The Heathen And The Progressive Are Both Without God
Eph. 2:12 & 2 Jn. 9
Jay Horsley
To drive home the point that our great spiritual blessings are found only in Christ, Paul reminded the Gentile readers of their spiritual condition before they came to know Him. Their desperate conditions is described in Eph. 2:12, “remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”
What a horrible and hopeless condition they were in before being called by the gospel. They did not have Christ, where all spiritual blessings and forgiveness of sin are found, (Eph. 1:3) nor did they have the Law that would lead them to Him. At that time the Jews were also lacking the fullness of these blessings, but they had the hope of the expected Messiah. The Gentiles were excluded from both the blessings and the hope. The Messiah was coming through the nation of Israel and very few Gentiles had even heard of it.
Paul describes this condition as being “strangers to the covenant of promise.” The covenant of God had promised the Jews that one was coming who would do great things. Abraham was promised a descendant who would be a blessing to all nations. Moses promised a prophet like him would come who the people should listen to. The Messiah was clearly promised and expected by the Jewish people, though He did not come in the manner expected. These covenants were the school master preparing and bringing men to Christ. But the Gentiles were ignorant of all of this and excluded from the hope. The whole Gentile world was outside of these promises and blessings. They had nothing to look forward to, just as they no conciliation in this life.
Without God the heathens had no hope, only blind groping because what witness God had given them was ignored or forgotten. God was still there, but their lives did not reflect it. Paul described the gloominess of this “blind man's bluff” such for God to the Athenians, “that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.” (Acts 17:27) But few of them evened seem to grope for God. So they were in the saddest condition of all, alone in the world. They had just themselves, their own wisdom and devices (with the help of Satan) to lead them. The results were paganism, depravity, darkness, defeatism, worldliness and sorrow -- with no hope for anything better. They truly proved the saying of Jeremiah, “I know, O LORD, that a man's way is not in himself; Nor is it in a man who walks to direct his steps.” (Jer. 10:23)
But then, thanks be to God, Christ came and offered His blessings to the Gentiles as well as the Jews. “But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Eph. 2:13)
Now that these faithful Gentiles had been brought to Christ through the gospel and all the blessings of it, what would be their condition if they did not abide in the faith as taught in that same gospel? The apostle John answers this question for us. “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.” (2 Jn. 9) If spiritual blessings (such as forgiveness of sins, fellowship of the saints, hope of heaven) come when you are brought near to Christ, then the same blessings must be lost if you no longer stay in Christ. When you don't hold to what Jesus and his apostle's taught you can't stay in Him or have any of the blessings of being there.
Before Christ the Gentiles were without God. Those who don't hold to the doctrine of Christ don't have the Father or Son. Aren't these two things exactly parallel? The Gentiles were “separated, excluded, strangers to the promises and without hope” because they did not have God. What about those who won't keep within the revealed teaching of Christ? If they aren't “separated, excluded, strangers to the promises and without hope,” why aren't they?
To go beyond the doctrine is to put yourself in the same place as not having or not knowing the doctrine. Yet man has added many things not in the doctrine of Christ. The progressive have effectively become heathen Gentile. He is trying to direct his own steps. Because of this modern man is in the process of repeating all the mistakes and depravities of the ancients. Changes to the organization and work of the church are made. Every doctrinal heresy imaginable has been added while all the carnal sins that mankind likes to engage in are justified. We are clearly warned that to add is to transgress and forfeit all that we have gained in coming to Christ, but some give no heed.
We have but two clear choices before us. 1.) Come and abide in Christ and have every blessing. 2.) Or have not God and have no hope, binge separated, excluded and strangers EITHER by being away from OR going beyond and not staying in Christ. Many refuse to recognize this. So while they refuse to swear off God entirely, they won't live by the revealed standard either. Don't they realize the results are the same?