Sermon: Simply, the Not so Simple Gospel

Sermon: Simply, the Not so Simple Gospel.

What is truly going on in Christianity? One brother murders another brother. One group persecutes another group. One hates and one loves; the loving brother dying in the arms of the brother who killed him. Because both are brothers and share the same last name would it be wise to stay away from both the brothers? If parents get a divorce and one is malicious and vindictive should we not have fellowship with the loving and kind parent? Hmmmm... It sounds like the conflict between the Gospel and the not so Gospel; the good news and the not so good news. One brings goods news of hope and joy and one brings control and bondage. Just like the conflict during the birth of the United States of America. Therefore, should we stay out of the conflict or fight to gain our freedoms? Jesus said "I have not came to bring peace but a sword." Should we be courageous and fight or find some other reason to stay out of this conflict? The choice is ours. So what I would like to do is disseminate the Gospel and look at this conflict and see what side is what? Are we siding with the evil brother and the oppressors or are we siding with the loving brother, whose fight is for the freedom for all and the risk of his own life?

This is the age old conflict in Christianity. This struggle in Christianity is over what truly is the right Gospel. Even the apostle Paul had a problem in his day with two Gospels. Paul speaks of this a lot in Galatians, Romans and the other letters to the peoples of Asia and Europe about this conflict.

First, I want to make a premise that there is such a conflict. Second, of all I want to look at the players of this conflict. Third, I want to look at there actions. Forth, I want to look at each side’s teachings and Scriptural definitions of words by the Scriptures. Fifth, I want to look at Scripture's ramifications (or eternal consequences) of each group. And then sixth, I will conclude with similarities of today's participants in this struggle between the two gospels.

The premises I want to use is the authority of the word of God. Therefore, I use a lot of Scriptures. I will try not to add too much of my own understanding, but will have to write to show you where I am going.

First of all, the premises for that there is such a struggle in Christianity. Paul writes in Galatians that there are two covenants.

Gal 4:24a These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants.

So, clearly hear we have two covenants.

Gal 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the slave woman and the other by the free woman.
Gal 4:23 His son by the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but his son by the free woman was born as the result of a promise.
Gal 4:24 These things may be taken figuratively, for the women represent two covenants. One covenant is from Mount Sinai and bears children who are to be slaves: This is Hagar.
Gal 4:25 Now Hagar stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present city of Jerusalem, because she is in slavery with her children.
Gal 4:26 But the Jerusalem that is above is free, and she is our mother.

First of all, Paul makes a spiritual premise for interpreting Scripture as figurative, but he is not saying that these things didn’t happen, but we can use Old Testament Scripture to write about this war that is going on. So, here we have two covenants and Paul says in the beginning of Galatians 5 that this war is really important to understand and we are to stand firm and not let ourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. And if we don’t stand the consequences will be alienation from Christ.

Gal 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Gal 5:2 Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
Gal 5:3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.
Gal 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.

So this is very important that we understand these things. Plus Paul tells us that if we preach another Gospel we could be eternally condemned.

Gal 1:8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
Gal 1:9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

This is some heavy duty serious stuff. Also in the above passage we see that there is more than one gospel or good news so this is the second witness about this war. Since, Galatians was written during the time of the apostles this war was going on just shortly after Christ was crucified. Now you can easily find other Scripture references to show that this war was going on during the beginning of the Church age.

[Paul should know about this war since he was once a man who killed Christians. Paul has a unique perspective]

Now on to the Second section: Who are the players in this age old struggle? Well we are talking about Christians, preachers of the gospels. As Paul said above, if anyone comes to you and preaches another gospel let him… Who are the preachers of the gospel? Christians. You see Abraham had two sons. Both the preachers of the gospels are sons of Abraham; both are his children. So, who are the players in this age old struggle? Us Christians; we are the players, we are the participants. You see both had the same father, but they had different mothers; they had different gospels, they had different covenants. We try to make the enemy out their somewhere, they enemy is our brother, or in some of our cases we are the enemy. So how do we tell if we are the enemy or our brother?

In this third section I want to look at each brother’s actions. Paul said that the son born of the slave woman persecuted the son born of the free woman.

Gal 4:29 At that time the son born in the ordinary way persecuted the son born by the power of the Spirit. It is the same now.

So, the son of the slave woman persecutes the son of the free woman. So, persecuting is one of the actions of the slave woman. Where is the first place we find a story of two brothers? Genesis chapter 4, Cain and Abel. Cain was born first and Abel was the second. Both were religious or had a relationship with God. Abel was blessed and Cain Caught upset about it and killed Abel. Its not like Abel sabotaged Cain’s offering. Cain’s offering was not accepted his face became downcast and then Cain Abel into a secret meeting (away from the Lord) and killed his brother. Jesus said the Devil was a murder from the beginning and a liar.

Jn 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

So, the sons of the covenant of the slave woman persecute, murdering and lie. We see this conflict also demonstrated between Jacob and Esau, King Saul and King David, the Pharisees and Jesus. You see the Pharisees thought they were the children of Abraham also.

Mt 3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?
Mt 3:8 Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.
Mt 3:9 And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.

Even Jews who believed in Jesus thought they were Children of Abraham.

Jn 8:31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples.
Jn 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Jn 8:33 They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?”
Jn 8:34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
Jn 8:35 Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.
Jn 8:36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
Jn 8:37 I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word.
Jn 8:38 I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard from your father.’”
Jn 8:39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did.

Check this out, these are people who believed in Jesus (see Jn 8:31) were actually the children of the devil.

Jn 8:39 “Abraham is our father,” they answered. “If you were Abraham’s children,” said Jesus, “then you would do the things Abraham did.
Jn 8:40 As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things.
Jn 8:41 You are doing the things your own father does.”“We are not illegitimate children,” they protested. “The only Father we have is God himself.”
Jn 8:42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me.
Jn 8:43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
Jn 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Jn 8:45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!
Jn 8:46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me?
Jn 8:47 He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

And at the end of this passage these same Jews try to kill Jesus.

Jn 8:59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

You see this war has been going on since the time of Adam and Eve. This war is between god and the Devil; between two covenants, between two trees. The Devils belief system of right and wrong, the tree of knowledge of good and evil and the tree of God, the tree of life.

The two covenants are on two different mind sets. One is on power and control the other is on love. What is murder, lies and persecution got in common? Power and control. “If you can’t control them, kill them” says the son of the covenant of the slave woman. If you can’t kill them without getting in trouble, excommunicate them.

Jn 12:42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue;
Jn 12:43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.

So, here we have a synagogues or churches (as we call them today) putting people out of their churches because they believed in Jesus and these same people were reprimanded as having love of the praises of men over the praises of God. Which reminds me, which man started the first building project? Cain.

Ge 4:17 Cain lay with his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch.

Who were the first religious people to start a community worship center? Babel

Ge 11:1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
Ge 11:2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
Ge 11:3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
Ge 11:4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
Ge 11:5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower that the men were building.
Ge 11:6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.
Ge 11:7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”
Ge 11:8 So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.
Ge 11:9 That is why it was called Babel—because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

It doesn’t say that these people were evil. They were just like any good religious person, we want security in this world. But God said in Genesis 1:28

Ge 1:28 God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.

How many temples or buildings of worship did Jesus create? Maybe one, The Temple and that was portable. How many building projects did the disciples create? So, this can be a sign of a person who is frustrated and insecure. Plus, building projects can drain resources and keep our focus on the build instead of reaching the tasks before us. And these buildings we tend to name after the person or doctrine that started the revival. We name them after the covenant we are under; a certain spiritual person who was the mother of that covenant and gave it birth. We are like the children of Babel that do not wish to be spread all over the earth. Jesus said to the Pharisees,

Mt 23:29 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.

So, the children of the covenant of the slave woman are the children who walk in sin and proclaim a gospel but if you don’t agree and help them and let them have their way then they try to persecute, lie, kill, steal and destroy, so they can build their church buildings. Now if there are people in that church or organization who truly love and follow Jesus are they evil? No. They may just not see what they are in. Are all building projects evil? No. Who did Jesus demand a 10% tithe from? See, if people are placing fear on you to do something or God does not accept you then beware. God loves you and perfect love casts out fear. If you love then you are not concerned if you get anything back. If a man truly loves his wife and brings her flowers to delight her, he doesn’t demand repayment. How many parents give their children a plate of food and demand 10% of it back. But, it is so wonderful if a child does say to you, “I love you mommy or daddy and I want to share my last cookie with you.” You know that came out of love. If your husband says to you “Here I brought you flowers but to get them you have to…” You’ll be like, “Kiss my left lily livered liposuctioned lower gluteus maximus.” You see, one gospel deals with manipulating us by fear or by our fleshly wants.

2Ti 3:6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires,

See the last part; they are swayed by all kind of evil desires. A con man can easily sway a greedy man but a content man who can sway by greed. You see, con men tell you some great deal and then get you fearing you’re going to miss it if you don’t buy in right now. If you give to us you will get great rewards, but if you don’t give now then you will be condemned and wish you will have given when you could.

Now, is giving to your local church wrong? Are you giving out of love for people or are you giving out of fear or greed? This is the difference between the two gospels, one works on the basis of good and evil. If you don’t give you are evil. Guilt. Guilt. Guilt. The other gospel says, “Are you doing everything through love. For the only thing that counts is faith expressing it through love. A great example of this is when Jesus is talking to Peter,

Mt 17:24 After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Doesn’t your teacher pay the temple tax ?”
Mt 17:25 “Yes, he does,” he replied. When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. “What do you think, Simon?” he asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes—from their own sons or from others?”
Mt 17:26 “From others,” Peter answered. “Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus said to him.
Mt 17:27 “But so that we may not offend them, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours.”

But, so that we might not offend them? The temple tax was required by the old covenant law just as much as tithing was.

Ex 30:15 The rich are not to give more than a half shekel and the poor are not to give less when you make the offering to the LORD to atone for your lives.

Ex 30:16 Receive the atonement money from the Israelites and use it for the service of the Tent of Meeting. It will be a memorial for the Israelites before the LORD, making atonement for your lives.”

In the NT period Jewish men from everywhere sent an offering of a half shekel (actually two drachmas, its equivalent; see Josephus, Antiquities, 3.8.2)
So, we have Paul telling us,.

Gal 5:3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

Paul is using circumcision as one of the demands of the law. But what did he mean by the term law? Was it little ‘l’ or was it big ‘L’ The LAW? Well in Greek there are no capitals so it hard to say directly by the text but if we look at Romans we see Paul giving us some examples.

Ro 7:1 Do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to men who know the law—that the law has authority over a man only as long as he lives?

So, here Paul is talking about the law. Is it just the ceremonial law dealing with religious holidays, washing, what not to eat and circumcision or is he talking about the LAW all of it, all the ceremonial and all the 613 laws and the Ten Commandments? Well lets see.

Ro 7:2 For example, by law a married woman is bound to her husband as long as he is alive, but if her husband dies, she is released from the law of marriage.
Ro 7:3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress. But if her husband dies, she is released from that law and is not an adulteress, even though she marries another man.

What is the law of marriage and adultery? Is it one of the ceremonial laws? No. One of the religious holiday, washing or eating laws? Or is this one of the ten commandments? What is the seventh commandment? Anyone?

Ex 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.
Therefore, on to what Paul was saying in verse 4

Ro 7:4 So, my brothers, you also died to the LAW through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit to God. (Capitals added for clarification)

We are no longer in need of teaching of what is good and evil; we are in need of following and being led by Jesus.

Ro 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
Gal 5:23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no LAW. (Capitals added for clarification)

Ro 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under LAW but under grace? By no means!

Romans 7 is not the only Scripture that talks about the Ten Commandments and that we are free from them. Look at Colossians 2:16-17

Col 2:16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.
Col 2:17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

Sabbath Day? The Sabbath was the 4th of the ten Commandments.

Ex 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
Ex 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Ex 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates.
Ex 20:11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

So here in Colossians we are told not to let anyone judge you by a Sabbath day. If you say he was talking that they were actually not to let anyone judge when they did keep the Sabbath then if they were keeping the Sabbath and we are to keep it also, then by that logic they were not to let anyone judge them because they were keeping the New Moon Celebrations and if they were keeping them then you have been sinning because you are not keeping the New Moon celebrations. And if the New Moon celebrations are valid then you also must keep all the rest of the festival also for Paul says,

Gal 5:3 Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.

So, if we try to obey one part of the law then we have to obey it all. Then he goes on to say to us,

Gal 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by LAW have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Capitals added for clarification)

Heavy duty stuff. Third reference to the ten Commandments is in Romans 7 also.

Ro 7:7 What shall we say, then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! Indeed I would not have known what sin was except through the law. For I would not have known what coveting really was if the law had not said, “Do not covet.”
Ro 7:8 But sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, produced in me every kind of covetous desire. For apart from law, sin is dead.

Coveting is the 10th commandment of the Ten Commandments.

Ex 20:17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

So, Scripture eliminates three of the Ten Commandments; the forth, seventh and tenth, adultery, the Sabbath and coveting. But, I again go back to the Scripture,
Ro 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!

Ro 13:8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law.
Ro 13:9 The commandments, “Do not commit adultery,” “Do not murder,” “Do not steal,” “Do not covet,” and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Ro 13:10 Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Ro 13:11 And do this, understanding the present time. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

So, here we also have do not murder eliminated. Do not murder is the sixth commandment.

Ex 20:13 “You shall not murder.

Those who are led by the Spirit, love and bring the good news to you. Those who are led by power and control bring the good news about themselves. If you follow me, if you give to me, if you… then God will. And if God doesn’t then either you do not have enough faith or you’re in sin.

1Jn 3:10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.

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