Consider this Parable

The Kingdom of Heaven will be comparable to ten childrenbitten by snakes in a post-apocalyptic world.All of them were told by doctorsthe venom was harmless.   However, five of them doubted.  They studied the pre-apocalyptic writings to see if what their doctors said was true.  To their astonishment, they discovered their doctors were wrong and that the venom was, although slow-acting, indeed always fatal.  They also discovered that a rich man who lived far away had the antidote.  But he did not sell the antidote, but only gave it to those who demonstrated a meritorious life.

In this parable, the venom is sin, grace is the antidote and Jesus is the owner of the antidote.  The doctors are the religious leaders of most churches and the children are professing Christians.Graceis not available for sale nor can it be earned.  However, the only owner of the antidote gives it freely to those who merit it.Jesus said the majority of people will be condemned on Judgment Day (Mat 7:13-14).  This is because most people will not merit favor (ie grace).    The difficult thing is the duality of grace.  Initially, grace is merited by simply believing in Jesus.  Jesus compared it to being added as a branch to a vine (only faith in Jesus is required here).  John 15.  But afterward, the branch must growand produce fruit or it will be removed from the vine and burned.  In order to produce fruit, the branch must continue to obey Jesus and do good works (faith alone is not sufficient here).

Why and How Do Catholics and Evangelicals Misunderstand Grace?

Jan Hus, a Czech Catholic priest in Prague, was burned at the stake for heresy by the Catholic Church in 1415 AD.  Hus was critical of the Roman Catholic teachings on papal infallibility and indulgences.  Hus taught only God could forgive sins and not the priests or Pope and that only Scripture was infallible and not the Pope.  Hus means “goose” in Czech and one of the things he said before he died was,“You are going to burn a goose, but in one hundred years you will have a swan which you can neither roast nor boil.”True to the prophecy, it seems, another Catholic priest, Martin Luther, took up Jan Hus’ mantle by nailing the 95 Theses to the church door in Wittenberg in 1517 AD.  Luther was well-aware of the Catholic’s habit of burning heretics at the stake and only avoided Hus’ fate because Frederick the Wise, a German Elector defied the Holy Roman Emperor’s Edict of Worms which declared Luther a heretic and that no one in the Empire could provide him food or shelter and that all of his books were to be burned.  Frederick the Wise never met Luther personally, but he was present when Luther refused to recant at the Diet of Worms in 1521 and was impressed by Luther’s passion and intelligence.   Frederick the Wise believed Luther was wrongly persecuted and innocent of any serious crime.  It was during these early years of being an outlaw, hidden away in one of Frederick the Wise’s castles, that Luther translated the New Testament into German, for the first time.  Each New Testament book had a preface with Luther’s opinions being the commentary.

The Roman Catholic Church’s teachings on grace are Sacramental.  “Sacrament” means “channel of grace.”  There are seven Sacraments in the Catholic Church, which according to Catholic theology were instituted by Jesus Christ and entrusted to the Church. Sacraments are visible rites seen as signs and efficacious channels of the grace of God to all those who receive them with the proper disposition:Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders, and Matrimony.

So, a Sacrament is a channel of grace.  Remember, the goal of the Constantinian Hybrid (or as Tolstoy referred to it, “official Christianity”) is to create a homogeneous society and forbid a composite one.  In order to achieve this, choice must be removed.  Everyone from the newest infant to the King must be Christian.  Thus, baptism was changed from an adult decision to choiceless infant baptism.  Eucharist or Communion was changed to require an ordained Priest.  Only at the ordained Priest’s blessing does the bread and wine change to the body and the blood.  While confirmation, “a channel of grace”, which is nowhere found in Scripture is also required as a corollary to infant baptism.  Instead of baptism requiring a decision, confirmation is needed to confirm a decision already made that was never actually made by the confirming person.  In any case, the homogeneous choiceless society required by the Catholic Hybrid is achieved by removing choice from the gospel.  The Sacraments are a way for the Catholic Church to maintain a monopoly on grace; the only antidote for sin.  This was and still is Catholic dogma.

Also, a legitimate “channel of grace” that is glaringly absent from the Catholic list is seeking and saving the lost.  Many of Jesus’ parables have to do with producing fruit (wheat and the tares, laborers in the Vineyard, and talents) and one form of fruit that Jesus will be looking for is whether you actively called sinners to repent and become disciples of Jesus?   Indeed, Jesus said, “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”  Jesus called the first disciples with “follow me and I will make you fishers of men.” And the last command He gave was “go and make disciples of all nations…teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”But there is no need for seeking and saving the lost in the Constantinian Hybrid aka the Catholic Church.  Since the Constantinian Hybrid is a homogeneous society, everyone is a Christian and there is no need for evangelism or a channel of grace for it.

As Luther sat in Frederick’s Castle and translated the Bible into German, he was looking for a different understanding of grace.   He had to find a way to break the Catholic monopoly on it, otherwise, he, as a heretic was outside of God’s grace.   He found the solution in the book of Romans.  Luther made two innovations to the book of Romans.  First, Luther changed the definition of “law” from the Mosaic Law to law in general.  Second, Luther changed the definition of grace from merited favor to unmerited favor.  With that, Romanswas no longer the epistle of Paul, but the epistle of Luther.  In Luther’s desire for this new understanding he went so far as to actually add the word alone to Romans 3:28 “For we maintain that a person is justified by faith [alone] apart from works [b]of the Law.”  When confronted by the Catholic theologians about this intentional error, Luther responded “Returning to the issue at hand, if your Papist wishes to make a great fuss about the word ‘alone’ (sola), say this to him: ‘Dr. Martin Luther will have it so and he says that a papist and an ass are the same thing.’  I will it, I command it; my will is reason enough.”  And, of course, Luther also infamously called the book of James “the epistle of straw” in his preface because it contradicts his interpretation of Romans, “But are you willing to acknowledge, you foolish person, that faith without works is useless?”  James 2:26.  I believe Luther’s mistake in defining law and grace in his preface was unintentional, but the consequences were devastating.

What Luther failed to understand was that Paul’s entire purpose in writing Romans was to address the preeminent controversy of the early church:  did the gentiles need to obey the Mosaic law in order to be Christian or not?Until Cornelius and his household, everyone following Jesus was both a follower of the Mosaic Law and a follower of Jesus.  But with the first gentiles, a controversy arose.  Some followers of Jesus demanded that the gentile converts obey the Law of Moses in addition to obeying Jesus’ teachings.  The purpose of the first Jerusalem Council was to resolve this controversy.  Acts 15.  And the main theme of the epistle of Romans was also Paul’s continued attempt to show that the gentile Roman converts to Christianity did not have to obey the Law of Moses.

But in Luther’s preface to Romans, he begins by defining the term “Law” and makes no mention of the Mosaic Law, but instead mistakenly defines “Law” as law in general. One of the other terms Luther defines in his preface is “grace” and he says this, “However, since we believe in Christ and have the beginning of the Spirit, God is favourably inclined and gracious to us, so much so that He will not regard nor condemn our sins, but deal with us in accordance with our faith in Christ, until sin is slain.”   This is how Luther concludes his definition of grace.  But is it true,“He will not regard nor condemn our sins, but deal with us in accordance with our faith in Christ”?  So, no matter how often I sin, God will always forgive me as long as I have faith in Jesus?   Although Luther argues in his preface the only merit required to gain God’s grace is abstract faith nearly every use of the word “karis” in the Old and New Testament contradicts Luther’s definition.  Here are two examples:

But Noah found favor [karis] in the eyes of the Lord. These are the records of the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, [h]blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God. Genesis 6:8-9

So she fell on her face, bowed down to the ground, and said to him, ‘Why have I found favor [karis] in your eyes, that you should take notice of me, since I am a stranger?”  And Boaz answered and said to her It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done with your mother in law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your moterh and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know yesterday or the day before.  May the Lord repay your work and may a full reward be given you by the Lord God.”  Ruth 2

So, tell me, was Noah shown grace for an abstract faith?  No.  Noah found favor because he was righteous and blameless and then obeyed God by building the ark.  Or Ruth, was she shown grace for an abstract faith?  No.  It was Ruth’s extraordinary love for her mother in lawto the point of forsaking her own ethnic people to stay with Naomi and the God she had taught her about.  Luther is very wrong.  Faith alone is not impressive to God. Indeed, “You believe that [a]God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”  James 2:19

Grace is Best Understood Through Jesus’ Parables

“But as for you, do not be called [e]Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. 9 And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called [f]leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. 11One is your teacher the Christ and do not call anyone your father and do not be called teacher.” Matthew 23.  Remember what Peter said about Paul, “He [Paul] writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.”  2 Peter 3:16.   Unfortunately, Peter was right:  Luther’s interpretation of Paul’s Roman epistle was distorted and has led millions to their eternal destruction.

Consider Jesus’ parables.

The wheat and tares:  the wheat is gathered into the barn and the tares are burned.  Why?  Because the tares did not produce good works (ie wheat).  The wheat does not represent just an abstract faith.

The Sheep and the goats: the goats did not give food to the hungry or water to the thirsty or visit the sick or imprisoned, but the sheep are shown grace because they do (not because the believe).

The ten bridesmaids:the foolish virgins ran out of oil and the wise did not.  The oil represents doing good works.  The wise virgins are shown grace because they continue to do good works until the bridegroom arrives, but the foolish virgins are not shown grace because they don’t. Methodius writing in AD 248 said, “But five were foolish and unwise, for they did not have enough foresight to fill their vessels with oil – remaining destitute of righteousness.”  In the Apostolic Constitutions, compiled in 390 AD, it says, “Prepare your works for your exit, and provide all things beforehand in the field.  Otherwise, some of the things necessary for your journey will be lacking, just as the oil of holiness was deficient in the five foolish virgins.”   The foolish virgins didn’t lose faith, they stopped being righteous and doing good works and thus were not shown grace.

Wedding feast:the wedding guest not wearing his wedding clothes was bound hand and foot and thrown out into the darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Matt 22:1-14“He also made it clear that, after our calling we should also be adorned with works of righteousness, so that the Spirit of God may rest upon us.  For this is the wedding garment.”Iranaeus 180 AD.  Jesus extends grace to those wearing the wedding garment and not to those who are not.  So merited favor is given to those who do works of righteousness (this is the wedding garment).

Workers in the Vineyard:  the workers are all, even the ones who did not work very long, shown merited favor and they receive the denarius at the end of the day (eternal life).  But impliedly those who do not work in the vineyard are not given grace and they do not receive the denarius (ie eternal life).  Matt 21:31-41

Perhaps Jesus clearest teaching on how grace is merited can be found in John 15. Jesus said, “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 [a]prunes it so that it may bear more fruit…If anyone does not remain in Me, he is thrown away like a branch and dries up; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”  Jesusdid not say the Father will prune you off the Vine if you lose faith.  Jesus saidthe Father will prune you off the Vine if you do not bear fruit (ie works of righteousness).  Or another very clear teaching from the Master is found at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.  The man who built his house on the sand and is destroyed represents the foolish man who hears Jesus’ teachings but DOES NOT DO them.  The man who built his house on the rock and was not destroyed represents the wise man who heard Jesus’ teachings and DOES them.   According to Jesus,an abstract faith is not enough, you have to DO what He says.You have been duped by Luther’s gospel that advocates “I sin everyday so what is the point of trying.”  The point of trying and doing is so that you are not a foolish man, but a wise man and that you do not get pruned off the Vine and thrown into the fire for not abiding in Jesus.

However, Luther’s teachings on grace received rapid acceptance in the German and Scandinavian world.  The German royalty chafed under the reign and taxation of the Holy Roman Emperor and here, at last, with Luther’s translation of the New Testament into German and his alternate explanation of grace, was the pretext they needed to refuse the payment of taxes and to convert church property to the state.  Luther’s new view on grace freed them from the Sacramental monopoly and made individual faith the sole necessary ‘’channel of grace.”  Of course, the German princes still wanted to maintain a homogeneous society devoid of choice.  So, the Constantinian Hybrid became the Lutheran Hybrid.  The German secular rulers still worked hand in glove with the state Lutheran church to prevent unauthorized preaching and murdered “heretics” and enforced infant baptism and confirmation.  Everyone from the newest baby to the King must be Lutheran.  What followed was almost 100 years of incessant war.  After the first war in 1555, the Treaty of Augsburg officially ended the religious struggle between the Holy Roman Emperor and theSchmalkaldic Leagueand made the legal division of Christianity permanent within the Holy Roman Empire, allowing rulers to choose either Lutheranism or Roman Catholicism as the official confession of their state.Yet, this was not the end of the wars between the Hybrids, the peace was short lived and followed by the Eighty Years’ War in 1566–1648, the French Wars of Religion in 1562–1598, and the Thirty Years’ War in 1618–1648.

Are we playing Semantics: is there Really a Difference between Works Oriented Salvation and Merited Favor?

What is the difference between doing works and meriting favor?  Are we playing semantics?  Paul does say, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.”  Ephesians 2:8-9.  Yet, Jesus’ parables seemto indicate that works are required in order to merit favor.

Paul, begins Romans by saying he is “a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, [a]called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” Romans 1.  A “bond-servant” is a slave.  Jesus also explains that to be one of His disciples (ie a Christian) is to be His slave.  “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? 8 On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly [h]clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and [i]afterward you [j]may eat and drink’? 9 He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? 10 So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are [k]unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’” Luke 10When you get baptized and give your good confession,“Jesus is Lord” you become His slave.Does a Master expect his slave to work hard?  Yes.  Does a Master ever owe a slave anything for the work he does?  No.  But a slave can merit the Master’s favor by being an excellent slave.  These are the slaves who will be shown grace on Judgment Day.

And behold, a [n]lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 And He said to him, “What is written in the Law? [o]How does it read to you?” 27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God [p]with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And He said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.” 29 But wanting to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”  Luke 10  What is often overlooked, is Jesus accepted the lawyer’s premise that eternal life is an inheritance gift.  Have you ever considered what this means?  Let me give you an analogy.

Say for instance there was a wealthy billionaire.  In his Will he names his son John as his beneficiary.  But there are conditions.  The wealthy man’s Will states that John will receive his inheritance conditioned upon 1) he must always reside in California 2) never be convicted of a felony and 3) obtain a bachelor’s degree.   When the wealthy man dies, the Will is read.  Only if John satisfied the 3 conditions in the Will, does he inherit.  So, did heearn his inheritance or was it a gift?  After all, John had to study diligently in order to receive the bachelor’s degree.   Yet, even though these conditions required some work, I hope you will agree that doing these three things did not earn him billions of dollars in inheritance.  No.  The inheritance is a gift, yes a conditional one, but still a gift.  Jesus is similar to the billionaire.   The conditions for receiving God’s inheritance (ie eternal life)are  1)  Love the lord with all your heart 2)treat your neighbor as yourself.   You merit grace, not by having an abstract faith like Luther asserts or doing the seven sacraments as the Catholics do.  In essence the Sermon on the Mount is the specific ways you can love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.

Conclusion

Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.  In Revelations, Jesus says to the church in Ephesus, “Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the [d]deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent.” Rev 2:4-5
The lampstand is grace or merited favor.  It clearly requires that you do the “deeds you did at first” or your lampstand (ie grace) will be removed.  It is the same Jesus that told John the parable of the Vine and the Branches John 15.  Having your lampstand removed is not a matter of faith, but of deeds.

Upon careful consideration, the Bible, very closely resembles JRR Tolkien’s the Hobbit.  The gospel, in essence, is a call to adventure, a dangerous one, but one in which Jesus promises, I will be with you always to the very end of the age.  Matthew 28:20.   And yes, very similarly, there is even a dragon waiting at the end (Rev 12:9-10) for those brave enough to follow the Master on the long journey to challenge him.

Grace and Truth