In the following segment we will focus our attention on the Biblical passages that are most often used by Satan to cause church people to believe themselves to be “saved, sanctified and born again,” not one word of which is Biblically true. The problem has historical roots that reach back some 1900 years to the time of the original apostles. A short history lesson is in order.

The Church of God came into being on the Day of Pentecost 31 A.D. Then, two years later, the Catholic (Universal) Church was founded by Simon Magus (the magician) in Rome while posing as Simon Peter. Within a few years Simon’s converts were infiltrating God’s church where, having convinced the people that they were God’s messengers, they “deceived many,” as Jesus warned would happen in Matthew 24:4,5. He had earlier warned that “few” would enter and remain in His church while “many” would be lured into Satan’s religion which would be presented as His (Christ’s) church (Mat. 7:13,14/ 22:14). Those who continue to do the devil’s ministerial work today do not know that they are lying to the people. Having been deceived and led to believe and embrace the theological “truths” of their mentors, they in turn teach the unwitting masses the same Satanic lies they were taught. A proven rule is that if a religious lie is told often enough, it will soon become a church truth.

One of the lies Satan’s false prophets have brought into his religious web is the subject of this series. Let us now delve deeply into God’s Holy Word where we will find not only the problem exposed by this series, but will determine how it is so easily confused with His Truth. The problem can be summed up in one word: IGNORANCE–a self-inflicted spiritual disease that only God’s Truths can cure. The spiritual sickness the disease has produced has caused the spiritual deaths of billions of salvation seekers who have unwittingly become “carriers”–people who have a disease, do not know they have it and thereby pass it on to other people.

The root of the problem is that the sick do not know they are sick, therefore they not only refuse God’s cures, they are led to view them as Satan’s viruses, even though the Bible they own states otherwise. Being ignorant of God’s word, and refusing to listen to those who know it, they remain unwitting carries until death. Satan views these poor souls as low-hanging fruit. His success in recruiting them can be seen by consulting any telephone book, searching for the heading CHURCHES, and count. Another method is to notice the number of churches one sees by driving through a neighborhood. I can stand in my back yard and, if not for trees and buildings, I could count three “churches,” each one different from the others, each one claiming to be God’s ONLY voice to the world. And Satan smiles, knowing that he rules the spiritual lives of thousands of people in the area.

Basically, the confusion swirling around justification and salvation is caused by three deadly ASSUMPTIONS: 1) that God’s Ten Commandment Law was “nailed to the cross” at the time of Christ’s crucifixion; 2) that “the law” written about by the Apostle Paul refers to both the Ten Commandments and the sacrificial law and: 3) that both were done away with by Christ’s death. The Biblical Truth is that one of those laws was indeed done away with by Christ, that being the sacrificial, ritualistic law written by Moses. As this series, along with the series dealing with the salvation process (key word–Process) make clear, JUSTIFICATION is the first step in a life-long, godly “walk” (1 Jn. 2:6/ Rev. 3:21) that, if followed until the end of life (Mat. 10:22), will lead to SALVATION (Rom. 5:21; 6:22). Simply put: IF ONE DOES NOT WALK IN HOLINESS AND RIGHTEOUSNESS IN THIS LIFE, ONE WILL NOT SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD AND CHRIST IN PARADISE. THIS IS WHY WE ARE TOLD THAT JESUS IS OUR “LORD AND SAVIOR” IN THAT ORDER. IF CHRIST IS NOT OUR “LORD” (MASTER WHO MUST BE OBEYED) IN THIS LIFE, HE WILL NOT BE OUR “SAVIOR” IN THE NEXT LIFE WHICH WILL BEGIN UPON HIS RETURN TO EARTH TO ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF GOD WHERE HE, GOD AND THEIR VERY ELECT SAINTS WILL LIVE FOR ETERNITY. Read The Kingdom of God and The Three Resurrections. Key words–Kingdom and Three respectively.

Now turn with me to Paul’s letter to the Galatians where we will find the supposed “truths” that are used to “prove” that the three assumptions relative to justification, salvation and the Law are “Biblical facts.” As the careful examiner will notice, the words “just,” “justify,” “Justified” and “justification” are used eight times by Paul in his letter while the words “salvation,” “saved” and “save” are not mentioned at all. Though we will not go there, in the Book of Romans the same justification/salvation problem is addressed and the same conclusion is made clear to the one who studies the Word of God as directed in Isaiah 28:9-13 mentioned earlier in the series. Satan does not miss a chance to deceive salvation seekers into doing away with God’s eternal Law as it applies to the salvation of the soul. However, a thorough study of the Holy Scriptures reveals that in order to receive eternal life, God’s Ten Commandment Law must be obeyed totally, including commandment #4. Read James 2:10/ John 8:31; 14:15,23; 15:10; 1 Jn. 2:3-5 and 3:1-10.

In order to fully explain the message of this series I will explain the conflict in both Galatians and Romans for they mirror each other. JUSTIFICATION IS GOD’S FORGIVENESS OF ALL OF ONE’S PAST SINS (Rom. 3:25–note the word “PAST” relative to one’s sins). This act of God’s grace and man’s faith has no bearing on any future sins which the Lord deals with using curses such as sickness, poverty, accidents, etc. on the individual level and wars, so-called “acts of nature,” etc. on the collective level. Read about God’s curses on man, including churchman, due to his sins using the key word Voices. Also, read about the re-crucifixion of Christ caused by man’s sins using the key word Re-crucifixion. Having read those references, the reader will understand why Jesus commands the justified one to “SIN NO MORE” in the future. Read Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 for a full understanding of God’s attitude toward sin and obedience. Note the cause and effect rule applied by the Lord as He tells us what He will do FOR us if we obey Him and what He will do TO us if we disobey Him. The choice is ours.

The problems the apostles faced in the New Testament Church were generated by supposedly converted Jews who believed that one could be justified only by obeying the law that Moses wrote in a book and placed beside the Ark of the Covenant. These false ministers commanded Gentile converts to be circumcised and to follow the Levitical law written by Moses in the “book of the law” that was “added because of transgressions” (sins–breaking of God’s Ten Commandment Law–Gal. 3:19 which all must obey in order to receive salvation at the return of Christ). The “added law” involved the shedding of animal blood, the lighting of candles and other rituals. The added law consisted of the “handwriting of ordinances” that was “nailed to the cross” of Christ. That law was designed to be in effect “until Shiloh (Messiah) comes to Whom the righteous will gather” (Gen. 49:10). Modern salvation seekers, believing that justification and salvation are one and the same, believe that Paul is referring to salvation, not justification relative to the keeping of the Law. The Scriptures tell us that, once justification has been received, one must obey the Law in order to qualify for salvation upon Christ’s return. No amount of religiosity will take the place of obedience to God’s Law. The church understands neither salvation nor the meaning of the Ten Commandment Law relative to eternal life.

One of the problems one confronts when studying Paul’s messages is that he was a highly educated man and used words and statements that even the Apostle Peter wrestled with at times. He wrote in Second Peter 3:16: “As in all of his (Paul’s) epistles, HIS MESSAGES ARE HARD TO UNDERSTAND. AS A RESULT, THOSE WHO ARE IGNORANT AND UNSTABLE TWIST HIS WORDS TO MAKE THEM MEAN WHAT THEY WANT THEM TO MEAN, WHICH LEADS TO THEIR DESTRUCTION.” Nothing has changed. The ignorant and unstable among church leadership continue to teach their followers to reject God’s Law relative to salvation even though God tells us that without obedience to His Law there can be no salvation.

The crux of the problem stems from the belief that the Ten Commandment Law and the sacrificial law were both “nailed to the cross” and therefore have no place in the New Testament Church. Church “truth” dictates that faith is all that is needed to receive and retain salvation, and that if one obeys God’s Law one has “fallen from grace” and cannot be saved in that condition. I have been so labeled by Sabbath breakers. JUSTIFICATION is indeed granted by God’s grace in accordance with man’s faith. However, this only removes his PAST sins. In order to become converted God’s Ten Commandment Law must be obeyed, meaning that sin is no longer part of the salvation seeker’s life because “sin is the transgression of the Law” (1 Jn. 3:4). The “ignorant and unstable” within the church reject this oft-proved Bible Truth relative to salvation. As I explain in the series titled The Process of Salvation (key word–Process), following justification, the now-righteous (without sin) believer must be truly converted and prove it by obeying the Ten Commandments, including #4. With extremely rare exception, those within professing Christendom reject this Biblical commandment. Read James 2:10,14,17,18,20,24,26. The “works” James refers to involve obeying God’s Law, without which salvation is not possible. Note verse 14 in particular.

As I have noted before, I understand why people cannot understand that God created two Laws, one of which He nailed to Christ’s cross. One must study God’s Word deeply and with an open heart in order to understand what God is saying. I call such “hidden” information God’s “fine print.” The desire to do such in-depth study is what separates true Christians from counterfeit Christians. In his Roman and Galatian letters, Paul was referring to TWO TOTALLY DIFFERENT LAWS. ONE LAW CONSISTED OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS WRITTEN BY THE LORD HIMSELF. THE OTHER LAW WAS THE SACRIFICIAL LAW WRITTEN BY MOSES. The converted Gentiles Paul was writing to understood about the two laws because Paul had taught them. We, on the other hand, need the power of the Holy Spirit to understand as Paul teaches us the Bible Truth concerning those Laws.

JUSTIFICATION (forgiveness of PAST sins, renders the believer RIGHTEOUS–SINLESS) and is provided by God’s grace through man’s faith. He Law plays no part in the act of justification. SALVATION is the end result of a post-justification life lived (“walked”) in the righteousness made possible by justification. As Jesus said, those who walk in that justified state “until the end will (then) be saved” (Mat. 10:22). Romans 5:21 and 6:22 make this clear. L.J.