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Salvation, Doctrine and Rightly Dividing - MAD


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A Division Ignored in the Covenant-Dispensational Debate

http://graceambassadors.com/midacts/a-division-ignored-in-the-covenant-dispensational-debate


By Justin Johnson

It is commonly said that the Old Testament was for Israel, while the New Testament is for the Church. This wrong division has led to one of the most lengthy and heated rifts among Christians regarding the fulfillment of the promises and prophecies given to Israel.

Covenantalists say that the Old Testament promises and prophecies are fulfilled in the New Testament Church. Dispensationalists (of the popular and historical Acts 2variety) say that the promises and prophecies are not fulfilled by the New Testament Church and will be fulfilled by a return of Israel as a nation into their land.

Both positions have their problems, and neither has it right. The Covenantal position must spiritualize plain prophetic passages in the Old Testament that speak about Israel. The Dispensational position must explain why many prophecies speak directly about the New Testament, Jesus’ earthly ministry, and Pentecost.

There is a third answer to the dilemma that has largely been missed or ignored, because it requires a dramatic change in the way the scriptures are divided.

Whereas both camps have tried to answer the question of prophecy by dividing the Old Testament from the New Testament, there is a better way to divide the scriptures: a division between prophecy and mystery.

Reinterpreting the New Testament

Covenantal teachers advocate reinterpreting the Old Testament by their supposed New Testament spiritual fulfillment.

Many Dispensational teachers take the Old Testament literally, but find spiritualizing New Testament passages necessary in order to apply it to the Church. Both must spiritualize portions of scripture.

The answer to the dilemma lies in rightly dividing both prophetic testaments from the Church, which is a mystery, and leaving both testaments in the hands of Israel, to whom they were given.

The Church, which is the Body of Christ, was revealed to Paul and is described as a mystery (Eph 3:6, Col 1:27, Eph 5:32). It is not the subject of prophecy, whether the prophecy is the Old Testament or its fulfillment in the New (Rom 16:25, Col 1:26).

After all the New Testament was never intended for the Church, but was prophesied and reiterated in Hebrews to be applied to Israel:

“For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:” – Hebrews 8:8, quoting Jeremiah 31:31.

Both Right, Both Wrong, Neither Work

The Covenantalists are right that the New Testament will fulfill the Old Testament promises and prophecies, but they are wrong that we need to alter the original prophetic meaning for it to do so.

The Dispensationalists are right that the prophecies are not fulfilled in the Church, but they are wrong when they try to apply New Testament doctrine to the Church.

The necessary division for proper interpretation of the Bible is not between the Old Testament and the New, as if one was for Israel and the other for the Church. Neither testament speaks to the mystery of the Church, the Body of Christ.

The most important division to make is between both testaments (subjects of prophecy to Israel) and the Church (the subject of the mystery).

Prophecy vs. Mystery

Rightly dividing the New Testament from the Church is what separates mid-Acts Pauline dispensationalists from every other dispensational or covenant teacher.

Instead of interpreting the Old Testament by the New, or the New by the Old, we interpret the entire Bible through the lens of what is the prophecy and what is mystery; what is earthly, and what is heavenly. These are the necessary divisions that remove the confusion of so-called Christian scholars.
 

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Does Romans 2:28-29 Teach A Spiritual Israel?


http://graceambassadors.com/prophecy/israel/does-romans-2_28-29-teach-a-spiritual-israel


Romans 2:28-29 is one of the more popular passages used to teach that true Israel is not the physical nation but any who has the spirit of God. This type of interpretation refers to the church today as spiritual Israel. This spiritualization of Israel diminishes the authority of the scripture and denies the natural reading as explained in ‘Does the Bible Teach a Spiritualized Israel’.

Though it may be desirous to try and usurp some of Israel’s prophecies or promises, the natural reading of Romans 2:28-29does not teach that the church today, where there is neither Jew nor Gentile, is spiritual Israel.

We can determine this first by establishing who the passage is addressing.

‘Thou Art Called a Jew’

“Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God” – Romans 2:17

Romans 2:17 indicates the audience of the passage as those that are called Jews. He continues in the next three verses speaking about how the Jews were given the wisdom of the law.

So then, he that is called a Jew is the same who was given the oracles of God and was given the promises, covenants, and service of God (Romans 3:2, 9:4). The target audience of the passage is physical Israel, those of the house of Jacob.

The Name of God Blasphemed

“Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written” – Romans 2:23-24

As we continue through the passage we see that Paul starts to address a problem with his blessed nation Israel. Israel makes their boast in the law, but they fail to do the law. Israel the people named after God, have become as vain as the Gentiles given up by God in Romans 1 (Romans 1:24,26,28).

The Issue of Circumcision

“For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. “ – Romans 2:25

When God gave the covenant to Abraham, he instituted circumcision as the token that Israel was keeping the covenant (Genesis 17:10-14). If they break the law then the token of keeping it is made worthless. The circumcision sign is made vanity and just as if they were uncircumcised.

“Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?” – Romans 2:26-27

Keep in mind that Israel was given a prophetic position to teach and to judge the nations (uncircumcision), because they were given the promises and the covenant and the law (Romans 9:4, Isaiah 61:6).

However, Paul notices that if Israel behaves like the nations, and the nations walk in righteousness, the nations should judge Israel! Since Israel was blaspheming the name of God by boasting in the law while breaking it, Paul places Israel in their proper place.

He suggests that the nations who kept the righteousness of the law, though being uncircumcised and strangers from the covenants, should be the judge of unrighteous Israel who blasphemed God through their disobedience of the law while carrying the token of obedience in circumcision.

Who’s a Jew?

As we finally reach the verses used to teach a spiritual Israel we should recognize that so far Paul has been talking about the physical nation Israel and their failure to keep the law.

Also, we should realize that no Gentile nation has kept the law either. For the nations were given up by God as being reprobate in chapter 1. This is the very reason God called Abraham out from among the Gentiles, because the Gentiles were already in disobedience.

“For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: “ – Romans 2:28

Here Paul references the true meaning of the circumcision found in the law to describe who is truly a Jew, worthy of the token of the covenant.

“Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked” – Deut 10:16

A Jew obedient to the covenant, worthy of the circumcision, and the name of God is one that circumcises the heart and obeys the law of righteousness. Hence, the final verse.

“But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God. “ – Romans 2:29

Israel was wrong to boast in the law, which is the letter, while they were not obeying the law to circumcise their hearts in the spirit. Therefore, though a Jew had an advantage by having the law and the oracles of God, it became of none effect since they were disobedient to it.

Only those circumcised Jews who were obedient to the law could truly claim the promises inherent in the token of circumcision. Rather than adding Gentiles to a supposed “spiritual Israel”, Paul is here removing those dead bones from the nation Israel from claiming righteousness based on their circumcision.

Spiritual Israel

The entire passage speaks of the physical nation of Israel, and their disobedience to the law of Deut 10:16. In no way does it refer to a ‘spiritual’ Israel which is not of physical Israel or to the church today in an allegorical fashion.

Even more significant to those would be saved by God’s grace today is the fact that the uncircumcision are reckoned circumcision in the passage only when they keep the law!

However, Paul proves to both Jew and Gentile that they are all under sin, and by the deeds of the law no flesh shall be justified (Romans 3:10-20). If the Jew in Romans 2:28-29 is spiritual Israel then the Jew in Romans 3:10 must also be spiritual, which would place the most unnatural reading on the passage.

Where is the Jew that is part of an alleged spiritual body of Israel to be found in Romans 3:10 where all are found unrighteous? Everyone on the planet is contained in this passage which sets the foundation for the gospel of the grace of God proclaimed in Romans 3:22-26.

Conclusion

To make the church today part of the Jew in Romans 2:28-29 would require an ignorance of the context, prophecy concerning Israel, as well as a disrespect for the natural reading of the word of God.

The church today is neither a replacement for Israel, nor is Israel an allegory for the church. Instead the church, the body of Christ, that contains the redeemed today is labeled a ‘new creature’ (2 Cor 5:17).

We are given the title of ambassadors for Christ, members of his body, a title separate and distinct from the covenanted name for the nation Israel according to prophecy.
 

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Did the Church Begin in Acts 28?


http://graceambassadors.com/midacts/did-the-church-begin-in-acts-28


More than a few people have adopted the Acts 28 position regarding the beginning of the present church and the dispensation of grace given to Paul. However, this late beginning diminishes the special ministry declared by Paul in his pre-prison epistles.

This dangerous position must wrest the Scriptures of Paul’s pre-Prison writings (in the book of Acts) in order to make them line up with what is termed the Pentecostal Age, the teaching of the kingdom, the ministry of the twelve.

To reduce the ministry of Paul in the book of Acts to the proclamation of the kingdom would be tantamount to denying the special apostleship to Paul and the gospel that was ‘kept secret since the world began'(Romans 11:13, 16:25).

In order to retain their original position, other revelations, other bodies, and other dispensations are placed specifically within the Acts period in order to quarantine the ministry of Paul during the Acts transition.

The Acts 28 position must be summed up in these two propositions:
 

  1. Prior to Acts 28, the ministry of Paul and the apostles consisted solely of kingdom and covenantal doctrine spoken since the world began by all the prophets.
  2. After Acts 28 Paul writes exclusively of the mystery information that was not known before.

What is true and what is not

The majority of the defense for Acts 28 consists of explaining that Acts 28 is the end of God’s dealing with Israel. It is from the obvious end of God’s dealing with Israel that new beginning is assumed.

It is true that what was present at the beginning of the book of Acts is done away with by Acts 28: the offer of the kingdom, the presentation of Jesus as Messiah to the Jews, the Pentecostal signs and powers, water baptism for the remission of sins, and the partition between Jew and Gentile.

However, it does not follow that just because something ends, that something new must begin thereafter. Instead, Paul’s writings during the Acts period give evidence to the secret dispensation revealed and taught prior to Acts 28.

However, if the propositions of the Acts 28 position are true, then we would not expect to find any reference to the special dispensation given to Paul before the Prison epistles, and this is not the case.

The Mystery revealed before Acts 28

Charles Welch, an originator of the Acts 28 position, in his booklet ‘Dispensational Frontier’ writes:
 


  • “The territory covered by the Prison Epistles deals with a Mystery, never before revealed or made known”

Welch also distinguishes the Prison epistles, written in or after the time of Acts 28, as the exclusive source for this Mystery information ‘hitherto unrevealed’ in any of Paul’s other writings.

However, prior to the Acts 28 ‘frontier’, Acts period Pauline Scripture testifies of many mystery truths that are supposedly only reserved for the post-Acts teaching and writing.
 

All of these mystery truths are in contrast to what was spoken by the prophets since the world began and the teaching of the kingdom (Romans 15:8; Acts 3:21-24).There is no doubt that those who hold to the Acts 28 position have read these and many other passages. But their response to them only results in the diluting the secret of the gospel, and specific dispensational truths.

Prison epistles

Beyond these evident allusions to the ‘hidden wisdom’ in the Acts epistles, we cannot pretend that all of what was spoken in the Prison epistles was new information.

Indeed, Paul did come to ‘visions and revelations’ so that we learn things from his later ministry that was not revealed in his early ministry (2 Cor 5:1; 1 Cor 13:12; Acts 26:16).

However, this information was built upon prior revelation to Paul, and is not separate from it. The prison epistles often reference Paul’s ministry within Acts seamlessly as the same ministry and message.

Many of the truths earlier listed can be found in the teaching of the Prison epistles also.

Philippians

For example, Paul thanks God upon remembrance of the Philippians for ‘their fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now’ (Phil 1:5). This is enlightening only when we realize that Paul is writing to the Philippians from prison about his fellowship that was established at his visits to Philippi during the Acts period! (Acts 16:12, 20:6)

It is to the Philippians that Paul expounds upon the changing of our vile bodies into glorious. Paul also speaks of this information to the Corinthians prior to his imprisonment in 1 Corinthians 15.

Ephesians

Likewise the Ephesians, to whom Paul is writing from prison after Acts 28, are stated to have heard the gospel and believed it prior to Paul’s writing (Ephesians 1:13). It is not a wild assumption that they were saved before Acts 28 and even before Acts 20:24 by the preaching of the gospel of the grace of God exclusive to the ‘dispensation of grace’.

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. “ – Acts 20:24

The edification gifts of Ephesians 4:11-13 would seem to match seamlessly with Pauls explanation of the building of the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:27 or Romans 12:5:

“So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” – Romans 12:5

Timothy

Also, in his first letter to Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy of why he was left at Ephesus:

“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine,” – I Timothy 1:3

So then, by the time Paul writes Timothy, there is a body of doctrine of which Timothy was supposed to protect at Ephesus. It was for this reason that Paul left him there! It would be silly to inform Timothy to charge others to teach ‘no other doctrine’, if they were not aware of the doctrine in the first place.

Indeed, Timothy did know the doctrine before Paul wrote him. The Ephesians and Timothy who had ministered with Paul had known his doctrine for this dispensation, which was specially revealed to him from Christ even before Acts 28 (Gal 1:11-12).

Nothing new, things untrue

Reducing the mystery truth revealed to Paul solely to the Prison epistles makes a distinction where there is none in the epistles. The only basis for a distinction comes from Paul’s teaching already evidenced from within the book of Acts.

Yet, we should be reminded that it is not the purpose of the book of Acts to expound what Paul taught. Instead, its clear purpose is to show the fall of Israel so that God could have mercy upon all (Romans 11:32). In Acts we find their continued rejection of Peter, Stephen, the Holy Ghost, and eventually Paul (see The Main Point of Mid-Acts doctrine).

It can be concluded, that there are similarities between the Mid-Acts and Acts 28 position. However, the differences have greater implications than some may realize.

The Acts 28 position robs us of precious grace truths that are only found in Paul’s pre-prison epistles. However, even more detrimental is how it weakens the defense of Paul’s special apostleship and message towards those who see no difference between Paul’s doctrines with the doctrine of the twelve at Pentecost.

What is true about the Acts 28 position is not new, and what is new in the Acts 28 position regarding multiple dispensations is not true. It is true that nothing new happened at Acts 28, but many things ended.

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Joint-Heirs with Christ
 
 
 
By Justin Johnson
 
From the moment you trust in Christ, you become a member of the body of Christ.
 
Like any membership, there are immediate benefits. The benefits are given to you freely by your identification with Christ.
 
For example, did you know that if you were baptized into Christ you were crucified with Him?
 
“I am crucified with Christ…”- Gal 2:20
 
A dead person has already paid the penalty of death. This is a huge benefit, but what is more is that you are also resurrected with Christ.
 
“Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:” – Rom 6:8
 
Life is a great benefit. Eternal life is eternally beneficial. The power to live after death is God’s gift to all who receive benefits with Christ.
 
“For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.” – 2 Cor 13:4
 
Since you are receiving benefits with Christ, and Christ is seated in heavenly places, you also inherit a position there with him.
 
“Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:” – Ephesians 2:5-6
 
When Christ died and resurrected he inherited “all things” from God (Eph 1:22), so would not you receive all things as well?
 
“He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” – Rom 8:37
 
Certainly. After all, you are with Christ and enjoy all the benefits of being a member of His body (2 Cor 6:10).
 
“[God has] blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”- Eph 1:3
 
The Mystery of Fellowheirs
 
Perhaps you have noticed that all of these membership benefits in Christ are found in Paul’s epistles.
 
This is because God revealed to Paul the mystery that by faith in the gospel you can be fellowheirs with Christ, of the same body of Christ, and partakers of his promise in Christ (Eph 3:6).
 
It’s only by being a joint-heir with Christ that we have access to all of these immediate benefits (Rom 8:17).
 
Without being a joint-heir with Him according to the mystery, we would lack a host of riches given to his sons by grace.
 
Without the revelation of the mystery, we would not know the riches of the glory of His inheritance, and ours (Eph 1:18).
 
What do Members do?
 
If we have all these free benefits as joint-heirs with Christ, then what is a member of the body to do?
 
Being a member of the body of Christ gives you the duty of labouring together with him, and the opportunity to receive rewards for proper service.
 
“…every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God…” – 1 Cor 3:8-9
 
It may be that we suffer with him, and if you do, you will reign with him.
 
“If we suffer, we shall also reign with him:…” – 2 Tim 2:12
 
In the end, because everything we receive, whether freely or by our labour, is a result of our being joint-heirs with Christ, we are glorified with him.
 
“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” – Col 3:4
 

  1. -Saved by the Body of Christ 
    -Your Holy Calling 
    -Christ in You vs. You in Christ 
    -Heirs and Joint-Heirs 
    -Sin and Your Identity in Christ 
    -Christ After the Flesh 
    -6 Reasons I Need Christ Every Day
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Calvin’s Election Doesn’t Work


http://graceambassadors.com/salvation/calvins-election-doesnt-work


By Justin Johnson

Calvinism doesn’t work. I’ve tried.

No one knows if they are the elect unless they study books on Calvinism. Then everybody thinks they are.

I tried sharing the message of God’s irresistible grace, but it seems that some people are able to resist it. Calvin would suggest that God’s grace must not be given to those people.

They will be the recipients of God’s wrath. After all, someone has to take it since it was all according to God’s will.

I tried to encourage the preaching of the cross to dying souls in dangerous lands, but the young Calvinist reminded me that if they were truly part of the elect God would give them saving faith.

As for the rest, well, there are some people God just hates. Like Esau, right?

So after I put it all in God’s hands and considered how I could best impact the world for my Lord, I started to pray.

First, I prayed for worldwide healing, but realized God had already chosen how everyone would die. Second, I prayed for a vision for my country, but then remembered that God in his sovereignty had chosen each ruler throughout history and that my country was exactly where God wanted it to be.

Lastly, I prayed that God would alter his sovereign will for the salvation of my family members who were obviously not part of the elect. If he could find pleasure in supplying grace to those who were acting according to their total depravity and find mercy upon these sinners, then that would be an event most glorious.

Yet, it seemed that the predestined situation was hopeless.

And this is the system created by Calvin’s election. A system that is without hope to the predestined sinner, without grace to those who need it most, without personal responsibility to the saint, and without the preaching of the cross for salvation.

When I turned to God’s word I found all these things: hope for the sinner; grace to all men; personal responsibility to choose; and the necessity of the cross. God’s word forced me away from Calvinism.

It must not be in God’s sovereign will that I be a Calvinist.

I found election to be a Bible doctrine, but Calvinism was not.

Biblical election concerns God choosing Christ to die for the sins responsible to man’s account. God chose to create man. Man chose to reject God. God chose to die for man. It is now man’s responsibility to choose.

Choose Christ.

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The Greatness of God


http://graceambassadors.com/warnings/the-greatness-of-god


By Justin Johnson

God is great. His greatness is not because he predetermines the details of our lives. His greatness resides in his character and his actions.

“ For I know that the LORD is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatsoever the LORD pleased, that did he in heaven, and in earth, in the seas, and all deep places.” – Psalm 135:5-6

The “great” manipulator

It is admirable for our Calvinist friends to seek the exaltation of God in their doctrine of God’s sovereign control over every thought, word, and deed, but I fear their doctrine has unintended consequences that do not exalt the Almighty.

According to their doctrine of sovereignty (a term not in the Bible), God’s greatness is derived from his absolute manipulation of the circumstances in our lives. They explain that if man is able to act outside the manipulation of God, then God’s plan can be thwarted by man and God would lose his greatness. They ask, “What comfort is there in a God that does not manipulate every circumstance of your life?”

A rigged system

This flawed view of God sounds like a board game I played once when I was younger. My opponent was far inferior to me in skill but he had sovereign control of the pieces before we played. As he laid out the pieces he strategically placed them so that he would win. He then established the rules so that I could not thwart his goal. As we finished the game my opponent won and he received the glory. After all, he had created a system that would conclude in his ultimate victory.

This does not make him great! The system was rigged! It does not magnify God’s greatness merely because he has absolute control. Any child can wield absolute control for their own glory at the expense of damning millions while arbitrarily favoring others.

God is greater than all of us

The Bible declares God’s greatness, dominion, and power. What makes him great is not that he manipulates every circumstance of our lives. It is his character and his works that make him great.

He does not cheat, steal, lie, or deceive (Num 23:19). He is great in kindness, mercy, love, and grace (Psalm 117:2, Eph 2:4, and Rom 5:8, 21). His power is mighty and his works “terrible” (Psalm 47:2). His manifold wisdom is enough to thwart the enemies’ plans through his purpose hidden in Christ before the world began (2 Tim 1:9, Eph 3:9-11).

If my childhood game was not manipulated and my opponent won through superior skill then he truly would have been greater than I. God’s greatness is proven through his character and actions.

“Bless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, thou art very great; thou art clothed with honour and majesty.” – Psalm 104:1

God’s great victory

Where is the comfort? It comes from a greater God who is far superior to the intellect of man and Satan. He has achieved victory by his greatness, he did it in secret, and now it is revealed for his glory!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” – Titus 2:13-14

The fact that this great mystery had to be kept a secret tells us that God is the victor throughout history because of his wisdom and not because he rigged the system (1 Cor 2:7-8).
 


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Saved by the Body of Christ

http://graceambassadors.com/books/ephesians/saved-by-the-body-of-christ


By Justin Johnson

Without Christ giving his body to die for my sins and raising his body from the dead, I could not be saved.

This salvation is not offered to me through a chosen nation, an anointed priest, or a special covenant. According to the great mystery of Christ, this salvation is possible because I am made a member of his body.

“That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel” – Ephesians 3:6

Every one who is saved today is a member of the body of Christ, which is now called the church.

“…and gave [Christ] to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body…” – Ephesians 1:22-23

I am saved by the body of Christ. Salvation is not found outside the body of Christ. It is impossible to be saved today without being in the body of Christ.

“For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body…” – 1 Corinthians 12:12-13

Salvation is found in the body of Christ, because it is in the body of Christ that we are joined with Christ in his crucifixion and resurrection.

“Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death…For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection” – Romans 6:3-5

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me…” – Galatians 2:20

All spiritual blessings I now receive are a result of my being joined to Christ in his body (Eph 1:3). God’s calling and position given to me is in heaven, because I am joined to the body of Christ which has been called up to heaven where it now sits (Eph 2:6; Col 3:1-2).

Christ is the heir of God. I am an heir of God by the body of Christ, because I am joined to Christ.

“Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. “ – Galatians 4:7

“That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:” – Ephesians 3:6

Being joined to His body gives me salvation, a calling, an inheritance, and power (Eph 1:17-23). Moreover, I receive it all freely and graciously! This is the great mystery revealed to the apostle Paul.

If I do not have all spiritual blessings, hold a heavenly position, a joint-inheritance, nor a complete position in Christ, then I am not joined to the body of Christ.

If I am not joined to the body of Christ, then I am not saved. Without the body of Christ there is no salvation today.

This is the great mystery revealed to the apostle Paul (Eph 3:3-4).

Anyone who thinks I can fall out of salvation, I must work for my blessings or inheritance, or that my salvation is joined to a nation, priest, or covenant does not understand this great mystery of the body of Christ nor how we are joined to it by grace through faith.

I am saved by the body of Christ. I am sealed by the Spirit of promise. I am enriched and inherited by the Father of glory, as a member of the body of His Son.

“ For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” – Ephesians 5:30

“This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” – Ephesians 5:32

Praise God.

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Three Troubling Pauline Passages


http://graceambassadors.com/salvation/three-troubling-pauline-passages


By Justin Johnson

The most amazing statements on salvation by grace without works in the entire Bible are found in Paul’s epistles. What liberation it is for sinners to learn that God offers salvation freely by grace through faith in the finished work of Christ (Eph 2:8-9; Gal 5:1).

There is nothing you do to deserve or earn salvation from God.

Nevertheless, there are a few Pauline passages that repeatedly trouble new believers as to whether their sins can negate what God has given them by grace.

For the religious minded fruit inspectors 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Ephesians 5:5-6, and Galatians 5:21 become tests of salvation, and when you fail the test one of these explanations is given:

“You were never a Christian in the first place.”
“A Christian would never do these things.”
“Faith without works is dead.”
“You need to repent and get right (again) with God.”


Not Tests of Salvations

Let’s be clear. If these three passages are talking about conditions or qualifications for salvation then there will be no one but Christ in the kingdom of God.

A look at the wide scope of sins mentioned in these passages disqualifies all but the self-righteous in their own delusions.

It would also mean that your salvation by grace is not through faith, but through your continuance in doing good works the rest of your life. This described salvation under Israel’s covenant relationship, but not in this dispensation of grace (Mark 13:13; Lev 18:5).

No, these passages are not tests of salvation or membership in the body of Christ.

Not Conditions of Inheritance

To avoid the obvious problem with making them tests of salvation, it is sometimes suggested that these three passages put conditions and qualifications on your inheritance, blessings, or levels of glory in heaven.

While it is true that the work of the saints will be judged by Christ for reward or loss, these passages can not be referring to that either.

1 Cor 6:10 says that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom, it does not say they will not have as many rewards or will “suffer loss” as does 1 Cor 3:15 at the judgment of the saints.

Eph 5:5 makes it clear that those sinners do not have “any inheritance”. It is not lesser inheritance, but any inheritance at all. This would be contrary to Eph 1:3, Eph 1:18, and Eph 3:6 that describe the saved having “all spiritual blessings”, “the riches of the glory of this inheritance”, and as being “fellowheirs” according to the mystery.

While these passages are surely intended to condemn wrong thinking and actions among the saints, they cannot be referring to believers who have been promised an inheritance by grace even if we do suffer loss for poor workmanship at the judgment seat of Christ.

A question remains. Why is Paul warning believers about what happens to unbelievers who are living in their flesh?

Understanding Your Position

Something often overlooked in Paul’s instructions to the saints is the difference between our position and our condition. It has also been referred to as our standing and state, salvation and service.

Your salvation, standing, or position in Christ is received by grace through faith. This new position in the body of Christ has changed your identity, that is, who you are.

You are no longer a sinner, but a saint (Rom 5:19). You are no longer in Adam, but in Christ (Rom 5:17). You are no longer a servant of sin, but a servant of righteousness (Rom 6:17-18).

This new identity is like the job title you are given on the first day of work. You have not done any work, but you have been given a new identity, you sit in a new position.

What would happen if on day two in your new position you were doing your old job and not your new one? No doubt, your boss would remind you that you no longer hold that position, and need to do the work becoming of your new position.

Whether or not you are operating according to the privileges, benefits, or description of your new position is called your condition, service, or walk. It concerns your performance in Christ.

All three troubling passages are trying to correct the performance, walk, or service of believers by reminding them of who they are and who they are not.

“Remember your position. Remember who you are, not who you were. Walk according to who you are now in Christ.”

Knowing your position will put these trouble passages in the proper perspective. Let’s look at each one.

Trouble Passage #1) 1Corinthians 6:9-10

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither … shall inherit the kingdom of God.” – 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

This is very clear that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. Though you had been in the position of an unrighteous person before you were saved, you have now, after trusting the gospel, been made the righteousness of God in Christ by grace through faith (2 Cor 5:21).

Notice the verse right after the troubling passage which distinguishes what the Corinthians were with what they are now in Christ.

“ 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. “ – 1 Corinthians 6:11

They were unrighteous, but now they are justified and sanctified. What they were was not what they are now in Christ, and it had nothing to do with their behavior. The reason Paul condemns the unrighteous is that the Corinthians were acting like them as if it were acceptable behavior in their new position.

“Stop doing unrighteous things. That is not who you are anymore! Those things are condemnable.”

Trouble Passage #2) Ephesians 5:5-6

“…hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.“ – Ephesians 5:5-6

What a terrifying verse, and rightly so! Sin deserves all wrath, and the wrath of God is revealed upon all sinners (Rom 1:18).

The question remains are you a child of disobedience or not? Is that your title? Is that your position?

The religious minded would have you believe that if you disobey, then that means you are a child of disobedience. That was the case under the law, but no longer under grace. Now, you can be justified by grace through faith in Christ without works and without the law. This is the mystery of Christ!

Notice the verses immediately following the condemnation of the children of disobedience.

“Be not ye therefore partakers with them.” – Ephesians 5:7

Don’t partake with them? Who are they? Not the saved Ephesians. But why?

“For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light…” – Ephesians 5:8

They were children of disobedience and darkness, but now they arechanged. They have a new position in Christ! Every saved member of the body of Christ is a child of light, and Paul teaches them to walk according to their new job description received and secured by grace without works.

“Walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called” – Ephesians 4:1

Trouble Passage #3) Galatians 5:21

“…that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” – Galatians 5:21

Like the previous two passages, knowing your position puts this troubling passage in context as well.

The Galatians had received the Spirit and salvation through faith, but they were being persuaded to walk under the law. There is a difference between living in and walking in. There is a difference between position and condition.

The Galatians thought the only way to avoid the condemnation of sin after salvation was to go back under the law, but the law brought condemnation. Paul exhorts them in the better way, “Walk in the Spirit” (Gal 5:16).

“But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” – Galatians 5:18

If they were truly saved by grace through faith, then they do not live in the flesh, but in the Spirit and not under the law.

If there is one thing we cannot be condemned for under grace, it is the work of our flesh. The power of the law to condemn the flesh was removed when it was crucified with Christ (Gal 2:20; Gal 5:24; Rom 6:6; Rom 7:4).

The admonition Paul gives the Galatians in chapter 5 is found in Gal 5:25:

“ If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

But how do you know if you are walking after the Spirit or after the flesh?

They could tell whether their flesh or the Spirit was winning the war for their walk by what comes out of them. The works of the flesh were manifest, and are condemned by God. The fruit of the Spirit is where there is no condemnation (Rom 8:1; Gal 5:23).

If the Galatians received the Spirit by faith, then they lived by the Spirit. They needed to walk after the Spirit in order to bear the fruit of the Spirit. Any attempt to walk under the law would strengthen their condemned flesh, bring condemnation, and manifest the condemnable works of the flesh.

Conclusion

These passages have troubled grace believers for a while and it is time to set them at rest. They may be difficult but not impossible. There is no reason to sacrifice the riches of God’s grace by neglecting to remember who you are in Christ and how you were saved.

Don’t forget who Christ made you, and how that was possible. It is the cross of Christ that did all the work necessary for your salvation, and the power of the resurrection of Christ that guarantees you a heavenly place with Christ.

The response to sin for the believer is to stop living like who you were, and start living according to who you are in Christ by faith.

Now it is our duty to live up to the high calling we have received freely through Him.
 


  1. -Walking in the Spirit Before Paul 
    -Abraham’s Seed of Promise 
    -As Ye Have Received … So Walk 
    -What is the Gift of God 
    -By Faith and Through Faith 
    -3 Steps to Walking Worthy 
    -God Is Not Mocked
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GRACE AMBASSADORS 
MINISTRY UPDATE

June 2nd, 2018

Don't Argue From Opinion

Everyone has an opinion about the scripture. Without an objective authority for truth two opinions can debate indefinitely. Debates about doctrines go nowhere. 

When you voice your beliefs be ready to have a verse rightly divided to support for your position. God’s words are your authority and credibility. 

Avoid doctrinal conversations that are void of scriptural support. These conversations sound like this: 

“I think…” 
“I believe…” 
“My opinion is…” 
“Everyone has their own interpretation…” 

In reality, people believe things that are not in the Bible. Do not be one of those people. Start your position with “God says…” and read from the Bible. 

For His glory, 

Justin Curtis Johnson 
 

Truth and Unity

There are two ways to achieve doctrinal unity. One is worldly and the other is godly. It is popular to choose the former; I choose the latter. 

Read More

Peter’s Audience

When determining the dispensational context of a scripture the audience plays a significant role. If Peter was writing his epistles to the believing remnant of covenant Israel, then it is not written to the Jew-Gentile mystery church of this dispensation. 

Read More

Too Many “Scholars”

With the inordinate attention given to institutions offering advanced degrees, there is a tendency to think that the Bible should be left to the hands of the “experts”. Yet, the experts repeatedly prove that they have been educated to doubt the Bible. 

Read More

Audio: Presenting a Dispensational Chart

This dispensational chart lesson presents how to use our printed dispensational chart to explain how to study the Bible. 

Listen or Watch Here

 

OUR MISSION

Grace Ambassadors exists to clearly preach the gospel of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, encourage Bible belief, and edify the church by teaching mid-Acts Pauline dispensational right division. 
(Read more about us)

Find more free resources at www.graceambassadors.com

THE GOSPEL THAT SAVES

"I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved ... how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:"

    - 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 (KJB)
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Day By Day Renewal

 
By Justin Johnson

“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” – 2 Cor 4:16

Every day our outward man perishes. Our lives can be painful and mentally tiring. As we stumble home from work our bodies ache and our minds can not think of anything except all of the chores that must be done.

When the unexpected happens to disquiet our lives, our outward man takes more beatings. How do we continue? Paul says our inward man is renewed day by day, but how?

He is not talking about physical renewal, or even deliverance from our problems. He is talking about strength of the inner man which comes from knowing things.

“…be renewed in the spirit of your mind…” – Ephesians 4:23

What knowledge brings us strength to continue through the struggles and pains in our flesh? The answer is the knowledge of the hope of glory.

“For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;” – 2 Cor 4:17

The glory that you will experience in the future will be incomparably greater than the suffering you are now going through (Rom 8:18). God lives in glory, and he says your current afflictions are short and light.

The athlete looks at the prize and the worker looks to the paycheck. We who trust in Christ have a greater hope. It is the knowledge and constant thinking of this coming glory that gives strength to the inner man.

“That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;” – Eph 3:16

Paul’s Perils

Paul felt more than the daily grind gnawing at his outward man. He faced real perils like stoning, stripes, persecutions, death, and other very mentally discouraging troubles. If his mind stayed focused on the outward success of his ministry he would’ve crashed and quit years before. By all temporal accounts Paul was a failure.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” – 2 Cor 4:18

Instead he learned to look at the things not seen and eternal. These are only known by faith. He had faith that Christ had purchased for him an eternal weight of glory (Col 1:27).

This was called the mystery of Christ and Paul was trying to make the riches of this glory known to all men (Eph 3:9). This hope of glory is able to renew the most downtrodden believer.

Our Daily Renewal

While in America we do not come close to Paul’s level of outward man persecution, we benefit from the same hope of glory as he. Follow Paul’s pattern and read 2 Corinthians 4 for renewal day by day.

We should not ignore the troubles we face. Our outward man really is perishing, but with the knowledge of the mystery of Christ we can use this present perishing to remind ourselves of the far greater hope of participating in God’s glory.

We can think about how it will feel and how wonderful the rejoicing will be. Ponder about the eradication of evil and the reign of righteousness. Consider the new immortal and glorious body you will have (1 Cor 15:42-53).

Then, in prayer thank God for renewing your mind with sound doctrine and for being strengthened through Christ (Phil 4:13).

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