“And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and your flesh will be restored to you and you will be clean. But Naaman was furious and went away and said, “Behold, I said to myself, ‘He will surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of Yahweh his God, and wave his hand over the place and cure the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?” So he turned and went away in wrath. Then his servants approached and spoke to him and said, “My father, had the prophet spoken with you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean’?” So he went down and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the word of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a young boy and he was clean. (2 Kings 5:10–14, LSB)
O how we love our religious rituals. The more complex and complicated, the better.
The scene was simple. Naaman wanted to be healed of his leprosy and he had heard that there was a man of God in Israel who could do what no one else could do. So, piling up all the things you think you need, a letter of introduction, lavish gifts to help grease the wheels of the prophet and to motivate a positive response, and a long, arduous trek through arid lands to show that he was serious about being healed. When Namaan finally arrived, he must have been filled with expectation and hope.
But when the man of God didn’t even come out of his house, instead sending his servant with a message, the sick man was disappointed. Then there was the instructions—go and bathe in the Jordan river, washing seven times. In case you don’t know it, the Jordan is brown, not crystal clear. Now, Namaan grew angry. After all, he was an important man back home. Couldn’t the prophet at least come out and speak to him? And bathe in a dirty river? What about the rituals, the odd dances, potions, sparks, incantations, beads, smoke, chants…but nothing? Just take a bath in this muddy river?
Namaan almost left in disgust. We do love our rituals.
But rituals don’t heal. Neither do clear or muddy rivers. And for that matter, neither do prophets or servants of prophets. Only God has the power to heal. And God works on faith.
When his servants saw his anger and frustration, they knew they would soon be heading back home, and Namaan would still be leprous. So, they tried to reason with their master. “If the prophet had come out and made you swing a chicken over your head and then drink water upside down while you sang “Ave Maria,” would you have done it?” “Well, yes of course,” reasoned the soldier. Now that would be a proper ritual!
“Then, since we have come all this way, why wouldn’t you do the simple thing, trust the man of God, and simply wash as he asked in the Jordan river.”
You know, for some people, faith is too simple. Just trusting that Jesus died in your place for the forgiveness of sins is too easy. We need to do something. Self-flagellation or penance of some sort must be necessary. One hundred “Hail Mary’s” or skip chocolate for a month. I mean, I’ve been bad, but not as bad as that guy, we reason. But just believe? Just trust? It’s too easy! Just place my faith in the finished death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus? There’s got to be more. After all, there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
It’s true. The forgiveness of all our sins, which is more complicated than cleansing from leprosy, did cost more. It cost the life of the Son of God, who willingly gave it because of love, by dying on the cross. There’s nothing more you can do other than receiving this free gift.
When Namaan went into the muddy waters of the Jordan, he came out with skin as soft as a baby’s bottom. And when we come to Christ by faith alone in what he has done, trusting in Him, not our own works, our heart will emerge white as snow. It’s that simple.
I remember as a child scoffing as my parents said that the swat I was about to receive on my bottom was harder for them than it was for me. “Harder for you?!” I would think. How could that be true? But as a parent about to dole out discipline to my own children years later, I understood. My discipline was not meant to bring retribution but was instead aimed at true discipline, or teaching. Of course, my children didn’t always understand this, even when I explained it to them. The sting of discipline can sometimes get in the way of the communication process.
Right now our world awakes to the daily reality of multiple wars raging all over the world. For those in the war zones, the painful reality is both shockingly real and surreal. It is easy for us in the peaceful parts of the world to make judgment calls on who is right and wrong in these upheavals, like a person sitting in their living room watching a sports match and choosing sides. But in war, is there a winner?
In my Bible reading this morning through the Old Testament prophet of Ezekiel, I was struck by the words of the Lord through this man of God. His words were of judgment, but not toward His own people Israel. Earlier in the book, the Lord has doled out his discipline on His wayward people, and it has been harsh. The events that took place against God’s people were brutal, even barbaric. That isn’t to say that it wasn’t well deserved. God had sent wave after wave of His servants, the prophets, to bring God’s warning of impending judgment, only to be met with laughter, disgust, and further open wickedness. When the bowl of the wrath of God was full, He acted just as He had promised.
In bringing punishment to His people, the Lord used the enemies of Israel, some of whom they had treaties with, others who rejoiced in its fall and took advantage of their weakened state. Having completed the punishment against His people, the Lord turned to those who struck out against His people. Remember, God didn’t implant jealousy and hatred into the hearts of these people. They already hated Israel. He simply allowed the hatred, greed, and jealousy to have its result–the plundering of Israel.
In Ezekiel 25, the Lord turns His attention to the nations that took advantage of Israel in her weakness. Although God was angry with His people, like a father who loves His children even while he is disciplining them, so too our God loves His people Israel, even as He brings judgment on them for their open rebellion. He never forsook them, and His wrath cannot be interpreted as a separation from them as His own. In case there was any doubt about that, this chapter (and the next several) describes God’s judgment not on Israel, but upon the people that attacked God’s precious people Israel. In chapter 25, God speaks His judgment against Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia.
In God’s words of judgment to these nations, there is an important lesson to consider, especially in light of the war in Israel going on right now between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It is this: Israel may be disobedient, rebellious, and hard-hearted in its attitude toward God and righteousness, and God will punish. But He will never forsake His people. And for those that point and laugh, and say that Israel is no different than any other nation, and that her punishment is proof of God’s rejection of Israel, I say you need to read your Bible, and specifically the way God dealt with those in Ezekiel 25.
First, look at what God says to Ammon, “And the word of Yahweh came to me saying, “Son of man, set your face toward the sons of Ammon and prophesy against them and say to the sons of Ammon, ‘Hear the word of Lord Yahweh! Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because you said, ‘Aha!’ against My sanctuary when it was profaned, and against the land of Israel when it was made desolate, and against the house of Judah when they went into exile,” (Ezekiel 25:1–3, LSB)
God took offense against Ammon for its mockery when His holy temple was profaned. “Aha!” is an interjection, and the Lexham Analytical Lexicon of the Hebrew Bible connects this word to the Greek word euge, which means, “Good!” We can picture the rejoicing and dancing in the streets of many Muslims in the Middle East when the planes struck the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001.
For their hatred of God’s people, the Lord promised to give over their land to nomads and to turn their capital into a pasture for their camels. The Lord further elaborated on their joy over Israel’s demise: “‘For thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because you have clapped your hands and stamped your feet and were glad with all the scorn of your soul against the land of Israel, therefore, behold, I have stretched out My hand against you, and I will give you for plunder to the nations. And I will cut you off from the peoples and make you perish from the lands; I will destroy you. Thus you will know that I am Yahweh.”” (Ezekiel 25:6–7, LSB)
Instead of coming to Israel’s aid, the Ammonites celebrated. Instead of mourning, they rejoiced. And for their hard hearts and wicked scorn, God would destroy them.
The next nation that the Lord addressed was the people of Moab. Both the Ammonites and the Moabites were distant relatives of the Jewish people. They traced their lineage back to Abraham’s nephew Lot, who bore children by his daughters, and these children were named Ben-Ammi and Moab (Gen 19:30-38). This means that their mockery and scorn were doubly offensive since they were distantly related. But the animosity they showed had no compassion or love mixed with it.
To the Moabites, the Lord said, “‘Thus says Lord Yahweh, “Because Moab and Seir say, ‘Behold, the house of Judah is like all the nations,’ therefore, behold, I am going to open the flank of Moab by its cities, by its cities which are on its frontiers, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim, and I will give it for a possession along with the sons of Ammon to the sons of the east, so that the sons of Ammon will not be remembered among the nations.” (Ezekiel 25:8–10, LSB)
Where the Ammonites rejoiced in the defilement of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Moabites declared that the House of Judah (and this the lineage of David) where nothing special, like everyone else. I have heard some Christians denounce Israel, saying they aren’t anything special to God anymore. They say that many Jews are rebellious, and wicked, and they hate Christians. Much of this is true for many Jewish people. And it is no worse than what they were being punished for in Ezekiel’s day. And yet, God still stands by them in covenant love, even though He was unwilling to overlook their sins against Him.
Do we really want to be on the side of these rebellious nations that sided against God’s people? Do we really want to equate Israel with all the other nations of the world as if it is not exceptional and special in God’s eyes still? I don’t need to justify or excuse Israel’s sins to stand by them as God’s people. As a matter of fact, God’s prophets spoke hard and true words to them, and so should we. We should not compromise to call the Jewish people to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, the Messiah. But we must not follow in the footsteps of the pagan nations and point at Israel as rejected both by God and men.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: “May they prosper who love you.” (Psalm 122:6, LSB)
Every two years Ligonier Ministries and LifeWay Research conduct their “The State of Theology” study to identify what Americans believe about God, the Bible, and doctrines historically accepted by the Christian faith. The findings are often helpful in gaining an understanding of how America thinks about moral and religious issues.
Regarding the question of the belief that the Bible is true, evangelical Christians stated in the 2022 survey:
“A rising disbelief in the Bible’s literal truth may help us understand why American evangelicals also increasingly believe that religious faith is a subjective experience rather than an objective reality.”
STATEMENT NO. 31: Religious belief is a matter of personal opinion; it is not about objective truth.
The idea that belief is personal opinion and not objective truth didn’t come out of nowhere. This idea surrounds us in a cultural milieu where truth is relative, and “my truth” can coexist alongside contradictory truth claims, even within the same person. As if this weren’t serious enough, this foolish abandonment of truth has found a place within the evangelical church.
In addressing the believers in the letter to the Hebrews, the biblical author chastised the church for its own lax views toward a rigorous and thoughtful faith: “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.” (Hebrews 5:12, LSB)
We don’t have any indicators about how long these Christians had been believers (“by this time…”), but the author is confident that they are way behind in their ability to pass along the faith to others. Some Christians feel as if they do not need to study the Word, or to do so seriously because they are not “gifted to teach.” But the author of Hebrews doesn’t seem to give this as an option. He doesn’t say, “Now to you who have been called by God to be teachers…” His words of rebuke are aimed at a general audience, strongly implying that all believers ought to be teachers.
Lest anyone think that this is an anomaly, Paul writes these words to the church in Colosse: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16, LSB). Paul commands the church to be, among other things, “teaching and admonishing one another.” We understand that there are those within the church who are called as teachers, but Paul is assuming that there is also an informal type of teaching that is to be practiced by all within the body of Christ–the more mature teaching the less mature.
This idea has deep roots within the Jewish community that was commanded by the Lord to make sure that the children of God’s covenant people were well taught by their parents: “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall speak of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7, LSB).
In his book, The Disciplines of a Godly Man, R. Kent Hughes recalls an interview with radio talk show host Dennis Prater, who is Jewish. Prager states:
“One thing I noticed about Evangelicals is that they do not read. They do not read the Bible, they do not read the great Christian thinkers, they have never heard of Aquinas. If they’re Presbyterian, they’ve never read the founders of Presbyterianism. I do not understand that. As a Jew, that’s confusing to me. The commandment of study is so deep in Judaism that we immerse ourselves in study. God gave us a brain, aren’t we to use it in His service? When I walk into an Evangelical Christian’s home and see a total of 30 books, most of them best-sellers, I do not understand. I have bookcases of Christian books, and I am a Jew. Why do I have more Christian books than 98 percent of the Christians in America? That is so bizarre to me.”2
More than bizarre, such a statement is to our shame if it is true. And according to The State of Theology study, it is true. So, what can we do about it? Tolle lege! Let us take up and read! Some have a sense of superiority connected to their simple thinking and willful ignorance. May we instead dive deeply into the things of God to grow–not in arrogance and price, but instead into a deeper love and relationship with the God of the Bible.
“But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:4–10, LSB)
In yesterday’s post, I contrasted the works-based religions of the world with the biblical gospel that says that Jesus Christ paid the full payment for sins on the cross and that this salvation is offered to sinful mankind by grace alone (sola gratia), and not based upon our merits. And since even our good works are tainted by our sin, we cannot hope to somehow earn salvation through our own righteousness. Paul called this whole predicament “dead in our trespasses and sins.”
Since we are dead in our sins and incapable of doing the good that God demands, God must act. In verses 4-7, Paul wrote that our salvation is given by the grace of God from beginning to end:
1. God is rich in mercy toward us. This is grace because we are sinners who don’t deserve God’s forgiveness!
2. God shows his great love to us by sending Christ to take our punishment for us. This too is grace since we are rebels against God, and we don’t want his love at first.
3. God shows us his great power by making us alive–first spiritually, and then one day he will resurrect us from the dead.
4. Finally, God demonstrates his massive generosity by seating us with Jesus Christ as royal children of the King. What grace! Remember that only a few short verses ago we were described as sons of disobedience, and then in verses 6-7 we are described as being seated with our King.
Verses 8-9 further drive this truth home. They say, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, LSB). Faith in Jesus Christ alone is how we are saved. That message and the fact that it is offered to us is all of grace. Humanity did not deserve for God to send his son to earth to save us. We did not deserve Christ as our substitute on the bloody cross. We were not worthy, nor were we lovely and deserving. It was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. Salvation is God’s gracious gift. It is unearned and undeserved.
It is only after the Apostle Paul has laid out the gracious offer of the gospel that he introduces good works. Grace leads us to respond: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10, LSB).
In this verse, even good works are attributed to the Lord. He created them for us that we should walk in them. Even our good works are not truly our own. We must live in gratitude, but never with an attitude that we are gaining the favor of God by our works. We must be sure that our good works are meant to bring glory to our great God and Savior
What are the practical implications for the doctrine of Grace Alone?
We must ensure that our gospel witness does not downplay the reality of sin in a person’s life.
We must make sure that our gospel witness highlights the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross.
We must make sure that our gospel witness clarifies that good works are the fruit of salvation and not the root of salvation.
We must ensure that our own experience of the gospel leads us to worship and praise.
“And you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” Ephesians 2:1–3 (LSB)
The Reformers did not set out to cause a split in the church. They wanted to bring the church back into a proper understanding of many of the doctrines that had been distorted and changed. The chief doctrine that they saw as the hinge of all their discussions was the doctrine of justification. How is a person made right with God? The doctrine of Soli Gratia (Grace Alone), and its connected doctrine of faith alone brought the true gospel to the forefront of the Reformers’ differences with the Roman Church.
This battle is not new. Jesus opposed the Pharisees, Paul fought the Judaizers, John fought the Gnostics, Athanasius fought against Arius, Augustine fought Pelagius, and Luther fought Erasmus, and the battles against false gospels continue to this day. All of them wanted to add the necessity of good works to their gospel message. Today, there is still a need for reformation because the gospel is still under attack, by cults, false religions, and even some within the church itself.
Soli Gratia, simply put, teaches us that salvation is not by works, but by the grace of God alone. Religious pluralism (above and beyond simple religious freedom) is the idea that there are many gods, many religions, and many roads that lead to heaven, and nobody is wrong as long as you are sincere. The opposite of pluralism is exclusivism. An example of exclusivism can be seen in Jesus’ words, “…I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6, LSB).
But there are at least three major problems in what religious pluralism teaches that need to be addressed:
Religious Pluralism says:
Man may be morally sick, but he has the strength to help himself. This is contrary to Ephesians 2:1: “And you were dead in your transgressions and sins,” (Ephesians 2:1, LSB)
This is the heresy called semi-Pelagianism and it is still inherent in the doctrine of salvation in the Roman Catholic Church as well as any church that teaches that man must exercise his free will to come to salvation.
The semi-Pelagian slogan said this: “God will not deny his grace to those who do that which lies within their power.” This means that you do all that you can, and God will make up the difference where you fall short. The Roman Catholic Church called for people to draw close to God through the sacraments, and do their very best. When they fell short, they could add to their good works through the good works of others, such as purchasing indulgences, viewing relics, going on religious pilgrimages, and praying the rosary.
But this idea isn’t limited to the Roman Catholic system. It is part of every man-made system of religion, and unfortunately, we can find it in some Christian churches. If you think that praying, church attendance, ministry involvement, tithing, Bible reading, and other activities are things that earn God’s favor and help make you right in God’s eyes, then you are adding to the gospel.
Look at what the Bible says in Ephesians 2:1. It describes us before salvation in Christ as spiritually dead. Dead means incapable. We are not simply spiritually sick or weak. We are dead! We cannot do anything to please God in ourselves. We have no strength in ourselves to do anything that might earn us favor with God.
Religious Pluralism says:
2. Man has many paths by which he can achieve peace within and with God. This is contrary to Ephesians 2:2: “in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience,” (Ephesians 2:2, LSB)
If we accept that we can reach God on our own, assisted by our good works, then the next step would naturally be to discover the path that we must now take to achieve personal peace in ourselves and peace with God.
I mentioned the Catholic path of the sacraments, but the RCC isn’t the only religious group to make a pathway to gain peace with our good deeds. Jehovah’s Witnesses fulfill their duties as well by door-to-door witnessing and regular attendance at meetings. Mormons go on their mission and meet the standard of tithing and right living, as well as regular attendance at meetings. Muslims, Buddhists, Taoists, Hindus, animists, and every other religion on the planet all have various paths on which they seek to find inner peace and peace with their gods.
But look at what the Bible says in Ephesians 2:2: there is one course or path that all of humanity naturally takes. There are not many roads in this life although they may slightly vary. Just like it was said that “all roads lead to Rome,” in the seeking after inner peace, all roads lead to hell. The Bible calls it “the course of this world.” It is the path that follows Satan himself, called “the ruler of the power of the air.”
The relativist might think that he has chosen his own path, but his spiritual deadness makes him unaware that he is on the same road as everyone else—and the road that all unsaved men are on leads to destruction.
Religious Pluralism says:
3. Man has the power to change himself and society if he simply changes his behavior. This is Contrary to Ephesians 2:3: “among whom we all also formerly conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.” (Ephesians 2:3, LSB)
Another tenant of the pluralistic worldview says that we can all make a change in ourselves and our world if we simply try hard enough. Maybe you have seen the bumper stickers that say “Visualize World Peace.” This was a wacky campaign by a New Age group that taught that if enough people in the world stopped on a certain day and pictured in their minds a world without war and hostility, then it would come to be a reality. Guess what? It didn’t work! But that doesn’t stop people from trying!
Our society also thinks that things like education, economic equality, human rights, and environmental awareness will change society. However good these things might be, they are impotent to make lasting change. Why not? Because these things all require that we work on ourselves to be better persons. But this goes against what God says in Ephesians 2:3.
Simplified, this passage says that we are all selfish. We do what we want and only what we want. This makes us “children of wrath” because we oppose any sort of rule over us, and that includes God. We are children of God’s wrath. As the last phrase says, this isn’t just the worst criminals. This is all of us without Jesus Christ. This is our nature. That means it is who we are at our core. When we think about our ability to “just be good,” the prophet Jeremiah said, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil” (Jer 13:23). You and I can’t just choose to be good because it is not in our nature. We are not sinners because we have sinned. In reality, we sin, because we are sinners by nature.
The baby tiger may drink milk when it is a toothless cub. But in that little tiger cub is the nature of a meat-eating man-killer. Time and opportunity will show that to be true. The same is true for all of mankind. We might be able to be good and religious for a time, but we will not be able to stay that way for long. Our true nature will eventually kick in and we will soon enough show who we truly are, sinners under the wrath of God.
These three reasons are why all man-made religions fall short of bringing salvation. We need to know this so we have a good grasp when we share with our unbelieving family and friends the difference between their understanding of salvation and the biblical gospel.
But we also need to make sure that our understanding is biblical and not a warped version of a do-it-yourself salvation.
So How Can a person be right with God? By Grace Alone!
The most incredible part is still ahead in the following verses!
Always Reforming 