Saviour of All Fellowship
February 2006

Dear Friends in Faith,
     In the Book of Common Prayer, 1676, used by the Church of England, we find the following translation and notes on Romans 5:18. Their translation:
“Likewise then, as by the offense of one, the fault came on all men to condemnation, so by the justifying of one, the benefit abounded toward all men to the justification of life.”
Their notes are thus:
     “The righteousness of Christ which is imputed to all believers, justifieth them, that they may become partakers of everlasting life . . . . The ground of this whole comparison is this, that these two men are set as two stocks or roots, so that out of the one, sin by nature, out of the other, righteousness by grace doeth spring upon others. So then, sin entered not into us only by following the steps of our forefathers, but we take corruption of him by inheritance.”
     It is interesting that they have taken quite a leap from “the benefit abounded to all men to the justification of life” to “The righteousness of Christ which is imputed to all believers.” It is as if they are saying that, even though it states in the verse that this righteousness and justification of life abounded toward all men, the fact is that it is only for believers. But in reality, according to the scripture text, all mankind are neutral recipients of both Adam and Christ.
     Also, it is worth pointing out from the Concordant Literal New Testament that according to Romans 5:19 all mankind are not just “imputed” sinners or will all be “imputed” righteous, but all are constituted sinners and all will be constituted righteous. The idea of imputation does not accord with the truth of Romans 5:19. Being sinners is not an imputed condition. We are actually constituted sinners. Likewise all humanity will be constituted righteous. That will be their make up, their constitution. They will be made righteous, not merely said to be so.
     Yet despite such misleading notes on Scripture, God still reveals His truth and opens hearts to faith. The following is from a sermon delivered in St. Paul’s Cathedral by a clergyman of the Church of England, Dr. Steed, in the 17th Century: “Our Saviour laid down his life for the sins of the whole world; he came, that as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall be made alive; that as by one man’s disobedience many, the many, or mankind in general, were made sinners, treated as such, and made subject to death, the wages of sin; so by the obedience of one many were made righteous . . . . The universal sacrifice which shall take in all mankind, and which all mankind shall contemplate throughout eternity with awful joy and gratitude is completed–the benefit of whose actions and sufferings reaches to all ages, all nations, all mankind.” This is quoted in a book written about 300 years ago by another clergyman of the Church of England (Universal Damnation and Salvation, by John Tyler) who testified that the authority of men is not greater than the authority of God. What a concept!
Upcoming Fellowship Schedule
     March 31-April 2: Richmond, Virginia (for further information please contact James Huff at HUFFhappy@aol.com 804-745-1923)
     We want to make early mention of a special weekend of meetings scheduled for Grand Rapids, Michigan, July 14-16 at the Pilgrim Manor Chapel, 2000 Leonard Street NE. Brother Orville Hunt will serve as host (phone:616-457-2213).

Yours in God’s grace and peace,
Tony Nungesser and Dean Hough

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