“Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free” (Gal 5:1, KJV)
Today we discuss one of the false horns to which people may be bound when they are introduced to Christ’s gospel, the gospel of Jesus-plus.
The gospel of Jesus-plus entails that accepting Christ alone is not enough to guarantee salvation, but where additional demands are made on the believer – Jesus and adhering to the Law, or Jesus and good works, or Jesus and your tithe, or Jesus and the keeping of Hebrew tradition, or Jesus and your calling, and others.
In the time of Acts we find a similar dispute amongst the believers, in an effort to determine if circumcision was an essential part of salvation – “And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, ‘Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved’ ” (Acts 15:1).
The heated argument finally led to Peter postulating this important guide line – “Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (Acts 15:10). It is based on a simple principle, that “if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom 10:9). You need only Christ, nothing more and nothing less. It is interesting to note the bold statement Paul later makes in Gal 5:1-2 : “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing.”
This is also true of a gospel of Christ-plus-anything; it steals the freedom you have in Him.
In the new covenant there is only ONE equation that includes Christ-and-something, and this is stipulated in Mark 16:16 – “He who believes and is baptized will be saved …” But as we noted in earlier discussions, baptism is in reality a fulfillment of being born again.
Guard against any theology that binds you to something more than simply Christ.
Sela: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any religious yokes you may be carrying unnecessarily.
- Read: 2 Sam 16; Prov 20; James 1
- Memorise: James 1:5
- For a deeper understanding: Read Jeffrey Scharlet’s brilliant tongue-in-cheek essay Jesus and nothing: http://www.harpers.org/archive/2003/03/0079525.
