In chapter 8 of the book What God Wishes Christians Knew, Gilham gives his views on the new covenant, the role of Christian law in the lives of Christians and the four gospels. He starts off by expressing his interpretation of the new covenant. Gilliam believes the account of the new covenant began in Acts chapter 2 rather than the modern theological thought, Matthew chapter 2. 1 He is of this view for some reasons. First, though Gillham believes that the Bible is inspired of God he does not believe that alterations to verses, chapter divisions made by editors and translators were inspired by God.2 Hence mere headings placed in the Bible are not enough evidence to suggest that the new covenant/ new testament began in Matthew 2. Secondly, he makes reference to the scriptures which speak of becoming new creatures in Christ, by way of the new covenant. He believes that this could not have been possible until after Christ was crucified, resurrected, ascended into heaven and the Holy Spirit was bestowed. As chronicled in Acts chapter 2. Thus, the New Testament would have to begin after the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) and not at the beginning as it is thought. 3 Gillham also emphasizes that as important as the birth of Christ was, no covenant was formed at the time of his birth which is chronicled in Matthew chapter 2. 4
Gillham also speaks of the laws as it relates to the life of Christians. For starters, he believes that the laws act as a powerful incentive to draw Christians to Christ as a means of escaping hellfire. And as such, it should not be viewed as a burden. It is through the law that man learns the “holy character of God”.5
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1. Gillham, Bill, “What God Wishes”, (Harvest House, 1998) 138.
2. Ibid,138
3. Ibid, 139
4. Ibid, 141
5. Ibid. 142
In other words, man comes to a full understanding of Gods standards. He is of the view that Christians have misconstrued the meaning and intent of the law as a result of their views of when the New Testament/ Covenant begin. Thus, believing, that all of Jesus teachings were meant for Christians when it fact, it was meant for unbelievers who have not yet come to know Christ. His basis for this belief is that through Christ death and ascension it has made Christians into new creatures of God who are righteous; who he believes is not bound by law but by grace. The grace he describes as Gods undeserved kindness, while the law is a based on reward. He believes that new creatures in Christ have a natural love for the Christ which pummels them to want to please him and obey, without the need for a law to force obedience. Essentially, the sin of Christians is already forgiven. Hence they are not governed by the law.6
In Gillham’s view, the four gospels are a part of the Old Testament. He is of that opinion because the law teachings were not intended for righteous Christians who have received the grace of God, as the gospels outline the laws. He points out that even the Disciples of Christ were not righteous men until after Christ was raised to heaven. He uses the point of the belief that New Testament begins after the four gospels. Therefore, the teachings of the four gospels refer to before Christ crucifixion and the subsequent coming of the Holy Spirit which made men, noble, new creatures in God. To reinforce his point he uses the model prayer found in the Gospel of Matthew, which speaks of individuals petitioning the Christ for forgiveness. He states that this was a law that was being taught by the Christ at a time when there were no righteous Christians, however, after Christ death we were forgiven of all our sins by way of grace and as such did not need to petition Jesus for forgiveness as it was already granted. Therefore the gospels speak of rules of the old covenant.
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6. Ibid..,147
In my opinion this article presents some valid points as well as some misconceptions as it relates to the word of the Christ. Gilham is the viewpoint that the misconception of the time of the beginning of the New Testament has led many Christians into beliefs that are not true. Beliefs such as; Christians being governed by the law, the difference between grace and law and how attainable and relevant the law is. There are some areas of merit which I can relate to, that is his opinions that; the Bible is inspired by God, the granting of Gods undeserved kindness (grace) and the belief that Christians should also be guided by Holy Spirit. However, I cannot take away that Christians are automatically forgiven for their sins and therefore do no need to petition God for forgiveness as it is owed to us through teachings of the Bible. The article also shows that individuals often misinterpret the scriptures. This reiterates to me the importance of asking the Holy Spirit for guidance to interpret his word the way he wishes for it to be understood.
Bibliography
Gillham, Bill. What God Wishes Christians Knew About Christianity. Eugene, OR: Harvest
House, 1998,
