LTRP Note: Over the past several years, we have talked, either through e-mail or by phone, to thousands of people. A good number of these people have come out of churches whose pastors have been trained in the seminaries and Christian colleges, which have, in large part (with some exceptions), become havens for unbiblical teachings. These ill-equipped, misled pastors have brought their unscriptural teachings with them to the churches. We have heard the stories from so many of our readers of Christians they know who became caught under the bondage of legalism and then went to the opposite pole of turning grace into a license for sin. Many times when this happened, these confused Christians began practicing contemplative prayer and/or joined emerging churches, thinking these experiences were from God, especially when they compared them to their legalistic backgrounds.
While we do not claim to be theologians here at Lighthouse Trails, we desire to address this issue in this short essay, with the hopes it may draw some back to the true living water that only Jesus Christ can give. Perhaps these words can alleviate some confusion to those who are held in bondage by either of these extremes.
By David Dombrowski
In previous articles, we have demonstrated how the Gospel is the greatest of all treasures. Throughout the ages, man has been out digging for treasure. From the earth, we have been able to extract much of the things that we prize most highly including silver, gold, diamonds, gems, metal ores for making innumerable things made of iron or steel, copper or brass, and aluminum, while massive amounts of oil and coal have been extracted propelling us into an industrialized world. Yet, the human heart remains empty, and only God can fill that void.
Scripture likens our need for the Gospel to our need for water. The psalmist wrote, “As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God” (Psalm 42:1). And just as a deer is driven by thirst to drink of the cool water brooks, so we, like the psalmist, should hunger and thirst after God. But for most Christians in the Western world, that thirst drives us elsewhere, and what we attain never really satisfies because it is not the living water that is able to give us life and renew us.
The Gospel has been with us for a very long time, but of the world’s population, relatively few have chosen to dip into that water of life. The Scripture beckons, “the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely” (Revelation 22:17). Though the offer is made to all, there are so few who seem to listen. Consequently, so many choose to live in a perpetual drought, fearing the water of life that is able to save men’s souls.
Now, how long has the Gospel been with us? Paul tells us that Abraham received the Gospel:
And the scripture, forseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. (Galatians 3:8)
God made a covenant with Abraham based on a promise to send a “seed” (namely Christ), and in that seed, the promises would be fulfilled (see Galatians 3:16). It is here that a date is given of four hundred thirty years before God gave the Law to Moses. And while the date is of no real significance, what is significant is that the New Covenant (the Gospel) came before the Old Covenant (the Law). Paul’s letter to the Galatians vividly portrays how the Law was never given to save anyone; rather it was given to lead us to the Savior:
Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. (Galatians 3:24)
Abraham was justified by faith and faith alone as Paul recounts that “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6). Paul then emphatically states that no one is justified by the law when he says, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith” (Galatians 3:11, emphasis added). In fact, the Law was an impossible system for salvation because to break any of it even only once meant to break the whole Law:
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10)
James reiterates the power of the Law when he states: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). It is clear, therefore, that the Law has power, but not the power to save—unless of course a person keeps all of the Law, at every point, perfectly, and no one has ever done that (except Christ Who was sinless: e.g., 2 Corinthians 5:21). The power of the Law is to show us that because of sin, our righteousness is as filthy rags, and consequently we remain under the curse of the Law until we come to Christ. The Law demonstrates that, without question, we are in need of a Redeemer, and that is why in Old Testament law, lambs and bullocks were sacrificed year after year, not because they saved at all but because they served as a continual reminder of the need of a Savior who was to come. This is why the proclamation of the Gospel is so very important because, under God’s plan, the way of salvation comes in only one way.
For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. (Galatians 3:18)
When we think about it, the religions of the world think we can be saved by our own goodness or that we already have God’s divinity within and consequently have no need of a Savior. But God chose to show Abraham a different way, and all who come to God must come to Him in the same way:
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. (Genesis 17:4)
So, when God made Abraham a father of many nations, He made it clear that this covenant, based on faith in a promise (i.e., Christ the Redeemer), was to be available to all people everywhere. Then came the Law four hundred and thirty years later to direct everyone, like a schoolmaster, to their need of a Redeemer as it exposes our sinfulness. In this sense, the Law can be likened to the test equipment in a doctor’s office. After performing various tests, the doctor is able to identify a particular ailment, but the tests themselves have only exposed the problem and done nothing to render the cure. The doctor can then prescribe the proper medicine or refer the patient to a surgeon. Once that prescription or surgeon’s referral has been made, the patient is bound rather than cured by his doctor’s orders until the proper steps have been taken.
Likewise, we remain bound under the curse of the Law until we come to Christ. Then He, as the Great Physician, cleanses us from our sin and imparts new life in us. That is why the Scripture says:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
This is also why Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well:
Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13-14)
This woman was acquainted with the problem, but now she had found the cure.
Likewise, Jesus’ offer of “living water” (John 4:10) goes out to all people as He explained “whosoever” may come and drink of this water of life (Revelation 22:17). I find it rather puzzling, though, that while countless numbers from all over the world have found that water, many have the tendency to go back to the Law to find comfort and assurance there. Like the patient who is now cured but feels compelled to stay indefinitely in the doctor’s office or the hospital when all that doctor can really do is to test and prescribe. If the Great Physician has already cured us, why would we want to go back into the Law that was designed to diagnose but not to cure. Furthermore, the Law can never be fulfilled by adherence to a set of rules; that is why Paul said, “Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Romans 13:10). Somehow, we get to thinking that mechanically observing a set of rules pleases God, but God is concerned with the condition of our hearts. So, while we can fulfill the Law by love, we cannot do it by merely observing a set of rules. Like the patient holding the prescription, the Law is for those bound by sin, directing them to the Savior. The Law is good insomuch as it exposes our sin and brings us to our Savior, but it has no power to save. This is why Paul was so startled in hearing that the Galatians were going back into the Law and why he was compelled to write:
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:1-3)
Contrary to what many might teach, Paul was not offering the Galatians a license to sin, but a fundamental truth of Scripture – that the Christian life can only be lived out as that well of living water springs up from our hearts. It is imperative, however, that we be found in Christ because Jesus alone is that well from which the springs of life flow.
Jesus is that well of living water, offered freely to whosoever will invite Him into their lives and hearts to be Lord and Savior. To the unbeliever, He is the invitation, “let him that is athirst come” (Revelation 22:17). To the new believer, He is that new life where, “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). But to those who have known Christ for awhile, even a long while, He is the reminder to come back and be refreshed again to the only water that “shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). When we partake of that water, it does us much good. And when we share that water with others, it does no harm to our neighbor. It is the only water that is clean and pure and flows from the throne of God.
This is a great article! So filled with truth and so encouraging. I have just finished reading Peter’s letters to the early church, and his prophecy in 2 Peter, chapters 2 and 3, is like reading the Biblical warnings here! Strong meat, not for the faint of heart or those who can only tolerate milk. I encourage everyone here to read (or re-read) those chapters in the light of what is happening in the church world today.
T. I. Miller said : ” Justification is by faith alone apart from works. That could not be made any more clear. Sanctification has nothing to do with justification. Sanctification is not in any way about becoming more saved or maintaining salvation or regaining salvation. ” I agree completely. And because sanctification involves a believer’s choice to walk in the Spirit, it cannot be assumed that the fact of a person’s justification will guarantee that they will make the right choices. Therefore a person’s apparent behavior cannot be an indicator of their standing before God. Only God knows the heart. “According to Chas 1 Cor. must have been a complete waste of Pauls time.” T. I. Miller, that remark shows that you have misunderstood me completely. And the word you want is “drivel”, not “dribble”.
East is east and west is west. Justification is justification and sanctification is sanctification. Justification is by faith alone apart from works. That could not be made any more clear. Sanctification has nothing to do with justification. Sanctification is not in any way about becoming more saved or maintaining salvation or regaining salvation. Rather it is about the greatest command to love God with all our heart might mind soul to love Jesus above everyone and everything. (even our pet doctrines) Jesus said that those who love him will keep his commands. He went on to say I give you a new command to love one another. Even this has nothing to do with salvation with redemption with atonement. According to Chas 1 Cor. must have been a complete waste of Pauls time. Start to finish it was a rebuke of almost everything they were doing. Also the list of requirements for elders is useless dribble. The talk about walking in the spirit and the fruit of the spirit more useless dribble. Well, all scripture is God breathed all are equal. No verse cancels out another in proper hermenutical context for God is not the author of confusion.
vincent lyons, I’ve gone on at some length in this issue, not to bust your chops, but because it is so vitally important. You apparently don’t think you agree with the LS doctrine that I’d critiqued in my first post, yet all of the objections you raised are textbook Lordship Salvation talking points. They are a vivid illustration of the “Back Door LS” idea: “Okay, we don’t have to have good works to be saved, but a really saved person WILL have good works.” But that’s essentially the same as saying “A really saved person MUST have good works… only later.” The NECESSITY of good works for salvation is still there, but back-loaded. And sadly, I’m finding that such a view is probably the majority view among those who fervently claim to believe in “salvation by faith alone.” It’s a compromise that is fatal.
“It is surely not one’s own performance that is the indication of whether one is truly a Christian or not, but the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in the person.” That statement may seem reasonable on the surface, but it’s actually a direct contradiction. What is this “evidence” you look for if not a change in behavior, a change in performance, a “work”? Fact is, the working of the Holy Spirit in a person is in itself something that we cannot see. Only God knows the heart. Therefore a person’s behavior or performance–their works–cannot be an indicator of their standing before God. (Fellowship with God is another issue.) A believer in Christ CAN lack good works entirely, but that believer in Christ is still in Christ; saved eternally, because works do not figure into justification before God. As Paul said: “To the one who DOES NOT WORK, but believes in Him who justifies the UN-godly, his faith is reckoned for righteousness.” Our works don’t save us Our works don’t keep us saved. Our works don’t assure us of eternal life. The only valid assurance of eternal life that anybody has is the promise of God to anyone who believes in Christ. That’s enough for me.
“We all need to make sure that we have believed with the heart and that we have an anointing from the Holy One( 1 Jn 2 :20) and not some soulish experience” In that passage, John does not tell us “to make sure” of anything. He says that believers in Christ do in fact HAVE that anointing. We get that anointing by believing the Truth: in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross; that it is not only necessary, but TOTALLY SUFFICIENT. No subsequent “proof” in the form of behavioral change or any other work is needed. That is what “faith alone in Christ alone” means (Romans 4:4,5). I agree with you completely about the invalidity of having “some soulish experience”. Trouble is, LS-ers insist on the need to have “repented with genuine sorrow” and other such emotional, soulish experiences to be “genuinely saved” (as though one could be saved UN-genuinely). Like I said, LS is a big part of the problem.
“Does not Scripture say in Mt 7:16 that by their fruits you will know them…” Matthew 7:16 refers to FALSE PROPHETS (vs. 15), not to wayward believers. The “fruits” of these false prophets are not their WORKS, but their WORDS, and the words of their followers. Btw, vincent lyons, you’ve probably noticed that I’m responding to your post point-by point. I’m doing this in separate posts because there seems to be a word limit for each post. Thank you for bearing with me.
“Gal 5 : 22–25 declares the obvious expected evidence in a believer’s life.” That passage speaks of the fruit of the Spirit which is the desired outcome of walking in the Spirit. Nowhere does Paul say that such outcomes are AUTOMATIC or GUARANTEED in a believer’s life. If they were automatic or guaranteed, there would be no need for Paul’s exhortations.
” In James 2:17 it declares that faith by itself if it does not have works is dead.” James wrote a letter to believers exhorting them to exhibit their faith in practical ways. It is not a tutorial on how to receive eternal life. By “faith without works is dead”, James is referring to practical, visible effects. He does not say that faith without works is non-existent or not real. James speaks of justification before MEN, not before God. This is evident when we note that James says that Abraham was justified when he offered up Isaac. Paul says that Abraham was justified when he “believed God” long BEFORE that, even before Isaac was born (Romans 4:3) Did God contradict Himself ? No, because Paul speaks of justification before God (Romans 4:1)–which brings eternal life. James speaks of justification in the eyes of men, which has nothing to do with a person’s standing before God.
vincent lyons said : “In Acts 26:20 Paul says that through the preaching of the gospel the Gentiles should repent, turn to God, and to works befitting repentance.” Again, the context of the passage is key. Paul is talking about the Gentiles’ need to change their minds about Jesus. In verses 22 and 23, Paul noted that the only thing he proclaimed was that Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead and show light unto the people, and unto the Gentiles. There is no “turning from sins” in his message. So in this passage, saving repentance is equivalent to believing the gospel message, not “turning from sin” Yes they SHOULD do “works befitting repentance”, but those works themselves are not repentance, are not required to receive eternal life and do not constitute proof of eternal life.
vincent lyons said : Guest 23 hrs ago ” In Acts 20:21 he spoke of testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. How then can one say that turning from sin is not an integral part of the gospel?” Repentance does not equal “turning from sin”. As I said, repentance is a change of mind. The object of the change of mind depends on the context in which the word is used. In Acts 20:21, Paul talks about changing one’s mind about God–one’s self-righteous (Jews) or pagan (Gentiles) concept of God–and to then believe on Jesus for salvation. Paul does not speak of “turning from sin”. in that passage.
You are saved by faith alone in Christ Alone. It is the root in Christ that gives you your assurance of everlasting life. If your looking at your fruit or the fruit of another, all your doing is having the assurance through behavior not Trust in the finished work of Christ. That is not believing in what Christ did for you,That is adding your works for assurance. You should strive for fruit, but that only happens when you walk in the spirit instead of the flesh. The church at Corinth was full of believers who were not producing fruit, but where saved. Admitting to God the Father that you are as he sees you, a sinner. Believe/trust in Jesus sacrifice/payment of your sin, on your behalf and the promise of everlasting life, and you will be given and sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. The Blood on the doorpost saved, Abraham believed in Gods promises, and his faith was counted as righteousness. We now believe in what Jesus did for us, and what he is going to do for Us. Stop looking at the fruit for assurance, and look back at the cross. Ninety percent or higher of so called Christian Churches are preaching Galatianism to the Gospel message.That is not the Good News, that is not how you are saved. It is always been by faith. Jesus said the Gate is Narrow and Few will find it.
It is surely not one’s own performance that is the indication of whether one is truly a Christian or not, but the evidence of the Holy Spirit working in the person. I certainly do not believe that a born- again Christian can lose their salvation but I do believe that there are many professing faith who have never been born of God and these are the ones who have to have ‘other doctrines’. We all need to make sure that we have believed with the heart and that we have an anointing from the Holy One( 1 Jn 2 :20) and not some soulish experience. Does not Scripture say in Mt 7:16 that by their fruits you will know them, and Gal 5 : 22–25 declares the obvious expected evidence in a believer’s life. In James 2:17 it declares that faith by itself if it does not have works is dead. True faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ produces everlasting change in these who have turned from wickedness to Christ and that was the expectation of the Word of God. In Acts 26:20 Paul says that through the preaching of the gospel the Gentiles should repent, turn to God, and to works befitting repentance. In Acts 20:21 he spoke of testifying to Jews and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. How then can one say that turning from sin is not an integral part of the gospel?
“I find it rather puzzling, though…… many have the tendency to go back to the Law to find comfort and assurance there. ” On the surface it might seem puzzling. But when one considers what is being preached nowadays about “giving your life to Christ”, “committing your life to God” or “turning from sin” etc. as being required to receive eternal life, it’s no wonder people fixate on their own performance as confirmation of whether or not they are “really saved”, then burn out. But such is the result of preaching “Lordship Salvation” (LS), the unbiblical notion that “repentance” in salvation means “turning from sin”, “making Jesus the Lord of your life” or any of the other extra requirements tacked on to simple faith in Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. Repentance is simply a change of mind. That is the meaning of the Greek word “metanoia”. In salvation it refers to changing one’s mind about Jesus, acknowledging that He is Lord (God in human flesh) and abandoning all hope in one’s own efforts to be saved. If anything is “turned from” it isn’t sin, but self-reliance. A sinner then “believes in Christ”, relying on His saving work alone. (LS) is the Galatianism of our time. Many churchgoers need to repent of THAT.