Brief comments on Heresies (sermon)

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Heresies August 11 2002

Another fine sermon from Pastor Michael Phillips from Grace Baptist Church...

Cited

It (the theology of the Judaizers, my add) would have changed and finally destroyed the Gospel. In Galatians 1 Paul says adding the Mosaic Law to the Gospel turns the Gospel into something else. In his commentary on Galatians, Scot McKnight explains:

"It is like telling a new convert that he or she must also become a Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, etc., before the conversion process is truly complete and acceptable to God. When this sort of thing takes place, the message itself is changed; it is no longer `Surrender to Christ', but `Join our group'. The focus of salvation shifts from Christ to Movement".

Agreeing with Pastor Phillips and McKnight, in my words, when Christians, leaders, pastors, and churches elevate, based on New Testament (biblical) theology, and sometimes not so biblical theology, secondary doctrines to actual or virtual primary doctrines, there is a serious danger in some cases at least, that theologically salvation becomes dependent on those elevated secondary doctrines being accepted at the expense of core Gospel doctrines.

For example, a church states as core belief and dogma:

We believe in the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation from sin and death; yet one must follow the dogmas and practices of our church (alone, or perhaps a few like churches) to be saved.

Following these dogmas and practices becomes the rule by which someone is a 'true Christian' or not, according to these movements.

By embracing theology that elevates works righteousness above the applied atoning and resurrection work of Jesus Christ to the chosen/elect that believe, alone (1-2 Ephesians) through regeneration (Titus 3), these churches and movements, therefore, risk cancelling the Gospel. As in Matthew 7 and the Lord, Lord, warning from Jesus Christ, for those with a false belief.

COAD, F. ROY (1986) ‘Galatians’, in F.F. Bruce (gen.ed.), The International Bible Commentary, Grand Rapids, Marshall Pickering/ Zondervan.

HUGHES, PHILIP, EDGCUMBE (1990) A Commentary On The Epistle To The Hebrews, Grand Rapids, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.