Differences Between Our Doctrine and the Early Christian Doctrine (Part 1 of 2)

The Church is fragmented into hundreds of different sects and groups, so much so as to say, “There sure is an awful lot of interpretation of this Book out there.” Can any of these groups say for sure that “We don’t have the ability to be deceived, or come to a wrong doctrinal conclusion”? We should be humble enough to bow and pray, and say, “God, show me Your truth!” If we really do that, we would gradually unify, which is what Jesus wants.  Unfortunately, we naturally think our view of theology is right, and everybody should think like us.

If people are really looking for the real Christian church, and its theology, they should look again at the lifestyles and words of the new Christians in the book of Acts. The Kingdom of God was so irresistible, so radical, that the church left people with only two choices when it confronted them:   Either join us, or persecute us. There was no neutral ground.  Just like Jesus said, You’re either my friend, or you’re my enemy. There’s no “gray area” with Christ. The Church, in Acts—it will make your heart pound when you read it. When you read it, don’t you have a longing in your heart to see church today like that? When you look at the radical nature of what God is doing through them, does it ever make your heart burn? Let’s examine their actions in the Word.

Acts 2:41-47: Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Acts 4:29-35: Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.” 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spoke the word of God with boldness. 32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. 33 And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was upon them all. 34 Nor was there anyone among them who lacked; for all who were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the proceeds of the things that were sold, 35 and laid them at the apostles’ feet; and they distributed to each as anyone had need.

Acts 5:12-16: And through the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were done among the people. And they were all with one accord in Solomon’s Porch. 13 Yet none of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them highly. 14 And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, 15 so that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. 16 Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean spirits, and they were all healed.

Acts 8:35-39: Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.

Acts 9:32-35: Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. 33 There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. 35 So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

Acts 13:2-3: As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

Acts 14:8-10: And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother’s womb, who had never walked. 9 This man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said with a loud voice, “Stand up straight on your feet!” And he leaped and walked.

Acts 16:25-31: But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed. 27 And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself. 28 But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.” 29 Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 20:7-11: Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together. 9 And in a window sat a certain young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep; and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down, fell on him, and embracing him said, “Do not trouble yourselves, for his life is in him.” 11 Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed.

What keeps such an "on fire" church from happening in America now? Jesus might answer by saying, Do we really want to meet Him on His terms? The problem is,  We don’t have their dedication. Are we hungry enough to get together and pray for ten days straight, as they did? If anyone in the church is lacking, would we give up our food, would we all fast to feed them? Would we give up all of our material possessions to the group to meet those in need—do we have a heart to give like that?

Also, could it be that the reason for this difference between us and them is that our interpretation of doctrine is different than theirs? After all, doctrine and lifestyle should go hand in hand. Doctrine is useless unless it transforms your life. You can think you believe something, but let's ask: Do you believe that the majority of people are on their way to hell? (It's true, Matt. 7:13-14).  Do you believe that there are many people deceived to think that they are on their way to heaven--but they are not (the rest of Matthew 7)?  To the extent that you actually believe that, you will intercede for the lost, your heart will break when you see people that don’t know the Lord, you’ll plead with people, or write a letter to a beloved, distant aunt that doesn’t know Him. You’ll be down on your knees often.

To the extent that you truly believe in something, it changes your life.

Did you ever ask:  What was it that the apostles believed that made their lives so radical? Let’s spend some time reading the writings of the early church fathers, whose lifestyles were the closest to the apostles. Remember, they were simple men.  And remember, they consulted no commentary.  They didn’t have to fool with interpreting Greek—they spoke it, they knew it intimately.

Here is an example of their lifestyle, as described by witnesses.  This is 125 AD,

First, from a new believer about his local congregation:  They do not bear false witness; nor do they covet what is not theirs. They comfort their oppressors and make them their friends.

Their women are pure as virgins and their daughters are modest; their men keep themselves from all unlawful unions and uncleanness. They go their way in all modesty and cheerfulness. They love one another. They deliver their widows and orphans from those who would treat them harshly. He who has, gives to him who has not. They fast two or three days to supply the necessary food for the needy.  They follow the commands of their Christ justly and seriously. Every morning and every hour they give thanks to God for His lovingkindness to them. If any righteous man passes from this world, they rejoice and give thanks to God.

Now from a non-believer; his sarcasm means the local church is a good witness:

They despise the temples, as dead houses; they reject the gods. Half-naked themselves, they despise honors and purple robes. Oh, wondrous folly…They despise present torments, although they fear those which are future. They fear to die after death, but they do not fear to die for the present. The larger portion are in want, are cold, are laboring in hard work or hunger. And God allows it. You do not visit exhibitions; you reject public banquets and abhor sacred contests…you assume you will rise again but refuse to live in the meanwhile. Cease from prying into the destinies of the sky. What is wrong with you?

Could the church of America be accused of having such a witness statement? No, frankly. The church today, in fact, is more complacent and worldly and too often accused of hypocrisy. And, mostly, of lukewarmness. The early church had a Holy Spirit-touched lifestyle. They won souls, they turned the world upside down. The secret was in their doctrine. It was different than ours.

NEXT WEEK: So What are the Three Doctrines the Early Church Had That Have Been Radically Changed in Today’s Church That Made Us Weaker?

Acknowledgement: Scott Schones, “A New Kind of Christian?” CD, Scroll Publishing

Why Will Jesus Reject Some "Christians" for Heaven? The Answers May Surprise You

 Jesus spoke many parables. A parable is defined as a story, the object of which is to learn a spiritual lesson. This narrative is of a physical story, but the hearer or reader has to make the analogy to learn the spiritual lesson. Jesus used it often in a crafty way; He wanted to point out the deficiencies of the Jewish spiritual leaders without pointing His finger directly at them. In their guilt, they knew He was talking of them, but they needed real proof to take His life.   I think parables added some time to His life. He was allowed to speak freely; He was “lucky” (but there is no such thing as luck to God's plan, right?) to have lasted over 3 years before they had Him silenced --but only for a little while, right?

One group of parables is called Kingdom parables. When you read them over, you see three basic themes dominate them. We can learn much, and they have to do with how to get to heaven—so let’s study on.

Theme #1: God’s Kingdom Would Start Out Tiny, then Grow in Number Around the World as the number of saved souls increased.

Demonstrated In: Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31-32
                             Leaven, Matthew 13:33

Example: Matthew 13:31-32: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

A mustard seed is really tiny. Yet it becomes a tree. God's church, His Kingdom, will start out tiny, but grow huge. This parable is also a prophecy when He delivers it, and that prophecy has come to glorious truth. There are believers all over the globe (as I have found from my readers!).

A possible argument that our opposition could make about this parable: How do you reconcile the huge number of believers this is speaking of, with Jesus’ comments in Matthew 7:13:

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

So, the argument goes--how large in number are the Kingdom residents? A huge number, as I just suggested, or "few" that are in His church (as 7:14 suggests)? Well, it could be both. It has been agreed upon by several scientists who should know, that 100 billion people have ever lived. As my earlier blog (Most Americans Are Not Saved) points out, “few” might be 6-7%. But 7% of 100 billion is 7 billion. Seven billion in heaven!  That’s “few” of everybody—but a lot of people, too.

Theme #2: Many Who Start Out As Believers Get Rejected in Final Judgment

Since Jesus has no less than 8 parables on this subject, it is obviously important. I believe, in fact, that most people are deceived on this subject.  They believe that once they are saved, they don't have to worry about it.  But in the parables listed below, Jesus makes it crystal clear why many “believers” get rejected. They were NOT rejected because “they were not saved to begin with,” or “they trusted in their own righteousness instead of God’s imputed righteousness.” Since it's possible that we have been deceived without realizing it, and even where we spend our eternity is at stake, heaven or hell, let’s keep our minds open, and seek the real reason why they were rejected, so we can avoid such tragedy.

Demonstrated in: Parable of the Vine, John 15:1-10
Sower, Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23
Wedding feast, Matthew 22:1-14
Five foolish and five wise virgins, Matthew 25:1-13
The faithful and wise servant, Matthew 24:45-51
Talents, Matthew 25:14-28
Separating the Sheep and the Goats, Matthew 25:31-46
Houses built on the Rock and Sand, Matthew 7:21-27

I picked three of the above:

Example #1, the Vine: John 15:1-10: “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. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 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.

These are some of the best Words from Jesus in the New Testament, aside from the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is the Vine; some of us become His branches (when we were saved). We derive (eternal) life by staying attached to Him, and getting our nourishment from Him.  True, these verses don’t say how to get on the Vine in the first place, the initial salvation (it takes repentance and faith, explained elsewhere in Scripture).   But these parables, from the lips of Truth, Jesus Christ, do a wonderful job of explaining the second part--how do I live the rest of my life?  That part, and I cannot stress this strongly enough, determines whether you end with salvation. (You realize I'm saying you can lose your salvation).  You need both (initial and final) salvation to get to heaven--sticking to to Jesus brings that about. As these verses clearly show, to finally get to heaven, and not be tossed out as withered and dead, we must abide in Christ--and bear fruit.  Bearing fruit is crucial, since the verses above says we must bear fruit for final salvation. If we don’t abide in Christ, we are “cast out,” we are “withered,” we are thrown into the fire, and we burn. An obvious reference to hell. The word “abide,” in the Greek, is defined as “continue, remain, tarry.” It suggests a relationship of bonding which we seek with our Savior.  We pursue with intentionality to get to really know Him.  Since by His death in our place, He gave us heaven instead of hell for eternity, we see the love He had for humanity, and we owe all of our lives to Him. He also gave us ways to keep from sinning in the present life, which few people pay enough attention to. If we want to stay in an abiding relationship, we build, by voluntary acts, a great desire to find out and obey His commandments, His commandments, though the world calls "restrictive," are the best path for our life. We get help from the Holy Spirit to obey Him, and abide in Him.  Beside the requirement to obey His commandments, we must produce fruit. The word “fruit” might be best explained by Galatians 5:22-24:

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.24 And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

This theological concept of initial and final salvation seems revolutionary, since it's seldom preached on, but it's in Scripture, where it is set forth plainly, and the earliest Christians saw the connection (see my blog, “Initial and Final Salvation”).  This is not Catholic, not really Protestant either.  Protestant Reformers like Luther didn’t get it; he spent most of his time trying to be the opposite of the Catholics. If they said “works are big,” he had to say “no works, grace.” I don’t deny grace. It is all grace for God to pay any attention to us sinful creatures. Catholics distorted their idea of works (they say a relationship with Christ is not necessary; just say your rosary, attend Mass, Confession, etc). But Protestant Reformers also distorted grace (they say a relationship with Christ is not necessary; just accept Him, and you are saved forever, through His unconditional grace, whether you sin little or a lot). Both these theologies are lies, and put you in danger of hell.  The real truth is, a relationship with Christ IS NECESSARY to be saved, as Scripture clearly points out. That required abiding, that relationship will start out weak, of course, but then it bears a little fruit, that gets pruned, so it starts to grow more each year. We gradually learn to obey Him and love the world and its idolatries hardly at all, and Him more.

Example #2,Sheep and Goats: Matthew 25:31-46: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 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; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’ 41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 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, but the righteous into eternal life.”

So the issue for final salvation is not a theologically proper definition of grace, but Jesus is asking, simply, “What did you do with your life? Did you love your fellow man? Did you care for the poor and the sick?” Caring for the poor, and loving, being merciful and forgiving, are commandments and fruits. But these rules for life we break frequently.  The most serious commandments are broken by "Christians" without a thought of the danger of doing so.  For instance, Scripture speaks clearly that God hates divorce; Scripture shows that it frequently brings on sexual sin, and it hurts the children, (though they deny it).  But "Christians" still divorce, or accept it in others, at the same rate as the pagan world.  They have nary a thought of their God's offense or anger. I NEED to be happy, they say.  But God's commandments are the way to happiness.  If we don't trust that, then that shows we do not abide in Him.   You may have had a theology that encourages you to feel "secure" after you had your moment with Christ.  Since you "accepted Him," Church members don't dwell on penetrating questions about your honest sin; they often merely encourage you to go to church, it's OK to commit a few "bad judgment calls," and so you can assume you're Christian and saved--yet in eternity, many are shocked as Jesus rejects them, and they go to hell. Just like in this parable, designed to show who is saved and who isn't, Jesus will ask:  Did you give money to feed the poor, when you had monumental savings and plenty of income? Giving to your church might not satisfy that requirement, because less than 10% of what you give to church goes to poor.  You need to give some to organizations outside the church.  Such a sin of a refusal to give proportional, would be called a sin of omission (vs. sins of commission such as stealing, murder, etc).  Few people even think about sins of omission. Lots of "Christians" might assume poor people are just lazy, and they don't think twice about what Jesus is saying above about the goats.  They seldom apply Scripture to themselves.  Are they assured of heaven?  These verses say no; they're the goats that go to eternal fire.

Example #3, Rock or Sand: Matthew 7:21-27: “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. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”

As anyone can read, hearing His commandments and DOING them is building a foundation of rock, and keeps our spiritual house together.  But hearing and NOT DOING, no matter how much “service” you do at church, you are headed for spiritual rejection. We must “do the will” of our Father. For instance, we like to have a large savings account, so we can control our lives, not God--and so we can covet material things of the world.  Such an immature approach means we have no clue how His Spirit moves us; so when a huge decision is to be made, we go by our feelings, and tell everyone that the Spirit is leading us.  It’s the same theme: Having been saved, then consciously doing His commandments gets you on God’s “good side” in judgment. Saying a prayer and accepting Him, no matter how sincere, might get you initial salvation; but follow through is necessary. It will mean nothing if you don’t persevere in a relationship with Him as well. Living your life as you wish and ignoring God’s desire for relationship and His will for you puts you back on the road to hell. Sounds like a "works" salvation, but we believe that the Holy Spirit will give you the grace you need to obey Him.  And don't tag something with a name without thinking seriously about what God's Word is saying.

For a little more proof, I cite John 5:28-29:

28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

This is what Jesus preached; since you can lose initial salvation through no fruit, no obedience when the chips are down, final decision is made on faith and follow up, doing His will, versus who has ignored His commandments through commission or omission.

Maybe this idea is different from what you hear at church: But are you willing to ignore this blog, well-proven through Scripture?  Are you going to possibly twist the obvious meaning of these parables? Or are you going to say, "It looks too dense for me.  Pastor will explain."  But pastor won't save you.  It looks clear: “Doing good” gets you final salvation: the resurrection of life. (PS: Don’t forget initial salvation—you won’t produce fruit without His Spirit’s guidance; abiding in Him). If this seems to disagree with what Paul seems to say about ignoring the law (especially in Romans and Galatians), you need to keep context in view.  The apostles had to deal with Judaizers—new Jewish Christians who wanted us to keep all their man-made laws to be saved. “Let’s get all the male believers circumcised, too,” they said. “They have to follow the law of Moses to be saved.” That’s what Paul couldn’t stomach. He didn’t want us to just follow (Jewish civil or food) laws; he wanted us to have a relationship with Jesus. (I have other blogs on “Paul vs. James” on this subject.

Theme #3: God’s Kingdom People Would Have Non-Believers Among Them; Let God Weed Them Out at Final Judgment

Demonstrated in: Wheat and Weeds (tares), Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43
                             Dragnet, Matthew 13:47-50

In the interest of space, we only comment on one.

Example: Matthew 13:24-30, 37-43: Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”…(ed, now speaking only to disciples) “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

In His kingdom, defined as the real church, they have meetings of worship.  But in every one of those meetings, there will be fakers and there will be sincere. That's the way Satan plans; wheat and weeds together--saved and unsaved people. Suppose we take my above words to heart, and we want to find out if Others are doing the kinds of things that show they're saved?  Then we want to remove the tares (supposed Christians who show no fruit) from the assembly.  But can we tell who is a genuine Christian? Many Scriptures says we can't.  Since church is supposed to be for saved people, does that give us the right to watch every move people make, every word they say?  Having a "case" against someone, shall we remove anyone that seems to be unsaved?  So does church mean casting judgmental eyes about?

Jesus said, in these verses, Don't worry about all that; the angels will pull out “those who practice lawlessness.” Elsewhere He says to focus only on our sins, "pull out the plank" in our eye, vs. focusing on others.  Things like the Spanish Inquisitions or the Salem witch trials usually come out of "judging." Thus, it's clear that we are to let everyone attend who wants to attend.  Let's let Jesus do the deciding, in the last days. Let’s love the foot-draggers among us and encourage them to do better; and let us build His church missions accordingly. It may go slower, but it’s a good test of love. I’m not saying, forget church discipline. If these people's purposes are stirring up division or they are in active gross sin, we should remove them.

Well, think awhile on these important parables. Don’t twist them to meet your previous theology. Don’t ignore them, thinking them too hard to understand with their couched language. As you can see above, Jesus’ language is really quite clear. We often just don’t like what He’s saying.

Acknowledgement: David Bercot CD, “Kingdom Parables,” Scroll Publishing

Some Surprising Facts About our Christian Resurrection

 Perhaps the most important question of all time, to a lot of people, is, What happens after we die?  Is there life after death?   This question has puzzled mankind since Adam, and there are many different theories suggested.   And God is rather clear in the Bible on this subject, as He would be, since Scripture claims in various places that He loves His children—so He would tell us “where we’re moving to.”  

So, let’s study what the Word says on the “moving” issue.  Let’s promise ourselves that what the Scripture says is more important than what our church says.  It looks like the correct doctrine includes an intermediate state, not Catholic.  Few people believe this anymore--it has either been warped or lost.  But it’s definitely in Scripture.  Studying that is the ultimate focus of this blog.

The most detailed explanation of life just beyond the grave is found in Jesus’ account of the rich man and Lazarus.  See Luke 16:22-31, where Jesus says: 

²² So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. ²⁴ “Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ ²⁵ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. ²⁶ And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’  ²⁷ “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, ²⁸ for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ ²⁹ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ ³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ ³¹ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

What do we see?  

1)      The previously poor man is in “Abraham’s bosom,” v.22.  He is “comforted.” The rich man is “afar off”—a “great gulf fixed” away-- in hades, Scripture says. Yet they’re both likely in the same place, since they can see and talk to one another. Abraham's bosom is the good part of this place, but the "hot" section is the bad part.  We conclude "hades" is the proper name for the whole place. The word is used several times in Scripture (beware--some versions goof this up).  So hades had two parts, separated by a great gulf.   

2) The rich man in the suffering region then becomes the focus.  He is “in torments.”  He “cries out” in agony.  Thirst is a serious problem, since a flame is nearby. 

3)    He has a memory--he is well aware of his previous life, since he remembered his brothers and now wants to see them saved from this.  This adds to his mental anxiety while there.

4)    As vv 27-31 show, there is no way that someone in the lower region can warn those still alive.  Thus, if that is also a precedent, seances would be meaningless, today as well as then.  

5)    Jesus, as the designer of hades, is tough on the man who is eventually to be cast to hell:   

a.  Through Abraham, He is willing to let him suffer, acknowledging “you are tormented” --yet without relieving him.   

b.  When the man complains of his suffering, Jesus through Abraham even taunts him, reminding him of the reversal of roles for the two of them—and telling him, too bad, he can’t change his fate 

I'm saying that these statements are real, not just a "parable that doesn't apply to us."  Modern theologians don't want to consider this a doctrine, because it is uncompassionate.  I don't think it is a parable, since it has named Lazarus, and parables don’t give names.  This is God’s truth for what happens after death. Let's say it was a parable--would Jesus set forth a myth about what happens when we die--would He express an untruth on such an important issue?  Especially considering we know so little about the subject elsewhere in Scripture.  Would He say, "Hah!  I got you.  This was a parable, which means it's all untrue (?).  I just want you to continue worrying about this very important question."  I think not.  

Part of the reason I believe this is a truth is the related backup Scriptures, below.  Another reason is that it was universally believed by the earliest church fathers; they were brilliant men in their knowledge of Scripture, and believed it was truth.  They knew their Greek backward and forward, they knew the culture, they could have asked questions of the apostles, or someone only a generation from them.  Consider also that that early church was the most dynamic and godly church in history; so I believe their theology was accurate, and God blessed them accordingly by touching their evangelism greatly.    

Now here are other supporting Scriptures for the intermediate state: 

1. Luke 23:43 records Jesus’ words on the Cross to the dying and just-saved thief alongside:  

  And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”

What's Paradise?  Think with me: if the saved poor man’s first stopover after death, from Luke 16, is “Abraham’s bosom,” as we saw above, and if the first stopover for the just-saved thief is in “paradise,” we have to conclude that paradise is another name for Abraham’s bosom.  But we showed above that Abraham's bosom and Hades are in the same place.  And we saw that  paradise is another name for Abraham's bosom--and that means they're all the same place. Paradise is not heaven, but, like with Lazarus, it's the good part of hades.    Neither person we're talking about goes directly to heaven.  They both go to hades, the intermediate state. 

2. Jesus went to hades too, when He died, as proved by Matthew 12:40 and parts of Acts 2:22-27, the words of Peter:  

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth

“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs…you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; ²⁴ whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. ²⁵ For David says concerning Him:  Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope.²⁷ For You will not leave my soul in hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.

So Jesus did not die and go straight to heaven; nor did He go to hell, called “gehenna” in Greek, the lake of fire, a different Greek word.  Jesus told the thief He was going to paradise with Him--yet these verses clearly show, He went to hades. So this proves, again, paradise is not heaven, but is in the good part of hades.  “In the heart of the earth” doesn't sound like heaven, right?  Hades is presumably located deep in earth.   His soul did not remain in hades long—three days and nights. 

Perhaps your Bible uses "hell" when it should be called "hades."  It also uses "hell" in some versions for Greek "gehenna" and "tartarus."  Those, however, are three separate Greek words, signifying 3 separate places.  The English words should be different, rather than combining them all as "hell."  Blame William Tyndale.  He took these three Greek words, meaning different things, and translated them all "hell" in English.  A proper modern translation would catch this. 

These truths about the intermediate state were so universally believed by the earliest Christians that it became part of the original Apostles’ Creed:  I believe in God the Father Almighty…and in Jesus Christ…was crucified, dead and buried.  He descended to hades (the Greek word); on the third day rose from the dead…

Jesus did not go to hell, but gave hope to the waiting godly souls in hades.

3. John 14:1-3:  

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. ² In My Father’s house are many mansions;  if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. ³ And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

Note the underlined phrase.  This proves that when the righteous die, they do not go immediately to heaven to be with Jesus.  Why?  Well, He has to “come again” (His second coming) and pick us up, and then we go to heaven.  If we were already in heaven (i.e., by rapture, so called), He would not have to “come again” to get us.  No, we are in the heart of the earth, in hades, waiting for “pick up.” The pick up will be better than ziplining, better than being the delivery token for an Amazon drone, I’ll bet.  

4. John 5:28-29:

Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice ²⁹ and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Thus, both groups will “come forth” (at the second coming) to the Judgment, possibly at the same time (your denomination may not believe this "judgement at the same time" idea).  So hades will be emptied all at once.  If we’re already in heaven, as so many think, the resurrection would be no big deal--since we're "already there," in spirit. It would be just picking up the body.  But the important thing would be being with Jesus in heaven--but this has already been going on, according to them. But they are wrong.  It will be a total resurrection, body and soul--a big deal, as Scripture points out excitedly.  It gets us, soul and body, from hades to heaven, not from heaven to heaven with a body. 

    5. I Corinthians 15:22-23:

For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.  

So when are we "made alive," that is, body and soul together?  When Jesus comes again, not at time of death.  (And at His second coming, not the "rapture.")

6.  I Thessalonians 4:16-17:

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

The first verse indicates the Second Coming (not the 3rd coming, as rapturists believe).  Note that "the dead in Christ" will rise.  It doesn't say "their bodies will arise," but "the dead" will rise.  Also note that verse 17 says we will "meet the Lord in the air."  Many modern commentaries say our spirit goes immediately to heaven when we die; and say that when Jesus comes down, He comes with the spirits of His saved people to pick up their bodies.  But that can't be, since we will "meet the Lord in the air."  "Meet" here suggests "first time I've seen you," since its definition in Vine's Expository Dictionary says "the official welcome of a newly arrived dignitary." 

     8. Finally, I Peter 5:4:

and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away

Thus, this does not happen when we die; it happens "when the Chief Shepherd appears"--at His Second Coming.

Hopefully these many Scriptures will be convincing.  But, you ask, "I don't think anyone teaches this, how can it be correct?"  Well, many Mennonites, some Brethren, some Amish, some in the Restoration movement, some conservative Anglicans still teach this. 

Well--so most of us has had it wrong for centuries?  How could that be?

The speculation is, teaching on the intermediate state has gotten dropped because the Reformation tried to get as far away from the Catholics’ false teaching on purgatory.  Purgatory teaches that (a) the Intermediate State can cleanse your sins and (b) it can change final status. Double False.  Scripture shows that hades (the real Intermediate State) does not change final status, as we saw in Luke.  The sincere pleadings of the rich man were greeted coldly. The rich man encountered Jesus not as merciful, but as Judge.  Remember, few are saved (Matthew 7:14).  We are shocked and sometimes uncomfort- able about seeing this "negative side" of God.  But He doesn't think as we do.  We cannot imagine, for instance, how deep is God’s hatred about sin.  If you’re unsaved when you go into hades, you’re unsaved when you go out.  Period.  There is no Scriptural basis for “cleansing from sin” in that state either.  The idea that you can purge your own sin is completely false and anti-Biblical, as Scriptural points out, and I point out in many blogs. Jesus has done that cleansing from sin for us. The “works vs faith” argument was what kick-started the Reformation—a just movement in its beginning, but it went to wrong theology on some points to get away from looking Catholic. 

Next, Catholicism teaches that there is a special status for those classified as “saints”—they get to go straight to heaven.  Everybody else has to go to purgatory to “work off” their sins.  False.  Scripture is clear that everyone saved is a saint.  There are no “status” Christians.  Philippians 1:1 says:   

Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops  and deacons. 

 If saints are only the “status” Christians, why is Paul calling every Christian a “saint,” and, oh yes, let’s not forget the bishops and deacons.  How do you explain that?  

John Calvin, who formulated many Protestant doctrines (not my favorite person, as I have a blog on him), dropped the intermediate state doctrine.  So both Catholics and most Protestants have it wrong.  You’ve got to read Scripture for yourselves, folks. 

Now let us deal with verses the "straight to heaven" folks love:  Start with I Thessalonians 4:14, which I'd like to add context by adding verses 16 and 17: 

For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Now remember, "sleep" refers to death. Start by looking at v. 17, "we who are alive...shall be caught up together with them..to meet the Lord in the air."  Who is "them?"  It's  "those who sleep in Jesus."  The verses, taken together, mean that the Christian dead will rise from the grave at His second coming  (yes, His second coming), answers first the Thessalonian question about "what happens to the dead?"  They go to heaven at the second coming.  Then he also adds those who are alive at the time and Christians who are alive at that time will rise from hades and join them to "meet the Lord."  That's how Jesus will "bring with Him" both groups to heaven.  Paul will join them, with Jesus, who will "bring" us to heaven AT THAT TIME. "And AT THAT TIME (the second coming) we will "always be with the Lord."  

PS.  This explanation is simple and uncomplicated, as long as you don't believe in a separate Rapture.  Keep in mind, a separate rapture means that Jesus comes three times, which is un-Scriptural.  They're saying, first was His Incarnation; second, His "rapture;" third, His coming in judgment.  I have a separate series of blogs on this.  If you DO believe in a Rapture, the explanation for how who goes to heaven when twists Scripture around like a pretzel to figure out. I won't even try; somehow I feel that God would make it simple to figure out the important question of "where do we go when we die?"

Another favorite Scripture of "straight to heaven":  Ephesians 4:8-10:

Therefore He says: “When He ascended on high He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men.”  9 (Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

"Captivity captive" is confusing for even the experts to figure out.  It could mean either He is referring to the "enemy soldiers" captured, or the rescue of our own men held captive by the enemy. So, flip a coin.  If you choose the latter, Jesus is bringing out of hades His children, taking them to heaven. If you choose the former, Jesus is making a display of enemy forces dragged through the city in chains (commonly done in Roman victories).  He triumphed over them by His death and resurrection.  Who are those enemy forces?  That idea is probably best interpreted by Colossians 2:15, where it is said of the "principalities and powers"--the powers of sin and death--that "He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in the cross." 

The fact is, this "captivity captive" verse speaks of unusual things that we can't expect to build a theology of "where do we go when we die?" around.  Look at Matthew 27:52-53, when Jesus died:

and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

Was that a repeatable event?  Can we form a theology around Matthew 27:52 about when our bodies are raised from the dead? I'm saying the earlier verses, Ephesians 4:8-10, could also have been a strange, non-theologically-based event too.  In any event, since I suggested "flip a coin," I'm saying this is not a proof for either side, and is not relevant to forming a doctrine on.

Another verse for "straight to heaven:"  Philippians 1:23:

For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.

Paul is just wondering which is better--to live and support Christians, or to die and be with Christ.  I don't think Paul put any theology on this "what do I prefer" question (nor should we!).  For that reason alone, Paul is not thinking doctrinally.  Consider also that Christ, or His Spirit, could be in hades with the spirit of a Christian after death, so He is "with" us in hades. So this verse does not lock the case for the "straight to heaven" group either.

Another favorite of theirs is Act 7:56, 59, at the martyrdom of Stephen:

and (Stephen) said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 59 And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”

Well, this too could be a special case: Stephen is the first New Testament martyr; plus, he has given a severe admonishment to the Jews about their history defying God, and Jesus confirms him by showing up.  Naturally, a man would react by saying, "Jesus, receive my spirit."  Keep in mind, that's what a man is quoting, and doesn't have to be doctrine God can approve of for everyone.  Think of the musings of Job; they're not all correct.     

Finally, II Corinthians 5:8:

We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.

This is clearly the "straight to heaven" folks' favorite verse. But...when there are abundant verses telling us differently, should we believe that God changed the doctrinal implications and only indicated the change clearly by this one verse?  Would God do that on such an important teaching as "where we go when we die?"  

So, as I'm speaking with mostly "straight to heaven" crowd--we should consider opening our mind to a different definition of this verse.  We really ought to consider the phrase doesn't really say that "one leads immediately to the other." And, since Jesus is omnipresent, why couldn't Jesus be in heaven with God and be in hades in Spirit, comforting and speaking with His children there too?

So what I see is, none of these verses lock down the "straight to heaven" idea. My eight verses on the intermediate state logically string together a solid case for the good side of hades, then later heaven at His second coming.    

It's not a new idea. After all, it was believed by the Jews for a thousand years, then believed by the young church for another 600 years, then the Catholic church perverted it.  

If you want to know more about what Scripture really says on How Do You Get Saved, so you can graduate from earth eventually to heaven, you need to know that Catholics and many Protestants have not emphasized the right doctrine.   I have a blog just on salvation, and another on initial and final salvation.  Smarter, though, would be to read the Gospels over and over, noting what Jesus says on that very subject.  He is quite clear.

Acknowledgement:  David Bercot, CD, “Life After Death."  Scroll Publishing