COMING SOON!!

Christ Rescued the Thief’s Testimony!

….from the “Church of Christ”

Here are some excerpts:

The New Covenant was revealed to be in full effect… AT THE CROSS (Lk. 22:19-20, Mt. 26:28, 1 Cor. 11:25, Rom. 11:27, Heb. 9:22; 10:18). And yet, the “Church of Christ” (CoC hereafter) has always taught the exact opposite, which is why it has never been able to biblically answer the question….

What gospel did the thief on the cross REALLY obey, according to Hebrews 4:2 and its parallel passages (Isa.53:1, Jn. 12:38, Rom. 3:30; 10:16 and Gal. 3:6-8)?

Because the CoC system cannot reconcile its so-called “new terms” of salvation (a different gospel) with the fact that the gospel of the Old Testament is the SAME GOSPEL of the New Testament.

The sum and substance of the gospel is simply Christ and Him crucified (1 Cor. 2:2), nothing more, nothing less. This was further confirmed by Jesus’ resurrection, which was also founded upon His blood atonement (Heb. 13:20). Jesus said He was the resurrection life, even BEFORE the cross (Jn. 11:25). And the thief savingly believed it (Lk. 23:42)!!

To obey the gospel is to believe the gospel (Rom. 10:16), which is all about what God has done in Christ to save sinners. And it can only be spiritually grasped by God’s gift of saving faith that rests in Christ alone (Eph. 2:8-9).

These truths confirm that the TRUE GOSPEL was preached long BEFORE Pentecost (e.g., Gen. 3:15, Mt. 4:23; 24:14; 26:13, Mk. 1:1-2, Lk. 3:18; 4:18, 43; 9:6; 20:1, Acts 8:32-35; 10:43, Rom. 3:29-30, 1 Cor. 10:3-4, Gal. 3:6-8, Heb. 4:2; 9:15; 10:1-4).

They also disprove the CoC’s water gospel interpretation of its isolated proof-texts (Mt. 28:19, Mk. 16:16, Jn. 3:5, Acts 2:38; 22:16, Rom. 6:3-4, Gal. 3:27, Col. 2:12, Tit. 3:5, 1 Pet. 3:21).  

New Testament ordinances NEVER meant new terms of salvation. Changes in dispensational covenants, and their different modes of regulation, have NEVER meant changes in God’s eternal plan of redemption. A New Covenant has NEVER meant a new gospel, but only a fuller revelation of the SAME GOSPEL that transcends any given dispensation.

Even the promised land of Canaan pre-figured eternal rest, for Scripture speaks of the GOOD NEWS GOSPEL in eternal terms and reveals the ONLY WAY that it can be obeyed (Heb. 4:2; 11:16). But the CoC rejects the only way to be justified before God (Rom. 4). And Scripture warns that those who try to enter God’s kingdom any other way, than by God’s grace through faith in the precious blood and perfect, imputed righteousness of CHRIST ALONE (Heb. 6:19), are considered thieves and robbers. For such wicked endeavors tend to rob God of His glory (Jn. 10:1).

The CoC’s synergistic way of salvation also subscribes to a strange form of hyper-dispensationalism that suggests there has been two different gospels. Neither of which is the ONE TRUE GOSPEL.

The CoC claims there was one way of being saved in the O.T. and a different way of being saved in the N.T.  The blasphemous implications of CoC doctrines are that there have been two different works-salvation gospels!! As if a new legal system (the CoC’s so-called “New Testament laws”) replaced an old legal system.

But since there is only one Savior, there has always been only ONE WAY of salvation (Acts 4:12; 15:11, Rom. 3:30, Eph. 4:5-6).

Therefore, what was the ONLY GOSPEL that the thief on the cross could have ever possibly obeyed?

CoC leaders do NOT want to answer this biblically, for it threatens their sacramental-salvation-system. And sadly, such cultic conditioning renders CoC captives completely unequipped to biblically answer such a simple question.

Many people only emphasize the sensational aspects of the cults, but their false gospels are the actual root cause of all the cultic practices and spiritual abuses that they commit. So we must beware of the damnable heresies that truly make up a Christian cult, such as, but not limited to: Baptismal Regeneration, Open-Theism, Neo-Pelagianism, Deism, Sinless Perfectionism, turning peripheral issues into salvation issues, etc.….which are all rampant in the CoC system.

Its “restoration” movement also sprouted other heretical cults, such as: LDS, JW’s, SDA’s, etc.…. which speaks volumes. History even reveals that the counter-reformation, Arminian, anti-trinitarian, sacramental-salvation, that was so popularized and disseminated by the restorationists, also inspired and helped to fuel many other heretical sects (such as Oneness Pentecostalism) that have taken those false doctrines to a whole other level. And all can be traced back to a devastating deviation from the biblical doctrines of grace.

When cults center their theology on the false notion that “God has done all He can, so we must now ‘do our part’”… their application of salvation will vary. This is why the CoC invented its “new laws” of salvation, which can never square with Scripture. But since God still divinely intervenes, His application of salvation remains consistent, which is why true biblical theology can be harmonized with the full council of God.

In this upcoming book, we will explore what the Bible actually conveys about…

God’s eternal plan of redemption and how it has never changed

How His covenants with man have always bore witness to that gospel

What the true gospel really is

The only way that it can be truly obeyed

The common salvation that all true believers have with the penitent thief on the cross…

…and much more!!

There is NOTHING more important than knowing, believing, and loving the true gospel of Jesus Christ. When one prayerfully embarks upon this well-worth-it journey into a deeper study of God’s Word, they will see that when the CoC’s false interpretations, mere speculations and man-made doctrines are put to the test at this pinnacle of divine revelation….all that went down AT THE CROSS…including the penitent thief’s salvation….the CoC’s false gospel crumbles into a million pieces.

Yet, if anyone still doubts that the thief’s testimony is a fatal blow to the CoC’s false narrative, then all anyone has to do is read the CoC’s official literature, listen to CoC podcasts, watch CoC videos and interact with CoC’s on that very subject. For they all bear witness to the fact that the CoC is NOT being misrepresented.

Upon such careful observation, one will quickly begin to realize just how desperate CoC’s can get when it comes to this unlikely standard bearer. For God set forth the penitent thief as a beacon of His divine mercy and grace, while the unbelieving thief exemplified His divine justice. 

Documented interactions with CoC’s all confirm that when this crux of redemptive history is brought up, the CoC’s hyper-dispensational, two-gospel heresies really begin to manifest, which often go undetected until they are brought to this touchstone….where they are ground to powder.

God’s truth shines even brighter against the CoC’s backdrop of darkness:

1. Jesus died and fully enforced the New Covenant BEFORE the thief died, BEFORE His resurrection and BEFORE Pentecost (Mt. 26:28, Jn. 19:31-33, Heb. 9:16-17).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

2. The torn veil at the very moment of Jesus’ death proved the New Covenant was fully in force and the Old Covenant ordinances ceased (Mt. 27:50; Mk. 15:38; Lk. 23:45, Heb. 10:20-22), for Christ was the fulfillment of all the O.T. shadows and types.

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

3. The Spirit’s outpouring in Acts was grounded upon those already enforced terms. A new state of the church, beginning at Pentecost (a time of renewal), never meant an altogether “new church” with “new laws of salvation” that had never existed before (Isa. 2:3, Jn. 1:17).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

4. The TRUE CHURCH was commissioned and in full function BEFORE Pentecost whereupon it was further added to, built upon and empowered (Gen. 28:17, Ex. 6:2-3, Ezek. 37:26-27, Mt. 18:17; 28:16-20, Lk. 12:32, Acts 2:36, 47; 5:14; 7:38; 15:16, Heb. 3:3-6; 12:22-23).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

5. God’s original command to love was called “new” when it was more clearly set forth by Jesus (Jn. 13:34, 1 Jn. 2:8). Likewise, God’s original plan of redemption (not a “new gospel”) was called a “new and living way” when it was more clearly set forth by Jesus (Heb. 10:19-20).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

6. The move from the Old to the New, pointed to a progressive revelation of God’s eternal plan of redemption (the gospel), NOT a contradictory one. Different degrees of revelation never meant a difference in salvation substance (Isa. 59:21, Acts 18:26, 2 Cor. 3:9-18).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

7. God’s everlasting covenant of salvation was confirmed and concluded with Abraham BEFORE there was ever a temple, circumcision or the Law of Moses (Acts 3:25-26, Gal. 3:8-9, Heb. 2:16; 8:10; 11:18). Thus, all who belong to Christ are spiritual descendants of Abraham BY FAITH, apart from works (Rom. 4, Gal. 3:14-17).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite… resulting in an apostate fall from grace into legalism… a DIFFERENT GOSPEL. And God has placed it, and those who promote it, under a divine curse (Gal. 1:6-9; 5:4).

8. There was NEVER a probate period between the cross and Pentecost, for the N.C. went into full effect at the cross, not Pentecost. But according to CoC doctrines, there would’ve been a time gap with no covenant or law in effect at all. For the CoC claims the Law of Moses was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14), while simultaneously claiming the N.C. wasn’t in effect until Pentecost, thus creating a void between the cross and Pentecost!!

But no surprise, for the CoC has always contradicted itself by claiming the exact opposite of Scripture.

9. Colossians 2:14, in context, reveals that sin-debt, accumulated by transgressions committed against the law, was nailed to the cross, NOT the law of Moses (Rom. 3:31; 7:12-13). Ceremonial laws were abolished, but the moral principles of God’s law (codified in the Ten Commandments) remain intact, for they reflect His holy character and point us to the Savior (Gal. 3:24). Jesus perfectly satisfied the demands of God’s law, and He perfectly satisfied God’s divine justice, on behalf of sinners (Mt. 5:17), with no “new terms” to be fulfilled on “our part” to make His work effectual.

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

10. Jesus STILL has the ability and authority to forgive sins TODAY, just as He did while He was physically on earth (Matt. 9:6; 28:18, Col. 1:18, 1 Jn. 1:9, Heb. 12:25-26).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

11. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). So the gospel has always been the same, for He is the very substance of the gospel (Psa. 119:89). He confirmed the eternality of the gospel at the cross.

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

12. Every aspect of salvation is a fact of eternity before it ever takes place in time (Lk. 22:20, Rom. 8:28-30). The eternity of the cross reveals that the thief was saved exactly the same way (through faith), and upon the exact same basis (God’s grace through Christ and His work) that every sinner throughout redemptive history has ever been saved. Regardless of the two different dispensations that he lived under, and regardless as to whether John baptized him or not. Because Jesus’ atonement was timeless. It covered the entire realm of time itself; past, present and future (Ps. 90:2, Acts 15:9, Eph. 1:10, Heb. 4:3, Rev. 13:8). 

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

13. Water baptism is a “likeness,” a demonstration, a testimony, of one’s eternal union with Christ through His substitutionary atonement (Rom.6:3-18). A symbolic ordinance cannot literally effect what it signifies. Good works are the result of regeneration, NOT the cause.

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

14. Regeneration, indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit has ALWAYS been essential to salvation (Deut. 30:6, Isa. 63:11, Jer. 31:31-34, Ezek. 36:26-27; 39:29, Lk. 1:15, 41; 2:25-38, Jn. 3:3, Rom. 8:9-11, 1 Cor. 2:10-16; 10:3-4, 1 Pet. 1:9-11). Thus, the Spirit’s outpouring in Acts (a unique and special gift to believers) was NEVER meant to usher in a new way of being saved (Jn. 7:39).

But the CoC has taught the exact opposite.

Therefore, our hearts desire and prayer to God is that He will orchestrate our readers rescue so that they may be saved and enabled to make informed decisions that will help them to conclude once and for all what the evidence demands…that the “Church of Christ” system is a spiritually dangerous and cultic counterfeit that needs to be exposed, abandoned and repented of…. for it does not represent the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

For more information, true gospel tracts and biblical support, contact:  gospel4life@live.com                                                  

Copyright © 2024 by Lee Anne Ferguson

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