Issue #121-WORKS, JM's Tract Continues: Points 10-

Biblical Errancy Issue #121-WORKS, JM's Tract Continues: Points 10-11, Reader Attacks Doctrine of Salvation, Gospel's Muddle

Nov 10, '08 5:30 AM
by Loren for everyone






Issue No. 121

January 1993

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WORKS--One of the most prominent themes running throughout fundamentalist and conservative Christian literature is that you are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. The number of quotes one could relate in this regard is rather sizable so there is no need to belabor the obvious at this juncture. What isn't so obvious, however, is that a large number of verses clearly say that you are saved by works or good deeds. Faith is not sufficient. In fact, many biblical verses show that faith is either unnecessary or useless without works. James 2:17 says, "Even so faith, if it has not works, is dead, being alone." James 2:14 says, "What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith, and has not works? Can faith save him?" And Matt. 7:21 says, "Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." So faith without works is ineffectual. According to much of Scripture, your behavior has far more to do with your ultimate destiny than any beliefs, ideas, or concepts lying at the core of your thought processes. The biblical message that constantly emerges is that it is what you do that counts, not what you believe. Because belief in salvation by works is unacceptable to most of Christianity and, in fact, is decried repeatedly and vociferously in most apologetic literature, we feel obligated to present the other side and expose "Salvation in Jesus Christ" for the fraud that it is. All of the following verses show that acts, performance, conduct, and behavior are what matter in the final analysis, not outlook, philosophy, and beliefs. •Micah 6:8 says, "...what does the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." Note well! All one need do to meet God's requirements is to be just, love mercy and be humble. Nothing is said about believing in anything. Good deeds are sufficient.
•Another powerful citation is found in Mark 10:17-19 (See also: Matt. 19:16-18 and Luke 18:18-22) in which a man says to Jesus, "Good master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life. And Jesus said to him, Why call thou me good? There is none good but one, that is God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and thy mother...and go thy way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven and come, take up the cross and follow me." In other words, a man asked Jesus what he had to do to be saved, and Jesus provided him a laundry list of obligatory good deeds. At no time did Jesus tell him to believe in anything, including himself. Good behavior, alone, is sufficient. That is salvation by works. One can't help but note that Jesus only listed 5 of the Ten Commandments. Apparently the others are not crucial for salvation.
•In Luke 10:25-28 a lawyer tempted Jesus by saying, "Master, what must (Note carefully that he says must--Ed.) I do to inherit eternal life?" and Jesus said to him, "What is written in the law? How readest thou?" The lawyer answered and said, "Thou shalt love the lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself." And Jesus said to him, "Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live." So, Christianity's founder, himself, says that loving the Lord and your neighbor has more to do with salvation than faith in Jesus.

Another example of works being thrust to the forefront is found in Ezek. 18:4-9, which says, "...the soul that sins, it shall die. But if a man be just, and do that which is lawful and right...has walked in my statutes, and has kept my judgments, to deal truly; he is just, he shall surely live...." Again, nothing is said about belief or believing in anything. Good deeds, following God's statutes, and doing what is just and right are all that is required. That could be accomplished by anyone who has ever lived and one need never have heard of Jesus or the Bible. Rom. 2:13 says, "(For not the hearers of the law are just before God) but the doers of the law shall be justified." It says "doers" are justified, not "believers." First Cor. 7:19 in the NIV says, "Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God's commands is what counts. If keeping the commandments is what counts, then belief is of little import. That is also the message to be found in Rev. 22:14, which says, "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Eccle. 12:13 is another powerful verse in favor of salvation by works, and says, "...Fear God and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." Notice it says the "whole duty." There are no other requirements, such as believing in something or someone. Acts 10:35 also says that in every nation, "He that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him." So, clearly works are primary according to these verses.

The Book of James is exceptionally rich in verses that focus on the importance of works over faith. James 2:24 flatly states, "You see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." James 2:21 says, "Was not Abraham our father justified by works?" James 2:25 says, "Was not Rahab the harlot justified by works when she received the messengers?" James 2:20 says, "Faith without works is dead." James 2:26 says, "For as the body without spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." And James 1:27 says, "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world." Notice that nothing is said in any of these verses about believing in anything. Visiting the fatherless and widows, in other words good deeds, are all that is required to have an undefiled and pure religion.

Works are also the focus of attention in Luke 18:29-30, in which Jesus says, "There is no man that has left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting." Good behavior is also stressed over ritual in 1 Cor. 7:19, which says, "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but what matters is the keeping of the commandments of God." John 6:27 says, "Labour not for the meat which perishes, but for that meat which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give to you." Notice it says "labour," not "believe." Matt. 7:24 says, "Whoever hears these sayings of mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man, which built his house upon a rock." Again, notice it says "does" not "believes." Works, not belief, are further stressed in Luke 19:8-9, which says, "Zacchaeus stood, and said to the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusations, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said to him, This day has salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham." The key verbs--give, taken, and restore--are words of action, not belief. Another key citation that is rich in action verbs is Psalm 15:1-3 which says, "O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent? Who shall dwell in they holy hill? He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right, and speaks truth from his heart; who does not slander with his tongue, and does no evil to his friend, nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor...." The main verbs are "walks," "does," "speaks," and "takes", and not one stresses beliefs or thoughts. Deut. 10:12-13 says, "And now Israel, what does the Lord thy God require of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the Lord, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?" Every one of the verbs--fear, walk, love, serve, keep--embodies works over faith or belief. Other verses that clearly show works are of far greater importance in the salvation scenario are Gen. 4:7 ("If you do well, will you not be accepted?"), 2 Peter 1:10 ("...for if you do these things, you shall never fall"), 1 Cor. 9:24 ("Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain"), Matt. 25:31-46, 1 John 3:7, and James 1:25.

And finally, a sizable number of verses clearly state that the ultimate reward, heaven, belongs to those who commit good deeds. Faith isn't even considered. Key verses in this regard are: Rev. 22:12 ("...my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be"), Matt. 16:27 ("For the Son of Man shall come...and then he shall reward every man according to his works"), Rom. 2:6 ("The righteous judgment of God; who will render to every man according to his deeds"), 2 Cor. 5:10 ("For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad"), Psalm 62:12 ("...for thou renderest to every man according to his work"), John 5:28-29 ("Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, to the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil to the resurrection of damnation"), Ezek. 7:3 ("...and will judge thee according to thy ways"), Ezek. 18:30 and 33:20 ("I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways"), Gal. 6:7-8 ("...for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap. For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting"), Rev. 2:23 ("I will give to every one of you according to your works"), Rev. 20:12-13 ("And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works...and they were judged every man according to their works").

Many more verses are available but the point has been carved in granite. As far as biblical theology is concerned, when it comes to the final decision on the last day, an overwhelming number of verses clearly show that man's ultimate destiny will be based on behavior and not beliefs. Works will be the final determinant, not faith. If faith gets into the act or, worse yet, becomes the main consideration, then fundamentalists face a dilemma of the first magnitude. What happens to someone who lives an exemplary life but never accepts Jesus as his savior? If he goes to hell, as fundamentalists predict, then he most assuredly will not have been rewarded for good behavior, as is so often promised in Scripture. All of the verses that predict, promise, or prophesy that the final reward of mankind will be based on works rather than deeds present an insurmountable problem for anyone who claims that one's ultimate destiny hinges on whether or not he accepts Jesus Christ as his personal savior. Verses such as John 14:6 ("I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me"), John 3:18 ("He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God"), John 3:36 ("He that believes on the Son has everlasting life; and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abides on him"), and 1 John 5:12 ("He that has the Son has life; and he that has not the Son of God has not life") place fundamentalists and their allies in a horrible predicament. If belief in Jesus is the only way, as these verses allege and fundamentalists believe, what are they going to do about all of the verses that say you are saved by works, and deeds will be the primary determinant of your ultimate fate? Equally important, what happens to those people who died never having accepted Jesus, but having led virtually immaculate lives?

Probably the most important ramification of all, however, is that if works are the primary determinant of one's destiny, then Christianity in general and the Bible in particular become all but irrelevant. Anyone from any religion or no religion can perform good deeds and attain salvation. Jesus ceases to be a factor of any importance.

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DIALOGUE AND DEBATE
Editor's Response to Letter #508 Continues from Last Month (Part l)
[Point #10 in our pamphlet was: Paul says that Christianity lives or dies on the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:14, 17). Yet, why would it be of any consequence when the Widow of Nain's son, Jairus's daughter, Lazarus, and many others rose before Jesus? By the time he rose, this was actually a common occurrence. I would think it would have been met by a resounding yawn rather than surprise. Adam's act of coming into the world as a full grown adult is much more spectacular--ED.]
JM's Defense is:
Mr. McKinsey thinks that Paul was teaching that the resurrection itself was special. Paul never taught this idea. In Christ's life, he was sinless. In his death and resurrection he overcame death for us. That is what makes it so special. Jesus Christ was the only one who lived a sinless life, died and was raised to die no more. All of those together are what makes his resurrection so important. Had Jesus not lived a sinless life, his resurrection would mean nothing more than the others. Had he lived the sinless life, and not been raised, his death would have meant nothing. However, when all this is applied together, the end result is salvation for man-kind....

This is the same as saying that hearing saves (John 5:25); or that belief saves (John 20:30-31); or that repentance saves (Luke 13:3); or that confession saves (Romans 10:10); or that baptism saves (1 Peter 3:21). All of these are said to save, but there is not a one of them that will save all by itself. When they are all combined, when a person does all of them, salvation from past sins is the result. The same thing is true with Paul's statement about the resurrection in 1 Cor. 15:17.

Editor's Response to Letter #508 (Part l)
Paul was not teaching the resurrection was special? Are you serious? Have you taken leave of your NT senses? The verses I cited from 1 Corinthians clearly show that Paul felt the whole ball-game rose or fell on the Resurrection. What did he say? Without the Resurrection your faith is in vain and you are still in your sins. That is what he said and that is about as definite as one can be. Second, you say that Jesus was the only one to die no more. How do you know those who rose before him died again? Would you please cite chapter and verse to justify that allegation? You certainly couldn't be making this assumption based on anything in Scripture; for nothing is said about the subsequent lives of these people. Third, would you also please cite chapter and verse to show where Paul ties the Resurrection and sinlessness together? If anything, this is the idea that "Paul never taught." At no time are they related in the manner you describe, and your efforts represent nothing more than a transparent attempt to extricate your beloved book from an obvious dilemma. Fourth, you say that, "Paul was only dealing with one aspect of salvation; the resurrection." Precisely! And that's why your efforts to bring sinlessness into the picture are wholly unwarranted. He was only discussing the resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15, and your attempt to drag in sinlessness is biblically unsupportable. Fifth, after saying that hearing, belief, repentance, confession, and baptism save us, you allege that, "there is not one of them that will save by itself." Nowhere does the Bible say they are tied together or one necessitates the others. You can't make that judgment based on either Scripture or common sense. It's ridiculous and analogous to saying: a Ford is a car; a Honda is a car; a Buick is a car, and a Pontiac is a car; but none of them are cars unless they are all cars. Each is independent of the other and is to be judged on its own merits.

Letter #508 Continues (Part m)
Why was the resurrection of Jesus a surprise after other resurrections had taken place? In every other case these people were resurrected by the power of God, given by the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ (cf. Matthew 12:28). In this case, Jesus was raised directly by the Father (Acts 2:22-24; Romans 6:3-5).... In Jesus' case, there was no intervention; it came directly through God....

Editor's Response to Letter #508 (Part m)
You say that in every case except that of Jesus, people were resurrected by the power of God, given by the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ, and then you quote Matt. 12:28, which says, "But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you." Matt. 12:28 isn't even relevant to the issue. What does casting out demons have to do with being resurrected? Apparently you were desperate for a verse, and that was the only one available. Secondly, you artificially created a distinction where no substantial difference lies. You state that "these people were resurrected by the power of God" while Jesus "was raised directly by the Father." All you are saying is that the final source for the resurrection of everyone was God; so where is a difference of real substance? In fact, what difference does it make how they were raised? The fact is that they died and ascended from the grave. And lastly, you say that, "these people were resurrected by the power of God," while Jesus was "raised directly by the Father." Yet, one of your own sources for the latter allegation is Acts 2:24, which says, "Whom God has raised up." It does not say "the Father"; it says "God raised Jesus." And that is the same being you hold responsible for the resurrection of all those who preceded Jesus. So where is the distinction?

Letter #508 Continues (Part n)
[Point #11 in our pamphlet: Was Jehoiachin 18 years old when he began to reign in Jerusalem and did he reign 3 months (2 Kings 24:8) or was he 8 years old and reigned 3 months and 10 days (2 Chron. 36:9) and did Nebuzaradan come to Jerusalem on the 7th (2 Kings 25:8) or 10th (Jer. 52:12) day of the 5th month?--ED.]

JM's Defense is:
One possible explanation is that Jehoiachin was 8 years old when he began to co-reign with his father.... If Mr. McKinsey has problems with a child co-reigning with his father at such an early age, we only need remind him that Joash sat on the throne by himself at the age of 7 (2 Chron. 24:1).

Editor's Response to Letter #508 (Part n)
Surely you aren't going to rely on more of this co-reign nonsense, JM! There is no reason to discuss this dodge any longer. Again, how do you co-reign with a dead man? You should have consulted the text more closely before you leaped into this quagmire. Second Kings clearly states, "So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his stead." Jehoiachin had no father to "co-reign" with.

Secondly, your point with reference to Joash proves my argument, not yours. You readily admit he reigned "on the throne by himself" and that is precisely my point. He did not co-reign with anyone. Why on earth did you even mention Joash? I suggest that you devote more effort to creating logical connections in your reasoning processes. You often make leaps in thought that are either irrelevant, innocuous, or erroneous. You really should work on this. Seriously! I'm not being facetious or patronizing. You are exhibiting traits common to those infected by the religious malady, which always has a negative influence on the ability to reason.

Letter #508 Continues (Part o)
Did he reign 3 months or 3 months and 10 days? His actual reign (by himself) was, no doubt, 3 months and 10 days (2 Kings 24:8): rounded off to 3 months (2 Chron. 36:9). For example one puts his age of 37 on an application for a loan, when actually he is 37 and 3 months and 5 days old. Instead of putting the exact age, he rounds it off to 37. Since this is done by most people even today, why does McKinsey consider this as a contradiction, when it is found in the Bible?....

Editor's Response to Letter #508 (Part o)

Your rounding off explanation is no answer whatever. Whether the correct figure is 3 months or 3 months and 10 days is of no consequence. What is of immense importance is the fact that one of the figures, and possibly both, is erroneous. If someone says he is 37 years old when additional days or months are involved, he is incorrect. But his figure is acceptable because the creditor does not demand perfection. Biblicists, on the other hand, claim the Bible is perfect. There are no mistakes or errors contained therein. Perfection is demanded. When dealing with perfection, approximations don't count and that is why the Bible erred. You have to be on-target at all times. We aren't pitching horseshoes. No errors of any kind are allowed in any book written by a perfect being.

Letter #508 Continues (Part p)
Did Nebuzaradan come to Jerusalem on the 7th day of the 5th month, or did he come on the 10th day of the 5th month? This is a case where Mr. McKinsey failed to carefully read what the Bible said. Second Kings 25:8-9 says, "And in the 5th month on the 7th day of the month...came Nebuzaradan...unto Jerusalem: and he burnt the house of the Lord...." While Jer. 52:12-13 says, "Now in the 5th month in the 10th day of the month...came Nebuzaradan...into Jerusalem and burnt the house of the Lord...." One account says that he came unto Jerusalem while the other says he came into (or in other words he entered) Jerusalem. He apparently waited for 3 days to enter the city after he arrived.

Editor's Response to Letter #508 (Part p)
Like so many biblicists, JM, you have chosen the version of 2 Kings 25:8-9 which best suits your needs. If you had consulted the Jerusalem Bible you would have seen that the 8th verse says Nebuzaradan "entered Jerusalem" on the 7th day. And the New English Bible says that on the 7th, not the 10th day, Nebuzaradan...came to Jerusalem and set fire to the house of the Lord and the royal palace and burned down all the houses in the city, including the mansion of Gedaliah. For all of the latter to have been accomplished, he must have entered the city on the 7th day. In addition, 2 Kings 25:8-9 in the NEB says that Nebuzaradan came to Jerusalem AND set fire to the house of the Lord on the 7th day. In other words, both occurred on the same day. The conjunction "and" proves there was no lapse in time between the two events. (To Be Continued Next Month)

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Letter #520 from TD of Morgantown, West Virginia
These are my objections to the Christian doctrine of salvation:
The Doctrine is Incomplete because: •(1) It is not able to specify what propositions need to be believed in order for one to be saved, or whether or not one could have any doubts about them.
•(2) It is not able to specify an "age of accountability" below which all who die are automatically saved. Such a concept seems to be both required and also absurd. (For example, it is absurd that one's eternal destiny should be a matter of luck regarding the timing of one's death.)
•(3) It is not able to specify the status of persons who lived before Christ and/or who never heard of Christ. There is an absurdity here too in that one's eternal destiny seems to be a matter of luck (the time in which one lives his/her earthly life and the information that one receives during it).
Wherever the line is drawn, it will be largely a matter of luck whether one comes to be above the line or below it. People who are born into circumstances in which they receive the right information have a chance to be saved, whereas no one else receives any such opportunity.
The Doctrine is False because:
•(1) It requires that people deserve damnation, but people do not deserve damnation. Both their beliefs and behavior are totally determined by natural causes and/or predestined by God himself (as is indicated in many places in the Bible). No one deserves anything for that which is totally determined and/or predestined.
•(2) It requires that loving God and believing in Christ, both of which we are commanded to do according to the Bible (1 John 3:23), are actions subject to the will. But neither loving nor believing are actions subject to the will. We do not have control over either of them (because of biblical predestination-Ed.).

Letter #521 from A.W.L of Terre Haute, Indiana
Dear Dennis.
Please note The GOSPEL MUDDLE: "Jesus is serene and sweet in his lovely parables," says one of his enthusiasts. For serenity and sweetness we recommend Jesus' famous parable of the marriage feast, in which a king who can't induce anybody to come to his feast, sends his armies to burn down the cities of the reluctant invitees, and then picks folk casually off the street and puts them in jail if they don't happen to be wearing tuxedos. Or perhaps we shall be referred to the parable in which we are urged to "make friends with the mammon of unrighteousness," or to the tissue of absurdities in the parable of the virgins, or to the economic parable of the employer who pays no more for a day's work than for an hour's work. Perhaps the enthusiast will explain to us why, in one text, Jesus is supposed to speak in parables so that his hearers will not learn the truth, and in another text he is said to teach in parables so as to be more democratic than the Scribes and Pharisees. Any Christian scholar who touches the subject at all, ought to know that all Jewish teachers at that time used parables--there are hundreds in the Talmud--and most of the so-called parables of Jesus are filched from the rabbis, and made in large part nonsensical in the gospel version.

Editor's Note:
We would again like to stress that the post office does not automatically forward BE to your new address if you move. You must contact your old post office about this matter. Several of our subscribers have moved and failed to receive subsequent issues of BE.