Do Peter, James and John Agree With Jesus on What It Takes to Escape Hell? (Part II of Bercot CD)

You should read my Summary of Disk 1 before reading this. A very brief summary of it: True salvation from hell is in two phases: When you exercise faith and repentance (and baptism, another CD), you're saved.  But "staying on the Vine" requires abiding--i.e., works, or fruit, showing obedience to your Lord.  Ignoring Christ's commands is a ticket to hell, even if you "exercised faith" at one time in your life. You should daily be in contact with His Spirit and His Word about obeying His commands and His will for your life. 

Now let's look at Part II: Did the three leaders of the early church get the gospel right—which means, is it the same as Jesus’ gospel? Let’s read and see.

PETER

We’ll begin with Peter’s gospel. Acts 2:36-38 is his clear word about “how to get on the Vine” (see Part I summary last week):

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

What do they do to be saved after they were told to accept the identity of Jesus as the Christ? Repent (have a change of heart), and be baptized—the normal way to get on the Vine.

Now let’s see his gospel presentation at Acts 10:34-35:

Then Peter opened his mouth and said…35 But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

This seems to disagree with Peter's words in Acts 2 above. But Peter is simply giving the second phase of salvation: maintaining salvation through working righteously. This second phase doesn’t jibe with Luther’s “just have faith, no works necessary"--what I call "easy believism." But Peter agrees with Jesus--that's more important.

Keep in mind that God confirms Peter’s accurate presentation so that He has him open the door of the gospel to the Gentiles. Acts 10:43 says, in part:

…whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.” 

Since that’s only 8 verses away from Peter's words of “fears him and works righteousness” for salvation, this means either you have a contradiction 8 verses apart, or else… the word “believe” ALSO means that you will do whatever obedience that person you believe in says to you. Our Jesus is our Lord and King. Jesus is Lord! Bow and obey Him! Peter isn’t going to contradict himself to the same group of people. He knows the gospel better than that. So you harmonize v. 35 and 43, take them Together as necessary for salvation.

I Peter 1:13-17 says:

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14 as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15 but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear

Peter has the word "grace" (translated, unfortunately nowadays, as "now works necessary") with the phase "obedient children." Does that fit Luther’s model of salvation—or Jesus’ model? Note that grace, simply meaning kindness or favor, is awarded to those who are obedient—and God judges us on our works in doing that. Remember what we said in Summary Part I: If you don’t obey Christ, you don’t love Him—and that means you’re not saved. He extends favor to those who abide on Christ’s Vine—those who are faithful and obedient. (Getting on the Vine, as we saw above, involves faith and repentance—it’s just that now he’s talking about staying on the Vine.)

These works are not “trying to earn merit,” they’re works of faith, works of obedience. Which everyone on the Vine is doing, to stay on the Vine.

I Peter 4:17-18:

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now “If the righteous one is scarcely saved, Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”

Note that Peter uses the word "obey" as necessary to pass the Judgment seat. Note his emphasis on fearing God. (Modern evangelistic churches avoid this tone).

II Peter 2:20-21:

For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. 21 For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.

Not the phrase "the latter end is worse for them than the beginning." This is clearly interpreted as losing salvation by becoming "again entangled" in the world--which we are required to avoid, in obedience to our Lord.

As we said in Part I, Luther didn’t like II Peter. You can see why—no verse speaks more clearly about the possibility of losing salvation—but that idea is not in Luther’s “gospel.” But Jesus said if we don’t bear fruit, we’ll be cut off from the Vine and thrown into the fire (John 15: 6). There are many more verses, lots more proof of Peter’s gospel agreeing with our Lord, but we have space restrictions.

JOHN

Moving to John, consider John 1:16-17:

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

This seems to say that Jesus' grace replaces the law of Moses--and that seems to say that works are no longer necessary. But Scripture clearly doesn’t believe that, as we have seen. So, is Scripture contradicting itself here? No; there is a clear explanation: the Law of Moses, as Bercot explains, is Christo-Judaism that Paul is battling against--some believed that, to get on the Vine, it was necessary to be a Jew and be circumscribed. Not true; as we have seen, to get on the Vine, one must repent, and have faith in Jesus as our substitute, paying for our past sins. Paul wants to jettison their list of Jewish works to get on the Vine.

I John 2:3-5:

Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

Not knowing God is a death sentence. But not keeping His commands is that death sentence. Also note the last sentence. We are in Him, we know Him intimately (or, we are saved), how?-- by keeping His word (i.e, His commands), which perfects the love of the Spirit. And then we know that we are saved.

I John 3:10:

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

Loving your fellow believers is one of the fruits that God expects. Note also that not practicing (thus a daily effort is expected) righteousness leaves you a child of the devil.

There are more, but space demands we move on.

JAMES

James 1:12:

Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

Note that “approved” (a salvation word) is not guaranteed forever by your once expressing faith—but it is conditional on our enduring temptation, our practicing righteousness, as well as our faith in the work of the Lord on the cross. Salvation has two phases.

James 1:22:

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

How do we deceive ourselves? By thinking we’re saved when we’re not doing the word—by not practicing obedience.

James 2:12:

So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty.

The phrase “law of liberty” is not an oxymoron, not self-contradictory. Good laws give liberty to people. Lawlessness in society is scarily restrictive on those who want order. Being freed from the bondage of Satan is freedom indeed. Note also, in his speaking to saved people, that he says WE will be judged. Many folks actually believe that Christians will escape judgment. Not the case, as this verse indicates. Our judgment will be based on whether we are speaking AND DOING what we are told, in Scripture. Agrees perfectly with Christ in Matthew 25:40ff.

James 2:14:

What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?

The last question is rhetorical, answered by the implication in “what does it profit.” The answer is “No,” that "faith" cannot save. Clearly, James is arguing that faith not followed by works does not gain us heaven. This is also made clear in James 2:24-26:

You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. 25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? 26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

Dead means dead—no life, so no heaven. We need to be justified by God to be saved. God’s justification needs the follow-through of works.

Note that James nowhere implies that faith guarantees proper works

(that's an idea that lends itself to believing in "eternal security"--what many theologians believe). No, it takes effort, striving, words that are elsewhere in Scriptures.

James 5:19-20:

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, 20 let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.

Note that this says that AFTER one wanders from the truth (he was saved before, being in the truth), someone could then correct us--and see us saved--again. Yes, if you were on the Vine, you can wander away—to death of the soul (or, hell). Thus, you can lose your salvation.

Thus, we conclude: ALL THREE of these prominent Christian leaders—who were closest to Christ—agree in total to Christ’s gospel. An obedient love-faith relationship with Him is necessary to maintain salvation. James, under attack from Luther, should be particularly defended here—he had a leadership role in early Christianity—as Acts 15:13 and Galatians 2:9 show. The main point is, he praises works as essential--as how his half-brother Jesus preached it.

NEXT WEEK: DOES PAUL REALLY DISAGREE WITH JAMES? 

Escaping Hell--Faith or Works, or Both? The Real Gospel, Per Jesus (Part 1)

Polls show that 85% of Americans believe they're going to heaven (ABC News Poll: December 20, 2005). Yet our behavior patterns and specific beliefs often run the opposite of Scripture. According to a May 2013 Gallup poll, 59% of Americans believe gay sexual relations are morally acceptable, 63% believe sex between an unmarried man and woman is morally acceptable, and 42% say that about abortion. But Scripture, the basis of Christianity, says none of these behaviors are morally acceptable.  It seems that American “Christians” are saying fornication, sodomy, and murder are acceptable. We have to conclude that many people are calling themselves Christian, yet feel it’s OK to ignore Scripture and our Lord's commands. The problem is, a belief system that “gets me to heaven” with no sacrifice, no obedience necessary is what I call “easy believism.” But that kind of "believism" is a road to hell.

We need to be most cautious about what Scripture says to be saved. Can we really ignore Scripture, be disobedient and still escape Hell? Have we possibly deceived ourselves into assuming we're good enough for heaven, when Scripture warns us otherwise? Have we rationalized behavior that is unsupported by Scripture--and not considered the danger? Jesus, in Matthew 7:14 says:

“narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which ..leads to life, and there are few who find it."

The word "life," here, as any Biblical linguist would tell you, means "heaven." I've taken polls of my friends on the word “few,” without referencing its Scriptural source. It’s interesting how we basically agree on 6-7% of a group of people would fulfill the definition of the word. Thus, on average, only 6-7% of people are heaven-bound. That’s a long way from 85% who profess Christianity in America. Doing a little math, this says that one out of 12 or one out of 14 who call themselves Christian will make it to heaven. Do you like those odds? Another way to express that is, out of 12 people, only one is right--the other 11 are going to hell and don't know it. They are self-deceived. Do you have a desire to know for sure? Then please read this summary and then look for this CD at scrollpublishing.com.

David Bercot is a writer and lecturer on Scripture. His three books are: Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up?; The Kingdom that Turned the World Upside Down; and Will the Theologians Please Sit Down? This series of CDs I'm summarizing is eye-opening, and blessed by the Holy Spirit.

Summary of David Bercot’s lecture:

Mr. Bercot is particularly zeroing in on the role of behavior, or works, in salvation; hence the title’s “Paul vs James,” since James seems to emphasize works and Paul seems to discount them and emphasize faith alone to escape hell.

Bercot points out that for most evangelical believers today, this contradiction between Paul and James is “resolved” easily: their Study Bibles and commentaries “simply explain James away.” I.e., Paul “has it right” (by ignoring works), so what James says (works are important) is ignored. Thus they cancel out James completely. Bercot doesn’t like the way they pass over the clear plain INSPIRED statements of Scripture in James. He asks, what is the real truth about this important matter of works? He calls this issue “the gospel of Jesus vs the gospel of man.” This is supremely important--heaven vs hell. Let us be drawn into this verbal fight as if our future in eternity depends upon it—as it may be!

Bercot says that most Christian denominations are ignoring Jesus' comments on what it takes to be saved. He even asserts that if we dare to speak out on what Jesus actually says about the role of works to go to heaven, modern-day evangelicals will call us “heretics.” They’ll say we’re not saved for believing that, that we’re preaching a “works salvation,” that we’re “trusting our own righteousness instead of the righteousness of Christ.” But do not be intimidated when you read the Truth from the mouth of Jesus.

Intelligent theologians had a place for works in salvation all through history—until Martin Luther introduced corrupt methodologies, which were duplicated by Calvin and Zwingli, to give the Protestant movement (emphasizing faith) an opposite twist from Catholicism (emphasizing works). Twisting Scripture right or left of the truth has been a frequent game: A group known as the Gnostics twisted Scripture in the first century, and the Catholics later did it too, coming to various non-Scriptural conclusions about how to get to heaven. And then Martin Luther did it.

The four corrupting influences put forth by Martin Luther were:
a. Relegating the key teachings of Jesus to the back closet—Jesus “didn’t teach the theology of how to be saved,” the theologians concluded. “You have to read Paul to get that.”

b. Proof texting: Establishing theological positions by picking and choosing Bible verses that fit the theology you've decided ahead of time you want to promote, and ignoring other verses that don’t fit. Most people, unfortunately, don’t read the New Testament in whole, to get the context of what is the overall picture. Your position on what it takes to be saved should be arrived at after reading the entire New Testament and fitting nearly all the relevant verses together on the subject.

c. Turning the New Testament writers into theologians, and changing their ordinary, everyday words into theological terms.

d. Making dishonest Bible translations and reference works. Remember, unlike Scripture, translations are made by humans who have their preconceptions to maintain.

Speaking of putting Jesus in the “back closet,” Christianity is the only religion or philosophy where the modern-day adherents ignore the teachings of the Founder and study the teachings of a disciple of the founder! To find out about what God says about salvation, do we go to Jesus, the God-man, the greatest Teacher who ever lived? No, we go to Paul—in Romans, for instance. This wrong focus started with the Gnostics, and somewhat with Augustine, but it became an overriding “principle” with Luther. He put a preface in front of each New Testament book, and an overall preface before the whole New Testament. His opinionated remarks (which books he favors, which books are “straw”) colored the thinking of theologians ever since. He said Romans was the “chief part of the New Testament, the very purest gospel.” (His praises of this one book are half the length of the book itself). In deciding “which are the best,” as he called it, of the New Testament books, he likes John, Paul’s books, and I Peter (but not II Peter or Matthew, Mark or Luke, the Synoptic gospels!) John’s gospel is “far, far to be preferred to the other 3” and “placed high above them.” He thus thinks we’re better off not reading the Sermon on the Mount or the Sermon on the Plain (which are only contained in the 3 Synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke)—because, Bercot suspects, their gospel by Jesus contradicts Luther’s gospel which he has made up from Paul. James he called an “epistle of straw” for “it has nothing of the nature of the gospel about it.” (Now keep in mind, reader, that God inspired ALL the books of the Bible. They are all equal because they all have something to say for our edification.)

Bercot suspects Luther liked John over the Synoptic gospels also because John uses the Greek for “believe” 99 times, vs only 9 or 10 times each in the other 3 Gospels. Verses with “believe” can be easily twisted to fit Luther’s gospel of easy believism. Luther’s favoring Paul over Jesus to make up his gospel was a direct violation of Jesus’ commandment of Matthew 23:9-10:

Do not call anyone on earth your father…10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.

To quote Luther: “We can know everything we need to know about Christ and the gospel without ever having heard or read the Sermon on the Mount or the rest of what Jesus said that’s not recorded in John.” The early Christians stood against that type of nonsensical thinking when the Gnostics tried to do something similar (further fascinating CDs on the Gnostics and Luther by Bercot are also available). But nobody is standing against this twisted thinking nowadays.

So let’s look at what Jesus taught on salvation from hell, for once. There are several long passages in the 4 gospels, and a hundred or more short passages, on this all-important doctrine of how to avoid hell. Let’s analyze them. We start with John 15:1-6, 10, 19:

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned… 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love…19 If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.

Key teachings of this important passage:
a. Jesus describes an ongoing, life relationship with Him as Necessary for salvation.
b. We must abide with Jesus and bear godly fruit or we’re going to be cut off the vine (i.e., on the way to hell).
c. We abide in Christ’s love ONLY if we obey His commandments.
d. Abiding, in part, means separation from the world.

Bercot asserts that of hundreds of messages he’s heard, none have used this passage when they discuss salvation. But clearly (especially in verse 6) that’s what the passage is about! In summary, in order to be saved, we must maintain an “obedient, love-faith relationship with Him.”

Doctrines of salvation taught by men today can be categorized into two groups: Either they are (1) A system that requires an obedient, love-faith relationship with Christ, or (2) Everything else—since all other systems are “equally useless” (i.e., they will leave you deceived and hell-bound if you don't read Scripture thoroughly yourself).

Some of the alternate systems of “salvation” taught by men:
a. Paul in his day fought against Christo-Judaism: It had a knowledge of Jesus as Savior and Son of God, but added that you had to follow the law of Moses in the Old Testament to be saved.
b. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox: Sacramentalism. Receive the sacraments, attend Mass regularly, don’t die in unconfessed mortal sin, and be a loyal member of a church, to be saved.
c. Merit-ism: Live dutifully by all the commandments in the New Testament to be saved. (Relationship with Christ not necessary). Similar to (a), only New Testament, not Old.
d. Good-ism: Attend church and be a good person. That’s followed by liberals, and most Catholics, truthfully, nowadays.
e. Evangelical Protestantism: Accept Jesus as your personal Savior, have a born-again experience, believe that you’re saved by faith or grace alone, and obedience to Christ is not necessary for salvation. (Obedience is good, it's just possible to ignore it and still go to heaven. If you STRESS obedience as necessary for heaven, you’re teaching “unsound doctrine, and you’re probably not even saved.”)

None of the above 5 require an obedient, love-faith relationship with Christ. True, evangelicals stress the importance of a loving relationship with Christ, but they don't REQUIRE love as expressed in obedience (as John 15:10 clearly points out, obedience is necessary to go to heaven). Their "love" is emotion-driven, not sacrifice-driven.

Bercot stresses that, keep in mind, there are multiple thousands of people who attend churches that follow one of the 5 alternate systems above, who ALSO have a saving relationship with Him--on their own--and know His great love through sacrificial obedience.

It’s impossible to analyze “how much” obedience is necessary to be saved. That can’t be measured —relationships can’t be reduced to a formula-- and a saved person doesn’t want to measure it. We would all like perfect certainty--but with perfect certainty comes complacence.

Thus, salvation is not a one-time event of faith-and-you're-done. We must maintain (or abide with) the relationship. And the requirement to abide? Keeping His commandments. If we don’t keep His commandments, we don’t love Him. Doing that is not a task, but a loving friendship. And remember, He chose us—God first loved us before we loved Him. Salvation was originated entirely through the acceptable blood of Christ. God wants perfection, and we couldn't do that--but Christ did, as our substitute. That’s His grace. And finally the world will hate us. Not everyone all the time. But our belief system is opposite the world; they hate it--when you're speaking up against their violating a God who stood up for you--and thus rain on their selfish parade. If you don’t feel some rejection in your frequent contacts with regular people, there’s probably something you’re doing wrong.

There are past, present, and future aspects of salvation. In the past, if we at some point accepted the Lord and repented from our sin—what He is, what He did—we became attached to the Vine. “We were saved.” But--very important, we have to maintain that relationship. For the present: Are we walking in the Spirit? Then we are abiding on the Vine. It’s a breathing, ongoing relationship. A constant inflow of life-giving water drawn in from the roots of the Vine. And the future? Since our abiding produces fruit (Galatians 5:22ff), we are heaven-bound. But if we don’t produce fruit, we will be cut off from the Vine and thrown in the fire (John 15 again). Just because we’re on the Vine now doesn’t mean we’re guaranteed to be on it next year. No unconditional eternal security.

On the corruption of proof texting, we can back up any of the 5 false methodologies above with selected texts from Scripture. But we would have to shove lots of others under the rug because they don’t agree together. The key is to understand everything that Jesus says on the subject first, and then look for agreement by the other Scriptural authors--then you put it together integrally. (All the relevant New Testament verses are given in a separate PDF CD, by the way). Full weight to each verse. Not picking one author (like Paul) and ignoring others (like Jesus!).

Keep in mind that every statement made in Scripture is not the gospel in full. John 15 above, however, is a good model of the whole picture of salvation. Other statements, you’ll find, will give a piece of that, but none will make an exclusionary remark that disagrees with it. There are some unanswered questions in John 15 too that other Scripture deals with—i.e., what are the “fruit?”
Study Galatians 5 for that.

So what else does Jesus say on the subject of salvation? We can’t give them all, but here are enough to whet your interest. In the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5ff), look at Matthew 6:14-15:

"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The importance of forgiving is a godly fruit we need to possess. When we are first born again, only our PAST sins are forgiven. On a daily basis, we still need to pray forgiveness for our sins (I John 1:8, 9). But how sincere is our repentance when we don’t forgive others? See Matthew 18:23-35—note how the servant’s penalty was reinstated on him due to lack of forgiveness on his part (no eternal security there—his release from debt was conditional on his future behavior). We conclude that if we are unforgiving, we can’t be sincere in asking forgiveness.

Consider Matthew 7:21:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Their profession didn’t speak as loud as their works (works of lawlessness). Their disobedience kept them from heaven, despite their words of faith--this is easy believism.

Bercot says people have this “cop-out:” They say, “I get suggestive feelings of supernatural instructions in my head. This must be God’s commandment for me!”—but the "instructions" are in total disobedience to His written Word.

Look at Matthew 10:32:

“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.

Don’t forget, you can deny Him not by words only, but also by living the way of the world. You cannot have two masters. If you live the world and think only of it, you lose Christ. Stressing sacrifice of personal indulgences as part of salvation is Matthew 10:38:

And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

Jesus requires great commitment. Yet His yoke is light (Matthew 11:29), infused and rewarded with His love. We will joyfully lay down our lives for Him.

In Luke 16:6-9, Jesus is saying God will extend patience for us to produce fruit. But not forever. At some point, with nothing produced, the tree is cut down. It also says, He will help us, with His Spirit, to produce fruit—unless we let worldly pleasures block those efforts.

In Luke 24:46-47, repentance is necessary:

Then He said to them, “Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day, 47 and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. /i>

In John 3:3-5, we learn that salvation begins with a New Birth. That’s what puts us “on the Vine.” We all know John 3:16 and surrounding verses. Or do we? Let’s look at “the rest of what He said,” John 3:19-21:

And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”

Again, deeds are involved, not just belief. Your real belief can be seen in your deeds (which is what James is saying, James 2:14ff).

Two closely-related Greek words that are translated “believe:” The first word, pisteuo means to believe, trust, but it’s just mental assent. The other is peitho, sometimes translated “believe,” but other times translated “obey.” Thus, Scriptural believing is interwoven with obeying. Not just mental assent. Webster’s defines “believe” as “confidence in the statement of another.” Our level of confidence can be tested on us by God, and our response—our deeds--signifies if we truly “believe.” Thus belief and deeds are one. Do we believe Jesus when He says that we must bear fruit or else be cut off and burned? When He says that if we love Him, we will obey His commandments? Do we believe that His commandments are truly in our best interest—enough to follow them even when they don’t make sense? Our deeds will signify if we believe. One-third of the world “believes” in Christ, but Bercot suspects it’s mostly the first word—mental assent only. A ticket to hell. Remember, Jesus said only the “few” would be saved (Matthew 7:14). Can Jesus be talking about the first definition, not requiring deeds, when He says “few” would be saved, when 1/3 the world claims to be Christian?  And Luke 13:24 says we must “strive” to enter heaven—that again suggests deeds are involved.

There’s an evangelism tool that says we ask the prospect, “If you die and are standing before God, and He asks, “Why should I let you in?” And if the prospect gives the “standard” answer (I’ve been good), you’re supposed to say, “No, all your works are as filthy rags; have faith in what He has done—not your works, which count nothing in salvation.” Well, it so happens that Jesus set up the same scenario in one of His sermons; He told all of us the “answer to the test” (every student’s dream)—on what basis will He let us in to heaven. He said in the Last Judgment, people will be lined up, and He will let in some people and reject other people. Did His reasons for why some were let in line up with the “Scriptural” method we just read? No; His comments were the exact opposite of what modern theologians say. In Matthew 25:34, 35 and 40, Jesus says He will separate people, in the Last Judgment—based on their deeds. He says,

Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.. ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.

On that day, He won’t expect us to announce that our deeds mean nothing. He will be looking for deeds that show our belief is strong, and right. Once we are born again, let us strive to exercise our gifts and do the righteous deeds that will get us to heaven.

None of these teachings by Jesus disagree with our John 15 model—they harmonize with it. This is not a selection of proof texts. ALL of these clearly disagree with “salvation is by faith alone,” as Luther claimed. Works have a place. They always had a place, if you read the early church fathers (that’s Mr. Bercot’s expertise and books written.) Do you want to believe man’s gospel, or Jesus’ gospel? Where you spend your eternity may depend on it!

Acknowledgements:  Dave Bercot:  "Paul vs James" Disc 1

NEXT WEEK: IS THE JOHN 15 MODEL HARMONIZED BY THE OTHER BOOKS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT? BERCOT’S “PAUL VS JAMES”, DISC 2.

Most Americans are Not Saved

Most Americans are not saved. Most Americans are going to hell, barring a revolutionary event or revival. That includes many evangelicals. How can I say such terrible things? Believe me, I ran away from God to avoid this, but the Lord has laid this burden on my heart for quite a while, and it’s heavy, and I can’t shake it off. It’s the watchman story, from Ezekiel—when he must speak the negative word to avoid the blood on his hands in judgment (Ezek 33:6ff). I know how unacceptable this paper is going to be; I’ve spoken parts of it to people, and they went elsewhere for light conversation. Some want to know, what’s with this “God laid this burden on me” stuff? They reject that. But there is, after all, a message of hope, if you get to the end of this paper. 

So, you want to know, what proof do I have for the first paragraph? Well, it’s what you call a numbers game, based on Matthew 7:13-14:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction (hell), and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life (eternal life), and there are few who find it. 

Well, how many is “few,” the ones to be saved? I welcome you to take a survey like I did to see if you agree to my results. Invite someone to close their eyes. Tell them to imagine viewing from overhead, 100 people milling together on a person’s extended lawn. Then say, “OK, picture in your mind that a few of those people cross over a bridge to a gazebo.” Then you ask, “How many people, to your best knowledge, did you imagine doing that?” I did ask people that, and the answers were 3 to 7. Let’s be generous and say the average is 6. By that measure, Jesus is saying 6% of the people are going to heaven—so 94% are going to hell. There is no third alternative. I think 94% fulfills the word “most” in my title. 

Now, you might argue that Americans are “different” than these depressing numbers would suggest, that we’re “better than just a few.” Well, quite the opposite may be true. Consider this well-known fact: America is the richest large society in the world, and has been for several decades now. Our middle class is huge, and our middle class—including you and me, most likely—is “rich,” measured by any standard in world history. Now here’s my point: Jesus condemns rich people (and that includes you and me) several times in Scripture. When Jesus said, the chances of a rich person going to heaven are worse than the chances of a camel going through the eye of a needle (Matthew 19:24), that suggests to me that even less than the “few,” the 6%, are saved in our country. So America’s saved folk wouldn’t be greater—we might even suggest that it is less than 6%! What do Bible-reading Americans do when they read that their chances of being saved are like “the camel going through the eye of the needle”? Do they experience a fear of God? No; they either say “I’m not rich” (which is easily disproven in the vantage point of the world and of history, as I’ve pointed out above), or they call the phrase hyperbole—and then completely dismiss it. But folks, Jesus’ point in hyperbole is, it contains mostly truth. And you never dismiss what Jesus says. 

Well, people may ask in pride, what is our great evil here, that makes Jesus pick on us, that makes it extremely hard for us (Matt 19:23) to be saved? It’s this: If you have wealth (we’re talking larger houses than 1000 square feet, a 401k, stocks and savings)--and lots of Americans have wealth, not just the upper class—you got it by ignoring your suffering brothers. I know, that's an extreme statement, but please read on, please. The Scriptural fact is, we are supposed to use money on ourselves to fulfill basic needs only—and give the rest away, to the desperately poor and needy of the world. If we make the mistake of accumulating wealth, Luke 12:33 tells us what to do: Sell what you have and give to those in need. This will fatten your purses in heaven! And the purses of heaven have no rips or holes in them. Your treasures there will never disappear; no thief can steal them; no moth can destroy them. 

So I'm saying, you should only have what you "need." Scripture makes it clear what defines “need”: Food, basic clothing and basic shelter. Every dollar you make above the ability to meet your needs, you have a choice: Do I give this to a brother or sister in the world who is starving, even to death, who is repeatedly terribly sick because he is drinking contaminated water, who doesn’t have a decent or safe place to live—or do I just keep it, buy another toy, or throw it on my pile of savings to make my future easier? The fact is, most middle- and upper-class Americans choose the latter—without a single pang of conscience. But we must learn to know and think like God; He loves every person, and hates to see people suffering. His saved ones are supposed to make a difference in the world for the poor and the oppressed. As Jesus did. But we are complacently ignorant, consuming our extra money selfishly on ourselves. God will judge us for this—perhaps more than we know, because our pastors have been on a kick, far too long, of teaching us that God is a grandfatherly fellow, not a Judge. We assume we got the extra wealth because we’re smart, or God gave us this wealth because He loves us; or because our country is great, and we're proud of that. But the reality is, He gave us this extra money for us to share it with His suffering children, thereby bearing fruit. But we spend it on ourselves, and do not bear fruit. 

So what have you done with your extra dollars in the past? We’re talking about the difference between eternal life or eternal death. Surely you’re aware of the parable of the man who used his extra earnings to build better storehouses (Luke 12:18ff). Well, that “godly” saving impulse drew God’s judgment—He took his life away. His sin? Clearly stated in Scripture (Luke 12:21)—he was adding to his wealth. Hey, that’s an American goal, “everybody” does it—well, “everybody” is on the broad path; a hellish goal. And what about the story of that rich man, who passed by the beggar Lazarus every day (Luke 16:19ff)? What was his sin? He didn’t oppress him, like rich people often do to poor people; he just ignored him. What did God do to him because he ignored the poor? Sent him to hell (Luke 16:23). And that’s also what most of us better-off in America do. We are rich, but we buy, buy, buy things. We gorge our lusts so much we even get into debt, so we are trapped with huge payments and can never help the poor. Meanwhile, our desperate brothers often die in our complacency. God will judge us. Here’s another radical verse to think about: Jesus says in Matthew 6:19, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth...” That is a crystal-clear command not to accumulate wealth. Frankly, I’ve never heard a single pastor—and I’ve heard many—teach this simple truth of Jesus’ statement: DO NOT accumulate wealth. And He says why in verse 21: Because the desires of your heart will be thinking about wealth, rather than on what God wants you to do for His kingdom. Also think about the Sower sowing seed into the thorns: “the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). Guess where the unfruitful go? Hell (see John 15:5,6). What is the “deceitfulness” of riches? Maybe it’s this: Wealthy people assume they’re rich because God loves them—so they conclude they are assured of heaven. In America, even the large middle class is rich by world (and history) standards—so lots and lots of people feel assured of God’s love, assured they’re going to heaven. They want to believe this—so they ignore what Jesus says about rich people in Scripture. Surveys back up this assurance that people feel, indicating that 78% of Americans say they’re going to heaven (Gallup poll). But a more accurate number is 6%, as we’ve said--or even fewer, considering our richer people—so that means the other 72% are deceived, probably by their riches in most cases. So if 78% of Americans say they’re heaven-bound, but the real number is 6%, there’s a whole lot of people deceiving themselves going on. And a whole lot of surprises at the Judgement seat. Another way of putting this data is, of every 13 people who think they’re saved, 12 of those are going to hell. Only one is going to heaven. Only one is truly saved. 

Think of the odds against you, my friend. The fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 9:10), might actually enter your heart. So, have you been deceived? Out of the 13, are you in the 12? Obviously, more than likely. Or are you the one? Prove you're the lucky one by the standards I've enumerated above. If you assert that you are the one, what did you do to deserve being the one? The odds place you in the 12. Are you one of those, in judgment day, pleading like in Matt 25:44,

‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Will you be one of those hearing these sad words-- 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment

Could hell be your destination, and you don’t even know it? What would you do to avoid that horrible possibility? Let’s assume you believed in Christ as Savior, you felt assured of heaven; but this paper is an eye-opener, and you wonder what to do. To get motivated to do this, to revive the Spirit within you, you might read your Gospels intensively, make a list of Jesus’ commands—to be forgiving, to help the oppressed, to turn the other cheek, to love your enemies—and ask the Spirit, in prayer, to show you where you have violated each one. Develop a fear of God’s judgment on the unfruitful, ask in deep sincerity for forgiveness for each sin. God may discipline you (that will help you to remember it better), but He will forgive (I John 1:8,9). But you must repent. You can’t keep falling back, out of weakness. God has patience, but it’s limited patience. Believing in Jesus as God, Who died on the cross to save us, Who rose again from the dead, will give you the Holy Spirit and is a good start. But we must endure to the end to be saved (II Tim 2:3,12). As the book of James says (especially 2:14), you must show your intellectual faith is real by bowing to His Lordship, by being His servant, ready to read His commands in Scripture and repeatedly work on them. If you are gifted with income above what you need (please prayerfully consider what the word “need” entails), would you change your lifestyle? Would you move into a smaller, less costly house? Would you sell the second car? On that second car: Think about it—you should be happy to do this for your Lord, and for His suffering children. He died for you, the ultimate sacrifice, you can’t do a little thing like this for Him? Yes, there would be inconvenience, but the money you save and can give is huge; you could save many lives. Your reward is in heaven, your reward is eternal—that’s a much longer time than your “reward” for keeping the second car on earth. God has promised to return our investing in heaven’s treasures 30, 60, 100 times (Matt 13:23)! We’re talking 1000% return! And you’re fighting for a 4% return on your investments here, which keep you “happy” for a vapor in time, comparatively.

Why fight for scraps on the floor, when if you look to the table of 100 times investment above, a feast awaits you! If you’re married, would you make it a dedicated goal to see your spouse change his/her mind, so you can do this effectively, together? Would you carry out a tight budget for a long time, ride over debts, and go on to help the Lord? It would take a lot of “no we won’t comfort ourselves by buying that.” Would you go online to get websites of relief organizations that are run efficiently (those that spend little money advertising or trying to manipulate people)? Google “charity review sites” and get a long list. Please, please consider international organizations, not just your local church. I doubt God approves of all the money we spend on making our buildings comfortable and beautiful when there are people who cannot meet publicly in safety, who cannot even get enough Bibles to go around. Will you help these people? Yes, obeying some of Jesus’ commands is tough. Lifestyle changes are tough. I know how you want to dismiss His clear command to give away assets, thinking that Jesus doesn’t want us to be so “imprudent,” giving away savings. You have a million excuses to keep piling up savings: for your retirement (does the Scripture talk about retirement--no), for your kids’ college (where they will learn how to defy morality and turn away from God). But we must discipline ourselves, turn away from self, and sacrifice. Because Scripture says if we don’t obey His commands, we’re not saved (I John 2:4). It’s being obedient on a difficult command like this that we really learn the real meaning of faith. If we begin obeying here, then if we lose our job and have no savings because we gave it away to a needy brother, you can bet on this--God will help you find another job. It will be far better than what you could get on your own. None of His children beg for food, He promises (Psalm 37:25). I pray your answer is Yes to Jesus and No to the world.

Jesus' Radical Doctrine of Non-Accumulation (Part 3: Covetousness

America has been the richest nation on earth in all of world history—so it is our unique responsibility to obey our Lord’s Words regarding the use of money. The first two radical commands to do that I previously outlined in Parts I and II: stop storing up excess assets, and give to the world’s truly poor. This should be done in two steps: (1) Sell all our excess possessions and give the cash raised to the world's poor; and (2) live frugally enough (buying only necessities), so that income exceeds expenses—then give the difference regularly to the truly poor.

Let’s clarify one thing: When Jesus said to all of us in Luke 12:33 (this was not directed to the "rich young ruler," as some assume):

“Sell your possessions and give to the poor”

did He mean all our possessions, thus making ourselves poor? No; read Luke 3:11:

He(John the Baptist) answered and said to them, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise.”

Thus, we are to keep one necessary item for use, and liquidate the second item and beyond--the “excess beyond need.” We should do this prayerfully, not thinking about “only having one of these means I don’t have a backup if something goes wrong.” You need to sell your past accumulation of everything that isn’t truly necessary, as well. Men, do you need two complete sets of tools? Sell one. Keep them organized. Ladies, is it essential that you have even one set of chinaware—if you only use it once or twice a year, why not sell even the one? Do you need that boat—when you take it out many Sundays so your family doesn’t even attend church regularly during the summer? Do you need six sweaters, five heavy coats, fifteen shirts, ten pairs of pants? Does God really care if you show up wearing the same outfit twice? No, He’s more offended by your extravagance if you don’t. And who is more important here—your friends of influence, or Him—your Judge? Here’s a big one for married couples: Do you need two cars? Can’t one spouse drive the other to work, or can’t one use public transit? Or pool to work? And for those whose expenses always manage to exceed income: Have you set financial budgets, or goals in life--other than thinking about your next worldly purchase? Have you searched eagerly for ways to be more frugal? There are plenty of those online to help you there. Another argument we raise against our Lord is telling Him if we give away frills, we will deprive our children of some enjoyment. But what if you obey His will, and actively give things away, instead? What do your children see? Sacrifice. Then the lesson they learn is Love. Instead of Materialism. They learn that true love includes sacrifice. And we Christians are nothing without Love (I Cor. 13: 1-3). The problem with America is, many families have enough money to satisfy each person in the family to do their own thing, without anyone sacrificing for another. The problem with that is, with no sacrificing, there is no real love being learned. And with everyone doing their own thing, there is no bonding, no teamwork, and the children learn nothing about the importance of another’s feelings—which makes them far less prepared for marriage, among other things. So yes, discard that second car. That second house, too—that one in upstate Michigan or down in Florida. And stop the cruises. How can we go to God on judgment day, when I can imagine He will show a split screen video—us on one side, living it up, and on the other side, people in impoverished nations that we ignored, scratching for subsistence? How then are we different than the rich man ignoring the poor Lazarus in Luke 16 (see my Radical II blog)? Will our final destination be any different than his? Are you absolutely sure that your salvation won’t be affected by ignoring this, despite many Scriptures indicating beneficence to the poor is essential to show that you will be saved? Just by not having a second car, your family can save over $6,000 a year, even if your second car is an older one (this dollar figure also realistically considers depreciation’s hidden cost as well as gas and maintenance and insurance). Do you realize the difference you could make by giving that kind of money to the worldwide poor instead of making your life a little more indulgent?

Let’s talk about America’s appetites to buy more, our continual grasping to raise our standard of living. Did you know that this is covetousness? Most people define that word as “wanting what belongs to another.” But as Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words points out, the Greek word, “pleonexia,” simply means a desire to have more… always in a bad sense (e.g., wanting more possessions or power). Well, here’s an unfortunate thing: In truth, the growth of the American economy is founded upon advertising and consumption. That means our government blesses covetousness and even makes it our patriotic duty to be bathed in materialism. We talk about the latest trinkets constantly, so these things are on our mind. There are many apps for our "smartphones" telling us how to spend more money "wisely." We live materialism, we breathe it.

But covetousness is a serious sin. Let’s look at Ephesians 5:5:

For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.

Read that definition of covetousness again: It is idolatry, loving something more than our God. Is that you? And where is the ultimate destination for this idolatry? That radical idea is confirmed in Colossians 3:5-6:

Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience.

As the superb commentary Precept Austin puts it, “covetousness is synonymous with idolatry because it places selfish desire above obedience to God…it is basically people doing what they desire, rather than what God desires. This in turn amounts to worship of self rather than worship of God, and this is the very essence of idolatry.” Because America is so deeply ingrained in this sin, I would like to suggest that many (perhaps most) Americans are idolaters and bound for hell, without sincere repentance. There are a LOT of people in this country who think they’re saved because they “believe in Jesus”—but they don’t obey Jesus, because they accumulate superficial assets, spend frivolously, and ignore their poor brothers and sisters who are dying unnecessarily in the world. Remember, the fact that the rich man was blissfully unaware in Luke 16 (Radical Part II) was no excuse. It is still covetousness, and leads to hell. What does Jesus say?

“Woe unto you that are rich!” (Luke 6:24).

(“Woe” is a word of denunciation, used for the unsaved, such as Luke 11:43-47). In Matthew 19:23ff, Jesus says, in part:

“it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven….It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

I remind you, we cannot argue that “I’m not rich.” God isn’t comparing you to Americans—He’s looking at the entire train of world history, in which most Americans would have to qualify as “rich.” (I have another blog that discusses that subject). Let’s forget about excuses. Look at those threatening words again: “It is hard.” What does that really mean? Do you have enough fear of God to soberly think about it? It means we Americans, to overcome the disadvantages our wealth has given us, have to be more passionately determined to be holy, we have to really discipline ourselves to bully the desires of the flesh out of the way, to persevere in seeking God’s heart, to fight against the natural tendency in wealth to be complacent, or not depend on Him. We need to fight against the FALSE assumption that “I’m rich, so God loves me.” We have to fight against placing all our trust on this world, our savings--and not thinking about the next world--which is a lot longer in duration! We too easily fall into the trap of Revelation 3:17:

“You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.

May God help us to see us as He sees us.