Come Unto Me, All Ye That Labor

The following is a response to an article entitled, "Keeping the Commandments and Enduring to the End" which quoted Matthew 11:28-30 after teaching that a person must "retain the remission of sins" by persistent obedience to the law and commandments of God. It cried for an answer.

Hi Ben, my name is Eli. I have a few comments about your article.

You quoted Matthew 11:28-30:

“Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

When Jesus said this, the last thing in His mind was the L.D.S. plan of salvation. In fact, the gospel of Mormonism is not easy... it is impossible, giving no rest to those who follow it. Jesus really meant, "Come unto me and I will give you rest." However, in Mormonism, coming unto Jesus means work, work, work.

When a person comes to Jesus in Mormonism, they must come by a strict requirement of repentance and obedience; a person must be worthy to come to Jesus. Even the definition of faith in L.D.S. doctrine is: "Having such trust in Christ that we obey whatever he commands. There is no faith where there is no obedience." (Gospel Principles, p.118) Spencer Kimball said, "Faith involves doing everything we can." (Faith Precedes the Miracle, p.205) "We have to work at it." (ibid.) No rest here.

In Mormonism, a person must be worthy to be baptized. Repentance precedes all the blessings in the L.D.S. religion. Nothing comes for nothing, as you yourself have written. Joseph Smith taught: "All those who humble themselves before God, and desire to be baptized, and come forth with broken hearts and contrite spirits, and witness before the church that they have truly repented of all their sins . . . shall be received by baptism into his church." (D&C Section 20:37) What is repentance? As taught by Smith himself and the L.D.S. Church, repentance is only repentance if there is a complete forsaking of sin. "By this ye may know if a man repenteth of his sins—behold, he will confess them and forsake them." (D&C 58:42-43) I know that you know this.

There is nothing easy about Mormonism. The opposite is true: Mormonism is impossible. The Jesus of Mormonism speaks with a soft, kind voice but asks for the impossible. He lays heavy burdens on men's shoulders which they are not able to carry.

And no Mormon can make an excuse, such as, "He knows I will fail." "He only asks me to try." "He knows I'm only human." The late President Spencer W. Kimball said concerning these excuses: "There is one crucial test of repentance. This is the abandonment of the sin... The saving power does not extend to him who merely wants to change his life... Nor is repentance complete when one merely tries to abandon sin... To 'try' is weak. To 'do the best I can' is not strong. We must do better than we can." (The Miracle of Forgiveness, p. 163-165)

Kimball is not being untrue to Mormon Scripture. 1 Nephi 3:7 removes any excuse from people who say what the Lord asks is too hard, too difficult: "For I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men, save he shall prepare a way for them that they accomplish the thing which he commandeth them." Therefore, whatever God commands He expects you to do, and you have no excuse for not doing it. Your best IS obedience. All that you can do IS all that God commands.

So the Mormon gospel isn't good news for sinners. Grace comes at a cost. Forgiveness requires work. The atonement cannot be received without repentance: "We accept Christ's atonement by repenting of our sins..." (Gospel Principles, p. 75) If you don't repent of all your sins, which even the Mormon Jesus said, "won't be easy, but it will be possible", then you haven't received the atonement and you are still lost and will perish in your sins.

Ben, have you repented of all your sins? If not, you have not accepted the atonement, your baptism is disqualified, and you will perish.

There is no excuse you can give, because the only reason you don't obey is because you don't exercise your free agency to obey, showing that you really have no faith, or real intent. As a Mormon, doesn't that concern you?

I've never met a Mormon who has repented. Mormons are trying to repent, but repentance isn't repentance until it's repentance. All Mormons are striving, not resting. The Jesus of Mormonism gives men a heavy yoke of labor which they continually fail to bear.

But the true Jesus of the Bible actually meant what He said when He said:

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

The true gospel of Jesus Christ liberates us from striving to earn the impossible. Christ actually frees us from our own work and labors. "For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works." (Hebrews 4:10) The good news of the gospel is that because we could not do any work for God (for all our righteousnesses are filthy rags in God's sight, Isaiah 64:6), Jesus Christ gave His life on the cross so that we could be fully forgiven and accepted by God through His shed blood and that alone. The New Testament teaches us that God promises eternal life freely to all those who simply receive Christ by faith. The moment a sinner believes on Christ alone, and ceases working, they are considered 100% righteous before God:

"Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted unto righteousness." (Romans 4:4-5)

Wow! That is rest! Christians have rested in the finished work of Christ for them and have to do no works at all for their justification (being made righteous before God). Now they are free to serve God with thanksgiving and joy, not for hire! They are fully forgiven by the blood of Jesus (Colossians 1:13-14). "Having forgiven you all trespasses." (Colossians 2:13) None of their sins are anymore counted against them (Romans 4:6-8)! Eternal life is theirs! No separation from Heavenly Father!

That is how much God truly loves. Consider this example: Suppose you have a house that is entirely unpainted. The house represents your righteousness, and to the extend that it is painted is the extend that you are righteous. God doesn't "love" you insofar that He gives you a paint brush and a paint-can so that you can get to work painting your house (as in Mormonism). He loves you so much that He paints the whole house for you! For Mormons, the atonement of Christ is a means to WORK. But for Christians, the atonement of Christ is a means to REST, just as the Bible says.

Ben, Mormonism does not offer rest. The forgiveness of your sins is solely dependent on your personal obedience day by day, as you yourself have written. You have to work to "retain" the forgiveness of sins! The true rest Jesus gives is final because it does not depend on our works but upon Christ alone. The righteousness that He gives by virtue of Himself is steadfast and unchanging. The day you come to Jesus is the day you will understand His rest.

Ben, I pray that you would become overwhelmed with the heavy burden of Mormonism, realize that you are a vile sinner who disobeys God, that you would cry out to the real Jesus for deliverance from hopeless striving, and come to understand that it is only through the shed blood of Christ alone that you can be right with God.

Sincerely yours,
With loving concern,
-Eli

Sonidos Extranos Del Campamento Pretribulacional

A brother from Mexico felt led to translate this article, "Strange Sounds from the Pretribulational Camp", into Spanish since there are very little resources on the end times in the Spanish language and pretribulationism seems to be dominating the Mexican churches. May God bless this translation for His truth's sake.

SONIDOS EXTRAÑOS DEL CAMPAMENTO PRETRIBULACIONAL
Por Eli Brayley

“Y si la trompeta diere sonido incierto, ¿quién se preparará para la batalla?”
1 Corintios 14:8

Nunca deja de asombrarme como la enseñanza de un rapto pretribulacional puede sacar conclusiones tan fantásticas de pasajes bíblicos tan directos. Alguien comprometido a un estudio honesto y objetivo de las interpretaciones presentadas por los defensores de la pretribulación, no puede pero notar las discrepancias flagrantes que inevitablemente surgen entre la supuesta doctrina y las inspiradas Escrituras. Un destacado teólogo alemán francamente declaró: “El pretribulacionismo debe ser refutado como una distorsión peligrosa de la escatología del Nuevo Testamento.”

Es mi intención, en este artículo, hablar de unas de las discrepancias escriturales más obvias que resultan de mantener una posición pretribulacional, con el fin de que los que lean las siguientes palabras puedan considerar la singularidad y error de esta doctrina del siglo XIX.

UNA SEGUNDA VENIDA ANTES DE LA SEGUNDA VENIDA

“Así también Cristo fue ofrecido una sola vez para llevar los pecados de muchos; y aparecerá por segunda vez, sin relación con el pecado, para salvar a los que le esperan.”
(Hebreos 9:28)

El término “Segunda Venida” en realidad nunca se encuentra en la Biblia, aunque el concepto ciertamente está ahí, así como la palabra “trinidad” no se encuentra en la Biblia; sin embargo, el concepto sin duda se encuentra en ella. Aunque el versículo mencionado arriba es el único que usa la palabra “segunda” en conexión con la futura venida del Señor, la creencia de que Jesús regresará a la tierra una segunda vez llena el Antiguo y Nuevo Testamento. Jesús anunció a sus discípulos la noche antes de ser crucificado: “…vendré otra vez, y os tomaré a mí mismo, para que donde yo estoy, vosotros también estéis” (Juan 14:3). De la misma manera, el ángel les anunció en el Monte de Olivos justo después que Cristo ascendió: “Este mismo Jesús, que ha sido tomado de vosotros al cielo, así vendrá como le habéis visto ir al cielo” (Hechos 1:11). La expectación de los apóstoles era que Jesús regresaría una segunda vez a la tierra de la misma manera en que él ascendió. Esto se muestra por el testimonio continuo y unánime de ellos con respeto a la venida de Cristo:

Pablo: “Porque el Señor mismo con voz de mando, con voz de arcángel, y con trompeta de Dios, descenderá del cielo; y los muertos en Cristo resucitarán primero. Luego nosotros los que vivimos, los que hayamos quedado, seremos arrebatados juntamente con ellos en las nubes para recibir al Señor en el aire, y así estaremos siempre con el Señor.”
(1 Tesalonicenses 4:16-17)

Pedro: “Pero el día del Señor vendrá como ladrón en la noche; en el cual los cielos pasarán con grande estruendo, y los elementos ardiendo serán deshechos, y la tierra y las obras que en ella hay serán quemadas. Puesto que todas estas cosas han de ser deshechas, ¡cómo no debéis vosotros andar en santa y piadosa manera de vivir, esperando y apresurándoos para la venida del día de Dios, en el cual los cielos, encendiéndose, serán deshechos, y los elementos, siendo quemados, se fundirán!”
(2 Pedro 3:10-12)

Juan: “He aquí que viene con las nubes, y todo ojo le verá, y los que le traspasaron; y todos los linajes de la tierra harán lamentación por él. Sí, amén.”
(Apocalipsis 1:7)

Noten que la expresión apostólica es simplemente la manifestación gloriosa y completa de nuestro Señor Jesús, y no distinguen entre dos. La razón por la cual nunca hacen distinciones entre la “segunda venida” y una “venida secreta pretribulacional” es porque ninguna dualidad de “venidas” existía en su doctrina. Los apóstoles enseñaban, simple y sencillamente, que Jesucristo vendría de nuevo.

En contraste, si los pretribulacionistas quieren permanecer consistentes con su teología, deben creer en tres venidas de Cristo, un concepto totalmente extraño a las enseñanzas del Nuevo Testamento. Ni Jesús ni los apóstoles jamás enseñaron tal cosa. Para evitar la vergüenza de tal conclusión, los pretribulacionistas tratan de retener la expresión “Segunda Venida de Cristo” mientras al mismo tiempo creer en una venida anterior a ella. No lo pueden tener de ambas maneras. Si dicen que el “rapto secreto” NO es una “venida”, descalifican todos los versículos que han usado para respaldar un rapto pretribulacional donde se usa la palabra “venida” (ve 1 Corintios 15:23, 1 Tesalonicenses 4:15, por ejemplo). Si dicen que el “rapto secreto” SI es una “venida”, entonces deben creer en tres venidas, y por lo tanto no tiene sentido lógico alguno mantener la expresión “la Segunda Venida de Cristo” para describir la manifestación final y gloriosa de Cristo.

UNA ÚLTIMA TROMPETA ANTES DE LA ÚLTIMA TROMPETA

“He aquí, os digo un misterio: No todos dormiremos; pero todos seremos transformados, en un momento, en un abrir y cerrar de ojos, a la final trompeta; porque se tocará la trompeta, y los muertos serán resucitados incorruptibles, y nosotros seremos transformados.”
(1 Corintios 15:51-52)

Uno de los versículos pretribulacionales más populares de la Biblia es 1 Corintios 15:51-52, citado arriba, ¡y sin embargo esta Escritura es de hecho uno de los argumentos más fuertes CONTRA el pretribulacionismo!

El contexto de este versículo está hablando de una resurrección de los muertos cuando Jesús venga. Pablo dice en versículos 22 y 23: “Porque así como en Adán todos mueren, también en Cristo todos serán vivificados. Pero cada uno en su debido orden: Cristo, las primicias; luego los que son de Cristo, en su venida“ (Noten de nuevo que no hay una distinción entre la segunda venida y una venida pretribulacional…solo “su venida”). La clave para interpretar cuando esta transformación ocurre (como si ya no fuera obvia) es la declaración: “a la final trompeta”. ¿Pero cuál es la trompeta final y donde se encuentra en las Escrituras?

No es difícil descubrir que la trompeta final de la cual habla la Biblia ocurre al final de los tiempos cuando Jesús regresa a la tierra en gran poder y gloria con todos sus santos ángeles. En las palabras mismas de nuestro Señor, dirigidas a los apóstoles en el discurso del monte de los Olivos, es declarado: “E inmediatamente después de la tribulación de aquellos días, el sol se oscurecerá, y la luna no dará su resplandor, y las estrellas caerán del cielo, y las potencias de los cielos serán conmovidas. Entonces aparecerá la señal del Hijo del Hombre en el cielo; y entonces lamentarán todas las tribus de la tierra, y verán al Hijo del Hombre viniendo sobre las nubes del cielo, con poder y gran gloria. Y enviará sus ángeles con gran voz de trompeta, y juntarán a sus escogidos, de los cuatro vientos, desde un extremo del cielo hasta el otro” (Mateo 24:29-31). La última trompeta y el juntar de los escogidos son sinónimos. Cuando la trompeta suena, indica a los cosechadores que deben ir y separar el trigo de la cizaña. Una sencilla comparación entre Mateo 24:29-31, 1 Tesalonicenses 4:13-18 y 1 Corintios 15:51-52 claramente revela el tiempo y la naturaleza de la última trompeta: su tiempo vendrá cuando Cristo venga al final de la gran tribulación; su naturaleza es que instiga el rapto, o juntar, de los santos. Después del evento descrito en Mateo 24:29-31, nunca más se profetiza que vendrá otra trompeta.

Por lo tanto, si los pretribulacionistas están usando 1 Corintios 15:51-52 para respaldar la idea de un rapto antes de la manifestación gloriosa de Mateo 24:29-31, se encuentran con dilema irreconciliable. ¿Cómo puede un rapto anterior tener la última trompeta si otra trompeta tiene que ser sonada al final de la gran tribulación? ¿Cómo puede 1 Corintios 15:51-52 estar hablando de alguna otra cosa sino la venida final de nuestro Salvador Jesucristo, como su contexto claramente muestra? O el versículo 52 verdaderamente está hablando de la última trompeta, o Pablo estaba terriblemente equivocado.

UNA PRIMERA RESURRECCIÓN ANTES DE LA PRIMERA RESURRECCIÓN

“Y vi tronos, y se sentaron sobre ellos los que recibieron facultad de juzgar; y vi las almas de los decapitados por causa del testimonio de Jesús y por la palabra de Dios, los que no habían adorado a la bestia ni a su imagen, y que no recibieron la marca en sus frentes ni en sus manos; y vivieron y reinaron con Cristo mil años. Pero los otros muertos no volvieron a vivir hasta que se cumplieron mil años. Esta es la primera resurrección. Bienaventurado y santo el que tiene parte en la primera resurrección; la segunda muerte no tiene potestad sobre éstos, sino que serán sacerdotes de Dios y de Cristo, y reinarán con él mil años.
(Apocalipsis 20:4-6)

La última discrepancia que examinaremos involucra la resurrección de los muertos, la cual doctrina es un principio elemental según Hebreos 6:1-2. Nuestro texto arriba claramente muestra que la primera resurrección toma lugar al final de la gran tribulación cuando Jesús regresa en gloria. Cristo regresa a la tierra y destruye al anticristo al final del capítulo 19 y los que son resucitados sufrieron grandemente bajo la ira de la bestia. Pero noten también que la primera resurrección no es exclusiva a solo los que pasaron por la gran tribulación; no, incluye todos los santos de Dios de todas las generaciones. Juan ve a todos los que sufrieron por causa de la Palabra, y declara en versículo 6: “Bienaventurado y santo el que tiene parte en la primera resurrección; la segunda muerte no tiene potestad sobre éstos, sino que serán sacerdotes de Dios y de Cristo, y reinarán con él mil años.” Esto es escrito para todos los creyentes, ya que todos somos “reyes y sacerdotes” para Dios porque “nos amó, y nos lavó de nuestros pecados con su sangre” (Apocalipsis 1:5-6). “Y cantaban un nuevo cántico, diciendo: Digno eres de tomar el libro y de abrir sus sellos; porque tú fuiste inmolado, y con tu sangre nos has redimido para Dios, de todo linaje y lengua y pueblo y nación; y nos has hecho para nuestro Dios reyes y sacerdotes, y reinaremos sobre la tierra” (Apocalipsis 5:9-10). El requisito para que la muerte segunda no tenga poder sobre ti es tomar parte en la primera resurrección. Todos los creyentes lograrán esto por la gracia de Dios.

A través de toda la Biblia solo hay una resurrección que los cristianos son prometidos e recibir. Ya hemos visto 1 Corintios 15:23. Jesús dijo en Juan 6:54: “El que come mi carne y bebe mi sangre, tiene vida eterna; y yo le resucitaré en el día postrero.” Él repite esta expresión “en el día postrero” cuatro veces en capítulo 6 para que nadie este confundido de cuando la resurrección ocurrirá. Si creemos en una resurrección secreta que toma lugar antes del último día entonces no estamos siguiendo la clara enseñanza de Jesucristo, nuestra Piedra Angular.

O Juan estaba correcto en decir que esta es la primera resurrección o los pretribulacionistas tienen la razón en decir que no lo es, y que hay una resurrección anterior en la venida secreta antes de la tribulación. ¡Qué locura! No hay ni una sola Escritura que respalda tal idea.

VERDAD O CONJETURA: TÚ DECIDE

En este pequeño artículo hemos brevemente examinado cómo la teoría de la pretribulación requiere 1) una venida, 2) un rapto y 3) una resurrección antes del tiempo claramente señalado en las Santas Escrituras. Depende de los pretribulacionistas en decidir si van o no a continuar tratando de exprimir la Palabra de Dios a través del filtro de la conjetura parcial, o si simplemente creerán la Biblia tal y como está escrita. En las palabras del difunto W.J. Erdman, el tercer pastor de Moody Church en Chicago que una vez fue un pretribulacionista y un editor de la Biblia de Referencia Scofield, antes de que “mas estudio de las Escrituras” le convencieran de lo contrario, dijo: “Mejor es la decepción de la verdad que las lindas pero falsas promesas del error.”

“Procura con diligencia presentarte a Dios aprobado, como obrero que no tiene de qué avergonzarse, que usa bien la palabra de verdad.”
(2 Timoteo 2:15)

Justice and Mercy

Eli, I was writing a paper in my Mythology class, and I was comparing/contrasting the Christian God with the Greek ones. Now, I wanted to say that God showed his willingness to satisfy the demands of justice and those of mercy in the atonement. Is that an accurate thing to say, or is that a strictly Mormon idea?

This view is presented by the Mormons most candidly in the story of "The Mediator" which I'm sure you're familiar with. God is represented as a loan shark who demands his debtor to pay him back what he owes. The debtor begs God for mercy but the reply goes something like: "No, because then justice wouldn't be satisfied." Jesus is represented as a friend who who has mercy on the debtor and pays God the debt, but then turns around to the thankful friend with these shocking words: "Now you must pay me back. It won't be easy, but it will be possible." And the lesson of the story is, both mercy and justice are "satisfied". Except the story doesn't explain what happens when the debtor can't pay his new debt to Jesus...

One can easily be fooled into thinking that this is the same as the Biblical view of the atonement, but it is definitely not. As we've talked before, it is important to see that it is God the Father who extends mercy to mankind by sending His Son. Christ obeyed the Father by going to the cross. Jesus did not step between man and God as the "good cop", but as the obedient servant of His Father.

It is true that justice demanded satisfaction, but it is not like a loan that needs to be payed back, but an offense that needs to be punished. A loan can be refinanced (which is what the Mormon Jesus does), but a crime cannot. Man has broken God's law, and the law which demands death must be fulfilled. In actuality, that punishment must take place is more about the vindication of God's holiness than a mere legal detail. If God doesn't punish sin, as He said He would, then He becomes a liar and an unrighteous judge. God's character is at stake in judgment (a theme throughout the whole Bible... "Will not the God of all the earth do right?") So when we see it in this light, we see that punishment is inevitable for all of us as true as God is God; but the beautiful thing is this: that God, because of the sacrifice of Christ, is totally satisfied and therefore freely forgives the pleading sinner of all His crimes without ever demanding a payback! "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." (Hebrews 8:12) Payback would be unthinkable!

Unlike Mormonism, God does not have a necessity to be merciful. There needs no "satisfaction of mercy". However, God, out of the great love which He has for mankind, chose to be merciful in sending His Son, and in this His mercy and grace is truly magnificent in the fact that it was NOT out of necessity but out of love. The cross of Christ, which is what reconciles sinful men to a holy God, is the demonstration of God's pure mercy and love towards the world. That He died for the sins of sinful, undeserving and death-sentenced sinners is what constitutes his love: for men scarcely die for good men, and they might dare to die for their friends and family, but God shows us how different and greater His love is from ours, in that while we were His enemies, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). So the fact that His mercy is surprising is what makes it so glorious. Grace that isn't surprising isn't grace. If it is born of necessity then it really is just a job.

There is no God like Jehovah!
Yours,
-Eli

What is the Gospel?

People need to hear the liberating power of the gospel, which saves sinners and sets them right with God. We do not preach a new thing but the timeless crucified Savior Who will never change, though the world and its trends come and go like the tide.

ROMANS 1:14-18

Rom 1:14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.
Rom 1:15 So as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
Rom 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believes; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Rom 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written. The just by faith shall live.
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men."

Paul shows us that the gospel is for all people in every place and for all time. He makes this immense statement: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes..."

Question: Why was Paul not ashamed of the gospel?
Answer: Because it is powerful; it is the power of God unto salvation.

The gospel, and it alone, though the world despises and ridicules it, is the only power [force, ability, strength] in heaven and on earth that can save men. If any person, Jew or Gentile, ancient or modern, is to be saved, it must be by the gospel, for there is nothing else in heaven or on earth that is able to save. "There is no other 'detergent' that can remove this kind of stain, and though the world mock the look of it, I'm not ashamed, because this is the only thing that works, and nothing else! You can laugh at it and hate it, but it will cleanse the stain. You can ridicule the gospel, and mock me it's preacher, but I will preach on without shame, because the gospel, and this alone, is the only power in the whole world that can save sinners."

Question: Why is the gospel powerful? Why is it the power of God unto salvation?
Answer: Because in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith.

Why and how does the gospel save? What is it's power? The answer is given in verse 17. The reason the gospel is the power of God unto salvation is because in it, and in it alone, is the righteousness of God revealed. The righteousness of God is shown to sinful men through the gospel, and it is the righteousness of God that saves us. What is the righteousness of God that is shown in the gospel? Later in the Book of Romans Paul explains that this is the righteousness which God has provided, in Christ, for undeserving sinners (Rom. 3:21-30, 5:15-21). In other words, what is revealed to men in the gospel is God's gift of righteousness in Christ that is ours for the taking by faith, ("from faith to faith" means "faith from first to last", or, "totally by faith alone"). Paul introduces us to "the righteousness of God by faith" by contrasting it with the "righteousness of the law": "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe" (Rom. 3:21-22). This is exactly why the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, for it reveals the only way for people to be righteous before God: not by their own works, obedience, and good works, but by faith in Jesus Christ. When a sinner places his trust in Jesus Christ and the atoning sacrifice that He made on his behalf, righteousness is given "unto" or "upon" him, and he is declared to be righteous in the sight of God. All the righteousness a man needs to be right with God was secured by the blood of Christ on the cross - who died for our sins, paying the just penalty our sins deserve - and by believing in Christ a person receives that free gift of righteousness, thereby gaining possession of the incorruptible life in the risen Son of God. Believers are righteous before God in Christ, and will pass judgment day with flying colors to live with God forever. Paul points out that God had affirmed this all before in the prophets: "The just [or righteous] by faith shall live." The gospel saves because the gospel makes men and women righteous before God through faith in Christ.

Question: Why do people need righteousness?
Answer: Because the wrath of God is against all the unrighteousness of men.

Verse 18 explains the universal need of salvation by righteousness. We do not need saving from a boring life. We do not need saving from drowning in a lake. We do not need saving from emptiness or poverty. What all people, everywhere, in every age, need, is saving from the wrath of God. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all the unrighteousness and ungodliness of men..." Paul goes on to show that every single person, without any exception, is an offender against God and is justly condemned to die under the righteous wrath of God. God punishes unrighteousness, and all are unrighteous. "There is none righteous, no not one" (Rom. 3:10) "Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight." (Rom. 3:20) If this is the case, what then can save them? How can a person be righteous and thereby saved from the wrath of God? Not by our own good works. Not by prayers. Not by penance. There is only one thing that has the power to save sinners! It is the only thing that can make people righteous: the gospel of Jesus Christ! The Lord Jesus Christ died on a cross and paid the price for our sins, condemning unrighteousness in His body, and having risen from the dead, He freely offers righteousness to all who believe. Righteousness is the whole issue of salvation: God is righteous, and a person must be righteous to live in accordance with Him. All unrighteousness is condemned by God, and because all are unrighteous, all are condemned. How then shall man and God be reconciled? Through the gospel of Jesus Christ! By this only can reconciliation be effected. Jesus Christ, the Righteous One, died for our sins and rose from the dead so that all who believe will be declared righteous in the sight of God and possess eternal life. (2 Cor. 5:21, 1 Peter 3:18, 1 John 2:1-2) This is the gospel, and it alone is the power of God to save sinners.

Here lies the simplicity of the gospel, and we must never forget it. The Church needs to shamelessly point men and women to the only place where they can go to be saved from the wrath of God. That is to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Let us remember that what is needful isn't new doctrines and better programs and ear-tickling prophesies, promising people things God never promised; but only one thing is needful, and that is the declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ to a world of unrighteousness condemned by God. But I think a further question is necessary at this point:

Question: Why did God even provide the gospel?
Answer: Because God so loved the world.

The gospel reveals to us that God loves sinners, and He loves them so much that He gave His only begotten Son to die for them. If we withhold preaching the gospel to people because we are ashamed of its message, or don't want to offend, or would rather preach something more acceptable and inoffensive, we are actually robbing men and women of the true knowledge of the love of God in Christ Jesus, and robbing God of the glory He is worthy of. We are robbing both men and God by not preaching the gospel. This is why it is so important we first of all understand the gospel, that we might preach it boldly as we ought. Consider what is at stake.

Let us who are Christians, as debtors with the apostle Paul, declare with timeless conviction, for God and man's sake: "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ."

If you are not a Christian, the question you must face is:

Question: Will you believe or disbelieve the gospel of Christ that has just been explained to you?
Answer: ...

The Law of God

Eli, I was reading Galatians and Paul keeps on referring to "the law." Mormons believe that this is just the law of Moses (as opposed the the "higher" law of Christ), but you believe that it's referring to all commandments and works in general. What brought you to your conclusion, and is there any basis for the Mormon viewpoint? As always, I appreciate your thoughts.

Hi Mike, that is an excellent question.

The issue of the law is the determining factor which will effect your understanding of everything else. Only when the law is correctly understood is the atonement correctly understood. A low view of the law is a low view of God (we may have talked about this before), for the law is really just the written expression of God's own moral character, and what that demands from us.

That's great that your reading Galatians. Galatians and Romans go hand in hand in that Romans lays out the gospel and Galatians defends the gospel against false teachings that were creeping in to the churches. Paul uses much of the same language and concepts in both letters, so Romans helps shed much light on the meanings of words in Galatians. Having said that, you can still understand what Paul is saying in Galatians without going to Romans; though it's extremely helpful to read it with that accompaniment. God's inspired word is consistent, and that goes back to an old hermeneutical principle: Scripture interprets Scripture.

The main problem with the Mormon view is that they don't even understand what "the law of Moses" is when they talk about it. If they did, they would never say the things they do. What then is the law of Moses? The law of Moses refers to all the statutes and commandments God gave Israel to obey. These include both moral and ceremonial aspects; the ceremonial aspect necessitated BY the moral aspect (i.e. the sacrificial system was given because of the inevitable moral failings of the people, and thus it was added subsequent to the moral commands and is included as part of the definition of the law). When the Bible refers to the law, it primarily emphasizes the moral aspect, for that is the first and main point of the law; the ceremonial aspect being secondary as it was given to meet man's failure of keeping the moral commands.

Mormons miss this: that the law of Moses contains two incredible commands which Jesus said were the summation of all the commandments of God: 1) Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength, and 2) Love your neighbor as yourself. You can find these two commands in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18... Moses' law! (When we say "Moses' law" we mean the law God gave through Moses, so it is really GOD'S law, not Moses'; and because it is God's, it is perfect and cannot be replaced.) The thing to see is this: you cannot add or improve to those two commands to make them any better. It's impossible. You cannot have a "higher" law than this. Even the New Testament teaches that love is the fulfilling of every possible command. "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; AND IF THERE BE ANY OTHER COMMANDMENT, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." (Romans 13:9, see also Galatians 5:14; James 2:8-11). Listen carefully to the words of Jesus:

"The FIRST of ALL the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord:
And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is NONE OTHER commandment GREATER than these." (Mark 12:29-31)

There is NONE OTHER COMMANDMENT GREATER (or "higher") THAN THESE... and they are both from the law of Moses! Jesus did not come to bring a higher law than the law of Moses; that is not only impossible, but it is contrary to Jesus' own words. All of Christ's moral teachings were an exposition or explanation of the law... the law that isn't just words on stone, but the real and living heartbeat of the holiness of God.

The next thing to see, after defining what the law is, is to define what the purpose of the law is. It is explicitly stated in the New Testament, and though it's not explicitly stated in the Old Testament, the implicit message is loud and clear. The Old Testament teaches us of man's total and utter failure to keep the law of God; it leaves us at a desperate and hopeless intermission. We observe the futility of men attempting to be saved by obedience to God's commandments. We see the righteous justice of God in condemning sinners to eternal destruction because of their evil deeds. However, though we SEE no resolution in the Old Testament, we HEAR of a resolution that is to come by the words of the inspired prophets of God. Amazingly, there is much that is spoken in the Old Testament about the salvation of men through the righteousness of God alone (see for example Isaiah 53:11, 54:17, Jeremiah 23:6)! That is why Paul wrote: "...the gospel of God, which He had promised before by his prophets in the holy Scriptures..." (Rom. 1:2) I agree completely... in fact, the foundation of my understanding of justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ comes primarily from the Old Testament Scriptures, though it be clearly expounded and illuminated by the New Testament writers.

"But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets. " (Acts 24:14)

So what is the purpose of the law? The New Testament helps us see: "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." (Galatians 3:24) Literally, the law was our "παιδαγωγος", which means "instructor", (an interesting play on words by Paul, for the Hebrew word "Torah" means "instruction") that we might be JUSTIFIED BY FAITH. The law taught us that we could not be justified by works, but that we had to trust in Christ alone to be saved.

So when Paul speaks of the law in both Romans and Galatians he speaks about the only law there is, the law of God, and he is emphasizing the moral aspect of the law to get a point across. You'll notice the controversy in Galatians regarded a false teaching that purported that Christians needed to be circumcised to be saved. Paul warns: "You can't split the law up and pick and choose what you want to obey. You can't modify it! I testify to every man that is circumcised, THAT HE IS A DEBTOR TO KEEP THE WHOLE LAW! (Gal. 5:3)" So although the subject that necessitated Paul to write was circumcision, to say that Paul was only talking about the ceremonial law defeats his whole argument and the urgency of his letter! "If anyone preaches another gospel let him be accursed." (1:9) "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." (2:21) "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you is justified by law; you are fallen from grace." (5:4) You cannot be saved, because you bring yourself under the obligation to keep the whole law of God, something you as a sinner can never do, and so you stand condemned before the judgment bar of God. Believing in Christ loses all meaning if you have to keep the commandments to be saved! This is an incredibly strong message we dare not confuse, miss, or play down.

Read Romans 2:21-25 for more on this, because there Paul says the same exact thing. He writes that "circumcision truly profits you, IF YOU KEEP THE LAW." Notice the differentiation. Keeping the law here isn't talking about circumcision per se (the ceremonial aspect), but the moral aspect (compare with verses 21-23). Here is what he is saying: circumcising yourself (or any other commandment for that matter) will profit you only if you keep the whole law, but if you don't keep the law, your circumcision profits you nothing. You either obey the law or you don't. You're either innocent or you're guilty. It's either all or it's nothing. That's how the law works:

"For Moses describes the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which DOETH those things shall live by them." (Romans 10:5)

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that CONTINUES not in ALL THINGS which are written in the book of the law to DO them." (Galatians 3:10)

"The man that DOETH them shall live in them." (Galatians 3:12)

"For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the DOERS of the law shall be justified." (Romans 2:13)

"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law." (James 2:10-11)

I wrote an article on the usage of the word "law" in the book of Romans which shows that every time Paul uses the word "law" in Romans he is referring to the moral aspect of the law. You should definitely read it as it is pertinent to your question. It' s called "Evidence that 'the Law' Includes the Moral Law" and you can find it here. Of course, what Paul says in Romans spills over into the book of Galatians.

The end of the matter is this: There is only one law, and that law is God's law, which is the dictation of His own holy character. It cannot be improved upon or added to, and it demands of all men perfect uninterrupted obedience; an obedience which no man gives because of sin. Therefore all will be justly punished in hell if they attempt to be justified by their own works. Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us on the cross (Galatians 3:13), so that whoever believes in Him is counted righteous in God's sight on the basis of grace. Salvation is free, is entirely apart from the works of the law, and allows no room for boasting. It is in the gospel alone that the great love of God for wretched sinners is manifested.

I hope this was helpful for you in understanding Paul in his letter to the Galatians. Keep pressing on in your studies, Mike, and I pray earnestly that one day soon you will enter the rest of faith, acknowledging the fact that you need salvation, and rejoicing in Christ who alone can give it.

Yours sincerely,
-Eli