• Table of Contents
• Introduction
• CHAPTER 1. Perverting the Gospel - The Ultimate Sin Against Humanity
• CHAPTER 2. The Gospel of Salvation - Part I - Faith and Obedience
• CHAPTER 3. The Gospel of Salvation - Part II - A Righteous Life by Faith
• CHAPTER 4. Regeneration: God's Creation of the Righteous
• CHAPTER 5. Sanctification: Set Apart for Righteousness
• CHAPTER 6. The Neccesity of Coming Under the Lordship of Christ - Part I
• CHAPTER 7. The Neccesity of Coming Under the Lordship of Christ - Part II
• CHAPTER 8. We Walk By Faith - Part I - Every Believer Overcomes the World
• CHAPTER 9. We Walk By Faith - Part II - Every Believer Takes up Their Cross
• CHAPTER 10. The Fallacy of the "Carnal Christian"
• CHAPTER 11. Bear or Burn: The Fate of the Fruitless in the Parables of Christ
• CHAPTER 12. Righteousness vs. Self-righteousness
• CHAPTER 13. Saint or Sinner?
• CHAPTER 14. Can a Christian Backslide?
• CHAPTER 15. Sin and the Misinterpretation of Romans 7
• CHAPTER 16. Conclusion: Examine Yourselves to See Whether You Are in the Faith

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross

Grk/Heb Fonts

by James P. Shelly

INTRODUCTION

"TRUTH, not eloquence, is to be sought in reading the Holy Scriptures; and every part must be read in the spirit in which it was written. For in the Scriptures we ought to seek profit rather than polished diction. Likewise we ought to read simple and devout books as willingly as learned and profound ones. We ought not to be swayed by the authority of the writer, whether he be a great literary light or an insignificant person, but by the love of simple truth. We ought not to ask who is speaking, but mark what is said. Men pass away, but the truth of the Lord remains forever. God speaks to us in many ways without regard for persons." - Thomas A. Kempis, The Imitation of Christ, 1400's.

If the truth of the gospel contained in Scripture is the sole means appointed by God whereby the soul can be saved, then it is that truth alone which is interpreted as God intended that can bring to fruition its divine objective. When we stand before God in Judgment, the only truth that will be relevant is that which He alone has determined. Since God declares in His Word that we must worship Him in "spirit and truth," it is of no little consequence that we are found doing so on that Day. Thus we are constantly warned in Scripture to "Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing" (Matt. 7:15). In other words, beware of teachers who appear as sheep among the flock of God while, whether knowingly or in ignorance, they are actually wolves that lead the sheep astray. We are therefore admonished, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1). Here Scripture warns us, not of a few false teachers, but many. The Apostle Paul warns us in Acts 20:29, 30, that they will arise from within the church; "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them." This has been the case throughout the history of the church and would seem particularly so in our day. It is as Paul stated in 2 Timothy 3:13, "evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." Therefore, it should not be at all perplexing to find that after 2000 years the church would be inundated with deception and that the "wolves" have exponentially increased among the flock of God. Therefore, since Scripture has warned us beforehand, we must be careful not to rest with a complacent reliance on the words of fallible men as if hoping by chance that they are correct in their understanding of the means appointed by God whereby salvation is obtained, lest we risk eternal ruin. It is the height of folly to be so remiss as to risk the loss of the soul based on the popularity, personality, or eloquence by which one's view of the gospel is presented without a careful investigation into the original document whereupon these views are founded—The only means God has provided whereby we can decisively and resolutely discern truth from error (Acts 17:11, Ps. 119:160). Therefore it is essential that we be diligent in the pursuit of truth, earnest in prayer, searching His Word, that we might worship Him in the way in which He requires of us. When it comes to opposing views on how the soul is saved from eternal death, we cannot simply agree to disagree as though conflicting views of the Gospel are acceptable to God. This is not only contrary to the plain teaching of Scripture (Gal. 1:8, 9) but exceedingly foolish and must be left to the apathetic and shallow-minded.

In the 1700s, George Whitefield, who played a vital role in the great awakening, said in a sermon entitled True Conversion,

I suppose I may take it for granted, that all of you, among whom I am now about to preach the kingdom of God, are fully convinced, that it is appointed for all men once to die, and that ye all really believe that after death comes the judgment, and that the consequences of that judgment will be, that ye must be doomed to dwell in the blackness of darkness, or ascend to dwell with the blessed God, forever and ever. I may take it for granted also, that whatever your practice in common life may be, there is not one, though ever so profligate and abandoned, but hopes to go to that place, which the scriptures call Heaven, when he dies. And, I think, if I know anything of mine own heart, my heart's desire, as well as my prayer to God, for you all, is, that I may see you sitting down in the kingdom of our heavenly Father. But then, though we all hope to go to heaven when we die, yet, if we may judge by people's lives, and our Lord says, 'that by their fruits we may know them,' I am afraid it will be found, that thousands, and ten thousands, who hope to go to this blessed place after death, are not now in the way to it while they live. Though we call ourselves Christians, and would consider it as an affront put upon us, for any one to doubt whether we were Christians or not; yet there are a great many, who bear the name of Christ, that yet do not so much as know what real Christianity is (emphasis added).¹

The sum of the matter is this. There is what Whitefield calls a "real Christianity" and therefore by contrast a counterfeit Christianity. There is the true message of the cross which results in eternal life and a counterfeit message which results in eternal death. Our objective in the following pages is to establish the former and to refute the latter. Therefore, considering the profound importance of the issue at hand, I would ask of the reader to solemnly and honestly consider the arguments presented herein with an open mind and, more importantly, an open Bible. God’s truth always tends to the good of our eternal well-being, therefore irrespective of the extent to which we might be pained and aggrieved in finding that our own understanding of the Gospel is at odds with the truth of God’s word, if we reject it, we do so at the expense of the eternal soul. A price so exorbitant only a fool would ever contemplate such squander.

The various arguments presented in these pages are not based on opinions, feelings, intuitions, emotions, the experiences of professing Christians, or by any authority of the writer, but solely on God’s word as it is written, with over 2000 Scriptural references. We would note as well that we intentionally use quotes of those throughout church history who hold to differing non-essential doctrinal positions within the body of Christ; Calvinists, Armenians, Baptists, Presbyterians, etc., to show that there is broad agreement in the interpretation of the Scriptural references used in making the case for the arguments herein addressed.

Although we may stumble in various ways (James 3:2), we cannot stumble at the truth of the gospel, for to do so is to pro-cure for ourselves an eternal fall from which there is no recovery. We cannot envision a more traumatic and catastrophic experience than that of standing before Christ in the Day of Judgment, claiming “simply to the cross I cling” only to hear the words of the Lord, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23). Coming to the devastating realization of having embraced an erroneous gospel and thus find that we were clinging to a counterfeit cross.

CHAPTER ONE

Perverting the Gospel - The Ultimate Sin Against Humanity