"The Rule" - When the Kingdom
Program Ceased
Because “The Rule” teaches that if you believe one gospel
you go here and if you believe the other gospel you go there, it also
teaches that there were two programs going on at the same time. These
two programs are commonly referred to as the kingdom program and the
body program.
It is taught when the body program started (Acts 9, 11, or 13) the kingdom
program continued, but it eventually stopped. Everyone agrees that the
one new man (the body of Christ) is the only thing available today.
When you get saved you get put into the one new man. Every Grace teacher
that I have talked to agrees that the kingdom program stopped but we
differ on when it stopped.
Some say Acts 9 when Paul got saved, some say Acts 28 when Paul got
to Rome and others say in 70 A.D. when Jerusalem was destroyed.
Each one of these stopping points have the same thing in common:
When the kingdom program stopped, it was no longer available
for someone to be put into. The one new man became the only thing available.
This teaching presents some serious problems with “the Rule”.
Once again,
The Rule:
If you believe Peter’s gospel it puts you into the new covenant
church (kingdom church) and if you believe Paul’s gospel it puts
you into the one new man (the body of Christ). If Peter preaches to
you, you go into the new covenant church and if Paul preaches to you,
you go into the one new man.
For the moment, let’s say once again that “the Rule”
is correct. Let’s take this teaching of when the kingdom program
ceased and use “the Rule” to test it.
OK, here is the scenario, regardless of when the kingdom program stopped,
(pick a time, it doesn’t matter for this question), after the
kingdom program ceased, when Peter led someone to the Lord where did
the Lord put them?
If you say, “In the kingdom program,” then that means that
the kingdom program did not cease and people are still being added to
it. This will not work. When the kingdom program ceased, this means
it stopped and no one can be added to it.
If you insist that they were added to the kingdom program then you have
to admit that the kingdom program is still in effect and that people
can still be added to it.
If you say, “They cannot be added to the kingdom program because
it ceased,” then you have the problem with there being only one
place left that they can be added to and that is the one new man, but
“the Rule” will not allow this to happen.
See the pickle? There is a problem no matter which way you go with it.
And moving the stopping point doesn’t solve the problem.
Example:
Let’s say the kingdom program and the body program continued side
by side for about 500 years. If you believe Peter’s gospel you
go into the kingdom program and if you believe Paul’s gospel you
go into the body program.
In the year 500 A.D. the kingdom program stops. You have many, many
people in the kingdom program. After the kingdom program stopped, when
someone in the kingdom program led someone to the Lord, where did the
Lord put them?
Now you have the same problem but it’s just 500 years later. You
have people in the kingdom program leading people to Christ but the
kingdom program is no longer available. Where do they go?
Once again, if you say they went into the kingdom program then this
means that the kingdom program never did cease and it continues on.
If you say they went into the one new man then you break “the
Rule”.
What do you do? Avoiding the question is not going to fix the problem.
You need to tackle this problem head on.
“The Rule” will not allow someone in the kingdom program
lead someone to Christ and that someone be put into the one new man.
In order for this to happen, the person in the kingdom program would
have to teach that Christ died and paid for sins to get the person they
are leading to Christ to be put into the body of Christ, but if the
person in the kingdom program believes that Christ died for their sins
then they would already be in the body of Christ and would not be in
the kingdom program according to “the Rule”.
What a problem! Do you see the confusion “the Rule” causes?
It takes away from the simplicity in Christ Jesus.
No matter where you put the stopping point of the kingdom program, whether
it be Acts 9, Acts 28 or 70 A.D. or 500 A.D. or the year 2009 A.D. you
still have the same problem of where the people were placed when someone
from the kingdom program led them to Christ.
“The Rule” is what causes this confusion.
Paul is very clear on the matter, as we stated before and will state
again, Paul says in 1st Corinthians 15,
“11 Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach,
and so ye believed.”
Paul just flat out said that it didn’t matter who preached the
gospel to them as long as they believed. We showed in 1st Corinthians
12 that Paul said that these Corinthians were in the body of Christ
and in 15:11 he said it did not matter whether it was him or the apostles
that led them to Christ.
Let’s stop right here for a moment. Now look in the scripture
and find if you believe Peter’s gospel you go into the kingdom
program and if you believe Paul’s gospel you go into the body
program.
You will not find it anywhere but you will find many scriptures that
go against it.
Now what we are going to do is present to you where the kingdom program
stopped when the one new man was given in Acts 9 when the apostle Paul
got saved.
In Romans 11 Paul says,
“30 For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet
have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:
31 Even so have these also now not believed, that through your mercy
they also may obtain mercy.
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy
upon all.”
Paul is talking to the Gentiles here and he says that the Gentiles have
obtained mercy through Israel’s unbelief and because he is showing
mercy unto the Gentiles he is also going to show mercy unto Israel.
For God hath concluded them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy
upon all.
So what I want to show you is that from the time God started showing
mercy unto the Gentiles he also started showing mercy unto Israel also
(of course, except for the one’s he blinded.)
Paul wrote the book of Romans in Acts chapter 20. Once again in Romans
11 he says,
“5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant
according to the election of grace.
6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no
more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise
work is no more work.
7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; but
the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded “
How are the elect of Israel being saved at this time?
By grace and not of works.
What happens to the rest of Israel?
They are blinded.
So what are Israel’s choices here? They are either blinded or
saved by grace without works.
Is there any other option? NO. Not according to Paul.
In the one new man salvation is by grace through faith not of works
lest any man should boast. In the kingdom program (kingdom church, new
covenant church) their works were involved just as it says in James
2. These are not the same.
In Acts 20 Paul writes to the Romans and he tells them the Jews choices
are being saved by grace without works or be blinded.
THERE IS NO THIRD OPTION.
But “the Rule” teaches that the kingdom program is still
going on at this time, but according to what Paul says it is not.
Let’s look at a few charts. In this first chart this is how the
apostle Paul is teaching the situation:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/Blindedpiechart.jpg
In this pie chart we can see that the circle represents Israel as a
whole. The blue area represents the Jews that are getting saved. The
green area represents the ones that are blinded. There are only 2 options.
You are either saved by grace without works or you are blinded just
as Paul said in Romans 11.
But “the Rule” teaches that there is a third option. Let’s
look at this chart:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/Someblindedpiechart.jpg
This chart shows us a third option in orange which is you can also be
saved with your works involved a.k.a. the kingdom program.
So Paul says that Israel at this time is saved by grace without works
and the rest were blinded but “the Rule” teaches that some
are saved by grace, some by works, and some were blinded. “The
Rule” goes against the teachings of the apostle Paul.
Also in Romans 11 Paul says,
“12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world,
and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more
their fulness?”
Paul says here that the Jews are diminishing. If the kingdom program
was still in effect the kingdom church would be growing side by side
with the one new man. But Paul says they are diminishing. This is inconsistent
with a program that is supposed to be adding members to it on a daily
basis.
Now let’s look at a chart that show the kingdom program stopping
at Acts 28 when Paul got to Rome:
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/theRule1.jpg
This chart shows the two overlapping programs, but with this comes the
problems we discussed.
1. After the kingdom program ceased, when someone from the kingdom program
led someone to the Lord where did the Lord put them?
2. In Acts 19 Paul writes 1st Corinthians and tells them they were in
the body of Christ and it did not matter if it was himself or the apostles
that led them to the Lord.
3. In Acts 20 Paul writes the book of Romans and tells the Romans that
God is having mercy upon all, Jew and Gentile.
4. In Paul’s epistle to the Romans he says that the Jews are being
saved by grace without works and the rest were blinded.
5. Paul said the Jews were diminishing, but “the Rule” teaches
that the kingdom program is growing side by side along with the one
new man. Members are being added to the kingdom program just as members
are being added to the body program.
Now let’s look at another chart that shows the kingdom program
ceased when the one new man (body of Christ) was given.
http://www.gracebiblestudy.net/images/Charts/theRule2.jpg
Now let’s look at the same problems and see if they go away.
1. The kingdom program ceases in Acts 9 when Paul gets saved. Anyone
from this point forward that gets led to the Lord goes into the one
new man regardless of who leads them to the Lord. When the kingdom program
ceased, when someone in the kingdom program led someone to the Lord
they went into the one new man.
No problem. “The Rule” does not apply.
2. In Acts 19 when Paul writes to the Corinthians and tells them they
were in the body and it didn’t matter who led them to the Lord
whether it be him or the apostles.
No problem. “The Rule” does not apply.
3. In Acts 20 Paul writes Romans and teaches God is having mercy upon
all. Everyone that trusts Christ from Acts 9 forward gets put into the
one new man.
No problem. “The Rule” does not apply.
4. In Paul’s epistle to the Romans he says that the Jews are being
saved by grace without works and the rest were blinded.
No problem, “The Rule” does not apply.
5. In Romans 11 Paul says the Jews are diminishing. The kingdom church
is dying out. No one is added to the kingdom program anymore because
it ceased. As the members die, which are Jews only, they are diminishing.
The kingdom church ceased growing when the one new man was given.
No problem, “The Rule” does not apply.
As you can see, stopping the kingdom program when the one new man was
given makes much more sense than continuing it into Acts 28 or 70A.D.
plus it does not break the scripture as putting it at the later date.
And if the kingdom program ceased in Acts 9 when the one new man was
given, then where did the Lord put Cornelius when he got saved?
Answer: In the one new man, along with all of the other uncircumcised
Gentiles that received Christ as their Saviour.
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