As I have stressed before on this website and in other venues, Scriptural study, which is commanded by the Almighty (Lord), must be carried out on a “here a little, there a little” basis as presented by the Prophet Isaiah in 28:9-13. Here God is speaking to “those to whom He can teach knowledge, whom He can make to understand His doctrines, who are weaned from the (spiritual) breast–“God’s headlines”–and who crave His “strong meat”–God’s “fine print” (Heb. 5:12-6:6). The Lord goes on to warn salvation seekers about ignoring His study instructions relative to His “precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little” rules. Note that He instructs Truth seekers twice in that passage. We must remove the Old Testament from Christ’s cross and learn this lesson, along with many others, from it because the New Testament Church was founded on the (teachings of) “the (Old Testament) PROPHETS and the apostles” (Eph. 2:20), for “holy men of old spoke (and wrote) as they were moved by God’s Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:21). If the Apostle Peter exalted the writings of the Old Testament prophets, why does churchman think he can do away with them? Those writings were, as the Apostle Paul said, recorded for the purpose of teaching the end-time church (1 Cor. 10:11).

An in-depth study of the Holy Scriptures concerning the subject of this series reveals that there are in fact two types of faith discussed by the Lord: 1–living faith which produces spiritual life, and 2) dead faith which produces spiritual death. No subject is more vital to understanding the process of attaining salvation than faith–what it is and what it is not. Let us examine more of the Apostle Paul’s writings in order to gain more understanding. In Galatians 2:16 he writes: “Knowing that a man is not JUSTIFIED by the works of the Law, but by the faith OF Jesus Christ, so we have believed IN Jesus Christ, so that we might be JUSTIFIED by the faith OF Christ, and not by the works of (obedience to) the Law, for by the works of the Law will no man be JUSTIFIED.” Law-deniers point to this passage as “proof” that the Law plays no part in the salvation process. Here is where the searching out of God’s “fine print” comes into play. First, note that Paul’s subject was not salvation, but rather JUSTIFICATION–the one-time removal of all of one’s PAST sins (transgression of the Law–1 Jn. 3:4) which is necessary for the salvation process to begin.

Note also that salvation requires that we have the faith OF Jesus of Nazareth, not just faith IN Him. His faith–and that of His true saints-is based on God’s Word and only on His Word. Romans 10:19 tells us that true faith is simply taking God at His written Word. His Word is the sole basis of true Christian faith that, if WORKED (obeyed), will produce salvation at the return of Jesus Christ. If His heavenly Father spoke it and wrote it, Jesus believed (faithed) it. This is the level of faith one must maintain in order to, be born again (transformed from flesh to spirit). Jesus believed and obeyed God’s Word to the end, died physically, arose from the dead in His eternal spirit body, then ascended to where His Father lives in the northern heavens where He will remain util He returns to earth to gather His “first fruits.” This will take place during the first resurrection. Read The Three Resurrections and The Kingdom of God. Key words–Three and Kingdom respectively.

Notice in the Galatians 2:16 verse that Paul writes about JUSTIFICATION not being attained by obedience to the Law, not salvation, which is also not attained by obeying the Law. Rather, following conversion, the convert must obey the Law in order to RETAIN his converted status and remain “under grace.” Read Are You Saved By Grace? Key word–Grace. Paul makes clear in all of his writings that obedience to the Law is what we do AFTER justification and conversion. By obeying the Law through the power of the Holy Spirit WE KEEP SIN OUT OF OUR LIVES, THEREBY QUALIFYING FOR SALVATION UPON CHRIST’S RETURN, IF WE ENDURE IN THAT STATE UNTIL THE END (Mat. 10:22; 24:13. Notice also that Paul is writing about two types of faith: faith IN Christ and the faith OF Christ. Relative to this verse, many modern translations make the deadly mistake of rendering “the faith OF Christ as faith IN Christ.” The King James Version renders it correctly.

Notice in verse 17 that Paul puts to rest Satan’s anti-Law theology: “But if, while we seek to be JUSTIFIED by Christ, we ourselves continue to sin, we make Christ the minister (leader/director) of sin. God forbid.” In other words, if we claim that the blood of Jesus washed away ALL of our PAST sins, (Rom. 3:25), then we continue to sin, WE MAKE JESUS OUR SIN MASTER–OUR ENABLER–Who continually bleeds in order to continually wash away the sins we continually commit. This is pure heresy. This is what Paul wrote about in Hebrews 6:6 where he warns those who continue to sin after coming to know God’s Truth that they actually “crucify Christ again” with each sin. For this reason the Catholic Church keeps Him nailed to the cross where He continually bleeds in order to continually wash away the sins they continually commit. Such sinners saved by grace declare that Mary–their “Lady,” makes it all happen.

However, PROTESTANTS DO THE EXACT SAME THING. The only difference is the name of their “Lady.” Protestants call their partner in sin “Grace.” I knew her well, for I kept her on speed-dial for many years both as a believer and a minister. I thank God that He knew my heart and brought me out of “that unclean thing” (Satan’s Catholic/Protestant church system). Read Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1 and heed God’s message about the counterfeit church that passes itself off as God’s church. Both Catholicism and Protestantism are abominations in the eyes of God, IF, that is, we can take Him at His Word. According to “the church,” we cannot. Therefore they create their own versions of His Gospel, which Paul calls “PERVERSION” in Galatians 1:6-9.

If, after accepting the blood of Jesus, we say that God’s Law was “nailed to the cross,” and that we are already “saved,” we are, as already noted, making Christ our “minister (leader) of sin.” Let us apply a modicum of common sense to this scenario. After receiving the Holy Spirit at conversion, Christ is then living in us in the form of the Holy Spirit, which is the meaning of: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27). Now, Christ is not going to live His life in (through) us contrary to His Father’s Law. To do so would make Him our “minister of sin,” which He defines as “the transgression of the Law (1 Jn. 3:4). As we are told in Romans 8:14, those who are led by the Spirit of God, they (and only they) are the sons of God.” Does the Holy Spirit lead us to sin? God forbid.

As previously stated, having accepting the blood of Jesus Christ as the cleansing agent for our PAST sins, if we continue to sin (break His Law) we “CRUCIFY CHRIST AFRESH AND PUT HIM TO AN OPEN SHAME” (Heb. 6:6). By openly declaring that His crucifixion was not sufficient, the sinner declares that He must be put to death repeatedly in order to do the job God sent Him to do. In other words, when He said, “It is finished,” the Savior of the world was lying. He was actually enabling believers to sin and get away with it by continually shedding His blood for their continual sins. GOD FORBIDS AND CONDEMNS SUCH HERESY. It is for this reason that Paul wrote Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1. Note that he said that only AFTER one has come out of that unclean thing would God be one’s God and he/she would be His child.

Concerning Christ and God living in the saint in the form of their Holy Spirit, Jesus said: “IF a man LOVES Me, HE WILL KEEP (OBEY) MY WORDS (COMMANDS) and (then) My Father will LOVE HIM, and WE will come unto him and MAKE OUR ABODE (LIVE) WITH (IN) HIM” (Jn. 14:23). Both God and Christ live within the true saint in the form of Their Holy Spirit which leads him/her. The Holy Spirit does not lead the saint to break the “holy, just and good” Law of God (Rom. 7:12).

Truly, faith does not save the soul. As proved in the previous series, neither does grace. Neither do the two combined. As the Apostle James proclaimed in chapter two of his epistle to the church, there are two types of faith–living faith and dead faith. Dead faith is faith IN Jesus which is not followed by obedience to the Word upon which true faith is built.(Rom. 10:19). A characteristic of dead faith is the rejection of God’s “fine print” Truths. Living faith is the faith OF Jesus which is built upon “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27) and is obeyed by those having the faith OF Jesus. In preparation for the next posting read James 10,14,17,18,20,24,26. Note especially the question asked in verse 14. The answer is NO. L.J.