Blue Law Christianity - Part 1

Dr. Michael Richardson - Mark 7:7
Part I-Unwritten blue laws in the Church

A. The most common one is works for salvation. These false teachers tell people that they must
     work to keep the 10 Commandments for salvation.
B. These false teachers do not even understand the purpose of the 10 commandments.

• The Apostle Paul states the following in Galatians 3:19 ‘Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” ​

• Notice Romans 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.”
• These false teachers tell people to be saved by the 10 commandments. This is a system that shows all people guilty before a trice holy God. 
• Not only do they teach salvation this way, but they also teach that one has to work to keep their salvation
• This teaching contradicts Rom. 3:28, Gal. 2:16,  Gal. 3:11 and Eph. 2:8-10, 

          Rom. 3:28 “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

• 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. 3:11’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. 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; are that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast.”

 
C.  So, these false teachers place a system on people for salvation that is impossible to do. 
 D. They teach you an impossible system for salvation and then brag how they got you “saved”. This is
      what Paul teaches in Gal. 6:13 “For neither they themselves who are Circumcised keep the law; but
      desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in Flesh.”
E. If one could be saved by keeping the 10 Commandments, why then did Jesus have to die?
F.  A second “blue law” false teachers have for salvation is that you have to be baptized

• First of all, let me say that every Christian is supposed to follow the Lord’s example and be baptized. When one is baptized, they “identify” by faith with the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
• The primary “poof” text is Acts 2:38 “Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”
• Repent is Peter’s statement is a verb. Its subject is an understood “you”
• The comma after the word repent begins a parenthetical expression that ends after the word sins. This interrupts the main clause
• Therefore, the main clause is “Repent and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost” 
• The word “for” is “eis” in the Greek. It means “on account of” or “ in view of the fact”
• Notice how Peter says it in Acts 10:47 “Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?”
• I once asked a minister who believe the Bible taught “baptismal regeneration” if a person only got the Holy Spirit after they came up out of the water. He said, “Yes!”
• I then asked do they have faith” before they go under the water? He said, “Yes”
• Odd, Galatians 5:22 shows that faith is a work of the Holy Spirit, but this minister had them having a work of the Holy Spirit without having the Holy Spirit
• This “blue law” is not really taught in the Bible. You can be baptized until the frogs know your middle name and not be saved. 
• This “blue law” put earthly water on the same level as the blood of Jesus
• I could never accept this “waterdog theology”

 
G. A third example of an unwritten blue law in churches is that a Christian can lose their salvation.  The
      two primary “proof” texts are Galatians 5:4 and Hebrews 6:4-6. Before I discuss those passages, I
      want to ask some questions:

• The value of the death of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is infinite. So, did Jesus suffer the death of the cross to obtain only at best a “conditional” salvation?  
• Did the writers, inspired by the Holy Ghost, lie in the following passages?

        John 3:16, John 5:24, Rom. 8:1 or Jude 24? [These are only a few of the passages that could be
         listed]

• If the sacrifice of Jesus is not enough to keep someone saved what greater sacrifice can God the Father give?
• If the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross can be made null and void, how can one be saved again after losing their salvation?
• So, if one can truly be saved and then lose their salvation then did not Christ die in vain for those who were saved and later lost?
• How many times does Christ have to die for our sins? This is what is meant in Heb. 9:26
• When people learn that somebody believes in “Eternal Security”, why do they automatically assume that that individual believes they have a “license” to sin? Roman 6:1,2 refutes that idea. 

H. Now let us consider Ga. 5:4. Context is important. To whom is Paul speaking? 

• Paul is speaking to those who argue that to be saved one must keep the 10 commandments
• Thus, Paul is saying that those who teach that one is justified by the law they have fallen ‘short” of grace not fallen from grace since they were never under grace. For example, Judas Iscariot never fell from grace because he was never saved by grace. Judas fell from his position as an apostle.                 

I. Heb. 6:4-6

• Notice that before we come to Heb. 6 that there are 5 previous chapters
• Back up to Heb. 5:12-14. There the author complain that by this time they ought to be teachers but need to be taught the first principles of the word of God. They were still in need of “milk” and were not ready for meat or “doctrine.” So he is admonishing them for the lack of spiritual maturity
• Now, remember that the chapter divisions did not come until later.
• When he gets to Chapter 6, he has not changed his topic at all. Notice in Heb. 6:1 the word “perfection”. The Greek word means “completeness”. In other words, he means maturity as a Christian. The Hebrew word for perfect or perfection means the same thing
• I once had a man tell me that the Bible stated that Job was “perfect and upright” He said that perfect meant perfect
• I asked if Job were perfect then why did Christ have to die on the Cross?
• I then took him to Job had to say it is found in Chapter 9;20 “If I justify myself, mine own mouth shall condemn me: if I say, I am perfect, it shall also prove me perverse.”   
• It is important for us to understand that the Book of Hebrews was written before 70 A.D.
• These Hebrew Christians agreed that Jesus was the Messiah but then would go to the Temple and make sacrifices there
• THAT is what is meant in Hebrews 6:4-6 NOT salvation.