You Are Clean, But Not All of You

"You are clean, but not all of you." (John 13:10)

How is it that there are Christian believers who can read this passage, not have a clue what it is talking about, and then falsely teach that "we need a daily foot-washing like Jesus did for Peter because 'we are clean, but not all of us'"? How can these false teachers claim that we need daily foot-washings in order to be forgiven and cleansed?

You would have to be completely illiterate to read this passage and not understand the context, what is being said, and who is being talked about.

First of all, this passage is about Jesus displaying an extreme example of servitude. The epistles talk about ow we ought to be serving one another, put one another ahead of ourselves, and looking out for one another.

Verse 11 tells you exactly who Jesus is talking about when He says "but not all of you." He was talking about Judas. Christian "leaders" who mangle and twist verses like this need to be forced to step down. Is no one in their congregation wise and discerning? Do none of them hold ignorant clowns like this accountable for what is being said and taught? It is no wonder so many believers are so confused and delusional with their various man-made theologies.

There is a reason why Scripture says that not many should be teachers—because you do not have a clue what in the world you are talking about!

So many people worship the ground John MacArthur walks on, and are ignorant to the plethora of false teachings that he teaches. Many of his teachings are self-contradictory, while others contradict other teachings he has done. His own beliefs contradict each other. How can you live being a double-minded man? I could write an entire series of blog articles on the various false teachings that MacArthur and his lackey, Phil Johnson, espouse. But that would be pointless. My only goal (unless it is absolutely necessary) is to expose Scripture to people and let them see with their own eyes what it has to say. Verse-by-verse exposition does not take into account the big picture. Quite often, you will see preachers who use this method contradicting themselves when they come to a similar or parallel passage found in the synoptic gospels or other parts of Scripture.

If your church "leaders" are giving you false information concerning this passage in John, I suggest you run, and run quickly before they get their barbs in you and you start believing their theological lies.

You Are Not Under Law

When Christians talk about not being under the Law, do we truly understand precisely what that means?

Have you ever bothered to pay attention when you are reading Romans 7? Romans 7 is all about Paul's encounter with the Law—before he was a Christian. If you pay attention to the context of verses 7 through 12, then verses 15 and 19 make complete sense. When you attempt to live by the Law, you can expect more sinning—not less.

"The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more." (Romans 5:20)

Did you catch that? The Law demands human effort to spring into action, and the inevitable result is failure. If you put yourself under the Law, or any set of rules, you will fail every single time. That is because being under the Law arouses sinful passions.

"For when we were in the realm of the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in us, so that we bore fruit for death." (Romans 7:5)

Yes, you read that correctly: Sinful passions are aroused by the Law. When you are invited to a life of Law, you are invited to a life of sin. As I said earlier, if you attempt to live by the Law you can expect more sinning, not less.

"But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of coveting. For apart from the law, sin was dead." (Romans 7:8)

I hope you caught that. Sin seizes an opportunity through the commandment. The Law affords sin an opportunity to thrive. If you place yourself under the Law, then sin will master you every time.

"The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law." (1 Corinthians 15:56)

I hope you were paying attention. The power of sin is increased under the Law. Sin is excited under the Law. The Law breeds defeat if you are honest, and hypocrisy if you are not.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul refers to the Ten Commandments as a "ministry of condemnation" and a "ministry of death." It could never make anyone perfect or righteous because it was "weak" and "useless" (Hebrews 7:18-19).

"For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law." (Galatians 3:21b)

Torah observance is anti-Christ! If you are flirting with Moses, then you are cheating on Jesus. You cannot attempt to date the Law. We broke up!

"So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God." (Romans 7:4)

"But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." (Romans 7:6)

Did you catch that? We have been released from the Law! Any groups that attempt to keep any part of the Law are delusional and ignorant of Scripture, especially the New Covenant and the Gospel. Tweaking the Law to make it manageable does not work. If you break even one, you are guilty of breaking them all (James 2:10). That is why Jesus freed us from it.

For the Reformed believers who parrot the Ten Commandments every Sunday, you would do well to read Galatians.

"Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law." (Galatians 5:3)

The Law is not divided into three parts. Man has attempted to do this, but to Yahweh God the entire Law is one complete whole. Those who refer to the Ten Commandments as the "moral law" are ignorant of Scripture. Only the last six are moral. Commands against incest, homosexuality, and bestiality are also moral. In arguing for the Ten Commandments, these people actually only mean Nine, since they ignore and disobey the 4th commandment, which means no late-night e-mails on Friday and no Saturday yard work. In their ignorance, these people attempt to argue for Sunday as the "Christian Sabbath." There is no such thing! If you want to attempt to keep the Ten Commandments, you are obligated to keep the entire thing! There is no cherry picking.

If the Reformed believers bother to pay attention, according to 2 Corinthians 3 and Romans 7, we can conclude the following:

1. The Ten Commandments showed Paul what sin was.
2. Sin seizes an opportunity through the Ten Commandments.
3. Apart from the Ten Commandments, sin is dead.

We are not to live under the Ten Commandments. The Law, any part of it, has no place in the Christian's life! If we choose to live by the Ten Commandments, then we choose to experience the "ministry of death" and the "ministry of condemnation" as sin seizes an opportunity within us. Romans 7:9-11 is the true effect of the Ten Commandments in a person's life. Only apart from the Ten Commandments can we live free from sin.

Would a police officer ever write a speeding ticket for a dead man? Of course not! The man has died to the law and is no longer under its jurisdiction. The same is true of Christians. When Jesus was crucified, we were crucified with Him. We have died to the Law. The Law has no jurisdiction over us (Romans 7:1, 4). The Law has no place in the Christian's life! The Bible informs us that Jesus is the end of the Law for the believer.

When the New Covenant Scriptures tell us that we are not under the Law, it means we are NOT under the Law! You cannot put new wine into old wine skins. You cannot marry parts of the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The New Covenant is radically new, and the Old Covenant has been made completely obsolete.

Here is your relationship to the Law, Christian:

• You are dead to the Law (Romans 7:4, 5; Galatians 2:19).
• You are not under the Law (Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:18).
• You are free from the Law (Romans 7:2, 4).
• You are not supervised by the Law (Galatians 3:25).
• The requirements of the Law have been fully met in you (Romans 8:3-4).
• The Law is set aside (Ephesians 2:14-15; Hebrews 7:18).
• Jesus is the end of the Law for you who believe (Romans 10:4).
• You do not serve in the old way of the law (Romans 7:6).
• You serve in the newness and freedom of the Spirit (Romans 7:6; Galatians 5:13).

There are many ignorant people out there who think that if you preach the fullness of the grace of God, it will lead to more sinning. They think that by preaching the grace of God you are giving people a license to sin. They have not been paying attention. They are projecting what is in their own hearts upon other people while feigning that they are concerned about "other" believers and what they will do. I have just shown you that by attempting to keep the Law or any part of the Law, or any rules or principles in general, you will meet with nothing but failure, guilt, and more sinning. Every. Single. Time. Grace, on the other hand, leads to less sinning. People need more grace of the Lord in their lives, not less.

Do you want to see what following any list of dos and don'ts amounts to?

"Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world why, as thought you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." (Colossians 2:20-23)

Rules will not keep you on the right road with God. If you think otherwise, I suggest you return to the top of this article are re-read the verses shared. The reason you believe the way you do is because you were taught poorly by individuals ignorant of the Scriptures, the New Covenant, and the Gospel. The Law is not based on faith (Galatians 3:12). What does God's Word say in Habakkuk 2:4, Galatians 3:11, Romans 1:17, and Hebrews 10:38? "The righteous shall live BY FAITH!"

"I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts." (Hebrews 8:10b)

What does this mean? Take notice of the plurality: laws, not Law. This is not the 613 commands of the Law; this is not the Ten Commandments; and this is not the two greatest commandments of the Law! So what is this? In John 13:34, Jesus gives us a new commandment (which was against the Law to do). The apostle John picks up this same idea in 1 John 3:23: "And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son, Christ Jesus, and to love one another as He commanded us." To believe and to love are the laws written on the Christian's heart. Love is the true fulfillment of the Law (Romans 13:10) and love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). The Spirit is inspiring us to bear the fruit (singular) of the Spirit because "against such there is no law" (Galatians 5:23).

When the Bible says that we are not under the Law, it literally means that we are NOT under the Law! So stop trying to live as if you are. Live free. Learn your true identity in Christ Jesus and rest in His finished work.

The New Covenant

It is a fearful thing to enter the presence of Yahweh God. No one is good enough, and no one has that right. If even an animal sets foot on that mountain when Yahweh is there, run it through with a spear—it has no right to be so close. When the Ark of the Covenant was returned to Israel, some of the men of Beth Shemesh just had to look inside, so Yahweh killed them and struck the people with a plague. The lesson was clear: "Who can stand in the presence of Yahweh, this holy God?" (1 Sam. 6:20). No man has that right. Uzzah failed to learn from history and put out his hand to steady the ark as it was being transported to Jerusalem. When he touched it, he died. He had no right to come so close. Even Levite priests had no right—they too must stay back. Of that priestly clan, only those of the family of Aaron could go beyond the curtain, only the high priest. But even he could dare approach only once a year, and that only after careful preparations were made and prescriptions followed. If he violated those prescriptions he would be struck dead. No man has the right to enter beyond the veil into the presence of Yahweh.

Now do we understand exactly what it was that Jesus accomplished for us? Jesus accomplished everything so that we can come into the presence of Yahweh God.

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Hebrews 10:19-22

Under the Old Covenant, your conscience was never free of your sin. Because you had to offer sacrifices for your sins every year, you were always reminded of them. They were never forgiven, only covered, like putting a bandaid on. Your sin always loomed over your head. When God talked about the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34; Heb. 8:8-12), He said that it would be "not like the covenant which I made with their fathers," which is the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant. The New Covenant is radically new. He said "I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." Where was your sin dealt with? At the cross. When Jesus was crucified, all your sins were future. The idea that you could have future sins that have not been forgiven is nonsensical. When you come to Christ Jesus in faith, all your sins are forgiven and forgotten. Forever! Because Jesus lives, His sacrifice is an eternal one and therefore your sins can be completely forgiven for all time.

Jesus was "born under the Law to redeem those under the Law" (Gal. 4:4-5). He lived under the Old Covenant. He had a two-fold ministry. First, much of what He said, His difficult teachings, was intended to increase the weight of the Law upon the people to demonstrate the impossibility of keeping it so that they would become distressed and look for something better. Second, He was preparing the way for grace. Under the New Covenant, God, through Jesus, accomplishes everything on our behalf and in our place. This is why Jesus said, "It is finished!" He accomplished everything. There is nothing left for us to do except to say, "Thank you!"

Now do we understand the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant? Now do we understand the biblical Gospel? Now do we understand grace? More grace will not lead to more sinning. In fact, it leads to the opposite in those who have been truly touched by the grace of God and who correctly understand it.

The Believer's Heart

Here is why it is so completely important that a preacher actually understands the Bible and conveys it properly.

Your heart is not "wicked," Christian! As a reminder, when the Bible speaks of your "heart," it actually means your mind. The heart organ is only capable of pumping blood throughout your body; everything else we attribute to the "heart" are actually properties of the mind. Yes, Jeremiah 17:9 says, "The heart is deceitful," but that is before Yahweh God's transformation in your life. The genuine Christian believer, upon placing their trust in the person and work of Jesus, has been given a new nature, a new heart, a new spirit, and new desires. Because of this, the believer's heart is righteous and obedient (Ezek. 36:26-27; Rom. 6:17).

Yahweh does not live in dirty places. He cleaned house and moved in. Your heart is not a "fixer-upper"; it is a pristine palace where Jesus resides (Eph. 3:17). Why do you mistrust the very place He chose as His dwelling?

The goal of our instruction is to "love from a pure heart" (1 Tim. 1:5). That is not wishful thinking, it is your reality. Yahweh gave you a heart that is pure—now live from it, whether in marriage, work, or life itself! Living from the heart is not some sentimental fluff. Stop overthinking, over-analyzing, and second-guessing. Trust the new desires Yahweh gave you (2 Pet. 1:3-4).

Sin is not the heart language of the Christian believer. Those rogue thoughts you experience? That is sin operating in you (Rom. 7:17). That is not personal sin, that is the entity of sin that God warned Cain about (Gen. 4:7). You will still be tempted by such thoughts, but you have the power to say "No!" to them (Rom. 6) because you have died  to sin. James describes what takes place when we give in to those temptations (James 1:13-15). Your new heart that Yahweh gave you is fluent in righteousness and eager to say "Yes!" to Yahweh.

Christians do not need "behaviour management" as if we are training some wild, savage beast. We have new hearts infused with Yahweh God's Spirit. The goal is not merely to "sin less," but to know Him and live from the heart He gave you! You are not "faking it 'til you make it"; you have already made it. You have been "made complete in Him" (Col. 2:10) and have been "perfected for all time" (Heb. 10:14). Yahweh ripped out your old heart of stone and replaced it with a new heart of flesh that is alive and fully His. The idea that you can "lose" or forfeit your salvation is nonsensical when you actually understand the New Covenant, the Gospel, and Yahweh's grace. When Yahweh spiritually transforms you and changes all these things (regenerating you, making you spiritually alive, giving you a new heart, etc.), unless you are somehow more powerful than God Himself, you cannot change any of that back to its former ways. It would be like a diamond trying to change itself back into a piece of coal.

"The Lord knows those who are His" (2 Tim. 2:19), so Christians need to stop placing themselves as Judge over others (especially those of differing denominations). Yahweh knows people's hearts. We do not. There are people around you who regularly attend service, read the Bible, pray, speak Christianese, etc., who will not make it into the Kingdom of God, and there are those who have seemingly left the faith (Do you know their struggles?) who we will see in the Kingdom of God because Yahweh "began a good work" in them and He is faithful "to bring it to completion" (Phil. 1:6), even if that is on our death bed. Maybe some of these believers encountered issues with the theology they were lead to believe and they mistakenly attributed that aberrant theology to Yahweh, and because they had no good Christians in their lives to help them with such things and get them back on track, the way Scripture tells us to (Gal. 6:1), it appears "they were never saved to begin with." It could very well be true, but we are not God. They may have fled from God, but if He began a work in them, He still has hold of them and will complete that work. Bank on it!

Stop striving and start living—from your new heart, where Jesus lives!

Origen Refutes Calvinism

So you believe that Calvinism is "biblical" and interprets the Bible "correctly"? Read Origen's apologetic against the Gnostics of his day and take note of the verses they used and what they taught. Notice the parallel with Calvinism. Origen refutes their interpretation and obliterates their beliefs.

"Let us observe how Paul, too, addresses us as having freedom of the will and as being our- selves the cause of ruin or salvation. He says, "You are treasuring up for yourself wrath on the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God—who will render to everyone according to his works." . . . There are, indeed, innumerable passages in the Scriptures that establish with exceeding clarity the existence of freedom of the will. But, since certain declarations of the Old Testament and of the New lead to the opposite conclusion-namely, that it does not depend on ourselves to keep the commandments and to be saved, or to transgress them and to be lost—let us examine them one by one and see the explanations. . . . The statements regarding Pharaoh have troubled many, respecting whom God declared several times, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart." For if he is hardened by God and commits sin because of being hardened, he is not the cause of sin to himself. If so, then Pharaoh does not possess free will. . . . There is also the declaration in Ezekiel, "I will take away their stony hearts and will put in them hearts of flesh so that they may walk in My precepts and keep My commandments." This might lead someone to think that it was God who gave the power to walk in His commandments and to keep His commandments—by His withdrawing the hindrance (the stony heart) and implanting a better heart of flesh. And let us look also at the passage in the Gospel . . . "That seeing they might not see and hearing they may hear and not understand. Lest they would be converted and their sins be forgiven them."

There is also the passage in Paul: "It is not of him that wills, nor of him that runs, but of God who shows mercy." Furthermore, there are declarations in other places that "both to will and to do are of God" and "that God has mercy upon whom He will have mercy; and whom He wishes, He hardens." . . . And also, "But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, 'Why have you made me like this?' Does the potter not have power over the clay—from the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonour?" Now, these passages are sufficient of themselves to trouble the multitude—as if man were not possessed of free will, but as if it were God who saves and destroys whom He wills. Let us begin, then, with what is said about Pharaoh—that he was hardened by God so that he would not send the people away. . . . Some of those who hold different opinions [i.e., the Gnostics] misuse these passages. They essentially destroy free will by introducing ruined natures incapable of salvation and by introducing others as being saved in such a way that they cannot be lost. . . . Let us now see what these passages mean. For we will ask them if Pharaoh was of a fleshly nature. And when they answer, we will say that he who is of a fleshly nature is altogether disobedient to God. And if he is disobedient, what need is there for his heart to be hardened—not only once, but frequently? Unless we are to think that . . . God needs him to be disobedient to a greater degree in order that He could manifest His mighty deeds for the salvation of the multitude. Therefore, God hardens his heart. This will be our answer to them in the first place.

Since we consider God to be both good and just, let us see how the good and just God could harden the heart of Pharaoh. Perhaps by an illustration used by the apostle in the Epistle to the Hebrews, we may be able to show that, by the same operation, God can show mercy on one man while he hardens another, although not intending to harden. . . . "The earth," he says, "drinks in the rain that often comes upon it and produces crops to those for whom it is farmed, receiving the blessing from God. But that which produces thorns and briers is worthless, and is in danger of being cursed. Its end is to be burned." . . . It may seem profane for the One who produces rain to say, "I produced both the fruit and the thorns that are in the earth." Yet, although seemingly profane, it is true. If the rain had not fallen, there would have been neither fruit nor thorns. . . . The blessing of the rain, therefore, fell even on the unproductive land. But since it was neglected and uncultivated, it yielded thorns and thistles. In the same way, the wonderful acts of God are like the rain. The differing purposes are like the cultivated and the neglected land. . . . If the sun had a voice, it might say, "I both liquefy and dry up." Although liquefying and drying are opposite things, the sun would not speak falsely on this point. For wax is melted and mud is dried up by the same heat. In the same way, the operation performed through the instrumentality of Moses, on the one hand, hardened Pharaoh (because of his own wickedness), and it softened the mixed Egyptian multitude, who departed with the Hebrews. . . . Now, suppose that the words the apostle addressed to sinners had been addressed to Pharaoh. Then, the announcements made to him will be understood to have been made with particular application. It is as to one who—according to his hardness and unrepentant heart—was treasuring up wrath for himself. For his hardness would not have been demonstrated nor made manifest unless miracles had been performed, particularly miracles of such magnitude and importance. . . .

If it is not we who do anything towards the production within ourselves of the heart of flesh—but if it is [all] God's doing—it would not be our own act to live agreeably to virtue. Rather, it would be altogether an act of divine grace. This would be the statements of one who from the mere words annihilates free will. But we will answer, saying that we should understand these passages in this way: It is like a man who happens to be ignorant and uneducated. On perceiving his own defects—either because of an exhortation from his teacher, or in some other way—he spontaneously gives himself up to an instructor whom he believes can educate him and teach him virtue. Now, on his yielding himself up, his instructor promises that he will take away the man's ignorance and implant instruction. Yet, it is not as if the student contributed nothing to his own training. . . . In the same way, the Word of God promises to take away wickedness (which it calls a stony heart) from those who come to Him. But not if they are unwilling to come. It is only if they submit themselves to the Physician of the sick. . . .

After this, there is the passage from the Gospel where the Saviour said, . . . "Seeing, they may not see, and hearing, they may not understand. Lest they would be converted and their sins be forgiven them." Now, our opponent [the Gnostics] will say . . . it is not within the power of such ones to be saved. If that were so, we are not possessed of free will as regards salvation and destruction. . . . In the first place, then, we must notice the passage in its bearing on the heretics, who . . . daringly assert the cruelty of the Creator of the world. . . . They say that goodness does not exist in the Creator. . . . Come, then, and let us (to the best of our ability) furnish an answer to the question submitted to us. . . . The Saviour . . . had foreseen them as persons who were not likely to prove steady in their conversion, even if they heard the words that were spoken more clearly. For that reason, they were treated this way by the Saviour. . . . Otherwise, after a rapid conversion and healing through obtaining remission of sins, they would despise the wounds of their wickedness, as being slight and easy to heal. As a result, they would again quickly relapse into them. . . .

"Shall the thing formed say to him who formed it, "Why have you made me this way?" Has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour and another unto dishonour?" . . . Now we must ask the person who uses these passages whether it is possible to conceive that the apostle contradicts himself. I presume that no one will venture to say it is. If, then, the apostle does not utter contradictions, how can he, according to the person who so understands him, justly find fault with anyone? How could he condemn the individual at Corinth who had committed fornication, or those who had fallen away? . . . And how could he bless those whom he praises as having done well? . . . It is not consistent for the same apostle to blame the sinner as worthy of censure and to praise him who had done well as deserving of approval—but yet, on the other hand, to say (as if nothing depended on ourselves that the cause was in the Creator for the one vessel to be formed to honour and the other to dishonour. . . . The power that is given us to enable us to conquer may be used—in accordance with our faculty of free will—either in a diligent manner (in which case, we prove victorious) or in a slothful manner (in which case, we are defeated). For if such a power were wholly given us in such a way that we would always prove victorious and never be defeated, what further reason would there be for a struggle—for such a one could not be overcome? Or what merit would there be in a victory, if the power of successful resistance is taken away? However, if the possibility of conquering is equally conferred on all of us—and if it is in our own power how to use this possibility (either diligently or slothfully)—then the defeated can be justly censured and the victor can be deservedly praised."

Calvinists use these exact same verses from Romans 9 to teach the exact same teachings the Gnostics believed. The early Congregation of the Lord condemned these beliefs as heresy and Origen refuted them beautifully. If you have been taught to believe Calvinism is "biblical," then reading Origen's apologetic should give you pause to reconsider your beliefs. If you are not willing to confront your own errors and correct them, then you are part of a cult and have a cult mindset.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 is NOT "the Gospel"!

David J. Stewart has no clue what the biblical Gospel is. He frequently refers to 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, but this is not "the Gospel." "But," you will argue, "Paul says, 'I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you.'" Yes, he does, but you misread this passage. Nowhere does Paul identify that which he says in verses 3 and 4 as "the Gospel." You make this leap in logic by trying to connect these verses to his use of "Gospel" in verse 1. If he were indeed saying this is the Gospel, who do we trust and believe to rightly identify what the Gospel is? Paul or Jesus? Who is the Author and Founder of Christianity? Paul or Jesus? What Paul identifies here as "of first importance" are the essentials of the faith, that which all believers in Jesus the Messiah must hold in unity. Jesus declared to us what "the Gospel" is in Mark 1:14-15. Believe the Lord Jesus over that which originates with Martin Luther!

"Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.""

"The time is fulfilled" refers to the beginning of the 70th week of Daniel's prophecy, initiated by Jesus' baptismal anointing. "The kingdom of God is at hand" refers to Daniel 2:44 in fulfillment thereof. The "Good News" is that Yahweh's anointed King of the whole Earth has come, and the long-awaited Kingdom is in our midst.

Rabbinism, Zionism, and Dispensationalism ignore, deny, and reject the teachings of the Holy Scriptures in favour of Jewish myths. The interpretations of the Pharisees in Jesus' day were constantly refuted and corrected by the Lord Jesus. These three groups are looking for a physical kingdom where ethnic physical Israel rules over all other nations, but God's Word teaches no such thing!

After everything Jesus had said and taught, the apostles still did not get it. "So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, "Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?" (Acts 1:6). They were with Him for three and a half years and did not listen to a single thing He had to say concerning the Kingdom. "Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst."" (Luke 17:20-21). "Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm."" (John 18:36). I think come Pentecost the apostles finally understood about the Kingdom because there appears to be a change in their understanding. Otherwise, how would they preach about the Kingdom of God if they did not fully understand what Jesus had been conveying, even in His parables?

Yes, the suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus were prophesied long ago in the Old Covenant. However, these were not identified by the Lord Jesus as "the Gospel." They had to happen, and they did, and they are part of the Gospel, but they are not what Jesus identified for us as "the Gospel." We would do well to pay attention to the words of Jesus and accept them as true than to elevate Martin Luther's redefinition of "the Gospel" using the atonement. In Jesus' parables about the Kingdom, He says the King sent His own Son and the children of the Kingdom (who would be cast out for their rejection) killed Him. The atonement is meaningless without that which it conveys.

What people like David J. Stewart call "the Gospel" is actually the atonement. While the atonement is true and is part of the Gospel, it alone is not the Gospel. The atonement grants us entrance into this Kingdom through faith (trust) in Jesus and His work on the cross, as well as by repentance and obedience. The Bible only has to say something once for it to be true. So how to so-called self-identified "Christians" who say repentance and obedience "are works" and have "no part with salvation" deal with the fact that we are repeatedly told to "Repent" and "Obey"? At the end of the Instruction on the Mount, Jesus addresses obedience and disobedience to His teachings. Repeatedly throughout the entire New Covenant, it is said "If you love [Jesus] you will [obey His] commandments/teachings."

If you call yourself a Christian, STOP listening to what preachers tell you and START reading the Scriptures for yourself and believing what they say. If a preacher tells you something that is blatantly in contradiction to the Word of Yahweh, then you need to reject it and conform to the Scriptures. If you blindly trust what these preachers tell you, like the Pharisees of old, they will prevent you from entering the Kingdom and make you twice the children of Hell that they are! Preachers, theologians, and "scholars" are the modern day Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes. Beware their leaven!

Here's the Actual Point

A sound, biblical soteriology can be taught, maintained, and defended without subscribing to the bankrupt theology of Calvinism.

This claim is highly demonstrable. If one is not willfully ignorant, all one has to do is look to the first three centuries. Tom Nettles claims that,

"the loss of Calvinism in issues concerning election, depravity, and effectual calling paralleled the loss of inerrancy and soteriological exclusivity and has led to a truncated evangelism that jettisoned the doctrinal foundation for the examination of an experience of grace. This affected not only soteriology, but ecclesiology."

This claim, however, is not demonstrable. It is fallacious and engages in projection, assumptions, and conclusions drawn from assumptions.

Evangelism does not include recognition and warning about the deceitfulness and hardness of the human heart, nor affirmations that only by divine prerogative and power will anyone believe, as that was not in the preaching of either Jesus or Paul, nor the first three centuries of the early Christians. These ideas were prominent among the Gnostics (to which the early Christians rejected as heresy), were then revived by Augustine (the father of both the Roman Catholics and the Protestant Reformation), and then embraced by John Calvin (whose conduct and character did not reflect that of a biblical Christian in the least). These ideas are entirely irrelevant and can be trashed without harm to evangelism, both in message and method.

A soteriology with Calvinism is a path to bad religion and compromised churches. In the past 500 years, the Calvinist experiment has been at work and has failed. Scholars have noted that Calvinism (a.k.a. "TULIP" or "The Doctrines of Grace") has risen up in popularity four times over the past 500 years. Every single time, it always dies back down. Why do you suppose that is? Well, either God ordained it to be such, or else the system just does not hold any water theologically and/or logically. The "move beyond Calvinism" is a move toward biblical religion; the move toward Calvinism is a move toward bad religion, that which mars the eternal nature of God in both His love and His holiness.

The ten-point Traditionalist statement as put forth by Leighton Flowers does have some unbiblical statements within it because it is still holding to certain Calvinistic teachings. However, all one has to do is read the first three centuries of the early Christians to see what the historical teaching of the Congregation has been. If one discerningly reads and carefully pays attention to what one is reading, it is clear that the Bible teaches the exact same things. Leighton Flowers thinks his ten points are entirely biblical, but he could not be further from the truth. He is less wrong than the Calvinist, but he is still wrong. He would do well to study the early Christians. In fact, all professing Christians would do well to study the early Christians. If you want to discover the truth, go to the primary sources; go to the beginning to see what they taught and believed.

Calvinists like Tom Nettles have a problem with humility. Their pride and ego get in the way. They assume that because they have been taught a particular way, that what they have been taught is inerrant and infallible. Guess what? Every denomination believes their systematic to be without flaw. Most Christians lack the humility to consider the possibility that they may be wrong and to subject their entire belief system to extreme doubt and scrutiny. If the Calvinist bothered to pay attention to the random isolated verses they frequently rip out of context by use of proof text methodology, eisegesis, and Scripture twisting, they would discover that their doctrines are abhorrent to actual biblical theology.

Leighton Flowers considers himself a Traditionalist, but several thoughts in his ten points deviate from the traditional teachings of the early Christians from the first three centuries. He would be more accurate if he referred to himself as a partial-Traditionalist.

2025 Goal

Starting tomorrow, I plan on reading the New Testament from every copy of the Bible I have in my possession in one year (or sooner). That means that I will read through the entire New Testament 30 times in a single year (or sooner). Apparently it takes the average person 17 hours and 44 minutes to read the entire New Testament. Eighteen hours multiplied by 30 books gives you 540 hours. If it were possible to read them back-to-back without stop, it would take 22.5 days to read them all. If I read 3 hours a day, it till take between half a year and three quarters of a year to read through them all.

Breaking the 17 hours and 44 minutes down, if you wanted to read the New Testament in one week, you would need to read for 2 hours and 32 minutes per day. So potentially, if I did that, I could read all 30 versions in 30 weeks.

The following list is the translations I will be reading from:

1526 - TYN — Tyndale New Testament
1537 - MATTHEW — Matthew's Bible
1560 - GNV — Geneva Bible
1611 - KJV — King James Version
1961 - Kenneth Wuest's New Testament: An Expanded Translation
1862 - YLT — Young's Literal Translation
1965 - AMP — Amplified Bible
1971 - NASB — New American Standard Bible
1978 - NIV — New International Version
1982 - NKJV — New King James Version
1985 - George Lasma's Holy Bible: From the Ancient Eastern Text
1989 - NRSV — New Revised Standard Version
1995 - GW — GOD'S WORD Translation
1996 - NLT — New Living Translation
1998 - CJB — Complete Jewish Bible
2001 - ESV — English Standard Version
2002 - MSG — The Message
2004 - CSB — Christian Standard Bible
2005 - NET — New English Translation
2011 - CEB — Common English Bible
2011 - EXB — Expanded Bible
2011 - KNT — Kingdom New Testament
2012 - TV — The Voice Translation
2014 - MEV — Modern English Version
2014 - TLV — Tree of Life Version
2016 - BSB — Berean Standard Bible
2018 - MJLT — Messianic Jewish Literal Translation
2020 - LSV — Literal Standard Version
2021 - LSB — Legacy Standard Bible
2022 - UASV — Updated American Standard Version

I will provide updates on my progress here:

• DATE: Finished reading . . .

The Ignorance of Sabbatarians and Torah Observance

For those professing "Christians" who continue to flirt with Moses, cheating on Jesus, such as the Seventh-Day Adventists, the Sabbatarians, the Torah Observant people, and other Judaizing cults, perhaps you should try paying attention to Jesus' words.

Jesus, being God, is the original Law-giver. He is the true Interpreter of the Law, and His word is final.

Mark’s interpretive comment makes it crystal clear that Jesus had annulled the Levitical food laws: “Thus He declared all foods clean” (Matt. 7:19).

If you are attempting to keep the Jewish dietary laws, then you are ignorant of Scripture, truth, and reality. Not only did God declare all foods clean in His vision to Peter, which also had another primary intended meaning concerning gentiles, but Jesus Himself declared all foods clean much earlier.

In Matthew 12, Jesus re-interprets the Sabbath command (see verses 6, 8, and 12). The Lord of the Sabbath has brought Sabbath rest for those who trust Him today (Matt. 1:28-30).

We are not beholden to a day. The day was made for us; we were not made for the day. Those who say we should observe the day are worshipping the day, enslaving themselves to it.

In His teaching on divorce, Jesus shows that the created order trumps the Mosaic order!

Everything I have taught on marriage, divorce, and re-marriage is 100% biblical. Those preachers who try and tell you that Jesus provided an escape clause and that Paul provided another escape clause are lying to you. They are imposing upon the text that which is not there! In my accurate exegesis of the biblical text on marriage, divorce, and re-marriage, there is one aspect I failed to address: Grace.

While everything I teach on marriage, divorce, and re-marriage is true and accurate to the Scriptures, we need to remember that Jesus' teachings are still under the Old Covenant. Jesus was increasing the weight of the Law upon those under the Law so that they would see the impossibility of keeping it and look for something better. While it is true that Jesus wants us to never divorce, if we happen to end up in a divorce situation, it is not the end of the world; it is not the unpardonable sin. There is still grace. Grace forgives the sin of divorce like every other sin and lets us move on with our lives. If God can forgive this sin the same way He has forgiven all other sins, then we can do so, too. We should not beat other people up just because they got a divorce, even when they knew it was against Scripture and the teachings of Jesus.

Unlike Yahweh’s previous sons—Adam (Gen. 1:28; 5:1; Luke 3:38), Israel (Ex. 4:22; Hos. 11:1; Ez. 37), and David’s sons (2 Sam. 7:14)—Yahweh is well-pleased with this Son (Matt. 3:17).

Jesus is:

• the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:21, 45; Rom. 5:12-21),
• the true seed of Abraham (Gal. 3:16),
• the new Moses (Num. 12:7-8; Deut. 18:15-18; 34:10; Matt. 5; John 1; Acts 3:22; 7:37; Heb. 3:1-6),
• the true Israel (Matt. 2:15; 4:1-11; John 15:1), and
• David’s greater Son (Matt. 1:1-17; Acts 2:29-36; Rev. 22:16).

The dietary laws, the festivals, the Sabbath . . . they are all fulfilled and done away with. They have no part of the New Covenant. They have no place in the Christian's life. Read Colossians 2:16-17. Any professing "Christian" who is flirting with Moses is cheating on Jesus. Learn the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Learn the biblical Gospel. Gentiles never had a part in the Law, and we were never required to: "excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Eph. 2:12). For us, it is the New Covenant or nothing.

A Biblical Truth That Christians Miss

Can anyone explain to me how professing Christian believers can possibly miss crystal clear explanations like these?

"For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory." (2 Cor. 3:9-11)

"Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. ... In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb. 8:6-7, 13)

The Old Covenant (consisting of the Law, the Covenant, and the Priesthood) was like a candle; it gives off light, but its light pales in comparison to when you turn on a light bulb. The New Covenant is that light bulb. Jesus fulfilled everything in the Old Covenant (in that it all pointed to Him), put it aside because it was "weak and useless" (Heb. 7:18) and "made nothing perfect" (Heb. 7:19), and established the unbreakable, effective, and eternal New Covenant. The Old Covenant was our babysitter, pointing us to Jesus. Since it accomplished its intended purpose, it has been made obsolete.

There are more passages we could look at that convey this fact, but these are probably the clearest. The Ten Commandments belong to the Law, which is part of the Old Covenant. They have no place in the life of the Christian. The Christian has one Royal Law, which fulfills the Law: "Love one another just as I have loved you" (John 13:34). This love is to be extended to our neighbours (Mark 12:31) and our enemies (Matt. 5:43-48). "This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Christ Jesus and love one another" (1 John 3:23).

In Matthew 12, Jesus re-interprets the Sabbath command (see verses 6, 8, and 12). The Lord of the Sabbath has brought Sabbath rest for those who trust Him today (Matt. 1:28-30). John was right when he said that Jesus' "commands are not  burdensome" (1 John 5:3). Some believe there are five (5) laws to the New Covenant:

1. the Law of Faith (Rom. 3:27; 2 Cor. 5),
2. the Law of the Spirit of Life (Rom. 8:2),
3. the Law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:21; Gal. 6:2),
4. the Law of Liberty (James2:12), and
5. the Law of Righteousness (Rom. 9:31).

This may be, but there are two (2) clear commands given us under the New Covenant:

1. believe in the name of Jesus (1 John 3:23), and
2. love one another just as He loved us (John 13:34; 1 John 3:23).

The New Covenant is radically new, "not like the [previous] covenant" (Jer. 31:32; Heb. 8:9). If you do not understand the difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, it is about time you studied it out and realized precisely what Jesus did for you on your behalf in your stead. The New Covenant is eternal. There will never be another covenant. This one accomplishes everything the previous one failed to, because it was all accomplished by Jesus. Take the time to read the book of Hebrews and get a grasp of what Jesus did. The book of Hebrews is probably the most Christ-centric of all the epistles. Read it to correct some glaring flaws in whatever particular theological system you prescribe to so that you can conform your beliefs better to Scripture.