What We’re Doing Here

I’m not starting another denomination. I’m trying to restart the Reformation.

That Church By the Vape Shop exists to point back to the finished work of Jesus Christ – to your 100% forgiveness and eternal security because of faith in Him alone. The New Covenant has made believers new from the inside out. God didn’t just forgive you; He transformed you.

I’m writing to help peel back centuries of tradition and human philosophy, the very kind Paul warned about in Colossians 2:8, so we can see what Scripture actually says. The big picture of what we’re about in this blog looks like:

• The Finished Work of Christ: There are no half-measures. There is no “doing your part” to save you after Jesus saves you. There will be no more wondering if you’ve done enough. It is finished. See Hebrews 10:14. Jesus did everything that needed doing, and He prayed for believers to be united with Him to bring us along for the ride. See John 17:20-26.

• The New Covenant: God isn’t trying to improve your old nature—He made you new inside. The Old Covenant served a purpose, but the New was promised all along. See Deuteronomy 30:6, Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 36:26-27, and Hebrews 8:12-13.

• Prophecy in Proper Context: A “partial preterist” view acknowledges that many biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled, confirming the Bible’s truth rather than pointing endlessly to the future. There is no obstacle to the physical return of Jesus Christ to Earth.

• Understanding the New Testament Like a First-Century Pagan Would: Sometimes, we’ll be digging into the original Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic of the Bible’s available manuscripts and how words were used in their historical/cultural setting to grasp how someone freshly converted from paganism would have understood the instructions for Christian living. We’ll also look at how the meanings of various sins were warped by the influence of human philosophy. This approach isn’t popular. Scraping off layers of moldy tradition tends to provoke the same reactions Paul got when he preached grace. The people who would have accused Paul of promoting sin in Romans 6:1-2 probably won’t like what I’m writing here. Neither will those who twist his words to justify sin today.

There are more and more voices out there that understand God’s grace. Andrew Farley (andrewfarley.org) seems to be getting some well-deserved attention and success now, Paul Ellis from escapetoreality.org and Ralph Harris at ralphharris.org have plenty of good insights, etc. There are also quite a few writers who understand prophecy from a partial preterist perspective, too. However, if you ask a modern pastor that clearly understands salvation by grace through faith (and the Reformation that made that concept known widely) a question about behavior, sometimes they'll still parrot answers that have been unexamined since Augustine of Hippo. (There were sex-negative Christian ascetics before Augustine, including the people Paul appeased in 1 Corinthians 7:1, but Augustine’s popular among those interested in patristics.) This may be in part because Augustine's work on grace was good enough to encourage the Reformers. However, the Reformation is still young at approximately 500 years old now. We have work to do.

I get why the name brand ministries with large followings and big donors stay away from the controversial stuff to preserve their bottom lines, so my intention is to offer the unvarnished truths, big and small, anonymously and for free. If someone tried to name this movement, they’d probably call us Lotians—which, honestly, sounds too much like "lotions" to be taken seriously (especially given our stance on onanism). Since Farley already has “The Naked Gospel”, I imagine our opponents might dismiss That Church By the Vape Shop’s Bible exposition as “The Naked and Sticky Gospel”. This isn’t about branding a new sect anyway. It’s about rediscovering the raw, scandalous beauty of God’s love for us.

If you’re tired of legalism, tired of failing to measure up, and tired of human traditions distorting the simplicity of faith in Christ – welcome. Let’s dig deep. Let’s rethink. Let’s refocus on Jesus.

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