Over at the Alpha and Omega Ministries blog, Jamin Hubner has been posting a series critiquing the hyper-Dispensationalist (some may even say consistent Dispensationalist) errors. In his latest post, Hubner exposes the error, through exegeting Mt. 19:16-25, of those who believe that the way of salvation for Jews (the "Gospel of Jesus" for the Jews in the hyper-Dispensational scheme) is by works. As Hubner writes:
The answer to that question [Then who can be saved - v.25 NASB] – in light of what Jesus just said in verses 16-25 – is clearly no. No one can be saved. There is no salvation, unless you are absolutely perfect. Human beings need to follow the law and the commandments with 100% perfection in order to enter heaven. In fact, Jesus said earlier in Matthew 5:20 with just as much boldness, “For I say that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you not will enter the kingdom of heaven.”
How impossible! And then Jesus goes even further and amplifies the laws that already exist, saying if you so much as look at a woman wrongly, you’ve committed adultery, and if you hate a person in your mind, it’s the same as murdering them. Jesus goes on and on until finally some of his listeners stop asking questions and walk away
So what is the way of salvation for sinners both Gentile AND Jew? By grace alone, based upon Christ fulfilling the condition for salvation by fulfilling all the commandments on our behalf, as Hubner shows after looking through v. 26.
If anyone is going to be saved, God Himself is going to have to do the work of saving. That is, God Himself is going to have to fulfill every one of the Commandments Jesus just listed in Matthew 19 for anyone to have eternal life, because the law and holiness of God requires perfection.
But, that leaves anyone asking, who is that? Who on earth can live an entire life without lusting after another person, without thinking a thought of hate, without stepping over the line just once?
God in the flesh: Jesus the Christ. That’s what Jesus meant when he said “with God all things are possible.” Only God the Son can fulfill the demands of God the Father.
So then, if Christians aren’t saved by fulfilling the law, then how are Christians saved? Jesus answers that question in the same way Paul does: by faith alone. (Refer back to the quotations of Christ talking about faith). There is one gospel in the Bible, not two.
Amen. There is only one way of salvation in the Gospel which is by grace through faith apart from works. Jews are not saved by merely being Jews or whatever strange ideas some Dispensational Zionists may come up with. Only through faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ can anyone be saved, both Jew and Gentile (Rom. 1:16)
so are calvinist dispensationlists relatively rare? i was only able to find one major church/seminary that generates this kind of view, and dispensationalists in general seem to dispise calvinism do they not?
ReplyDeleteHistorically, Dispensationalists in the US were moderately Calvinistic. But in the IFB circles were they flourish, many of them became rabidly anti-Calvinists
ReplyDeletewell that explains why the "rapture ready" forums are so anti-calvinist does it not? and do you know why are such views so popluar in independent fundie baptist churches
ReplyDeleteIFB are the product of revivalism
ReplyDelete