Living Biblically

The purpose of Trust the Bible is "to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." That means I want to encourage you to live biblically. Naturally, I'm interested in the new television show called Living Biblically (CBS, Mondays at 9:30) and the book the show is based on.

The premise of the show is that the main character, Chip, suddenly decides to live by the Bible. He wants to follow every command literally. At one point, Chip throws a rock at a co-worker he knows is committing adultery. He believes that if he is living biblically, he must "stone" adulterers. The assumption of the show is that living biblically is absurd. No one can follow everything commanded in the Bible, right? This is 21st Century America! While giving an overall positive view of Chip's intentions and plan, the underlying message is that no one can actually live biblically. If someone were to try it would merely provide great entertainment for everyone else. Even the priest in the show laughs hysterically when he hears what Chip is doing. 

As for the quality of the show itself, it is okay. I think the book is genuinely funny. I'm not as impressed with the sitcom adaptation. However, I do think both the book and the show raise some serious issues in a humorous way. What does it really mean to "live biblically?" Is it impossible to live biblically today? Don't we all just pick and choose which commands to follow in the Bible? 

First, I do believe we should live biblically. This is what it means to be a Christian! This was the core of Jesus' teaching. A Christian's mission is to make disciples, "teaching them to obey everything" Jesus had commanded. Jesus upheld the authority of the entire Bible. "Until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished." (Matthew 5:18) Being a follower of Jesus means seeking to live biblically, and I do mean everything that the Bible commands us to do.

Now, does that mean we should throw rocks at adulterers, carefully avoid wearing anything that isn't made 100% out of one type of material (Chip wears 100% cotton on the show because of Leviticus 19:19) and avoid eating pork? Absolutely not. Why not? Because the Bible doesn't tell us to do these things. In fact, this is the opposite of living biblically. The book and the show have a very distorted way of reading that leads to the wrong assumptions of what it means to live biblically.

Whenever you read anything, you must put phrases and sentences in their context to interpret them correctly. Should we stone adulterers? No. The key passage is Deuteronomy 22:22, which actually doesn't mention stoning, but does say an adulterers should be put to death. Throwing a rock at someone does not count as following the command literally because it doesn't even follow the act described in the verse (putting to death). But in another sense, it is not following the command at all. That is because the context shows that this verse was given to Israelites living in the nation of Israel who were living under the covenant with Moses and acting as a governing community. An individual was never commanded to stone an adulterer. A Gentile was never commanded to stone an adulterer. A Jew living in a foreign country was never commanded to stone an adulterer. Today, even if you are a Jew, even if you are in Israel, even if you are acting as part of a governing community, the government of Israel just isn't set up to reestablish Mosaic law as the law for the nation.

Instead, a Christian is commanded to "submit himself to the governing authorities." (Romans 13:1) If I throw a rock at an adulterer to injure them I am directly violating a biblical command while trying to follow a command that never addressed me in the first place. That is living unbiblically.

Does this mean that some verses in the Bible are no longer valid? No. It's just that they never applied to everyone. When God told Abraham to leave his country and his household and go to Israel (Genesis 12:1), we all recognize that God is not telling everyone to do that. He was telling Abraham to do that. I am not required to move to Israel right away in order to "live biblically." The command to Christians is to go to all nations to make disciples (Matthew 28:19), not just Israel. I believe all of the Old Testament is still valid today. It's just that we have to pay attention to who God is talking to when he gives a command.

The Old Testament tells us when a command is to an individual like Abraham, when it is to a nation like Israel, and when it is to all nations. For instance, when God established the death penalty for murder in Genesis 9:6, he said that it was part of a covenant "with you [Noah and his sons] and with your descendants after you." Unlike adultery, the death penalty for murder is a command for all nations.

When God gives specific commands about what to do and not to do on the Sabbath, he says that it is for Israel: "Say to the Israelites, 'You must observe my Sabbaths. This will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come." (Exodus 31:13). I believe that means that Jews should follow the Sabbath commands today.

The command related to this topic that has been discussed most frequently in recent years deals with homosexuality. Since we ignore other Old Testament commands, shouldn't we ignore the Bible on that one? No again. It is not a matter of ignoring commands, but recognizing that not all of them address everyone. No Christian should ever ignore a single command. The Bible specifically identifies homosexuality as something that is banned for all people, not just Jews and not just during the Old Testament, but always. Read the whole context in a passage like Leviticus 18:22-25.

In order to truly live biblically, we must actually pay attention to what the Bible says. That begins with looking at the big picture. The greatest command is to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." (Deuteronomy 6:5) We begin to do this when we receive the gift of forgiveness of sin and eternal life by placing our faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Then we can continue to grow as we meditate on God's word and seek to carefully obey everything written in it. (Joshua 1:8) The greatest error in the television show is the suggestion that we can live biblically by striving to follow the least of the commands (which the Bible doesn't even command) while ignoring the most important thing about beginning to pursue God through a relationship with Jesus.

Trust the Bible's purpose is to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." You can join the Facebook group by clicking here. Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. Listen to previous programs online: www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html 

The Bible and the Prosperity Gospel

I love God's promise to Joshua in the opening verses of the book of Joshua: "Keep this book of the law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." (Joshua 1:8, NIV)

However, I must quickly point out that I do not believe in the "prosperity gospel." Now, to be sure, I do believe God wants us to prosper. He gives us his word because he wants us to know how to be prosperous. He promises us that if we keep his word, we will be prosperous.

But what does it mean to be "prosperous?" And, how does one achieve it? I believe that the "prosperity gospel," gives the wrong answers to both these questions.

I will demonstrate this by responding specifically to the teaching of Joel Osteen. 

Now, before I go any further I have to clearly state a few disclaimers. I am not attacking Joel Osteen personally. I don't know of anything that would cause me to question that he is a nice man, a good husband, and someone who has helped a lot of people. Many attacked Joel Osteen's character when he implied that he wasn't opening his church to victims of Hurricane Harvey. I was not one of them. With a church his size, he needed to work with emergency officials to know what would be most helpful to the community. People who did not know all the facts thought he was making some kind of self-serving decision. In time, the truth came out. 

Neither am I questioning his salvation. I don't think it serves any purpose for me to form or share an opinion on that. No, I am interested in what he is teaching, and whether it is supported by the Scriptures. Everyone should examine what a teacher is saying and compare it with Scripture. The Bible even commends the Bereans, who "were of more noble character than the Thessalonians." Why? Because they "examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11) If it is noble to examine the teachings of the Apostle Paul in light of Scripture, certainly we should do so with preachers today, including myself. 

But why Joel Osteen? Because he is presenting a particular pathway to success and has sold tens of millions of books. His teaching is representative of many other teachers on this topic. It is a topic that I am passionate about. I want to help others know how to become "prosperous and successful," and I believe the pathway he is presenting is not correct.

First, what does it mean to be "prosperous?" Joel Osteen claims he is not a prosperity preacher because he does not focus on how to become rich. Instead, he focuses on "having good relationships, health, accomplishing your dreams, having money to pay your bills, it's being blessed so you can be a blessing." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1aAJSnZttM). However, he often speaks about having faith to receive promotions and raises. (https://www.joelosteen.com/Pages/Article.aspx?articleid=6518.) He gives an example of looking for a good parking spot to explain prosperity. He claims we should say, "Father, I thank you for leading and guiding me. Your favor will cause me to get a good spot." (Your Best Life Now, 41). He also says that Christians can "expect preferential treatment" from other people (Your Best Life Now, 39). For Osteen, being prosperous is not simply about being rich, but it is about doing well financially (where "well" is up to the individual to define)  and a host of other things, such as health and accomplishing your dreams. 

Second, Joel Osteen defines positive thinking as the way to be prosperous. In his latest book, "Think Better, Live Better" Osteen says that God has programmed us so that "Whatever you touch will prosper and succeed." The reason we don't achieve this promise is because we have low self-esteem. If we can just get rid of negative thoughts and replace them with thoughts like, "I'm blessed. I'm strong. I'm healthy. I'm confident. I'm attractive," then we will be. (Think Better, Live Better, Chapter 1).

However, the Bible gives us a completely different view of what prosperity is and how to obtain it. The Bible says that we were created for God's glory (Isaiah 43:7) and that we are to "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness." (Matthew 6:33) Paul writes, "What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ." 

The Bible also tells us over and over again that the way to success is not in thinking positive thoughts about ourselves, but in thinking about God's word and obeying it. That is what God says in his promise in Joshua 1:8,  that if we meditate on God's word and carefully obey it we will be prosperous and successful. Osteen actually quotes Joshua 1:8 (or I should say, he claims to quote Joshua 1:8) in his latest book. But in order to make the verse fit his teaching, he actually completely changes the wording of the verse:

"This is what the Lord told Joshua after Moses had died and he was to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land: 'If you will meditate on what God says about you day and night, you will have good success and prosper in everything you do.' When your mind is filled with thoughts of faith, thoughts of hope, and thoughts of victory, that's what will become a reality."

                                                                                              -Joel Osteen, Think Better, Live Better

Anyone examining the Scriptures to see if these things are so need look no further than what Joel Osteen does with this verse. He is actually putting words in God's mouth, saying something that the Scripture simply does not say, and is totally different than what the verse actually says.

Rather than expecting preferential treatment from others, Jesus says, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you." (Luke 6:27-28) He tells us that the successful person is the one who "hears these words of mine and puts them into practice." (Matthew 7:24) He also describes this as taking his yolk on you and learning from him (Matthew 11:29) 

When we study Scripture and do what it says we will be blessed (James 1:25). We will also often think negative thoughts about ourselves, for the Scriptures reveal sinful thoughts, words, actions, and attitudes for us to keep working on (Hebrews 4:12). As a Christian, there is much to be positive about. However, negative thinking is often helpful if we are going to grow and truly become successful. Even a recent news article touts the "power of negative thinking." 

Ultimately, none of us can be successful without first recognizing our sinfulness and then turning to Christ as our only hope of righteousness and eternal life. Positive thinking will not help me in the slightest with my greatest problem- my guilt before a holy God.

We will see true prosperity in our lives when we make God's kingdom and righteousness the definition of success and humbly study and apply the Scriptures to our lives, seeking the help of Christ and the Holy Spirit. This will lead to joy, peace, and great accomplishments, as well as a reward beyond what we can imagine. It will not necessarily keep us from persecution and hardship. I think the book of Hebrews gives a powerful description of success, and I end with that:

Hebrews 11:32-40

And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, ³³ who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, ³⁴ quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. ³⁵ Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. ³⁶ Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. ³⁷ They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— ³⁸ the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. ³⁹ These were all commended for their faith"

Trust the Bible's purpose is to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." You can join the Facebook group by clicking here. Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. Listen to previous programs online: www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html 

A Response to Calvinism, Part 2

In Part 1, (http://trustthebible.blogspot.com/Calvinism1) I began by saying there is a lot of good teaching in Calvinism. For example, I agree that the Bible teaches:

1. God chose that certain people would be saved before he even created the world. This necessarily means other people will not be saved. (Romans 9:22-24, Ephesians 1:4)
2. Those who are saved are saved entirely by God's gracious gift and do not contribute to their salvation in any way. Those who are lost chose to reject God through their sin and cannot blame God for their just condemnation. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
3. Not only does believing the gospel message fail to contribute to salvation in any way (I cannot claim that God saved me because of my faith but rather through it), but even my believing the gospel is a gift from God and not something I could do on my own. (John 6:44, Hebrews 12:2)

These three points emphasize God's sovereign role in salvation, promote humility for us who believe, and exalt God as entirely gracious in saving any person he chooses.

However, I think Calvinists go beyond what the Scripture teach when they assume the total inability of a person to respond to the gospel unless God first makes them spiritually alive. In addition, Calvinists add that once God has taken the action to impart spiritual life to a person they have no ability to resist believing the gospel. This is known as "Irresistible Grace," and God's action that leads to salvation is often called the "effectual call."

Once again, I think this is an unnecessary assumption that runs into conflict with the Scriptures. People certainly can resist grace. Probably the best example of this is when Jesus says in Matthew 22:37: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing." God wants to save them (as demonstrated in a number of places in the Old Testament as well,) but they are "not willing," or, they "always resist the Holy Spirit." (Acts 7:51)

Now, I can understand logically why Calvinists would believe in an effectual call, given the three biblical teachings I stated above. It makes sense. However, it is not the only way to understand how God accomplishes his plans for salvation. There is another way that is just as logical and does not run into problems with the Scriptures.

How? Let me explain through an illustration. Suppose I am at home with my wife and two children one afternoon. My wife wants to get out of the house and do something as a family. She wants everyone to come. However, the kids and I would rather stay home. She considers suggesting we all go out to get ice cream. Knowing our children, she knows their desire to stay home will suddenly melt away. They will jump up, excitedly proclaiming, "Let's go!" However, I may have a different take. I like ice cream, but I have some concerns. "Does it fit our budget?" "Have I already had too many desserts this week?" The children don't care about these concerns, but they are enough for me that the suggestion of ice cream is not enough to persuade me to want to go.

My wife considers another option. Maybe she could suggest we all go on a trip to the bookstore. Now, my mood shifts and I decide it would be good to get out of the house. However, this time the kids still want to stay home. The bookstore is not as persuasive for them. Assuming there is no third option that will get all of us to agree to want to go out, and assuming my wife knows with certainty exactly how each person will respond, she now decides who she is going to go with. She will decide to either bring up the bookstore and I will go with her while we get someone to watch the kids, or she will suggest ice cream and go out with the children. No one is forced to stay home or go. No one is forced to want to stay home or go. But my wife really makes the decision of who will want to go and will go.

The problem I have with the effectual call (in addition to Bible verses that say people do resist God's grace) is that it is mystical in nature and unknown to the recipient. I also don't see any Scripture verses that teach it. In the example above, it would be as if my wife simply caused our children to want to go outside, without even mentioning ice cream or anything else. Because of my wife's choice, they would suddenly want to go out, but they wouldn't know why they changed their minds or that my wife had caused it. This sounds a lot like some kind of hypnosis.

Calvinists also often call the effectual call an "inner call" to distinguish it from the outward call of the preaching of the Gospel. I see no reason why such a distinction should be made. I believe the gospel message itself is the outer call and the means by which God changes minds and hearts to come to repentance.

In my understanding, God's decisions looked something like this.
1. God chose to create humanity knowing they would sin against him. This would be their choice. God did not want anyone to reject him through sin, but he knew that if he gave them the choice, they would. He decided to create them anyway.
2. God also chose to offer salvation to the sinful people. He would accomplish the means of salvation through sending Jesus. In this way he would maintain his justice and yet demonstrate his love.
3. He chose the method of salvation. He could have chosen any number of methods for giving salvation. He could have given it to every third person born, or to everyone over six feet tall, or to everyone who placed faith in Jesus Christ for their salvation. It was this last option that God chose because it best demonstrated his glory. He also chose the way the gospel message would go out and a nearly infinite number of other details about how to do this (for example, the exact date and location of Jesus' death). He knew exactly who would believe and wouldn't believe as a result of his decisions. His choices resulted in a specific group of people being predestined to salvation, whereas others were not.
4. God chose the method of changing the hearts of unbelievers to be through the preaching of the gospel. "It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes," (Romans 1:16) "faith comes from hearing the message," (Romans 10:17) and "God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

From my perspective, the events looks like this:
1. I sinned against God and had no desire to obey him. I was thus guilty and deserved his condemnation.
2. I heard the gospel message that God loves me and sent Jesus to die on the cross and make payment for my sin. Jesus then rose from the dead and offers eternal life to all who believe in him.
3. This powerful message changed my desires and thoughts about God. This change was not by a mysterious process I was unconscious of, but I audibly heard the gospel message and consciously sensed its impact on my heart. I came to place my faith in Christ.
4. God acted to forgive my sin and give me eternal life, along with all the other aspects of salvation.

It is ultimately because of God's choices, not mine, that I am saved. He could have chosen to do things in a slightly different way, and I may have never heard the gospel or have had the opportunity to believe. I would stand condemned and God would be perfectly just.

Yet, in this understanding, I still could have resisted the gospel. And, more importantly, I can genuinely preach to every person that God loves them and offers them salvation. Just like my wife can genuinely want everyone to get out of the house and join her on an activity even though ultimately only one group will. My wife would prefer that everyone come to get ice cream, but that wasn't one of the options. In the same way, I think that God wants everyone to respond to the gospel and be saved, even though he knew from the beginning that would not happen.

Why do some believe and not others? It has nothing to do with goodness. In fact, the Bible suggests the opposite. Jesus said, "The tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you," referring to the religious leaders. Nor do I think it has to do with God giving a mysterious effectual call to a predetermined list of people. Rather, God has designed the gospel in a way that highlights his mercy and love by leading sinful people to respond in faith to him.


Trust the Bible's purpose is to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." You can join the Facebook group by clicking here. Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. Listen to previous programs online: www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

A Response to Calvinism, Pt 1

I'll start by saying that there is a lot of good teaching in Calvinism. I don't think anyone should completely reject the teachings usually associated with it. Many great Christian minds have come to be Calvinists through a careful study of the Scriptures, many of them are heroes of the faith to me. However, I do think that some elements of Calvinism unnecessarily cause confusion and lead people away from trusting the Bible. I want to address those areas in a few posts. I will not address every verse and every argument, I am not writing a book. But I will briefly address what I think are the central issues.

How does Calvinism lead people away from trusting the Bible? Calvinism in popular usage refers to a collection of doctrines related to God's sovereign role in salvation. It is a theological system, defined by five points forming the acronym "Tulip": Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints. It claims that a person has no ability to believe in the Gospel and be saved unless God first gives them the "new life" or "new heart" that the Bible associates with salvation. God has predestined a select group for salvation and everyone in that group will believe and be saved. Everyone else will be lost.

This system creates a tension with a number of Bible verses. If you embrace this system as a whole, it is difficult to explain why the Bible says, "God so loved the world..." (John 3:16), or that God "desires all people to be saved" (1 Timothy 2:4). Usually, Calvinists respond that, for various reasons, the words "world," or "all people" in these verses refer only to the ones God chose to save, not all the people in the world. In my opinion, if a theological system leads you to make such a strained interpretation of a straightforward verse, there is something off with that system. It is a kind of lack of trust in the Bible.

So why would someone be a Calvinist? First, some passages in the Bible do teach that God chose to save some and not others. One of the clearest examples is Romans 9:22-24:

"What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath-- prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory-- even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?"

I say some because I think the quantity of these kinds of verses is overstated by Calvinists. Romans 8:29 mentions "predestination" but it is not talking about predestination to believe and be saved, but rather that God has predestined believer in Jesus to be sanctified. There are many examples of Calvinists using the words "predestine" and "chose" in the New Testament to support their system, but in only a few cases are the words actually referring to salvation. However, one verse is all that is needed to say a doctrine is supported by the Bible. The issue is not whether or not God has chosen to save some and not others, but the way in which God goes about accomplishing his purposes.

In many other instances, Calvinists reach their conclusions based on assumptions about what they believe a text implies. This is where problems with biblical interpretation begin. In the rest of this article, I will specifically address how this happens when it comes to "Total Depravity." I will address other aspects in future posts.

First, what is Total Depravity? Calvinists use the term to mean that sin has impacted every aspect of a person. We are all born in slavery to sin and our intellect, emotions, spirit, -everything about us is depraved. This does not mean that every person is as sinful as they could be, or that a sinner always does the worst thing possible in every situation. Rather, our fallen state means that it is impossible for us to act and think in a way that is truly pleasing to God (Romans 8:8). The result is that we are spiritually "dead." So far, so good. Paul writes, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins," (Ephesians 2:1).

But what does it mean to be spiritually dead? Calvinists believe the phrase implies that a person is incapable of responding to the gospel message and believing in Jesus. Because someone who is physically dead cannot do anything in the physical realm, they reason, so someone spiritually dead cannot do anything in the spiritual realm, like believing in Jesus. They then build an order of salvation around this assumption. Someone must first be "regenerated," or given spiritual life by God. Then they can (and will) believe the gospel. The sinner has nothing to do with God's act of regeneration. God does this for a specific group he has chosen from the very beginning. If God did not choose you, then it is impossible for you to respond to the gospel and be saved. 

But all of these conclusions rest on the assumption that those who are spiritually dead cannot respond to the gospel, an assumption that I do not think the Bible supports. For starters, even Calvinists must admit that spiritually dead people can do some things. For instance, they will face God in the judgment. So to say that spiritual death is equal to physical death in that you cannot do anything at all is to press the metaphor too far. So what does the Bible mean by spiritual death? Let's look to the Bible to find out, not our own assumptions. Here are two key passages:

"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses." -Colossians 2:13

"I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." -John 5:24

In both cases, going from death to life has to do with having your sins forgiven. You are spiritually dead if you are guilty before God. You are heading to judgment where you will be condemned. You have no hope of doing anything to make yourself right before him. You are doomed to eternal separation from God. But when God forgives you, then you are spiritually alive. Thus the Bible uses the term to refer to hopelessness in your own ability to secure salvation apart from the gospel, not hopelessness to respond to the gospel apart from God first making you alive. 

See also John 3:36:  "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."

Again, eternal life is contrasted with not having God's wrath on you. Also, note that someone who believes has eternal life. The verse does not say that the one who has eternal life believes, as the Calvinist supposes. In fact, many verses contradict the order of salvation in the Calvinist system. In Acts 16:31 we read, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved!" Paul does not say, "Be saved, and you will believe in the Lord Jesus!" 

The Calvinist may also argue that someone who is not saved cannot put faith in Jesus because that would be a good work, and we are not saved by works (Ephesians 2:8-9). Again, that is an assumption that the biblical text does not support. When the Bible says we are saved by grace and not works, it does not mean that unbelievers can never do anything good. It means that no good work can justify us before God. We cannot get any closer to salvation through our works. Faith in Jesus is the same way. Faith does not make us justified before God. I cannot say that my faith in Jesus makes me any closer to being righteous before God. My choosing to stop rejecting Jesus is not a good work that earns a reward from God. That would be like saying that "Because I chose not to murder someone I was angry with yesterday, God owes me salvation!"  No, that doesn't earn me anything from God. Rather, I am saved through faith. God chooses to give salvation to those who have faith. Salvation is entirely his work. Paul also goes to great lengths to demonstrate that faith is not a good work in Romans 4. 

In Part 2, I will discuss Irresistible Grace and get to what I think is a more biblical understanding of Romans 9:22-24. Click here to go to Part 2.

Trust the Bible's purpose is to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." You can join the Facebook group by clicking here. Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. Listen to previous programs online: www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

Legalism

500 years ago, Martin Luther is credited with starting the Protestant Reformation. This wasn't so much a battle against the Roman Catholic Church, but legalism- a battle that Christians must fight continuously in denominations, churches, and in the hearts of individual believers. On the other hand, there sometimes seems to be an overreaction to legalism. "Legalism!" is the standard reply to almost any church group seeking to uphold a moral standard that the accuser disagrees with. In actuality, I don't think the problem is an overreaction but rather a misunderstanding of what legalism is. So what is legalism, really?

Jesus battled legalism in an insightful dispute with the Pharisees in Matthew 15:1-9. They asked Jesus, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat!" Now, there was nothing necessarily wrong with this question, depending on the way it was asked. In their tradition, "hand washing" had nothing to do with hygiene, it was a ceremonial dipping of the hands in a bowl of water to demonstrate concern for purity laws in the Old Testament. It was like a baptism, but only for the hands. Because they probably shared a bowl, this "washing" actually helped spread germs! Although the practice wasn't commanded in the Old Testament, the Pharisees saw it as a helpful way to focus on Old Testament purity laws, similar to how Christians today have a tradition of praying before we eat to keep our focus on God during the day (praying before eating is sometimes modeled in the Bible but never commanded). 

Traditions like this often are helpful. But watch out for two things. First, we must never think that doing any kind of deed, even those commanded in Scripture, are necessary to maintain our goodness or God's favor. Second, we cannot elevate traditions to the level of a command we believe everyone should follow. Jesus' response shows that the Pharisees were guilty of both, and also a third issue that we don't usually associate with legalism- lawlessness. However, when you think about it, these three things (works-based salvation, imposing traditions on others as commands, and lawlessness) are all inevitably tied together. Seeing why they come together helps us get to the root problem, which is what Jesus does in his response.

"Jesus replied, 'And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?'" (Mt. 15:3). First, notice that he is not defensive in his answer. He doesn't give excuses or even an explanation for his actions. Instead, he goes on offense. Jesus isn't fooled at all. He knows this is more than an innocent question. He sees the Pharisees' hearts (15:8). He knows they are really saying, (and not asking) "Some Rabbi you are! You and your disciples don't measure up to us and our goodness because you don't even wash your hands before you eat."

Second, Jesus doesn't really attack what we would expect. We expect him to go after the judgmental way in which they seek to impose their own human traditions on those around them. While he does do that, the main thrust of his attack is actually against their lawlessness - they "break the command of God," (Mt. 15:3) and they "nullify the word of God." (Mt. 15:6)

Finally, Jesus identifies the underlying issue. They don't actually like God's law, and they don't like God's law because they don't like God! Although they set themselves up to be the only legitimate followers of God, they don't even like him. Jesus says that their hearts are far from God (Mat. 15:8). 

Lawlessness is probably best captured by the question, "Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?" (Rom. 6:1) This was a common reaction to the message that God freely gives complete righteousness to any person, no matter how sinful, that puts their trust in Christ. "If that's the case," the skeptic asks, "what will keep someone from becoming even more sinful?" This is actually a legalistic response, based on the assumption that following the law is a necessary component of one's right standing before God. However, in an effort to avoid legalism, some groups in church history have actually embraced the mentality of "everything goes." 

The "Adamites" are an early example of this, dating back to the 2nd Century. They held that their actions could never be good or bad, so they considered themselves free to disregard moral laws. They did not marry because, they argued, Adam didn't get married. They also worshiped nude! 

This kind of behavior seems to be the opposite of the oppressive, rule-obsessed Pharisees. But Jesus is saying that they are actually one and the same. Here are the steps to full-blown legalism:

1. Dislike God's law. View it as a burden imposed on us by a tyrannical God.

2. React to the Gospel in one of two ways.

    A. One way is the classic, legalist response: "I've been sacrificing and straining under this law for years now. Certainly that must count for something!" Those responding this way will always seek to hold on to their own works as something that contributes to their salvation in some way. 

    B. The other is the classic lawless response: "I am completely forgiven no matter what I do? Yes Now I can do all the sins I want to do an not worry about any consequences!" This group will use "Legalism!" as the standard excuse to disregard preaching that emphasizes the importance of God's law or growing in holiness.

3. Replace God's law with human rules and traditions. Ultimately, both groups implement a law of their own making that replaces God's law. Jesus gives a specific example of how the Pharisees did this in Matthew 15. The "lawless" Adamites also did this. To "fit in" with them and join in their     worship you had to conform to their man-made rules: no clothes in worship and no getting married. In reality, both groups are motivated by the same thing and both groups wind up in the same place. They both insist on following man-made rules to truly "belong" among God's people. In short, I think the best definition of legalism is what Jesus says in Mat. 15:6, "nullifying the word of God for the sake of your tradition."

Roman Catholics also did this. Luther's 95 theses specifically responded to the idea of selling "indulgences," a way in which one could purchase an official document from the church that would

bring  an end to a person's suffering for sin (usually a deceased family member). Grace was for sale! Luther gave the same response that Jesus gave to the Pharisees, "You nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition." Here the legalists were creating a works-based salvation (pay money) in contradiction to the word of God (repent and believe in Jesus) in order to make the gospel more comfortable (and profitable) for those who don't truly love God's law from the heart. The root problem of legalism has come up again and again both before the reformation and since.

What is the remedy? In part, it is to remember that salvation is by God's grace and not our works. However, I would caution that most legalists will say that they believe in grace. The Pharisees believed that salvation was by grace. Jesus summarized the Pharisees' attitude with a parable in which the Pharisee was quoted as saying, "God, I thank you that I am not like other people - robbers, evildoers, adulterers - or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get." (Lk. 18:11-12). Notice that he is clearly a legalist. He thinks God will be impressed with his works. But he also believes in grace, crediting God that he is not sinful like others, "God, I thank you that I am not like..."

Roman Catholics also taught that salvation was by grace, and yet... you had to do certain things to get that grace. It wasn't simply receiving it by faith as the Bible proclaims, but attending mass, saying certain prayers to the saints, or even purchasing indulgences.

Grace will always devolve into grace + works (which isn't really grace) without one key component, which is to truly love God and thus love his law and his commands. The commands are not a burden but rather a gracious revelation of the way to true joy and peace. Jesus put it this way, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Mat. 11:28) Jesus was not taking about rest from a burdensome law, but rest in the law. He continued, "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me," learn what? His commands. God's commands. 

All of us are in danger of legalism, including those who are truly saved. Even Peter slipped into legalism. Even after preaching some of the greatest sermons on God's grace, Paul had to rebuke him for slipping into legalism (see Galatians 2:11-16). The way out is to renew our love for God. This is also what Martin Luther experienced in his life. After years of struggling, and I mean struggling, with the weight of the law, Luther suddenly shifted in his view of God while reading Romans 1:17. Once he saw God as primarily a loving God, rather than a judging God, he was free to see that salvation really is by grace alone by a God who is ready and eager to save the worst of sinners. We must always keep our eyes on Christ crucified, the ultimate demonstration that God is a loving God. "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Rom. 5:8) 

Trust the Bible's purpose is to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." You can join the Facebook group by clicking here. Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. Listen to previous programs online: www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html

Are Aliens in the Bible?

"This was the appearance and structure of the wheels: They sparkled like chrysolite, and all four looked alike. Each appeared to be made like a wheel intersecting a wheel. As they moved, they would go in any one of the four directions the creatures faced; the wheels did not turn about as the creatures went. Their rims were high and awesome, and all four rims were full of eyes all around." -Ezekiel 1:16-18

Many UFO enthusiasts have noted that Ezekiel seems to describe something similar to what many others report seeing in the sky. Are UFOs real? Yes! There are thousands of reports from people who see objects in the sky that they cannot identify, so technically, there are "Unidentified Flying Objects." But what are these objects? There are three basic views for us to consider:

1. The natural view. There is a reasonable, natural explanation for all observed phenomena.
2. The natural, extraterrestrial view. UFOs are sometimes reported because beings from another planet have travelled here and are occasionally seen. They are researching us for some purpose.
3. A supernatural view. The Bible teaches that invisible, supernatural beings are real and can sometimes be seen. This is a sufficient explanation for genuine reports of UFOs. 

I think the first view is insufficient to account for all the evidence. Certainly, in many cases a natural explanation is available. Someone saw a military aircraft at night, or there was a meteorite recorded at the same time as the sighting. However, many cases defy any known explanation. Supporters of the first view insist that fraud, drugs, mental illness, general confusion, or some other explanation exists even if we don't know what it is. You may think the idea of seeing an actual flying saucer is silly, but the evidence supports that something is going on. For instance, researchers have studied reported UFO landing sites and the resulting damage left behind. Sometimes the land is scorched or circular depressions are left behind. In one site the compression indicates a thirty-ton object. Vegetation is damaged in the form of extreme aging, with no known natural explanation that could produce such effects. Multiple and credible sounding eye witnesses often give complementary and convincing testimonies of seeing things at sights like this. (See Hugh Ross, "Lights in the Sky," Ted Phillips Jr., "Physical Traces Associated with UFO Sightings," and Richard Hall, "The UFO Evidence: A Thirty-Year Report," for more details).

The extraterrestrial view also doesn't work. If intelligent beings do exist outside of our planet, they would have to come from a distant solar system. Even very technologically advanced beings cannot break the laws of physics. The vast amounts of time required to travel such great distances make this theory unworkable, even if E.T. sounds like an attractive option!

The Bible offers an explanation that better accounts for all the data. There really are many supernatural beings that can influence our world but are generally invisible to us. Ezekiel is not confirming the existence of extraterrestrial flying saucers, he is saying that appearances of things like this are unusual glimpses of very real spiritual beings that the Bible either calls angels or demons (fallen angels). In 2 Kings 6:16-18, Elisha prays that his servant's eyes will open so he can see an entire army of angels surrounding the city that apparently were only visible to Elisha. The Bible frequently speaks of supernatural beings that are fighting and working in our world. (See Daniel 10:12-13, or 1 Corinthians 10:20 for a few other examples). The Bible tells us that some people can see these beings at special times, and that the beings are able to impact our world (they caused an army to go blind in 2 Kings 6). This matches what we would expect in the numerous UFO reports we hear about. Visual observations are made, but there is never any direct physical evidence, only impacts on the physical world such as changes in the condition of plants.

Those who report communicating with "aliens" also exhibit general patterns that fit in line with what we should expect from a biblical worldview. Many cults start with communication from aliens, such as Heaven's Gate. Religious ideas that come from these beings reject basic Christian teachings (see "The Urantia Book," for example). This is in perfect agreement with what we should expect from demons, who serve Satan and lie in order to lead people away from the true God. Jesus said the devil, "was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and he father of lies."

Once again, the Bible offers the most trustworthy explanation for our experiences. The Bible guides us to truth, and truth is most fully revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.


Trust the Bible's purpose is to grow your confidence that the Bible is true and the ultimate resource for life." You can join the Facebook group by clicking here. Trust the Bible is a weekday radio program that begins at about 8:10 each morning on WDOG 93.5 in Allendale, SC. Listen to previous programs online: www.fairfaxfbc.org/trust-the-bible.html