How to make sense of the differences in the Bible

[Todd]

David
The last Old Testament person we will look at, though we could examine several more, is David—"a man after God's own heart." Of course, David's salvation is beyond question in spite of all his failures, but we will see David is a special case. David appears to be saved from his first mention in the Bible. The Holy Spirit came on him when he was anointed to be king and never left him the rest of his life (1 Sam. 16:13). Furthermore, his first words show his confidence in the "living God" (17:26), and he credits God for his deliverance from the lion and the bear (17:37). Everything seemed fine between him and God. Later, though, while he was being pursued by Saul, David began to doubt God's promise for him to be king (20:3). He consequently began to make some serious spiritual mistakes (21:2; etc.). Even with the doubt and resulting sins, though, David still mostly trusted God and respected His will (24:6-12), and God continued to bless and protect him.
When David was finally made king, he reigned with prudence and wisdom, and God made the previously mentioned unconditional and far-reaching covenant with him concerning his kingdom and seed (2 Sam. 7). Again, everything was going well for David; that is, until he eyed Bathsheba (11:2).

The events concerning Bathsheba led David to commit adultery and murder; two sins no animal sacrifice will atone for. Those were both capital crimes against God's law and demanded death (Lev. 20:10; Num. 35:30-32). David knew faith in the shed blood of the lamb would not redeem him (Psa. 51:16), and he didn't even attempt to offer it. When confronted with his unpardonable sins, David confessed and repented and God did not require his life (2 Sam. 12:13). Ordinarily, repentance or no repentance, the adulterer and murderer must die (Lev. 20:10; Ex. 21:14); but God, by His abundant grace, spared David. This shows that David is an exceptional case in the Old Testament, not typical at all. For His own reasons God granted David "sure mercies" (Acts 13:34); the closest thing one will find to eternal security in the Old Testament. Remember how God took His mercy from Saul in 2 Sam. 7:15 and then promised David He wouldn't take his mercy from his seed? There is clearly a difference, and it is by grace—pure grace. David is a type of the New Testament Church Age believer. Still, David was NOT born again, sealed by the Holy Spirit, or made a new creature in Christ; he simply had a promise from God of "sure mercies," and this promise secured his salvation.

Whether David fully understood these "sure mercies" is not clear, but understanding them is not necessary for them to be effective. Many today do not realize the riches of the salvation they have, but, nevertheless, the riches are still there. David did know, however, that the Holy Spirit could be taken from him and he begged God not to do it (Psa. 51:11). He knew his sins warranted such action, but he dreaded the thought of losing his precious comforter which represented communion and fellowship with God. This great dread of losing the Holy Spirit is one reason David is called "a man after God's own heart." As many of his psalms testify, he dearly loved the things of God and the presence of God. Obviously, David is an exception to the rule dealing with salvation under the Law. He was given "exceedingly great and precious promises" that God did not give to any other person in the Old Testament, including Abraham and Moses.

See how hard it is to pin salvation down under the Law? We can look at the apostle Paul and see clearly where he was saved in Acts 9; we have no problem seeing 3000 others get saved on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2; we can with the utmost confidence believe everyone who receives Jesus Christ in him has eternal, everlasting life, but the salvation of many prominent characters in the Old Testament is hard to positively determine.

Remember, in the Old Testament salvation was an EXTERNAL decree by God when certain conditions were met; it was not finalized until Christ purchased eternal redemption at Calvary. Church Age salvation is an INTERNAL act of regeneration performed by the permanently indwelling Christ through the Holy Spirit. The external decree of salvation could be rescinded because of disobedience or rebellion, but the internal new birth cannot be undone. The former salvation is indefinite and variable according to God's good pleasure, and the latter is permanent, invariable, and fixed because of God's good pleasure. Who are we to take issue with God's methods? Our duty is not to question but believe and obey all that He says.

The five individual cases we have examined above reveal how varied salvation could be under the law. Faith had a part, and works had a part, but only God determined how much of each He required to decree each person saved. There were no fixed requirements. God evidently took many things into consideration before salvation was decreed: what had been revealed to the person, how much "light" the person had, how much opportunity the person had to do what was required, what the person did with what he knew, etc. God is a God of mercy and grace, but still, His justice and holiness must be satisfied. Since there was no new birth to distinguish the lost from the saved, God saved those who did (and continued to do) what He said.

At first it appears Aaron had the proper faith and acceptable works, but at Sinai he lacked both. Samson had the Holy Spirit, but after many evil works He left him; however, after he exercised faith, the Holy Spirit returned. Saul had some good works but a lack of faith, and the Holy Spirit left him never to return. Joab had a little faith and evil works but in the end went to the altar to "plead the blood" for mercy. And David had some evil works and unbelief, but at other times he had good works and much faith. He further prayed that the Holy Spirit would not leave him, and He never did. What a collage of "experiences." The Holy Spirit leaves one and later returns; He leaves another but does not return; and He could have left a third but didn't! Does this sound anything like New Testament salvation? How could anyone say salvation is the same in the Old Testament as in the New?

In summary, salvation under the Law was fundamentally different from our's today. Then, faith backed by works were required; today, faith alone is sufficient. Then, nothing spiritual happened inside a believer; today, many things happen. Then, salvation was only decreed on credit; today, it is internally and spiritually applied. Then, believers didn't go to heaven when they died; today, all believers go there. Then, the Holy Spirit did not permanently indwell and seal believers; today, He does both. etc. etc. Do you now see the fallacy of those who claim salvation in every age is the same? It is not even the same between different dispensations in the Old Testament, let alone the same as today's.

David's son, Solomon (who after years of faithfulness forsook God and worshipped devils [1 Kings 11] and died leaving no record of ever having repented! Another interesting case), spoke the definitive statement concerning Old Testament Salvation. In Ecclesiastes 12:13 he said, "Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." No mention of a redeemer or cross; no mention of redemption or regeneration; no mention of believing on or receiving anybody; just fear God and keep His commandments. What commandments? Whatever ones God has revealed and made valid for the person and time. This is as plain as it gets (see also Micah 6:7-8).

In the next chapter we will move into the New Testament and examine salvation there. We will look at the transitional change from the Law to Grace and study the changes in salvation this new dispensation brought about.

 

[Todd]

As mentioned in the last chapter, salvation was only decreed to those saved in the Old Testament because the necessary atonement and redemption to take the sins away had not yet been made (Heb. 10:4). Only the "lamb of God," Jesus Christ, who came in the "fullness of time" (Gal. 4:4) could make an acceptable atonement and provide "eternal redemption" to forever remove the penalty and guilt of sin from any believer. The hundreds of thousands of bloody animal sacrifices offered to God in the Old Testament could not do this, they could only temporarily cover the sins until Christ's expiatory sacrifice took them away. God decreed salvation to people in the Old Testament and remitted their sins solely on the basis of what He knew Christ would later do on the cross (Rom. 3:25).

Christ said Himself He came to die "for (because of) the remission of sins" in the past (Matt. 26:28). Without the cross God's decree of salvation would be of no lasting effect; God had to ultimately purchase eternal redemption. Thus the whole religious system of Judaism as revealed in the Old Testament could eternally save no one. It was for the most part a great object lesson to show man he was a sinner (Rom. 3:20), sin required payment (death) (Lev. 1-15), and a substitute provided by God could die in the sinner's place (Ex. 12). By the time Jesus was born, God had spent 4000 years trying to get these basic and essential doctrines through man's stubborn head, insisting man cannot save himself and only God can provide escape from the everlasting penalty of sin and supply eternal salvation.

Hebrews 10:6-8 says God took no pleasure in the animal sacrifices He required; they could not effectually deal with sin and neither could they satisfy God's justice and holiness. Only another man could pay for man's sin, and for this reason God prepared a body for the Word to become flesh. The eternal Word was "made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law..." (Gal. 4:4-5) and came "in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Rom. 8:3) so He could permanently redeem those born of Adam who will receive Him. Not only did God become a man to redeem mankind, He also came to earth as a man (not just in a man's body, but born fully a man) because He wanted to express and reveal Himself to man. This is why Christ is referred to as "the Word" (John 1:1); He is God's means of communicating Himself. God wanted man to know what kind of a person He is.

The animal sacrifices in the Old Testament were only a shadow of Christ's redemptive work (Heb. 10:1). And if God took no pleasure in the death of the animal sacrifices, how much less the death of His Son? His Son is infinity more valuable than any man, group of men, or animal, yet He gave His Son anyway. Contrary to today's popular self-esteem—self-worth "theology," man is by no means worth the suffering, agony, and separation from His Father Christ endured to redeem him, but God paid it nonetheless. Why? Simply because His LOVE and GRACE compelled Him to. God by His nature loved rebellious man immensely and motivated by this love devised a redemption plan to rescue him from his sins. Concerning salvation man can take credit for nothing. Individually or collectively man is not worth the price; it is all of God. God loves us not because of who we are, but because of who HE is! The self-esteem nuts who think otherwise are blinded by their bloated egos.

All of God's moral attributes were seen at the cross. His mercy was seen in allowing sinful man to live; His grace was seen which favored man with an opportunity to be redeemed; His justice and holiness were satisfied by Christ's propitiatory death; His righteousness was seen in Christ's righteous life and death; etc., but all of this was motivated by His unequaled love. God could have let man fall into Hell and pay for his sins himself throughout eternity and all of His attributes would have been satisfied, except for Mercy, Grace and Love. With the cross they ALL are satisfied. What a great God is our God! A God who gave Himself to redeem His enemies (Rom. 5:10)! Praise His name!

Every person ever saved in any dispensation is redeemed by Christ's death and shed blood. Though people in the various dispensations are saved differently concerning what is required of them to receive salvation, the basis of all salvation regardless of time or place is the blood of Christ. Without the blood no matter what one believed or did to be saved he would remain "without hope and without God" and be left to pay for his sins himself. In this chapter we will not emphasize the salvation doctrines of this present Church Age because they should be well know to the reader if he has been a Christian long (see the author's book on the Eight Major Doctrines of Salvation entitled More Than Forgiven for a concise study of these doctrines). Rather we are mainly going to examine the transition from "Law" to "Grace" and from "Grace" to the future dispensations, making every effort to rightly divide the Scriptures along the way.

 

[Todd]

The Old Testament In The New
One of the most common mistakes people make in studying the Bible is assuming all the books called the New Testament doctrinally refer to the Dispensation of Grace. In fact, nearly all the events recorded in the four gospels occurred under the Law, not under Grace. The New Testament was not established until the crucifixion (Matt. 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 19) so everything that happened before then was doctrinally under the Law. Remember how Christ was made under the law so He could redeem them that were under the law (Gal. 4)? Christ was born, lived, and died under the dominion of the Law of Moses. He said Himself He came "not to destroy the law but fulfill" (Matt. 5:17), indicating His subjection to it. Realizing this should help one understand many passages found in the gospels (and also in Hebrews and Revelation) that indicate someone can lose his salvation or standing before God. Many today who don't understand these passages use them to teach a born again Christian can lose his salvation. Usually a person will only be saved a short while before one of these "Endurers" (one who believes a person must "endure to the end" to be saved) pulls out a verse to "prove" he can "lose it." Interestingly enough these people do not have to use a source other than the Bible to promote this doctrine because the Bible can be their greatest ally. Their error is not that they don't believe the Bible, it is that they fail to rightly divide it.
Since the Reformation there has only been two groups of Christians that have consistently believed a born again Christian could not lose his salvation—the Baptists and the Presbyterians. Every other denomination (Methodists, Lutherans, Anglicans, Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholics, etc.) believe a Christian can do something to forfeit his salvation. This includes the newer denominations (Pentecostal, Church of Christ, etc.) and the cults. These "Arminian" groups will disagree among each other on many things, but they all agree that a regenerated, justified, redeemed Christian can fall from his salvation and go to Hell. The fascinating thing about this is they all quote the Bible to "prove" it, and there are many verses in the Scriptures that appear to support them. How can this be? Is the Bible not clear on the matter? Definitely, but, again, the error of many of the "Endurers" is not that they don't believe the verses, only that they misapply them. Remember, the Bible must be rightly divided to determine sound doctrine for a particular dispensation and this is where these groups fail. Otherwise, how could they "biblically" teach their doctrine? They don't imagine the verses, they are really there, and they do apply to somebody.

Though the Presbyterians and Baptists have always believed in the eternal security of a Christian, they both distort the matter. The former believe it for the wrong reasons and the latter force it to apply to every saved person in every dispensation. The Presbyterians believe one is secure because the believer was "predestinated" in eternity past to "persevere" (endure) in Christ until the end. They got this doctrine from their primary founder, John Calvin. It is the last point of their "five points of Calvinism" called "the perseverance of the saints." Many Baptists (though not all) realize all five points are nonsense and correctly believe a Christian is secure because he is "preserved" in Christ by God (Jude 1:1), not because he is "predestinated to persevere." Who when reading the Bible ever heard of such a thing as "perseverance of the saints"? God keeps the believer secure by sealing and preserving him in Christ (Eph. 4:30; 1 Thes. 5:23); it is not that the saint must endure because of predestination. Most Baptists believe in eternal security for the right reasons, but their tendency to force this preservation into every dispensation is just as serious an error as the Hyper-Calvinists.

When one begins to read the New Testament it is imperative he remember that the Bible is a Jewish book. The four gospels (especially Matthew) give account of a Jewish Messiah (Matt. 1), prophesied by Jewish prophets (Isa. 53), who preaches repentance to Jews, so they could enter a Jewish kingdom (Matt. 4:17). Gentiles, as Gentiles, were out. Christ said Himself, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 15:24), and also, "salvation is of the Jews" (John 4:22). His ministry was exclusively for Israel, thus, much of the first three gospels say little doctrinally to Gentiles. Of course, everything found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke is of benefit to Gentiles of today, but doctrinally much of the books are Jewish. The gospel of John has a much more doctrinal application to Gentiles because it was written well into the Church Age (@ 90 A.D), long after the doctrines of this dispensation were established. Matthew, on the other hand, is the most "Jewish" of the four. It was undoubtedly placed first in order in the New Testament because it is more like the Old Testament than any of the other three; more able to give the Bible a fluid transition from the Old Testament to the New. God knew what He was doing when He allowed the books to be placed in the order we have them in the King James Version. The order helps us understand God's entire program.

When studying the Bible every person must follow three essential guidelines for study to rightly divide the Scriptures. He must keep in mind WHO the passage was written to, who it APPLIES to, and does it doctrinally apply TODAY. If he just haphazardly gets his doctrine from here, there, and everywhere, he will at the least be confused and at the most teach deadly heresy. The author has found there are four books in the Bible that are the most abused by people who fail to properly divide the Scriptures. These books, thus abused, supply the "Bible" used by them to form most of the false doctrines floating around today. Matthew, Acts, Hebrews, and Revelation are the favorite books of every heretic in America; they are the biblical "ammunition" for his heresies. They don't realize all four of these books are transitional and deal with changing doctrines from one dispensation or testament to another.

In Matthew the transition is from the Old Testament books to the New; Acts details the gradual transition from Law to Grace; Hebrews is written to Hebrews concerning the transition from the old covenant to the new covenant with some application in the Tribulation; and Revelation shows the transition from Grace to the Tribulation, Tribulation to the Millennium, and finally from the Millennium to the New Heaven and Earth. What a group of books for one to get his doctrine from! These are four of the most difficult books in the Bible to unravel yet they are the favorites of those who today don't believe in eternal security or teach salvation by works. Failing to understand the transitional nature of these books and ignoring the plain, clear teaching of the epistles concerning the doctrines valid today, these people are a snare to themselves and to every one who hears them.

Since most of the events recorded in the four gospels took place under the Law, many details found in them won't match doctrines valid in the present Church Age as revealed in the epistles of Paul. For instance, one cannot find any "Christians" in any of the gospels because Christians are not mentioned until Acts 11:26. Before Acts 11 people were saved, but they were not Christians. We use the terms "Christian" and "saved" as synonymous today, but in the Bible saved people are not always Christians. Only those who have been regener ated and are in Christ are true Christians. Along with this no one in the gospels is said to be regenerated, in Christ, a part of the body of Christ, etc. until after the cross. Why? Because these blessings would not be available until after Christ's atonement, and they would not be fully revealed until years later.

 

[Todd]

Examining Matthew
Doctrines peculiar to the Jews and the Old Testament are common in Jesus' speech in the gospels. He preached, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:17) to Israel because they were the only people promised such a kingdom and only to them was He sent. He went on to declare in the "Sermon on the Mount" the principles of this Jewish kingdom and the precepts that will be valid when it arrives. Let's look at some of these precepts and see how they compare to those given to the body of Christ.
The famous "beatitudes" declare certain blessings to those who are "poor in spirit," "meek," "merciful," "pure in heart," who "mourn," etc., without mentioning the gospel of the grace of God at all (1 Cor. 15:1-4). Where is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Beatitudes? Where is one told to have faith in, believe on, or receive Christ for salvation? "Faith" is only found once in the "sermon" (Matt. 6:30), and it deals with having faith in God to provide ones physical needs, not eternal salvation. It should be obvious to the most casual reader that the "Sermon on the Mount" does not have any gospel in it that is valid today. It contains a lot of good practical information, but it is NOT the gospel for today. The "sermon" deals exclusively with the gospel of the kingdom (Millennium).

Another example of the difference between these two gospels is Christ said in the "sermon" that if a person called another a fool he was in danger of "hell fire" (Matt. 5:22), yet Paul in the Church Age called the Galatians "foolish" (Gal. 3:1), is Paul in hell? Christ later even called people fools Himself, is He in danger? The Lord went on to say if a person in the kingdom cut off an offending member (eye, hand, etc.) it may help keep him out of hell (5:29-30). Will that help keep one out of hell today? Does not one today have to receive Jesus Christ to escape hell instead of mutilating himself? The "sermon" is filled with other works one must do during the kingdom to get or retain his salvation (5:41, 42, 46; 6:15, 20; 7:13, 24, 26; etc.), but what do they have to do with salvation today? Nothing.

Even though the "Sermon on the Mount" applies doctrinally in another dispensation, there are several passages in it that suit the Arminian's doctrine, and they constantly appeal to them for "proof." We have already mentioned one (Matt. 5:22), others are 5:44-45 where one has to do works to become and remain "children of your father" and 6:15 where one must forgive others before he can be forgiven. The implication, so the security deniers claim, is if one fails to forgive someone, God will not forgive him and the person will forfeit his salvation. Can a born again Christians lose his salvation if he fails to forgive someone? Nonsense, though somebody in another dispensation may not be forgiven for failing to forgive another, it is not a regenerated Christian. The difference is in the dispensations.

Further along in Matthew, in 8:11-12, one finds "children of the kingdom" being cast into "outer darkness." Does this have anything to do with someone in the body of Christ being cast into hell? Not in the least. The children cast out are the children of the kingdom of heaven (Mill.), not the kingdom of God. Here we must make a distinction between the "kingdom of heaven" and the "kingdom of God."

The kingdom of heaven is the visible, physical, earthly, external, Jewish kingdom promised to the descendants of Abraham through Jacob. The kingdom of God is the invisible, immaterial, spiritual, internal kingdom one is placed into when he is regenerated (Rom. 14:17). The kingdom of heaven is the physical side of God's promised kingdom, and the kingdom of God is the spiritual. Of course, Christ is the King of both, and both will be manifested when He returns. At the present time there can be lost people in the kingdom of heaven (tares, etc. Matt. 13), but none in the kingdom of God. Furthermore, people can be cast out of the kingdom of heaven but none can be cast out of the kingdom of God. The two kingdoms have little in common except Christ is the king of both. At the second advent the two kingdoms appear to, at least partially, merge together; but until then, one must keep them separate.

In Matthew chapter 12 the famous "unpardonable sin" is found; more fodder for the "Endurers." Does this passage say some today cannot be saved or that born again Christians can lose their salvation if they "blaspheme the Holy Ghost"? Not in the least. As with much of the rest of Matthew, this passage has doctrinal application to the Jews Christ said it to and will have further application to other Jews in the future. There are no Gentiles even hinted at in the passage, neither are any Christians mentioned (remember Acts 11:26?); the passage is purely Jewish. Moreover, Mark said the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit was saying that Christ had an unclean spirit while He was on earth (Mark 3:30). Christ is not physically on earth performing miracles and healings now, so how can one today blaspheme the Holy Spirit in the manner He was speaking of then? Many of the Pharisees may have at that time committed this sin by saying Christ "hath" an unclean spirit, but no one today has or can. Today one may resist the Holy Ghost and refuse to get saved, but this is not what Christ was referring to in Matthew chapter 12.

More Jewish kingdom of heaven doctrines can be found in Matthew chapter 13, and these can have some spiritual application today, but the chapters that supply most of the ammunition for the "Endurers" is chapters 24 and 25. In 24:13 Christ said "he that shall endure to the end, the same shall be saved," but who is "he" and what or where is "the end"? Again, the "he" is not a Christian or even a Gentile, it is a Jew. Christ is speaking to Jews (notice how they are still keeping the Jewish sabbath vs. 20), His disciples are Jews, His nation is Jewish, and the kingdom He is proclaiming is Jewish. Born again Christians are foreigners in chapter 24. As for "the end," is it the end of a person's life as the endurers claim? For the answer look at vs. 14. The gospel of the kingdom of heaven (not the gospel of the grace of God) will be preached (by Jews) throughout the world, "then shall the end come." The "end" is not the end of a person's life, it is the end of a period of time; the Tribulation.

The entire discourse of Christ found in chapters 24 and 25 is in response to the questions asked by His disciples in 24:3; "when shall these thing be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world." The whole passage applies after the (then unknown) Church Age, beginning with the Tribulation. If the Jews alive during the Tribulation endure to the end of it without taking the mark of the beast or being killed, and are also faithful to Christ and the proper works, they will be saved to enter into the Millennium. As with chapter 12, there are no Christians in the passage, neither are there any Gentiles; everything is Jewish.

Later in chapter 24 (vs. 48-51) one of Christ's servants is "cut asunder" and sentenced to weep and wail with the hypocrites in hell. Is this servant a Christian? Not on your life. He is an unregenerated, rebellious Jew meeting his Lord at the second advent. He did not "endure to the end" with clean hands or the right works and is consequently cast into hell.

Matthew 25:1-13 is a classic passage used by the "Endurers" and others to teach works are required for a Christian to keep his salvation. Here are some "virgins" who did not have enough oil to get into the wedding of their master and were barred entrance. They were cast out from the wedding. What does this have to do with a person getting saved today, though? Nothing. First of all the virgins were not the bride (Church) who marries the bridegroom (Christ), they were only there to meet Him. Second, Christ said to them "I know you not" (vs. 17); He couldn't say that to any Christian for He knows them all (John 10:27-28). Third, the virgins were to buy the oil (possibly the Holy Spirit) to enter into the supper. See how these kingdom of heaven parables are doctrinally inconsistent with the Church Age and the body of Christ? None of these Jewish virgins were regenerated, in Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit, etc., they are Jews trying to get into the marriage supper of the Lamb as "friends" or "guests" at the end of the Tribulation. The difference is in the dispensations.

Later in chapter 25 another unprofitable servant is cast into "outer darkness" (vs. 29). Again, this is a kingdom of heaven parable and does not apply to believers who are in the kingdom of God. The unprofitable servant in Luke chapter 19 is in the kingdom of God and he does not go into outer darkness. He can't because everyone in the kingdom of God is regenerated and sealed by the Holy Spirit. In the last section of Matthew chapter 25, the judgment of the nations is described (vs 31-46), and it also is based entirely upon works. No faith, trust, or belief in anything is associated with this judgment; works are all that is considered. Those who have the right works are permitted into the kingdom (Millennium), and those who have the wrong works are cast out. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are not mentioned, and neither are the "sheep" said to be in Christ. Again, this passage has nothing to do with born again Christians. Though the "sheep" nations are Gentile nations, the passage has little to do with Gentiles nations today, and nothing to do with individual Gentiles being saved today. Have you had enough? We have only looked at some of the Jewish passages in Matthew, let alone the other gospels, and they don't match Gentile Church Age doctrines at all. Why the difference? The difference is in the dispensations.

 

[Todd]

The New Birth
We have been saying repeatedly all along that the new birth did not exist in the Old Testament and not even in the New until after the cross, and the reader may be wondering why. Another valid question that needs to be considered concerns when Christ told Nicodemus "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). Surely Christ would not tell Nicodemus he needed something that was not yet available, would He? The answer is in John 3:6 and 7:39. In 3:6 Jesus said the new birth was a birth by the Holy Spirit, and in 7:39 the Holy Spirit clearly tells us through John, "for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because Jesus was not yet glorified." The Holy Spirit was not given to anyone in the regeneration sense until Christ was risen from death glorified (John 14:16-17). Until the cross (really Pentecost) the Holy Spirit come upon and in people to empower them to do what God wanted them to do (Ex. 35:31), but He did not regenerate anyone. Christ's blood had to be shed to take the believer's sins away before the Holy Spirit would come in permanently to regenerate and seal him. His sins had to be redeemed and dealt with permanently (not just covered) before God would regenerate and indwell him permanently.
The Lord told Nicodemus "ye must be born again" because regeneration was required before anyone could enter "the kingdom of God." Even though the new birth was not yet available, Nicodemus should have known a spiritual rebirth was needed because every person's first birth from Adam was in sin. A "master of Israel" should realize man eventually needed a new nature before he could be in the kingdom of God and have the type of full relationship and fellowship with God, God desires. Even a saved person who has only his Adamic, fallen nature (like Abraham, Moses, David, etc.) is not equipped for the spiritual kingdom of God. This is the main reason none of the Old Testament saints went to heaven when they died. They were technically still in their sins; saved only by decree.

Only those who have had their spirit reborn unto righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost (Rom. 14:17), and their sins taken away are prepared to enter the spiritual kingdom of God. Christ wasn't telling Nicodemus he could be born again at that time, only that it was a prerequisite to entering the kingdom of God. After Christ's death, resurrection, and glorification, the Holy Spirit was free to regenerate, and believers were then born again. In John 20:22 the risen Lord told His disciples "receive ye the Holy Ghost," implying they would have Him in a different and fuller manner than before. Before the cross the disciples performed many miracles, healings, and exorcisms with the power of the Holy Spirit, but they could not receive him in the sense of regeneration until after the resurrection. From the resurrection to the rapture, every person who is saved is also born again and receives Christ's nature.

Even though many of the words found in the gospels were spoken to Jews under the Law and doctrinally only apply to them, that doesn't mean they are less important to believers in the Church Age. Every word of God is precious and necessary for life (Matt. 4:4), and the passages that don't apply doctrinally today are still essential for the proper understanding of what God is doing. Likewise Paul said the things "written aforetime were written for our learning" (Rom. 14:4) and also for are "admonition" (1 Cor. 10:11). One must study the whole Bible, rightly dividing it, to have every truth God wants him to have. Whatever one finds in it that applies to him doctrinally, believe it, receive it, and act upon it. Whatever does not apply to him doctrinally, he should use it as an example, admonition, instruction, or warning to teach him more about God and His ways.

 

[Todd]

From Law To Grace
After the Jews rejected their Messiah's offer of the Kingdoms of Heaven and God and His terms for entering them, they with wicked hands delivered Him up as a criminal to death. The offers Jesus made concerning the kingdoms were legitimate, and if they would have received Him as a nation history would be much different. He would have set up His kingdom of heaven as promised (Matt. 3:17) and reigned as their King. His sacrificial death, of course, would still have to occur to permanently redeem believers, but it would have been under different circumstances. There is no use in speculating as to what would have happened if Israel had received Christ; they made their choice and did not receive Him (not then, anyway, Rom. 11). Nevertheless, Christ came to be their Messiah and would have began to fulfill all the promises God made to them then, but He was not the kind of king they expected or wanted, so they crucified Him.
Even though Israel as a nation refused Christ, around 500 individual Jews did believe on Him (1 Cor. 15:6) and soon became members of a new organism called the Church. The local church, which is simply a local assembly of believers, was first founded when Christ called out His disciples in Matthew chapter 10. The Church organism called the Body of Christ, however, did not began until the coming of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to regenerate, indwell, and seal believers. There is a obviously a distinct difference between the local church and the Church known as the "Body of Christ." Lost people (like Judas) can be members of a local church, but they cannot be part of the Body of Christ; it is only made up of regenerated Christians.

On the day of Pentecost around 120 disciples were gathered together when the Holy Ghost came to give them power (Acts 1:15, 2:1), but did the disciples know what all was happening to them? Not quite. They knew they were to receive power to evangelize the world (Acts 1:8) and also that the Holy Spirit was to be a "comforter," but they by no means had a perfect understanding of what else was happening to them. The Bible student must remember that in Acts chapter 1 all that had been revealed to the disciples was the Old Testament embellished with the events of the past three and one-half years with Christ. They didn't yet have specific knowledge of the doctrines peculiar to the yet to be revealed Church. The first 15 chapters of Acts detail the transition from the well established doctrines of the Law to yet largely unknown doctrines of Grace.

Since the doctrines unique to Grace are so much different than the doctrines the Jews were used to, God gradually made the changeover over several years. That many Church Age doctrines were not yet revealed to the apostles on Pentecost doesn't mean they were not in effect at that time, though. The new birth, salvation for Gentiles, the Body of Christ, etc., were valid from Pentecost onward, the disciples just didn't have complete knowledge of them. In the next section we will examine the major places in the book of Acts where the old doctrines were replaced by the new ones.

 

[Todd]

Unraveling Acts
Acts chapter 2 is one of the most abused chapters in the Bible. No less than four false belief systems are "founded" in this chapter. The modern proponents of speaking in tongues, baptismal regeneration, Calvinistic predestination, and Hyper-dispensationalism use this chapter to "prove" their doctrines. A chapter that gets this much attention is worthy of extra careful study. Relating to this the author has heard preachers (most of them Fundamentalists) speak of how Peter's sermon in chapter 2 is one of the greatest gospel sermons in history. Fine, but what gospel? Examine Acts 2 carefully and see if you find the gospel of the grace of God as revealed to Paul (1 Cor. 15:1-4) anywhere in it. Yes, the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ are mentioned, but what conclusions does Peter draw from these truths?
Does Peter mention "ye must be born again?" Does he mention that Christ died for anyone's sins (Paul said, Christ died four OUR sins)? Does he mention that individuals can personally receive Christ as their salvation? Does he even mention that people other than Jews can be saved at all? Furthermore, what did Peter tell the people to do after they said "what shall we do"? Does "repent and be baptized..." (2:38) match "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus..." (Rom. 10:9-10)? Not at all. Peter was telling the Jews as a group what to do in light of the fact they just crucified their Messiah, not how to be born again. As we said at that time there were several things Peter did not yet know about New Testament salvation. The message he preached was perfect for his time and audience, but it is by no means the standard for doctrine many make it today. In fact, Peter never preached Acts 2:38 again. He tried once, but the Holy Spirit wouldn't let him finish (ch.10)!

In Acts 2 Peter was simply trying to convince the Jews that the one they crucified was actually their God sent Messiah, hoping they would repent of their sin and receive Him. He began by quoting the prophet Joel (vs. 16) concerning the "day of the Lord" and the coming Tribulation (vs. 20) and stated "whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord" will be saved from this terrible time. The coming of the Holy Spirit and the events that have just occurred (2:1-13) are not the fulfillment of the statements in vs. 17-21; this passage is a reference to the events immediately preceding Christ's return. Throughout the sermon Peter does not speak in terms of personal salvation, regeneration, justification, sanctification, etc. because these truths were still for the most part unknown. Salvation in the context is being saved from the negative effects of the "Day of the Lord."

Peter continues in chapter 2 by showing how Christ was "approved of God" being proven by the "miracles and wonders and signs" he performed (vs. 22), and also by His resurrection from the dead after they wickedly crucified Him (vs. 23-24). He goes on to quote David as proof that the Messiah could not remain dead but must be resurrected to reign on David's throne (vs. 31-32). Peter drives his point home by insisting the man they crucified has been declared by God as "both Lord and Christ" (vs. 36). This soul-piercing statement convicts the hearts of about 3000 of the "house of Israel" to the point that they ask "what shall we do?" Notice how the whole passage is unmistakingly Jewish. There is not a Gentile or uncircumcised person in sight. Peter's message is by a Jew, to Jews, about a rejected Jewish Messiah who came to set up a Jewish kingdom. It is eight chapters later before Peter is convinced that Gentiles can even be saved.

What Peter told the Israelites to do after they were pricked in their heart with guilt also shows Pentecost was a unique situation. Contrary to what many claim today, Acts 2:38 is not the gospel or the means of salvation today. It is simply what Peter told the them to do after realizing they crucified their Messiah. Again, no personal guilt is mentioned; no regeneration, justification, sanctification, or eternal redemption is mentioned; no personal indwelling Savior is mentioned, he just tells them to "repent and be baptized..." (because God had already forgiven them [Luke 23:34]) so they could receive the Holy Ghost. Does this sound like John 1:12-13, 3:16, 5:24; Romans 4:5, 10:9-10; etc?

The Jews in Acts 2 had to be baptized before they could receive the Holy Spirit according to Peter. Do we have to be baptized in water to receive Him today? That these events occur in the same dispensation we are in today doesn't change things. Peter couldn't tell the people what he didn't know. God had forgiven Israel for crucifying their Messiah and gave them another chance to receive Him as such, and those who were willing to had to be baptized in Jesus' name to show their repentance. As a result God would give them the promised Holy Spirit. Only 3000 accepted the offer, though; Israel as a nation did not repent.

See the difference between salvation as found in Acts chapter 2 and how it is described in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and even later in Acts? Acts 2 details a transitional period from Law to Grace and the salvation doctrines found in it (that one must be baptized to receive the Holy Spirit [vs. 38], etc.) do not apply to anybody today. As we said they didn't even apply to anybody after Pentecost. Again, salvation as described in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, etc. was valid in Acts 2, however, nobody but God knew it. He revealed it in His own good time. Salvation as we know it now did not become finalized in Acts until chapter 15, so anyone who uses chapter 2 as the foundation of their doctrine is appealing to a transitory situation that has long since passed away.

In Acts 3:12-26 Peter preached another sermon to Israel with much the same tone as the former. He again declares how they crucified the "Prince of Life" (vs. 15) and proves He is yet alive by the healing of the lame man (vs. 16). Peter admits they crucified Christ in ignorance, but still insists they must repent to be converted back to God. If they will repent as a nation and accept Christ, Peter tells them, God will quickly send Christ back to be their King and bring with Him their promised kingdom. But, again, Israel refused. See how the first few chapters of Acts deal only with Jewish matters and not with Church doctrines that were revealed later? The difference this time is not in the dispensations, but in how the dispensations are perceived. Peter is behaving as though he is still under the Law. A new dispensation has arrived, but by no fault of his own he just doesn't know much about it. Likewise, those who received Peter's messages in chapters 2 and 3 were regenerated and justified exactly like believers today, they just didn't know much about the specifics of salvation either.

God gave Israel and Jerusalem one more chance to repent and receive their Messiah with the message Stephen delivered in Acts 7, but they again refused and this time killed the messenger. After this violent rejection God quit dealing exclusively with the Jews and began to openly offer salvation to others. In Acts chapter 8 there are two interesting, but different, salvation situations. In the first part of the chapter, Philip went down to Samaria and preached Christ to them, performing miracles to back up his words, and the Samaratians listened to him (vs. 5-8). As a result some of them believed his words about Christ and agreed to be baptized (vs. 12). Were they saved? According to vs. 16 the Holy Spirit had not come on any of them. Can one be saved and not be indwelt with the Holy Spirit (John 3:6)? In chapter 2 the believing Jews received the Holy Spirit when they were baptized, these Samaratians, however, did not.

From the New Testament perspective these people were not saved until they received the Holy Spirit (vs. 17), but in the Old Testament sense they could have been saved in vs. 12. See the transition? The half-breed Gentiles baptized in vs. 12 were not truly saved because they are in the Dispensation of Grace where one must be born again by the Holy Spirit to enter the kingdom of God. Hypothetically, if they would have believed on Christ before the cross under the Dispensation of the Law, they very well may have been saved! Saved only on a "trial basis" "on credit," though (see chapter 2). God is showing the apostles, disciples, Samaratians, and us today his further transition into Church Age doctrines. After Israel's vehement rejection of Him in chapter 8, God began leading His servants to preach to other groups, beginning with the half-breed Samaratians.

Later in chapter 8 Philip is instructed to go south, and when he did he found an Ethiopian eunuch reading from Isaiah 53. God had prepared this eunuch's heart, and when Philip got to him he was ripe for the picking. All Philip had to do was explain to him the suffering person in Isaiah was Jesus Christ suffering as a substitute for others, The Ethiopian received his words gladly. Here, the gospel of the grace of God is beginning to take its present form. This is the first account in the Bible of an individual personally receiving Jesus Christ for his salvation with no works or baptism involved. Verse 37 (not found in most of the corrupt "new Bibles") is clear that the eunuch based his salvation on belief in Christ. Philip wanted to be sure of the sincerity of his profession before he baptized him. Salvation is looking more like Romans with every chapter we progress in Acts, and in chapter 9 God saves the man who wrote Romans. Instead of Christianity being a "Jewish sect," it is becoming more and more Gentile the farther we go. In chapter 2 only Jews were saved; in chapter 8 some "half-breed" Jews were saved and a Gentile proselyte to Judaism. Only full blooded non proselyte Gentiles are left to be saved, and God does this in Chapter 10.

 

[Todd]

Cornelius
At first glance one may think the Gentile, Cornelius, was a saved man. He was devout, feared God, gave much alms to people, was a man of constant prayer, and received visions from God. But the Holy Spirit tells us during all this he was dead lost (Acts 11:14). God even said his prayers and alms came up before Him as a memorial (so much for those who insist God doesn't hear the prayers of lost people) while he was still dead in trespasses and sins! Cornelius is a perfect picture of the man described in Romans 2:6-16 who follows his conscience towards God and His truth. Cornelius knew there was a God and that he himself was a sinner, and he knew he needed to make peace somehow with this God before he would be accepted by Him. Therefore, Cornelius lived right, prayed, gave alms, and instructed his house to do likewise; this is all he knew to do. God, however, is ready to reveal to Him (and Peter) some new truths that can release Cornelius and all other Gentiles from their sins.
The Lord told Cornelius to send men to Joppa to get a certain man (vs. 5), and he will tell him what more he needs to do (vs. 6). Though they were ready to receive and hear the man who spoke for God, Peter wasn't quite ready to oblige them. He still thought Gentiles were unclean and unacceptable for salvation. This is one of the strongest proofs that Acts is a transitional book and the early chapters are not fixed doctrine for the Church Age. Regardless of how some may "interpret" Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; and Acts 2:39, Peter and the rest of the apostles thought salvation was only available to Jews. God had to put Peter in a trance and show him a vision three times to convince him Gentiles have been "cleansed" (vs. 15) and the wall between them and salvation had been broken down. They could now be saved without becoming Jews (proselytes). By the time the men from Cornelius arrive, Peter is fully convinced of this and goes back with them entering Cornelius' house with a clear conscience.

After hearing what God told Cornelius to do, Peter begins his message. He again states he is now persuaded "God is no respecter of persons" and any person in any nation who fears Him and works righteousness is accepted for the opportunity of salvation (vs. 35). "Accepted with Him" is not salvation itself, but one being accepted in the sense that he is given the opportunity to be saved. Peter learned a great lesson that day. Doctrinally, Gentiles could have been saved ever since Pentecost, but no one knew it until God revealed it to Peter. After explaining this Peter continues his message and begins to preach "Jesus." He states (similar as he did in chapter 2) how Jesus was anointed by God with the Holy Ghost (vs. 38), how He healed people, and how He was slain and hanged on a tree by His own people as a criminal (vs. 38). Peter then boldly proclaims how God raised Christ from the dead and showed Him openly to witnesses, him being one (vs. 40-41), and further testifies that Jesus is ordained of God to be the Judge of all men, living and dead (vs. 42). Peter doesn't confront these Gentiles for the act of crucifying their Messiah as he did the Jews, he simply tells them "Jesus of Nazareth" is the Judge of all mankind and will judge every man according to His righteousness. After this Peter tells them in vs. 43 that through this once dead but now living Judge's name "whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins." This statement was what Cornelius and his house was waiting to hear. When they learned salvation was in Jesus Christ, they immediately believed on Him and were saved (vs. 44-45).

The quick salvation of the Gentiles came as a surprise to Peter because he had not finished his message or given any type of invitation. He was likely going to finish as he did in chapter 2 with "Repent and be baptized..." or something similar, but God prevented his plans and saved them; giving them the Holy Spirit, through their faith alone. After Peter sees the Holy Ghost come upon them and hears them speak with other tongues as the Jews did at Pentecost, he instructs them to be baptized in water. This is believer's baptism: baptism after one is saved. In chapter 2 the Jews had to be baptized to get the Holy Spirit, but not any more. The method of salvation has changed. God has now revealed He will save believers through faith apart from any works, including baptism, and their salvation is just as valid as that of the Jews (vs. 47). Now salvation is no longer exclusively Jewish. Gentiles have now been accepted as they are for salvation, and they will multiply rapidly.

Though Peter's message was similar to the one in chapter 2, it was also tailored for his Gentile audience. Along with not calling Jesus their Messiah (Christ is the Messiah only to Israel), he tells them they must believe in Him before they receive remission of sins. He told Israel they must repent and be baptized "for" (because of) the past remission of sins. Also in chapter 2 Peter addressed Israel collectively as a nation concerning national repentance, here his message is to individuals and deals with personal faith. Since the Jews have rejected Christ over and over, God is moving to the Gentiles, and they are receiving Him. Since salvation has become "Gentile," the doctrines of salvation as they are today are quickly becoming established.

In chapter 13 Paul preaches Peter's Gentile faith gospel to some Jews (Paul learned this gospel directly from God, not through Peter, Gal. 1:12) and ended by saying, "And by Him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified from the law of Moses" (vs. 39). Salvation is now clearly based upon faith in Jesus Christ's finished work on the cross. This faith will avail a person, Jew or Gentile, of the justification he could not receive regardless of the amount of works he performed under the Law of Moses. Faith alone; purely by faith; "By grace are ye saved, through faith."

 

[Todd]

The Disciples Meet
Even though Peter, Paul, and a few others understood salvation was now only through faith apart from works, many other Jews were not yet convinced and a meeting was held in Jerusalem to settle the issue. Acts chapter 15 give the details of this meeting and is therefore the most important chapter in Acts dealing with salvation. Not chapter 2, chapter 8, or even chapter 10, but chapter 15. This chapter is so important because it finalizes and settles the matter of how salvation is obtained by every believer everywhere until the rapture. Those who teach salvation by works or baptismal regeneration have to ignore this chapter because it supersedes the "Bible" they use to teach their heresies.
There were two questions under consideration at this meeting. One was a person must do something (be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses) to BE saved (vs. 1); the other was one must do something (good works, etc.) to STAY saved (vs.4). The old Jewish ways die hard. The apostles gathered together to discuss these issues, and after much disputing Peter stood up among them and settled the questions. He did so by reminding them of how God used him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and how God, by considering their hearts, not their works, gave them the Holy Spirit when they believed. By doing this God put no difference between Jews and Gentiles, purifying the hearts of both by faith (vs. 8-9). Peter goes on to rebuke his Jewish brethren for attempting to burden the believing Gentiles with the yoke of the Law, which they themselves could not bear (vs. 10). He concludes his words by saying Jews will NOW be saved as Gentiles are saved (vs. 11)! Amazing! Salvation is no longer by the Jewish method of Acts 2:38 but by the Gentile methods revealed in chapter 10 and later! For the first time since the days of Abraham, salvation is Gentile instead of exclusively Jewish. Peter spells it out when he says "we (Jews) shall be saved even as they" (Gentiles) indicating the change (vs. 11).

Again, God has through 15 chapters of transition finalized and established His method of salvation during this dispensation and it has a definite Gentile ring to it. Jews can, of course, still be saved, but they must be saved just like Gentiles are by trusting Christ as their sole redemption. Gentiles are the wild olive branch grafted into the root of God's salvation tree until the natural branches, the Jews, are grafted back in after the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Rom. 11:17-27).

 

[Todd]

Since in the book of Acts salvation became predominately Gentile, it is only logical the following books of the Bible (Romans—Philemon) apply doctrinally to the Gentile Church. Most of the three epistles of John also apply to this age as well as much of the epistles of Peter. We know this because the books are addressed to either New Testament churches (Rom.—2 Thes.), to individual ministers (1 Tim.—Tit.), or to other Christians. The books Hebrews and James, however, are not written to born again Christians but to Jews. Hebrews means Hebrews, not Gentiles, and James is addressed to the "twelve tribes" (Jam. 1:1), not the body of Christ. Remember, knowing who a book or epistle is written to is imperative for sound Bible study.

Paul's epistle to the Romans is clearly a Gentile, church age book, and because of its emphasis on doctrine, it is often called "the Constitution of the Christian faith." The Holy Spirit caused this book to be placed immediately after Acts even though it was written later than most of Paul's other books because He wanted the Bible reader to be grounded in sound Christian doctrine. In the first eight chapters, Paul explains how salvation is by faith alone apart from any works (4:5) and then defines salvation's exceedingly rich blessings with terms like justification, propitiation, adoption, imputation, redemption, reconciliation, sanctification, etc. These are all doctrines that apply to every Christian NOW, not to blessings he will receive in the future. Romans should be studied by the believer until he knows its rich doctrines by heart; only then can he begin to appreciate what God has done for him.

 

[Todd]

How Many Gospels?
The rest of the epistles of Paul following Romans further explain New Testament salvation and reveal other truths essential to Christian doctrine; every Christian has a responsibility to study these also. The truths found in these books make up what is called "my gospel" by Paul. This gospel is the gospel of the grace of God with the added doctrines revealed only to Paul. It is one of the four different gospels found in the Scriptures. The author has heard prominent ministers proclaim with certainty, "There is only one gospel from Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, and it is the gospel of Jesus Christ..." They imply with these words anyone who believes otherwise is in error and not true to the Bible. But what does the Bible say? Anyone who tries to study the Scriptures objectively will soon see it contains more than one gospel. There is the "gospel of the kingdom" found in Christ's ministry; the "gospel of the grace of God" valid during this age; Paul's "my gospel," mentioned above; and the "everlasting gospel." These gospels are all different and anyone who makes them the same has to forcefully wrest the Scriptures to do it.
The "gospel of the kingdom" of Heaven (Matt. 4:23) Christ preached was the good news that the kingdom promised to Abraham and David was nigh and ready to be entered when the King was received. It had nothing to do with the new birth or individual salvation, it dealt with a physical, visible, literal kingdom. This gospel has been replaced with the "gospel of the grace of God" for the time being but will again be preached to the Jews during the Tribulation before Christ's return.

The "Gospel of the Grace of God" (1 Cor.15:1-4) is the familiar gospel of today and speaks of the suffering, death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. It declares how He suffered and died for man's sins and rose from the dead to supply His salvation to all who will receive Him.

Again, Paul's "my gospel" (2 Tim. 2:8) is simply this gospel with added revelations concerning the Body of Christ, the Church, the mysteries, etc. Even though Paul's gospel includes the Gospel of the Grace of God, the two are not identical. The former includes the latter, but one only needs to receive the latter to be saved.

The "everlasting gospel" (Rev. 14:6) is a gospel that does not even mention Christ. It is a message of repentance to Gentiles beginning with the Tribulation and continuing on into eternity. It in no way resembles the other gospels in content or doctrine, destroying the idea there is only one. All the "everlasting gospel" says is man is to fear, worship, and give glory to God because He is about to Judge somebody. It says nothing about Christ's substitutionary death even though it is called "everlasting." Interesting.

The Holy Spirit has shown us there is a difference between the gospels in Galatians 1. In verse 8 Paul says, "though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that we have preached unto you, let him be accursed." In Revelation 14:6, however, we find an angel preaching another gospel and he is not accursed. The difference is in the dispensations. The "everlasting gospel" is cursed in this age and Paul's gospel will be out of place in the Tribulation. Even the "gospel of the kingdom" is cursed in this age because it does not match the gospel Paul preached.

 

[Todd]

Understanding Hebrews
With the book of Hebrews, the Bible begins to take on a Jewish twist again. With the thirteen books preceding it dealing with the Body of Christ, the Holy Spirit now begins to again address the Jews. As the title of the book is Hebrews, why would anyone think it applied doctrinally to Gentile Christians? Of course, there is much in the book a Christian can learn and profit from, but if he tries to apply it all doctrinally to the Church Age he will soon run into "contradictions." The writer of Hebrews is trying to convince both lost and saved Hebrews that the new covenant established by Christ's death is superior to the old covenant of the Law. The temptation of saved Hebrews backsliding back into the bondage of the Law is very great, and Paul wants to strengthen the hearers of this book in what Christ's redemption has done for them.
The thought that Hebrews was written to both lost and saved people should not be strange to the reader, Paul addressed parts of other letters to lost people also (1 Cor. 15:4, etc.). The emphasis of Hebrews appears to apply to Hebrews in the Tribulation when Israel is again the main object of God's dealings. This is why the believers who believe a Christian can lose his salvation appeal to Hebrews as their "proof." There are passages in the book that do indicate someone can fall from salvation, but as we will see, they do not refer to a regenerated Christian.

Hebrews 3:6 and 14 is the first place the "Endurers" stop, but look at the whole passage. Verse 6 says "whose house are we IF we hold fast...unto the end." The "if" is the word pointed to by these people, "What "if" you don't hold out to the end" they say. First of all, do you find any reference to a blood washed, regenerated, Holy Spirit sealed Christian in the passage? Also, what is "the end" in both verses referring to? What makes you think it is the end of a person's life after reading Matthew 24:13-14? The "end" is the end of a period of time just like in Matthew 24:14. The "rest" in Heb. chapter 2 shows this to be true by illustrating how the Israelites in the wilderness had to endure in faith to the end of their wanderings before they could enter into God's rest—Canaan land (vs. 7-19). The "we" throughout the passage refers not to Christians but to Hebrews; "...whose house are we (Hebrews) if we (Hebrews) hold fast unto the end" (vs. 6); "for we (Hebrews) are made partakers of Christ if we (Hebrews) hold...unto the end" (vs. 14). See how keeping in mind who a book is written to clears things up? There is no reference to a born again Christian anywhere in the passage, neither is there any mention of anyone going to hell. The passage applies doctrinally to Hebrews in the Tribulation period enduring to the end of it in faith so they can enter into the promised land (Millennium) and partake of Christ. Don't allow those who refuse to rightly divide the Scriptures misapply them and talk you out of your security in Christ. Hebrews deals with Hebrews.

The next controversial passage is in chapter 6, and here the "Security-deniers" have a field day. The passage "For it is impossible...if they fall away to renew them again unto repentance..." (vs. 4-6) is often quoted by the "Arminians," but they have bitten of more than they can chew. The passage clearly says it is "impossible" to renew again those who fall away, but all the Endurers claim one can be saved again after he falls away. These verses also give fits to many Baptists, who correctly believe a Christian cannot lose his salvation, but cannot understand the verses as they stand. They come up with all kinds of "interpretations" to force the verses to conform to their doctrine. Some Fundamentalists insist the passage is "hypothetical," but the text doesn't even hint this. Others claim it refers to people like the spies at Kadesh-Barnea (Num. 13-14) who were not saved but on the threshold of salvation. However, verse 4 says those who can fall tasted of the "heavenly gift" and partook of the "Holy Ghost." To "taste" something means to have it, just like Christ tasted death for every man (Heb. 2:9). This one passage has those on both sides of the eternal security issue squirming to appear "scholarly" and save face.

Obviously, someone in Hebrews 6:1-4 is in danger of losing his salvation, but again, it is not a born again Christian. Did you notice in verses 1-2 where the writer refers to the principles of the doctrines of Christ (repentance, faith, baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment), that he does not mention ONE doctrine unique to salvation in the Church Age? Regeneration, the new nature, the Body of Christ, the sealing of the Holy Spirit, justification, imputation, etc., are not mentioned. How can one explain this? Simple, the writer is not referring to a regenerated Christian. He is again referring to Hebrews in another dispensational setup.

It is very likely Hebrews (at least the first 12 chapters) was written early in the book of Acts (probably before chapter 12; certainly before chapter 15) when no one knew much at all about a new birth or that a new, non Hebrew, dispensation was made possible at the cross. This explains a lot. The writer didn't mention Church Age doctrines because he didn't know of such things. He may have not even yet known Gentiles could be saved. Therefore, anybody who uses Hebrews to teach Gentile Church Age doctrine is ignorant of God's dispensational arrangments. At the time it was written, Hebrews applied to Jews who believed Christ was the Messiah before the Church Age doctrines were fully known and established in Acts 15. However, now, Hebrews speaks directly to Hebrews who will be alive during the Tribulation after the Church is gone. Remember, the Bible speaks to people of all ages; it is not limited to Fundamentalists in the Church Age.

If there is any doubt that Hebrews applies doctrinally in the Tribulation look at verse 11. There we find the characteristic "the end" again—the end of the Tribulation. When one realizes this the passage easily falls into place. The "those" in vs. 4 are saved people in the Tribulation sense, not the Church Age sense. If the saved person falls away in the Tribulation (takes the mark of the Beast, for instance), he forfeits his salvation and cannot get it back (Rev. 14:9-12)! Furthermore, if the Church goes through the Tribulation as many today claim, then a Christian must in some way be able to lose his salvation or else the Scriptures contradict! Thank God Christ's bride will not suffer this wrath (1 Thess. 1:10).

This passage in Hebrews fits perfectly with the other passages we have looked at concerning salvation after the Church Age (Matt. 5-7, 24-25; Heb. 3). The Hebrews that will be saved then will be decreed saved like those in the Old Testament. Each individual is in danger of losing his salvation if he doesn't do the right works or fails to endure to the end (vs. 11). If (remember "if" in Hebrews chapter 3?) he endures and does make it, he will become a partaker of Christ (3:14). The "powers of the world to come" (Mill.) will be the signs and wonders performed by the "two witnesses" and others during the Tribulation (Rev. 11). All the passages coincide. The writer of Hebrews says in 6:9 he is persuaded of better things of those who he wrote to at the time (around 35-40 A.D.), but the reason he says this is because of their works (vs. 10-11)! Works play an important part in the Tribulation, and we will deal more with salvation during that time shortly.

The third passage in Hebrews the Arminians and others use to prove a Christian can fall out of Christ and go to hell is in chapter 10. This passage gets heavy use by the "Endurers" because of the way it is worded, "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received knowledge of the truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries." The Endurers point to this passage and glibly say, "See there? If a Christian sins willfully after he is saved he can lose his salvation and go to Hell!" Really? Are there any Born again Christians found anywhere in the passage? Is there any hint of a Spirit sealed believer being plucked out of Christ, unborn again, forsaken by Christ and God, severed from the Body of Christ, etc., and cast into the Lake of Fire? Nonsense. You couldn't find a regenerated Christian in the passage with a microscope. True, someone in the passage can lose his salvation, but, again, it is not anyone in the Body of Christ.

Though the Arminians wrest this passage to teach their saved-today, lost-tomorrow theology, the Fundamentalists fare little better. They either won't allow the person who sins to be a true believer but only one who had "knowledge" of the truth, or they "Greekify" the verses and force them to conform to Church Age doctrine. Concerning their first argument, verse 7 says the fallen man was "sanctified" by the blood of Christ. This speaks of more than just a head knowledge of Christ, the man was sanctified by Him. This is knowledge in the sense of experience.

Concerning the "Going to the original Greek" method of dealing with this passage, many will contend a Christian will not willfully sin habitually and appeal to the tense of some Greek word to "prove" it. But the passage says nothing about one habitually continuing in sin; it plainly says if one sins "wilfully"! One sin can be enough. (When the English Bible God has used for nearly 400 years (AV 1611) won't support these "scholars," they immediately run to the "Greek" to change it and usually distort the text so much they themselves can't make sense of it after they change it!)

Even though the text says nothing about someone sinning habitually, to say a Christian cannot willfully sin habitually is absurd; millions do it all the time. To say different is to deny a Christian his free will and pretend his old, Adamic nature is powerless. Every Christian is just as capable of sinning as a lost man because he still has the old nature of a dead, lost man in him! This fallen nature is not eradicated at conversion. True, every believer also has the new, righteous nature of Christ in him, but the old is still there to tug and pull for its own way. Because of his new nature, no Christian HAS TO sin at anytime, but he is always capable of sin until death or the rapture.

In general, Christians as a whole usually don't sin openly as much as lost people, however, sometimes they do, and some in an backslidden state will habitually sin more (visibly) than some lost people. Though every lost person is dead in sin and can only sin, the rebellious believer may do things a "moral" lost person deems immoral and would never do! Every believer should realize, however, open sin is just the outward manifestation of sin that has already occurred in the heart. A person's heart can harbor and entertain sin whether the sin is outwardly seen or not. Who can forget the words of Christ in Matthew chapter 5 where he brands the lustful person an adulterer and also 1 John 3:15 where the Holy Spirit calls the hater a murderer? Sins don't have to be outward to be sin; the secret sins of envy, jealously, pride, selfishness, greed, lust, hate, resentment, contempt, self-pity, self-will, worry, not content, etc., are sins all Christians entertain willingly to some degree and many habitually! All one has to do is talk to a few to find this out. Nevertheless, even with these wicked and vile sins, no Christian can lose his salvation. The difference is in the dispensations.

Now, since this passage doesn't doctrinally refer to Christians in the Church Age, where does it apply? Again, in the Tribulation period. This is clear from the Old Testament quotations found in verse 30 (Deut. 32:30-36) referring to the song of Moses sang after the exodus and in the Tribulation (Rev. 15:3). You didn't check the cross-references did you? Blindly following to interpretation of your favorite "scholar" and failing to personally compare Scripture with Scripture will lead to a "private interpretation" more times than not. Also, the mention of "his people" in a book called Hebrews should indicate to the most jaded eyes that the passage applies distinctly to Hebrews. The passage is clearly Jewish and can only deal with Jews in the Tribulation. Since there is no new birth in the Tribulation to regenerate and seal believers, a person then can be on the right path, taste of the heavenly gift, believe in Christ, be sanctified by the Christ's blood, have good works, etc., in essence be saved as much as anyone then can be and then "sin willfully" and loose all he had. Whether he denies Christ and His blood atonement, takes the mark of the Beast, or fails to continue in the required works (Matt. 25), he has fallen from his salvation. During this period people likely will be initially saved by faith alone, but each must continue in the right works and keep the commandments of God to stay saved. If one sins willfully in an area that can cost him his salvation, he has had it.

Verse 31 says "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God," and it will be for the Hebrews who fall away in the Tribulation, but it is not fearful for a Christian. Every Christian is IN God's hand permanently, and no one can take him out (John 10)! Furthermore, every born again believer is a part of Christ's Body, and thus also a part of or connected to His hand! What speaks of terror and judgment to a rebellious Hebrew in the Tribulation speaks of peace and security to a believer in Christ. Again, the difference is in the dispensations.

The book of Hebrews loses much of its difficulty when one rightly divides it and does not force the distinctly Jewish passages to apply to a period where they do not belong. As we mentioned forcing these passages to doctrinally apply in the Church Age will either lead one to believe a Christian can lose his salvation or cause him to wrest them by his "private interpretation" to make them line up with his doctrine. Either way the Scriptures are misused. The "Endurers" are at least honest in trying to take the verses at face value, they just apply them to the wrong people. The Fundamentalists, however, refuse to take them as they stand, showing their infidelity, and change their obvious meaning by appealing to "the Greek" and "scholarship." The verses as they stand simply give them fits. Nevertheless, for one reason or another many of them will cling to their shallow and inconsistent "historical positions" rather than yield to the plain words of the Scriptures. Unfortunately, the ethics of many Fundamentalists in their treatment of the Scriptures is often inferior to their Arminian counterparts.

 

[Todd]

James
Like Hebrews, the book of James is another epistle that is not addressed to Gentile believers in the Church Age. James 1:1 says, "to the twelve tribes scattered abroad" clearly stating this book is also written to Hebrews. As with the other Jewish passages, there is much one can learn in James, but he must remember doctrinally it is Jewish. This explains why in chapter 2 works are connected with saving faith. The last 13 verses of chapter 2 have been used by people for centuries to "prove" works are required before one can become a true Christian, and many genuine Christians also use the same passage to prove one must work to remain a Christian. What is interesting is the verses seem to support them, "though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?" (vs. 14); "that faith without works is dead" (vs. 20); "ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only" (vs. 24); etc. But do these verses apply to Christians in the Church Age? Surely you know the answer by now. They doctrinally apply to Hebrews with full application during the Tribulation.
Needless to say, there is no contradiction between the theology of James and Paul even though it may appear so to those who refuse to study. Paul says no less than five times that works are in no way connected with a person receiving salvation (Rom. 3:20, 4:5; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5; etc.) and James says in his book they are. The difference, again, is in the dispensations. See, again, how important it is to understand who wrote a book, who it is written to, and who it applies to when studying the Bible? Without constantly keeping these essentials in mind sound doctrine will bypass you. If Hebrews and James do fully apply to believers in the Church Age then the Bible would contradict! But the Holy Spirit has removed all contradiction and much exegetical difficulty by showing us these books apply to Jews and for the most part in another dispensation. Like Hebrews, James was likely written early in the book of Acts before the Church Age doctrines were fully revealed and understood. It may have been written by the original apostle James before he was murdered in Acts 12. This would easily explain its Jewish message from an historical standpoint.

 

[Todd]

Salvation in the Tribulation
When the rapture occurs and Christ takes His Church into Heaven with Him, things will never be the same on earth again. When all those in Christ are raised up to meet their Savior in the air, a whole dispensational system will go up with them. Eternal salvation as we know it today (by grace through faith apart from works) will no longer be valid because the Holy Spirit will no longer regenerate and seal those who become saved after the "trump" (1 Thes. 4:16). Believers in the future will not have a new nature, be placed in Christ, or have Christ permanently indwelling them. Simply put, the means of salvation as we know it today will no longer exist. The difference in the dispensations will make it impossible for a believer to be born again, placed into Christ's Body, or keep eternal life by faith alone. Salvation will be very similar to the way it was in the Old Testament.
In light of this, consider how thankful and grateful we who are saved today should be. Many of the blessings God bestows upon the Church today are blessings He bestows upon no other group at any other time. How gracious and generous God is to us. It seems He picked the Church to show all creation just how kind gracious, and loving He can be. He not only took our sins and died for them in our place, He by the NEW BIRTH placed every believer into His family and gave each His own eternal life and very nature! He did not do this for Abraham, Moses, or David. It is all by grace, pure grace. How much more we should love, praise, and serve Him.

When the rapture occurs the number of people making up the Body of Christ will be complete and fixed. No one then or now can possibly fall out of the body, and no one in the future can enter it. When the voice of the archangel is heard, the door to the Church will be forever sealed.

Contrary to the theology of many of today's prophetic preachers, nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Tribulation will begin immediately after the rapture. It very well may, but it doesn't have to. Nevertheless, whether immediately or months or years later, the Tribulation will began with the Antichrist signing a seven year covenant with Israel. As we mentioned earlier after the rapture Israel again becomes the main object of God's dealings with man and salvation will again have a Jewish ring to it.

The Tribulation will be a very difficult time for one to try and live for God. Christ declared in Matthew 24 this period will contain terror, horror, and death on a scale the world has not yet seen. One reading of the book of Revelation with all the catastrophes, judgments, and sorrows found in it should awaken any believing reader to the shear horror many will endure during this period. As we have repeatedly said, during this seven year period faith alone will not be enough to permanently secure ones eternal salvation. Faith will likely be the means of the believer initially being saved, but his faith must motivate the proper works for him to keep his salvation, and he must be faithful in keeping them to "endure to the end." Remember how James said, "Faith without works is dead," and one shows his faith by working? In the Tribulation one must show his faith and work to overcome evil and clinging to good or else he won't make it through saved (Rev. 3:5). There are around 200 verses in the New Testament that indicate someone can lose his salvation—they must fit somewhere—and the Tribulation is the place. Remember Matthew chapters 24 and 25, and Hebrews chapters 3, 6, and 10? The Tribulation is where they all doctrinally apply: the "time of Jacob's trouble" (not the Church's trouble). Again, someone in the Bible can lose his salvation, but it is not a born again Christian.

During the Tribulation salvation will be identical to salvation under the law as far as what happens to and inside a believer is concerned. Since there is no longer a new birth available, nothing will happen inside the believer to secure his salvation. Though he won't be saved on credit as those in the Old Testament were (because Christ's atonement has since been made), he will still be saved on a trial basis like they were. Believing on Christ will just be the first step in his process of salvation, for along with believing he must "keep the commandments of God" (Rev. 12:17, 14:12, 22:14, CHECK THESE!). Since this is, again, a Jewish dispensation, the commandments must be the Ten Commandments and other commandments given under the law. Gentiles will likely not be obligated to keep the distinctly Jewish commandments, but they must keep the moral commandments as much as they know them even if their conscience is their only guide.

The quickest way for anyone in the Tribulation to forfeit his salvation is to take the mark of the Beast. Anyone who takes that mark is doomed without any hope of future salvation (14:9-11). One in the Tribulation may be saved by faith, keep the testimony of Jesus (12:17), and have adequate works to retain his salvation, but the moment he gives in to temptation and receives that mark, he is dead lost. "Any" means any in Revelation 14:9. A person could believe like the Phillipian jailer, be baptized like the Ethiopian eunuch, and follow the Law like John the Baptist and loose it all by taking the mark. This alone proves salvation then will be little like it is today.

Even with this faith and works setup great multitudes will refuse to take the mark, and, as a result, most of them will be killed (13:15, 20:4). Motivated be jealously and pride, the Beast will slaughter believers wholesale (13:7) with no restraint, but even this will not hinder yet others from "the faith of Jesus." Also, during this time there will be 144,000 Jewish "missionaries" sealed and protected by God preaching the gospel of the kingdom (not the gospel of the grace of God) and two witnesses (most likely Moses and Elijah) performing signs and wonders and declaring the truth to the world. It will be a drastically different situation than it is today. Then it will more often than not cost one a great deal to be saved, likely even his life! Nevertheless, many will "love not their lives unto death" and refuse to blaspheme God by taking the mark. Like James said, they will show their faith by their works (Jam. 2:18).

In a nutshell salvation in the Tribulation will be obtained and secured by having faith in Jesus as Savior and Messiah, keeping the commandments and doing what one knows to be right, and avoiding the mark of the beast at all costs. Failure to do these things and endure faithfully to the end can cost a person everything he has gained. Many today teach Church Age believers will go through the Tribulation. If so according to Revelation 14 they can lose their salvation by taking the mark.

As we have said, the typical Fundamentalist method of dealing with Tribulation salvation is to pretend it is identical to salvation today. But unfortunately, many Baptists and Fundamentalists are much more loyal to their pet "historic positions" than to the Bible. They utterly refuse to take the verses as they stand. They will not hesitate to twist, distort, wrest, spiritualize, and "Greekify" these plain verses to make them conform to their doctrine. The author says this being a Baptist and Fundamentalist himself, however, his allegiance is to the Scriptures alone and not some "historic Baptist position." He has found from reading Fundamentalist material that some Baptist doctrines are just as much heresy as those of Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. The only real difference between the heretical Baptist doctrines and those of the cults is the lies of the cults are lethal to the soul while the "positions" of the Fundamentalists are lethal to dispensational truth.

You may be thinking, "You say most Baptists are wrong on Tribulation salvation, but I am not convinced." Good, neither this book nor any other like it should settle doctrinal matters in the mind of any believer. Only one book is to do this and every Christian's duty is to search it out and determine what it says. If you want to know the truth get in the BOOK! Never mind the commentators when they refuse to believe it. God expects every believer to search the Scriptures and study them out personally for himself and learn Bible doctrine first hand (Acts 17:11). Preachers, sermons, commentators and teachers all have their place, but they are no substitute for personal study of the Scriptures.

 

[Todd]

The Millennium And Beyond
After the mass death and destruction of the Tribulation and second coming of Christ, there will be relatively few people left on the earth. There will be a certain number of Jews from each tribe left to inherit the land promised to Abraham, and also a number of Gentiles who didn't take the mark to dwell in other areas, but compared to today the earth's population will be much reduced. In many respects man will have a fresh start. As mentioned in chapter 1, The Millennium will be the fulfillment of the Kingdom of Heaven Christ preached to the Jews at the beginning of His ministry (Matt. 3).
In the "sermon on the mount" Christ declared the principles and doctrines of this kingdom to the Jews and all they had to do to receive it was repent as a nation and receive Jesus as their Messiah and King. Of course they did not do this and in the end they even killed their Messiah, but the offer of the kingdom was nonetheless valid. After murdering their promised King, the offer of the kingdom was postponed until Israel repents and is willing to receive the one they slew. God was merciful towards them and gave them more opportunities to repent in the book of Acts, but Israel again vehemently refused. We now know they won't get right until Revelation chapter 20. It is the same kingdom described in Matthew chapters 5-7 only postponed for at least 2000 years.

The Sermon on the Mount tells us a great deal about the doctrines that will be valid during the Millennium, and one reading should convince any unbiased reader that they are based on WORKS. Faith and belief in God are not even mentioned. In the kingdom one can be tried by a judicial council for calling his brother "Raca" and be cast into Hell for calling him a "fool" (5:22)! He can be judged as a adulterer for only lusting after someone (5:28) and be judged as a murderer for entertaining hate. Then it will be profitable for a person to cut off parts of his body if it will keep him from doing wrong works (5:29-30)! Cutting off his hand may keep him out of Hell! Is that not what the verses say? See how "obscure," "unclear," and "difficult" verses clear up when they are rightly divided and kept in their proper context?

A lost person today could cut off every member of his body and it wouldn't keep him out of Hell one second, but in the Millennium it may keep him out for eternity. Today one must be born again, but not so in the Millennium. The problem most Christians have with passages like Matthew 5:29-30 is not that they can't understand them, it is that they can't BELIEVE them. They readily receive clear and easy verses like John 3:16, but verses like this are hard for them to swallow. The problem is not in "interpretation" but in believing. Actually, very little of the Bible needs to be interpreted; it only needs to be believed.

During the Millennium Christ will be personally reigning over the entire earth from the throne of David in Jerusalem (Zech. 14:9). He will rule with a "rod of iron" enforcing His law of righteousness upon all and judging those who rebel (Matthew 5:22). Since Christ will be physically on earth, no one then needs to have faith that He exists or wonder if He can do what He has promised. All those who make it through the Tribulation will see Him for who He really is, "God manifest in the flesh." Therefore in the Millennium faith will not be the deciding factor in a person receiving salvation, obedience will be the key. Furthermore, preaching the "gospel" and witnessing to the "lost" will be nonexistent. In fact, Zechariah 13:2 says anyone who does preach or prophesy will be killed! Also, there will be no place for evangelism because everyone (at least all Jews) will know the Lord (Heb. 8:11).

The Jews who enter in from the Tribulation will be saved, but they can lose their salvation if they fail to work or perform evil works. The "sheep" (Gentiles, Matt. 25) who enter in will also be saved, but they can lose their salvation the same way, too. Another group will be those born during the Millennium and they will have to be saved once they are old enough to understand. Faith may have a part with their initial salvation, but, nevertheless, from then on they must work to keep it. This is where the "beatitudes" come in. There is no mention of faith in the Beatitudes; they deal solely with works. It is a work to be "poor in spirit" when man by nature is not. Likewise it is work to "mourn," be "meek," to "hunger and thirst after righteousness," be "merciful," be "pure in heart," and a "peacemaker." The obvious domination of this passage by works is the reason it is used by Modernists and Liberals to teach salvation by works today. They understand what the verses say, they just apply them to the wrong people. "Today's heresy is tomorrow's truth," and, again, the difference is in the dispensations.

Like those saved in the Old Testament and the Tribulation period, no one in the Millennium will be born again, part of the body of Christ, partakers of the divine nature, sealed by the Holy Spirit, etc. Individuals will have only their old Adamic nature and will be saved by faith and works on a trial basis with works now being the major component. With the lack of works or the wrong works one could quickly find himself in Hell. Also, during the kingdom there will be a temple (Eze. 40-48) in Jerusalem and animal sacrifices will again be offered pointing back to the cross. All people from every nation will be required to come to Jerusalem and worship Christ and keep the feast of tabernacles (Zech. 14:16). Does this sound like the "Church Age"?

Another group of people in the Millennium will be the "Bride of Christ" who went up in the rapture at least seven years earlier. As mentioned in chapter 1, all believers who make up the Body of Christ will have a glorified, resurrection body like Christ's and be literally dead unto sin; that is, unable to sin. They will then have only the righteous nature of Christ. Apparently, born again Christians will be Christ's ministers or ambassadors, doing His bidding throughout the Kingdom (Rev. 20:4). This is also the period referred to in 1 Corinthians 6:2 where Christians are said to judge Angels. Furthermore, there is good indication that some Old Testament saints will be resurrected to enjoy the Millennium. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are said to be in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 8:11) as well as David (Eze. 34:23-24) and Job (Job 19:25-27). Many more, if not all, Old Testament believers may be raised up to partake of the promised kingdom. Those that are will be dead to sin just like those saved in the Church Age, but they will not be part of the Body of Christ.

The Satanic revolt at the end of the Millennium will likely be peopled by those who were born during the Millennium (the "children of the kingdom" Matt. 8:12?) since they never experienced the Tribulation or the consequences of sin unrestrained. Satan will surely capitalize on their pride and ignorance to fuel his last diabolical charge against God—then God will consume them all (Rev. 20).

 

[Todd]

The New Heavens And New Earth
After the Millennium, renovation of the earth by fire, and the White Throne Judgment, God will establish a New Heavens, a new Earth, and a New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:1-2). Clearly the New Heaven is for the saved Gentiles, the New Earth for the Jews, and the New Jerusalem for the Body of Christ (21:9). The three distinct groups of people mentioned in 1 Corinthians 10:32 are apparently established as groups for eternity with separate places of abode. The New Jerusalem like the old Jerusalem will be the dwelling place of God and house His throne forever. This city is the Christians Heaven, actually the "third Heaven," and when it descends to earth Christ in all His glory will come with it and dwell in the midst of His bride for all eternity. The city will radiate with the glory of God (vs. 11) and have no need of the sun. Also, it will contain no temple because God Himself will be present, finally dwelling among His redeemed creation as He desires.
The concept of the Tabernacle in the wilderness revealed to Moses 3500 years ago gave man the first indication of the desire of God to dwell in the midst of His people. It is amazing to think that the infinite God of Heaven would chose to dwell in a tent in a wilderness just so He could be near His people! How much He desired their company, but they didn't desire His. Likewise, how much must God love born again Christians that He is willing to dwell inside each individual's body just so He can have true fellowship with him. Yet, sadly, most seldom take advantage of His presence and usually live like He is not even there! Anyway, in the 4500 years following the revealing of His desires to Moses, God devised a redemption plan and placed those who believed in and accepted His redemption in a position in which He could dwell in and among them for eternity. No one can enter this city except their name be found written in the "book of life" (21:27) or are found worthy to partake of the "tree of life" (22:14).

As for the Jew, the earth will belong to the Jew. The meek were promised the earth in the "Sermon on the Mount," and this is fulfilled with the New Earth. The Jews who don't revolt against Christ in the Millennium and make it through the White Throne Judgment appear to inherit the whole earth. Likewise the Gentiles appear to get the heavens with all the stars and planets. When dealing with things in or near eternity we admit certain matters are hard to pin down. There are many details about this "period" which are not yet revealed and hard to be certain about. For one, there is no verse that mentions the Jews or Gentiles getting a new body, so it is possible there will still have their "repaired" natural bodies at least until they eat of the "tree of life." In natural bodies the Jews can reproduce and fill the earth, and likewise the Gentiles can populate outer space. They may even be able to reproduce after they eat of the "tree of life" but the condition of their offspring is uncertain. Whether their offspring would be born with eternal life or have to eat of the tree themselves is unknown. One thing for certain, however, is that to obtain eternal life then one is not to "believe" in anything or have "faith" in anybody. He is to only keep the commandments of God so he may eat of the "tree of life."

Those saved in the Tribulation and Millennium will likely have to eat of this tree also to get eternal life since the new birth was unavailable to them. With the privilege of eating from this tree based entirely upon works there is always the possibility of failure, and those who fail must be cast out (21:27). Nevertheless, none of this will affect the Bride of Christ in any way. They are permanently secure and each individual received eternal life the instant he received Christ. No Christian will ever need to eat of the "tree of life" to get or keep eternal life, but those saved in other dispensations and not in Christ must eat of the tree to get it. See the difference? You, if you are saved, did not get eternal life from any tree, you got it from a PERSON, Jesus Christ, the Author of life. But after the rapture no one will be a part of Christ as a Christian is, thus he must have eternal life imparted another way. Check the verses! What do they say? The difference is in the dispensations.

Of the three groups of people in eternity only one is fixed in number (the Church), and the others will have the job of increasing the kingdom (Isa. 9:6-7). The Jews will expand and cover the earth, and maybe beyond, and the Gentiles will begin on earth but then multiply and cover the universe. Ever wonder why the stars and planets are in the heavens? There is good indication they were put there for more than just man to look at. It appears God will populate them with men who love Him and desire to serve Him. Both Jews and Gentiles that are found worthy will have to come into New Jerusalem to the life giving trees that border the river and eat of them to get the blessing of eternal life. God has come full circle. Time began with man and a tree, and it ends with man and a tree; but in the meanwhile God showed man what kind of gracious, merciful, loving God He is. Without man's fall and God's redemption, no one would ever know!

 

[Todd]

A Final Word
We are well aware that the position we take concerning salvation in the dispensations is controversial, and we may even be branded as a heretic because of it, but our duty to the Scriptures remains. We contend that the Scriptures must be taken as they stand and not twisted to support any popular "historic position." Of course we could use the typical Baptist method of handling verses like Matthew chapters 5-7; 24:13-15; chapter 25; Hebrews 3:6, 13-14; 6:1-6; 10:26-31; 12:14-15; James chapter 2, 5:1-5, 11-20; 2 Peter 2:21-22, 3:17; Revelation 3:5, 12:17, 13:7, 14:9-12, 22:14; etc. (not to mention all the Old Testament verses!), and insist theses verses don't really mean what they say and must be "interpreted" or "explained" to understand them, but we will no longer do that. By Christ's strength our allegiance is to God and His book (AV 1611), and when any doctrine, teaching, or position runs contrary to what God has revealed in His book, God help us to recognize it and abandon it. We believe the Bible is to be taken literally wherever possible (else one could "interpret" the Scriptures to say whatever he wanted), and when the above verses are taken literally, all is clear, somebody can lose their salvation. But, again, it is NOT a born again Christian.
Some may think this whole matter is irrelevant since everyone who is saved today is saved by faith alone and is secure in Christ, but they are misguided. Christ said man lives "by every word that proccedeth out of the mouth of God" so every word in the Bible is relevant, important, and alive. Though Christians are not under the Law of Moses and will not have to endure to the end like those in the Tribulation, the knowledge that some will endure those things helps believers today better understand what God is doing. Bible believers have a great advantage over believers who fail to treat the Bible literally. They have an excellent picture of the past, present, and future from God's perspective as He has revealed it. God very much wants His people to know where they came from, the state they are in now, and where they are going, else He wouldn't have given this revelation. And though God's revelation admitingly has some sometimes perplexing differences found among it pages, one is usually able to make sense of them when he realizes that most often, the difference is in the dispensations.

 

[WriterDom]

The events concerning Bathsheba led David to commit adultery and murder; two sins no animal sacrifice will atone for. Those were both capital crimes against God's law and demanded death (Lev. 20:10; Num. 35:30-32).

David is an interesting story. He screws Bathsheba, and basically murders her husband and still is the apple of God's eye. In light of that, I don't think the fudge-packers have much to worry about.

 

[Todd]

The events concerning Bathsheba led David to commit adultery and murder; two sins no animal sacrifice will atone for. Those were both capital crimes against God's law and demanded death (Lev. 20:10; Num. 35:30-32).

David is an interesting story. He screws Bathsheba, and basically murders her husband and still is the apple of God's eye. In light of that, I don't think the fudge-packers have much to worry about.

The events concerning Bathsheba led David to commit adultery and murder; two sins no animal sacrifice will atone for. Those were both capital crimes against God's law and demanded death (Lev. 20:10; Num. 35:30-32). David knew faith in the shed blood of the lamb would not redeem him (Psa. 51:16), and he didn't even attempt to offer it. When confronted with his unpardonable sins, David confessed and repented and God did not require his life (2 Sam. 12:13). Ordinarily, repentance or no repentance, the adulterer and murderer must die (Lev. 20:10; Ex. 21:14); but God, by His abundant grace, spared David. This shows that David is an exceptional case in the Old Testament, not typical at all. For His own reasons God granted David "sure mercies" (Acts 13:34); the closest thing one will find to eternal security in the Old Testament. Remember how God took His mercy from Saul in 2 Sam. 7:15 and then promised David He wouldn't take his mercy from his seed? There is clearly a difference, and it is by grace—pure grace. David is a type of the New Testament Church Age believer. Still, David was NOT born again, sealed by the Holy Spirit, or made a new creature in Christ; he simply had a promise from God of "sure mercies," and this promise secured his salvation.

 

[WriterDom]

This shows that David is an exceptional case in the Old Testament, not typical at all.

Well, hellsbells Todd, I hope that's not fucking typical. If someone fucked my wife and then killed me I'd be a little pissed about it, wouldn't you?

 

[Todd]

Well, hellsbells Todd, I hope that's not fucking typical. If someone fucked my wife and then killed me I'd be a little pissed about it, wouldn't you?

Ok just your wording conveyed in the earlier post that God let every one get away with everything as long as they weren't Gentiles.

 

[WriterDom]

Ok just your wording conveyed in the earlier post that God let every one get away with everything as long as they weren't Gentiles.

No, only fundamentalists pick and choose obscure verses from the bible and try to apply them to everyone.

 

[Todd]

No, only fundamentalists pick and choose obscure verses from the bible and try to apply them to everyone.

I'm a fundamentalist. I try not to pick obscure verses and apply then to everyone.

I just try to recognize the difference between God's dealing with the saved and the unsaved, teo entirely different standards.

Most fundamentalists as you say seem to hold both saved/unsaved to the same measuring rod, so I can understand your frsutration with me.

 

[ranajja]

Guys! Guys! Guys!

Just thought I'd point out that we may be overlooking something about King David.

King David was human, not some super religious super hero. He loved God with all that was in him, but he also royally screwed up--no pun intended.

While he was forgiven, and God loves him still, God didn't just wipe away the results of David's actions. The child conceived from his affair with Bathsheba died. I'm not so sure Bathsheba loved him at all, despite how Hollywood has romaticized the whole story. Yes, Solomon was eventually produced from this union, but the rest of David's family life went to hell in a handbasket.

He loved God and was not ashamed to show it, but, boy, did he have his human weaknesses--

just like me, eh?

 

[Todd]

Re: Guys! Guys! Guys!

He loved God and was not ashamed to show it, but, boy, did he have his human weaknesses--

just like me, eh?

Very true, its a shame that so many think that christians are perfect or that christians are meant to be perfect, we are all humand with flesh and blood.