MAN vs. MAN

I just finished watching Auschwitz Untold on the History Channel. It was a fine production in which they colorized much of the original footage. If you have never seen the horrors of the Holocaust in black and white, this production makes it even more vivid. This is a must-see for everyone to witness the atrocities perpetrated on Jews, Gypsy’s, homosexuals and criminals by the Nazis during World War II.

Also a few months ago, I viewed the movie Harriet, the docudrama of Harriet Tubman set in Maryland in the 1840’s. It detailed the cruelties of a slave’s life on a plantation and Tubman’s escape from slavery. After her escape, she worked with the Underground Railroad in Philadelphia assisting in the freedom of 70 slaves. Later, she went on to command an armed expedition of 150 black soldiers during the Civil War on a raid at Combahee Ferry in 1863, thereby liberating more than 700 slaves.  

These two issues, slavery and genocide, are something that I personally have immense difficulty in comprehending. How is it, that man can do such evil towards other men?

It brings to mind the lyrics from a hit recording in 1969 by Three Dog Night:

How can people be so heartless          
How can people be so cruel

Easy to be hard    
Easy to be hard1

But to simply say that it is easy to be cruel is an over simplification of this disturbing matter. For we live in a culture that holds to a dualistic and contradictory viewpoint of mankind. One that worships their idols: TV and movie celebrities, sports figures, and even politicians; and one that regards life as cheap and expendable: infanticide, genocide (Holocaust) and slavery. Ruling out the depiction of actual historic war battles, the latter sentiment is represented today in a major fashion by Hollywood movies and television which ostensibly celebrate the murder and killing of people.

The 20^th Century brought great advances in most every aspect for humans – medicine, technology, transportation – maybe more so than any other century before. But in the 20^th Century there was World War I, World War II (including the Holocaust), the Armenian Genocide, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Certainly it would be naïve to think that wars and atrocities had only took place in the 20^th Century. A search of the 19^th Century demonstrates similar atrocities in the United States: the African slave trading and the American Civil War to name just two. This violence has been ingrained in the minds of many that the lives of men have little or no essential value.

What should be the Christian’s answer? That man, as a creature of his Creator, is fallen – tainted by the original sin of Adam and Eve – even though, he was created in the image and likeness of God, his Creator (Genesis 1:26).

Dr. Charles Ryrie notes concerning the terms ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ that they are:

Interchangeable terms [cf. Genesis 5:3] indicating that man was created in a natural and moral likeness to God. When he sinned, he lost the moral likeness, which was his sinlessness, but the natural likeness of intellect, emotions, and will he still retains.2

In the Creator’s assessment, man has dignity and great significance in His universe. Otherwise He would not have placed a high standard on the sanctity of man’s life when He stated:

Whoever sheds man's blood,

By man his blood shall be shed,

For in the image of God

He made man. (Genesis 9:6, NASB)

When men strike out at other men, they are in fact striking out at the very image and likeness of their Creator. They are demonstrating exactly what this culture thinks of God and the value of His creature: that man in insignificant, and he is of no value. So it is considered of no consequence to kill or murder someone – as if it were the same as dropping trash in a dumpster.

And yet, man has eternal value in the eyes of his Creator – he was created with an eternal existence, a soul: which is that part of man that will not die even after his body gives out and is laid to rest. For it is written:

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment. (Hebrews 9:27 NASB)

Man does not have the right to indiscriminately appoint another man’s time of death3 or to be an avenger or a vigilante.4

The root of the problem we face today in our culture is that the Judeo-Christian heritage of our nation has become a distant memory. 60 years ago in our country, there was still an awareness of moral values based on the absolutes of Biblical truth. Even among those who were not churchgoers, people at least knew of Jesus Christ, the Ten Commandments, and believed that God had blessed America with freedom and liberty – there was even prayer in the schools! Now, many are clueless about anything spiritual. The secular humanists and Communists, like Madalyn Murray O’Hair, have extracted the Biblical consensus of absolute truth from our culture.

And since humanism rejects the absolutes of Biblical truth, they have no absolutes for their values system. This naturally leads to arbitrariness in every area of the culture which they control: what they say and demand at any given moment – becomes an edict, only to be changed whenever the whims and consensus of their followers shifts.

Dr. Francis Schaeffer points out:

[T]hat when we take away the biblical teaching that God is the final reality and that God created man uniquely in his own image, then man as man has no intrinsic value. In a secular sense, human life is no different from animal life. Or in other words, when one accepts the secular world view that the final reality is only material or energy shaped by chance, then human life is lowered to the level of animal existence.5

God demonstrated His love of man by providing the means by which all men might regain fellowship with their Creator. This was attained by the sacrificial death of His Son on the cross. He accomplished this because He regards man as His highest creation and therefore man has dignity and intrinsic value. It is essential that we Christians “contend earnestly for the faith" (Jude 6); proclaiming Christ as the eternal and sole celebrity of the universe. He doesn’t consider men's lives as cheap and expendable and neither should we.

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[1] From the Three Dog Night Album (1969), Suitable for Framing (Dunhill DS 50058)

[2] Ryrie, Charles C. (1995) Ryrie Study Bible. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, p. 6 note

[3] The right of a nation to administer capital punishment is so stipulated in Scripture: Romans 13:3-4; 1 Peter 2:13-14.

[4] Romans 12:19; 13:4; 1 Thessalonians 4:6;

[5] Schaeffer, Francis A. (1982) The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 4.374

© 2023 David M. Rossi

What is the Whole Gospel?

The Gospel of the Grace of God is at the very core of Christianity.  It is the offer of eternal salvation, based on the substitutionary atonement of Christ on the cross for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). The acquisition of this offer from the Creator is simple: 

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” (Acts 16:31, NASB)

 Jesus Christ is also the sole means for obtaining eternal life:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6, NASB)

“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12, NASB)

The gospel is so simple, as it was meant to be, that even children can understand and believe. But here is the rub: the New Testament writers proclaim that there is a purpose behind this free gift of eternal life – a life of fellowship with God as well as a life of serving Him.

There are some Christians of the Free Grace movement who believe that including God’s purpose for salvation into the Gospel is tantamount to adding a condition, that you must perform good works in order to attain salvation – a requirement for one to consider before accepting Christ as their Savior. That if you do not agree with what God wants of His relationship with you that a quid pro quo is being set up: agree to My terms and I will grant you eternal life. 

And yet, Scripture makes it clear that the offer of salvation/eternal life is offered freely, with no strings attached, no human work required. That is the marvel of the Grace of God.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

“He saved us, not on the basis of deeds [works] which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,” (Titus 3:5)

This free gift was paid for by the vicarious sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ in our stead on the cross. It means we do nothing for this great salvation, because He did it all on our behalf.

“And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24, NASB)

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8, NASB)

Nevertheless, the core objective of this offer of salvation is to restore mankind to fellowship with their Creator. That mankind might be at peace[1] with Him and serve[2] Him all their days. Those who serve God perform works of righteousness (good deeds/good works), doing so out of a thankful heart – for the mercy shown to them by His grace provision of eternal life.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.” (Titus 2:11–14, NASB)

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10, NASB95)

Yet, it becomes merely fire insurance when the Divine intent of providing salvation is eliminated from the gospel presentation, and a great spiritual disservice has been perpetrated on the new believer. For this great and freely offered salvation means eternal life – but not just after death in the future. This eternal life begins at the moment that one accepts Christ as their Savior – in the present here and now.

Let me be clear: I am not suggesting that a person who has accepted Christ as their Savior based solely on a 'fire escape' gospel is not saved. What I am suggesting is that it is ineffective to simply throw a life preserver to someone drowning in the middle of the ocean and then leaving them there to flounder and die as shark bait. We must do the responsible thing and bring new believers into the entire fellowship of believers, and to train them to live the righteous life of fellowship with their Creator/Savior as He intended.

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[1] Romans 5:1; Colossians 1:20

[2] Romans 12:11; John 12:26

United Methodist Church vs. Secular Humanism

The United Methodist Church ended its special conference on Tuesday February 26, 2019 in St. Louis. They reaffirmed their “decades-old” rule concerning LGBT clergy and marriages. It was supported by a 53% majority. As expected, the 47% dissenting are not happy. In Bishop Gregory Palmer’s message to the West Ohio Conference he spoke of “lament and hope,” and stated that the Bible “talks about if parts of the body is hurting, the whole body is hurting,” referring to 1 Corinthians 12:26.  He goes on to say that this “injury in the church is in some way an injury to the whole.”

What is this “injury” in the church? We should understand that this is a self-induced injury. And yet “injury” is really not what is meant here. What is meant is a grievance. It is something they want and the 53% has voted against it based upon Biblical authority. Specifically, their grievance is that they want to allow LGBT individuals authorization to seek ordination to the clergy and gay marriages.

There are plenty of Scriptural passages which support the 53% majority.

Concerning homosexuality:

For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. (Romans 1:26-27 NASB)

 You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination. (Leviticus 18:22 NASB)

Concerning marriage:

“Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’?” (Matthew 19:4–5 NASB)

In addition, Paul’s instruction to husbands and wives in Ephesians chapter 5 views husbands as males and wives as females. Peter views the marriage relationship in the same manner, making reference to the wife as a ‘woman’ (see 1 Peter 3:1-7).

Changing the meaning of these words, husband and wife - as the LGBT crowd is so inclined - so that each might indicate either male or female is to clearly obliterate the correct interpretation of God’s Word. When Christians refuse to interpret the Scriptures as God intended, they are the ones who initiate division in the whole of Christianity.

Too often, the spirit of the culture creeps into the Church. The modern day acceptance of un-Biblical trends (women preachers, homosexuality, gay marriage) is an attempt to pervert Christianity and its witness to the world. To think that we will help others who are lost to accept Christ as their Savior by showing tolerance to these un-Biblical trends, demonstrates the lack of sound Biblical teaching, starting with the seminaries down to the person in the pew.

It is a Biblical norm that Christians are to obtain their basis for truth from the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16-17), but only when it is rightly interpreted. Biblical truth is never, never based on a personal feeling or emotion, nor is it determined by what the culture practices. Be aware of the fact that the mainstream media are not Christian. They will say and do anything to obstruct the unity of faithful believers and promote their godless secular-humanist ideology.

The bottom line is that if Scripture is not viewed as the literal Word of God, then mankind has no basis for absolute truth and no revelation from the God of the universe. All that is left than is a book that can be interpreted in a broad manner without a consensus, having no cohesiveness or singular standard for Christian living, resulting in an inconsistent witness of Christ to a lost and dying world. This spells out confusion and chaos, and it should be noted that confusion does not represent the character of God (1 Cor. 14:33).

SALVATION/SANCTIFICATION

The notion that a person must do something (penance, rituals, good deeds) in order to gain eternal life has no basis in Scripture – it is a man-made fabrication, it is misleading, it is evil.

So a clarification of the essential nature of biblical salvation and its inseparably related theme of sanctification is given here in a concise approach.

Biblical salvation requires no work on the part of man - Christ did it all. Even the act of faith in Christ is "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Having said that, once a person is saved, he is considered sanctified - set apart from his old position of unbelief into union with Christ (John 15:4-7; 17:23, 26). This is known as positional sanctification.

He is set apart now to a new position of service to God: "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10), this is known as present sanctification.
This is what Paul meant when he told the Philippians (2:12) to "work out your salvation." He did not mean for them to work in order to attain salvation, but to work serving the Lord, which is the standard for the believer while present on the earth.

Ultimate sanctification is when the believer is finally in the presence of the Lord, either when death occurs or the Rapture of the Church. (See Romans 8:29; Philippians 3:20-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 5:23)

Unfortunately, many miss out on the blessing of serving the Lord while present on the earth because they have believed and failed to understand that they have been set apart for a higher calling in this life – to serve the living God and have fellowship with Him. They will die and experience ultimate sanctification, but miss out on the associated eternal rewards.

 

Note the two extended Scripture passages bearing on the doctrine of rewards: 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 and 9:16-27; also the passages on the various crowns: 1 Cor. 9:25; Phil. 4: 1; 1 Thess. 2:19; 2 Tim. 4:8; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2: 10; 3:11.*

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* Chafer, Lewis Sperry,  Systematic Theology, 7.269