Introduction
The message
of faithfulness to God was declared from the beginning by the Son of God
through the creation itself. It was later proclaimed to Abraham, and again to
God’s people under Moses. And it was the message preached by the Son of God in
the flesh. Salvation is by faithfulness to God in submitting to His only
begotten Son Jesus Christ—obeying His commandments, trusting Him, agreeing with
Him, and suffering for His sake.
The message
of “faith alone” conceived about 500 years ago during the Protestant
Reformation isn’t the message the Son of God preached. Its purpose all along is
to be just another means of keeping people on the broad way that leads to
annihilation, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction
[annihilation], and many there be
which go in thereat: Because strait is
the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and
few there be that find it” (Mat 7:13-14).
The
message of faithfulness from the beginning
God’s message
of salvation from the beginning is faithfulness to Him through His Son Jesus
Christ. In the creation account narrative, He showed that He would choose a
people to Himself, separate them from all other people, and seat His Son at His
right hand to rule over them and advocate to God the Father on their behalf. His
people would be saved by their faithfulness in submission and obedience to His
purpose and plan from the beginning.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the
face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And
God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided [badal] the light from the darkness. And God
called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
(Genesis 1:1-5)
The Hebrew
verb badal means “to divide,” “to
separate,” or “to sever.” These very first words of God were figurative and
prophetic of what He would later perform by dividing, separating, or severing
His people from all other people, “I am
the LORD your God, which have separated
[badal] you from other people … have severed
[badal] you from other people, that ye should be mine” (Lev 20:24, 26). God’s
people would be light which He called “Day,” and all other people darkness
which He called “Night.” Then God proceeded to distinguish them both by the
ruler over them.
And God said, Let there be lights in
the firmament of the heaven to divide [badal] the day from the night; and
let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them
be for lights in the firmament of the
heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great
lights; the greater light to rule the
day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them
in the firmament of the heaven to
give light upon the earth, And to rule
over the day and over the night, and to divide [badal] the light from
the darkness: and God saw that it was
good. (Genesis 1:14-18)
This is what
Paul meant by “in heavenly” at the beginning of Ephesians: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [epouranios] places in Christ: According as he
hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in
love” (Eph 1:3-4). God’s chosen people were shown by the Greater Light in
heaven ruling over them while all other people are ruled by the lesser light, “For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [epouranios] places”
(Eph 6:12), “For ye were sometimes darkness,
but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Eph 5:8). The
Greater Light shown in the beginning is now sitting at the right hand of God,
greater and far above all principalities and powers, “Which he wrought in
Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in
the heavenly [epouranios] places, Far above all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named,
not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph 1:20-21).
Salvation,
therefore, is by faithfulness. It’s becoming one of God’s people, separated
from all other people by faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ at God’s right
hand in heaven. It’s being ruled by Him in faithful submission—obeying Him,
trusting Him, agreeing with Him, and suffering for Him.
Abraham’s
faithfulness
“And it came
to pass after these things, that God did
tempt [test] Abraham” (Gen 22:1).
Abraham’s faithfulness was tested and proven.
And the angel [messenger] of the LORD called unto
him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou
any thing unto him: for now I know that
thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up
his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him
a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and
offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham called
the name of that place Jehovahjireh [Yehovah Yireh]: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen. (Genesis 22:11-14).
The Messenger
of the Lord—the Son of God in heaven—saw Abraham’s faithfulness by his actions.
James said, “shew me thy faith [faithfulness]
without thy works [actions], and I
will shew thee my faith [faithfulness]
by my works [actions] … Was not
Abraham our father justified by works [actions],
when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?” (Jas 2:18, 21). The Hebrew Yehovah Yireh means “the existing One
sees.” And this is what we were told in the beginning, “And God saw [ra’ah] the light, that it was good” (Gen 1:4). God hid in a
mystery the message of faithfulness—that He sees the light when He sees the faithful
actions of His people. There was nobody on that mountain to see Abraham’s
sacrifice except, of course, the existing One, “In the mount of the LORD it shall be seen” (Gen 22:14).
Faithfulness consists of sacrifices made that nobody but God sees.
And the angel [messenger] of the LORD called unto
Abraham out of heaven the second time, And said, By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for
because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will
multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed
shall possess the gate of his enemies. And in thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed
my voice. (Genesis 22:15-18)
As God’s
people hoping in the promises made to Abraham, we partake of the same heavenly
calling when our faithfulness is tested and proven, “Wherefore, holy [separated] brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling,
consider the Apostle [apostolos] and High Priest of our
profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as
also Moses was faithful in all his
house” (Heb 3:1-2). The Greek apostolos
is someone that is sent or a messenger. In this case, it’s the Messenger of the
Lord—the Son of God sent from God the Father.
Five times in
Hebrews the Son of God is said to be seated at the right hand of God: “sat down
on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb 1:3); “Sit on my right hand,
until I make thine enemies thy footstool” (Heb 1:13); “who is set on the right
hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (Heb 8:1); “sat down on the
right hand of God” (Heb 10:12); “and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God” (Heb 12:2). That we’re “partakers of the heavenly calling,” is
that when our faithfulness is tested, we’re blessed with the same calling from
heaven as Abraham, “And the angel [messenger]
of the LORD called unto him out of
heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham”
(Gen 22:11). Our Advocate at the right hand of God in heaven, calls us by name
and blesses us, “So then they which be of faith
[faithfulness] are blessed with faithful
Abraham” (Gal 3:9).
The
faithfulness once delivered unto the separated
Beloved, when I gave all diligence to
write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto
you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith [faithfulness] which was once delivered
unto the saints [separated]. For
there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to
this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the
grace [favor] of our God into
lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. I
will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of
the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed [trusted] not. (Jude 1:3-5)
When Jude said, “earnestly contend for the faith [faithfulness] which was once delivered
unto the saints [separated]” (Jud
1:3), he wasn’t talking about a body of doctrinal beliefs that was delivered to
the early church by the apostles, but the faithfulness that had been delivered
to God’s people in the Exodus, “the Lord, having saved the people out of the
land of Egypt” (Jud 1:5). God delivered His people from slavery, separated them
from all other people to favor them, and began teaching them faithfulness to
Him as soon as they
crossed the Red Sea.
So Moses brought Israel
from the Red sea, and
they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water. And
when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it
was called Marah. And the people
murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? (Exodus 15:22-24)
This was the first of a series of hardships orchestrated by
God to test and prove their faithfulness to Him, “and there he proved them” (Exo 15:25). However, they
didn’t trust Him but continually complained, “And the whole congregation of the
children of Israel murmured against
Moses and Aaron in the wilderness” (Exo 16:2), “the LORD heareth your
murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD”
(Exo 16:8), “And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from
the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of
the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to
drink” (Exo 17:1), “And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses”
(Exo 17:3). These tests of their faithfulness continued a total of ten times
until culminating with their failure to trust God to defeat their enemies in
the promised land.
Because
all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt
and in the wilderness, and have tempted
me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice … How
long shall I bear with this evil
congregation, which murmur against me?
I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they murmur against me. Say unto them, As truly as I live, saith the LORD, as ye have spoken in mine ears,
so will I do to you: Your carcases shall
fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your
whole number, from twenty years old and upward, which have murmured against me. (Numbers 14:22, 27-29)
Their unfaithfulness was cited as an example to us, “For
unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached
did not profit them, not being mixed
with faith [faithfulness] in them
that heard it” (Heb 4:2). The vast
majority of God’s people joined themselves with those that brought up the evil
report and not with the faithful—namely Joshua and Caleb—that trusted God. This
is “the faith [faithfulness] which was once delivered
unto the saints [separated]” (Jde
1:3).
Many times God proved or tested His people’s faithfulness to
Him: “and there he proved [nacah] them” (Exo 15:25); “that I
may prove [nacah] them, whether they will walk in my law, or no” (Exo 16:4);
“God is come to prove [nacah] you” (Exo 20:20). It’s the same Hebrew word nacah as when He tested Abraham, “And it
came to pass after these things, that God
did tempt [nacah] Abraham” (Gen 22:1). The
difficulties He caused His people to suffer humbled them and proved what was in
their hearts, “And thou
shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in
the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove [nacah] thee, to know what was
in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deu
8:2), “Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not,
that he might humble thee, and
that he might prove [nacah] thee,
to do thee good at thy latter end” (Deu 8:16).
God’s people
today are saved by the same faithfulness that was delivered to them. Therefore,
our faithfulness is also tested, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall
into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith
[faithfulness] worketh patience”
(Jas 1:2-3), “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be,
ye are in heaviness through manifold
temptations: That the trial of your faith [faithfulness], being much more precious than of gold that
perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour
and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1Pe 1:6-7).
The
good message of Jesus Christ
The Greek euangelion translated as “gospel” means
“good message.” It’s the message that Jesus Christ preached: “preaching the
gospel [euangelion] of the kingdom”
(Mat 4:23; Mar 1:14); “gospel [euangelion]
of Christ” (1Co 9:18; 2Co 4:4, 9:13, 10:14; Gal 1:7; 1Th 3:2); “Christ’s gospel
[euangelion]” (2Co 2:12); “gospel [euangelion] of our Lord Jesus Christ”
(2Th 1:8).
The message
Jesus Christ preached is that we’re to obey His commandments: “For I say unto
you, That except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the
scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven”
(Mat 5:20); “Therefore whosoever heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them ... And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth
them not” (Mat 7:24, 26); “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mat 28:20); “If
ye love me, keep my commandments”
(Jhn 14:15); “He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” (Jhn 14:21); “Ye
are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you” (Jhn 15:14).
The good
message isn’t “faith alone” or just believing some facts are true—it’s
obedience to the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ: “But they have not all obeyed the gospel [euangelion]” (Rom 10:16); “that obey not the gospel [euangelion] of our Lord Jesus
Christ” (2Th 1:8); “eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (Heb 5:9); “what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel [euangelion]
of God” (1Pe 4:17).
In whom the god of this world hath
blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel [euangelion] of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and
ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined
in our hearts, to give the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians
4:4-6)
Paul taught
that when God said “Let there be light: and there was light” (Gen 1:3), that it
was figurative and prophetic of the good message Jesus Christ would preach
4,000 years later. The truth He taught and the commandments He gave made a
clear division between God’s people and everyone else, “and God divided the light from the darkness. And
God called the light Day, and
the darkness he called Night”
(Gen 1:4-5). God’s people are ruled by His Son Jesus Christ, “the greater light to rule the day,
and the lesser light to rule the
night” (Gen 1:16). The gospel message from the beginning is that we
must be one of God’s people, separated from the world by the hagios pneuma or separated breath of God
in our hearts and keeping the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being
ruled by Him.
Paul quoted from Psalm 19 about the gospel, “How beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the
gospel [euangelion] of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things ... Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and
their words unto the ends of the world” (Rom 10:15, 18). The creation
itself has been preaching the good message of the Greater Light ruling over the
day and the lesser light ruling over the night, “Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor
language, where their voice is
not heard. Their line is gone out
through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them
hath he set a tabernacle for the sun”
(Psa 19:2-4). Every day and night for 6,000 years—almost 2.2 million times—the
gospel has been preached to all people regardless of language by the orbiting
and rotation of the sun, earth, and moon. Salvation is a change of master, from
being ruled by the lesser light to being ruled by the Greater Light.
This is also
what the apostle John taught, “In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the light shineth in darkness; and
the darkness comprehended it not” (Jhn 1:1, 5). The light shone in the darkness
by Christ preaching His good message in fulfillment of “Let there be light: and
there was light” (Gen 1:3). He is “the greater
light to rule the day” (Gen 1:16), “There was a man sent from God,
whose name was John. The same came
for a witness, to bear witness of the
Light, that all men through him
might believe [trust]. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light,
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” (Jhn 1:6-9).
Jesus
Christ taught faithfulness
Jesus taught that we must be faithful servants to Him as our
Lord: “The disciple is not above his
master, nor the servant above his lord”
(Mat 10:24); “Who then is a faithful and wise servant,
whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due
season?” (Mat 24:45); “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and
faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make
thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Mat 25:21);
“His lord said unto him, Well done, good
and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will
make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Mat
25:23); “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord,
and do not the things which I say?” (Luk 6:46); “And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward,
whom his lord shall make ruler over
his household, to give them their
portion of meat in due season?” (Luk 12:42); “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s,
who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters”
(Luk 16:12-13); “So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which
are commanded you, say, We are
unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do” (Luk
17:10); “And he said unto him, Well,
thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have
thou authority over ten cities” (Luk 19:17).
Jesus taught faithfulness toward God, “Therefore leaving the
principles of the doctrine of Christ,
let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance
from dead works, and of faith [faithfulness] toward God” (Heb 6:1).
He healed and forgave the people’s sins that were faithful to God in receiving
Him as their Messiah: “When Jesus heard it, he marvelled, and said to them that
followed, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith [faithfulness], no,
not in Israel” (Mat 8:10); “And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the
palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith [faithfulness] said
unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee”
(Mat 9:2); “But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter,
be of good comfort; thy faith [faithfulness] hath made thee whole”
(Mat 9:22); “And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him,
crying, and saying, Thou Son of David,
have mercy on us … Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith [faithfulness]
be it unto you” (Mat 9:27, 29); “Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O
woman, great is thy faith [faithfulness]: be it unto thee even
as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour” (Mat 15:28).
Jesus taught the fear of God, “And fear not them which kill
the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell” (Mat 10:28), “But I will forewarn
you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath
power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto
you, Fear him” (Luk 12:5).
Jesus knows our actions, “I know thy works [actions]” (Rev 2:2, 9, 13, 19, 3:1, 8,
15), and will render to us accordingly, “I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of
you according to your works [actions]” (Rev 2:23). As with
Abraham, He sees our faithfulness by our actions.
Jesus was teaching
faithfulness when He said, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have
done it unto me … Verily I say unto
you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these,
ye did it not to me” (Mat 25:40, 45).
We’re going to be judged, not by how we treated those esteemed by society as
more important but “the least of these.” As James taught, “My brethren, have
not the faith [faithfulness] of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect
of persons” (Jas 2:1).
God routinely
tests our faithfulness and ultimately what’s in our hearts, “to humble thee, and to
prove thee, to know what was in thine
heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no” (Deu 8:2). At
the time it’s happening, we don’t even realize we’re being tested which is why
we’ll say later, “when saw we thee
an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty,
and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?” (Mat 25:37-39).
He puts us in situations, for example, where two people cross our path—one is
rich and influential while the other is poor and needy—and He is watching how
we treat them both. Our hearts are shown in how we treated the least esteemed,
“Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one
of the least of these my brethren, ye
have done it unto me.” Faithfulness
to Him is how we treated them.
The
just shall live by faithfulness
The Greek pistis appears about 250 times in the
New Testament and is almost always translated as “faith” but should be “faithfulness”
instead. The key statement that indicates this is Habakkuk 2:4, “but the person
of integrity will live because of his faithfulness”
(NET), “but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness” (NIV), “But the righteous will live by their faithfulness to God” (NLT). This is
quoted three times in the New Testament but as “The just shall live by faith [pistis]”
(Rom 1:17; Gal 3:11; Heb 10:38).
In Romans, Paul quoted Habakkuk indicating that he
understood “faithfulness” as the good message Jesus Christ preached, “For I am
not ashamed of the gospel [euangelion] of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth [trusts]; to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith [faithfulness] to faith [faithfulness]:
as it is written, The just shall live by
faith [faithfulness]” (Rom
1:16-17). And he reiterated this at the end of his letter, “Now to him that is
of power to stablish you according to my
gospel [euangelion], and the preaching of Jesus Christ”
(Rom 16:25).
The primary litmus test of “The just shall live by faith [faithfulness]” is the good message Jesus
Christ Himself preached: “Who then is a
faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season?” (Mat 24:45); “His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful
servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler
over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Mat 25:21); “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s,
who shall give you that which is your own? No
servant can serve two masters” (Luk 16:12-13); “And he said unto him, Well,
thou good servant: because thou hast
been faithful in a very little, have
thou authority over ten cities” (Luk 19:17).
Jesus taught
that most people are on the broad way that leads to annihilation while only a few
are on the narrow way that leads to eternal life, “Enter ye in at the strait gate:
for wide is the gate, and broad is
the way, that leadeth to destruction
[annihilation], and many there be which go in
thereat: Because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life [eternal life], and few there be that find it” (Mat
7:13-14). And the determining factor is either doing or not doing what He
commanded, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them … And every one that heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them
not” (Mat 7:24, 26). “The just shall live by faith [faithfulness],” is the good message
Christ preached that we will live—have eternal life—by the narrow way of faithfulness to
Him.
The
word is near you
For this commandment which I command
thee this day, it is not hidden from
thee, neither is it far off. It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest
say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it?
Neither is it beyond the sea, that
thou shouldest say, Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do it? But
the word is very nigh unto thee, in
thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
(Deuteronomy 30:11-14)
In these last
words to God’s people from Moses, he was referring to the instructions he had given
them to carry out once they entered the land, “These shall stand upon mount Gerizim to bless the people … And
these shall stand upon mount Ebal to
curse” (Deu 27:12-13), “Cursed be
he that confirmeth not all the words
of this law to do them. And all the
people shall say, Amen.” (Deu 27:26). And this they did under Joshua,
“half of them over against mount
Gerizim, and half of them over against mount
Ebal; as Moses the servant of the LORD had commanded before, that they
should bless the people of Israel. And
afterward he read all the words of the law, the blessings and cursings,
according to all that is written in the book of the law” (Jos 8:33-34). Since all
the people said “Amen” to the commandments they heard, the word was now in
their mouths! They couldn’t plead ignorance later for not doing because they had
affirmed from their mouths that they heard with their ears and understood with
their hearts. Paul quoted Moses and applied it to the faithfulness we are to have
toward the Lord Jesus Christ:
But the righteousness which is of faith [faithfulness]
speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven?
(that is, to bring Christ down from above:)
Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from
the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in
thy heart: that is, the word of
faith [faithfulness], which we
preach. That if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe [trust] in thine
heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. (Romans
10:6-9)
The hearing
and doing of which Moses spoke, “that we may hear it, and do it … in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it” (Deu 30:11-13),
was prophetic of hearing and doing the commandments of our Lord Jesus Christ, “Therefore
whosoever heareth these
sayings of mine, and doeth them
... And every one that heareth
these sayings of mine, and doeth them
not” (Mat 7:24, 26). Therefore, “That if thou shalt confess with thy
mouth the Lord Jesus” (Rom 10:9), isn’t a confession of faith but of
faithfulness. We’re essentially saying “Amen” from our mouths that we’ve heard
His commandments and we’ll do them.
Baptism is our
commitment to do everything Christ commanded, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you” (Mat 28:19-20). Being baptized into
His name means that we’ve died to our name and have committed ourselves unto
death glorifying and defending His. It’s confessing our commitment to
faithfulness, then keeping that commitment.
The
Protestant Reformation
Paul’s last words about the time that would come have indeed
developed into the condition of the church today, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine;
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having
itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables [mythos]” (2Ti 4:3-4). The Greek
noun mythos is where our English
“myths” is derived. The teaching of Protestant churches that God is a Trinity
of Persons, man is an immortal spirit being, and salvation is by faith are
simply myths cloaked as the truth.
The
Protestant Reformation was an apparent split from the Roman Catholic Church
(RCC) about 500 years ago and is hailed as the point where the church finally
returned to “the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jde 1:3).
However, it wasn’t a reforming at all but a rebranding. The Reformation kept
the same wrong view of God and man, then simply formulated another wrong gospel
message out of it. Protestant churches today are essentially the RCC rebranded
under a new name and image with a new message—the same “product” but new
packaging.
The
Reformation also wasn’t a protest but was by agency and design of the RCC. Its
own Martin Luther appeared to lead a dissent from the mother church after
having come to the “enlightenment” that justification is by faith. The true
intent of this event, however, was that in the course of diverting everyone’s
attention to the noble endeavor of getting the gospel message right, it was
covertly reinforcing the Trinitarian view of God as right! In other words, it
was a deflection from the underlying issue while buttressing it in the process.
Though both sides have been hotly debating for hundreds of years whether
salvation is by faith plus works or by faith alone, hardly a peep has been
chirped about the correct view of God. This was never in question. Fighting
passionately against the things that were wrong left the false and fatal
impression that everything else was substantially right.
A false view
of God and a false view of man can only result in a false view of salvation. The
Protestant doctrine of justification by “faith alone” is just as false and
damning as the RCC doctrine of “faith plus works” because it’s based upon the
same underlying false view of God and man. It only sounds more appealing
because it’s the view that supposedly glorifies the finished work of Christ on
the cross by excluding our meritorious works. But in reality, working versus believing
is a fabricated false dichotomy—an artificial antithesis concocted to
support “faith alone” teaching.
There
is no working versus believing juxtaposition in Scripture because all
three of the main passages used for support are about the Law of Moses versus
the faithfulness of Jesus Christ:
“For no
one is declared righteous before him by
the works [actions] of the law,
for through the law comes the knowledge of sin. But now apart from the law
the righteousness of God (although it is attested by the law and the prophets)
has been disclosed—namely, the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there
is no distinction” (Rom 3:20-22 NET)
“yet
we know that no one is justified by the
works [actions] of the law but by the
faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus,
so that we may be justified by the
faithfulness of Christ and not by the works [actions] of the law, because by the works of the law no one
will be justified.” (Gal 2:16 NET)
“and
be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that
comes by way of Christ’s faithfulness—a
righteousness from God that is in fact based
on Christ’s faithfulness” (Phi 3:9 NET).
The doctrine
of “faith alone” is a dangerous double-edged sword in that it not only falsely assures
of salvation by simply believing some facts are true, but also discourages
obedience to Christ’s commandments—the good message of salvation He preached—as
trying to save ourselves by our merit. The doctrine of
“faith alone” conjoined with once-saved-always-saved is aimed at diminishing
the fear of the Lord and promoting unfaithfulness because if salvation is by
believing some facts are true and salvation can never be reversed, then there
isn’t much reason to fear God as Jesus warned, “fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell”
(Mat 10:28), “Fear him, which
after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luk 12:5). Add to all of this the myth of being
born with a depraved sinful nature that prevents anyone from living
righteously, and the masses are kept marching devotedly down the broad way
leading to destruction.
Initiatives
to keep people on the broad way
The
Reformation wasn’t about finding the narrow way but keeping people from finding
it. As the Bible was beginning to be translated and released to the world, it was
an initiative to continue the containment of the truth under the fog of myths.
Its goal was to expunge God’s people from the plan of salvation thereby leaving
a vacuum to change the message of salvation from faithfulness to faith.
The
Reformation effectively displaced God’s people from the New Testament by three
main tactics. First, it suppressed and concealed “the faith [faithfulness] which was once delivered
unto the saints [separated]” (Jde 1:3),
by turning it into the concept of a body of doctrinal beliefs delivered to the
church by the apostles. And that body of beliefs is the systematic theology they
teach, a system that is foreign and disconnected from the promise made to Abraham
and hope of God’s people.
Second, it directed
Bible translations that shrouded God’s people by rendering vocabulary about them
with generic or inaccurate words: ekklesia
as “church” instead of “assembly” or “congregation,” eklektos as “elect” instead of “chosen,” charis as “grace” instead of “favor,” pistis as “faith” instead of “faithfulness,” pisteuo as “believe” instead of “trust,” ergon as “works” instead of “actions,” hagios as “holy” or “saints” instead of “separated,” and pneuma as “spirit” instead of “breath.”
It’s not that they just got a word or two wrong by mistake. The consistent
pattern and genre of “mistakes” betrays their agenda.
Third, it formulated
the ideology of Calvinism to suppress doctrines about God’s chosen people. God elected
who will be saved rather than chose a people to Himself. God predestined each
individual rather than predetermined to adopt children to Himself through His
Son Jesus Christ. God has foreknowledge of the future rather than knows His
people in time past. And God chose in eternity past before the creation of the
world rather than showing His chosen people in a mystery before casting down
the system.
Besides these
initiatives to remove God’s people from the Scriptures, Protestant leaders
enforce their control by Trinitarian seminaries training and commissioning the
pastors that oversee the churches, sending and supporting missionaries bound to
their Trinitarian organizations, and maintaining Bible translation groups using
only the Alexandrian tradition of manuscripts and ensuring the finished product
conforms to their theological system.
Probably the
most disheartening and discouraging undertaking is their missions efforts cloaked
as a virtuous endeavor to bring the gospel to the unreached when it’s just a
sinister scheme to poison the well. They arrive first with their myths so that
the people will turn away their ears from the truth when it ever comes, “And
they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and
shall be turned unto fables [mythos]” (2Ti 4:4). They masquerade
as chauffeurs of the narrow way only to drive people down the broad way.
Deceiving,
diverting, and distracting doctrines
Protestant
Trinitarian leaders—theologians, pastors, missionaries—keep people on the broad
way that leads to destruction by falsely assuring them that they’re on the
narrow way that leads to life. They give them everything they need to be thoroughly
convinced they’re on the right road but withhold from them just enough to keep
them on the wrong road. They teach many things that are true and helpful but
not what’s necessary for eternal life. And they also teach a plethora of
nonsense intended to keep them busy wasting their time and diverted from the
truth.
The entire
Calvinist and Arminianist war is a hoax. They’re both on the same side fighting
the truth by feigning an internal conflict designed to do nothing but divert
attention from God’s chosen people. It’s all about distracting, confusing, and wasting
precious time and resources. The babbling practice under the pretense of the
gift of tongues has been another colossal means of diverting and squandering
time. And more recently the doctrine of the rapture has detoured people from
the hope of eternal life at the return of the Lord to an escape to fly around
in heaven.
They want
people engaged in hearing and debating about all kinds of foolishness because
it deceives, confuses, and distracts from doing God’s work. What they don’t
want is anyone teaching the true view of God and man or helping others keep
Christ’s commandments because they don’t want them on the narrow way that leads
to eternal life. They love having Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, and Unitarian
churches around that they can cite as to what happens to those that aren’t
Trinitarians—therefore, it’s best to stay home with them where it’s safe and
cozy.
Hearing,
and hearing, and hearing
Protestant leaders
teach the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. They teach topically, expositorily,
and verse-by-verse. They teach Theology, Christology, Soteriology, Anthropology,
Ecclesiology, Bibliology, Angelology, Harmartiology, Pneumatology, and
Eschatology. They teach good things about marriage, family, and morality. They
teach sermons, classes, podcasts, and webinars. They hold camp meetings,
revivals, conferences, and retreats. They write books, commentaries, study
Bibles, and magazines. It’s all about hearing, and hearing, and hearing but not
doing Christ’s commandments. They’re always learning but not learning the
truth, “Ever learning, and never
able to come to the knowledge of the
truth” (2Ti 3:7).
It’s very sobering
and heavy to realize Jesus said that if we don’t keep His commandments, one day
He will ban us from His presence, “And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye
that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them … And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not” (Mat 7:23-24, 26). Multitudes in churches
are hearing and learning week after week but they’re not being taught Christ’s
commandments. They’re being taught that salvation is by “faith alone” and that
faith comes by hearing, “So then faith [faithfulness]
cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God” (Rom 10:17). So they keep hearing, and hearing, and hearing but
not doing.
Conclusion
“Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord” (Mat 7:22). Multitudes of people are going
to be aghast to stand before the Lord one day and be told by Him that He
doesn’t know them. They’re going to be crying, pleading, and begging “Lord!
Lord! Please!” But He isn’t going to be showing mercy anymore, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God” (Heb 10:31).
We must reach
people with the good message Christ preached. This begins with being unashamed
of His good message, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel [euangelion] of Christ” (Rom 1:16). It’s being unashamed that
salvation is by faithfulness to Him—keeping His commandments, trusting Him,
agreeing with Him, and suffering for Him. It’s being unashamed of Him and His
words, “For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the
Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels”
(Luk 9:26). It’s being unashamed that there is one true God the Father and one
Lord Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God. It’s being unashamed to gather
with and be associated with God’s people suffering for His sake, “Be not thou
therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner” (2Ti
1:8), “The Lord give mercy unto the house of Onesiphorus; for he oft refreshed
me, and was not ashamed of my chain” (2Ti 1:16).
It’s being one of God’s people separated from the world by the hagios pneuma or separated breath of God in our hearts and obeying His Son Jesus Christ. It’s being on the same side of the truth as Jesus, “Everyone on the side of truth listens to me” (Jhn 18:37 NIV). It’s being set apart from the world by Him, “For both he that sanctifieth [sets apart] and they who are sanctified [set apart] are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren” (Heb 2:11). That we’re “all of one” is that we’re all in unity and agreement with Him about the truth. We must be faithful to Him as He is to His Father.