Things New and Old

Ancient truths revealed in the Scriptures are often forgotten, disbelieved or distorted, and therefore lost in the passage of time. Such ancient truths when rediscovered and relearned are 'new' additions to the treasury of ancient truths.

Christ showed many new things to the disciples, things prophesied by the prophets of old but hijacked and perverted by the elders and their traditions, but which Christ reclaimed and returned to His people.

Many things taught by the Apostles of Christ have been perverted or substituted over the centuries. Such fundamental doctrines like salvation by grace and justification have been hijacked and perverted and repudiated by sincere Christians. These doctrines need to be reclaimed and restored to God's people.

There are things both new and old here. "Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things"
2Ti 2:7.

Wednesday, October 6, 2021

Private Interpretation vs Scriptural Interpretation

 

October 6, 2019
https://www.facebook.com/sing.f.lau/posts/10214717576828531

#Private_Interpretation vs #Scriptural_Interpretation

2 Peter 1:20 KJV
Knowing this first,
that no prophecy of the scripture
is of any private interpretation.

Understanding the above Scripture will help you to rightly divide the word of truth as well as saves you from many popular errors.

Let me give you a classic example.

Justification by faith alone, the popular sola fide, is a private interpretation of one German monk named Martin Luther.

Why? He contradicted James, so the idea is most certainly wrong.

James 2:24
"Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."

BOTH works and faith justify a man, not by faith only; BOTH the works of righteousness and the faith of a man certify, demonstrate, declare, evidence, testify, and vindicate that he HAS BEEN freely justified by God. They both justify evidentially, and experientially; they declare the justified state of the man. ONLY a man whom God has freely justified is able to believe and do righteous works.

Luther's mother church (RCC) teaches that both works and faith as the necessary instrumental means for a man to be justified before God. Luther hacked off one of those two gangrenous limbs and held fast to the other gangrenous limb. Neither works nor the faith of a man is instrumental, in any sense whatever, in his justification.

Why? Let's hear Apostle Paul.

Luther contradicted Apostle Paul too:
Romans 3:24 KJV — Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

A condemned man (i.e. an unjustified man) is justified freely by God's grace; so, Luther's interpretation is private, contradicted Apostle Paul's teaching, and not conforming to the Scriptures.

A man is justified by God FREELY by His grace, that is, not by anything in the man, or anything a man does, not even his faith. An unjustified man, still in his native state of condemnation and death, CAN'T possibly believe in order to be justified by God.

Sola Fidei is just a fable.

And here:
Romans 5:9 KJV — Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

The life and death of Jesus Christ is the basis and ground of God's sovereign gracious work of justifying condemned sinners; God justifies condemned sinners freely, that is, by His grace, without the condemned doing anything to be justified because they are incapable of any!

Having been justified freely by God's grace, and regenerated (God's act of applying righteousness to a sinner personally gives ground and warrant for the Holy Spirit to execute His work of quickening the dead), a regenerated elect is capable of faith and good works.

Faith and good works justify a man in the same way; they demonstrate and vindicate his justified state by the free grace of God, based solely upon the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ. Heartbeats and breath demonstrate and vindicate that the dead man has been made alive; heartbeats and breath are not means to bring a dead man to life.

Breath demonstrates/justifies that a dead man has been quickened; his breathing is not the instrument for him to be quickened from the dead. The dead are incapable of utilizing any instrument or means in order to be quickened. It is that elementary.

Do you see now that the popular sola fide is a lie that repudiates the gospel; it repudiates grace; it perverts an evidence of justification into an instrumental cause of justification; it turns an effect of justification into the means to obtain justification.

2 Corinthians 11:14 KJV — And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.