By Gary Ray Branscome
Because the truth of
Christ’s atonement – His triumph over sin, death and the devil – is at the very
heart of the Gospel, Satan has tried time and again to deny it, distort it, and
undermine it. In the twelfth century, the Church of Rome began to claim that
the priest was sacrificing Christ again every time He said a Mass; a claim that
trivializes Christ’s sacrifice while diverting faith from what Christ did to
what the priest does. Another heresy of
The words, “He is the propitiation for our sins: and not
for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world,” tell us that
Christ atoned for the sins of all men, not just those who are saved (1John
2:2). In contrast, the words, “Without faith it is impossible to please God,”
tell us that even though Christ obtained forgiveness for the sins of the entire
world, and it is offered to us as a free gift, that forgiveness does not become
ours until God brings us to faith (Hebrews 11:6). Faith is the hand that
receives God’s grace, as it is written, we “Have access by faith into this
grace in which we stand” (Romans 5:2).
The claim that God, at the time of Christ’s
death, declared all men righteous and was reconciled to the entire world does
not come from Scripture. The words, “He
who does not believe the Son will not see life; but God’s wrath remains on him,”
tell us that unbelievers are not reconciled to God, but are active recipients
of His wrath (John 3:36). And, the words, “Without
faith it is impossible to please God,” tell us that without faith it is
impossible to please [be reconciled to] God (Hebrews 11:6). As I mentioned
previously, during the time Christ hung on the cross, our sins were in two
places, on us and on Him. Those sins condemned us, and they condemned Him as
well. On the cross, He suffered the punishment that we deserved, and died in
our place. But, when He died, because He had no sins of His own, God forgave
the sins that had been placed on Him. As a result, those sins no longer condemn
Him. He has been forgiven! And, because He has been forgiven we can be forgiven
too. Because the sins that God laid on Him were our sins, the forgiveness that
He received is already there for us, and becomes ours when we place our faith
in Him. As it is written, “Scripture has
concluded all under sin, that the promise might be given to those who believe,
through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians
Satan often tries to
undermine faith in what Christ has done by redefining either faith or grace to
include works. The words, “You are saved by grace through faith; and that
not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not
of works, lest any man should boast,” tell us that faith is “not of works” (Ephesians
2:8-9). The words, “When a man does not work, but trusts in him who
justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness,” tell us
that faith excludes works (Romans 4:5). In the third chapter of Galatians, the
Apostle Paul carefully explains to us that faith excludes works, saying, “Scripture,
having foreseen that God would justify the heathen through faith, proclaimed
the gospel to Abraham in advance… For all who trust in the law are under a
curse… But it is clear that no man is justified in the sight of God by the law,
for, The just shall live by faith. However the law has
nothing to do with faith… Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law,
receiving the curse in our stead: for it is written, Cursed is every one who
hangs on a tree: That the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles
through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through
faith” (Galatians 3:6-14) And, the words, “There is also at this present
time a remnant according to the election of grace. And if by grace, then it is
no longer by works: if it were grace would no longer be grace. For if it is by
works, then it is no longer by grace: otherwise work is no longer work,”
tell us that grace excludes works (Romans 11:5-6). All of those passages tell
us that true faith, faith in Christ, is believing
that forgiveness and eternal life are ours because of what Christ did, not
because of what we do. As it is written, “God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him should not
perish, but have everlasting life” (John
Even though the
Apostle Paul carefully explains why the law cannot make us righteous, those who
want to be motivated by the law are continually trying to find some way around
his words. Therefore, as soon as they learn that James said, "By works a man is justified and not by
faith only," they assume that the words of James negate what Paul said
(Romans
Those who claim to believe that salvation is through faith
in Christ, but teach that God’s favor depends on what we do, not what Christ
did on the cross, are double-minded, and undermine the Gospel by making
righteousness depend on works. I have dealt with people who profess to trust in
Christ, but live in constant fear that God will punish them if they do not
“obey” what He tells them through a “still-small-voice” in their heart. That
doctrine is condemned by the words, “If you continue in my word, you are
truly my disciples” (John
While Satan continually
tries to undermine the Gospel by adding works to faith, he also tries to
undermine it by twisting it into an excuse to sin. The words, “Shall we
continue in sin, that grace may abound? Absolutely not.
How can we, who are dead to sin, continue living in it?” tell us that the
Apostle Paul had to deal with that heresy (Romans 6:1-2). And, it is becoming
more and more prevalent today, with those who are openly immoral and even
homosexual claiming that God accepts them without repentance. That lie is
condemned by the words, “How much more severely, do you think a man deserves
to be punished, who has trampled the Son of God under foot, treated the blood
of the covenant, by which he was sanctified, as an unholy thing, and insulted
the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, Vengeance belongs to Me,
I will repay, says the Lord. And again, The Lord will judge His people. It is a
fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews
Another very common way Satan undermines the
Gospel is with the antichristian doctrine of
theistic-evolution and millions of years.
The words, “Just
as sin entered the world by one man, and death by sin; so death passed upon all
men, because all have sinned… Therefore as through the sin of one judgment came
upon all men to condemnation; even so through the righteousness of one the free
gift abounds to all men bringing justification and life. For as by one man’s
disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one many will be
made righteous,” tell us that the fall of Adam and Christ’s death on the
cross go hand in hand (Romans 3:12 and 18-19). If sin and death were part of
God’s original creation, if God used evolution to create life, if the fall of
Adam did not bring sin and death into the world, there would have been no
reason for Christ to die on the cross. And, if the rocks of the earth formed
slowly over millions of years as unbelievers assert, then the presence of
fossil thorns in the rocks before Adam sinned would cast doubt upon all that
the Bible says about Adam’s sin and Christ’s remedy for that sin. Therefore,
those who reject what the Bible says about creation and the age of the earth
are undermining the Gospel and should be rejected as deceivers. As it is
written, “O fools, and slow of heart to believe everything the prophets have
said” // “To the law and to the testimony: if they do not speak
according to this word, it is because there is no light in them”(Luke 24:25, Isaiah
Because we are, “Justified
by faith without the deeds of the law,” when the Bible tells us that
Christ, “Was raised again for our justification,”
it is not saying that all men were justified at the time of Christ’s
resurrection. On the contrary, it is telling us that Christ was raised so that
we might believe (Romans