Division, Disagreement, Doctrine and Sin: A Sermon on the Truth of the Gospel and Lk 12:50-52

^{Galatians 2:11-21 NASB
11} But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ¹² For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. ¹³ The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. ¹⁴ But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
¹⁵ “We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles; ¹⁶ nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. ¹⁷ But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be! ¹⁸ For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. ²⁰ I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. ²¹ I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”

The Bible teaches us that there will be division among the people of God.  There was a disagreement between Paul and Peter.  It does not mean Peter contradicts Paul and Paul contradicts Peter.  Rather it means Peter erred at one particular time on the very divine truth of the gospel (see Gal. 2:14).  He was not writing Scripture at the time.  We can see what ancient tradition can do to the gospel.  Peter was speaking as a man devoid of the inspiration of the Spirit of God.  There is no doubt that the Epistles of Peter in the New Testament are inspired.  Paul corrected Peter in the love of Christ through the infallible Word of God (see Hab. 2; Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11).  Peter stood condemned because of "adding" to the freeness grace of the gospel (Gal. 2:11).  The divine righteousness of Christ alone comes through faith alone (see Rom. 4ff) not the "addition" or circumcision or something else.  This example of the err of St. Peter is the error of those in Pelagianism and SemiPelagianism.  That is, something else is added to the free grace of the good news of the gift of God.  The written Scriptures are available to us through the superintendence of God "...for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Tim. 3:176-17 NASB).  

Whitefield wrote to Wesley because of doctrinal error.  There are doctrinal errors in Arminianism are those who advocate cooperative grace touching regeneration (Titus 3:5 denies any kind of work even cooperative), evangelical universalism (Mt 1:21 denies universalism atonement and advocates particular redemption) and an implicit denial of the total depravity of mankind (see Eph. 2 that refers to the deadness of man).  Whitefield always seemed to address Wesley as a "dear brother" in Christ.  That is, it was a doctrinal dispute in the house of God.  For example, St. Peter was a believer in Christ but he committed partial-apostasy in adding to Christ alone.  What does St. Peter say about the gospel?  He speaks of free election through those who the blood of Jesus is intended: 

"Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied" (1 Pet. 1:2 KJV).

Salvation is through the free choice of God in absolute foreordination in predestination unto holiness through life and death of Jesus Christ alone!  It is where the grace of God and the peace of God rest.  

We see that St. Peter was corrected by Paul (Gal. 2) and here we see the apostolic teaching of God's free grace in His free choice (the same apostolic teaching by Paul in Rom. 9:11).  St. Peter speaks of the gospel-righteousness in which he once denied in sin as a professing Christian in Galatians chapter 2,

"Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ..." (2 Pet 1:1 KJV).

That is, divine righteousness does not come through anything else.  It comes through the righteousness of Christ alone as our God and Savior by God's work of giving us faith "which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (Jn 1:13 KJV).  

Rome is much worse than Peter in Galatians chapter 2.  Peter committed a sin of partial-apostasy (in some way) where he added the practice of circumcision to the gospel.  Its the thinking that says "its just a little" to the gospel that adds a pollution of dung to the treasure of spiritual gold in the Word-exalted gospel!  I suggest to you that Rome has departed from the gospel of faith alone (see Rom. 3 and 4) and embraced a works righteousness gospel.  There use to be a true church in Rome (see in the Book of Romans).  Peter in his sin nature and human fallibility merely added one thing to Christ alone, but Rome adds many things through the practice of the exclusive Roman priesthood.  For example, she adds the Virgin Mary and the saints for satisfaction of sins, expiation through indulgences, escape of eternal damnation through the sacrifice of the Mass, etc.  She holds that on doctrine she cannot err.  For the Roman Catechism says:

92 "The whole body of the faithful. . . cannot err in matters of belief. This characteristic is shown in the supernatural appreciation of faith (sensus fidei) on the part of the whole people, when, from the bishops to the last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals."

892 Divine assistance is also given to the successors of the apostles, teaching in communion with the successor of Peter, and, in a particular way, to the bishop of Rome, pastor of the whole Church, when, without arriving at an infallible definition and without pronouncing in a "definitive manner," they propose in the exercise of the ordinary Magisterium a teaching that leads to better understanding of Revelation in matters of faith and morals. To this ordinary teaching the faithful "are to adhere to it with religious assent" which, though distinct from the assent of faith, is nonetheless an extension of it.

890 The mission of the Magisterium is linked to the definitive nature of the covenant established by God with his people in Christ. It is this Magisterium's task to preserve God's people from deviations and defections and to guarantee them the objective possibility of professing the true faith without error. Thus, the pastoral duty of the Magisterium is aimed at seeing to it that the People of God abides in the truth that liberates. To fulfill this service, Christ endowed the Church's shepherds with the charism of infallibility in matters of faith and morals. The exercise of this charism takes several forms:

If it is impossible for Rome to err, what shall we say of Peter's condemnation by Paul (see Gal. 2:11)? We clearly see that the gospel is Christ alone in the later part of Galatians chapter 2.  The fact is, Rome claims on matters of faith she cannot err because of her position in viewing Peter.  It may be said that Peter is the rock and that somehow means he is the infallible pope.  However, the apostolic interpretation of Mt 16 is that Christ is the Rock (see 1 Cor. 10:4; Rom. 9:33; 1 Pet. 2:8).  Augustine also viewed Christ as the Rock because he changed his view from Peter as the rock!  In passing, I suggest to you that no early father viewed Peter as the infallible pope because of Mt 16.  Moreover, the Bible clearly shows that Peter committed partial-heresy in adding to Christ alone.  For the infallible Scriptures say:

"...nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified..." (Gal. 2:16 NASB).

There is a argument that says sola scriptura cannot be true because of many different groups.  There are not as many groups as is alleged because of spiritual blindness.  That is in application to their view, I would say from inspired Scripture, "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart..." (Eph. 4:18 KJV).  Doesn't the words of Jesus illustrate that "different groups" may actually be the design of Jesus?  How would we know?  For divine Scripture says:

Luke 12:50-52 NASB
⁵⁰ But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! ⁵¹ Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; ⁵² for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three.

We are called to be faithful to the divine Word.  We ought to never elevate a teacher above Scripture.  Rather we should investigate that particular teacher in question in light of the author's intended meaning of the infallible Word.  We know that the Word is infallible because it cannot be broken (see Jn 10:35).  The alleged different groups touching the Christian faith does not mean the written Word is unclear,  "For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day" (2 Tim. 1:12 KJV).  The Bible is clear about how to be right with God.  We ought to understand the hard parts of Scripture with the clear parts of Scripture (see 2 Pet. 3:16).  The gospel of the Bible is clear for a little child to understand about how to be saved (Jn 3ff), but because of deceitfulness of sin there is contradiction about doctrine due to man's nature (see 1 Kin. 13:18).  We ought to also understand that everything is under God's control and purpose (Eph. 1:11).  He is using false doctrine in a way to exalt His perfect justice and He is using correct doctrine to exalt His perfect mercy.

Six-point Calvinists should deal with Arminians with love in Christ like Whitefield and Wesley.  I suggest to you that no one has a perfect knowledge of the Bible.  Hyper-Calvinists will wrongly say that prayer, evangelism and imperfect knowledge deny God's divine truth.  Nothing could be further from God's Word.  That is, the Bible teaches intercessory prayer (not heavenly merit among saints in the treasury of merit); evangelism for the lost as instruments of God and a pursuit of gospel-wisdom from the rich treasure of the written Scriptures alone!   Allow me to provide an example of heresy that is incompatible with the infallible words of Jesus Christ and a Roman practice of prayer to Mary.  Roman Catholics pray,

O Mother of Perpetual Help, thou art the dispenser of all the goods which God grants to us miserable sinners, and for this reason he has made thee so powerful, so rich, and so bountiful, that thou mayest help us in our misery. Thou art the advocate of the most wretched and abandoned sinners who have recourse to thee. Come then, to my help, dearest Mother, for I recommend myself to thee. In thy hands I place my eternal salvation and to thee do I entrust my soul. Count me among thy most devoted servants; take me under thy protection, and it is enough for me. For, if thou protect me, dear Mother, I fear nothing; not from my sins, because thou wilt obtain for me the pardon of them; nor from the devils, because thou art more powerful than all hell together; nor even from Jesus, my Judge himself, because by one prayer from thee he will be appeased. But one thing I fear, that in the hour of temptation I may neglect to call on thee and thus perish miserably. Obtain for me, then, the pardon of my sins, love for Jesus, final perseverance, and the grace always to have recourse to thee, O Mother of Perpetual Help.

The essence of the gospel is simplicity.  What shall we say to this?  The Jesus of the Bible does not need to be appeased by His mother.  Jesus said "...whosoever comes to me I will never cast out" (Jn  6:37 KJV).  There is no early father that adds Mary to this verse in Jn 6ff.  Jesus says He will never cast out anyone who comes to Him.  If you add to Jesus, you have fallen like Peter.  You need to be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ alone that removes all sin (Rev. 1:5; 1 Jn 1:9).

The Bible says there are simply two ultimate intercessors in heaven (the Holy Spirit in  Jn 14:26) and (Jesus Christ in 1 Jn 2:1).  Romanists and Orthodox people will refer to Mary's intercession at the wedding of Cana (Jn 2ff) as grounds for this kind of prayer.  

However, Mary was an earthly intercessor like all us (1 Tim. 2:1; Jn 12:22).  It is a category error to add more ultimate intercessors, to the Spirit and Jesus, because Jesus alone presents His merits for our redemption before the Father in support of His perfect person and work (Heb. 7:25) and the Spirit intercedes with groaning to deep words (Rom. 8:26).  This is the Father's designed plan to have two intercessors according to His Word.   

Who are you O man to add to His Word?  John says we are not to add or take away from the divine Word (Rev. 22:18-19).  I see no reason why this does not refer to both OT and NT because it is the authoritative Word of Truth (see Prov 22:21; 2 Cor. 6:7; 2 Tim. 3:16-17).   

Is it true that angels pray and watch over us (Ps. 91:11)?  The presence of angels decreases the power of darkness (Lk 22:43) but they are not ultimate intercessors like God the Son and Spirit.  We are called to worship God alone in prayer but never to worship creatures, angels or saints in anyway (Ps. 81:9; Rev. 19:10).  St. Peter in Acts 10:25-26 totally refutes any kind of honor, veneration, and homage in prayer to saints or angels (see Colossians 2ff), because Peter denies Cornelius to worship him.  I suggest to you that if you have knelt down to a image of a saint (Ex. 20:4), remember the divine words of St. Peter, "Stand up; I too am a man" (Acts 10:26 ESV).

There will be perfect unity in heaven (Rev. 21:27).  I suggest to you that sinners even rebel against God when there is a kind of unity like the historical incident of the Tower of Babel (Gen. 11:1).  I am not saying unity on confessional truth is impossible, because we have confessional unity on essential doctrine related to the gospel in how someone is right with God.  This is the most important thing because it refers to justification by faith alone.  We may disagree on sprinkling and immersion, baptism of infants or adults, wine or grape juice for the Lord's Supper, and the way elders are selected, but there is divine unity on Christian subjects.  For example, look at the Westminster Confession and the London Confession.  There is essential unity between Presbyterians and Baptist on most of the Confession.  

There is also agreement on the reformation doctrines in "Protestant Orthodoxy."  I also think there is issues that divide us because of the subjectivity of sin.  There is no room for the deceitfulness of our corrupt natures to the Word of God.  I suggest to you that there is more unity on truth in Reformed Theology among so-called "Evangelicals" than in the board views of Rome.  Sola scriptura has not failed.  Rather the sinful nature of man has failed in wrongly handling the precious Word of God.