The Spiritual Revolution of Jesus Christ

The Spiritual Revolution of Jesus Christ
and How the False Church
Opposes It (Pt. 3)

By William Handschumacher

A Rock of Offence Special Commentary

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This is part 3 of a six-part Bible study.
To access the other parts click on the
appropriate link below:

Part 1 ----- Part 2 ----- Part 4

Part 5 ----- Part 6

Return To Home Page

Return To Basics of Salvation Page
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After the cross, God accepts
one group, but rejects the
other

In Romans 8:1-4, Saint Paul is contrasting the two major doctrines of the Bible - and the different administrations they represent. The Bible translators followed Paul's example by placing special index pages that separated our Bible into two parts; the Old and New Testament (often referred to as the Old and New Covenant). Scripture also refers to these two major covenants as "the first covenant and the second covenant". This division exists as a warning that the New Testament must be treated differently than what existed previously. The Old or 'first covenant' was established by God with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai - and exclusively applies to the Jewish people. But, the New or 'second covenant' was established through the crucifixion of Christ at the cross - with all earthly believers (known as the Church and the Body of Christ) ... and contains no special racial requirements.

Notice that Romans 8:1 states: "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." Also notice that this 'exemption from condemnation' only applies to those who are 'in Christ Jesus' - and not to those who "walk according to the flesh" ... which is a direct reference to the group who embraces "the law of sin and death" mentioned in the next verse. 'Condemnation' is a Biblical term used to describe God's judgment (involving punishment in hell) - brought against all those who commit sin. It generally applies to those living under the Old Testament program who sinned and disobeyed the Law. Yet, Paul reveals that God now handles 'condemnation' in a different way after Christ's New Covenant (or 'the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus') begins to govern after the cross. As a result, these verses not only reveal one of the most important spiritual benefits of the Church, but also sounds this warning ...

The "professing Christians" who embrace the Law - or what Paul refers to as "the law of sin and death" - are not exempt, but remain under God's condemnation; also referred to as "the curse". This horrific condition often occurs without their knowledge. Paul sounds the exact same warning to the Galatian Church ...

"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.” YET THE LAW IS NOT OF FAITH..." (Galatians 3:10-12 - Emphasis Added)

Paul contines ...

"You have become estranged (separated or cut-off) from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; YOU HAVE FALLEN FROM GRACE." (Galatians 5:4)

According to Paul, "walking according to the flesh" is tied to "the law of sin and death" (or Old Testament Law).

Why does God condemn those
who choose to live their
Christian life in this way?

The law of sin and death (Old Testament Law) represents the way God previously operated before His Son's sacrificial death. As part of this sacrifice, Scripture reveals that Jesus fulfilled the Law and took it 'out of the way', which is why it is now declared to be "obsolete". Therefore, as a result of Christ's finished work at the cross, a new administration begins - governed by "the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus" - or the New Covenant.

Here's the problem:

Those who choose to "walk according to the flesh" are attempting to obtain salvation (eternal life) through a conditional 'works-based program' that the cross of Christ made obsolete. Even worse, their decision actually represents a denial of the New Covenant that Jesus established through the shedding of His blood. This is similar to illegally driving on an expired license ... and telling the police officer; "You're wrong to arrest me because I'm a good person". Such individuals should expect to be condemned by the courts ... just as those who try to obtain salvation through a now obsolete spiritual program should expect God's condemnation.

Many in the 'law of sin and death group' (or what is also known as Galatian religion) claim that the New Covenant is just 'an extension or continuation of Old Testament Law' ... where both remain in force. But, Paul exposes this popular belief to be false by saying ...

"The law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus (the
new - or second covenant)
has set me free from the
law of sin and death (the
old - or first covenant)".
(Romans 8:2)

Then later states:

"In that He (Jesus Christ)
says, “a new covenant,” He
has made the first obsolete.
Now what is becoming
obsolete and growing old
is ready to vanish away."
(Hebrews 8:13)

Four failures that allow
the 'false Jesus' of
Galatian Religion to
dominate the Church

Failure #1
The Failure to obey Saint Paul's
command to; "Contend earnestly
for the faith."

"Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:3-4)

The Bible reveals that there is a type of division that carries God's approval. The New Testament refers to it as; 'Contending earnestly for the faith'. This type of 'contention and division' is designed to keep false doctrines and heresies out of the Church. But, it also offends many tithe-paying church members who may decide to fellowship somewhere else if their beliefs aren't supported.

Our Heavenly Father always places the truth of His Word above unity. He rejects the popular idea of seeking unity (and avoiding offense) by accommodating almost anything that carries the 'Christian' label. As a result, God demands that truth, regardless of who it offends - is preached first. This causes those who love and seek truth to 'unify' around it. But, it also may anger those who insist on embracing religious falsehood and unbiblical traditions. This Divine method of achieving unity is rarely used, since it runs contrary to the ministry plans of many (but thankfully not all) church leaders today. This failure to "contend earnestly for the faith" is the reason Galatian religion, Calvinism and all of its countless expressions have dominated the Christian Church since the Protestant Reformation. The only serious challenge to its reign has been Evangelicalism, which is now in decline for reasons previously discussed.

Failure #2
Failing to obey Saint Paul's command
to 'rightly divide the Word of God.'

"Be diligent to present yourself approved of God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly (or correctly) dividing the Word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15 -- Emphasis Added)

Paul gave this command to Timothy (and all Christians living today) because Scripture contains two different covenant programs, where each is governed by a completely different set of principles and laws (See Galatians 4:21-31). This means that the Bible is never to treated as having only one program of faith ... but must be treated as a 'divided book' consisting of two separate programs. Why is this important? The cross of Christ changed all of the previous Old Testament rules governing salvation. This is why the Bible translators inserted special title pages (which were not included in the original ancient manuscripts) ... that separates Scripture into its two major components; the Old and New Testaments (or the Old and New Covenants). Saint Paul refers to this practice of keeping the Holy Scriptures separated as; 'rightly (or correctly) dividing the Word".

However, a vast majority of Christians are taught to handle Scripture 'undivided'. As a result, when discussing or debating certain Bible topics they believe it's acceptable to pull passages from anywhere - as long as it's 'in the book' - to argue their position. They reason ... "After all - it's all God's Word, isn't it?" Yet, God has designed His Word with a specific context that must be observed. If we ignore or distort this context and treat Scripture "undivided" it immediately leads us into one of the most dangerous heresies found within Christendom - often without our knowledge.

Galatian religion expressed through
both Calvinism and Catholicism
(under Augustine) depends on this
"undivided" methodology of
interpreting Scripture to defend
its teachings.

Failure #3
Making the common mistake of
thinking that everyone who
claims to be a committed
Christian worships and loves
the same Jesus.

In an effort to achieve this "unity at any cost" (previously mentioned), many church leaders object to any divisive arguments about the true nature of the Gospel - which is a function of Paul's command to "contend earnestly for faith". You will often hear them say; "We are all God's children and worship the same Jesus" ... and for that reason we should not argue over 'differences of opinion'. Saint Paul knew that this particular defense would be used. This is why he deliberately chose the term "another Jesus" to describe the 'counterfeit Jesus' preached by various brands and flavors of Galatian religion - which also includes the works-based salvation of Calvinism and Augustine's Roman Catholicism. Contrary to popular Christian opinion, Paul warned that those who embrace this doctrine serve 'another Jesus' ... who is not the same Jesus loved and worshipped by those who have authentic Grace-based faith in Christ. The authentic Jesus provides eternal life as God's unmerited gift ... but the "other Jesus" does not. Saint Paul referred to those who follow this "other Jesus" as false brethren - or false Christians.

In his warning to the Galatian
Church, Paul said it this way ...

"...And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the Gospel might continue with you." (Galatians 2:4-5)

In this passage, Paul is giving
us an example of what it means to
"contend for the faith".

Failure #4
A failure to understand that the
various types of theology
found throughout church history
should never be used to define
the tenants that govern true faith
in Christ. No doctrine or theology
is to be considered 'Godly and
true' simply because it's old
and historic.

No rational student of the Bible will allow history (or those who write it) to determine what's true and false for the Christian Church. Yet, this view dominates the teachings of many theologians. Some of the worst Christian heresies and false traditions are thousands of years old and were popular for extended periods of time. In this study, we previously learned about one of these heresies which was condemned by the 'First Jerusalem Apostolic Council' in Acts chapter 15. Today, this 'historic' heresy has been adopted by various mainline denominations. This is why God commanded that His Word (the Scriptures) should be our only authority for determining the tenants that govern true faith in Christ.

Several decades ago the term "Historical Christianity" was popularized. It was generally understood to mean 'God's original theology believed and practiced by the apostles of the early church'. Some church leaders also applied this same definition to the term 'Biblical Christianity'. On the surface, both terms seem to perfectly describe authentic Christian faith. However, they are only correct if those using these terms are preaching the same 'New Covenant doctrine of Christ' as the original early church apostles. This especially includes Saint Paul, who God appointed as His official custodian of these truths. Unfortunately, the terms began to be applied to Calvinism and its closely related doctrine of Reformed theology, which are two of the many variants of Galatian religion. Gradually, Calvinism began to assume the role of 'Historical Christianity'. The danger here is obvious. Unless they are properly warned, new and inexperienced Christians can hear teachings labeled as "Historical Christianity" - and simply receive them as Divine truth. However, what they have unknowingly received is a brand of Galatian religion - a dangerous spiritual counterfeit.

This is a good example of how Calvinism (and Galatian religion) spreads its influence. They either create, or in some cases hijack good sounding names and labels to trick people into accepting their counterfeit Christian doctrine.

The One Critical Test
for Correct Christian
Theology - According
to Saint Paul

There are a lot of reasons
people choose a particular
church or denomination.

Some of these might be ...

They believe and teach the Bible

They preach the Gospel

The Pastor and the congregation loves and serves Jesus

The Pastor is sincere, loving and kind

They have a beautiful church building

They have inspirational worship and praise

They provide character-building programs for children

They support foreign missions

They help the poor and needy

They reach out to the community

They believe in traditional family values

However, if one crucial truth is either missing or rejected - the church that possesses all these wonderful attributes is, in God's eyes, existing in a state of unrealized apostasy.

This one key truth is whether
they truly believe (and teach)
that Jesus fulfilled the
entire Law of the Old
Testament, nailed it to the
cross ... and therefore took
it out of the way.

Saint Paul commanded all Christians to "test themselves" to make sure they were walking in the true faith of Christ ... in order to avoid being disqualified (2 Corinthians 13:5). However, this test also applies to church organizations, denominations and movements. As we previously discovered in this study, there are two different kinds of faith in the Bible; a faith based on the works of Old Testament law - and an unmerited faith in Christ that does not require works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 4:4-8, Titus 3:5-7). Before the cross, the first kind of faith (listed above) was the only one God accepted. But, after the cross, the first kind of faith becomes 'obsolete' ... and the second kind of faith, based on His Son's 'New Covenant', is now the only one God accepts (Hebrews 8:13, Galatians 3:10-12, Galatians 5:4).

This is one of the most important
'tests' in the New Testament. It
literally determines whether anyone
who professes to be a Christian
actually possesses New Testament
salvation or is just ...

'a Christian in name only'.

In the remaining parts of this
study, we reveal the details,
from the New Testament Scriptures,
of this most important aspect of
the finished work of Christ.

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This is part 3 of a six-part Bible study.
To access the other parts click on the
appropriate link below:

Part 1 ----- Part 2 ----- Part 4

Part 5 ----- Part 6

Return To Home Page

Return To Basics of Salvation Page
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