Blackout understanding the end of the age is a series of messages on deception. What I am hoping to do through this series of messages is to help give you a framework for understanding our times in light of the word of God. It’s a view that has helped me navigate some complex topics throughout the years up to the present. Deception has become so widespread that it affects all of us today. It’s what compels me to do this series of messages because this series of messages titled “Blackout” is about deception. In a world of confusion, distortion of facts, extremism and outright falsehood the church is supposed to be a place of sound truth. Paul in I Timothy chapter 3 verse 15 called the church “a pillar and foundation of the truth”.
Living a Cruciform Life: Lessons from Philippians
The book of Philippians is one of Paul's most personal epistles written from a prison cell to a church with whom he had an intimate relationship and with whom he shared a participation in the gospel. The second chapter of this book not only lays out the redemptive work of Christ when God became man laying down his life on our behalf, but it also clearly portrays that our lives are to demonstrate the cruciform way of life. We are to follow in his footsteps and live our lives by the example that he demonstrated.
Paul tells us in chapter 2 verses 3 thru 5 to: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…who emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant.”
Chapter three starts out talking about the ‘gospel of legalism’, He tells them in verse 2 to: “Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.” The dogs, evildoers and those who mutilate the flesh are all the same group. It’s those who Paul addressed in Galatians chapter 1 verse 7 whom he said: “trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” In II Corinthians chapter 11 verse 20 he called them “deceitful workers” who try to dominate you and manipulate you for monetary gain. It’s those who use you to make themselves feel important and exalt themselves over you. It is those who are skillful at twisting the word of God and use fear to keep you in this place of submission. It is legalists who pervert the gospel to control people.
Paul ends Philippians chapter 3 verses 18 thru 19 saying that: “many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.” It’s the same language that Paul ends the book of Romans with saying in chapter 16 verses 17 thru 18 to: “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.”
The Deception of Legalism: Unveiling the True Gospel of Grace
What I want to help you understand in the next two lessons is the false ‘gospel of legalism’. It is one of the two main enemies of the cross of Christ which the apostolic writers confronted, opposed and condemned. The Bible opens up with two trees in the Garden of Eden. The book of Revelation ends with a tree bringing healing to the nations. In the middle of the Bible we have a tree that separates time and testaments. It is where the God who created all things stepped into time opening the doorway to the age to come. It is through the tree of the cross that the restoration of all things has begun.
Trees are mentioned in the Bible more than any living thing other than God and people. A tree marks the spot of many major events in the redemptive story of history. The fall of man, the judgment of the flood, the Abrahamic covenant and the downfall of Nebucannezer just to name a few. A lot of things can be said about trees from the scriptures. Two things I want to bring out are the fruit a tree produces and the underlying root system hidden to the eye. Jesus talked about both the fruit and the root.
John the Baptists, the one who was sent in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the nation of Israel to repentance said in Matthew chapter 3 verse 10: “the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” In chapter 7 of Matthew Jesus tells us how to detect false prophets who deceptively disguise themselves. He says in verse 18 thru 20 that: “A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits.” Root systems are hidden from the natural eye, but bad fruit is very distinguishable and impossible to hide.
An honest observation of the American Church can conclude that there is some bad fruit. The world looks at much of the fruit coming from the church today and says I think I will pass. It looks rotten. It’s because there are problems with so much of the root systems that the modern American Church is established upon. The foundations have been altered from their original design and too many believers' lives are no longer rooted in Christ, but a foundation of legalism.
We need to examine our lives. We must each make sure that we do not allow ourselves to become ‘enemies of the cross’. I think it sometimes happens and we aren’t even aware of it. We drift because we have become untethered from the cross.
It happens when we embrace a refuge of twisted scripture focused on American ideas of prosperity, comfort and freedom instead of the cross.
It’s when we embrace a false grace that says we have no sin when we are captured by lusts. It’s when we have a false sense of hope thinking that traditions of a day gone by will restore sanity.
It’s a false sense of power thinking that we have been granted authority to rule governments. Falsehood has become so many believers' shelter that it is causing many to live in an alternate reality detached from the soundness of truth found in the cross.
Just as in the days of Jeremiah there are prophets who give “vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.” Pride has filled their hearts and they are no longer messengers of the cross grounding the people in Christ the foundation, but are leading those with itching ears into ditches of extremism.
Paul in 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 3 thru 4 tells us about these days when he says: “people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” The two false ideas I am hoping to lay an ax to the root of are legalism and lawlessness. Legalism and lawlessness lead you into extreme ditches taking you off the secure pathway of sound doctrine and the focus of living the cruciform life of faith.
Beware of Wolves in Sheep's Clothing: Recognizing Pride and Deception
Jesus and the apostolic writers warned us of wolves in sheep’s clothing disguising themselves. One of the main traits of a wolf will be pride and arrogance. Pride blinds and deceives leading to narcissistic behavior. A wolf coerces, controls and dominates to take advantage. A wolf seeks to separate its prey from the safety of sound doctrine pushing you into extremes so they can take advantage.
Remember there is nothing new under the sun, it's the same old story over and over. The motivation is always the same for power, money and sexual exploitation. It may not be all three at once, but sometimes it is. Paul said this in Acts chapter 20 verse 29 thru 30: “after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.” A wolf doesn’t keep it in the center focusing on the sound doctrine of Jesus and the cross, but they draw disciples after themselves twisting the scriptures into the ditches of extremism.
Sound doctrine produces healthy living and the fruit will be living lives that demonstrate the new life produced through the cruciform life of Christ in us. The two ditches of extremism I hope to help you avoid actually come from the same root system. The one tree which is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil produces the fruit of legalism and lawlessness.
In this lesson I am concentrating on the gospel of legalism, but as I will show these two false gospels spring from the same root system. Legalism and lawlessness are the two main lies attempting to corrupt the foundation of the church and are causing so many to actually become enemies to the cross of Christ. I will show you that it’s only by staying completely grounded in the root system of the tree of the cross that we can experience true freedom found in the grace of God being produced through the blood, water and Spirit. We must hold our feet to the fire of the cross allowing the imprint of the cruciform life to be the only pathway for our feet to follow.
Unveiling the Deception of Legalism in Religion
Let’s take a look at the ‘gospel of legalism’ because the deception of legalism has an appearance of good. It appears respectable, clean, polished and proper. Religious legalism has as the appearance of being good to the natural observer. The New Testament starts out attesting to the fact that religion is inadequate to change the human heart.
In the scripture I just previously quoted, John the Baptist, the prophet who came in the spirit and power of Elijah was sent to prepare Israel for the coming Messiah. He said, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham’”. He was saying you can’t hide in your heritage and traditions as if that alone makes you a child of God.
John the Baptist and Jesus turned the gospel of legalism on its heads. The legalists misinterpret the heart of God and create a system which they think is protecting the glory of God, but it actually destroys it. The religious leaders of Jesus' days were the Pharisees and historians estimate they had developed a system of 613 laws adding to the Mosaic Law. The Pharisees had produced a heartless, cold and arrogant brand of legalism. Jesus compared it to bondage and the servitude of slavery saying in Luke chapter 11 verse 46 that they: “load people with burdens hard to bear” and they did not care, but enjoyed it because they were the big fish on top of the spiritual food chain getting to reap the benefits.
The gospel of legalism produced by the Pharisees can be summed up in Matthew chapter 15 and Mark 7 which both tell the same story. The scribes and the Pharisees had major issues about Jesus and his disciples not following their traditional methods of washing their hands before they ate. The issue was not eating with cleaning hands. It was because they were not following the ritualistic traditions the Pharisees had developed over the years attempting to interpret and live out the Mosaic law.
The power the Pharisees had over the people was because the people obeyed their rules. The Sadducees were the real power brokers in Israel because Rome had granted them the political power to control the Temple. The historian Josephus described them as secular and not interested in Judaism as a faith. He described them as not believing in a God who directed the affairs of men, but they believed man was left to his own devices to figure things out. I call them practical atheists who used the Jewish religion and Temple as a means of power.
The Pharisees didn’t have any real power so they had to use the power of persuasion to manipulate and control the people. The Pharisees controlled the people through their religious teaching because they sat in the seat of Moses interpreting the Law teaching the nation of Israel. If people did not follow their traditions then the very system by which they maintained their power would be undermined.
The Pharisees had become blinded and deceived by their own legalistic system. Jesus called them blind guides. The Pharisees had taken the Mosaic Law and drove it into the ditch of extremism. It became stuck in the deep ruts of bondage. It was a road that led them and others away from God, but they had come to believe their own lies. The legalistic system produced by the Pharisees no longer resembled the Mosaic covenant law; it had become a shelter of falsehoods where they hid the wickedness of their hearts. Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah from chapter 29 verse 13 saying: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.”
Jesus was clear in his response to the Pharisees that the root of the problem was not the Mosaic Law, but their hearts and the system they had built to retain their power, prestige and dominance over the people. Matthew chapter 15 verse 10 thru 20 Jesus said: “Hear and understand: it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”
Jesus “answered, ‘Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.’ But Peter said to him, “Explain the parable to us.” And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.” Paul defined this as the works of the flesh in Galatians chapter 5.
The Destructive Nature of Legalism
The gospel of legalism produces hypocrisy because that’s all it can produce, it's the fruit that springs from the root of the tree. In the 23rd chapter of Matthew Jesus takes his prophetic ax out and chops down the tree of legalism showing it to be hypocritical deception. Hypocrites are nothing, but religious actors. Wolves in sheep’s clothing. Jesus showed us they are not content to just corrupt themselves, but they are driven by the desire to dominate others and it's then that they become false. Jesus said to them that: “you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.” The religious hypocrite who preaches the gospel of legalism needs an audience to feed their desires to control the lives of others. Here are a few things Jesus said about this system of religion in Matthew chapter 23. He said they:
Preach, but do not practice what they preach.
They lay out demands, rules and insist on others to follow their guidelines to control them.
They do what they do to be seen as the holy man or woman of God.
They love to be honored and esteemed by others for their religious fervor.
You must call them by their title because it is their identity which gives them a feeling of importance, superiority and authority over you.
They are very eager to find others who will submit to their system and replicate the system.
They have a strong focus on sacrificial giving to support the system and use financial strings as a way to manipulate.
They demand blind obedience to the system and to their personal authority refusing to be questioned.
The Pharisees believed that they were not just the chosen seed of Abraham, but that their system was protecting the Abrahamic covenant. I want to finish up talking about the Pharisees and the greed attached to their deceptive gospel of legalism. Legalism doesn’t change a greedy heart because it does not have the power. It masks greed, but greed has a way of breaking through the veneer of religion. The root system of religion is greed, power and control.
The Pharisees were masters at using their religious position to fill their pockets and built a system that was filled with greed because wherever you have hypocritical religion one of the fruits is greed. The Pharisees used their religious position to get money and called it the blessing of God.
To the Pharisees, being wealthy was a sign of God’s approval. In other words, “I gain wealth because I’m so righteous that God is blessing me therefore you need to listen to me if you too want to be blessed.” John the Baptist, Jesus' and the apostolic testimony of scripture demonstrated sacrifice, worship from the heart, obedience, surrender to the provision of God and living lives of contentment. The fruit of a true servant is humility, transparency and sacrificial love. The fruit of a wolf is greed, power and control.
Revealing the True Intent of the Abrahamic Covenant
Paul like John the Baptist and Jesus turned the legalist on their heads and showed us the true intent of the Abrahamic covenant. Paul in Galatians chapter 3 verse 14 says the blessing of Abraham is not riches, prosperity, power, ruling over others and dominating their lives. It’s what the legalists thought they had a right to do.
I just clearly showed you that Jesus exposed those lies as illegitimate authority. Paul, who had apostolic authority to write the scriptures clearly shows us the fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant in the New Testament. Paul defined what the Law and Prophets said concerning the blessing of Abraham. He says it is “the promised Spirit through faith”. Let me say this again for those in the back of the room who hold to this false American prosperity doctrine. The blessing of Abraham is the new covenant of the Spirit and it’s not more complicated than that.
Go read the context of Galatians chapter 3 it’s not the health and wealth gospel. Taking the word of God out of context and making merchandise out of it is a dangerous path to go down. Yes, God wants to prosper us, but the word prosper simply means that he wants to be provided for along our journey of faith. I can assure you that those who merchandise the gospel calling it the blessing of Abraham while perverting the scripture for their personal profit will be held accountable.
Go read the whole context of Galatians chapter 6. I agree with American prosperity teachers on this scripture that “God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” To twist the scriptures into a system where great wealth is accumulated for an elite spiritual hierarchy is nothing, but sowing to the flesh and will reap corruption. Go read James chapter 5 verses 1 thru 9 and I’ll let the scriptures speak for themselves.
The Messianic age has come in the power of the Holy Spirit and fire to deal with the evil heart of greed exposing the white washed facade of hypocrisy. Jesus is our pattern and no he was not rich. One of many scriptures wolves will twist is in 2 Corinthians chapter 8 verse 9 where Paul says: “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” The scripture has nothing to do with becoming rich in the sense of American prosperity. It’s that the very God of heaven humbled himself by becoming a man. It’s that through Christ’s crucifixion, resurrection, ascension and outpouring of the Spirit we can receive the riches of heaven. Yes the entire context of chapter 8 is about giving and helping others, but what Paul is saying in this text is that Jesus' willingness to lay down his life is our example of how to give.
On the day of Pentecost when the church was born through the outpouring of the Spirit. It was birthed from the soil and roots of the ancient faith which the prophets predicted over thousands of years. Our faith sprang from the loins of the Abrahamic covenant promised through the seed of the woman. It started on the threshing floor of the Jewish temple born in the soil of the Law and the Prophets.
The Jerusalem Council: The Early Church's Transformation and Mission
The Jerusalem council did not happen until approximately 20 years after the resurrection of Christ. The church was called ‘the way’ and was looked upon as a crazy sect of Judaism that followed a Jewish insurrectionist crucified by the Romans, but believed to be a risen king of the Jews. The apostolic writers brought clarity, insight and understanding on how the God who stepped into time came to fulfill the Abrahamic covenant; filling those who believed by faith with the power of the Spirit and producing the fruit of the Spirit from the root system of the tree of the cross.
I love to read the gospels because it is the redemptive story being told by the one who wrote the story. Jesus and his words are amazing, many times mysterious and hard to understand. His own disciples had to ask him to repeat, explain and expound on what he really meant. The apostolic writers help us to interpret many of the things that Jesus taught and I’m thankful for their insight. Paul who wrote two thirds of the New Testament epistles was given special insight into what he called ‘the mystery’ and even went so far as to call it his gospel in Romans chapter 16 verse 25.
Paul as a leader of the Pharisees was at the top of the food chain of the gospel of legalism when he was blinded by the risen Christ on the way to Damascus. I don’t think him being blinded by the glory of God was insignificant because he had spent his life up until that time blinded and deceived by Pharisaical legalism. Paul was not just any Pharisee, but he list his credentials in Philippians chapter 3 verse 5 thru 6 saying: “circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.”
Paul took the gospel of legalism seriously and his whole life was dedicated to protecting the system until God began to captivate his heart. A lot of speculation has been written as to if Paul had ever seen or been around Jesus ministry. No historical evidence nor any scriptures indicate Paul and Jesus encountered one another prior to the Damascus road experience. We do know that many of the Pharisees were coming to faith during the time of Christ ministry and after his resurrection. Paul was a man on a mission to crush the sect called ‘the way’ and we first hear about him in Acts chapter 7.
In this chapter Stephen was brought before the high priest for preaching about the resurrected Christ. He gave one of the most amazing sermons recorded in the Bible detailing the purpose of God through Israel and fulfilled in Christ. The glory of God was on Stephen as he preached under the power of the Holy Spirit. Acts chapter 7 verse 55 thru 58 says Stephen: “full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.”
Paul, who was called Saul at the time, encountered this experience up close and it is my theory that his heart was pricked by the Holy Spirit. He was the Sheriff on the scene and by laying down his garments he was giving his seal of approval for this stoning of Stephen as blasphemy against the legalistic system he was defending. I’ve seen this in my own life that in my darkness and deception the Holy Spirit was tripping me up trying to get me to change my ways. The anointing of Stephen’s preaching had knocked cracks in the veneer of Paul’s deception and we see in the next chapter he was transformed by the resurrected Christ with the rest being history as he was commissioned as an apostle of Christ to the Gentiles.
The Power of Paul in Exposing Legalism and Embracing Grace
Paul was the perfect vehicle to destroy the gospel of legalism and he wielded his sword with effectiveness. It was his familiarity with the system that helped him to expose, uncover and root out this false gospel. It was the epistle of Galatians, Romans and the book of Hebrews that really helped me understand the transition from the Mosaic law to the gospel of grace. We don’t know the author of Hebrews, but it is my opinion that Barnabas was the author.
I don’t see Paul as the author of Hebrews for a few reasons. Speech and writing patterns have distinctive signatures that each person develops. Hebrews just doesn’t have Paul’s writing patterns although it does seem that he had influence upon its author and the author had a relationship with Timothy one of Paul’s closest associates. Hebrews was written by someone who was very familiar with Mosaic law so they would have had to have been a Pharisee, which Barnabas like Paul was formerly one. It was someone who clearly understood the purpose of the coming of Christ who fulfilled the Mosaic law establishing a new priesthood, new temple and sacrifice system founded in the risen king priest Jesus Christ.
It’s the book of Galatians more than any other epistle that puts a stake in the heart of Pharisaical legalism that was trying to stay attached to the newly formed faith. The place of Mosaic law then and now is one of the greatest debates in the church dividing believers in warring camps. The book of Acts sets the stage for the book of Galatians.
Acts 9 Paul gets transformed and starts preaching in Damascus. A plot to kill him is found out so he escapes and Barnabas takes him to Jerusalem introducing him to the apostles then again due to his preaching; his life is threatened so he goes to his hometown of Tarsus.
Acts 10 opens up with Peter receiving a vision and is then taken to Cornelius's home who was a Roman soldier and Gentile. He preaches the gospel for the first time to a group of Gentiles. The Holy Spirit fills the Gentiles. The Gentiles began speaking in tongues having been filled with the Spirit so Peter baptized them into water seeing that God bore witness to their conversion of faith. The first Gentile church was started.
Acts 11 Peter reports back to Jerusalem. The Jerusalem church had been scattered due to persecution after Stephen’s powerful preaching. It then says just north in the city of Antioch a great many came to the Lord through the preaching of those who were scattered so Barnabas was sent to check out the reports. Barnabas confirmed the reports and saw a need to establish the new believers so it says that he sent for Paul. It says Barnabas and Paul stayed there for a year teaching and making disciples.
Acts 12 opens up with James the brother of John being beheaded, then Peter being put in prison and shortly thereafter released by an angelic visitation.
Acts 13 opens up with Barnabas and Paul being commissioned by a group of prophets in Antioch sent on their first apostolic mission and it was during this time that they planted churches in southern Galatia. The great transition from the exclusive gospel to the Jewish community centered in Jerusalem was about to be overtaken with Paul’s revelation of ‘the mystery’ and his apostolic mission to the Gentiles. Antioch became one of the first apostolic hubs to reach the Gentiles with the gospel.
Acts 14 tells of Barnabas and Paul's journey. Then Acts 15 opens with the great debate when: “some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Basically they were saying Gentiles have to become Jews to truly be followers of the Jewish Messiah.
You see, many of the Jewish believers in Jerusalem never stopped worshiping in the Temple, keeping the Mosaic law and still thought Gentiles were second class citizens in the kingdom of God. It was this group that taught the law of Moses was still in effect and to be a true believer in Christ you had to come under the requirements of the law of Moses. Acts chapter 15 verse 5 says it was those who “belonged to the party of the Pharisees” who came to the province of Galatia bringing what Paul called a false gospel to the churches he and Barnabas had planted.
Perplexity Over Deserting the True Gospel
Paul’s letter to the Galatians opens saying in chapter 1 verse 6 thru 8: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.” Paul was perplexed that the Galatians were so fickle and easily persuaded to disregard what he had taught them concerning the grace of God lived out through the cruciform life of faith.
Paul called these Pharisaical interlopers false brethren in Galatians chapter 2 verse 4 thru 5 who he said were trying to bring them under a false system and bring them into slavery. Paul warned Titus about this group telling him in chapter 1 verse 9 thru 11 to: “give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party. They must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.”
Paul gave similar instruction to Timothy telling him in chapter 1 verse 3 thru 7 to: “remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith. The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving from these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers of the law, without understanding either what they are saying or the things about which they make confident assertions.”
The false teachers Paul was addressing were not just trying to bring them back under slavery to the Mosaic law, but to their system and their false authority. It’s this same group Paul addresses in II Corinthians chapter 11 verse 3 thru 4 saying: “I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” He was addressing false apostles preaching a false doctrine for the purpose of creating a system that others had to submit to so they could be under what Paul with tongue in cheek called ‘super apostles’. Paul said do not yield in submission to them even for a moment so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved.
False systems designed to control, manipulate and put fear in the hearts of people to submit are powerful tools. We see how powerful they are that even one of the pillars of the church could be swayed. In Galatians chapter 2 verse 11 thru 13 that Paul had to confront Peter who had been swayed by the deceptive error. Paul said when Peter: “came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party. And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.”
False Deceptive Doctrines Gain Their Power Through Groupthink.
Groupthink is a powerful tool when wielded in the hands of a narcissistic prideful legalist who sets themselves up as the authority and voice of God. It is so powerful that even people who should know better are persuaded through fear of rejection and reprisal. Paul warned Titus in chapter 1 verse 10 and 11 about those who are: “empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision party…teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.” Again narcissistic prideful legalists are always motivated by power and profit. They can only produce the fruit that is in the root system of their hearts.
It is through Paul’s epistles, especially Galatians and Romans that we come to understand the law of Moses has not been set aside, but consumed with the bright light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We now understand the words of Christ when he said:
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” ~ Matthew 5:17
“Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” ~ Matthew 5:18
“Everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” ~ Luke 24:44
The words of Christ are why Paul could so confidently say in Galatians chapter 5 verse 14 that: “the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” If you love your neighbor you are not going to steal from them or commit adultery with their spouse. It is clear from the words of Jesus and Paul that we are no longer subject to the ritualism of the law of Moses; it is clearly addressed in Galatians, Romans and the book of Hebrews. The standard bearer is not the Law and the Prophets, but the law of the Spirit of life found in Christ the more sure word of prophecy fulfilling all that is written by the very Word made flesh.
The Unity of Jews and Gentiles in the Body of Christ
Jews and Gentiles have been brought under the law of Christ creating what Paul called the one new man, the body of Christ in the earth. Ephesians chapter 2 verses 13 thru 16 tells us that we have: “been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one” that is Jew and Gentile. It says that Christ “has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross.”
Paul in Ephesians chapter 3 verses 4 thru 6 talks of his: “insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
The gospel of legalism is a false gospel. It is divisive to the body of Christ. It is harmful and those who use the gospel of legalism do it for personal gain and power. It causes the foundation of Christ to be covered with a refuge of false regulations and manmade rules severing you from the root of the freedom found in the cross.
The book of Hebrews clearly articulates that we are under a new law, which is the law of the Spirit of life found in Christ. Our worship is in a new temple, the body of Christ and we are all now part of a new priesthood offering up the sacrifices of a New Covenant. It shows us that we have been brought into the king priest ministry of Christ who is sitting at the right hand of the Father ruling from heaven until he comes back to rule on earth.
If you enjoyed this lesson, then please subscribe to my YouTube channel, Foundation Publications, so I can reach more people and you will be notified when I post more videos. Please share this information with your friends on any social media platforms that you may use.
Comments