Reformation Then … and Reformation Now!

“The Five Solas” for the 21^st Century

Tomorrow, the Western world celebrates Halloween. On October 31^st in communities all across America will have little children dressed up in costumes. With the custom of dressing up in costumes that reflect the darkness and even the demonic (witches, warlocks, ghosts, goblins, bats and spiders), God in His sovereignty permitted a rather significant event to happen on October 31, 1517. On that day Dr. Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg Church — which also served as the community bulletin board.

This day commemorates the day and even the event that began what history deems as the Reformation. The Reformation, as the root word outlines, means that a reform came to the church. It was a reform that recovered the pure simplicity of the Gospel. You see during the Middle Ages (around 500 to 1500 A.D.), the Gospel had gotten bogged down in the Catholic church because of politics and corruption and a hierarchy with the church that distanced itself from the people whom they were to serve. Illiteracy was rampant. No one owned a copy of the Scriptures except for the clergy — and even then it was a Latin translation by St. Jerome known as the Vulgate.

Why does what happened in 1517 matter in 2005? Because the lessons learned in that tiny town in Wittenburg are lessons the church must absorb now or the church will lose her influence! From this, five blessed lynchpins for our faith re-emerged gloriously and with fire!

1. Scripture alone.

For the Reformers, the doctrine of ‘sola Scriptura’ needed to be recovered as well. The Catholic Church in the Middle Ages resembled the modern-day Pharisees in that the traditions that had accumulated had grown to have equal standing with the Word of God. And nothing has changed even now. In Mark 7:8-13, we see how the Pharisees operated:

You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.” And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban’ (that is, given to God)— then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

The Pharisees started out as ones who were simply interpreting Scripture — soon they elevated their traditions to be equal with Scripture. After a while, they nullified Scripture by exalting their traditions above it.

In Roman Catholic dogma, if you used the phrase “Word of God,” they would not view it as many Protestants do. For them, the Word of God is the sum of an equation: Sacred Scripture plus Holy Tradition equals The Word of God. From the Roman Catholic’s own Catechism, we read how they view what they called Sacred Scripture (the Bible) and Holy Tradition (their interpretations since Biblical times).

81 “Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit and [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound and spread it abroad by their preaching.”

82 As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, “does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honoured with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence.”

The Reformers rightly said, “Wait a minute — you have traditions that are not mentioned anywhere in Scripture. The doctrine of purgatory, the veneration of Mary, the honoring of icons or images, and even the doctrine outlining a need for a Pope — these are not called for in Scripture. Where did this come from? If it didn’t come from Scripture, it had to come from some other uninspired source. This cannot be!” The interpretations of Scripture as the Catholic Church saw them were given the same authority, even when they seemed to add or contradict what was written in Holy Scripture.

Paul warns the Galatian church not to listen to another Gospel — in fact, Paul puts this warning in the starkest of contexts in Galatians 1:11-12:

… For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

But we go to the Scriptures. What does it say? Deuteronomy 4:2 tells us: “You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.” Deuteronomy 12:32 again says: “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.”

In Psalm 19:7-11, David writes, “The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul.” Perfect. What does perfect mean? It means that it is to full maturity — complete. If it lacked anything or if something from it needed to be taken away, it would surely not be perfect.

From the New Testament, we see from Jesus’ own words when he prayed for His disciples and all who would believe to “sanctify them in thy truth — thy Word is truth.” This is the perfect Word of God as given to us by God Himself — the Word we are neither to add from nor from which we are to take away. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, we see that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God. The Word here is “Scripture.” Some will say, “But Paul only had the Old Testament — the New Testament folks didn’t see their own letters as Scripture.” But we read from 2 Peter where Peter describes Paul’s teachings and says, “There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16). So Peter understood that God had inspired Paul and that his writings were not just on par with Scripture, but were Scripture.

John Calvin, one of the great Reformers along with Martin Luther, noted:

This, then, is the difference. Our opponents (speaking of the Roman Catholic Church) locate the authority of the Church outside God’s Word, that is, outside of Scripture and Scripture alone. But we insist that it be attached to the Word and to not allow it to be separated from it. … For this reason the Church should not be wise of itself, should not devise anything of itself but should set the limit of its own wisdom where Christ has made an end of speaking. In this way the Church will distrust all the devisings of its own reason. But in those things where it rests upon God’s Word the Church will not waiver with any distrust or doubting but will repose in great assurance and firm constancy.”

So we too in the 21^st century must be careful!

2. Grace alone through faith alone (Galatians 1:8-9; Ephesians 2:8-9).

So the recovery of the blessed doctrine of Scripture and Scripture alone being our rule of faith. And what did Scripture teach? Scripture teaches that salvation by ‘grace alone.’ In Galatians 1:6, Paul in sheer exasperation tells the Galatian church,

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8-9).

Notice Paul says that they are deserting the God who called you ‘in the grace of Christ’ and are turning to a ‘different gospel.’ Paul is saying, “The grace of Christ is the Gospel.” The Gospel is the Good News. The reason we see that the Gospel is such good news is only truly possible when we see that our soul is in such bad shape! In Galatians 3:10, the Apostle Paul quotes from Deuteronomy 27:26 in saying, “For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.’”

You say, “I know I’m not perfect, but I’m not as bad as so many others are. I may not be a Christian, but I am a good person!” You say, “The Book of the Law is not my authority. I don’t see it like that.” Well, in a situation like that, your opinion is not only misses the mark, but misses the point. What matters is what God says! And whether we see it as our authority or not, it will be the standard by which we will be deemed fit for heaven or not.

During the time of the Reformation, the church taught that salvation could be bought by indulgences. The Pope at that time (Leo X) wanted to build St. Peter’s Basilica and used this horrid doctrine of indulgences on the people so they could buy salvation for their family members who were in purgatory. “When a coin clings in the chest, a soul flies up to heavenly rest,” indulgence-advocate John Tetzel would say. Luther posted his 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenburg church questioning this practice.

Without grace, we have the law looming over us and we live in fear of its dictates. But we also must not add to grace. The Reformation was a fight over the Scripture’s teachings of grace alone. Not grace partly, then us coming along partly so that we may decide for it and ultimately earn it. Grace stands alone — otherwise, it’s not grace.

In Galatians 2:15-16, we read:

We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

In these two short verses, we come away with a very serious understanding of how one is made right with God. It is not by works of the law. As the Reformers noted, it is not by attending Mass, going to confession, the abundance of saying prescribed prayers, or membership in a Church. It is solely by faith in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8-9 states it another way: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

God through Christ initiated grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. Grace through faith, according to Paul, is diametrically opposed to what he calls ‘works of the law.’ Doing works of the law shows you are trying to compensate for your sinful acts by doing good works to tip the scales in your favor. But Paul says, “Your salvation is a gift! His grace is a gift! Your faith, even, is a gift! Your salvation is not the result of works — otherwise who would get the glory? You would, not God!”

Romans 1:16-17 says,

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.

We live in a faithless world. As we spoke of the Sadducees last week, we saw that they were ‘secular humanists’ — operating only on things they could grasp with their senses. Living by faith is for the weak, the foolish, the lowly. But St. Augustine spoke it rightly when he said, “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand.” In other words, if you truly want to understand, then believe first. Then trust in Christ first.

And so it is with saving faith. We think we have to have it all figured out before we come to Christ! We think we have to get things in order before we are ready to give ourselves to Him! That’s not walking by faith in the least!

A husband and wife didn’t really love each other. The man was very demanding, so much so that he prepared a list of rules and regulations for his wife to follow. He insisted that she read them over every day and obey them to the letter. Among other things, his “do’s and don’ts” indicated such details as what time she had to get up in the morning, when his breakfast should be served, and how the housework should be done. After several long years, the husband died. As time passed, the woman fell in love with another man, one who dearly loved her. Soon they were married. This husband did everything he could to make his new wife happy, continually showering her with tokens of his appreciation. One day as he was cleaning house, she found tucked away in a drawer the list of commands her first husband had drawn up for her. As she looked it over, it dawned on her that even though her present husband hadn’t given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband’s list required anyway. She realized she was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation.

3.  Christ alone (John 14:1-6, 1 Timothy 2:5; Romans 5:10; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

In the 1953 movie “Martin Luther,” there is a scene in which Luther is bothered by all the veneration of relics. Relics were collected then and were to be venerated, thus reducing the Christian’s time in purgatory. But Luther had been studying Paul’s Epistle to the Romans and came across the verse we just discussed — Romans 1:16-17, and was especially captured by the phrase “The righteous shall live by faith.” As he brought this to the attention of his superior, he asked him, “Do we see anywhere of relics? Of beads? By faith the just shall live.” His superior replied, “Brother Martin, if you take away these objects, what will you put in their place?” Luther simply stated, “Christ! Man only needs Jesus Christ.”

We do not need objects to help us in our worship. The second commandment states clearly in Exodus 20:4-6:

“You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

The issue is worship, bowing down, venerating, and paying homage to the image that represents. We even need to be careful in our pictures of Christ and how we picture Him even in heaven. Our flesh is weak and will begin to craft and picture Christ in our own image! That leads to idolatry.

Some say it is OK to pray to the saints, or to Mother Mary, as a mediator to help in answer to prayer. But does not the Apostle Paul state in 1 Timothy 2:5 that “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” The only sufficient intercessor (or if you prefer – ‘go-between’) between this fallen world and the holy world of heaven is the One who is Lord of both, His name is Jesus Christ. Nowhere in Scripture to we see Christians who are in heaven interceding with those still alive on earth. Only Christ has accomplished that.

He accomplished this through His creating power as well as His saving power. This is all summed up in 1 Cor. 1:30: “He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”

When John MacArthur visited India, we took time to visit Mother Teresa and the orphanage she established. As a gesture of friendship, she gave Pastor John a copy of her book and wrote on the inside, “May you enter the heart of Jesus through the Blessed Virgin Mary.” In Catholic dogma, Mary is see as a co-redemptrix — one who helps redeem and fit people for heaven. But does not Ephesians 1:7 say, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace”? In Him we are redeemed and purchased out of the tyranny of sin, not Him and anyone else, even His earthly mother! This is not supported by Scripture in the least!

Romans 5:10 tells us: “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.” We are reconciled by God’s Son and saved by His life, not our own life nor anyone else’s.

One more — 2 Cor. 5:21: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” God made who to be sin? Christ. Who knew no sin? Christ (the only one who never knew sin according to the Scriptures). How are we made the righteousness of God? “In him.” You get the idea, I hope.

Conclusion

Charles Biggs in a recent article about Reformation Day noted that we need to have little bracelets that should not only say, WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?) but WHJADIHLDRAAFM? (What has Jesus Already Done in His Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension for Me?”

Let me tell you this, my friends. The three sweetest words ever spoken were not “I love you.” They were spoken by our Savior when He proclaimed, “It … is … finished!” Nothing more needs to be done to secure our salvation. Christ has accomplished it in full.

Won’t you trust in the wooing and drawing of the Holy Spirit as He brings you to Christ?

(By Pastor Matthew R. Perry, Boone’s Creek Baptist Church, Lexington, KY, Sunday, October 30, 2005)

 

Papers on John Knox and Athanasius (Quodlibet Journal)

John Knox: Preacher of the Scottish Reformation (Quodlibet Journal: Volume 6 Number 1, January – March 2004)

Athanasius and His Influence at the Council of Nicaea (Quodlibet Journal: Volume 5, Number 2-3, July 2003)

Deficient Derelicts

Dr. Al Mohler of Southern Seminary has written a very compelling article dealing with what he calls “the deficit of doctrinal instruction” in many of our churches. He writes:

The church is faced in the postmodern age by several distinct apologetic challenges. Internally, the church must defend the faith against ignorance, against compromise, against doctrinal apathy, and against denial. The church now suffers from a breathtaking deficit of doctrinal instruction and biblical truth. In some churches, the great truths of the Christian faith are unknown, and in others, these truths are left dormant and untaught. Beyond this, the very real dangers of doctrinal corrosion and heresy threaten. (To read the rest of the article, click here.)

It seems that our churches by and large have handed off the theological instruction to our seminaries — not something I believe Paul nor Christ intended. Our churches are to be theological and missiological training grounds for all congregants, and especially ministers-in-training. Our churches must not only be afraid of commitment to serve but also of committing to think through their belief systems. Are we on target in our biblical thinking?

The Prayer of the Consistent Synergist (Reformation Theology)

The Reformation Theology blog has a great post on the "Prayer of the Consistent Synergist."  Synergism is "…the doctrine that there are two efficient agents in regeneration, namely the human will and the divine Spirit, which, in the strict sense of the term, cooperate. This theory accordingly holds that the soul has not lost in the fall all inclination toward holiness, nor all power to seek for it under the influence of ordinary motives."  This gives some power of salvation to the human rather than salvation being solely "of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9).

I also noticed in the comments section how a synergist would sing Amazing Grace.  It is as follows:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound,
My choice saved me!
I once was lost, but found my way,
Was partially vision-impared, but now am healed.

The Lord has promised good to me,
My action, His hope secures!
He shall my sheild and portion be,
So long as I don't lose my salvation.

Through many dangers, toils, and snares,
I have already come,
Twas my faithfulness that brought me safe thus far,
And I'll bring myself home.

A Southern Baptist Looks at the Doctrine of Election

The late Ernest Reisinger writes a very compelling and very biblical look at what I believe is the blessed doctrine of election (also known as the perseverance of the saints).  Click here to read.  You'll be blessed.

Was the SBC Conservative Resurgence Necessary? You Bet!!

Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr., President of Southern Seminary, has a new blog dealing with issues pertaining to the SBC entitled Conventional Thinking.  In one entry, he gives some good reasons why the conservative resurgence in the SBC was entirely warranted and necessary.  Click here to read the entry and if you are a Southern Baptist, please bookmark this blog — it will be quite helpful in understanding all things SBC.

Five Year Olds and a Blessed Doctrine

Russell Moore, the Dean of Theology and Senior Vice President for Academic Administration at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes an incredibly moving piece about his five year old's birthday.  If this doesn't make you praise God for the blessed doctrine of adoption, I'll certainly pray for you.

Thoughts on Jesus’ Demand to Repent (John Piper)

Letters From Cambridge #2

As part of my sabbatical here in Cambridge, England, I am working on a book with the tentative title What Jesus Demands From the World. The demand to repent is as basic as it gets in Jesus’ message. It is equally basic to, and almost synonymous with, the command, “You must be born again” (John 3:7). One of my concerns is to show that repentance in Jesus’ message is not behavior but the inner change that gives rise to new God-centered, Christ-exalting behavior. Here are some thoughts to help make the meaning of repentance more plain.

From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Matthew 4:17)

I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:32)

The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. (Matthew 12:41)

Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:3, 5)

The first demand of Jesus’ public ministry was, “Repent.” He spoke this command indiscriminately to all who would listen. It was a call for radical inward change toward God and man.

Two things show us that repentance is an internal change of mind and heart rather than mere sorrow for sin or mere improvement of behavior. First, the meaning of the Greek word behind the English “repent” (metanoeo) points in this direction. It has two parts: meta and noeo. The second part (noeo) refers to the mind and its thoughts and perceptions and dispositions and purposes. The first part (meta) is a prefix that regularly means movement or change.¹ So the basic meaning of repent is to experience a change of the mind’s perceptions and dispositions and purposes.

The other factor that points to this meaning of repent is the way Luke 3:8 describes the relationship between repentance and new behavior. It says, “Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” Then it gives examples of the fruits: “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise” (Luke 3:11). This means that repenting is what happens inside of us that leads to the fruits of new behavior. Repentance is not the new deeds, but the inward change that bears the fruit of new deeds. Jesus is demanding that we experience this inward change.

Why? His answer is that we are sinners. “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). What was Jesus’ view of sin? In the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus describes the son’s sin like this: “He squandered his property in reckless living . . . [and] devoured [it] with prostitutes” (Luke 15:13, 30). But when the prodigal repents he says, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” Therefore, throwing your life away on reckless living and prostitutes is not just humanly hurtful; it is an offense against heaven—that is, against God. That’s the essential nature of sin. It’s an assault on God.

We see this again in the way Jesus taught his disciples to pray. He said that they should pray, “Forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us” (Luke 11:4). In other words, sins that God forgives are compared to the ones people commit against us, and those are called debts. Therefore, Jesus’ view of sin was that it dishonored God and put us in debt to restore the divine honor we had defamed by our God-belittling behavior or attitudes. That debt is paid by Jesus himself. “The Son of man came . . . to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). But for us to enjoy that gift he says we must repent.

Repenting means experiencing a change of mind that now sees God as true and beautiful and worthy of all our praise and all our obedience. This change of mind also embraces Jesus in the same way. We know this because Jesus said, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God.” Seeing God with a new mind includes seeing Jesus with a new mind.

No one is excluded from Jesus’ demand to repent. He made this clear when a group of people came to him with news of two calamities. Innocent people had been killed by Pilate’s massacre and by the fall of the tower of Siloam (Luke 13:1-4). Jesus took the occasion to warn even the bearers of the news: “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:5). In other words, don’t think calamities mean that some people are sinners in need of repentance and others aren’t. All need repentance. Just as all need to be born anew because “that which is born of the flesh is [merely] flesh” (John 3:6), so all must repent because all are sinners.

When Jesus said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32), he did not mean that some persons are good enough not to need repentance. He meant some think they are (Luke 18:9), and others have already repented and have been set right with God. For example, the rich young ruler desired “to justify himself” (Luke 10:29) while “the tax collector . . . beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ [and] went down to his house justified [by God!]” (Luke 18:13-14).

Therefore, none is excluded. All need repentance. And the need is urgent. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” What did he mean by perish? He meant that the final judgment of God would fall on those who don’t repent. “The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, something greater than Jonah is here” (Matthew 12:41). Jesus, the Son of God, is warning people of the judgment to come, and offering escape if we will repent. If we will not repent, Jesus has one word for us, “Woe, to you” (Matthew 11:21).

This is why his demand for repentance is part of his central message that the kingdom of God is at hand. “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). The gospel—the good news—is that the rule of God has arrived in Jesus to save sinners before it arrives at his second coming in judgment. So the demand to repent is based on the gracious offer that is present to forgive, and on the gracious warning that someday those who refuse the offer will perish in God’s judgment.

After he had risen from the dead Jesus made sure that his apostles would continue the call for repentance throughout the world. He said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46-47). So the demand of Jesus to repent goes to all the nations. It comes to us, whoever we are and wherever we are, and lays claim on us. This is the demand of Jesus to every soul: Repent. Be changed deep within. Replace all God-dishonoring, Christ-belittling perceptions and dispositions and purposes with God-treasuring, Christ-exalting ones.

For Christ and his kingdom,

Pastor John

¹ For example meta is used as a prefix in the word metabaino (transfer or change from one place to another), metaballo (change one’s way of thinking), metago (lead or move from one place to another), metatithemi (convey from one place to another, put in another place, transfer), metamorphoo (change in a manner visible to others, be transfigured), metastrepho (cause a change in state or condition, change, alter), metaschematizo (change the form of something, transform, change), etc.

Deciphering The DaVinci Code (Mohler)

Just an excellent article and review of this work and so-to-be-released movie.

Click here to read! 

The Gospel of Judas: Is This Really the “Lost Gospel”?

(This was written at the request of one of my members asking for a "statement to be released."  May it be of help during these troubling times! — MRP) 

The USA Today.  20/20.  The National Geographic Channel.  Canadian Television (CTV).  The New York Times.  All over the newspapers, magazines, television, and Internet, headlines blared out all over:  Scholars find the Lost Gospel of Judas.  Many in the mainstream media have declared that this will cause a ‘revolution in Christianity.’  One headline blurted out, “Christianity Shaken!”    Sadly, this has caused many to be shaken.  Is there anything to this “Gospel?”  Let’s take a look at what this ‘Gospel of Judas’ is all about. 

Background 

Simply put, this work makes Judas to look like a hero rather than a traitor.  Although Judas Iscariot in every reference in the New Testament is called “the one who betrayed Christ,” the “Gospel of Judas” tells us that Jesus took Judas aside, imparted some secret knowledge to him and even ordered Judas to betray Him.  Why?  So that Jesus would be freed from His earthly body into a heavenly one.  The translators and editors of The Gospel of Judas even note, “The death of Jesus, with the assistance of Judas, is taken to be the liberation of the spiritual person within.”  Again, Judas is cast as the hero of the story, rather than the villain and the traitor that Scripture says He is.   

Are there problems with this?  Yes, yes … a hundred times YES in a hundred different ways.  Let’s outline just a few. 

When Was the Gospel of Judas written? 

Even the scholars putting forth this ‘lost gospel’ admit that this was written sometime in the 3rd century, almost 200 years after Judas died!  Normally, that would be seen as a gigantic problem and would quell any further attempt to validate this ‘lost gospel,’ but alas —- when you have an agenda to submarine and undermine the Scriptures, one little detail like falsifying authorship won’t keep you from pressing on. 

That’s why we hold to the Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Each of these authors were eyewitnesses of Jesus’ ministry.  Notice in 2 Peter 1:16, where Peter noted, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”  In First John, the Apostle John begins this letter by saying,  

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life — the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us — that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you so that you too may have fellowship with us;  and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (1 John 1:1-3, ESV).   

Luke testifies:  Luke 1:1-4  

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us,  [2] just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,  [3] it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,  [4] that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.  

So Peter and John were eyewitnesses and Luke the master historian did his homework so that we would have an accurate account of Jesus’ ministry from those who were eyewitnesses themselves.  All Four Gospels are eyewitness accounts whose authors wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16) all that they saw and heard and touched.   

That cannot be said even remotely about “The Gospel of Judas.” 

What Is Contained in This Gospel? 

Clearly, if you read over the translation found on the National Geographic® website, you will notice that this ‘Gospel’ has an entirely different flavor to that of the Four Gospels.  What’s different? 

First, we see that Jesus’ calls the disciples’ deity “your god.”  In Scene 1 and verse 34, Jesus reacts to their act of praise during the Passover meal by saying, “You are not doing this of your own will, but so that the son of your god will be praised.”  The disciples respond, “Master, you are the son of our god.”  Jesus said to them, “How do you know me?  Truly I say to you that no generation of the people that are among you will know me.”[1] [1]  

To begin, Jesus always refers to the Creator as “my Father.”  Secondly, in John 14:9-10, Jesus Himself says, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father… I am in the Father and the Father is in me” (John 14:9-10).  “Father!”  Not, ‘your god.’   

Secondly, we see Jesus taking Judas aside to impart some secret knowledge.  This lost ‘gospel’ was a product of an ancient 2^nd to 3^rd century heresy known as Gnosticism.  The word ‘gnostic’ comes from the Greek word ‘gnosis’ which means ‘knowledge.’  Gnostics believed that the flesh was inherently evil and the spirit world was inherently good and that in order to leave the evil flesh and ascend to the spirit world, you needed to acquire more of this secret knowledge to obtain more freedom from this world.  An evil god, called the demiurge, actually created the universe.  The true God was actually too pure for us human creatures to truly know him.  Therefore, they say, God brought about lesser gods known as emanations to help express what could not be known.  But this demiurge came to keep those in the fleshly, material world in bondage to keep the spirit souls that were pure from going back up to God after their physical bodies had died.  Again, the secret knowledge of the spiritual realm would set their spirits free from this material world![2][2] 

Christ was sent from the spirit world to the fleshly world to impart special spiritual knowledge so that we might know it and be freed.  The problem is that Gnostics deny that Jesus Christ was God made flesh (the Incarnation).  If He was not, then He could not have atoned for our sins and therefore we are still lost in those sins.   

Thirdly, where’s God’s redeeming work in Christ for our sins?  Nowhere to be found!  By the language of “The Gospel of Judas,” we see the evidence of this Gnostic thought.  But did not Jesus come not simply to release the spiritual person from within, but to redeem us who are in spiritual sin by dying a real human death on the cross in our place?  Yes He did.  Albert Mohler of Southern Seminary states, “This redemptive action is completely missing from The Gospel of Judas. For that reason, the text was rejected by early Christian leaders.”[3]  In fact, Simon Gathercole, a New Testament professor at Aberdeen University, noted that the text was truly authentic, but unimportant in helping us understand first-century biblical thought:  "It contains themes which are alien to the first-century world of Jesus and Judas, but which became popular later." For The Gospel of Judas, the ‘good news’ is that our spirits may be released from this world to the next.  But doesn’t the Scriptures teach that our spirits are by nature dead but can only be made alive through God’s grace in the forgiveness of sins through the cross (Romans 3:23-26; Ephesians 2:1-8)?  Clearly, this is not a fifth ‘gospel,’ because the ‘good news’ it conveys is diametrically opposed to the ‘good news’ the other Four Gospels convey. 

So What Do We As Christians Do With All This? 

First, know that many secular scholars and the mainstream media will always look to undermine the authority of Scripture.  Ask yourselves this, when was the last time you saw anything positive being promoted in the media or in secular colleges about the truth of Scripture?  Sadly, even many Christian colleges cast doubt of the reliability of Scripture, much less uphold its authority.   

We have seen this with The Gospel of Judas, The DaVinci Code, even all the way back to The Last Temptation of Christ.  The media lauded the work of an artist named Andres Serrano who displayed a photograph a crucifix submerged in urine — and was even supported by the National Endowment of the Arts!   

Friends, this is where we are.  We are living in a Post-Christian America where all things outlined in Scripture from the roles and definition of family, to how the universe came into being, and all other Scriptural issues are being called into question and those who speak loudly about it are applauded!   

Secondly, we must truly praise God for the discernment and the faithfulness of the early church fathers who defended the faith in the early church.  The Early Fathers did not have Internet, nor did they have 1800 years of faithful scholarship of Scripture to help them.  They had the Word of God in their hearts and were able to discern heresy from orthodoxy!   They could discern right and wrong.  Their faithfulness paved the way for all the faithful ones who followed.  We certainly are in their debt. 

Thirdly,  trust the Word of God.  There is great unity to be found not just in the Four Gospels but in all of the Scriptures as redemptive history is unfolded, coming to completion in Christ Jesus.  The Gospel of Judas could not stay consistent within itself, but all 66 Books of our Bible are amazingly consistent.  W.A. Criswell preached a sermon called “The Scarlet Thread” that is found all through Scripture.  That scarlet thread is the blood of Jesus from Genesis to Revelation.  What is true in Genesis is true in the Psalms is true in Haggai is true in Luke is true in Galatians, 1 Peter, Jude, and Revelation.  It is a library of books that make up The Book!   

Conclusion 

I leave you with the Article 1 of our Declaration of Faith which outlines The Scriptures: 

We believe in the infallible, verbal inspiration of the whole Bible, that God is its author, that it has truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction with the salvation of sinners and the instruction of the saints unto all good works for its end; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, the true center of Christian union; the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, doctrines and opinions should be tried. 

And also Psalm 119:89-90: 

Forever, O Lord, your word       
is firmly fixed in the heavens.  

Let not your faith be shaken by supposed scholars and our mass mainstream media.  The God we serve, the God of the Bible, is God over all and His Word is fixed and cannot be shaken.  Someone said, “The Bible is an anvil with little hammers broken all around it.”  Of course!  Can any man break apart God’s inspired Word? 

I do not envy them the task! 

Copyright © 2006 by Matthew Perry.    

 

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[1] [1] The Gospel of Judas.  Translated by Rodolphe Kasser, Marvin Meyer, and Gregor Wurst in collaboration with Francois Gaudard.  © 2006, National Geographic Society.  http://www9.nationalgeographic.com/lostgospel/_pdf/GospelofJudas.pdf:  Internet.  Downloaded 10 April 2006. 

[2] [2]  Thanks to Matt Slick of the Christian Apologetics Research Ministries for this helpful information.  http://www.carm.org/heresy/gnosticism.htm: Internet.  Downloaded 10 April 2006.   

[3]  [3]  From the Albert Mohler Commentary:  From Traitor to Hero? Responding to “The Gospel of Judas,” April 7, 2006.  http://www.albertmohler.com/commentary_read.php?cdate=2006-04-07:  Internet.  Downloaded 8 April 2006.