Message 44 - By
Leroy Surface
“The Scenario”
Introduction
A scenario (given in the following paragraph) was recently
discussed by a panel on a worldwide religious broadcast. The conclusion reached was both shameful and
shocking. It gives insight, however,
into just how far the modern church has fallen from Biblical truth. If you answer “yes” to the question below, your answer indicates that you do not
understand the reason God sent His Son into the world, and you could be in danger
of losing your soul. This is the
scenario:
“Let’s say a Christian has their faith in Jesus Christ and Him
crucified; the person loves God, but gives in to temptation and commits
adultery. If Jesus returns to rapture
the church while they are in the act of committing adultery, would they go in
the rapture?”
How would you answer this question?
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The
Scenario
Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with
me. For I am jealous over you with godly
jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to
Christ. But I fear, lest by any means,
as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
II Corinthians 11:1-3
I first heard this “scenario”
over twenty three years ago. It was
during the late 1980’s and sex scandals were rocking and shocking the
church. The two largest television
ministries in the world had both “fallen”
in scandal. In the year 1988, the
largest Pentecostal denomination in the world was shaken when several hundred
of their most prominent pastors also “fell”
in adulterous affairs. The reaction of
many church leaders in that period was certainly strange indeed; on one hand
they sought to “destroy” the men
involved in the scandals, while at the same time they took measures to take the
“scandal” out of the “scandals.”
It was on “TBN” that I
first saw (and heard) a round table discussion that had been arranged by Paul
and Jan Crouch. Six ministers were
brought together to discuss the issue of “adultery;”
which, at that time, was heavy on the minds of the people. The
scenario they presented was this: “A
‘man of God’ was in the act of committing adultery when the last trumpet
sounded and Jesus came to ‘rapture’ His people.” The question presented to the panel was this:
“Would Jesus accept the man who was in
the act of adultery and take him in the rapture, or would He reject the man and
leave him behind?” The reaction of
the panel was varied and sometimes heated.
One pastor, a well known Baptist from San Antonio, said he did not
believe the man had ever really been saved if he was committing adultery. There was another, a Pentecostal evangelist,
who was outraged that the question was even presented. In fact, he wanted to totally and publicly
disassociate himself from the panel if it seemed to condone sin in any
way. He insisted that no one in the act
of adultery would by any means be accepted in the rapture. There were however, three ministers, Paul and
Jan Crouch, and sadly, Hal Lindsey, who said, “Of course Jesus would accept the man, because he had already professed
Jesus as his savior.” Jan became
vehement in her opinion, actually ridiculing the evangelist that objected to
the scenario. “We are all sinners,” she said.
“How many sins can you commit
before Jesus says, ‘That’s it! You’ve sinned once too many, and I’ve got to cut
you off. How many sins, Brother ______?
…how many sins?” These three
ministers tried to force their opinion on the rest of the panel. One went so far as to say that if you had
ever at any time publicly professed Jesus, it would be impossible for you to be
lost and not “go to heaven” when you
die.
I was outraged, and I can assure you that it was not a “self-righteous” outrage. Ten years before that time I had been in a “backslidden” condition, and I knew that
I was lost and on my way to Hell if God did not deliver and restore me. During the time of my backsliding, various
preachers and pastors told me different things.
One said, “It could happen to any
of us.” NO! Don’t tell me that, what
had happened to me could “happen to any
of us.” Tell me about a “salvation… not to be repented of” (II Corinthians 7:10). Tell me about a safe place “in Christ,” where those who abide in
Him “sinneth not” (I John 3:6), but don’t ever tell me “it could happen to any of us.”
I counseled with a pastor friend during that time who told me, “Just tell God you are sorry. All He can do is forgive you, because He is
bound by His word to forgive.” I
said, “NO! God is
God! If He so desires He could cause the
ground beneath me to open up and let me plunge headlong into the pit like He
did Korah (Numbers
16:32), but He does not have to
forgive me.”
Another friend, an old holiness missionary, tried to help me blame
my sin on another person, because of “how
they treated you (his words).” I wallowed in that pit for some time until I
read David’s repentance in Psalms 51:1-4,
“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to
thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out
my transgressions. Wash me throughly
from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned….” I could read no further. I understood in the words of David that all “sin” is against God. Far beyond sinning against someone I thought
had mistreated me, I had sinned against God who had never harmed me in any
way. I could not handle this reality,
and “godly sorrow” began to tear at
my heart from that day until the day He restored me. It was on March 2, 1980, as I lay at an altar
repenting in tears (as I had done for almost two years), that I opened my Bible
and these were the words that flooded from the page into my heart: “Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when
I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto
me. I
will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against him, until
he plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: he will bring me forth to
the light, and I shall behold his righteousness” (Micah 7:8-9). As I lay
weeping at the altar, I heard the voice of the Spirit for the first time in
many months. He said, “The
indignation is past; I will restore your life, your ministry, and your
anointing.”
It was based on my sorrowful experience and the word of God, that I
responded to that “scenario” in a
booklet titled “The New Creation.” I wrote something on this order: “If you want to know how many sins it takes
to separate a man from God, ask Adam.
‘Adam, how many sins did it take to separate you from God?’ If you listen closely, you can hear Adam say,
‘Just one. It took just one sin to
separate me (Adam), and thus all
humanity, from God.”
The mindset concerning sin, held by three people on that panel of
six over twenty years ago, has since swept through the churches and ministries
of America (and much of the rest of the world); until today it is common for so
called “believers” to believe that
sin doesn’t matter with God; “just as
long as you trust in Jesus as your savior.”
This is a hideous, ridiculous, doctrine, which has today, filled the
churches with sinners who believe Christ will accept them at His coming, simply
because they have “believed in Jesus.” The present state of the churches gives
understanding to the words of Jesus in Luke
18:8, “…when the Son of man cometh,
shall he find faith on the earth?”
“The Scenario” Revisited
It was Thursday, of the week before Christmas, 2011, that I decided
to watch a broadcast on the JSM
television network. I was surprised and
amazed when the two hour broadcast began with a panel of four ministers
discussing the identical “scenario” I
had seen on TBN over twenty years before.
The moderator of the program said it was on her desk when she arrived at
the studio, and the panel would discuss it.
The scenario was laid out almost exactly as it had been over twenty
years before on TBN. “Let’s
say a Christian has their faith in Jesus Christ and Him crucified; loves God,
but gives in to temptation and commits adultery. Well, if Jesus raptures the church while they
are in the middle of committing adultery, will they go in the rapture?”
I was disappointed that this panel would even discuss such a scenario,
but I felt it would be okay, because surely this panel of three men and one
woman would understand the truth of the gospel (the cross and the blood) enough
to “close the door” on the heresy
that had been opened years before on the TBN network. I cannot tell you how ashamed and shocked I
was when I heard the conclusion that was reached by this panel. It was Donnie who reluctantly brought the
conclusion with these words: “…the
silly question about if a Christian is in the middle of committing adultery
when the rapture takes place…He’d go to
heaven as long as his faith is anchored in Christ. Once again, there is no perfection; we don’t
believe in sinless perfection. But as
long as one’s faith is in Christ; …and you better believe what I am telling,
because if I am wrong, none of us are going to make it.”
I have only two questions for Donnie; “Do you really want to be the one who tells millions of men, women,
and young people, who may be struggling to remain faithful, that a ‘single act’ of adultery will be
acceptable to God as long as their faith remains in Christ? You have planted a seed in the hearts of
thousands of young people that will surely conceive and bring forth another
wave of uncleanness, even in your own ministry.
Why not preach the cross and the
blood as they truly are: the ‘cross
of Christ’ which is not, ‘the
source of all things for the believer,’ but, ‘the end of old things; the
end of the old man of sin’ (Romans
6:6-7), and, ‘the end of the (old) Law
of Moses for righteousness;’ to the believer (Romans 10:4; Colossians 2:14)? Why not preach the blood of Jesus Christ that
sanctifies the believer (Hebrews 13:12); and, ‘cleanses us (all who believe it) from all unrighteousness?” (I John 1:9).
It
Does Make a Difference What You Believe!
When I was a child, the pastor of “Berean Baptist Church” in Houston Texas
began and ended his daily radio broadcast with the slogan, “It does make a difference what you believe.” I do not remember the pastor’s name, and I
cannot tell you what he preached, but the words of his slogan have stayed with
me and influenced me all the days of my life.
I do know that “what we believe” is either “light” or “darkness.” The apostle John
says in I John 1:6, “If
we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do
not the truth.” To explain verse six, I will borrow from my
upcoming commentary on “The First Epistle
of John.”
The apostle concludes that those who “claim fellowship with God,” while “walking in darkness,” are
only pretending to have peace and fellowship with God. They are not free from sin, and they are
condemned in their own hearts. These are
those who “continue in sin” only because the “…light of the glorious gospel
of Christ” has never shone into their hearts (II Corinthians 4:4).
Men do not “walk in darkness” because they have sinned; they “sin”
because they walk in darkness. The
Gnosticism of John’s day was the source of great darkness that continues in the
hearts of multitudes of “Christians” unto
this day. They think it is “light”
to teach that our “body” is always sinful, while our
spirit is always “holy,” and that we will continue in sin as long as we live in
a body of flesh. All such teaching is “gross
darkness” which is offered to the people as “light.”
The apostle John continues in verse
seven, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all
sin.” Again, I borrow from my
commentary on I John 1:7:
Verse seven presents a second hypothetical which is
the exact opposite of the one in the previous verse. The first hypothetical (verse 6) presented a claim (‘…we say we have fellowship with
Him’), while the second
hypothetical (verse 7) presents a reality
(“...we walk in the light, as He is in the light...”). The
reality of those who “walk in the light” is
“fellowship with God,” because
they are walking “where God is (‘He is in the light’).” Notice in this seventh verse that John reverses the order of things. In verse
six, we “…say we have fellowship with God and walk in darkness.” In
verse seven, we “walk in the light and have
fellowship with God.” The first
is a “talk” and the second is a “walk.” The reality of an individual is
never discovered in their “talk,”
but in their “walk.” In verse
six, they claim “fellowship with Him,” but the reality is that they “walk
in darkness.” In verse
seven, no “claim” is offered,
but the reality is that they “walk in the light and have fellowship with
Him.”
The lady moderator of the JSM panel made the following statement:
“…He told us not to judge
other people in their sin. People get
that wrong; we can judge them in their
doctrine, but we can’t judge their
sin, because we don’t know their
heart.”
Is she saying that we can judge their “talk” but we are forbidden to judge their “walk?”
Is she saying that if the “talk”
is right, it doesn’t matter about the “walk?”
Is she saying that it is possible for a person’s heart to be right
with God while they are committing sin?
Jesus Christ made the following statement in Matthew 7:16-20:
Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good
fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know
them.
The Frances & Friends “panel”
on JSM is dedicated to exposing corruption in government, and doctrinal error
in churches and ministries. I have
watched them a number of times and found myself in agreement with at least
ninety percent of the things they condemn.
I was happy that someone was “standing
up” against the errors of this generation.
That was the reason for my shame and shock when I heard them promote a
doctrine that was worse than anything they have ever condemned in others. Consider for a moment a “doctrine” that says “God
will accept adulterers as long as their faith is anchored in Jesus Christ.” What is wrong with that statement? It is an oxymoron, an impossibility, that one
whose “faith is anchored in Christ”
would (or could) also be in an adulterous relationship. Maybe we can see the error if we phrase it
another way. “A man of God is in the act of robbing a bank when Jesus comes to
rapture His church. Will Jesus accept
the man and take him in the rapture?”
To say “Yes He will, as long as
the man’s faith is anchored in Christ” is absolute foolishness! Are we to believe that as long as a person’s “faith is anchored in Christ,” they can
be in the act of “adultery, lying,
stealing, or murdering,” and still be acceptable to God when Christ comes
for His church? Is it possible that
Hitler is in heaven today because “his
faith was anchored in Jesus Christ?”
After all, “only God knows his
heart.” We all know that scenario is
absurd, because we saw his works and know his “fruit.” It is by his “fruit” that we know his final end. If any of these “scenarios” are true, then “modern
Christianity” has become the gateway to Hell instead of the door to
Heaven. Such a scenario is the most
perverted doctrine I can imagine; one which has the power to “damn” everyone who believes it. In II
Timothy 2:15-16, the apostle Paul discourages even the discussion of such
things when he says, “Study to shew
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for
they will increase unto more ungodliness.” He reached the only conclusion possible
concerning those who promote such a doctrine: “For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even
weeping, that they are the enemies of
the cross of Christ: Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly,
and whose glory is in their shame,
who mind earthly things” (Philippians
3:18-19).
What
Does Paul, the Apostle Say?
Know ye
not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with
mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
I Corinthians 6:9-10
It is obvious, according to those who believe the new “orthodoxy,” that the apostle Paul did
not understand “Justification by Faith” when
he wrote these words. According to
modern theology, which is the “deception”
Paul warned us against, if any of these “have
their faith anchored in Christ” they will be accepted in the rapture. However, we run into a problem here. It was the apostle Paul, the one with the “revelation” of the cross and the blood,
who told us that none of these will “inherit
the kingdom of God.” Paul did not
end the matter with these two verses,
however; he added the eleventh verse,
which says:
“And such WERE some of
you….” Thank God, that for the child
of God, these unclean things may be in their past, but not in their present, as
the word “were” in the text
indicates. “Fornication, idolatry, adultery, homosexualism, thefts, covetousness,
drunkenness, reviling, and extortion,” are among the “old things” that have “passed
away,” according to the apostle in II
Corinthians 5:17; “Therefore if any
man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” When Paul says “…old things are passed away,” he uses the language of “death.”
For example: “Whatever happened to
the old man that used to live up the road?
Oh, he passed away several
months ago. You won’t be seeing him
around ever again.” That’s the way
sin is for the all who are in
Christ; they are “new creatures,” and
the things of the “old man” have “passed away;” they have been nailed to
the cross with Christ.
“…but ye are washed…” In Revelation 1:5, the
apostle John rejoices in Jesus, saying, “Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood….”
“…but ye are
sanctified…” Paul reaffirms the “washing” in the blood, and declares it to be a finished work when
he says “ye are sanctified.” Hebrew
13:12 is a verse of scripture that should have a place in the heart of
every child of God equal to John 3:16;
“Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered
without (outside) the gate.” Hebrews
10:10 also says, “…we are sanctified through the offering of
the body of Jesus Christ once for
all.” It is obvious,
according to modern “orthodoxy,” that
Paul did not understand either the doctrine of justification or the doctrine of
sanctification, because he never one time mentions the “lifetime process of sanctification” in any of his writings. He said it was accomplished “once for all” in the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ.
“…but ye are justified…” Notice the order Paul places justification in. He says “ye
are washed…ye are sanctified…ye are justified” and he used these three to
prove that the children of God, regardless of what they used to be, are not
sinners, do not have a sin problem, and will not be in the act of any sin when
Jesus returns for His people.
If I had presented “washed in
the blood” and “sanctified by the
blood” before “justified,” I
would be declared “ignorant” at best
and “a heretic” at the worst. Thank God, it wasn’t me that said it; I only
read it in the word of God, and I believed it.
Charles Finney, the great evangelist of the nineteenth century said, “…men are justified by faith only, as they are first
sanctified by faith.”
Justification
by Faith
During the discussion on “The
Scenario,” it was said three separate times, “you’ve got to understand justification by faith.” What I heard (please correct me if I am wrong
in what I heard) was that in order to understand how one who is in the act of
adultery will be accepted by Christ at the rapture, I must understand “justification by faith.” Again, consider the absurdity of the
statement. I present that anyone who believes
that Christ will accept sinners of any stripe in the rapture does not understand “justification by faith.” I
will also present that the Apostle Paul did not understand the “doctrine” of justification as it is
taught by the so called “orthodoxy” of
today. I once heard a theologian say “The apostle Paul was a great man of God,
but a very poor theologian.” If Paul
was a “poor theologian,” it’s only
because he never met Augustine, Luther, Calvin, Stanley, or any one of many
theologians today who have attempted to explain what Paul really meant. I speak in jest, and maybe foolishly so, but
no child of God should ever fear to believe exactly what the apostles of Christ
actually said instead of the “theological
version” of what they said.
Theologians have, over the course of several hundred years,
developed a system of theology which is not necessarily in line with what the
apostles clearly taught. Due to that
fact, many who are truly the children of God have been laboring under doctrines
that simply have not worked, either for them, or the ones who taught them. In Hebrews
13:9, the apostle exhorts us, “Be not
carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that
the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited
them that have been occupied therein.”
If you believe a “gospel” that has left you in a struggle with
sin, you might want to consider if what you believe is really the truth. Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word,
then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as
pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For
if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before
God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham
believed God, and it
was counted unto him for righteousness.
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of
debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth
on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Romans 4:1-5
Man cannot save himself. By
nature, every man (every person) is ungodly, without the ability to even reach
out to God, much less to approach God.
Abraham is given as an example of one who was “justified by faith”
before Christ came and died for us. He
is also an example of how we today must “believe
God” if we are to come to Him. We
know that Abraham was born almost three hundred and fifty years after the flood,
probably about two years before the death of Noah. It was a time that the entire world was in
the darkness of idolatry. Abraham’s
father was a man named Terah, who, according to Jewish tradition, was a wicked
man and an idol maker, even though he was directly descended from Noah. The tradition says that Abraham watched his
father building the “gods” the people
worshiped, and understood that these could not be the “god” that created
all things. It is possible that Abraham
received some knowledge about the true God from Shem, the oldest son of Noah,
who was still alive in Abraham’s day, and did not die until Jacob and Esau were
forty years of age. The scriptures do
not tell us anything about Abraham until he is seventy five years old and
married to his wife Sarah, who was a barren woman. Genesis
12:1-2 gives the record of Abraham’s first encounter with God: “Now
the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy
kindred, and from thy father's house,
unto a land that I will shew thee: And I
will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name
great; and thou shalt be a blessing.”
This first encounter with God earned Abraham a place in “Faith’s Hall of Fame,” the eleventh
chapter of Hebrews. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a
place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8).
Abraham “believed God,” and “obeyed God” (Hebrews 11:8). These two things, “believe,” and “obey”
cannot be separated. The idea that a
person could be both “justified by faith” and “walk in disobedience”
is ridiculous, but it is the thinking of multitudes of people in the church
today. It was his faith, however, the
fact that he “believed God,” that God counted to be “righteousness.” It was the “righteousness of faith (Romans 4:13)” that brought him
to the “obedience of faith (Romans
16:26)” in which he would answer the call of God. Paul expressed this same principle of
salvation in Ephesians 2:8-10, “For by grace are ye saved through faith;
and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest
any man should boast. For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath
before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Believing
God
He that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because
he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.
I John 5:10
The “record” that God gave of His Son is that of which Paul
said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God
unto salvation to everyone that believeth” (Romans 1:16). Jesus
commanded us to “Go…preach the gospel…he that believeth shall be saved…he
that believeth not shall be damned.”
It is on the basis of believing the gospel that people are
justified. The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives a record of men and women of the
Old Testament who were “justified by faith.” Each record begins with the words, “By
faith….” Noah “believed God”
when He warned him of a flood to come, and “obeyed God” in building the
ark. Abel “believed God” and “obeyed
God” when He offered the “more excellent sacrifice” (Hebrews 11:4). It was the same with all the others who were “justified
by faith;” they “believed God,” and because they believed God, they “obeyed
God.” It was their “faith”
that was counted to them for righteousness.
Through their experience we know that justification is by faith. Since Christ died for us at Calvary, however,
there is a new message from God that man must believe if he is to be
justified. It is the “gospel of
Christ,” the “record that God gave of His Son.”
Paul tells us in Romans 4:5
that God “justifies the ungodly.”
In Romans 5:6, he says, “…Christ
died for the ungodly.” And again, in
Romans 8:33, Paul says, “It is
God that justifieth.” How is it
possible that God justifies “sinners,” but He does not justify “sin?” Neither does He justify sinners “in their
sin.” The definition of the Greek
word “dikaioo,” which was translated as “justified,”
is “to render (i.e. show or
regard as) just or innocent
(Strong’s Greek Lexicon).” After
the ungodly are “justified,” they are “just” (righteous);
they are no longer “ungodly.” Romans 5:19 reveals the justification of
the ungodly to be the purpose for which Christ died on the cross; “For as by
one man’s (Adam’s) disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one (Christ’s death on the cross: Philippians 2:8) shall many be made righteous (justified).”
How
the Ungodly Are Justified
Romans
6:1 through 7 gives the
record of how God “justifies the ungodly.” The following comments on these verses are
taken from my commentary on Romans titled “The Foundation.”
What shall
we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
Romans 6:1
This sixth chapter of
Romans begins with a simple question.
The question is based upon an erroneous interpretation of Romans 5:20, held by some even in
Paul’s day. If sin abounds, and grace
abounds much more, why not continue in sin so that grace will be more
abundant? Those who believe this error
are ignorant of the truth revealed by both Peter and James that, “God
resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6; I Peter 5:5). Those who continue in sin, do so without
grace.
God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin,
live any longer therein?
Romans 6:2
Paul answers their question with a question. He notes the impossibility of one who is “dead to sin” to “live any longer in sin.” This truth is
built upon his words in Romans 5:21;
“…sin hath reigned unto death.”
Paul will establish in the next verses that every child of God has died
to sin through death with Jesus Christ on the cross. Sin has lost its power to reign over those
who know the truth.
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Romans 6:3
It was Jesus who first told us, “And ye shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free” (John
8:32). In this verse Paul
calls their “knowledge of the truth” into question. “Know ye not that every person that
is in Christ was baptized into His death?”
It is in His death that we are joined to Christ. It must be understood that the “baptism”
in this verse has nothing whatsoever
to do with what is called the “sacrament” or “ordinance” of water
baptism. Jesus introduced the baptism
that is spoken of in these verses in Luke
12:50: “I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened
till it be accomplished!” Jesus was
speaking of His death on the cross as a “baptism” which He would
suffer. Again, in Mark 10:37-38, James and John came to Jesus with a request, “Grant
unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand,
in thy glory.” Jesus answers in the next verse, “Ye know not what ye
ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism
that I am baptized with?” The “cup”
spoken of here was the same cup Jesus Himself prayed to the Father about in Matthew 26:39, “If it be possible,
let this cup pass from me….” The “baptism” spoken of in these verses is His death on the
cross. Water baptism is only a type and
a shadow of which, “baptism into His death” is the reality.
Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life.
Romans 6:4
The purpose of our being “baptized into His death” is our “resurrection”
to “walk in newness of life.”
Peter tells us that God has “begotten us again unto a lively hope by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (I Peter 1:3).
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of
his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Romans 6:5
Our being in the likeness of His resurrection is based upon and
subject to our being in the likeness of His death.
Knowing
this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:6
These several verses are “foundation stones” of a
Christian life that will not fail in the storm.
“Our old man is crucified with Him….” The little word “with” is of utmost
importance, because it comes from the Greek word “sun (pronounced soon),”
and denotes “union.” “Our old man is
crucified in union with Him.”
When Jesus Christ, the Son of God was nailed to the cross, our old man of sin was nailed to that same
cross with Him.
The next phrase denotes the reason our old man is crucified; “that
the body of sin might be destroyed.” In this phrase, the word “that” is
very important. It is translated from
the Greek word “hina,” which means, “in
order that.” “Our old man is crucified in
union with Christ, in order that the body of sin might be
destroyed.” Next, in this verse, we
must look at the word “body.” It
comes from the Greek word “soma,” which means “the body (as a sound
whole).” It is used throughout the
New Testament to identify the natural body of man, but it differentiates
between a hand or a foot, which are simply “members of the body,” and
the entire body, which is made of many members.
To clearly understand the term “body of sin,” think of the
difference between a “glass of water” and the “ocean”. The ocean
is the “body of water,” and the “source of all waters.” Now we read the text as follows; “Our old
man is crucified in union with Christ, in order that the entire
body and source of sin might be destroyed….” Finally, the word “destroyed” is
translated from the Greek word “katargeo,”
which means, “to be (render) entirely idle (useless).”
“…that henceforth we should
not serve sin.” The Greek word translated “henceforth”
is “meketi.”
It is made up of two Greek words, “me” and “eti,” which may rightly be translated either “no
further,” or “lest still,” according to the usage in the
sentence. This writer believes this sixth verse to clearly say the
following: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified in union with Christ, in order that the entire body and source of sin might be rendered entirely idle and useless, lest we continue to be slaves to sin.” If our “old man” is not crucified, and
the source of sin disabled, we will continue to serve sin all the days of our
lives.
For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Romans 6:7
Thanks be to God, we are not slaves, because, “He that is dead
(crucified in union with Christ) is freed from sin.” In this
verse, though concealed by the translators, Paul gave us the scriptural
definition of “justified.” The
word “freed” in this verse is translated from the Greek word “dikaioo,” meaning, “to render just or innocent.” It is used forty eight times in the New Testament,
and in every place with the exception of this one in Romans 6:7, it is translated as “justified.” The scriptural definition of “justified?,” “He that is dead (with Christ) is
justified.” One is truly justified by grace when the old man is
crucified with Christ.
“He That
Is Dead…Is justified”
Paul gave his understanding of justification in a way that anyone
who lived under Roman rule with the classic Greek justice system would
understand. Whenever a person was
indicted and convicted of any crime, punishment would be administered
sufficient to fit the crime. After the
sentence was carried out against the one convicted, they were said to be “justified,”
and fit to re-enter society with a clean record. If, however, a person were convicted of a “capitol
crime,” the sentence would be “death.” After the sentence was “executed” and
the guilty party was “dead,” it was said that they were “justified.” That is the basis from which Paul says in Romans 6:7, literally translated from
the Greek, “He that is dead, is justified from sin.” I will finish this chapter on “justification”
by referring again to the commentary on verses
eight through eleven.
Now if
we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Romans 6:8
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no
more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Romans 6:9
This is the third time
the matter of “knowing” has arisen in this sixth chapter of Romans.
These are great and wonderful truths that we must “know” if we
are to be free from sin. In this verse
Paul begins an example for every believer in the death and resurrection of
Jesus Christ. Jesus died once. Being raised from the dead, He will never die
again, because death has no more dominion over Him.
For in
that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
Romans 6:10
This verse is most important as establishing the basis for our
great confession in the next verse.
Jesus died! He died unto sin; and
He died but once! Jesus lives! He lives unto God. This is the pattern of our salvation through
death and resurrection “in union with” Jesus Christ.
Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto
sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Romans 6:11
“Likewise (in this way) reckon ye also
yourselves…” The word “likewise”
ties us to the facts that were stated about Jesus in the previous verse. He “died
unto sin once…likewise, we died (with Him) unto sin once.” He “liveth unto God…likewise, we live
(in Him) unto God.” When Jesus “died
unto sin once,” we were “with (in union with) Him.” In that our old man died with Christ, we are “dead
indeed unto sin.” In His
resurrection, a “new man” was born, and we are “alive unto God
through (the Greek word is ‘in’) Jesus Christ our Lord.” Our union with Christ is both in His death
and in His life.
The sentence structure of this eleventh
verse is very interesting. The word “indeed”
is key to the power and reality of the confession. It is translated from the Greek word “men.” The “Strong’s Concordance” definition
is as follows: “men:’ a primary particle; properly, indicative of
affirmation or concession (in fact); usually followed by a contrasted
clause with 1161 (the Greek word for ‘but’).” The “concession” in this verse is: “In
fact, I am dead unto sin.” The
contrasted clause is, “But I am alive unto God in Jesus Christ my
Lord.”
The “reckoning”
in this verse is not only that we are dead unto sin, but also that we are alive
unto God. The power of our “reckoning”
is also found in the word “indeed.” It is a “fact” that we are both dead to
sin and alive to God in union with Christ.
It is a fact, but until you reckon it so, you will continue to struggle
with sin in your heart and nature.
Sanctification
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people
with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Hebrews 13:12
A very common misconception about sanctification is that the “Holy
Ghost” is given to sanctify us. It
is not! There is not a single scripture
in the Bible that clearly says so. The following
scriptures are those that reveal exactly who and what it is that sanctifies us:
For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified
are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren.
Hebrews 2:11
Notice that the “sanctifier” calls those “who are
sanctified,” “brethren.” The
Holy Ghost is not our “brother,” but Paul says in Romans 8:29, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn
among many brethren.” Jesus is
the firstborn; we, “who are sanctified,” are His “many brethren.”
By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body
of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:10
Another misconception about sanctification is that it is a “lifetime
process,” accomplished with the “help” of the Holy Ghost. Again, it is not! It is “through the offering of the body of
Jesus Christ” that we are sanctified.
It is very important that we see the message of Hebrews 10:4-7: “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls
and of goats should take away sins.
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and
offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: In burnt
offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume
of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.” This text refers in part to a prophecy of
Jesus Christ in Psalms 40:6-8. It shows so clearly the reason Christ came in
a body of flesh. He came to do what the
sacrifices of the law “could not do” (Romans 8:3), which was to “take away sin” (John 1:29).
His purpose in coming in a body of flesh was to offer His own body, and
shed His own blood for the sanctification of the people, hence Hebrews 10:9-10 says, “Lo, I come to
do thy will O God…by the which will we are sanctified by the offering of the
body of Jesus Christ.”
Wherefore Jesus also,
that he might sanctify the people with
his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Hebrews 13:12
This is an amazing verse of scripture, though obscure to many. In only seventeen words, everything you need
to know about the sufferings and death of Jesus on the cross is explained. There are six questions every reporter is
required to answer in reporting any event.
They are “who, what, when, where, why, and how.” In this very short verse the writer answers
all but one of these, and that is “when,” but we already know when. Follow closely: Who? “Jesus also.” What? “suffered.” When?
(The only question not answered in this verse, but we know the
approximate answer.) Where? “without (outside) the gate.” Why? “that
He might sanctify the people.”
How? “with His own blood.” Certainly this is one of the most complete
records ever given in such few words, if we can receive it.
Of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden
under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the
blood of the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit
of grace?
Hebrews 10:29
The greatest wrath of God is reserved against those who, as Paul
also said in Romans 1:18, “...hold
the truth in unrighteousness.” They “trod
the Son of God under foot;” they “count the blood of Jesus, wherewith
(we are) sanctified,” to be no more than the common blood of animals,
which can never “take away sin (Hebrews
10:4);” and just as Esau “despised his birthright,” they “despise
the Spirit of grace” (Hebrews
12:16-17; Genesis 25:29-34).
What is sanctification?
Behold,
I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord,
whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the
covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of
hosts. But who may abide the day of his
coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he
is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: And he shall sit as a refiner and
purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge
them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in
righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and
Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former
years.
Malachi 3:1-4
We have seen the scriptures that reveal who the sanctifier is, and
how He sanctified the people, but we need to clearly understand exactly what
sanctification really is. The prophet
Malachi foretold the coming of Christ into the world to “purify and purge”
the people. “He is like a refiner’s
fire (to purge), and like fullers’ soap (to wash and
purify).” The definition of the Greek
word translated “sanctification,” is “purification,” and that is
the purpose of the shed blood of Christ, to “purify” the people. Notice the words of John in Revelation 1:5, “Unto him that loved
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood;” and in I John 1:9, “If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.” John also
says, in the seventh verse, “If
we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with
another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” Using the word “purge,” the writer of
Hebrews said, “How much more shall the blood of Christ…purge your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God (Hebrews 9:14)?” Each of these scriptures testifies to the
purifying power of the blood of Jesus Christ.
The person that is sanctified is “pure.” “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they
shall see God (Matthew 5:8).”
Justification and Sanctification: Inseparable
About a hundred and fifty years ago Charles Finney wrote this: “Modern
legalists do not expect to be justified by works; they know these are
inadequate—they know that the way to be saved is by Christ. But they have no practical belief that justification
by faith is only true, as sanctification by faith is true, and that men
are justified by faith only, as they are first sanctified by faith….” The idea that a person can be “justified”
by faith and continue in sin until he is “sanctified” is ludicrous,
because the same faith that justifies also sanctifies. Both works were accomplished in the same
offering of the body and blood of Jesus Christ through His death on the
cross. Both were “finished” at
Calvary, thus no time period is necessary for us to receive that which is
accepted by faith. Paul sheds light on
this subject with his question in Galatians
2:17; “But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we
ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of
sin? God forbid.” Three verses later, Paul has this to
say in Galatians 2:20, “I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in
me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith
of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” The question he asked in the seventeenth verse is, “Can I
truthfully say that Christ is living in me when I am continuing in sin? Is it Christ who is sinning in me?” Paul expressed the absurdity of such a thing;
“God forbid! How shall we, that are
dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (Romans 6:2).
Many of those who believe that salvation is “by grace,” which
it certainly is, also believe in a “justification” which does absolutely
nothing for the one justified (“it is only a decree in heaven,” they
say), and a “sanctification” which is a lifetime process of “putting
away sins” through continual counseling and learning of principles. That is not only the recipe for a lifetime of
struggle as described in the seventh
chapter of Romans, it is also the definition of “salvation by works,”
because “grace” has done absolutely nothing for them. It is the “doctrine” of those Jude
warned of, who “turn the grace of God into lasciviousness” (Jude 4). It is to the shame of the modern orthodoxy
that do not believe that the “justified”
are “just,” or that the “sanctified” are “clean.” They have given
themselves to believe “fables (II Timothy 4:4)” and “fairy tales.”
Know ye
not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived:
neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers
of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor
revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye
are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye
are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of
our God.
I Corinthians 6:9-11
Paul did not mince words when he wrote: “The unrighteous shall
not inherit the kingdom of God.” He
became much more specific: “Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate, etc, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Paul gave a much longer list of those who “shall
not inherit.” They can “believe
in one God (James 2:19),”
but they are still lost. They can
believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and even profess that God raised him from
the dead, but these are still lost. They
“shall not inherit the kingdom of God.”
These are, however, the “ungodly” that Christ died for. These are also those whom God will justify if
they will “believe on Him that justifieth the ungodly” (Romans 4:5). Do I sound as if I am contradicting myself? I am not!
Paul continues in verse eleven,
“And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but
ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our
God.” Notice the “order” he
gives in the justification of the ungodly; “Ye are washed…ye are
sanctified…ye are justified….” You
are no longer the “ungodly” because, “you are washed…you are
sanctified…you are justified…,” which
means you are “made righteous” (Romans 5:19).
The weakness of the predominate doctrines of justification and
sanctification are in part because traditional theology has given us a view of
justification of that is too “narrow,” and a view of sanctification that
is too “broad.” The view of justification is so narrow that it is
considered “orthodox” to believe that the “justified” are still “sinners.” The proper “view” of justification is
to see our “old man” nailed to the cross “with Christ;” it is to
see the “body (the source) of sin destroyed,” and ourselves
delivered from its bondage (Romans 6:6).
It is to see ourselves as “dead unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:11). This is a much “broader” view of justification than that which is predominate in
the churches today, but it is exactly as Paul said it is, for “He that is
dead, is freed (justified) from sin” (Romans 6:7).
Sanctification, on the other hand, is actually “narrower”
than traditionally taught.
Sanctification simply means that the one sanctified is “clean,” and
“pure.” Get this simple picture; the
person “justified” is “dead to sin” (Romans 6:11), and the person “sanctified” is “washed
from sin” (Revelation 1:5), and
“cleansed from all unrighteousness” (I
John 1:9). The child of God
is both “dead to sin” and “pure within,” and it all happens
through the cross of Christ that crucifies, and the blood of Christ which
sanctifies. It is finished at Calvary,
and is effectual to us through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the “miracle
of salvation.”
A
Final Note
I am well aware that I do not know the hearts of the people I have
written about in the first part of this message, but I do hear their
words. If I were able to see their
hearts, I believe I would find something very different than the words that I,
and millions of others, heard on that sad day.
I do not believe that Francis believes that God accepts adulterers in
their adultery. I believe she was
embarrassed by the turn the conversation took, and regretted introducing the
discussion. Concerning the two “scholars” on the panel, I doubt very
much that they agreed fully with the conclusion Donnie made. One of them tried to warn of the dangers of
such discussions. I also believe they
felt themselves in a very uncomfortable situation if they spoke their mind. Concerning Donnie, I know that he was
aggravated by the question, because he called it a “silly question.” However
instead of standing up for righteousness by telling of the effectual working of
the cross to crucify, and the blood of Christ to sanctify, he tried to give the
“theologically correct answer” that
is taught by many who claim “orthodoxy”
while not understanding the purpose of the cross and the blood of Christ. In so doing, he confirmed the viewpoint of “hyper Calvinism” even though he denies
believing as they believe.
Concerning Donnie’s father, Jimmy, I believe he has suffered beyond
measure for his sin of over twenty years ago.
Very sadly, he has spent all the years since that time seeking to
understand why he did what he did.
Speaking as one who has “walked in
his shoes,” before he walked in them, I know that every deficit in his
understanding of the work of the cross and the blood of Christ will be filled
when he understands that he was “backslidden,
lost, and on his way to Hell” at the time of the scandal. He should understand this through the words
of Romans 7:9, “…sin revived, and I died….” Only then will he know the unspeakable joy of
sins forgiven, pardoned, and taken away by the precious blood of the Lamb of
God. Only then will he be able to preach
against sin and Satan as God called him to do so many years ago, and give the
death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the total answer for every man. I call upon all those who “know the truth” to pray for Jimmy, his
family, his church, and his ministry; but don’t ever believe anyone who tells
you that Christ will accept sinners when He comes, or when they die in
sin. Stand up, and point them to the
cross that crucifies, and the blood that sanctifies.
Message 44 - By Leroy
Surface - The Scenario
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