Bob Cassell, Messenger, RFTC
As believers in Christ, we have the distinct privilege to discern truth from error and then to declare God’s truth to the observing world. The great challenge is how to discern error and embrace scriptural truth. The most important truth that must be discerned is what is a scriptural gospel and what is a false gospel? A true diamond in the spiritual mine of truth is found when a congregation of believers do not proclaim a faith plus works gospel. This may appear strange to many believers, but it should not be the case. Why? For too many years the clear gospel has been contaminated by a works versus grace and truth gospel. The lines of distinction have been blurred and what should be clear has become ambiguous. Nevertheless, their message is emphatically and with great gusto presented to the unlearned as truth. Their message is not truth; behind the deceptive mask is scriptural error. Many assemblies are not aware that the incoming message is a distortion of the gospel of the grace of God and do not realize that they have accepted a message that either front loads the gospel with works of merit or back loads it with works of obedience as an essential condition for salvation. I hope to encourage you, with biblical certainty, to know what is true and what is false. Too many assemblies with false or unprepared messengers have defined scriptural faith in Christ as a commitment to a life of obedience to the final hour. Herein is where many deceived leaders either front load or back load the clear message of the gospel.
I hope to challenge the honest observer/believer to abandon and oppose any assembly or messenger that supports a works gospel or a perseverance in good works that must continue until the final hour.
If you are congregating in an assembly in which a false gospel is taught and are certain the message is contrary to scripture perhaps you should look elsewhere as your input will not be appreciated nor accepted.
The very word persevere can mean nothing less than man, by means of the best human efforts, who labors diligently to gain favor with God through the final hour.
It is shameful for those who embrace doctrinal truths to become stultified by error and slowly begin to think that error is truth and truth is error.
The individuals who propound these doctrinal errors seem to think the listeners should believe whatever they say even when their errors are based on inappropriate or inaccurate interpretations or nothing at all.
If you are a participant in an assembly in which these shameful doctrines are taught, and you perceive something is wrong, perhaps you should listen to the trumpet and realize, “For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle?” (1 Corinthians 14: 8).
Please be aware of your present level of growth and do not be tossed about with every wind of doctrine. “For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongs to them that are of dull age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil,” (Hebrews 5:13,14)
“For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret. But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light; for whatsoever makes manifest is light. Wherefore be you not unwise but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:8-13,17).
Fortunately, most well-informed Bible students know that believers in Christ are not made righteous by infusion or works, as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, but to the contrary, Christ’s perfect righteousness is imputed and not infused. May God, give you understanding to know that the moment an individual believes in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Father credits them with a perfect and eternal righteousness. This righteousness is perfect and is the kind of righteousness that His righteousness requires Him to require. Based upon an understanding of this new legal standing, the believer learns he has been made perfect in Christ and is secure forever. The trust and belief did not come because of a confidence or ability in self but by means of the saving grace that resides only in the person of Jesus Christ. This is a forever standing and no one can remove the believer from this high and eternal position.
It is critical to know there is no instantaneous moral change in a believer the moment Christ has been received; however, there is something greater than a change in behavior and that something is what God does for the new believer on a perfectly legal ground. (This may be defined as a forensic standing). This is positional truth because the believer is instantaneously positioned in Christ and possesses, at a beautiful point in time, His perfect righteousness. This so great salvation is not an experience; it is not progressive; it is eternal in nature; it is wrought only by God, and it is not wrought by man (thank God).
The distinguishing characteristic of Christianity from all other, so called, religious systems is its legal nature as the exclusive ground for the required eternal standing before eternal God. Therefore, justification and righteousness graciously come from God’s verdict that forever pronounces the believer’s new legal standing before His holy presence.
The believer’s justification before a Holy and righteous God has nothing to do with a change in any virtue or moral activity with regard to the individual’s experiential character. His moral activity is what he has done, is doing, or will do. Thanks to our glorious God, this forever imputed righteousness is based on what Christ has done that is finished.
When God looks at a new believer in Christ, He does not evaluate their eternal status on the basis of a moral change as a qualifying factor on which they are granted entrance into Heaven. God the Father does not accept our sin contaminated attempts at righteousness as the ground upon which He imputes justification. God does this for the new believer all by Himself, and it is perfect! Therefore, it could not be the temporal unacceptable production from any imperfect human being (Isa. 64:6). Our Eternal God only sees the impeccable, perfect, and flawless righteousness of Jesus Christ as the exclusive legal basis for entrance into heaven. He does not accept any form of moral ground from imperfect sinful humanity from which He justifies the ungodly.
Some Bible teachers contend that an unbeliever is saved by faith alone, but that the saving faith is never alone. These sincere teachers assert that genuine saving faith will always be accompanied by a certain and continuous degree of faithfulness. It is insisted there must be a faith that God guarantees which comes by means of Christ becoming the believer’s sanctification.
Further, it is propounded that the new believer must persevere in faithful obedience for the remainder of their earthly existence or through the final hour. Herein, is the meaning of the term perseverance of the saints, and it is until the final hour. How precarious!
One prominent proponent of this doctrine wrote, “The hearts of the godly are so effectually governed by the Spirit of God, that through an inflexible disposition they follow his guidance… and the power of the Spirit is so effectual, that it necessarily retains us in continual obedience to righteousness.”
Yes, the power of the Spirit is effectual, but the power of the flesh is not, and it is the flesh that must be led by the Spirit to produce divine good; otherwise, all that comes from obedience is human good which is unacceptable and rejected as a basis for perfect righteousness.
The tenor of their teachings is that a believer will live a godly life until the final hour, and if this has not been demonstrated, in their conduct, that person was never saved. A well-known statement of faith by one of these experiential perseverers propounds this thought very clearly:
“They whom God has accepted in his Beloved, effectually called and sanctified by his Spirit, can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace; but (the contradiction) shall certainly persevere therein to the end, and be eternally saved.”
It is certain, that the new believer will experience uncertainty and occasional doubts, but no manner of perseverance has ever saved anyone! Why? God’s so great salvation is obtained exclusively by the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ and not by the filthy rags of human performance, experience, endurance, or perseverance.
The adherents of perseverance propound that a faith that rests on Christ is the only instrument of justification; yet they continue to teach that such a faith is not alone in the person justified but is ever accompanied with all other alleged saving graces (works) and is no dead faith but works by means of love.
Sincere messengers from many recognizable evangelistic organizations are falsely and incorrectly teaching nothing more than repackaged popish servings of error and a poisonous indulgence of deceptive theology. Please carefully note, if God’s perfect salvation is obtained by a life that must be characterized by a cooperative manifestation of grace plus works, (even good works) then righteousness is not by faith alone, but rather it is by faith plus works of obedience.
Gal. 5:6 “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.”
Please take note of the Apostle Paul’s declaration to believers in Rome.
“At this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work” (Romans 11:5-6).
Amen, it cannot be better stated. Why? Because it is truth and truth provides clarity for the soul.
In these verses of truth Paul is proclaiming, in no uncertain terms, that there are only two systems individuals embrace to obtain eternal salvation. One is by means of God’s sovereign grace alone, the other is to hope in the totality of their good human behavior. In other words, Paul clearly declares, if anyone is fully committed to works, in order to receive eternal life, then salvation has nothing to do with the grace of God.
If self-efforts and good works are embraced as the requirement for entrance into Heaven, of logical necessity, it must be believed that any and all grace must be excluded as a necessary requirement of their false works system of salvation.
Contrariwise, if God’s amazing grace is embraced as the exclusive means of salvation, of logical necessity, any and all works of obedience, as a cooperative effort to obtain salvation, must be denied.
God’s sovereign grace needs no help. His amazing grace defies and rejects all additions of human good and all subtractions of human bad or self-denial for merit. God is in control; we are not!
If a believer has received eternal life by the grace of God, then logically the works for merit system must be rejected. The Apostle Paul states in the strongest logical terms that he would never declare that it is possible to be saved by both grace and works because they are mutually exclusive. They are obvious contradictions and polar opposites. They are not in any way compatible. An individual is completely and eternally saved by grace through faith in Christ alone but certainly not by means of the works from his own hands. If it is asserted an individual is saved by both grace and continuous works of obedience, this perception is not in conformity with Biblical truth and the proponents are not only being irrational but are teaching a false gospel.
This ambiguous system should sound a clarion call for the embracement and proclamation of a crystal-clear gospel message and a denial of this false system of works. Numerous scriptures declare that our eternal destiny is fully provided and finished by the saving electing grace of God. Any message asserting that salvation is from Christ-plus anything, such as works of obedience or production from the energy of the flesh is a false gospel. Why is this statement true?
It is because the defined word of God for grace is the unmerited, undeserved, unconditional, and uncaused favor of God. It logically follows that salvation has no basis in anything that emanates from a lost and needy human being. God’s grace has no basis in or from anything an unbeliever thinks, does, or says—either at the inception of salvation or in and through the end of life. All merit is in Christ, by Him, from Him, and because of His grace which is undeserved and unmerited.
This great mercy remains for the duration of the Christian way of life and extends throughout all eternity. This amazing grace means that God is the exclusive provider, and no one can add to his perfection.
If you were required to fully pay all that you owe or truly deserve, you would be cast into a burning hell and tortured forever (so would I). Thank God, it is because of His unfettered and amazing grace that we don’t receive what we deserve. God in sovereign grace declared that Jesus Christ received what we deserve, and we do not deserve what we receive. The just for the unjust, the innocent for the guilty, the lamb without spot or blemish for the goats of wrath. Jesus Christ paid the debt for all sins. Every crime, every gross violation against His holy character was paid in full by means of the sacrificial atoning blood of Jesus Christ, the righteous for the unrighteous, the innocent for the guilty, the redeemer for the unredeemed.
God’s gift of eternal life is law-free, works-free, obedience free, promises-free, pledges-free, endurance, and commitment-free! His gift of life is not appropriated because of what we have done, are doing, or will do. There is no degree of obedience before or after salvation that will mollify the heart of God. It is because of Christ’s obedience and sacrifice of Himself alone that saves the eternal soul and appeases God.
The gift of eternal life is not appropriated by human efforts, nor by a bloodless repentance, or by means of non-propitiatory obedience. It is provided by unfettered grace wherein, all of the works have been fully wrought by the Lord Jesus Christ, alone! The message of the sovereign grace of God is directed to a lost and rapidly dying world that is consumed with a self-righteous and false religion. Religion is well defined as man by man’s efforts seeking to gain the favor or approbation of God by means of their unacceptable filthy rags of human efforts. This is the opposite of God’s grace. God’s grace includes all that He is free to do for you on the sole basis of what Christ accomplished and finished on the cross of calvary.
The moment an individual personally believes in Christ and His finished work on the cross His eternal destiny is perfectly and completely sealed. This is solely because Salvation belongs to God alone and not to both God and man. You may be assured that it is God alone who deserves, and will receive all of the praise, glory, and credit for the believer’s eternal, irreversible, and glorious Salvation (Revelation 7:10).
This is the exclusive means of the preservation of the saints. Thanks be to our amazing God because we are eternally secure and safe in His hand and not our own. Jesus Christ graciously declared, with perfect clarity, “I give my sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone pluck them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to me is greater than all; and no one is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29).
If this does not provide clarity and assurance, perhaps you should read, believe, and meditate on this amazing verse once again.
Be very attentive to what the Apostle Paul declares, in absolute clarity, regarding the permanence of what God has accomplished to preserve the security of every believer,
“I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38,39). Notice, no one will be separated if they are in Christ Jesus. If you are in yourself, you stand alone and must rely on your own good works that will be immediately rejected as they are imperfect and unrighteous offerings that fall far short of God’s requirements for perfection.
As staggering as this may appear to the skeptic, I can discern little or no difference between some of the reformed teachings regarding the Perseverance of the Saints and the blatant errors of Roman Catholic soteriology (salvation). The primary focus of both reformed and popish teaching is in discounting the finished work of Christ alone as the sole basis for assurance of eternal salvation. The emphasis from both Rome and some of the reformers is the subjective, continual, moment by moment requirement for obedience of the believer. Sadly, both doctrines require a believer to be inordinately preoccupied with the unquantifiable quality of their imperfect obedience as the ground upon which the genuineness and assurance of salvation is measured.
The effect of this false and misleading doctrine is to cause uninformed and innocent souls to look away from what is clearly declared in the infallible word of God and to consistent self-efforts.
The only trustworthy look is to direct all attention away from self to Christ’s perfect sacrificial death as the exclusive means of a full, eternal, and freely bestowed salvation.
The good news of the gospel is that salvation has been wrought by and is through Jesus Christ alone therefore, in view of the perfect and finished accomplishments of Christ on the cross this so great salvation is offered without cost to the believer, without cause in him, and is freely given by the grace of God alone. This gift of eternal life can only be received by means of faith in Christ alone. Any work for it would be a non-meritorious payment, and the gift of eternal life would be classified as a purchase from imperfect and flawed humanity.
“He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many. For He shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53.11).
Paul knew something about God’s amazing grace and wrote: “To him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). David succinctly described “the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness without works” (v. 6).
It is clear, and the word of God declares, “There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none that understands, there are none that seek after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable: there is none that do good, no, not one” (Romans 3:10, 11).
As you can observe, the unbeliever has no righteousness within the tabernacle of his flesh from which to offer anything to God. All deeds from his unredeemed flesh will be rejected and are as filthy rags before His Holy presence (Isa. 64:6).
Imputation means the believer’s standing, now and forever, is based solely on the righteousness of Jesus Christ and is the only ground of acceptance before God the Father.
A lost and undone unbeliever must be imputed and legally credited with the perfect external gift of righteousness that is not attained by an infused quality or virtue of the soul. This external gift of righteousness is the very righteousness of Christ that is imputed and legally credited. It is not morally infused to an individual’s heavenly account in the eternal, unchanging, judicial mind of God.
The essence of this information is for the purpose of challenging you to look far away from self and only to Christ because your standing before God has nothing to do with your best self, now or ever. (Now you can relax). The good news is that you are regarded by God as possessing a righteousness that is not from you… it is from someone outside of you. You are regarded as absolutely righteous but not because of anything that comes from you; it is nothing you have done, can do, or will ever do! It is not about your performance; it is about his glorious perfection.
God makes it clear… look to the Son, I sent Him, He came as a man and finished the work that was required for you to have a perfect righteousness that will enable you to live in my presence forever. No human has the kind of righteousness that I require, but I am going to consider you throughout all eternity as though you have the righteousness of my perfect Son. This action from my grace, in giving you perfect righteousness, has been accomplished by my son, and you do not deserve the benefits of His perfect work because it has been accomplished for MY glory alone. Listen to familiar and time-honored truths that have been produced by those who understand and are able to convey to the on looking world some of the glory of my eternal grace. All that you may understand is given to you that you may know me and possess my gift of eternal life. I may be known by means of truths that flow from my grace. Remember, this word grace, it is what I do for you! It is not what you do for me! This grace is known by searching my written and infallible word.
In this word you will learn that the life offered so freely to you is by means of the finished work of the Son of God, alone. The truth that is extended from His finished work on the cross must be believed by means of a God given faith that receives the Son as the one and only Savior. These accomplishments are outside of you and will benefit you eternally, but in the end, all glory belongs to God and this glory will redound throughout all eternity. Every member of creation, living or dead, will see that His glory has never been diminished, and it will redound before Him forever and ever.
What God does and has done far exceeds our ability to comprehend. Meditate on this… God has made Him (His Son) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21). When the impeccable Son of God hung on the cross, God regarded Him as if He were the sinner. But God!! God imputed to Him all the sins of the world from the beginning of time through the end. Please understand, Jesus Christ never became sinful (Heb. 4:15), but He was regarded by God as if He committed every sin, and as a result, Jesus became legally but not morally guilty. In like manner, while an individual’s acceptance of Christ is not based on morality, it may rightly be realized that he is regarded by God as legally but not morally righteous. This result is obtained because the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed and forever grounded on a legal but not moral basis.
This perfect righteousness is only obtained by receiving Christ as the only means of living in heaven forever. To be transported to heaven at death requires having the perfect righteousness that His righteousness requires Him to require. This can only occur because of the merit of an outside-of-me, objective, irrevocable, irreversible legal credit of the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ that must be received by faith alone in Christ’s finished work alone.
This sustaining power is outside of man and comes only from the source of God. God the Father now and forever regards the new believer as forever perfected before His holy presence. This eternal position continues forever and is not dependent on the manner of life of the believer, nor is it sustained because of personal obedience or moral activity. If this were the case eternal life would not be eternal as it would be dependent on transitory human performance and the merit of good behavior.
To the shock of some, eternal life is not appropriated on the basis of any subjective imperfect obedience the believer may produce by means of good behavior. The life that is received from Jesus Christ is a gift, and it is extended on the objective basis of the perfect righteousness of the one who is seated at the right hand of God. He is the believer’s; resurrected surety and Redeemer; He is the righteous one; He is the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior.
Since the only source of a sure salvation is in the person of Jesus Christ, it follows that a believer is never admonished to examine the quality or extent of an obedient life to determine the certainty of their eternal salvation. Acceptance into the portals of heaven has nothing to do with works from the believer’s imperfect human righteousness. Every child of God is accepted into eternity on the exclusive basis of the righteousness of Jesus Christ alone and eternally.
It is imperative to learn that the doctrine of imputation is Christ’s righteousness in the believer that is received entirely apart from any and all works. The Old and New Testaments are replete with examples of believers who possessed the absolute righteousness of Christ who did not persevere in a life of faithfulness until the final hour.
God’s holy word does not gloss over the many failures of His sanctified ones. In some instances, some of His family members were removed from the earth by means of the sin unto death because of their willful and blatant disobedience. This serves to demonstrate scriptural testimony of the fact that justification is received by faith in Christ alone and not by faith plus a life of obedience or the performance of good human works.
Those who have embraced the belief that justification guarantees that a believer will live a faithful and obedient life until death may be surprised to find scripture that attests to God taking the physical life of a saved individual because of the sin unto death. The sin unto death of a believer would irrefutably mean that the individual did not persevere in godliness but willfully continued to sin against God’s commands and never repented of their disobedience; therefore, if only one Scripture could be located that demonstrates a saved person committed the sin unto death, then this Scripture would invalidate and falsify the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints.
Moses and Aaron both died prematurely and were gathered unto their people by the sin unto death because they committed the specific sin of not hallowing the Lord in the midst of the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah, in the wilderness of Zin. Moses was buried by the Lord in the land of Moab and Aaron died on Mount Hor. Neither were permitted to actually enter the promised land. Deuteronomy 32: 48-51.
“Did not Solomon, King of Israel, sin by these things? (yes) Yet among many nations there was no king like him, who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel; nevertheless, pagan women caused this beloved of God to sin” (Nehemiah 13:26). No perseverance here from the man who was defined as having a heart after God.
The man of God in 1 Kings 13:16-24, by deception from a false prophet, disobeyed the word of the Lord and did not keep the commandment which the Lord your God commanded you, but you came back, ate bread, and drank water in the place of which the Lord said to you, “Eat no bread and drink no water,” “your corpse shall not come to the tomb of your fathers.” “And so it was, after he had eaten bread and drank water, he saddled his donkey and left. When he was gone, a lion met him on the road and killed him.” The most horrible way to depart from this life is through the sin unto death and this individual thought little of the word of God and left this earth by means of being torn to death by a God sent Lion.
“God delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds” (2 Peter 2: 7,8). Lot had been tormented by the filthiness of the wicked, yet he remained and suffered through their filthy manner of life rather than being obedient and faithful through the last hour. Another servant who failed to persevere through life.
These scriptures refute the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints and indicate that imperfect man in many instances does not remain faithful through the final hour, and yet by the Grace of God they live in His holy presence with eternal life that comes only from Him. These saints did not endure with faithfulness through the final hour, and neither will many who will enter into eternity in spite of their failings, but their entrance will be because of His enduring, faithful, protecting, preserving, and forever GRACE!
These persevere, to the final hour adherents, also purport that sanctification completes and swallows up justification by means of an experiential internal impartation of Christ’s sanctifying righteousness.
If this were true (and it is not) then every believer in Christ would live a sinless life similar to the life of Christ. It follows that the believer’s internal subjective righteousness would be of the same perfect quality as the imputed righteousness of Christ because both righteousnesses would come from Christ as the source.
If this false information were true every believer would be forever examining the quality of their heart centered righteousness to determine if it measured up to Christ’s perfect righteousness.
Should this be the case (and it is not) the gospel of the grace of God would not be grounded in an objective message of the outside-of-you, finished work of Christ alone, but this odd message would be a new gospel that would require an outside-of-you and inside-of-you message, wherein two cooperative, coequal righteousnesses (God’s and man’s) are required to accomplish God’s so great salvation. (Impossible).
You can readily see that this so-called new gospel is an incorrect internal, or inside of man effort that would be required for the completion of the believer’s salvation. This cannot be correct because His word, without qualification, states at the instant an unbeliever believes the Gospel, of the finished work of Christ, that person has passed from death unto life and all sins are instantly forgiven. The righteousness of Christ has been imputed to the still-sinning new believer, but this abundantly blessed individual will never come into judgment or condemnation. It is all because every believer in Christ is complete in Christ alone, and this perfection occurs the moment of belief in the finished work of Christ. Nothing has been left undone or requires the works of man. The new believer is fully and totally complete in Christ. NOTHING is left to be performed by man because perfection would be tarnished by the imperfect efforts of man.
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).
If perseverance were a requirement that must accompany salvation, it logically follows that the warnings in the New Testament regarding the consequences of many sins would not apply to the believer who is allegedly guaranteed to persevere in a sanctified and obedient life by means of the infused holiness of Christ.
The choice for the believer is between two diametrically opposed gospels. One is internal, subjective, and heart centered; the other is external, objective and Christ-centered.
The purported gospel from the Vatican has always maintained an inward-focused, experiential infused, subjective, non-legal, moral, Christless righteousness as the basis of the salvation that is extended to humanity. The gospel of the grace of God maintains an outward-focused, non-experiential, non-moral, objective, legal imputation of the righteousness of Christ alone as the only ground on which God the Father eternally saves the believer. This gospel is without any and all required works from mankind prior to or subsequent to salvation.
I offer an appeal to some of my reformed friends. Please give careful attention to the doctrines that persuade you. Is it plausible that you are equivocating and are presenting a gospel that has two entirely different meanings? If two concepts are in opposition, they are mutually exclusive, and if two mutually exclusive concepts are presented the inevitable result is that the information is contradictory.
The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth. It is impossible for Him to convey error or contradict Himself; therefore, the word given by Him is in truth, absolutely self-consistent and never self-contradictory.
If any teacher of the word of God presents a doctrine that expounds the grace of God and then asserts an opposing system of works, that presenter is being irrational and is attempting to persuade the listener to be irrational because the listener is being told to affirm opposites.
When the listener is instructed to agree to ideas that are polar opposites, such as grace versus works, they are being asked or instructed to believe in contradictions.
The gospel of the grace of God must never be turned into a bait and switch offer. You more than likely have been presented with what may appear to be a super savings offer where you can purchase an item at a low, low price only to find that the low-priced items are exhausted, and the on-sale item will now cost double the attractive sales price.
Many legalistic Bible teachers may begin their soteriology by correctly asserting the glorious truth that anyone may be saved by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone, and even to the glory of God alone. But, but, but, then comes the bait and switch message without the innocent listener realizing what has just happened! Echoing Martin Luther, a renowned protestant reformer, they persuasively state “It is true that we are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.”
I will share a number of examples that are extracted from the writings of some of the most respected proponents of reformed theology. I want to make it clear! I do not agree with these fallacious assertions.
“A profession of faith that is not verified by mortifying the deeds of the body in the power of the Spirit is vain.” “A faith which is not evidenced by complete submission to Christ, is only the faith of demons.” “A love which does not keep Christ’s commandments, is an imposition.” “A claim of being a Christian, where there is no real yielding to the will of God, is daring presumption”.
“The reason why so few will enter Eternal Life is because the multitudes are not seeking it in the way of God’s appointing! None seek it aright-but those who pass through the Narrow gate, and who, despite many discouragements and falls, continue to press forward along the Narrow Way” … “There are two principal errors about the law, and I know not which is the more dangerous and disastrous; that one can earn heaven by obeying it; that one may enter heaven without that personal and practical goodliness which the Law requires.” “Follow peace with all, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”
“Where there is not this personal conformity to the will of God—the strong hand of the Law will close the door of heaven.”
“Though we are not saved by good works, as procuring causes: yet we are saved to good works, as fruits and effects of saving grace, which God hath prepared that we should walk in them.”
“Yea, holiness in this life is such a part of our salvation, as is a necessary means to make us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in heavenly light and glory; without holiness we can never see God and are as unfit for the glorious presence, as swine for the presence of an earthly prince” … (Walter Marshall).
“Whatever we may think fit to say, we must be holy if we could see the Lord. Where is our Christianity if we are not? We must not merely have a Christian name, and Christian knowledge, we must have Christian character also. We must be saints on earth, if ever we mean to be saints in heaven. God has said it, and He will not go back: Without holiness no man shall see the Lord.” “The Pope’s calendar says Jenkyn, “only makes saints of the dead, but scripture requires sanctity in the living.”
“Let not men deceive themselves,” says Owen. “Sanctification is a qualification indispensably necessary unto those who will be under the conduct of the Lord Christ unto salvation. He leads none to heaven but whom He sanctifies on the earth. This living Head will not admit dead members.” (J.C. Ryle)
“If ever God and Christ give you salvation, holiness will be one part of it; if Christ wash you not from the filth of your sins, you have no part with him.” (J.C. Ryle)
“Eternal security is a great spiritual truth, but it should never be presented merely as a matter of being once saved, always saved—with no regard to what you believe or do. The writer of Hebrews states frankly that only those who continue living holy lives will enter the Lord’s presence” (John MacArthur).
If these assertions are correct (and they are not), then one is saved by faith, but that faith is actually a believing commitment to obedience! In other words, the faith they convey has NOTHING to do with a Biblical definition of faith. Biblical faith is clearly defined as non-meritorious thinking. This means there is no merit, no virtue, no moral excellence in belief (in and of itself). This also means we are not saved by means of the faithfulness of our faith, sincerity of our faith, or the degree of our faith. Accordingly, God does not command the believer to have faith in faith as its object but to look away from faith to the only worthy and meritorious object of faith which is the finished work and person of Christ alone.
However, as you can determine for yourself, a number of well-known and recognized messengers have redefined faith as continuous obedience. Therefore, faith is subtly defined as a required and meritorious work. This false concept encourages the believer to look away from Christ’s obedience to a new and misdirected object of faith.
If this is true, and it is not, the believer must persevere in a life of good works, or it is demonstrated they were never saved in the first place. These misdirected messengers offer salvation by grace with their right hand and then take it away with the left, replacing salvation by grace alone with a demand for perseverance in good works or a believing commitment of obedience to the end, in order to be saved. If this is not a works-based gospel, then what is it!
Any messenger who asserts the objective legal declaration of righteousness on the basis of Christ’s merit alone cannot subsequently assert salvation on the basis of an infused righteousness of Christ. To do so is to equivocate. It is not a clear declaration of the gospel; it is not consistent and does not conform to scriptural truth.
If any, so-called, communicator of Bible information persists in proclaiming a false gospel that is contrary to the works-free, obedience-free, law-free gospel of Christ, in the end, the following words may be heard at the Great White Throne judgment of Christ. “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7: 22, 23). The reason for this stern warning is that the messenger is teaching a false gospel and is double-minded. What is being proclaimed is a false message and that perverted message has the anathema and curse of God attached to it. “As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:9).
The gospel of the grace of God proclaims the finished work of Christ alone and is focused on external and forensic (legal) truth.
A non-meritorious false gospel emphasizes the internal and experiential. A clear meritorious gospel contains an invitation to look away from self to Jesus Christ alone. The false message is to examine self to determine if you are properly and persistently persevering in good works. One is truth and the only way to heaven, the other is false, deceptive, and leads to human works and potentially, darkness forever.
Many years ago, I began to think about some of these incongruous messages. I was not great in math, but it made sense to look at a simple spiritual equation. Jesus Christ plus anything equals minus salvation. Jesus Christ plus nothing equals plus salvation. It is easy to learn that a Christ-plus gospel which demands obedience prior to or after salvation is a graceless, perverted message that, has the anathema of God lodged against it because it is indeed another gospel.
As eternity nears and you face the end of life, which gospel will you be depending on to take your soul to heaven? A faith plus works gospel, or a grace plus nothing gospel?
You may be concerned that you do not have enough faith to believe as you hope to believe. You can be relieved immediately. Firstly, faith is not something a human contributes to salvation. Secondly, a weak faith with Christ as the object (wherein is all the merit) secures eternal salvation. A strong faith that is not lodged in Christ as the object and is in anything else will not secure the gift of eternal life. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). It is impossible to work up faith or develop it by anything that comes from a passing human being. Faith is a gift from God, so that no one has, from self, anything to boast about.
Notice the assertions of Paul… “To you it has been granted on behalf of Christ . . . to believe on Him” (Phil. 1:9). Salvation comes by means of the faith God gives and not because of your alleged strong faith.
Faith from a believing human being is not what causes God to save. Accordingly, there is no merit in faith. Faith is never defined in the word of God as a believing commitment to obedience we do not place our faith in our faith. The merit in faith is, has been, and always will be… faith in the faithful one who suffered, bled, died, and is raised again in an eternal resurrection body . . . only Jesus Christ the victorious and righteous one who is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12). “Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).
The ministry that God has given to me includes a compelling need to encourage and admonish believers in Christ to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith they are called, but certainly not with the motivation of securing eternal salvation by their works. The salvation of a believer’s soul has already been purchased and is eternally secure by Christ’s perfect atoning work performed on their behalf and in their stead.
Every believer in Christ can shine brilliantly and by his amazing grace can become light to the world. “For you were sometimes darkness, but now are you light in the Lord: walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8). This does not mean that light merely shines on him, but the believer is light in the Lord. Further, he is commanded to walk in the light, and this is the light that God is.
To walk in the light is not to become light; it is to be wholly in subjection to the mind and will of God and controlled by the third person of the trinity, God the Holy Spirit. To walk in the light is for the believer to observe the truth that having received the light is a possession from the Lord and to be light in the Lord is a position.
No believer can become the light by human efforts or attempting to shine; to the contrary, having become light in the Lord, the Child of God is directed to shine as a light in a dark world. The focus for a believer is to be totally occupied with the Bible revelation that “God is Light” (1 John 1:5). This great light is the light that is “a lamp unto the feet and light upon the pathway” (Psalm 119:105). Having a lamp at our feet and a light that illuminates our pathway is powerful encouragement to know that the immediate steps you are about to take have divine light that tell you God knows where you are, and the immediate steps you are about to take, but beyond the immediate steps there is a beautiful light that is waiting for you to notice along the pathway. That light is well beyond the immediate steps and shines along your pathway. So, whether your steps are close or far away, the light of the Lord illuminates your immediate steps and the pathway that you cannot see. This pathway is illuminated by the same light that provided a lamp for your feet for the steps previously trodden. Whether matters are close or far away, our sovereign Lord provides light so that you do not walk in darkness. The light he has challenged you to walk in may not be seen by those who are in darkness, where God’s truth is veiled, but your challenge is to “walk in the light as he is in the light and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness. When we are walking in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son keeps on cleansing us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-8).
God allows you to live after salvation so that you can fulfill your personal destiny to become a growing and mature believer. It is only as a mature believer that you can consistently glorify God by receiving the highest and best that He has prepared and is just waiting for you. The quality and purpose of your life on earth and even your rewards in heaven depend on your growth and development and eventual maturity as an obedient child of God.
When you grow and mature to become spiritually self-sustaining, by His amazing grace, you are enabled to glorify God by receiving the highest and best that He has prepared for you (Ephesians 1: 3-6).
The highest quality and impact in this quickly passing life, as well as your rewards in heaven, depend on your advancement and spiritually consistent learning, thinking, and the application of information directly from the infallible word of God. Your persistent spiritual growth from Bible knowledge that must reside in your soul will expand your capacity for life, for love, for Christian service, for blessings, for inner happiness, and true peace.
I will close by encouraging you to read, reflect, and slowly meditate on this amazing portion of scripture. “For I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content” (Ephesians 4:11).
And please don’t miss what thousands have termed is God’s mind filter for you. You must take the time that is required to memorize this mighty and helpful verse… it truly is His mind filter for YOU “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8).
And of eternal importance, “Consider Him (Jesus) that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds” (Hebrews 12:3).
Do not delay, please know… “now is the accepted time, today is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).
“But as many as received HIM, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).
“He that believes on me has everlasting life” (John 6:47).
