Trumpet Ministries Grace and Faith Versus the Law of Moses
Back to FIFTY-TWO KINGDOM TOPICS
Grace and Faith Versus the Law of Moses, not Versus Righteous Behavior Back to FIFTY-TWO KINGDOM TOPICS
A second revolutionary though scriptural concept is that when the Apostle Paul contrasted faith and works he was not speaking of a profession of doctrinal belief versus godly behavior. Yet this interpretation of Paul has persisted mightily since the Reformation.
First of all, by "faith" Paul means a life lived in dependence on God, not a doctrinal position. The righteous shall live by faith means by humble dependence on God rather than by independence of thought and action (the American ideal).
By "works" Paul means the works of the Law of Moses, such as circumcision. He is not referring to honesty, faithfulness, and truthfulness.
We are justified by placing our faith in Christ and living in Him rather than by obeying the statutes of the Law of Moses.
This misunderstanding of Paul has destroyed the moral strength of the Christian churches.
A careful study of Romans and Galatians will reveal clearly that Paul is not seeking to turn people away from righteous behavior but from the works of the Law of Moses.
In other passages Paul insists if we do not live righteously we will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
There is no scriptural support whatever for the idea that we are saved to spend eternity in Heaven. There is no scriptural support whatever for the idea that the Lord Jesus Christ will return and catch away His Church to Heaven.
There is no scriptural support whatever for the concept of a state of grace that causes God to see us through Christ so our unrighteous behavior is viewed as Christ's righteous behavior.
Think of it! A major part of Christian teaching is not found in the Scriptures. It must be time for a reformation of Christian teaching and thinking.
While it is true that God forgives our sins through Christ's blood when we first place our faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit sets out immediately to guide us in putting to death the sinful nature that we may be released to walk in newness of life.
We remain without condemnation provided we keep on abiding in Christ and following the Holy Spirit at all times. Any doctrine other than this will lead the believer into Divine judgment and possibly a total loss of inheritance.
I can support my doctrine readily and clearly from passages kept in context. It is impossible to support any other viewpoint without removing verses from their context and deducing doctrine from them. It is not true, as has been said, that we can prove anything we want from the Bible, unless we are willing to take certain verses, use them as axioms, and deduce a philosophy from them.
The Scriptures were given as holy men wrote by the Spirit of God. The only way they can be interpreted accurately is by holy men who are moved by the Spirit of God. No part of the Scripture can be interpreted properly by our own study and reasoning. We must go to the Lord to find out what God is saying.
If we leave the Scriptures as they are without superimposing a philosophy upon them, and then pray, the Lord may be pleased to give us the true interpretation.
The blood atonement, the crucifixion and bodily resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His coming again in the clouds of glory with His holy angels, have been taught faithfully by Christians. But upon this sure foundation has been constructed a mythology about a "state of grace" leading to eternal residence in a mansion in Heaven, a mythology that simply cannot be supported by an unforced examination of the New Testament.
It is time now for us to return to expository preaching and teaching so the believers can perceive what the Lord Jesus Christ and His Apostles taught. The Great Commission requires that we do this.
The spiritual battle of the last days will be that of error against truth. The generation that will be involved in this titanic struggle will not be able to stand if they are trusting in an unscriptural state of grace and an any-moment rapture that will carry them to Heaven so they can recline at their ease in their mansion.
We must clothe ourselves with the whole armor of God so we can stand in the day of evil and so we can return with the Lord Jesus and install the Kingdom of God, the will of God, on the earth.
But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. (Romans 3:21)
For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. (Romans 3:28)
And envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21)
For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, (Titus 2:11,12)