Assumptive
Hermeneutics
Interpreting the Bible without Biblical Facts in Evidence
By Dr. Ken Matto
Nehemiah 8:8 (KJV)
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave
the sense, and caused them
to understand the reading.
Distinctly – To give instructions, to show, to
declare
The Sense – Insight, understanding, wisdom
Abigail is described by this word – 1 Sam. 25:3
-1 Samuel 25:3 (KJV)
Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and
she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance:
but the man was churlish and evil in his doings; and he was of the house of
Caleb.
Caused to understand – To perceive, have
intelligence, discern, prudent
Nehemiah
8:4-8 (KJV) And Ezra the
scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and
beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and
Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and
Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.
{5} And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people; (for he was
above all the people;) and when he opened it, all the people stood up:
{6} And Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God. And all the people
answered, Amen, Amen, with lifting up their hands: and they bowed their heads,
and worshipped the LORD with their faces to the ground. {7} Also Jeshua, and
Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita,
Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused the people to
understand the law: and the people stood in their place.
{8} So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the
sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
In Nehemiah 8:4-8, we read of the time when many
Jews went back to Jerusalem from Babylon and had repaired the walls of the city.
Here we have the scenario where Ezra the Scribe was now attending to the
reading of the word of God which at that time was the Law of God.
Ezra was given a high wooden pulpit to begin the reading of the word of
God to the people. As we plainly
see in verses 4 and 7, Ezra was not the only one who did the teaching.
In verse 7 it names 13 other teachers plus the Levites which caused the
people to understand the law. Verse
4 tells us that there were 13 others on the platform with Ezra but it is not
known if they were temple workers or if they joined in and helped Ezra to teach
the word of God to the people. All
in all Ezra had 26 people to help him in this task.
If you notice there was no division among them
as the people stood and listened to the word of God being interpreted and
proclaimed unto them by as many as 26 preachers or as little as 13.
It did not matter because they were all teaching the same message which
affected all the people as many of them wept knowing they had broken God’s law.
In our theme verse which is Nehemiah 8:8 we find
the following three very important words.
Nehemiah 8:8 (KJV)
So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave
the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.
The first word we will look at is the word
“distinctly” which carries with it the meaning in the Hebrew of “to give
instructions, to show, to declare.”
The first thing that Ezra and his entourage did was to read directly from the
word of God, in other words, their first task was to declare the word of God to
the people. There was no fooling
around with commentaries or spurious interpretations.
It was a direct reading from the word of God.
The second word we will look at is “the sense”
in the Hebrew it is one word and carries with it the meaning of “Insight,
understanding, wisdom.” Not only
did they read the word of God but they interpreted it in such a manner that the
people received insight and understanding.
They understood the word of God and the meanings of the passages which
were read to them. You can tell
that the people received the straight understanding of the Scriptures because it
affected them to the point of weeping.
A neutralized interpretation would not do that to someone.
The third word we will look at is “caused…to
understand” which is one word in the Hebrew and carries with it the meaning of
“To perceive, have intelligence, discern, prudent.”
After you hear the straight word of God and are given the proper
interpretation, which is what hermeneutics is supposed to supply, then you will
have the discernment and intelligence of a good solid Christian who will now
possess good understanding of the word of God.
This, of course, depends upon two important factors: 1) That you are
hearing the true word of God and not a counterfeit; and, 2) that the hermeneutic
you are being subjected to is not biased but based strictly on the word of God
regardless of the fact that it may come up against established belief systems
which are derived from Assumptive Hermeneutics.
What is Assumptive Hermeneutics?
Since I have not read the name then I will coin that phrase.
Assumptive Hermeneutics is the interpretation of the Bible based upon
supposition rather than directly harmonizing links of Scripture to each other.
The 1913 Webster Bible states the following definition of assumption:
1.
The act of assuming, or taking to or upon one's self; the act of taking up or
adopting.
2.
The act of taking for granted, or supposing a thing without proof; supposition;
unwarrantable claim.
Number two fits perfectly as it is used in
modern biblical hermeneutics today.
Let me give a definition of Hermeneutics before we go on.
In ancient Greece there was a mythological god
named Hermes and he was the messenger of the gods.
The name Hermeneutics is derived from his name.
Hermeneutics is the science of interpretation of the Scriptures.
It concerns itself with exegesis, that is, extracting the true teachings
from passages of Scripture and giving the meaning of those truths.
In other words, true hermeneutics is concerned with bringing the message
of Scripture directly from Scripture without any buffers of bias such as
theological systems or denominational peculiarities.
True hermeneutics is the only thing that stands between the Scriptures
and a Christian’s understanding of them.
Many times you may
hear or read the following statement, “If the Plain Text Makes Perfect Sense,
Seek No Other Sense.” That
statement is totally violated by the very ones who espouse it.
You will see that in this study when I give two examples of the plain
text making sense but being ignored in favor of biased interpretation.
Assumptive Hermeneutics has literally supplanted
true hermeneutics in our day. How
you ask? When theologians write
books, pastors preach, or any Christian who belongs to a certain belief system,
they will read and write only within the confines of their chosen theology.
Let me give some examples:
1) A dispensationalist will only write according
to their belief system. They will
interpret verses, correctly or incorrectly, according to dispensationalism.
They will train themselves so that everything they read will be filtered
through dispensational belief.
2) A Preterist will see only eschatology as far
as 70 A.D. believing that all prophetic events were fulfilled by that time and
that nothing is future. So when
they look at eschatological passages, they only see verses understood within
their system of beliefs.
3) A person who believes that Christ died for
every person in the world will look at all passages of Scripture within that
belief system. They will eschew the
idea that Christ only died for a certain group of people, namely His Elect.
4) A person who espouses a belief in free will
believes that all a person has to do is just “accept Christ” and that person has
the ability to receive salvation any time before he or she dies.
So when they read the Scriptures, whether Old or New Testament, they will
read them with the understanding that God have given mankind free will.
This why when free will preachers preach, they will make incessant altar
calls believing that a person can make that decision.
These four examples prove that the understanding
and interpretation has become compartmentalized in our day and Christians only
see through the glasses of their chosen belief systems.
The belief systems are no longer subject to the Bible but the Bible has
become subject to biased belief systems, whether personal or denominational.
Assumptive Eschatology
Revelation 4:1 (KJV)
After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the
first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which
said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
If you look at every prophecy book written by a
dispensationalist, pre-tribulationalist, or Pre-millennial, you will read in
every instance that Revelation 4:1 is pointing to a pre-tribulational rapture
which supposedly comes 7 years before the Lord’s return.
Now here is where assumptive hermeneutics comes in.
There is no connecting verses which specifically point to this as the
pre-trib rapture of the Saints. Not
one! They just say it and it sounds
good, so the Christian accepts it without any questions whatsoever.
Whether it is written in a book or given in a sermon, it is never
challenged. First, of all
pre-tribulationalism is a total myth and is not found in the Bible.
Yet, millions of Christians adhere to it.
Why? Simply because it is
nothing but an escapist theology removing the command of the Lord to go forth
into all the world with the gospel.
The majority of these are waiting for the rapture and have become nothing but
spiritual couch potatoes.
Pre-millenialism is a created belief system and verses must be interpreted by
force to fit into this system.
Another important question surfaces.
Look at the following verses:
Mark
16:15 (KJV) And he said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV)
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
{20} Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
If you notice the Christian has a command from
the Lord to take the Gospel to all the world and the Lord states that he will be
with the Christian even unto the end of the world.
How then, can the gospel to every nation be completed if the Lord has
taken the very vessel by which He is reaching the world to Heaven, that is, the
church? If the church is in Heaven,
then how is worldwide evangelism going to be accomplished?
Why would the Lord state that he would be with them unto the end of the
world if He has taken them to Heaven while the world is still going on and they
are all now in His presence? Do you
see the questions that arise when assumptive hermeneutics is not challenged?
Now here is a clear hermeneutic on Revelation
4:1:
John was already
given information on the things which were and the things which are and now he
is going to be given the information on what is going to happen in the last
days. The “last days” is the period from the cross to the second coming of the
Lord Jesus Christ. In chapters two and three letters were sent to the existing
churches on Earth but now the scene shifts to Heaven. This verse has been so
misunderstood by the pre-tribulation crowd. They have taught for so long that it
represents the rapture and they attempt to tie it in with 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18. Revelation 4:1 has nothing whatsoever to do with the idea of a
pre-tribulation rapture. This verse is teaching us that the scene now shifts
from earth to Heaven. Just as Ezekiel had heavenly visions, John is now having
them.
(Ezek 1:1 KJV) Now it came to pass in the
thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was
among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I
saw visions of God.
John now states that after the letters to the seven churches he looked and then
he saw a door opened in heaven and the first voice was that of one which was as
a trumpet.
(Rev 1:10 KJV) I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
John is repeating what he had previously saw. Remember the trumpet sounded a
true sound and it was a call to battle. In the rest of the book of Revelation,
we are going to see how the church is at constant war with the powers of evil.
John is told to come up hither, that is, he is commanded to enter into the
presence of the Lord Jesus Christ who is now going to show him the final chapter
of the war between God and the powers of evil. This war continues until the last
day when the Lord will destroy Satan and his entire host of demons. Notice John
is told that these things “must take place.” That means, there is going to be
persecution, both physical and spiritual, of the believer. Since these things
must take place, the believer better stop looking for an easy escape such as the
pre-tribulation rapture. It simply does not exist in Scripture. The true
Christians are going to be on earth until the last day and we will suffer
persecution until the last day. These are things which “must be hereafter.”
Now where do we
find in Scripture the truth about the rapture?
In the book of John, we are told plainly 6 times that the believer is
going to be raised on the last day and you do not even need to force fit any
other verses.
John 6:39
(KJV) And this is the
Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
John 6:40
(KJV) And this is the will of
him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may
have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
John 6:44
(KJV) No man can come to me,
except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the
last day.
John 6:54
(KJV) Whoso eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last
day.
John
11:24 (KJV) Martha saith unto
him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
John 12:48 (KJV)
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth
him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
And here is icing on the cake:
John 5:28-29 (KJV)
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in
the graves shall hear his voice,
{29} And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of
life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
The pre-tribulationalists claim that the
unbelievers will be raised 1,000 years after the rapture of the church when the
believers who have physically died will also be raised.
That is not the teaching of John 5:28-29.
It plainly teaches that there is going to be one general resurrection,
when both the unbelievers and the believers will be raised from the dead, not
1,000 years apart. Now we can
clearly see when the believers are going to be raised and it will not be at
separate times. Now did we have to
create thousands of words to over-justify this plain teaching?
No we didn’t, we just had to read it and there it was, but you see, the
plain teachings of Scripture do not sell books and make false prophecy preachers
millions of dollars with their sensationalizing of the Scriptures.
Remember the statement about the plain teachings of Scripture?
Well here is a prime example of it being ignored!
One more point on this subject which the
pre-tribber cannot answer.
John 11:24 (KJV)
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.
Martha said to Jesus that Lazarus will rise
again in the resurrection at the last day.
If Lazarus, who was a believer in Jesus, according to
pre-tribulationalism should be raised in the pre-trib rapture, but according to
Martha, he will not be raised until the last day, which is supposedly 1,000
years after the believers. Why
then, if Lazarus is a believer, is he not being raised with all the other
believers in the pre-trib rapture?
Ask a pre-tribber that and see if they have an answer.
So you see when we relied totally on the
Scriptures without the bias of a system of beliefs, we have seen how easy it is
to know when the end shall come and when the believers are going to be raptured.
We saw 6 times that the believer is going to be raised on the last day
and we also saw in John that the rapture of the Saints and the resurrection of
the unbelievers will be on one single day.
This is the reward of clear hermeneutics that we will always come to
truth without over-justification by man.
Assumptive Soteriology
Another major assumption which Christians count
on is in the area of Soteriology which is the doctrine of salvation.
You will hear free will preachers claim that all you need to do is
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
This is true there are many verses which speak about believing on the
Lord Jesus Christ.
John 1:12
(KJV) But as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe
on his name:
Romans
10:9 (KJV) That if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans
10:13 (KJV) For whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Here are three familiar verses which we normally
hear connected with an invitation which is normally given at the end of a
service. Romans 10:13 speaks about
calling upon the name of the Lord.
Romans 10:9 speaks about confessing verbally with your mouth the Lord Jesus
Christ and believing in your heart that God raised Him from the dead.
John 1:12 speaks about believing on the name of Jesus.
These three verses definitely look as if one only has to believe and they
will be saved. By the way, John
1:12 is never quoted with verse 13.
John 1:13 (KJV)
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God. Now a
major question arises. Do these
three verses represent pre-salvation or post-salvation?
In other words, by assuming the contents while isolating these verses, do
they lead to salvation or are they a result of salvation?
It is a serious question that needs to be answered and it is answered
clearly according to the Scriptures.
When we preach a sermon or when we witness to
someone, how do we view those that are hearing us?
Do we normally view the hearers as ones who have basic intelligence?
When we preach that those without Christ will be spending an eternity in
Hell, do we believe the people listening can assess their spiritual condition
properly and then turn their lives over to Christ to avoid the eternal penalty
of Hell? If you ask any free will
Christian that question, they will answer in the affirmative because they
automatically assume the hearer has the ability to make that decision simply
because they did along with many others.
So they will use as their criteria, their own salvation and possibly
referencing others.
Now instead of using assumptive hermeneutics, we
now engage in clear hermeneutics to see if the above conclusion is correct.
The first question which is totally disregarded, must be asked and
answered, and that is, what is the spiritual condition of people before
salvation? The simple answer to
that is that they are spiritually dead!
So let us now attend to what the Scriptures teach.
Ephesians 2:1-5
(KJV) And you hath he quickened, who were
dead in trespasses and sins; {2}
Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according
to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience: {3} Among whom also we all had our conversation in
times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of
the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. {4} But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, {5} Even when we
were dead in sins, hath quickened us
together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
The starting point
that free will proponents completely ignore is the fact that before salvation a
person is spiritually dead. In Ephesians 2:1 & 5, the word for “dead” is the
Greek word “nekrous” which means “lifeless, useless, or dead.” A person who is
spiritually dead is one who cannot do anything toward their salvation. Just as a
physically dead person cannot do anything to make themselves alive, the
spiritually dead person is incapable of anything except being dead. Now is this
borne out in other places in the Scriptures? The answer is a resounding yes.
Nekrous - Lifeless, Useless, or Dead
Ephesians 5:14-15
(KJV) Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead,
and Christ shall give thee light. {15} See then that ye walk circumspectly, not
as fools, but as wise,
Matthew 8:22 (KJV)
But Jesus said unto him, Follow me; and let the
dead
bury their
dead.
Luke 15:32 (KJV) It
was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was
dead,
and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.
John 5:21 (KJV) For
as the Father raiseth up the
dead,
and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.
Colossians 2:13
(KJV) And you, being
dead
in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Thnesko - Be Dead or Die
1 Timothy 5:6 (KJV)
But she that liveth in pleasure is
dead
while she liveth.
Thanatos - Death
1 John 3:14 (KJV) We
know that we have passed from
death
unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth
in
death.
Here we have just
looked at seven verses where God uses three different words to describe the
condition of those who are not saved. The Bible teaches us here that the only
condition that the unbeliever is in is a state of spiritual death. This applies
to every person who has ever lived and goes back as far as the Garden of Eden.
Genesis 2:16-17
(KJV) And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden
thou mayest freely eat: {17} But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die.
The Hebrew word for
“die” is "mooth" which means “to die.” So we see that when Adam and Eve ate the
forbidden fruit, they entered into a state of spiritual death. It was not
physical death at that moment because they had lived quite a number of years
after their sin but because of their disobedience to God, they instantly went
into a state of spiritual death. This spiritual death has been passed on to
every human being down to the present. Physical death came at a later
date.
Since the Bible
covers this subject thoroughly, we cannot understand these verses to mean
anything else but that the whole human race was plunged into spiritual death and
remains there until a person becomes saved. Now that we know that people are
spiritually dead, and reading the words for dead and death in the text, how can
we come to any other conclusion than the fact that unsaved man is spiritually
dead?
Now that we know
that unsaved man is spiritually dead, then the question remains how could one
believe by themselves or generate faith when they are dead? When Lazarus was in
the tomb, did he have the ability to actually raise himself from the dead? The
answer is a resounding no because he was physically dead plus his sister Martha
stated that by now, a time of four days, he would stink because of
decomposition.
John 11:39 (KJV) Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him
that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been
dead four days.
The reality is that when dealing with the subject of salvation, to reject the
starting point of spiritual death is to literally bypass a cardinal truth of the
Scriptures. Free willers do not like to think of themselves as spiritually dead.
They think that because you can put on a blue tie or buy a steak for lunch that
is somehow exercising free will and they erroneously equate that type of choice
with the ability to “accept Christ.” Nothing could be farther from the truth and
more heretical because we have plainly seen from the Bible that a person, before
salvation, is spiritually dead or lifeless which means at that point they are
incapable of making any spiritual decisions from the state of being spiritually
dead. You cannot even will the common cold from your body and you think you can
will yourself into Heaven?
So now we see the
Bible is teaching clearly that the state of mankind before salvation is that
they are spiritually dead and the only thing dead people can be is dead.
So then the next question is, if a person is spiritually dead, then how
is it possible for them to become saved? Several things must happen first but
not by us, by the hand of God alone.
This next point is the moment the person really becomes saved.
When one is physically dead, the only way to
make them alive again is through resurrection. The same principle applies to the
spiritually dead. The soul must be resurrected from the dead but since the dead
person does not have the ability to resurrect themselves, it must be done from
the outside inward.
Revelation 20:6 (KJV) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests
of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
In Revelation 20:6, we read about a resurrection
on which the second death has no power. The second death is to be sentenced to
an eternity in Hell but because a person is resurrected from a state of
spiritual death, the second death has no effect on that person. Why? Because
they have now become saved eternally and the threat of Hell is now removed
forever. This is not speaking of a future physical resurrection because of the
language in the rest of the verse. It states that those who are partakers in the
first resurrection will be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with
Christ a thousand years. Revelation 1:6
(KJV) And hath made us kings
and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and
ever. Amen. The thousand years
is symbolic of the time period between the first and second coming which means
during that time period as millions of Christians are called by God, they shall
all reign with Christ.
Romans
6:4 (KJV) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.
One of the most open verses about a person
becoming born again from the dead is Romans 6:4 where it speaks about Christ
being raised from the dead by God the Father, it goes on to state that we, being
raised, like Christ should walk in newness of life. The words “even so” in the
Greek text carries with it the meaning of “in this way or after this manner.”
Now that we have been resurrected from the dead, we now take on a new life and
new purpose and in Christ we are to walk in that manner.
Now that a person has been spiritually
resurrected what is the next event that happens in the new believer’s life?
John
14:17 (KJV) Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it
seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you.
Now that a person has been resurrected from
spiritual death, where there was once a void in their soul is now filled with
the Holy Spirit. He is called the Spirit of truth in John 14:17 and He now
indwells the believer. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that allows the
Christian to function in the spiritual realm. It is through His power that the
Christian will be able to perform the duties of Christianity and to perform
their assigned ministry, which every Christian has. Let us now attend to what
the Holy Spirit brings the Christian in the way of primary abilities. He doesn’t
indwell us in dormancy but gives the Christian their spiritual abilities.
Before a person is saved, they are spiritually
dead and that makes it impossible for them to generate believing faith. The free
willers always talk about exercising faith to believe in Christ yet not one of
them has ever stated where the faith comes from. It cannot come from one who is
spiritually dead just as physical life cannot be generated out of one who is
physically dead such as Lazarus or the son of the widow of Nain.
Luke 7:12 (KJV) Now when he came nigh to
the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of
his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her.
So then the question remains, if the faith a
person needs to believe is not generated from the person, where does it come
from? The answer is simple and found in Scripture.
Galatians
5:22 (KJV) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
Faith is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and one can
only have faith if they are already indwelled with the Holy Spirit, which means
one can only have faith after they have become saved and not before. The
spiritually dead person does not have the Holy Spirit indwelling them which
means that only the one that the Holy Spirit indwells will have the fruits of
the Spirit. Now that a Christian has faith as a fruit of the Holy Spirit, he or
she is able to do something else which the spiritually dead person cannot do.
Now that one has a bedrock of faith given to
them by the Holy Spirit, they may now believe the things of God. The word
“believe” in the Greek text is “pisteuo” which is a verb denoting a work. If a
person could believe in Christ without having the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,
it would mean they have performed a work and that would mean they have worked
for their salvation which is totally against what the Bible teaches in many
places.
Ephesians 2:8-9 (KJV) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast.
So then the question might be raised, if after
the moment of salvation, we do a work, does that count against us as if we are
trying to work for salvation? A group of people had asked Jesus what they could
do to work the works of God and His response was very simple.
John
6:28-29 (KJV) Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the
works of God? {29} Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God,
that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
So we see in this verse that the work of God is
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this is not the same as one who tries
to believe without being regenerated. A person can believe because they now have
the faith which can be exercised to believe. Why is this? Simply because they
now believe by building on the faith they have been given from the Holy Spirit
who indwells them when their souls were resurrected to newness of life from
being spiritually dead. In other words, the Bible is teaching us that we cannot
believe the things of God unless we have already become saved.
1
Corinthians 2:14 (KJV) But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them,
because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14 tells us plainly that the
natural or unsaved man cannot receive or understand the things of God because
they are spiritually dead and this means that a person cannot believe from a
state of spiritual death. They must be indwelled by the Holy Spirit as a result
of salvation.
Romans
10:9 (KJV) That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.
Let us look at one of our key verses from above.
Romans 10:9 is a verse which teaches us that we must believe in our
hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead and that we must confess it with our
mouths. The word for “confess” in the Greek text is the word “homologeo” which
literally means “to say the same thing.” In other words our testimony must be in
line with the Word of God. That principle is found back in Amos.
Amos 3:3 (KJV) Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
To be agreed is to agree with the Word of God. Before salvation, the Bible was a
book we were unable to understand and our lives were in opposition to the Bible
but once we became saved, we are in agreement with the Scriptures.
Then we are to believe in our heart that God
raised Jesus from the dead but with the old heart we were at enmity with God.
However, when God saves us and resurrects our souls, He also gives us a new
heart which would be able to ingest the things of God.
Ezekiel 36:26 (KJV) A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I
put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I
will give you an heart of flesh.
Now Romans 10:9 tells us to confess and believe. If we did these things from a
state of spiritual death, it would be an attempted work for salvation but
because God has already saved us and then given us spiritual abilities, they
would be considered exercising the faith that we have and it would not be a work
for salvation but a work in salvation which is what the believer is to be
engaged in.
Ephesians
2:10 (KJV) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
We have plainly seen, without any verse
manipulation, that before a person is saved they are spiritually dead and dead
means dead. They do not have the ability to generate faith, to believe, or will
themselves into salvation. We have also seen that a person must be saved prior,
and it could be just a few seconds, to believing by means of faith which is
given as a fruit of the Holy Spirit who indwells the believer and then gives
them the ability to believe the things of God, simply because regeneration has
already taken place. So let me just list the order of effectual salvation it is
from Spiritual death to Spiritual resurrection to receiving the Holy Spirit to
be given faith as a fruit to be able to believe the things of God. No unsaved
person can will themselves into spiritual resurrection. It must be performed by
God or the person stays spiritually dead. It is that simple.
We did not have to assume anything but in our investigation of the
doctrine of salvation, we found in the Scriptures, by means of a clear
hermeneutic that before one can believe, God must perform a resurrection on our
souls and that all takes place simultaneously.
So when a person responds to a gospel call and is truly saved, that means
God has resurrected that soul and because of the indwelling Holy Spirit, they
now know their need for a Savior whereas before they became saved, they didn’t
even care about the things of God being in a state of spiritual death.
We have
looked at two examples of assumptive hermeneutics whereby two teachings are
prevalent and they are both without biblical foundation.
Christians cannot continue to interpret the Bible in the way that we want
God to write or the way we want the Scriptures to mean.
If the church is ever going to get back to a place of strength, it must
begin to look at the Scriptures from the way God wrote them and not the way we
want to read them. The majority of
Christianity has become very man-centered in that we view the Bible in a way
that placates man instead of the way God wrote them.
The fact that man sinned against a thrice holy God means that the way
back to God is not one of ease because it cost the life of the Son of God to pay
for the sins of His people.
Matthew 1:21 (KJV)
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for
he shall save his people from their sins.
Living the Christian life does not wholly consist of jumping up and down
in church on Sunday or hearing some false preacher pacify his audience in a
mega-church with all kind of sweet platitudes while completely ignoring the
reality of sin. The true Christian
will search the Scriptures diligently before accepting any teachings to
ascertain whether they have heard the Scriptures being interpreted according to
assumptive hermeneutics or through clear, harmonious hermeneutics which connect
the teachings of Scripture without over-justification with many words.
Christians
assume that everything they hear, especially from a well-known preacher, is
correct according to the Scriptures and that is just not true.
In fact, the more famous a preacher is, normally the sloppier they are
with the Scriptures but because they are famous, everything they teach is
accepted willy-nilly. For example,
go to John MacArthur’s church and say he is wrong about Mark 16:9-20.
You will be escorted out the door.
Go to Joel Osteen’s church and say he is a false teacher.
You will be escorted out the door.
This is
why the Christian must spend time searching and researching the Scriptures to
either confirm or reject what they heard.
We looked at two popular teachings which are taught thousands of times
each day and yet neither of those teachings have any biblical foundation but
they are accepted as is without any question.
God gave
us the Bible for wisdom and understanding, neither of these can be obtained if
we refuse to research the Scriptures and accept everything we are told.
The reality is that when we hear a popular preacher speak, we
automatically go into assumptive mode, that is, based upon who is speaking we
assume they are correct. This is
very dangerous territory and is the reason that Christianity has so many
confused Christians. There are a
great number of teachings which are taught from the pulpits that are just not
true and the reason that Christians become confused is because these teachings
do not create a harmonious hermeneutic and if they clash with one another, it
creates confusion and results in weak Christians and churches.
This is why Christians can no longer rely on what we hear preached or
what we read without confirming the teaching in Scripture.
If the findings go against a popular preacher then so be it.
This is why it is important for Christians to know whether they heard a
teaching through assumptive hermeneutics or through real hermeneutics.
If they pass on a false teaching, then they have become a false teacher
themselves and no true Christians wants that moniker attached to them.
Brethren, let us get serious!