Smack-dab in the middle of the Bible Belt

Well, I have lived in Memphis for a year and a half now, and reflecting on my new life here I had an epiphany the other day. I was looking at 2 Corinthians 10:4 and I thought about strongholds and fortresses. If you look in NASB, a version that I particularly like, (no it is not perfect, and believe me once you understand just a little Greek, you will know that there is no such thing as a perfect translation, I digress…) Anyway, I used to wonder about the word fortress that is used in many of the new translations. I always thought that stronghold was better. Not so any longer!

Of course, the Greek word, OCHUROMATON (the last two o’s are omegas and not omicrons) means castle or fort so fortress is certainly more correct than stronghold in a literal sense. But until yesterday I preferred stronghold. Thus the epiphany; I believe for good biblical reasons that the strong man that so many folk speak of is none other than Satan himself and his stronghold/fortress is as the demon of religion. That is the strong man.

I suddenly realized that religion has a stronghold in California, a stronghold in Michigan, a stronghold in New York, but here in the Mid South… smack-dab in the middle of the bible-belt it is indeed a fortress!

Stronghold does not begin to adequately describe the hold that the demon of religion has on the bible-belt. If there was ever a place where wooden legalism, devoid  of the Spirit exists, it is here. It saddens me to see that the people of God are so oblivious to it. They seem to get excited about legalism as much as they get excited for the liberating gospel of grace.  Where is the discernment?

It is almost as if Isaiah 29:10-13 is descriptive of the state of evangelicalism in the bible-belt. NASB “For the LORD has poured over you a spirit of deep sleep, He has shut your eyes, the prophets; And He has covered your heads, the seers.  (11)  The entire vision will be to you like the words of a sealed book, which when they give it to the one who is literate, saying, "Please read this," he will say, "I cannot, for it is sealed."  (12)  Then the book will be given to the one who is illiterate, saying, "Please read this." And he will say, "I cannot read."  (13)  Then the Lord said, "Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote,”

The Lamb has opened the sealed scroll. Jesus showed his immediate followers that the scripture was about redemption. It is the redemptive narrative and it is NOT a legal constitutional document. Not for Christ followers at least. It was a legal constitutional document for national Israel in Old Covenant times. No so today!

Small Difference – Huge Distinction Part 3; Faith Working Through Love

What fruit should the Sabbath Rest produce? The answer is love. First and foremost it is a love for God. Faith in the blood of Jesus, faith in having peace with the Father because of the work of Christ, faith that we are indeed the righteousness of God in Christ, faith that we are joint heirs with Christ, faith that we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, faith that no weapon formed against us shall prosper, faith that the Father will withhold no good thing from us, faith that we are the people of God—should—produce in us a true love for God.

In other words, our faith... works through God’s love... to produce love in us. Jesus is the ultimate example of allowing faith to work through love. His faith in the Father allowed Him to exercise his love for humanity by accomplishing eternal redemption, salvation, and reconciliation. Christ’s faith worked through God’s love making him willing to endure the cross for our benefit.

This is precisely why religion, which is man trying to gain acceptability to God, is so futile. That scenario is void of faith and love. Rather, it embraces a dependence on what one can accomplish in his or her own strength. The Sabbath Rest, mentioned in part 2 eliminates all of the working toward acceptance. The Sabbath Rest simply accepts. It accepts the work of Christ on our behalf and it accepts the Father’s declaration about us. He declared it before the foundation of the world. Yes, that is absolutely correct. Look at this passage of scripture; Ephesians 1:3-5  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,  (4)  just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love  (5)  He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,” It was determined that we would have a Sabbath Rest before creation. This shows beyond doubt that redemption was the first purpose in creation.

Do you hear that? God’s purpose in creation was redemption! Why are the people of God settling for the back seat in so many areas? God wants us to be healthy, prosperous, and at peace. The question is this; will we allow our faith to work through love? Will we allow our faith in God’s love to produce love in us? This is the TRUE transformation process. True transformation only comes from us having a genuine love for God. The only thing that will produce that is redemption from the blood of Jesus Christ.

Our faith needs to be directed to all the great benefits of Christ so that it produces love for God which will translate into supernatural obedience. That is really what the Sabbath rest is all about. God wants us to love and worship Him in Spirit and Truth. The only way that can be accomplished is with the Sabbath Rest, or otherwise resting in Jesus. That is why Jesus said, come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you REST!

Part 1 & Part 2

Small Distinction - Huge Difference Part 2; Need, Rest, and Reasonable Service

The epistle of Romans, Paul’s most extensive doctrinal work, demonstrates a pattern that is instrumental in understanding the proper place of law and grace in the Christian faith. Much of the misunderstanding and doctrinal debate would be eliminated if one properly understands the epistle to the Romans.

How does one really reconcile imputed righteousness and law obedience? After all, aren’t most theological debates about the place of law and grace really a result of people placing emphasis on one or the other? Now, certainly the Romans example alone is not conclusively convincing but in conjunction with Jesus redemptive focus, and the New Testament’s redefining of the phrase word of God from scripture to gospel, one can be fairly certain that the order of Romans goes a long way to establish a uniquely interesting perspective.

Let’s look for a minute at the framework of the epistle of Romans. Romans 1:1 through 3:20 establishes the sinfulness of humanity, and the absolute need for redemption.  Romans 3:21 through 8:39 emphasizes justification by faith and promotes resting in Jesus Christ and his accomplishments. Romans 9:1 through 11:36 is a parenthetical explanation of why God chose to save the Gentiles and allow some Jews to be hardened rejecting the Messiah, and 12:1 through 16:27 discusses the reasonable service due God as a result of his gracious gift of Jesus Christ.

I think it is therefore reasonable to conclude that God’s gospel plan, one that Ephesians chapter one explains was, in the mind of God before he created anything is best framed by three concepts. They are as follows: Need (humanities great need for redemption and forgiveness)-- Rest (humanity can rest in Romans 5:1 and thereby they can rest in Jesus, Hebrews chapter four calls it the Sabbath rest)-- and Reasonable Service (humanities response to such radical grace that made Him who knew no sin to be made sin for humanity so that in turn, humanity could become the righteousness of God in Him.)

The key to proper understanding of the gospel then is this idea of need, rest, and reasonable service. However it must be understood that reasonable service can only truly flow from an acute acknowledgement of need and a totally sound faith in the Sabbath Rest.

To properly understand need one must look at the first and greatest commandment. Here it is: Deuteronomy 6:4-5  "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one!  (5)  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. This in and of itself is an impossible command to keep. Even if one could keep all the other’s, which they cannot, one cannot love God with ALL their heart, ALL their soul, with ALL their strength. James tells us that if you break one commandment you break them all (James 2:10.) The case for need is iron clad and no one can escape it.

Romans chapter five, verse one explains that since we have been justified by faith we have peace with God. This is the source of the Sabbath Rest. Peace with God provides the rest and it can only come from resting on the redemptive decrees. Romans chapter five and verse one is one of the many redemptive decrees. Another such decree is Romans 10:9-11; (9) that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  (10)  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (11)  For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES ON HIM WILL NOT BE PUT TO SHAME." Paul is not the only source of these decrees. John 3:16-17 is another such decree.
Redemptive decrees are statements that if they are not true as they stand alone they are simply not true at all.  John 3:16 says that whosoever believes shall not perish but have eternal life. Now we will take up the definition of believe later as it is presented in the New Testament, but when the condition of believe is met, it stands as an unalterable decree. Faith is not merely a mental assent. Rather it is best understood as it is presented in the Amplified Bible. It will be presented as trust in, rely on adhere to or cling to.

What happens when I trust in, rely on and cling to Romans 5:1? If I really truly trust in, rely on and cling to the fact that my justification brings peace with God I will naturally rest. Here is an example of John 3:16-17 that shows that I can and should have peace with God and rest.

John 3:16-17 Amplified  “ For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.  (17)  For God did not send the Son into the world in order to judge (to reject, to condemn, to pass sentence on) the world, but that the world might find salvation and be made safe and sound through Him.

The above passage is a classic example of a redemptive decree. It cannot be altered in any way and still be a true statement. The redemptive decrees have precedence over the reasonable service instructions. It can be no other way and have the decrees remain true.

So then, what about the reasonable service instructions? This is where a proper understanding of the transformation process comes into play. Notice that reasonable service is last in the framework. It is last in the epistle of Romans, and it is last in the fruit of the Spirit. Look at Galatians to see the proof 5:22-23. “  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  (23)  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” Self-control is the last fruit mentioned and it is for a good reason.

Real self-control comes from the peace with God one gets from resting in Jesus. It comes from the Sabbath Rest. This is the first step in flowing in the blessings of God. All blessings flow from resting in the blood of Jesus.

Read Part 1

Small Difference – Huge Distinction Part l

What was the point of Paul writing Galatians? Was Augustin, Calvin and Luther right, or are the “New Perspective on Paul” people closer to the truth? My conclusion is that the New Perspective people are definitely not right but, neither are many of those who have adopted the western view of Paul that was championed by Augustin and Luther. The title of this series speaks of nuance, and it seems that nuance is not something that evangelicals work well with. Especially those evangelicals that believe the bumper sticker which reads… “God said it – I believe it – and that settles it.”

The question that is raised is this; is this really what God said? This is the place that nuance comes into play. There is such a variety of evangelical doctrines that are often mutually exclusive. That alone should give pause to the bumper sticker crowd. With this in mind we will boldly move on into the discussion to identify the small difference that makes a huge distinction. What am I specifically speaking of here? The simple answer is the gospel.

Paul writes this in Galatians chapter one: Gal 1:6-9 “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (7) which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.  (8)  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.  (9) 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.” What were these different gospels?

In order to answer this question one has to read through Galatians’ chapters one and two. It becomes obvious in reading Galatians one and two that the different gospel demanded works of the law for justification. Galatians 2:21 states the most important factor in identifying the different and false gospel. It reads: Gal 2:21 “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.” The attribute that identified the true gospel was this. Righteousness *does not* come through the law. That means that one is not made righteous or declared righteous by adhering to the law.

This is precisely why I am so confident that the gospel that is preached today by most evangelicals is a different gospel. While it is true that many, if not most would say that righteousness does not come through obedience to the law, their actual practice negates that statement. This is where the small difference with a huge distinction comes into play. Nuance is the key word that I would use to explain this. It is my hope that this will help us embrace the actual gospel that Paul states was revealed to him by Jesus Christ.

This is the point where many are going to say the word antinomian with an accusatory tone. Hold your horses and wait for this series to be completed. Understand this however; Righteousness does not come through the law.  We do not receive righteousness by our obedience to the law. This is different than Old Covenant righteousness, and that is why the New Perspective people are simply off base. Deu 6:25  “Righteousness will be ours if we are careful to follow every one of these commands before the LORD our God, as He has commanded us.” Old Covenant righteousness was connected with obedience to the commandments. Not so under the New Covenant and that is where nuance comes into play. This is the source of the small difference with a huge distinction.

Peace with God Produces the Transformation; Looking at Shalom

 Rom 5:1 NKJV Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
 
Col 1:19-20 NKJV For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, (20) and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.

I think that we can learn a lot about what God has done through Jesus Christ by understanding the meaning that God had given the Hebrews for the word Shalom. Peace is far more then an end of hostility and what we normally think of when we hear or say peace. The Strong's definition of Shalom should shed some light on the subject. Here is the definition as it is in the Strong's Lexicon,

 

H7965 shâlôm shâlôm  shaw-lome', shaw-lome' From H7999; safe, that is, (figuratively) well, happy, friendly; also (abstractly) welfare, that is, health, prosperity, peace: - X do, familiar, X fare, favour, + friend, X greet, (good) health, (X perfect, such as be at) peace (-able, -ably), prosper (-ity, -ous), rest, safe (-ly), salute, welfare, (X all is, be) well, X wholly.



Shalom has a far more holistic meaning than one would think. It includes safety, welfare, health, prosperity, peace etc. So then, one can rightly conclude that Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore having been justified by faith, we have safety, welfare, health, prosperity and peace with God." And, likewise, Col 1:20 says "and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made us safe, healthy, prosperous, at peace through the blood of His cross."

 

So then, when Paul says that Jesus *is our peace* he means that Jesus is our Shalom which is our safety, welfare, health, prosperity and peace. This precious gift and status is the source for all of the transformation that happens in the life of a saint.  However, to have this transformation really take place supernaturally, one has to understand and believe this concept. This is the source of love for God that translates into the desire to obey Him. There is more to say on this and we will develop the idea in subsequent posts.

Faith cometh by hearing

Many of the blog posts here have been devoted to proving that Jesus and his first century followers changed the meaning of the phrase word of God from Torah to gospel. Jesus taught a uniquely redemptive purpose to the scripture. This is plainly proclaimed in John 5:39-40 and Luke 24:27; 43-45. In the past, I have issued a challenge, to take all of the verses in the New Testament with the phrase word of God in them, and to substitute either scripture or gospel in place of the phrase. When one does that it is easy to see that their meaning in using the phrase was gospel or Jesus the living gospel and not scripture. Again, please do not think that I am downplaying the scripture or its inspired status. I am not. I am rather showing the extent that Jesus taught his followers to go to in emphasizing and underscoring the redemptive purpose of the scripture.

With this in mind let’s turn our attention to Romans 10:17. In the KJV it reads, “faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” So then, let me ask the question; did Paul mean that faith cometh by hearing scripture or gospel? Well, when you look at it in context it becomes rather obvious that he meant the gospel. The sentence could easily be stated that faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the gospel of Christ.

Let’s take a look at this verse in some of the new versions of the scripture.

NASB “Rom 10:17  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.”

HCSB “So faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the

message about Christ.”

ESV “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” 

Why is that so? The answer is that there are a number of original Greek texts from which the translations are made, and further there are many variations within those texts. Some say word of God and some say word of Christ. The Byzantine Text or Textus Receptus which the KJV was translated from says word of God, but the Westcott Hort and the Nestle-Aland say word of Christ.  The Greek is as follows: It is the rhematos christou (word of Christ) or the (rhematos theou) the word of God.

         When one realizes that the first century apostles meant the gospel or the word of Christ when they wrote word of God it becomes less of a problem. The newer versions call it the word of Christ because the translating scholars believe that it is far more likely that the original scripture had the word of Christ in Romans 10:17. I believe that the original text could have had the word of God there but I have proven beyond doubt that in most cases in the New Testament, and in ALL cases from the book of Acts forward they meant gospel or Jesus the living gospel when they wrote the phrase word of God.

It does have interesting implications that go against the common explanation of this verse. Faith does not come from hearing just any ole scripture passage. Faith comes by hearing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Since rhematos (a variation of rhema) more rightly means spoken word, it would suggest that faith cometh by hearing the spoken word of Christ.

The Accuser of the Brethren

Rev 12:10-12  “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Messiah have now come, because the accuser of our brothers has been thrown out: the one who accuses them before our God day and night.  (11)  They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not love their lives in the face of death.  (12)  Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, for the Devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows he has a short time."

One of the most debilitating phenomena that today’s saint faces is the accusations of the accuser of the brethren (brothers and sisters.) Yes, Satan is the consummate accuser. He uses the past to accuse us of shame and guilt. He uses the future to accuse us with fear.  Isn’t that something? We are ashamed of the past and we fear the future. That is why we should participate only in contemplating our now (present.) It is in the present that we can overcome the accuser by the blood of the lamb. It is something that can only be done in the now… now faith… now is the day of salvation. Salvation, redemption and sanctification always exist in the now.

The key to overcoming Satan, the accuser is applying the blood of the Lamb in the now. It is blood for every now. It is blood that was ordained before the foundation of the world. Think on that for a minute… before the foundation of the world. There are but a few passages of scripture that mention before the foundation of the world. These describe a time before anything was created. We ALWAYS find that these references are linked to redemption. In Ephesians 1:4 it mentions redemption, and in 1 Peter 1:18-20 it speaks of the blood of the Lamb that was purposed before the foundation of the world. That can only mean one thing. Redemption through the blood of the Lamb was God’s purpose in creation. He tells us of NOTHING else before the foundation of the world. How should that change our thinking? How should that make us view God’s love? How much peace should that engender?

Notice what it says in verse 12 of the above quoted passage from Revelation.   “Therefore rejoice, you heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the earth and the sea, for the Devil has come down to you with great fury, because he knows he has a short time.” Heaven Dwellers… that is not just those in heaven; I believe that it also includes those seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Where is our minds focused? Are we focused on the earth and the past and are we dreaming of the future? That focus is perfect for the accuser. He works with that focus. However, if we shift our minds to the reality that we are NOW seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, our focus makes it difficult for the accuser to mess with us.

Part one: More to come on this topic…