Moving Away From The Cross

The idea of Christians moving away from the Cross of Jesus Christ may sound preposterous at first but on closer examination, you will discover that it is perfectly logical and biblical. However, before you light the bonfire over my body, let me emphasize that we are NOT MOVING AWAY FROM THE MESSAGE OF THE CROSS but as believers, we, ourselves, have to move away from the milk and move forward to discipleship and spiritual growth. 

Paul the Apostle said, "I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready." Yes, some are not ready for the meats and they still need to learn the basic elements of salvation.

After we have been justified and saved by our Lord, we should move on and not remain lingering at the Cross. We only stay there when we are still under the Law and need justification. When we say that we are not under the Law then why are we behaving like we are still under its yoke.
 
We have been saved once and that's it! We are now under Grace. This means that we are totally free from the power of sins. For the first time, we can fight temptation with the power of His grace. We can obey God and do the right things because we have been empowered.

To claim that we have no need to obey God just because Christ is obeying God on our behalf is a belief known as Progressive Justification. This means that we have not been fully justified and that we need Christ's obedience from His death at the Cross till now so as to keep us continually justified. This can only be so if the Law still have power over us. Thus instead of fully enjoying a life of freedom under Grace, we are continuing a life under Law. 

The idea that the brimstones and fire of the Law are still pouring upon us and Christ is our umbrella or covering is an inaccurate one. There is no more onslaught of the Law upon us now. The Law has no more hold upon our lives. Absolutely zero. We have been justified. Period! Why do we still need the continual obedience of Christ to shield us? From what? 

Do we need to cling to the Cross as though we are still depraved and full of sins? We are no longer sinners but children of the Most High God. Should a drowning man still cling to the float after he is already safe onshore?

We have to move on to the process of sanctification. Sanctification has nothing to do with the Gospel but everything to do with the Living Savior and His Holy Spirit. The Gospel is meant for unbelievers but we are already believers. The Gospel shows Christ was crucified for our sins and whomsoever receives His sacrifice will be justified. We have already done that. Then why do we need to go back to the Cross again? 

We preach the Cross to sinners but we preach the living resurrected Savior to believers.We preach justification to those unsaved but sanctification to those who are disciples.
 
It time for us to move away from the empty Cross to the empty tomb. From the empty tomb to the Upper Room. From the Upper Room to the Public Square. From the Public Square to millions of streets around this world. What message do we carry then? The message of the Cross of course!

Justified Without A Cause

 

Justified Without A Cause

Cornelius R. Stam

God tells us in His Word that believers are “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:24). The word “freely,” here, does not mean “without cost,” but “without cause.” The same original word is so translated in John 15:25, where we find the words of Christ: “They hated Me without a cause.”

Thus sinners hated Christ “without a cause,” yet God justifies sinners “without a cause.”How can this be? Let’s see:

What had Christ done to earn the enmity of men? Nothing whatever. He had been kind and good, had helped those in distress, had healed their sick, had made the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the lame to leap for joy. Why, then, did they hate Him: The Bible says they hated Him “without a cause, i.e., without any cause in Him. The cause of their hatred lay in their own evil hearts.

But on the other hand, what have sinners done to merit justification before God? Again the answer is: Nothing whatever. They have broken His commandments every day, lying, stealing, and committing hundreds of other sins. Yet in love God gave His Son to die for them on Calvary “that He might be just and [at the same time] the Justifier of him that believeth in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). He loves and justifies believers “without a cause”, i.e., without any cause in them. The cause is to be found in His own compassionate heart, for “GOD IS LOVE.”

Thus those who trust in Christ, who died for our sins, are justified without a cause, by God’s grace, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.


“God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).

“By this man is preached…the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which He could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).

Justification and Sanctification: What is the Difference?

Understanding the difference between justification and sanctification can be as important as understanding the difference between salvation and damnation.  Rightly dividing between the two is of crucial importance.  When you understand what they are, you can then draw a line in the sand and say, "This is what saves.  This is not what saves."

Justification is the work of God where the righteousness of Jesus is reckoned to the sinner so the sinner is declared by God as being righteous under the Law (Rom. 4:3; 5:1,9; Gal. 2:16; 3:11). This righteousness is not earned or retained by any effort of the saved.  Justification is an instantaneous occurrence with the result being eternal life.  It is based completely and solely upon Jesus' sacrifice on the cross (1 Pet. 2:24) and is received by faith alone (Eph. 2:8-9).  No works are necessary whatsoever to obtain justification.  Otherwise, it is not a gift (Rom. 6:23). Therefore, we are justified by faith (Romans 5:1).

Sanctification is the processes of set apart for God's work and being conformed to the image of Christ.  This conforming to Christ involves the work of the person.  But it is still God working in the believer to produce more of a godly character and life in the person who has already been justified (Phil. 2:13).  Sanctification is not instantaneous because it is not the work of God alone. The justified person is actively involved in submitting to God's will, resisting sin, seeking holiness, and working to be more godly (Gal. 5:22-23). Significantly, sanctification has no bearing on justification.  That is, even if we don't live a perfect life, we are still justified.

Where justification is a legal declaration that is instantaneous, sanctification is a process.  Where justification comes from outside of us, from God, sanctification comes from God within us by the work of the Holy Spirit in accordance with the Bible.  In other words, we contribute to sanctification through our efforts.  In contrast, we do not contribute to our justification through our efforts.

Now, there is one more point of clarification.  To sanctify also means to set apart for holy use.  Therefore we can have verses that talk about us being sanctified already because God has set us apart for holy use.

• John 10:36, "do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?"

• Rom. 15:16, "to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, ministering as a priest the gospel of God, that my offering of the Gentiles might become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit."

•  1 Cor. 1:2, "to the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours." 

• 1 Cor. 6:11, "And such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God."

•  1 Tim. 4:4-5, "For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; 5 for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer." 

• Heb. 2:11, "For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren."

All that we need is given to us in Christ.  So there is one sense in which we are not yet completely formed into the image of Christ (sanctification of being made like Jesus), yet in another sense we are because we are seen as "in Christ", set apart for holy use where all of where all our spiritual needs and purposes are met through Jesus.

Does this mean that those justified by grace can sin as much as they want?

Romans 6:1-2 says, "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?  God forbid.  How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in it?"

1 Thess. 4:7 says, "God has called us not for the purpose of impurity, but in sanctification."

The Scriptures teach us that we are to live holy lives and avoid sin (Col. 1:5-11).  Just because we are saved and eternally justified before God (John 10:28), that is no excuse to continue in the sin from which we were saved.  Of course, we all sin (Rom. 3:23).  But the war between the saved and sin is continuous (Rom. 7:14-20) and it won't be until the return of Jesus that we will be delivered from this body of death (Rom. 7:24).  To seek sin continually and use God's grace to excuse it later is to trample the blood of Christ underfoot (Heb. 10:29) and to reveal the person's true sinful, unsaved nature (1 John 2:4; 2:19).  (Other verses worth checking out are: Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:14-16; and 1 Pet. 2:21-22.)

What the cults do with justification and sanctification

The cults consistently blur the meanings of the two terms and misapply the truths taught in God's word.  The result is a theology of works righteousness, of earning their salvation which only leads to damnation.  This is because by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified (Gal. 2:16).  Man cannot contribute to his salvation (Gal. 5:1-8).  Man is sinful and even his best deeds are stained and filthy before God (Isaiah 64:6). Therefore, making a person right before God can only be God's work (Gal. 2:20).

Typically, in cult theologies, a person is not justified (declared righteous in God's eyes) until the final day of judgment when his works are weighed and a reward is given or he is found worthy of his place with God.  Thus, a person with this errant theology can not claim 1 John 5:13 as his own which says, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God."

Contextually, "These things" refers to loving God, being obedient to Him, belief in Christ, and eternal life in Jesus.  Therefore, 1 John 5:13 can be considered a test.  If you are believing and doing the right things, then you will know if you have eternal life.  Can a cultist know he has eternal life? No.  He cannot.  But a Christian can.

People in cults don't understand the difference between justification and sanctification.  Therefore, they must depend upon a cooperative effort with God to have their sins forgiven which is, essentially, combining the filthy works of man (Isaiah 64:6) with the holy work of God.  They don't mix.  They can't.  Hence, salvation is by grace through faith, alone.  To believe anything else is to miss salvation.

Source:http://carm.org/justification-and-sanctification

Justification and Sanctification

There is a distinction between Justification and Sanctification. Justification is solely the work of God. We thus have the righteousness of Jesus and so God declares that we are righteous through our faith in Christ and Christ alone. (Rom. 4:3; 5:1,9; Gal. 2:16; 3:11).

Sanctification is God working through us to produce a Christ-like character even though we have been justificed (Phil 2:13). We do not have instant sanctification because it is a process where we have to actively submit to the working of the Holy Spirit in our life.

We have to resist sins and seek holiness as we grow in the Lord. This is not legalism because Sanctification does not take away Justification. That is to say even though we may live imperfect life, we are still justified.

To confuse Sanctification with the filthy works of man and legalism is dangerous. The Bible is clear that we are to live holy lives and to avoid sin (Col. 1:5-11). Yes, position-wise, we are eternally saved and justified. We cannot earn our salvation. However, that does not mean that we continue to live in the sin from which we were redeemed.

Yes, we are continually affected by the temptations to sin and the battle between the redeemed of the Lord and sin will continue (Rom. 7:14-20) until the Second Coming. Only then, that we will be delivered from our bodies of death (Rom. 7:24). To claim that since we have been forgiven by the complete work of Christ and therefore we do not need to avoid sins and live a holy life is to trample the blood of Christ underfoot (Heb. 10:29).

Rev Albert Kang

Considering the Naked Gospel Summary

I’ve reviewed some specific sections and issues from Andrew Farley’s The Naked Gospel.  He wrote the book in order to relieve people from the bondage of legalism which can come from misunderstanding the gospel.  That is a great thing.  But Farley seems to misunderstand the gospel in a different way.

He begins the book by inviting theological discussion.  Theological disputation is an important thing, but it must be done properly.  Where Farley, and his book,  ultimately fails is how he pursues theological disputation.

His book is filled with exegetical and hermeneutical errors.  Texts are often taken out of context.  His method of interpretation is profoundly flawed. He ignores texts that may have something to say about his points.  When talking about how we won’t stand before God at the Great White Throne, he tosses out Matthew 25 due the fact that it took place before the Cross.  Nor does he refer to Romans 14:9-12.

9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.  10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.  11 It is written: ”‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’”  12 So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

He fails to make theological distinctions which are of great importance.  As a result of this, he has a one-size fits all approach.  For him, all roads lead to justification.  One of my professors, Richard Pratt, often told us that you have to use the right medicine from the medicine cabinet.  We are to rightly diagnose the problem, and then give them the proper practical theology to address that problem.  If you have heart problems, taking medication for erectile dysfunction can be deadly.  There is no one medicine for all problems.  The gospel has many elements to it (regeneration, justification, adoption, sanctification, glorification etc.), and we must give them the proper one.  To offer the medication of justification when they have a sanctification problem is part of what keeps Christians in immaturity.

Another problem that disturbed me was the consistent use of the straw man argument.  Farley consistently portrays those with whom he disagrees in the worst possible light.  For example, he hones in on those who think we must confess our sins (post-conversion) and that the Spirit convicts us.

Convict means “to find guilty.”  Within a judicial system, conviction is followed by sentencing and then punishment.  Inside the word conviction is the term we usually reserve for a person who is incarcerated- a convict.  So should the verb convict be used to describe interaction between the Holy Spirit and children of God?  Probably not.

He’s right, IF that is the only meaning and intended use of the word.  As a professor of applied linguistics, you would think he would know this and explain this.  But he stacks the deck so his view sounds reasonable and the other view does not.

One definition of convict is to make aware of one’s sinfulness and guilt.  As a Christian, I remain sinful (Farley would disagree) and do wrong things (he’d agree).  The Spirit convicts me, in part, but making me aware of my wrong-doing in specific areas.  He is not condemning me, but humbling me and leading me to repentance (most of the churches are told to repent in Revelation 2-3).  Moreover, conviction can refer to a firm or fixed belief.  The Spirit convicts us in that sense too.  He established firm and fixed belief in us about what the Bible teaches and how we are to apply it.  These are the ways in which most Christians use these words- not in the way Farley claims.

As a result, this book- while well-intentioned- can do much harm to those lacking a sufficient biblical theological background to make the distinctions that Pastor Farley fails to make.  I hate sounding like a nit-picky, fault-finding guy.  But this book presents too many problems on too many fronts.

I’ve noted other books that may be of good use in understanding regeneration and justification.  A book that may be of good use in understanding sanctification is Walter Marshall’s The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification.  It is built on the reality of our union with Christ.  So, in some ways it is what Farley tries to do without the many theological errors that Farley embraces.  We do live out our new identity in Christ, being assured of His love for us due to the substitutionary death of Christ.   This would be a more fruitful use of one’s time and money.

Written by Pastor Steve Cavallaro

Cavman Considers