Doctrine

Those Saved by Faith Without Works

Commentary, Doctrine, Salvation / /

How did dispensationalists miss the very important truth that salvation is different in different dispensations? Except for James who said it is not always true, the only dispensation that even mentions salvation by faith apart from works is Paul in his epistles. There is no such statement in the Old Testament. Jesus when specifically asked how to be saved, said to live by the commandments of the law. Paul declared he was given a special gospel for the Church Age; and he explained how that salvation is different from salvation in prior dispensations.

I suspect the false doctrine that everyone in all dispensations is saved by faith apart from works is based primarily upon a misunderstanding of Paul’s argument concerning Abraham in Romans chapter 4. Paul is not saying Abraham was saved like we are saved. Rather he is saying we must express faith like Abraham showed faith. God promised Abraham’s physical seed would be as numerous as the stars in the night sky; and Abraham believed Him. And just as God recognized Abraham’s faith as righteousness (not salvation righteousness), so God recognizes similar faith in us for His promise of the righteousness of Jesus Christ in salvation.
James in his epistle makes the point that Abraham was not saved by the faith that he expressed without works. We need to interpret Paul’s argument in Romans 4 consistent with all Scriptures. And that is my purpose in these slides Faith Without Works which present a brief commentary on Romans 3:19 to 4:25. This interpretation is counted as heresy by those who believe God saves everyone in every dispensation by faith without works.

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There will Be Two Raptures

Doctrine, Eschatology / /

There is great confusion about when the time of the rapture of the Church to heaven relative to the coming Tribulation—before, during or after it. This confusion is propagated by the determination of many to base doctrine for the rapture upon false doctrine concerning both the Church and the Tribulation.

It will be my contention that this confusion will not be sorted out except by recognizing that the Church Age is one of the dispensations of God. Even dispensationalists, those who accept that God has dealt with and will continue to deal with man through different dispensations, need to recognize some vital differences between the Church Age and other dispensations.
Paul called this Church Age “the dispensation of the grace of God”. And this is surely because in this dispensation, as in no other dispensation, salvation is by the grace of God without works. Also believers in this dispensation, as in no other, are to live by grace not law. These distinctions (ignored by most) are sufficient to establish that the Rapture of the Church will be outside of (before) the Tribulation.
Also the dispensation of the Church Age, including its rapture, is said by Paul to be a mystery unknown to all until it was revealed to him. That means all references to a rapture before Paul wrote his epistles must refer to a rapture other than the rapture of the Church. Such references (and there are several) lead us to discern another rapture, its nature, and its time.

See slides The Two Raptures for a reorganized discussion of these things.

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When will Old Testament saints be judged?

Doctrine, Eschatology / /

Just after the sounding of the seventh trumpet in heaven during the the time of the Tribulation on earth, Scripture says that the time has come for the dead to be judged and for God to reward His servants the prophets, the saints, and them that fear His name, small and great.  This is in Revelation 11:18 just after the two witnesses have just been killed, resurrected, and called up to heaven. In the slides The Two Raptures, it was I argued that this is the time of the partial rapture of Tribulation saints along with resurrection and transport to heaven of the Old Testament righteous who will serve in the Millennial Kingdom.

Serious Bible scholars argue that the judgment mentioned in Revelation 11:18 is not a judgment at this time in the narrative sequence, but rather a look from a future time backward at the Great White Throne Judgment, which will occur after the Millennial Kingdom and just before a new heaven and earth are prepared. The slides Time to Reward God’s Prophets evaluate the arguments for and against such a discontinuity in the narrative of future events in the Book of Revelation. As such this study will give us some insight into God’s judgments and help us to understand the sequence of events which must shortly come to pass. (Re 1:1)

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Live Soul Thrives in Dead Body

Christian Living, Commentary, Doctrine / /

Have you heard of a man’s live soul living in a man’s dead body? That is exactly the situation of every Church Age believer according to the Apostle Paul. He tells how that is possible, accomplished, and overcome in verses in Romans 6 and Colossians 2. Although the soul of the believer has new resurrection life, it is stuck in a body that will not be cleansed of sin until the resurrection of the dead or rapture of the living.  In such a situation the soul must live by grace not law to keep sin from having dominion in their lives.

But the doctrine of new life in Jesus Christ is so poorly understood and taught, that Christians do not understand Paul’s explanation of how to live by grace. Thus they struggle way more than they should to let grace reign in their lives instead of sin.

Paul starts in Romans 6 by telling us there are things we must reckon as true. But commentators, expositors, Bible teachers and pastors teach us not to reckon these things as true, or they confuse them so badly that we find it impossible to reckon them as true. And by this we are defeated from understanding how to live by grace before we even get started.

It is not possible to build true doctrine upon false doctrine. The false doctrines we must set straight are many. Adam’s sin brought us condemnation by inheritance of corrupted flesh. Church Age salvation, though by faith for believing without works, is completely different than was Abraham’s salvation. Baptism of the Holy Spirit makes experiential changes in the believer as well as positional and judicial changes. A man’s soul is cleansed of sin but left in a body that will not be cleansed of sin until it is resurrected or raptured. The believer receives a gift of righteousness that is more than imputation of Christ’s righteousness in going to the cross.

The believer must recognize internal changes at salvation to live righteously and victoriously after salvation. Correct doctrine must come before correct living, which will entail then learning more correct doctrine and continued growth in Jesus Christ.

See slides From Condemnation to Justification and The Blood of the Grape for discussion of Adam’s sin and resulting condemnation on all men. See slides on Church Age Salvation and Body, Soul and Spirit for discussion on Church Age salvation. See slides on Dispensational Salvation and The New Testament Is Not the New Covenant for discussion of salvation in other dispensations.

The slides Living by Grace Not Law are a brief commentary on Romans 6:1 to 8:18.  As such they establish that the corrected doctrines make interpretation of this Bible passage straightforward without the necessity of misdefining words to fit inconsistent doctrines. And they set forth what Paul means by living by grace not law to give us the pathway to victorious Christian lives. Contrasts with more orthodox (but incorrect) views of progressive sanctification are discussed in the slides Redemption and Sanctification.

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How is Jesus Christ the Son of God?

Doctrine / /

The doctrine of eternal generation has been a strongly believed doctrine in Christian churches since the Council of Nicaea, which was assembled by Constantine to settle controversies among church bishops. They settled on the doctrine that Jesus Christ was always the Son of God even before His birth. Eternal generation, which is not a Bible doctrine, is a necessary invention by scholars to explain how Jesus could have been a son from eternity past.

Just because a large majority of (possibly biased) Bishops came to an agreement about a doctrinal matter, does not mean the doctrine is correct. The very necessity of inventing extrabiblical doctrine to support such a far-reaching doctrine puts it in question. Furthermore, Scripture nowhere states unequivocally that Jesus was Son of God in the Trinity before he was born in Bethlehem. So, is it a doctrine that we should believe?

Surely Jesus was the Son of God (and Son of man) after His birth to the virgin Mary following her conception by action of the Holy Spirit. Scholars attempt to establish an eternal father-son relationship by reading the New Testament father-son relationship back into the time before Jesus’ birth. This is surely an effort to give structure to the Trinity beyond a perceived lack of structure set forth in Scripture.

When I set out to write about this topic, someone asked me who cares that some people believe Jesus was always Son of God? But as I have studied this, the issue has appeared far deeper than that. This doctrine of eternal generation, taught by almost everyone, is set forth as a cornerstone for understanding the Trinity and Jesus Christ. But can we really say that Jesus did not have the essence of deity unless He was Son of God by eternal generation?  Is He only to be called the Son of God even after His birth because He had been eternally generated?  Did Pharisees condemn Him to death because they believed in eternal generation and believed Jesus claimed such for Himself?  Could Jesus not be the Messiah without having been eternally generated? Was His resurrection proof that He had been eternally the Son of God? Can He inherit rule over the nations of the world only because He was Son of God by eternal generation?

This doctrine of eternal sonship is indeed far-reaching. Does it help us understand Scripture, from which our knowledge of God should come? Scholars have set forth arguments from various points of view to support the doctrine of eternal sonship. To compare those arguments with Scripture, view these slides: The Son of God

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Salvation by Faith without Works Is Only for the Church Age

Doctrine, Salvation / /

The Pauline Epistles have established that God provides the gift of salvation by grace through faith apart from works in this present dispensation, the Church Age. And that salvation allows and encourages the saved person to do good works. Although God provides salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to all men from Adam on, all Scripture, including the Pauline Epistles, indicate that only in this Church Age has salvation been given through faith without works.

Yet it is commonly, almost universally argued, by those who claim to derive their doctrine of salvation from the Bible, that all salvation from Adam and into the future must have been and must be by faith without works as in this Church Age. We might overlook this error because it seems to emphasize the true nature of salvation in this Church Age. But actually it undermines true doctrine, even the doctrine of salvation.

Such doctrine denies that Scripture is profitable for doctrine by promoting false doctrine over what Scripture says. Such doctrine biases interpretation and translation of Scripture by those who claim to believe Scripture. By forcing the faith plus works passages in the Bible to agree with works after salvation passages, theologians blur the line between salvation and works. By arguing that works prove salvation, they effectively make works necessary for salvation to promote a gospel that is no longer faith apart from works even in this Church Age.

The key to understanding salvation from the penalty of sin is that God will give eternal life and the gift of righteousness to those who show continued interest in righteousness. It is doubtful that anyone before the first advent believed the coming Messiah would die for their sins and be raised from the dead. And even if it can be shown there was someone who did, that would not indicate that God gave salvation by faith without works at that time. Scriptures clearly declare how God has provided salvation in the various dispensations.

God cannot build correct doctrine on a foundation of incorrect doctrine without first reproving that false doctrine correcting it. It is time to correct the false doctrine about salvation and go on to rich doctrines the Holy Spirit wants to teach us. See the slides on Dispensational Salvation for Scriptures that establish Biblical doctrines of salvation in the various dispensations.

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Sanctification Is Not What You Think It Is

Christian Living, Commentary, Doctrine / /

The Scriptural (KJV) doctrine of salvation in this Church Age is that the believer’s soul is made righteous at salvation and left to live righteously in a body still containing sin. Although it is soundly Scriptural, it is a minority view. The majority view, accepted as “orthodox” by almost all theologians, commentators, expositors, and teachers, is that salvation is mostly (or totally) positional so that the saved soul still has a sin nature.

I have set forth the Scriptural (KJV) doctrine of salvation in the slides Body, Soul, and Spirit. This view is supported in a brief commentary on Romans 6:1 to 8:18 in slides Living by Grace Not by Law, which discuss how the Christian is to fulfil the righteousness of the law by not living by laws. A brief commentary on Romans 5:12 to 5:21 in slides From Condemnation to Justification adds some background.

Opponents of the Scriptural view present various reasons, some of which are addressed in the Body, Soul, and Spirit slides. But one of the most insistent arguments against a cleansed soul is that it cannot line up with the orthodox doctrine of sanctification. I deal with that in these slides, Redemption and Sanctification. Redemption and sanctification are blessings listed in 1 Corinthians 1:30 for those in Christ Jesus.  Wisdom and righteousness, also listed there, I have commented on other slides, but I say a few words here about them as well.

It would be too large task for this set of slides to consider all verses that apply to sanctification for Church Age believers. So not only have I evaluated arguments for an orthodox view of sanctification, in these slides I have also looked at each of the verses a proponent of the orthodox view has listed in support of his view. And as we would expect, those verses fully support the Scriptural view of salvation.

The Apostle Paul has made it clear that the Christian will only be successful at continuing sanctification if his doctrine is correct concerning it. The slides Redemption and Sanctification discuss the correct doctrine for how a believer in this Church Age should practice sanctification in his life.

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In Consideration of Thought-provoking Questions by Atheists

Christian Living, Doctrine, Salvation / /

I saw these 15 Thought-Provoking Questions Atheists Often Ask The Religious (website no longer available) on the internet. They are indeed thought-provoking questions that everyone ought to be able to answer. In writing out answers for them in my slides Consideration of Questions Atheists Often Ask, I have been stuck by how simple and how profound was of the answer Jesus gave to the Samaritan woman who wanted to talk about correct worship of God. He stated in His answer, “God is a spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The words “in truth” set apart true worship from all false worship and false ideas about God. God allows the devil to propagate lies for those who prefer lies to the truth.  Jesus said of the devil that “he abode not in the truth; because there is no truth in him…he is a liar and the father of it.” And of Himself Jesus said, “And if I say the truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God heareth God’s words.”

The truth is in God’s words. A person needs God’s words to know about God and true (and false) worship. So, I will attempt to answer these questions from the truth, that is from the Bible. I accept the King James Authorized Version to be God’s words. I give my reasons in the slides Identifying the Words of God. Consider my Biblical arguments there, but do not take my word for it. Ask God to show you what to believe. He is most interested that every person know the truth and believe it.

Some will surely ask, What about those who do not have a Bible? I would say to get one and read it. To those who have no access to a Bible, ask God for it. Concerning those who are too unknowing to even ask, God confronts every person with some measure of truth. To each person who accepts that truth, God gives more. My answers to these thought-provoking questions expand upon these things.

Jesus said there are many that are on the broad way that leads to destruction; and few are on the narrow way to life. Since many on the broad way think they are on the way to life, everyone should consider carefully what way they are following. Consideration of these questions will surely be useful for that. I trust my discussion of these questions in the slides Consideration of Questions Atheists Often Ask will be beneficial for everyone’s consideration.

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The Marriage Supper of the Lamb

Doctrine, Eschatology / /

Although the Marriage of the Lamb will be in heaven before Jesus Christ comes to earth for his second coming, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb mentioned immediately after the marriage will not be in heaven. It will be back on earth during the Millennial Kingdom.

These slides present a fivefold argument that this supper will be during the Millennial Kingdom based upon these points: the prophetic nature of the announcement in heaven, the given order of events in Revelation 19-20, Jesus’ statements about when He would again drink the fruit of the vine, the prominence of feasts in the Millennial Kingdom, and the prophetic symbolism of the wedding feast at Cana.

These slides briefly discuss how Jesus’ parable about the wedding dinner as stated cannot indicate that the gospel would be taken to Gentiles as it is usually so interpreted. The parable declares that feasting will be prominent in the kingdom of heaven. Even so men will be rebellious and bring upon themselves God’s judgment.  

See slides Marriage Supper of the Lamb for arguments about why the feast will be on earth during the Millennial Kingdom.

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Body, Soul and Spirit of Man in Church Age Salvation

Doctrine, Salvation / /

Man made in the image of a triune God has three parts. As God is made up of three persons with different ministries, so man’s three parts– body, soul and spirit—have different functions within a man. Interestingly, each part can have a separate life and death. These slides, Body, Soul and Spirit, investigate the changes in each part of man that occurred as a result of Adam’s Fall and the changes that come as a result of Church Age Salvation.

Doctrine should agree with Scripture.

The Pauline Epistles have considerable information about this, but that information is not as systematic as we might hope. To put the information together in a systematic way, we must study diligently, believe God’s words, and trust Him to give us insights. For example, to exchange “sinful nature” for Paul’s use of the word “flesh” is not believing God’s words. But such is done by many commentators to produce support what they call “orthodox theology”. These slides discuss the differences between that commonly believed theology and Biblical doctrine in a section that is easily skipped over.

Some years ago a fellow asked me if I believed the Bible. When I said I did, he asked me about Ephesians 2:6, namely how we were raised up to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. I was proud that I could give an answer—a standard answer that I had learned from Bible commentators. He just looked at me with a look that said, “And you think you believe the Bible.” As I thought about it, I realized the standard explanation was designed to explain away what we do not see a way to believe. In fact, much of our Bible “education” teaches us how to explain away Scripture we do not understand. God gives understanding for us to believe what the Bible says.

Implications for Christian Living

The Pauline Epistles have a considerable amount to say about Christian living after salvation. But Paul always establishes doctrinal truth before going on to say how the believer is to live in light of that truth. It is vital that we understand how salvation changes a man internally before we understand how to live practically. A common teaching that the Christian must strive to control and eliminate a sin nature from body, soul, and spirit provides a wrong basis for living righteously. Such a wrong basis makes Scripture quite confusing and makes righteous living more difficult than it need be. These slides Body, Soul, and Spirit will establish what happens inside a person when he experiences salvation. They will explain how the believer is in Christ and Christ in him; and they will also clarify what is the new man and the old man in a believer.

Later slides Living by Grace Not Law deal in more detail how to live after salvation in consideration of these truths.

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