BY Grace Through Faith

1. This presentation looks at the key issue in The letters of Romans & Galatians and its relevance to today. BY Grace Through Faith Studies on The Books of Romans and Galatians: Part 1 Abe Simpson

2. The Gospel: Central Theme of Romans & Galatians • Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. • Mat 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Revelation 14:6

3. The Gospel was being Challenged by Another Gospel. • Gal 1:6, 7 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. per·vert (pr-vûrt) tr.v. per·vert·ed, per·vert·ing, per·verts 1. To cause to turn away from what is right, proper, or good; corrupt. 2. To bring to a bad or worse condition; debase. 3. To put to a wrong or improper use; misuse. See Synonyms at corrupt. 4. To interpret incorrectly; misconstrue or distort: Free Online Dictionary

4. What was this Other gospel? • Act 15:1, 2 And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the brethren, and said,Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question. • Gal 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. • Gal 6:13 For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.

5. The Two Gospels preached to the Galatians & Romans True Gospel False gospel A person is saved by grace through faith in Circumcision. • A person is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Rom 3:25; Gal 3:26

6. The Two Gospels preached to the world today True Gospel False gospel A person is saved by grace through faith in anything other than Jesus Christ. • A person is saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

7. Why circumcision? • They were mostly Jews who still had strong mental, emotional and identity ties to the symbolism of circumcision and its association with Truth. • Was given by God to Abraham as a token of His promise. Gen 17:10 • God emphasize its importance to Moses. Exodus 4:24 – 26 • This strategy was the most likely to succeed in dividing the Jewish Christians and the non-Jewish Christians.

8. God’s Purpose for circumcision Satan took a good thing and used it to deceive. Circumcision became the substance rather than just the symbol of righteousness • Rom 4:11 Circumcision was a sign or seal of righteousness. A sign is only as good as the substance it signifies. It symbolised the cutting off of the flesh. • Was Abraham Righteous before or after he was circumcised? • Rom 4:9-12 Abraham received forgiveness & imputed righteousness when he was yet uncircumcised. He was therefore Father of both Jews & Gentiles. If Abraham was declared righteous before circumcision then circumcision was not necessary • 1 Cor. 7:19; Gal 5:6; Gal 6:15 Faith in Christ with or without circumcision was sufficient. • Rom 2:25-27 Circumcision was profitable when the law is kept and of no purpose when the law is not kept. • Rom 2:28,29 Circumcision was to be a token of the inward conversion of the heart. It was a practical illustration of doing away with reliance on the flesh to do God’s will.

9. Faith & the false gospel • Everybody lives by faith in something. The false gospel leads us to place our faith in anything or person other than Jesus Christ. • Atheist believe there is no God or gods. • Evolutionist believe that given enough time things will evolve of its own self into a more organized form. Non-living to living; amoeba to human; etc. (this contradicts the scientific laws of thermodynamics – 2nd Law) • Many are not aware of what they really believe: nevertheless they have unconsciously adopted underlying assumptions about life that governs how they live their life.

10. Forms of the false gospel: The just shall live by faith in - • Money; • WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? self • -isms – Catholicism, Hinduism, Islamism, Evangelism, Seventh Day Adventism, etc. A person’s faith is placed in the church organization or creed rather than in Christ. • The false gospel manifests itself in many ways.

11. The True Gospel Next • Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. • Isa 45:22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. • John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. • Gal 1:3, 4 Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

12. This presentation shall look at the Role of the Law in relation to the True and False Gospel. The Law & The Gospels Studies on The Books of Romans and Galatians Part 2 Abe Simpson

13. The Law! James 2:8- 12 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. • It’s a Royal Law • The Law is based on love for thy neighbour. • The sixth and seventh commandment of the Ten Commandments is quoted. • Breaking one of the commandment makes you guilty of breaking all. • We shall be judged by the Law • It is a Law of liberty.

14. The Law! Deuteronomy 33:2, 3 And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. • God gave the Law from Mount Sinai – Param = Arabian Desert. • The Law is the Ten Commandments which was written by His finger. • God loved the people in the giving of His Law.

15. God’s Law is the ten commandments! • God gave the Ten Commandments • It is based on love for God and love for neighbour’s. Exo 20:6 • It deals with the thoughts and intents of the mind. “Remember…”

16. The Two Gospels and the law Under the Law means to be condemned and guilty of breaking the Law. A Sinner. Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Above the Law means to be righteous, not guilty, not a transgressor – never broken the Law

17. The Two Gospels and the law All are sinners and under the Law. Romans 3:23 There are two ways to elevate a sinner above the Law! The True Gospel does this by changing the sinner to meet the requirements of the Law. The False Gospel does this by changing the Law to justify the Condition of the sinner.

18. The true gospel • Rom 7:12 – The Law is holy, just & good. • Rom 2:13 – Doers of the Law are justified. • Rom 13:10 – Love is the fulfilling of the Law. • Gal 3:10 – You are cursed if you do not keep the Law. • Rom 3:19, 23 – Under the Law a person is guilty for all have sinned. • Rom 3:20; Gal 2:16 – No one can be justified by the Law. • Rom 4:15 – Law worketh wrath. • Rom 2:23 – Jews boast about the Law but they did not keep it. (Gal 6:13)

19. The true gospel • The Law cannot justify a sinner because a good Law cannot call a sinner righteous when he is not. A good law can only condemn a sinner. • The sinner must be made righteous first before the law can pronounce him a righteous person. That is the work of Jesus: He changes a sinner and makes him righteous. • Romans 8:3, 4 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

20. The false gospel • In its pure form the Law needs to be changed, while the sinner does not need to be changed. This lies at the heart of all false teachings. In practice the pure form is camouflaged by requirements that give people a sense of ‘pleasing God’ while violating His precepts. E.g you must be circumcised! • Acts of the Apostles. Page 178 “In the beginning, God gave His law to mankind as a means of attaining happiness and eternal life. Satan’s only hope of thwarting the purpose of God is to lead men and women to disobey this law, and his constant effort has been to misrepresent its teachings and belittle its importance. His master stroke has been an attempt to change the law itself, so as to lead men to violate its precepts while professing to obey it.”

21. Three common forms of the false gospel in the Christian world • Pharisaic Form: The Law is misinterpreted to lower its standards. • Evangelical Form: The Law is done away with by the death of Jesus. • Roman Catholic Form: ‘Think to change the Times and the Laws’

22. Pharisaic false gospel • Matthew 5: 20-22 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: • Mat 15:3 -9 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. • Laodicea

23. Evangelical false gospel Jesus died to remove the Law No need for Salvation There is no Law There is no Sin No need for people to be born again. No need for a Saviour No need for Jesus

24. Evangelical false gospel Jesus died to change the Law God has double standards There is a new Law Lucifer should take the place of Jesus Jesus is the Lawgiver We need a better Lawgiver Law is faulty Lawgiver is at fault

25. Evangelical false gospel “From the first, the great controversy had been upon the law of God. Satan had sought to prove that God was unjust, that His law was faulty, and that the good of the Universe required it to be changed. In attacking the law, he aimed to overthrow the authority of its Author. In the controversy it was to be shown whether the divine statutes were defective and subject to change, or perfect and immutable.” Patriarchs & Prophets 65, 66

26. Roman catholic false gospel • Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. Rev H Tubermille “An Abridgment of Christian Doctrine” Question: How prove you that the church has the power to command feast and holy days? Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of. S Keenan “A Doctrinal Catechism” p 174; Question: Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precepts? Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no scriptural authority.

27. The True gospel • God does not change. His law does not need changing. The problem is with sinners and it is the sinner that needs to be changed. • Mat 5:17-19 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

28. The True gospel The End • Mat 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. • Strong’s G3341, μετάνοια, metanoia, From G3340; (subjectively) compunction (for guilt, including reformation); by implication reversal (of [another’s] decision): - repentance. • Thayer Definition: 1) a change of mind, as it appears to one who repents, of a purpose he has formed or of something he has done • Jesus came to change sinners, not His law.