Author: Ryan Moody

The Roman Catholic Church imposed its false Trinitarian view of God upon the world by locking away the Scriptures and putting to death millions. With this false view of God and a false view of man as a spirit being that goes to heaven or hell after death, how could Martin Luther have attained the right gospel message? He understood “The just shall live by faith” (Rom 1:17) to mean that we’re saved by faith or belief. But Habakkuk’s statement “the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness” (2:4 NET), “the righteous person will live by his faithfulness” (2:4 NIV), isn’t about our faith but His faithfulness—Christ’s faithfulness to His Father in sacrificing Himself as He had been sent. Luther didn’t restore the true gospel message but concocted a new one that’s damning multitudes.

The Protestant gospel of sola fide or faith alone is that salvation is by believing and not by anything we do. To bolster this deception, throughout the New Testament the Greek pistis has been rendered “faith” instead of “faithfulness,” pisteuo as “believe” instead of “trust,” and ergon as “works” instead of “actions.” Furthermore, a false antithesis of faith versus works was contrived from Paul’s statements, “a man is justified by faith [faithfulness] without the deeds [actions] of the law” (Rom 3:28), “a man is not justified by the works [actions] of the law, but by the faith [faithfulness] of Jesus Christ” (Gal 2:16), “For by grace are ye saved through faith [faithfulness]; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works [actions]” (Eph 2:8-9). But Paul wasn’t teaching our faith versus our works, but Christ’s faithfulness as our sacrifice versus the Levitical priests’ actions of offering animal sacrifices. We’ve also been taught to call ourselves “believers” even though the early church never did—they called themselves “servants.” Modern Bible versions mistranslate many statements such as: “In those days Peter stood up among the believers” (Act 1:15 NIV), “All the believers were together and had everything in common” (Act 2:44 NIV), “All the believers were one in heart and mind” (Act 4:32 NIV), “And all the believers used to meet together” (Act 5:12 NIV).

Protestant Trinitarians claim that “earnestly contend for the faith [faithfulness] which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jde 1:3) is that their message of faith and system of theology was delivered to the church by the apostles. But Jude was talking about the message of faithfulness delivered to God’s people in the Exodus, “the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt” (v. 5). He delivered to them faithfulness to Him, “And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments” (Exo 20:6). However, many were unfaithful, “they could not enter in because of unbelief [unfaithfulness]” (Heb 3:19). As God’s people today, we’re to earnestly contend for that same faithfulness to Him.

The true gospel message of which Paul wasn’t ashamed to proclaim is the message Jesus Christ Himself preached, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth [trusts]” (Rom 1:16). Jesus preached trust in His sacrifice on the cross for our sins, “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth [trusts] in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth [trusts] in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (Jhn 3:14-16).

Jesus didn’t teach salvation by faith but by righteousness to the moral standard set by the law and the prophets: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets … For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Mat 5:17,20), “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets” (Mat 7:12). He requires us to hear and do the moral righteousness of the law defined by Him, “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them … And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not” (Mat 7:24,26). Paul and James reiterated, “For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified” (Rom 2:13), “But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (Jas 1:22).

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2Co 5:17) supposedly means that we become some kind of new creature by a faith confession. But “he is” is italicized indicating it’s not in the Greek text but added. This isn’t about a person but the creation itself being renewed, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away … no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away” (Rev 21:1,4). The “old things” that are passed away are death, sorrow, crying, and pain. It’s all part of the false gospel message of sola fide.

The writer of Hebrews stated “not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works [actions], and of faith [faithfulness] toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms [washings], and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment” (Heb 6:1-2). The Greek ergon translated typically as “works” simply means “actions,” whatever actions the context requires. Here, it’s the actions of the high priest on the annual day of atonement. They were “dead actions” because they didn’t remit sins. In Leviticus chapter 16, the high priest would “wash his flesh in water” (vs. 4,24) before and after laying his hands on the head, “lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat” (v. 21). He would also sprinkle the blood of a bull and a goat upon the mercy seat, “And he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it with his finger upon the mercy seat … Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for the people, and bring his blood within the vail, and do with that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat” (vs. 14,15). “But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood … For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works [actions] to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:7,13-14). God’s people were to repent or turn away from these “dead actions” and trust in Christ’s “faith [faithfulness] toward God” (Heb 6:1) as the true sacrifice for their sins.

Romans chapter 3 is about Jesus Christ’s faithfulness to give Himself as our sacrifice versus the actions of offering animal sacrifices mandated by the law, “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith [faithfulness] without the deeds [actions] of the law” (v. 28). Christ’s faithfulness, “the faithfulness of Jesus Christ … Jesus’ faithfulness” (vs. 22,26 NET), was that He shed His blood upon the true mercy seat, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [mercy seat] through faith [faithfulness] in his blood” (v. 25). And Paul continued this thought into chapter 4 concerning the actions of Abraham and David.

“What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works [actions], he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed [trusted] God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.” (Rom 4:1-3). What was it that Abraham came to find, recognize, and understand? Having built altars to offer animal sacrifices after his pagan upbringing, “there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD” (Gen 12:8), “Unto the place of the altar, which he had made there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD” (Gen 13:4), “and built there an altar unto the LORD” (Gen 13:18), he found that righteousness came by trusting God, “And he believed [trusted] in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness” (Gen 15:6). And we’re not told of him building another altar until the one upon which he was to offer his son in obedience to God, “Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood” (Gen 22:9). Thus, “justified by works [actions]” are Abraham’s actions of building altars for sacrifices.

“Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works [actions], Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.” (Rom 4:6-8). In Psalm 32 from which Paul was quoting, David said he was forgiven by confessing his sins, “I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin” (Psa 32:5). That “God imputeth righteousness without works [actions],” is that David said nothing in this Psalm about actions of animal sacrifices—only acknowledging and confessing sin.

Even when David sinned in the matter of Uriah the Hittite and Bathsheba, he not only acknowledged his sin but also said plainly that he did NOT offer an animal sacrifice, “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.” (Psa 51:2-3,16-17). David understood that animal sacrifices were dead actions that never remitted sins.

In the contexts which Paul was teaching the actions of offering animal sacrifices, the Greek ergon has been translated “works” instead of “actions,” imposing a wrong understanding. Thus, the false gospel message of faith versus works is proclaimed—that we’re saved by believing and not by keeping God’s commandments.

“Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus; Who was faithful to him that appointed him” (Heb 3:1-2). This “heavenly calling” in Hebrews refers to the Son of God calling to Abraham out of heaven, “And the angel [messenger] of the LORD called unto him out of heaven … And the angel [messenger] of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven the second time” (Gen 22:11,15). The Greek apostolos rendered as “Apostle” simply means “one sent.” In context, God’s Son is the Lamb sent that Abraham foretold, “And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering” (Gen 22:8). And that He “was faithful to him” is that the Son was faithful to His Father in sacrificing Himself for us.

Paul taught in Romans the faithfulness of Christ, “the righteousness of God through the faithfulness of Jesus Christ … the justifier of the one who lives because of Jesus’ faithfulness” (Rom 3:22,26 NET). Through faithfulness in shedding His blood, He became the true mercy seat for the remission of sins, “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [mercy seat] through faith [faithfulness] in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (v. 25). Therefore, when Paul concluded “that a man is justified by faith [faithfulness] without the deeds [actions] of the law” (v. 28), he meant that our sins are remitted by Christ’s faithfulness to shed His blood, not by the actions the law required—the high priest sprinkling blood of animals on the mercy seat.

When Paul said “For by grace are ye saved through faith [faithfulness]; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works [actions]” (Eph 2:8-9), he wasn’t speaking of our faith but Christ’s faithfulness, “in whom we have boldness and confident access to God because of Christ’s faithfulness” (Eph 3:12 NET). The grace by which we’re saved is through Christ’s faithfulness to shed His blood, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph 1:7). The actions of the law were abolished when the partitioning wall of the temple was tore, “the veil of the temple was rent” (Mat 27:51; Mar 15:38; Luk 23:45), “hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Eph 2:14-15), “boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh” (Heb 10:19-20).

Christ spoke of His faithfulness to do the will of His Father sending Him: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (Jhn 3:16); “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (Jhn 4:34); “I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me” (Jhn 5:30); “For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me” (Jhn 6:38); “I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself” (Jhn 10:17-18); “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt” (Mat 26:39), “not what I will, but what thou wilt” (Mar 14:36), “not my will, but thine, be done” (Luk 22:42).

Paul contrasted the actions prescribed by the law with Christ’s faithfulness to give Himself for our sins, “no one is justified by the works [actions] of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works [actions] of the law, because by the works [actions] of the law no one will be justified” (Gal 2:16 NET), “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (v. 20 NET). Habakkuk’s famous statement “the person of integrity will live because of his faithfulness” (2:4 NET), “the righteous person will live by his faithfulness” (2:4 NIV), isn’t about our faith but Christ’s faithfulness. Therefore, “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith [faithfulness] … That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith [faithfulness]” (Gal 3:11,14), is that the blessing of Abraham comes to us, not by the sacrificial actions of the law, but by the faithfulness of Christ’s own sacrifice. Thus, the blessing of Abraham, “And the angel [messenger] of the LORD called unto Abraham out of heaven … That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies” (Gen 22:15,17), is by the faithfulness of his Seed, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Gal 3:16).

The question is sometimes asked about how people were saved before Christ came into this world and died on the cross. After all, if salvation is by faith in Christ or believing in Him, then how could anyone have had faith or believed? This dilemma is actually a big red flag that something is seriously wrong with the gospel message being preached. But once our message is right, there’s nothing left to question.

Several times Paul called “God our Saviour” (1Ti 1:1,2:3; Tit 1:3,2:10,3:4), “the living God, who is the Saviour of all men” (1Ti 4:10). Yet he also called both God and Jesus Christ our Savior, “God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ” (1Ti 1:1), “the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Tit 2:13), “God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Saviour” (Tit 1:4). And Jesus Christ Himself taught that God is our Savior because He sent Him to save us, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (Jhn 3:16-17). Although Jesus Christ certainly is our Savior because He did the work for which He was sent, ultimately God is our Savior for sending His Son to do the work.

Before Christ, God’s people were saved by God their Savior: “They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt” (Psa 106:21); “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour” (Isa 45:15); “there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me” (Isa 45:21); “I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer” (Isa 49:26,60:16); “Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me” (Hos 13:4).

The writer of Hebrews stated, “Now faith [faithfulness] is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report.” (Heb 11:1-2). The repeated “By faith [faithfulness]” phrase for the people listed—Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sara, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and Samuel, and others not listed—is that the accounts of their faithfulness to God recorded in the Scriptures is the “good report” from Him. God witnessed that their deaths in hope of resurrection to eternal life will be substantiated or actualized because they were faithful to Him.

Salvation is about pleasing God, “But without faith [faithfulness] it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe [trust] that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him” (Heb 11:6). And this faithfulness to God our Father is what Jesus taught: “That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Mat 6:4), “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly” (Mat 6:6), “That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly” (Mat 6:18). God will reward those faithful and pleasing to Him.

God progressively revealed Himself since the beginning, and faithfulness to Him before Christ came meant submitting to whatever He had revealed and required at that time. But faithfulness to Him after Christ has come means submitting to His requirement to submit to His Son. Submitting to His Son is faithfulness to God. After healing people, Jesus would sometimes say “thy faith [faithfulness] hath made thee whole” (Mat 9:22; Mar 5:34,10:52; Luk 8:48,17:19). This wasn’t about faith or belief but faithfulness to God in receiving Him as the Prophet foretold by Moses, “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren … I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren” (Deu 18:15,18); “This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world” (Jhn 6:14), “Of a truth this is the Prophet” (Jhn 7:40).

Salvation is ultimately about the one true God being the God of our lives: “I will be their God” (Gen 17:8; Jer 24:7,32:38; Eze 11:20,37:23; Zec 8:8); “will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Jer 31:33); “And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Jer 32:38); “ye shall be my people, and I will be your God” (Eze 36:28); “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Eze 37:27); “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2Co 6:16); “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people” (Heb 8:10); “God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Heb 11:16); “they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Rev 21:3); “I will be his God, and he shall be my son” (Rev 21:7). And being the God of our lives is that because we’re obeying the commandments of His Son Jesus Christ and living by the truth He taught, then we can trust God to provide for us, protect us, defend us, and save us. It’s living faithfully to please to Him.

Christ’s very first parable was that of the Sower: “Behold, a sower went forth to sow” (Mat 13:3), “Behold, there went out a sower to sow” (Mar 4:3), “A sower went out to sow his seed” (Luk 8:5). He is the Sower in this parable and the seed is the message He preached: “Jesus began to preach”  (Mat 4:17); “preaching the gospel of the kingdom” (4:23, 9:35); “he departed thence to teach and to preach” (11:1); “the poor have the gospel preached to them” (11:5); “Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God” (Mar 1:14); “that I may preach there also” (1:38); “And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee” (1:39); “he preached the word unto them” (2:2); “preach the gospel to the poor” (Luk 4:18); “I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also” (4:43); “And he preached in the synagogues of Galilee” (4:44); “to the poor the gospel is preached” (7:22); “he went throughout every city and village, preaching” (8:1).

The soils, of course, are four conditions or states of people’s hearts that hear His preaching: way side; stony places; among thorns; good ground. Way side hearts are people who never have the correct understanding of the message, “understandeth it not” (Mat 13:19). It’s because the devil hinders and obstructs it, “then cometh the wicked one” (Mat 13:19), “Satan cometh immediately” (Mar 4:15), “then cometh the devil” (Luk 8:12). Through false doctrines, corrupted Bible translations, religions and denominations, wolves in sheep’s clothing, confusion, division, and isolation, the devil keeps the masses from ever understanding the message in the first place. So long as we’re deceived, we’re kept on the broad way that leads to destruction.

Stony places are those who understand the Lord’s message yet have a shallow commitment or loyalty to Him, “hath he not root in himself” (Mat 13:21), “have no root in themselves” (Mar 4:17), “have no root” (Luk 8:13). When conflicts come, “tribulation or persecution ariseth” (Mat 13:21), “affliction or persecution ariseth” (Mar 4:17), “in time of temptation” (Luk 8:13), they don’t endure but fall away. Flavorless salt, even salt that once had flavor, is useless. Therefore, salt that has lost its flavor isn’t retained but thrown out, “if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out” (Mat 5:13), “if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned? … men cast it out” (Luk 14:34,35). Likewise, unproductive soil is left as wasteland.

Thorns in the heart are “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches” (Mat 13:22), “the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things” (Mar 4:19), “cares and riches and pleasures of this life” (Luk 8:14). John delineated three main categories of sin, “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1Jo 2:16). These are primarily sexual deviations, coveting riches and possessions, and loving the praise and approval of people. As in the beginning, “And Adam was not deceived [apataō 538], but the woman being deceived [apataō 538] was in the transgression” (1Ti 2:14), the serpent entices us with “the deceitfulness [apatē 539] of riches.” Coveting and lusting deceives us from the truth Christ taught, “But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful [apatē 539] lusts” (Eph 4:20-22). Sin is deceitful because we think we can handle it—that we can sin and still be fruitful to our Lord and right with God.

Good ground, however, “heareth the word, and understandeth it” (Mat 13:23), “hear the word, and receive it” (Mar 4:20), “having heard the word, keep it” (Luk 8:15). These aren’t deceived by false doctrines but correctly understand God’s message preached by His Son, then keep and retain it. As good soil bears fruit for a planter, these hearts produce for the Lord His intended result. They worship the one true God, “The Lord our God is one Lord” (Mar 12:29), “the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth” (Jhn 4:23), “the only true God” (Jhn 17:3). And they obey the Lord, “heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them” (Mat 7:24), “observe all things whatsoever I have commanded” (Mat 28:20), “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luk 6:46).

Having ears to hear, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mat 13:9), “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Mar 4:9), “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (Luk 8:8), is using our ears to hear and understand Christ’s message. After all, if we’re not using our ears for the greatest endeavor, what good are they really? Christ’s message in His preaching on earth is the same from the right hand of God in heaven, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit [Breath] saith unto the churches” (Rev 2:7,11,17,29, 3:6,13,22). And our hearts are still the soils today. We must hear the truth He preached about God and about Himself, and obey what He commanded. But if we won’t listen to Him, we have no hope.