What we have learned through our study of righteousness is that to receive Jesus’ righteousness, righteousness defined by old covenant law, is that it is not salvation; it is the first step toward salvation. To believe in Jesus is not salvation. This preaching to the contrary is a cleverly disguised attempt at keeping new covenant believers from gaining new covenant salvation. To believe in Jesus is to receive the righteousness of the old covenant because Jesus lived under the authority of the old covenant and perfectly kept the commandments of the old covenant but says nothing of the new covenant. To anyone who knows anything of the scripture it should be obvious that there would be some requirement of behavior before any soul could enter the new covenant. Every covenant God has ever made with mankind has had at least one commandment that obedience to allowed entrance to the blessings of that covenant. It should also be clear that to believe in Jesus allows us entrance to the old covenant but the blessings of the old covenant are no longer available to receive. The old covenant has been superseded by the new covenant.
Our God is a righteous God. Every transaction He has done with mankind has been done in righteousness. God honors His contracts and a covenant is just that: a contract. The Church and all believers in Jesus have been frustrated trying to gain the blessings of the old covenant through faith in the shed blood and broken body of Jesus. The whole reason Jesus died under the penalties of the old covenant was to deliver mankind from the old covenant and give Jew and Gentile alike the opportunity to live in the blessings of the new covenant, but, somewhere along the way, a lie was perpetrated against the Church and to live in the old covenant was taught as the new covenant. Just think of it, we are taught that Jesus died so that we might be partakers of the blessings of the old covenant with the Jews. However, the New Testament paints a much different picture of the salvation of the new covenant. Nowhere was it promised to the Jews to become joint heirs with Jesus or that they might become sons of God. The salvation promised the Jews was something different entirely.
Each covenant has had some eternal blessing attached. For Adam it was the Garden of Eden in perpetuity. For Abraham it was to live in the city God built. For the Jews it was to be God’s children but for the new covenant, the promise is to be sons, sons of God. The term son speaks of the authority of God. A son inherits the estate of the father and therefore the authority and prestige of the father. A daughter receives a lesser inheritance. There are no daughters of God under the new covenant, only sons and each son receives the power and authority of the father. Believers in the new covenant receive this power and authority by inheritance through adoption. Though we are not sons of God, but sons of man, having no access to the power and authority of God, we are adopted by God and through acting on the commandment of the new covenant; we receive an inheritance through Jesus Christ our Lord. You see, when Jesus died on that cross He left an estate; the estate of the Son of God. It is His estate that believers inherit. Only it is belief on Jesus as Lord, not belief in Jesus as Saviour that allows us entrance to the new covenant.
Children, on the other hand, never inherit anything from their fathers. They are cared for by their fathers but never inherit the estate of the father. This was the blessing prescribed under the old covenant, to be cared for by God. The blessing prescribed by the new covenant is to take up a position beside the Father as a son with all the power and authority due the position.
Now, let’s consider some Bible evidence. We have considered Romans 10:9-10 extensively but let’s start there again. Paul very clearly states, “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” These are two acts of faith. With the heart man receives the righteousness of the old covenant law and is delivered from sin. Jesus is our Saviour from sin because He carefully kept the complete definition of wrong behavior outlined by the old covenant and is able to pass His perfect keeping of the law of the old covenant on to all who place their sin into His death on the cross for sin. The old covenant was God’s most complete defining of wrong behavior in His eyes. However, being saved from sin is not the new covenant’s definition of salvation for Paul goes on to say, “With the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”
The new covenant has a different definition of salvation than the old covenant and although belief in Jesus provides believers with the righteousness of the old covenant, it does not provide the righteousness of the new covenant because each covenant has at least one commandment to obey and to obey the one commandment of the new covenant causes a stream of language to flow over the tongue; a confession of Jesus’ Lordship. Moreover, Jesus promised that those who received this baptism would go on to witness of Him (Acts 1:8). In that Jesus is now the resurrected Lord, to witness of Him is to witness of His exalted status. It is to witness that He is Lord of All. It takes supernatural power to witness of a supernatural God and only sons of God would be able to witness to this fact. Thus salvation as defined by the new covenant was promised by Jesus to those who keep His commandment. The power to witness of Jesus was promised to those who receive His baptism daily.
Now, no doctrine of the scripture should be based upon one verse of scripture so let’s consider another verse. In John 1:12, John states, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become Sons of God, even to them who believe on His name.” Now, can I ask a question? Who was given the power to become sons of God? According to John, the power to become sons of God was given to those who received Him, meaning they must receive Him as Saviour first before they can receive power to become a son. How were they given this power? By commandment, it is through obedience to the commandment that the power comes. Did you remember Acts 1:4 and 8? Notice those who believe on His name, not in His name, are given power to become sons. In any other translation of the scripture other than the King James Version the word “on” is translated “in” making the scriptures more congruent in the eyes of the translators but the original Greek uses the two words discriminately. It is belief in Jesus that saves from sins but it is belief on Jesus that allows us entrance to the new covenant.
We previously used Galatians 4:4-5 in our study of righteousness but let’s go back now to consider how we become a son of God according to this verse. “But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” So the first step again is to be redeemed from the law. We do this through belief in Jesus’ death. Jesus died under the penalties of the transgressions of the old covenant law. Through belief in Jesus’ death for sins defined by old covenant law, God’s most complete defining of unrighteous behavior, we are redeemed from the old covenant’s definition of sin, saved from sin. It is then “that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Words have meanings. The word, “that” indicates we can’t become a son of God until we are redeemed from the law. However, the point is not redemption from the law; the point is being clothed with the old covenant’s definition of righteousness. We must be washed from sin by baptism into Jesus’ death before we can become sons of God.
Now notice Galatians 4:6, “And because you are sons God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” If you remember, Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth has come He will not witness of Himself but He will witness of me” John 16:13-14. The Holy Spirit emptied Himself to give all power and authority to Jesus (Matt.28:18) in the Church age and the baptism with the Spirit is the Father God’s gift to the Church (Acts 1:4). Since salvation is a two part deal under the new covenant this sending forth of the Spirit is a two part deal. In John 4:10 and 14 Jesus promises Living Water like a well of water to those who receive Him as Saviour. This is a down payment in lieu of obedience to the second part of salvation under the new covenant. In John 7:38 Jesus promises rivers of the same Living Water to those who believe on Him, not in Him as later translations read, and we learn the Living Water is the Holy Spirit (v.39). You see, it is belief on Jesus as Lord that causes the Spirit of God to flow out of your heart crying Abba, Father. God sends the Spirit, who testifies of the Son, into the hearts of those who are washed from sin as a well in anticipation of obedience to the Lord’s commandment whereby the well springs up and flows out over the tongue as rivers.
John 3:16 is the go to verse for most people when it comes to salvation but the King James Version says “Should not perish” while later translations say “Would not perish.” All of the rest of the King James Version indicates a two part experience when it comes to the salvation defined by the new covenant. Should John 3:16 not line up with the rest of the scripture? “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” According to the King James Version of the Bible, those who believe in Jesus should not perish because they now have the power to become a son of God, John 1:12, and who wouldn’t choose to become a son once the Saviour had completely delivered them from sin? This is completely reasonable. However, later translations of the scripture have combined belief in Jesus and belief on Jesus and have placed the emphasis on the word “believe.” The truth is, if one were to believe Jesus died for the sins of the entire world, 1John2:2, and believed that afterward God raised the Saviour from the dead as Lord of Lords, obedience to the commandment of the Lord in the new covenant age would be second nature; it would be an automatic response. Thus, both ways of translating the scripture are correct. However, in that modern teachers ignore the commandment of the Lord and the two part nature of salvation under the new covenant, I prefer the King James Version of the scripture.
Last Sunday I heard a wonderful message by Charles Stanley on John 14:15. Jesus said, “If you love me keep my commandments,” but Dr. Stanley as well as the rest of the Church exempts themselves from obedience of the commandment Jesus issued to new covenant believers. By whose authority does he exempt himself?
Dr. Stanley goes on to quote proverbs 3:5, saying, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,” but is that not what Dr. Stanley does with the commandment Jesus issued specifically to the Church? Jesus did not stand in front of the charter members of the Church and say, “Now, I am just going to issue this commandment to you eleven men standing here. I do not expect any other of my followers to obey this commandment.” Moreover, there is no place in the scripture that indicates this commandment to be a personal commandment to eleven men. In fact, there were 120 souls in the upper room and all 120 souls received and spoke in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. In order to find the commandment of the Lord to be a personal commandment to 11 men and no others we must lean on our own understanding. There is no understanding in the scriptures that designate it to be personal to 11 men.
Moreover, the scriptures do not say that this commandment will go out of effect at the death of the apostles. In fact, there is no other mention of this commandment anywhere in the rest of the scripture. In that this is the only commandment Jesus issued with all authority in heaven and in earth, the only commandment Jesus issued as Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the only commandment issued in the Church age and the only commandment ever issued to Christians, the only commandment issued to followers of Jesus; in that this is the only commandment issued in the new covenant age, obedience in the age of the new covenant would be patently obvious if believers were not leaning on their own understanding. Furthermore, it should be demonstrably obvious that if the Church were to cease obeying this commandment the power to witness of the resurrection of Christ would cease (Acts 1:4 and 8). The two are inexorably linked. To live in the new covenant age without power to witness of the Christ is to be stuck in the age of the Jews; stuck in the old covenant. It is no accident that new covenant believers must first insert themselves under the authority of the old covenant only to be delivered from the old covenant by faith in Jesus’ death. What the Church teaches today is that we must recognize ourselves as sinners and repent of that sin leaving us dependent on the blood of Jesus. There is no escape from the old covenant as long as you are dependent on Jesus’ blood for righteousness.
Dr. Stanley was making the point that it is our love for Jesus that propels us to obedience of His commandments and Dr. Stanley was locating himself as well as those he was preaching to. Those who love the Saviour will keep the commandment of the Lord. Those who do lip service to the Saviour in order to be delivered from their sins will find themselves wanting on the judgment day of the Lord, which is why the King James Version of the scripture says, “Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed,” Romans 10:11, and Romans 4:5 states, “But to him that does not work but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, His faith is accounted for righteousness.” Paul refers to two works in this verse. The verse would be better understood if written: But to him that does not work (to avoid sin) but believes on Him that justifies the ungodly, His faith (work) is accounted for righteousness. The phrase, “to him that does not work,” refers to belief in Jesus’ death for sins whereby every sin defined by old covenant law is not imputed to you. It does not count against you; does not affect your status of righteous before God. Thus you don’t have to work at avoiding sin. Sin becomes a non issue and faith on Jesus as Lord becomes the only issue. The work this faith produces is accounted as righteousness.
You see, to believe on Him that justifies the ungodly is to believe on the Lord. The word,”on,” means, “a place arrived,” and we arrive at Jesus’ resurrection through faith in Jesus’ death. Through faith in Jesus’ death for payment of sins we are baptized into Jesus’ death but then raised with Him. The Saviour died to take away the sins of the world and it is belief in Jesus, the Saviour, that cleanses from the old covenant definition of sin but Jesus was raised from the dead as Lord. Therefore, it is the Lord that justifies the ungodly. It is the faith on Jesus as Lord that is accounted for righteousness, thus there are two standards of righteousness under the new covenant. The old covenant standard of righteousness is imputed to those who believe in Jesus but the new covenant standard of righteousness is accounted to those who behave properly in the light of Jesus’ resurrection, which is why “Whosoever believes on Him shall not be ashamed” Romans 10:11.
Paul goes on, “David also describes the blessedness of the man unto whom God imputes righteousness without works” and “blessed is the man to whom God will not impute sin” (Rom.4:6&8). However, Paul also describes how Abraham’s faith was accounted as righteousness, not imputed. Abraham’s faith was accounted by works, not works of the law, but works of Faith (Rom.4:9). Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe on the Son,” John 6:29. Now, this could be very confusing except that we know we must exercise two faiths concerning Jesus in order to obtain the salvation offered by the new covenant. We must first believe in Jesus whereby the righteousness of the old covenant is imputed to us and no sin defined by old covenant law is counted against us. “Blessed is the man to whom God will not impute sin and blessed is the man unto whom God imputes righteousness without works.” We now walk in the righteousness of the law, the righteousness of the Christ by faith in His death. However, Jesus was raised from the dead not as Saviour from sin but as Lord of Lords and King of Kings and in order to enter the new covenant we must live in the righteousness of the Lord. The righteousness of the Lord is the obedience of the Lord’s commandment, a commandment we obey by faith and it is this faith that is accounted for righteousness, just like Abraham’s faithful obedience to the commandment given to him was accounted to him as righteousness.
There are two gospels here. If you believe the old covenant was extended forward with the blood of Jesus substituting the blood of bulls and goats for the remission of sins you are believing in one of the two gospels. This gospel is a gospel of the flesh and by the flesh. The purpose of the old covenant was to reveal the sinfulness of mankind and accentuate the need of a Saviour; somebody to deliver them from sin. By issuing commandments that seek to control man’s flesh, God guaranteed the flesh’s rebellion against the commandments, thus setting up a perpetual cycle of sin and need for forgiveness. Churches that preach this gospel use the perpetual cycle of sin to control parishioners, thus extending their own power and influence. Under this gospel, sin must be dealt with promptly and the need of a pastor and good biblical teaching on a regular basis is self evident. Moreover, the fellowship of others seeking to live above sin is critically important and the support of this organization is likewise vitally essential. All of these points feed into the pastor’s need for control. The Lordship of the Christ is preempted by the pastor and the hierarchal church body all the way back to the seminaries which teach this gospel of control. It is the flesh who needs this control, which is why the church has ended up exactly where the Jews were when Jesus came to earth; preaching a gospel of man, Mark 7.
However, Paul preached a different gospel, one in which “Jesus is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe,” Romans 10:4. Under Paul’s gospel, Jesus died under the penalty of all sin, 1John 2:2, and one can be no more righteous than they are through belief in Jesus’ death for sin. Those who accept Jesus’ payment for sins are baptized into His death and are raised together with Him post old covenant law. The old covenant’s definitions of sin do not apply to these believers. “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed.” That’s free from old covenant definition of sin. If you believe Paul’s gospel you are free in Jesus but Jesus issues a new commandment under the authority of the new covenant. In that you are now free in the one who washed away all your sin, to obey one commandment is not burdensome; it is a delight and your love for your Saviour propels you forward to obedience.
On the other hand, if the importance of the commandment Jesus issued in Acts 1:4 is diminished in any way, the new covenant is likewise diminished. The commandment of Acts 1:4 is the mechanism that makes Jesus Lord. If there is no new covenant, there is no commandment to disobey, no sin to repent of and 1John 1:9 makes no sense in the light of Paul’s teaching, which is why most churches teach that belief in Jesus’ death saves from previous sins. Then, old covenant definitions of sin committed after the initial acceptance of Jesus’ death for sins must be repented of and washed by Jesus’ blood. Christ is not the end of the law for righteousness for those who believe, He is the agent that keeps us in the law.
The salvation promised to those under the old covenant was to be cared for by God. Old covenant believers are called children of God. The term “children” defines those who need supervision and care. However, the salvation promised to new covenant believers is to be a son of God, to inherit the estate of God. The term “son” defines one who is responsible; one who can be trusted. There are two gospels. Do you believe in the power of Jesus’ blood to wash away sin? Or, do you believe Jesus died under the penalty of your sin and through belief in His death for your sin you are delivered from the old covenant’s definition of sin; set free in Jesus. You are now as righteous by faith as you will ever be by behavior. To repent of sin defined by old covenant law is to re-enter the old covenant, in which case you will need Jesus’ blood to wash away your sin just as the bulls and goats and lambs and doves were continually sacrificed for the people’s sin. And just as the bulls and goats and lambs and doves were continually sacrificed for the people’s sin, you will have subjected Jesus to crucifixion again and again as you attempt to remain righteous before Him, Hebrews 10.
Jesus said, “Be careful how you hear; for the same measure of importance you place upon what you hear will determine what truth you receive from it. For he that has, to him shall more be given: and he that has not, from him shall be taken what he has,” Mark 4:24-25. You see, for years Christians have used the Roman Road to Salvation to convince lost souls of their need of a Saviour. “For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. The scripture has always said there are two gospels, one that delivers from sin and one that is of the flesh and accentuates the flesh. Paul spoke of this gospel in Galatians 1:6. “I marvel that you are so soon removed from him who called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel.” Paul preached the gospel of Jesus to the Galatians. They believed the gospel of salvation from sin but afterward others came along preaching a different gospel and the Galatians were convinced of this other gospel. You see, we are all acutely aware of our transgressions against old covenant definitions of sin and if we are not careful we can easily be convinced that it is the old covenant’s definition of sin that is important. This is what happened to the Galatians. Somebody came along after Paul preaching that there was no new covenant, the gift of tongues was a disruptive nuisance, and they needed to be forgiven of their sins. This gospel sounds altogether reasonable to the flesh, which is acutely aware of its inability to live up to God’s standard of righteousness, and is easily convinced that to repent of these sins and be washed by Jesus’ blood is consummately more reasonable than to believe Jesus’ death eradicated God’s definition of sin. This gospel is almost universally the only gospel preached today
Meanwhile, the new covenant has always had two standards for righteousness; it has always distinguished between the righteousness that is imputed through faith in Jesus’ death for payment of sin and a righteousness that is accounted based on works, Romans 4. Abraham’s faith was accounted to him as righteousness 5,000 years ago. But we didn’t believe that way. So the truth of these scriptures was withheld from us and whatever inkling of revelation was taken from us because we embraced the lie and rejected the truth.
This dual status of Jesus is why two faiths concerning Him are necessary to salvation under the new covenant. When we believe in Jesus ‘ death we are delivered from sin, delivered from the old covenant’s definition of sin, but in order to enter the new covenant we must then perform the righteousness of the new covenant defined by commandment. We are given the righteousness of the law through faith in the Saviour but the righteousness of the new covenant must be earned by obedience. “And with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” Romans 10:10. It is not enough to say “Jesus is Lord of my life,” Matthew 7:21, we must keep Jesus’ commandments.
However, if we believe Jesus was just another sacrificial lamb whose blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins, we are not yet in the new covenant, we are children of God with no covenant to protect us. The old covenant went out of force some two thousand years ago. We live in the age of the new covenant, a covenant we do not believe in. Now, that doesn’t mean that God does not love us. “It is a true statement that Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” 1Timothy 1:15 and “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish,” John 3:16. God’s love for mankind and willingness to bend over backward to do whatever He can for us is without question, but we are making it extremely hard for God to do anything for us. Our God is first and foremost righteous, which means He will always do the right thing. He has made a covenant with mankind that He will back 120%, but we place more credence, more credibility, more integrity, more trustworthiness in the old covenant ending with Jesus’ death than we do in the new covenant. We just don’t believe that way and therefore the understanding we embrace is enlarged to us and the understanding we reject is taken from us, Mark 4:24-25. Meanwhile, it was God that ended the old covenant and His righteousness forbids Him from opening it back up as long as the new covenant is in force. Thus, those attempting to access old covenant blessings through faith in Jesus’ blood will be disappointed, which is why Romans 10:11 states; “whosoever believes on Jesus shall not be ashamed.” The obvious inference is that those who believe in Jesus will be.
You see, once you accept God’s definition of sin as your own; you accept God’s authority to define sin by commandment and are inducted into the old covenant. Now you have a choice. You can believe Jesus’ blood will wash away your sins, or, you can believe Jesus died under the penalty of your sins. The former faith will keep you in the old covenant; the latter faith will deliver you into the new covenant. To use the blood of Jesus to wash away sin defined by the old covenant is old covenant theology. Jesus died under the authority of the old covenant so that He could then deliver those who accept His death as payment for sins into the new covenant. However, because He died under the authority of the old covenant, those who wish to remain in the old covenant can do so. Yet, the promises of the old covenant are now defunct, superseded by the new covenant.
Righteousness is a complicated subject because God defines righteousness differently in different circumstances. There is the righteousness of the old covenant defined by behavior, the righteousness of the new covenant defined by faith, and the righteousness of the new covenant defined by behavior. This is essentially Romans 1-10. Paul starts Romans 1 decrying his heart’s desire for Israel’s salvation then explains that Israel exchanged the righteousness of God for a righteousness they devised on their own, one that did not lead to salvation. Then Paul exclaims that Jesus is the end of the law for righteousness to all who believe and explains the two types of righteousness in the new covenant; Moses described the righteousness of the law but the righteousness of faith speaks. Paul sums up in verse 10 by saying, “With the heart man believes unto righteousness but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. We must perform righteous acts in order to have righteousness accounted to us in the new covenant. The word righteousness speaks of behavior. What is the correct behavior prescribed by the new covenant? To wait for the saturation of the Holy Spirit daily. This saturation is what keeps new covenant believers holy before the Lord, not His blood. If the gift of tongues is not flowing out of your belly you are not being saturated. Jesus said, “All those who believe on me, out of their bellies will flow rivers of Living Water. This spoke He of the Spirit who was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified” (John 7:37-39). The baptism with the Spirit is just that exactly; rivers of the Holy Spirit flowing out of the bellies of those who believe on Jesus as Lord. It is the correct behavior under new covenant law and therefore the new covenant’s definition of righteousness.
“If there is no commandment, there is no obedience, if there is no obedience there is no righteousness.”
“If you are controlling the gift of tongues, you are Lord of your own life. If the gift of tongues is controlling you, Jesus is Lord.” The Holy Spirit is representing Jesus on the earth today just as Jesus represented the Father in His earthly ministry. It is His representing of Jesus that flows out of the belly as the gift of tongues. How does one make Jesus Lord over their life? By yielding to the Holy Spirit’s representing of Him as Lord each and every day.