STE:The Lordship of Christ  by Bill Jackson

   INTRODUCTION

   After over 30 years of Christian service, and having been able to
scripturally assess victories and defeats (my own and those of others),
I believe I could plainly state a theory:

   THE SUCCESS OF A CHRISTIAN LIFE IS IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO THE
LORDSHIP OF CHRIST IN THAT CHRISTIAN LIFE.

   However, I know that no amount of time in the Lord's work, or the
astuteness of my observations, could ever form an objective basis of
truth for any Christian aim. Therefore, we will look to the truth of
God's Word:

   "Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name
which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should
bow, of things in Heaven, and things in Earth, and things under the
earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:9-11)

   It might seem that the basic aim of any Christian devotional message
should be to persuade the Lord's people to respond in a particular way;
a study on the Lordship of Christ should beseech you to make Him Lord,
for God has already stated that Jesus Christ IS Lord. This, the Divine
revelation concerning the Lordship of Christ, is my subject at hand.

   The conclusion, I pray, will be your full and unreserved
acknowledgement and understanding of that fact. However, always
remember that His Lordship does not hinge on your acknowledgement.
Christ is not running for office, nor is He in a popularity contest.
God has decreed His Lordship, and the more we allow this truth to
permeate our beings, the more successful we will be.

   I don't mean that you will necessarily have the largest church in
town or the most money in the bank. The reality of your success in
Christ will only be fully realized when He says, "Well done, thou good
and faithful servant."

   Chapter 1 THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST AND SALVATION

   It would seem that the Lordship of Christ should be most perfectly
exhibited in the proclamation of the Gospel and the understanding of
salvation. Patrick wrote, "Salvation is of Christ the Lord," and one
would wonder if a presentation of salvation could impugn His Lordship.
However, we are living in a day in which there are many misconceptions
about salvation.

   If you were to question a Jehovah's Witness, a Mormon and a Roman
Catholic about the Lordship of Christ, each would affirm his belief in
this fact. Yet each would have a different theory about salvation, and
none would be right.

   Some time ago I had the opportunity to witness to a very sweet
Jehovah's Witness. She had come calling with her two well-groomed sons.
During the course of our conversation, she stated that she did not have
an assurance of salvation, an admission which is usual for a J.W. Then
she told me she would be glad to lay her life alongside mine for
comparison; she was certain her life was as good as or better than
mine. I would not argue with that, but I said I would be glad to
compare my Saviour with hers. Both Saviours had the same name. Mine as
the Christ of the Bible and hers was an imperfect concept of "Jesus
Christ". Hers was not an infinite Saviour, and therefore not the Christ
of the Bible. Our Lord Jesus Christ is being blasphemed in the house of
His enemies.

   When witnessing one day, we came across a Mormon. He agreed that
Jesus Christ did a perfect work on the cross, but he insisted that we
all have to do our part. This is the basic concept of bi-lateral
salvation: Jesus does His part perfectly, and we must do our part to
obtain salvation. In addition to being grossly impractical, it is
completely unscriptural. The Bible speaks of His work on our behalf,
and any law of substitution must state that when a substitute comes
into play, the original player must leave the field and have no more
active involvement. But here is a group that calls Jesus Lord. Christ
is being blasphemed in the enemy's camp.

   In Las Vegas, NV, some friends went with me to observe, first-hand,
a Roman Catholic Mass in St. Brigid's Church. During the homily
(sermon), Rev. Despars was speaking about the death of Christ. He said,
"Jesus did almost all the work for our salvation, I would say about
90%." While understanding that Catholics believed in works, devotions,
prayers and other merits to supplement Christ's work on order for
salvation to be completed, I had never heard it put so bluntly. The
monstrous part is that Rev. Despars probably thought he was paying
Jesus a compliment by assigning such a large part of salvation to His
work on the Cross.

   The sad truth is that Rev. Despars insulted and maligned both the
person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Any work that can be given a
measurable value can not be an infinite work. By reducing Jesus' work
to being finite, both the perfection of His work and His essential
Deity are impugned. Yet, Rev. Despars would state that he believes in
Christ's Lordship. Our Saviour is being blasphemed in the house of His
enemies.

   It is also true that the Lord Jesus Christ is also being sorely
wounded in the house of His friends. Evangelicals, fundamentalists and
Bible-believers have fallen prey to up-to-date thoughts and methods of
evangelism that have fundamentally erred from the biblical presentation
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This insidious error has been earmarked by
A.W. Tozer in "The Old Cross and the New". "From this new Cross has
sprung a new philosophy of the Christian life; and from that new
philosophy has come a new evangelical technique-a new type of meeting
and a new type of preaching. This new evangelism employs the same
language as of the old, but its content is not the same, and the
emphasis not as before.

   "The new Cross encourages a new and and entirely different
evangelistic approach. The evangelist does not demand abnegation of the
old life before a new life can be received. He preaches not contrasts
but similarities. He seeks to key into the public view the same thing
the world does, only a higher level. Whatever the sin-mad world happens
to be clamoring after at the moment is cleverly shown to be the very
thing the Gospel offers, only the religious product is better.

   "The new cross does not slay the sinner; it re-directs him. It gears
him to a cleaner and jollier way of living, and saves his
self-respect...The Christian message is slanted in the direction of of
vogue in order to make it acceptable to the public.

   "The philosophy back of this kind of thing may be sincere, but its
sincerity does not save it from being false. It is false because it is
blind. It misses completely the whole meaning of the Cross.

   "The old Cross is a symbol of DEATH. It stands for the abrupt,
violent end of a human being. The man in Roman times who took the Cross
and started down the road has already said good-bye to his friends. He
was not coming back. He was not going out to have his life re-directed;
he was going out to have it ended. The cross made no compromise;
modified nothing; spared nothing. It slew all of the man completely,
and for good. It did not try to keep on good terms with the victim. It
struck cruel and hard, and when it had finished its work, the man was
no more.

   "The race of Adam is under the death sentence. There is no
commutation and no escape. God cannot approve any fruits of sin,
however innocent they may appear, or beautiful to the eyes of men. God
salvages the individual by liquidating him, and then raising him again
to newness of life.

   "The evangelism which draws friendly parallels between the ways of
God and the ways of men is false to the Bible and cruel to the souls of
its hearers. The faith of Christ does not parallel the world; it
intersects it. In coming to Christ we do not bring our old life to a
higher plane; we leave it at the Cross...

   "We, who preach the Gospel, must not think of ourselves as public
relations agents sent to establish good will between Christ and the
world. We must not imagine ourselves commissioned to make Christ
acceptable to big business, the press, or the world of sports, or
modern entertainment. We are not diplomats, but prophets; and our
message is not a compromise, but an ultimatum."

   A scriptural parallel to this is in Romans 7:1-4. A woman was
married to a very harsh husband named Law. She couldn't do anything to
please him, and life was unbearable (Acts 15:10). Then, one day, she
met a wonderful man named Grace. Grace told her that if she married
him, he would treat her more kindly. But she was married to Law, and
couldn't divorce him. She couldn't murder her husband just to marry a
better one, so Grace solved the problem. He killed her, then raised her
from the dead, and then married her. This is the message of the
Cross-death and resurrection.

   This is the message that we sometimes feel we have to soft pedal in
order to attract people, because people don't want to die. Jesus spoke
to the people (Mark 8:34). "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." The Lordship of Christ
is not a post-salvation elective; the only Saviour is the Lord Jesus
Christ. When you accept Him as your Saviour, He becomes your Lord. His
being Lord does not depend on your acceptance of the fact, but upon
that acceptance hinges the success of your Christian life.

   Some people think of salvation as a subjective experience. You do
experience salvation, but salvation is not an experience. (You
experience rain, but rain is not wet feet.) By subjective we mean
"existing in the mind, arising from the senses; relating to, or
expressing the thoughts and feelings of a person."

   There is truth in the statement "Salvation is better felt than telt"
because many glorious realities are difficult to express. But salvation
is not how we feel about what Jesus did; it is what Jesus accomplished
at Calvary, appropriated by a response to the supernatural revelation
of the Person and Work of Christ.

   It is not how well we understand that truth, or how much we are
moved by it. Salvation becomes effective when, in response to the Holy
Spirit, we place our dependence on the Divinely-revealed
substitutionary work. Christ's work for us on Calvary is a completely
objective reality.

   It is a reality that is accomplished without reference to our
experience. Once accomplished, the experience is real, and experiences
may often be felt as we respond to Him. However, the experience is not
salvation. Salvation is in Christ (objective), not in us (subjective).

   An emphasis on the subjective can lead to many erroneous
conclusions. We must always center on the completed work of Christ as
our salvation, and never testify of any assurance because of our mind
or emotion. A charismatic priest once told me, "I feel sure I am going
to Heaven because of all the wonderful things God is doing in my life."
He had a lot of feeling, but no biblical assurance. We are sure of our
salvation because we are in Christ; He is our salvation (1 Jn 5:11-13).

   Many like to think of today as the "space-age." I rather like to
think of it as the "instant age." It seems the No. 1 selling point of
many articles is that you can make them quickly. Simmering soup for
hours is passe; we are now boiling water and pouring it into a plastic
cup to make soup "like Mother's"(?). People are busy; they don't have
time for anything that takes longer than 15 minutes - even a
presentation of the Gospel.

   Because of this, well meaning promoters have come up with the
ultimate - the instant Gospel. Some have excelled to the point of being
able, in less than a minute, to present the Gospel, record a decision
and pray a salvation prayer. The record is probably held by a lady in
Indiana who, at a meeting attended by a friend, testified that she led
100 souls to the Lord in 45 minutes of personal evangelism.

   In his excellent tract, Evangelical Dilemma, William McDonald says,
"There is a curious problem today in the evangelical world - one that
poses sobering questions for the church and for the individual
believer. The problem in brief is this: a great army of personal soul
winners has been mobilized to reach the poplace for Christ. They are
earnest, zealous, enthusiastic, and persuasive. To their credit it must
be said that they are on the job. And it is one of the phenomena of our
times that they rack up an astounding number of conversions. Everything
seems on the plus side so far.

   "But the problem is this. The conversions do not stick. The fruit
does not remain. Six months later there is nothing to be seen for all
the aggresssive evangelism. The capsule technique of soul winning has
produced stillbirths.

   "What lies at the back of all this malpractice in bringing souls to
the birth? Strangely enough it begins with a valid determination to
preach the pure Gospel of the grace of God. We want to keep the message
simple - uncluttered by any suggestion that man can earn or deserve
eternal life. Justification is by faith alone, apart from the deeds of
the law. Therefore, the message is 'only believe.'

   "From there we reduce the message to a concise formula. For
instance, the evangelistic process is cut down to a few basic questions
and answers, as follows:

   "Do you believe you are a sinner?'

   "Yes.'

   "Do you believe Christ died for sinners?'

   "Yes.'

   "Will you receive Him as your Saviour?'

   "Yes.'

   "Then you are saved.'

   "I am?'

   "Yes, the Bible says you are saved.'

   "At first blush the method and the message seem above criticism. But
on closer study we are forced to have second thoughts and conclude that
we have oversimplified the Gospel.

   "The first fatal flaw is the missing element on repentance. There
can be no true conversion without conviction of sin. It is one thing to
agree that I am a sinner; it is quite another thing to experience the
convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit in my life. Unless I have a
Spirit-wrought consciousness of my utterly lost condition, I can never
exercise saving faith. It is useless to tell unconvicted sinners to
believe on Jesus-that message is only for those who know they are lost.
We sugar-coat the Gospel when we deemphasize man's fallen condition.
They do not have deep roots, and though they might endure for a while,
they soon give up all profession when persecution or trouble comes
(Mathew 13:21). We have forgotten that the message is repentance toward
God as well as faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

   "A second serious omission is the missing emphasis on the Lordship
of Christ. A light, jovial mental assent that Jesus is Saviour misses
the point. Jesus is first Lord, then Saviour. The New Testament always
places His Lordship before His Saviourhood. Do we present the full
implications of His Lordship to people. He always did.

   "A third defect in our message is our tendency to keep the terms of
discipleship hidden until a decision has been made for Jesus. Our Lord
never did this. The message He preached included the cross as well as
the crown. He never hid His scars to win disciples. He revealed the
worst along with the best, then He told His listeners to count the
cost. We popularize the message and promise fun.

   "The result of all this is that we have many people believing
without knowing that they believe. In many cases they have no doctrinal
basis for their decision. They do not know the implications of
commitment to Christ. They have never experienced the mysterious,
miraculous work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration."

   If we are operating in a manner that precludes the miraculous
regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, the results we get are because
of our sales ability and bright smiles, or because "making a decision"
is the only way some people can get rid of us.

   SALVATION IS NOT A MERE INTELLECTUAL ASSENT, SUCCUMBING TO A SALES
PRESSURE, OR A FEELING. SALVATION IS A SUPERNATURAL ACT OF GOD.

   Unfortunately, spurred on by others' success, and whole-heartedly
falling into the numbers game, we have deified quantity and undercut
quality. The tragedy is that the quality that has been degraded
concerns the Lordship of Christ, the very One we are supposed to be
leading men to. No wonder the Christ we advertise is often as impotent
to save as Buddha, Mohammed, or the "Christ" of the cults.

   True salvation is administered only by the Holy Spirit. It is He who
convicts of sin (John 16:8), reveals Christ (John 15:26), and baptizes
into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13).

   The conviction of sin is because a person is not trusting Christ for
salvation, or trusting other than Him, and therefore he is not saved.
If a person is trusting a false representation of Christ, he is not
saved, for salvation can only be administered by the Holy Spirit, and
He always reveals and responds to the Christ of the Bible, not a
"Christ" to whose partial work sacraments, prayers, works and merits
must be added to make salvation effective.

   If a man preaches that Christ plus Baptism will save, and someone
puts his trust in that Christ, he is not saved, for the necessary work
was not done by the Holy Spirit, Who testifies only of the Christ of
the Bible.

   If a man preaches that Christ plus Sacraments, or Christ plus works,
or Christ plus keeping from serious sin saves, response to that message
doesn't save, for no supernatural work has been done by the Holy Spirit.

   The work of Christ is full and substitutionary. As the old hymn says,

   "If Thou hast my discharge procured and freely in my room endured
The whole of wrath Divine; Payment God cannot twice demand, first at my
bleeding Surety's Hand And then again at mine."

   On the other hand, if a person truly trusts the Christ of the Bible,
and after falls into deficient theology of Sabbatarian legalism,
ethical necessities or any other false idea, he is saved because the
initial work was done by the Holy Spirit Who wrought Bible salvation.
After salvation, deficient theology won't un-save you; it will only
keep you from being a fully efficient Christian.

   All who respond, and only those who respond, to the Holy Spirit's
revelation of the Christ of the Bible are born of God. They are
baptized by the Spirit into one body. We know that every true Christian
has trusted Christ, and that the Holy Spirit only reveals the Christ of
the Bible, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

   Chapter 2 THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST AND THE INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIAN

   A Christian is a person who is eternally secure in Christ the Lord;
he is not one who is asked to make Christ Lord. He is already Lord.
However, failure to recognize this fact can lead to dismal failure in
the Christian life. Recognition of and glad adherence to His Lordship
are the only factors necessary for success in the Christian life. This
be real and practical; it is easy to begin every prayer, "Lord Jesus,
we love You", and not truly obey His commands. Anyone can say "Christ
is Lord", but an overcoming Christian will gladly obey Him even when
this leads in dark, perilous ways. It is in darkness, danger and trial
that the Lordship of Christ becomes vividly real.

   The first aspect we shall consider is that Jesus must be Lord of all
our aims. Every person who is going somewhere must be aiming at
something. A ship without a chart is a pitiable object on the raging
sea of life. Hebrews 12 gives us a clear picture of the aim of every
Christian's life.

   We are first reminded that we are encircled by a cloud of witnesses;
these are testifying to the faithfulness of God manifested in the
battles of faith in Hebrews 11. Note that many of the heroes did not
seem, by earthly standards, to have won. Some wandered about in
sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented. They
were nobodies, but God says they proved their worth in an unworthy
world. We can think that if God says "Well done" to some of us, He will
have to apologize to these heroes of faith.

   We are to lay aside every weight and the sin which often besets us,
and run with patience the race that is set before us. This is speaking
of cheerful endurance as we move through the fiery darts of Satan; it
is the spirit like that of the immortal soldiers in Tennyson's "Charge
of the Light Brigade".

   "Cannon to the left of them, cannon to the right of them,

   Cannon in front of them volleyed and thundered;

   Stormed at with shot and shell, boldly they rode, and well

   Into the jaws of death, into the mouth of hell..."

   When you are running the race, Christian, take heed that you are
running on the right race track. You may be running for security,
popularity, prestige; your church may be running for attendance, or
results; you may be seeking a ministry or a wife; you may be running
for 101 reasons, and yet be on the wrong race track. Pity the man who
has attained, has won his race, has gained his prize, only to have the
Lord look with sadness and say, "You ran well, but you ran the wrong
race. I wanted you to run to Me, and I would have given you all this
and more. You reached your goal, but you failed in the only valid race."

   This is pictured well in Philippians 3: "...I count all things but
loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:...,
forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those
things which are before." The substance of every Christian life is
summed up, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus."

   Christian, consider what race track you are on. What is your object,
your goal? "That I may know Him..." Unexciting indeed to many
Christians of this age who have ambitious goals and aims. May our
ambition be that we become nothing, that we may find our all in the one
worthy goal of a Christian life.

   "My goal is God Himself, not joy, nor peace, nor even blessing, but
Himself, My God. 'Tis His to lead me there, not mine, but His 'At any
cost, dear Lord, by any road.'

   So faith bounds forward to its goal in God and love can trust her
Lord to lead her there; Upheld by Him, my soul is following hard 'Till
God hath full fulfilled my deepest prayer.

   No matter if the way be sometimes dark; No matter though the cost be
offtimes great; He knoweth best how I shall reach the mark; The way
that leads to Him must needs be straight. One thing I do know, I cannot
say Him nay; One thing I do, I press toward my Lord. My God, my glory
here from day to day And in the Glory there my great reward."

   As we faithfully pursue the goal that is authorized, God has
promised to meet every need. If we need a wife, she will be there, when
we need her! If we need some money, it will be there, when we need it!
Whatever we need He will supply. If our only goal were to have, from
Him, all and only what He ordains us to have, what satisfaction we
would find in the Christian life.

   He is the Lord of all our alliances, and has laid down specific
rules for these in His Word. To flout these instructions is to invite
decay and death; to obey them, though obedience may seem difficult, is
an open door to His blessing.

   II Corinthians 6:14 commands us not to take on an unequal yoke;
i.e., ally ourselves with that which is not of Him. It may be in the
business world that we are tempted. Someone is an astute businessman,
and while not a Christian, he is really as good as some Christians we
know. Could not I go into partnership with Him, and thereby really
succeed so I can honor God with the profits of my business? The answer
is simple: NO! God cannot be honored by that which is the fruit of
disobedience. You cannot be a business partner with an unsaved man.

   It doesn't seem, however, that the Bible forbids your being in the
employ of an unsaved man. If you are, God's Word tells you to do your
best "as unto the Lord". It is the alliance that the Bible speaks so
plainly against.

   Most Christian young people will freely admit that the unequal yoke
pertains to marriage: never marry an unbeliever. That is, most young
people except those who dated unsaved unsaved people, fell in love with
them, and therefore are basing their opinion not on the Word of God,
but on the idea that "they feel good about it" and "they can always win
the person after marriage."

   A young man in university was contemplating asking an unsaved girl
to marry him. She was sweet and nice, and they seemed intellectually
compatible. Just before he was to propose, he asked the advise of a
Christian professor. This is the story that the professor told.

   "When I was a young man, I too fell in love with an unsaved girl.
She was so intelligent, and it seemed we were meant for each other.
Before I proposed to her, I decided to ask my minister for advice. He
strongly advised me not to marry her, and to immediately give her up.
It was a tough decision to make, for I loved her very much. But I
finally decided."

   "You gave her up for the Lord?"

   "No, I married her. Jim, my wife is a wonderful person, but she is
not a Christian. I have never been able to lead her to the Lord. There
are many things we share, but that sweet fellowship of a Christian
husband and wife has never been experienced, and a large part of my
life is barren because of my disobedience. It may be the hardest thing
you can imagine, jim, but my only advice is that you obey the Lord."

   Many Christian young people have this problem simply because they
thought they could date an unsaved person and face no future problems.
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. It is
never to be trusted. The only safe rule is never to date someone you
cannot scripturally marry.

   A great problem facing American churches today regards
ecclesiastical alliances (ecumenism). This concerns allying ones self
with other Christians or churches or denominations that are existing in
known sin, especially the sin of being allied to God's religious
enemies. Such alliances must be shunned, even at the expense of
fellowship you might desire. You must be willing to stand alone for Him.

   In the Bible, a clear line of demarcation has been drawn between
light and darkness. It is tragic that amany Christians by-pass
scriptural boundaries in their alliances.

   We know there are many who are religious but lost. However, it has
begun to seem that such ones, if they gain national prominence, can be
sought as useful helpers in co-operative evangelism. We must protest!
How can biblical evangelism be furthered by employing those who lightly
esteem the Bible, reproach the Name of Christ, show disdain for the
perfection of His Work and are in league with the arch-enemies of our
Blessed Lord?

   We must take care that we never solicit or employ the help of any
such person or organization in our Lord's ministry through us, lest we
end up looking to His enemies to bless His Work.

   Because Billy Graham's crusades, movies and books have filled the
Christian world, it is necessary for Christians to clearly and
scripturally assess their attitudes towards this ministry, and to base
their conclusions on scriptural principles. Too often, our reason for
allying ourselves to a person or movement is that it works, or seems to
be blessed. As disciples of Jesus Christ, our only criterion must be,
What does He say about it?

   Billy Graham's motives and ministry are not our responsibility, but
it is our responsibility to have the right attitude toward every child
of God, and if my assessments be grounded in scripture, I must obey
them, not just consider or pray about them.

   II John 10 speaks of our attitude toward one who does not abide in
the doctrine of Christ. Malcolm Muggeridge was one of the speakers at
the 1974 Bill Graham Lausanne Conference. In his book, Jesus
Rediscovered, he said, "I prefer to suppose that some body snatcher,
accustomed to hanging about Golgotha...heard in his dim-witted way that
the King of the Jews was up for execution...So he waits until the job
is done, finds out where the corpse has been laid, drags the stone away
and then making sure no one is watching, decamps with the body."

   I Corinthians 5:11 speaks of our attitude toward one who is an
idolater. In the Catholic Mass, the congregation is called upon to
worship the Host, a man-made wafer. On 11/21/67, Billy Graham received
an honorary degree at Belmont Abbey College, a Roman Catholic school.
In his message he said, "The gospel that built this school and the
gospel that brings me here tonight are still the way of salvation."

   II Thessalonians 3:6 admonishes us to withdraw "from every brother
that walks disorderly." At a NCC luncheon, 12/6/77, Billy Graham said,
"I don't know anyone who has done mor for the Kinfdom of God than
Norman and Ruth Peale." Concerning Christ, Peale said, "I like to
describe him as ...the nearest thing to God." (Modern Maturity
Magazine).

   Romans 16:17, 18 tells us to mark those that bring offences
(snares). Certainly a major snare today is the senseless inclusiveism
of the ecumenical movement. The New York Star, 6/26/79, quotes Dr.
Graham: "Protestants I have talked with are thrilled with the new Pope.
He is almost an evangelist because he calls people to turn to Christ,
to turn to Christianity. Sometimes at the end of my sermons I quote
John Paul II because his is an evangelistic message to turn the world
to Christ..."

   The Roman Catholic view of the Sacrifice of the Mass, strengthened
by the ultraconservative stand of John Paul II, has always been
emphatic in attributing propitiation to the Mass. As the Vatican II
document " The Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy" states, "It is
through the Liturgy that, especially in the divine sacrifice of the
Eucharist, the work of our redemption is accomplished."

   The clear scriptural command is to avoid such a person and his
ministry. Every Christian should avoid all involvement with such as
Billy Graham meetings, films and books. We should pray, not for the
success of his meetings, but for the man, and for other Christians that
they may see the plain biblical commands regarding fellowship with such
as Billy Graham.

   Lest we imagine that such exhortations are fomented by disgruntled
fundamentalists of today, let us read the words of Charles H. Spurgeon
(November 1887):

   "Believers in Christ's atonement are now in declared union with
those who make light of it; believers in Holy Scripture are now in
confederacy wih those who hold evangelical doctrine are in open
alliance with those who call the fall a fable, who deny the personality
of the Holy Spirit, who call justification by faith immoral...

   "Yes, we have before us the wretched spectacle of professedly
orthodox Christians publicly avowing their union with those who deny
the faith...It is our solemn conviction that where there can be no real
spiritual communion there should be no pretense of fellowship.
Fellowship with known and vital error is participation in sin." (The
Sword and The Trowel)

   Thirdly, He expects to be acknowledged as Lord of our actions.
Joshua was reminded, just before he entered the Promised Land, that his
strength lay in obedience to God. Jesus said it very aptly, "If ye love
me, keep my commandments" and "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not
the things that I say?"

   When deciding about any action, the question is never how much good
does it seem to do?, but what does He say about it. If we are
confronted with anything that is plainly forbidden in scripture, we
should not consider it, pray about it or seek the will of God
concerning it. We must obey, without question, what He says in His Word.

   A young man, whom the Lord was using in Christian ministry, fell in
love with a talented young lady. There was one problem: the lady had a
living husband, whom she had divorced when she was not walking with the
Lord.

   Of course, they had the advantage of living in an age when divorce
and remarriage are commonplace, and when it is easy to find Christian
friends who are willing to look at all the spiritual possibilities of
the union, and abypass scriptural restrictions. Although the man
admitted not being able to justify the marriage from scripture, they
were married.

   Now the problems begin to surface. If the blessing of the Lord seems
to be upon the union, those who know of the woman's previous divorce
have to think that God's blessing is upon disobedience. If the blessing
of the Lord is withheld, two talented lives are lost to the Lord's
service. If there is anyone in the local church who feels that it is
not God's will to continue in active fellowship with the church if
scriptural discipline is not administered, that person is lost to the
local church. If the oversight of the church knew about the problem,
allowed the marriage to take place, and then allowed the couple to
continue in the local church ministry, the whole concept of the
Lordship of Christ in the local church is damaged. If, later on, there
are others who are faced with any situation that demands sacrifice in
order to be obedient to the Lord, they can always reason that this
couple was not obedient and seem successful, so why should they
sacrifically obey?

   The problem, now out of hand, began when a young couple rather than
trust the Lord by obeying Him, began to reason it our, sought counsel
concerning the problem, and did everything except that which was
required: simply obey.

   Of course their is still a solution: repentance and submission to
local church discipline. But it is possible that the couple can never
know the fulness of the blessing that would have been theirs with
obedience to the Lord.

   It is so simple when reduced to scriptural priorities. God only
demands from us unconditional obedience, total surrender and implicit
faith. All of which are our most reasonable service.

   There is absolutely no justification for those who try to attach
conditions to our obedience to God: if I get the witness in my spirit,
I'll obey. The plain stand must be: if He has spoken, I will obey. We
must not think that we will obey IF it seems that it is popular, or if
we can see, using human foresight, that things will probably work out
all right. Even when we march to the brink of Jordan, we must still go
on if He has commanded, and bring our feet over the very brim in simple
obedience. If He sees fit, He will roll back the waters; if He wills
our feet to get wet, we march on though we march to the death for Him.
He is not asking us to obey only in ways that seem prosperous and
pleasant; He is asking us to obey regardless. If He delivers, all
praise to His Name. He does all things well, and we must simply obey
Him unconditionally.

   The total surrender He demands is not a pleasant thought, for total
surrender means to be reduced to nothing. Nobody wants to be nothing.
We all aspire to be something. But we must remember that the power that
will truly overcome is His Power; His infinite Power. Those who
remember math from school will know you can add nothing to infinity.
You cannot add anything or something, but you can add nothing. As long
as we are something, the fulness of His Power will never be realized.
The Spirit was given without measure to Jesus because of the mind of
Jesus as revealed in Philippians 2:5-8.

   It is when we become nothing that His power is realized. One reason
we find it hard to be nothing is that we are always trying to prove to
people that we are something. Therefore, the first step is to realize
what we are in Christ; He has made us somebody, a partaker of the
Divine nature. When we know who we are in Him, we lose all desire to
prove anything to anyone. He could empty Himself, and in so doing He
fulfilled God's requirements and proved the truth of God's Word in His
humiliation and exaltation.

   It is the same with us; we understand all that we are in Christ, and
we know that our worth to God depends not on our abilities, attitudes
or accomplishments. It rests completely upon His Work for us (not in
us). Then we can fully yield ourselves to God, Who will do what He
wants with us through His mighty power. In this way our Christian lives
become fully utilized by God as, in ourselves, we recognize that we are
nothing that all may be of Him.

   Our problem is that we say we want to decrease because we believe
that, in this way, we can increase. So we strive to decrease but all
the time we're really aiming to increase. If we strive to be anything,
we deny the biblical truth that we are complete in Him.

   Implicit faith. Why? Because He is faithful that promised. The
quality of our faith can only equal the completeness of our dependence
upon Him, and we can only allow ourselves to be completely dependent on
One Whom we know to be completely dependable. Thus, "that I may know
him", becomes more than a sentimental dream; it becomes the foundation
upon which our faith may be firmly grounded. Without faith it is
impossible to please Him." To know Him is to love Him, to trust Him, to
obey Him.

   God has an aim for our lives, and that aim is expressed in Hebrews
2:10; "...bringing many sons unto glory..." Jesus is not satisfied with
just having washed us in His blood. He wants us to live glorious lives.
In the last day He will have to tell the truth about us, and He wants
it to be a pleasant truth. He wants to say "Well done", but He will not
tell a lie. It is with profound regret that He will lay many stripes on
the backs of them that knew the Father's will, and did it not (Luke
12:47).

   "When I stand at the judgement seat of Christ and He shows me His
plan for me.

   The plan of my life as it might have been had He had His way and I
see

   How I blocked Him here and I checked Him there and I would not yield
my will;

   Will there be grief in my Saviour's eyes; grief, though He loves me
still?

   He would have me rich and I stand there poor; stripped of all but
His Grace.

   While memory runs like a haunted thing down paths I cannot retrace.

   And my desolate heart will well nigh break with tears that I cannot
shed.

   I will cover my face with my empty hands; I will bow my uncrowned
head..."

   Of course, when we hear of being led to Glory, we think of a King
upon a throne. God's idea of Glory is very different. It is a King,
knowing He is King, laying aside His garments and washing His
disciples' feet. (John 13:3-5)

   We read in Job 1:8 that God has a good testimony to give to Job, "a
perfect and upright man", that might seem glorious to us. However, the
real glory came several days later when Job, sitting on a dunghill and
scraping his boils said, "though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

   It matters not (although it often matters a lot to us) whether we
finish our days on a throne or a dunghill; what matters is whether we
have obeyed Him, surrendered fully to Him, really trusted Him. The
Captain of our salvation wants to bring us to Glory, that, with nothing
or with plenty we have all things in Him.

   The ancient hymnist wrote:

   "Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart

   Nought be all else to save that Thou art..."

   We all know certain facts, and because these facts are finite, we
can know many. But to know God, the Infinite One; if we were to truly
know Him He would so fill our finite minds that anything else we know
could only be known in relationship to Him. May He so be our vision
that He completely fills our horizon and we know all things as fully
subject to the great Fact in our lives: our Saviour the Lord Jesus
Christ.

   Many of us have sung the hymn "He's Everything to Me." What we
really meant was that He is a great deal to us. We must challenge
ourselves. Do we really want Him to be everything? Do I want to lose
all claim to popularity, all claim to everything? Do I really want to
know Him?

   Paul, in Philippians 3, states that all things were counted as loss
"for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord; for whom
I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung
(refuse, garbage)," that I may know Him. We have all had God take
things from our lives, and then we recognized them as refuse. How many
times we have been tempted to leave the vision of Christ, through Whom
we see all things aright, and go back and sneak a look out of the back
window, with a magnificent view of the garbage can!

   Do we mourn for that which He took away? Do I spend a pleasant
Sunday afternoon meditating about my garbage can?

   "The pleasure lost I sadly mourned but never wept for Thee

   'Till grace my sightless eyes received, Thy loveliness to see."

   Chapter 3 THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST AND THE LOCAL CHURCH

   The local church today is the only scriptural presentation of the
Body of Christ that operates in the world today.

   The existence of any other Christian organization or ministry is
justified solely because of its scriptural relationship to the local
church.

   If these sentences are true, there are many Christian organizations,
ministers, and ministries that are either void of divine authorization
or else have so overstepped the grounds of scriptural validity that
their "success" can only be attributed to human ability, not to the
power of God.

   Such a conclusion is strong, but it is intended to be. It is time
for us to examine God's priorities for doing His work on earth, and
endeaver to scratch out all that which, by not giving full allegeance
to His program, can be clearly seen to be only the result of man's
abilities and pride.

   When we examine all ministries and ministers in the light of their
scriptural relationship to the local church, we must include all: from
Bill Jackson to Billy Graham, from the local Christian radio station to
the electronic churches of Oral Roberts, Rex Humbard and Jerry Falwell.
Whatever sparkling Christian entertainment and honest Gospel preaching
comes from these sources is immaterial; the only question is: Do they
fit into God's revealed plan for the propagation of the Gospel, the
local church? Do they thereby bow to the Lordship of Christ?

   All evangelism should be local church centered and geared to build
up the local church. Of course, more than one local church can combine
to reach a city, but the emphasis on the local church should always be
maintained. Care must be taken that local churches involved are truly
representative of the Body of Christ (that is, that they have saved
memberships). It must be stressed that Christ's mission to evangelize
is only complete when those won are brought into a fellowship where
they can be truly taught His Word (Mathew 28:20; Acts 2:42).

   It is possible for a ministry, begun under the auspices of a local
church, to become a thorn in the flesh to other local churches.

   A local church can begin a bus ministry, and then branch out to the
extent that it is taking young people right from under the noses of
other fundamental churches. This is destroying the concept of the local
church, while encouraging unscriptural competition. We've heard of
children waiting on a street corner to find out which church is giving
away the best prize for Sunday School attendance that morning.

   Rather than aiming your outreach into other communities where there
already is a fundamental church, it would be better to sell your buses
and reach your community for Christ. Just because a ministry is under
the control of a local church doesn't make it scriptural; it loses this
designation when it usurps the integrity of another local church in
another community.

   It is possible for a radio or TV ministry to usurp the local church.
Listeners should continually be encouraged to attend a local
Gospel-preaching church, and all folks who write in, for decision or
support, should be channeled into a local church. Radio and TV
preaching should never be scheduled to conflict with Sunday services
but listeners should be told where they can hear the Gospel.

   When people get saved through radio or TV evangelism, it is
difficult to get them to leave the program they were saved through to
attend a local church, especially if the times conflict. Many folks
find it more comfortable and convenient to have a radio or TV program
as their "local church".

   It is unethical to solicit money from members of local churches
unless the ministry is a ministry to the local church. In too many
cases, local churches cannot compete with the glamour of TV programs;
and extra offerings, if not tithes, go to the more exciting ministry.
If you were able to compare the size of your pastor's house, car and
bank account with that of most TV evangelists, you'd think twice before
making sacrificial gifts to these electronic churches.

   What makes a local church a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ? It
is when it is a true earthly representation of the Body of Christ; when
it is composed of true believers attached to the Head of the Church.
The one basic necessity of a local church is a born again membership.

   There are Christians who remain members of liberal churches. These,
while a part of the universal Body Christ, are not in a local Christian
church. To recognize liberal churches as local Christian churches is an
affront to Christ. Christians in these churches should obey the Bible
and come out. However, many want to stay in, and we who know the truth
should encourage them to come into a local church where they can be
taught His doctrine and have real Christian fellowship.

   There are many reasons given (all bad) why Christians stay in
non-Christian churches. Most widely used is that they stay to win the
lost there to Christ. The fact that those who come out are more
successful soul-winners would shoot down this argument if it had not
already been demolished by scripture (II Corinthians 6:14). Obedience
is the basis upon which a successful Christian witness can be built.

   "Whither Methodism?", a periodical published by several
ex-Methodists in Ireland, gives twelve reasons why a person stays in an
apostate church:

   1. I like to disobey the Word of God (Ephesians 5:11; II Corinthians
6:14-18).

   2. I want my children to be lost forever.

   3. I like to support rummage sales rather than soul winning.

   4. I like to support the program of the World Council of Churches.

   5. I want the social Gospel to be preached.

   6. I want to be popular with my worldly friends and relatives.
(James 4:4).

   7. I want what little faith I have to be completely torn down.

   8. I like my apostate denomination more than I love Christ.

   9. I want my money to help build the synagogues of Satan.

   10. I don't want to bear the reproach of Christ (Hebrews 13:12).

   11. I want to be a partaker of the plagues of Revelation 18:4.

   12. I want the fellowship of wolves in sheep's clothing (Mathew
7:15).

   What is the job of the local church? Scripturally, we are told that
it is to edify (build up) itself (Ephesians 4:16). This entails
co-operation, not primarily among the members (although this happens)
but with the Head. There is a marvelous co-ordination within the human
body that protects and nourishes each member as the members, nerve
cells and blood vessels co-ordinate with the head and perform their
separate functions. Needs of the body are met as parts of the body
respond to the head, and only vital union with the head keeps the body,
and every member thereof, a viable entity.

   The protective impulses in the human body are marvelous to behold.
One day I was playing softball with a group of boys; I was pitching so
they could get hitting and fielding practice. I threw the ball in to
one boy, and he lined it straight at my throught. Being less than 60
feet away, it took only a fraction of a second for the softball to
reach me, but in that time my eyes sent a message to my brain taht the
softball was coming; my brain told my hand to go up and protect my neck
and my hand, not considering the damage it might suffer, instantly
obeyed. The result was that I had a badly bruised hand, but, as I
thought of it, I was more and more awed by the actions of my body to
protect my uncomely neck (I Corinthians 12:23).

   My hand, upon receiving the order from the head to move quickly to
protect my neck, might have had second thoughts, "why protect that
scrawny neck? It never does anything useful. I am a hand. I can type,
play the piano, do useful things. That ball is coming fast and I might
be injured. Anyway, I scratched the neck yesterday when it itched; it
is the left hand's turn to do something." This could happen if each
member were not under the complete control of the head.

   Besides self-edification, it is the duty of the local church to
evangelize, both by utilizing the gift of evangelists to the church
(and caring for and helping these I Corinthians 9:14) and by obeying
the command of the Lord Jesus to preach the Gospel to all. Thus, with
every joint supplying what God's purpose for that joint is, and in
complete and vital union with the Head, the body functions. Its total
operation is wholly dependent on and fully subservient to the Head.
This is the Lordship of Christ in the local church.

   In its day-to-day operation, there must be absolute obedience to the
Head. This is probably easier to realize than the same obedience in its
month-to-month business meetings. It is unfortunate that, in these, we
have often managed to reach absolute zero in practical obedience to the
Lord.

   Have you ever heard a church officer quoting from the Bible to back
up a proposal he was making? If Bibles are carried into a business
meeting, they are put aside after the brief devotional time. Then the
REAL business of the Kingdom is discussed.

   The Head of the Church is usually invited to be present during the
opening prayer, and then politely asked to wait outside during the
business session.

   If you think these are idle statements, consider this: How many
times do we make plans then ask Him to bless? Who is the Head?

   A church may decide it needs a building. This is not an
impossibility, but certainly not as much a necessity as contemporary
progressive evangelicalism thinks. So we start a building fund, and,
after a month, there is $600 in it. That's not enough, so we dicide the
way out is to get a loan. (Where do we find this option in the
scripture?) Then we can't make our loan payments, so we cut down on our
missionary budget (this always gets the axe first). Who could manage
better without money, a missionary on the field, or your pastor who
could get a part time job? (Horrors, don't suggest that. He's a
clergyman and couldn't get a job!) Then, in some churches, the way out
seems to be a yard or garage sale (Not very scriptural, but better than
starving the missionaries). Or, as has actually been done, soliciting
the help of the unsaved. So we formulate a plan, assume it to be God's
will (didn't we vote for it?), don't get enough help from God, so we
starve the missionaries and end up asking His enemies to help in His
work.

   You would not think this to be extreme if you had received the
letters I have from Bible-believing churches who, through
mis-management, ambition and extravagant plans have been backed into
corners just like the above.

   Obedience to the Head of the Church will deliver us from this.

   Many Christians have problems concerning which local church they
should join. The context in I Corinthians 12 talks about God's order in
the local church; verse 18 says, "But now hath God set the members
every one of them in the body as it hath pleased Him."

   The verb "set" indicates action upon a passive person, and this
teaches us it is not our responsibility to "pick a church", i.e. one of
our choice. People have many reasons for joining a church, from the
nearness to their homes to the looks of the pastor. However, scripture
teaches that members are set in the body by God Himself.

   Are we then to lie in our beds Sunday morning waiting for God to
translate to us a church? No, we see in this passage that members are
set in the body "as it pleases Him." Since we know that God's will (or
pleasure) is plainly set forth in the Bible, we must, prayerfully, find
a church that fits scriptural prerogatives.

   The first necessity is a born again membership. A church that does
not require vital Christian conversion for membership is not only not a
church in the New Testament sense; it is a group into which God could
not guide you; a group every Christian should shun.

   We are given a good idea of the activities of a true church in Acts
2:42. Here, the nearly-saved Christians were baptized, "and they
continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in
breaking of bread, and in prayers."

   The whole counsel of God should be taught in a local church.
Believers should be urged to be scripturally baptized after true
conversion. There should be a strong emphasis on teaching Bible
doctrine. In such a church a Christian can have true fellowship,
participate in the Lord's Supper, and have prayer with like-minded
believers.

   A church that God would be pleased for you to join would exercise
and honor scriptural church discipline, and be obedient to the Lord in
worship and service.

   It is not up to you to pick a church. Rather, it is for you to study
His Word and walk with Him. He will give you positive guidance from His
Word.

   If you join a church, and then that body falls into a problem area
and begins to embrace unscriptural teaching or action, it is your duty
to disassociate yourself, and to plainly testify of your scriptural
reasons. If you do not have scriptural reasons, don't leave. Don't
leave a church because they called a pastor you don't like, or started
a project you don't agree with but for which there is no scriptural
taboo. If scripture is violated, it is your duty to leave that church
as by continuing to fellowship with vital evil, you become yoked to
that which is wrong and you thereby disobey your Lord.

   Be willing to lovingly tell of scriptural problems, as God may use
you to restore brothers who are overtaken in a fault (Galations 6:1).

   A Christian's primary allegiance is to the Lord. Whose disciple he
is, and then to the local church to which his Lord has directed him.

   Church discipline-when did it die? In I Corinthians 5 the church was
told not to keep company with the man who was guilty of fornication and
was put out of the fellowship. Has this sin, along with the others
mentioned, passed away or are local churches afraid to discipline for
one reason. If we discipline a member, he'll go across town to another
church.

   Discipline is not meant to be punitive, but restorative. It must be
exercised impartially and definitely or the integrity of the Lordship
of Christ, ruling in the local church by the Word of God, is sadly
abused. Paul gives example of church discipline, from public rebuke to
delivering a man to Satan for the destruction of his body.

   In the old days, churches had discipline benches on which those
being disciplined sat for a period of time before full restoration.
That must have embarrassed them, you say. Yes, it did; no one likes
public punishment, and it is clear in the bible that public punishment
is what church discipline is all about. (See II Thessalonians 3:14).

   What about ex-communication? Is it scriptural? this seems to be the
case in I Corinthians 5, and if restoration is aimed at, it seems to be
in line. But often the excommunicated person just goes across town to
another church, or moves away from town to start from scratch in a new
church. Because this new church is trying to grow, it often welcomes
with open arms even those known to have had discipline problems in
previous churches. In most cases, the new church has paid dearly for
this with the new member causing as much problem as he did in his old
church.

   If a Christian is scripturally ex-communicated by a church, it is
clear what the attitude of other Christians should be. This person
should not be treated as an enemy and actual efforts at restoration
should be maid. An actual instance that demonstrated the laxity of the
enforcement of church discipline took place when a young couple who
were scripturally ex-communicated from a church settled elsewhere in
the U.S., and were not scripturally restored. They had a part in two
church splits and then were welcomed in responsible positions in
Christian service.

   Church discipline should be honored among churches of like faith.
Reading Mathew 18:18 in context seems to be stressing the fact that
scriptural discipline is exercised by a local church in obedience to
Christ. Another local church failing to honor that discipline is
abrogating the Lordship of Christ.

   Chapter 4 THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST AND EVANGELISM

   It is imperative that in the outworking of the Great Commission of
the Church, evangelism, we keep the Lordship of Christ in the right
perspective. While there are human tendencies that would endanger this,
there is ample scriptural truth that should keep us on the right track.

   Since we must have a reason for doing anything, we will start by
considering our motive for evangelism. Strange to say, this has so
often been mis-stated that many Christians think that the basic motive
for evangelism is a burden for souls. While every Christian should feel
burdened for those outside of Christ, as valid as this feeling might
be, it can never be thought of as our basic motive.

   Christ is Lord; Christ told us to evangelize. Our basic motive must
be obedience to Him. He said, "If ye love me, keep my commandments, "
and He commanded "Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to
every creature."

   If we evangelize when we feel a burden, our evangelistic activity is
based upon the depth of our feeling, not on the Lordship of Christ. If
we wait to feel led, then we'll only evangelize when we feel led. Our
Lord plainly told us to evangelize.

   Neither should our primary motive be to get results. If this is our
prime motivation, we will be willing to present a shallow message that
doesn't truly glorify our Lord Jesus Christ in order to get results.

   We must also remember that evangelism and winning arguments are not
synonymous. The winning of arguments is a totally human endeavor.
People can win arguments even when they are wrong. The winning of an
argument often alienates the loser so that our audience is lost.
Winning an argument proves how smart I am; evangelism displays the
perfection of my Saviour.

   Neither do we evangelize by calling attention to all the things that
are wrong with the person's religion or life. We don't evangelize
Catholics by talking about immoral popes or priest-nun relationships,
or Mormons by ridiculing the teen-aged "prophet" who continually dug
for "buried treasure". We evangelize by preaching the scriptural
perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   We must never sully the Gospel messages with half-truth,
exaggerations, undue sensationalism or undocumented stories. Be zealous
for the truth, as it is the truth that sets men free.

   God doesn't decry our human abilities. He gave them to us, but the
preaching of the Gospel is something that demands the operation of the
Holy Spirit for success. Our activity must always be empowered by Him.
He will not witness to our well-thought-up philosophical arguments or
our astute logic. He will bear witness to the truth of God's Word;
therefore we must always use this, His Sword, in our evangelistic
efforts.

   In this present age, there are a number of religious thoughts that
militate against the Lordship of Christ by impugning His Person and
Work. We should understand these, but always remember that the correct
way to refute them is to present Christ, for when He is faithfully
presented, the error of these will be obvious.

   Millions from various denominations embrace some form of sacramental
salvation. A sacrament is a religious ceremony performed by one on
behalf of another. In this way grace is received as a means toward
salvation. Catholics have 7 sacraments; most Protestant groups have
two. The number doesn't matter; the error is in supposing that the
actual essence of saving grace is sacramentally administered.

   There are four reasons why sacramental salvation is invalid; and all
four hinge on the Lordship of Christ and Him being the Infinite Saviour.

   (1) Sacramrnts are unscriptural. While Roman Catholics claim that
all their sacraments were begun by Christ, you can search the New
Testament and you will not find one place where any one of the seven
sacraments was used as a means toward salvation. If God had meant them
to be His method of salvation, He would have made it crystal-clear in
the Bible, for therein are all things pertaining to salvation.

   (2) The moment of effectual grace is the moment of application of
the sacrament to man; therefore sacraments are subjective in nature.
The actual saving work of Christ is Objective and is not lessoned or
increased by any subjective experience.

   (3) In the administration of sacraments, human instrumentality is
essential. Even if the saving grace flowing to the sacrament were
efficacious, the toughing of this by a human administrator would sully
it. This is why true Bible salvation is administered soley by the Holy
Spirit, Who imparts no imperfection to the saving grace that He
administers.

   (4) Sacraments don't give assurance of salvation. A Catholic could
avail himself of every one of the Sacraments during his life-time and.
just before death, commit a mortal sin that would send him to Hell.
Even Catholic authors admit that, having done everything possible for
salvation and having received the last Sacrament, "one may go straight
to Heaven." (Rev. G.P. Dwyer, PURGATORY). We must also consider
Baptismal Regeneration. This is the first of Roman Catholic sacraments,
and one of two in many Protestant churches. According to C.H. Spurgeon,
"baptismal regeneration has sent more people to hell than any other
error." But, not to just take his word for it, let's see what the Bible
says. John 1:13 says the New Birth is not of the will of man. Every
baptism, whether Catholic or Baptist, can only be effected if the will
of man is employed. Yet Catholic teaching is very explicit: baptism is
being born again, regenerated. This supposed regenerative act is
effected by the proper application of water and the recitation of the
proper formula, both of which require the will of man. God said this
could not be the New Birth.

   There is always a human tendency to want to do something to aid in
one's own salvation. It is not normal to want to completely rule out
self-effort. Even some evangelicals talk about one's being willing to
pay the price for salvation. That is utter nonsense; the price has
already been paid.

   In St. Peter's Catechism (1972), it states: "The sin of presumption
is believing that you can be saved by God alone...without your own
efforts." While it is an eyeopener to read this in print, I already
mentioned about Rev. Despars, a Roman Catholic priest, publicly stating
that Jesus did "about 90%" of the work for our salvation. It is clear
to see that such assessments of the work of Christ can immedidiately be
reduced to foolishness when a clear biblical presentation is made of
His perfect, substitutionary work of atonement on Calvary. And it is to
this complete work of a perfect Saviour that the Holy Spirit will
witness, thus bringing the person to a place where human response is
possible, and actual regeneration and salvation become effective.

   In recent years the Roman Catholic Church has been playing down the
medieval consept of Purgatory. Regarding this place of cleansing, the
Irish used to sing:

   "O place of happy pains,

   And land of dear desires;

   Where love divine detains

   Glad souls among sweet fires."

   Today, some theologians are not sure if ther really are fires in
Purgatory, or if punishment and cleansing after death are accomplished
by one great blast of judgement. But the concept of necessary cleansing
after death is still present; one Catholic group, specializing in
praying for souls in Purgatory, sent out this idea:

   "One day, you and I will die.

   "Our remains will be laid to rest, to return to the earth that is
the mother of our physical man. Within a year, many people will have
forgotten our name. Even to those who love us most, our face will
become unclear...though the ache to be with us again may only grow
greater.

   "Our soul goes straight to God. We see our Creator...the Love that
brought us into being to know Him and serve Him. It is so clear to us
that we cry out, 'Oh, my God, why did I ever sin against such Love! If
I could only live my life again.' We cannot stay with such goodness
until we ourselves have atoned.

   "That is why God, in His mercy, gave us Purgatory...

   "Because sins can be forgiven 'in the world to come'...the world
that comes with our death and detention in purgatory--our infallible
mother, the Church, sets November aside for us to aid our dear dead on
their way to Heaven..." (Marianhill Fathers, Dearborn, Michigan)

   According to St. Peter's Catechism, "Purgatory is a middle state
where souls destined for heaven are detained and purified. Those souls
go to Purgatory who die in a state of grace gut are guilty of venial
sin or have not fully satisfied for the temporal punishment due to
their sins of which the guilt has been forgiven. All souls in purgatory
will go to heaven when they have attoned for their sins." (No. 206,
207,212)

   While the idea of the necessity of being cleansed from remaining sin
is clearly logical to the Catholic mind, it is repulsive to the
Christian. Why? Simply because we have been cleansed by a perfect
Saviour and have now received the atonement: reconciliation with God
through the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. To
imply further cleansing is necessary, is an insult to Him.

   If you were invited to a friend's house for a special dinner, you
would expect that the housewife had properly washed her dishes and
silverware. To sit at the table and clean your silverware with your
handkerchief would be grossly insulting to the hostess. So it is with
the theory of purgatory. The only sins left to cleanse in purgatory
would be the sins that Christ had not cleansed, and the Bible says that
His blood cleanses from ALL sin (I John 1:7). Furthermore, we have the
precious words of the Roman Catholic Confraternity New Testament
(Hebrews 1:3): "Christ has effected man's purgation from sin." No
thought of Purgatory there!

   You could argue about purgatory from the standpoint of logic, or
medieval tales or of theological differences among Catholic
theologians. But by far the only scriptural way is to underline the
perfect work of Christ; this annihilates any thought of Purgatory.

   Doctrinally, the biggest problem is the Roman Catholic Mass.
Theologians have stated over and over again that it is the Mass that
matters. With its validity Roman Catholicism stands or falls. We can
argue about substance and accidents, transsubstatiation, the Tridentine
Mass, the gestures and vestments used. We could win all the arguments
and still miss the point.

   The Council of Trent said, "The Sacrafice of the Mass is a true,
proper and propitiatory sacrifice for the sins of the living and the
dead." Too out-of-date, you say? St. Peter's Catechsim (1972), page 48,
states, "The Mass is a real sacrifice because in it a Victim is offered
for the purpose of reconciling man with God."

   What does the Bible say?

   Hebrews 10:12-"But this man (Jesus), after he had offered one
sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God."

   Hebrews 10:14-"For by one offering He hath perfected forever them
that are sanctfied."

   Hebrews 10:17, 18-"And their sins and iniquities will I remember no
more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for
sin."

   Is there a need to argue or debate? Let the Word of God, the Sword
of the Spirit, cut deep into the hearts and convince men and women who
are relying on Masses, sacraments, prayers, merits or works-JESUS PAID
IT ALL!

   Thus, in every aspect of our life for Christ, our testimony is that
of Peter in Acts 10:36, "He is Lord of all." When we first came to Him
for salvation, as we live our Christian lives daily, as we meet
together in a local church and as we win the lost to Him. This is the
one truth above all truths; upon this blessed revelation Christ is
building His Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

   This ariticle originated on the Salvation Online Network