Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross

Over 75 Free Online Bible Commentaries
Pulpit
Expositors
Keil & Delitzsch
Matthew Henry

by James P. Shelly

INTRODUCTION

"TRUTH, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. For in the Scriptures we ought to seek profit rather than polished diction. Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. God speaks to us in many ways without regard for persons." - Thomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 1400's.


If the truth of the gospel contained in Scripture is the sole means appointed by God whereby the soul can be saved, then it is that truth alone which is interpreted as God intended that can be appropriated wherein it accomplishes its designed purpose. When we stand before God in Judgment, the only truth that will be relevant is that which He alone has determined. Since God declares in His Word that we must worship Him in "spirit and truth," it is of no little consequence that we are found doing so on that Day. Thus we are constantly warned in Scripture to "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing" (Matt. 7:15). In other words, beware of those who might appear to be shepherds of the flock of God while in actuality, whether knowingly or in ignorance, they stand in direct opposition to Him. We are therefore admonished, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). Here Scripture warns us, not of a few false teachers, but many. The Apostle Paul warns us in Acts 20:29, 30, that they will arise from within the church; "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." This has been the case throughout the history of the church and would seem particularly so in our day. It is as Paul stated in 2 Timothy 3:13, "evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." Therefore, it should not be at all perplexing to find that after 2000 years the church would be inundated with deception and that the "wolves" have exponentially increased among the flock of God, deceiving and being deceived. Therefore, since Scripture has warned us beforehand, we must be careful not to rest with a complacent reliance on the words of fallible men as if hoping by chance that they are correct in their understanding of the means appointed by God whereby salvation is obtained, lest we risk eternal ruin. It is the height of folly to be so remiss as to risk the loss of the soul based on the popularity, personality, or eloquence by which one's view of the gospel is presented without a careful investigation into the original document whereupon these views are founded—The only means God has provided whereby we can decisively and resolutely discern between truth and error (Acts 17:11, Ps. 119:160). Therefore it is essential that we be diligent in the pursuit of truth, earnest in prayer, searching His Word, that we might worship Him in the way in which He requires of us. When it comes to opposing views on how the soul can be saved from eternal death, we cannot simply agree to disagree as if opposing views were acceptable to God. This is not only contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture (Gal. 1:8, 9) but exceedingly foolish and must be left to the apathetic and shallow-minded.

In the 1700s, GeorgeWhitefield, who played a vital role in the great awakening, said in a sermon entitled True Conversion,

I suppose I may take it for granted, that all of you, among whom I am now about to preach the kingdom of God, are fully convinced, that it is appointed for all men once to die, and that ye all really believe that after death comes the judgment, and that the consequences of that judgment will be, that ye must be doomed to dwell in the blackness of darkness, or ascend to dwell with the blessed God, forever and ever. I may take it for granted also, that whatever your practice in common life may be, there is not one, though ever so profligate and abandoned, but hopes to go to that place, which the scriptures call Heaven, when he dies. And, I think, if I know anything of mine own heart, my heart's desire, as well as my prayer to God, for you all, is, that I may see you sitting down in the kingdom of our heavenly Father. But then, though we all hope to go to heaven when we die, yet, if we may judge by people's lives, and our Lord says, 'that by their fruits we may know them,' I am afraid it will be found, that thousands, and ten thousands, who hope to go to this blessed place after death, are not now in the way to it while they live. Though we call ourselves Christians, and would consider it as an affront put upon us, for any one to doubt whether we were Christians or not; yet there are a great many, who bear the name of Christ, that yet do not so much as know what real Christianity is (emphasis added).1

The sum of the matter is this. There is what Whitefield calls a "real Christianity" and therefore by contrast a counterfeit Christianity. There is the true message of the cross which results in eternal life and a counterfeit message which results in eternal death. Our objective in the following pages is to establish the former and to refute the latter. Therefore, considering the profound importance of the issue at hand, I would ask of the reader to soberly and solemnly consider the arguments presented herein with an open mind and, more importantly, an open Bible. The various arguments presented in these pages are not based on the authority of the writer, who has none; not on opinions, feelings, intuitions, emotions, or the experiences of professing Christians, but solely on God’s word as it is written, with over 2000 Scriptural references. We would note as well that we intentionally use quotes of those throughout church history who hold to differing doctrinal positions within the body of Christ; Calvinists and Armenians, Baptists, Presbyterians, etc., to show that there is broad agreement in the interpretation of the Scriptural references used in making the case for the arguments herein addressed.

It is our heartfelt prayer that God would grant to the reader, by His grace, that truth which he desires in the inward parts, and in the hidden part, that which makes one wise to salvation (Ps. 51:6). Although we stumble in many ways (James 3:2), we cannot stumble at the truth of the gospel, for to do so is to procure for ourselves, an eternal fall from which there is no recovery. God’s truth always tends to the good of our eternal well-being, therefore irrespective of the extent to which we might be pained and aggrieved in finding that our own understanding is at odds with the truth of God’s word, if we reject it, we do so at the expense of the eternal soul. A price so exorbitant only a fool would ever contemplate such squander. We cannot envision a more traumatic and catastrophic experience than that of standing before Christ in the Day of Judgement, claiming “simply to the cross I cling” only to hear the words of the Lord, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23). Coming to the devastating realization of having embraced an erroneous gospel and thus find that we were clinging to a counterfeit cross.

CHAPTER ONE

Perverting the Gospel - The Ultimate Sin Against Humanity

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Comments (2)

Andrewsays...

See also the Gospel message and mission given to the Apostle Paul in Acts 26:

15 “Then I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“ ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ the Lord replied. 16 ‘Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen and will see of me. 17 I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them 18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’

19 “So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven. 20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.

Lizsays...

"By their fruits you shall know them".

In context, Matthew 7:16 is not about believers doing works to prove salvation. It's about false prophets in verse 15.

Ironic, given your point.

Salvation is a work of grace. Entirely apart from our works.

James - Webmastersays...

Liz, in Luke 6:43-46 we have Christ addressing people in general with the same principal that He speaks of in Matt. 7:16,

"For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”

So when Whitfield says of people in general “you will know them be their fruits” he is speaking a general truth found everywhere in Scripture.

Matthew 13:23

And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

Matthew 12:33

“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Matthew 21:43

Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people, producing the fruit of it.

John 15:2-5

Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bearfruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.

Romans 7:4

Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God.

Ephesians 5:8-10

For you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Philippians 1:10-12

So that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

Colossians 1:10

So that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;

Hebrews 12:11

All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.

That “Salvation is a work of grace” no one denies. However, that the work of grace does not necessarily result in “good fruit” is denied throughout Scripture. The work of the Spirit makes it certain (1 Jn 3:9, 10, etc.) . We are given new hearts according to His promise Ezek 36:26, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances” and this new heart makes the tree good and therefore it bears good fruit, i.e.,the fruit of the Spirit. “For it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12). The purpose of God in sending His son was to turn us from sin to righteousness, “God raised up His Servant and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways” (Acts 3:26). Those turned from their wicked ways now walk in the righteous way bearing fruit to the glory of God. It is all by grace.

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Footnotes

1. George Whitefield (December 16, 1714 – September 29, 1770) was an Anglican Protestant minister who helped spread the Great Awakening in Britain and, especially, in the British North American colonies. Though he was slender in build, he stormed in the pulpit as if he were a giant. Within a year it was said that “his voice startled England like a trumpet blast” …For thirty-four years his preaching resounded throughout England and America. Biography of George Whitefield (http: //www.ccel.org/w/ whitefield/)

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