Like a chestnut tree

We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the Holy Place by the high priest as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also suffered outside the gate, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood. So then, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come. (vv. 11-14)

It is true that God wants us to be obedient to Him. Our rebellion starting from Adam has separated us from God. But obedience to the law is not the reason why Christ became a man. Obedience is the result of being one with God. The real purpose of creation is for us to become God’s eternal dwelling place. The foundation of the kingdom is Christ, who loves us and gave Himself for us. If we focus on keeping the law, we miss this important truth. Christ became a man so that He would reveal the Father to His people and bear their sins. The new Covenant promises the knowledge of God. After much humiliation and suffering, the Son of God bought us with His own blood. We are the new creation with Christ as our head.

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, For He will bear their wrongdoings. (Isaiah 53:11)

All other religions around the world focus on works. They work to please their gods. Their gods are from their imaginations. They, in fact, work to please themselves. For many years, I also worked to please God. But my works were for my satisfaction. The works made me think I had a good relationship with God. If God tells Christians not to do any works for Him, they will be angry. When God shut down the doors of churches during the pandemic, they rebelled. They are not interested in obeying God’s commands. They worship God in the ways they like. They teach people strange doctrines. Even though the Israelites were warned not to go to Egypt through the mouth of the prophet, Jeremiah, they went to Egypt and died there. So will be many Christians in this age.

It may appear that Christ came under the law to keep it. But the writer of the Book of Hebrews emphasizes that Christ is above the law and fulfills it more than the law requires. Just as Christ existed before Adam, faith rules over the law. Just as Christ’s priesthood existed before the law came, our righteousness is from faith in God, and is not tied to the law. Just as the Son’s righteousness is perfect and eternal, our righteousness is perfect and eternal. If we sin, we will be disciplined. But God will never forsake us as He did not forsake His Son.

The eternal love is the foundation of the kingdom. We live forever not because we do the works. We live because of God’s love for us. If we are children of God, we obey God’s commands. We do not need to do works to prove ourselves in the world. In fact, many false Christians and non-believers may think that we are law-breakers. We truly obey God because we have faith in God. Faith is the gift of God, given to all people chosen before creation.  

Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, that is, Jesus our Lord,equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. (vv. 20-21)

There are not different kinds of righteousness. Righteousness cannot be analyzed or divided because only God is righteous. Unless we are one with God, we are not righteous. The only way for a person to become righteous is to have faith. And faith is the result of being one with God through Christ and the Holy Spirit. We must understand why God gave the Israelites the law. The Israel nation was only a shadow of the true kingdom of God. The nation included both the saints and the reprobates. The law was given for the Israelites to function as the nation on the earth to represent God. It is true that God gave the law to lawbreakers. With the law, punishment always follows. Through the law, no one can become righteous. Even if a person keeps it perfectly, it is only uprightness that Adam had, not righteousness. Christ came to solve this issue and freed us from bondage by being the ultimate sacrifice and making us the children of God.

Only the Son can reveal us the Father. The Son is the head of the saints. Not only He paid for our sins but also made us the children of God. Christ did not fulfill the law by keeping the law because the law makes nothing perfect. Christ fulfilled the law by showing God’s love on the cross, which no one could do. The eternal sacrifice requires the only begotten Son. The Father does not accept anything from men, but only from the Son, who is one with Him. Likewise, our worship requires the Word (Truth) and the Holy Spirit for God to accept it.

Through Him then, let’s continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips praising His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. (vv. 15-16)

God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

Adam was bound to fail because he was not the Son. Adam needed to be united with the Son in the garden of Eden. Adam did not understand God. He did not have faith. He could never become the head of the church. He was born naked, but the saints are clothed with Christ. Everything is for the Son. God does not exist for us, but we exist for God. False doctrines always focus on people (Adam). Theologians and ministers try to explain the Bible through the eyes of people. They say human reasoning can explain God. But they are wrong. Even uneducated people come to know God when they receive the Holy Spirit. The saints go through lifelong education and training. However, the world does not accept the wisdom of God.

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. (vv. 7-11)

I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to apply to your eyes so that you may see. Those whom I love, I rebuke and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent. (Revelation 3:18-19)

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

There are many Christians who enjoy their church life on the earth. They do not know that the Protestant church has an incurable disease. And she will die of it. The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us that those who reject Christ will not escape wrath of God. Those who do not know Christ, do not understand the works of Christ. Their faith is false.

Calvin and Luther were God’s instruments, but their knowledge was not perfect. But the knowledge of God must become clearer over time. Therefore, they are not perfect without us living this third reformation.

And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect. (Hebrews 11:39-40)

I feel sorry for those who live a comfortable church life because it is obvious that God does not discipline them. The saints are wailing and mourning over the church’s harlotry. Even though God sent the white horse, many churches rejected His call for repentance. Many want to believe that anyone who calls on the name of the Lord are saved regardless of their understanding of God. With the Holy Spirit, it is impossible for the saints to have different ideas about God. I repeatedly mentioned that the Trinity is the foundational doctrine of the church. With the right understanding of the Trinity, we have the right understanding of Christ’s two natures. Once these core doctrines are understood, it is impossible to accept salvation by works. All saints believe 100% grace. Anyone who speak against Sola Gratia are not true Christians.

The saints go through lifelong training. Our journey to know and understand God can be long. We sometimes go wrong ways. God disciplines us so that we go the right way. God is always with us and will never forsake us because we are no longer slaves but are His children. Our righteousness is not tied to the law but to Christ who died for us and made us children of God. Because Christ was resurrected and lives forever, we live forever.

Those who love the law (and yet do not keep the law) accuse the saints of being antinomians. The Roman Catholic church accused the Reformers likewise. True keeping of the law is having faith in God. And this is a gift of God to all His adopted children through the Son.

The prophets and the apostles tell us that there will be intense heat or fire on the Day of the Lord.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10)

Raise your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will vanish like smoke, And the earth will wear out like a garment And its inhabitants will die in the same way. But My salvation will be forever, And My righteousness will not fail. (Isaiah 51:6)

Only those who are united with Christ are saved. Every saint understands the meaning of the cross of Christ and why it made us righteous. Unless we become the children of God, there is no righteousness. Even though a person is as upright as Adam and Job, uprightness that comes from the law and works can never become the righteousness of God. Therefore, it is wrong to say that Christ had to keep the law to become righteous or impute righteousness to the saints. Many Christians refuse 100 % grace. They attack the city of God. But their efforts are useless.

Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongue will rot in their mouth. (Zechariah 14:12)

… for he (Abraham) was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. (v.10)

But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them. (v.16)

“And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there.” (Ezekiel 48:35)

“BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN WILL CONCEIVE AND GIVE BIRTH TO A SON, AND THEY SHALL NAME HIM IMMANUEL,” which translated means, “GOD WITH US.” (Matthew 1:23)

Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be. (John 14:1-3)

It is clear that the Bible does not support the Covenant Theology (CT) or the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC). Adam was never given a chance to become the head of the church by obeying God’s command. From the beginning, the relationship between the saints and God is built on love and mercy, which is summed up in justification by faith. This faith is not from men’s own will and efforts. If so, grace is not grace. With CT and AOC, we naturally focus on Adam and the law. But the writer of the Book of Hebrews speaks of Christ and faith instead.

Adam’s sin and our sins have separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2). Sacrifices and offerings could not satisfy God but only the ultimate sacrifice prepared by Himself. Christ’s being the High Priest and the ultimate sacrifice signifies more than just atonement. Christ is the foundation of the new city and our new relationship with God. Therefore, all covenants point to the eternal covenant, the Covenant of Grace. With Federalism, all covenants exist for Adam’s covenant, and our righteousness is tied to the law. Then our righteousness can be lost upon one disobedient act. Theologians and ministers say that Christ kept the law for us. But the AOC can only lead us to either legalism or antinomianism.

Recently, I came across the Satisfaction Theory of Atonement by Anselm. It has influenced many Reformed theologians. Theologians and ministers say that God is just so He cannot let sinners go unpunished. However, this idea needs to be carefully examined. Was God satisfied with Adam being obedient to Him in the garden of Eden? As we read the Book of Job, righteousness that depends on the law and works produces only pride.

Then these three men stopped answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. (Job 32:1)

In many ways, Job was upright as Adam.

Behold, I have found only this, that God made people upright, but they have sought out many schemes. (Ecclesiastes 7:29)

There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job; and that man was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil. (Job 1:1)

The LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.” (Job 1:8)

But that uprightness was not righteousness that Abraham had by faith in God. Was God going to give Adam the eternal life if he kept His command during the probation period?

If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against Him?
And if your wrongdoings are many, what do you do to Him?

If you are righteous, what do you give to Him,
Or what does He receive from your hand?
Your wickedness is for a man like yourself,
And your righteousness is for a son of man. (Job 35:6-8)

At the end of the Book of Job, Job came to know God because God has revealed Himself. Job confesses that he is nothing. We must remember that God has sent His only begotten Son so that we would know Him. It is not a coincidence that the books of wisdom are in the center of the Bible. When the law is focused, people disregard Christ. They keep saying, “If only Adam had kept the command!” They love Adam (people). They do not know Christ.

The reason God was angry at the three friends of Job is that they spoke lies about God. They appeared to speak on behalf of God and rebuked Job. But they spoke of their ideas of a god. Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle spoke of a god, not God. Many theologians read their writings and considered that they knew God. But the philosophers did not know God. Anselm believed that everyone could know God by reasoning. He also did not know God because he rejected 100% grace.

Christ came as the consequence of Adam’s sin. But we must remember that His coming as a man was ordained before creation. The whole purpose of creation is to build the city of God with Christ as the cornerstone. Adam’s sin and our sins tell us that our righteousness can never come from the law. If so, we are not the adopted children of God through Christ. It is only natural that the children of God obey His commands because of the Holy Spirit. We do not need the unorthodox doctrines for us to keep the law.

The Lord has said to you, O remnant of Judah, ‘Do not go to Egypt.’ Know for a certainty that I have warned you this day that you have gone astray at the cost of your lives. For you sent me to the Lord your God, saying, ‘Pray for us to the Lord our God, and whatever the Lord our God says, declare to us and we will do it.’ And I have this day declared it to you, but you have not obeyed the voice of the Lord your God in anything that he sent me to tell you. Now therefore know for a certainty that you shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence in the place where you desire to go to live.” (Jeremiah 42:19-22)

After saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and offerings for sin You have not desired, nor have You taken pleasure in them” (which are offered according to the Law), then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. By this will, we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time. Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins;but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet.For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. (vv. 8-14)

The writer of the Book of Hebrews has similar understandings to Paul. Calvin believed that Paul wrote it. The Book does not contain the ideas that support the Covenant Theology (CT), the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC) or salvation by works. However, those who do not have understanding always misinterpret God’s words and preach wrong messages to others. In my opinion, Paul believed that there was no such thing as righteousness by works from the beginning. He mentions of Abraham who was born before the law and was known for his faith. Theologians and ministers argue with Paul and say that there is the covenant of Adam that required perfect obedience to God’s command. They say that Adam came before Abraham, thus Adam is superior. They are trying to take us back to Egypt.

This chapter explains to us that Christ, who is the eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, offered Himself as the ultimate sacrifice according to the Father’s will. The conditional covenants were only shadow of the real covenant. The law was given for us to know we can achieve nothing starting from Adam and Eve.

I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Because of Adam’s sin, we all are born dead. This does not mean that Adam could do anything in his pre-fall status. He wanted to become like God by disobeying His command. We do not find Christ in Adam or Eve. It is absurd to say that Adam had the Holy Spirit or was a friend of God.

Because the Son of God redeemed His people by His blood, the saints are united with God. Christ is the head of the church, the new creation. We must pay attention to the reason behind sinning, not just the sinful action(s). It is the person that determines the action/work. Therefore, person comes before action. It is easy to concentrate on the fact that Christ paid for my sins. It is more important to know Who Christ is.

When I first came across the CT and the AOC, I thought the theories had significant errors in relation to the doctrine of Trinity, God’s providence, and the hypostatic union of Christ’s two natures. It is impossible to explain these crucial doctrines in writings for everyone to understand. Only those with the Holy Spirit can understand them through the words of God.

The enemies of God always deny Sola Gratia. They may appear to preach on justification by faith. But many of them hold the strange doctrines. They deny justification by faith at the end and put all their hope in the law. They all shrink back to destruction.

Anyone who has ignored the Law of Moses is put to death without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severe punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? (vv. 28-29)

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (vv. 13-14)

And almost all things are cleansed with blood, according to the Law, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (v. 22)

For Christ did not enter a holy place made by hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year by year with blood that is not his own. (vv. 24-25)

When one learns about God and reads the Bible, it is easy to conclude that the Savior came because Adam and his descendants sinned. This is one side of the gospel. Like a coin with two sides, the other side of the gospel explains our adoption as the children of God and the coming kingdom, which had been planned before creation.

This chapter continues to explain why Christ, the Son of God, is the only mediator and the eternal High Priest of the new covenant, the Covenant of Grace. For many of us, it is hard to grasp why the Covenant Theology (CT) and the Active Obedience of Christ (AOC) are erroneous. The theories focus on only one side of the coin. When a coin has engravings on one side only, it is not used as money. It must be destroyed.

As we read the NT, we find that the Pharisees and the teachers of the law did not accept Christ as the Son of God. They focused on God’s wrath on those who disobeyed Him. They thought they were the children of God, but Christ simply denied them. Theologians and ministers explain that God is loving BUT also just. This idea of God’s justness is tied to the law. People think that righteousness comes from keeping the law. But there is only one kind of righteousness. God is the source of righteousness. Only God is righteous. This righteousness is above the law because God is not judged by His own law. Unless we are united with Him, we are not righteous. God’s loving-kindness and justness do not contradict to each other.

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. (Galatians 5:18)

Once someone asked, “Why didn’t God create another innocent human like Adam to be the ultimate sacrifice?” Indeed, God could do that because nothing is impossible for Him. I don’t know how theology has gone so wrong. Even those who have been born in a Christian family do not know why Christ had to come as a man. It is not that God made the law impossible to keep, and it requires the Son of God. The law (or God’s command in Adam’s case) was never given for us to gain righteousness. People often think Christ exists for us, not us for Christ. Christ shed His own blood to redeem His people from bondage. The saints do not merely need forgiveness of sins and/or the eternal life. The saints are made for the Son and the kingdom. The Son must become the head of the church. The church must become like the Son.

For Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes. For Moses writes of the righteousness that is based on the Law, that the person who performs them will live by them. But the righteousness based on faith speaks as follows: “DO NOT SAY IN YOUR HEART, ‘WHO WILL GO UP INTO HEAVEN?’ (that is, to bring Christ down), or ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).” But what does it say? “THE WORD IS NEAR YOU, IN YOUR MOUTH AND IN YOUR HEART”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:4-10)

Since many believe that the law gives righteousness and that Christ had to keep the law for righteousness, they will be judged by the law at the end. True righteousness that comes from faith is based on our union with Christ.

When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is about to disappear. (v.13)

The problem I have with the Covenant Theology (CT) is that the theory focuses on the Covenant of Works, not the Covenant of Grace. The CT focuses on the continuity of God’s covenant from Adam. Therefore, Christ becomes inferior to Adam. I have been trying to raise the issues that the CT has. The CT is supported by the Reformed (modified) idea of the Anselm’s Active Obedience of Christ (AOC). Anselm did not believe in the divine election and reprobation before creation. He thought people were not totally depraved. The consequence of the bad theories is salvation by works. Most Christians are going back to Egypt.

Chapter 8 tells us that the old covenant with Israel was only shadow. All covenants before the new covenant are shadow. All unconditional covenants are in line with the new covenant, the Covenant of Grace. Hence, the blessings promised by God remain in Christ. But all conditional covenants became obsolete under the new covenant. The conditional covenants taught us that there is nothing a man can do to achieve the status of a saint. They exist for the Covenant of Grace.

Now if He were on earth, He would not be a priest at all, since there are those who offer the gifts according to the Law; who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, “See,” He says, “that you make all things by the pattern which was shown to you on the mountain.” (vv. 4-5)

It seems that many ministers and theologians think that the tabernacle of Moses still continues. Therefore, the law is emphasized as a way to gain the eternal life. They say that Christ kept the law for us. But then we are still obligated to keep the law for life if our life depends on the law. The AOC appeared because of anitnomiansism. Hence, the CT is called Federalism.

God had already planned what the kingdom would look like before creation. The tabernacle was only a shadow. The true tabernacle cannot be built by men.

Our fathers had the tabernacle of testimony in the wilderness, just as He who spoke to Moses directed him to make it according to the pattern which he had seen. Our fathers in turn received it, and they also brought it in with Joshua upon dispossessing the nations that God drove out from our fathers, until the time of David. David found favor in God’s sight, and asked that he might find a dwelling place for the house of Jacob.But it was Solomon who built a house for Him. However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made by human hands; as the prophet says:

‘Heaven is My throne,
And the earth is the footstool of My feet;
What kind of house will you build for Me?’ says the Lord,
‘Or what place is there for My rest?
Was it not My hand that made all these things?’

(Acts 7:44-50)

So if perfection was through the Levitical priesthood (for on the basis of it the people received the Law), what further need was there for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be designated according to the order of Aaron? (v.11)

All covenants exist for the new covenant. The old (conditional) covenant existed for us to seek Christ. The writer of the Book of Hebrews tells us that the new covenant has always been the only eternal covenant because God required faith from the Israelite from the start (Hebrews 3:19). Apostle Paul connects faith with Abraham in Galatians 3, who existed before the Mosaic law. Similarly, the writer connects Christ’s priesthood with Melchizedek, not the Levitical priesthood.

Previously, I mentioned that the writer is building up the argument towards chapter 11. What God has always wanted from His people is faith. However, faith is not a condition which people can meet from their own initiatives. It is the gift from God. Therefore, we can only conclude that God has decided who to save or not before creation. Faith requires the knowledge of God and love for Him. Christ has always been the head of the new creation. Adam had no chance of becoming our head. Adam could not achieve anything by keeping God’s command. As a slave, he was required to obey God but he rebelled because he wanted to become like God. Christ, on the other hand, has never been a slave. He has always been faithful and true.

And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. (Revelation 19;11)

The orthodox understanding of the covenants is written in Galatians 4. The saints are not under the conditional covenant but the new and eternal covenant. The law (or God’s command in Adam’s case) was never given for us to gain the eternal life.

For, on the one hand, there is the nullification of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness (for the Law made nothing perfect); on the other hand, there is the introduction of a better hope, through which we come near to God. (vv. 18-19)

As the eternal High Priest, Christ makes sure we follow His footsteps and helps us to overcome temptations. It is not by keeping the law the saints maintain life in the coming kingdom. We are the children of God because we are united with Christ. Christ’s death is connected to our union with Christ.

Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore, He is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (vv. 24-25)

God gave us the Holy Spirit as the seal of the sonship because He saved us through Christ.

Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and anointed us is God, who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge. (2 Corinthians 1:21-22)

The Latin word Laps means fall. Supra means before while infra means after. I think that the whole argument is about whether God is just or unjust entirely from people’s point of view. Most theologians think that both Supralapsarianism (SL) and Infralapsarianism (IL) can be right because we do not know what really happened. The theories concentrate on one’s salvation. Our focus should always be the kingdom. Some say that the Canons of Dort supports IL. But the Synod of Dort did not conclude which one was right. Even if the Synod supported IL, that does not mean it is absolutely true. I suspect that the Protestant church started to become like the Roman Catholic church from the 17^th century because it became a religion of the majority. Then theology started to focus on people, not God. The consequence is the Westminster Confession of Faith (WCF) where the Covenant of Work appeared. Although TULIP came as a result of the Synod of Dort, one must be careful when understanding it. Some say that Calvin and Zwingli supported SL while Luther supported IL. Others say that Calvin supported IL.

A few years ago, I had a chance to raise my concerns regarding the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ to a few Reformed ministers. Strangely they all thought I was talking about Supra/Infralapsarianism. I searched what they meant. I still cannot grasp what the issue is exactly because there are different explanations. I think it is better not to engage in a debate for the sake of a debate. However, I think there is a reason why God wanted me to study them. And the reason may be that these theories are meaningless and even harmful. I think both SL and IL must be removed. I think there is no need to anything other than what Ephesians 1:3-6 says.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons and daughters through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He favored us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

I find it strange that theologians focus on the fall related to these two theories. I think the issues are the misunderstanding of the double predestination and Adam in the garden of Eden before the fall. I could not find how the theories have started. I am guessing that it is the devil’s attempt to confuse us so that we would deny predestination.

I heard Bullinger had the issue of understanding the double predestination because he though it was unfair that God had actively chosen some to be the reprobate. I believe Calvin explained to him why the double predestination was right. I am not entirely sure if this has something to do with the debate. But I feel that the debate is about the double predestination.

I read that both theories accept predestination. But I do not think IL supports predestination written in Ephesians 1:3-6. “Before the foundation of the world” means before Adam’s fall. We know that God has divided the human race into two before He created all things. Therefore, if God has chosen the elect before the foundation of the world, the reprobate are also chosen before creation. I am very confused why most ministers and theologians support IL. And most of them say SL is not wrong either. I find this very strange. I think they cannot really prove that SL is wrong. The understandings of God in SL and IL are different. I still do not like the fact that the theories focus on the fall, when God already decreed the fall before creation. The whole debate may be from the misunderstanding of Total Depravity and Adam before the fall. I suspect that these ministers and theologians support the Covenant Theology and the Active Obedience of Christ, which I believe God hates.

When the order is concerned, I think SL is close to truth. It is true that God had determined to divide the human race into two – the elect and the reprobate before creation. We understand that God made the plans to make the kingdom before creation. God already decided how He would make the kingdom before creation. Whether the election is before or after the fall of Adam, we need to understand that Adam’s action did not bring a change in the plan. God did not rely on “if” when He made the plan. We believe that Adam fell according to God’s plan. Not that God tempted him, the devil who was created by God and corrupted himself tempted Adam. But it was inevitable that the devil tempted Adam because of what he is. And it was inevitable that Eve and Adam ate the forbidden fruit. God does not take any responsibility for the fall. Everything went, goes, and will go as God had planned before creation. It is clear that the Bible says that God chose the elect before creation.

The verses in Ephesians 1:3-6, I believe, are often quoted by people who follow IL. They must have a different way of interpreting them. Those who follow IL think that God is portrayed as unjust if He had determined the end of the reprobate before Adam sinned. They think that the human race was sinless before Adam sinned. They think God had to wait until Adam sinned so that He would not condemn the reprobate who have not yet sinned. But we must understand that God already decreed the fall of Adam before creation. Even if God had determined who would be the elect and the reprobate before creation, it does not make God unjust because the human race except Adam and Eve did not exist then. All of us came after the fall. Our destiny was planned before creation because God already decreed us to be born from Adam, the fallen man. We were not some sort of beings before creation. Even if so, we cannot know. Then we are going beyond what is written in the Bible. If the debate concerns the detailed plans of God before creation, we must not spend time on discussing them.

My question is whether the IL supporters believe that Adam could have been the head of the church if he had kept God’s command. God made everything for the Son and through Him. Anyone who thinks Adam could have been our head has no understanding. I wonder if this debate is also related to people’s idea of Adam’s freewill in the garden of Eden. The WCF shows us that the theologians believe that Adam could get the eternal life for himself and his descendants by keeping God’s command. Adam was not as awesome and great as ministers and theologians want to believe. He was a mere slave made from the dust. If the fall had made God act, the one who caused it had the power over God. I do not think God would allow anyone to do that. The WCF indicates us that Adam could have been the head of the church if he obeyed. The Covenant theologians believe that Adam had the probation period. But it is evident God let Adam tempted beyond he could overcome. I believe Adam was tempted because there was a lesson to learn. That lesson is Adam is nothing without Christ. Adam’s fall is contrary to what the apostle says to the saints who are redeemed by Christ:

No temptation has overtaken you except something common to mankind; and God is faithful, so He will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

We must remember that God had the specific purpose of creating everything, that is the kingdom. Before creation, God decided to build His kingdom, which is His people. He decided to train them to become like Him. Everything was carefully planned for the kingdom. God did not choose people by foreknowledge. God shut up everyone under sin. But God chose some people to be saved and makes them into His children. I am not talking about the order. God already predestined the elect and the reprobate before creation and planned how they would be divided. As the builder, He carefully planned what He would build before He started working. The Father made everything for the Son, and the church is made as the bride for the Son. The Bible tells us that God does not want to save anyone outside His chosen people. Other people except the elect people are made to end up in eternal damnation. This does not make God unjust because He Himself is the definition of just. We see that God has a very specific purpose for this kingdom, which we do not know fully.

And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not understand; and keep on looking, but do not gain knowledge.’ “Make the hearts of this people insensitive, their ears dull, And their eyes blind, So that they will not see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:9-10)

And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” And Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. (Matthew 13:10-11)

There is no doubt that God is just and is full of mercy and love towards His people. We can only conclude that Adam’s fall was for the church’s growth. We do not talk about God from the reprobate’s point of view. From their view, God is unjust, unmerciful, unfaithful, and unloving. For us, the fall was a way to teach us about God. The New Testament emphasizes the importance of suffering as a way of training. This suffering is given by God, not self-inflicted suffering.

Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though something strange were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that at the revelation of His glory you may also rejoice and be overjoyed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory, and of God, rests upon you. Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler;but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? And if it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner? Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God are to entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. (1 Peter 4:12-19)

The reprobate exist as a way to train the elect just like the devil. The saints know that we are worthless and sinful. We truly understand what is like being separated from God because of the fall. Our merciful God has chosen us before creation to become the kingdom. We know we were no better than those reprobates before the Holy Spirit came. The original sin or our sins no longer make us stay separated from God. By total grace, we have become to know God and do His will by the Holy Spirit. We suffer because the reprobate hate us and God. They have killed our brothers and sisters who hold the testimony of Jesus Christ. God wants to receive praises and worship from His children and the Son. God does not accept the reprobate.

I will proclaim Your name to my brothers; In the midst of the assembly I will praise You. (Psalm 22:22)

I can only conclude that the focus of the debate is wrong. Theologians and ministers have their own image of God. They think God needs to prove Himself to be just before all mankind. He simply does not need to. The elect will understand Him as the Son does. The reprobate will always judge God according to their own standards. Some say Calvin supported IL. Others say he supported SL. Some say the WCF supports SL. There is so much confusion because the whole debate is focused on the fall. The words of God do not focus on the fall but God and His kingdom. I conclude that both theories are speculative. They must be removed.

Those who support IL think that God cannot be the Creator of evil. I’ve mentioned this before. If God did not create evil, then evil exists by itself. With this logic, the devil exists by itself like God. Then the devil is equal with God. We all know this is wrong. The devil and his followers (the reprobate) are a necessary tool to train God’s chosen people. Their eternal damnation will teach the saints about the end of those who hate God eternally. The apostles and the prophets repeatedly told that we must resist evil. We put our hope in Christ because He overcame the world.

I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things. (Isaiah 45:7)

These things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world. (John 16:33)

Many Christians concentrate on the fact that God is just. Their idea of justness does not accept that God had determined everything before creation. They think that the double predestination makes God merciless. But God is full of love and mercy in the eyes of the elect because He makes even our disobedience a lesson for us. We all love new-born babies. But we would not love them if they remained as babies twenty years after. Babies must grow. If parents lock them up to maintain their innocence, they will never be able to have a conversation with them. They will never understand their parents. They are no better than pets.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:3-4)

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

I may have written briefly about this before. But I will repeat it since it is important. When I was in the Reformed church, I attended the ladies’ Bible study session. One day we talked about the unforgivable sin. A lady insisted that leaving the church was the unforgivable sin. I said that was not true. The unforgivable sin is blaspheming against the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28–29; Matthew 12:31–32; Luke 12:10). She looked puzzled. Later she asked one of the elders if her understanding was right. I happened to be there, so I said it again that it was not true. It appeared that she had been taught that leaving the church or a church was the unforgivable sin. I do not know how people are taught from youth in the Reformed denominations. A visible church is where people learn about God. A church cannot save a person or make him/her maintain salvation. A church is a group of people who believe in God. If anyone wants to know about God, he/she is welcomed. But a church cannot save one. The key of David is given to Christ. And the invisible church united with Christ uses the key according to God’s will. She uses the key because Christ has received the authority.

What Hebrews 6:4-6 tells us is how the reprobates receive the second death. The reason why the reprobates in churches are punished eternally is written here. This is not applied to the saints because they repent when God rebukes them. From verse 9 to 20, the writer encourages the saints in contrary to those who will not be forgiven. Just as our Lord says, good trees bear good fruit. The irresistible grace is applied to the saints.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. (Matthew 7:18)

I assume that many people in churches, especially in the Reformed denominations, are taught that they will lose salvation if they stop belonging to their church or a church. I think their understanding of the “true church” is crooked. The true church mentioned in the Belgic Confessions is a functioning church contrary to the Roman Catholic church. There is only one true church, that is the invisible church. She is the bride of Christ.

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her brilliance was like a very valuable stone, like a stone of crystal-clear jasper. (Revelation 21:9-11)

The reprobates include the false believers and the unbelievers. The false believers will be condemned because their repentance was false, and they keep on sinning against God. Because of their deeds, even the unbelievers laugh at God. When they sin and the church authorities find out, they pretend to have repented before the elders but keep on sinning. They never leave their church. Not only that, but they also promote false teachings. What the devil wants is to take us back to slavery. So, these evil people try very hard to promote immoralities within churches and support heresies. To misguide others, they pretend to live a morally good life. They also speak ill of the elects.

Those who follow the CT and the AOC think that people will pursue immoralities without the doctrines. Because they believe that God is morally just, all God wants from us is to obey all His commands perfectly. Even though some live a moral life and receives much praise from fellow Christians, they will not enter the kingdom if their understandings of God and the gospel are wrong. They can argue that they have done good works for God. But God will call them evildoers. The reprobates deny 100% grace. When the Holy Spirit comes, it is inevitable to recognize how worthless I am. There is nothing good in me. Some of the reprobates may look like they have understood God’s grace. But they pursue immoralities and mock God by telling lies.

Theologians and ministers say, “We are born totally depraved.” And yet, the most of them speak highly of Anselm or Aquinas. Both Anselm and Aquinas relied on human reasoning to develop their theories. They did not believe that grace is total grace. They mixed what is right with wrong. I seriously doubt that the theologian is a reborn Christian. A true Christian is one who delights in reading God’s words. If you think you have lost that first joy of knowing God, think of Christ’s warning to the church of Ephesus. The warning is for both the elects and the reprobates. But the elects always listen and do what God wants them to do. The reprobates don’t and the warning remains so that they will be punished eternally.

But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore, remember from where you have fallen, and repent, and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and I will remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. (Revelation 2:4-5)

In the days of His humanity, He offered up both prayers and pleas with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His devout behavior. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him, being designated by God as High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 5:7-10)

Has anyone read the writings of Anselm, Aquinas, or Arminius? They wrote about God’s mercy and love. They also talked about faith and grace. Most people will find their writings sophisticated and pleasant. One may argue that their writings are beneficial although not perfect. We must remember this one truth. These three men did not believe that God’s grace was total. God has shown me in my dream that many people are going to the land of Egypt, the land of the dead, with pomp and pride in an enormous white cruise ship. Many people are going back to slavery. What they wrote and taught people is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. Concerning Christ’s righteousness imputed to us, anyone with the right mind would not dare to borrow ideas from these three men. Does anyone in a Reformed church read the writings of Arminius and borrow ideas from him? If anyone does, he/she will be considered as a heretic. Likewise, Anselm who denies the total depravity of mankind cannot teach us anything. Borrowing ideas from him was a big mistake.

It is clear that the writer of the Book of Hebrews considers obedience as faith as we read Hebrews 3:19. I believe that Hebrews 5:7-10 is often quoted by the Covenant theologians because those verses appear to see Christ strictly as a man. However, these verses are written to emphasize Christ as the unique High Priest, who became like us and has perfected faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). The Book of Hebrews is well-known for its emphasis on faith in chapter 11. Christ’s suffering is not separate from the saints. The saints also suffer from holding the testimony of Jesus. As the prophets in the OT were killed by the lawbreakers (who called themselves law-keepers), the saints go through the same suffering because we are also prophets. Christ as the forerunner and the head of the church suffered for us to become children of God and to endure tests and temptations. The earth is our training ground.

Therefore, since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let’s rid ourselves of every obstacle and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let’s run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking only at Jesus, the originator and perfecter of the faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.  (Hebrews 12:1-2)

The writer of the Book of Hebrews develops the argument that faith is what God wants. It is clear that he does not say that the perfect keeping of the law is the way to gain righteousness. Even if Adam kept God’s command, he remains as a slave.

For the CT and the AOC to be true, Christ should have been a Levitical priest. They believe that Christ had to keep the law perfectly to be righteous under the law because the law was given to the Israelites. However, the verse 10 tells us that Christ is the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

Christ suffered for the ungodly so that we become the children of God and follow the footsteps of Christ. Although we live the life of Romans 7, God will teach, rebuke, and encourage us through His words. Following Christ is about suffering for truths. This is testified by the apostles throughout the NT. Romans 3:13-18 tells us that those without faith are like the Pharisees and the teachers of the law just as written in Matthew 23.

Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples, saying: “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses. Therefore, whatever they tell you, do and comply with it all, but do not do as they do; for they say things and do not do them. And they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as their finger. And they do all their deeds to be noticed by other people; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the seats of honor in the synagogues, and personal greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by the people. But as for you, do not be called Rabbi; for only One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers and sisters. And do not call anyone on earth your father; for only One is your Father, He who is in heaven. And do not be called leaders; for only One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest of you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled, and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (Matthew 23:1-12)

For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. (Galatians 2:18)

We must remember that God did not give Adam a choice in the garden of Eden. Adam did not have the eternal life or had to work to gain it. Some people think Adam had the eternal life in the garden of Eden. Although there was the Tree of Life in the garden, I doubt that Adam (and Eve) had eaten its fruit. The reason lies in their pride. If the fruit of the Tree of Life did not look desirable, their pride likely has prevented them from eating it. On the contrary, the forbidden fruit looked desirable.

When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:6)

I believe the fruit of the Tree of Life did not look desirable to them. Similarly, the first Tabernacle was beautiful inside, but the outside was not attractive (See Exodus 26), which is the symbol of Christ.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of dry ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we would look at Him, Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him. (Isiah 53:2)

The eternal life is connected to the knowledge of God (John 17:3). The knowledge of God is not something a person can learn from reading many books or from reasoning. God hates human philosophies. Human reasoning does not lead to God although Anselm believed so. The knowledge is gained only by uniting with Christ by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the knowledge is in the words of God. Yet only those with the Holy Spirit can understand them.

You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me; and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

People focus so much on sin that they think Adam could have gained the eternal life by works because he was born sinless. Some admit that Adam or any man could have kept the command. But they still believe that obedience to the law is righteousness. Their ideas distort the gospel. If we say that God is just and try to explain every event according to that truth, we see only one side of Him. God’s justness is found in His love and mercy. But only the saints can understand God’s attributes. False Christians and unbelievers can only speculate on God’s attributes. Christ represents the Father because not only He redeemed His people by His blood but also has judged and will judge the world. Therefore, Christ becoming a man serves both purposes. The saints eagerly wait for the second coming of Christ because He will separate us from the disobedient people who think they know God.

For just as the Father has life in Himself, so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. (John 5:26-27)

God has and will give the authority to judge to the new creation. As the Son judges, we will also judge. However, we do not judge according to flesh.

Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? (1 Corinthians 6:3)

You judge according to the flesh; I am not judging anyone. (John 8:15)