Paul's Passing Thoughts

Listen to podcast or download mp3 audio file here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/falsereformation/2017/02/18/the-elementary-falsehood-of-the-protestant-gospel

To whom it may concern:

We have been counseling redacted for several months regarding Clearcreek Chapel’s* interference in his marriage with redacted. Unfortunately, redacted is among a long list of people we have counseled over several years who have experienced the same pattern of abusive attempts by the Clearcreek Chapel leadership to control their lives.

The pattern is the same: the Chapel leadership rejects all ability by any individual to ascertain truth for themselves and claims all authority over the lives of individual members. Redacted has been told repeatedly by Chapel leadership that redacted is “dwelling in darkness” as well as a plethora of other slanderous accusations.

If redacted believes that redacted is “dwelling in darkness,” this effectively invalidates redacted as her husband and voids any notion that an actual marriage exists apart from the marriage contract. On either wise, the Chapel has no right to interfere with how redacted perceives her husband or the marriage contract.

Therefore, we have counseled redacted that the Chapel has destroyed his marriage. If there is any hope for this marriage, it will entail the right and duty of redacted and redacted to think for themselves and pursue the wisdom of multiple counselors (Proverbs 15:22). Clearly, the Chapel leadership claims sole authority over truth and rejects all independent thinking that would seek other perspectives. Repeatedly, this ministry receives testimony of Chapel leadership rejecting the plain sense of Scripture and common sense while demanding complete obedience to their self-proclaimed authority over the lives of members.

We pray that redacted will see what is self-evident and biblical; that God has given people the ability to seek truth per their own conscience and the freedom thereof. In fact, the Bible makes it clear that we are individually culpable before God regarding the sum and substance of our own lives.

Moreover, we have counseled redacted to seek legal counsel regarding the Chapel’s interference in his marriage contract, and unless redacted ceases in her betrayal of that contract, any endeavor to remain married to her will be a miserable existence in contrast to Christians being called to a life of peace. 

Please consider; in regard to redacted desiring to be a better person as we all do, the Chapel leadership claims complete authority over that as well. They have made it clear that they will only speak well of redacted to redacted if he completely abandons every notion that he can think for himself.

We find this wholly unacceptable and the epitome of cultish ideology.

TANC Ministries

2.17.2017

*Clearcreek Chapel located in Springboro, Ohio.            

This will be the subject of tonight’s radio show: “The Elementary Falsehood of the Protestant Gospel” LIVE LINK: Friday 2.17.2017 @ 7pm

During Breakout Session

[BEGIN TRANSCRIPT]

PAUL DOHSE: I’m just trying to connect the message that I’m hearing constantly about the problem with moralism versus the practical application that you just recommended for sins like pornography. The financial stuff I understand, that once you get to a mission field you gotta be able to feed yourself, whatever, raise support. But I guess where I’m hearing conflicting messages is between the whole problem with moralism and um…but yet the tension between the practical application that you just recommended for these kinds of sins

And lastly, when we go to a mission field, what’s the gospel that we’re really trying to put out there? It seems like if you have a lot of sins issues, that’s a contradiction to the gospel, but yet this seems to be a gospel that says that whether you’re a Christian or not a Christian you’re still totally depraved, so… (Note: the last emphasised part was edited out of the audio posted by the Cross Conference on their website.  This interchange begins around the 1:09 mark of their audio.)

THABITI ANYABWILE: No, no no.  Let me give you some clarification real quick. That’s a very good question. I’m glad you asked that. I hope everyone’s clear that in this conversation here I was just setting out to give you some practical, sort of, thoughts, and points to think through in some practical areas that sometimes inhibit your participation in the mission. This was not a sort of workshop on the gospel itself. Right? So moralism is entirely different gospel. That’s the idea that by your moral behavior you earn sort of right standing or acceptance with God. We would renounce that as pharisaical, in fact when you read your gospel that’s what you see. Think of, uh, um, the man who comes to Jesus and says what must I do to have eternal life? Right? Jesus says something along the lines of go sell your all, give it to your poor. First he starts with the law, you know? He cites a couple of commandments and the young man says this I’ve done since I was a youth. That’s moralism. And Jesus says, I tell you what, go sell you all, sell all you have, give to the poor, come follow me. That’s the call of the gospel. Rich young man goes away sad, doesn’t he? So he was moral, but he wasn’t accepted with Christ, he wasn’t justified with Christ.

So, let me give two or three sort of words here. Justification and sanctification. When we’re talking about the gospel, when we’re talking about justification we’re talking about how it is we are made right with God, reconciled to him, forgiven of our sins, declared righteous with God, that is solely by God’s grace alone, apart from any works we do, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. Right? It’s the work that Christ has accomplished, in His obedience to God and His sacrifice on the cross and in the resurrection that is the sole and only grounds of our being right with God, and we receive that righteousness only by faith in Christ. That’s the gospel.

However, those who are so justified with God also, if they’re genuinely converted, in fits and starts and leaps and bounds and stumblings and sort of up and down like the stock market chart, begin a lifelong process of sanctification, of growing in Christ-likeness, in growing in obedience to Christ, in conformity to Christ. Right?

And so when we’re talking about some of these questions about sin issues that keep you off the mission field, we’re talking about that area of sanctification, not justification, and we’re talking about sort of an artistic question about, in some ways artistic, in some ways Biblically clear. So for example if we’re talking about someone who wants to be a pastor in a missions context or pastor locally, 1 Timothy 3 defines that really clearly. Right? Must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, can’t be a brawler, can’t be a drunkard. Here he’s naming these sin issues and these righteousness issues. The Bible speaks to that very clearly. I think we want a similar kind of maturity in mind when we think about the mission field. So we’re talking there about maturity, not justification. Yes sir?

PAUL: So in defining justification, is justification a mere legal declaration in which the righteousness of Christ is also substituted for us?

ANYABWILE: That’s exactly right, it’s imputed to us.

PAUL: Or are we righteous as a state of being, through the New Birth?

ANYABWILE: No, I would understand justification to be, um, an imputation, um, and I would understand that there is a kind of growing in righteousness that’s a part of our sanctification. But this is where the protestant church is different from Roman Catholicism for 500 years. Right? So Roman Catholicism say the protestant view of justification is a legal fiction. That’s the language that they have used historically. Actually that’s what the Bible teaches. Romans 1:16, 17 so many other places, Ephesians 2:8-10, uh, and we could continue to add texts. So our justification is a legal declaration. It is forensic, in which Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us by faith. Right? We’re not earning it. We’re not made righteous in that sense, uh, at the point of justification, but we do grow in righteousness. Now I’m gonna pause you cause I’m already past time and we can talk further, but let me see if there is maybe just one other question from the students in the room and we can talk further.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

Follow-up in Hallway

[BEGIN TRANSCRIPT]

PAUL: Just one minute or so. In our discussion in there on imputation of righteousness, that would mean then that really the standard for justification , or the basis for justification, is perfect law-keeping.

ANYABWILE: Exactly

PAUL: Okay

ANYABWILE: Exactly, which Christ done. Matthew 5:17

PAUL: Which Christ did. I mean RC Sproul says that Christ actually gained his righteous status by keeping the law perfectly. Would you agree with that?

ANYABWILE: Yeah I would agree with that. Matthew 5:17. You know Kevin was talking about that a little bit this morning, speaking about that, I’ve not come to abolish the law and the prophets but to fulfill it. Um, and when you read the record of the sermon on the mount, when he says fulfill it he doesn’t seem to mean merely keeping the letter of the law but also the whole spirit. Right? So to fulfill it in its fullest sense. Or as to say, 1 Corinthians 1:30 or 31 where Paul says there that God made Him to be wisdom for us, that is, our righteousness, sanctification, and holiness. Um, so Christ has become all the holiness we need for justification to be fulfilled, so He is the reality [sounds like] for our justification.

PAUL: Yeah. I guess, and I understand that angle on it and everything, but then basically, as far as the gospel is concerned and missionaries, I mean, we’re there but it’s not us that’s really righteous at all.

ANYABWILE: Well that’s right. That’s right.

PAUL: Right

ANYABWILE: There’s a message that hey there’s a righteousness apart from the law that’s by faith from first to last. We’re calling other people to that foreign righteousness that’s in Christ.

PAUL: Right. So basically in cleaning up our act and going to mission fields, I mean, that shouldn’t be the emphasis, right? I mean that’s what cultures are gonna be looking for. They’re gonna be looking for character in missionaries. Okay. But the gospel is really stating that the fact that character is not in us at all.

ANYABWILE: That Christ is producing it…it’s not in us for justification…

PAUL: Right…

ANYABWILE: …but it is in us as Christians as we grow with Christ by a particular…

PAUL: But it’s really the one…Christ is really the one that’s doing it. When you say grow, it’s just an increased manifestation of Christ’s work, not us.

ANYABWILE: By the ordinary means of grace. Another phrase Sproul would want to use. By the ordinary means of grace. What’s happening is, like what Paul says in Colossians, right, Christ in you the hope of glory…

PAUL: Right

ANYABWILE: …that Christ is manifesting Himself more and more. And the normal way that He does that, right, is by the word, by prayer, by fellowship, those ordinary means of grace.

PAUL: Right

SUSAN: My question is…

PAUL: This is my wife.

ANYABWILE: How are you? Pleased to, blessed to know you.

SUSAN: When you say that Christ fulfilled the law, so when He ascended up into heaven, all law was fulfilled. What about all those he didn’t that have not yet been fulfilled?

ANYABWILE: Are you thinking of the prophesies and [unintelligible] like that?

PAUL: Yeah.

ANYABWILE: Yeah. So when I use the phrase “He fulfilled the law”, I’m mean in terms of our justification. It doesn’t mean that all of the scripture is now fulfilled. There’s still some things….

SUSAN: Right, I just didn’t know if that was something you said before…

ANYABWILE:   It’s a great question.

SUSAN: …Old Testament law (unintelligible)

ANYABWILE: Something great Paul says to them in Galatians, Christ is the end of the law for justification.

PAUL: Alright, thanks a lot. Alright. Bye Bye.

[END TRANSCRIPT]

Has our culture completely lost its mind? Rush Limbaugh, Shawn Hannity, et al, make a living pointing out the absurdity and irrational logic of the “looney left.” I have all but ceased listening to a lot of these programs because they beat the mere symptoms of the real problem like a never-ending Whack-A-Mole game. The different colors and mole versions of the gaming machines all flow from moleism.

The core logic drives everything; i.e., presuppositions concerning mankind. Man is either able or unable. Man is created with an individual ability to discern reality or he isn’t. This is where people miss it: at the core of this question is whether man can discern reality itself; not practical truth. When reality is the question, practical commonsense observation is neither here nor there.

We have all screamed at the TV during a political speech proclaiming, “Do they think we are stupid?” Barack Obama continually states things that are glaringly opposite from what is happening with a straight face and without batting an eyelash. He doesn’t think you are stupid; he thinks you are unable to properly discern reality. What you think you perceive couldn’t be the truth because you are not an elitist, and how dare you question those destined to lead the great unwashed away from ignorant self-destruction?

Farfetched? Think about the things he has said. “You didn’t build that.” Really? Is this not a complete dismissal of individual ability? You only think you built that, but that’s not reality. You are completely full of yourself, and robbed others of their fair share to enrich yourself. But don’t miss the main point here: Obama is a microcosm of this core issue that transcends history, religion, and the future of mankind.

The Bible has much to say about this issue. Ever heard of the Tower of Babel? Ironically, religion has always been the standard-bearer of the following idea:

Man is totally depraved and unable to discern reality.

Therefore, elitists must guide the great unwashed away from self-annihilation.

If the great unwashed refuse to follow, they must be forced to obey against their will for their own good and the preservation of mankind.

Wars are the necessary result of competing elitists who fancy themselves as having the best wisdom for saving mankind. Of course, there will always be those who just want to conquer other nations to gain a spoil and use said philosophy for an excuse to do so.

In contrast, we read this in the 11^th chapter of Genesis:

6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.

Even though in this case man’s ability was being utilized for evil, the ability of mankind is plainly stated in this chapter. How can religion therefore get away with the Total Inability of Man doctrine despite the plain sense of biblical grammar? Again, it’s a case of truth being under the authority of elitists supposedly gifted (a source of your preference) with knowing reality. How dare you think for yourself and assume the text says what it plainly states oh arrogant one!

The primary tool for gaining control of the masses is condemnation. You are a totally depraved individual; therefore, you must put yourself under the authority of “godly/wise” elitists. It is interesting to note that biblically speaking the essence of sin itself is a lust/desire to control others. The best way to control someone is to rob them of self-esteem, self-confidence, and dignity. Being unworthy and shamed, they are now putty in the hands of tyranny. Do you see much condemnation in the present American political climate? That’s what it is all about; you are a fill in the blank-phobe and therefore should humbly put yourself under the submission of an elitists who doesn’t fear fill in the blank due to their infinite wisdom. It has been said that Obama was elected because of white guilt; I buy into that totally. Because we are all racist, we dare not oppose a black president and add to our shame. The same mode of operation was attempted in the past election regarding gender but the failed polices of Obama trumped what would have ordinarily worked. Also note that black conservatives are not really black. Even skin color has been redefined according to the collectivist worldview. If you really understood reality you would understand that black isn’t always black.

What compels the masses to buy into this? Probably fear of self-governing and finding comfort in the mommy-state. Behind all the absurd arguments is a fundamental fear that we will be without an elitist protector. It is interesting to note what the comedian Louis C.K. recently stated on the Conan O’Brien show. Speaking about Hillary Clinton and the past election:

I’d take her over anybody. To me, it’s really exciting to have the first mother in the White House. It’s not about the first woman, it’s about the first mom. Because a mother just does it. She feeds you and teaches you, protects you. She takes care of sh*t.

Don’t underestimate this mentality as a principle shared by those who fear individual ability. The question of individualism versus collectivism drives nearly everything we experience in history, religion, and politics.

paul

“The one thing life cannot take from you is the way you think; that is always a choice leading to either happiness or despair. I understand that life often requires the absence of joy, but even then, the peace of happiness is running in the background.”

Christ, yes, the Lord, but more importantly our big brother and the firstborn of God’s family, said, “To whom much is given much is expected.” Two major keys to overcoming the blues are found in this first sentence. As Christians, we must make who we really are a concrete realization in our living; God is our literal Father, not our judge and condemner. Jesus completed His part in redeeming mankind and is therefore not “ashamed to call us brothers.”

We are family members of God and Christ and the reality of that is reflected to a great degree in earthly family members. Good parents want you to be blessed, happy, and don’t want to control you; they want to see a good and fruitful life that flows from your own heart. After all, you are their offspring. Your happiness is their happiness and their reward. Most churches that supposedly represent God are more like parental failures who try to control their children through condemnation.

I mention this because the subject of condemnation is not far removed from any discussion on the blues or depression. Condemnation has little place in the realm of wellbeing where truth about people is the order of the day and any valid reason for condemnation is in the process of being corrected. Staying in a place of rightful condemnation is a personal choice. But, being in a place where untruthful condemnation rules the day is also a choice indicative of religion in general and Protestantism specifically. Therefore the institutional church is making a killing on counseling services; it is creating its own supply and demand.   

Amidst the expectation introduced in the first paragraph is confidence, thankfulness, and happiness. After all, “what can separate us from the love of God?” Be sure of this: the blues and depression are almost always the result of a temporary or overall errant perspective of reality.

May I share what I have learned about this the hard way? Your journey to overall happiness does not have to be long like mine was. Yes, you may be happy, but not taking the blues seriously can change that in a hurry. At work (I am a nurse’s aide), I was recently greeted this way by a resident: “How are you today?” I answered this way: “I am absolutely wonderful; in fact, there isn’t a resident in this facility who wouldn’t trade places with me.” The resident paused, and replied, “Well, well, that is a very healthy perceptive.” More than that—it happens to be the truth…with some qualifications.

Those who are happy wouldn’t want to be me; they are happy with being themselves, they would just prefer my present resources. Why? Because they earned their present self-esteem by being all they could be while they were able while those exploiting all their present resources to be all they can be have little time to be sad. Unnecessary idleness is not only the Devil’s workshop, it is the workshop of stinking thinking. What is stinking thinking? It is a focus on untruth; overemphasis on the negatives in your life is NOT the truth. For example, consider worry. How often does something you worry about come true in your life? Worry is most often not the truth. Worry robs you of joy. Dwell on truth, and use your abilities to make your life a truth that you can feel good about. We were created to be productive and to receive a reward for it.  

Got the blues? Stop. Do an inventory of your present resources. Are you exploiting them per the Father’s expectations? He has made you able to earn a truthful evaluation of yourself. Being satisfied with yourself is a good medicine against the blues. By the way, the occasional blues are a forerunner to serious forms of depression; take the blues seriously and practice preventative medicine.

Also, bring balance to your perspective on present reality. Whenever I get the blues, feel dread, or experience signs of depression, I have learned to stop and say to myself, “Ok, what’s going on here?” Time to evaluate my present thinking, what I am dwelling on, and my present perspective on reality. Recently, I began focusing on unfortunate politics going on at work, the basic difficulty of the job, and a warfare of personal agendas. And of course, working while sick didn’t help any of this, but that did lead to a doctor’s visit which sparked some rethinking.

When the nurse took my blood pressure she was shocked; 112 over 62. My blood pressure has been nowhere near that good for ten years despite my doctor’s best efforts. Yes, my job is hard, but it also entails walking about 20 miles a day in a large facility. I have been dieting for six years with little results so that was in place resulting in significant weight loss and good blood pressure. High blood pressure will mess up your health A-Z, and being overweight as well. This new development is an additional tool in the toolbox used to be all that the Father expects me to be based on what I have been given. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that our Father is condemning if we don’t live up to what we have been given, the point is that we are most happy when we are doing just that. It is interesting to note that being happy is a biblical command; it is an imperative. And, believers who obey God are loving Him. So, is it fair to say that we love our Father by being happy? Absolutely if 2+2=4 and it does.

This blood pressure revelation led me to consider other areas to refocus on concerning my job and per the usual, my original joy regarding my career returned. This is simply how life works. Truthful thinking is foundational. The one thing life cannot take from you is the way you think; that is always a choice leading to either happiness or despair. I understand that life often requires the absence of joy, but even then, the peace of happiness is running in the background.

This brings us to hope. Happiness results in truthful evaluation of yourself leading to action and a truthful evaluation of reality. Hope is the stalwart against the trials and troubles of life. Hope denotes that the trial is only temporary, and that the Father has promised eternal happiness in the end. A happy life ebbs and flows between joy and peace amidst sorry; hope is the anchor for our souls. Your ship may be in a storm, but the Father’s anchor will hold.

Let me express an opinion about hope; I believe it is an acid test for truth. If something stated has no hope; it’s probably not the truth. Hence, predestination isn’t the truth. However, let’s not forget that religious predestination always states that faithfulness to the church means you are predestined for salvation. So, you can choose to be predestined for salvation by going to church, and yes, therefore, there is damn good money in religion. People will pay any price for hope.

But hope is free from our loving Father. Is it any wonder that Christ came preaching the good news of the kingdom which began with nine paragraphs on happiness? Also, be sure of this as well: those who are indifferent to being God’s children can be mentally healthy by practicing truthful thinking. Psychology rightfully defines good mental health as “an ability to cope with life.” But this has no insurance against everything that life can bring; only God can supply that hope.

Got the blues? Time to take inventory…a truthful one. Move the bigger packages on the shelf to make sure there is nothing you forgot about. If you have the blues, more than likely, a lot of your life is not being counted, and future shipments are not being considered. Furthermore, continue to educate yourself regarding hope and truth in general. Excessive sadness is the kissing cousin of ignorance.

In one of the few instances that made my stint in the institutional church worth it, I had a visitor in the 6^th grade Sunday school class that I taught. The subject of the lesson was the biblical truth that trials are only temporary. Few things are more devastating to a female adolescent than divorce, especially when it is the mother who walks out on the marriage. The father came and shared with me what transpired after church. His daughter hurriedly approached him in an excitable fashion asking, “Daddy! Is it true? Trials are only temporary?” He, of course, affirmed that for God’s children trials are always temporary. He informed me of the resulting joy that he had not seen in his daughter for weeks. Why? The divorce was not ended. Answer: hope.

Right thinking, right remembering, a right course of action, and claiming the hope of our Father will overcome the blues. Happiness is not optional…

…this is how we love our Father.

paul