The Gospel According to Paul; Proof positive why current evangelical doctrine is an error, Part II

In the previous blog post we established that Paul defined the gospel very specifically in 1 Corinthians 15 as simply and completely the death burial and resurrection of Jesus. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is in fact the full content of the good news. It was God's act to reconcile the world to Himself. Faith in that message gives peace with God which in turn ultimately creates supernaturally a love for God that is trans-formative in nature. We also established that 2 Corinthians 5 offers the clearest statement of the good news (2Co 5:16-21.) The first blog post is only half of the proof though. The second half of the proof is in the New Testament definition of the word of God. Time after time in this blog we have demonstrated that mostly when Jesus made the statement, and completely from Acts forward, whenever you see the phrase "word of God," it means the gospel or Jesus the gospel made flesh.

Now then, why do you think that John MacArthur wrote "The Gospel According to Jesus?" It is simple. He wanted to demonstrate that the gospel involves law obedience as well. He will deny that but it is ridiculous for him to try to do so. That indeed was his purpose. It was to convince people that the one who is truly saved will, in fact, supernaturally try to obey the Law. That is a sad error. That is in fact, the "leaven of the Pharisees." The gospel was not meant to allow the Christian to obey the law supernaturally. The gospel was meant to cause the believer/Christian to supernaturally love God. It is a supernatural love for God that is trans-formative in nature. Believing the gospel creates a true love for God based upon His grace. 1Jn 4:10 NLT  "This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." The unconditional grace of God, apart from any act of law obedience is the source of the transformation. John MacArthur's error only produces fear ultimately. 1Jn 4:18 NLT  "Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love." The only way that one can experience this perfect love is by believing the gospel as Paul explained it in 1Co 15 & 2Co 5. The minute that law obedience is attached as a proof of conversion it changes to a law based righteousness.

In the previous blog post  we saw that the gospel according to Paul was one of total, unconditional grace that does not focus on sin. Rather, it focuses on the supernatural way that God removed sin from the equation. We wondered why current Christian doctrine focuses so much on sin and law. It stems from a basic misunderstanding of the scripture interpretation. This is the reason that Christian doctrine is so far of the mark, wallowing in the mud bog of error. In this post we can answer the question that so many have. If you are right about the gospel and unconditional grace, why then is there so much that appears to be law in the New Testament writings? Most evangelicals cannot get past the law passages. and we have to answer that question satisfactorily.

Let me restate the question again at the beginning of this paragraph: If we are indeed not under law and instead under grace, why is there so much ink in the New Testament writings that appears to be law? The reason is very simple. The New Testament writings were not written directly to us. They were written to an audience that was in the middle of transition from the Jew only Old Covenant to the all inclusive New Covenant. They were written during a transition period that runs from John the Baptist to the destruction of the temple. Law was very important in the Old Covenant economy as it acted as a teacher, or tutor that was preparing the way for, and pointing the way to Christ Jesus. To emphasize the nature of this transition period look at Hebrews nine. Heb 9:7-8 NLT  "But only the high priest ever entered the Most Holy Place, and only once a year. And he always offered blood for His own sins and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.  (8)  By these regulations the Holy Spirit revealed that the entrance to the Most Holy Place was not freely open as long as the Tabernacle and the system it represented were still in use." All of the New Testament was written before the destruction of the temple while the Old Covenant limped along side of the New Covenant. The believers both Jew and Gentile were being shown a new and better way, but during the transition period there was an already/not yet mixture of the Old and New Covenants.

To facilitate the new and better way, the better covenant, based on better promises, Jesus and his first century followers redefined the phrase "word of God" from the Old Covenant definition of Torah to the new covenant definition of gospel. So in the gospel according to Paul, the word of God was the gospel. If you read Romans 10:17 in its context, you will have to admit that Paul was speaking of faith coming by hearing the gospel. Paul went on to define specifically the "word of truth." It is not the scripture per se, but rather the gospel. He gives the definition in Ephesians 1:13 in which he says "the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation."

It is obvious that Jesus and his first century followers were redefining "word of God" from Torah to gospel to make sure that everyone understood that the scripture had a redemptive gospel focus and not an Old Covenant "law centered" focus. In fact, the early church fathers in the second century forward went back to calling the scripture "the word of God" with an interpretive method that was similar to the Pharisees. In fact, current evangelical scripture interpretation is "the leaven of the Pharisees." This is precisely what Jesus warned his first century followers to beware of and watch out for.

So then, it is by an erroneous way of interpreting scripture that evangelical doctrine has nullified grace by making law more important than grace in the day to day lives of believers, when in fact, the gospel plan, the mystery that was revealed in Paul's day is just the opposite. I hope you take time to read part one if you have not done so as they are important to be read as a unit. This is what makes the gospel according to Paul so critical and of first importance in proper understanding of the correct Christian doctrine.

The Gospel According to Paul; Proof positive of why current evangelical doctrine is an error!

There is wide disagreement in evangelical Christianity as to what exactly is the content of the gospel. John MacArthur, wrote a book entitled "The Gospel According to Jesus." That book, and many like it, just continue to perpetuate the error that besets the evangelical church. The title of the book, "the gospel according to Jesus" suggests that Paul somehow got the gospel wrong, or did not completely explain the gospel. I say that if that was true, then Paul was a false prophet, and if that was true, Christianity would have been founded in large part on error. Further, if it was true, that Paul was wrong about the content of the gospel, then the record of the gospel, all of the Pauline writings, would be of little or no value, and there would be no reason whatsoever to believe the bible. Paul is an authority on the basis of the concept of progressive revelation. That means that what was revealed through out the scripture was illuminated and given proper context and meaning by subsequent revelation. In other words, each author, in his or her own way, added illumination to the plan of God. Paul explained that it was a mystery in times prior to his. This statement to be true, means that Paul was given insight into explaining the mystery. So then, what was the gospel according to Paul? actually it was succinctly explained in his first epistle to the Corinthians in chapter 15.

1Co 15:1-9 NLT  "Let me now remind you, dear brothers and sisters, of the Good News I preached to you before. You welcomed it then, and you still stand firm in it.  (2)  It is this Good News that saves you if you continue to believe the message I told you—unless, of course, you believed something that was never true in the first place.  (3)  I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  (4)  He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said.  (5)  He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.  (6)  After that, He was seen by more than 500 of His followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.  (7)  Then He was seen by James and later by all the apostles.  (8)  Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw Him.  (9)  For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I'm not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God's church."

As you can plainly see, the Good News (gospel) according to Paul was a very simple message. Here is the entire message of Paul's gospel: "Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  (4)  He was buried, and He was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said." In fact, the gospel is so simple that it is almost Zen. In the above passage, Paul is reminding the Corinthians of the gospel he preached, the gospel they welcomed, the gospel they stood firm in, and the gospel that had saved them if they continued to believe it. To make such a bold and all inclusive statement one would have to believe that Paul was going to explain the gospel in its entirety, and if he did not, then he would be lying, and his witness would be unreliable. So then, let me repeat what he said the gospel was in view of all of his declarative statements. He said it was the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. So then, what did the death, burial, and resurrection of the Jesus mean to Paul? The simple answer is that one is justified by faith, saved by faith, kept by faith, resurrected to eternal life by faith.

Here is a passage of scripture that puts Paul's understanding of the gospel most succinctly: 2Co 5:16-21 NLT  "So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know Him now!  (17)  This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  (18)  And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to Himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to Him.  (19)  For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.  (20)  So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!"  (21)  For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

The gospel according to Paul is this: Humanity has been reconciled to God through Christ. Further, God has given everyone who knows and believes this message the ministry of reconciliation. Even further, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself not counting sin. Even further, he made Jesus, (the one who did not know the concept of sin) to be MADE SIN so that the rest of us could be made the righteousness of God in Him.

This is the ULTIMATE REVELATION! This is the explanation of the MYSTERY! Why is it that all of evangelical Christianity is so wrapped up in the discussion of sin? Why is there so much focus on sin? Why is there so much discussion of Old Covenant Law? Why is there so much hate, fear and bigotry? The answer is obviously simple; evangelical church doctrine is a complete ERROR!

How does the gospel operate? Misunderstanding the operation of the gospel; why so many evangelicals are in bondage: Part II

This is a second article in a series about the operation of the gospel vs. the operation of religion. The first of the series can be read at this location. I really recommend that you read the first one found at the link above if you have not already done so, as this article builds on the foundation that the first one laid. It examines the operating force in the gospel as compared and contrasted with the operating force of religion. It establishes the fact that the operating force in the gospel is grace and the operating force in religion is the law. The operating force is the same as the catalyst. It is the igniting principle that makes the gospel effective. It is the thing that allows the gospel message to actually affect change. Paul described it in this way in Romans 2:4: "Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" The transforming catalyst of the gospel is grace which alone establishes a peaceful, trusting relationship with the Father.

I have heard so many pastors and ministers tell me that the people cannot handle unrestricted grace. The most common thing I hear is this: "I know that God's grace is prime, but if I teach the people this they will just sin more. If I teach the real truth of the gospel the people will not be restrained. They will not give enough. They will quit attending services.... and on and on. That kind of thinking is just submitting to the religious spirit and will kick in the operating force of religion. The catalyst for religion is fear and guilt. The problem is that fear and guilt will always create bondage. That is precisely the thing that makes current evangelical dogma so destructive. It is why so many people are on a treadmill, burned out, and miserable. They are afraid to get off the treadmill because they have been taught that getting off the treadmill is paramount to abandoning God. THIS IS ANOTHER POISONOUS LIE. All of the bondage trappings of religion have absolutely no value in establishing a peaceful, trusting relationship with the Father.

It should be obvious that if one has to keep religion engaged to control people that the dogma is really not beneficial for the people. Most evangelical leadership freely admit that they cannot teach grace because it will cause chaos and they will lose control over the people. Well, here is a novel thought; if what leadership is doing to maintain the health and life of the church and includes fear and guilt as the motivating method, then perhaps the health and life of the church is not important. Listen to me church leader... if you have to employ fear and guilt to motivate people, then you are not presenting good news. Good news does not need fear, guilt and intimidation to keep people interested in it. "Rom 8:15  For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father!"

The bondage comes from instilled fear of God the Father. The ones instilling the fear are using the operation of religion to control people. It amazes me that so many sermons, and so many bible studies are concerned with instilling fear for the sake of motivation and control. This comes from an erroneous view of scripture. It comes from focusing on the scripture being a legal constitutional document and not the story of redemption. As the first article of this series explains, the operation of the gospel is to completely do away with fear. The Apostle John explained it this way: 1Jn 4:18 "There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. How do you reach perfection in love? The answer is so simple. IT IS BY BELIEVING THE GOSPEL! If you are continually being subjected to sfear by those trying to control you, I have just one piece of advice... "come out from among them and be ye separate" Stay away from the uncleanliness of the operation of religion, Focus on the operation of the gospel and learn to enjoy a peaceful, trusting relationship with your Father in Heaven!

How does the gospel operate? Misunderstanding the operation of the gospel; why so many evangelicals are in bondage

Evangelical Christianity is at a cross roads. Quite frankly its future existence is at stake. It saddens me to see the amount of believers that are in some form of religious bondage. Religion is so binding and so subtle. It indeed is like the metaphor used by Jesus which is leaven/yeast. As yeast permeates the entire batch of dough, religion permeates our spiritual relationship with our creator. The warning to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees is a warning to beware of religion. So then, what is the operation of religion? It is the opposite of the operation of the gospel. What I want to make perfectly clear is that there is an operation of the gospel and there is an operation of religion. They operate completely differently, but somehow, evangelical doctrine has made the operation of the gospel the same as the operation of religion. They say they do not, but practically, they do and it cannot be denied, and it has a choke hold on believers. It causes them to be burned out and miserable.

The true operation of the gospel
One of the main principles in the operation of the gospel is stated in Romans 2:4 "Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?" The gospel works by grace and not law. Always! The grace of God, God's unmerited favor, is the driving force in the operation of the gospel. Unencumbered grace, prepares us for a peaceful trusting relationship with God. Think about this; one cannot have a peaceful, trusting relationship with God without unlimited, ever abounding grace. It is grace that is the catalyst for operation of the gospel. The "operation of the gospel" is the way in which God supernaturally brings about transformation to the heart. Upon realizing that there is truly unlimited grace, that we are not in fact under law but under grace, we then, and only then, begin ever so slowly to develop a peaceful, trusting relationship with the Father that allows the gospel to work supernaturally.

This being the case, why do so many churches and pastors put people under the law. They erroneously tell people that once a person has accepted the grace of God, God by his Holy Spirit then gives us/them the ability to live the law. THAT IS A LIE FROM THE PITS OF HELL!!!! This is the lie that continues the bondage. They tell them that the Holy Spirit enables people to be able to read and do. AGAIN, THAT IS A HORRENDOUS LIE!!! Actually, the operation of the gospel relies completely on grace. It relies completely on one having a peaceful, trusting relationship with the Father that leads to us REALLY LOVING THE FATHER. Then, from this place of love for the Father that only comes from grace, one will begin to want to please the Father with her/his love. Real love of the Father will make one begin to love others. Love grounded in a peaceful, trusting relationship with the Father will bring to fruition John 13:35.

On the other hand, and this is what is so, so, so sad to me is that the operation of religion; the read and do mentality of religion; chapter and verse mentality of religion; begins an operation of fear and hiding, that always keeps the believer in the bondage of not measuring up. My friend.... NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY.... YOU WILL NEVER MEASURE UP AS LONG AS YOU HAVE THE OPERATION OF THE RELIGIOUS SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE. In that state you cannot really love even though you know that you must by chapter and verse. It therefore is so important that
we stay grounded in the gospel of grace 24/7. There is no other message to preach. I will say without shame that I have determined to preach nothing among anyone, except Jesus Christ crucified, and his unwavering, endless, amazing grace.

Doctrines of Demons Part II; Is there really safety in numbers?

If you read the last post "Doctrines of Demons" this is a follow-up. If not, you can read it here. Either way, I want to ask/pose this question; "is there really safety in numbers?" Let's look at biblical history to answer this question. In looking at the scripture, I would simply say this to you; ask Noah, ask Abraham, ask Jacob, ask Joseph, ask Moses, ask Joshua, ask David, ask Isaiah, ask Jeremiah, ask Amos, ask Elijah, ask all the prophets, ask John the Baptist, ask Jesus, ask the twelve apostles, ask Peter or John, ask Paul, ask the first century martyrs, ask Martin Luther.... I could go on and on but surely you are getting the point. All significant movements in Christian History in fact suggest that one could not believe that there is safety in numbers.

So then, why are so many evangelical Christians so complacently content with the status quo, and safety in numbers. All the time I hear people ask the question, surely all the theologians could not possibly get it wrong could they? Or they will say, if you want to be safe, just stick with orthodoxy. Really? The fact is that most evangelicals revel in the idea that there is safety in numbers. I feel that I have personally been rejected by pastors and ministers many times because they feel that safety in numbers is a better way to go.

The truth is that humans in general are unsettled by change. I hear people say that change is scary. Yet, I cannot help but think of the words of Dr. Phil, "Oh, and how's that workin' for ya?" The fact is that many evangelicals have set up for themselves sure heart ache and failure. They believe in a standard of ethical behavior, that while it is an admirable goal, most fail to achieve it. And, when they do fail, they are judged, shunned, and humiliated. They end up thinking that for some reason, they alone cannot attain the standard; that there is something inherently wrong with them. They fail to realize that almost ALL people have the same struggles. The reason for this is that pastors and ministers set themselves up on a pedestal afraid that any admission of their own frailty will give an excuse to the rest of the congregation to stop trying to attain. Sadly, the reality is that the gospel of Christ/God is not  centered on human ethics. Of course, it would be a better world if more people, or if all people strove to be more ethical. But that was NEVER the point of the gospel.

There is a big difference between being ethical and being loving. Some of the most ethical people I have met are likewise cold, calculating and lack any sense of love for humanity. Let's face it, read and do theology reduces one to being obedient or not. Unfortunately, the standard is to the scripture from a legal constitutional perspective. Further, some of the most obedient Christians from the legal constitutional perspective are likewise some of the cruelest, unforgiving people, when it comes to deviation from the legal constitutional perspective. It is sad that I have proven over and over again in blog post after blog post that the legal constitutional reading of scripture is just flat wrong... it's ERROR! Still for the most part I am ignored. I cannot get people to even follow the legal constitutional edict "come let us reason together."

Let me make this clear. If the legal, constitutional reading of scripture is really what Jesus and the first century apostles demanded then, those who fear that things have gotten way out of whack in Christianity are right. But the overwhelming fact is that it was not the priority of Jesus and the first century Christians. If one cannot understand nuance, and the transition that was happening within the writings of the first century, then it may be easy to believe that current evangelical doctrine is right. However, the nuance and the transition is the most important part of the first century writings. Therefore, just like all the biblical history figures that I mention in the first paragraph, those who did not feel that there was safety in numbers, but rather were willing to listen to the promptings of the Holy Ghost, we today should not be so smug as to believe that there is now safety in numbers. Because of this, the evangelical church entertains way too many doctrines of demons.

Doctrines of Demons

1Ti 4:1-5 NLT  Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.  (2)  These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.  (3)  They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth.  (4)  Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks.  (5)  For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

Unfortunately, this prophecy came true in the late first and early second century. But more than that, these doctrines of demons, of which there are many, were brought forth into orthodoxy. So let's identify within Christian History this prophecy. They forbid marriage and eating certain foods. Interestingly, Roman Catholic Priests were forbidden to marry, and fish was the only meat that could be eaten on Friday's and throughout Lent. I mention this because it merely frames the times when doctrines of demons would be brought into orthodoxy. How is this turning away from the true faith? It is merely an example of making rules and regulations, having a legal constitutional reading of scripture, and moving away from the solely redemptive purpose that was taught by Jesus and the first century apostles.

Paul makes a similar claim in 2Co 11:13-15 KJV  "For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.  (14)  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  (15)  Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works." Here is a prophecy that definitely declares that Satan will be able to influence ministers. Isn't it interesting that today that most pastors and ministers are so concerned with self-righteousness. They may say they are primarily talking about imputed righteousness, but their sermons, actions, and demands betray them. They do not understand the catalyst for true righteousness and holiness is the gospel of grace, and imputed righteousness.

The point of this is that the doctrine of devils, the leaven of the Pharisees, and the deception of Satan over ministers is clearly prophesied. The most pernicious doctrine that has infiltrated the church is the demand for self righteousness. Many will argue that the Spirit enables people to live righteously and cite that as the reason for demanding read and do righteousness. All I can say is (buzzer sound) False! It is actually imputed righteousness APART from the demand for personal righteousness that will over time be the catalyst for real true righteousness. That is how the Holy Spirit aids the believer to attain righteousness. It it is from the love generated by having imputed righteousness without the demand for personal read and do righteousness, that brings about true love for God and true love for God is what generates righteous living.

Yet, there are so few congregations that believe this that the real true righteousness is never birthed. Rather self righteousness is imposed out of fear based upon the erroneous legal constitutional reading of scripture. Of all the doctrine of devils that has permeated church doctrine, this one is the most spiritually damaging. It is so clear that Jesus and his first century followers changed the hermeneutic to be solely redemptive, redefined the phrase word of God to mean gospel rather than scripture, and meant for GRACE ALONE to be the catalyst for righteousness. Still millions of Christ followers are in bondage to the doctrine of devils.

Holding down the truth in unrighteousness: Many Pastors are guilty of this.

Rom 1:16-18 NASB:  For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.  (17)  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH."  (18)  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

What does it mean to suppress the truth in unrighteousness? Well, let's look at this passage from Romans to see if we can get a clue. First of all, in verse 16 Paul is stating the fact that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Why would one need to be ashamed of the gospel? Well, it would have to be that the good news, was such good news, such unbelievably good news, that it would make the person proclaiming it to seem foolish. Isn't it interesting that Paul in 1 Corinthians stated that the gospel was foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the religious. And so it remains today, the true gospel, the real message of the death, burial, and resurrection is still foolishness to those outside of Christ and a stumbling block to those with a religious bent.

I have had pastors look me in the eye and tell me. Yes, I know how gracious God is but if I let my people know that message they will abuse it. They will sin more, they will not pay enough offerings, they will be given a license to sin. What they really mean is they will be difficult to control. These pastors are suppressing (holding down) the truth in unrighteousness. There is but one righteousness. It is the righteousness of God imputed because of faith. It is best stated in this passage: Rom 1:5 NASB "through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His name's sake," The only obedience that matters to God is believing the report.

Now while the current understanding has those suppressing the truth in unrighteousness as being the so called world, unbelievers that is clearly not Paul's intent in this passage. There is a very interesting phrase in verse 22. It simply says, "professing to become wise they became fools." This is a direct reference to humanity gaining the knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil does not give a clue as to the nature of the righteousness of God. If it did, religion would have figured out that God was gracious from the very beginning. After all in Gen 1:31, after creating male and female God said it was very good. That is the first place in the scripture that God declares man righteous because he said so.

Yes, it is hard to believe that God imputes righteousness for faith. Yes, it is hard to believe that one is righteous simply because God has said it. Still that is the gospel (good news.) So, every-time any minister knows about the grace of God, and does not proclaim it loud and clear, he/she is suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. This is what the Jews of the first century were doing in Jesus time. They were suppressing the truth in unrighteousness when they denied the gospel and did not believe the report. Think about it. There is no way that those who do not believe the gospel, who are members of the so-called world are suppressing the truth. They are not even thinking about the truth. The do not know the truth, and therefore cannot suppress it. 

Only the religious mind that was born of the knowledge of good and evil can suppress the truth. They are the only ones interested in suppressing the truth of the gospel. It is for the fear that some might sin. It is a religious phenomenon and it has unfortunately crept into the church by the leaven of the Pharisees. Pastors, ministers, I implore you. Stop suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.