task. Whenever anyone attempts to "improve or simplify" God's Word, they always distort…and may even destroy God's original intention. Reformed theology accomplishes this “simplification” by mixing Old Testament Jewish religious law with New Testament principles of Grace based on Christ's new covenant. There is one big problem with this practice: God keeps these two religious systems separate in His Word because He never designed them to be mixed together.
Some principles of reformed theology can be traced back to the teachings of John Calvin and other preachers of the Protestant Reformation. Other forms of this theology are found within the teachings of Roman Catholicism. Both groups are corrupted by this influence. I was shocked to discover that many of the historical church teachings from the Reformation period were based on the same religious doctrine used to subvert the ministry of the apostle Paul in the first century. Therefore, the "foundational teachings" of many modern church organizations and ministries are strongly influenced by the same theology that Paul condemned in his epistles. Today, these wrong teachings are reintroduced under various different names such as: Historical Christianity, Christian Fundamentalism and Biblical Christianity. A more recent and popular Christian movement is something called "Ecumenicalism", which attempts to mix all religions into a "one-world religion". It subtly breaks down the truth of God's Word by claiming that Jesus isn't the only way to God and that many other ways exist. Yet, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6).
It's obvious we can't discuss all these confusing issues in this commentary.
Here is one recent example that originates from within a major Christian denomination.
Beware Of Misleading Names
And Labels
In September 2009, a large group of Christians and their leaders gathered to challenge the Church to return to what they call “Biblical Christianity”. They insist that the “reformed theology” taught by John Calvin during the Protestant Reformation is the true “Biblical Christianity” for the Church today. This popular movement refers to their doctrine as “New Calvinism”. Cleverly designed names such as “Biblical Christianity” can mislead inexperienced Christians into thinking that the group’s doctrine is the “real thing”. What they don't tell you is that our Bible records at least three different types (or systems) of “theology” within its pages. Yet, only one is correct for believers today under Christ’s new covenant. One example is Orthodox Judaism (the religion of ancient Israel). The foundational principles of Judaism are found in the Bible starting in the book of Genesis. Judaism is the "religion" of the Old Testament. A foolish argument could be made that Judaism qualifies as “Biblical Christianity”, simply because its teachings dominate more than two-thirds of the Bible. This argument is absurd for many reasons. Yet, a similar kind of Bible interpretation is used by those that teach “New Calvinism”, as well as countless other religious groups and movements, which includes some major Christian denominations.
Calvinism borrows principles from Old Testament Judaism and subtly uses them to redefine the new covenant Gospel of Christ, which is founded on God’s Grace. This redefined and modified "Gospel of Christ" (a counterfeit) is then preached as "Biblical Christianity". Saint Paul strongly condemned this kind of doctrinal “sleight-of-hand” substitution, even though the Scripture that supports the counterfeit teaching is recorded in the Bible. The teaching is counterfeit because it's based on Scripture that is ripped from the context where God placed it and used to validate a man-made teaching that He did not approve. This brings us to a sobering conclusion. Millions of misled Christians and their leaders follow and defend religious doctrine from the Bible that Paul said was a perversion of the truth under the new covenant of Christ.
A more accurate term to use when evaluating the doctrines of various church groups and movements is “New Covenant Christianity”. Jesus told His disciples at the Last Supper that His blood represents “a new covenant” (Luke 22:20). It is obvious that Jesus is replacing something old when He used the term "NEW covenant". Today, it’s popular to rip sections of Scripture from its God-given context and continue to call it a “Biblical teaching”. This is a very deceptive, yet acceptable practice in the church. Our Heavenly Father currently deals with the human race through the new covenant that His Son initiated. For this reason, modern-day Christians should agree with God and focus their attention on the same thing. Christ’s new covenant (founded on God’s Grace), as outlined in the epistles of Saint Paul, is the true “Biblical Christianity” for the modern day Christian. A great number of Christian preachers and authors base their ministry on Calvin’s theology, or one the many variants. Yet, Calvin’s teachings corrupt the original intention of Paul’s doctrine found in the canon of Scripture.
Unlike the old covenant (or Old Testament) religious system preceding it, the new covenant of Jesus Christ provides eternal life and justification as “the free gift of God” (Rom. 6:23, Eph. 2:8, Rom. 3:24). Many aberrant Christian groups, such as the New Calvinists, use various tactics to persuade believers to doubt this liberating truth. They subtly discredit those who correctly believe that Jesus Christ provides His redemption freely, as the New Testament Scriptures teach. You will hear them use terms like “watering down the Gospel”, “license to sin” and “easy believism” in order to persuade us to doubt the free nature of these precious provisions that Jesus paid for using His own blood. They claim that this wrong belief has taken the Church away from the true “authority of God’s Word”. They insist that the teachings of Calvinism, which uses principles of the Old Testament Mosaic Law, will correct this “error” and restore the church to the proper “authority of Scripture”. These statements seem reasonable to the average Christian. Yet, there is a problem. In the New Testament, Saint Paul taught that Calvin’s theology, and many others like it, “perverts the Gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-9).
The “New Calvinism” movement is only one example among many. Like leaven, these religious organizations and evangelistic ministries are spread throughout the entire Christian Church. There are hundreds of different “flavors” of this theology that do not carry the label of "Calvinism". Due to the size of the problem, we do not want to focus our attention on this one group. Many religious organizations and movements within “Christianity” abuse the context of the Bible and use misleading terminology to persuade inexperienced Christians to believe their teachings and join their group. Everything is said to be done in the name of Christ and out of a concern for the believer's spiritual well being. Just because a religious group, church fellowship, or a seminary-trained minister claims to teach “Biblical Christianity” does not mean they teach the truth. These practices, along with countless others, have turned the Church into a confusing and dangerous spiritual battlefield in the last days before Christ's return.
Welcome to "The Stealth War Against The Truth of the Gospel".
|
