OPENER
Why create yet another website which discusses the Bible and Christianity?
This website went online in January 2025. You might be wondering about the choice of domain name. Although some in the church call for revival, I believe reform is needed. Stale doctrines are hindering people's spiritual growth. In the modern American church, nothing is said of Christian maturity and the need for real, practical righteousness in our lives. Preachers are happy to repeat Paul's easy teachings without qualification. But when they bring up one of Paul's hard teachings, they soften it by adding, "This doesn't mean you lose your salvation." Consequently, the hard teachings are lost on the listener and they don't mature.
Jesus wants to see results, for He loves righteousness and hates wickedness (Psalm 45:7). Jesus came to Earth to destroy the devil's work (1 John 3:8), not whitewash it.
Maybe the best place to start this topic is Hebrews 5:11 thru 6:8 where Christian maturity and the doctrine of righteousness is discussed. In verses 6:7-8, a farming parable is given: if the land provides a useful crop, it is blessed; if not, it is worthless and in danger of being cursed. The parable speaks of one's spiritual life and whether good fruit (righteousness, goodness, and love) results after the Holy Spirit's continued efforts. Paul speaks the same way in his strong warnings against habitual sin (e.g., 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) so that people don't miss out on salvation. God wants to see results!
1 John 3:7 is also central to this discussion: "Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He [Jesus] is righteous." Righteousness is measured by actions, not faith alone (James 2:24).
So, Stale Doctrine #1 is: "You cannot lose your salvation." This doctrine flies in the face of Paul's own testimony that he beat his body and made it his slave so that he wouldn't be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:27). And the problem with a stale doctrine like this one is: if you believe it, you won't be able to understand many of the difficult passages in Scripture.
The goal of this website is to clear a path away from stale doctrines that block people's understanding of Scripture, so that people may read Scripture for themselves and take the loving-but-firm message to heart.
NOTE: If you don't have access to a Bible, here is a link to Biblica's online Bible. Many languages are available. There is even an audio Bible.
UNDERSTANDING SCRIPTURE
What did it take before I could understand Scripture?
I have been a Christian for 37 years (I'm 67 now). It has taken me years to understand Scripture. My church background is a mix: raised Roman Catholic; after becoming Christian, have been a regular attender at house churches, Baptist churches, Pentecostal churches, and Evangelical churches. However, even though I believed Jesus' words in the New Testament, some church doctrines made Scripture hard to understand.
But now, after the last 2-3 years, it seems I'm able to understand the Bible in a way I couldn't previously, as though it is in living color or 3D. There wasn't any one thing which got me to this point, except maybe realizing the Church is holding onto some stale doctrines which don't line up with Scripture. And, as someone who taught Bible studies, I was part of the problem.
The Book of Romans, Chapter 2, was the key toward a deeper understanding of the Gospel and Scripture. I used to think Chapter 2 was a rhetorical argument leading up to Chapter 3. But now I realize Paul is talking of this age, the Church Age, when he says all of the following will happen:
- God will give to each person according to what he has done. (v6)
- To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. (v7)
- For those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. (v8)
- As Paul speaks about Gentiles without the Law who yet obey conscience and do the things required by the Law, he concludes by saying "this will take place on the day when God will judge..." (v14-16)
So how does someone find peace with God? Paul concludes Romans 2 with: "Circumcision is circumcision of the heart by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men but from God." (v29) And that is what Christianity is all about!
A SICKNESS IN TODAY'S CHURCH
Yes, the righteous shall live by faith, but what do those terms mean?
There's a sickness in today's church where 'faith' and 'righteousness' have received different meanings than originally:
Faith has gone from being a comprehensive outlook that shapes behavior to being mere belief in certain things. The best characterization of this is taking Paul too simplistically when he says, "If you confess with your mouth 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" (Romans 10:10). Yet his statement is nonetheless true: If you believe Jesus is living and Lord over all, then you know his teachings are true and the basis for Eternal Judgement, and this begins the process of internal washing by his Word and Spirit.
Righteousness has gone from being real, practical righteousness to being imputed righteousness only, without Christian maturity coming into the picture. Yet God wants to see results before a person leaves this life.
When these two critical concepts get cheapened in this way and these cheapened meanings become the basis of our doctrines, God's Word is blunted and doesn't convey the same meaning anymore. In fact, God's Word becomes harder to understand because it seems to be at odds with our tightly-held doctrines. At this point, a seminary graduate is needed to explain things and reconcile Scripture to the established doctrines.
It boils down to this: What do you use as your plumbline in spiritual matters: (a) Scripture, or (b) your church's established doctrines? Let's look at the difference it can make:
Using church's doctrines as foundation:
- Scripture has already been distilled for me by church leaders into easy-to-digest doctrines. Scripture is secondary if I accept and understand the doctrines. Same goes for catechisms which boil down Scripture to something a child can digest.
- Scripture become more difficult to understand to the extent it doesn't agree with church doctrines.
- Since Scripture is secondary, the pulpit must be filled with professionals since the layperson doesn't take an active interest in Scripture.
Using Scripture as foundation:
- Much personal time spent is in the Word because, "My salvation depends on it."
- Scripture becomes understandable!
- The promises of Scripture become fulfilled, for instance: "They shall all know me, from the least to the greatest." (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:11).
Therefore, reform is needed, not revival. Reform means getting back to:
Biblical faith: A comprehensive worldview that modifies our behavior. It humbles us knowing we are just fellow creatures created by the same God, descended from the same family that stepped off the Ark. Such faith warns us that wrongdoing deserves just punishment and that our actions are being recorded for the Judgement when we stand before God to account for our lives. Fortunately, Jesus has paid for our sins, but we must understand the terms of the New Covenant, lest we fall short.
Biblical righteousness: Real, honest-to-goodness righteousness where one does the right thing, also known as being blameless. It's the opposite of doing evil. God expects Christians to mature to this state. This includes doing good to others since ignoring the plight of others is wrong (see the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31 for proof).
The intent of this website is not to present a large body of Christian teaching. Rather, the goal is to equip you, the reader, with the proper lens for interpreting Scripture — because God's Word is completely sufficient for teaching us, if we have ears to hear!
THEREFORE, when Scripture speaks of righteousness, it is talking about doing the right thing — being blameless. When Scripture speaks of faith, it is talking about a comprehensive worldview that convinces us we will face God someday for our actions, both good and bad.
OBEDIENCE
Obedience is not 'Salvation by Works' nor is it optional
One word you don't hear much in churches nowadays is obedience. After all, if we are saved by grace, how does obedience come into the picture?
Turns out obedience is a requirement for salvation. Before I go further, you might be saying, "You're preaching salvation by works!" However, obedience is not works. Salvation by works is when we try to repay our sin debt with noble deeds of our choosing (e.g., big donations, promote a good cause). Obedience, on the other hand, means we stop incurring more sin debt, while relying on Jesus' sacrifice to cover the sin debt already incurred. Let's look at what Scripture says about obedience:
What does Scripture say about obedience?
- "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Samuel 15:22).
- Paul says, "...we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith" (Romans 1:5). Given the threat of Hell for disobedience, faith drives us to obedience.
- The write of Hebrews says, "...he [Jesus] became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him..." (Hebrews 5:9).
- John writes, "We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands" (1 John 2:3).
- At the Last Supper, Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him" (John 14:23). If you are wondering when the Holy Spirit enters a Christian's life, it is after some measure of obedience.
- At the opening of his first letter, Peter says, "To God's elect, ...who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood..." (1 Peter 1:1-2).
Obedience is part and parcel of salvation. I'm tired of hearing parents say of their wayward adult children, "They aren't serving the Lord right now, but I know they're saved."
Something more about obedience: Continued obedience means that God's reward to believers will based in justice, for the writer of Hebrews says: "God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them" (Hebrews 6:10).
If you are wondering at this point how salvation by grace fits into the picture: (1) God's grace is absolutely necessary because we cannot pay for our sins; (2) God is not under any obligation with grace — it can be offered, and it can be withdrawn; (3) part of God's grace, I believe, is granting faith to someone in the first place. Acts 18:27 says, "[Apollos] was a great help to those who by grace had believed." Think about it: It is impossible for anyone to manufacture faith if they don't already have it, and it is nearly impossible to sway someone else toward belief. We either believe, or we don't. One sign of God's grace in someone's life, I believe, is belief in God.
