The apostle Paul was very specific in his preaching. He specified one true gospel (Galatians 1:6-9). In Ephesians 4:4-6, Paul specified one body; one baptism; one hope; one faith; one God, Spirit, and Lord. In Romans 6:17-18, Paul also specified one form (pattern) of doctrine that would result in man’s salvation.
Paul taught that circumcision was not necessary for salvation (Galatians 5:6), yet there were those who preached just the opposite. Galatians 6:12-13, “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. For not even they who receive circumcision do themselves keep the law; but they desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh.” Paul called them “enemies of the cross” in Philippians 3:18. In this statement, Paul identified the reason for the difference in his message and theirs. Paul was persecuted, and gladly accepted it; the false teacher’s motive was to avoid persecution for the cross.
Man’s response to God’s grace is an area wherein Paul and others differed in their preaching. Paul taught the commandments of the Lord (1 Corinthians 14:37). Therefore, when Paul taught that circumcision was not necessary to salvation, it was the truth. Those who preached the opposite were wrong. There were no multiple positions as to the role of circumcision in man’s salvation. It was either necessary or it was not. This is still true. There is one and only one true response to God’s grace. This is what the apostle Paul meant in Romans 6:17-18. “But thanks be to God, that, whereas ye were servants of sin, ye became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching whereunto ye were delivered; and being made free from sin, ye became servants of righteousness.” Paul is referring here to man’s response to God’s grace. When Peter concluded his sermon on the day of Pentecost, the question was asked, “What shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). When Jesus told Saul of Tarsus that he was persecuting Jesus in persecuting Jesus’ followers, Saul asked, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). Saul had thought “…that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.” (Acts 26:9). It was one way or the other, but not an “either or” matter. What is the one true response to God’s grace? That is an area wherein multiple answers are given. There never has been more than one accurate answer. There is one form of doctrine that will result in freedom from sin, when obeyed from the heart.
Why did some preach a different “form of doctrine” (Romans 6:17-18) regarding man’s response to God’s grace? The apostle Paul gave the answer in Galatians. 6:12, “As many as desire to make a fair show in the flesh, they compel you to be circumcised; only that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ.” Contextually, the apostle Paul was addressing false teachers. One reason was because some desired to “make a fair show in the flesh” (i.e., a good impression in public). Jesus also encountered such hypocrites during His ministry. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but inwardly ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.” (Matthew 23:27-28). Their godliness was only a show.
Another reason that some preach a different response is because they lack the courage to suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. Jesus accused people who lacked the courage to confess Him publicly of loving, “…the glory that is of men more than the glory that is of God.” (John 12:43). Paul said that if he sought to please men, he would not be a bond-servant of Christ (cf. Galatians 1:10). Find a preacher who is not preaching the correct response to God’s grace, and you will find a preacher who desires the glory of men more than the glory of God and who fears suffering persecution for the cross. To be saved by the Lord, is to be saved by the preaching that the Lord authorized. A preacher who fears to preach truth on how to be saved is likened to the 'hireling' of which Jesus spoke of in John 10:11-13.
The church that Jesus built (Matthew 16:18); has become
divided into denominational bodies because of this change in the “form of
doctrine” on how to be saved. A sinner doesn’t know that there is a “form of
doctrine” that will save him, nor does he know that there is “another gospel” (Galatians
1:6-9). But the preacher who reads what “form of doctrine” the apostles
preached in the book of Acts, will know. Should he then continue to
preach “another gospel”, God’s curse is upon him. The form of doctrine that a
preacher preaches regarding how a sinner is saved, reveals which is stronger in
that preacher’s life; his fear of the truth, or his love for the truth.
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