Truth Magazine

By Johnny Stringer

Our hearts should overflow with love and gratitude when we contemplate the marvelous grace of our loving heavenly Father. The book of Romans deeply impresses us with the truth that our good standing before God is not a reason for. self-righteous boasting; rather, it is a reason for raising our voices in praise to God; for it is the result of His wonderful grace, and not our own goodness.

It is saddening to see such a lovely truth perverted so as to lead souls into error, but the truth concerning God’s grace has been tragically perverted almost from the beginning of the gospel’s proclamation. In Romans 6, Paul deals with a perversion which would use God’s grace as an excuse to live a life of sin. The teaching of the book of Romans has been so grossly perverted that it is always a matter of urgency to present its true teaching and to refute the erroneous perversions of the book.

Grace has been defined as “unmerited favor.” In his letter to the Romans, Paul demonstrated that all men are in need of God’s grace because all have sinned (Rom. 3:910, 23). Since we have sinned, we deserve to be the recipients of God’s holy wrath. Nevertheless, by God’s grace, He is willing to forgive us our sins, so that we can stand before Him free of guilt, just as though we had never sinned. The forgiveness is possible only because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross by which He paid the price for our sins. Since this justification is undeserved, it is a gift of God’s grace. (Note Rom. 3:24-26.)

In the Roman letter, Paul contrasts justification by grace against justification by works. Consequently, some have erroneously concluded that there are no conditional works which we must perform in order to be justified. That this is an erroneous conclusion can be readily seen by a consideration of the many passages that teach the necessity of man’s obedience. Among these are Matt. 7:21, Heb. 5:9, 2 Thess. 1:7-9, James 2:24, and Acts 2:38. Jesus clearly teaches that obtaining everlasting life involves human labor (John 6:27-29). Indeed, in this very Roman letter which so strongly emphasizes justification by grace, Paul shows the importance of obedience when he observes that the very purpose of gospel preaching was to produce obedience (Rom. 1:5; 16:25-26).

The question arises, if human work is involved in obtaining salvation, how can the salvation be of grace? The answer lies in the fact that the works we perform do not earn the salvation which we receive. If we have not earned our salvation, then it is a gift of grace. God requires that we meet certain conditions, but when we have met those conditions we still do not deserve to stand justified before God. Even after meeting His conditions for forgiveness, we still deserve to be punished rather than forgiven; yet, by His grace He forgives us so that we are just in His sight.

The idea of many is that if we have to meet conditions to receive our salvation, then our salvation is not a gift of grace. This simply is not true. Sometimes I offer to give my little girl a quarter to go into her bank, but I make the gift conditional – she has to say “please.” Saying please does not earn the quarter, but she does not get the quarter unless she says it. Although she must say please, she does not earn the quarter; hence, the quarter is a gift given by my grace. The meeting of conditions does not nullify grace! Suppose I offered you a thousand dollars on the condition that you said “please.” Would you deny that the thousand dollars was a gift of grace, simply because it was conditional?

The principle involved can be illustrated by a number of Biblical incidents. The Israelites had to meet certain carefully specified conditions in order to receive Jericho (Josh. 6), Naaman had to meet conditions to be miraculously healed of His leprosy (2 Kgs. 5), and the blind man had to meet conditions to receive his sight (John 9); yet, all these gifts were given by grace, because the works performed did not merit the gifts. After Naaman had dipped seven times in the Jordan, he could not arise from the water and proclaim that he had earned his cure by his works; no, his cure was still a gift given by the grace of God, for which Naaman owed God his praise and gratitude.

The only works which would negate grace are works which would earn our justification, so that it is deserved; that is, meritorious works. When Paul says that justification is by grace rather than by works, he is speaking of meritorious works. He simply means that our salvation is a gift which we have not earned, rather than something we have earned by our own good works. This is the point of Eph. 2:8-9. In the book of Romans he uses the term “works” to refer to perfect law-keeping – living a sinlessly perfect life. If one lived sinlessly, keeping God’s law perfectly, he would thereby earn his justification, hence would need no grace. His reward would be owed him due to his perfect works (Rom. 4:4). In the book of Romans Paul contrasts justification by grace on the conditions of an obedient faith, against justification by keeping the law perfectly so that the reward is earned and there is no grace involved. Hence, when he denies justification by works, the works to which he refers is perfect law-keeping; he is not denying that certain non-meritorious conditions must be met.

In fact, Paul makes it clear in the book of Romans that jusification by grace is conditional when he says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand” (Rom. 5:1-2). It is by faith that we have access to God’s grace; hence, in order to be justified by grace, one must have faith (belief). Justification, therefore, is conditioned on human effort, for believing is something which men do.

Some would reply that faith is not a work performed by men, but Jesus teaches that it is. Read very carefully John 6:27-29. Jesus told the people to labor in order to have everlasting life (v. 27). Having been told to labor for everlasting life, the people asked what kind of labor they should do in order to work the works of God (v. 28). Jesus replied to this question by saying, “This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent” (v. 29). He thus referred to believing as work. Certainly, faith requires human effort. It does not come miraculously, apart from human effort, but through the mental effort that is involved in studying the word of God (Rom. 10:17). It involves the mental labor of thinking, reasoning, weighing evidence.

Some maintain that Jesus means that faith is a work that God does, as He miraculously produces it in the human heart, hence, that Jesus is not referring to faith as a work which men perform. However, it is obvious that the subject under discussion was what men must do. In verse 27, Jesus had taught that men must labor for everlasting life; then, in verse 28, the people had asked what works they must do. It was in answering the question regarding what works men must do that Jesus said believing was the work to be done.

Further, the Roman letter demonstrates that the faith which brings justification is faith which motivates men to obey. In Romans 1:5 and 16:25-26, Paul affirmed that the purpose of gospel preaching was to produce, not merely faith, but the obedience of faith. This principle comports with his statement to the Galations that the thing which avails is “faith which worketh by love” (Gal. 5:6). He points out to the Romans that it was through their obedience that they became free from sin (Rom. 6:17-18). Therefore, it should be understood that anytime we read that justification is by faith, the faith which is referred to is faith which moves men to obey (Gal. 5:6); and faith does not save until it has moved men to obey (James 2:17-26).

It is clear, then, that justification by grace is conditioned on a working obedient faith. Those who have never become Christians must be led by their faith to repent (Acts 3:19), confess Christ (Rom. 10:9-10), and be baptized for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3-6; Gal. 3:27). When they have met these conditions, they still do not deserve salvation. These are not works by which one earns salvation. Nevertheless, because of their faith which produced these acts of obedience, God will graciously grant them the forgiveness of sins and they will stand justified despite their unworthiness.

Those who have become Christians, but later sin and thereby bring themselves under condemnation again, must be led by their faith to admit their sins (1 John 1:9), repent of them, and pray for forgiveness (Acts 8:22). When they do so they will still deserve punishment, but by His grace God will forgive them.

Truly, God’s grace is conditional. Men cannot impenitently persist in sin and receive God’s forgiveness, whether the sin involves immorality or corruption of the work, worship, and organization of the church. There is no promise of forgiveness apart from meeting the divinely appointed conditions. Let us praise God from the depths of our hearts that He will so graciously forgive us upon the meeting of these conditions, so that we who are so undeserving can stand justified and pure in His sight despite all our iniquities.

QUESTIONS

• What does “grace” mean and how does it apply to our salvation?
• What perversion of grace does Paul answer in Romans 6?
• What have men brought upon themselves, requiring justification of grace?
• How have modern false teachers perverted justification by grace?
• What are some Bible incidents which illustrate the principle of conditional grace?
• Explain how Paul uses the word “works” when he says we are not justified by works.
• What condition is necessary for salvation (Rom. 5:1-2)?
• Some false teachers ay that faith is not a condition required of men, but is a miraculous gift of God. Disprove that theory.
• What is the purpose of gospel preaching, according to Paul?
• What conditions of grace must be met by those who have never obeyed the gospel? By erring Christians?

Truth Magazine XXIII: 3, pp. 55-57
January 18, 1979

By Mike Grushon

In the past several years, one of the critical doctrinal controversies that has arisen among our brethren has to do with the nature of man’s righteousness. Some of our brethren have advocated the viewpoint that the personal righteousness of Christ is imputed to the Christian. This means in practical terms that when an individual becomes a Christian, he stands before God as righteous because he has Christ’s righteousness in the place of his own. The book of Romans contains the lengthiest single passage which discusses the concept of imputation. Therefore, it is appropriate that a small part of a special issue on the subject of the Book of Romans be dedicated to a study of what Romans really . teaches about imputation of righteousness.

The word “imputation” is but one way that translators render the two Greek words ellogeo and logizomai. These two words are found throughout the New Testament and are translated by many words including: suppose, reason, number, reckon, counted, thinkest, concluded and esteemeth. Obviously, these Greek words have a very common usage. However, it is when the word impute or one of its synonyms is used in relation to the concept of man’s righteousness before God that it becomes a part of the controversy between truth and error.

It is no easy task to briefly define the false concept of imputation which is being advanced by some brethren today. The concept is a part of the theology developed by John Calvin. Calvin’s concept of imputation is not an isolated belief. It is an integral part of a well-developed logical system. At the base of this concept is the idea that Christ’s perfect obedience must stand in the place of man’s inability to perfectly obey. Calvin says, “By his obedience, however, Christ truly acquired and merited grace for us with his Father . . . . if as a righteous man he suffered for unrighteous men – then he acquired salvation for us by his righteousness, which is tantamount to deserving it . . . . so by one man’s obedience many are made righteous (Rom. 5;19)”(1) Calvin’s concept of imputation is essential if one must justify man meriting salvation. We can recognize man’s shortcomings, so if he is going to merit salvation it must be on some basis other than personally achieved righteousness. Thus how does imperfect man become perfectly righteous? Listen to Calvin, “For if righteousness consists in the observance of the law, who will deny that Christ merited favor for us when, by taking that burden upon himself, he reconciled us to God as if we had kept the law? . . . What was the purpose of this subjection of Christ to the law but to acquire righteousness for us, undertaking to pay what we could not pay? Hence the imputation of righteousness without works which Paul discusses (Rom., ch. 4). For the righteousness found in Christ alone is reckoned as ours . . . . Now that power arises solely from the fact that the Son of God was crucified .as the price of our righteousness.”(2)

Thus, the concept is that the Christian is righteous because Christ lived as a substitute law-keeper and died perfectly righteous. That perfect righteousness is imputed, put to the account of the individual Christian and he, thus, stands before God righteous with Christ’s perfect righteous. Calvin’s system is very difficult to pick and choose portions to believe and portions to reject. So it is with the concept of the imputed righteousness of Christ. The consequences of man having Christ’s perfect righteousness seem obvious to nearly everyone but those of our brethren who are promoting it. What does Calvin view as its result? Listen, “Then he bids us take refuge in Christ’s blood, that having acquired righteousness we may stand secure before God’s judgment.”(3) The result of imputation of Christ’s righteousness is the impossibility of apostacy, the preservation of the saints. These two doctrines go together, the one is the basis of the other. It is only a matter of time that if an individual believes that one that he will be forced to the other, It is ironic that some of these brethren who act as if they have recently discovered the Biblical concept of grace have adopted a position that puts such emphasis upon merited salvation.

Of course, if the Bible teaches the doctrine that Calvin developed and some of our brethren are espousing is what the Bible teaches then we all ought to accept it. However, when we look at what the book of Romans says about imputation we find no mention of perfect obedience or the imputation of Christ’s righteousness.

The favor that Abraham received was riot merited by him or by the act of any other. Paul says, “For what does the Scripture say? And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness . . . . but to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3, 5). Notice the contrast, Calvin says that the perfect righteousness of Christ is imputed to the Christian. The Bible says that the believer’s faith is imputed for righteousness. The impact of Calvin’s doctrine is that once man has obtained Christ’s perfect righteousness, he is secure in salvation. After all, if Christ’s personal righteousness has been counted as your own how could you possibly be lost? On the other hand, Paul says that faith is imputed for righteousness: Standing right before God is conditioned on an individual’s faith, not merit whether obtained upon your own or from some other source. This is the vital difference between what the Bible says and what our brethren who have accepted Calvin’s concepts are teaching.

However, the book of Romans does not stop at simply affirming that faith is imputed for righteousness. Paul goes on to accurately describe the nature of such a faith. He discusses the nature of Abraham’s faith that was imputed to him as righteousness. In Romans 4:9-25, Paul demonstrates that faith that is imputed for righteousness is an active and obedient faith. Abraham completely trusted God and submitted to His will. The specific example Paul had under consideration was Abraham’s acceptance of God’s promise of a child when he and Sarah were well past child-bearing age. Paul says, “Yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what He had promised, He was able to perform. Therefore also it was reckoned to him as righteousness. Now not for his sake only was it written, that it was reckoned to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be reckoned, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification” (Rom. 4:20-25). Abraham’s faith was such that he did God’s will. This does not mean that Abraham was perfect; it means that he was faithful. His faith was imputed for righteousness. Paul says our faith in Christ will likewise be imputed as righteouness. Again we stress not our sinless perfection; not our perfect obedience or that of any other (although we recognize Jesus’ perfection, we cannot accept that its purpose was to merit salvation through perfect righteousness); but our humble, active, obedient faith is what the Book of Romans says is imputed for our righteousness. For those who have such faith, Jesus died as a deliverer, the perfect sacrifice for our sins.

In an article this brief it is impossible to adequately describe the development of the Calvinistic doctrine of imputation, or to fully develop the scriptural position as it is set forth in the book of Romans. If the contrast between the two has been made evident, that Calvin lays stress upon the perfect obedience and meritorious life of Christ which is imputed to the believer resulting in the impossibility of any subsequent action of that believer resulting in his being lost, and the stress of the scriptures that faith on the part of the individual is imputed for righteousness thus resulting in the constant need for the individual Christian to live faithfully before God, then our time has been well spent.

In view of the purpose of this special issue on the book of Romans, we conclude by mentioning the place and doctrine of imputation plays in the overall message of the book of Romans. When Paul tells us that faith is imputed for righteousness, he allows us to see the means by which we can overcome sin which is common to us all and which results in the penalty of death (Rom, 3:23; 6:23). The solution to the problem of sin lies not with man’s ability to achieve righteousness upon his own. We are not going to merit salvation. However if God is going to grant such salvation, He may choose the basis upon which he is going to do so. Paul’s declaration that “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness” (Rom. 4:3), is the declaration of what basis God has chosen. Thus, the gospel is God’s power of salvation to those that believe (Rom. 1:16) because God counts such humble, trusting, and obedient acceptance of His word and counts those who exhibit it as righteous. Every Christian can be thankful that God has so bestowed His grace upon us by sacrificing His Son for our sins and providing us with the gospel of salvation.

QUESTIONS

• Define the word impute or imputation.
• What New Testament book and chapter discuss at length God’s imputation of man’s faith for righteousness?
• Who is one of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation who included a doctrine of imputation in his theological system?
• What is the name of his book, containing the doctrines of his theology?
• The Calvinist and Reformation movement developed an explanation of how God can view man as perfectly obedient, as earning and deserving his salvation. State that explanation.
• Pure Calvinism aruges that no work of obedience to the gospel is essential to salvation because someone has done all the obeying for us. Who?
• What false idea of a Christian’s security goes along with the denominational dogma of imputation?
• Contrast what the Bible says must be put down, recorded, or imputed to the ungodly for righteousness with what Calvin said must be imputed.
• Contrast the nature of Abraham’s faith with the Calviniandenominational doctrine of justification by faith before and without any other obedience.
• Use Abraham’s life to illustrate the difference between justification by a life of absolute human perfection in works and justification by obedient faith.

Endnotes:

1. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed.by John T. McMeill (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 4th printing, 1967), I, p. 531.

2. Ibid., p. 533.

By Mike Willis

Our nation has been somewhat shocked and, perhaps, sobered by the news report of the death of over nine hundred people in Guyana. Following the murder of Representative Leo J. Ryan, a Democrat from California, Jim Jones led his people in the commission of mass suicide. The newsreels have shown the mass self-murder victims; the papers have given a tremendous amount of space to this event. Undoubtedly, it will be the major news story of the year.

So far as I have been able to piece together, the story of Jim Jones and his group may be briefly summarized as follows. Jim Jones began a rather respectable (in the eyes of the world) religious group in Indianapolis. Because of “persecution,” he left Indianapolis with about 120 followers to establish the People’s Temple in California. For several years, he worked in California primarily ministering to the blacks and underprivileged. During this time, he rubbed shoulders with some of the well known political figures in California. When things happened which did not please Jones in California, he started a colony in Guyana. During the course of this time, Jones became paranoid and tyrannical in his control over his religious sect. Mass suicides were rehearsed periodically. When Ryan was murdered after his investigation of the sect, the whole colony (with the exception of a few survivors) committed suicide by drinking cyanide poisoning mixed with Kool-aid. The death total reached 914.

In thinking of this horrible event, let us try to assess what happened in light of the Scriptures and remember some of the lessons revealed therein. Let us glean what good we can from these stark events.

Lessons Which We Need To Be Reminded Of

1. Call no man “lord. ” We need to be reminded of the dangers of following any man religiously from what has happened in Jonestown. Even the most dedicated and zealous of men can be wrong. Their thinking can become distorted to lead hundreds, yea even thousands, of people into error. If the people in Jonestown had realized that no man had authority over them to the degree that Jones exercised, they would not be dead at this time. They would not have administered cyanide poison to their infants.

Hence, we need to be reminded that there is but “one Lord” (Eph. 4:5). Jesus said, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master; even Christ” (Matt. 23:810). Although we have used these verses to teach the sinfulness of wearing religious titles (a legitimate usage of the passage), a more important point to be observed is that only God has the right to command men what to do.

The difference between the Pope, a council or synod, and Jim Jones is only in regard to what they command their followers to do. All of them assume a position of authority (to legislate to man) which has not been given to them. Indeed, we need to be reminded that all authority belongs to Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18).

2. One church is not just as good as another. For many years, denominationalists have been preaching that one church is as good as another. Indeed, anyone who has the audacity to teach the oneness of the church (Eph. 4:4), is considered to be some kind of narrow-minded, bigoted idiot. Yet, the naked truth was driven home with force as secular newsmen and political commentators alike could see that this was not a “good” church.

Yet, Jim Jones’ church has just as much authority for being in existence as does Joseph Smith’s, Martin Luther’s, John Wesley’s, or John Calvin’s. He had just as much authority for making rules for his members – yes, even the rule of mass suicide – as does any one of these above-mentioned men or the councils and synods which presently govern these bodies started by these men. They legislate spiritual laws for their members, although Jones had just as much authority to demand his followers to commit suicide as the United Presbyterian Church had for demanding its followers accept homosexuals as priests. Jones had just as much authority to demand his followers to commit suicide as the Roman Catholic Church has to legislate regarding birth control, eating meats, forbidding priests the right to marry, and a host of other pernicious doctrines.

We need to remember, from the lesson at Jonestown, that one church is not just as good as another. Christ built His church (Matt. 16:16). He built but one church (Eph. 4:4). The church which He built is governed by Him as its Head (Eph. 1:22-23). There is no human denomination, planned by men, built by men, and governed by men which is as good as the church which God planned, Jesus built, and continues to govern! Whereas it is true that one human denomination is just as good as any other human denomination, no human denomination is as good as the church built by Christ. One church is not as good as another.

In a day when some Christian men are wanting to court denominationalism, Christians need to be reminded of the sinfulness of religious denominationalism. It is condemned of God (1 Cor. 1:10-13). Churches which wear human names, follow human creeds and men, practice things not authorized in the Scriptures, and other similar departures from God’s revealed word are disapproved of God. Men cannot be saved while associated with them.

The doctrines taught by these groups will damn men souls in eternity and, frequently, destroy their lives while on this earth beneath. The ways revealed in the word of God must be understood to be the only ways which have the “promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:8).

3. The body is devoted to the service of God. The mass suicide of 914 souls is hard to comprehend. I cannot imagine hundreds of people thinking that they are best serving God by murdering their babies and themselves. Yet, this is what happened in Guyana. Christians need to be reminded of the truth of God’s word regarding their bodies.

First of all, I need to be reminded that my fleshly body is not inherently sinful. Some, having so concluded, believe that its passions are to be indulged or that asceticism is the means of controlling this sinful body. Both views are wrong. My body was created by God. Its desires are not inherently sinful; every desire that my body has can be legitimately fulfilled without transgressing god’s word. What has happened is that Satan uses the body as a means of persuading men to sin.

Secondly, I need to remember that nothing is to control my body. “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any” (1 Cor. 6:12). Anything which enslaves my body is sinful.

Thirdly, I need to remember that my body has been purchased by Christ. “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Inasmuch as my body belongs to Christ, He is the one who determines how it is to be used. My body is to be presented as a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2) wholly dedicated to His service. Whatever He commands me to do with my body is what must be done with it.

Fourthly, I need to remember that my body will be raised up in the last days (1 Cor. 6:14). The Bible teaches a bodily resurrection. This doctrine is altogether undesirable to some present-day eastern religions and first century gnosticism which religions had the hope of a release of the spirit from the body. Christianity, however, teaches the resurrection of the body.

Remembering these doctrines taught in the Bible regarding the body, we cannot hold in high esteem those who wilfully destroy their bodies. There is nothing glorious in suicide, under any circumstances. Any person who holds such a low view of his body as to be willing to destroy it, has departed from following the revealed will of God.

4. “If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matt. 15:14). The lesson that the blind followers of blind guides will be equally destroyed can be clearly seen from the events at Jonestown. Jones not only hurt himself, he took others with him into hell.

For years, Catholics have been teaching blind obedience to their spiritual leaders. Here are some quotations from Catholics which demonstrate this dogma:

“There is only one remedy for this evil (over scrupulous conscience – SGD), and that remedy is absolute and blind obedience to a prudent director. Choose one consult him as often as you desire, but do not leave him for another. Then submit punctiliously to his direction. His conscience must be yours for the time being. And if you should err in following him, God will hold him, and not you responsible” (Explanation of Catholic Morals, p. 24).

“Once he does so (enters the church – RJM), he has no further use for his reason. He enters the Church, an edifice illumined by the superior light of revelation and faith. He can leave reason, like a lantern at the door” (Ibid., p. 76).

“Obey blindly, that is, without asking reasons. Be careful, then, never to examine the directions of your confessor . . . In a word, keep before your eyes this great rule, that in obeying your confessor you obey God. Force yourself, then, to obey him in spite of all fears. And be persuaded that if you are not obedient to him it will be impossible for you to go on well; but if you obey him you are secure” (Liguori, Spouse of Christ, p. 161).

(These quotations are taken from Handbook of Religious Quotations, edited by Samuel G. Dawson and Rod MacArthur, pp. 43-44.) This position which is taught by Catholics regarding their members’ responsibilities to obey implicitly their leaders is exactly the kind of obedience which led to the death of 914 people in Jonestown. We simply must remember that one has a responsibility to find out whether or not what his teacher is teaching him is the truth. If a man follows a false teacher in his damnable doctrines, his would will be damned, according to Jesus.

Despite the fact that we can see this so clearly with reference to the people in Jonestown and with reference to the Catholics, some cannot see the ‘same thing with reference to problems among us. There are some who are teaching that those who blindly follow their leaders into using instrumental music in worship, participating in the sponsoring church arrangements, supporting recreational activities from the church treasury, and other such false doctrines will not suffer the consequence of their sins. They teach that if one openly and rebelliously participates in these sins that he can lose his soul. Yet, if he ignorantly commits these sins, the grace of God forgives him of that sin automatically. If this works for some people, it should work for all people. Will the grace of God automaticaliy forgive those responsible people who followed Jim Jones in Jonestown? Will the grace of God automatically forgive those Catholics who blindly and ignorantly follow their leaders? If not, by what authority does one teach that those who blindly and ignorantly follow their teachers into the sins committed with reference to the sponsoring church, church sponsored recreation, and other sins will receive automatic forgiveness?

Brethren, we simply must manifest confidence in the statement of Jesus. He said, “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matt. 15:14). The blind followers of blind guides are just as lost as are the blind guides. They need salvation! That is why it is so important that we reach them with the truth of God’s word.

Conclusion

Perhaps there are several other lessons which we need to learn from Jonestown which I have overlooked. However, these lessons are so blatantly obvious that all of us need to learn from what happened there this points that we might never forget our responsibility to obey the Lord’s commandments.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 3, pp. 51-53
January 18, 1979

By William V. Beasley

Do you have eternal life? This is something that we can know (I John 5:13). It is something that each of us should be striving to know. To know, yea, means a hope of heaven when this life is over. To know, nay, means hell as long as we remain in that condition. Let us continue our study of 1 John that we may know concerning our eternal salvation.

“Prove The Spirits” (1 John 4:1-3)

“Beloved, be not believing every spirit but (ever) be testing out the spirits whether they are from God, because many pseudo-prophets are gone out into the world” (4:1, R. C. H. Lenski, Interpretation of Peter, John, Jude, p. 484). All Christians have the responsibility to “ever be testing out the spirits.” This is not reserved for the elders, deacons, preachers -or even for George (“Let George do it”). What “spirit” are we testing? It is not the speaking of the Holy Spirit (a part of the God-hood), but of the “spirit” within a man. The warning is about false, pseudo prophets (these have a spirit in them). Is the prophet abiding in the Son? Father? Is God’s word (seed) abiding in the man? This proving is a continuous process (re-read Lenski’s translation). Those who preach truth may begin to preach error. All false teachers teach some truth.

John tells us (4:2-3) how we “prove” the spirits, but there is more in these verses than is apparent with a hasty reading. It is not speaking of a simple verbalization, “Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.” After having given (by our count) some 18 or 19 things to know one has eternal life this “seven word salvation” would be completely out of place. We test, try, prove by considering a man’s confession; we cannot see his heart. A man’s confession is made not by his lips alone, but also by all his actions. It is a confession (profession) by word and deed that Jesus Christ is personally Lord (Ruler) and Savior. We are to be, as it were, fruit inspectors (Matt. 7:16, 20). Unless the confession is correct, the heart cannot be.

John did not object to negative teaching: “Every spirit that confesseth not Jesus is not of God. . . ” (4:3). “Confesseth not” is a stronger and broader term than “denieth” (2:23). One is a negative action; the other is the lack of a positive action. We must be confessing Jesus Christ in our lives. People can, yea must, see Him in us (Gal. 2:20; Matt. 5:16). The marginal reading in the ASV for “confesseth not” is “annulleth Jesus.” We can annul Jesus in a great many ways other than by verbalizing, “Jesus Christ is not come in the flesh.” Any and all refusals to obey are an annulment of His Lordship in our lives. Our lives may, indeed, disagree with what we say (Luke 6:46).

“Overcome” False Prophets (1 John 4:4-5)

To “know that ye have eternal life” you must overcome the false prophets, the servants of the Devil, “he that is in the world” (4:4). We have at our disposal the “greater” One (James 4:7-8; Phil. 4:13). The false prophets are “of the world” (4:5) and can attract the world(ly). We must have a love of truth (2 Thess. 2:11), be spiritually minded (1 Cor. 2:4) and set to stop the mouths of false prophets (Tit. 1:10-I 1). Beloved, we cannot stop the mouths of false prophets while we play `footsie” with them. When someone goes astray we are wont to ask, “How could this happen?” The answer is apparent: They were of the world for the “world heareth” (4:5) the false prophets (see John 8:47). They lacked a love for the truth.

Respect Apostolic Authority (1 John 4:6)

Today we hear such things as, “Well, the apostles were just men,” “That was only Paul’s opinion and Paul was a woman hater” or “We do many things for which we have no authority.” Jesus taught that the words of the apostles were authoritative (Luke 10:16) and John re-affirmed that authority: “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he who is not of God heareth us not. By this we know the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error” (4:6). The apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 2:10-13), wrote scripture (2 Pet. 3:14-16). The “spirit of truth” is in the man who goes to the apostles (New Testament) for authority; the “spirit of error” sees no need for such “legalism.”

Conclusion

Do you know you have eternal life? Are you ever testing the spirits? Are you daily confessing Christ in your life? Are other people constrained by your life to “glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16)? Have you overcome (overcoming) the false prophets? Do you respect (obey, abide in) the apostolic authority? Does your life set forth the “spirit of truth?”

Truth Magazine XXIII: 3, p. 50
January 18, 1979