why are there so many divisions? lesson notes and supplemental material is available at jay guin...
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Why Are There So Many Divisions?
lesson notes and supplemental material is available at
http://www.OneInJesus.info
Jay GuinTuscaloosa, Alabama
Why So Many Divisions?
(Gal. 1:6-7a) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one
who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different
gospel—which is really no gospel at
all.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Gal 1:8) But even if we or an angel from heaven
should preach a gospel other than the one we
preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
Why So Many Divisions?
(Gal. 1:9) As we have already said, so now I say
again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than
what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Why So Many Divisions?
Two Questions:• What is this
“different gospel”?• Are we guilty of this sin?
Why So Many Divisions?
What were the Galatians doing that was so incredibly wrong?
Paul doesn't say until chapter 5!
Why So Many Divisions?
(Gal. 5:2-3) Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that
if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the
whole law.
Why So Many Divisions?
What about circumcision is so wrong?
(Gal 5:4) You who are trying to be justified by law have
been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from
grace.
Why So Many Divisions?
»(Gal. 2:15-16) “We … know that a man is not justified by [works of] law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”
»“observing the law” is actually “works of law”
»There’s no “the” before “law”
Why So Many Divisions?
»(Gal 2:16) “So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by [works of] law, because by [works of] law no one will be justified.”
»Again, there is no “the” before “law” in the Greek
Why So Many Divisions?
• And so, what is “law”?
• And why does seeking justification through “law” cost you your soul?
Why So Many Divisions?
• Notice that the Galatian heresy was seeking to be saved by law
(Gal. 5:4) You who are trying to be justified by law have
been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from
grace.
• The Galatian heresy is in seeking salvation in law, not in obeying or teaching law
Why So Many Divisions?
• Two theories:– The Law of Moses– Works of law,
meaning, any works intended to merit salvation
Why So Many Divisions?
• Most Church of Christ commentaries support “law” as being the Law of Moses
• What would this mean regarding—– Treating Sunday as the
Christian Sabbath?– Wearing Sunday “best”
because Leviticus commands that we give our best to God?
– Circumcising our children?• Do these practices damn?
Why So Many Divisions?• So what's “law”?
(Rom 2:12) All who sin apart from [ ] law will also perish apart from [ ] law, and all who sin under [ ] law will be judged by [ ] law.
[ ] indicates deletion of “the” not in the Greek
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 2:14-15) (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)
Why So Many Divisions? (Rom 3:19-21) Now we
know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing [ ] law; rather, through [ ] law we become conscious of sin. 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 3:22-24) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Why So Many Divisions?In other words, Gentiles are condemned because they fail to satisfy the law written on their hearts just as the Jews
fail to satisfy the Law of Moses
Plainly, “law” means God's commands, whether or not found in the Law of Moses
Including the moral law within
Why So Many Divisions?
“You cannot add circumcision (or anything else, for that matter) to Christ as necessary for salvation, because Christ is sufficient for salvation in Himself. If you add anything to Christ, you lose Christ.”– John R. W. Stott, The
Message of Galatians, 133-134.
Why So Many Divisions?“Law” is the same as “works”
(Gal 2:16 KJV) Knowing that a man is not justified by the
works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of [ ] law: for by the works of [ ] law shall no flesh
be justified.
Why So Many Divisions?
“Another gospel” is seeking salvation through works
rather than faith!
Why So Many Divisions?
Romans 14 gives examples
Why So Many Divisions?(Rom 14:1) Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing
judgment on disputable matters.
This applies only to those in the church, of course.
But if we in the church are disputing about a matter,
how can it not be disputable?
Why So Many Divisions?(Rom 14:2-3) One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man
who does not eat everything must not condemn the man
who does, for God has accepted him.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 14:5a) One man considers one day more sacred than another;
another man considers every day alike.
In Romans, Paul doesn't bother to say who is right on
the sacred-day issue. Why not?
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 14:4-5b) Who are you to judge someone else's
servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him
stand. ... Each one should be fully
convinced in his own mind.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 14:6) He who regards one day as special, does so to
the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to
the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and
he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to
God.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 14:10) You, then, why do you judge your
brother? Or why do you look down
on your brother? For we will all stand before
God's judgment seat.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 14:13a) Therefore let us stop passing
judgment on one another.
Why So Many Divisions?Notice this:The Romans were disputing about matters of doctrine!
And Paul commanded them to
stop passing judgment.
This is so even though Paul gave
the right position on eating meat
(and even though he didn't bother stating the right
position on sacred days)!
Why So Many Divisions?If Paul knew the right
answer, why was it still wrong to pass judgment?
Why were they commanded to “accept” those teaching
falsely?Who among us is comfortable saying “Each one should be fully convinced in his own
mind”?
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 14:4) Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him
stand.
Why So Many Divisions?
Grace applies to doctrine as well as conduct!
Grace applies to disputable matters—which is anything
we can dispute over and still be Christians!
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 15:7) Accept one another, then, just as Christ
accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
Why So Many Divisions?
We are commanded to accept as fellow Christians all who remain true to what brought
them salvation—even if we disagree about
something else
Why So Many Divisions?Therefore, insisting on adherence to any doctrine,
other than the gospel itself, as the
ground of our salvation is a work and
creates another gospel
We must accept one another based
on the gospel and nothing else, because the gospel is
how we were accepted
Why So Many Divisions?By “gospel” I mean those terms on which we were
accepted at the beginning:
Hear, believe, repent, confess,
be baptized
Grace covers doctrinal sin as well
as moral sin, so long as we remain true to the gospel
Why So Many Divisions?
And insisting on adherence to more than the gospel as essential to salvation risks
teaching another gospel!
Why So Many Divisions?H. A. (Buster) Dobbs,
“Does Grace Guarantee Final Salvation?” The Firm Foundation
(September 1996):
“We are required to keep every specific of the law of Christ, if we receive spiritual blessings, which
include forgiveness and the promise of eternal salvation. …
“The grace of God guarantees our final salvation. This, of course, does
not mean grace alone, but grace accessed by faith, which includes
works of obedience.”
Why So Many Divisions?
Paul says that if you add any law to the gospel as a
condition to salvation, then you’ve made yourself
accountable for every law as a condition to salvation, and thereby you’ve fallen from
grace.
Why So Many Divisions?
Being wrong and being lost are two very different things, and we sometimes get them confused. If being wrong damns, then there is no grace and Christ died for nothing.
Why So Many Divisions?
Phil Sanders, The Christian Chronicle (Feb. 2006), 18-19:
“I believe baptized believers in the Independent Christian Church are my brethren, since everyone who is scripturally born of water and the Spirit is a child of God …
Another Gospel
“Should those who worship with instruments forsake them, I would gladly seek some relationship with them.”
How can they be our brothers and yet we refuse to seek some relationship with them?
Why So Many Divisions?
This is the part where I hope I’m wrong
Why So Many Divisions?You see, in teaching that
certain doctrines other than the gospel are essential to salvation, we’re effectively
saying that to be saved,you not only must hear,
believe, repent, confess, and be baptized,
you must also join a congregation with a scriptural
name, with a scriptural organization, and with a
scriptural pattern of worship.
Why So Many Divisions?I fail to see how insisting on these rules as conditions to
salvation is any different from insisting on circumcision as a condition to
salvation. Either way, you’re insisting on
obedience to a law in addition to the gospel.
Why So Many Divisions?
The gospel is meant to take us away from legalism.The imposition of any rule as a requirement for salvation —even a single morally neutral rule — beyond the gospel is a return to legalism and damnation.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Gal. 5:15)If you keep on biting and
devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed
by each other.
Why So Many Divisions?Fortunately, it’s not
altogether clear that all who are taught this lie
are damned. For example, in
Gal 3:26-27, Paul declares that his readers are “all sons of God.”
In several verses, he calls his readers “brothers.”
Why So Many Divisions?
Perhaps the key verse is Gal 5:10—
“I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.”
and
Why So Many Divisions?
(Gal 1:8-9) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!
Why So Many Divisions?
I am not qualified to judge the fate of those among us
who teach modern equivalents of circumcision, and less so to judge those who’ve been deceived by
such teachers.
Why So Many Divisions?
I only know that, having become aware of the problem, I must speak out and call for repentance—urgently—desperately. Out of love, not condemnation—out of concern for souls.
Why So Many Divisions?It is not enough to be less legalistic than the church
down the road. It’s not enough to be less legalistic than you used to
be. There is only one gospel, and
it won’t admit of any additions at all.
Nothing is required to be saved or to stay saved other
than the gospel.
Why So Many Divisions?
Why are there so many division?
Because we insist on saving ourselves, rather than letting
Jesus do it for us.Because we’ve ignored
GalatiansBecause we’d rather get the credit for being the ones who
care enough to get all the answers right.
Lesson notes are available for free at
http://www.OneInJesus.info
Do We Teach Why So Many Divisions?
Part iI
Why So Many Divisions?
Lesson notes are available for free by leaving your email address with the speaker or by writing [email protected]
Why So Many Divisions?
Yesterday, we considered Rom. 15:7—
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to
God.”
Why So Many Divisions?
When were we “accepted” at a point in time?
Why So Many Divisions?
Hear,Believe,Repent,Confess,
Be baptized
Why So Many Divisions?
Hear, believe, confess faith in Jesus as Son of God
Turn away from sin and commit to serve Jesus
Why So Many Divisions?
Accept Jesus as Son of God
Accept Jesus as Lord
and Galatians adds—
Accept Jesus as Savior (rather than looking to your
own works)
Why So Many Divisions?To repent is to commit to
love
(Gal 5:6b) The only thing that counts is faith expressing
itself through love.
(Gal 5:14) The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Why So Many Divisions?
Relying on Jesus rather than our works is the basis for our
hope.
Tit. 3:4-7
Why So Many Divisions?
We are saved when we accept Jesus—
Son of God: faith
Lord: love
Savior: hope
Why So Many Divisions?
Gal. 5:6FaithLoveOnly
(which is how we hope!)
Why So Many Divisions?
If this is how we are saved, then how are we lost?
Why So Many Divisions?
(1 John 4:2-3a) This is how you can recognize the Spirit
of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus
Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge
Jesus is not from God.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Heb 10:26-27) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire
that will consume the enemies of God.
Why So Many Divisions?
(Gal 5:3-4) Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is
obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be
justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you
have fallen away from grace.
Why So Many Divisions?
How do you fall away?
Lose your faithLose your repentance or
Lose your reliance on JesusThat is, add reliance on self
Why So Many Divisions?
Stop believingStop loving
Stop hoping in Jesus
Why So Many Divisions?This is the gospel:
faith, hope, and love
Jesus— the Son of God, Savior, and
Lord
The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself
through love
Why So Many Divisions?
This is how we are saved,
and losing this is how we are lost
Why So Many Divisions?
• Does this contradict our teaching about baptism?– Paul says in Gal. 3:26-27 that
all the Galatians had been “baptized into Christ.”
– Baptism is not a work– Baptism is not something
you do: it’s something you receive
(it’s always in the passive voice)
Why So Many Divisions?
• Many have argued with us saying that our insistence on baptism contradicts Paul’s teaching on grace
• It does not• Sadly, many of us have
bought this argument and so denied the gospel believing that in so doing we were defending baptism
Why So Many Divisions?• Does this mean we don’t have
to do good works?• Of course not
(Eph 2:8-10) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—
and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
not by works, so that no one can boast.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good
works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Why So Many Divisions?
• Then why do good works if our salvation doesn’t depend on them?
• This question only makes sense if you start with a legal mindset
Why So Many Divisions?
• Why do I honor my parents even though I’m too old to spank?
• Why do I honor my wife even though I’m not afraid of being divorced?
• We have to see love, not as a response to a command, but as our new nature
Why So Many Divisions?
• Of course, love is commanded, but just as you only tell the immature to love their parents, you only need to tell immature Christians they are commanded to love Jesus
• The mature already love Jesus
Why So Many Divisions?
Even our love is not entirely our own doing
• (Phil 2:13) …for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
• (Rom 5:5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Why So Many Divisions?
• And so, our salvation works something like this—– We accept Jesus– We’re baptized– We receive the Spirit– God changes our hearts– Our repentance (love) matures– We do good works because it
is our new nature to do good works, because we are like Jesus
Why So Many Divisions?
(Rom 8:5-6) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace
Why So Many Divisions?
• If we aren’t lost for believing false doctrine, then why study the Bible?
Again, you can’t start with a law-based mindset.
Why So Many Divisions?
• If you love Jesus and have truly repented, you will want to follow his teachings.
• Teachings don’t have to end with “or you’ll go to Hell!” to be obeyed
• My wife honors me even when I don’t threaten to divorce her— and even though she knows dishonor won’t lead to a divorce
• In fact, threatening divorce would destroy our relationship!
Why So Many Divisions?
• Therefore, we can believe in salvation by faith, without adding works, and still—– Not deny baptism– Not deny the importance of
good works– Not teach license– Not teach “once saved,
always saved”
Why So Many Divisions?
It is, therefore, just as dangerous to teach a works-based salvation as it is to deny faith in Jesus or to intentionally continue to sin
Why So Many Divisions?
• A works-based salvation also—– Denies the joy of willing
service– Forces devout believers to
either • live in dread of their damnation
or else • arrogantly suppose they have
achieved perfect obedience (or a perfect doctrine and practice)
Why So Many Divisions?
• Arrogance damns. • In the gospel, “there is no
room for boasting.” Rom 3:27; 1 Cor 1:29-31; 2 Cor 10:17;Gal. 6:14; Eph 2:9
Why So Many Divisions?H. A. (Buster) Dobbs,
“Does Grace Guarantee Final Salvation?” The Firm Foundation
(September 1996):
“We are required to keep every specific of the law of Christ, if we receive spiritual blessings, which
include forgiveness and the promise of eternal salvation. …
“The grace of God guarantees our final salvation. This, of course, does
not mean grace alone, but grace accessed by faith, which includes
works of obedience.”
Why So Many Divisions?
Phil Sanders, The Christian Chronicle (Feb. 2006), 18-19:
“I believe baptized believers in the Independent Christian Church are my brethren, since everyone who is scripturally born of water and the Spirit is a child of God …
Another Gospel
“Should those who worship with instruments forsake them, I would gladly seek some relationship with them. …
“To cooperate with those who continue to act outside [God’s] will is to send a mixed message.”
Why So Many Divisions?
• We have become guilty of a new Gnosticism, believing we can earn our salvation only by having the right position on all the issues.
• We thus teach that, although our flesh is fallen and not perfectible, our minds are capable of perfect doctrinal knowledge
Why So Many Divisions?
• In reality, we need only understand the simple facts of the gospel.
• Indeed, just enough to – Hear the good news about
Jesus, – Believe the good news about
Jesus– Repent by making Jesus Lord– Confess our faith– Be baptized into Jesus– And accept Jesus as our
Savior
Why So Many Divisions?
• And the relationship with Jesus this creates will keep us saved until the end—if we stay true to it
• Indeed, we have to rely on Jesus — and not ourselves
• Rather, we celebrate God’s gift by living lives of joyous service, working out the love poured into us
Why So Many Divisions?
Lesson notes are available for free by leaving your email address with the speaker or by writing [email protected]