Identity Theft
The Robbing Of The Believers Position In Christ
Through
Religion, Tradition And Denominationalism
Pastor C. Douglas Dodd
Berean Bible Church ?
Edgewater, Florida
Preface
This is the text of a book I am writing and therefore not finished. I will be adding to it as time allows. I am intrested in your feedback.
Introduction
I like to know how things work. After ?getting saved? in 1971
it wasn?t long before I noticed that it was hard to get answers to fundamental
question involving the believers walk.
One of the benefits of learning
how to study the Word Of God from a dispensational point of view was getting
answers to questions.
For years I longed to know how to have real victory
over sin. I was given all kinds of advice but no one ever told me about the
mechanics of the nature of the believer and what has been done on his behalf
through the provision of God.
I think the sin issue is a real concern for
most believers. They want to know how to stop it and its influence. The good
news is that it is explained in detail in the Pauline epistles. Never once in
denominational circles was I ever directly directed to verses that detailed my
position ?in Christ?.
I was told to ?confess your sins?. Ok, now what? I
was told ?don?t do that?. Ok, so how do I stop it? I was told ?pray about it?.
Ok, now what?
Never once was I told that I am ?complete in Christ?. Paul
was instructed to say it like this. ?And ye are complete in him, which is the
head of all principality and power:? Colossians 2:10.
Knowing, not
wishing, thinking or hoping, but KNOWING who you are ?in Christ? makes all the
difference. Religion does not have the answers to the questions that set the
believer free to serve the Lord. If they do have the answers they are not
forthcoming with them. Ditto for Tradition and
Denominationalism.
Believers are being robbed by pastors, popes,
preachers and pretenders of the knowledge contained within the pages of the Word
of God concerning their position ?in Christ?. Some are even paying for the
obfuscation that has become the modern church.
Your Christian life will
not operate on the basis of ignorance. There are some things you need to know.
You need to know how the doctrines of grace work.
If you are saved you have been made part of what God is doing today and he has fully equipped you to do his will. He has not left you here unprepared, unprotected or unprovisioned.
It is the application of this knowledge, revealed in the Pauline
epistles that allows the believer to fully appreciate the role of the Creator in
our daily lives.
God wants us to serve him but he wants us to serve him
from a heart of gratitude and thanks for what he has done for us in his death,
burial and resurrection.
Now listen. If you have never been exposed to
the doctrines of the ?grace life? you may get upset a time or two as you read
this book. That?s ok. Just keep reading. You will probably throw this book away
several times. Just use a clean trash can because you will want to get it out
again.
We are going to take some things away from you. Things your flesh
loves and wants to keep and some things that you have been taught to accept, but
I promise you the things you give up will be replaced by something far more
valuable.
You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you mad or
the truth will set you free. Usually both happen when dealing with the truth.
First we get mad, then we understand and then the liberty comes!
Chapter One
You Are Being Robbed
?The reason your child is sick is because you have not been
paying your tithes!? ? Overheard at a hospital
This quote is illustrative
of the kind of doctrine you will find in the modern church. If you believe such
a notion you have been robbed. Not only financially but more importantly
spiritually. Your Identity has been stolen from you. And since it has been
stolen then you are not able to function the way that God intends for you to
function.
You are being robbed every time you are compelled to conform to
a religious system of works. You are being robbed when you pay your tithes, when
you confess your sins, when you are water baptized, when you try to keep the
commandments. You are being robbed. And you are being taught to rob others by
putting them on a performance based system of acceptance that is contrary to the
teachings of the Apostle Paul. You are being robbed. No gun is used. No gun is
necessary. Guilt, pride and ignorance of the truth will do just
fine.
Most ?Christians? think they have to do something to please God.
You say your prayers, you pay your tithes, you help old ladies across the
street, you try to do your best and still you have illness, bills, tribulation
and flat tires.
Religion, tradition and denominationalism is going to
tell you that God uses the circumstances of life to get back at you when you
?fall off the wagon?. You are being ROBBED!
Do you really think that God
is interested in the least in what your flesh can produce? It is not about you.
It is about the Son of God. It is about ?Christ living in and through the
believer?.
This is not a very popular teaching. Why? Because in the end
result is that every believer must become responsible for what he knows. Every
believer must become accountable for what God has given him. This is devastating
to the leaders of organized religion, tradition and denominationalism for two
reasons.
1. Loss of control over the assembly.
2. Loss of
income.
Let me qualify that.
Number one: Loss of control over the
assembly.
Preaching grace results in the believer being set free from the
bondage of ?church hierarchy?. There is no such thing, in the Pauline epistles
as clergy and laity.
There is a distinction made between the saints and the faithful
saints (Eph. 1:1) but again this has to do with the application of sound
doctrine rather than allegiance to the man behind the pulpit or a contrived
doctrinal statement. The proper role of the pastor is that of a servant. He is
to be a leader no doubt, but he is not to be a ruler, dictator or the final
authority.
The role of the pastor is outlined in Ephesians chapter four.
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists;
and some, pastors and teachers; 12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
The job of
the pastor is to perfect the saints for the work of the ministry which in turn
edifies (build up and establish) the local body of Christ to do the will of God
(which we will cover later on).
Preaching the ?grace life? relieves the
pastor of the responsibility of being in charge of the saints and gives him the
responsibility to teach them grace doctrine that will allow them to become
stable in their faith. To educate them as to ?who they already are In Christ?.
More on this issue in another book.
Preaching the ?grace life? also
relieves the believer of the burden of being on a performance based system of
acceptance. The issue here is the difference between ?conformation of the world?
and ?transformation in Christ?.
Non grace based churches labor under this
conformation of the world system. It is completely external and it is robbery.
Every assembly has its own flavor, style, attitude, it has a particular
character. A new believer coming into an assembly begins to take on this
character. He begins to ?act? like the people with whom he fellowships. He
begins to be ?conformed? to character of that assembly. His dress may change,
his vocabulary may change his life may even change for the good but it will be
an external conformation.
Grace based assemblies understand this and are
careful to continually point the new believer towards the word of God and Christ
rather than individuals within the assembly.
Transformation on the other
hand comes from the inside out.
It is the result of Christ living in and
through the believer.
The wonderful thing about grace life doctrine is that
we understand that we already have completeness, total forgiveness and the
acceptance of God. There is nothing for us to do to become worthy for we already
are ?in Christ?.
The verse we use to describe this advancement in
understanding is Galatians 2:20.
Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
There
is no ambiguity in this verse.
It does not need to be interpreted.
It
does not need to be retranslated.
It does not need to be spiritualized.
It needs to be believed.
When the life in this verse becomes active
in the lives of the saints of a local assembly the world will take note of the
transformation as the life of Christ is put on public display through the lives
of grace motivated saints.
Number Two: Loss of income.
Preaching
grace just does not pay financially.
You cannot get rich off of it.
This
is because the grace believer is responsible to God for his time, talents and
treasures not the man behind the pulpit or an offering plate shoved under his
nose each week.
Because of this many grace assemblies strain to meet
budgets and pay pastors (and they should be paid) but its ok. A grace preacher
knows that everyone in a grace assembly is on a different level of
understanding. Therefore each saint will respond to God and the needs of the
assembly according to their own understanding and application of sound doctrine.
As the saints grow in grace the bills will get paid not because they are
made to feel guilty or under the law but because that is what they want to do.
It is the reflection of the life of Christ in them. Paul sums it up like this:
2 Cor 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so
let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful
giver.
In short you are being robbed of your identity in Christ every
time you are expected to ?act? a certain way or ?give? a certain amount of your
time, talent and treasure. But when those things become an extension of the life
of the Lord Jesus Christ living in you, you become that living sacrifice which
is acceptable to God.
Works Or Grace A Basic Question
Paul in writing to the Galatians asks a fundamental question.
?having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?? Gal.3:3
The answer to this question will be based upon the doctrine that you
have been taught. Of course you will have to be objective in your answer which
is often hard to do when find that the truth you are holding to may not be ?the
truth? after all.
History is replete with illustrations of this fact.
For example in the 17th century Johannes Kepler, Rene Descartes, and others
believed light was instantaneous.
The velocity of ?c? was considered infinite. In 1677 Olaf Roemer measured the elapsed time between eclipses of Jupiter with its moons, yielding a finite speed of light. And yet for fifty years controversy raged over this measurable fact.
In 1729 James Bradley confirmed Roemer?s work and the scientific
community slowly began to accept the fact that they had been wrong. The speed of
light was not instantaneous nor infinite.
The Galatians had been robbed
of their identity in Christ by allowing the law of Moses to take the place of
the life of Christ as a result they were in fact robbing themselves of their
identity in Christ.
Paul reminds us: ? the strength of sin is the law. 1
Cor 15:56. What does this mean? It means that application of the law makes sin
stronger. This is true in salvation and in sanctification.
The idea that
a sinner can do anything to merit the favor of God is absolutely foreign to the
Paul and his message of grace. Religion, tradition and denominationalism have so
muddied the waters on this issue that finding a clear gospel testimony today is
like finding a needle in a haystack. The sinner has only one hope. The sinner
has only one way. The sinner only has one truth to which he can expect
deliverance from his doomed, dominated and sin driven condition.
He cannot
pray enough, give enough, be good enough, be water baptized enough, or keep the
laws of Moses enough to merit the unmerited favor of God.
I remember
talking to a man in Orlando Florida some years ago on this very topic. He felt
he was a good man and could merit the favor of God. So I asked him, ?If you were
to stand before God tonight and he should ask you why should I let you into my
heaven what would you say?? This is a good question and you should think about
what answer you would have to it.
He said to me that he keeps the ten
commandments. I said oh good. Could you name them for me in order? He could not
list them and even he could it is not the issue. The issue is what Christ has
done not what we can do. You are being robbed of your identity in Christ every
time you substitute the law of Moses for the life of Christ dwelling in
you.
Most Americans believe there are only ten commandments to be kept.
However there are over 600 points of the law of Moses. And before you go through
the nonsense of dividing them up into civil and moral laws and the ones you
prefer over the others let me remind you what the book says about
it.
James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in
one point, he is guilty of all.
Again, there is no ambiguity in this
verse.
If you break one law you are guilty of them all.
Picture in your
mind a drive in the country.
It is in the fall of the year.
The leaves
are turning and it is just beautiful.
So beautiful in fact that you loose
track of your speed.
In your rear view mirror you see a flashing blue
light.
The policeman pulls you over, tells you that you were speeding and
begins to write you a ticket. Then another and another and another until he has
written you a ticket for every thing over which he has jurisdiction.
An oversimplification for sure but you get the point.
You see
the law was not designed to bring about justification it was designed to bring
about guilt.
Rom 3:19 Now we know that what things soever the law saith,
it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all
the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law
there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge
of sin.
Not only are the works of the law called into question by Paul
but works of any kind. You simply cannot mix the grace of God and
works.
Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.
Gal 2:16
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of
Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified
by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the
law shall no flesh be justified.
Gal 3:10 For as many as are of the works
of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that
continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them. 11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is
evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
Eph 2:8 For by grace are ye
saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of
works, lest any man should boast.
2 Tim 1:9 Who hath saved us, and called
us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began, (More on this phrase later).
Titus 3:5 Not by works of
righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Rom 11:6 And if
by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if
it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more
work.
The verses are plain enough and the question Paul raised Galatians
is a valid one, ?having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the
flesh?? Gal.3:3
The only way to obtain eternal life is by grace, the provision of
God, through faith, believing what God has said in his word. The believers walk
works exactly the same way. A basic problem in churches is the mixing of
standing and state of the believer. Let me be very clear at this point and the
remarks will self justify as we work through this study.
1. You are not
saved by grace and then kept by works.
2. You are not saved by works and
then kept by works.
3. You are not saved by grace plus works and kept by
grace plus works.
4. You are not saved by works and then kept by grace.
5.
You are not saved by works plus anything.
6. You are not saved by grace plus
anything.
7. You are saved by grace and kept by grace plus nothing and minus
nothing.
The Key To The Bible
It Is In The Pauline Epistles Alone That You Will Find The Doctrine, Duty And Destiny Of The Church The Body Of Christ
It is through the application of this verse that we learn the
principle of ?giving to Israel what belongs to Israel and giving to the Body of
Christ what belongs to the Body of Christ.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to show
thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth.
If we are to rightly divide the word of truth
where do we make the divisions? What did the Holy Spirit have in mind when he
had Paul write 2Timothy 2:15 down? QED!
Let?s look at verse seven and
eight of the same passage.
2 Tim 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord
give thee understanding in all things. 8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed
of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
These two
verses are just loaded with information. Information about the key to
understanding the Word of God. To avoid making assumptions and missing details
we are going to take these to verses apart. We are going to compare scripture
with scripture.1 Cor 2:13
1. Consider what I say 2 Tim 2:7a
Consider
what Paul has to say! Just consider it. Why? Because of who he was made by
Christ and in Christ.
Rom 11:13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as
I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:
Paul ?is? THE
apostle to the Gentiles. This is his ?office?. His official position in the Body
of Christ is ?the apostle to the Gentiles?. Paul does not magnify himself he
magnifies his office. As the sent one, apostle or messenger to us in the age of
grace we would do well to consider what he has to say.
Paul?s
apostleship to the Gentiles is not up for debate or discussion. It does not need
to be voted on, retranslated, adopted or accepted. It needs to be believed. You
are suffering from Identity Theft. Your apostle has been stolen from you. The
very person who is to give you the information about who you are and how you are
to function, has been hog tied and abducted from modern ?churchianity?.
Quick? run down to the nearest ?Baskin Robbins Church? and ask the first
ten religionist this question. ?Who is your apostle?? Save yourself some time.
Here are the answers you will get.
a. My what? This will come from the
ones who have no idea what you are talking about.
b. Peter! This will come
from the ones who think they have and idea.
c. Jesus! This will come from the
ones who think they are spiritual.
d. I don?t know! This will come from the
ones who are honest enough to know they don?t know.
What you will not get
is Paul. And yet the scriptures are very clear on the subject. Paul is our
apostle today. And he is our apostle because God made him so.
Gal 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by
Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)
Paul is
our apostle by the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father and by the Holy Spirit
that penned the words. No vote needed, none asked for! I don?t mean to be rude
but the fact is that you have been Robbed! Your identity has been
stolen!
And I have been there. What a relief to know where to go in the
scriptures to find the verses written to you. To know the doctrines of
deliverance and how they work. I have set on the side of a river bank. I have
prayed to God to know his power. I told God I don?t want to move a mountain just
a rock will do. I have known the frustration of thinking God was mad at me for
something I had done. What freedom! What deliverance! What joy comes from having
your identity restored to you.
There is this idea that Paul got saved and then followed Peter and
the eleven around trying to be like them. I even know people that teach Paul
?is? one of the twelve even though Paul did not meet any of the qualifications
to be one of the twelve.
Qualifications to be one of the twelve you
say?
Acts 1:20 For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his
habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishopric let
another take.
Judas is dead. There has to be 12 apostles one for each of
the 12 tribes of Israel. So the 11 know its time to pick another guy. Just one
though. The one who will be chosen is Matthias. Lets keep score between Paul
& Matthias and see who wins.
Acts 1:21 Wherefore of these men which
have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among
us, 22 Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day that he was taken
up from us, must one be ordained to be a witness with us of his
resurrection.
Now there are several qualifications here:
1. He had to
have been in the company of believers that companied together around the Lord
Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry.
Paul 0 Matthias
1
2. This company had a start and finish marked by the words
?beginning? and ?unto? in verse 22. Paul was absent on both
accounts.
Paul 0 Matthias 3
Acts 1:23 And they
appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and
Matthias.
Paul 0 Matthias 4
Acts 1:24 And they
prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men, show whether
of these two thou hast chosen, 25 That he may take part of this ministry and
apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he might go to his own
place. 26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell upon Matthias; and he
was numbered with the eleven apostles.
Paul 0 Matthias 5
Matthias wins 5 to zip.
No recount needed! God did not send Paul to the 12 tribes of
Israel. Did Paul ever minister to them. Yes he did, but that does not mean he
was sent to them. Does Peter ever minister to the Gentiles? Yes he does, but
that does not mean he was sent to them. You see you have been robbed of your
identity ?in Christ?. You have been using a faked I.D. that has put you under a
short account system so that you never ever reach your potential ?in Christ?.
God sent Peter and the eleven to Israel and he sent Paul to the Gentiles as we
see in the next verse.
Gal 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the
gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the
circumcision was unto Peter; 8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the
apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the
Gentiles:)
Yes I know the new and improved versions (sic) of the Bible
change the prepositions to make this all one kind of gospel but sometimes when
you change soap you get a rash.
In any case the verse ties the rag on the bush for those of us who
take the Word of God seriously. Peter was sent to the circumcision, the Jews.
And Paul was sent to the uncircumcision, the Gentiles.
Paul is constantly
condemned in secular religious circles as being a loose canon and rebel
preaching whatever he wanted. Paul says he is not a liar when he claims to the
sent to the Gentiles.
1 Tim 2:7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and
an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the
Gentiles in faith and verity. 2 Tim 1:11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher,
and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.
Since Paul is our apostle
it is only logical that Paul would have the instructions necessary for me to
find my true identity.
You are being robbed of your identity ?in Christ?
every time you are told to follow the pattern of Peter, James, John or to build
your walk on a set of instructions that are not written to you.
Paul,
not Peter nor the eleven is your pattern for today.
I know what you have
been taught. So was I.
I know what you have believed. So did I.
I also
know that you may have difficulty letting go of traditional thinking but you
must, for Paul is not only our apostle but our pattern as well.
1 Tim
1:16 Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ
might show forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe on him to life everlasting.
Paul is our pattern today in the age of grace we are to consider
what he has to say if we are going to ?rightly divide? the word of
truth.
2 Tim 2:7 Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee
understanding in all things. 8 Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David
was raised from the dead according to my gospel:
2. and the Lord give the
understanding in all things.
Doug Dodd