{"id":19099,"date":"2016-03-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-03-02T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/soteriology-008\/"},"modified":"2016-03-02T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2016-03-02T06:00:00","slug":"soteriology-008","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/soteriology-008\/","title":{"rendered":"Soteriology 008"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[85],"series_event":[459],"sermon_service_type":[473],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19099","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-matthew","series_event-soteriology","sermon_service_type-sunday-school","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Soteriology 008","sermon_date":"20160302","sermon_month":"3","sermon_year":"2016","sermon_notes":3414,"sermon_slides":3415,"sermon_mp3":3416,"sermon_id":"3216190488","series_or_event":459,"service_type":[473],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":85,"chapter_and_verse":"3:2","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\nSoteriology 08, Matthew 3:2\nMarch 2, 2016\n\nGood evening everybody. Let me, as we\u2019re getting ready to turn to the Scripture tonight, make folks aware of the fact that not a week from tonight but the following week we\u2019re not having class. So we\u2019re having class next week but we\u2019re not having it the following week, which I believe is the 16th, right? Spring break. You guys thought you were too old for spring break, right. But we have a substitute, we\u2019re not going to be meeting here at the church but the Chafer Theological Seminary Conference is going to be going on at West Houston Bible Church, and I believe it starts Wednesday at 1:00 and it goes all the way through Thursday and all the way through Friday. And the keynote speaker in the evening sessions is Dr. Steven Austin of the Institute of Creation Research, so he\u2019s one of the most well-known young earth creationists. And this is a conference that Dr. Robby Dean puts on every year at his church, West Houston Bible Church, which is only about 20 minutes from here. And there\u2019s going to be just some phenomenal talks. Dr. Charlie Clough is going to be dealing with global warming issues, you know, how do we as Christians think about that. Dr. Thomas Ice is going to be there, he\u2019s going to be dealing with the trend toward anti-Israelism in the church, sadly. I\u2019m going to be speaking dealing with Hebrews 6 which is a hard passage to interpret so they gave that to me so they can make fun of me I guess, or something. And we have brochures on the name tag table on your way out, so take a look at that schedule and see if you can catch some of that. We\u2019re going to be having that in lieu of our normal Wednesday class here on the 16th. Does that make any sense? Okay.\n\nAll right, well let\u2019s take our Bibles and open them to the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 3 and verse 2. And if you have been tracking with us in our study of soteriology, which is what we have been going over this quarter, which is the doctrine of salvation, we\u2019re in an area that we call God\u2019s one condition of salvation. And it\u2019s here that we\u2019re emphasizing that there\u2019s only one verb that must be employed by the unsaved sinner to get saved, and that\u2019s the verb believe. And we looked at that biblically. That\u2019s the overwhelming teaching of the Bible.\n\nNow when you get into that subject you get a lot of questions and controversy because people say well wait a minute, the Bible says \u201crepent.\u201d So we took a look at that word \u201crepent\u201d a couple of sessions ago and I tried to show you what that word actually means. It means change of mind which is a synonym for belief. And the last time we were together we said well, wait a minute, aren\u2019t there verses that say you must submit every area of your life to the Lordship of Christ in order to be a Christian. And this is a doctrine called Lordship salvation. It\u2019s in tremendous ascendency for some reason today. It wasn\u2019t like this thirty years ago but almost everywhere you look today someone within our camp, the Bible believing camp, is promoting Lordship salvation.\n\nLordship salvation would contradict belief, the one condition of salvation. So Robert Lightner, a critic of Lordship salvation, defines Lordship salvation as follows: Lordship salvation refers to the belief which says the sinner who wants to be saved must not only trust Christ as his substitute for sin but also\u2026 see, the word \u201calso\u201d should scare you because we believe salvation is by faith alone, \u201cbut also surrender,\u201d now some would say at least be willing to surrender, \u201cevery area of your life to the Lordship of Christ.\u201d So there\u2019s not one thing that\u2019s necessary to do to be saved according to Lordship salvation, there are two things that are necessary.\n\nAnd this is a very popular view called Lordship salvation. One of the biggest proponents of it in our world today is Dr. John MacArthur, and a lot of times when you mention a name like that people say well, he didn\u2019t say it, he didn\u2019t say it, or they like John MacArthur and I like a lot of the things John MacArthur says also, but not on this. And so there\u2019s this desire people have to protect their favorite teacher. So that\u2019s why I use these quotes, which we went over last time, to show you that yes, he is in print, and also in sermons, teaching this view quite clearly and aggressively. So we went through some of those quotes last time.\n\nWe went through this quote by J. I. Packer, that basically teaches the same idea. And Lordship salvation is the idea that if Jesus is not Lord of all, then He is not Lord at all. And you hear this so frequently, people start to believe that this is true. And what I tried to explain last time is a lot of this stuff started\u2026 now it did not start with John MacArthur, this is actually the teaching of the Puritans, going back to those that founded America. As you go into their\u2026 they were voluminous writers, as you go into their writings they were very strong on this, what I think is a false view of this Lordship salvation.\n\nAnd John MacArthur, around 1980, there\u2019s different theories as to why he went this direction but he got sort of disillusioned with what he called the low level of Christian living, not only within his church but within Christendom. And I\u2019d have to concur with him, that is very depressing. But he diagnosed a problem really well, but he came up with the wrong cure. He reached back into the Puritans and brought back to life this doctrine of Lordship salvation which basically says if people aren\u2019t living for Jesus, claiming the name of Christ, then they\u2019re not Christians at all. Whereas I would say well maybe they aren\u2019t Christians but maybe they are Christians and just haven\u2019t grown a lot yet. So you know, we have different approaches to this. But I\u2019m just trying to explain to you what Lordship salvation is.\n\nLordship salvation says in order to be a Christian at the point of personal faith in Christ you also must have a sincere willingness to obey Christ\u2019s commands, take up one\u2019s cross and forsake sin, or sins. And if you are not willing to do all of the above then you were never a Christian to begin with. That\u2019s basically what Lordship salvation is. And because of the volatile nature of this debate I went rather slowly last time through\u2026 what we\u2019re looking at are seven problems with Lordship salvation. We\u2019ve looked at the first four last time and then we\u2019re going to look at the remaining three tonight and then we\u2019re going to open it up for question and answer, because no doubt many of you have been exposed to Lordship salvation just by hanging around Christian TV, Christian radio, Christian literature and so forth.\n\nBut the first problem you remember that we said with Lordship salvation is it changes the gospel. The gospel is no longer what Jesus has done for me and my willingness to receive it as a free gift by faith, it\u2019s now what I do for Jesus. And I think that\u2019s how you can always recognize a false gospel. You have to ask yourself where does it put the spotlight? Does it put the spotlight on Christ where it belongs or does it put the spotlight on you, and what you must do and what your performance is? Because God, as we have studied, is not interested in justifying people on the basis of their personal works. But Lordship salvation is an alteration of that. Lordship salvation, beyond that, places an impossible burden upon the unsaved. How in the world do you tell someone who\u2019s dead in their trespasses and sins and doesn\u2019t even have the Holy Spirit in them that they need to pick up their cross daily and follow Christ?\n\nLordship salvation, number 3, because they don\u2019t have the resources to do that is the point. After the Spirit enters them then it\u2019s different; then you teach them to grow according to the resources that they have but you don\u2019t dump all of that on them when they\u2019re not even saved yet. So we talked about that. Lordship salvation confuses justification with sanctification. Justification, as we have studied, is the past tense of our salvation; we\u2019re saved from sin\u2019s penalty at the point of faith. Sanctification is the present tense of our salvation, where we are gradually being delivered from sin\u2019s power by walking according to God\u2019s resources moment by moment. So there is one condition for justification, faith alone, but there are multiple conditions for progressive sanctification, one of which is making Jesus Lord of your life. So we dealt with that.\n\nAnd then we talked briefly about how Lordship salvation confuses the result of salvation with the requirement for it. And you might remember that one of the verses that I used was 1 Peter 3:15, which says \u201csanctify Christ as Lord \u2026 always be willing to give an answer to everyone that asks you for the hope that lies within you.\u201d You see, Lordship and the command to make Christ as Lord relates to sanctification, not to justification. Justification is by faith alone. So hopefully that makes sense, that\u2019s what we did last time, that was review.\n\nAnd now we come to number 5, 6, and 7, and that\u2019s going to be our lesson tonight. The fifth problem with Lordship salvation is it fails to make basic dispensational distinctions. So there I just used the dreaded \u201cd\u201d word, \u201cdispensation.\u201d And what does dispensation mean? And let me explain a little bit about what that means and then I\u2019ll try to show you how this becomes very significant in the whole Lordship salvation controversy. The word translated \u201cdispensation,\u201d you\u2019ll find a translation of it, depending on what Bible version you\u2019re using, in Ephesians 1:10 and Ephesians 3:2. [Ephesians 1:10, \u201cThat in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:\u201d KJV. Ephesians 3:2, \u201cIf ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:\u201d KJV]\n\nThose are the two places where the word \u201cdispensation\u201d is translated in some Bible verses. But the Greek word that translates that word \u201cdispensation\u201d is the word oikonomia; oikonomia is a compound word, meaning two words making up one word. It comes from two words, oikos, which means house, and nomos which means law or rules. So oikonomia simply stated means house rules.\n\nSo what a dispensationalist is, is somebody that looks at the Bible and notices that from age to age the rules change. Now the plan of salvation is always the same, no matter what age of time you\u2019re in, in the Scripture. In the Old Testament they were looking forward to a Messiah that would come and they were saved by faith. We look backwards to a Messiah that already came, we know His name, we\u2019re saved by faith, so the plan of salvation is always the same for personal salvation from age to age. However, as you go through the Bible you\u2019ll discover that there are dramatic changes of rules. For example, in between Genesis 1 and 2 and Genesis 3 do the rules change?\n\nWell absolutely, Genesis 3 isn\u2019t anything like Genesis 1 and 2. Genesis 3 you have death entering the picture, pregnancy becoming difficult, you have people working by the sweat of their brow. None of that\u2019s happening in Genesis 1 and 2. So what happened in Genesis 3 with the fall of man is the rules changed. You see? God\u2019s basic governing structure changes just in the first three chapters of the Scripture.\nAnd a traditional dispensationalist, like myself, would look back at the Bible and say there\u2019s about seven times where the rules have changed. For example, how many of you brought with you to church last weekend an unblemished lamb? Let\u2019s see a show of hands. Well, the Old Testament tells God\u2019s people to do that. And by the way, why did you show up on Sunday, you should have showed up on Saturday. And you shouldn\u2019t have gone to your church, you should have gone to the temple in the Middle East, if you\u2019re really going to follow the Bible. Right?\n\nWell, we all recognize that the rules have changed, in between the Old Testament and the New Testament, after the beginning of the church age we don\u2019t bring animal sacrifices any more. And because Christ resurrected on Sunday we show up on Sunday rather than Saturday. And we understand that we\u2019re not part of the nation of Israel; Israel was a nation, the church consists of people all over the world in multiple nations.\n\nSo there\u2019s obviously a change of rules. So everybody is a dispensationalist whether they want to admit it, of one kind or the other. Now the reason this is such a big deal is I had you open up to Matthew 3:2 which is the preaching of John the Baptist. He says, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u201d Now Lordship salvation people believe that\u2019s the gospel. You know, that is the gospel that we are to proclaim to the unbelievers today, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u201d And they say there it is, it\u2019s not just faith alone, it is personal repentance of sins. I\u2019m not sure how they interpret \u201ckingdom\u201d but you notice the words, \u201cthe kingdom of heaven is at hand\u201d is thrown in.\n\nAnd what I\u2019m trying to argue here is early Matthew is a different stage of house rules in comparison to what we\u2019re governed by today. And you see if you don\u2019t understand basic dispensational distinctives within the Bible you get very confused as to exactly what gospel it is, what Scriptures we\u2019re supposed to use to preach to unbelievers.\n\nSo what Matthew 3:2 is, is God\u2019s program with Israel. Now the nation of Israel began, really in Genesis 12, and in Genesis 15 God made to Israel a covenant called the Abrahamic Covenant, given to the patriarch Abram, who later became Abraham, and He gave Israel an unconditional covenant consisting of three blessings: land, seed (or descendants) and personal blessing. So that\u2019s the foundational structure of God\u2019s beginning work with the nation of Israel.\n\nGod, later on in the Scripture, comes along at later times and He amplifies those promises. So He amplifies the land promises in what\u2019s called the land covenant, Deuteronomy 29 and 30. He amplifies the seed promises in what\u2019s called the Davidic Covenant, 2 Samuel 7. He amplifies the blessings in what\u2019s called the New Covenant, Jeremiah 31:31-34. And what you have to understand is Israel is the owner of those blessings. She will always be the owner of those blessings because they are a promise that God made to national Israel unconditionally, meaning with no strings attached.\n\nNow where it gets tricky, as you go to the book of Exodus just for a minute, chapter 19 and God brings the nation of Israel out of Egyptian bondage, they had been there for 400 years, takes them to Mt. Sinai, and now He makes them a different covenant, called the Mosaic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional, the Mosaic Covenant is conditional. And if you take a look at Exodus 19:5-6 you\u2019ll see this. It says, \u201cNow then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples,\u201d of the earth.\n\nSee that if-then language? That\u2019s not an unconditional covenant like what He gave to Abraham, this is a conditional covenant. [Exodus 19:5-6, \u201c'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine, [6] and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.\u201d]\n\nSo how does this whole thing fit together? The best conceptual tool I know of to explain it is the distinction between ownership and possession. See, I can own a beach house in the Hamptons, let\u2019s let me use my imagination on that, I don\u2019t actually own one but let\u2019s pretend. But I\u2019m so busy working I never have time to possess or enter or enjoy. See that? So the nation of Israel is the owner, they have always been the owner, they always will be the owner of these covenantal blessings from the Abrahamic Covenant, land, seed and blessing. But whether a generation of Jews enjoys or actually enters into or possesses what they own they have to respond to the Mosaic Covenant. If a generation of Jews ever responded to the Mosaic Covenant they would not just be the owner but the possessor and the kingdom of God would manifest itself upon the earth. See?\n\nNow who does the Mosaic Covenant point to, ultimately? Jesus! Deuteronomy 17:15, take a look at that just for a second, Deuteronomy 17:15 makes this very clear and it says this, it says: \u201cyou shall surely set a king over you whom the LORD your God chooses, one from among your countrymen\u201d so look at his birth certificate carefully and make sure he\u2019s one of your own, \u201cfrom among your own countrymen you shall set as king over yourselves; you may not put a foreigner over yourselves who is not your countryman.\u201d\n\nIf Israel ever enthroned the king of God\u2019s choosing they would satisfy the condition of the Mosaic Covenant, and they would not just be the owner but the possessor, and the kingdom of God would come. This is why Jesus, in John 5:39 and verse 46 says to the Pharisees if you read Moses you would read about Me for he spoke about Me. [John 5:39, \u201cYou search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;\u201d [46] \u201cFor if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me.\u201d\n\nSo consequently, going back to Matthew 3:2 [\u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d] here\u2019s basically what\u2019s happening in Matthew 3:2. The kingdom, which is earthly and it\u2019s very well predicted in the pages of the Old Testament, it\u2019s a time period when the nations will beat their swords into plowshares, the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, no human need will be unmet, agricultural prosperity is going to break out all over planet earth. This is the kingdom that was offered to Israel on a silver platter in Matthew 3:2. That is what Jesus means when He says, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u201d Enthrone Me, the King of God\u2019s choosing, and the kingdom which ultimately comes from heaven to the earth, will be established. So Israel had a bona fide offer to enthrone the king of God\u2019s choosing and the kingdom would have come.\n\nJohn the Baptist preaches, Christ preaches the exact same message in Matthew 4:17 Preach what John preached, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u201d . [Matthew 4:17, \u201cFrom that time Jesus began to preach and say, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d] Now take a look over at Matthew 10:5-7, Jesus now is sending out the twelve to preach the exact same message. And what does he say in verse 5, \u201cThese twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: \u201cDo not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; [6] but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.\u201d I mean, are you going to use this passage for your missions conference at your church, your Christ for the nations conference? Obviously not, this is an offer, given early on in Matthew only to national Israel. And what are they to teach or preach? Verse 7, \u201cAnd as you go, preach, saying, \u2018The kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u2019\u201d See, this is the offer of the kingdom, this is a chance that first century Israel had to enthrone Christ, who was right there in their midst and had they done that the kingdom of God, long anticipated in the Old Testament, would have been established, Israel would not just be the owner but the possessor.\n\nBut the tragedy that the Gospels reveal to us is that this offer was turned down. In fact, the Pharisees attributed Christ\u2019s miracles to the devil, in Matthew 12:24. [Matthew 12:24, \u201cBut when the Pharisees heard this, they said, \u2018This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.\u2019\u201d] And the moment that happened is the moment this offer is withdrawn. The language, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of God is at hand\u201d disappears from Matthew\u2019s Gospel, and actually doesn\u2019t surface again until the distant future, in Matthew 24, which deals with the tribulation period.\n\nThen the offer will be re-extended to Israel, but in the interim Christ begins to outline an interim age of time that the Old Testament prophets never foresaw, a mystery age. He explains it through eight parables in Matthew 13. And He begins to make reference to a church, something that\u2019s never been alluded to before thus far in the Bible, and he says, \u201cI will build My church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.\u201d [Matthew 16:18, \u201cI also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.\u201d]\n\nWell, what is the church? It\u2019s a different man Paul calls it, a new man. It started on the day of Pentecost and continues up until the rapture. This is what we\u2019re part of. We are not Israel, we are those that have trusted in the Messiah that Israel rejected, and the moment we trust in Christ we are inducted by the Spirit through Spirit baptism into this new man, the church. God has been working through the church for the last 2,000 years. One of these days the age of the church will end, with the rapture. And then God, who has not forgotten His covenantal obligations to Israel will re-extend the offer of the kingdom to them in the tribulation period, \u201crepent for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u201d [Matthew 4:17, \u201cFrom that time Jesus began to preach and say, \"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d] You\u2019ll see it there, called the gospel of the kingdom, in Matthew 24:14, and then the kingdom will finally materialize. [Matthew 24:14, \u201cThis gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.\u201d] So this is a basic outline of what\u2019s happening in the Gospels.\n\nSo what you have to understand is there is a massive dispensational shift after Matthew 12. Matthew 1-12, Christ\u2019s public ministry; Matthew 13-28 Christ\u2019s private ministry. Matthew 1-12 Christ is ministering to the nation, offering them the kingdom. But that\u2019s not what He\u2019s doing in the second part of Matthew\u2019s Gospel. He\u2019s ministering only to a remnant who would be the foundational leaders of the coming church. His miracles in Matthew 1-12 is proof to the nation that He\u2019s the Messiah but when you get into the second part of Matthew\u2019s Gospel the miracles are only for the remnant, to prepare their faith, so to speak, and train them for the coming kingdom. That\u2019s where Peter walks on the water and sinks and those kind of stories.\n\nThe offer of the kingdom is dominant in Matthew 1-12 but it virtually disappears in the second half of Matthew\u2019s Gospel. Jesus never taught in parables in Matthew 1-12; His teaching is open and plain so the nation could understand it but once you get to the turning point, in the second half of Matthew\u2019s Gospel he starts talking in parables. He doesn\u2019t want to be understood by everybody because the nation has already made a decision to reject Him. So He is speaking in parables to conceal truth from them but reveal it to this faithful remnant. And in Matthew 1-12 you don\u2019t have any record whatsoever of an interim program involving the church, but suddenly that theme starts to get very prominent in the second part of Matthew\u2019s Gospel.\n\nNow why bring all this up? Because it relates to what we\u2019re sharing with the unbelievers; which Scriptures do we use to preach the gospel today? Jim McGowan in his excellent PowerPoint writes this: The problem arises from the fact that Lordship theology presupposes a theological construct which in turn dictates to the text. For example, notice how John MacArthur responds when asked about his personal theology. Notice the trashing, if you will, maybe that\u2019s too strong a word, lack of respect for dispensational distinctives in John MacArthur\u2019s comments:\n\n\u201cI was raised in a dispensational environment, there was no question, but as I got into seminary I began to test some of those things. I have been, perhaps aptly designated a leaky dispensationalist. Here\u2019s my dispensationalism, I\u2019ll give it to you in one sentence: There\u2019s a difference between Israel and the church, period.\u201d That part of the sentence I agree with. \u201cAt the same time in seminary I began to be exposed to reading among more Reformed theologians,\u201d Reformed theologians would be Lordship salvation people, \u201cnon-dispensationalist,\u201d he\u2019s basically talking about Puritan writers. \u201c\u2026and over the years of exegeting the Scripture it has again yielded to me a Reformed theology,\u201d Reformed theology is another way of saying non-dispensational. \u201cI was convinced of it, Reformed theology, when I started and I\u2019m more convinced of it now as I\u2019ve gone through the text. I was convinced of it when I started because I read so many noble men who have held that view.\u201d i.e. Reformed theology. \u201cIt was more at that point hero worship and now it\u2019s become my own.\u201d\n\nJim McGowan writes, \u201cMy point here is to demonstrate how John MacArthur, who claims to be a dispensationalist has arrived at his position on Lordship salvation. Incredibly, due to the imposed perspective, Lordship adherents like John MacArthur, in spite of the undisputed lexical meaning of the word \u2018repentance\u2019\u201d which we looked at a couple of sessions ago, \u201cinsists on changing the basic meaning of metanoe\u014d and its derivatives to include concepts beyond its clear meaning.\u201d\n\nJohn MacArthur writes, quote: \u201cThere is a tendency however for dispensationalists to get carried away with compartmentalizing truth to the point that they make unbiblical differentiations. An almost obsessive desire to categorize and contrast truths has caused various dispensationalist interpreters,\u201d like Chafer, Ryrie and Hodges, who we by and large follow in this church, their teachings anyway, or respect their teachings, has carried these people \u201cfar beyond the legitimate distinction between Israel and the church. Many,\u201d now look at this sentence here, \u201cwould draw hard lines between salvation and discipleship, justification and sanctification,\u201d that\u2019s what I did last week, I drew a hard line between those two. MacArthur says there is no hard line, \u201cbetween the church and the kingdom,\u201d I just explained to you why God\u2019s program of the kingdom through Israel is completely different than His program through the church, \u201cfaith and repentance,\u201d look at this, \u201cChrist\u2019s preaching and the apostolic message.\u201d See, I\u2019m going to show you in just a moment that there is a big difference between what Jesus preached, in terms of \u201crepent for the kingdom of God is at hand\u201d and what Paul preached. MacArthur won\u2019t acknowledge that distinction. \u201c..between the apostolic message, faith and repentance, and the age of law and the age of grace.\u201d\n\nYou see he\u2019s saying these are compartmentalization\u2019s where getting carried away. And what I\u2019m saying is these divisions are necessary so you understand what gospel we preach and from what text. You would probably think it strange if I tried to put you under the Mosaic Law, wouldn\u2019t you. Similarly I think it\u2019s very strange to put the church under Matthew 1-12, when Matthew 1-12 is dealing with the offer of the kingdom to Israel that was rejected, turned down and God\u2019s program for Israel is in postponement.\n\nJim McGowan says, \u201cA most critical point in the discussion of dispensational distinctives has to do with the use of the term \u201cgood news\u201d in the New Testament.\u201d Charles Ryrie, who just, sadly passed away recently, points out the important dispensational distinctives when he writes: \u201cEven the New Testament uses the word \u2018gospel\u2019 to mean various types of good news. So one has to describe what good news is in view.\u201d And what he is talking about here is the difference between what Jesus, John and the Twelve preached in early Matthew, versus the gospel that we give out today. \u201cA distinctive feature of traditional dispensationalism,\u201d which is basically where our church is at, \u201cis that it is always held to the inherent difference between the gospel of the kingdom,\u201d see those verses that we just went over, \u201cand the gospel of grace as Paul preached it to unbelievers. Lordship advocates deny these clear distinctions resulting in a coalescing of law an grace and they end up teaching a very confused message in the process. As has been stated above, Lordship proponents insist that repentance is always presented as the resolve to forsake sins or the actual turning from sin, and that this fact is a prerequisite for salvation. They seek to find support for this view\u201d where, in the preaching of John the Baptist, or in the preaching of Jesus and the apostles prior to the dispensational turning point in Matthew 12:24. [Matthew 12:24, \u201cBut when the Pharisees heard this, they said, \u2018This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?\u201d]\n\nLewis Sperry Chafer, the founder of Dallas Theological Seminary, says, \u201cIt is an error to require repentance as a preliminary act preceding and separate from believing. Such insistence is too often based on Scripture which is addressed to the covenant people, Israel. They, like Christians, being covenant people, are privileged to return to God on the grounds of their own covenant by repentance. This is much Scripture, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament that calls the nation of Israel to its long-predicted repentance and is usually placed before them as a separate and unrelated act that is required.\u201d\n\nThe translation is when John the Baptist and Jesus and the Twelve were saying to Israel, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of God is at hand,\u201d they were saying to Israel enthrone the King on His own terms so the kingdom will come. They were not\u2026 in other words, it was a national offer, it was not an offer of personal salvation to an individual sinner.\n\nChafer says, \u201cThe preaching of John the Baptist of Jesus and the early message of the disciples was repent for the kingdom of God is at hand, but it was addressed only to\u201d who? Israel. Now you get into the second part of Matthew\u2019s Gospel and Jesus says this: \u201cGo and make disciples of\u201d what? \u201call nations.\u201d Well, how do you harmonize Matthew 10, \u201cgo only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel\u201d with the great commission, \u201cgo and make disciples of all nations.\u201d The answer: there\u2019s a dispensational shift in the middle of Matthew\u2019s Gospel. Now that Israel has turned down the offer God is on the precipice of raising up a new man that has a calling of missions to the world, and it isn\u2019t even called to be the instrument by which God is going to bring the kingdom to the earth. The instrument that God is going to use to bring the kingdom to the earth is Israel because they\u2019re the nation with the Covenant. You see? A cursory look at a few pertinent passages will assist the student of the Bible in determining whether the claims of Lordship proponents are justified and will in fact reveal that this is not the case.\n\nThis is a quote from the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, \u201cIn Matthew 3:2, we are told that John came preaching \u2018Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!\u2019 and also that he preached a \u2018baptism of repentance\u2019 It is noteworthy that most, if not all commentators and scholars, understand John's preaching of repentance to be parallel with the Old Testament preaching\u201d and there the Hebrew word for repent is used \u2026resulting in the force of \u2018turn away from sin.\u2019\u201d\n\nSee, what\u2019s going on in the book of Isaiah, what\u2019s going on in the book of Amos, Jeremiah, what is happening. These prophets are saying come back to the covenant so that the curses that are built into the covenant can be averted. And John, Matthew 3:2, Jesus, Matthew 4:17, The Twelve, Matthew 10:5-7, are basically saying the exact same thing. [Matthew 3:2, \u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d Matthew 4:17, \u201cFrom that time Jesus began to preach and say, \u2018Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u2019\u201d Matthew 10:5-7 are basically saying the exact same thing. [Matthew 10:5, \u201cThese twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: \u2018Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; [6] but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. [7] And as you go, preach, saying, \u2018The kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u2019\u201d]\n\nThe King was there and they\u2019re saying enthrone the King and then the kingdom which comes from heaven is at hand, will manifest itself on planet earth because Israel will not just be the owner but the what? The possessor. So you have to look at the early preaching in Matthew\u2019s Gospel, not as a soteriological salvation message we\u2019re giving today, it is something germane to God\u2019s program with His covenant nation, the nation of Israel. This is significant because according to The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, theological uses of repent in the Old Testament were expressed in the context of the covenant community and their return to God and thus were non-soteriological,\u201d meaning they weren\u2019t designed to save people the way people are saved throughout the ages, which is to trust in Messiah.\n\nSo I gave you a lot there, didn\u2019t I. The bottom line to the whole thing is you have to learn to figure out the basic dispensational framework. What verses apply to the unbeliever today and which ones don\u2019t. And if you don\u2019t have this offer of the kingdom framework and you don\u2019t see the basic dispensational shift in Matthew 12 you\u2019ll be confused your whole Christian life because you\u2019ll be going to the wrong passages as a basis for communicating to the unbeliever. And you\u2019ll be giving them the wrong message.\n\nFor example, look at Acts 16, I mean, what are we supposed to say to unbelievers? Is that what you\u2019re going to say to an unbeliever? Tell me about Jesus. Are you going to say, \u201crepent for the kingdom of God is at hand.\u201d No, what you say, what we say is church age gospel. Notice Acts 16:30-31, this is the Philippian jailor. \u201cAnd after he brought them out, he said, \u2018Sirs, what must I do to be saved?\u201d Don\u2019t you wish your evangelistic opportunities were that easy, a golden opportunity, \u201cwhat must I do to be saved.\u201d So Paul said repent for the kingdom of God is at hand\u2026. NO, he didn\u2019t say that. First of all, he\u2019s in Philippi, so if he\u2019s still preaching \u201crepent for the kingdom of God is at hand\u201d he should have been back in the land of Israel. Secondly, the Philippian jailor is a Gentile, the offer of the kingdom was only to first century Israel. What we say is in verse 31, \u201cThey said,\u201d what? \u201c\u2018Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved,\u201d that\u2019s the gospel. So why is Paul saying something totally different than what John the Baptist was saying early on in Matthew, Jesus was saying early on in Matthew, and the twelve were saying early on in Matthew.\n\nAnswer: A basic dispensational shift. So the concept of dispensationalism is not there to scare people and give them a scare word because the word intimidates them, it\u2019s simply to show them how to rightly divide God\u2019s Word and explain what verses go with what circumstances. And in Lordship salvation what you\u2019ll discover is this basic dispensational framework that I\u2019ve tried to articulate is not respected. And that\u2019s one of the reasons we\u2019re coming to different conclusions with Lordship salvation people.\n\nDispensationalism is the Bible. Dispensationalism always thrives in a Bible teaching environment because as you are going thru the Bible you\u2019ll quickly see different rules in effect. It\u2019s not something that we are imposing on the Bible, it is something we are observing happening as we read the Bible. You see? But if you\u2019re spending all your time reading Reformed theologians, who don\u2019t honor dispensational distinctives you\u2019re going to end up preaching a very, very confused gospel. And I won\u2019t even get into the issue of tithing right here.\n\nNumber 6, because a lot of people say you\u2019ve got to bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, right? Malachi 3 says that, right? Test Me in this, says the Lord, see if I will not pour out so great a blessing upon you that you do not have enough room to contain it. How man of you have heard that preached? You can just turn on so-called Christian TV, you\u2019ll hear that over and over again. And what the preacher is basically saying is bring your tithe to my ministry and God will bless you. Right? Financially. Well, the problem is that verse comes from Malachi where Israel was functioning under her own covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, which had blessings and curses built into it, financial curses and financial blessing. So the whole concept, and because people don\u2019t understand dispensationalism they hear the preacher use the Bible, they say it must be true. But they don\u2019t really understand, they don\u2019t have enough sophistication to know that that\u2019s another dispensation.\n\nThere is no verse in the New Testament, particularly the church age, which says bring a tithe into the church and God will financially bless you. In fact, we don\u2019t even have a number that we\u2019re supposed to give. Israel had a number because it was a country, right, with borders and a military and priests to support. It\u2019s a mandatory tax, just like in America. April 15 is not optional because we have to keep the country afloat, although it\u2019s becoming harder to do that as time goes on, but nevertheless\u2026. So Israel was a country, the church is not a country, so there is no New Testament passage that tells us to bring 10% of our income to the Lord so the Lord will financially bless us, because we\u2019re not under the suzerain vassal Mosaic Covenant that Israel had, which had blessings and curses in it.\n\nSo what are we supposed to do? What we\u2019re supposed to do is to follow adverbs given in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. You know what adverb is, it modifies a what? A verb. 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 you\u2019ll find a ton of adverbs that tell us how to give, give cheerfully, give hilariously, give sacrificially, give proportionately as the Lord has blessed you. There is no ironclad number. Now why does Malachi 3 have a number but the church age doesn\u2019t have a number in terms of giving? The answer has to do with a dispensational shift. And if you don\u2019t have any teaching on dispensationalism you get very confused; different house rules govern at different times.\n\nNow 4th of July will come up and you\u2019ll hear a bunch of sermons everywhere on 2 Chronicles 7:14, you guys know that verse, don\u2019t you, let\u2019s look at that for a second. 2 Chronicles 7:14, when I was a kid I remember hearing this preached. And what 1 Chronicles 7:14 says is \u201cand My people who are called by My name if they humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land.\u201d And the preacher says the land is who? The United States of America. So if we just get rid of some national sin, usually it\u2019s abortion, or pornography, which obviously we\u2019re all against abortion and pornography but they use this verse as a way if we could just get rid of those sins and turn back to God then God somehow is obligated to financially bless us.\n\nNow may I just say that God is under no such obligation. The reason I know that is because only Israel had this Mosaic Covenant with these built-in blessings and curses. God can bless America if He wants to, He has blessed America but we\u2019re not in a type of relationship with the Lord where if I do X He\u2019s obligated to do Y. Israel had that kind of relationship because they were functioning under a prior dispensation with a covenant. The United States of America is not Israel. The closest you can get to saying the United States of America is Israel is spell out the word Jerusalem, and you\u2019ll see the letters u-s-a after the r, but other than that\u2026 I\u2019m being a little bit facetious, America is not the nation of Israel. I love America, if you cut me open I\u2019d bleed red, white and blue. But that doesn\u2019t give me the right to go into 2 Chronicles 7:14 and rip that verse completely out of context and hold it up to people as if God is obligated to bless America if we do X, Y and Z. We\u2019re in a totally different age, a totally different dispensation.\n\nI\u2019m just trying to explain why this concept of dispensations that sometimes we harp on around here is actually a big deal. It will save you from multiple interpretive errors in terms of your view of finances, it will save you from multiple interpretive errors in terms of how you share the gospel itself. In evangelicalism we\u2019re confused amongst ourselves about how we share the gospel Some people are going to Matthew 3:2 [\u201cRepent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.\u201d] We\u2019re not, why the difference of opinion? Because of the fundamental misunderstanding of the concept of dispensations.\n\nReal quickly, number 6, the sixth problem with Lordship salvation is it ignores the reality of the carnal Christian. Take a look at 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. Now we\u2019ve gone through this passage before, Paul says\u2026, let me back up for a second, if you believe in Lordship salvation you do not really believe there can be a carnal Christian, either that or you take the concept of the carnal Christian and you heavily marginalize it and de-emphasize it. Why is that? Because according to Lordship salvation the way you\u2019re justified is you have to submit every area of your life to Christ, or at least be willing to do so. So if that\u2019s true, then all the people that are saved should be submitting every area of their life to Christ. You don\u2019t even have room in your theology for a Christian who is in a state of carnality.\n\nNow what does Paul say, \u201cAnd I,\u201d what\u2019s the next word, \u201cbrethren,\u201d is he speaking to believers or unbelievers? Believers. \u201cAnd I, brethren could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ.\u201d Wow, you mean I can be carnal and a babe \u201cin Christ.\u201d Yes you can. Well, how do you know if you\u2019re in that category? Verse 2 \u201cI gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, [3] for you are still carnal. For since there is\u201d envy and strife and divisions, sounds like church life a little bit, \u201cwhere there is envy, strife and divisions among you, are you not carnal, and behaving like mere men?\u201d\n\nLordship salvation says you\u2019re saved or you\u2019re not, period. Paul says the unsaved is the natural man but within the ranks of the saved there are three kinds of saved people. The spiritual man, that\u2019s the believer that\u2019s growing; the infant, that would be the very new Christian, and then the carnal. Carnal, you recognize the word \u201ccarnal\u201d from the word carnivorous, which means meat, right? Ever had any chili con carne? Chili with meat. That\u2019s where we get this word carnal; carnal means devoted to the flesh. It\u2019s a Christian that really continues to live on in the patterns of the sin nature and they haven\u2019t been taught correctly or they\u2019re not in an environment where they can grow, so that can start to discover their resources in Christ, where they can start saying no to the sin nature and its yearnings.\n\nPaul says there\u2019s a whole category of Christians like that called carnal Christians. And I have many, many verses here which reveal the reality of the carnal Christian. Peter was\u2026 backing up for a minute, the nation of Israel was carnal, was it not, coming out of Egypt traveling to Sinai, complaining against God constantly? And yet those people are saved. How do I know that? Hebrews 11:29 tells me they were saved. [Hebrews 11:29, \u201cBy faith they passed through the Red Sea as though they were passing through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.\u201d] They were in the hall of faith.\n\nPeter had lapses into carnality, he was told in a dream to \u201cArise and eat.\u201d That would be the animals that he was no longer bound to abstain from under the Law of Moses, because we\u2019re in a new dispensation now, \u201cArise and eat.\u201d What does Peter say in Acts 10:14, \u201cNot so, Lord,\u201d well, if He\u2019s your Lord why did you just tell Him no? You can\u2019t say \u201cNot so, Lord,\u201d those are two terms that don\u2019t go together. That\u2019s like saying reasonable attorney\u2019s fees, or jumbo shrimp, or government intelligence, or postal service, or all that kind of stuff.\n\nSee, Peter\u2019s rebellion against God right there demonstrates rebellion. He was in a state of carnality at that point. This is the guy that preached on the day of Pentecost and 3,000 people saved. There\u2019s no doubt Peter is a believer. He drifts into legalism in Galatians 2, to the point where Paul has to rebuke him. The whole book of 1 Corinthians is about carnal Christianity. Ray Stedman used to call 1 Corinthians 1 Californians. But you go to 1 Corinthians 1:2, these folks are called saints, [1 Corinthians 1:2, \u201cTo the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours:\u201d] Verse 7 of chapter 1 says, they were lacking in no spiritual gift. [1 Corinthians 1:7, \u201cso that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d] They look saved to me but go through that book, they\u2019re not acting very saintly are they.\n\nChapters 1-4, they are dividing over their favorite teachers. Chapter 5 a guy is involved in incest to the point where Paul says the pagans don\u2019t even act like this. And this is what Paul is getting at back in 1 Corinthians 3:3, are you not acting mere men? [1 Corinthians 3:3, \u201cfor you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?\u201d] A carnal Christian can out sin an unbeliever. Chapter 6, they\u2019re involved in prostitution and suing each other. Chapter 7 there is rampant divorce and remarriage.\n\nChapters 8-10 the stronger brothers are flaunting their freedoms in the presence of the weaker brothers. Chapter 12-14 they are totally out of whack related to the spiritual gifts. They are putting people that speak in tongues on a pedestal. And they\u2019re just blabbering things that don\u2019t make any sense because there\u2019s no interpreter. Chapter 15 they\u2019re denying resurrection.\n\nAnd what you\u2019ll discover as you go through that book is Paul never once says you all aren\u2019t Christians. Lordship salvation would say you\u2019re not a Christian. What does Paul say in chapter 6, verse 19, \u201cDo you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?\u201d When you join yourself to a prostitute you\u2019re bringing the Holy Spirit into that relationship. Don\u2019t you know what you\u2019re doing? He\u2019s not second guessing whether these people are saved. What he\u2019s saying is you\u2019re in a state of carnality and God will discipline and you\u2019ll lose major rewards at what\u2019s called the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ. Paul explains that in chapter 3, verse 15. [1 Corinthians 3:15, \u201cIf any man\u2019s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d]\n\nYou know, Paul, in 1 Corinthians 9 he himself was worried about drifting back into carnality because he says, \u201cI buffet my body and make it my slave, lest possibly, after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified\u201d for the prize. [New American Standard, 1977] What\u2019s the prize? Going to heaven? NO, because if the prize is going to heaven then Paul just taught salvation by works because he says, \u201cI buffet my body and make it my slave\u201d so that I might gain the prize. The prize is a reward at the Bema seat, above and beyond salvation. And he says I\u2019m worried that lest I preach to others I myself might be disqualified for the prize.\n\nThat\u2019s an impossible series of verses to interpret unless you acknowledge the reality of the carnal Christian. Notice what we said at the top there: \u201can unfortunate possibility\u201d because a lot of people when we say carnal Christianity think we\u2019re saying yeah, we like carnal Christianity. We\u2019re not saying that at all, we think it\u2019s a terrible place to be in. What we\u2019re simply doing is acknowledging that it\u2019s a possibility. You move into heavy lordship salvation and the possibility many times isn\u2019t even acknowledged, which I think makes nonsense of all of these verses.\n\nEuodia and Syntyche, I call them Odious and Syntouche, were fighting with each other like cats and dogs in the church at Philippi. Now were they saved? Yeah, they were. Do you know how I know that? Because verse 3 of Philippians 4 says their names are in the book of life. [Philippians 4:2-3, \u201cI urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to live in harmony in the Lord. [3] Indeed, true companion, I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.\u201d]\n\nAnd they once stood with Paul in ministry. So their names are in the book of life, yet they drifted back into carnality and they are fighting with each other and Paul says\u2026 he doesn\u2019t say you\u2019re not Christian, what he says is your behavior is unbecoming of your identity, that\u2019s what he says.\n\nAnd then my last example of carnal Christianity is an Old Testament example; it\u2019s Lot. A good sermon title is Are you a Lot like Lot, because Lot, Genesis 13:12, \u201cpitched his tent towards Sodom.\u201d He started fantasizing, visualizing about Sodom, a wicked city, you get to Genesis 19 and he\u2019s sitting at the city gate, meaning he\u2019s in a position of authority in that city. And then the Sodomite crowd surrounds his house and he says take my two virgin daughters. Does that sound like a guy that\u2019s walking out the spiritual life? Offering his virgin daughters to a Sodomite crowd.\n\nAnd then when he gets spiritual and says you guy\u2019s got to get out of here because God\u2019s going to destroy everything they all start laughing at him. They thought he was jesting. Oh, there goes Lot again, just goofing around, because the man lost credibility and the whole story of Lot concludes with Lot in an incestuous relationship with his two daughters. He\u2019s in a drunken state, there\u2019s incest taking place, and from those unholy unions came the Moabites and the Ammonites, who became perennial enemies of Israel. And yet, despite all this, Lot was saved. Why do I think he was saved? Because Genesis 19:22, God says I cannot bring judgment on this city until you\u2019re removed. [Genesis 19:22, \u201cHurry, escape there, for I cannot do anything until you arrive there.\u201d] Therefore the name of the town was called Zoar.\n\nBeyond that you get into 1 Peter 2:7-8, the New Testament, and those verses, not once, not twice, but three times call Lot a righteous man. [1 Peter 2:7, \u201cand if he rescued righteous Lot, greatly distressed by the sensual conduct of the wicked [8] (for as that righteous man lived among them day after day, he was tormenting his righteous soul over their lawless deeds that he saw and heard);\u201d]\n\nAnd to be completely frank with you if I didn\u2019t have those verses in my Bible I would never think Lot was a believer at all. How could he be a righteous man when he acted like he did in the book of Genesis? He was a righteous man positionally, he was a believer in a coming Messiah. And yet his practice had not caught up with his position. And let me tell you, Lot paid dearly for this when you study the story of Lot. So I\u2019m not saying, yeah, let\u2019s go out and be carnal because you lose big time. What I\u2019m simply saying is carnal Christianity is an unfortunate possibility. Lordship salvation, on the other hand, would hear some of the things I\u2019m saying and they would just be aghast that I\u2019m saying it, because in their mind the condition for being justified in the first place is laying down every area of your life to Jesus Christ. Or at least being willing to do so. They would deny.. . if they don\u2019t deny it they heavily minimize the doctrine of the carnal Christian.\n\nAnd one other thing, they heavily minimize the Bema Seat Judgment, the judgment of rewards, have you had teaching on that? We\u2019re going to stand before the Lord one day, as Christians, and He\u2019s not going to determine whether we\u2019re saved or not, He\u2019s going to either give us rewards or withhold rewards based on our faithfulness to Him in the here and now living under His resources. Some Christians will be radically rewarded, others will not. Paul talks all about it in1 Corinthians 3:15. [1 Corinthians 3:15, \u201cIf any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d]\n\nBut you see, in Lordship theology the Bema Seat Judgment gets heavily minimized. It\u2019s almost like everybody gets a participation trophy. We\u2019re all going to be rewarded equally. Why do you think that? Well, because the condition for being justified in the first place is submission of every area of your life to Christ. If you haven\u2019t submitted every area of your life to Christ you\u2019re not a Christian. So the Bema Seat to them is everybody just gets a participation trophy.\n\nThat is not what Paul is saying at all about the Bema Seat Judgment. 1 Corinthians 3:15, he says, \u201cIf any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.\u201d Some people get heaven and they smell the smoke on their garments; they\u2019re still in heaven, it\u2019s just their reward that they could have had above and beyond heaven is consumed.\n\nSo the bottom line, I\u2019m going to save that last one for next time. The final two, numbers 5 and 6, two problems with Lordship salvation, we covered tonight are a failure to make basic dispensational distinctives, and then it also ignores the reality of the carnal Christian. I\u2019m a little bit over so I will stop at this point. We can open up the floor for Q & A if you want to do that.","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t