Lie # 42 “God helps those who help themselves.”

Contrary to common beliefs, this statement is not a Bible verse. It was coined by Ben Franklin and reveals his humanistic thinking. There are some things that only God can do for you such as qualify you for heaven. Since you did not create yourself, you cannot sustain yourself. Therefore, in a fundamental sense, you can do nothing without God’s help. Until you see yourself as helpless without Him, you won’t be fully dependent on Him and so can’t benefit from all He has done for you in the divine exchange.

When you work in your own strength, God rests; when you rest in Him, He is free to work on your behalf – in you and through you. Big difference. Christian life is one of trust in His ability, not in yours or in things or in other people. Only God is a reliable point of reference. He really is our “all in all” and our “everything.” In contrast, everything in the seen realm (but people) is temporary and will eventually pass away, according to 2 Corinthians 4:18.

Lie # 43 Even though Jesus is merciful, God is wrathful and judgmental.

The short answer is that view of God is apparent under the Mosaic Law, given only to the Jews. He justly punished those who broke that Covenant. But Jesus demonstrated Father-God’s true nature of Love and forgiveness while He walked on earth. Now Jesus has blessed believers with His New Covenant – which He keeps for us. So, believers are no longer subject to Farther-God’s “just wrath” which was expended on Jesus on Calvary. See Chapter 21 of Is There An Elephant In Your Church? for a full debunking of this pernicious and pervasive lie. It is a carry-over from the heresy of Galatianism – mixing the Mosaic Covenant with the New Covenant.

Lie # 44 “A Christian must bring every thought captive to obey Christ.”

The law’s function was to arouse sin, cause death and bring the in Adam sinner to the end of himself so that he would see his desperate need to receive Jesus. And since the law was never given to the Gentiles, Paul did not teach on obedience to the law or even to Christ, per se, but on “bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5b). We are to focus on what He DID, not on our inferior obedience to a law we were never given. The law always demands perfect obedience to achieve or maintain righteousness – an impossibility for us. However, Jesus’ gift of grace supplies His gift of righteousness by faith in what He did for mankind some 2000 years ago. Since the law is weak and feeble (Galatians 4:9), it can’t make in Adam sinners perfect. So, it was made obsolete for Jewish believers and nailed to the cross for all believers.

Coming Next Week on totalgrace.net — Lies # 45 and # 46 that often confuse many Christians. REMEMBER: Wrong believing which leads to wrong living. Conversely, right believing leads to right and prosperous living in Christ. Contact me (below) with any comments or questions about the content of this Blog.