Christian doctrine

Social Justice and the Gospel: 7 – Justice Is Based On God’s Law

To date we have not attempted to look at the broad topic of Biblical justice. We have focused on examining Social Justice, and have observed that a chief goal, both inside and outside of the church, is to eradicate racial inequality. But justice is more than racial equality.

So now we will attempt to define justice in accordance with the Scriptures. Here is the definition of justice we will seek to prove:

To do justice is to do the Law of God.

In other words, for a society to be just, it must be ruled by the commandments of God. This applies to both the private and public sectors. To base a definition of justice on anything other than the Law of God is to relativize justice and to have it be a matter of “might makes right”. If justice is subjectively defined by the individual or by society, then the people with the power get to define it and justice is inherently capricious (which is another way of saying justice is inherently unjust).

With this in mind, examining Biblical justice is quite simple in concept: go through the Law of God and see what He says. The more a society’s legislation matches the Law of God, the more just the society is. The more a society’s thoughts, words and deeds align with said legislation, the more just the society is. So an unjust society is therefore caused by unjust laws or by not following just laws.

The words of Christ help us start our understanding of God’s Law, for He gives us a succinct definition of what it means to be just:

But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22: 34 – 40)

Here Jesus defines the whole of the Law as “love God, love neighbor.” From this we immediately know any society that is not orienting its heart toward Jesus Christ is fundamentally unjust, for that society is fundamentally not loving God. Furthermore, we know immediately that any society not predicated upon loving one’s neighbor is fundamentally unjust, for they are breaking the second great command.

But the commands to love God and to love neighbor are overarching principles – they lack sufficient detail to allow one to assess whether a particular word, thought, or deed actually qualifies as loving God or neighbor. More detail is needed to discern whether justice is being upheld or injustice is occurring. For this next level of detail we turn to the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments provide more clarity as to what it means to love God and love neighbor. In fact, theologians have divided the Ten Commandments into two parts, recognizing that one part correlates with loving God and the other part correlates with loving neighbor.

Commandment	How to Love	Description
1	God	You shall have no other gods
2	God	You shall not make for yourself an idol
3	God	You shall not take the name of the Lord in vain
4	God	Remember the Sabbath
5	Neighbor	Honor your father and your mother
6	Neighbor	You shall not murder
7	Neighbor	You shall not commit adultery
8	Neighbor	You shall not steal
9	Neighbor	You shall not bear false witness
10	Neighbor	You shall not covet

Let us look now at the commandments relating to loving neighbor, and compare them to our current society:

Commandment	Public Violation
Honor your father and your mother	Scoffing at the nuclear family, denial of objective definitions of man and woman, father and mother
You shall not murder	Legalized murder via abortion, unjust wars
You shall not commit adultery	Sexual Immorality of all varieties
You shall not steal	Overreaching governmental taxation and fees, corporate fraud / insurance fraud, unjust weights and measures in the marketplace
You shall not bear false witness	Mass media, social media
You shall not covet	Social ideologies justifying those with less to be angry at those with more

American society regularly breaks every commandment related to loving neighbor. This is not to say each and every individual does, but it is to say that, so far as man is able to discern without divine revelation, God can charge America with corporate sin for complete and utter profanation of the Ten Commandments. We infer that since America regularly breaks all the commandments related to loving neighbor, it also inherently breaks all the commandments related to loving God. After all, does not James tell us this?

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2: 10)

America has stumbled at more than one point, so how much more is America guilty of all.

But convicting America at large of injustice is different than convicting the body of Christ in America of injustice. This series on Social Justice is focused on the body of Christ, for we know that secular society is unjust, whether along the lines of racial issues or otherwise. But is the American church unjust, as Social Justice Advocates say? If we are to be consistent, we need to remind ourselves of what was said in a prior post: only God can truly charge a corporate body with sin. And only God truly knows the boundary and population of a corporate body. We previously concluded, based on a study of the seven churches in Revelation, that it is not proper to put all of the American church into one large corporate body. A church from the Deep South is going to be different than a church from the Pacific Northwest. And the history of racial injustice is far greater in the Deep South than the Pacific Northwest.

From our mortal perspective, corporate analysis of justice must occur on a localized basis. The starting point is obviously an individual congregation. The corporate body you should have most familiarity with is your local church body. Compare what you know of your church body to the Ten Commandments. Does injustice reign? Is your congregation led by, or full of, adulterers, coveters, liars, thieves, people speaking false things in God’s name, people denying that Christ is the only way to God? Or is it led by, and full of, people who were those things before they came to Christ, and who are now redeemed and living godly lives?

In summary:

Justice is based on God’s Law.
God’s law at the highest level is love God, love neighbor.
The next level down is the Ten Commandments.

Let us look for justice, or injustice, in our local congregations first. If the church family we are a part of does not live according to God’s Law, then we are in no position to deal with other congregations likewise failing in that endeavor. For Jesus says, after all:

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. (Matthew 7: 3 – 5)

Social Justice and the Gospel: 6 – The Generational Sin of Racism

Generational Sin is the deus ex machina of Christian Social Justice.

For those not familiar with the term, it means “god from the machine” and was a plot device of the ancient Greek theater. If the storyline of a Greek play contained a difficult, seemingly unresolvable problem, resolution would occur by lowering an actor (playing the role of a god) onto the stage via a crane (the machine). The god would use his supernatural ability to resolve the situation that was otherwise unresolvable by ordinary human means.

If we think of Christian Social Justice as a Greek tragedy, the seemingly unresolvable problem is making white American Christians today culpable for the sins of prior generations. There is so much in the Bible about individuals being responsible for their own sins, and for corporate bodies being localized and responsible for their own corporate sin, that it would seem virtually impossible to make all white American Christians today responsible for the sins of many white American Christians of yesterday. As we look up into the air of this tragedy wondering how this problem of blame will be resolved, we see descending from on high the doctrine of Generational Sin. Let us define the doctrine as follows:

The Bible teaches that you can be cursed by the sins of your ancestors. It is a curse so powerful that it cannot be lifted by the blood of Christ. The way to lift the curse is to peer into your genealogical history and discover what your ancestral sins were, and then to actively do deeds of repentance that correspond to the sins committed by your ancestors.

In the best-selling book Be The Bridge, which allegedly deals with racial reconciliation from a Christian perspective, author Latasha Morrison tells us about Deanna. Her grandfather was in the KKK and he was the son of racists. He committed many evil deeds against black people, including murder. On his deathbed he confessed to the murder he committed and it brought shame to Deanna. She lived with this shame for years. And it was not her identity in Christ that helped her get rid of the shame of her family’s history, once she came to Christ. It was only after becoming a Christian and then participating in reconciliation activities where she was able to finally rid herself of the guilt and shame of her grandfather’s sin.

Deanna shared the story, telling how she carried the shame and embarrassment of her family’s racist past for years. It wasn’t until after Deanna placed her faith in Christ that she began to come to terms with the truth. It was an uphill battle because the shame was so deep and the familial division even deeper. She felt alone until she became a part of a community that shared her heart for racial healing, a group that listened to her without judgment…Deanna will tell you that the process of acknowledgment and lament has been worth every step. It’s freed her from a family legacy of racism and allowed her to enter into the work of bridge building with a clean conscience…If we follow her example, we’ll find ourselves drawn out of complacency and complicit behavior and into the hard work and sorrow that lead us to repentance. If we join her in walking through acknowledgment and lament, we can move into the deep healing of true racial reconciliation.¹

Not once in this anecdote did Deanna or the author implicate Deanna as being a racist herself. All the guilt, all the shame, all the steps of repentance, were necessary because of what Deanna’s grandfather had done. And Deanna can only be held responsible for her grandfather’s sins because of the doctrine of Generational Sin.

This doctrine also finds itself being promoted by The Gospel Coalition, an influential Christian web site. In an article titled “A Burden Removed: A Biblical Path for Removing the Racism of Our Forefathers” ², the pastor offers advice for breaking the curse of the generational sin of racism. This pastor took over a church, they experienced some initial growth, and then membership declined. At some point he and the elders believed they were under a curse from God and so they sought to understand the reason for the decline in membership. It turns out that the church kept meticulous records and the elders were able to review the history of the church and learn that over the course of the church’s history it had actively participated in discrimination against blacks. Even though the current church was no longer racist, they came to the conclusion that they were under a generational curse.

This was the context for the debatable practice of repenting of our forefather’s sins. It sure looked like we were experiencing the fruits of past sins, even though we were no longer racist. It certainly looked like God was “walking contrary” to us. Was repenting for our past sins, sins that no one in the existing congregation participated in, God’s path to restoring the ministry of the gospel among us?

Long story short, they repented of the prior generation’s sins and the curse was removed.

These two examples of Generational Sin were not discovered in the nether regions of Christian publishing. Be the Bridge is a best-selling book and The Gospel Coalition is a very popular web site. Generational Sin is being taught as a legitimate doctrine by influential outlets of Christian discourse, and it is the theological glue being used to attach yesterday’s sins to today’s people.

Before we turn to Scripture to examine the key texts on this issue, let us briefly bring this Social Justice concept of Generational Sin to the point of absurdity. If Generational Sin was true, one of the primary duties of Christian obedience would be historical and genealogical in nature. We would all be obligated to dig into our past and find out what our ancestors may have done (for surely the curse of Generational Sin is not limited to the sin of racism) and then we would be obligated to perform the requisite deeds of repentance. Otherwise, we would be living under a curse and bearing the guilt and shame of our forefathers until the day we die. And I dare not think about orphans or people whose family history is undocumented. Surely, they are destined to be cursed with no possibility of relief.

Surely God has not established such a doctrine, with logical implications so absurd. But we must go to the Scripture to prove the case, and not rely on an argument of absurdity. The proof-text for Generational Sin is found in the words of Moses:

Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.” (Exodus 34: 6 – 7)

Purveyors of Generational Sin point to this passage and say “See, God visits the sins of the fathers onto the children.” And then to prove that the children need to repent for their forefathers’ sins, they use more words from Moses:

If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me…then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land. (Leviticus 26: 40, 42)

With these verses as their foundation, the Social Justice Advocates build the edifice of trans-generational guilt. There is only one problem. Their understanding of Moses’ words is the same understanding as that of ancient Israel, which was an incorrect understanding that God corrected through the prophets Ezekiel and Jeremiah. Israel had this proverb as part of their collective consciousness:

The fathers eat the sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge. (Ezekiel 18: 2)

The gist of the proverb is that the forefathers sinned (ate sour grapes) but the contemporary generation bore the punishment (teeth set on edge). This proverb is rooted in a false interpretation of Moses. God corrects their misinterpretation in Ezekiel 18. Here is a portion of what Ezekiel said:

As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother and did what was not good among his people, behold, he will die for his iniquity. Yet you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity? When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has observed all My statutes and done them, he shall surely live. The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. (Ezekiel 18: 18 – 20)

As if Ezekiel 18 weren’t enough to shed light on what Generational Sin is not, we also have the words of Jeremiah:

In those days they will not say again, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But everyone will die for his own iniquity; each man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth will be set on edge. (Jeremiah 31: 29 – 30)

These two passages from Ezekiel and Jeremiah are the death knell of the Social Justice teaching on Generational Sin. They are a direct refutation of the claim that a group of people are responsible for sins that came before them. To believe in Generational Sin as promoted by Social Justice will require a refutation of Ezekiel and Jeremiah. And until that refutation is made, there is no Biblical basis for Generational Sin. And the words of Ezekiel and Jeremiah, it must be pointed out, are in complete harmony with Moses himself. For he wrote:

Fathers shall not be put to death for their sons, nor shall sons be put to death for their fathers; everyone shall be put to death for his own sin. (Deuteronomy 24: 16)

We know that Moses is not contradicting himself. We know that the prophets are not contradicting Moses. So how are all the passages quoted harmonized? When Moses writes of God visiting the sins of fathers on the children, and of the children needing to repent of their iniquity, those words are spoken to the covenant community of Israel. The children who are visited by their father’s sins are themselves participants in those sins – they are not innocent. God is operating at a covenantal curse level – something we are unable to do as humans. The covenantal curse is enacted after God charges the covenant community with sin and after they have exhausted His patience with their lack of repentance. Sin and punishment at an individual level does not function in the same way. An individual is not held accountable for the sins of his father, and a father is not held accountable for the sins of his son.

The illegitimacy of Generational Sin is important to comprehend, because Generational Sin is the linchpin of the entire framework. The only Biblical reasoning offered for blaming today’s Christians for yesterday’s sins is Generational Sin. If the doctrine is false, there is no Biblical basis, and yesterday’s sins require no repentance from today’s Christians.

This is not to say that the contemporary church is without sin. This is not to say that the contemporary church is to refrain from promoting justice in the social realm. This is not to say that contemporary Christians need to gloss over the historical realities of prior generations participating in wicked deeds. It is only to say that the false premises and false conclusions of Christian Social Justice ought not to bind our consciences and manipulate us into thoughts and behaviors not prescribed in Scripture. We are either responsible for our own sins or we are not. We are either obligated to become historians and genealogists and uncover past hidden sins of our ancestors and lift curses off of ourselves or we are not.

On this matter Moses and the prophets have spoken. But do we believe them?

Chapter 3, excerpts from pages 48 – 50
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabiti-anyabwile/burden-removed-biblical-path-removing-racism-forefathers/

Faith Toward God: 1 – Faith In god Is Not Enough

If someone asked me, “What do you love about your wife?”, and I answered, “She has eyes and a mouth and a nose”, my answer wouldn’t be based on anything unique to her. Such an answer could call into question whether I actually loved my wife, because my reasons for love were based on things common to all women.

Similarly, if someone were to ask a Christian why they have faith in the God of the Bible, the response ought to be based on more than a list of divine attributes any god could possess. Otherwise, one’s faith is not in The God, but a god. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, gives us a list of general qualities that not only the real God possesses, but which many false gods are said to possess:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse…(Romans 1: 20)

For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness…(Romans 2: 14 – 15)

What Paul is saying is that God through creation has revealed the following about Himself:

He is the creator
He is eternal
He is powerful
He has a moral code

Now even though these things are true of the God of the Bible, a Muslim and an Orthodox Jew also believe them. A theist who believes in these four truths is a far cry from a Christian who believes in Yahweh, the God of the Bible, and that Jesus of Nazareth is the incarnate Eternal Son, second person of the Trinity. The Bible is too particular to allow one’s faith to be based only on generally revealed divine attributes. Christians are to believe in a particular God who interacted in history in particular ways. God parted the Red Sea, carried Elijah up to heaven in a whirlwind, and rose from the dead on the third day.

A faith in god, which lacks the particulars of Scripture and is based only on attributes that can be derived from nature, is not enough.

Resurrection of the Dead: 3 – Matter Matters

Suggested Prereading: Resurrection of the Dead 2

The resurrection of the dead proves that matter matters. For if the physical world that God created played no permanent part in His plan, what would be the point of a resurrection? If we are to be raised from the dead, meaning our souls are reunited with our physical bodies, then there must be a physical place for our bodies to reside. The Bible refers to this place as the new heavens and the new earth.

But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3: 13)

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. (Revelation 21: 1 – 4)

These New Testament teachings about new heavens and a new earth are consistent with the Old Testament prophets, who spoke about the Messianic Age to come. According to the prophets, the coming Messiah would establish His eternal kingdom on earth – a renewed earth.

And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. Then in that day the nations will resort to the root of Jesse, who will stand as a signal for the peoples; and His resting place will be glorious. (Isaiah 11: 6 – 10)

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. (Isaiah 9: 6 – 7)

My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd; and they will walk in My ordinances and keep My statutes and observe them. They will live on the land that I gave to Jacob My servant, in which your fathers lived; and they will live on it, they, and their sons and their sons’ sons, forever; and David My servant will be their prince forever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will place them and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in their midst forever. My dwelling place also will be with them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. And the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forever. (Ezekiel 37: 24 – 28)

In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness on the earth. (Jeremiah 33: 15)

And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. (Daniel 7: 14)

And in that day the mountains will drip with sweet wine, and the hills will flow with milk, and all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; and a spring will go out from the house of the LORD to water the valley of Shittim. Egypt will become a waste, and Edom will become a desolate wilderness, because of the violence done to the sons of Judah, in whose land they have shed innocent blood. But Judah will be inhabited forever and Jerusalem for all generations. And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged, for the LORD dwells in Zion. (Joel 3: 18 – 21)

“In that day I will raise up the fallen booth of David, and wall up its breaches; I will also raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old; that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by My name,” declares the LORD who does this. “Behold, days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when the plowman will overtake the reaper and the treader of grapes him who sows seed; when the mountains will drip sweet wine and all the hills will be dissolved. Also I will restore the captivity of My people Israel, and they will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them; they will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. I will also plant them on their land, and they will not again be rooted out from their land which I have given them,” says the LORD your God. (Amos 9: 11 – 15)

And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one. All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem; but Jerusalem will rise and remain on its site from Benjamin’s gate as far as the place of the First Gate to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king’s wine presses. People will live in it, and there will no longer be a curse, for Jerusalem will dwell in security. (Zechariah 14: 9 – 11)

Both Biblical testaments teach that the final destination of God’s people is the starting point – earth. Because we die, and our souls leave earth temporarily, the resurrection of the dead is necessary to bring the righteous souls who have been dwelling with God in heaven back to their earthly bodies. It is on this basis – that God does not do away with His creation but renews it – that we conclude matter matters to God and is a significant part of His eternal plan.

Resurrection of the Dead: 2 – If Resurrection Is Not Reincarnation, The Dalai Lama Is Not The Christ

Suggested Pre-Reading: Resurrection of the Dead 1

It must be pointed out, in light of the distinctions we just made between the Biblical doctrine of the resurrection of the dead and the Buddhist doctrine of reincarnation, that the Dalai Lama is a false prophet.

The claim of the Tibetan religion is that all Dalai Lamas are the reincarnation of the first Dalai Lama. In other words, the initial Dalai Lama was a chosen one – a christ. That initial christ figure was chosen by the spiritual powers to reincarnate again and again and again within Tibet or the near vicinity, to be identified by a group of monks, and to grow up and offer spiritual wisdom and insight to humanity. If there is no such thing as reincarnation, there is no such office as the Dalai Lama, and any claim to be the reincarnated soul of a spiritual leader is, in fact, false.

The Biblical Christ, in contrast to the office of Dalai Lama, is a singular figure foretold by the prophets hundreds of years before he was born. Although the prophets did not link the name of Jesus to the office of Messiah, they gave us so much data about the Messiah that we can look at the life and work of Jesus of Nazareth and conclude that He is the promised one. The prophets said this:

He would be a Son of David.
He would be born in Bethlehem.
He would teach and instruct His people.
He would perform miracles.
He would appear before the destruction of the Jewish temple (70 A.D.).
He would die to atone for sin.
He would be raised from the dead.
He would combine the office of Jewish king and Jewish high priest.
His message would go beyond the borders of Israel and extend to the ends of the earth.
He would bring both Jew and Gentile near to God.

Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled each one of these Messianic prophecies. No one else has even come close. And, since one of the requirements of Messiah is to come before 70 A.D., no one else can come close.

Distinguishing the Biblical teaching of resurrection from reincarnation is not merely an academic exercise – it affects the way we view the world and the spiritual leaders we choose to listen to. The God of the Bible has told us there is no such thing as reincarnation. As a result, life is not cyclical, but linear. We are all proceeding along a straight line to death. Once we die, we will be judged by God based on whether we believed in the Christ He sent, Jesus of Nazareth, or whether we believed in false christs, such as the Dalai Lama. We will not be reincarnated and given another chance in another life to get things right. We will be resurrected from the dead on the Day of Judgment, and we will either reign with God in eternal bliss, or we will be cast to the pits of hell for eternal torment.

When Jesus Christ was crucified, He did not reincarnate three days later in a new body. He rose from the dead in the body He was buried in – proof of the Biblical teaching of the resurrection of the dead and proof that He is the Christ of prophecy.

Resurrection of the Dead: 1 – Resurrection Is Not Reincarnation

For over a year now, we have been working through a list of seven doctrines central to the Christian faith. This list was derived from the fifth and sixth chapters of the book of Hebrews. So far we have examined the following topics:

We will now discuss the Resurrection of the Dead, starting by contrasting the Christian teaching on resurrection with Buddhist reincarnation. When the Bible speaks of the resurrection of the dead, it is not speaking of reincarnation. There are important differences between the two concepts:

Resurrection	Reincarnation
After death, the soul is separated from the body until the Resurrection of the Dead, when the body and soul are reunited and the body raised to life.	After death, the soul is placed into a new body.
The soul has one life to be reconciled to God.	The soul has many lives to be reconciled to God.
The soul is reunited with its original body, although the original body is renewed.	The new body (human or non-human) is different from the previous one and is based upon one’s karma in the previous life.
When the body and soul are reunited, the soul retains its memory and personhood.	When a soul is reincarnated, there is no conscious memory of the previous life.

It is necessary to understand the differences between resurrection and reincarnation, because there are those, who starting with the pre-supposition of reincarnation, read the Bible and claim that it teaches reincarnation. Consider for example John 9:

As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” (John 9: 1 – 3)

Now how could a man be born blind for his own sins? That would imply his soul sinned prior to birth, and he was born blind as a punishment for those sins. This apparent account of reincarnation is easily explained – there were false beliefs that existed in the days of Jesus, and this was one of them. Indeed, the rabbis may have very well taught reincarnation or the pre-existence of the soul, but that does not mean their teaching was true. Jesus set their error straight – the man was not born blind for his own sins, but rather that the power of God might be displayed in him. This power of God was displayed when Jesus healed the man’s blindness, giving him sight.

Another supposed instance of reincarnation is in the account of John the Baptist. Malachi said that God was going to send Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day of the LORD (Malachi 4: 5). Jesus said that John the Baptist was the promised Elijah.

And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come. (Matthew 11: 14)

Did Jesus teach John was the reincarnation of Elijah? No. Rather, Jesus taught that John was the typological fulfillment of Malachi’s prophecy. John functioned in the same manner as the prophet Elijah, but he was not literally the prophet Elijah. Let us remember that in the transfiguration of Christ, the prophet Elijah appeared with Moses before Jesus and the disciples who were with Him. If Elijah appeared before Jesus, how then could John be the reincarnation of Elijah?

It is crucial to understand the distinctions between reincarnation and resurrection. Reincarnation is fundamentally based upon a judgment of works. The resurrection of the dead is based upon faith in Jesus Christ, Who has made atonement not only for our lack of good works, but for the “good” works we do in an attempt to please God and save ourselves. The gospel of Jesus Christ is fundamentally based upon the fact that humans cannot save themselves – it is the work of Christ that saves us. If someone understands their own heart and their own moral failings, reincarnation is a terrifying prospect. Could you imagine being a weak and terrible sinner, believing that karma is the mechanism by which you will be judged? You would have no hope. But because of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the weak and terrible sinner is full of hope. For the gospel declares that people are made righteous through Christ, not through their own power or piety.

It should be easy to see, then, that reincarnation is completely incompatible with Biblical doctrine. If righteousness does not come through the Law, but through faith in Jesus, and if faith in Jesus is a gift of the Holy Spirit, why would the soul be reincarnated over and over and over? The Holy Spirit knows those He has predestined to eternal life, and He gives them faith in the first, and only, life on earth.

Repentance From Dead Works: 3 – Don’t Forget Good Works Are Dead Works

Suggested Pre-Reading: Repentance From Dead Works 2

We have been looking at the concept of repenting from dead works. First, we saw how some in the early church believed circumcision was a good work necessary for salvation – an idea that was put to rest by the apostles, who made it clear that faith in Christ’s death and resurrection was sufficient. Then, we saw how the apostles still supported the performance of good works by Christians. Although the works did not contribute to salvation, they were necessary by-products of salvation, since the power to perform good works comes from the Holy Spirit.

We will conclude our examination of repenting from dead works by reiterating the main point: good works are dead works. Over the course of the Christian life the temptation will arise, one way or another, to doubt the gospel and think that our works contribute to our righteous standing before God. Unlike the early church, we will not be tempted to add circumcision to the gospel, but we will be tempted to add something. In our day various Christian individuals or groups have been tempted to add the following to the gospel:

Speaking in tongues.
Performing penance.
Observing the Jewish feasts.
Saying “Yeshua” instead of “Jesus”.
Believing in the five points of Calvinism.
Not believing in the five points of Calvinism.
Being baptized.
Only reading the 1611 King James Bible.
Participating in social justice.

Whenever the temptation to doubt the sufficiency of the cross of Christ arises, we can follow the example of our Lord, who when facing satanic temptation in the wilderness after forty days of fasting, responded with the truth of the Word of God. The four passages below show without a doubt that good works are dead works, and that the gospel is truly a gift from God, not something we earn or contribute to in any way.

I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly. (Galatians 2: 21)

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6: 28 – 29)

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’ (Matthew 7: 21 – 23)

And He also told this parable to some people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, the sinner!’ I tell you, this man went to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18: 9 – 14)

Let us not be considered lawless by God, by adding our dead works to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let us be considered righteous through faith, by believing in Him (Jesus) whom He (God the Father) has sent.

Repentance From Dead Works: 2 – Good Works Are A Sign Of Repentance From Dead Works

Suggested Pre-reading: Repentance From Dead Works: 1

The Christian’s relationship to works is inherently paradoxical. On the one hand, the Christian believes with fervor that works do nothing to contribute to salvation – all works are dead works. On the other hand, the Christian believes that good works are part of Christian living and a sign of true repentance. We see this paradox in the ruling of the Jerusalem council, which we just looked at in regards to the dead work of circumcision. The council advised circumcision is not necessary for salvation, yet in their ruling they included commands for converted Gentiles. The Gentiles were advised to abstain from

Things contaminated by idols
Fornication
What is strangled and from blood

The council was not substituting these three works for circumcision, implying that they were needed for salvation. Rather, the council, believing that the converted Gentiles were indeed recipients of a true and abiding faith in Christ, gave them direction as to how their faith in Christ should manifest in their cultural context. Specifically, they were advised to abstain from three sinful practices that were particularly tempting in their society.

What helps resolve the tension in the paradox of performing good works is understanding where the ability to perform good works comes from. It does not come from the Christian’s own intrinsic piety – it comes from the Holy Spirit. In the Mosaic Covenant, God commanded the people to perform good works, and they had to do so by their own power and piety. Hence Israel’s repeated inability to obey God. But in the New Covenant community, made up of those who have been granted faith in Christ, God has indwelt them with His Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who enables a Christian to perform good works and who frees the Christian from chronic enslavement to serious sins. Paul makes this evident in his letter to the Galatians, where he contrasts the deeds of those without the Spirit and the fruit of those with the Spirit:

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Galatians 5: 19 – 24)

The logic of Paul’s argument is quite simple. Because the indwelling of the Holy Spirit is a promise of the New Covenant, and because the ministry of the Holy Spirit is focused on promoting good works while reducing sins in the life of a believer, every Christian should see a reduction in the deeds of the flesh and an increase in the fruit of the Spirit, as their lives progress. Since the power to perform good works and be free from habitual sinful practices is a gift from the Holy Spirit, if a professing Christian is significantly lacking good works and significantly enslaved to deeds of the flesh, one may rightly question whether the Holy Spirit is indeed in them.

Now, in light of all of this, it must be said that using one’s works as a measurement of true salvation is complex and nuanced. It is not something to be done glibly, and there is no general formula that can be applied to everyone. It is highly contextual, and requires delicacy and gentleness. The misuse of this idea can result in extremely bad conclusions on both ends of the spectrum. One can look at their life and see their good works and believe they are saved because they are “doing things for God” and living holy lives. Or, one can look at their life and their struggle with sin, and believe that since good works are not increasing at the rate they would like, perhaps they do not have a real faith in Christ. In either scenario, the eye has been lifted off of the saving work of Jesus Christ and placed onto the works, or lack thereof, of an individual.

So we must remember we are using works as an imperfect diagnostic of faith. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7 that many who perform “good works” in the name of the Lord will be cast into hell, so we have direct proof the diagnostic is imperfect. But even though using works in diagnosing true repentance is difficult and imperfect, it is nevertheless a Scriptural doctrine. That is why James wrote so strongly about it, to the point of making it sound like works do contribute to salvation.

What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? (James 2: 14)

No, James is not implying that works contribute to saving faith and salvation. He is simply upholding the teaching that if a person is saved, and has in them the Holy Spirit of God, they will necessarily produce good works. A Christian, whom God has granted a normal length of life, should be able to look back on their life and see an increase in works.

For a concluding word on this topic, we turn to the New City Catechism, which explains the relationship between salvation and works quite well:

New City Catechism Q & A 32

Q: What do justification and sanctification mean?

A: Justification means our declared righteousness before God, made possible by Christ’s death and resurrection for us. Sanctification means our gradual, growing righteousness, made possible by the Spirit’s work in us.

Justification is a gift from God, and so is sanctification. Therefore, if we have one, we have the other. But if we do not have one, we do not have the other. That is the essence of what is meant by “good works are a sign of repentance from dead works”.

Repentance From Dead Works: 1 – Good Works Are Dead Works

In our study of the Eternal Judgment, we discussed how neither good works nor bad works contribute to our salvation. A bad work condemns us. A good work cannot erase the condemnation incurred. Therefore, both are dead works. But there is more to learn about the concept of a dead work. Specifically, there was a unique tension felt by the first Jewish Christians regarding this topic, and it is helpful to us to understand it, so that we do not repeat errors of the past.

For over a millennium, God’s people had as their rule of faith the Law of Moses. Within the Law were numerous divine commands, such as male circumcision and temple sacrifices. When Christ came and inaugurated the New Covenant, circumcision and temple sacrifices were no longer needed. But the Old Covenant mindset of some of the Jewish Christians did not change overnight, and there was tension caused by those who believed that the Law of Moses still had to be kept, if not in whole, then in part. This issue was dealt with by the Jerusalem council.

Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And when Paul and Barnabas had great dissension and debate with them, the brethren determined that Paul and Barnabas and some others of them should go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders concerning this issue. (Acts 15: 1 – 2)

These Jewish Christians wanted to take what was formerly a good work in the Mosaic Covenant and add it to the New Covenant. In their mind the salvation equation was

Christ + Circumcision = Righteousness Before God

The Jerusalem council, specifically Peter and James, responded to the matter based on their authority as apostles of Jesus, and their intricate knowledge of His gospel. Peter said:

But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are. (Acts 15: 11)

James said:

Brethren, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first concerned Himself about taking from among the Gentiles a people for His name. With this the words of the Prophets agree, just as it is written, “After these things I will return, and I will rebuild the tabernacle of David which has fallen, and I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, so that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from long ago.” Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood. (Acts 15: 13 – 20)

God does not require New Covenant members, Jew or Gentile, to circumcise their males for entry into the covenant. This work, required as part of the Old Covenant, is no longer necessary. But it was hard for the early Jewish converts to let go of things that used to be good, evidenced not only by the need for a discussion in Jerusalem, but by a need for Paul’s letter to the Galatians, which also dealt directly with people who wanted to add circumcision to the gospel.

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love. (Galatians 5: 1 – 6)

Paul here reinforces the gospel-law binary. Man is either saved through faith in Jesus Christ alone, or by keeping the law alone. Man cannot be saved through a combination of faith in Christ and performing circumcision. Circumcision is but one tenet of the Mosaic Law, and if one wanted to add circumcision to the gospel, Paul argued one would necessarily have to add the entire law to the gospel. But if the law is added to the gospel, it is no longer the gospel.

We should always keep in mind the ruling of the Jerusalem council and the words of Paul to Galatia. Although we may not be tempted to add Old Covenant rites like circumcision to the gospel, we undoubtedly, whether personally in our own hearts or in the church through formal teaching, are tempted to add “good” works to the gospel. We must stand strong and resist the temptation, for as we discussed in the examination of the Eternal Judgment, as well as here and now, good works are dead works. And if a good work is a dead work, it saves no one. And if it does not have the power to save, it cannot be the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Eternal Judgment: 4 – Atonement Is Not Universally Applied

Suggested Pre-Reading: Eternal Judgment: 3

Upon hearing that righteousness before God is granted apart from the law, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, one might be inclined to think that everyone will therefore be counted as righteous on the Day of Judgment. After all, if salvation is not the result of human effort, but an effect of Jesus’ atoning death, what would prevent all humans from being saved? Indeed, this is a fair question to ask. To answer it, we must go to Scripture. As we do so, we see unequivocally that only some people get saved; only some are counted as righteous before God.

If this sounds shocking, that a loving God only grants righteousness to some people, consider the only other options in regards to salvation and righteousness:

God saves none
God saves all

If either of these options were true, there would be no need for the Bible and the teachings of God. If the point of Scripture is to teach the way of salvation, then such a teaching is pointless if God does not save. Conversely, if God has determined to save everyone, then there is no need to know the way of salvation taught in Scripture, for salvation will be granted no matter what one believes.

So the idea that the Bible teaches only some will be saved stands up under logical scrutiny. Furthermore, the New Testament is replete with references to righteousness being granted to those who have heard about the sacrifice of Christ and believed the message they were told.

But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe…(Romans 3: 21 – 22)

But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4: 5)

…with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform…for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, He who was delivered over because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. (Romans 4: 20 – 25 segments)

…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10: 9 – 10)

How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (Romans 10: 14 – 17)

These passages make it clear that it is not simply the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that saves. The sacrifice of Christ must be coupled with the faith of an individual, in order to be efficacious in regards to righteousness. We see in the Old Testament this idea of coupling faith with a God-ordained sacrifice. The prophet Isaiah rebuked the people of Israel for faithlessly participating in God-ordained temple sacrifices.

Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah. “What are your multiplied sacrifices to Me?” Says the LORD. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle; and I take no pleasure in the blood of bulls, lambs or goats. When you come to appear before Me, who requires of you this trampling of My courts? Bring your worthless offerings no longer, incense is an abomination to Me…” (Isaiah 1: 10 – 13)

The people did not have faith in God. Yet they brought before God sacrifices in accordance with the law. Because they lacked faith, the sacrifices they brought were not received by God. Likewise, if someone does not believe in Jesus Christ, the sacrifice of Christ is of no value to them, although the fact remains He did indeed die for them, just as the bulls and goats did indeed die on behalf of faithless Israel in the days of Isaiah.

We see another precedent in the Passover. Although the invitation to slaughter the Passover lamb and smear the blood was given to all, only those who actually believed God, and killed the lamb and smeared the blood, were passed over by the destroying angel. Similarly, the invitation to believe in the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ is extended to all people through the preaching of the gospel. Yet only those who believe the preached message will be declared righteous on Judgment Day. Spiritually speaking, the atoning work of Jesus Christ must be applied to the individual human soul, just as the atoning blood of the Passover Lamb had to be applied to the doorposts. If the lamb was slaughtered and the blood was shed, but the blood was unapplied, the house would have lost its firstborn that night.

Let us end with a hypothetical.

There are two people sitting next to each other at church on a Sunday morning. Both claim to be Christians. Both, on the Friday night before church, went out on the town and committed grievous sins against God – drunkenness and sexual immorality. While the pastor is preaching the gospel message of Jesus Christ, the first person is delighted with joy, for they know that not only the sins they committed on Friday, but the sum work of their entire life, will lead to a judgment of “guilty” by God. But they do not fear this judgment, for in faith they believe in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and they know their righteousness is because of Christ and not because of their own piety. The other person, knowing that they sinned against God on Friday night, made a point to show up to church on Sunday, hoping to make up for the sins they committed by attendance and by putting a little extra in the offering plate. This person in their own mind is generally a moral person pleasing to God, but every once in a while slips up and needs to make amends to get right with God.

Only the first person has true faith in Jesus Christ. They will be counted as righteous on Judgment Day. The other person has a false faith. They believe in themselves, and that they can atone for their own sins through religious service. They will be guilty on the Day of Judgment and judged as an unbeliever.

Righteousness before God is real. It is not given to all, but only to some. And it cannot be faked, for God is not deceived. Those with true faith, a faith that is itself a gift from God, are the righteous ones. Those with a contrived faith, a faith that comes not from God but from within, are lawless and do not know Christ.