Paul's Passing Thoughts

There is a great freedom in reading the Bible and depending on the discernment God has given you to understand the Bible. Probably the greatest onslaught against Christianity ever, 1st century Gnosticism declared itself an elitist authority over the laity. In addressing this deception, the apostle John stated, “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.” Christians gifted with an ability to teach are a help to Christians, but not an authority. If the Bible is YOUR authority, this necessarily implies that it is according to your own understanding. If your understanding depends on interpretation by someone else, they are YOUR authority, and an additional mediator between you and the only head of the body, Christ.

And what is the hermeneutic? Just let the words say what they say according to the meaning of the words, and the conclusions drawn by their use in sentences. Don’t try to understand everything all at once, but use objective truths (the things you know to be true about any given passage) to build a foundation for understanding the details as more understanding evolves. Sometimes, teachers supply shortcuts to the process because they have already put the pieces together regarding certain subjects. In addition, if a conclusion is 100% objective truth, other passages must bow to that truth. The Bible does not contradict itself.

Be sure of this: the present-day church is a return to 1st century Gnosticism in every way, shape, and form.

When you partake in daily Bible reading as a free person, and not one enslaved to self-proclaimed authorities, you begin to notice words that are important foundations to more detailed truths. Recently, I started at the beginning of the Bible again, and took notice of the word, “curse.” Of course, spending a lot of years in church, this word was simply lumped in with “sin” as a synonymous idea, but as I read, I noticed something: it was the earth that was cursed, and the serpent, and later Cain, but not Adam and Eve. Yes, due to the earth being cursed, certain struggles and pains were added to the life of Adam and Eve, but they were not cursed.

Additionally, church emphasizes the disobedience aspect of Adam and Eve eating from The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but what was the tree and its fruit exactly? Well, it would seem that the knowledge of good and evil would be the law. The results of Adam and Eve eating from the tree follow that of being under law exactly: condemnation, leading to fear of judgment. It is also interesting to note that nakedness wasn’t a sin before they became like the Trinity, knowing good and evil. What does all of that mean? I don’t know, but I do know that this knowledge brought Adam and Eve under condemnation.

However, much later in history, when the law was instituted at Mount Sinai, most of humanity is brought under the curse of the law. At that time, Moses introduced the law as “blessing and curse,” and “life and death.” At least in one sense, the law is described, and defined as a curse:

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

Protestantism relies on the works of the law. Oh, I know, not by us, but rather, by Christ, I get that. However, it is still a reliance on the works of the law. This is the doctrine of double imputation, which goes like this: Christ not only came to die for our sins, but to keep the law perfectly, so that perfect law-keeping can also be applied to our lives in order to keep us justified. As RC Sproul et al have stated it, if Christ only died to pay the penalty of our past and present sin, that does us no good, because we still fall short of being righteous due to imperfect law-keeping; we are only forgiven for sin, but not righteous. This is known as Martin Luther’s doctrine of alien righteousness.

According to Protestantism, perfect law-keeping is the standard of justification. Christ died to pay the penalty of our past sins, but that is only forgiveness of sin, which doesn’t make us righteous; perfect law-keeping must be added as a substitution in order for us to be “declared righteous” via a substitution for our lack of perfect law-keeping. This is referred to as Christ’s “passive obedience” (as he died for our sin), and His “active obedience,” which is a substitution for our lack of ongoing perfect law-keeping. As Phil Johnson and others have stated it, Christians are still under the “righteous demands of the law” (for this reason Calvin stated that no Christian does a good work ever JCICR 3.14.10,11). This is under law x 4 versus the Pharisees and Judaizers, which were only under law x 2.

You see, even though Protestantism claims that Christ died once and lived once for the application of double imputation, this one time death and life must be reapplied constantly for our daily shortcomings in perfect law-keeping. In other words, justification is not a finished work, and must be completed by perfect law-keeping. You must obtain double imputation for “beginning justification,” and continually apply double imputation until “final justification” (double imputation x 2). Ongoing double imputation is obtained by “the ordinary means of grace” or “common means of grace” through church membership where you “submit yourself to godly men.” The Judaizers only required circumcision and adherence to some dumbed-down interpretations of the law (the traditions of men).

In the Protestant schema, the resurrection of Christ was verification to God that Christ led a perfect law-keeping life that could be perpetually applied to the “Christian” life through church sacrament. RC Sproul even suggested that Christ obtained His own righteousness through perfect law-keeping, which, of course, is overt blaspheme. In contrast, justification by new birth insists that we are righteous by virtue of Christ living in us through the new birth, and Christ’s death and resurrection made a way for us to die with Christ, and to be resurrected with Him as totally new creatures who are not under law (see Romans 7). Our new hearts will result in a focus on fulfilling the law with love without fear of condemnation. At any rate, Protestantism is hardly a “righteousness manifested APART from the law.” It is joined at the hip with the law.

We can now add cursing to this theological Protestant hot mess. If the advent of the law at Mount Sinai married the law with a curse, and it did, then the ending of the curse also signifies the ending of the law.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”—

For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.”

So, are Protestants under a curse? Clearly, they are. All who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. If it can be said that who keeps the law is not the point because there is no law that can give life, and righteousness is APART from the law according to The Promise, not the law, which came hundreds of years later, it can be said more so regarding the curse of the law. If you are a true Christian, Christ “redeemed [past tense]” you from the curse of the law.

However, there is yet another way that Protestantism is under a curse because Protestants never defy God on a single level. Clearly, Martin Luther is the undisputed father of Protestantism. And Clearly, his overt anti-Semitism is in no way ambiguous church history. So, we read the following in the Bible about a curse:

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Does this mean that all Protestants are unsaved? NO. However, it does mean that you are likely under a curse at some level for identifying with a religion that is clearly cursed by every biblical definition.

Come out from among them and be separate.

paul