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The Rise of the Judaizers

A problem arose in the early church when the apostles took the gospel of Jesus to Jews, Samaritans, and Gentiles. When Gentiles responded to the gospel, a conflict arose that threatened to divide the church.

A group called the Judaizers opposed Paul and Barnabas at the Council of Jerusalem (AD 50) in Acts 15. They were uncertain that the benefits of the covenant people of God were to be extended to the Gentiles, thus doubting their conversion by the gospel.

Paul's response assures them that the Gentiles had indeed been made partakers in the blessings of the covenant, namely, the Holy Spirit: "And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us, and he made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:8-9).

The Judaizers' View of Salvation

The Judaizers were teaching that God still required everyone to observe certain rituals and statutes in order to be accepted by him as Father.

Paul, in recounting his confrontation of Peter before the Judaizers, gives us an insight into the teaching of this group (Gal. 2:14). Apparently, the Judaizers were attempting to force Gentile Christians to live under the regulations of the Mosaic Law.

They are also called the "circumcision party" (Gal. 2:12), because one of the specific elements of the Law that the Judaizers were forcing the Gentile Christians to live by was the practice of circumcision.

Peter had withdrawn himself from eating with Gentile Christians, fearing the opposition that would come from the Judaizers. Eating with Gentiles would have rendered Peter ceremonially unclean under the Old Covenant, by breaking an important element of the Mosaic Law. However, Paul said Peter's conduct was "not in step with the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:14).

The Orthodox Response

Paul's response is given in Galatians 2:16: "We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified."

Paul's other response is found in Galatians 5:12: "I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!" He suggests self-castration for those who require circumcision for others. Paul made his point clearly.

According to Paul and the response drafted at the Council of Jerusalem, the Gentiles were not obligated to follow the restrictions of the Law. They were free in Christ, who had fulfilled the demands of the Law. Paul exhorted the Gentiles to abstain from practices associated with pagan idol worship, not to earn their salvation, but as a response to the life-changing message of the gospel and in gratitude for God's gift of salvation.

Why Does All This Matter?

While the heresy of the Judaizers was put to rest by the Apostle Paul, the idea behind their erroneous belief still permeates the church today. The issues are no longer circumcision or ceremonial uncleanness, but the question of how the law relates to salvation—or how works relate to righteousness—is still something that many Christians remain confused about today.

Paul's exhortation to the Judaizers remains as important as ever. It is not by works that we are saved, but solely by the grace of Christ. In fact, to add anything to the work of Christ for salvation actually negates God's grace. Paul says, "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if justification were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose" (Gal. 2:21).

Preaching & the Emerging Church

This ebook offers a thorough critique and evaluation of the preaching of four leaders of the emerging church movement. Get it here.

Know Your Heretics series: Click | View Series

The Historical Background

Sabellius, a third-century theologian and priest, was a proponent of modalism. Modalism is a non-Trinitarian heresy claiming that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are simply different modes of God and not distinct persons within the Godhead. Little is known about Sabellius, who was excommunicated in 220 AD, but the teaching attached to his name became infamous and is still with us today.

Sabellius’ View of God

The modalists were rightly concerned with maintaining the oneness of God as well as the full deity of Christ. However, this led them to the error of seeing any suggestion that the Son was a distinct person from the Father as creating a duality within the Godhead.

Early historian Hippolytus summarized the modalist position as one in which the names “Father,” “Son,” and “Holy Spirit” did not stand for real distinctions in the Godhead, but rather mere names that described the actions of the one God at different times in history. In other words, “Father,” “Son,” and “Spirit” are merely adjectives describing how the one divine Being acts and is perceived.

Sabellius used the analogy of the sun to explain his position. In the same way that the sun gives off both light and heat, so also the single divine being radiates in history in different fashions. In creation, the divine Being acts as Father; in redemption, as Son; in the lives of believers, as the Holy Spirit.

The Orthodox Response

The orthodox response to the heresy of Sabellius (and other modalists) came from Tertullian, the African theologian. In Against Praxeas, Tertullian argued that Scripture reveals that the Godhead is three who are at the same time one. He rightly considered this an essential doctrine of Christianity.

In the Sabellian modalist view, the three are not anything real, but rather just different manifestations of the one. Therefore, Tertullian proposed that we speak of the Godhead as “one substance (substantia) consisting in three persons (persona).” This terminology would serve as the basis for future Latin theology, and it is from Tertullian’s pen that the important Christian word “Trinity” (trinitas) was first inked.

Why Does All This Matter?

Sabellianism is one of the heresies in Christendom that keeps appearing again and again in different forms. Anyone who has sat in a Sunday School class and heard that God’s Tri-unity is like water in that it appears to us in three forms (liquid, steam, and ice) has been exposed to a contemporary variation of modalism. God is not one person that exists in three different forms at three different times, but three distinct persons concurrently sharing one common essence.

Modalism also reared its ugly head in the classic liberal theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher, and it is even seen today in the “Oneness” sect of Pentecostalism, which clearly denies the doctrine of the Trinity. What is at stake in the debate is not merely fancy theological terminology, but our understanding of God himself. For example, if Sabellian modalism were true, the intimate relationship that existed between the Father and the Son from all eternity (John 17) would be irrational.

Modalism undercuts the atoning work of Jesus Christ, as well. If there is only one God who works in different modes of being throughout history, one must question whether Jesus Christ was truly a man, or if he only appeared to be such, as the heresy of Docetism declares. If Jesus Christ is not fully God and fully man, then he cannot be the one mediator between God and man. It is for this reason that the heresy of Sabellian modalism must be rejected, and the biblical doctrine of the Trinity must be affirmed.

Scandalous

In Scandalous, world-renowned theologian D.A. Carson unpacks the meaning of the most scandalous event in history: the death and resurrection of Jesus. Get the book.

Justification by X: Click | View Series

A Confession

Let's start with a confession: I love Affliction T-shirts.

The fleur de lis reminds me of my city. The skulls remind me of my depravity. They are comfortable and hand crafted. I love 'em. But because of their cost, I own only one of them that I bought on clearance at Macy's. Oddly enough, at the risk of sounding girly, I actually think about that one shirt a lot (although the bones do help my case). And it's not primarily for the comfort or the craftsmanship, though it may indeed have something to do with my depravity.

As the thought turns in my mind, the question that haunts me is, "Why did I really want that shirt in the first place?" Is it for the reasons I mentioned above, which seem harmless enough? Or is it for some less harmless reason like, "All the cool kids wear them and I want to fit in?" Hmmm... The plot thickens.

We have just stepped from the dark closet where my shirt hangs into the much darker corners of the soul.

The Lie

All of us have "false justifiers" that we use to try to justify ourselves before God and others, and there are ways we seek false justification that are as nuanced as our own personalities and ministry contexts. For many, what we wear, or at least our appearance, is high on the list. And each time we allow how we appear before others to become more important than how we appear before God, it is stark evidence of our belief in the great Lie that Jesus and the good news that he has spoken over us is not enough.

The Truth

As with any lie, the only way to effectively counter it is with the Truth. When we seek to "clothe ourselves" in the righteousness that the "right kind" of clothing can provide, we must remind ourselves that we are already clothed in the righteousness of Christ (Isa. 61:10). When we seek to find our value in the fact that we can buy something of significant value on earth, we must remind ourselves that we are of great value to God and have been bought at a great price (1 Cor. 6:20) already. We have to counter the Lie with the Truth.

So is it wrong to wear an Affliction T-shirt? No.

Is it wrong to define yourself by what you wear? Yes.

So tomorrow when you reach in the closet for what to wear, stop and ask yourself, "Why am I about to wear what I am about to wear? To honor God or to seek to impress others?" If you find the Lie at work, kill it with the Truth. "I am not justified by what I wear, but by the righteousness that I am now clothed with in Christ." And with the name of Christ written on your soul, it doesn't matter what name is written on your shirt.

To be continued.

Learn more about how to spot the Truth and the Lie working in all areas of life at the Exchange Conference in San Diego, June 17-18.

Doctrine Book

Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe is available now. Read a free chapter and find out more.

This is a series on 11 Leadership Lessons from 12 Disciples, based on the recent sermon Jesus Calls the Twelve, on Luke 6:12-16.

Lesson #8: Big teams need a smaller team within the team

Mars Hill Church is a big team. Ten campuses, a couple dozen services, forty-something elders and growing. I don't know how many hundreds of deacons, hundreds of community group leaders. There are a lot of big teams that need smaller teams within the teams.

Jesus has the seventy. They're mentioned as a number in the Bible. There are twelve that he's appointing as apostles, and within that team he's got Peter, Andrew, James, and John. Peter's the senior leader, but the inner team of leaders is Peter, Andrew, James, and John. They're listed together. They get special access to Jesus. They get special training from Jesus, and they make certain decisions that others don't get to make. So big teams need teams within the teams.

To be continued.

The Prosperity Gospel

Prosperity theology is a marketing scam. Learn about prosperity theology's dirty little secret.

Justification by X: Click | View Series

We Know the Truth

Most of us reading this post have a deep and abiding love for the gospel—the good news that Paul heralds in Romans 1:16-17: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

And most of us would also be quick to proclaim and defend the searing indictment of Romans 1:22-25: "Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

But We Still Succumb To the Lie

While this text is speaking specifically about the practice and consequences of those who do not know Christ, I fear that those of us who do know him are often guilty of falling prey to the same deception that is seen in verse 25—exchanging the truth about God for a lie and worshiping and serving the creature rather than the Creator. This may not be in regard to our eternal salvation, but in what we look to to "save us" in the difficult moments of everyday life and ministry. And while our souls might not be in eternal danger, the intimacy of our relationship with God and our effectiveness in ministry and mission certainly are.

We look to Jesus to justify us before God in eternity; but we often look to lesser, functional saviors to "justify" us in the moment. These can be things like:

• Material possessions.
• Ministry results.
• Misplaced identity.
• Social media.

The ruins of our false justifiers litter the landscape of our lives.

In the following series, we will take several of these "false justifiers," seek to deconstruct them, and disarm them by the power of the gospel. My hope is that by the time we finish, we will be able to exchange these lies for the truth.

To be continued.

Exchange Conference

Mark Driscoll, Peter Jones, Francis Chan, Kevin DeYoung, and others will teach you how to distinguish the Truth from the Lie in all of life at the Exchange Conference.

In Evan Almighty, Hollywood’s cleverly titled farce about Noah’s Ark, Morgan Freeman plays God. Freeman’s incarnation of God is one part groovy yoga instructor, one part Vegas magician, and one part high-end, New Age life coach in Deepak Chopra pajamas. No part of him, however, suggests the Old Testament deity who wipes out his creation with a flood and starts again—which is the whole point of the story of Noah’s Ark. There you have it—a stark contrast between two types of God.

The choice is not really between a cool God and a mean one. The issue goes deeper. The worship of creation is our attempt to fill the gaping hole made by our refusal to worship the true God, who created all things. In Romans 1:18–20, Paul makes a series of earth-shaking statements about human beings who stand before the Creator. They know God, but “by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” about him (v 18). They know God because “what can be known about God is plain . . . . in the things that have been made” (vv 19–20).

They know God exists and long to connect with him, yet deliberately reject him and the evidence of his creative handiwork.

G. K. Chesterton said, “When men cease to believe in God they do not believe in nothing; they believe in anything!” The Lie about God is a substitute, taken from within creation. This is One-ism, or paganism (paganus comes from the Latin word meaning “of the earth”). In Paul’s words, “they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles” (v 23).

To learn more about one-ism and two-ism and see how it plays out in all kinds of ways in our church and culture, come to the Exchange conference in San Diego. Mark Driscoll, Peter Jones, Francis Chan, Kevin DeYoung, and others will teach you how to distinguish the Truth from the Lie in all of life. Exchange is June 17 & 18 in San Diego, California. Find out more.

Exchange Conference

Mark Driscoll, Peter Jones, Francis Chan, Kevin DeYoung, and others will teach you how to distinguish the Truth from the Lie in all of life at the Exchange Conference.

Here is the full video of our interview with Dr. Michael Horton.

To watch or share shorter clips from the interview, use these links:

• What Is Moralistic Therapeutic Deism?
• Why You Can't "Be" the Gospel
• What We Should Learn From the Mainline Denominations
• Is the New Perspective on Paul Dangerous?
• Why Is the Resurgence of Reformed Theology Encouraging?
• Michael Horton's Advice to the Young Reformed
• What Is the Greatest Theological Challenge Facing the Next Generation of Pastors?
• Building a Kingdom vs. Receiving a Kingdom
• The Gospel-Driven Life

Re:Train

If you want to be in missional ministry, you need training. World-class theological and practical ministry training at four strategic locations: retrain.org.

In a previous post we saw how the Truth and the Lie of Romans 1:25 can be understood as a simple contrast between one-ism and two-ism.

As a worldview, one-ism is antithetical to Christian two-ism because it seeks to place everything in the one circle.

1. There is no distinction between God the creator and creation. This results in pantheism and panentheism, which even some young “Christian” pastors are advocating.
2. There is no distinction between God and mankind. This results in a spirituality that does not look humbly out to God for salvation, but rather arrogantly looks in to self for enlightenment.
3. There is no distinction between good and evil. This results in the claim that all we have are perspectives, opinions, and culturally embedded “values”; there are no timeless moral truths that apply to all peoples, times, and places because all that is left is situational ethics. Furthermore, there is no distinction between angels and demons because all spirits and spiritualities are considered only good.
4. There is no distinction between mankind and animals. This results in radical animal rights activism, people referring to their pet as their “baby,” and, in some cities, a disdain for children but a love for animals expressed as doggie spas, doggie day cares, and legislation to allow animals to eat in restaurants with their owners.
5. There is no distinction between mankind and creation. This results in radical environmentalism that moves beyond stewarding creation to deifying creation as our “Mother Earth” and an opposition to cultivating creation for human life and culture.
6. There is no distinction between men and women; gender is reduced to asexual androgyny. This results in lesbianism, transgenderism, homosexuality, cross-dressing, and the like, which Romans 1 says is the logical conclusion of idolatry.
7. There is no distinction between religions. The result is a vague pagan spirituality that believes the answers to all the world’s problems are religious and spiritual in nature and can only be overcome by all religions worshiping together as one. Subsequently, a Christian who makes distinctions (such as between God and man, Jesus and Satan, angels and demons, heaven and hell, man and animals, holiness and sin, the Bible and other texts, male and female, heterosexuality and homosexuality, truth and error, good and evil) is considered a fundamental threat to the utopian world of peace, love, and oneness.

While idolatry is manifested externally, it originates internally. This is first revealed in Ezekiel 14:1–8 as God rebukes the elders of Israel who “have taken their idols into their hearts.” Indeed, before people see an idol with their eyes, hold it with their hands, or speak of it with their lips, they have taken it into their heart. What this means is that they have violated the first two of the Ten Commandments, choosing something as a functional god they long for in their heart and then worshiping it by their words and deeds.

From Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, pgs. 344–346.

To learn more about one-ism and two-ism and see how it plays out in all kinds of ways in our church and culture, come to the Exchange conference. Mark Driscoll, Peter Jones, Francis Chan, Kevin DeYoung, and others will teach you how to distinguish the Truth from the Lie in all of life. Exchange is June 17 & 18 in San Diego, California. Find out more.

Exchange Conference

Mark Driscoll, Peter Jones, Francis Chan, Kevin DeYoung, and others will teach you how to distinguish the Truth from the Lie in all of life at the Exchange Conference.

Echoing Jesus, Paul examines worship and idolatry brilliantly in Romans 1:18–32 by contrasting the lie of idolatry with the truth of worship. His thesis statement on all of this is Romans 1:25, which speaks of idolaters who "exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen."

The Truth: Two-ism

The truth is what we will call two-ism. Two-ism is the biblical doctrine that the Creator and creation are separate and that creation is subject to the Creator. Visually, you can think of this in terms of two circles with one being God the creator and the other containing all of his creation:

The Lie: One-ism

The lie is what we will call one-ism. One-ism is the pagan and idolatrous doctrine that there is no distinction between Creator and creation, and/or a denial that there is a Creator. The popular word for this notion is monism. Practically, one-ism is the eradication of boundaries and differences to bring opposites together as one. The materialistic form of one-ism is atheism. Spiritual one-ism is also often called New Age, New Spirituality, or Integrative Spirituality.

According to spiritual one-ism, the universe is a living organism with a spiritual force present within everything. Thus, everything is interconnected by the life force or the world soul. This life force manifests as spiritual beings (Christians realize these are demons) that manipulate the course of world events. These spirits can be influenced to serve people by using the ancient magical arts. Humans possess divine power unlimited by any deity. Consciousness can be altered through the practice of rite and ritual. Magic is the manipulation of objects, substances, spirit entities, and minds, including humans and demons, by word (ritual, incantations, curses, spells, etc.) and objects (charms, amulets, crystals, herbs, potions, wands, candles, etc.).

Visually, you can think of this in terms of one circle in which everything is contained and interconnected as one:

Often, the circle itself serves as the defining symbol of pagan idolatry. This includes the yantra circle used for Hindu worship, the mandala circle of dharma and Dharmacakra used for Buddhist and Taoist worship, the sun cross used by Wiccans (who also gather in a circle), and Native American medicine wheels, dream catchers, and drum circles. A well-known expression of one-ism is found in the popular song from The Lion King that speaks of “the circle of life.”

From Doctrine: What Christians Should Believe, pgs. 342–344.

To learn more about one-ism and two-ism and see how it plays out in all kinds of ways in our church and culture, come to the Exchange conference. Mark Driscoll, Peter Jones, Francis Chan, Kevin DeYoung, and others will teach you how to distinguish the Truth from the Lie in all of life. Exchange is June 17 & 18 in San Diego, California. Find out more.

Exchange Conference

Mark Driscoll, Peter Jones, Francis Chan, Kevin DeYoung, and others will teach you how to distinguish the Truth from the Lie in all of life at the Exchange Conference.

Click through to the Resurgence if you can't see the video.

We make the same mistakes the disciples did when we only focus on building the kingdom, not receiving and being stewards of the kingdom. In this clip, Michael Horton explains the difference.

In this interview series, Mars Hill PR Director Nick Bogardus interviews Dr. Michael Horton. For more information and resources from Dr. Horton, check out White Horse Inn.

Advance 10

The Advance 10 conference will equip leaders to engage the changing culture of the New South with the unchanging message of the gospel. Find out more.