MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
The Seven Baptisms
Written by: Max Klein
Baptism means identification or association:
Introduction:
1. This meaning began in Homer's time. Homer wrote of the one-eyed giant, Cyclops who had trapped Ulysses and his men in a cave and was eating them one at a time. The ingenious Ulysses devised a plan. He had his men sharpen a large log and together they rammed this log into the eye of the one-eyed Cyclops rendering him blind. They identified (baptized) the sharpened log with Cyclops’ eye which changed Cyclops from a seeing giant to a blind giant. Having blinded the Cyclops, they were able to maneuver their way out of the cave. Another example by Homer: Homer's Odyssey, book 9, used baptism for hot metal identified (baptized) with water when a smith dipped a piece of hot iron into water. This is how a blacksmith would temper swords in the ancient world. After this identification, the sword was made stronger and so less likely to bend.
2. Xenophon said that the Spartan military recruits after finishing infantry training would identify (baptize) their spears with pig’s blood. They would run by a barrel of pig’s blood and thrust their spears into this blood. This ritual, identified their spears with killing and the soldier’s readiness for combat with the enemy.
3. Euripides used the word for a ship identified with the bottom of the sea when it sank. Before sinking, the ship was valuable; after sinking it had no value at all.
4. So "baptize" in the classical Greek meant to identify one thing with another so that the characteristics of the original thing were altered. Therefore, the interpretation of the word "baptism" is identification with something that brings about a change.
5. There are a number of cognates related to this Greek word such as bapto, baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, baptistes, and embapto. A few examples follow:
6. John 13:26, “Jesus then answered, ‘That is the one for whom, I shall dip [the future of the Greek word bapto] the morsel and give it to him. So, when he had dipped [the aorist participle of bapto; the sop now takes on a new meaning that of honor] the sop [the morsel], He took and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot.”
To give someone a sop [a special bit of food usually a piece of bread or meat with a tasty sauce] was the highest honor of a banquet. At a banquet a special piece of bread or meat was prepared along with a special sauce for the guest of honor who would then honor someone by giving it to that person. Jesus as the guest of honor took this sop and dipped it into a special sauce and gave it to Judas. In this way, the Lord Jesus Christ honored Judas as a member of the family of God, and for his ministry as an apostle to the Lost Sheep of Israel. This honor should have given Judas second thoughts regarding his plan to betray Jesus to the Sanhedrin.
7. Matthew 3:7, “but when he [John the Baptizer] saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism [identification: the Greek word baptisma], he said to them, “You brood of vipers [poisonous snakes], who warned you to flee from the wrath to come [Baptism of Fire: identification with the fire of Torments and then the Lake of Fire]?”
8. Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore, leaving behind the elementary teaching about Christ, let us advance to maturity, not laying again the foundation [of the basics such as]: a change of thinking about dead works [just as an unbeliever must have a change of mind about Christ to obtain salvation, so the believer must have a change of mind about legalism (dead works) in order to obtain the spiritual life], and of faith toward God [Faith-Rest Drill], (2) doctrine of baptisms [the Greek word baptismos; a reference to the seven types of baptism as found in Scripture] as well as the laying on of hands [ritual rebound in the age of Israel], and of resurrection from the dead, and of eternal judgment [the Great White Throne Judgment].
9. Matthew 3:1, “In those days John the Baptizer [the Greek word baptistes; when John baptized someone into the Jordan River, the converts were identified with the plan of God and his kingdom.] came proclaiming [as a herald] in the desert of Judea.”
There are two categories of identification in Scripture namely an actual identification or a real baptism and a representative identification or a ritual baptism which uses water.
The four real or actual identifications with something that has significance.
1. The Baptism of Moses: 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 presents the baptism of Moses, "For I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea; (2) and all were baptized [the Greek word baptizo] into Moses in the cloud [the Lord] and in the sea." This was a real identification in which Moses was identified with the Lord and the open path through the Red Sea and the Jews were identified with Moses. By the way, none of the Jews got wet, only Egyptian unbelievers who were immersed in the water as a means of death.
2. The Baptism of the Cross is found in Matthew 20:22, “But Jesus answered [Salome by addressing her sons] and said, “You [plural: a reference to James and John] do not know what you [James and John] ask. Are you [James and John] able to drink of the cup [bear the punishment of all the sins of the world] that I am about to drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism [the sins of the world identified with Christ followed by the Father judging them] that I am baptized with [identified with]?” They [James and John] said to Him, “We are able. [the dumbest statement that James and John ever made]” [I selected the longer text as did Jerome.]
3. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit (Retroactive Positional Truth and Current Positional Truth) occurs at salvation for Church Age believers only.
Colossians 2:12. Having been buried [aorist participle] with Him [Jesus Christ] by means of the baptism [God the Holy Spirit identified us with the burial of Jesus Christ as part of our salvation] by means of which [Baptism] you have been raised up [main verb] with Him [in union with Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of the Father] through faith [at the point of salvation] in the operational power from the source of God who has raised Him [the humanity of Christ was given a resurrection body] out from the dead [physical death].
Romans 6:3-9:
Romans 6:3: Or do you not know that all of us who [a correlative] have been baptized into [identified with] Christ Jesus [Current Positional Sanctification: we are in union with Christ in his life in heaven], have been baptized into His death [Retroactive Positional Truth and so identified with his substitutionary spiritual death on the cross]?
Positionally, (in union with Christ) we share His righteousness, heirship, priesthood, destiny, election, eternal life, royalty, sonship etc. All these making us a new spiritual species in Christ Jesus. The plural correlative hosoi (ὅσοι) means that if we were identified with Christ in heaven and we were, then also we have been identified with Christ in his substitutionary spiritual death in which he removed the power of sin nature. Thus, the sin nature should not have power over our lives.
A few more points will be noted:
1. Note that the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation enters the believer into union with Christ at the right hand of God the Father which union is called current positional truth.
2. This verse also mentions identification with Christ in His spiritual death on the cross which identification theologians call retroactive positional truth. Retroactive positional truth also includes identification with Christ in His physical death and burial as well.
3. Identification with Christ in His death, then, has a two-fold connotation namely all personal sins were judged at the cross and since that is the case, God the Father is free to provide in grace, the Recovery Procedure. The second connotation is that good and evil were rejected by Jesus on the cross since good and evil are a part of Satan’s policy and plan. On the cross, Jesus relied on the proto-type spiritual life which operated under the two power options namely God’s power system.
4. So, the old sin nature’s ruling power over the Christian has been broken since all sins were judged on the cross and the Recovery Procedure has been provided. So, Retroactive Positional Truth has destroyed the sovereignty of the old sin nature over the life of the Christian.
5. Also, since Jesus rejected the good and evil policy of Satan so should the believer reject Satan’s policy of good and evil as the believer applies Retroactive Positional Truth.
Romans 6:4: Therefore, we have been buried together with Him through the identification [Baptism of the Spirit] into His death [physical], in order that just as Christ has been raised up from the dead [on Resurrection Sunday], through the glory of the Father [through the Father’s power], [So also we, the dead in Christ, will be raised from the dead by the power of the Father, and those alive at the Rapture, by the power of the Holy Spirit.] in this manner we also might walk in newness of life [Experiential sanctification should reflect our future ultimate sanctification.].
Christ had to die physically “and Jesus having shouted clearly with a loud voice said, Father, into your hands I deposit my [human] spirit, and having said this, he exhaled” (Luke 23:46). This last exhale caused His soul and spirit to depart from his mortal body resulting in physical death. Just as Christ had to die physically in order to obtain his resurrection body, so we must depart from our body of corruption, or mortality in order to receive our eternal body called our resurrection body.
The Newness of Life:
1. The newness of life provided through the baptism of the Spirit includes positional freedom from producing good and evil. Not only are we free from the tyranny of good and evil but we are also free from having to produce good and evil.
2. The believer has no obligation to improve the devil’s world through social action, socialism, welfare state, communism, environmentalism, or any social gospel, social action, getting involved, etc.
3. The human race is protected from Satan’s policy of good and evil through the laws of divine establishment which promote freedom instead of improvement at the cost of freedom.
4. In addition to the Laws of Divine Establishment the believer is insulated from good and evil positionally through the baptism of the Spirit.
5. Divorced from the Old Sin Nature positionally and its useless activity of human good and the function of evil, the life of the believer can be devoted to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ through maximum knowledge and application of Bible doctrine.
Romans 6:5: For if we have become united with Him [Christ, the new husband] in the likeness of His death [the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross], and we have, and not only this, but also, we shall be [united in the likeness] of His resurrection [Current Positional Truth: in union with the resurrected Christ].
Romans 6:6: Be knowing this [through Retroactive Positional Truth], that our old man [our former husband, the sin nature dates back to the Garden] has been crucified together [with Him], in order that the [human] body, with reference to its sin nature, [the sin nature located in the body] might be rendered powerless [when we use Recovery Procedure and the two power options], that we should no longer be slaves to the sin nature.
“Our old man has been crucified with Him” meaning that the power of the sin nature has been broken on the cross. Since the power of the sin nature was broken by the work of the cross, we as believers have no excuse for not executing the spiritual life. We will not be able to say to Christ at our evaluation that our sin nature was too powerful for us to execute the spiritual life.
A few points for further clarification:
1. Retroactive positional truth is that phase of the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation which identifies the believer with Christ in His spiritual death, physical death and his burial.
2. In the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross all the personal sins in human history were imputed to Christ, but at the same time the other two trends of the old sin nature were not imputed for judgment.
3. Good and evil is the policy of Satan as the ruler of this world and the function of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life. In fact, the sin nature functions as the agent of Satan.
4. Good and evil were not imputed for judgment on the cross. Hence, in the spiritual death of Christ on the cross they were rejected to remain an issue in the angelic conflict, rejected to be perpetuated in human history as an issue every believer must face, and either overcome through the intake of doctrine or be entrapped by ignorance of doctrine and therefore lose out in glorifying God in time.
5. We are identified with Christ in His spiritual death, which means that we must understand that our sins have been judged and that good and evil has been rejected.
6. It all adds up to the fact that the sovereignty of the old sin nature over human life has been made powerless through retroactive positional truth.
7. The imputation of all personal sins of the human race to Christ on the cross means that the believer through the rebound technique is instantly forgiven sins, cleansed from all wrong doing which includes Satanic good and evil, restored to fellowship and filled with the Spirit.
Romans 6:7: For we who have died [the Christian is identified with the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ: theologically called Retroactive Positional Truth] have been acquitted [positional deliverance] from [the power of] the sin nature.
A few points for further clarification:
1. A dead person is discharged from the obligations of his former sphere of life. This is why the word “death” is used in this context. It is not a literal, physical death we are discussing but identification with Christ in His death.
2. As unbelievers we were under the authority of Satan as the ruler of this world, and under the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
3. Both the power of Satan and the old sin nature have been abrogated through the baptism of the Holy Spirit at salvation.
4. This passage, then, emphasizes the annulling of the power and the authority of the old sin nature as the sovereign of human life.
5. Positionally, the power of the sin nature has been broken. Experientially, the old sin nature controls to the extent that we fail to understand and utilize the provision and support of logistical grace.
Romans 6:8: Now if we have died with Christ, and we have [retroactive positional truth], we also believe that we shall live in association with Him [the instrumental of association; a reference to Current Positional Truth].
In this verse, the 1st Class conditional sentence shows the relationship between Retroactive Positional Truth with Current Positional Truth. The protasis, the ‘if’ clause states the reality of Retroactive Positional Truth and the apodosis, the concluding clause states the doctrinal inference and the reality of Current Positional Truth. While Retroactive Positional Truth presents positional rejection and separation from good and evil as the policy of Satan and the function of the old sin nature, Current Positional Truth relates the believer to the function of the royal family of God. In other words, they have separate functions.
Romans 6:9: Knowing that because Christ has been raised from the dead [He received a resurrection body], no longer can He die; [physical] death is no longer a master over Him.
Analysis:
1. Retroactive positional truth destroys the sovereign authority of the old sin nature over human life. Current positional truth, on the other hand, destroys the limited authority of physical death in human life.
2. Instead of being ruled by the old sin nature located in the cells of the human body and influencing our souls toward sin, good and evil, we now have a new sovereign, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are identified with Him in His deaths, in His burial, resurrection, ascension and session.
3. Before salvation and the baptism of the Holy Spirit our lives were under the absolute rule of Satan who is the ruler of this world and under the rule of the old sin nature which is the ruler of life, and under the limited rule of physical death. All of that, of course, has been changed since salvation.
4. Now both retroactive and current positional truth have abrogated the authority and power of these former rulers. The power of Satan over our lives has been broken through identification with the rejection of good and evil namely Satan’s policy and plan and through our position in union with Christ. The power of the old sin nature is broken through retroactive positional truth and the power of physical death is broken through current positional truth.
5. Therefore, having studied these things by principle and by implication we are now ready for application, verses 12 & 13 specifically.
6. Having been positionally liberated from the sovereignty of the old sin nature as an absolute ruler, and the authority of physical death, we must recognise and apply doctrine for the experiential victory commanded in verses 11-13.
Galatians 3:25-28, “But now that faith has come, we are no longer under the authority of [have need of] a school bus. (26) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (27) For all of you who were baptized into Christ [identified with Christ through union with Him] have clothed yourselves with Christ. (28) There is neither Jew nor Greek [no racial distinction], there is neither slave nor free man [no social or economic distinction], there is neither male nor female [no gender distinction]; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. [All Christians have the same privileges and opportunities to execute the spiritual life.]”
Current Positional Truth, Elaborated:
In the Church Age, Current Positional Truth establishes our relationship with Christ as opposed to religion. It refers to the Church Age believer in union with Christ and is the key to understanding the Church Age and how the royal family came into being. Therefore, it is the basis for distinguishing between Christianity and religion. Christianity is a relationship with God without merit whereas religion is a system of works to gain the approbation of God. Never shall the twain meet!
The mechanics of Current Positional Truth is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby the Spirit enters us into union with Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13, “For also by agency of the one Spirit we are all baptized [identification resulting in becoming a new spiritual species] into one body [in union with Christ], whether Jews or Greeks [racial distinctions are removed], whether slave or free [class and economic distinctions are removed], even all were made to drink [the aorist passive, the voice of grace] the one Spirit [The Holy Spirit did not ask us whether we wanted to be put into union with Christ or not.].” Ephesians 4:5, “One Lord [becomes our Lord positionally at Salvation]), one faith [faith alone in Christ alone; Acts 16:31], one baptism [Baptism of the Holy Spirit takes place at salvation].”
Current Positional truth guarantees that there will be no judgment for believers in eternity, Romans 8:1, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Thus, the condemnation which occurred at the first birth was removed at the 2nd birth. As a result of being born with the sin nature and the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin, we were condemned to the Lake of Fire for all eternity, but now that has been removed. Romans 5:12, “For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [nature] entered into the world [procreation], and so spiritual death through the sin [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin to the sin nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [since we were all genetically in Adam when he sinned, we will receive Adam’s Original Sin].” However, at our spiritual birth, the 2nd birth, our pre-salvation sins were all forgiven including Adam’s Original Sin. After which, the Spirit entered us into union with Christ where there is now no condemnation (Romans 8:1).
Current Positional truth qualifies the believer to live with God forever. To live with God forever, the believer must have eternal life and God’s perfect righteousness, 1 John 5:11-12, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life, and this life is in his son [Since we are in union with Christ, we share this life.]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].” 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And He [the Father] made Him who knew no sin [perfection] to be a sin offering [imputation of sins on the cross] as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [current positional truth].” To live with God forever means you must have His life, and you must be as righteous as He is.
Positional truth guarantees the believer’s eternal security, Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death [nothing in death] nor life [nothing in life] nor angels nor principalities [ruling angels] nor powers [human organizations] nor things present nor things to come (39) nor height [nothing in heaven] nor depth [nothing in Hades] nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternal life in Christ is for all eternity!
Positional truth belongs to all categories of believers whether they be apostate, mature, immature, spiritually adult, or carnal. Since Current Positional Truth occurs at the point of salvation before experience in the Christian life begins, it doesn’t depend on that experience. 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus [at salvation], called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.” So, even though you may be carnal or in reversionism, you still have positional truth. Being in union with Christ has nothing to do with what you do [experiential righteousness], or don’t do [failure to execute God’s plan]. Current Positional sanctification is completely the work of God the Holy Spirit and so is not based upon our volition, but on the sovereign decision of God. We make the decision to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, but we don’t make the decision to enter into union with Christ “all were made to drink the one Spirit” as per 1 Corinthians 12:13. God the Holy Spirit graciously did that for us and so it cannot be undone.
Current Positional truth creates a new spiritual species in Christ as per 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power; behold, new things have come to pass.” You become a new spiritual species at salvation by being put into union with Christ. It is what God does for you, and therefore it is grace. It is not what you do after salvation, such as the self-righteous works of legalism. The “old things” have to do with spiritual death and those things related to that death; the “new things” refer to things you receive at salvation such as the 40 assets and the unique spiritual life.
Positional truth should motivate the production of divine good and a pattern of life compatible with royalty as per Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his creation, having been created in Christ Jesus [a new spiritual species with many assets] for the purpose of divine good production [via experiential sanctification] which the God [the Father] has prepared in advance [in eternity past, God the Father provided election and predestination as part of our Portfolio of Invisible Assets], that we in the sphere of them [election and predestination] may pattern our lives.”
Even though a Christian may die the Sin on to Death, he will not lose his position in union with Christ (1 John 5:18-20), and so cannot lose his salvation. In order for a believer to lose his position in Christ, he would have to sin in that status, but since the believer cannot sin in union with Christ, he cannot lose his position in Christ and so cannot lose his salvation. Thus, it is comforting and reassuring to a believer to know that even though a loved one may have died the ‘sin on to death’, he has not lost his salvation.
Because we are in union with Christ, we share His:
1. Eternal life, 1 John 5:11, “And this is the deposition [testimony] that the God [the Father] has given to us, eternal life [At salvation, God the Father imputes this life to the human spirit], and this life is in his son [The Christian also shares the life of Christ through union with Him]. (12) and he who has the son [a relationship with the Son] has the life [eternal life] and the one who does not have the son of God [relationship with the Son] does not have the life [eternal life].”
John 14:6, “Jesus said to him [Thomas], ‘I am the way, the truth and the life [eternal life]; no person [in human history] comes face to face with the Father [having an eternal relationship with the Father] except through Me.’”
2. Perfect righteousness, 2 Corinthians 5:21, “And he (God the Father) made him [Jesus] who knew no sin (perfection) to be a sin offering as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in him [positional truth]. Sharing the righteousness of Christ, we become the objects of God the Father’s love as per Romans 8:39.
3. Election, Ephesians 1:4, “just as He [the Father] has elected us for Himself in Him [Jesus Christ] before the creation of the world [in eternity past], that we may be set apart [experiential sanctification] and blameless [ultimate sanctification] in the presence of Him [Father].”
4. Destiny, Ephesians 1:5, “By means of love, He has predestined us for the purpose of adoption as adult sons to Himself through Christ Jesus our Lord according to the grace purpose of His will.”
5. Sonship, Galatians 3:26, “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
6. Heirship, Romans 8:16-17, “The Spirit Himself testifies together [bears witness] with our [human] spirit, that we are the children of God. (17) Now, if we are children and we are, also heirs, on the one hand heirs of God [the Father], and joint heirs with Christ. If indeed [if it is true that], we suffer with Him [pass all three stages of undeserved suffering], that also we might be glorified with Christ.”
7. Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:2, “to the church of God which is in Corinth, to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, called saints together with all who call upon the person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, their [Lord] and ours.”
8. Priesthood, Hebrews 7:12-19, “For when the priesthood is changed, of necessity there takes place a change in the Law also. (13) For the One [the Lord Jesus Christ] concerning whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe [the tribe of Judah] from which no one has officiated at the altar. (14) For it is evident that our Lord has descended from Judah, a tribe with reference to which Moses spoke nothing concerning priests, (15) and this is clearer still, if another priest arises similar to Melchizedek, and there has, (16) who has become a priest not on the basis of physical requirement [a reference to the Levitical Priesthood] but on the basis of indestructible life [the Lord’s priesthood is forever]. (17) For this reason, it is witnessed, ‘You are a priest forever similar to the order of Melchizedek.’” [We are in union with Christ. Therefore, we are royalty and priests forever. We represent ourselves before God as royal priests.] (18) For, on the one hand, there is a rescinding of the former commandment [the Mosaic Law that authorized the Levitical priesthood] because of its weakness and uselessness (19) (for the Law brought nothing to completion), but on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope [the second door of hope for the Church Age believer—a personal sense of destiny—by which we enter the adult spiritual life] through which we draw near to God.”
Hebrews 7:26-28, “For it is fitting that we should have such a high priest, impeccable integrity, the One who cannot do evil, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens; (27) Who does not need daily, like those Levitical priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for their own sins, and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He [Jesus] offered up Himself. (28) For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of His [God the Father’s] oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, who has become perfect forever [Jesus Christ is a perfect high priest].”
9. Royalty, 1 Peter 2:9, “ But you and only you are an elect [elect by God the Father] race [as a new spiritual species], a royal priesthood [since Jesus is a king-priest], a holy nation [God’s entity: a nation of priests: every Christian is a priest], a people for God’s own possession [a protected people], so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him [Christ] who has called [in eternity past] you out of darkness [spiritual death and the Cosmic Systems] into His amazing light [his plan];”
10. New Spiritual Species, 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ and he is, he is a new spiritual species. The old things have lost their power [Old Covenant]; behold, new things have come to pass [This would include the New Covenant to the Church.].”
Current Positional Truth changes our relationship with Angels.
1. Through current positional truth the believer is higher than angels positionally.
2. Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, and so superior to all angels. By virtue of being in union with Christ, every believer is now positionally superior to angels.
3. Positional truth has fulfilled the believer’s triumph with Christ in the angelic conflict. We are victorious with Him already.
4. Furthermore, positional truth demands compatibility with experiential righteousness. Therefore, the believer’s walk on this earth must be compatible with positional truth since we have perfect security in Christ, we have the freedom to choose for Jesus Christ, to love Jesus Christ, to respond to His love, and to fulfill our purpose on this earth.
What positional truth is not?
1. It is not an experience, emotions or ecstasies.
2. It is not progressive; it cannot be improved in time or eternity.
3. It is not related to human merit or ability.
4. It cannot be changed by God, man or angels. It is eternal in nature.
5. It is not obtained gradually as you grow in grace, but in toto at salvation.
6. It is not known apart from the metabolization of doctrine.
7. From understanding the doctrine of positional truth, we progress in our spiritual life, but we cannot improve it since it is perfect at salvation.
8. We are not in Christ because of what we do (execution of the spiritual life) or fail to do (fail to execute the spiritual life), but because of what God has done.
A few points of explanation:
1. The conclusion from positional truth, whether retroactive or current, is that the Christian must apply these doctrines to his spiritual life.
2. In Romans 7:1-4 where we have an illustration of a woman whose first husband has died freeing her to marry another. This is what actually happens to us as believers at salvation. The old sin nature is the husband up to the point of salvation, but at the moment we believe in Jesus Christ positionally the sin nature is dead, as it were, the first husband has died and we have a new husband through union with Christ. Retroactive Positional Truth removes our first husband, the sin nature whereas Current Positional Truth enters us into union with Christ, our new husband.
3. The old sin nature-husband is still around, still seeking to regain his control over his former wife, the believer. But union with the second husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, has broken the first husband’s authority over the former wife.
4. The Baptism of Fire:
Matthew 3:11, “On the one hand I [John the Baptizer] baptize you [believers] by means of water because of a change of thinking [about Christ], but the one coming after me is mightier than I whose sandals I am not worthy to lace [loosen, remove]. He himself will baptize by means of the Holy Spirit [a reference to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the Church Age] and by means of fire [a reference to the Baptism of Fire at the 2nd Advent].”
Baptism of Fire: The baptism of fire (identification with fire) is defined as the judgment of unbelievers both Jew and gentile at the Second Advent. They will be removed from the earth and placed in fire for 1000 years until the Last Judgment, Luke 3:16-17; Mathew 25:31, 33. The analogy to the Baptism of Fire is found in Matthew 24:36-41. The one left in the field is the mature believer; the one taken is the unbeliever.
Parables of the Baptism of Fire:
1. The wheat and the tares (the unbelievers), Matthew 13:24-30, 36-40.
2. The good and bad fish (unbelievers), Matthew 13:47-50.
3. The ten virgins: five wise, five foolish (the unbelievers), Matthew 25:1-13.
4. The sheep and the goats (the unbelievers), Mathew 25:31-46.
5. The talent test, Matthew 25:14-30. The one talent man represents the unbeliever.
If Jesus Christ had not been rejected by the Jewish people, then the age of Israel would have continued until its completion (the Tribulation completes the age of Israel). (However, they did reject Jesus Christ as Savior and Messiah and so the client nation was destroyed, and the Church age was intercalated that is inserted before the age of Israel was complete.) After the completion of the age of Israel at the end of the Tribulation, comes the wrath of God namely the Baptism of Fire when the Lord removes both Jewish and gentile unbelievers from the earth and identifies them with fire forever. After which, the Millennial reign begins.
The Three Ritual Baptisms. None are extant at the present time. They are representative identifications in which water is used as a training aid to represent some principle of doctrine.
1. The Baptism of John is found in Matthew 3:2-6, “Saying, ‘Change your thinking [regarding Christ] for the kingdom of heaven is near.’ [The future king was already on the earth] (3) For this is what was communicated through Isaiah, the prophet saying, ‘The voice of one [John the Baptizer] proclaiming loudly in the desert [of Judea]. Prepare [the aorist tense is a one time-decision] the way of the Lord [an idiomatic expression for salvation]. Keep on making upright [the use of the Recovery Procedure followed by the development of experiential righteousness] His paths!’ (Isaiah 40:3) (4) Now, John himself kept on having a garment of camel’s hair [very uncomfortable] and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. (5) Then [after John went where God wanted him to be] Jerusalem kept on going out to him [face to face] and all Judea and all the districts around the Jordan. (6) and they were being baptized [identified with the kingdom] by him [under John’s authority] in the Jordan River [where Israel crossed when they entered the land], and they kept on confessing their sins [post-salvation confession of sins].”
MAX KLEIN BIBLE MINISTRIES
Hardness of the Soul
Written by: Max Klein
2 Corinthians 3:14: Moreover, their minds were hardened [scar tissue in the stream of consciousness of Jewish believers at the time of Moses], for until this day the same veil [hardness of heart of Jewish unbelievers] at the reading of the Old Testament, remains because it is removed only in Christ [the veil is removed at salvation and when that happens, the person is qualified to learn the Word of God].
Ephesians 4:18. Having been darkened [by a lack of light (truth)] in their understanding [way of thinking] and having been alienated from the life of God [unbelievers and believers in degeneracy] because of the ignorance which is in them [in their souls], because of the hardness [callousness, scar tissue] of their hearts [of the mentality of their souls].
1 John 2:11. But the one [the believer] who hates his brother is in darkness [in Satan’s Cosmic System] and walks in darkness [his lifestyle], and he does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes [the believer without truth in his soul cannot understand God’s plan].
The hardness of Pharaoh’s heart as an example:
1. Until the 6th plague, the Bible is consistent in saying Pharaoh hardened his own heart. In other words, as a free agent, he utilized his own volition as the ruler of the Egyptian Empire to say ‘no’. He hardened his own heart through negative volition, negative self-determination.
2. No one up to this time in history had ever been able to say ‘no’ as many times as Pharaoh would from this time on (plagues 6-10). At this point God hardened Pharaoh’s heart which means He gave him the opportunity to carry his negative volition to the maximum.
3. We understand now that we are discussing a part of the soul, invisible yet real, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart or right lobe. This man had developed a maximum amount of scar tissue in the soul. He had been exposed to the truth, he had rejected it time and time again.
4. The hardening of Pharaoh’s right lobe in B.C. 1441 became the means of evangelising the world.
5. After hearing of the Exodus and what followed, Rahab, the former prostitute was saved.
Joshua 2:10-11. For we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. (11) "When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained in any man any longer because of you; for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.
6. The justice of God gave Pharaoh numerous opportunities to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as Jehovah Elohim. He rejected them all.
7. Pharaoh saw many demonstrations of divine power, designed to evangelise him personally, but he refused them all.
8. When our Lord Jesus Christ was hanging on the cross, Pharaoh’s sins were imputed to Christ and judged, along with everyone else’s.
9. Furthermore, God was not willing that Pharaoh should perish as per 2 Peter 3:9.
10. Pharaoh had many opportunities for positive volition, as per Exodus 7:22; 8:15, 32; 9:34, 35. In other words, the free will of Pharaoh was negative. Each ‘No’ added scar tissue to his soul.
11. After five plagues, Pharaoh Amenhotep II had so much scar tissue that he no longer could say ‘yes’ to the gospel. His faith had been completely damaged by this scar tissue.
12. Therefore, beginning in Exodus 9:12 of the 6th plague, we have it for the first time, “The Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart.”
13. To keep Pharaoh alive to say ‘no’ especially through plagues 6-10, God impressed upon the entire world the greatness of His power both to condemn Pharaoh and to deliver His own people.
14. Therefore, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart or the extension of his negative volition was the means of evangelising the world of that day.
A few historical points:
1. Like Ishmael and Esau, Pharaoh Amenhotep II was an unbeliever who had the opportunity to be saved many times but rejected Christ as frequently as he rejected God’s demand to release Israel.
2. The integrity of God was not arbitrary in blessing Moses and cursing Pharaoh. The integrity of God gave Pharaoh extra time, but Pharaoh used the extra time to reject God’s plan.
3. Blessing was imputed to Moses at maturity adjustment to the integrity of God through maximum doctrine resident in his soul, but Pharaoh was an unbeliever who used his great power and lack of integrity to perpetuate tyranny and slavery to the Jews.
4. The plan of God is never hindered by negative volition. In this historical case, God used the wrath of Pharaoh to praise Him.
5. Pharaoh’s negative volition and his deceptive hypocrisy did not frustrate the plan or the purposes of God.
6. Pharaoh’s resistance only fulfilled the plan of God by leading to world-wide evangelism.
7. We must remember that Amenhotep II was a great man from the standpoint of power and authority, an absolute monarch at the peak of his career.
8. However, God’s power [omnipotence] is infinitely greater than the power of any tyrant or dictator, infinitely more powerful than the concentrated evil of any of our modern powers.
9. There is no evil that Satan can inspire, no power, no authority, no tyranny that man can devise, which can compete with the power of God.
1 John 4:4. You and only you [believers living the spiritual life] are from God, dear children, and you have overcome them [false teachers and others living in the Cosmic System] because greater is He who is in you [indwelling of God the Son] than he [Satan] who is in the world [the inventor of the Cosmic System].
The demonstration of divine power:
1. The demonstration of divine power became the means of releasing the Jews from slavery. This was the birth of the first priest/client nation in history. The evangelization of Egypt and the evangelization of the entire world was another result.
2. Any Jew, any Egyptian, Ethiopian or Canaanite who wanted salvation had a clear picture of God, the source of salvation from the manifest power revealed by means of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart. If God had not permitted him to live, he could not have said ‘no’ in those final five confrontations and the world would not have been evangelizes as it was.
3. It was not until the 6th plague, however, that we read the phrase “God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.” The mechanics, again, of the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was allowing Pharoah to remain alive during those last 6 plagues.
4. Pharaoh’s free will moved him, without any restraint from God, on a collision course with historical disaster.
5. Just as God turned the heathen over to their vile lusts, affections, and reprobate minds as per Romans 1:24-28, so God turned Pharaoh over to his negative volition, his arrogance, his jealousy, and his pettiness.
6. The impact of all of this is obvious. Paul is comparing the Jews of his day, the contemporary Jews, with Pharaoh. This was the greatest possible insult one could give to the Jews.
7. As Pharaoh hardened his heart through maximum negative volition at the time of the Exodus, so the legalistic Jews of Paul’s day had hardened their hearts through maximum negative volition toward the gospel and doctrine.
The application to contemporary history:
1. To be compared to Pharaoh Amenhotep II was as insulting to the Jews as their negative volition was insulting to God (an anthropopathism).
2. The Jews of Paul’s day had violated their magnificent spiritual heritage namely the unique origin of the Jewish race via Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and how these great men had become great through their spiritual advance.
3. Israel becoming the first Client Nation to God in history should have alerted the Jews in Paul’s time to the importance of positive volition toward Christ namely believing in Him for salvation.
4. The hereditary people of God had become heretical, heretical in the pattern of Ishmael, Esau and Pharaoh, three Gentiles they detested.
5. Note that the function of God does not rob man of his free will for God decreed that the free will of man with self-determination would coexist with his sovereignty.
6. Man is not robbed of his self-determination by the omnipotence of God but actually provided with greater historical opportunity to express non-meritorious freewill to enter the plan of God.
God’s plan goes on with or without you:
1. Pharaoh in his opposition to God becomes a monument to the power of God.
2. The more he resisted God by saying ‘no’ from his free will, the greater became the manifestation of divine power.
3. In the garden, God permitted the freewill function of the fall of Adam since that was a requirement of the Angelic Appeal Trial which fall led to the redemptive solution. So, also in the time of Moses, God permitted the freewill of Pharaoh to operate to the maximum in a negative way so that the people of Egypt and the entire world in that generation as well as the following generation might have the opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ as their savior.
4. God permits the worst so that the best can come from it. This means that the plan of God continues whether it is an evil period of history or a glorious period of history.
5. The highest expression of man’s freedom is the utilization of the grace of God to completely triumph over evil.
6. While sin, human good and evil are permitted, they are constantly being overruled by the sovereign omnipotence and divine integrity of God. Therefore, Jesus Christ controls both history and the devil’s world.
A few points for clarification:
1. Individual and collective failure does not hinder the plan of God, nor the validity of the Word of God.
2. The plan of God and the Word of God moves on with or without us. God does not need us; we need Him.
3. Collective or individual failure of the Jew does not abrogate the promises of God for Israel specifically for the regenerate of Israel.
4. Human failure simply cannot hinder the advance of the plan of God.
5. The failure of the unbeliever or believer does not imply the failure of the Word of God which reveals the plan of God.
6. Rejection of Jesus Christ, the God of Israel in the age of Israel puts the Jews outside of the plan of God and the unconditional covenants to Israel. Rejection of Jesus Christ in the Church Age on the part of the Jewish people, means failure to enter into the Royal Family of God.
7. Human rejection of Christ does not imply that the Word of God has failed but simply the Jew has failed to use his free will and his self-determination to believe in Christ.
8. The alternative of divine judgment is just as clearly presented in the Word of God as the blessings of grace. The fact that many Jews are under divine judgment in every generation does not hinder the promises of God to the Jews. It just means that some through the function of their own free will missed out.
9. The Word of God promises judgment in time as well as in eternity to the Jew who rejects the God of Israel.
10. The Word of God has not failed the Jew; the unbelieving Jew has failed the Word of God.
11. Scripture defines true and false Israel on the basis of attitude toward the Lord Jesus Christ. That has always been true since Jehovah, the Adonai of the Old Testament is the Lord Jesus Christ of the New Testament.
12. True Israel believes in the God of Israel, Jesus Christ, just as Abraham their father in Genesis 15:6.
Hardness begins at God Consciousness:
God consciousness is defined as the point at which a person becomes aware of the existence of God through at least five theistic arguments for the existence of God. It may also be classified as the point of accountability. If any member of the human race, regardless of geographical or linguistic barrier, desires relationship with God after reaching God consciousness, then God will provide the necessary information (the gospel message) through which that person can believe in Christ for eternal salvation. On the other hand, if any person at the point of God consciousness does not desire to know God, then God is not responsible to bring gospel-information to that person.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says. And even if your gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving [at both God awareness and at gospel hearing].
Theistic arguments for the existence of God: There are five ways in which any normal human being can attain an awareness of God.
1. The Religious Argument. The religious argument contends that God exists because mankind universally believes in His existence. Among all people and tribes on earth there is a concept of the divine which manifests itself in some form of worship. Man’s religious instincts indicate the reality of a Supreme Being. Creatures do not crave what does not exist, and since God does exist, men seek after Him. The concept of man seeking God is found in Jeremiah 9:13, John 17:17, and Acts 17:27.
2. The Moral or Anthropological Argument. This argument says that to a greater or lesser degree man’s soul possesses both volition and conscience with an urge to choose right over wrong. The structure of human society is based on the recognition of virtue and truth. This recognition has no explanation apart from the existence and influence of a Supreme Being with perfect and eternal integrity. A material, ungoverned universe can know nothing of moral values apart from the absolute righteousness of a Supreme Being. Thus, acknowledging the existence of virtue and truth eventuates in becoming aware of the source of virtue and truth. Jesus said to him [Thomas], in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth and the life; no man comes unto the Father except through Me.”
3. The Ontological Argument. Ontological reasoning says that since the human mind possesses the idea of a perfect and absolute being, such a being must exist. Apart from the religious and moral tendencies, the existence of God is a necessary idea to the human intellect, and beyond the relative which mankind measures there is the absolute which gives value and character to the relative. (Obviously, God put that idea in the soul when he created it.)
4. The Teleological Argument. This argument is that the universe, by its telescopic and microscopic wonders, always form arrangement, purpose, and adaptation, which connotes a designer. Structure in the universe demands a designer. The more we discover about the perfect structure of the universe in science, the more we recognize the need for a designer. The order of the universe can no more be accidental than the shuffling of twenty-six letters of the alphabet into a beautiful poem. The chemical contents of the human body are never accidentally combined to form man. Both microscopic and telescopic phenomena, from the structure of an atom to the configuration of galaxies, display order, design, arrangement, purpose, and adaptation that demand both a Creator and a Preserver. The probability that an orderly universe emerged from primordial chaos, even over a period of billions of years, is about the same as a Shakespearean sonnet appearing in a can of alphabet soup!
5. The Cosmological Argument. This reasoning states that the intuitive law of cause and effect demands the existence of God as the initial cause. Every new thing or change must have a cause. In no sense can the universe be its own cause.
The above Theistic arguments are not exhaustive, and it may take a combination of approaches for the human mind to come to the point of God-consciousness. The objective is to develop the principle that all normal members of the human race simply through thought can come to the knowledge that God exists. When anyone reaches the conclusion that “God exists,” he believes by faith that God is a reality—not a figment of his imagination. Scriptural documentation:
John 1:3, speaking of Jesus Christ as eternal God, says, “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”
Colossians 1:16-17 teaches that Jesus Christ is not only the creator of the universe, but that He also holds it together for the perpetuation of human history until the end of the Millennium, “For by Him were all things created both in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or empires or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through Him and for Him. He has existed prior to all things and by Him all things hold together.”
Hebrews 1:10. In the beginning, O Lord [Jesus Christ], You laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the workmanship of Your hands.
Hebrews 1:3. He upholds all things by the word of His power.
Rejection of the truth produces a vacuum in the soul resulting in the infiltration of the satanic lie and the blackout of the soul as per Ephesians 4:17, 18. Thus, heathenism is the result of negative volition either at God consciousness or Gospel hearing or sometimes both. People do not believe the lie until they have rejected the truth. Just as every believer has equal opportunity to fulfill the Protocol Plan for the Church, so every unbeliever in history has equal opportunity to believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life. To protect mankind from self-destruction and all the evil Satan seeks to perpetuate on humanity, God has provided both language separation and national boundaries.
Heathens are heathen not because the truth has never been presented in their geographical area, but because they were negative at God consciousness and sometimes again at Gospel hearing. The unbeliever who is negative at either God consciousness or Gospel hearing or both enters the Cosmic System and eventually will become antagonistic toward the gospel and other forms of truth as well.
The paragraph below is taken from the booklet, Heathenism page 7 by R. B. Thieme Jr.
“PEOPLE OF PRIMITIVE CULTURES have lived for centuries in the remote mountains, jungles, and deserts of the world. Wherever they are, these communities are far removed from the mainstream of commerce and civilization despite the advances in communication technology. They may be the Papuans of New Guinea, the Hottentots of South Africa, or an Indian tribe in the Amazon. Inevitably the skeptic of Christianity will ask, “What about the ‘heathen’ who have never heard the Gospel? How can these people decide for or against Jesus Christ?” If the skeptic truly wants an answer he should ask, “What about those who apparently have never heard the Gospel?” Although he may be ignorant of the facts of worldwide evangelism, the underlying implication of his question is clear, “God is unfair! How can a loving God condemn anyone under these circumstances?” This accusation against God is a demonstration of their total ignorance of history and the Word of God.”
This is described in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. But if our Gospel is hidden [veiled], it is hidden to those who are lost [unbelievers], in whose case the god of this age [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers [negative volition to the Gospel at God consciousness and Gospel hearing], that they might not see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.
Negative volition at God consciousness is described in some detail in Romans 1.
Romans 1:18-20. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all negative godliness [negative volition at God consciousness; several generations of rejecting God will eventuate in heathenism] and unrighteousness of men who suppress truth through all unrighteousness [after they have rejected the truth, some become immoral and anti-establishment and others become self-righteous]. Because that which may be known about God is evident within themselves [at God consciousness], for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes [eternal power, divine nature] have been clearly seen, being understood through that which has been made [by observation], so that they [unbelievers] are without excuse.
The unbeliever suppresses truth through his own negative volition, which causes heathenism.
Then, Paul states in Acts 17:26-27 that men of all nations should seek the Lord. “And He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, that they should seek God [at God-consciousness], if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him [at gospel hearing], though He is not far from each one of us.”
Sometimes God directs Gospel information toward a person with negative volition so that those in his periphery with positive volition will have the opportunity to hear and believe. Such was the case with the Pharaoh of the Exodus. Moses told Pharaoh not only how to receive personal salvation, but also how to deliver Egypt from divine discipline. However, since the Pharaoh was not interested in God at the point of God-consciousness, (God awareness) he also rejected the truth at gospel-hearing and consequently hardened his heart. Not only did the divine judgments against Egypt namely the ten plagues demonstrate God’s power, but the news of Moses’ words to Pharaoh was also widely circulated (Exodus. 11:9). Before Pharaoh relented and released the Jews from slavery, there was a great revival throughout the empire so that when the Jews finally departed Egypt, they were accompanied by a large number of saved Gentiles namely the mixed multitude.
Involvement in the Cosmic System and its consequences:
2 Peter 2:20-22. For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the Cosmic System by knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again involved in them and are overcome [by the cosmic system], the latter state [rejecting the Gospel resulting in blackout of the soul] has become worse for them than the first [before they had rejected the gospel]. (21) For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness [the gospel message] then, having known it, to turn away from the holy mandate delivered to them [to believe on His Son, Jesus Christ]. (22) It has happened to them according to the true proverb [Proverbs 26:11], `A dog returns to his own vomit, and a sow after washing returns to wallowing in the mire.
In effect, the one who was negative at God consciousness comes out of the cosmic system long enough to hear the Gospel. But once he rejects it, he goes right back into the cosmic system; namely the vomit or the mire. So, this refers to the blackout of the soul or the blindness of the mind caused by negative volition at God consciousness returning to the mire when he has negative volition at Gospel hearing.
The Delusion of Heathenism
The delusion of heathenism (unbeliever reversionism) occurs when the unbeliever has negative volition at God-consciousness and if he should hear the gospel message, negative volition at that point as well. As a result, he goes through the Eight Stages of Reversionism becoming an absolute fool. The delusion of reversionism occurs in every generation. Several generations of negative volition and the nation goes out. Sodom and Gomorrah, Assyria, Chaldea, Persia, the Hellenistic monarchies, Rome, Hitler’s Germany, etc. can give testimony to this.
1. These “fools” of delusion accept darkness into their souls and then apply it to life, people and circumstances and call it wisdom—a delusion.
2. This affirmation of non-existent wisdom is the status of heathenism in the last three stages of reversionism—blackout of the soul, scar-tissue of the soul, and reverse process reversionism.
3. The apostate (the reversionist) sets up false norms for wisdom, then uses these false norms to allege and conclude the possession of wisdom.
4.This explains the blindness of the sincere liberal, the do-gooder, the person in politics legislating his delusionary ideas on the peoples of his nation.
5. Negative volition at gospel hearing triggered this unbeliever reversionism. The unbeliever may have been pro-establishment before his rejection of the truth at God-consciousness and gospel hearing. This rejection of truth produces a vacuum in the soul by which he will believe every Satanic lie or any other falsehood.
A few more points:
1. To be the kind of fool described in the following verse, there must be the arrogance and pride of reversionism.
Romans 1:22. Although professing themselves [delusional unbelievers] to be wise, they became fools [from blackout of the soul].
2. Self-righteous arrogance in reversionism is creative in the sphere of evil even to the point of creating its own gods.
3. Arrogance sets itself above the essence of God and distorts the perfect attributes of God into ridiculous images of human and animal power.
4. The arrogant man declares that the images which he has constructed are gods by which he may contact demons. The fact that man can manufacture a god is the epitome of arrogance, the quintessence of human folly, and total blasphemy.
Man is corruptible because of his old sin nature; man is mortal because of death; man is perishable because of the human body. All the same, images of men who exercise great power and authority in life are set up and worshipped. Many countries had some form of bird-worship since birds have the power and ability to soar like the hawk and the eagle etc. The bull was worshiped for his power in ancient Egypt and Crete. Today, the cow is worshipped in India. Snakes and crocodiles were also worshipped in many ancient countries. Today, the monkey and even the rats are worshipped in certain parts of India.
There is no excuse for the heathen, the reversionistic unbeliever for he has rejected that which he has had total cognizance—the understanding of God at God-consciousness and in some cases, the salvation message at gospel hearing. Instant adjustment to the plan of God at salvation is as simple as Ephesians 2:8,9; Acts 16:31. Rejection of Christ as savior, is instant maladjustment to the plan of God.
Summary:
1. One of the blessings of instant adjustment to the grace of God at salvation is to have a permanent relationship with God.
2. On the other hand, to abandon the grace provision of God at salvation is the most awful thing which can happen to any individual.
3. The unbeliever in heathenism lives a horrible life and dies miserably only to be followed by eternal condemnation in the eternal Lake of Fire.
4. Therefore, there is a sign at the entrance into heathenism for unbeliever reversionism: Abandon all hope, he who enters therein.
5. Here, then, is negative volition at the point of gospel hearing with the self-seeking promotion of the self-righteous unbeliever.
6. Disobedience to the gospel, negative volition at salvation, means obedience to evil and the perpetuation of that maladjustment.
7. Such perpetuation of unbeliever reversionism causes the integrity of God to adjust to the status quo of the maladjusted, and that means God’s punishment of the unbeliever’s rejection of the gospel in time, and the wrath of God’s judgment of the unbeliever for all eternity.
The extremely self-righteous unbeliever is very difficult to deal with since he in his mind doesn’t need to hear about a grace solution, a solution for what? I don’t have a problem!
1. As long as any person in the world thinks that there is any system of human righteousness, talent, ability, planning or system of works which can satisfy the integrity of God and clings to his system of self-righteousness, whatever it maybe, he has no chance of ever having a relationship with God.
2. No human factor, including Jewish self-righteousness, can therefore provide or add anything to salvation adjustment to the integrity of God. The first issue we face in the human race is salvation and there is nothing that we can add to what the grace of God has already provided.
3. No Jewish rationalism of being better than the Gentiles will provide salvation or spirituality, or maturity.
Jews and Gentiles are under the same condemnation of sin. At birth, each member of mankind is born with a sin nature which was passed down to him in copulation. At the instance of birth, God imputes Adam’s Original Sin to that person and condemns him to the Lake of Fire.
Romans 5:12. For this reason just as through one man [Adam] the sin [the Sin Nature] entered into the world, and so spiritual death through the sin [Adam’s Original Sin was imputed to the Sin Nature], and so spiritual death spread to all mankind, because all sinned when Adam sinned [Since we were seminally in Adam when he sinned, we receive the sin nature through his seed and consequently receive the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin].
Psalm 51:5. Behold, I [David] was born in iniquity [Adam’s original sin imputed] and in sin I was conceived [sin nature passed down in conception].
Romans 5:19. For as through one man’s disobedience [Adam] the many [the human race] were made sinners [the imputation of Adam’s Original Sin at birth], even so through the obedience of one [the humanity of Christ], many [those who believe] will be made righteous [imputed righteousness at salvation].
