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Author
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Topic: The New Perspective On Paul
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WildB
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Member # 2917
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posted
quote:
Originally posted by becauseHElives:
quote:
There is a great difference between SALVATION “not OF good works” and
SALVATION by grace “UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8 to 10)
only when you have the truth of what Saving Grace really means!
True Grace changes and conforms everyone that truly receives it into the image of the giver of Grace...
The Unveiling and Shining Forth of Grace
By Cornelius R. Stam
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men" (Titus 2:11).
THE GREATEST REVELATION OF ALL TIME
To the Apostle Paul was committed the greatest revelation of all time: "the mystery," the secret of the gospel and of God's eternal purpose (Col. 1:25,26). To him was entrusted "the dispensation of the grace of God" (Eph. 3:1-3). His ministry superseded that of Peter and the eleven as, upon Israel's continued rejection of Christ and His kingdom, he became the apostle to the nations (Rom. 11:13). Solemn recognition was given to this fact by the leaders of the twelve (including Peter himself) as they gave to Paul and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, acknowledging Paul's divine commission to go to the Gentiles, and agreeing thenceforth to confine their own ministry to Israel (Gal. 2:2,7,9).
In connection with this commission Paul was also the divinely appointed minister of the Church of the present dispensation, "the Body of Christ" (Col. 1:24,25).1 No other Bible writer has one single word to say about "the Church which is [Christ's] Body." None of the other apostles mention it. Not only would we seek in vain for such phraseology in their writings, but we would seek in vain for any discussion of the subject, for they do not discuss the Church of which believers today are members. But Paul, who wrote more of the books of the Bible than any other writer, deals consistently with those truths which concern "the Church which is His Body" (Eph. 1:19-23).
THE REVELATION LOST SIGHT OF
But this great revelation and the glorious truths associated with it have been largely lost to the professing Church.
The Church of Rome ignores the facts we have stated above, though they are clearly set forth in her own translations of the Bible. She insists that the true Church of today is a perpetuation of that which was founded by Christ while on earth; a kingdom to be established on earth, over which Peter and the eleven were appointed to be heads and rulers during His absence. And even though our Lord said nothing about a prolonged absence or of any succession of such rulers, Rome declares that her present pope is a successor to Peter and, as such, the Vicar of Christ and supreme Head of the Church on earth. Consistent with this she holds that she is laboring to fulfill the "great commission" given to Peter and the eleven, requiring water baptism for the remission of sins and claiming to possess miraculous powers.
But Protestantism, while boasting freedom from the tyranny of Rome, has by no means emerged entirely from the shadows of the dark ages. She still suffers a Roman hangover. While renouncing papal authority, she nevertheless still clings to the Roman teaching that the Church of today is a perpetuation of that to which our Lord referred in Matthew 16:16-18 and that it is God's kingdom on earth. She too seeks to carry out the "great commission" given to Peter and the eleven, though half-heartedly, for she cannot make up her mind whether water baptism is or is not necessary to the remission of sins and is also confused and disagreed as to whether or not she possesses the miraculous powers of what she calls the "great commission."
Martin Luther, under God, shook Europe to its foundations with a partial recovery of Pauline truth, but the Protestant Church has done little to further that recovery, so that rather than recognizing the distinctive character of Paul's position as our apostle, most Protestants think of him simply as one of the apostles, along with Peter and the eleven. In taking so short a step away from Rome the Protestant Church has assumed a very weak position, for if Paul is to be considered as one with the twelve, Rome can easily prove that Peter, not Paul, was appointed as their chief (See Matt. 16:19; Acts 1:15; 2:14,38; 5:29, etc.).
THE EXTENT OF PAUL'S MINISTRY
Since Christendom has strayed so far and so long from the great Pauline revelation, she has lost sight almost completely of the vastness of his ministry and influence, and the extent to which his message once became known in the world. An example of this is found in what Bible scholars have done with Titus 2:11.
It is generally—and correctly—agreed that the epiphaneia in this passage connotes a conspicuous or illustrious appearing, a shining forth, and that the phrase "all men" therefore does not signify each individual singly, but all men collectively; all mankind. But few can quite believe even that under Paul's ministry the gospel of God's grace shone forth to all mankind, that its proclamation ever became world-wide in scope. They conclude that Paul could not have meant this in Titus 2:11; that he must have meant only that the grace of God, bringing salvation for all, had appeared.
This problem seems to have troubled even the translators of this passage, for Bible translators have never been agreed as to its true meaning.
According to some translations, like Darby's New Translation, the apostle meant that the grace of God had appeared, bringing salvation for all men. According to others, like the Authorized (quoted above) he meant that the grace of God had appeared to all men, bringing salvation. Still others use guarded phraseology, even to the point of ambiguity, but most take one or the other of the above views. The majority, probably, including some of those apt to be most faithful in their renderings, conform in substance to the Authorized Version as quoted above. One cannot help feeling that were it not for the translators' doubts that Paul could have meant that the message of Grace was shining forth to all mankind, all, or nearly all, would have rendered the passage substantially like the Authorized Version. In view of these doubts it is significant that so many have rendered it like the Authorized.
THE TWELVE AND THEIR COMMISSION
Apart from Paul's statement in Titus 2:11 there is much Scriptural evidence that his message did shine forth to all the known world. Before considering this evidence, however, let us first observe that the eleven, under Peter, had previously been sent to proclaim their God-given message to all mankind. In the records of their "great commission" three different terms are used to emphasize this fact:
"Go ye therefore, and teach [make disciples of] all nations" (Matt. 28:19 cf. Luke 24:47).
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature [i.e., all creation]" (Mark 16:15).
The reader is asked to remember well these three terms: all nations, all the world and all creation, for we are to find them used again in connection with the ministry of Paul.
The Twelve (Matthias replacing Judas) began to carry out their world-wide mission, but never got beyond their own nation. We should always associate Acts 1:8 with Acts 8:1 in our study of the Acts, for Jerusalem, rather than turning to Messiah so that the apostles could go on with their "great commission," started a "great persecution" against the Church there, with the result that "they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles."
The twelve have often been charged with bigotry and unfaithfulness for remaining in Jerusalem at this time. In fact, however, it was rare courage and fidelity to their commission that kept them in Jerusalem while persecution raged and their very lives were in danger. They remained at Jerusalem for the same reason that the rest fled: because Jerusalem was not turning to Christ. The first part of their commission had not yet been fulfilled, therefore they were duty-bound to remain there.
The twelve did not remain at Jerusalem because they were prejudiced against the salvation of the Gentiles. There is too much scriptural evidence against this. They remained there because they had a clear understanding of the prophetic program and of their Lord's commission (See Luke 24:45; Acts 1:3; 2:4). They knew that according to covenant and prophecy the Gentiles were to be saved and blessed through redeemed Israel (Gen. 22:17,18; Isa. 60:1-3; Zech. 8:13). Our Lord had indicated no change in this program. He worked in perfect harmony with it. Even before His death He had insisted that Israel was first in God's revealed program, commanding His disciples not to go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans but to "go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:6), and saying to a Gentile who came for help: "Let the children first be filled" (Mark 7:27). And later, in His "great commission" to the eleven, He had specifically stated that they should begin at Jerusalem (Luke 24:47; Acts 1:8).
Peter certainly indicated his desire that the "commission" under which he worked would bring about the fulfillment of the prophecies and the covenant to Abraham, when he said to the "men of Israel":
"Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed.
"Unto you first God, having raised up His Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his iniquities" (Acts 3:25,26).
And Paul, though not working under this same commission, later also bore witness that Israel had been first in God's program, when he said to the Jews at Pisidian Antioch:
"It was necessary that the Word of God should first have been spoken to you…" (Acts 13:46).
It was only when Israel persisted in rejecting Christ and His Kingdom that God began to set the nation aside, raising up Paul to go to the Gentiles with the good news of salvation "by grace," apart from the covenants and prophecies, and "through faith," apart from works. It was then that Paul went to Jerusalem "by revelation" and communicated to the leaders there that gospel which he preached among the Gentiles (Gal. 2:2). And those leaders, including Peter himself, gave to Paul and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship in official recognition of the fact that Paul had been chosen by Christ as the apostle to the nations and that they were henceforth to confine their ministry to Israel (Gal. 2:7-9).
With this official recognition of the divine purpose the apostles at Jerusalem were "loosed" from their original commission to make disciples of all nations, and Paul alone could say:
"I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office" (Rom. 11:13).
Arguments are sometimes presented from church history to prove that the twelve did go to Gentile territory; that not more than one or two of them died in Palestine. But even if these arguments could be fully substantiated, this would not enter into the case, for whatever the Circumcision apostles may have done after the agreement of Galatians 2, they had no apostolic authority among the Gentiles, and after the declaration of Acts 28:28 they had no apostolic authority whatever. What any of them wrote (of the Scriptures) after that, they simply wrote by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, just as any other Bible writer.
Let us mark well, then, that Peter and the eleven, who had originally been sent to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom to "all nations," "all the world" and "all creation," never completed their mission. Indeed, had they done so that dispensation would have been brought to a close, for our Lord had said concerning the tribulation period (then imminent, but later graciously postponed):
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matt. 24:14).
If, therefore, the pouring out of the Spirit had been followed directly by the pouring out of God's wrath (both predicted in Joel 2 as quoted by Peter in Acts 2) Israel would have turned to God in repentance and the twelve would have proceeded to proclaim "the gospel of the kingdom" to all nations. That dispensation would thus have been consummated; the end would have come. But rather than send the judgment immediately, God interrupted the prophetic program and revealed His secret purpose, sending Paul forth to proclaim to all mankind "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24).
PAUL AND HIS COMMISSION
Surely no one even superficially acquainted with the Book of Acts or the Epistles of Paul will question the fact that sometime after our Lord's commission to the eleven, Paul was sent, as an apostle of Christ, to proclaim to all mankind "the gospel of the grace of God."
It is significant that the three terms employed in the so-called "great commission" to indicate its world-wide scope are also used in Paul's epistles in connection with his ministry. Only, whereas the twelve never got to "all nations," "all the world" or "all creation" with their message, Paul did with his.
In closing his epistle to the Romans the apostle says:
"Now to Him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began.
"But now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith" (Rom. 16:25,26).
And to the Colossians he writes concerning "the truth of the gospel":
"Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you…" (Col. 1:6).
"…which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven [all creation under heaven]; whereof I Paul am made a minister" (Col. 1:23).
Various arguments may be advanced to prove that "the gospel of the grace of God" did not actually reach "all the world" or "all creation," and we do not deny that to those addressed "all the world" would doubtless mean all the known world, and "all creation" would likewise mean all the creation as they knew it. But the point is that whatever these three phrases mean in the so-called "great commission," they must also mean in these statements by Paul, for the terms are exactly identical in the original.
We have seen how the twelve did not get their message to "all nations," "all the world" or "all creation," because, on the one hand Israel rejected it and on the other hand God had a secret purpose to unfold. But Paul, to whom this secret purpose was revealed, says he did get his message to "all nations," "all the world" and "all creation."
Whereas the twelve never got beyond their own nation in carrying out their commission, it is written of Paul that during his stay at Ephesus "all they which dwelt in Asia [Minor] heard the word of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 19:10). To the Romans he writes: "from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ" (Rom. 15:19), and speaks of his plans to go to Spain (15:24), plans which may well have been accomplished between his two imprisonments. Even of his helpers it was said: "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also" (Acts 17:6). And to the Romans again he says: "your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world" (Rom. 1:8).
With regard to this last statement it is argued by some that since Paul had not even been to Rome by then, it must be that believers from the Jerusalem Church got as far as Rome under their "great commission."
We do not accept this as valid, for while indeed there were "strangers from Rome" present at Pentecost, there is no indication that there was any substantial number of these, or that those present were even converted, much less that they started a church at Rome. Thus those to whom Paul wrote at Rome could scarcely have been converts of the Circumcision believers at Jerusalem. They had doubtless been won to Christ through those whom Paul had reached with "the gospel of the grace of God."
This leads us to recognize another important fact. We have seen from Matthew 24:14 that if the twelve had gotten their message to all the world "the end" of that dispensation would have come. This proves at the same time that Paul was not laboring to fulfill the "great commission" to the eleven and that he did not preach the same gospel as they, for then "the end" would have come in his day, since he says that his message had gone to "all the world."
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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becauseHElives
Advanced Member
Member # 87
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posted
quote:
There is a great difference between SALVATION “not OF good works” and
SALVATION by grace “UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8 to 10)
only when you have the truth of what Saving Grace really means!
True Grace changes and conforms everyone that truly receives it into the image of the giver of Grace...
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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WildB
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Member # 2917
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posted
There is a great difference between SALVATION “not OF good works” and
SALVATION by grace “UNTO GOOD WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we
should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8 to 10)
![[rapture]](graemlins/rapture.gif)
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That is all.....
Posts: 8775 | From: USA, MICHIGAN | Registered: Mar 2004
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becauseHElives
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Hebrews 5.....8Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
9And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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WildB
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Remember there are some here that think it is a cult to repeat the "Roman Road" and tell someone they are saved because they quoted those scriptures...
ENOUGH SAID!
![[wave3]](graemlins/18.gif)
It is clear to all what is required by the legal/grace gospel.
1That OSAS,is a license to SIN~~~!"
2That the Sabbath is to be kept on Saturday.
3That Yahushua must be used in the place of the name JESUS.
4That the Harpazo is a lie.
5That there is no BEMA.
6That there is no such thing as a carnal Christian.
7That THE MYSTERY is a lie.
![[cool_shades]](graemlins/cool_shades.gif)
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That is all.....
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becauseHElives
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What is "Trusting Christ as Lord and Savior"?
"Trust Christ as your Lord and Savior" is a phrase that is commonly used in evangelical churches today to describe the what one must do to be saved. It is a good phrase, since the words, "Lord" and "Savior", are certainly biblical -- "Lord" occurs 6,462 times and "Savior" 55 times in the Bible. The problem, however, is many people who are prompted to trust Jesus as Lord and Savior, as well as many people who claim to do so, do not obtain a adequate understanding of what it really means. With that in mind, the goal of this brief article is to develop an accurate understanding of what this phrase means and to discuss the implications of not understanding.
What is at Stake
While the Bible plainly teaches that the sole requirement to be saved is to trust Christ as Lord and Savior, sometimes the invitation to "trust" or "accept" Him is done in a way that is sufficiently vague. Christians need to take time to thoroughly explain the gospel when evangelizing, but many never do. If the gospel is not explained and understood, false conversions happen more frequently as a result of superficial and misinformed decisions. As a result, churches become filled with misinformed, but comfortable people who will one day stand at the gate of heaven saying, "Lord, Lord, did we not…" (Matthew 7:22) only to hear Him reply, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:23). If anything in the Bible is frightening, this is it…people who claim the name of Christ, go to church, and even do ministry, all the while living their lives with a false hope, because they never really knew Jesus.
Many people are told to "make Christ your Lord and Savior". This wording is unfortunate, because Jesus is already Lord and Savior. The problem is hardly that He is not Lord and Savior; rather, the problem is that unbelievers refuse to submit to Him as such. The passage above from Matthew 7 makes it clear that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior whether we believe it or not…whether we admit it or not…whether we proclaim it or not. It is not true that He is only Lord over those who "make" Him Lord. He has been and always will be Lord over all…"at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord" (Philippians 2:10-11). As Matthew 7 indicates, even the "religious" false converts who are told to depart from the presence of Christ will declare Him to be "Lord, Lord". Although one day everyone will unmistakably see His Lordship, only those who submit to His Lorship while on earth will be saved. Everyone else will remain in their sins and suffer eternal punishment (John 8:24, 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
What "Lord and Savior" Really Means
Next, it is important to establish what it really means to trust Jesus. Matthew 7 illustrates that those who truly trust in Christ as Lord and Savior have a personal relationship with Him (i.e. they know Him and He knows them). The very reason the wicked are told to depart from His presence is because they do not know Christ as a result of trusting Him as Savior and bowing to Him as Lord. The apostle John wrote in His gospel, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent." (John 17:3). True submission to Christ leads to an intimate knowledge of who He is and who we are in relation to Him. James made the point vividly when he addressed people who gave lip service by claiming to have faith without bearing any evidence of it in their lives. To their claim that faith and intellectual assent were one in the same, James replied by saying, "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder." (James 2:19). In effect, He was saying that the demons know all the facts there is to know about who God is, but they do not know Him personally. There is a big difference between knowing about somebody and knowing somebody!
Although assent to truth is not all that trusting in Christ is composed of, it is one component of saving faith. Throughout the New Testament, God has taught us what it means to trust Christ as Lord and Savior. Since God is a personal being, He looks at the heart of man. David knew that as He wrote the 51st Psalm: "You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; You do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise." (Psalm 51:16-17). God desires that we be humbled to the point of full submission to and dependence on Him. Only when we fall on our faces, beat our breasts, and say, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner" (Luke 18:13) will we be in a position to really trust Christ. To trust Christ as Savior means to trust in His person and work…to truly believe that He is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, who came from glory, descended to earth, lived a perfect life, paid the penalty for sin with His blood shed and substitutionary death on the cross, and rose victoriously from the grave. To surrender to Him as Lord is to humbly repent and truly recognize and submit to Him as Sovereign King and Master -- to live for His glory in such a way that we joyfully obey Him and comply with His rule as He leads our lives and conforms our ways to His.
Only when one trusts in and submits to Christ as Savior and Lord, he will become connected to the true vine and bear much fruit (John 15).
By Chris Villi
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
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Carol Swenson
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The Lordship Salvation view does not exemplify the historical position of the church, nor the clear teaching of Scripture. Too many "also's" must be incorporated into the Gospel message if one is to submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in order to obtain The Free Gift. In many instances, a sinner must simply reach out in faith to the Savior in order to be saved. Lordship Salvation confuses the sanctification of the believer with the salvation of the lost.
Quoting from the OP:
quote:
No one can make Christ Lord of their life without first being cleansed of sin and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can empower us to yield to the lordship of Christ.
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becauseHElives
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there is no Salvation without Lordship....
The Lordship Salvation Debate
What is at stake in the Lordship Debate?
Those who affirm "Lordship" salvation oppose the idea that one may have saving faith without submitting to the Lordship of Jesus in daily obedience. We are saved by faith alone, but not by the faith which is alone (Sola fides iustificat, sed non fides quae est sola).
Saving faith is a working faith. That faith by means of which we are justified is the kind or quality of faith that produces obedience and the fruit of the Spirit. In the absence of obedience, in the absence of fruit, in the absence of submission to the lordship of Jesus, there is doubt whether the faith is saving.
Opponents of lordship salvation insist that such a view introduces works into the gospel and compromises grace. Faith should, but may not, produce works of obedience. According to this view, you can be a Christian without necessarily being a disciple; you can receive Jesus as Savior without necessarily submitting to Him as Lord. How you live and what you believe after you profess faith in Christ has no bearing on whether you really believed in Him in the first place.
On this view, it is altogether possible that a born-again believer may repudiate the faith, turn his back on Jesus, and become an unbeliever. However, advocates of the non-Lordship position generally affirm eternal security. Thus heaven will receive saved unbelievers!
A brief Bibliography on the Lordship debate
Among those who advocate the Lordship position include:
The Gospel According to Jesus, by John MacArthur, Jr. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988).
Faith Works: The Gospel According to the Apostles, by John MacArthur, Jr. (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993).
No Holiness, No Heaven! Antinomianism Today, by Richard Alderson (Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1986).
A Layman's Guide to the Lordship Controversy, by Richard P. Belcher (Southbridge: Crowne Publications, 1990).
Christ's Call to Discipleship, by James Montgomery Boice (Chicago: Moody Press, 1986).
Today's Gospel: Authentic or Synthetic? by Walter Chantry (Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1970).
Lordship Salvation: The Only Kind There Is, by Curtis I. Crenshaw (Memphis: Footstool Publications, 1994).
Lord of the Saved: Getting to the Heart of the Lordship Debate, by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. (Phillipsburg: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Co., 1992).
Christ the Lord: The Reformation and Lordship Salvation, ed. by Michael Horton (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992).
Righteous Sinners: The Believer's Struggle with Faith, Grace, and Works, by Ron Julian (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 1998).
Among those who advocate the non-Lordship position include:
No Condemnation: A New Theology of Assurance, by Michael Eaton (Downers Grove: IVP, 1995).
The Gospel Under Siege, by Zane C. Hodges (Dallas: Redencion, 1981).
Grace in Eclipse: A Study on Eternal Rewards, by Zane C. Hodges (Dallas: Redencion, 1985).
Dead Faith: What Is It? by Zane C. Hodges (Dallas: Redencion, 1987).
Absolutely Free! A Biblical Reply to Lordship Salvation, by Zane C. Hodges (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1989).
Once Saved, Always Saved, by R. T. Kendall (Chicago: Moody Press, 1983).
So Great Salvation: What It Means to Believe In Jesus Christ, by Charles C. Ryrie (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1989).
Lordship Salvation: Is It Biblical? by G. M. Cocoris (Dallas: Redencion, 1983).
The Reign of the Servant Kings, by Jody Dillow (1992).
Observations:
1) Note that in Romans 10:9 Paul identifies the confession of Jesus as Lord to be an essential element in the gospel message.
2) The Greek word Kurios ("Lord") is used more than 6,000x in the LXX to translate the name YHWH. Many of these OT texts referring to YHWH are applied to Jesus in the NT. For example, its use in Joel 2:32 is applied to Jesus in Romans 10:13. Thus, confession of the "Lordship" of Jesus entails, at minimum, the confession of his full and perfect deity. Jesus is YHWH incarnate. In Phil. 2:10 Paul describes the title Kurios as "the name which is above every name," which can only be the name of God himself. Thus, as Cranfield notes, "the confession that Jesus is Lord meant the acknowledgment that Jesus shares the name and the nature, the holiness, the authority, power, majesty and eternity of the one and only true God" (2:529).
3) In Romans 10:9 the confession of Jesus as Lord refers to the lordship he exercises by virtue of his exaltation. It points to his investiture with universal dominion. Thus, "the hearer of the gospel message is called upon to affirm an article of faith, namely, that by virtue of his death and resurrection, Jesus has been exalted to a place of sovereignty over all men" (Alan Chrisope, Jesus is Lord [Evangelical Press, 1982], 62-3).
4) This confession involves the acknowledgment of the rightful authority of Jesus Christ over the life of the believer. According to George E. Ladd, this confession "reflects the personal experience of the confessor. He confesses Jesus as Lord because he has received Jesus Christ as his Lord (Col. 2:6). He has entered into a new relationship in which he acknowledges the absolute sovereignty and mastery of the exalted Jesus over his life" (Theology of the NT, 415).
Q: "Can we believe in Jesus Christ in the biblical sense of that term if we do not intend to submit to his authority?"
5) The doctrine of Lordship Salvation views saving faith neither as passive nor fruitless. The faith that is the product of regeneration, the faith that embraces the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross energizes a life of love and obedience and worship. The controversy is not a dispute about whether salvation is by faith only or by faith plus works. All agree that we are saved by grace through faith, apart from works (Eph. 2:8-10). But the controversy is about the nature of the faith that saves. According to Lordship Salvation,
Sola fides iustificat (faith alone justifies), sed non fides quae est sola (but not the faith which is alone).
6) We must distinguish between the content of faith and the consequences of faith. To say that faith issues in good works does not mean faith is good works. To say that works are the expression of faith does not means works are the essence of faith.
7) Lordship salvation does not teach that Christians can't sin. It does teach that Christians can't live complacently in it. Lordship salvation does not say Christians will be sinless. But it does insist that Christians will sin less. Christians do sin, but they don't practice it (1 John 3:6). Christians sin; sometimes seriously. But if they are Christians, they will suffer for it (Heb. 12). Complacency and contentment in sin are the hallmark of the unregenerate soul. Conviction is the sign of the saved one. In other words, the Christian will sin, but it will make him miserable.
Dead people don't fight!
In a recent book that opposes the Lordship position, the author opens with the story of an "evangelical" pastor who was recently sent to prison for robbing 14 banks to finance his use of prostitutes! The author believes this man is a Christian and wrote this book to show how. Yet, had he not been caught, there is every reason to believe this pastor would still be robbing banks and sleeping with prostitutes. See 1 Cor. 6:9-11.
8) Thus lordship salvation recognizes a distinction between the implicit acknowledgment by the new convert of the principle of Christ's rightful authority over his life and the explicit practice of progressive submission to the Christ who is Lord. Receiving Christ as Savior and Lord does not mean the new convert is wholly committed. It does mean he is committed to being holy.
John Piper provides the following helpful illustration. Someone might object by saying that she accepted Jesus as Savior when twelve years old but didn't submit to His Lordship until she was 30. "If Lordship salvation is true," she says, "had I died when I was a teenager I would have gone to hell."
No. Jesus was her Lord from the moment of her conversion. Her experience since then has been one of more or less yieldedness to his sovereign rights as Lord over her life. She says she didn't fully submit to his lordship then. She is right. But she has not fully submitted even now, or she would be sinlessly perfect. The Christian life is one that begins with accepting and bowing to Jesus as Sovereign ruler and Lord . . . with a progressive degree of experiential submission as one matures. The Lordship of Christ is not something one discovers and yields to only once but thousands of times over the course of our Christian experience.
9) Lordship salvation insists that repentance is essential to the gospel message (see Luke 24:47). Says MacArthur:
"If someone is walking away from you and you say, 'Come here,' it is not necessary to say 'turn around and come.' The U-turn is implied in the direction 'come'. In like manner, when our Lord says, 'Come to Me' (Mt. 11:28), the about-face of repentance is understood" (34).
An objection raised by opponents of Lordship salvation is that the gospel of John, which is admittedly a document focusing on unbelievers, never mentions repentance. Three things may be said in response:
First, John wrote his gospel after Matthew, Mark, and Luke and did not wish to unnecessarily repeat what they thoroughly addressed. The synoptic gospels speak repeatedly about repentance.
Second, John's focus in his gospel record is on the identity of Jesus and believing who he is.
Third, although the word "repentance" is absent from the fourth gospel, numerous things are said about believers that imply, if not require, the presence of repentance in their lives: Christians are portrayed as those who love the light (3:19), hate the darkness (3:20-21), obey the Son (3:36), practice the truth (3:21), worship in spirit and truth (4:23-24), honor God (5:22-24), do good deeds (5:29), love God (8:42), follow Jesus (10:26-28), and keep his commandments (14:15).
10) This controversy also focuses on the grounds for assurance of salvation. Advocates of lordship salvation recognize three grounds:
The first and preeminent ground for assurance of salvation is the inescapable logic of John 3:16. Christ died for sinners. All who believe in Christ's death have eternal life. I have believed in Christ. Therefore, I have eternal life. We can have assurance we are saved because we know God's word is true concerning the saving work of Christ and the eternal destiny of those who embrace it by faith.
Second, according to Romans 8:16 (and other texts), the Holy Spirit awakens our hearts with the inner, subjective, intuitive confirmation and confidence that indeed we are God's children.
Third, the reality of the root is born out by the fruit. Loyalty, love, and obedience bear witness to the reality of one's profession. Where there is no fruit, there may be no root. See John 8:31; Heb. 3:14; 1 John 2:3-4,19.
John 8:31-47 - Note the statements of cause and effect in the relationship between one's true paternity and one's practice. See esp. vv. 37, 39, 41, 42, 47. In v. 42 we observe that their merely "saying" that God was their Father didn't make it so. Only their behavior and passion for Jesus would reflect the reality of their profession.
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Strive to enter in at the strait gate:for many, I say unto you will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. ( Luke 13:24 )
Posts: 4578 | From: Southeast Texas | Registered: Jun 2002
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Carol Swenson
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Is The New Perspective On Paul Biblical?
Anytime a “new perspective” on some biblical doctrine arises, red flags should go off warning Christians of possible danger. In many cases such “new” ideas, teachings, or perspectives are not new at all. Rather, they are the same old lie from the Garden of Eden when Satan first cast doubt on God’s Word: “Did God really say…” (Genesis 3:1). In that sense, the “New Perspective of Paul” is ancient in that it tries to deny what the Scriptures clearly teach and what has been accepted by Christians for centuries. The “New Perspective on Paul” is not biblical and appears to be an attempt to redefine and even deny key biblical doctrines that are the foundation of the Christian faith.
Sadly however, the teachings propagated by the few who champion the “New Perspective on Paul” are gaining ground, even among evangelical churches, despite the fact that some of its leading proponents are liberal New Testament scholars from secular universities. Most well-known among the “New Perspective of Paul” proponents is N.T. Wright, a noted Bible scholar and Bishop in the Anglican Church, whose books seem to be influencing the spread of this troublesome teaching in evangelical churches.
The heart of this teaching is that for hundreds, if not thousands, of years Christians have seriously “misunderstood” the Apostle Paul and his teachings…thus the need for a new perspective on Paul. The idea that these latter day scholars are so wise that they can figure out the correct perspective on Paul, when biblical scholars from the time of Christ on could not, is founded upon audacity and even borderline arrogance. The “New Perspective on Paul” is not unlike the Jesus Seminar group who several years ago decided they could determine what Jesus actually said and did not say by voting on which words of Christ in the Bible should be attributed to Him and which should not. The implied arrogance of these types of “wiser than everyone else” attitudes should be clear when they claim that Christians for almost 2000 years have been wrong about Paul.
There are four basic tenets of “New Perspective of Paul.” First is the belief that Christians misunderstand Judaism of the first century. They say that Paul was not battling against Jews who were promoting a religion of self-righteousness and works-based salvation and that the Pharisees were not legalists. Yet the Bible describes the Pharisees as those who “neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness,” “straining at a gnat while swallowing a camel” and ones who “cleaned up the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matthew 23:23-25). The view that first century Pharisees were not legalists and their religion was not one of self-righteous and works-based salvation directly contradicts Jesus’ own words in this and numerous other passages.
The second tenet of this false teaching is that Paul really did not have a problem with the doctrine of salvation taught by the Jewish leaders of his day. His disagreement with them was simply over how they treated the Gentiles and not a fundamental difference over how one is saved or justified before a holy God. However, in his letters to the Galatians and the Romans, Paul clearly and solidly condemned the works-based system of righteousness promoted by the Judaizers who were trying to lure the Galatians away from the true Gospel message. In fact, he said that anyone who preached a gospel other than the one he preached should be “eternally condemned” (Galatians 1:8-9).Once again Scripture shows that the “New Perspective on Paul” is not based on the testimony of Scripture but instead is contrary to it, making it an unbiblical teaching with serious consequences to those that follow it and are led astray by it.
The third unbiblical tenet of the “New Perspective on Paul” teaching is that the gospel is about the Lordship of Christ and not a message of personal salvation and individual redemption from the condemnation of sin. Certainly the Lordship of Christ is an important part of the gospel truth, but if that was all it was how is that good news? No one can make Christ Lord of their life without first being cleansed of sin and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can empower us to yield to the lordship of Christ. Clearly the hope of Christians is that Christ is first and foremost a Savior whose atoning sacrifice has personally and completely made atonement for their sins. It is for this reason that the gospel is the good news because “it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
This leaves us with the fourth and the most serious unbiblical tenet of the “New Perspective on Paul” teaching—the view on the doctrine of justification by faith, a central and non-negotiable Christian doctrine. According to proponents of this unbiblical teaching, when Paul wrote about justification he was not speaking of personal and individual justification whereby a guilty sinner is declared righteous on the basis of his faith in Christ and Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the sinner. Instead they claim that when Paul wrote about justification he was speaking of how one could tell if a person was “a member of the covenant family.”
According to N.T. Wright, “Justification in the first century was not about how someone might establish a relationship with God. It was about God’s eschatological definition, both future and present, of who was in fact, a member of his people.” The problem with this tenet of the “New Perspective on Paul” is that it distorts the biblical teaching on justification by faith and instead teaches that Paul’s doctrine of justification was only concerned with the Gentiles' standing in the covenant community and not at all about a guilty sinner being declared just before a holy and righteous God. Simply put, we cannot disregard or redefine justification and still be considered Christian or biblical. In his writings, N.T. Wright often argues against the imputed righteousness of Christ which is the heart and soul of the true gospel (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Just as Satan called into question the Word of God to Eve, the “New Perspective on Paul” calls into question the basic doctrines of the Christian faith as revealed by the Bible and, as such, it should be rejected.
http://www.gotquestions.org/New-Perspective-Paul.html
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