Have A Blessed Easter!

Picture a mean bunch of guys, big rocks in their hands, hate on their faces, kicking up dust in the ancient Judean sun.

"For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God!"

With these amazing words in John 10, the Jews gave their reason for trying once again to stone Jesus.

Not yet ready to die, and certainly not by stoning, Jesus escaped Judea and crossed the Jordan River to where John the Baptist had once baptized repentant Israelites, probably Perea.  He stayed there for a while, and many believed in Him there.

When word came to Jesus that his beloved friend Lazarus was deathly sick, He didn't cross the Jordan back to Bethany near Jerusalem to visit his friend on his death bed.  No one could blame Him for staying .  After all, hadn't the Jews repeatedly tried to seize and stone Him?  So the disciples didn't blame Him, and they weren't surprised that He stayed in Perea.  It only made sense.  Lazarus would have to rely on the comfort of His immediate family, Mary and Martha.

But the disciples were surprised a couple of days later, when Jesus said, "Let us go to Judea again."  What?!

They said to Him, "Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are you going there again?"

And He told them He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.  Do you think they believed Him?  I don't.  I think Thomas spoke for all the disciples when he said, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."  They thought this was it.  The end.  Crazy, but hey, He's the Lord.  We will follow Him and we will die with Him if necessary.

But they didn't die that day.  They went to Bethany, and Jesus spoke the words that thrill our hearts, as believers in Him:

"I am the Resurrection and the Life.  He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.  And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die..."

And he raised Lazarus from the dead.

And later He died on the Cross.  They finally got Him.  They finally put an end to the One whom they said blasphemed because He said He was God.  And the brave disciples who went to Bethany with Him, willing to die, cowered behind a closed door, mourning the loss of their Rabbi, and their dreams.

We appreciate His death now.  We know that it paid for our sins.  We cringe at the horror of the Innocent One being beaten and scourged and crucified and separated from His Father as He took the fury of the Wrath of God on Himself.  We appreciate it.  But we don't exactly celebrate it.

What we celebrate is that on the third day, He rose from the dead.  He authenticated that He is Who He said He was.  He is the Anointed One, God the Son, the Christ, the Messiah!  And He is alive!  And we say Hallelujah!  He is risen!

Even as a historical event, it's noteworthy.  But He did it for a purpose.  He was "raised for our justification".  He was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead, that we might live.  He said He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  And in some mysterious way, when He died on the Cross, we died with Him, and when He was raised, we were raised with Him, and seated with Him in the heavenlies, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion.

We were made alive spiritually, with the promise that we will be raised physically as well, on that Great Gettin' Up Morning!  We became New Creations!  Old things have passed away, behold all things have become new!  There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus!  Hallelujah, what a Savior!

And all because He died for our sins.  He became sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Christ!

He Is Risen!

It Is Finished

by Michele Rayburn

We have died once to the penalty of sin, and so we have peace with God. (“I have been crucified with Christ...”)

We are able to die daily to the power of sin because we stand in grace. (“... it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me...”)

And someday when we are present with the Lord, we will be free from the presence of sin. (“...and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God Who died for me and gave Himself for me.” - Galatians 2:20)

Jesus died once for our sins, and shed His blood for us, so that we can rest completely in His finished work on the cross.

Sometimes we as Christians live as if it isn't "finished". We live as if our sins are not forgiven, past, present and future. And we find ourselves trying to earn God's favor each day.

But we stand in grace, in a permanent state of forgiveness, precisely because "It is finished."

Reflecting On Jesus' Death Under The Law

The Law and the Good News

By Michele Rayburn


“But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully”...(1 Timothy 1:8)

As I was reading some blog posts and comments on another blog, about the law and the gospel, the thought came to mind that Jesus died under the law which was composed of God’s law but also of man’s laws. And Jesus was subjected to man’s faulty interpretation of both God’s law and their own laws. As a result, Jesus was wrongly accused of breaking the law and was wrongfully put to death.

The Bible says “For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God.” (Galatians 2:19) In this case, we were righteously judged by God to be unable to keep His law, and would be condemned if it were not for our faith in the Lawgiver, Jesus Christ.

But Jesus died under the law which was implemented by sinful men, so that they could not be trusted to implement the law perfectly. Then as now, the law is often, accidentally or on purpose, used to either judge an innocent man to be guilty or to judge a guilty man to be innocent.

If even Jesus can be found guilty under the law by men, then who could ever expect to be judged righteously by men?

If we as believers should ever attempt to be perfect law-keepers on this earth, it would do great harm to us, mentally, spiritually and even physically, because we could never “measure up” to God’s law. But more than that, the law as interpreted by sinful man will always have us falling short, because so often our lawgivers and “spiritual leaders” are misguided as to what is lawful and what is not, and what is sinful and what is not. And so, if we trust in men, and look to them for acceptance and assurance, we will always find ourselves under a cloud of guilt and condemnation.

But thank the Lord, it says in Romans 7:6, “But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and *not* in the oldness of the letter.”

Paul the Apostle cries out in despair and asks, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?”

And then he answers his own question, “I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So, then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” (Romans 7:24-25)

And Paul goes on to say, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

There Is Therefore Now No Condemnation

By Michele Rayburn

John Owen has wrongly stated:

"To keep our souls in a constant state of mourning and self-abasement is the most necessary part of our wisdom..." (Works, VII, p. 532)


Roman Catholics, as well as those in other religions that do not know the grace of God in salvation, in effect "flagellate" themselves in order to be made acceptable to God, through works righteousness (self-denial, creeds, liturgy, sacred vows).  But why should we?  We who know the Lord's grace toward us not only for our salvation but for each day of our lives?

If we have been saved by grace, why should we "flagellate" ourselves now? We have been made acceptable to God and received His righteousness. We’ve been forgiven. And He loves us with an unfailing, everlasting love.

His love is not conditioned upon us pining away over our once fallen nature. The work is already done. Jesus said as He was dying on the cross, having been "flagellated" for us, "It is finished."

It’s by grace alone, through faith alone, on the Word alone, because of Christ alone...now and always. It is by God’s grace that He has given us new life, and it is by His grace that we will continue to live this Christian life. Now let us walk in it!

This is the rest of the gospel...the rest of the good news. Now that we have been saved, we have been made new creations in Christ so that we can "walk in newness of life" by His Spirit that lives in us.

"His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him...by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." (2 Peter 1:3-4)

Christ is now living His life through us. This is something to rejoice in, not to be downtrodden about. Otherwise, we’ve missed out on the best part of being a Christian..."Christ in us, the hope of glory"!

What joy, what peace we will have as we rest in Him. His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

The important thing to realize is that we have already been crucified with Christ (Gal.2:20). That is why Romans 6:11 tells us, "Consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God...".

To consider it a future event keeps us from walking in that glorious truth now, and it is the truth that sets us free.

It's true that the flesh wars with the spirit, but it is the spirit which is our new nature, not our flesh. The "old man" is dead. Sin still resides in the flesh, but Paul makes it clear that that sin is not part of his new nature or spirit (Romans 7:17,20).

So, our goal is to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. And to remember that "there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus". (Romans 8:1)

Resting In The New Covenant of His Grace,
Michele

Your Acceptance By God

I have a theory. I'm not the originator of the theory, but I subscribe to it. It goes like this:

If a believer in Jesus Christ has not "appropriated" the love and acceptance of God for them, that is, if they have not grasped in their very heart the utter unconditional way that God loves them and accepts them, then they can't really grasp the love and acceptance of other people for them.

Let me say that in another way.

If a person feels unloveable, or...

If a person feels that others can't really love or accept them, or...

If a person feels that if someone really knew them, then they wouldn't love or accept them, or...

If a person feels like if they only could do such-and-such or be such-and-such, or accomplish such-and-such, or be good enough, THEN someone might be able to love and accept them...

Then I believe that person has not understood their acceptance in Christ by God.

They may be born again, saved from their sins, and biblically knowledgeable, but they haven't grasped the basic understanding of what their relationship is to the God Who loves them unconditionally. They may even know about God's acceptance of them intellectually, or logically. But they haven't "appropriated" it spiritually, in the heart.

Sometimes they just need to be taught it from the Scriptures and they blossom as the light dawns in their hearts. But other times it seems that a person must come to some crisis in their lives, some hopelessness in their own self-righteousness, some discouragement from imperfect people, some "whatever", before the Lord opens their heart to the glorious truth that He doesn't have a relationship with them based on performance. But it must be spiritually discerned, and so it must be taught over and over and over. Faith even for that, comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Meanwhile, if you have that gnawing feeling that you just don't measure up to the standard that would allow God to really love and accept you, if you are striving to please Him, and feel like you're failing to do so, listen: He loves you. Yes, you. Not just enough to die for your sins. Enough to dwell in you. Enough to "justify" you, to declare you righteous, just as if you'd never sinned. Enough to no longer have any condemnation for you. Enough to take you in His arms and comfort you with the truth that He fully, fully accepts you in the Beloved. Enough to call you His beloved, the apple of His eye.

And if you have that gnawing feeling that people can't really love you, or they sure wouldn't if they really knew you, understand that you feel that way because you have yet to really grasp God's love and acceptance for you.

Those who have the Spirit of God surely can love and accept you, even if you have a hard time accepting it, because love is a fruit of the Spirit. And you will be sky-walking when you come to the knowledge of God's love so strongly that you can say with all sincerity, "Even if no one else loved me, my Savior and my God loves me, and that's enough." And the irony is, that's when you may first be able to accept the love of other people like you never have before.

And then you can love like you never have before.

P.S. Critical: This is not psychology, this is theology. It falls under the heading "...Truth shall set you free." The application is "If you really appropriate the Truth of the love and acceptance of God for you, then you will be set free to receive the love and acceptance of others (and to love and accept others)."

Active Obedience Imputation Is Not Biblical - Part 5: "A Mini-Catechism Refuting Active Obedience Imputation"

Perhaps a mini-catechism might clarify why Active Obedience Imputation is not biblical.

I offer this as a conclusion to this five-part series of posts.

Think through these questions with me:

Q. What is imputed to us?
A. Christ's righteousness.

Q. What is righteousness?
A. In this context we might say "rightness", or right standing with the Holy God, without guilt of sins.

Q. Is righteousness inherent in men?
A. No, they are born and live in wrong standing or wrong relationship with God, and stand guilty of sins, until they are justified, or declared righteous by God.

Q. Is righteousness inherent in Christ?
A. Yes, since He has always been in right standing and right relationship with God, and has always been sinless.

Q. When a man is regenerated and given faith in Christ, is he justified or declared righteous, once forever?
A. Yes.

Q. How is he declared righteous?
A. In the pattern of Abraham, his faith is credited to him as righteousness, Christ's righteousness is imputed to him, and he is thereby declared righteous (that is, in right standing and relationship with God, without guilt of sins, which are forgiven).

Q. By what act or series of acts is this justification obtained?
A. By ONE act, the shedding of the blood of Christ in his death on the Cross, which of course was followed by His burial and resurrection.

Q. Is there a CLEAR scripture to prove this?
A. Yes, here are two:
Romans 5:18, "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through ONE ACT of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men."...and,
Hebrews 10:14, "For by ONE OFFERING He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified."

Q. What then of His life of obedience to the Father?
A. He did indeed live a life of "Active Obedience", which should never be discounted, but it did not make Him righteous.

Q. Was His obedience instrumental in His righteousness?
A. By no means. His righteous is inherent in Himself. His obedience did, however, authenticate His righteousness, and identify Him as the Messiah and Son of God, along with many other prophetic and miraculous authentications.

Q. And it is this righteousness inherent in Him that He imputes to us?
A. Yes, through the instrument of the ONE ACT on the Cross.

Q. Are you intimidated by the fact that so many godly Reformed men disagree with you?
A. Not in the least, though I am humbly willing to change my mind in a moment, if there might be an abandoning of red herrings, smoke and mirrors, Confessions and theologians...in favor of just a verse or two which might show that Christ's "active obedience" is imputed to us....AND if my analysis of the aforementioned Rom. 5:18 and Heb. 10:14 are dealt with exegetically, instead of merely evaded.

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Active Obedience Imputation Is Not Biblical - Part 4: "Straw Man Neo-Legalists"

Sometimes someone will say to me something like, "You're wrong, Terry, when you refute Active Obedience Imputation, because the 'New Perspective' and 'Federal Vision' people also refute it, and they are false teachers."

This argument is, of course, utterly illogical.

Those neo-legalists are false teachers on the very subject of Justification itself. In other words, they don't believe in biblical imputation of righteousness at all! Therefore, they of course couldn't believe in active obedience imputation.

In varying forms, they teach that if believers stay in the Church, and live a life that's good enough until they die, they will EVENTUALLY be declared righteous BASED ON THEIR WORKS!

I despise the doctrine of the New Perspective, Wright, Gundry, Shepherd, Federal Vision, and the rest of the neo-legalists. Their views of justification are based on OUR works, and is legalistic, and I despise legalism.

However, because THOSE GUYS deny the imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ, their names are used to smear others who fully believe in the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, but NOT the imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ.

I am as sola scriptura as anyone I know. In fact I am so sola scriptura that I have a visceral reaction to "proofs" given without Scripture, such as:

"The 1689 says..."
"The Westminster says..."
"McMahon teaches..."
"Calvin teaches..."
"Throughout the centuries Reformed theologians and confessions have embraced and taught this distinction..."
"The Belgic Confession...the Heidelburg Catechism...the Second Helvetic..."
"John Gill...John Owen...Charles Hodge...William Ames...Turretin...Witsius...Edwards...Shedd..."

Worst of all is the concept of defending so-called "Historic Christianity", because in 1500 A.D. that would have meant defending Roman Catholicism.

No doctrine should shrink from an examination from Scripture alone, and then a RE-examination from Scripture alone.

Having thoroughly studied this subject, but always open to Scriptural light, I looked for ONE verse of Scripture to support the imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ, and found not one.

The question was asked of me, after quoting the 1689 London Baptist Confession, "Could it be any more clear?"

No, the LBC couldn't be much clearer, but the Scriptures they referenced for "proofs" not only don't support their premise of imputation of Active Obedience, but they teach the opposite.

For example, Rom. 5:18 says, "So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through ONE act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men."

Another example: Heb. 10:14, "For by ONE offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified."

Third example: 1 Peter 1:18,19, "knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ."

Now I'm certainly not saying that Christ did not obey the Law perfectly throughout His life. He sure did.

But here's the key question:

Did Christ obey perfectly because He was righteous, or was He righteous because He obeyed perfectly? Surely it's the former. He was ALREADY righteous! That's why He obeyed. His righteousness was not dependent on His obedience, but His obedience showed that His righteousness was already inherent in Him.

I have read virtually every treatise on this so-called imputation of Active Obedience, and have repeatedly seen two things:

1. A dizzying reference to creeds, confessions, catechisms, and theological gurus, and...

2. A total lack of clear scriptural evidence.

In a much longer post, I could deal with the UNclear verses which are used to support the doctrine, but the burden of proof lies with those who teach the doctrine while avoiding relatively clear Scriptures like the plague.

Finally, why is this question important? Because the teaching of the imputation of the Active Obedience of Christ is a very subtle denial of the Cross, the Blood, and the Death of Christ as sufficient for our justification.

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Active Obedience Imputation Is Not Biblical - Part 3: "Jesus ACHIEVED Righteousness?!!"

Commonly called something like "imputed active obedience", the concept has been passed down from the Westminster Confession and spread widely. I've found that most accept it because their mentors teach it, without really thinking it through. Even the verses given in the Confession are flimsy and unrelated.

The basic idea is that somehow Jesus ATTAINED or ACHIEVED righteousness that He didn't previously have, and that's why I think the doctrine is dishonoring to Christ.

An example is "The Gospel of Jesus Christ: An Evangelical Celebration" which is all over the Internet including here. (See Affirmation 13.)

In article 13 of "Affirmations and Denials" they wrote. "We affirm that the righteousness of Christ by which we are justified is properly his own, which he ACHIEVED [emphasis Terry's] apart from us, in and by his perfect obedience."

Jesus ACHIEVED righteousness?!! Then when did He not have it?

I realize that I stand against 125 heavyweights here, but who cares? The Bible says that by "one act", singular, justification became ours (Rom. 5:18), not by 33 years of acts.

It's true that Jesus fulfilled the Law. It's true that He obeyed the 10 Commandments perfectly. No dispute there. But this DEMONSTRATED the righteousness He always had, and AUTHENTICATED Him as the Messiah. It didn't ACHIEVE His righteousness.

To say less is to dishonor the Always Righteous One.

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Active Obedience Imputation Is Not Biblical - Part 2: "The Tradition"

I have a radical theory, and I'm waiting for someone, *anyone* to prove me wrong. I *welcome* being proved wrong. But I have no confidence I will be proved wrong.

Here's my radical theory:

The Westminster Confession of Faith TRADITION of Active Obedience Imputation has made "the Word of God of none effect", and those who teach Active Obedience Imputation are not as Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone as the final authority) as they think they are.

Oh, they MEAN to be Sola Scriptura, but they will not go against the "Great Confessions" and will not bow the knee of Active Obedience Imputation to the Scriptures, which NOWHERE say that Christ's Active Obedience was imputed to us.

It's His RIGHTEOUSNESS that was imputed to us, and that Righteousness was ALWAYS His. One doesn't GROW in righteousness. You are either righteous or you're not. And Christ was ALWAYS righteous.

Three things the issue IS NOT:

1. It’s not a question of whether Christ obeyed the Law perfectly. Of course He did.

2. It’s not a question of whether Christ imputed His Righteousness to us. Of course He did. That’s Biblical Justification.

3. It’s not a question of “denying Active Obedience”. Of course Christ “actively obeyed”.

Three things the issue IS:

1. Was it Christ’s obedience that was imputed to us, or was it Christ’s Righteousness that was imputed to us? The Bible clearly teaches that it was His Righteousness.

2. Did Christ *achieve* or *gain* or *earn* or *eventually have*
this Righteousness to impute to us?

No! He was always Righteous. In eternity. In the womb. At birth. Throughout His life on earth. To say less, I believe, is to dishonor Him.

3. Then is His life of obedience, that is, His perfect Active Obedience, important?

Yes, of course, because it DEMONSTRATES His Righteousness -- this Righteousness that He ALWAYS had, and that He imputed to us.

Here’s another exegetical slant that may shed light:

The Old Covenant sacrifice lamb needed to be “without blemish”. Only such were worthy to be sacrificed for the sins of the people. They had to be examined to SHOW that they were without blemish, right?

Question: Was the little lamb without blemish *before* it was examined?

Answer: Yes! It’s examination only DEMONSTRATED it to be so. Likewise, Jesus DEMONSTRATED Himself to be a worthy sacrifice by His life of obedience. But was He worthy BEFORE He showed it? The Scriptures say yes. It was the SACRIFICE (through "one act" -- Rom. 5:18) of the Lamb of God that secured our Justification, and His obedience to the Law only DEMONSTRATED that He ALWAYS was Worthy.

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Active Obedience Imputation Is Not Biblical - Part 1: "The Parrots"

The Parrots Of Active Obedience Imputation

Not much amazes me any more in the thoughts and attitudes in the Church. I've seen too much for too many years to really be amazed.

But I am amazed at one thing.

I am amazed at the inability of otherwise sharp and biblical men and women to engage biblically on the subject of the "active obedience" of Christ being imputed to us believers.

I have discussed this at length, and read all the "top" books, and, I kid you not, I have never heard an exegetical biblical explanation for the doctrine. In fact, it is almost assured that a person of this persuasion will blow more smoke skirting the issue, than on almost any other subject I've seen.

Parrots parroting parrots, with a little [faulty] logic occasionally thrown in, based mostly on Jesus "fulfilling all righteousness" by being baptized (not only irrelevant, but wrongly defined as somehow "earning" righteousness, as if the Son of God was ever not righteous).

Not only are these parrots parroting other parrots, but they do so with what appears to be an almost idolatrous attitude toward both men and confessions (I say "appears", not wanting to judge anyone's heart). They say things like, "If you disagree with me, you are out of step with 500 years of great giants of the faith, not to mention the Westminster Confession, the 1689 London Baptist Confession, and [God forbid!] John Owen and R.C. Sproul."

Giants, shmiants. Give me the Scriptures.

The issue is not as complicated as the blown smoke would indicate. The Son of God is and always was righteous as both God and Man, eternally, internally, intrinsically, and inherently. It's that righteousness which was imputed to us through the "one act" of His death, followed by His burial and resurrection.

It's not some "earned" or "achieved" righteousness that was imputed.

One Parrot may whine, "Then was His life of obedience to the Law just a waste of time?" What this Parrot can't hear, for some reason, is this simple truth:

Of course a righteous God-Man will ACT righteously! He's righteous! His actions demonstrate His righteousness.

Having said all that, I'm still very open, and I mean that, to any exegetical biblical explanation for why our Savior would need to "achieve" righteousness.

But I have no confidence such an explanation will come.

The parrots are not just parroting. They are wrong.

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