How We Are Reconciled to God by Grace

It is so easy in life to take things for granted. We tend to take our life, our health, our family, our friends, our peace, our happiness, our possessions, just about everything one can imagine for granted the thought being tomorrow will be much like today. We often fail to realize how pleasant we have it until suddenly we lose what we thought we had.

Love, friendship, and fellowship also fall into this category of things so often taken for granted. We have a family member, a close friend, a colleague whose love and friendship we have enjoyed in a harmonious relationship up until the moment something arises in the relationship that causes friction, disruption, and alienation. We soon learn how great it once was back before discord entered the picture and estrangement came, back when we were taking it all for granted thinking there would always be peace, affection, and harmony between us, never giving it a thought it would ever be otherwise.

Adam and Eve were the first two to experience the sorrow and despondency that estrangement brings into a relationship. As long as they believed and trusted God life was good. Eve, however, becoming dissatisfied convinced herself she and Adam could do better than what God had given and acting on that belief sinned, bringing Adam along with her, and broke the relationship they both had with God. They broke trust with God. Mankind has been doing the same sort of thing ever since that day.

Adam is not the cause of my sin and estrangement from God nor is he the cause of yours. It is our own personal sin that is the problem. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23 ESV) “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8 ESV) “If we say we have not sinned, we make him (God–DS) a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10 ESV) “The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son.” (Ezek. 18:20 ESV) No, Adam is not my problem. I am my problem.

As a consequence of our sin we become alienated from God. “Your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.” (Isa. 59:2 ESV) “If one turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination.” (Prov. 28:9 ESV) “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23 ESV)

If you are new to Christianity it might sound as though you are doomed. That is not at all the case. God says, “I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” (Ezek. 18:32 ESV) “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise (a reference to the second coming of Christ, of Judgment Day–DS) as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9 ESV) The message of the Bible to mankind is “repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21 ESV)

As the apostle Paul would say in his preaching, “We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2 Cor. 5:20 ESV) God sent Christ into the world to save the world. Jesus says himself, “I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.” (John 12:47 ESV)

Once an individual becomes alienated from God through sin he/she is left powerless on their own initiative to restore the breach that sin made in the relationship. God was offended by man’s sin and after all God is God and man is man; there is a hierarchy of power and authority. That is why salvation is by grace, by God’s choice. It was his choice to restore us, to reconcile us to himself, to accept us back once again. However, it is left up to the individual to decide whether or not he/she will accept the reconciliation God offers.

“In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.” (2 Cor. 5:19 ESV) The message of reconciliation Paul speaks of is the gospel of Christ.

Humanity is reconciled to God by the cross of Jesus. Peace between God and mankind became possible once again, as in the beginning in the Garden of Eden before the fall, by the blood of his cross, the cross of Jesus (Col. 1:20). It was at the cross that the price of man’s sins was paid, the price paid for our redemption from sin. It was with “the precious blood of Christ.” (1 Peter 1:19 ESV) We were “bought with a price.” (1 Cor. 6:20 ESV)

“Christ died for the ungodly.” (Rom. 5:6 ESV) “We were reconciled to God by the death of his Son” (Rom. 5:10 ESV) and “have now been justified by his blood.” (Rom. 5:9 ESV) It is through Jesus Christ that we have now “received reconciliation.” (Rom. 5:11 ESV)

It is a wonderful thing when alienation between persons is resolved and old feelings of affection and friendship are restored, when the past is forgiven and put behind and peace and joy are brought back into a relationship. Reconciliation is a wonderful thing. Sometimes in this life reconciliation between two parties is not possible for it does indeed take two and sometimes the other party maybe will just not budge. But we should never be that other person who will not reconcile. God’s command is, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.” (Rom. 12:18 ESV)

While we always ought to seek reconciliation among men and women how much more so between ourselves and God who is our God. He is all for us; he desires that we be saved and brought into fellowship with him, and not be lost in the last day. He has made provision at great sacrifice to himself and his son to bring about our reconciliation. It was by his grace that these things were done.

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Cor. 5:21 ESV) We have all been invited to come and partake of the water of life freely. “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.” (Rev. 22:17 ESV) It is time to obey the gospel if you have not done so. Faith in and obedience to the gospel, the message of the cross, is God's means of reconciling us by his grace. Obedience to the gospel message is reconciliation to God. The message of reconciliation is the message of the cross, of God's grace.

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Jesus The Rock

The reader is likely aware that the Roman Catholic Church does not believe the church was built on Christ but rather upon Peter. In this article, we will examine what the Bible teaches and then let the reader decide whether to follow the Bible or the Catholic Church.

The relevant text for this study is found in Matt. 16:16-18:

"Simon Peter answered and said, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.'" (NKJV)

After Jesus' arrest he was brought before the Jewish council where he was asked, "'Are you then the Son of God?' And he said to them, 'You rightly say that I am.'" (Luke 22:70 NKJV) This fact was earlier confessed by Peter in Matt. 16, quoted above, when he said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." (Matt. 16:16 NKJV) Jesus, being the Son of God, is the rock Jesus built the church on. No one can enter the church built by Jesus who does not believe this foundational doctrine, that Jesus is the Son of God. Jesus, as the Son of God, built the church upon himself.

Jesus is described by Peter as a living stone rejected by men but chosen by God and precious (1 Peter 2:4). He goes on a couple of verses later to say, "It is also contained in the Scripture, 'Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on him will by no means be put to shame.'" (1 Peter 2:6 NKJV) The chief cornerstone (a rock) is a reference to a man. I ask the readers to decide for themselves whether this man Peter is describing, that if a man believes on him he will not be put to shame, is meant to be a reference to himself or to Jesus. The church cannot be built on both Jesus and Peter. Both cannot be that rock upon which the church is built. Who did Peter consider to be the chief cornerstone, himself or Jesus?

But let us compare 1 Peter 2:6 just quoted above with Isaiah 28:16 where God had said hundreds of years before Peter's time, "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily." (Isa. 28:16 NKJV) The stone God laid was Christ, not Peter. Isaiah was not prophesying about Peter.

But what does it mean when the text says "whoever believes will not act hastily"? The idea that both Isaiah and Peter present is that the rock God laid in Christ is so solid and so secure under the feet of the true believer that there is no insecurity. The rock you stand on when you stand on Christ is solid and secure, safe and reliable, and will not fail you. Some translations instead of "not act hastily" use the phrase "will not be disturbed" (NAS), "never be stricken with panic" (NIV), or "will be unshakable" (CSB).

If Peter is the rock does this sound like Peter, you stand on Peter as the rock and you become unshakable, not be disturbed? No, I think we would all rather stand on Christ than on Peter if we were to be unshakable. Peter was far from unshakable, far from never being stricken with panic. He panicked when walking on the water (Matt. 14:28-30), when he denied Christ, when he withdrew from eating with the Gentiles at Antioch (Gal. 2:11-12). Jesus, by contrast, was always calm and unshakable no matter how difficult things became.

Peter was a great apostle, a wonderful proclaimer of the gospel, but he was ultimately a mere man. To build anything on man is to be disappointed for we are all but human beings, prone to sin. We need to listen to Peter for he spoke and wrote as a Holy Spirit inspired man. He was not, however, the cornerstone of the church or the foundation the church was built on.

Very early in the history of the church when Peter and John were taken into custody, a consequence of their teaching at the temple, and were placed before the Jewish rulers, elders, and scribes, as well as the high priest, and as many as were of his family, Peter testified of Jesus saying, "This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.' Nor is there salvation in any other." (Acts 4:11-12 NKJV) In verse 10 Peter names Jesus as being the one of whom he speaks.

"Let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole.

"This is the 'stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.'" (Acts 4:10-11 NKJV)

Does that sound like Peter was declaring himself to be the one upon whom the church was built as the Catholics claim?

Paul said of Jesus, "No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. 3:11 NKJV) The foundation of the faith, of the church, the spiritual body of Christ, is Jesus--Jesus not as a man, per se, but as the Son of God. In writing to the Ephesian brethren Paul says they were members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19) "having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." (Eph. 2:20 NKJV) One has his choice--he can either believe the Catholic Church that Peter is the rock upon which the church is built or he can believe the Bible which makes it plain that Jesus as the Christ, as the Son of God, is that rock.

Yes, Peter is a stone in the church but so is every other Christian. Hear Peter, "You also, (he says, speaking to Christians--DS) as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV) The church is the spiritual body of Christ, a spiritual building being built up. Peter is a stone in the church just like every other Christian but he is not the cornerstone, the stone upon which the church was built. Jesus is the stone upon which every other stone was laid. True, the apostles (which includes Peter) and the prophets were foundational pieces but they were laid on top of the cornerstone which was and is Christ himself.

The church is Christ's body--"his body, which is the church" (Col. 1:24 NKJV - see also Eph. 1:22-23 and Col. 1:18). "He is the Savior of the body." (Eph. 5:23 NKJV) This is the body which he sanctified and cleansed "with the washing of water by the word" (Eph. 5:26 NKJV), a reference to baptism, so that "he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish." (Eph. 5:27 NKJV)

Paul calls the church "God's building" (1 Cor. 3:9 NKJV) and says he laid the foundation to that building. He did so by preaching Christ and him crucified. "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God." (1 Cor. 1:22-23 NKJV) If a man is going to be laid as a living stone into this spiritual building called the church, which Jesus has built and continues to build by adding new stones onto it, then he must be laid on top of this foundational rock that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who came into the world as the lamb of God to give his life as a sacrifice for all of mankind's sins, to bring salvation to all who will believe and obey the gospel message.

What kind of building is the church? Paul describes it as "the temple of God" (1 Cor. 3:16 NKJV) and says that the Spirit of God dwells in it (1 Cor. 3:16) and says it is "holy" (1 Cor. 3:17 NKJV). In Ephesians he describes it thus, "the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a habitation of God in the Spirit." (Eph. 2:21-22 NKJV)

Paul makes a statement in connection with the church being God's temple that ought to frighten all those who think they are free to tinker around with doctrine and practice in the church. He says, "If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him." (1 Cor. 3:17 NKJV) He says it is holy. One has to remember who built the church. Jesus said, "I will build my church." (Matt. 16:18 NKJV) He did this by his sacrifice on the cross making the church possible and then through the medium of the Holy Spirit in the Spirit's teaching the word (the gospel) through the apostles and New Testament prophets.

One would think common sense would lead one to conclude that if an individual was to build himself a building he would not build it on another man. If I build a building I am the one who builds it. It is mine. I am not doing that to give glory to some other man. Jesus built his church, he built it for himself, he built it upon himself.

The work of building continues today and will until the end of time not by means of inspired men still living but of inspiration completed and placed in the book we call the New Testament. The Holy Spirit continues the work of preaching the gospel and building the church every time the word is read or accurately conveyed in teaching and preaching.

The church was built up by men and women and boys and girls of accountable age (old enough to be responsible) hearing, believing, and obeying from the heart the gospel of Christ. Every time such an individual obeyed the gospel another living stone was added to the building of the church and such building continues on today. Shortly after Pentecost the Bible says, "The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." (Acts 2:47 NKJV) Now note who was adding to the church. It was the Lord; the Lord built the church and continues to build it yet today in the manner previously described.

But I want to go back to something mentioned earlier that needs more emphasis. I speak specifically of the great danger inherent in defiling the church, the temple of God, of which Paul says that the one who does so God will destroy (1 Cor. 3:17). God (Jesus) built the first century New Testament church. Do we think we can do better than he did? Men are trying continually to change the church from what it was in the first century and modernize it. Do we think that is wise? How do you know as a mere man that the changes that seem good and right to you or me are fine with God? Jesus is a perfect builder. Can you do better than he did without defiling the church? Remember the penalty for being mistaken is severe, not a slap on the wrist.

We might respond and say, "I have read the New Testament and I know not all of the churches back in the first century were what they ought to be." True! The church at Corinth had all kinds of problems and then we can read about the seven churches of Asia (Rev. 2 and 3) of which most had one thing or another wrong with them. Yes, that is correct but we also see in our reading they were rebuked for their error and told what to do to get their house in order. In other words, we were given a blueprint for what the church ought to be. Who among us believes that any of those congregations could have continued in error forever without eternal consequences? The rebuking was to bring about repentance and thus salvation.

Here is our situation today. We are not going to get a letter to our church, the congregation of which we are a member, directly from the Lord or an inspired apostle. When we start deviating from the blueprint (New Testament teaching) deceiving ourselves that all is well with what we are doing there is not going to be a rebuke directly from inspiration other than from the New Testament itself. If we are or have deviated from the teachings of the New Testament we have convinced ourselves it is okay, we have justified ourselves in doing so. This makes it nearly impossible to repent, impossible because we have convinced ourselves we are doing the right thing.

No religious group knowingly goes into error. God's people in the Old Testament went into all kinds of sin and even into idolatry. When they were going down that path did they go thinking I want to commit spiritual suicide? They did what they did because they had convinced themselves it was the right thing to do and all of God's prophets could not keep them from it. They saw their error as not being an error but as being their salvation. They had gradually lost their faith in God's word until there was no faith left in it at all save on the part of a tiny remnant of believers.

How does one defile the temple of God, the church? I know of no other way other than by departing from that which governs the church--the word of God. When a group of people (a congregation or church) begins to practice things not found in the New Testament, allows liberties God does not permit in his word, begins to teach things contrary to the direct word of God, adds to the worship things unheard of in the pages of the new covenant, tolerates sin in the church winking at it or worse begins to call sin righteousness then I would fear being a member of such a congregation. God doesn't just talk to be talking or because he is bored. He said he would destroy him who defiled the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:17) and I for one do not want to be in the vicinity when that happens, do you? Do you want it to be said that you went along with the defiling even if you did not initiate it?

Christ built the church. He is the head of the church (Eph. 5:23). The church is to be subject to Christ (Eph. 5:24). Those things being true then if I come into your worship service and you are doing something I cannot find in the word of Christ (the New Testament) I want to know why you are doing it and upon whose authority. Don't tell me it does not matter for "whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Col. 3:17 NKJV) How do you do a thing in the name of the Lord Jesus when the Lord Jesus has never said a word about the thing that you are doing? Do you think you, a mere man, can take the authority upon yourself to initiate things into the worship service unknown to the word of God? The sad truth is yes, most in Christendom believe that very thing. The church cannot be defiled by doing what the scriptures teach but it certainly can be by adding things not found in scripture.

In closing, Jesus is the foundation of the church, the rock upon which the church was built but it is his church, not mine, not yours. He built it and he built it the way he wanted it and not the way you or I might like it to be. It is what it is. Our choice is to accept it, reject it outright, or defile it as many have done. The church belongs to Jesus. If we would remember that we would perhaps quit trying to make it ours. We get to be a part of it, a living stone, but we do not own it or rule it and we have no part in making rules for it unless we want to get into the defiling business.

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Jesus As The Bread Of Life

Beginning in about John 6:27 Jesus begins a discussion with those with whom he is conversing about himself being the bread of life sent down from the Father (John 6:32-35), that man might eat of this bread and have eternal life. There are many descriptive terms used about Jesus in the Bible of which the bread of life is but one.

In the book of John alone Jesus is described as the Word (John 1:1), the Light (John 1:9), the only begotten (John 1:14), the lamb of God (John 1:29), the Messiah (John 1:41), the Son of God (John 1:49), the bread of life (John 6:48), the light of the world (John 8:12), the door through which one must enter if he is to be saved (John 10:9), the good shepherd (John 10:11), the resurrection and the life (John 11:25), the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6), the true vine in which one must abide or be cast out and thrown into the fire (John 15:1,6), and the king of the Jews (John 19:19) and this list is not exhaustive of every term found in John that in one way or another is descriptive of Jesus. Nave's Topical Bible lists a full page and a half of names, appellations, and titles given to Jesus in the scriptures. Each descriptive term provides a lesson in itself on who Jesus was and is.

In the John 6 passage, we see Jesus describing himself as the bread of life, a description we find appealing. We see Jesus as one come down from God the Father to man to give unto man a bread which if he will eat of it gives life everlasting (John 6:50-51). The language is figurative and the words spoken are spirit. "The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life." (John 6:63 NKJV)

For you and I to eat of this bread, keeping in mind the language is figurative and spiritual, means we partake of Jesus, of his life and teaching, by belief and obedience. It involves surrendering one's life to Jesus and begins with faith and obedience to the gospel for the gospel is the message of the cross (1 Cor. 15:1-4), the cross being where Jesus gave his flesh for man. Jesus said, "The bread that I shall give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world." (John 6:51 NKJV)

It means we allow ourselves, by following after Christ, to be remade in the image of Christ. "But we all (speaking to Christians--DS), with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. 3:18 NKJV) As Paul said, "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Gal. 2:20 NKJV) Emphasis should be placed on the phrase "it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me."

One eats of the bread of life by obeying the gospel. There is no eating of the bread of life without obeying the gospel. I am not a Greek scholar but one who is has said that the word "eats", as in "eats of this bread", in verse 51 of John 6, and the verbs "eat" and "drink" in verse 53 of the same chapter, as in "eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood", denote a once for all action in the Greek thus a reference to initial gospel obedience (see Frank Pack, "The Living Word Commentary--The Gospel According to John, Part 1," page 112). He goes on to say that in verse 56 the phrase, "he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him" denotes in the Greek continuous action thus is an ongoing action in a person's life.

I do not believe one has to be a Greek scholar to understand eating the bread of life begins with surrender to Christ in gospel faith and obedience nor do I think one has to be a Greek scholar to understand that if one later chooses to quit feeding on Christ spiritually he will also die spiritually. In fact, the parable of the vine and branches deals with this very thing. A branch cannot bear fruit if it does not abide in the vine which is Christ (John 15:1). If a branch does not abide in the vine it dies, is cast out, and is gathered to be cast into the fire (John 15:1-6).

To feed on Christ (John 6:57 in the NKJV and the ESV) is to allow him to direct our lives by his word and example. "He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk just as he walked." (1 John 2:6 NKJV) How did Jesus walk? He said, "I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me." (John 6:38 NKJV) Whose will are we here to do--ours or God's? What will we end up doing? Jesus said, "I always do those things that please him." (John 8:29 NKJV)

Are we walking in the footsteps of Jesus? Are we feeding off his life? Is our will as Jesus' was when he said, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me." (John 4:34 NKJV) To read and study the New Testament and obey its teachings is to feed on Christ, the giver of the same.

Today many people in what is called Christendom feel as though one is being a legalist when he emphasizes strict obedience to keeping God's commandments. They feel as though the strictly obedient lack true spirituality. Why? They equate strict obedience with Pharisaism.

If that is true what do you do with Jesus? Has there ever been a stricter legalist if commandment keeping is your definition of being a legalist? Think a long time about that before answering. Was Jesus a legalist and unspiritual? Is that what a man is today if he follows in the footsteps of Jesus trying to obey every commandment of God?

Paul told the Corinthians, and thus by extension, to you and me, to "imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ." (1 Cor. 11:1 NKJV) In John 13:15 Jesus said he had given the disciples "an example, that you should do as I have done to you." (NKJV) This was said in reference to a specific act, that of washing the feet, which means being humble enough and servant enough to do the lowest of jobs to be of service to others. Peter spoke of Christ being an example when he said, "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow his steps: 'Who committed no sin, nor was guile found in his mouth.'" (1 Peter 2:21-22 NKJV)

To eat of the bread of life, to eat Jesus' flesh and drink his blood, is to become a faithful dedicated Christian wholly committed to Christ, to his teaching, to his commandments, to follow his example in living life, it is to imbibe his spirit, and become as much like him as is humanly possible. It is to make God's will our personal will in that we want what he wants. Our goal in life is to please him even to the extent of becoming obsessed with doing so. Was not Christ obsessed with pleasing the Father?

In closing it needs to be repeated for emphasis sake that it all begins with gospel obedience and contrary to the thoughts of the denominational world that does include not only faith and repentance but baptism as well. It is only in baptism that we die to sin for it is there where we were crucified with Christ being baptized into his death. Read carefully Rom. 6:2-8 and then read the conclusion of the first gospel sermon ever preached to man--Acts 2:38. If the people of Jesus' day were guilty of rejecting the counsel of God against themselves not being baptized with the baptism of John (see Luke 7:30) how much greater sin do you think he will be guilty who rejects the counsel of Jesus to be baptized for the remission of sins?

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Why People Today Cannot Be Saved Like The Thief On The Cross

I once had an individual ask the question that if baptism is essential for the forgiveness of sins, Acts 2:38, then why did Jesus not tell the rich young ruler that, the one who came to him inquiring, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (Luke 18:18 NKJV) My inquirer asked the wrong question. Why? Because when Jesus was talking to the rich young ruler, he was not talking to you and me. He was speaking directly to a specific individual at a specific time in history.

The only lessons in the account of the rich young ruler that could be made applicable to us today are (1) a man may be very religious but lost and (2) the danger of having a hidden idol in one's heart and putting that ahead of God.

Your salvation and mine do not depend on what Jesus did or did not tell a man living under the law of Moses sometime before Jesus' death on the cross. Our salvation depends on what Jesus says directly to you and me today under his law, the law of Christ, which began to be preached among men beginning on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2. We live under God's new covenant, not his old.

Jesus, in speaking to his disciples after the resurrection, said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." (Luke 24:46-49 ESV)

Luke tells us they were ordered to not depart from Jerusalem, "He ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, 'you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'" (Acts 1:4-5 ESV)

In Acts 2 we see the arrival of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-4) clothing the apostles with power from on high. Peter's sermon that day and in that chapter fulfilled Jesus' earlier proclamation found in Luke 24 "that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." (Luke 24:46-47 ESV)

This gives us a beginning point of both the time and place of the gospel message God has for us today. Those desiring to be saved the way the thief on the cross was saved (by faith without baptism) go back too far, past Jerusalem, past the beginning, back to the law of Moses, and in doing so end up with another gospel if their goal is to be saved that way today. The only way to have the Jerusalem gospel is to preach what Peter did that day beginning in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost. Since hardly anyone is willing to do that today, their gospel is another gospel.

A person who seeks to be saved in a way some individual may have been saved while Christ lived and walked upon the earth is rejecting the Jerusalem gospel--"repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem." That individual's gospel does not originate in Jerusalem and is thus not the gospel of Christ.

A big part of the problem that causes people to misunderstand God's plan of salvation for man is a failure to discern what we call the dispensations. There are 3 as follows: (1) the Patriarchal, (2) the Mosaical, and (3) the Christian. I will deal with the last two as they are relevant to this discussion.

Jesus lived and died under the Mosaical law. Jesus was in the fullness of time "born of a woman, born under the Law." (Gal. 4:4 NAS) When we say Jesus lived a sinless life, what law did he keep perfectly? The law of Moses. In what was the second-to-last utterance Jesus made on the cross, he said, "It is finished!" (John 19:30 NAS) What was finished? What was finished was the fulfillment of the law and the Prophets (which included, of course, his sacrifice on the cross as prophesied, his mission on earth to make himself a sacrifice for the sins of man).

Hear Jesus in Matt. 5:17-18, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished." (ESV) When Jesus drew his last breath on the cross, the Law and the Prophets were fulfilled, either that or Jesus failed in his mission "to fulfill them."

The law of Christ became binding on men as the old law was fulfilled and passed away. The old law of Moses was nailed to the cross. (Col. 2:14) The Christian dispensation of time when men came to live under the law of Christ began when Jesus died. "For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives." (Heb 9:16-17 NKJV)

Jesus "has become a surety of a better covenant." (Heb. 7:22 NKJV) "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one (the law of Moses--DS) obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away." (Heb 8:13 NKJV) "For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law." (Heb 7:12 NKJV)

Many take the thief on the cross as an example for all men regarding salvation (Luke 23:39-43) and say look at him. All he needed was faith. Was Jesus talking to you (or me) or was he talking to the thief on the cross beside him that day approximately 2,000 years ago? Did the thief live under the Christian dispensation or the Mosaical? Had the gospel that was to be preached beginning at Jerusalem yet been preached? Will you disregard the Jerusalem gospel? You will have to if you attempt to be saved as the thief on the cross was.

If Jesus forgave sins in the gospel accounts before his death in a way different from that which sins are forgiven today, what has that to do with me? I live under the New Covenant. So do you.

Speaking to the apostles, Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you." (John 14:26 NAS) Did Jesus lie? Did the Holy Spirit fail to do this with Peter on the day of Pentecost? If you ever wanted to know when Jesus taught baptism for the remission of sins, then Acts 2:38 is one of your answers. Peter spoke by the Holy Spirit, but the Spirit spoke the words of Jesus.

Speaking to the apostles before his death, Jesus said, "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and shall disclose it to you." (John 16:12-14 NAS)

Today we have the completed revelation that Jesus has made to man. The law Jesus has for you and me has now been fully revealed to us. For us today to go back and say it was not always done this way is foolishness. What is that supposed to prove even if it is true, which, by the way, I do not deny? What if the thief on the cross did not have to do what you or I do for salvation? What does that have to do with either you or me?

If we expect to be saved like the thief on the cross, that is about the equivalent of giving Jesus a slap across the face. It is saying, I don't care about your new covenant. You save me like you saved him. Instead of you obeying Jesus, you would have him taking orders from you and obeying you. It does not work that way.

We are bound to live under and obey whatever law is in effect while we live, not when someone else lived. Our job is not to question God but to do as he has told us. No matter what someone else has done or not done in years gone by for salvation, you have the gospel of Christ now, the new covenant, the law of Christ. You are bound to it, to believe and obey it, as am I.

I add a footnote here in closing for clarification. The thief on the cross was not saved because he lived under the law of Moses or kept it in any fashion. He was saved because the Lord extended him grace. In our day, the Lord's grace is extended to us in the gospel. To reject the gospel is to reject God's grace.

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