APPROVED BY GOD
A Study By
Gary Ray Branscome
“Study
to show yourself approved
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing
the
word of truth. // Take heed unto yourself, and unto the doctrine;
continue
in them: for in doing this you shall both save yourself and them that
hear
you.” (2Timothy 2:15, 1Timothy 4:16)
Since those who teach God’s Word have a
responsibility to rightly divide what is said, it is essential for them
to understand the difference between the law and the promises
(Galatians 3:18-22). Briefly put, the law is God's warning to the
unrepentant, while the promises all relate to forgiveness in Christ
(1Timothy 1:9, 2Peter 1:4 and 3:13, 1John 2:25).
When this is
explained to some people for the first time, they react by saying,
“saved people need the law too.” However, what they fail to understand
is that when saved people use the law as God intended, He is not
speaking words of condemnation to them, instead they are using the law
to condemn their own unrepentant thoughts and desires. That is what the
Bible is talking about when is says, “if we would judge ourselves we
would not be judged” (1Corinthians 11:31). We should continually put
the old Adam to death by condemning our own sinful thoughts and
behavior (Romans 7:16-17, Colossians 3:1-5). Nevertheless, there are
times when saved people fail to do this, and fall into sin. On such
occasions the law does condemn them as it condemned David when he
sinned (2Samuel 12:7-12). However, it condemns them because they are
unrepentant, so the rule still holds true. The law is God's message to
the unrepentant, while the gospel is His message to those who repent (1
Timothy 1:9).
Because a correct
understanding of law and gospel is vital to the work of salvation,
Satan is continually trying to confuse law with gospel. His aim, of
course, is to give the unrepentant a false assurance of salvation,
while leading those who repent to doubt their salvation. In contrast,
God wants us to convince the unrepentant of their need to repent, while
assuring those who do repent that God now accepts them for Christ’s
sake. [Luke 11:52, 1Corinthians 5:1-2, 2Timothy 2:15.]
Far too often,
Christian teachers wind up doing exactly what Satan wants, without even
realizing it (Matthew 13:25, Acts 20:29-30, 2Peter 2:1). By trying to
get people to keep the law, they burden the conscience of those who
have a repentant heart, when they should be exposing sin and calling
the unrepentant to repentance. At the same time, they give a false
comfort to those who trust in works. In either case, they are not
approved of God (2Timothy 2:15).
Satan wants nothing
more than to convince people that having begun by faith, they need
works to make them truly righteous (Galatians 3:3). However, the Bible
pronounces a curse on those who teach that doctrine (Galatians 1:6-9).
If works cannot make us righteous to begin with, they certainly cannot
improve on the perfect righteousness that is imputed to us through
faith in Christ. [Galatians 3:21, Romans 3:20, Romans 4:6-7 and 10:4, 1
John 1:7, Galatians 5:4.]
I have encountered
pastors who would agree with everything that I have said so far, yet
confuse law and gospel in the same way by insisting that a believer
must perform certain works, join a certain church, or dress in a
certain way, before he is truly converted.
Another trick of
Satan is to claim that grace saves by producing works, rather than by
absolving us of guilt. Or, that faith saves by producing works, rather
than receiving the forgiveness that Christ died to obtain for us.
Nevertheless, the Bible clearly defines grace by telling us that we are
saved by grace in one place, while telling us that we are saved by
mercy in another place (Ephesians 2:8, Titus 3:5). In other words, the
grace by which we are saved consists of mercy. Likewise, the Bible
defines faith when it tells us that, “Abraham believed God, and it was
accounted to him for righteousness” (Galatians 3:6). Our faith consists
of believing God’s promise of forgiveness in Christ.
While God wants us
to assure those who are sorry for their sins that they have forgiveness
in Christ, Satan wants just the opposite (2Samuel 12:13, Psalm 51:17).
Satan wants to see believers burdened and condemned with the threats of
the law, and he wants to see them trying to keep the law in order to
escape that condemnation. Likewise, he would rather see them praying
and pleading with God to save them, than trusting in God’s promise of
forgiveness in Christ (Galatians 3:22).
People are robbed
of assurance of salvation when faith is described in a way that does
not fit all believers, when salvation is made dependent on membership
in a certain denomination, or when faith is portrayed as a condition
for receiving God's grace. The same holds true when people are told
that they must make themselves believe, or that they cannot be sure
they are saved unless they know the exact day they were saved on.
Others have
undermined assurance by telling people that the preservation of their
faith depends upon their works, rather than God's grace. One false
teacher might condemn those who are in terror because of their sins,
demanding that they become godly instead of pointing them to Christ for
forgiveness. Another might dun new believers with demands that they
produce certain works, tithe, or dress in a certain way. However,
because they make God’s favor depend on the law, they are not approved
of God.
While the Ten
Commandments were given to Moses as the standard for governing a
nation, the outward righteousness required by civil law falls far short
of what God requires (Matthew 5:48, Romans 3:10-23). For that reason,
God wants us to condemn and expose sin, while pointing people to Christ
for forgiveness (Ezekiel 33:8). At the same time, Satan wants the
opposite. Satan wants the unrepentant to feel no fear of judgement. He
wants them to have excuses for all of their sins, to pass lies off as
“white,” to pass some sins off as venial, and to think that they can
sin with impunity because they once asked Jesus into their heart. He
wants them to believe that the sins they intend to commit have already
been forgiven, and to believe that they are saved when they are not.
And, he wants them to think that salvation depends upon belonging to
the right church, or going through certain rituals, even though they
have never really trusted in Christ.
In order to lull
people into a false sense of security Satan teaches them to rationalize
and excuse their sins. He wants them to convince themselves that a
particular sin was not all that bad, instead of repenting and looking
to Christ for forgiveness. He wants homosexuals to think that a “loving
God” would never condemn them. He wants men to undermine the truth of
Scripture by convincing themselves that the Bible is full of errors or
out of date. Yet the Bible makes it clear that such self-deception will
never deliver the guilty from God’s wrath. [To explore this subject
further, read, “Law and Gospel” by C. F. W. Walther.]
RIGHTLY
DIVIDING THE WORD OF TRUTH
When the Word of
God is rightly divided, the law will be preached in its full sternness
and the gospel in its full sweetness. The law will show that we have no
righteousness of our own, while the gospel assures us that our faith is
counted as righteousness (Romans 3:10-23 and 4:3&13). To the
uninformed, preaching that rightly divides the Word of truth might
appear contradictory. However, that is because the law and gospel give
us two different messages, which are directed at two different groups
of people. The law is God's word of warning to the unrepentant, while
the gospel is His word of comfort to those who repent.
Because the Law was
given to reveal our need of forgiveness in Christ, it must never be
watered down. Specific sins should never be rationalized, and no sin
should ever be excused. We must make it clear that God's law demands
perfection, that God will accept nothing less, and that without
forgiveness even our righteousnesses bring condemnation (Matthew 5:48,
Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:10-20). We must make it clear that the wages of
sin, and that means every unforgiven sin, is death (Romans 6:23). There
is no such thing as being partly righteous! We are either sinners or
not sinners, there is no middle ground. Either we are perfect or we are
guilty of all (James 2:10). And, the Bible makes it clear that we are
all guilty of all (Romans 3:19). Furthermore, because the carnal mind
wants to excuse many sins, we must make it clear that all
unrighteousness is sin including unrighteous thoughts, urges, and
desires (1John 5:17, Matthew 5:28). In short, we must make it clear
that when it comes to works no one is righteous, and it is not possible
for any law to make us righteous (Romans 3:19-20, Galatians 3:21). At
the same time, we must also make it clear that without righteousness
there is no salvation (Romans 6:23, 1Peter 4:18).
When the law is
preached in its full sternness it prepares the heart to receive the
gospel, and for that reason it is vital to the salvation of souls that
the gospel be preached in conjunction with the law (Acts 2:37,
2Corinthians 4:3). The one doing the preaching must never fail to point
his hearers to Christ. Preaching condemnation without hope brings only
despair, the same sort of despair that led Judas to commit suicide
(Matthew 27:5). Our emphasis must be on the gospel! Our reason for
preaching the law must be to show men their need for Christ and for the
forgiveness He died to secure for them. Those who preach the law in a
vain attempt to make men righteous through works, are not rightly
dividing the Word of truth and are not approved of God. At the same
time, the gospel is only preached in its full sweetness when we make it
clear that salvation is a free gift, that Christ has done it all, and
that we have access to God’s grace through faith alone without the
works of the law (Romans 3:28). He “is the end of the law for
righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 4:6 and 10:4).
When law and gospel
are rightly divided, the law will never be used to motivate people, for
every attempt to motivate people by the law begins with the assumption
that works make us righteous. While God's Word warns us that willful
sins will bring God's wrath, it never tells us that we can obtain His
favor by avoiding willful sins, yet that is what the carnal mind
naturally assumes. However, what the natural man fails to understand is
that God’s wrath is revealed against the unrepentant, not those whose
works are not good enough! And, we are to deal with unrepentance by
condemning sin and warning people of God’s wrath, not by urging them to
keep the law. At the same time, those who have a repentant heart are to
be exhorted to good works by the love of Jesus, not by the threats of
the law (1Timothy 1:7). It is fine to urge believers to show love to
fellow believers and to help those who are less fortunate, but they
should be motivated by the love of Christ, not by the delusion that
their works will somehow bring God’s favor. [1Thessalonians 5:14,
Galatians 5:6, 16 & 22, 2 Corinthians 5:20, Philippians 2:14-15,
Ephesians 4:1-3 & 32, Colossians 3:5-25, Romans 13:8-14, Romans
6:11-22, 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, Hebrews 10:26.]
[For a sample of preaching that
rightly divides the Word of Truth, I recommend the sermons of Doctor
Walter A. Maier, several of which are available at my web site.]
GRACE
ALONE
When dealing with
people who lack assurance of salvation because they fear that their sin
is too big to be forgiven, we need to assure them that “where sin
abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20). Since Christ is
true God (and God is infinite) the atonement Christ provided for us is
infinite. Therefore, no sin is too big to be forgiven! Furthermore,
because God sees wrongdoing in terms of hardening of the heart
(unrepentance) not size, His main concern is not what you did, but
whether you are sorry you did it (1Samuel 16:7). Even blasphemy of the
Holy Ghost remains unforgiven only because it involves a hardening of
one’s heart in unbelief, not because it is too big to be forgiven
(Matthew 12:24-31).
Many people fail to
fully understand God’s grace because they think of themselves as
righteous (or fairly righteous), and the gospel can only be understood
correctly by those who see themselves as totally sinful (Romans 7:18).
In other words, it is only as we come to the point that we can say with
the Apostle Paul, “I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwells no
good thing” that we can see that the law cannot make us righteous
(Romans 7:18). And, it is only as we come to that point in our
spiritual growth that we will be able to understand that freedom from
the law is not freedom to sin, but freedom to be righteous. The freedom
to do what is good and right and praiseworthy without being constantly
condemned (Romans 10:4, 1 John 1:7, Romans 3:28).
In order to
illustrate what I have been saying, think of a small boy who has been
playing in the mud, is filthy from head to toe, and is too young to
clean himself up. In fact, no matter how hard he tries to clean himself
up, he is still a mess. Therefore, his mother gives him a bath, washes
his hair, puts clean clothes on him, and tells him to stay out of the
mud. Now, because the boy did not make himself clean, and staying out
of the mud will not make him any cleaner, in a spiritual sense we are
all like that boy. We could not make ourselves clean, and once we were
cleansed by the blood of Christ there was nothing that we could do to
make ourselves any cleaner (Romans 10:4). It is the blood of Christ and
the blood of Christ alone that makes us righteous, we simply accept His
gift by faith (Romans 5:2, Psalm 13:5, Romans 3:28, 1 John 1:7).
CONCLUSION
In His wisdom, God
has designed the Bible so that the unrepentant will find much that
condemns them, while those who trust in Christ are assured of God’s
mercy. Moreover, He wants those who preach His Word to use it to point
people to Christ for righteousness, not to harden them in the delusion
that their works please Him (Romans 10:4). Therefore, the purpose of
going to church is not to be nagged to keep the law, but to be reminded
of our sin and reassured of God’s mercy in Christ. In that way, the
Holy Spirit feeds us spiritually, and bestows on us His gifts of faith
and eternal life (1Peter 1:5, Romans 10:17).