KINGDOM
FAITH–OR
KINGDOM
FICTION
WHICH IS
IT?
The New
Testament
gospel
is
powerful,
eternal,
perpetually
true.
Two
thousand
years
after
its
presentation
to the
world it
is still
relevant,
unabridged,
unchallengeable.
When
Charles
Spurgeon
was
asked
how he
defended
the
gospel,
he
replied,
"I don’t
defend
the
gospel
any more
than I
would
defend a
lion. I
just
open the
cage and
let it
out."
Jesus
called
His
message
the
"gospel
of the
Kingdom".
That
message
has
never
been,
nor will
ever be
changed.
Nor will
it
become a
gospel
of the
church.
The
Kingdom
knows=2
0no
failure.
The
Kingdom
is
triumphant,
victorious,
all-conquering.
The
Kingdom
is
permanent,
unchanging.
The
Kingdom
needs no
such
excuse.
To
absolve
herself
of
blame.
The
church
is
subject
to great
failure.
The
church
is
schismatic,
self-indulging,
unreliable.
The
church
is
temporal,
justifies
herself
and
vindicates
her
failures.
The
church
has
invented
an
escape-hatch
called
Cessationist
Theology.
This
pleasant
sounding
expression
declares
that God
has
withdrawn
the Holy
Spirit’s
miraculous
power
from the
church.
The
church
has a
book–the
Bible–and
little
more
than
that. We
have no
power
because
God has
removed
it. The
fault is
not
our’s.
Much of
modern,
evangelical
Christianity
is a
parallel
of the
ministry
of
Apollos.
It is
sincere,
eloquent,
accurately
teaching
Bible
truth as
far as
it
allows
itself
to
believe.
But its
doctrine
is
measured
by its
own
opinion–it
is
afraid
to
measure
its
doctrine
by
Scripture.
Dispensationalism"–the
claim
that
miraculous
gifts of
the Holy
Spirit
passed
away–dominates
traditional
Christianity.
Jesus
said
there
would be
no such
change.
Hear His
words:
"All
authority
has been
given to
Me in
heaven
and on
earth.
Go
therefore
and make
disciples
of all
the
nations,
baptizing
them in
the name
of the
Father
and of
the Son
and of
the Holy
Spirit,
teaching
them to
observe
all
things
that I
have
commanded
you; and
lo,
I am
with you
always,
even
to the
end of
the age."
Amen.
Matthew
28:20.
Jesus
fully
expected
the
church
"at the
end of
the age"
to
believe
and
teach
"all
things"
that He
had
commanded
the
original
disciples.
The
Apostle
Jude did
not
believe
the
cessationist
claim.
Instead,
he
presented
one of
the New
Testament’s
strongest
defenses
for the
gospel’s
unalterability.
He said,
"I found
it
necessary
to write
to you
exhorting
you to
contend
earnestly
for the
faith
which
was once
for all
delivered
to the
saints."
Jude 3.
The
"once
for all"
in our
English
Bibles
comes
from a
valuable
little
Greek
word, "hapax".
In spite
of its
brief
size
hapax
carries
significant
authority.
It means
"one, a
single
time,
conclusively,
absolutely=2
0all,
every
one."
This
hapax-expression
appears
at least
eight
times in
the
Greek
New
Testament.
It is
translated
"once
for all"
five
times in
the New
King
James
Version.
Three
additional
times
the New
International
Version
translates
it as
"once".
In every
instance
hapax
establishes
the
unchangeability
of its
subject.
Six of
the
references
below
apply
directly
to
Jesus,
one
applies
to the
believer,
and the
final
one to
Kingdom
faith.
In four
instances
in the
Greek
text the
preposition
"epi"
(upon)
is added
to
reinforce
the
"once
for all"
meaning.
The
Hapax
Scriptures
Are:
1.
Romans
6:10.
"For the
death
that
Jesus
died, He
died t o
sin
once for
all;
but the
life
that He
lives,
He lives
to God."
2.
Hebrews
7:27.
"Who
does not
need
daily,
as those
high
priests,
to offer
up
sacrifices,
first
for His
own sins
and then
for the
people's,
for this
Jesus
did
once for
all
when He
offered
up
Himself."
3.
Hebrews
9:12.
"Not
with the
blood of
goats
and
calves,
but with
His own
blood
Jesus
entered
the Most
Holy
Place
once for
all,
having
obtained
eternal
redemption."
4.
Hebrews
9:26-27.
"He then
would
have had
to
suffer
often
since
the
foundation
of the
world;
but now,
once
at
the end
of the
ages, He
has
appear
ed to
put away
sin by
the
sacrifice
of
Himself."
5.
Hebrews
10:2-3.
For the
worshipers,
once
purified,
would
have had
no more
consciousness
of sins.
6.
Hebrews
10:10.
"By that
will we
have
been
sanctified
through
the
offering
of the
body of
Jesus
Christ
once
for all."
7. 1
Peter
3:18.
"For
Christ
also
hath
once
suffered
for
sins,
the just
for the
unjust,
that he
might
bring us
to God,
being
put to
death in
the
flesh,
but
quickened
by the
Spirit."
8. Jude
3.
"Beloved
... I
found it
necessary
to write
to you
exhorting
you to
contend
earnestly
for the
faith
which
was
once for
all
delivered
to the
saints."
To
which of
these
hapax–"once
for
all"–passages
are you
willing
to apply
Cessation
Theology?
Would
your
theology
be
complete
if any
of the
"once
for all"
references
were
removed
from the
work of
Jesus?
Would
you like
any of
these
subjects
to be
vulnerable
to
change?
Are you
genuinely
glad
that
they are
"hapax"–
"once
for all"
secure?
If so,
it is
impossible
for you
to
endorse
Cessationist
Theology.
You
cannot
accept
the
works of
Jesus as
hapax
and
then
deny the
Holy
Spirit
the same
respect
in His
maintaining
hapax in
the
permanency
of
Scripture.
You
cannot
do it
and
uphold
integrity
with the
Word.
Modern
Christianity
has
convinced
itself
that
Jesus
provided
two
distinct
gospels
and two
distinct
faiths–one
for the
first
century
church
and one
for
those
who
followed
after.
The
first
was
miraculously
empowered;
the
second
was not.
The
first
had the
baptismal
gift of
the Holy
Spirit;
the
second
was
merely
given a
book
telling
what the
Holy
Spirit
had
achieved
in the
past.
Hear the
truth:
Jesus
provided
everyone–past,
present,
future–with
a faith
which
was
hapax-true,
hapax-strong,
hapax-forever.
The fact
is this:
Whether
you and
I accept
it or
not the
original
"faith
that was
once for
all
delivered
to the
saints"
is still
intact.
It is
unaltered.
In a
conclusive,
unchangeable
way the
faith of
the
apostolic
era was
delivered
for "all
time"
intact
to every
subsequent
generation.
There
will
never be
another.
Someone
argues,
"But I
have
never
seen the
miraculous
works of
the Holy
Spirit
in my
church!"
True.
But the
fault
lies
with the
church–not
with
God. The
contemporary
church
is a
victim
of its
own
unbelief.
It has
created
its
blighted
condition.
Observe
that the
Apostle
Jude
said he:
1.
Found it
"necessary"
2. To
"exhort
you"
3. To
"contend
earnestly"
This
agrees
perfectly
with
Jesus’
instruction
in
Matthew
28:18
that
believers
to "the
end of
the age"
be
taught
to
"observe
all
things
that I
have
commended
you"
(the
original
disciples).
Then, as
if to
emphasize
the
unchangeability
of the
gospel’s
time-span,
He said,
"Lo, I
am with
you
always,20even
to the
end of
the
age."
Observe
the
expression
"all
things".
What did
He mean
by that
expression?
Scripture
does not
leave us
to
wonder.
Matthew
10:7-9
makes it
very
plain:
"As you
go,
preach,
saying,'The
kingdom
of
heaven
is at
hand.'
Heal the
sick,
cleanse
the
lepers,
raise
the
dead,
cast out
demons .
Freely
you have
received,
freely
give."
When He
said
"teach
them all
things
... to
the end
of the
age"
this is
what He
meant.
The
obvious
message
is that
the
gospel–and
the
faith
arising
from it–
have
been
permanently
given
one time
and will
never be
given
again.
That
initial
provision
is
sufficient
"once
for all"
time and
"once
for all"
people.
In an
emphatic
way this
says
that New
Testament
faith–doctrinally
and
experientially–as
it was
originally
presented
by the
Holy
Spirit
is
unchangeable.
It
cannot
be added
to or
taken
from.
Any
cessationist
claim
otherwise
is hoax.
Such an
accusation
insults
the
Cross
and the
work of
the Holy
Spirit.
2 Peter
1:21.
Even
so, the
idea is
rampant
in
modern
Christianity
that
parts of
the
Covenant-Book
which
Jesus
ratified
by the
sprinkling
of His
blood,
Hebrews
9:11-15,
have
lost
validity.
This
supposedly
occurred
at the
death of
the
Apostle
John in
70 a.d
or when
the New
Testament
books
were
canonized
into one
volume
in a.d.
367.
The
truth is
modern
Christians
have
invented
that
monstrous
idea. We
have
done so
because
we do
not want
accountability
for our
own
failures.
If we
can
justify
the
absence
of God’s
miraculous
presence
by
claiming
He
withdrew
it from
us we
don’t
have to
accept
blame
for our
having
withdrawn
ourselves
from
Him.
The
Bible’s
Example
The
Book of
Acts
gives us
a
working
model of
a
conscientious,
godly
pastor
who
preached
a
powerless
gospel.
Like
many
today,
Apollos
was
pastor
of a
small,
struggling
congregation.
He was
faithful,
loved
God,
served
the
congregation,
but was
totally
bereft
of
power.
While he
was away
from his
home at
Ephesus,
Paul
came and
found
his
church
of 12
male
disciples
with
wives
and
children.
In spite
of
Apollos
having
excellent
credentials
for
ministry,
Paul
immediately
recognized
powerlessness
in the
man’s
flock.
Both
Paul and
Apollos
were
servants
of God,
both
equally
loved
the
church,
and each
possessed
vast
knowledge
of
Scripture.
Even so,
a major
discrepancy
existed
between
their
ministries.
Paul had
power;
Apollos
did not.
Paul
preached
the
gospel
of the
Kingdom;
Apollos
obviously
knew
nothing
about
it.
In
light of
the
Apostle
Jude’s
exhortation
to
"contend
earnestly
for the
faith
which
was
once for
all
delivered
to the
saints",
we see
how
Apollos=E
2though
innocent
of any
evil
intent–had
accepted
a
partial
gospel
and
experienced
partial
results.
The
ministries
of Paul
and
Apollos
are a
parallel
of
pastors
and
churches
today. I
emphasize
the fact
that
Apollos
was
ignorant
because
he had
never
been
taught–not
because
he had
knowingly
rejected
the
truth.
In our
day
pastors
fall
into two
groups:
Those
who have
never
been
taught
and are
innocently
ignorant
of
spiritual
gifts
and
those
who
willfully
reject
spiritual
gifts.
Carefully
observe
these
seven
facts
which
Scripture
records
about
Apollos:
1. He
was a
Jew.
2. An
eloquent
man.
3.
Mighty
in
Scripture.
4.
Instructed
in the
way of
the
Lord.
5.
Fervent
in
spirit.
6.
Taught
accurately
the
things
of the
Lord.
7. But:
He knew
only the
"baptism
of John"
--That
is, he
knew
nothing
about
the
baptism
in the
Spirit.
He had a
partial
gospel
and a
partial
faith.
When
Paul
recognized
spiritual-powerlessness
in the
Ephesians,
he asked
the
all-revealing
question,
"Did you
receive
the Holy
Spirit
when you
believed?"
They
responded,
"We have
not so
much as
heard
whether
there is
a Holy
Spirit."
This
tragic
ignorance
existed
because
Apollos
knew
only the
"baptism
of
John."
He knew
nothing
about
the
baptism
in the
Holy
Spirit
and had
left his
congregation
in that
same
condition.
Paul
immediately
instructed
the
Ephesians
about
the Holy
Spirit's
empowering
and when
he "laid
hands on
them,
the Holy
Spirit
came
upon
them,
and they
spoke
with
tongues
and
prophesied."
That
event
proved
to be a
cataclysmic
change
not only
for
Ephesus
but for
the rest
of the
Roman
world.
Under
Apollos'
ministry,
the
church
at
Ephesus
accomplished
absolutely
nothing
to
awaken
the
city. It
demonstrated
no
Kingdom
power,
remained
spiritually
paralyzed,
and
except
for the
local
Synagogue,
its
presence
was
virtually
unknown.
In that
state,
the
congregation
had no
effective
witness,
made no
impact
on the
people,
was no
threat
to
"powers,
principalities,
rulers
of the
darkness
of this
world,"
etc.
Instead,
the dark
cloud of
paganism
gripped
the land
with
unchallenged
control.
The
Temple
of
Diana--or
Artemas--already
famous
as the
greatest
of all
Seven
Wonders
of the
Ancient
World,
dominated
the
area. It
was in
the
shadow
of this
formidable
enemy
that
this
minuscule
church,
ineffective
and
unknown,
lay
dormant.
That
chang ed
when
Paul
arrived.
When he
came on
the
scene,
Ephesus
experienced
a
"Kingdom
of God"
earthquake.
Paul was
not the
power
but he
was the
instrument
for the
truth
that
produced
the
shaking.
He
merely
provided
the
window
through
whom the
power
roared;
Apollos
and
twelve
other
windows
were
already
present
in
Ephesus
but they
had
never
been
opened.
Jesus
Said
"The
Scripture
Cannot
Be
Broken"
John
10:34-40.
"Jesus
answered
them,
‘Is it
not
*written
in your
law, 'I
said,
"You are
gods'?
If He
called
them
gods, to
whom the
word of
God came
(and the
Scripture
cannot
be
broken),
do you
say of
Him whom
the
Father
sanctified
and sent
into the
world,
'You are
blaspheming,'
because
I said,
'I am
the Son
of God'?
If I do
not do
the
works of
My
Father,
do not
believe
Me; but
if I do,
though
you do
not
believe
Me,
believe
the
works,
that you
may know
and
believe
that the
Father
is in
Me, and
I in
Him.
Therefore
they
sought
again to
seize
Him, but
He
escaped
out of
their
hand."
*Psalm
82:6
Jesus
reminded
the Jews
that it
was
David–not
Himself–who
first
wrote
about
God
miraculously
empowering
the
saints.
Those
fortunate
ones to
whom
"the
word of
God
comes"
are so
changed
and
endowed
that in
the eyes
of the
demonic-world
—in a
comparative
sense—they
become
gods
(with a
little
"g").
Simply
stated,
Jesus
intended
the
saints
to
exercise
power
over the
demonic
realm.
Luke
10:19.
It was
Jesus
who said
"The
Scripture
cannot
be
broken".
That
means
that the
New
Testament
is still
intact.
No part
is
out-dated
and it
cannot
be
victimized
by
cessationist
teaching.
In
believing
it we
open
ourselves
to
receive
a mirac
ulous
imparting
of its
"word".
Those to
whom the
word of
God
comes
are
changed
from
ordinary
humanity
into
extraordinary
humanity.
The
"word of
the Lord
came" to
Abraham,
Samuel,
Nathan,
Gad,
Solomon,
Elijah,
Elisha,
Isaiah,
Jeremiah,
Ezekiel,
Haggai,
Zechariah,
John the
Baptist,
the
first
disciples,
others.
All of
these
experienced
transformation
when the
"word of
God"
came to
them.
This is
the only
sensible
explanation
for the
explosive
growth
of
Christianity
in the
Roman
world.
What
Happens
Today
When The
True
"Word of
God"
Comes
With
Power?
1. Psalm
107:19-20.
"Then
they
cried
unto the
LORD in
their
trouble,
and he
saved
them out
of their
distresses.
He sent
his
word,
and
healed
them,
and
delivered
them
from
their
destructions."
2.
Matthew
8:16-17.
"When
evening
had
come,
they
brought
unto him
many who
were
demon-possessed.
And He
cast out
the
spirits
with His
word,
and
healed
all who
were
sick:
That it
might be
fulfilled
which
was
spoken
by
Isaiah
the
prophet,
saying,
He
Himself
took our
infirmities,
and bore
our
sicknesses."
3. Luke
4:31-36.
"Then He
went
down to
Capernaum,
a city
of
Galilee,
and
taught
them on
the
sabbath
days.
And they
were
astonished
at his
doctrine:
for his
word was
with
power.
And in
the
synagogue
there
was a
man, who
had a
spirit
of an
unclean
demon,
and he
cried
out with
a loud
voice,
Saying,
Let us
alone;
what
have we
to do
with
you,
Jesus of
Nazareth?
Did you
come to
destroy
us? I
know you
who you
are--the
Holy One
of God.
But
Jesus
rebuked
him,
saying,
Be quiet
and come
out of
him. And
when the
demon
had
thrown
him in
their
midst,
it came
out of
him, and
did not
hurt
him.
Then
they
were all
amazed,
and
spoke
among
themselves,
saying,
What a
word is
this!
For with
authority
and
power
he=2
0commands
the
unclean
spirits,
and t
hey come
out."
4. Acts
2:40-41.
"And
with
many
other
words he
testified
and
exhorted
them,
saying,
Be saved
from
this
perverse
generation.
Then
those
who
gladly
received
his word
were
baptized;
and that
about
three
thousand
souls
were
added
unto
them."
5.
Titus
1:1-3.
"Paul, a
servant
of God,
and an
apostle
of Jesus
Christ,
according
to the
faith of
God's
elect,
and the
acknowledgment
of the
truth
which
accords
with
godliness;
In hope
of
eternal
life,
which
God, who
cannot
lie,
promised
before
time
began;
But has
in due
times
manifested
his word
through
preaching,
which
was
committed
to me
according
to the
commandment
of God
our
Savior."
6. I
John
2:4-6.
"He who
says, I
know
him, and
does not
keep His
commandments,
is a
liar,
and the
truth is
not in
him. But
whoever
keeps
His
word,
truly
the love
of God
is
perfected
in him:
By this
know we
that we
are in
him. He
who says
he
abides
in Him
ought
himself
also so
to walk,
even as
he
walked."
(The
"word"
is
already
perfected–so
what is
being
perfected?
The one
who
receives
the
word.)
7. Luke
1:38.
Mary was
impregnated
when she
told the
angel,
"Be it
unto me
according
to your
word."
8.
Matthew
4:4
Jesus
said:
"But he
answered
and
said, It
is
written,
Man
shall
not live
by bread
alone,
but by
every
word
that
proceedeth
out of
the
mouth of
God."
9.
Matthew
24:35.
Jesus
said:
"Heaven
and
earth
shall
pass a
way but
My words
will by
no means
pass
away."
10. God
the
Father
said:
"My
Covenant
I will
not
break
nor
alter
the Word
that is
gone out
of my
lips."
Psalm
89:34.
11.
John
17:8.
Jesus
said to
the
Father:
"For I
have
given to
them
(the
disciples)
the
words
which
You have
given
Me, and
they
have
received
them
...".
12. I
Peter
1:25.
Peter
said:
"But the
word of
the Lord
endures
forever.
Now this
is the
word
which
by20the
gospel
was
preached
to you."
13. II
Peter
1:21.
Peter
said
again:
"Knowing
this
first,
that no
prophecy
of
Scripture
is of
any
private
interpretation,
for
prophecy
never
came by
the will
of man,
but holy
men of
God
spoke as
they
were
moved by
the Holy
Spirit."
14. II
Timothy
3:16.
Paul
said:
"Be
diligent
...
rightly
diving
the word
of
truth."
II
Timothy
2:1.
Paul
said
again:
"All
Scripture
is given
by
inspiration
of God
and is
profitable."
15.
Galatians
1:8.
Paul
said
once
more:
"But
even if
we, or
an angel
from
heaven,
preach
any
other
gospel
to you
than
what we
have
preached
to you,
let him
be
accurs
ed."
16.
Psalm
119:89.
David
said:
"Forever,
O Lord,
Your
Word is
settled
in
Heaven."
If you
are one
of those
believers
whose
Cessationist
Theology
denies
the
integrity
of
Scripture
or the
Holy
Spirit’s
miraculous
gifts,
stop it!
You are
on the
losing
team!
You are
on God’s
opposing
team!
Kingdom
faith is
fact–not
fiction!
Hapax
“once
for
all”.
Charles
Carrin
