SUPERSESSIONISM - the so-called "Replacement Theology"

There is a growing misunderstanding of one of the studies of Covenant Theology. The view is called Supersessionism (British: Supercessionism), or commonly refered to by it's critics as "Replacement Theology". It is the understanding that God's relationship with Christians is the completion of His promise through the seed of Abraham. It asserts that only those who believe (the "Church") in the Son, Jesus Christ are the true people of God. It understands that Jesus fulfilled all that was a foreshadow of His coming (law, sacrifices, temple, land and people).


Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, "In you shall all the nations be blessed." So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Galatians 3:7-9


Many, however, struggle with the thought that the Church replaced the Jews as the people of God (hence the term "Replacement Theology"). But looking from a critic's (usually dispensationalists) point of view we find a mentality of superstition and a misconception of what comprises the Church of God. Supersessionism does not view the Church as a replacement, but rather that the Church always has been the people of God from the beginning. A common misunderstanding is that when we read "Church" the first thing that comes to one's mind is "Gentiles", and when we read "Jew" it is always thought of as someone from the land of Israel or of Israelite blood. However, these are not the biblical definitions of the words "Church" and "Jew".

For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. Romans 2:28-29


...For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but "Through Isaac shall your offspring be named." This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring.
Romans 9:6-8


Church itself is both Jew(ethnic) and Gentile. And being part of the Church is being a true Jew as described by Paul in Romans 2:28-29. Hence, "Jew"(by faith) and "Church" are interchangable in biblical terms. It is essential not to confuse a Jew by blood with a Jew by faith. It is also important to understand that Judaism, as a practice, does not save. Jesus Christ is the only way. Regardless of whether one is born a Jew(ethnic) or Gentile, they are still part of the Church (the body of Christ) if they believe in Jesus, the Son of God.


And they sang a new song, saying,

"Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood
you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and
nation
Rev 5:9



Solus Christus,

Disciple

Liberal Gospel is idolatry

“What happens to the Gospel when idolatry themes are not grasped? ‘God loves you’typically becomes a tool to meet a need for self-esteem in people who feel like failures. The particular content of the Gospel of Jesus Christ - ‘grace for sinners and deliverance for the sinned-against’ - is down-played or even twisted into ‘unconditional acceptance for the victims of others’ lack of acceptance.’ Where ‘the Gospel’ is shared, it comes across something like this: ‘God accepts you just as you are. God has unconditional love for you.’ That is not the biblical Gospel, however. God’s love is not Rogerian unconditional positive regard writ large. A need theory of motivation - rather than an idolatry theory - bends the Gospel solution into ‘another gospel’ which is essentially false. The Gospel is better than unconditional love. The Gospel says, ‘God accepts you just as Christ is. God has ‘contraconditional’ love for you.’ Christ bears the curse you deserve. Christ is fully pleasing to the Father and gives you His own perfect goodness. Christ reigns in power, making you the Father’s child and coming close to you to begin to change what is unacceptable to God about you. God never accepts me ‘as I am.’ He accepts me ‘as I am in Jesus Christ.’ The center of gravity is different. The true Gospel does not allow God’s love to be sucked into the vortex of the soul’s lust for acceptability and worth in and of itself. Rather, it radically decenters people - what the Bible calls ‘fear of the Lord’ and ‘faith’ - to look outside themselves. Christian counselors with a psychologizing drift typically are very concerned with ministering God’s love to people who view God as the latest and greatest critic whom they never can please. But their failure to conceptualize people’s problems in the terms this article has been exploring inevitably creates a tendency towards teaching a Liberal Gospel. The cross becomes simply a demonstration that God loves me. It loses its force as the substitutionary atonement by the perfect Lamb in my place, who invites my repentance for heart-pervading sin.”

- David Powlison-
(counselor and faculty member at CCEF and is the editor of the Journal of Biblical Counseling. He holds a Ph.D. in History and Science of Medicine from the University of Pennsylvania, as well as a Master of Divinity degree from Westminster Theological Seminary.)

My question to Albert Mohler

I recently attended a conference with Albert Mohler and others in louville kentuky and i was graciosly given the opportunity to ask Dr Mohler a question:

How do I share the doctrines of grace and handle fellowship with my friends who are semi-Pelagian (Armenian)in their theology?

click on video to listen:

C.H. Spurgeon on Hyper-calvinism

I do not differ from any of my hyper-calvinistic brethren in what I do believe,but I differ from them in what they do believe. I do not Hold any less than they do, but I hold a little more, And, Think a little more truth revealed in the scriptures. Not only are there a few cardinal doctrines, by which we can steer our ship North, South, East, or West, But as we study the Word, We shall begin to learn something about the north-west and north-east, and all else that lies between the four cardinal points.

The system of truth revealed in the scriptures is not simply one straight line, but two: and no man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once. For instance, I read in one book of the bible, The spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. and let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Yet I am taught, in another part of the same inspired Word, that, it is not him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, But God that sheweth mercy. I see , in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will. Now , if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism: and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so overrules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism.

That God predestines, and yet that man is responsible, are two facts that few can see clearly. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory to each other. If ,them, I find taught in one part of the bible that evrything is foreordained, that is true:and if I find, in another Scripture, that man is responsible for all his actions, That is true: and it is only folly that leads me to imagine that these two truth can ever contradict each other. I do not believe they can ever be welded into one upon any earthy anvil, but they certainly shall be one in eternity. They are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the human mind which purses them farthest will never discover that they converge, but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring.

Hermeneutics 101

Hermeneutics (hur-muh-noo-tiks) n. [Grk.]: the craft of interpreting Scripture 7 Questions to Ask Every Passage*
1. Who is the author and who is his audience?
2. Why is the author writing and what is his burden for his audience?
3. How does this verse connect to the rest of the chapter and the book the whole storyline of the Bible?
4. What does the language of the passage highlight and draw attention to? (e.g., parallels, word pictures, specific details, repetitive words/phrases)
5. What does this reveal about the nature of God and the nature of mankind?
6. How does this passage reveal our need for a Savior and Godʼs disposition to provide a Savior?
7. What response or action does this passage call for?

A Starter Bibliography: For Further Study
•Knowing Scripture by R.C. Sproul: Short and sweet. Start here.
•The Message of the Old Testament & The Message of the New Testament by Mark Dever: One chapter for each book of the Bible.
•Godʼs Big Picture by Vaughn Roberts: A helpful introduction to storyline of the Bible.
•The ESV Study Bible: Our favorite study Bible (or it will be when it releases this fall).
•Your Pastorʼs Sermonʼs: Every week your pastor helps you interpret
Scripture and apply it. Listen closely.
Hermeneutics 101
© 2008 New Attitude.
* Of course, these questions arenʼt meant to be exhaustive but may provide a helpful starting place.

The importance of the doctrine of the trinity

Yesterday was a very interesting day for me, I went to my old church(Calvary Chapel fort Lauderdale.) to say hi to some friends that i have not seen in a while,I knew the implications of going there,since they are Armenian in their theology. I told them about my growth in sanctification, knowledge of scripture and discerment, one of them try to challenge me in the area of free will and another in the area of the trinity. I will address the trinity since i already worked on free will.


From Bible doctrine by Wayne Grudem.

Why was the church so concerned about the doctrine of the trinity? is it really essential to hold to the full deity of the Son and the Holy spirit? yes it is, for this teaching has implications for the very hearts of the Christian faith.
First, the atonement is at stake. If Jesus is merely a created being, and not fully God, then it is hard to see how he, a creature , could bear the full wrath of God against all of our sins, Could any creature, no matter how great, really save us? Second, justification by faith alone is threatened if we deny the full deity of the son. (this is seen by faith alone.) If Jesus is not fully God, we would rightly doubt whether we can really trust him to save us completely. Could we really depend on any creature fully for our salvation? third, if Jesus is not infinite God, should we pray to him or worship him? Who but an infinite, omniscient God could hear and respond to all the prayers of all God's people? And who but God himself is worthy of worship? indeed, if Jesus is merely a creature, no matter how great, it would be idolatry to worship him-yet the New Testament commands us to do so(phil. 2:9-11;rev.5:12-14) Fourth, if someone teaches that Christ is a created being but nonetheless one who saved us, this teaching wrongly begins to attribute credit for salvation to a creature and not to God himself. This teaching wrongfully exalts the creature rather than the creator, something the scripture never allow us to do. Fifth, the independence and personal nature of God are at stake: if there is no trinity, then there were no interpersonal relationship within the being of God before creation, and, without personal relationships, it is difficult to see how God could be genuinely personal of be without the need for a creation to relate to. Sixth, the unity of the universe is at stake: if there is not perfect plurality and perfect unity among the diverse elements of the universe either. Clearly, in the docrine of the trinity, the heart of the Christian faith is at stake.

Jesus is the only way -RC sproul-