Did PAUL’S MESSAGE Contradict Jesus & James’ Gospel?
Here’s the argument in question:
The book of James declares works, the keeping of the commandments, as part of the process of justification. From James’ point of view, salvation is by faith plus works. This contradicts Paul’s salvation by grace through faith and not of works.
Actually, there is no contradiction.
Let me offer plain evidence from the Holy Scriptures…
Genuine Faith Naturally Produces Good Works
Consider what Paul went on to say in Ephesians 2:
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Also notice what Paul prayed for regarding Gentile believers (not to mention the smattering of Hebraic believers in their midst):
9For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
Colossians 1:9-10
These verses show that genuine faith naturally produces good works and the corresponding fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) whereas dead, useless faith does not. The latter was James’ point in his epistle:
14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”
Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 19You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.
20You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? 21Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? 22You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. 24You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.
James 2:14-24
James is simply saying that genuine salvation faith produces the corresponding deeds and he illustrates this through the example of Abraham from Genesis 22. Bear in mind that Abraham is our “father of faith” (Romans 4:17). God made one nation through the loins of Abraham, Israel, but many nations through the faith of Abraham, which is one global spiritual nation regardless of sectarian tag, i.e. the Church of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:9), which consists of both believing Jews and Gentiles.
Paul and James’ statements about salvation faith and works are relevant to the saying: Don’t put the cart before the horse. In short, don’t put works before faith. You see, works do not save the believer, but genuine faith naturally produces works and the corresponding fruit of the spirit. Faith that doesn’t do this is obviously dead, useless ‘faith’ — mere mental assent.
Believers Uphold the Moral Law by Walking in the Spirit
Here’s the linking argument of those who say Paul taught a separate gospel:
Many statements in the New Testament by Christ, James and John stress the keeping of the commandments, such as John 14:15, 1 John 2:3-4 and Revelation 14:12. However, Paul taught salvation by grace through faith and not of works. He taught that “no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin” (Romans 3:20).
This suggests Paul did not teach believers that they are obligated to fulfill the moral Law, yet this is a lie, a false doctrine. It is true Paul emphasized that believers are not under the Mosaic Law (Galatians 5:18; Romans 6:14; Romans 7:6), but he said we are obligated to fulfill the moral Law, as observed here:
Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
This corresponds to what Paul openly preached to both Jews and Gentiles:
I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.
“First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I preached that they should repent and turn to God [in faith] and demonstrate their repentance by their deeds.”
Acts 26:20
True faith involves repentance; that is, changing one’s mind accordingly, which naturally has a positive effect on one’s actions and lifestyle. Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin and this explains why they’re the first two doctrines of the six basic doctrines of biblical Christianity (Hebrews 6:1-2). Christ taught the same thing in Mark 1:15.
But how do believers “uphold the law”? Here’s how:
in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
The “righteous requirements of the law” refers to the moral Law. Believers are responsible to fulfill the moral Law, but this cannot be accomplished by the flesh, as sufficiently proven in the Old Testament; it can only be done by living according to the spirit. This means to live out of your reborn spirit that was “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22-24). Thus Paul taught: “So I say, walk by the spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16). The primary fruit of the spirit is love (Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:14).
Speaking of which…
Understanding the Law of Christ, aka the Law of Love
Paul stressed how New Covenant believers are not under the Mosaic law, but under the law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:19-21 & Galatians 6:2). This is the law of love, which the Lord said had three applications in Matthew 22:37-40:
- LOVE GOD
- LOVE PEOPLE
- As you LOVE YOURSELF
Paul explained this law as such: “whoever loves others has fulfilled the Law” (Romans 13:8), which includes tough love when appropriate (Proverbs 27:5). This is how we “Keep God’s commands,” as the apostle plainly taught (1 Corinthians 7:19). Meanwhile James referred to this law of love—the law of Christ—as “the royal law” in Scripture (James 2:8).
All of this plainly shows that Paul advocated fulfilling the moral commandments of Old Testament Law. He simply taught the proper, effective New Covenant way of doing it.
“Wrongdoers Will Not Inherit the Kingdom of God”
For further proof that Paul didn’t support some vague faith that is nothing more than mental assent and otherwise useless, notice what he plainly taught the believers at Corinth:
7The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:7-11
Paul was talking to believers here and says that those who impenitently transgress the moral Law with no concern of penitence—that is, as a lifestyle—will not inherit the kingdom of God, which means they can kiss eternal salvation goodbye. He even adds “Do not be deceived”!
All believers miss it now then on their earthly journey of sanctification (1 John 1:8), but that’s different from living in sin as a lifestyle with no care of penitence. It’s necessary for every believer to “keep with repentance” (Matthew 3:8 & Luke 3:8), which enables the LORD to regularly “forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
The Reasoning Behind this False Doctrine
I’m trying to grasp what the people who make such arguments (in red above) are trying to say. Are they saying that Gentile believers should only take heed to Paul’s epistles and skip out on the rest of the New Testament, at least as far as practice goes? Completely ignore what Christ, James and John said, not to mention Peter? Even if this were true, it’s proven above that Paul clearly taught believers to uphold the “righteous requirements of the law” by walking according to the spirit and not the flesh. He plainly stressed “whoever loves others has fulfilled the Law.” Obviously Paul was very concerned about believers fulfilling the moral commandments of the Mosaic Law but, again, he taught the effective way of doing it, the superior New Covenant way, which is, walking in the spirit.
The likely reason for this curious doctrine is that these people have loved ones who only mentally assent to faith in Christ, but are otherwise walking in the flesh as a day-to-day lifestyle. Another possibility is that they themselves are stubbornly living in the flesh (at least in regards to a pet sin) with no concern of penitence. I’m just guessing.
Proof That Paul Didn’t Preach a Separate Gospel
Whatever the case, the idea that Paul preached a different gospel from the one Christ, James, Peter and John preached is a grossly false doctrine. It’s only true that Paul acclimated the message in order to reach the Gentiles whereas James, Peter and John concentrated on reaching Hebrews. Observe:
…they [Church leaders in Jerusalem] recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised [Gentiles] just as Peter had been to the circumcised [Hebrews]. 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.
Galatians 2:7-9
Notice that nothing is said about Paul preaching a separate gospel; he merely adjusted the same message of redemption through Christ in order to reach the Gentiles.
There was some crossover, of course. For instance, the Jerusalem church had a number of Gentile congregants while Gentile assemblies, like Antioch, had a smattering of Jewish believers (Acts 11:19-26; Galatians 2:13). In other words, it’s not like James, Peter and John only ministered to Jews; or that Paul only ministered to Gentiles. In Paul’s own words: “I have declared to both Jews and Greeks [Gentiles] that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.” (Acts 20:21).
Similarly, notice what Paul himself says in this passage:
Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23
Paul ministered to both Jews and Gentiles the same gospel. He merely adjusted the message accordingly.
‘So, Why Does Paul Refer to the Gospel of Christ as “My Gospel”?’
Let’s look at the three occasions in question:
- Romans 2:16: “This will take place on the day when God judges people’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel”
- Romans 16:25: “Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past,”
- 2 Timothy 2:8: “Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel,”
‘Gospel’ literally means “good message” or “good news,” and Paul was specifically referring to the good news of redemption through Christ. Peter preached the same message (Acts 10:34-48; 15:11; 1 Peter 1:18-19); and so did James and John. Consider what Peter said in reference to the leaders of the Jerusalem church:
“…We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we [Hebrews] are saved, just as they are [Gentiles].”
You see? Both believing Hebrews and believing Gentiles are saved through the same grace of our Lord!
Paul called this message his gospel simply because he was a member of the body of Christ, the worldwide Church. The gospel of Christ was Paul’s message (gospel) just like it was James’ gospel and John’s gospel. It’s also my message and the message of every genuine member of the body of Christ.
Lastly, consider this…
If Paul preached a different gospel to the Gentiles, as opposed to that of Christ, James, Peter and John, he would’ve had to say something somewhere in his epistles to the effect of:
What I am teaching is to the Gentile believers only, not the Jewish believers in your midst. As a Hebrew of Hebrews, I and the Jewish believers amongst you follow the gospel of Jesus, James, Peter and John, but you Gentiles follow a different message, the gospel of Paul, which—again—I myself can’t follow because I am a Hebrew.
Do you see how absurd it gets if we accept this false doctrine?
This article is also available in book form as part of chapter 7 of…
Related Topics:
Are Believers Only to Receive From THE EPISTLES OF PAUL?
Does Christ’s GREAT COMMISSION Only Apply to Jewish Believers?
REPENTANCE Is the First Doctrine of Christianity (for Jews AND Gentiles)
Law (Torah) — New Testament Believers are NOT Under the Law
The SALVATION EQUATION: Faith = Salvation (+ Fruit + Works)
What Makes a Believer a “LEGITIMATE CHRISTIAN”?
What Are the APOCRYPHA and PSEUDEPIGRAPHA?
The books contained in the apocrypha (ah-POK-rah-fah) & pseudepigrapha (soo-doh-PIG-rah-fah) are noncanonical writings from the intertestamental period, or “400 silent years,” between the Old and New Testaments; and up to 300-400 AD. ‘Apocrypha’ means “hidden away” while ‘pseudepigrapha’ means “false writings,” mostly because the claimed author of the text is not the actual author. Some of what these books say is true, but some is questionable or false.
It’s similar to the gazillion of Christian books available today, depending on the author and their sectarian bias. Don’t get me wrong, there are many worthwhile Christian books out there, but the best ones are those that stick closely to the Scriptures and rightly-divide them (2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16-17). In light of this, if you read any books from the apocrypha & pseudepigrapha, it’s necessary to “test them all; hold on to what is good,” as 1 Thessalonians 5:21 puts it. In other words, eat the meat and spit out the bones since they’re not Holy Scripture.
Speaking of which, stick with God’s Word in regard to Christian doctrine (belief) and practice, which explains Paul’s rule “Do not go beyond what is written” (1 Corinthians 4:6).
Related Topics:
Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation
Who Wrote the New Testament Books? Who Authorized Them as Scripture Canon?
What Does “Do Not Go Beyond What is Written” Mean in 1 Corinthians 4:6?
BEREAN SPIRIT — What Is It? How Do You Cultivate It?
Did Israel Have a QUEEN in Biblical Times?
Yes, in Judah during the time of the divided kingdom, as observed here:
1When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she proceeded to destroy the whole royal family. 2But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Jehoram and sister of Ahaziah, took Joash son of Ahaziah and stole him away from among the royal princes, who were about to be murdered. She put him and his nurse in a bedroom to hide him from Athaliah; so he was not killed. 3He remained hidden with his nurse at the temple of the Lord for six years while Athaliah ruled the land.
2 Kings 11:1-3
Athaliah was the wife of evil king Jehoram in Judah, who reigned for eight years in the mid-9th century BC. She was the mother of the next king of Judah, Ahaziah, who only reigned one year, which is when Athaliah usurped power, as detailed above. She is said to be the daughter of wicked king Ahab of Israel and the granddaughter of king Omri (2 Kings 8:18), but some theologians suggest that she was the daughter of king Omri (1 Kings 16:21-28) and thus the sister of Ahab. According to this theory, Ahab is cited as Athaliah’s father because he raised her and therefore functioned as her father.
Whatever the case, Athaliah sprang from the idolatrous Northern Kingdom and brought Baal worship to the court of Judah after the righteous reign of Jehoshaphat, Jehoram’s father (2 Chronicles 17:1-21:3). While she was the reigning queen of Judah for six years, it obviously wasn’t sanctioned by the LORD.
The aunt of the male heir to the throne, Jehosheba, was able to hide Joash for the six years that Athaliah reigned when he was but a toddler and kid. The righteous high priest, Jehoiada — Jehosheba’s husband — was able to enlist the military in a coup that toppled Athaliah and made Joash king at the age of 7 whereupon Jehoiada acted as regent until the boy reached adulthood (2 Kings 11:4-16). The military cooperated with the coup likely because Athaliah was not from Judah, but rather the Northern Kingdom, the offspring of wicked royalty. A secondary reason could be that they preferred a male on the throne since it was a patriarchal culture.
Despite being a patriarchal culture, God chose Deborah to lead Israel during the time of the judges for four decades in which she led the nation spiritually, legally, politically and militarily (Judges 2:16 & Judges 4:4-9). Why did the LORD choose Deborah? Simply because she was the most qualified person for the job, male or female.
Related Topics:
Women of the Bible / Women in Ministry
WOMEN — Were They Considered Just Property in Bible Times?
Bible—Is it Full of Contradictions? Does it Promote Slavery, Tyranny and Discrimination?
HEBREWS / ISRAELITES / JEWS — Why Did God Choose Them?
Are There Different KINDS OF GRACE?
This verse is relevant to the question:
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
The Greek word for ‘grace’ is charis (KHAR-ees), which means “grace, favor, kindness.” There are different kinds of charis depending on the context. Peter speaks of “God’s grace in its various forms,” which shows that there’s not just one form of God’s grace/favor/kindness. For instance, there’s salvation grace, which is the grace of God’s eternal salvation through the message of Christ (John 3:16 & 3:36).
Peter’s instructions bring to mind this passage by Paul:
6We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.
Romans 12:6-8
Here’s a modern application: God blessed me with the gift of teaching, so I use this gift to serve others as a faithful steward of God’s grace (kindness to people) in its various forms. In this case, God’s grace manifests as the knowledge/understanding/wisdom that comes from the God-breathed Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15 & 3:16).
What are your spiritual gifts? Whatever they are, use them to faithfully spread God’s grace to the Body of Christ, as well as to those who are lost & dying in this fallen world.
We “are not our own” because we were “bought at a price” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), which explains why we’re instructed to be “living sacrifices” every day (Romans 12:1-2). Our bodies, our thoughts, our material possessions, our earnings, our gifts or talents — they’re all God’s already. This frees us up to happily “grow in the grace of giving” by serving others with whatever good things we’ve been graced to possess (2 Corinthians 8:7).
Speaking of growing in the grace of giving, this statement suggests that God’s favor and kindness gives the person the ability or desire to do something or serve in one way or another, which can be observed in this passage, also by Paul:
9For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
1 Corinthians 5:9-10
Paul worked harder than the other apostles he speaks of, yet humbly adds that it wasn’t him that did it, but rather the grace of God that was with him. In other words, God’s grace will give you the oomph to do whatever it is you’re called to do in any particular season. For instance, a brother told me he was called to serve at a fellowship that was well over an hour’s drive from his house. He said he faithfully served there as long as he had the grace to do so. When he no longer had that grace, it was time to move on.
Let’s close by considering this curious verse that seems to speak of more than one form of grace (from three different translations):
Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.
John 1:16 (NIV)
For from His fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
John 1:16 (ESV)
And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
John 1:16 (NKJV)
John was simply saying that believers receive “blessing upon blessing” or “kindness upon kindness” from the LORD. The original NIV phrases it like so: “From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another.”
Related Topics:
GRACE — What Is God’s Grace? How Do You Receive It? How Do You Grow In It?
The Fivefold Ministry Gifts — Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher
What Are THE BASICS of Christianity?
CAIN’S WIFE and Issues of INCEST
Cain was the first child of Adam & Eve, the primordial parents of the human race (Genesis 4:1). After Cain reached adulthood, Scripture says:
Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.
The Bible doesn’t say if Cain’s wife was his sister but — really — who else could it be? (The Scriptures do say that Adam & Eve had daughters in Genesis 5:4). This was in the pre-law stages of humanity when the gene pool was near perfect. If Cain had no other recourse but to marry his sister in order to fulfill God’s mandate of filling the Earth and subduing it (Genesis 1:28), then it was permissible in this context.
In these early stages of of humanity there was little or no risk of genetic abnormalities, but as the population grew the genetic code became corrupt due to sin and so God forbid sexual relations with close relatives (Leviticus 18:4-24, 20:11–21; Deuteronomy 27:20-23). Abram (Abraham) married his half-sister, Sarai (Sarah), before this prohibition (Genesis 20:12).
I should add that cousins are not included in the lists of prohibited sexual/marital relationships.
While believers are not under the Mosaic law, and the ceremonial & dietary laws have been done away with (Romans 7:6; Colossians 2:16-17), the moral laws are still relevant, which includes this ban on incestuous relations. We just don’t fulfill these moral laws by being under the law, but rather by walking in the spirit (Romans 8:4).
Related Topics:
“LAW is Made NOT for the Righteous”
Law (Torah) — New Testament Believers are NOT Under the Law
What Is “the MOUNTAIN of the LORD’s House” in Isaiah 2:2?
Let’s read the full passage:
1This is what Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2In the last days
the mountain of the Lord’s temple will be established
as the highest of the mountains;
it will be exalted above the hills,
and all nations will stream to it.
3Many peoples will come and say,
“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
to the temple of the God of Jacob.
He will teach us his ways,
so that we may walk in his paths.”
The law will go out from Zion,
the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4He will judge between the nations
and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
nor will they train for war anymore.
Isaiah 2:1-4
“The mountain of the LORD’s temple” is phrased “The mountain of the LORD’s house” in the KJV and NKJV. It refers to Mount Zion, the location of the Temple in Jerusalem, which is an expression used two other times in Scripture (2 Chronicles 33:15 & Micah 4:1).
The context of this passage is the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:1-10). It gives us a prophetic picture of Zion (Jerusalem) in the future millennial kingdom in which all people will recognize Jerusalem as the capitol of the Earth. There will be worldwide peace during this age, until the devil is released from the abyss at the end of the Millennium and deceives the nations into a foolish rebellion (Revelation 20:7-9). They ultimately surround Jerusalem but are easily defeated (verse 9). Light overcomes darkness.
As you can see, the verse does not support the “seven mountain mandate” position that’s ‘hip’ right now in some circles, e.g. the New Apostolic Reformation, or the corresponding dominion (“kingdom now”) theology. Certainly, the LORD wants fruit-bearing believers involved as witnesses in the seven areas of influence — family, education, business, religion, media, arts/entertainment and government/military — but Isaiah 2:2 applies to the Millennium. Remember, “Context is King.”
Citing this verse to support the “seven mountain mandate” is laughable; the same goes with Deuteronomy 7:1. The fact that these New Apostolic Reformation people cite such texts as key scriptural supports for their doctrines shows how questionable they are (the doctrines).
Related Topics:
Hermeneutics — Proper Bible Interpretation
AMILLENNIALISM — What Is It? What’s Wrong With It?
KINGDOM OF GOD — What Does It Mean?
What Is THE GOLDEN RULE?
What we call “the golden rule” applies to the general guideline on how we should treat other people:
“In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.”
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
This social guideline is referred to as “the royal law” in the Bible:
If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
True believers live a lifestyle that reflects “the golden rule” or “the royal law.” This rule is the simplest of guidelines to live by: Do to others as you would have them do to you. For instance, if you don’t want people to be rude and insulting to you for no justifiable reason, don’t be rude and insulting to others. If you want people to be respectful and courteous towards you, be so toward them. If you don’t want people to gossip about you, don’t badmouth others behind their backs.
Imagine the global revolution if everyone lived this way — there’d be no theft, no adultery, no malicious lying, no racism, no wars.
I’m stunned when I come across intelligent confessing believers who’ve gone to quality assembles for decades and yet don’t follow this simple rule. They might as well get out a megaphone and say, “I’m not a true believer! I’m a fake Christian!”
Of course, the golden rule doesn’t mean you have to be nicey wicey in situations where tough love is in order:
5Better is open rebuke
than hidden love.
6Wounds from a friend can be trusted,
but an enemy multiplies kisses.
Proverbs 27:5-6
This is relevant to the golden rule — doing to others as you would have them do to you — because truly godly people want others to correct them if they are in the wrong because it will improve the quality of their lives and their service to God; only an arrogant fool — a mocker — hates legitimate correction:
7Whoever corrects a mocker invites insults;
whoever rebukes the wicked incurs abuse.
8Do not rebuke mockers or they will hate you;
rebuke the wise and they will love you.
9Instruct the wise and they will be wiser still;
teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
Proverbs 9:7-9
Kindness is a fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the kindest thing you can do for someone who’s walking in harmful error is correct him/her. As such, there’s example after example of believers boldly confronting & correcting others in the New Testament, such as Matthew 16:23, Matthew 18:15-17, Matthew 23:13-33, Acts 8:9-24, Acts 13:8-12 and Galatians 2:11-14.
This article is available in book form in chapter 4 of…
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Both links allow you to “look inside” the book.
Related Topics:
Is There Such a Thing as RIGHTEOUS ANGER?
Does Walking in AGAPE LOVE Mean You Should Be a DOORMAT to Abuse?
Ministerial Abuse — The Diotrephes Spirit vs. the Davidic Spirit
Ministerial Pitfalls and Abuses
Dealing with Personal Offenses vs. Criminal Acts
Pacifism — Absolute Pacifism (Unbiblical) and Limited Pacifism (Biblical)
What Are THE BASICS of Christianity?
What Makes a Believer a LEGITIMATE CHRISTIAN?
Occasionally you’ll come across people who have a list of doctrines that they deem mandatory for being a “legitimate believer.” This is fine if the list is comprised of actual core truths of Christianity, but not if the doctrines are peripheral and therefore unessential. So, what makes a legitimate Christian according to the God-breathed Scriptures? The answer can be split into two areas — beliefs and practices. We’ll look at both in detail and then offer the gist (so, if you don’t want the details, just scroll down to The Short Answer).
The Beliefs That Mark a Genuine Christian
The core belief that marks a legitimate believer can be observed here:
9If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Romans 10:9-10
If you truly believe something, you’ll declare it with your mouth. This core belief can be observed by what the Lord said during his ministry on Earth, along with the apostle John:
14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.
16For 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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
John 3:14-18
36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
John 3:36
Humanity’s problem is that we have a sin nature, which separates us from our holy Creator and puts us on a collision course with eternal death. God’s conundrum is that the LORD is love and thus loves humanity (1 John 4:8; John 3:16), but God is also just and must therefore issue out the just wage of sin, which is death (Romans 6:23; Matthew 10:28). While God is willing to forgive sin, the LORD cannot ignore sin. Thus the Almighty came up with an ingenious plan to save humanity from eternal death by providing a way to forgive a person’s sin through providing someone without sin willing to die in his/her place (2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 4:15; 1 John 3:5).
This parable might help to grasp the concept: An entomologist lived by some woods where he studied the various insects. There was a huge ant hill of which he became particularly fond. When news came that the nearby road was going to be extended through the woods and it was on a collision course with the ant hill, the entomologist longed to save his beloved ants, but it was impossible to communicate the dangers to them. The only way he could do so would be to become an ant!
This is the Christian message in a nutshell: God became a human being in the form of Jesus Christ to warn us to repent or perish (Luke 13:1-9) and, more than that, sacrifice himself for us by dying in our place (Philippians 2:5-11, 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 9:14, 9:26). Think about it, the LORD could’ve just kicked back in Heaven and destroyed us all for our sin, which would’ve been a just act. Instead, God was born into this humbling, brutal planet and suffered & died for us.
Yet it doesn’t end there, Christ was raised from the dead for our justification (Romans 4:25).
Thus the penalty of sin, death, is paid for and those who believe & repent are saved from eternal death (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21), not to mention reconciled to their Creator (Romans 5:10; 5:11). Belief, by the way, simply means you believe the message while repentance means to “change your mind” in response to that particular truth, which naturally has an impact on your actions or lifestyle. This shows that faith & repentance go hand-and-hand and are actually two sides of the same coin. After all, if you truly believe something, you’ll change your thinking and actions accordingly, right?
This explains why faith and repentance are the first two basic doctrines of biblical Christianity (Hebrews 6:1-2), as detailed here.
It should be emphasized that believing the message of Christ with the corresponding repentance (changing one’s mind accordingly) is all that is required for eternal salvation:
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10
Yet notice that, while we are saved by faith, we are recreated spiritually in Christ (Titus 3:5) for the purpose of doing good works, which brings up…
The Practices That Mark a Genuine Christian
If a believer is walking in the spirit and producing the fruit thereof (Galatians 5:16; 5:22-23) as they fulfill their particular call, that would indeed mark them as legitimate. This ties into the two greatest commands with its three applications: Love God and love others, as you love yourself:
36“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ c 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ d 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Matthew 22:36-40
This is what the New Testament calls “the law of love” or “law of Christ”:
19Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
1 Corinthians 9:19-21
2Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
Galatians 6:2
In the believer’s dealings with other people, the law of Christ is ‘the golden rule‘:
“In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the prophets.”
“Do to others as you would have them do to you.”
If you really fulfill the royal law stated in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
True believers live a lifestyle that reflects ‘the golden rule,’ which James calls “the royal law.” This rule is the simplest of guidelines to live by: Do to others as you would have them do to you. For instance, if you don’t want people to be rude and insulting to you for no justifiable reason, don’t be rude and insulting to others. If you don’t want people to commit crimes against you, don’t commit crimes against others. If you don’t want people engaging in gossip & slander about you, don’t do that to others.
I’m stunned when I come across confessing believers who’ve gone to quality assembles for decades and yet don’t follow this simple rule. They might as well get out a megaphone and say, “I’m not a true believer! I’m a fake Christian!”
You can read more about the law of Christ here.
Understanding “Keeping With Repentance”
According to Hebrews 6:1 (noted above), what are we to repent of? “Acts that lead to death.” The word ‘acts’ is the same Greek word translated as “acts” in this passage:
19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:19-21
These verses show that “acts of the flesh” are not limited to just sexual immorality, drunkard-ness, stealing and murder. Things like discord (strife), jealousy, factions (meaning the divisive spirit that results from rigid sectarianism), hatred and envy are also works of the flesh. Unfortunately, these works are regularly evident in many congregations, as was the case with the believers in Corinth a few years after Paul left to start assemblies elsewhere (1 Corinthians 3:3). Paul warned believers in Galatians 5 that “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God,” meaning those who practice these sins with no care of penitence. This explains why the Bible encourages us to keep ‘fessed-up when we miss it:
8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:8-9
When we miss it, we need to be quick to repent. This takes humility, of course, but humility is good because God’s favor flows to the humble, not the proud. In fact, the LORD resists or opposes the proud, which is why He doesn’t offer forgiveness to the unrepentant (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). This explains Jesus’ declaration: “But unless you repent you will all perish” (Luke 13:3,5). Arrogant people have an extremely hard time admitting they’re wrong, which is why they won’t repent. By contrast, humble folk will readily confess when missing it and it is humility that unlocks God’s favor.
John the Baptist referred to regular penitence as “keeping with repentance”:
“Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
Matthew 3:8 & Luke 3:8
It’s impossible to bear fruit unto God while knowingly walking in impenitent sin. So the principle of keeping with repentance assures the continuing stream of the LORD’s forgiveness and favor in our lives as we regularly repent. Needless to say, don’t allow unconfessed sin to block-up your spiritual arteries from the flow of God’s grace.
Humbly ‘fessing-up should become a regular activity in the life of the believer. It’s particularly helpful for believers who are in bondage to a certain sin. They want free, but they keep falling back into the transgression in question and confessing. This keeping-with-repentance principle ensures the flow of the LORD’s forgiveness and favor into their lives. As they seek God and continue in the Word they will eventually walk in freedom (see this article for details). I was once one of these people, but no longer struggle with any certain sin, which is different than saying I never miss it. A couple days ago I missed it and felt so convicted; I immediately ‘fessed up and received God’s grace. Praise God!
The Short Answer
A believer’s legitimacy in Christianity doesn’t depend on being doctrinally correct on every peripheral issue. While it’s certainly good to be as accurate as possible on any given topic, it’s one’s faith in the message of Christ that marks a true believer (John 3:16 & 3:36). As the Lord said:
“The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”
As far as practice or lifestyle goes, legitimate believers are those who walk in the spirit and produce the fruit thereof in every good work (Colossians 1:10), the primary fruit being love (Colossians 3:14), which includes walking in tough love when appropriate. Genuine Christians naturally live by the ‘golden rule‘ (or should I say supernaturally live by it, with the help of the Holy Spirit?). Walking in the spirit of course includes keeping with repentance (1 John 1:9, Matthew 3:8 & Luke 3:8). Any confessing believer who refuses to keep with repentance and stubbornly lives a lifestyle of sin is deceiving himself or herself. As it is written:
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life.
Galatians 6:7-8
Related Topics:
How to Keep Yourself BLAMELESS (While Not Being SINLESS)
God Deals With People According to the Light They Have
What Did Paul Mean By “Having the Same SPIRIT OF FAITH”?
Here’s the verse in question:
It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” Since we have that same spirit of faith, we also believe and therefore speak,
Paul was partially quoting Psalm 116:10 wherein the unnamed writer knew from a recent life-or-death situation that the LORD answers when believers call in faith (and no doubt other situations as well). He was thanking and praising the Creator accordingly. Since this psalmist from a thousand years earlier had a spirit of faith, Paul linked it to the persecutions he and other faithful believers were experiencing in the 1st century (2 Corinthians 4:8-11), not to mention their belief (faith) in the resurrection unto eternal life (2 Corinthians 4:14).
The apostle was using ‘spirit’ in the sense of the attitude or character of a person, which is one of several definitions of the Greek pneúma and the corresponding Hebrew rûach. A good example from the Bible is Joshua and Caleb, who had “a different spirit” — a spirit of faith — as opposed to all the unbelieving Hebrews (Numbers 14:24 & 14:30). Thus they were the only two above the age of 20 to enter their earthly “promised land,” aka the land of Israel.
Likewise, any believer today who wants to enter his/her “promised land” must have a spirit of faith. See this article for details.
Related Topics:
When You Should ASK and When You Should SPEAK IN FAITH, aka DEMAND
Are Gentile Believers SPIRITUAL JEWS?