Lies Christians Believe #3 ~ “Works cancel out the righteousness of Christ.”

August 5, 2017

It is vital that we understand that to neglect the practical side of salvation is to jeopardize our position in Christ. A man who refuses to practically live out his faith will forfeit his faith. It doesn’t matter how vehemently he may claim that “I have faith that Christ’s righteousness covers me, therefore it doesn’t make a difference what my works are.” Such a man is deceived.  Every single command and warning in Scripture is strong testimony to the fact that a man must choose to deny himself to follow Jesus or he will be lost for his failure to obey and endure to the end (Matt. 7:21). God help us!

There are those who believe that our salvation is only positional and requires no practical “working out” in our daily lives (or that God does it all for us automatically). They claim that to “strive” or “do works” is to reject the righteousness of Christ.

God’s salvation is both positional and practical. There are realities in our Christian life that are true for every believer. If we are going to be saved in the end, these realities must be worked out practically in our everyday life. When I use the word “salvation” I mean the entirety of God’s work to redeem man to Himself. “Salvation” is God’s work in us from conversion till we meet Jesus.

The following Scriptures teach us that practical obedience is essential to retaining our position in Christ:

1. Joh 15:2, 6 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: …If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.” Jesus says that the branches “in me” (positional) who do not bear fruit (practical) will be cut off and cast into the fire. These branches “in” Christ represent every believer. If we refuse to abide in Christ, we forfeit our position “in” Him.

2. 1 Corinthians 10:1-10 clearly warns that believers who live in sin are in danger of judgement. Israel was God’s chosen people. They passed through the sea (baptism) and partook of the bread and water (Christ) and yet they were destroyed because their works were evil. Verses 11-12 say, “Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” They wouldn’t be our examples if the same could not happen to us for our sin. Their position of salvation was negated by their evil works and therefore they are our examples and are a warning to us.

3. In Luke 13:6-9 Jesus gives us the parable of the fig tree that would not bear fruit. The Lord of the vineyard had mercy and waited for the tree to bear fruit, but when it did not bear fruit it was cut down. The life of the tree (position in Christ) was lost because of no fruit (practical holy living).

4. Galatians 5:25 says that if we live in the Spirit (positional) let us also walk in the Spirit (practical).

5. Romans 6 tells us that if we are dead to sin and alive to God (positional reality) then we must stop yielding our bodies to sin (practical obedience).

6. Acts 5 gives us a vivid life example of those who were in Christ but who were killed by God because their works/fruits were evil. Ananias and Saphira were born again believers and yet they were struck dead for their sin.

7. Titus 2:11-12 says that the same grace that saved us is the grace that teaches us to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. If you resist the grace of God to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, you also reject the grace of God that saved you in the first place.

8. 1 John 2:6 says that if we say that we abide in Christ we ought to walk even as He walked.

9. The churches of Revelation are good examples of how believers can lose the Holy Spirit or have their names removed from the book of Life if they do not live holy lives.

10. Colossians 2:6 says that if we have received Jesus as Lord, we must now walk in Him.

The list could go on and on of teaching and examples of this truth.

Part of the reason such teaching is rejected is because of a false view of Christ’s righteousness. It is crucial that we have a biblical understanding of the righteousness of Christ. To some people, when you preach works, they think you are somehow rejecting the righteousness of Christ. This is because supposedly Jesus’ life replaces ours in a way that we don’t have to be obedient. They teach that to “do” anything is to rely on your own works for salvation. I want to compare two different views of the righteousness of Christ.

1.      Some believe that the righteousness of Christ in us is like a robe that God simply gives to us and says “Here, put this on so I don’t see who you really are (a “sinner”). This robe of righteousness and grace will cover all your sinful ways and your sinful heart so that I won’t hold you accountable for the wretch that you still are after I ‘saved’ you. You’ll sin in thought, word and deed everyday but at least I won’t see it, I’ll only see Christ! If you try to do anything good, I’ll take that robe away from you, so just sit back and rest in that robe I gave you and you’ll be ok.”

2.       The biblical view of the righteousness of Christ in us is that God says, “In Christ you have been made a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). You are washed, sanctified (1 Cor. 6:11), cleansed, made holy, given a new heart…you are “made” to be the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor.5:21). Christ is made unto you righteousness, redemption and sanctification (1 Cor. 1:30). The same holy life that Christ lived in His body on this earth has now entered you by the Holy Spirit (John 15 and Gal. 2:20) so that you can live out that same holy life of Christ. You have been made partaker of the divine nature because you have escaped the corruption of the world (2 Pet. 1:4).”

The first belief is that Christ just covers our sinfulness with His robe of righteousness, but it isn’t necessary for Christ to live His life through us. The second view says that the very life of Jesus has entered us. THIS MEANS that however Jesus would act, talk and think is to be lived out through us. This is why, if we are to accept the righteousness of Christ, it will change EVERYTHING about us. The works that we do will be His works in us because God is working “in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13) We look to Christ and submit to His life in us. He is the vine, the source of all life and fruitfulness.

The righteousness of Christ is not some stagnant thing that simply preserves us for Heaven. The Christ who walked this earth in holiness has now entered your body, His temple, and He intends to have His way with you. If we do not allow the life of Christ to have its way in us, we cease to abide and we reject Christ the Vine. The righteousness of Christ in you is Christ living His righteousness IN and THROUGH you. Either you are saved and cleansed OR you are still in your sins. You can’t be a “sinner” and a “saint” at the same time. Which is it brothers and sisters?

Jesus isn’t a robe, He is a living person with holy actions and words who has come to be your very life. As we abide in Him (John 15) and yield to Him (Romans 6) HIS holy nature will be seen in our daily lives. We are not merely called to collect moral attributes that are “Christ-like.” We are expected to accept His very life and let Him have His holy way with us. The Church is to be built up in Him (Col. 2:7) unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ (Eph. 4:13), growing up into HIM in all things who is the Head (Eph. 4:15)! For it isn’t us who live any longer, but Christ lives in us and the life we live now is by our faith in Christ. God’s intention is for men to see the life of Christ in earthen vessels just like when Jesus walked this earth. May God help us to yield to Him by faith and denying ourselves that Christ might be seen.

Is the living Christ having His way in you?

PS. I am not indicating that a man can fall in or out of salvation at the slightest sin. The mercy and longsuffering of God are mighty things. The Scriptures teach that a man must be habitually sinning against the knowledge of the truth to be lost. This should not make us presumptuous, but grateful. It should cause us to repent right away when we are convicted of sin. Then, we continue on in faith and purity of heart as becometh saints (holy people).  Help us Jesus!

Lies Christians Believe #2 ~ “I can be a Christian and imitate the world too!”

July 30, 2017

(It’s been too long since I started my series last year about lies Christian’s believe. I pray that God’s truth will set men free to pursue holiness with all their hearts. While people will not likely “say” this lie, many certainly live as if they believe it.)

Only Two Choices: Christlikeness or Worldliness

Worldliness and Christlikeness are THE two conflicting forces seeking to dominate the life of every Christian! The question of worldliness is a question of whether we will conform our lives to Christ or to Satan’s kingdom. We often say that our three enemies are the world, the flesh and the Devil. However, the Devil builds his world kingdom through the flesh of man – all three are connected.

What is worldliness? There are many ideas today among church goers of the West as to what “worldliness” looks like. Some believe it is simply alcohol, cigarettes and gross immorality. Some say it has to do with the things we wear and the movies we watch. Others say that worldliness is driving cars and having electricity.

What does God say that worldliness is? It is much more serious and encompasses much more than what is stated above.

1 John 5:19 says that the whole earth lies under the power of the evil One. Worldliness is Satan’s world system. Every person who ever lived has lived under the power of Satan. But what is the basis of Satan’s world system? The following point helps answer this question.

1 John 2:15-16 says that we are not to love the world and that worldliness is the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. It is interesting that John doesn’t say that worldliness is something overtly “demonic.” He says that worldliness is the lusts of man.

Jesus told Peter “Get thee behind me Satan” and then says “for you do not savor the things of God but the things of man.” Here, the lusts of the flesh are linked to Satan. It is natural for us to spare the flesh, but this is a doctrine of demons.

Jesus also tells us in Luke 16:15 that what man highly esteems is an abomination to God! This ought to factor more heavily into our understanding of worldliness.

The latter part of James 3 tells us that worldliness has a wisdom of its own that is earthly and “devilish.” James 4:1 says that the lusts of the flesh are the cause of strife in the body of Christ and that to be a friend of the world is enmity against God.

Jude verse 23 says that we are to “hate” the garment that is even “spotted” by the flesh. We are to hate the smallest taint of the world on our “garments” and the garments of others. 

The last verse of James 1 tells us that keeping ourselves “unspotted” from the “world” is an essential part of true religion.

With all the weighty truths listed above, worldliness ought to be preached with much more sobriety and frequency than it is! When is the last time you heard a message about worldliness? When is the last time your pastor preached that we ought to hate even the garment that is “spotted” by the flesh? God help us! This issue of worldliness is the issue of whether we have “holiness without which no man shall see the Lord!”

From the Scriptures above we can see that worldliness has to do with the lusts of the flesh. Every unbeliever is bound by his lusts. Nothing a sinner does is disconnected from the lusts of the flesh. This is why we must be careful about imitating or taking part in things that the world highly esteems. It very well may be an abomination to God.

If we are not consciously seeking to be free from the lusts of the flesh (worldliness) we can be sure that the flesh is having it’s way in us. It is a conscious battle to look to Jesus and submit to His Headship rather than our lusts.

What are the practical implications for us in light of the seriousness of worldliness?

1. The lusts of the flesh, lust of the eyes and the pride of life are the roots and building blocks of Satan’s kingdom. Whenever we choose to follow our lusts rather than submitting to Christ, we are contributing to Satan’s kingdom. We must embrace a life of consistent denial of the flesh. Keeping ourselves pure from worldliness is a constant battle. In a large sense, Satan is much less of an enemy than our fleshly desires. His tactics are to seduce us through our lusts to disobey God.

2. Both the Old Testament and the New instruct God’s people to shun the customs of the heathen around them. We don’t have the benefit of having a whole nation who are “God’s people.” The “heathen” and their “customs” are all around us. This spirit of the world shouts at us in the store and through the media. If what man highly esteems is an abomination to God we must be careful what we imitate from the majority around us. Why is it that we think we can take on the language, clothing and entertainment of the world around us when the whole world lies under the power of the evil one?? There is a reason that worldlings dress and act the way they do, they are under the power of their sinful lusts! Why do we think we can be like them when they live for the flesh? Come out and be separate! Be not conformed to the pattern of the world!

3. We must shun teaching that overtly or subtly teaches us that we don’t have to daily die to self. Such a teaching is a doctrine of demons. It is impossible to be a disciple of Christ and refuse to deny the flesh.

4. We are to be different. The way we talk, do business, love others, dress, entertain ourselves and lead our families ought to be a declaration and demonstration of the righteousness of Christ! We are not supposed to fit in! We are to be a holy abrasion to the world! A representation in flesh and blood of the righteous life of Christ that left no cloak for the world’s sin. As HE was in the world, so are we. If we say we abide in Him, we ought to walk as He walked. Such a life of holiness will be a proclamation of the holiness of Christ and His law and will lead men to a Holy Christ.

5. If we love the world, we do not love God. And if we don’t love God, we don’t love others. A “worldly Christian” doesn’t know God’s love and will likely be the first to call an act of God’s love “unchristlike” and “unloving.” God’s love has man’s eternal best interests in mind. That is why God’s love sometimes comes across as severe. He is trying to save us from something much worse in the next life. God’s love is both good and severe. Worldly love is deceptive and mushy.

6. We must be consistent. If we truly hate violence, carnal attitudes, nakedness, witchcraft or any other sin, we will also hate it on the TV screen. We are hypocrites if we say we hate sin but we enjoy watching things that are sinful. Love rejoices not (is not entertained by) iniquity. Do we truly hate sin and love righteousness?

Separation from the ways of the world is not an option for believers. Fleeing from worldliness is not just an Anabaptist distinctive or the pursuit of the “conservatives.” It is the pursuit of every child of God who loves Christ and His holy character. Which will it be? Will you submit to Christ or to Satan’s kingdom? Are we seeking to conform every part of our lives (inwardly and outwardly) to the image of Christ? Or are we believing the lie that we can fit in with the world but still be a Christian?

Lies Christians Believe #1 ~ “My actions do not affect my relationship with God or His view of me.”

It’s been on my heart for a while now to expose some of the lies that Christians believe. I hope to write about several of them in the next month or so as the Lord allows. I enjoy having an outlet for my study and this is an important subject with eternal consequence.

Truth is a Person. To embrace a lie of any sort grieves the Spirit of Truth and causes some degree of division between ourselves and the Person of Truth - Jesus.

Lies cannot be separated from unbelief and sinful conduct. How we believe will determine our actions. So, believing a lie will lead to “living a lie.”

Lie #1 - “My actions do not affect my relationship with God or His view of me because I am righteous in Christ.”

The implication of such a statement is huge! To say that our actions do not change our relationship with Christ or His view of us is to declare that what we do does not matter at all. That is the logical conclusion of this lie. If our actions do not change God’s view of us then God doesn’t CARE what we do. In that case God would cease to be holy.

To some of you this is an obvious lie but I have been surprised to hear some Christians saying such things boldly. Many live like they believe this lie whether they will admit to it or not. I want to list a number of Scriptures that very clearly prove that this is a lie and a doctrine of demons that leads men to Hell.

Note: These are passages about Old and New Testament believers. These are examples of believers whose relationship with God was greatly altered, some to their eternal ruin, by their actions. Here is just a sampling from Scripture:

1. Genesis 3:1-5 - Satan questions the consequences for disobeying God. He was the first to promote this foul doctrine of our disobedience not affecting our relationship with God. “Ye shall not surely die” is still at the heart of this lie today.

2. 1 Samuel 15:16-29 - Saul lost his right to be king because of a partial disobedience. God “rejected” Saul from being king because of his disobedience. God’s view of Saul was greatly altered through his disobedience.

3. God’s covenant with Israel in the OT was completely conditional on the obedience or disobedience of Israel. If they obeyed, they were blessed. If they disobeyed, they were punished till they repented or were destroyed. The whole Old Testament gives us a story full of God’s dealings with HIS people. Many who once believed in God were cast away because of their disobedience. God says in Isaiah 59:2 that the people have caused a separation between themselves and God because of their disobedience.

4. Matthew 7:21 clearly tells us that it isn’t those who have a profession of faith that will be saved (“Lord, Lord”) but he that DOES the will of the Father.

5. Matthew 12:36-37 says that we will be judged, not by our profession of faith in Christ, but by our words. We will by “justified” or “condemned” by our words.

6. In Matthew 25 Jesus tells us that those who showed kindness to the least of His brethren would be saved on Judgment day. It was what they DID or DID NOT DO that determined their eternal destiny.

7. Jesus tells us in John 15:2 and 6 that those branches “in Him” that do not bear fruit are taken away and cast into the fire (Hell). If this were referring to unbelievers, it would not say that they were “in Him.” Neither would it say that they will be “taken away.” There is no need to take something away from the vine if it was never connected in the first place.

8. Acts 5 tells us that two people lied to God and were struck dead. These were believers who had been washed in Christ’s blood but they chose to disobey. Their disobedience was eternally destructive for them.

9. Hebrews 6:4-6 describes people who have been enlightened, tasted of the Heavenly gift, partaken of the Holy Spirit, have tasted the word of God and of good things to come. There is no way to get around the fact that the writer is describing Christians. But they fell away! You can’t fall away from something that you were never joined to. Chapter 10 tells us that we can willfully sin ourselves into a position where we are deserving of the judgement of God.

10. Revelation 2-3 shows us that disobedience leads to the Holy Spirit being removed (removal of the candlestick) and even being vomited out of Jesus mouth. Their disobedience would not end well.

The Bible is full of these passages! And yet people insist that they are safe in Christ, regardless of their actions, because they are born again.

We need to examine the premise that is used to justify this lie. But I think it is best covered in another note about the true nature of grace. It is clear however that our actions do affect how God views us and how we relate to Him. God may continue to love us when we disobey, but He is not pleased. The following verses show us that we cannot claim to be righteous or like Christ if we do not DO righteousness through His grace.

1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 

1Jn 3:7 Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. 

1Jn 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

And finally, consider the words of Peter:
"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:" 1Pe 1:17  

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