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Zero Social Gospel in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats (Part Two)
Earlier in Matthew 7:15, Jesus commanded and warned: “Beware of false prophets.” False prophets send their victims down the broad road that leads to destruction and away from the narrow road that leads to life eternal (Matthew 7:13-14). The false teaching from false prophets varies, yet with the same goal of keeping their prey on the broad road. One of these varieties is something called the “social gospel.” Its proponents use the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats in Matthew 25:31-46 as their proof text.
The part of the parable of Jesus in His Olivet Discourse in Matthew 25 most referred by social gospel advocates is verses 35-40. Jesus again is teaching concerning the time right before He comes and sets up His kingdom. He identifies those from the tribulation period who will enter His kingdom. Entrance into His kingdom is a common theme all through Matthew, since Jesus presents Himself as King or Messiah. Many places in the New Testament deal with this time on earth.
Salvation comes only by grace through faith. Those Jews saved by grace through faith during the tribulation period before Jesus sets up His kingdom will exclusively manifest certain characteristic at that time. One of those traits, a fruit of conversion, is their loyalty to other saved Jews. This is akin to the Jerusalem church in Acts shortly after the crucifixion of Jesus.
No middle ground existed between Christian Jews in the first century Jerusalem church and their Jewish opposition there. You were with the church or not with it and being with it meant rationing and sharing their physical belongings for mutual survival. Non-participation marked unbelief. The future tribulation period, the time of Jacob’s trouble, will show a similar demarcation between believing Jews and their alliance with the rest of the world against Christ.
Verses 35-40
The believing population when Jesus comes will have survived the tribulation, which engendered alarming needs. Jesus mentions six of them: hunger, thirst, alienation, exposure, sickness, and imprisonment. Revelation 13 says that those who do not receive the mark of the Antichrist cannot buy or sell. Believers are fugitives, running for their lives. Helping them likely is illegal and punished severely. Only believers will help believers.
The kingdom of Jesus Christ is for those who are with Christ. It’s not for those who merely profess, “Lord, Lord,” and then don’t do what He says (Matthew 7:21-23). It isn’t arbitrary. If you are with Him, then you are in fact with Him. When Jesus returns at the second coming, He will deliver those with Him, saving them from the tribulation persecution atrocities.
The care and supply of fellow believers in the tribulation is the care and supply of Jesus. Jewish tribulation saints will have done it unto him when they did it unto these. Those are the merciful who obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7). They are also the pure in heart, because their conversion is real. This isn’t an act with them, as seen in their loyalty and commitment to each other as unto Christ.
Social Action?
1 John 3:14-17
Jesus isn’t saying that they come into His kingdom because of their commitment to social action. He is saying that what they did unto these, they did unto Him. Commitment to Jesus Christ in the tribulation period will manifest itself in commitment to fellow persecuted believers. 1 John 3:14-17 reveal this truth, that the life, light, and love of God abides in those who love the brethren:
14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
John wrote his first epistle that believers might have complete assurance of their salvation (1 John 5:13). One sure mark of true conversion among others is love for the brethren. This isn’t seeing just anyone in need, but seeing “his brother in need” (verse 17). This parallels with Matthew 25:35-40 and the Jerusalem church in Acts 2-5. Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also (Matthew 6:21).
Not Just Talk, But Action
Tribulation era saints will not shut up their bowels of compassion toward their brethren. It is axiomatic. Believers will love the brethren. If they don’t, this reveals they are not one of the Lord’s own.
According to Matthew 7:21-22, belief is more than saying, “Lord, Lord.” People might talk a good game, but those who know Him, will not just love in word, but in deed and in truth (1 John 3:18). That is a true test of faith, not mere verbiage.
The Olivet Discourse and Jesus’ record of the judgment of nations in Matthew 25:31-46 doesn’t describe social work. It isn’t about feeding and housing lost people. It is truly about the care of believers, who very often suffer for righteousness’ sake.
Earlier Jesus said to His disciples in Matthew 10:40:
He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me.
He also told them in His upper room discourse in John 15:18:
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
True believers standing with one another against the onslaught of the world is a mark of saving grace. It is the fellowship of Jesus’ sufferings that Paul mentions in Philippians 3:10. It is going with Jesus “outside the camp, bearing his reproach” in Hebrews 13:13. Those believing in Him are joining that and will characteristically or habitually join that. This is confessing Jesus before men (Matthew 10:32).
Thrill Seekers and the Lazy
In John 6, thrill seekers followed Jesus to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, and He fed the multitude. He told that gigantic crowd that He would not keep feeding them, so they all defected. Everyone wanted a free meal, not Jesus Christ. Jesus turned to His disciples and asked if they would also go away. For the group, Peter said, No, you have the words of eternal life.
Jesus did not go running after those who defected. He also didn’t fail because He didn’t keep feeding them. His plan is not the temporal bread, but the eternal bread. It isn’t social action. Instead, Jesus said in John 12:8, “The poor always ye have with you.”
In fact, Paul warns against giving food to those who won’t work. The provision of food for those in the future tribulation era is not giving food to homeless on the street. Both Old and New Testaments teach a kind of quality control. Paul represents this in 2 Thessalonians 3:10:
For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat.
The Bible won’t contradict itself. Social action, this feeding the unbelieving hungry day after day, does not jive with 2 Thessalonians 3:10. In the end, preaching that God saves those who do the deeds of feeding and sheltering the homeless is preaching salvation by works. Adding that as a requirement nullifies grace and makes someone a debtor then to do the whole law (Galatians 5:1-6). It corrupts the gospel of Jesus Christ. Even the law itself doesn’t manifest this program or represent this as a lifestyle. It isn’t even a requirement of the law, let alone the gospel.
More to Come
Separation and the Five Levels Jesus Reveals in Revelation 2:14-16
When Jesus confronts the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2-3, He either commends or condemns them. He gives each church its appropriate measure of both actions. Jesus condemns the church at Pergamos more than He commends it. His condemnation centers on the biblical doctrine of separation. He says concerning the church at Pergamos in Revelation 2:14-16:
14 But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
First Level of Separation
Jesus
This is Jesus talking, so “I” in “I have” refers to Him. That’s the first level in the text, Jesus Himself. And what about Jesus? He has a few things against thee, He says. With the singular objective pronoun, “thee,” it refers to a singular noun, which is either the messenger, the pastor of the church, in verse 14. Or, it is the church of Pergamos as a whole, which is singular in verse 12. It could be either, but I would argue for the pastor of the church at Pergamos, having this directed toward him. He’s responsible for the church, even as seen in verse 16.
If it was the whole church, that would put everyone in the church in the same category of accepting this wrong behavior. Maybe every person in the church won’t separate from its sinning brothers. Perhaps every member of the church at Pergamos did not purge themselves from these vessels unto dishonor (2 Timothy 2:2). That occurs sometimes. However, that would not explain an Antipas in the church, who is faithful to the end in Revelation 2:13. Nevertheless, when a pastor won’t lead in separation, that does not excuse the membership from appropriate judgment.
Against Thee
Jesus is “against thee.” In this example, He is not against what someone is doing, but against who is doing it. It doesn’t say, “against it” or “against that,” but against “thee.” One could subtitle this section: “How not to have Jesus against you.” There is a higher goal for life than not having Jesus against you, but that at least should be a goal.
So, the first level here is Jesus Himself. Jesus is the Head of the Church. Revelation 1:19-2:1 show that Jesus walks in the midst of His true churches. Romans 8:31 asks, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” The flip side of this could ask, “If God (Jesus) be against us, who can be for us?” In Revelation 2:16, Jesus commands: “Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”
Second Level of Separation
Thee and Thou
“Repent” is a singular imperative, commanding a single person to repent. “Thee” is also singular. However, Jesus on the first level will fight against “them.” Jesus will deal with the ones (plural) who compromise with the world, if the one responsible won’t deal with it. The Lord Jesus Christ will purify a church if its leadership won’t lead in it. In essence, Jesus says, “Purge my church of these ungodly, immoral influences, or I will do it for you.”
The second level is the one He is against, who, I’m saying, is a pastor. Whoever it is, the thing that he or the church as a whole is doing is the same. What is that? It is communicated by the simple two words, “thou hast.” “Thee” and “thou” refer to the same noun.
Not Practicing Ecclesiastical Separation
Jesus is against a pastor because he accommodates, allows, and, therefore, continues in affiliation or association with people. He does not lead the church in obedience to the doctrine and practice of separation. Jesus is against the pastor, who does not lead in ecclesiastical separation from sinning brothers in the church. This could apply to church discipline or also separation from some other church or organization or institution.
Scripture is replete with commands to separate from professing brothers for their disobedience to God’s will. The pastoral epistles teach pastors to lead in this.
Delivered unto Satan and WithdrawThyself
1 Timothy 1:19-20, “19 Holding faith, and a good conscience;; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.”
1 Timothy 6:3-5, “3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.”
Purge and Reject
2 Timothy 2:19-21, “19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. 20 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. 21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.”
Titus 3:9-11, “9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain. 10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject; 11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.”
Jesus requires the leadership of the church, who is under His leadership, to lead in separation. Pastors should teach separation and then lead in it. When the leader won’t, then Jesus will intervene himself as seen in verse 16.
Third Level of Separation
Balaam
The third level in Revelation 2:14-16 are both those who teach the doctrine of Balaam (verse 14) and those who hold to the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (verse 15). The word “so” (houte) beginning verse 15 means “in like manner.” Jesus views these the same. They are two different influencers in the church toward the same destructive end. Jesus bunches these together — those purveying either the doctrine of Balaam or the doctrine of the Nicolaitans — with the same responsibility, even as verse 15 also says, “hast thou.”
The story of Balaam in the Old Testament (Numbers 22-24) is one where he as a prophet attempts to curse Israel and fails. Not succeeding through a direct route, he persuades Balac the Moabite to cause Israel to stumble. That works. Israel does stumble into idolatry and sexual sin through this indirect route.
Turning Grace into Lasciviousness
Within the church at Pergamos were those impacting other brothers to cause still other brothers to stumble. The doctrine of Balaam was this strategy, causing someone else to be a bad influence on someone else. Jude 1:11 calls this the “error of Balaam.” Within the context of Jude, cheap or false grace becomes the justification for the bad influence. Jude mentions ‘turning the grace of God into lasciviousness’ as the mode of operation (Jude 1:4). Grace provides the excuse for becoming cozy with the world. It lures its targets into a false sense of security. This is rampant in churches today.
In the parallel with Balaam, this third level doesn’t itself participate with the actual activity that leads to the sinning. One could say the same of the pastor who doesn’t do anything about level two. Each in this equation, however, are responsible for the ultimate demise of the one on the next level. A chain exists here with everyone in the chain accountable for what occurs in the proceeding link.
Evangelicals who won’t practice separation mock and ridicule what I’m saying here. They almost entirely will not teach or practice biblical separation. They laugh at those who do. The mockery will often point to second and third degree separation. Ridicule is the strongest part of the evangelical argument against separation. It doesn’t come from scripture.
Fourth Level of Separation
Balac is on the fourth level. The real character is not named Balac, but he is “a Balac,” someone taking on that role in the church. He does this by eating meat offered unto idols.
According to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 8:8, the one eating the meat offered unto idols is not the better or the worse for eating it (cf. 1 Cor 10:25). It’s not the eating itself that’s the problem. The problem is in the causing another brother to stumble (1 Cor 8:7-13, Romans 14:21-23). Here Jesus pointblank says that it was causing others to stumble and He would not stand for that.
This fourth level some might themselves call a Christian liberty. They justify an activity because no scripture verse prohibits it. That’s not how the Bible or Jesus work.
All the way down to the fourth level, God does not prohibit the action in itself. God permits eating meat. He prohibits doing it if it causes someone to stumble. With no uncertain terms, Jesus forbids activities that cause others to stumble. This is how Balac got the job done in Israel, and how one or more people got it done in Pergamos. Evangelicals in general will call to permit an activity like eating meat offered unto idols. They don’t care. Their ministries are full of sin-engendering actions. They either don’t see, don’t comprehend, or just excuse them.
Fifth Level of Separation
The last level are those reverting to idolatry and fornication. They are the ones who stumble. These brothers in the church stumble because of the three previous levels between them and Jesus. Irresponsibility trickles down to them. They’re still responsible for their own sinning, but Jesus still connects to those above them.
Jesus in Revelation 2:14-15 traces the causes of sin in the church at Pergamos. The main culprit in the chain is level two. “Thou hast.” Someone wasn’t taking charge of the situation. This is the one Jesus calls to repent. If he doesn’t repent, Jesus will also “fight against them.” He will fight against the Balaam level, the Balac level, and the sinning brother level. Everyone will receive their comeuppance and it starts with an unwillingness to separate.
The instruction of Jesus is not, “Write an article against the strategies of Balaam.” He requires more than talking about it. Jesus expects separation. Writing an article or giving a speech does not constitute the teaching of Jesus here. “Thou hast” must turn to “thou hast not.” The great motivation in the text is the desire not to have Jesus against you, either the leader of a church or against the church as a whole.
Zero Social Gospel in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats
The True Interpretation of Matthew 25:31-46 Totally Debunks Its Eisegetical Use for a False Social Gospel
Scripture presents one gospel and only one. A big part of Satan’s plan is confusing the true gospel, adding, taking away, and perverting it. in the last two hundred years uniquely in American history, cults and false religion concoct many false gospels to deceive many. Theologians and historians call one of these perversions, “the social gospel.” Like adding “social” to justice corrupts justice, adding “social” to gospel corrupts the gospel.
Some of you might know that the social gospel took hold in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the United States, destroying churches, denominations, and other religious institutions. Like a plague, the disappearance of the host also eliminated the disease. Now the scourge of the social gospel reenters early 21st century American churches, denominations, and religious institutions. The most familiar label for this old heresy today is “woke.” Religious entities that embrace the social gospel have become woke, which usually means they also deny the one and only true saving gospel.
The advocates of the social gospel allegorize scripture. They spiritualize it to pour in their preferred message. It’s not what God said. Out of this very subjective hermeneutic, they buttress their theory with innovative eschatology. The woke social gospel arises very often from some form of a termed, “liberation theology.” It is a kind of amillennialism that speculates a kingdom of a Jesus through leftist ideology.
Confusing Matthew 25:31-46
A social gospel uses Matthew 25:31-46 as a biblical proof text, especially focusing on verses 35 to 41:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.
Taking this passage according to leftist dogma, Jesus dooms those who do not take care of the “needy” (meant in a very social way), definitely confusing the gospel as salvation by works. Confused audience members then ask, “What is the gospel?” Before, they thought it was justification by grace alone through faith alone and yet this seems, taken out of context, to require a degree of good works or action toward the most needy in society. That message would contradict what the Apostle Paul taught in Romans and Galatians and so confusion to some first introduced to a social gospel.
Social Gospel Proponents
Wrong Approach
This section of scripture (Matthew 25:31-46) is called “the parable of the sheep and the goats” in a larger passage in Matthew 24-25, called the Olivet Discourse. Social gospel proponents don’t usually bother with context for this passage, which undoes what they say it means. If it does mean what they say it does, it would contradict what Jesus Himself said was the gospel all through the first four books of the New Testament. The New Covenant would sound almost identical to the Old Covenant.
Just to see how prevalent the social gospel take on Matthew 25:31-46, I asked Artificial Intelligence a true application of this passage, and it answered this:
The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats, found in Matthew 25:31-46, holds significant implications for believers in understanding how their faith should manifest in their actions towards others. The core message of this parable is that true followers of Christ will demonstrate their faith through acts of kindness, compassion, and service to those in need. The parable emphasizes the importance of living out one’s faith by caring for the marginalized, vulnerable, and disadvantaged members of society.
Nature of a Counterfeit
AI said nothing about the point of the Olivet Discourse, its audience, the disciples’ questions that they asked Jesus, its timing, and the overall point conveyed by Jesus with His teaching. Is the AI answer true though? No, it isn’t.
There is a small bit of truth in the answer by Artificial Intelligence, enough to deceive people in what Jesus said. Truth in false statements provide cover or deniability. It’s especially effective at fooling people already conditioned by an immersion of leftist education. They become easy marks for such conmen. Some of what Satan said to Eve in the Garden was true, but overall what he said to her was very false. A counterfeit by nature contains some truth in order to fool its recipients.
What Is Matthew 25:31-46 About?
So what is Matthew 25:31-46 about? The Olivet Discourse of Jesus (from the Mount of Olives) answers questions His disciples asked at the beginning in Matthew 24:3: “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?”
Six Parables
In answering Jesus’ questions, He tells six parables:
- Fig Tree (Matthew 24:32-35, Mark 13:28-31, Luke 21:29-33)
- Faithful and Wise Servant (Matthew 24:45-51, Luke 12:42-48)
- The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14)
- Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1-13)
- The Talent (Matthew 25:14-30, Luke 19:11-27)
- The Sheep and the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)
I’m going to hop straight to the last one, the one especially used by the false teachers of the social gospel.
Introduction
In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus speaks about the final judgment where He separates the righteous from the wicked, likening it to a shepherd separating sheep from goats. His words apply specifically to those living at the end of the seven year tribulation period right before His second coming and the close of the age. He provides this as a continuation of His answer to the disciples’ questions in 24:3. The parable depicts the judgment that will occur at the end times when Christ returns.
Verses 31-34
31
This parable of Jesus starts with His words in verse 31: “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory.” This talks about a specific time in the future: the end of the tribulation period on earth when Jesus comes back and He sits on His throne in Jerusalem. It speaks of a particular judgment of a particular people, not everyone who ever lived. “The Son of man” is a title of Jesus, of the Messiah, from Daniel 7:13:
I saw in the night visions, and, behold,, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
This is Messianic about the coming of the Messiah, and the people in that day would have known that.
32
The next verse (32) says: “And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.” With this judgment of the Lord Jesus Christ, He will gather all the people of the surviving nations before Him for this judgment. Bible teachers call this judgment, “the judgment of nations.” It isn’t the Bema Seat judgment or the Great White Throne judgment, which come at different times. The separation of the sheep from the goats is “the judgment of nations.”
33-34
Jesus identifies the sheep in verses 33-34:
And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Salvation is the blessing of God’s new covenant upon His people. It reminds of what Paul wrote about David in Romans 4:6:
Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works.
Blessedness comes by faith alone, not at all by works. Galatians asserts that blessing comes through God’s promise, not by deeds. The Apostle Paul again writes in Galatians 3:9-10:
So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
Blessed by Faith
Being blessed, you can see, comes by faith. If it were by works, it requires continuing in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. When Jesus talks about the “blessed” in Matthew 25:34, He speaks of saved people, already justified by faith. Many Jews will be converted in the tribulation. We know this. They can fulfill the Old Covenant by faith in Jesus Christ, because then He works in them both to will and do of His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13). This isn’t sinless perfection, but the fruit of justification that produces a habit or lifestyle of righteousness.
Further Marker of True Sheep
The last part of Matthew 25:34 gives another cue for the identity of the sheep. They inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Jesus elected them based upon His foreknowledge before time (Eph 1:4, 1 Pet 1:2). No one has even done any good works for anyone before the foundation of the world, which shows that the salvation is all of God, that is, by grace. The sheep also inherit the kingdom, which is for sons. How does someone become a son? He becomes a child of God by faith (John 1:12).
If you preach that God saves someone by His works, you are preaching a false gospel. Paul says that anyone who adds works to grace, ‘let him be accursed’ (Gal 1:6, 9). That’s a false gospel. The social gospel is a false gospel. It doesn’t present a true, biblical view of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, and out of that falsity, it proclaims a false gospel of works.
According to the social gospel, men who fall short of the glory of God bring in a spiritualized kingdom through social efforts. Those preaching a social gospel leave men dead in their sins and very often twice the children of hell they once were. This also both adds and takes away from what Jesus said and taught. It corrupts what men should think about the promises of God and the kingdom still coming for saved people on earth.
More to Come
“Judge Not”: What’s It Saying?
The Context of Matthew 7:1
Matthew chapter seven starts with a very short, memorable command in the midst of a long sermon by Jesus: “Judge not, that ye be not judged.” How does that fit into His message? People turn it into a statement against judgment or judgmentalism. But that is not what He was saying.
Jesus exposes His addressed audience, that it falls short of the glory of God. And the glory of God is their standard according to Jesus. “Be ye perfect as the Father is perfect,” He says (Matthew 5:48).
The crowd for Jesus thinks it’s okay because it hasn’t murdered anybody, but it really has murdered in the heart through its contempt for others. It is proud of its giving, its prayer, and its fasting, even though it does these to be seen of men. Its worry or anxiety about what it will eat or what it will wear means it does not seek first the kingdom of God. Without the requisite poverty of spirit, it will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
How Judgment Fits the Context
Comparison
How could the crowd think it was so good? How? It compared itself to other men, that’s how. But Jesus then debunked its false, self-righteous judgment of other men. Even if His audience were held to an identical standard to which it judged others, it would still fall short. It would still find itself failing before God’s holy judgment. Evaluation of one’s self based upon the standard of other men doesn’t change God’s standard of judgment, just shows how self-deceived it is.
People’s own judgment very often becomes their standard of judgment. That’s why they think they’re good. I see this again and again in my evangelism. Most people think they are good. It doesn’t take long in comparing people to God for them to find they don’t stand up to Him.
Contrast
In the next verse, verse two, Jesus says:
For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Jesus expands on verse one. The Apostle Paul later makes a similar point in Romans 2:1-2:
1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.
Jesus Recommends Judgment
Jesus wasn’t saying, “don’t judge at all.” That’s easy to see. That’s not even what He was talking about. Even to make a righteous judgment of others, you can’t be or doing worse than the person you’re judging. All of this exposes the hypocrisy of pseudo-judgment intended to signal virtue and vindicate self. “I’m not as bad as the other guy, so there!”
When Jesus lays out judgment of any person upon any other person, it is for helping that other person. He’s got a moat or a splinter in his eye and you can help him get it out. If he’s beyond help, which we might assume starts with evangelism, Jesus gives an illustration for that. Don’t give something holy to dogs and don’t cast pearls before swine.
In other words, Jesus recommends judgment. He gives two priorities for judgment. One, remove impediments of judgment before you start judging. Two, don’t waste time and energy judging someone whom won’t listen to or use your wise judgment. Good reasons exist for judgment. Using the comparison with other men for self-vindication is not one of them.
A New Alternative List to the Points of Calvinism
When I listen to a presentation of the points of Calvinism, very often my mind goes to alternative scriptural points to replace them. I think of what the Bible says about the point and I can’t agree with it. Usually I go into a hearing of Calvinist teaching with a desire to agree and believe. Actual scripture gets in the way of my agreeing and believing with the points of Calvinism.
Scripture Challenges Calvinism
Not Biblical
Sure, the points of Calvinism persuade Calvinists. They claim it’s scripture that does it. I don’t see it in scripture, even with my trying to become as persuaded. Calvinism doesn’t do it for me.
What I want to do with this piece is to say aloud what I’m thinking when I hear Calvinism presented. I can’t write everything on it. Hopefully what I’ll do is write down the kind of content I’m thinking when someone espouses Calvinism. My opinion is that Calvinists have their Calvinistic position to defend, much like someone from some religion tries to protect his religion when confronted with scripture. I await presentations that just expose scripture, not read into it.
When I say, the points of Calvinism, I mean what people call, the five points of Calvinism, also known by the acronym, TULIP. All five points of Calvinism interconnect, depend on each other and feed off of each other. I understand when someone says he is one, two, three, or four point, if not five point. To take less than five, someone disconnects one or more from the group. Because of this interconnection, I reject all five points.
Calvinism Unnecessary
I get how someone could question my rejecting every point, since two of them especially make some sense scripturally if taken out of the context of all five points as a group. I mean “total depravity” and “perseverance of the saints.” I could explain those two as the truth, but I don’t believe that Calvinists would agree with that explanation. I’d rather just reject all five points and start over from scratch.
God won’t judge me for not agreeing with a point of Calvin. It’s more important that any one of us believe what God said in His Word about the doctrine of salvation.
Calvinists sometimes attack those who disagree with their position, representing them as not believing certain biblical doctrines. They can easily turn their foes into people who don’t believe in God’s sovereignty or who do believe in some form of salvation by works. I deny these charges. Calvinists often allow these points to define them. The points become consuming and weave into many other of their other doctrines. They often treat those who reject Calvinism as irretrievably messed up in their beliefs.
What should someone make of the points of Calvinism?
TOTAL DEPRAVITY
The Calvinists at Ligonier Ministries say this:
When it comes to total depravity, the inability of which we speak is first and foremost moral inability. In our fallenness, though we have a will and can discern the good, we lack the ability to choose rightly, to exercise our wills in the proper direction of absolute dependence on God and submission to His will.
Total Inability
Total depravity sounds scriptural. The two terms seem right, so what’s wrong? By total depravity though, Calvinists mean, as you can read above, “total inability.”
“Total inability” doesn’t bother me either. It comes down to what Calvinists say about total depravity and then total inability.
Personally I won’t use the words “total inability” because I know Calvinists use them. They are not words from scripture. However, I read lines in the Bible that say the equivalent of total inability. I even like the two words as a description of a lost man’s condition. When Calvinists use those words, they are taking them much further than scripture.
The argument for Calvinists says that men are unable to respond to God for salvation. Men are dead and since they’re dead, they don’t have the capacity at all to receive Jesus Christ. Everything so far I agree with, so what’s the problem? Where Calvinists get into trouble here is their solution to man’s deadness and his inability to respond.
Regeneration Precedes Faith
Many Calvinists teach that God must intervene in the way of regenerating a man so that he then can respond. People have called this, “regeneration precedes faith.” This is not how scripture reads about the doctrine of regeneration. The Bible is clear and plain in many places that the opposite is true. Faith precedes regeneration.
It’s true that men cannot respond. They are dead and they cannot seek after God. Naturally they do not. Something Calvinists get right here is that God must do something to allow or cause someone to believe in Him. Men don’t just on their own stir up their desire to believe in Jesus Christ. God does make the first movement toward man and that’s what scripture teaches. Without God’s working, no one could believe in Jesus Christ.
The other points of Calvinism also describe what Calvinists think of total depravity. A man is so unable to respond to God that God must intervene in the way of what Calvinists call “irresistible grace.” God apparently works in an irresistible way for a man to receive Jesus Christ. These two ideas go together in Calvinism, total depravity and irresistible grace. If God’s grace is irresistible, then also God must unconditionally choose whom He will save and whom He won’t.
God Uses Revelation
The way scripture reads is that even though man is unable to respond to salvation and can’t believe on His own, God does work in his life .God does initiate salvation. Man cannot believe in Jesus Christ without God’s initiation and without His enabling. What God uses is His revelation. He uses man’s conscience, His own providence in history, and the Word of God that is written in man’s heart.
If a person will respond to the general revelation of God, we see in scripture that God ensures he will also get His special revelation, which is God’s Word. Every man is without excuse regarding salvation, because God and His grace appear to all men. Through God’s working through His Word in men’s hearts, they can then respond and receive Jesus Christ. Most do not believe, but the ability from God is available to every man through God’s revelation in order to believe.
An illustration of the power of God that enables a dead man to receive Jesus Christ is Jesus’ raising of Lazarus from the dead. The Word of God is powerful, so the words, Come forth, allowed Lazarus to rise. It allowed for Lazarus to come. This also fits with what Paul wrote in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Not everyone who hears the Word of God will believe. Yet, a man can believe because of the Word of God.
Salvation Is Of the LORD
You can embrace man’s inability and deadness. It’s true. This does not require a solution of irresistible grace and unconditional election. Jonah was right when he said, “Salvation is of the LORD” (Jonah 2:9). Salvation centers on God. This Calvinistic view of inability does not square with scripture. It is unnecessary for giving God the credit for salvation. I would contend that what scripture actually says is what gives God glory, not an exaggeration or manipulation of what God said.
Evangelists need to preach the Word of God as their spiritual weapon to pull down strongholds (2 Cor 10:3-5). They partly do that because of the inability and deadness of their audience. True preachers proclaim what God said. That’s all that will work for the salvation of men’s souls. It’s like what Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:15:
And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Scriptures are able to make thee wise unto salvation, not some mystical regeneration that precedes faith.
Spiritual Emptiness and Bankruptcy
The deadness that Ephesians 2:1 and 5 address might parallel to physical deadness. Someone dead can’t hear. I’ve noticed that when I’ve attended funerals. Men should not turn spiritual death into something so dead that not even the Word of God is powerful enough to allow the dead man to respond unto salvation. Scripture is the way, not an invented mystical and extra-scriptural experience.
God is sovereign. He does it His way. His way is not a novel innovation, which is what this regeneration-precedes-faith is.
Let’s just call it “spiritual deadness,” “spiritual blindness,” or even “spiritually empty or bankrupt” in fitting with Matthew 5:3. I’m fine with “total depravity,” but knowing what Calvinists mean by that, I won’t use those words. This is part of starting from scratch. Everyone sins and falls short of the glory of God. God’s revelation also reaches to those lost souls enabling everyone also to believe, not just those predetermined to do so.
More to Come
A Useful Exploration of Truth about Christian Nationalism (Part Three)
Teach All Nations
Matthew 28:19-20 say:
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
I ask you to notice above, “teach all nations.” The Great Commission requires teaching all nations. We want entire nations to follow Christ. Will that always occur? No, but it is a goal. It is a holy ambition for true churches and believers in those churches following Christ. How does this relate to Christian nationalism?
In verse 20, part of teaching all nations is “teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Christians should wish the nations in which they live would observe all things Christ commanded. God’s Word is still the standard for all of mankind. God will judge everyone based on His rules or laws.
True Christians and their true churches should repudiate all the ways that a nation does not follow the Lord. They should strive for a nation that follows the Lord. What Christian would not want a “Christian nation”? Would that not be a nation that follows Christ in all things? When Christians go to judge their nation, they should judge it based upon scripture. They should vote for representatives with the greatest opportunity or possibility of their nation following the standards of God.
Imagining a Christian Nation
What I’m writing so far in this essay is not a form of amillennialism or postmillennialism. I’m not talking about someone other than Jesus bringing in His kingdom. Romans 13 says there is “no power but of God” (verse one). It goes on to say that “rulers are not a terror to good works, but to evil” (verse three). Good works are not arbitrary. They are only biblical good works. Evil is as God defines it. People have liberty only in the context of scriptural regulation or accurate interpretation and application of the Bible.
Rulers in a Christian United States would terrorize evil and elsewise “minister . . . for good” (verse four) only in a biblical or Christian fashion. Making disciples of the nation requires observing everything Christ wants observed. Right before His commission in Matthew 28, Jesus said that He possessed all authority for all of heaven and all of earth. Jesus will judge the world like He owns it and always has owned it. If we want His judgment to go well for everyone, we must let them know in no uncertain terms.
For sure, Christians of a nation start with the gospel. No one observes whatsoever Christ says without surrendering first to the gospel. A nation won’t be Christian without Christians, but when they are Christians, that means what some people have said, “All of Christ for all of life.” This means Christ rules in the home, at work, and in government. The words of Christ apply to every earthly institution if Christ will rule.
Jesus and the Christian Nation
Will Christ rule over this world? Yes, He will. He will begin a rule with a rod of iron (Psalm 2) when He returns to set up that kingdom on the earth for a thousand years. So is that it? Is that all anyone could hope for? Mainly, yes. Jesus said in Matthew 18:36, “My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight.”
When Jesus said what He did in Matthew 18:36, one could take it as the following:
Look around. Does this look like my kingdom? Of course, not. This is not anything like my kingdom. My kingdom is not of this world.
Jesus’ plan was not to force everyone into His kingdom. He does not coerce people into His kingdom. His subjects would subject themselves to Him voluntarily. That’s His plan for His kingdom.
Internal Rule First
External rule of Jesus proceeds from internal rule of Jesus. The spiritual precedes the physical. It isn’t mere conformity. It is transformation. If a nation skips this transformation step, it’ll probably get something like the seven demons possessing the swept out house (Luke 11).
Kingdoms of this present world, the one Jesus talked about in Matthew 18, as a whole would not come to Him. That’s why in Matthew 7:13-14, He said the broad road leads to destruction and the vast majority go down that road. Jesus did not since rescind that statement. He has not said: “At some point the broad road would be full of true believers on their way to heaven.” If Jesus said that, then it is true, no matter what your desires.
Yet, anyone following Christ will follow Him in every arena of life. A Christian nation can come, but it will come through faith in Christ. The way to a Christian nation is faith in Christ. Before nations behave in their governments as if He rules, they will receive Him to rule their own personal lives. One should expect that true Christians in a government would function like Christians.
Christians don’t want a pagan government. They don’t want an idolatrous government. True Christians as much as possible want a Christian government. To the degree that it is one, it can be a Christian nation.
How a Christian Nation Might Occur
If churches are barely Christian, and if all of Christ is not even all of the church, no one should expect that of the whole nation. This is a simple less than and greater than — not about what is most important, but sheer population size of the institution. Jesus should rule each Christian — one. Then He should rule each family — two to fifteen (let’s estimate), then each church — ten to five thousand, and then each government or nation — several thousands to a billion. The order matters. The latter won’t occur without the former. You can’t get to a Christian nation without getting to quite a few single Christians, who received a true gospel.
No Christian should hope to see a Christian nation without making one disciple. Yet, Jesus commanded, “Teach (make disciples) all nations.” In other words, “Make all nations disciples.” He didn’t command, “Make disciples of, as in part of, all nations.” The goal is whole nations. BDAG says concerning the Greek term translated “nations”: “a body of persons united by kinship, culture, and common traditions.”
What Christ Would Have It
The goal, all of Christ for all of life for all of the world, must envision whole nations. Scripture must get to every institution God instituted. Scott Aniol, who has written a book on this subject (that I have not yet read), it seems, would call this position, “Christian Faithfulness.” Scripture does envision a kingdom of Christ on earth to come and tells us what it will be. Anything that might call itself a Christian nation should not be something less than what Christ would have it.
Christians can’t skip steps to get to Christian nationalism. It starts with internal rule, spiritual transformation. Anything else would essentially say, “Christians fight.” Get armed and loaded and ready for when the pagans who saturate our government take our power away. Without true Christians, what would that nation or government look like on the other side of that fight? Christ has us here now as pilgrims and strangers. Anything beyond that, that might come before the kingdom Christ sets up, will come in an organic way. It will be obvious, which right now, it’s not even close to obvious.
More to Come
The Effect of Leaving Out Just a Couple of Words of Scripture
Proponents of.modern English versions of the Bible very often talk about the minimal or negligible effect of word differences between the received text and the modern critical text of the New Testament. These men might show a side by side of either of the two texts and their translation to show how few changes appear. They very often say that few doctrines change or no doctrine is lost. Do the differences between the Textus Receptus and the Novum Testamentum Graece matter?
Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount
In the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:18, Jesus says:
Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
I’m not going to tell you what that means about preservation. I’ve written about it already and it’s also self-evident. Instead, I want you to go down to Matthew 5:43, really the same context of 5:18:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Jesus here talks about what the Pharisees did and that He found from religious leaders in their tradition. In 5:44, Jesus continues: “But I say unto you.”
The “but” is a strong adversative, a strong contrast. The Pharisees did something, but Jesus did not and would not. He did not come to destroy the law like they would have done. The Pharisees did change the meaning of scripture and they also did that by changing a few words. Look back at 5:43 above. What did they change?
The Subtraction of Two Words
The Pharisees subtracted just two words. Those two words would not have stood out in the comparison of a proponent of the modern critical text. “Thou shalt love thy neighbor” quotes Leviticus 19:18, which says: “thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” What two words did they subtract?
The Pharisees in their tradition left out the words, “as thyself.” Perhaps you remember what Jesus taught in Luke 10, defining neighbor. They changed the meaning of neighbor that permitted them not to love their neighbor.
The strategy or technique of the Pharisees was reduction or minimization. They reduced God’s Word to something they could keep on their own. Part of how they did that obviously was the removal of few words, like two of them from Leviticus 19:18.
Jesus promised that not even letters would pass from the law, but two words is what textual critics might call a small amount. One way to reduce what God said was leaving words out. Today modern textual critics will say something like only two percent difference between the Nestles-Aland and the Textus Receptus.
“As thyself” wasn’t teaching, “Love thyself.” No, everyone already loves himself or least knows how he wants treated. Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:28, “So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies.” No one wants reduction of the love for himself, so that descriptor maximizes love, gets it to where it is actual love. This is very similar to all the other illustrations that Jesus uses in verses 21 to 48 to explain righteousness that exceeds that of the Pharisees (5:20).
Two Words Do Matter
If two words don’t matter, then “Thou shalt love thy neighbor” is probably good enough. However, those two words do matter, because they bring the love to something exceeding that of the Pharisees. The Pharisees could easily reduce love to their own understanding of it without those two words.
Let’s say that we start by saying that the very Words of God are perfect Words. Subtracting words matter if the very words are perfection. Even if only “the message” matters or “all the doctrines” matter, two words will matter to God.
Supreme Court and the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights
I was listening briefly today to the Louisiana Solicitor General argue before the Supreme Court for a proper interpretation of the United States Constitution on the freedom of speech. His particular case was new. No one had argued about freedom of speech regarding censorship of social media. This Solicitor General told the nine justices he was a free speech absolutist and a free speech purist.
Freedom of speech in the United States comes down to two words really, “abridging the.” The next three words are “freedom of speech.” The government cannot abridge the freedom of speech and maybe they did that by coercing or encouraging social media companies to censor. Did that violate that right in the Bill of Rights? Not much language exists on that right, so one or two words is important.
Jesus Himself made the point of the importance and effect of two words with their subtraction in Matthew 5:43.
The Horrific Distortion of the Lord Now in Matthew 5:17-20
Related Post Number One Related Post Number Two Related Post Number Three
Perfect Preservation
You required payment from me on a certain future date and I had no money except the exact change for the payment in a large jar. You needed full payment and I had it in the way of coinage. It was all in one large jar, and I said to you:
I truly say to you, until the specified future required date of payment, one dime or one penny shall in no wise pass from this large jar, till the fulfillment of the whole amount of payment.
Anyone hearing this statement could and should acknowledge a promise of preservation of every coin in the large jar until the completion of the payment. One could call this a promise of perfect preservation of the coins. Every coin and all of them will survive or continue within the jar. Of course, the fulfillment of the promise depends on the trustworthiness and veracity of my words. In Matthew 5:18, Jesus says:
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
That sounds like a guarantee to me, and a strong one. When you read the previous and following verses (17 and 19-20), they do not diminish from what Jesus guaranteed in verse 18.
The Veracity of Jesus
The promise of Jesus extends to heaven and earth passing away, which has still not occurred. That event will transpire, but it remains in the future. At this date in the year 2024, heaven and earth continue. With that the case, what would one expect related to the promise of Jesus in Matthew 5:18? Of course, the perfect preservation of every jot and tittle of the law. The context says the law here was (so is) all of scripture. The words “jot” and “tittle” indicate the preservation of all of scripture goes to the very letter.
In my hypothetical for illustration, I promised the perfect preservation of every coin in a large jar. I thought the illustration would enhance an understanding of what Jesus said. The major difference between the two statements, mine and Jesus’, is that what Jesus says is the truth, always. My guarantee even for one generation is not as sure as Jesus’ is. When He promises preservation, you can count on it. He always fulfills His promises.
Jesus is truth, so what He says is always true. He also can make guarantees or promises based upon His divine attributes. He has the power to fulfill what He promises. Because of His omniscience, He also knows already He will fulfill the promise. The quality of what Jesus says depends on His attributes. Since I don’t have those attributes, my promises or guarantees are of a lesser quality than that of Jesus.
Again, in my hypothetical, let’s say that I did lose a few of my coins, so I did not fulfill my promise of perfect preservation of every coin. If that happened, it does not change the meaning of what I promised. Those words continue to mean what they meant when I said them.
High View of Scripture
Perhaps you’ve heard the terminology, “a high view of scripture.” Someone has a high view of scripture when he sees scripture elevated above feelings, man’s thinking, philosophy, tradition, and all other authority. A high view fits within the Apostle Paul’s statement in Romans 3:4: “yea, let God be true, but every man a liar.” It follows that scripture is inspired, inerrant, infallible, authoritative, perspicuous, and sufficient.
Someone with a high view of scripture will not and does not change its meaning based on circumstances. God said it, that settles it. That kind of thing. With a high view of scripture, when he reads Matthew 5:18, he takes it at face value. He explains the fulfillment based on what Jesus said and not on what he think may happen. He conforms what happened to what Jesus said and not vice versa. This also means not later changing the meaning to have it fit with how he interprets what happened.
Adapting Circumstances to What Jesus Said
John Lightfoot first wrote From the Talmud and Hebraica between 1658 and 1674. In that book, he writes about Matthew 5:18, and he already considered the repercussions of circumstances of which I speak, saying:
A second question might follow concerning Keri and Kethib: and a suspicion might also arise, that the test of the law was not preserved perfect to one jot and one tittle, when so many various readings do so frequently occur.
Do variant readings nullify what Jesus said? Instead of conforming what Jesus said to the circumstances, which is a low view of scripture, Lightfoot explained variant readings of the text to what Jesus said. John Lightfoot was not questioning or changing the meaning of Matthew 5:18. The teaching on perfect preservation was so indisputable to him, that it need no mention. That is how it reads. Bravo Lightfoot.
What we see occur today horrifically distorts what Jesus said to deprive it of its original meaning. In so doing, men eliminate a promise of preservation in lieu of textual variants. I’ve noticed they even distort much of the meaning of what Jesus said even in the entire sermon, it seems, just to eradicate a promise of perfect preservation of scripture in Matthew.
More to Come
Right Applications of Matthew 5:17-20 and Wrong Ones (Part Three)
Jesus Is Scriptural
Everything that Jesus said in His sermon from Matthew 5:1 to 5:16 was a scriptural concept. Nothing Jesus taught contradicted God’s Word. Jesus is God. On the other hand, the religious leaders in Israel were “making the word of God of none effect through [their] tradition” (Mark 7:13). If anyone was destroying the belief and practice of the Old Testament, that is, the fulfilling of the Old Testament, it was them, not Jesus.
Believing and practicing the Old Testament was letting light shine before men. Jesus did that and He called upon kingdom citizens of His to do the same. Proof that He didn’t arrive to earth to destroy the scripture He inspired, Jesus promised perfect preservation of every letter of it.
If Jesus would preserve every letter of written scripture, surely He also expected His people to do all of it too. His teachers would also teach men to do everything scripture said. One could say at this point: in other words, you’ve got to be better than the Pharisees. The righteousness of the Pharisees is not saving righteousness. It is their own version of righteousness that comes from human effort. They couldn’t produce the righteousness that would get them into heaven. That righteousness comes from above.
Righteousness and Saving Faith
Righteousness, which is from above and by the grace of the Lord, exceeds the faux righteousness arising only from man’s works. It doesn’t rank scripture into majors and minors, because it can’t keep everything that He said. Like Jesus, it fulfills written scripture. James in his epistle later says the same. True believers are both hearers and doers of what God said.
Saving faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Someone is begotten by the Word of Truth. It would follow that He would also be a keeper of scripture, like Jesus said. That supernatural righteousness of God produces obedience to scripture. You can detect the unrighteous servant of unrighteousness by His diminishing of scripture.
Here is a professing teacher of God. Someone disobeys scripture. He doesn’t want to offend that person by saying something. He lets it go. This is not doing the least of the commandments and teaching men so.
Ranking Doctrines or the Triage Approach
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day ranked doctrines. Their unity revolved around a triage approach. Instead of following the teaching of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, they pervert into just the opposite of what He taught. Unity on the least commandments, what they call, non-essentials or minors. These teachings are not a “hill you want to die on.”
Left-Winged Legalism
Professing Christians especially today practice a left-winged legalism more often than the more commonly highlighted right-winged type. The left wing calls its legalism, “grace.” It is turning the grace of God into lasciviousness. Since you can’t keep everything scripture says on your own, reduce its teachings to what you can keep. This is left-winged legalism.
Those practicing left-winged legalism relish pointing out more consistent practice of scripture than theirs as legalism. They do it all the time. How you know they aren’t legalists in their estimation is by their inconsistent practice of scripture. People who try to follow everything like Jesus taught and teach others to do likewise, they aren’t the greatest in the kingdom to left-winged legalists. Instead, they’re “legalists.” Again, it’s in reality just the opposite.
As Jesus moves on in His illustrations in chapter five, you can see how much a truly righteous person strives to love God and His neighbor. It’s not the get-by-ism of the Pharisees and modern evangelicalism, so they can keep their crowds. They’ve dumbed down scripture so that it is unrecognizable as Christianity. This follows the same tack of the Pharisees. There is nothing new under the sun.
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