Perhaps the most striking Biblical statement relative to what Christ FINISHED is found in Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. In chapter two, verse five he states that God “justifies the ungodly.” That involves each and every one of us for “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). This statement also tells us that the Lord requires that we manifest His glory in our daily lives. Only those who do so will join Him in paradise. Scriptural research using the Isaiah 28:9-13 rule reveals that God commands much more than the church expects in order to be saved. God commands us to reflect Him. The church expects us to believe in Jesus, attend occasionally, tithe and ask forgiveness for each inevitable sin.

To prove that the Lord wants all to be saved, He gives us a “leg up” relative to justification–HE PROVIDES IT SOLELY BY HIS GRACE AND CHRIST’S SACRIFICE (Rom. 3:24). Justification is the FREE GIFT of God mentioned in Romans 3:25 and 26. Man needs only to believe to receive justification. However, we must not forget that BELIEF (FAITH) WITHOUT WORKS (OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD/LAW) IS DEAD FAITH (Jam. 2:10,14,17,18,20,24,26). We live by faith; therefore dead faith produces a dead believer. As verse 14 declares, faith alone saves no one. Contrary to popular opinion, God’s grace has its limits. The church’s concept of faith is summed up in a church hymn in which it is stated that no matter how many times one sins, “He’ll always say, ‘I forgive.” And Satan smiles, knowing the truth. Read about forgiveness using the key word–Granted.

In Galatians 2:17 the Apostle Paul addresses an issue that has caused untold damage to the church over the past several hundred years. The problem is identified in the hymn mentioned above. The “truth” concerning God’s automatic and limitless forgiveness of church sin relates to the “fact” that man is programmed to sin due to Adam’s supposed sin gene transferal miracle by which he supposedly infected the spiritual dna of every human ever born, thereby making sin both natural and inevitable for the totality of mankind. This is a lie straight from the mind of Satan. Read Why Is The Bible So Confusing–#1 Original Sin. Key word–Confusing. Paul speaks to the Satanic nature of this church “truth” in verse 17 where he notes that, if we continue to sin following justification, we make Jesus our “minister of sin.” If he automatically forgives the sinner every time he repents of his supposedly inevitably sins, He becomes nothing more than the sinner’s enabler. He becomes like the father who gives his child money to buy drugs.

Justification must be retained by overcoming Satan’s temptations to sin. Justification is not guaranteed to remain in effect. This is brought out in Paul’s letter to the Hebrew converts in chapter six verses four through six. Here he warns church sinners that once they have “been enlightened” (know God’s Truth) and have received the “heavenly gift” (justification) along with God’s Holy Spirit, if they should “fall away” (continue to sin), that it would be impossible to “renew them again to repentance” (to be re-justified) in that, by falling away (committing apostasy), they “crucify Christ with each sin and put Him to an open shame.” In the eyes of God, to sin following justification is to spiritually re-crucify Christ.

In 10:26-31 Paul again addresses the deadly nature of church apostasy (falling away from God). Here he states that, if we sin willfully after receiving knowledge of God’s Truth, there is no sacrifice for our sins in that we have become God’s enemy just as we were prior to our justification. By continuing to sin we reveal our distain for His Word by “trampling the Son of God underfoot, viewing the blood of the (justification) covenant as a common thing and insulting the Holy Spirit that brought us God’s grace.”

In Romans 2:13 Paul tells us how to keep from losing our justification. Here he offends church people by reminding them that they must obey God’s Ten Commandment Law (including commandment #4) in order to maintain their justification. Paul also tells us that it is not the hearers of the Law who are (remain) justified, but it is “the doers of the Law shall (continue to) be (remain) justified” in the future.

In Romans 5:6-10 Paul states the Truth relative to Justification as no one else can. He points out that, while we were still in our sins (were God’s enemies), Jesus Christ died so that we could have our past sins forgiven and be made righteous (without sin). He continues, saying: “HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED BY HIS BLOOD, WE WILL BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE.” Did you catch that? We are justified (reconciled to God) by Christ’s blood–His death during this earthly life. IF we “endure to the end (of this life in our justified condition– (Mat.. 10:22) we will be saved by His life (Rom. 5:10). What does this mean? Is everyone who believes in Jesus automatically saved because He lives? Satan would have us believe so. Jesus addresses this question in Matthew 19:17 where He states that, “If you would have (eternal) life, KEEP (OBEY) THE COMMANDMENTS (LAW).” In John 14:15 He says: “IF YOU LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS“. In 15:10 He makes a statement that shatters every church teaching about the death of the Law and again equates obedience to the Law with one’s love for Him. Here He says: “If you keep the commandments you will ABIDE IN (RETAIN) MY LOVE (FOR YOU), JUST AS I HAVE KEPT MY FATHER’S COMMANDMENTS AND (THEREBY) ABIDE IN HIS LOVE.” Notice that, as a human being, Jesus had to obey God’s Law in order to abide in His (God’s) love. The Apostle John amends this statement in First John 2:3-5 where he states that anyone who claims to know Jesus and does not keep His commandments is a liar, and that one who keeps His Word (commandments) has the love of God perfected in him.”

Let us now return to Romans 5:10 where Paul makes a statement that is truly life-changing for those who truly seek God’s Truth. Here he states that we are (in this life) justified by Christ’s blood (death), but that we WILL (LATER) BE SAVED BY HIS LIFE—IF, and only IF we continue to live the justified (Law-keeping) life until the end (Mat. 10:22). The Lord, through his true messengers, makes these Truths abundantly clear. Which raises the question: WHY DOES PROFESSING CHRISTENDOM REJECT HIS WORDS RELATIVE TO JUSTIFICATION, SALVATION, THE LAW, ETC? The answer will shock those not familiar with God’s Truth. To find the answer we turn to another of Paul’s letters to the church.

In Second Thessalonians 2:11 Paul warns us about the end-time falling away (apostasy) of the church. Today we see this long-running move away from the Truth of God’s Word and to man’s desire to design his own version of God’s Truth, just as did their religious and biological parents in the Garden of Eden. In Thessalonians 2 God, through Paul, warns us of a time when church people will abandon the Holy Scriptures and would follow the teachings of men. Today we call the various religious organizations that offer a wide variety of Biblical “truths” DENOMINATIONS. This in spite of the Lord’s condemnation of church division of any kind. God also calls His true church by one name only: THE CHURCH OF GOD. Church people defy Him by calling their religious cults by any number of names. In a number of ways man has rejected God’s will concerning the things of the spirit and has chosen to go in a variety of different directions. Why is this? How has this come about? To answer those questions we will turn to Second Thessalonians chapter two.

In the verses leading up to number 11 Paul tells of a mighty spiritual force that would turn people away from God because they have refused to believe and obey the One they claim has saved them. In verses 9 and 10 Paul states that Satan, through his chosen vessel, would deceive the church masses, causing them to “perish because they did not love God’s Truth so that they might be saved. “For this reason God will send them strong delusion so that they will believe a lie.” These are they who today are “condemned because they do not believe the Truth but take pleasure in unrighteousness” (vs 12).

Paul tells us what prompts the Lord to send a spirit of delusion. And not merely a spirit, but a spirit of STRONG DELUSION. In the first chapter of his letter to the church at Rome he explains that because of man’s overwhelming desire to sin in defiance of the God they supposedly worship, He “gives them over” to their evil desires and allows them to spiritually dig their own graves (1:24,26,28). But their doing so is not all that they do to offend the Lord. In 1:32 Paul notes that even though they know that what they do carries the death penalty, they take pleasure in convincing others to join them in their sins.

It is for this reason that the Lord commands true seekers of His Truth to have no dealings with those in the church who do not obey Him. As Jesus warned in Matther 7, this group constitute the vast majority of parishioners. He commands that we “come out from among them and “touch not that unclean thing”–the false church which comprises approximately 99% of Christendom’s participants. God’s command to be separate from those who do not obey God is found in Second Corinthians 6:14-7:1. Though God calls all within His church “My people who are called by My name,” only a minutely few have chosen to follow Him. Let us be among the CHOSEN FEW who will be “saved by Christ’s life,” meaning that they live their lives as He lived His life while on the earth (1 Jn. 2:6). Otherwise, all of the faith in the world cannot save a single soul. As Jesus said about Himself: “Those who have seen Me have seen the Father,” we must live in such a way that we can make the same statement.” Jesus obeyed God’s Law which caused Him to be the reflection of His heavenly Father. We must do the same in order to join them in the Kingdom of God.

In summary: Jesus shed His blood and died so that true God saints could receive “the promise” of Justification. “The lie” that the church has embraced involves believing that the words, “It is finished” meant that faith in Him brings about instant salvation. They did not. His Words meant that, by His blood and His death, the way was made available for man to be forgiven of his PAST sins, to be made righteous and to receive the Holy Spirit which can empower him to obey God’s Law and thereby receive salvation upon the return of Jesus to earth. L.J.