Run With It: The Challenger

Grumbling and Disputing

Philippians 2:14 ESV

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing…”

There is a massive “dispute” going on right now within the church over the gospel of our salvation. For there is a challenger which and who is standing in opposition to the Lord’s true gospel of grace.

Primarily or foundationally the challenger (opposition) is Satan, but it is also his fake substitute for the true gospel of grace, which has separated from God’s true righteousness, and which is expanding and is being broadcast far and wide. And, this fake substitute appears to be being widely accepted in place of God’s true gospel of grace.

This challenger (opposition, pretender, enemy) to the true gospel, thus, questions, quarrels over, and calls into question the true gospel of God’s grace. But, it is deceitful, devious, cunning and sneaky. And, it is deceiving people by the thousands, or perhaps millions, throughout the world. And, it is in error, for it twists and alters the gospel as taught by Jesus, and by his NT apostles, and it turns God’s true grace into a free license to continue in sinful practices without guilt and without remorse.

But, it is void of the Spirit of God because it is not of God, because it stands in opposition to God, to Christ and his gospel, to his righteousness, and to His Word. For, it is based in the flesh of man, not in truth, and not in God, for it appeals to the lusts of the flesh and it makes no demands for death to sin or for living to righteousness. So, its adherents have the impression that a mere confession of faith in Jesus Christ secures them heaven no matter how they live their lives while they are still on the earth.

So, what it does is it gives people a false hope. For, while it leaves its followers still in bondage to sin, headed for hell, it assures them that they are forgiven their sins and headed to heaven, and that nothing can take that away from them, no matter how much or how badly they sin.

Spreading like Gangrene

One of the biggest ways in which this deception (this opposition) has entered into the church, and is spreading like gangrene, is via the partnership between the church and the government and the world of big business.

For, in doing so, the church opened wide the door for wolves in sheep’s clothing to find their way into the church, who would then introduce heresies very subtly, and a little bit at a time, to where it appears that most of the church didn’t even see the changes take place, and they weren’t even aware that they were being deceived and “taken for a ride.”

Yet, these subtle changes and alterations to God’s gospel not only changed the message of the gospel to something it wasn’t, but it opened the door wide for all sorts of wickedness, evil and degradation to have free rule and rein within the lives of those who profess the name of Jesus. And, that is because they opted out of God’s moral standards, and felt they no longer had to obey them. And, they started immersing themselves, instead, in the culture of the world, becoming like the world so the world would like them.

True biblical church discipline then pretty much went “out the window” (an expression) and not many were being held accountable any longer for their sinful practices. But, instead they were being coddled in their sins so that they wouldn’t feel so bad about their sin. And, they were even being taught to claim who they are in Christ so as to not feel guilty about their sinful practices, regardless of whether or not they met the biblical requirements for those who are truly “in Christ” by faith in Him.

So, rather than teaching or accepting that the true gospel of our salvation is that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness, they teach a gospel which allows them to keep on in their bondage to sin. And, this is destroying the church, and human lives, and marriages, and homes. For, this is Satan’s goal, who is the one behind this cheap grace gospel. For he is out to steal, and to kill and to destroy the church, and he is doing so by this massive challenge to God’s true grace.

Holding Fast the Word

Philippians 2:15-16 ESV

“… that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

So, we are not to dispute (oppose) God’s true gospel of grace, so that we will be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. For, when we challenge the truth of the gospel, and we bring it into disrepute, and we rather uphold and proclaim a cheap grace substitute for God’s true grace, instead, we are holding on to our old lives of sin rather than submitting our lives to the Lordship of Christ.

And, that is because that is what the cheap grace gospel is all about. It is about not having to forsake our old lifestyles of living for sin and self, but rather maintaining them free from guilt, and then falsely calling that God’s grace. And, it is about not having to walk in holiness and righteousness, living lives which are pleasing to God. But it is about us retaining control over our own lives, doing whatever it is we want to do, while professing Jesus as our Lord and Savior and while claiming our inheritance in heaven.

So, not only are we to reject this cheap grace gospel which is separated from God’s true righteousness, and which promotes and/or permits sinful lifestyles to thrive, but we are to shine the light of God’s truth and righteousness in a dark world, and we are to hold fast to the word of life, which actually gives life to those who obey the truth.

The Word of Life

So, if we are to reject the cheap grace gospel (explained in the first section), and if we are to shine the light of God’s truth and righteousness in a dark world, and if we are to hold fast to the word of life, then we need to understand what God’s true grace is and what the word of life is.

And, that is that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. In his death, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. On that cross, he gave his life up for us to buy us back (redeem us) for God, that we might now be God’s possession, and that our lives might be for God’s glory and praise (1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Co. 6:20; Tit. 2:14; Eph. 2:10).

Jesus also gave his life up for us on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin, not just to free us from the punishment of sin. And, he gave his life up for us, and then rose again in victory over sin, in order to empower us to walk in his righteousness and holiness.

For, we aren’t saved just so we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die. We are saved from our lifestyles of sin so that we can have lifestyles committed to Christ, and surrendered to his Lordship in walks of holiness and purity, and no longer according to the flesh (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Lu. 9:23-26).

But, this is not optional, this death to sin and living to righteousness. We don’t have a choice to opt out of God’s moral laws and his righteous requirements. For, he makes it real clear that if we walk (in practice) according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, that we don’t have eternal life with God. He makes it real clear that we must walk in obedience to his commands for us to know him, and him to know us, and for us to have eternal life with God, too (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6).

If We Decide

Yet, if we decide that we don’t have to obey the Lord, and that we don’t have to repent of our sins, and that we can still hold on to the hope of heaven when we die, then we must know this:

We are all going to stand before God one day and give an account for what we did in this life (Heb. 4:11-13; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6).

“To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury” (Rom. 2:7-8).

For, we are all going to reap what we sow.

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal. 6:7-8).

If we live to the flesh, we will die in our sins. But, if we live to God and to his righteousness, in his power and strength, we will reap eternal life with God.

The Battle for Truth

An Original Work / May 18, 2013

Based off Malachi 1-4