Why Are There So Many Divisions? lesson notes and supplemental material is available at Jay Guin Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Why Are There So Many Divisions?

lesson notes and supplemental material is available at

http://www.OneInJesus.info

Jay GuinTuscaloosa, Alabama

Why So Many Divisions?

(Gal. 1:6-7a) I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one

who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different

gospel—which is really no gospel at

all.


(Gal 1:8) But even if we or an angel from heaven

should preach a gospel other than the one we

preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!


(Gal. 1:9) As we have already said, so now I say

again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than

what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!


Two Questions:• What is this

“different gospel”?• Are we guilty of this sin?


What were the Galatians doing that was so incredibly wrong?

Paul doesn't say until chapter 5!


(Gal. 5:2-3) Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that

if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the

whole law.


What about circumcision is so wrong?

(Gal 5:4) You who are trying to be justified by law have

been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from

grace.


»(Gal. 2:15-16) “We … know that a man is not justified by [works of] law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.”

»“observing the law” is actually “works of law”

»There’s no “the” before “law”


»(Gal 2:16) “So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by [works of] law, because by [works of] law no one will be justified.”

»Again, there is no “the” before “law” in the Greek


• And so, what is “law”?

• And why does seeking justification through “law” cost you your soul?


• Notice that the Galatian heresy was seeking to be saved by law

(Gal. 5:4) You who are trying to be justified by law have

been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from

grace.

• The Galatian heresy is in seeking salvation in law, not in obeying or teaching law


• Two theories:– The Law of Moses– Works of law,

meaning, any works intended to merit salvation


• Most Church of Christ commentaries support “law” as being the Law of Moses

• What would this mean regarding—– Treating Sunday as the

Christian Sabbath?– Wearing Sunday “best”

because Leviticus commands that we give our best to God?

– Circumcising our children?• Do these practices damn?

Why So Many Divisions?• So what's “law”?

(Rom 2:12) All who sin apart from [ ] law will also perish apart from [ ] law, and all who sin under [ ] law will be judged by [ ] law.

[ ] indicates deletion of “the” not in the Greek


(Rom 2:14-15) (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.)

Why So Many Divisions? (Rom 3:19-21) Now we

know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing [ ] law; rather, through [ ] law we become conscious of sin. 21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.


(Rom 3:22-24) This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Why So Many Divisions?In other words, Gentiles are condemned because they fail to satisfy the law written on their hearts just as the Jews

fail to satisfy the Law of Moses

Plainly, “law” means God's commands, whether or not found in the Law of Moses

Including the moral law within


“You cannot add circumcision (or anything else, for that matter) to Christ as necessary for salvation, because Christ is sufficient for salvation in Himself. If you add anything to Christ, you lose Christ.”– John R. W. Stott, The

Message of Galatians, 133-134.

Why So Many Divisions?“Law” is the same as “works”

(Gal 2:16 KJV) Knowing that a man is not justified by the

works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of [ ] law: for by the works of [ ] law shall no flesh

be justified.


“Another gospel” is seeking salvation through works

rather than faith!


Romans 14 gives examples

Why So Many Divisions?(Rom 14:1) Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing

judgment on disputable matters.

This applies only to those in the church, of course.

But if we in the church are disputing about a matter,

how can it not be disputable?

Why So Many Divisions?(Rom 14:2-3) One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man

who does not eat everything must not condemn the man

who does, for God has accepted him.


(Rom 14:5a) One man considers one day more sacred than another;

another man considers every day alike.

In Romans, Paul doesn't bother to say who is right on

the sacred-day issue. Why not?


(Rom 14:4-5b) Who are you to judge someone else's

servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him

stand. ... Each one should be fully

convinced in his own mind.


(Rom 14:6) He who regards one day as special, does so to

the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to

the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and

he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to

God.


(Rom 14:10) You, then, why do you judge your

brother? Or why do you look down

on your brother? For we will all stand before

God's judgment seat.


(Rom 14:13a) Therefore let us stop passing

judgment on one another.

Why So Many Divisions?Notice this:The Romans were disputing about matters of doctrine!

And Paul commanded them to

stop passing judgment.

This is so even though Paul gave

the right position on eating meat

(and even though he didn't bother stating the right

position on sacred days)!

Why So Many Divisions?If Paul knew the right

answer, why was it still wrong to pass judgment?

Why were they commanded to “accept” those teaching

falsely?Who among us is comfortable saying “Each one should be fully convinced in his own

mind”?


(Rom 14:4) Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him

stand.


Grace applies to doctrine as well as conduct!

Grace applies to disputable matters—which is anything

we can dispute over and still be Christians!


(Rom 15:7) Accept one another, then, just as Christ

accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.


We are commanded to accept as fellow Christians all who remain true to what brought

them salvation—even if we disagree about

something else

Why So Many Divisions?Therefore, insisting on adherence to any doctrine,

other than the gospel itself, as the

ground of our salvation is a work and

creates another gospel

We must accept one another based

on the gospel and nothing else, because the gospel is

how we were accepted

Why So Many Divisions?By “gospel” I mean those terms on which we were

accepted at the beginning:

Hear, believe, repent, confess,

be baptized

Grace covers doctrinal sin as well

as moral sin, so long as we remain true to the gospel


And insisting on adherence to more than the gospel as essential to salvation risks

teaching another gospel!

Why So Many Divisions?H. A. (Buster) Dobbs,

“Does Grace Guarantee Final Salvation?” The Firm Foundation

(September 1996):

“We are required to keep every specific of the law of Christ, if we receive spiritual blessings, which

include forgiveness and the promise of eternal salvation. …

“The grace of God guarantees our final salvation. This, of course, does

not mean grace alone, but grace accessed by faith, which includes

works of obedience.”


Paul says that if you add any law to the gospel as a

condition to salvation, then you’ve made yourself

accountable for every law as a condition to salvation, and thereby you’ve fallen from

grace.


Being wrong and being lost are two very different things, and we sometimes get them confused. If being wrong damns, then there is no grace and Christ died for nothing.


Phil Sanders, The Christian Chronicle (Feb. 2006), 18-19:

“I believe baptized believers in the Independent Christian Church are my brethren, since everyone who is scripturally born of water and the Spirit is a child of God …

Another Gospel

“Should those who worship with instruments forsake them, I would gladly seek some relationship with them.”

How can they be our brothers and yet we refuse to seek some relationship with them?


This is the part where I hope I’m wrong

Why So Many Divisions?You see, in teaching that

certain doctrines other than the gospel are essential to salvation, we’re effectively

saying that to be saved,you not only must hear,

believe, repent, confess, and be baptized,

you must also join a congregation with a scriptural

name, with a scriptural organization, and with a

scriptural pattern of worship.

Why So Many Divisions?I fail to see how insisting on these rules as conditions to

salvation is any different from insisting on circumcision as a condition to

salvation. Either way, you’re insisting on

obedience to a law in addition to the gospel.


The gospel is meant to take us away from legalism.The imposition of any rule as a requirement for salvation —even a single morally neutral rule — beyond the gospel is a return to legalism and damnation.


(Gal. 5:15)If you keep on biting and

devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed

by each other.

Why So Many Divisions?Fortunately, it’s not

altogether clear that all who are taught this lie

are damned. For example, in

Gal 3:26-27, Paul declares that his readers are “all sons of God.”

In several verses, he calls his readers “brothers.”


Perhaps the key verse is Gal 5:10—

“I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion will pay the penalty, whoever he may be.”

and


(Gal 1:8-9) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!


I am not qualified to judge the fate of those among us

who teach modern equivalents of circumcision, and less so to judge those who’ve been deceived by

such teachers.


I only know that, having become aware of the problem, I must speak out and call for repentance—urgently—desperately. Out of love, not condemnation—out of concern for souls.

Why So Many Divisions?It is not enough to be less legalistic than the church

down the road. It’s not enough to be less legalistic than you used to

be. There is only one gospel, and

it won’t admit of any additions at all.

Nothing is required to be saved or to stay saved other

than the gospel.


Why are there so many division?

Because we insist on saving ourselves, rather than letting

Jesus do it for us.Because we’ve ignored

GalatiansBecause we’d rather get the credit for being the ones who

care enough to get all the answers right.

Lesson notes are available for free at

http://www.OneInJesus.info

Do We Teach Why So Many Divisions?

Part iI


Lesson notes are available for free by leaving your email address with the speaker or by writing [email protected]


Yesterday, we considered Rom. 15:7—

“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to

God.”


When were we “accepted” at a point in time?


Hear,Believe,Repent,Confess,

Be baptized


Hear, believe, confess faith in Jesus as Son of God

Turn away from sin and commit to serve Jesus


Accept Jesus as Son of God

Accept Jesus as Lord

and Galatians adds—

Accept Jesus as Savior (rather than looking to your

own works)

Why So Many Divisions?To repent is to commit to

love

(Gal 5:6b) The only thing that counts is faith expressing

itself through love.

(Gal 5:14) The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”


Relying on Jesus rather than our works is the basis for our

hope.

Tit. 3:4-7


We are saved when we accept Jesus—

Son of God: faith

Lord: love

Savior: hope


Gal. 5:6FaithLoveOnly

(which is how we hope!)


If this is how we are saved, then how are we lost?


(1 John 4:2-3a) This is how you can recognize the Spirit

of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus

Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge

Jesus is not from God.


(Heb 10:26-27) If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire

that will consume the enemies of God.


(Gal 5:3-4) Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is

obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be

justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you

have fallen away from grace.


How do you fall away?

Lose your faithLose your repentance or

Lose your reliance on JesusThat is, add reliance on self


Stop believingStop loving

Stop hoping in Jesus

Why So Many Divisions?This is the gospel:

faith, hope, and love

Jesus— the Son of God, Savior, and

Lord

The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself

through love


This is how we are saved,

and losing this is how we are lost


• Does this contradict our teaching about baptism?– Paul says in Gal. 3:26-27 that

all the Galatians had been “baptized into Christ.”

– Baptism is not a work– Baptism is not something

you do: it’s something you receive

(it’s always in the passive voice)


• Many have argued with us saying that our insistence on baptism contradicts Paul’s teaching on grace

• It does not• Sadly, many of us have

bought this argument and so denied the gospel believing that in so doing we were defending baptism

Why So Many Divisions?• Does this mean we don’t have

to do good works?• Of course not

(Eph 2:8-10) For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—

and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—

not by works, so that no one can boast.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good

works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.


• Then why do good works if our salvation doesn’t depend on them?

• This question only makes sense if you start with a legal mindset


• Why do I honor my parents even though I’m too old to spank?

• Why do I honor my wife even though I’m not afraid of being divorced?

• We have to see love, not as a response to a command, but as our new nature


• Of course, love is commanded, but just as you only tell the immature to love their parents, you only need to tell immature Christians they are commanded to love Jesus

• The mature already love Jesus


Even our love is not entirely our own doing

• (Phil 2:13) …for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

• (Rom 5:5) And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.


• And so, our salvation works something like this—– We accept Jesus– We’re baptized– We receive the Spirit– God changes our hearts– Our repentance (love) matures– We do good works because it

is our new nature to do good works, because we are like Jesus


(Rom 8:5-6) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace


• If we aren’t lost for believing false doctrine, then why study the Bible?

Again, you can’t start with a law-based mindset.


• If you love Jesus and have truly repented, you will want to follow his teachings.

• Teachings don’t have to end with “or you’ll go to Hell!” to be obeyed

• My wife honors me even when I don’t threaten to divorce her— and even though she knows dishonor won’t lead to a divorce

• In fact, threatening divorce would destroy our relationship!


• Therefore, we can believe in salvation by faith, without adding works, and still—– Not deny baptism– Not deny the importance of

good works– Not teach license– Not teach “once saved,

always saved”


It is, therefore, just as dangerous to teach a works-based salvation as it is to deny faith in Jesus or to intentionally continue to sin


• A works-based salvation also—– Denies the joy of willing

service– Forces devout believers to

either • live in dread of their damnation

or else • arrogantly suppose they have

achieved perfect obedience (or a perfect doctrine and practice)


• Arrogance damns. • In the gospel, “there is no

room for boasting.” Rom 3:27; 1 Cor 1:29-31; 2 Cor 10:17;Gal. 6:14; Eph 2:9

Why So Many Divisions?H. A. (Buster) Dobbs,

“Does Grace Guarantee Final Salvation?” The Firm Foundation

(September 1996):

“We are required to keep every specific of the law of Christ, if we receive spiritual blessings, which

include forgiveness and the promise of eternal salvation. …

“The grace of God guarantees our final salvation. This, of course, does

not mean grace alone, but grace accessed by faith, which includes

works of obedience.”


Phil Sanders, The Christian Chronicle (Feb. 2006), 18-19:

“I believe baptized believers in the Independent Christian Church are my brethren, since everyone who is scripturally born of water and the Spirit is a child of God …

Another Gospel

“Should those who worship with instruments forsake them, I would gladly seek some relationship with them. …

“To cooperate with those who continue to act outside [God’s] will is to send a mixed message.”


• We have become guilty of a new Gnosticism, believing we can earn our salvation only by having the right position on all the issues.

• We thus teach that, although our flesh is fallen and not perfectible, our minds are capable of perfect doctrinal knowledge


• In reality, we need only understand the simple facts of the gospel.

• Indeed, just enough to – Hear the good news about

Jesus, – Believe the good news about

Jesus– Repent by making Jesus Lord– Confess our faith– Be baptized into Jesus– And accept Jesus as our

Savior


• And the relationship with Jesus this creates will keep us saved until the end—if we stay true to it

• Indeed, we have to rely on Jesus — and not ourselves

• Rather, we celebrate God’s gift by living lives of joyous service, working out the love poured into us


Lesson notes are available for free by leaving your email address with the speaker or by writing [email protected]

Documents

Why Are There So Many Divisions? lesson notes and supplemental material is available at Jay Guin Tuscaloosa, Alabama