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| "Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made..." |
Gen 3:1a
"Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which
the LORD God had made..."
2Co 11:3
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in
Christ.
Can you imagine, the devil having perverted and twisted a fundamental gospel truth
and turned it into a lie in such a subtle manner that few among the multitudes of
God's children are aware of the horrid thing that has happened. Worse still, the great scholars among the children of God actually exert their great minds to vigorously defend the
lie of the devil, but reject the plain truth of God.
You ask, “what is it?” It is what Apostle Paul deals with in Galatians 2.
It is THE truth of THE gospel. It has been substituted with a subtle
lie, and that lie has been received, and defended, and is propagated as the truth of
the gospel. Is there a greater tragedy than this?
The truth of the gospel: a man is justified by the faith OF Jesus
Christ.
The lie of the devil: a man is justified by his faith IN Jesus Christ.
The Mother Harlot teaches:
- a man is justified by BOTH his faith and his works.
She anathematizes those who believe otherwise.
The Harlot’s daughters and their followers rebelled, and have been teaching, and defending:
- a man is justified by his faith ALONE.
The Spirit of Christ revealed to Apostle Paul:
- a man is justified by the faith OF Jesus Christ.
Galatians 2
5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the
truth of the gospel might continue with you.
15 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but BY
THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might
be JUSTIFIED BY THE FAITH OF CHRIST, and not by the works of the law: for by
the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also
are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid.
20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live , BY THE
FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by
the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
Righteousness comes by the faith of Christ, i.e. Christ’s faithfulness in His work of redemption for His people.
Righteousness comes by the faith of Christ, i.e. Christ’s faithfulness in His work of redemption for His people.
The justification of a condemned sinner before God is by the faith of
Jesus Christ; it is NOT by his faith in Christ. A man's faith in Christ is a work
of righteousness; the act of believing in Christ is an act of obedience rendered to a
command of God by one ALREADY justified. An unjustified man, in his native state
of condemnation and death cannot possibly believe!
Rom 3:23 "Being justified FREELY by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
Isn't this a clear as the noon day sun! Man's faith, i.e. his act of believing, is not in the equation of his justification before God. His justification is FREELY by God's grace (i.e nothing is required of the unjustified, i.e. condemned, man), and it is SQUARELY and SOLELY and WHOLLY through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.
Rom 3:23 "Being justified FREELY by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus."
Isn't this a clear as the noon day sun! Man's faith, i.e. his act of believing, is not in the equation of his justification before God. His justification is FREELY by God's grace (i.e nothing is required of the unjustified, i.e. condemned, man), and it is SQUARELY and SOLELY and WHOLLY through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ.
"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works
of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye
believe on him whom he hath sent."
John 6:28-29.
Believing in Jesus Christ is a work commanded and required by God of His children. It is true of them, and the law requires them to believe it.
Your justification before God is by the faithfulness of Christ in His
work of redemption, the faithfulness that secured the righteousness needed for
the justification of His people. "I have finished the work which thou
gavest me to do" John 17:4. "And behold a white horse; and he that
sat upon him was called Faithful and True," Rev 19:11
You frustrate the grace of God if you believe that the righteousness
necessary for your justification comes by the law, i.e. by your obedience to
God's law/command to believe in Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul spells out the necessary implication of such idea, aptly, "then Christ is dead in vain."
You are saying that Christ's righteousness and blood are redundant, unnecessary!
You are saying that Christ's righteousness and blood are redundant, unnecessary!
