Ultradispensationalism questioned

[Iosias]

I reread This we Believe and The Church! When did it begin? and have decided against rejoining the mailing list for the following reasons:

1. “While the one sacrifice of Christ on the cross is through God’s love and grace, it requires a response from us. “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s gift to us is that through His grace He requires only our faith in Christ for salvation and life.” (This we Believe)

This is clearly synergistic and implies that we cooperate with God in our salvation. The truth is that God is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2) and faith is itself a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8). Our faith is not meritorious but is rather the hand that receives Christ by whose death we are saved. God’s gift to us is a complete atonement in Christ which he gives to us by giving to his elect justifying faith. Hence “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-39). Those God has chosen to be saved (Acts 13:48; 2 Thessalonians 2:13) he gives faith. This is grace, that to those who were “dead in trespasses and sins” are regenerated by God, given faith by God, saved to the uttermost by God.

1. “The kingdom gospel was God’s grace plus the works of the Law for righteousness.” (The Church! When did it begin?) Regarding Matthew 19:16-17 and Ephesians 2:8-9 “the issue is clearly salvation and the answer is to keep the law and do good works. You must do something! Paul’s statement in Ephesians is just as clearly the opposite of what Christ said as possible, good works in his statement are not what lead to salvation.” (The Church! When did it begin)

These statements I find somewhat worrying because they advocate two ways of salvation. A ‘Jewish’ gospel of faith plus good works and a ‘Pauline’ gospel of grace alone. Yet this goes against the clear teaching of Scripture.

i.“Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Romans 3:20, 28
ii.“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Galatians 2:16
iii.“But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.” Galatians 3:11

From the very beginning there has been only one gospel which we find starts in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This we see also in Galatians 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

Hence also the following: John 5: 46 “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.” Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” Hence Paul stated in Acts 24:14 “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:”

What is Matthew 19:16-17 about? Christ said “if thou wilt enter into life keep the commandments” in order to show, that it is impossible to enter into, or obtain eternal life by the works of the law, since no man can perfectly keep it; and so His aim was to unhinge this man from off the legal foundation on which he was, that he might drop all his dependencies on doing good things, and come to Christ for righteousness and life. Hence by the Law comes the knowledge of sin, the Law a divine mirror in which we see just how far we fall short of God’s glory and so see our need for Christ.

1. “No Law-keeping or good works on our part could save us from sin and death and none need be, or can be, added to Christ’s all sufficient sacrifice. “No one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law” (Romans 3:20). There is a place for works, but they come after faith in Him and His “once for all” sacrifice on our behalf. James wrote, “I will show you my faith by what I do” (2:18). Good works are the evidence of our new life in Christ, a life which was accepted from Him by faith.” (This we Believe) “In Scripture, faith and deeds are inextricably linked together, one with the other.” “A saving faith, then, is one that manifests itself in good deeds. James 2:22, referring to Abraham, says, ‘You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did.’” “…it is of utmost importance that there is evidence of our faith in the form of good works.” (This we Believe)

Now these statements contradicts point 2 above which sees two ways of salvation. Compare “The kingdom gospel was God’s grace plus the works of the Law for righteousness” with “No one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law” (Romans 3:20)! So it seems that OBT have published The Church! When did it begin? even though it disagrees with This we Believe. Now this statement (4) holds the truth in balance that ‘faith alone saves but faith is never alone’ and this is how we ought reconcile Paul and James. Never have works contributed to our justification.

Yours sincerely,

 

[eph3Nine]

Reconcile Paul and James???? Surely you jest.

James was a minister to the CIRCUMCISION.

Paul was a minister to the UNCIRCUMCISION.

Those two dont need to be reconciled, they are preaching to different audiences with different messages.

 

[Iosias]

different messages.

So you say but the Scriptures teach there is only one gospel. Yes Paul preached to gentiles but also to jews hence "to the Jew first".

 

[eph3Nine]

So you say but the Scriptures teach there is only one gospel. Yes Paul preached to gentiles but also to jews hence "to the Jew first".

Lets do a little study on the ONE GOSPEL theory, shall we?

Its a common MIS conception that the bible teaches ONLY one gospel.

Problems with Acts 2 Theology...Problem Nbr. 1/MORE THAN ONE GOSPEL?


PROBLEM NO. 1--THAT THERE IS ONLY 'ONE GOSPEL' IN THE BIBLE

The Scofield Bible is a good example of the Acts 2 position concerning the gospel.' On page 1343 of the old Scofield Bible (the 1909 edition) it states in its note on 'Gospel:' "Four forms of the Gospel are to be distinguished." It mentions the Gospel of the Kingdom, the Gospel of the grace of God, the Everlasting Gospel, and Paul's 'My Gospel.' Then at the bottom of the note it refers to 'another Gospel' that is mentioned in Gal. 1:6, inferring that it is a false gospel. This note uses the word 'gospel' in the singular.

A very common argument that is used to show that there is only 'one gospel' in the Bible has to do with the doctrine of justification by faith. It is taught that since Abraham and David were justified by faith (Ran. 4:1-8) and lived in the Old Testament, and that we today are also justified by faith (Rom. 5:1), then the same gospel must be preached in both Testaments.

Another common argument is that there is only one purpose of God in the Bible, consequently, one gospel. While this is basic to Reformed Theology, Acts 2 Dispensationalists go along with it because it seems to give some credence to the 'one gospel' theory.

They also use Romans 1:1-2 to show that the Gospel is found in the Old Testament.



THE TRUTH

The Bible does not teach the 'one gospel' theory. only theologians teach it. The Bible does not use the phrase 'one gospel.' only theologians use it.

The Bible does not teach that God has revealed the same gospel message for all the dispensations of time. Rather, it is just the reverse. God has revealed different messages of 'good news' to mankind during certain periods of time, as He has willed. These messages are not to be mixed up or to be constituted as parts of one gospel. They were taken at face value at the time they were revealed.

The Scofield note on page 1343 could have been made much clearer and easier to understand. It is too general in its language. But it still reflects the teaching that there is only one gospel, one way of salvation, and that it is by grace through faith in all dispensations.

Those who believe this way really preach an homogenized gospel that is made up of some truth from the Kingdom Gospel and some truth from the Grace Gospel of the Apostle Paul. This mixing of two gospels also leaves out some vital truth related to each gospel. This is not good Bible teaching.

As to the doctrine of justification by faith, it sounds right but further examination proves that the conclusion is false. First, the doctrine of justification by faith is NOT the gospel message. It is a RESULT of the gospel or good news being believed by the individual as it is revealed by God. Justification is one of the works of God that takes place at the time of salvation. We don't tell people to be justified; we tell them that they must be saved.

Second, faith is taking God at His Word, by believing what God has said. In the case of Abraham, Paul went back to Genesis 15:5-6, which says: "And He brought him forth abroad and said, Look now toward heaven and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and He said unto him, So shall thy seed be. [6) And he believed in the LORD; and He counted it to him for righteousness." Verse 6 is unique because three words - 'believed' 'righteousness,' and 'counted' - are used here for the first time in the Old Testament. Abram believed (exercised faith) in what God told him, which is the contents of verse 5. Verse 5 does not contain the Gospel of the grace of God nor does it contain the Gospel of the Kingdom. Verse 5 is related to the Abrahamic Covenant which Paul called in Gal. 3:8, 'the gospel unto Abraham.'

In Galatians 1:6 there is 'another gospel,' a HETEROS gospel which is a gospel of a different kind. The Gospel of the Kingdom is what the Judaizers preached to the Galatian believers, not a 'false gospel' that Acts 2 people use to identify 'another gospel.' The Gospel of the Kingdom is a gospel of a different kind.

In Galatians 1:7 you have 'the gospel of Christ,' which is another name for the Gospel of the grace of God; and in Gal. 3:8 the 'gospel preached unto Abraham' is what Jehovah God told him in Genesis 12:3; 15:5-6. Besides these three gospels in Galatians, there is 'the Everlasting Gospel' of Rev. 14:6.

So there are at least four Gospels which are clearly mentioned in the Bible. It doesn't take a whole lot of study to see that they are different from one another. But it does take a lot of human ingenuity to make them all the same.

The theory of 'one gospel' needs to be seen as a major problem because so much hinges on it. Are we saved today by the gospel revealed to Paul, or are we saved by the Gospel preached by Peter? We can't be saved by both of them together.

The Gospel of the Kingdom will make you religious today, but the Gospel of the grace of God alone will prepare you for heaven in God's spiritual realm of the Fourth Dimension.

When one reads Romans 1:1-2, it sounds like there is only 'one gospel' in the Bible: "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God [21 which He had promised afore by His prophets in the Holy Scriptures."

The key word here is the first word in verse 2 - which. It is the Greek pronoun HOS. It can mean 'who' or 'whom' when referring to persons; 'what' when referring to objects; 'which' when referring to things.

Now the question is this: "What is the 'gospel' mentioned in verse 1? Is it a message (like 1 Cor. 15:1-4) or could it be a person?" It would help us to know an important fact - that 'which' modifies 'gospel' of verse 1.

Well, what did the old Testament prophets write about? Did they write about a I message' or did they write about a 'person'? The overwhelming evidence indicates that they wrote about a Person. All you have to do is go to Psalm 22, Isaiah 7:14; 9:6; 11:1-5; Isaiah 53; Jer. 23:6; Zechariah 12:10, and to many other passages. They wrote about a coming Messiah for the Nation of Israel. They did not know the name of Jesus, like we do, but they knew One was coming.

Furthermore, Romans 1:1-2 is a repeat of Gal. 1:16, where Paul stated that he preached Christ Jesus as the gospel (Greek). So the right meaning of HOS in verse 2 is the word 'Whom' when it- refers to a Person. The Gospel of the grace of God is not found in the Old Testament.

By Robert C. Brock

 

[Tychicum]

So you say but the Scriptures teach there is only one gospel.

Where?

I hear this all the time ... but where is it that the Scriptures say that there is only one gospel?

I see at least a dozen ... each time God holds out promise (good news) ... and then man fails yet again (bad news).

But I am interested in seeing your "only one gospel" verse.

 

[Iosias]

I am interested in seeing your "only one gospel" verse.

Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

This is the protoevangelum and is the beginning of God's revelation about his redemptive plan to have a people for his own posession.

 

[Tychicum]

Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

This is the protoevangelum and is the beginning of God's revelation about his redemptive plan to have a people for his own posession.

That ain't just thin brother ... that is anorexic ...

 

[Tychicum]

By the by ... what is your definition of the term "ultradispensationalism" ... ?

Thank you in advance.

 

[TheScottsMen]

Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."

This is the protoevangelum and is the beginning of God's revelation about his redemptive plan to have a people for his own posession.

I would agree. But is this the "only" good news found in scripture?

 

[Iosias]

I would agree. But is this the "only" good news found in scripture?

Not at all if by only you mean that the same good news is further developed later on. From the very beginning there has been only one gospel which we find starts in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This same gospel was preached to Abraham which we are told in Galatians 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

Christ shows the continuity of the OT and NT saying that the OT was all about him: John 5: 46 “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.” Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

And so when Paul testified in Acts 24 he states that his faith is that which was spoken of in the OT i.e. faith in Christ: “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:”

 

[TheScottsMen]

Not at all if by only you mean that the same good news is further developed later on. From the very beginning there has been only one gospel which we find starts in Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” This same gospel was preached to Abraham which we are told in Galatians 3:8 “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.”

Christ shows the continuity of the OT and NT saying that the OT was all about him: John 5: 46 “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me; for he wrote of me.” Luke 24:27 “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.”

And so when Paul testified in Acts 24 he states that his faith is that which was spoken of in the OT i.e. faith in Christ: “But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets:”

Mark 1:14 And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God draws near. Repent, and believe the gospel.

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What was this gospel that Jesus was preaching early in the Gospel of Mark?



What good news was this?​

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Luke 1:67 - And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 Blessed is the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation (spiritual or physical in view here?) for us in the house of His servant David, 70 as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from eternity; 71 that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us (physical!), 72 to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant, 73 the oath which He swore to our father Abraham, 74 that He would grant to us, that we , being delivered out of the hand of our enemies(again...physical salvation in view), might serve Him without fear 75 in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.

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John the Baptist father was looking forward to the same good news that Jesus and the twelve would preach, that was the deliverance of Israel from their enemies and the restoration of nation was imminent!​

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Acts 1:3 to whom He also presented Himself living after His suffering by many infallible proofs, being seen by them through forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.​

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Clearly the apostles new something about the kingdom of God and what it was. With this in mind, was their next question in ignorance?

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Acts 1:6 Then, indeed, these coming together, they asked Him, saying, Lord, do You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

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Again and again the apostles believed that the nation of Israel would be restored, they were looking forward to it! It wasn't until the raising up of the Apostle Paul that God began a new program (not by accident, but something that was clearly in His mind before the foundation of the world), a program that had both Jew and Gentile on the same footing.​

 

[Iosias]

Mark 1:14 And after John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God draws near. Repent, and believe the gospel.




What was this gospel that Jesus was preaching early in the Gospel of Mark?

Luke 4:17-21 "And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears."

Here Christ is declaring himself to be the messiah and inso doing he applies de facto all of the messianic texts of the Old Testament to himself including:​

Isaiah 53 "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."​