Are Grace Lifers Deists? Part Three

What is Deism?

Definition of Terms

Many modern Americans are familiar with the terms Deist or Deism as it relates to the ongoing debate over the religious beliefs of the nation's founders. As products of the Enlightenment, men such as Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine, and possibly others, relied heavily upon the ideas of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Voltaire, Baron de Montesquieu, and Jean Jacque Rousseau in forming the philosophical foundations of the American form of government. Recent years have seen a massive debate emerge amongst historians over whether George Washington was a Deist or a Christian. Revisionist historians have tried to portray Washington as a card-carrying Deist. In 2006, Peter A. Lillback, wrote a massive book titled, George's Washington's Sacred Fire, in which he seeks to document using Washington's own journals and correspondence as well as other primary sources our first president's deeply rooted Christian faith.

For those unfamiliar with the term, Deism is derived from the Latin word dues which means God. Similarly, theism comes from the Greek word theos which also means God. As the entomology of the word implies, Deism is a form of theism that maintains the belief in a creator God unlike atheism which does not. John Orr, author of English Deism: Its Roots and Its Fruits, outlines the historical connection as well as the point of divergence in how the terms deism and theism have been utilized:

Prior to the 17^th century the terms (Deism and Deist) were used interchangeably with the terms "theism" and "theist," respectively . . .Theologians and philosophers of the seventeenth century began to give a different signification to the words. . .Both (theists and deists) asserted belief in on supreme God, the Creator. . . and agreed that God is personal and distinct from the world. But the theist taught that god remained actively interested in and operative in the word which he had made, whereas Deists maintained that God endowed the world at creation with self-sustaining and self-acting powers and then abandoned it to the operation of these powers acting as second causes.

In summary, Deists are theistic in the sense that they believe in a higher power responsible for creation. However, they are not Christian because they deny God's miraculous intervention within the created order.

To ensure accuracy it is important that we correctly define our terms. Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language offers the following definitions for Deism and Deist:

• Deism: The doctrine or creed of a deist; the belief or system of religious opinions of those who acknowledge the existence of one God, but deny revelation: or deism is the belief in natural religion only, or those truths, in doctrine and practice, which man is to discover by the light of reason, independent and exclusive of any revelation from God. Hence deism implies infidelity or a disbelief in the divine origin of the scriptures.
  
• Deist: One who believes in the existence of a God, but denies revealed religion, but follows the light of nature and reason, as his only guides in doctrine and practice; a freethinker.
  

Utilizing the definitions presented above, Peter A. Lillback, offers the following expanded definition of Deism: "a Deist is one who believes that there is a God, but He far removed from the daily affairs of men. God made the world and then left it to run on its own. The Deist's God does not take an active interest in the affairs of men. He is not a prayer-answering God. Praying to Him has no value. Deism is in some ways the natural outworking of the exalting of reason alone—that is, human reason apart from define revelation."

Historical Development

Deistic thinking has existed since antiquity. "Insofar as deism involved a negative destructive criticism of both supernatural revelations and miracles, it springs from the ancient pagan writers like Celsus and Porphyry." Also fitting Deistic conceptions of the divine was the notion of God as the logos or supreme rational principle that governs the universe as taught by Heraclitus. Likewise, Plato described God as the Demiurge or craftsman.

Despite the presence of Deistic ideas in the ancient world, Deism today is best understood as a movement toward natural theology or freethinking that occurred in 17^th-century Europe. Before 1500, scholars generally decided what was true or false by referring to an ancient Greek or Roman author or to the Bible. Few European scholars challenged the scientific ideas of the ancient thinkers or the church by carefully observing nature for themselves. The publication of On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Bodies, by Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543, began a slow process of questioning old assumptions about knowledge. Based on his observations of the movement of planetary bodies, Copernicus concluded that the sun was center of our solar system and not the earth. Later, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei used mathematics to prove that the heliocentric theory postulated by Copernicus was correct. Eventually, the work of Copernicus, Kepler, and Galileo developed into a logical procedure for gathering and testing ideas known as the scientific method under the leadership of Francis Bacon.

Building upon the work of his predecessors, Isaac Newton helped bring together their breakthroughs under a singe theory of motion. Newton's discovery of universal gravitation explained the behavior of objects here on earth and in the heavens. The result was a universe that was controlled by the laws of nature. Theologically, a new way of viewing God emerged. God created the universe to be controlled by natural laws and then retired from the scene just as a watchmaker designs his watch to run on its own. Christian apologist Norman Geisler agrees that this is how modern Deistic concepts emerged. Geisler writes, ". . . a philosophical movement, deism borrowed the theist concept of God and understood it in terms of the mechanistic model (e.g. watchmaker) of the new scientific outline springing form Bacon and others." Consequently, as the growing explanatory power of natural law grew, skepticism about the veracity of miracles (i.e. violations of nature law) and books that reported them, such as the Bible increased.

Basic Tenets of Deism

As with any intellectual movement, there is diversity of belief amongst those who historically have identified themselves as Deists. On the other hand, all Deists do share a commonality of belief on a couple key issues. As we have already seen, a Deist is defined as one who believes there is a God beyond the world who created the world but that the world runs by natural law without supernatural interference. According to Geisler, there are three central tenants of a Deistic worldview, to which we now turn our attention.

"The first premise of a Deistic worldview is that there is a God who created the universe." In contrast with atheism, Deists maintain it is necessary to posit a God as the author and architect of the universe because there must be a first cause beyond the natural world who authored all natural processes. Unlike, pantheism which teaches that God is all, Deists maintain that God is separate from his creation. For example, the world is different from God as the painting is from its painter. Just as the painting reflects the nature and attributes of its painter, so too does the creation demonstrate the nature of its designer. In short, Deists view God as eternal, unchangeable, impassable, all-knowing, all-powerful, all-good, true, just, invisible, and infinite. In summary, "there is a God who created, regulates, and sustains the world. And this world is dependent on God, not God on the world."

"The second major premise of deism is antisupernaturalism." Simply stated, miracles do not occur. Many Deists argue that a perfect God would not make an imperfect universe that demanded miraculous intervention or repair. Others assert that God set up the laws of the natural world and he cannot (or, will not) violate the laws he established in the natural world. Therefore, since natural laws are immutable, miracles are inconsistent and impossible within the Deistic worldview. Such an insistence magnifies nature of the perfect Mechanic that he made the machine of nature to run without constant need or repair. "For deists all miracle accounts are the result of human intervention or superstition."

"The third major tenet of Deism is a Unitarian concept of God that involved the denial of the orthodox doctrines of the Trinity and the deity of Christ." This premise is consistent with the first and flows necessarily from the second. "If no supernatural event occurs then assuredly Christ was not a supernatural being and definitely not Deity incarnate." Since a denial of the deity of Christ necessitates one also deny the Trinitarian nature of God, Deism is Unitarian in its view of God.

Being a natural religion, Deism maintains that all revelation as well as religions whose truth claims rely on revelation (Christianity) are spurious. While the three tenets discussed above encapsulate the fundamentals of Deistic thinking they are by no means exhaustive. For example, most Deists hold the following beliefs in some form: the existence of moral law, the good life in accord with natural moral law, and a future life of rewards and punishments.

Degrees of Deism

As with any philosophical or theological paradigm, people vary in how far they are willing to go in the application of their models' fundamental ideas. According to Peter A. Lillback, there is a difference between hard and soft Deists. Lillback suggests that a Hard Deist not only rejects God's revelation through Scripture but also denies that God acts in history at all. Consequently, Hard Deists reject the notion of God's hearing and answering of prayers. In contrast, Soft Deists believe in prayer and providence but deny the Bible as a revelation from God.

Rather than disguising between Hard and Soft Deists, Norman Geisler recognizes four distinct forms of Deism that center around God's concern for the world and the existence of an afterlife for human beings. These four types of Deism include: The God of No Concern, The God of No Moral Concern, The God of Moral Concern for This Life, and The God of Moral Concern for This Life and the Next.

• The God of No Concern: The first type of Deism was largely of French origin. According to this view, God is not concerned with governing the world he made. He created the world and set it in motion, but has no regard for what happens to it after that.
  
• The God of No Moral Concern: In this second form of Deism, God is concerned with the ongoing happenings of the world but not with the moral actions of human being. Man can act rightly or wrongly, righteously or wickedly, morally or immorally. It is of no concern to God.
  
• The God of Moral Concern for This Life: The third type of Deism maintains that God governs the world and does care about the moral activity of human beings. Indeed, God insists on obedience to the moral law that God established in nature. However, there is no future after death.
  
• The God of Moral Concern to This Life and the Next: The fourth type of Deism contends that God regulates the world, expects obedience to the moral law grounded in nature, and has arranged for a life after death, with rewards for the good and punishments for the wicked. This view was common among both English and American Deists.
  

Conclusion

While modern Deistic groups still exist, even this theistic view waned in popularity under the force of Darwinian evolution. Now that we have identified the basic teachings of the Pure Grace position and defined the basic tenets of Deism we can direct our attention next week toward answering our fundamental question—are Grace Lifers Deists?

Are Grace Lifers Deists? Part Two

What Are Grace Lifers?

At the outset, in order to ensure clarity, it is imperative to define our terms and identify the various doctrinal positions that will be discussed in this series of postings. Due to its use in a multiplicity of contexts, the expression "the grace life" is somewhat difficult to define. Teachers such as Bob George have used the term to describe the system of identity based living that stems from the fact that the old man is dead through the believers' identification with Christ's death, burial, and resurrection.(1) Often called the "exchanged life," supporters of this position stress the grace of God in giving believers a new identity in Jesus Christ. According to this view, believers struggle against their natural flesh programming to function fully in their new identity. Believers are instructed to view themselves as God views them, i.e. as completely new creatures in Jesus Christ.

Much of what Bob George and his school of thought teach is in line with Pauline theology and the views espoused by those holding the Pure Grace position. Personally, this author and his family have benefited greatly from reading the writings of those who are associated with this branch of Grace Life thinking. However, George and his followers fail to properly root their position in a dispensational understanding of the scriptures. By failing to fully recognize the distinctive message and ministry of the Apostle Paul, advocates for the exchanged life are ultimately confused in their attempts to reconcile statements of Jesus in the gospels with those in the epistles of Paul.

Herein lies a key distinction that is necessary for the reader to understand. When this writer speaks about the Grace Life, the Grace Alternatives, or Pure Grace, he is referring to a specific system of belief whose origins are rooted in a mid-Acts dispensational interpretation of scripture. Mid-Acts dispensationalists maintain that the body of Christ did not begin in Acts two as the majority of professing Christendom believes but in the middle portion of Acts with the salvation and ministry of the Apostle Paul. While there is great diversity of belief amongst those who would identify themselves as mid-Acts dispensationalists, generally all of them hold the following beliefs:

• Literal, normal, or common sense reading of the Bible.
  
• Comparative principle of Bible study, comparing scripture with scripture.(2)
  
• Dispensational reading of the Bible which seeks to answer the following questions: Who wrote it? When was it written? To whom was it written?
  
• A difference between prophecy (that which was spoken since the world began),(3) and mystery (that which was kept secret since the world began).(4)
  
• The unprophesied nature of the current dispensation of grace,(5) during which time God is reconciling both Jews and Gentiles to himself in one body by the cross.(6)
  
• Through unbelief Israel fell from the privileged position she enjoyed in time past so that God could have mercy upon all and send salvation to the gentiles apart from Israel.(7)
  
• The Apostle Paul is the apostle of the gentiles(8) and received by direct revelation from Jesus Christ a gospel, message, and apostleship distinct from that of Peter and the Twelve.(9)
  
• Salvation is a free gift of God's grace imparted to a sinner upon his placing saving faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only payment for sin.(10)
  
• The gospel of the grace of God, the message Paul calls "my gospel"(11) was separate and distinct from the gospel of the kingdom(12) and the gospel of the circumcision(13)preached by Peter and the twelve.
  
• Believers of the gospel of grace are spiritually baptized into the body of Christ by God the Holy Spirit the moment they place saving faith in Jesus Christ.(14) This is the one baptism that constitutes the unity of the faith in Ephesians 4:5. Therefore, water baptism needs to be left where it belongs as part of Israel's earthly program. As a result, water baptism has no significance for the body of Christ despite denominational demands to the contrary.
  
• God the Holy Spirit seals believers into the body of Christ until the day of redemption, thereby eternally securing their position in Christ.(15) Moreover, this work of the Holy Spirit serves as the earnest of our inheritance as we wait for the redemption of our bodies.(16)
  
• Prophecy, tongues, and knowledge, otherwise known as the sign gifts, functioned on a temporary basis during the early stages of the body of Christ.(17) While there is great diversity of opinion amongst mid-Acts dispensationalists about what actually caused the cessation of these gifts, it is generally agreed that they are no longer in effect. It should also be noted that the majority of mid-Acts dispensationalists still believe that the gifts of pastor, teacher, and evangelist are still being given today.(18)
  
• There is a distinction between the Lord's bodily return back to planet Earth (Second Coming)(19) and his return to meet the saints in the air.(20) The later is known as the rapture of the church and is believed to be pretribulational in its timing. In addition, the catching away of the saints referred to in I Thessalonians 4 is also a portion of the revelation of the mystery given to the Apostle Paul.(21) Not only does the rapture occur before the 70^th week of Daniel begins (which is part of the prophetic program), but it also ends the current dispensation of grace.
  
• The 70^th week of Daniel, commonly referred to as the tribulation period, or the time of Jacob's trouble, will resume the prophetic time schedule that was interrupted when God revealed the mystery of the current dispensation of grace. It is during this time that numerous prophetic events will occur on earth.
  
• After the tribulation period is completed, Christ will return bodily back to earth with the armies of heaven to destroy the forces of the adversary. Satan will be chained and confined to the bottomless pit for a thousand years and the millennial reign of Christ will be instituted.(22)
  

Admittedly, the preceding list is not an exhaustive statement of the doctrines held by mid-Acts dispensationalists. However, it does encapsulate the major differences between mid-Acts dispensationalists and the teachings of Bob George, as well as the rest of professing Christendom. Consequently, for the purpose of answering the central question purposed by this series of postings--are Grace Lifers Deists?--we will be limiting the use of term Grace Life and its related descriptors to a specific group of believers who hold to the basic doctrines of mid-Acts dispensationalism listed above.

Simply stated, all Grace Lifers are mid-Acts dispensationalists but not all mid-Acts dispensationalists are Grace Lifers. As one might expect, this division within the mid-Acts camp has generated much friction. In fact, the charge of Deism against those who believe in the principles of Pure Grace has been levied most forcefully by their fellow mid-Acts brethren.

The fundamental source of the argument between the Grace Life and Non-Grace Life camps of the mid-Acts dispensationalism centers on how and to what extent their dispensational model affects God's working in time during the present dispensation of grace. Supporters of the Grace Alternatives argue that their beliefs are simply the logical implications of the mid-Acts position when taken to its theological conclusion. Detractors have accused Grace Lifers of espousing an extreme position resulting in Deism if not outright heresy. What is it then that Grace Lifers believe that would illicit such a charge from their would be doctrinal allies?

In the introduction to Things That Differ, arguably the most influential work articulating the mid-Acts position, Pastor C.R. Stam writes the following:

As we send these studies forth we humbly pray that they may prove a substantial contribution to our readers' understanding and enjoyment of the Scriptures, and a distinct help in their services for Christ. As the days grow darker may God lead us all further into the light of His truth so that we may be more intelligently and effectively used, 'to the glory of His grace.'(23)

Grace Lifers maintain that they have followed the basic truths presented in Things That Differ to their logical conclusion. If the gospel, the beginning of the body of Christ, baptism, and the sign gifts are dispensational issues, then why are issues such as the confession of sins, intervention, healing, God's will, spiritual gifts, chastening, and prayer not also affected by the mid-Acts paradigm?

Grace Lifers believe that God works in accordance with the nature of the dispensation that is in effect. During the current dispensation of grace, God is forming a spiritual body of believers in which all physical divisions have been removed.(24) Hence, all the blessings that the body of Christ receives are spiritual in nature according to Ephesians 1:3, "blessed be the God and Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." In Ephesians 1:4-9, believers received the following spiritual blessings the moment they trusted Christ: predestination unto the adoption of children, acceptance in the beloved, redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, abounded toward in wisdom and prudence, and knowledge of the mystery of his will. Moreover, believers are said to be spiritually seated with Christ in the heavenly places as we wait for the Lord's return to catch away the church.(25) In short, the salvation and blessings of the body are all spiritual in nature while our destiny is heavenly in location.

In II Corinthians 5:16-17, Paul encapsulates the main argument of the Grace Life view. He writes, "wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Paul teaches that as new creatures in Christ our relationship with Christ is not based upon the flesh. Believers are placed into a living spiritual unity and relationship with the head of the body of Christ. This explains why Paul tells the Colossians that their circumcision was not made with hands.(26) God's entire relationship with the believers today is based upon their spiritual union with Christ.

In contrast, Israel's relationship with God in time past was based upon the flesh. In fact, Paul informs the Ephesians that the fundamental feature of time past is a distinction between those who were "gentiles in the flesh" and those who were "called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands."(27) Genesis 17:13 tells us that God gave the seed of Abraham the rite of circumcision as a fleshly token of the physical blessings God had promised them in Genesis 12. As a result, God dealt with his physical nation according to the flesh. For example, Israel was delivered physically from the hands of the Egyptians through the Red Sea.(28) Signs were utilized all throughout God's dealings with Israel because without them they would not believe.(29)

Just as mid-Acts dispensationalists maintain a clear distinction between Israel and the body of Christ, Grace Lifers observe a clear distinction between how God deals with each group. These differences have led Grace Lifers to the following conclusions regarding how God is working today in the dispensation of Grace:

• Believers have the total forgiveness of all their sins: past, present, and future.(30) Through the justification that is in Christ Jesus believers have peace with God.(31) Therefore, the keeping of short accounts or the daily confession of sins according to I John 1:9 is unnecessary and a misuse of the verse.
  
• Believers presently possess the complete redemption of their soul and spirit (inner man). Moreover, the saints are asked to wait for the redemption of their body(32) and have been given the indwelling Holy Spirit as the assurance of this future redemption.(33) Consequently, God is not presently choosing to heal people from their physical infirmities.
  
• Because believers are at peace with God, they are not physically chastened like Israel was in time past. However, they are chastened and corrected through God's written word.
  
• Paul's revelation completed God's Word according to Colossians 1:25. Once the word of God was fulfilled, all spiritual gifts including pastor, teacher, and evangelist ceased being given. While pastors, teachers, and evangelists are still needed they are no longer being given as supernatural gifts of the Spirit. Paul was already speaking of these gifts in the past tense when he penned Ephesians 4:11, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;"
  
• God does intervene during the dispensation of grace but not the in physical sense that he did in time past with Israel. God works today through his word working in the lives of the saints as they by faith apply God's word to the details of their lives. This is viewed to be in accordance with the nature of our relationship with Christ not being after the flesh but after the spirit as taught in II Corinthians 5:16-17.
  
• Prayer also functions in accordance with the dispensation that is in effect. Many mid-Acts dispensationalists acknowledge that prayer is a dispensational issue when they teach that the Lord's Prayer is not for today. Likewise, many teach that unlike Israel in time past, members of the body of Christ do not need to confess their sins in order for God to hear from heaven because we have peace with God through the shed blood of Christ.
  

The above list is not intended to be an exhaustive articulation of Pure Grace principles. Rather, it serves as a brief summary of the main differences between Grace Lifers and their mid-Acts brethren. Furthermore, it serves to frame the central question that we are seeking to answer.

The observant reader will have noticed that Grace Lifers articulate a different paradigm for how God is working during the dispensation of grace than has traditionally been taught. This seemingly hands off approach is difficult for many believers to swallow because it is not rooted in a traditional Calvinistic framework. Not everything that happens is part of God's will or His action within creation according to Grace Lifers.

Because the Pure Grace position views God as active only through his word in the lives of believers and not intervening physically in human affairs, the charge has been made that Grace Lifers are Deists. In order to accurately assess whether this charge is correct, it would be helpful to clearly understand what Deists believe. In our next posting we will direct our efforts towards exploring what Deists believe?

Endnotes:

1. Romans 6
   
2. I Corinthians 2:13
   
3. Luke 1:70, Acts 3:21
   
4. Romans 16:25
   
5. Ephesians 3:1-5, Colossians 1:25-27
   
6. Ephesians 2:13-18
   
7. Romans 11:11, 30-32
   
8. Romans 11:13
   
9. Galatians 1:11-12
   
10. Romans 3:24, I Corinthians 15:3-5, Ephesians 2:8-9
    
11. Romans 16:25,
    
12. Matthew 4:23, 9:25, Mark 1:14-15
    
13. Galatians 2:7
    
14. I Corinthians 12:13
    
15. Ephesians 4:30
    
16. Ephesians 1:14, Romans 8:23
    
17. I Corinthians 13:8
    
18. Ephesians 4:11
    
19. Revelation 19
    
20. I Thessalonians 4:17
    
21. I Corinthians 15:51
    
22. Revelation 19-20
    
23. C.R. Stam. Things That Differ. Introduction.
    
24. Galatians 3:28
    
25. Ephesians 2:6
    
26. Colossians 2:11
    
27. Ephesians 2:11
    
28. Exodus 15
    
29. I Corinthians 1:22, John 4:48, Exodus 4:1-10
    
30. Ephesians 1:17, Colossians 1:14
    
31. Romans 5:1
    
32. Romans 8:23-25
    
33. Ephesians 1:14
    

Are Grace Lifers Deists?

Introduction

Recent events in Haiti have once again fueled discussion regarding the extent to which God is active within his creation. Atheists and skeptics cite these events as support for their classic argument against God's existence, the problem of evil. Supporters of this view assert that a loving all powerful God would not allow the carnage, suffering, and selfishness witnessed in Haiti over the past couple of weeks. The very fact that God did not prevent these events is proof enough for many atheists that God does not exist or if he does, that he is not all powerful, all knowing and loving. On the other side of the coin, religious leaders such as Pat Robertson have suggested that the Haitians are merely reaping the fruit of an ill-fated pact with the forces of darkness. According to this line of thinking, God intervened physically to punish the Haitian people for their past transgressions.

While many Christians might balk at or ridicule Robertson's views as extremist, the fact remains that many believers, even grace believers, are theological and philosophically committed to the notion that God is sovereign and everything happens for a reason. According to prevailing Christian orthodoxy, God is in control, and his immutable will is being executed daily in the details of life. Consequently, all events small or great, good or bad, find their origin in the sovereign will of God. Even though humanity cannot see God's purpose in such events, most evangelicals are confident that God has a higher purpose for everything that happens. Still others, perhaps sensing the implications of such a view on the character of God, try to skirt the issue by saying that God did not actively cause the Haitian earthquake, but merely allowed it.

Let us consider what God has to say about the issue. In II Timothy 2:4, the Apostles Paul writes, "who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth." God's will is clearly stated in this verse that all men come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, this will not happen because Satan is actively engaged in blinding the minds of the lost "lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."(1) In other words, the stated will of God for all men to be saved through the light of the gospel is being actively thwarted by Satan's attempts to blot out the gospel's witness in the minds of the lost. But this is not what the prevailing Calvinist-influenced orthodoxy would have you believe.

Think with me for a moment about the theological implications of suggesting that God has orchestrated what has occurred in Haiti. Is there anyone who thinks that all of the people who died in the Haitian tragedy were saved? Unfortunately, the majority of the people who perished probably had not trusted in the shed blood of Jesus Christ as the only payment for their sin. Consequently, if the Haitian disaster is the will of God, then God is the active agent in sending countless people to eternal judgment and separation from him. Sound theological reasoning will not allow a Bible believer to reach such a conclusion, because it would violate God's stated his will that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.

There is another option for the believing Bible students to consider. The existence of evil in the world is not proof that God does not exist. Possessing the gift of self determination Adam exercised his freedom(2) and disobeyed God, thereby bringing sin into the world. Romans 5:12 states, "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." The reason people die whether by natural disaster, war, murder, accident, or old age is because of sin. In Romans 6:23, the Apostle Paul encapsulates mankind's sin problem when he writes, "for the wages of sin is death." Humanity was not the only portion of God's creation that was negatively affected by Adam's rebellious choice. According to Romans 8:22, ". . . the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now," as a consequence of Adam's sin. The explanation for the earthquake in Haiti, and other natural disasters is that the very ground of the earth itself has been cursed as a result of the fall.(3) Tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis, mudslides, and every other type of natural disaster are caused by sin's effect upon the created order. In short, until the curse is removed, natural disasters and human calamities will continue to plague mankind. However, events such as these ought not to be attributed to God's intervention within his creation.

What God does today is work through his word rather than through direct physical intervention like he did with Israel in time past. This logically follows from the mid-Acts dispensational viewpoint. The view has been referred to by different names in different parts of the world, including The Grace Alternative, the Grace Life, and Pure Grace. Many believers, even grace believers, are uncomfortable with this view of how God works. As one might expect, the old guard within the so-called Grace Movement is less than thrilled with many of the teachings of the Grace Life movement on prayer, confession of sins, God's will, intervention, and chastisement to name a few.

Critics of the Pure Grace position have accused those who believe in the principles of the Grace Life of being Deists. The purpose of this new series of postings is to consider whether or not supporters of the Grace Alternatives are in fact Deists. In order to pursue this analysis, we will first outline the fundamental differences between supporters of the Grace Life doctrines and other mid-Acts dispensationalists. Second, we will define and explain the basic tenants of Deism. Third, we will compare the beliefs of the Grace Life with those of Deists in an attempt to answer out fundamental question: are Grace Lifers Deists?

Endnotes:

1. II Corinthians 4:4
   
2. Genesis 2:16
   
3. Genesis 3:17
   

By Him All Things Consist

In Colossians 1:16-17, the Apostle Paul writes, "For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17) And he is before all things, and by him all things consist." According to Paul, not only did Christ create all of the governmental structures of heaven and earth but by Christ all things consist. Webster's 1828 Dictionary, offers the following definition for the word consist, "to stand together; to be in a fixed or permanent state, as a body composed of parts in union or connection. Hence, to be; to exist; to subsist; to be supported and maintained." Jesus Christ continues to support, maintain, or hold together that which he created. In other words, Christ is the connective glue that holds the universe together according to the revelation given to Paul.

Have you ever heard of Laminin? Laminin is the protein enzyme that holds the human body together. It holds your bones together and keeps your skin from sliding off your body. Last fall, one of the saints from our assembly send me the link to the following video. I have been saving it for a week when I did not have much time to write. Please watch this video in light of the doctrine presented in Colossians 1:16-17. I think you will be amazed.


I am aware that Louie Giglio is not a mid-Acts dispensationalist or a supporter of the King James position.

The Psalmist is still correct, "the fool hath said in his heart there is not God." Not only did Christ preexist his creation, but it is only through him that all things consist. Once again science proves the Bible to be correct.

Stay tuned next week for the beginning of a new series of articles titled, Are Grace Lifers Deists?