Billy Graham reveals biggest spiritual mistake Christians make

While there is nothing wrong with doing good deeds, evangelist Billy Graham says this becomes a mistake when people base it as their only hope for getting to Heaven.

"The greatest mistake anyone can ever make is to assume that they are good enough to go to Heaven. And yet countless people make this mistake every day, thinking their good deeds will somehow outweigh their bad deeds and make them eligible for Heaven," he writes on his website.

The reason why this is a mistake is because God's standard is nothing short of perfection, explains Graham. God is absolutely holy and perfect, and just even one sin would be enough to banish people from His presence. In school, Graham says it's okay for students to make several mistakes just as long as they hit the passing mark, but the same cannot be said of God.

The Bible says of Him in Habakkuk 1:13: "Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrongdoing."

However, Graham says this does not mean that no one will ever get to Heaven. "The reason is because God has provided another way for us to be saved. That way is Jesus Christ. He was without sin (for He was God in human flesh)—but on the cross all our sins were placed on Him, and He took upon Himself the judgment and Hell that we deserve. He died in our place!" says the evangelist.

He is advising people to trust God and not in their own goodness for salvation. Graham says non-believers should now commit their lives to Jesus Christ as well as put their faith and trust in Him. "Then you will know that someday you will go to be with Him in Heaven forever—not because of your goodness, but because of His," he says.

FOCUSING ON HALF-TRUTHS by Dr Lim Poh Ann

Many believers focus on the privileges of being a Christian and forget that there are conditions attached to the blessings. **

In short, blessings come with responsibilities.

We’d rather ask what God can do for us rather than what we have to do to please Him.

Akin to JFK’s famous quote, we’d rather ask what God can do for us, rather than what we need to do in obedience.

In the words of President John F. Kennedy during his inaugural address on Jan. 20, 1961:

“My fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.”

We like to harp on the fact that God keeps us in the faith: “Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy” (Jude 1:24).

But we tend to downplay personal responsibility though it is clearly stated: “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life” (Jude 1:20-21).

Throughout the Bible, this theme is evident: There is God’s part and our part. Each has a role to play. Just as a coin has two sides.

In John chapter 8, Jesus forgave the woman caught in adultery. Jesus asked her, “Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

Who does not want to be forgiven? But forgiveness comes with a condition. We must repent and turn away from sin. We must not continue living a sinful lifestyle. In this case, the woman had to forsake her immoral lifestyle and return to her husband.

Though His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), we still have to make every effort to supplement our faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness,  and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love (2 Peter 1:5-7).

Though, like Paul, we believe that He who began a good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6), we still have to run the race. We need to forget what lies behind, strain forward to what lies ahead and press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14). We have to be personally accountable to God—to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ (Philippians 1:27).

Though God is at work within us, both to will and to work for his good pleasure, we still have work out your own salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13). 

Though we have been saved through faith, not through works, we must not forget we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:8-10).

At this juncture, I hope that the point about God’s part and our part has become clear.

Returning to the book of Jude, where we started off, though we are preserved for Jesus (Jude 1:1), we need to persevere in our faith so that we do not fall away like the Exodus generation who were saved and later destroyed (Jude 1:5).  http://bit.ly/1jxUIEK

We are preserved safe in God:

"I am writing to all who have been called by God the Father, who loves you and keeps you safe in the care of Jesus Christ" (Jude 1:1).

We need to persevere in the faith:

"Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe" (Jude 1:5).

.Jude did not mince his words when he uses various examples to illustrate the consequences of rebellion and sin, which will definitely incur God’s judgment:

-False teachers who pervert God’s grace and deny Christ

-Fallen angels

-Homosexuals of Sodom and Gomorrah

-Cain—sin of murder

-Balaam—greed for material gain

-Korah—rebellion against God’s appointed authority

Even if the sinful and rebellious manage to escape judgment while they are on earth, there will be a final judgment awaiting them (Revelation 21:8).

To recap:

In this short book of Jude, which has only one chapter and 25 verses, the privileges and responsibilities of a believer are spelled out clearly for us.

God keeps us in the faith but we too have to play our part.

The believer's responsibilities as laid out in Jude:

Build ourselves in the faith (Jude 1:20-21).

Contend for the faith (Jude 1:3).

Snatch from fire (judgment) those who have been deceived or have backslided (Jude 1:23). After all, we are our brother’s keeper, unlike Cain’s attitude.

God saves us but we need to persevere in the faith lest we are destroyed like the Exodus crowd—who were saved but later destroyed (Jude 1:5).

To drive home this point about God’s inevitable judgment, Jude provides many examples. He does not merely dwell on the privileges of the believer, which he does in the beginning and the end of the book (benediction).

In studying Jude, I can’t help but allude to the gross error of hypergrace and the Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS) premise.

The crucial flaw in hypergrace and the Once Saved, Always Saved (OSAS) premise is that it focuses on what God can do for believers and downplays human responsibility.

Furthermore, the theme of judgment is downplayed.

In its place, we have ‘feel good’ teaching which tickles itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3).

Tozer warns, "Heresy is not so much rejecting as selecting.” By examining the whole Bible, we do not dwell on half-truths or emphasize one truth at the expense of another equally fundamental truth.

That’s why we need to do in-depth study of the book of Jude which is so relevant in these end times when we have many false teachers who pervert the grace of God and lead believers along the path of destructive heresy.

False Teachers

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

(Jude 1:3-4)

 ** This post is mainly based on the book of Jude.

Source: Porridge For The Soul

‘Many in the Church Will Be Shocked to Find Themselves in Hell One Day’

4/24/2015 JOHN BURTON 

A crisis is coming to the church. In fact, it's the church that must initiate it.

Matthew 26:73-75 (ESV), "After a little while the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." And immediately the rooster crowed. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

He Invoked a Curse on Himself

From the Life Application Commentary: While Peter may have hoped to seem a natural part of the group by joining in the conversation, instead he revealed, by his speech, that he did not belong there. This was too much for Peter, so he decided to make the strongest denial he could think of by denying with an oath, "I don't know the man." Peter was swearing that he did not know Jesus and was invoking a curse on himself if his words were untrue. He was saying, in effect, "May God strike me dead if I am lying."

Peter was running for his life. In the church today the prevailing focus is on our experience and the affirmation and protection of our lives and lifestyles. People go to church to enhance their lives. When their lives, or even their lifestyles, are threatened, people will begin to run for their lives. They will run to safety.

This clear and extreme denial of Christ will invoke a curse.

Jesus was so indignant about this type of reaction that he dealt with Peter in fierce fashion before this event even unfolded:

Matthew 16:21-23 (ESV), " From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Peter denied the cross, and Jesus rebuked Satan who was working through Peter (who Jesus had just identified as the rock, the CHURCH!). He made the point clear: Peter was mindful of thing things of man and not the things of God. Jesus then said:

Matthew 16:24-25 (ESV), "Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."

A Crisis of the Cross

Apostles and prophets must step into their positions of authority and release a great crisis to the church. This is a necessary crisis as it will result in the true, abundant life of multiplied millions. The offensive, bloody cross must return to the church—and now.

When Jesus was hailed as King at the Triumphal Entry, the masses converged. The focus was self. They wanted Jesus to save them, make their lives better. They were crying out, "Hosanna!" which means, "save us now!"

So, Jesus complied. The only way to save the ones he loved was to face death on the cross. Yet, the rooster crowed and the crowds scattered and turned on Jesus. His closest friends ran for their lives. One cursed himself in his denial. Another betrayed Jesus and hung himself.

Yes, it's time not to snack on some bread and grape juice, but to eat his flesh and drink his blood.

When the cross is introduced in its full, bloody force again in the church, we will watch this drama unfold another time. People will flee from the church when focus changes from personal freedom to personal cost. Betrayal will skyrocket. Fear will grip those who haven't surrendered all.

Where will you be when the cock crows?

Generations Must Come to the Cross

Everybody ran for their lives but mom and son, Mary and John (along with Mary Magdalene) remained. The generations converged.

John 19:26-27 (ESV), "When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Woman, behold, your son!' Then he said to the disciple, 'Behold, your mother!' And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home."

Luke 1:17 (NIV), "And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous–to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

The elder generation must refuse to run. The younger generation must refuse to run. We must converge around the threatening, offensive cross of love. When we do, the harvest will come. The world is watching. The thief was watching and surrendered to the love that could only be revealed at the cross as the two generations deeply loved Jesus together:

Luke 23:43 (ESV), "And he said to him, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Any movement that doesn't take place at the cross is a false movement. This is one reason I'm so troubled by some events, certain unity movements in a city, pastors meetings, etc. If a pastor isn't fully ready to resign his mission, to lose his salary, to surrender his sheep, to shut his church down, I have little interest in meeting. The cross demands everything. When pastors of a city gather around the cross and don't focus on personal gain, revival will be at hand. Yes, many will be offended, but the Harvest will flood in!

False Love and False Grace

The false love and false grace doctrines must be exposed. These belief systems are causing Hell to continue to expand at an unprecedented pace.

These beliefs are centered around self. The focus is our benefits instead of cross of Christ and instead of the harvest.

I've heard it said that we as Christians no longer have to confess our sins. False grace.

Recently, I was challenged to focus on love and to redefine certain scriptural interpretations to make them more favorable to the homosexual community. False love.

Ignoring God's holiness and justice in our lives does not equal grace. Tolerance does not equal love.

True love and true grace are found at the cross of Christ. God's intolerance of sin resulted in the death of his Son. There is no way he has suddenly become tolerant of those sins today.

Mark 8:34 (NKJV), "When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, "Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me."

Many in the church will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day.

This is what God spoke to me after my life-transforming encounter with the forces of Hell 21 years ago.

The false grace/false love messages are resulting in entire church congregations unwittingly buying a ticket to Hell, all while they lift their hands and worship Jesus and read their Bibles and pay their tithes. They have an imaginary salvation.

Jesus told five out of seven churches of believers in Revelation that they were lost, on the way to destruction. A total of 5 out of 7 professing Christians were Hell bound! It's horrific yet easy to believe that this ratio may be accurate in our churches today!

Leaders will most certainly be held accountable for this silent slaughter of God's children.

It's time to speak plainly about the truths of scripture, the severity of the hour and the mandate of obedience. Heaven and Hell lie in the balance.

Ephesians 5:4-6 (ES,), " Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous ( that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience."

The passage goes on to say...

Ephesians 5:10-11 (ESV), "and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them."

We must discern, and then expose darkness. We must not become so focused on pleasure and enjoyment, especially as Christians. In fact, we can't be primarily focused on being entertained in the name of God. We must take up our crosses, discern what is pleasing to God (not to us) and expose darkness!

Check out this verse regarding focus on self:

Romans 2:8-9 (ESV)," but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek."

This is the risk the false grace/false love movement presents. This is the fruit.

Watch what happens when true grace is in the equation:

Acts 4:32-35 (ESV), "Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need."

So, we see those in the church had great grace! Does that mean God's judgment and holiness is no more? No way. Check out a couple of people who also had great grace on their lives:

Acts 5:1-11 (ESV), "But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, and with his wife's knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, "Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God." When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it. The young men rose and wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. And Peter said to her, "Tell me whether you sold the land for so much." And she said, "Yes, for so much." But Peter said to her, "How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out." Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Their disobedience in a season of great grace resulted in great judgment. And, then, fear hit the church.

We need this fear of the Lord again!

If we are to avoid a repeat of this, we must renounce the false grace/false love messages and sound the alarm of holiness and death to self!

When the cock crows, will you be running for your life as you curse yourself or will you be at the foot of the cross as the blood of Jesus pours out over you?

Will you be using God for personal gain and experience his judgment or will you embrace the fear of the Lord?

A crisis of the cross is coming to the church again.

John Burton has been developing and leading ministries for over 20 years and is a sought out teacher, prophetic messenger and revivalist. John has authored nine books, has appeared on Christian television and radio and directed one of the primary internships at the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City. Additionally, he planted two churches, has initiated two city prayer movements and is currently directing a prayer and revival focused ministry school in Detroit called theLab University. John's mandate is to call the church in the nations to repentance from casual Christianity and to burn in a manner worthy of the King of kings. He is equipping people to confront the enemies of God (established religion, Jezebel, etc.) that hinder an extreme, sold-out level of true worship.

For the original article, visit johnburton.net.

The Longsuffering of God Has a Limit by Michael Brown

"How do You live with it, Lord?"

That's a question I recently asked God in prayer as I thought about all of the suffering taking place around the world today, especially as human beings slaughter one another in the most horrific and barbaric ways, including reports of Muslim radicals beheading Christian children.

"Lord, how do You live with so much suffering and pain when you see it and know it all?"

As Basilea Schlink once said, "Anyone who loves as much as God does, cannot help suffering. And anyone who really loves God will sense that He is suffering."

For our finite human minds, this is a great paradox, since the Word tells us that in God's presence is fullness of joy (Ps. 16:11), and yet we know that His heart also grieves over humanity's broken condition. Did Paul experience this on some level when he said that he was "grieving yet always rejoicing" (2 Cor. 6:10)?

But there is not only divine grief over human suffering. There is also divine grief over human sin, as Genesis 6 tells us immediately before the flood: "And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart" (Gen. 6:6).

There was so much wickedness, so much violence, so much depravity, so much sin. What happened to this exquisite race of people created in His own image?

My precious wife, Nancy, who sometimes weeps in prayer for hours because of human suffering, suggested to me that God's pain over His sinning creation could be likened to the pain experienced by parents who waited for years to have a baby, and then, after what seemed like an endless wait, found out they were having a child.

The parents got the baby's room all ready and bought all kinds of little toys and clothes in readiness for their child's birth, and when that amazing day came, they showered their priceless newborn with love and affection—only to have that child grow up to be a depraved and ruthless serial killer.

Who can describe an agony like that? Yet God, in His longsuffering, has endured thousands of years of even greater agony because of human sin—look at what His creation has done and continues to do—yet somehow, He has withheld the full force of His judgment and wrath.

That's why the Word reminds us over and again that He is slow to anger and great in mercy (see, for example, Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8). As one man once cried out in a small prayer meeting I attended, "God I thank You that You are slow to anger and great in mercy, because if You were great in anger and slow in mercy, we would have all been destroyed many years ago."

And yet there is a limit to His longsuffering. One day the wrath of God will come.

Paul warned about it repeatedly—yes, the same Paul who wrote so much about God's grace also wrote about His wrath—and we would do well to follow his lead.

To a judgmental sinner in Romans 2, Paul wrote, "Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance." In other words, the reason He has not yet judged you for your sins is not because He is looking the other way or because He doesn't care. Rather, it is because He is being extraordinarily kind to you to give you the opportunity to repent.

But Paul didn't stop there, as many teachers do when they simply state, "The goodness of God leads you to repentance" (which, again, is only part of the point Paul was making). Instead, Paul continued, "But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God's righteous judgment is revealed" (Rom. 2:4-5).

This is a truly staggering thought. Nonbelievers are "storing up wrath" for themselves in the day of wrath. Can you imagine what this will look like?

With all the sins being committed every single day—from rape to torture to mass murder to every kind of defiling, unclean, idolatrous act—how much wrath is being stored up by humanity as a whole? How intense will that be? (Under no circumstances can this be applied to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD or to some other past event, as some preterists attempt to do; this speaks of a day of wrath that has not yet come.)

That's why Paul, after listing sins of the flesh that all of God's people must turn away from, could write: "Let no one deceive you with empty arguments, for God's wrath is coming on the disobedient because of these things. Therefore, do not become their partners" (Eph. 5:6-7; see also Col. 3:6).

He was saying, "Since you don't want to partake in the wrath that is coming on the disobedient, don't partake in their sin either."

According to Peter, on that day, "the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed" (2 Pet. 3:10).

And Peter was not exaggerating in the least. How "hot" it will be when God's anger, justice, and judgment are poured out on a sinning world?

And just like Paul, Peter explained that there was a practical application for our lives as well:

"Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God. The heavens will be on fire and be dissolved because of it, and the elements will melt with the heat. But based on His promise, we wait for the new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell" (2 Pet. 3:11-13).

Peter was simply reiterating what the Old Testament prophets spoke about over and again, a major theme of God's Word: There is a limit to His longsuffering, and one day, His wrath will be poured out like fire.

Shouldn't this be part of our preaching today?

Shouldn't this be part of our warning to a sinning world?

And doesn't this highlight the power of the cross and the Blood of Jesus, who died so that we would not have to suffer that wrath in this world or the next?

Paul warned sinners about future judgment (see Acts 17:31; 24:24-25) and reminded God's people that it was coming (Rom. 2:6-10).

Shouldn't we do the same?

Michael Brown is author of Can You Be Gay and Christian? Responding With Love and Truth to Questions About Homosexuality and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

Test All Things by MARK HENDRICKSON

There is no shortage of wranglings over theological private interpretations of Scripture, so how do we evaluate whether something is valid or not.  Should we follow the loudest voice, stick to tradition, get offended at everyone, take the easiest route, bail out, give in to intimidation, take a vote, toss a coin…?  Sadly, most people cave in to one of these easy-out methods.  But test it we must, because “each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.” (Rms 14:12)… and none of us wants to blindly run head long over a cliff.  Paul charged us to test all things and only hold what is good.            

“Test all things; hold fast what is good.” – I Thess 5:21

So beyond the theological points, here are some of my personal thought processes I use to find my footing in this abounding grace movement.

If I could only find a few people who were getting this ‘download’ about abounding grace (Rms 5:20), I would tend to feel suspicious of the veracity of these revelations.  And even if I was confident of their veracity, yet didn’t know that others were experiencing the same thing, I might still feel tenuous about buying in.  Like Elijah, who thought that he was the only one who still served God (I Kngs 18:22;19:10) I could feel prone to either pride… or discouragement and insecurity.

Thankfully, we’re not like Elijah.  We don’t believe that we’re the only one(s) who are walking in this revelation.  Figuratively speaking, there are ‘7000’ (I Kngs 19:18) who are leaning hard into abounding grace.  Across the globe many different and unrelated sectors of the body of Christ are getting rocked and liberated in this wholesale revelation of abounding grace.  This gives much confidence and impetus… and brings up a good point.

Consider the prayer movement which grew so rapidly in the last 1 1/2  decades… the fact that it emerged in so many unrelated sectors of the body of Christ gave credibility to it being Holy Spirit’s initiation and co-ordination of the movement.  Likewise this grace movement is springing up in many unrelated streams and groups… which by itself tends to give credibility that this is Holy Spirit’s abounding grace message.

Further, if the fruit of any movement leans toward increased carnality and lawlessness, then that poor fruit gives evidence of its undesirable source (Lk 6:44).  Conversely, if the grace community is falling more in love with this wonderful Man Jesus, then the fruit speaks of Holy Spirit’s handiwork.

Remember when Jesus was assailed by the religious crowd and His message was assigned to the devil, He said, “…A house divided cannot stand.  If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished!” (Mk 3:25-26).  In other words, the devil wouldn’t undermine his own ‘house’ by making more deeply devoted disciples of Jesus… not 2000 years ago… and not today.

But we must establish some criteria as we seek to evaluate the fruit and thus, determine the root or origin.  There have always been rogues and renegades within any movement who make obtrusive and cross-current waves… even destructive waves.  But just because an individual runs amuck doesn’t necessarily indict a whole movement… e.g., mainline Christianity has way too many egg-on-the-face outbreaks of maverick individuals and spurious groups.  That didn’t negate the veracity of Christianity… it just gave insight into those who shipwrecked.  In like manner, if individuals distort and pervert abounding grace, it doesn’t necessarily black-list abounding grace… it just gives us insight into those who shipwreck.  Rather, we must look for the fruit of the movement as a whole.

So the way a movement emerges… and a movement’s fruit… both help to determine its authenticity.

We must watch to see how and where the Godly fruit of this abounding grace wave breaks out.  That will be the hot spot you’ll want to drink from.  That’s where God is giving His attestation from Heaven… where the abounding grace anointing is most strong… and where you get ‘infected’ most impactingly.  Ripe and hungry believers will instinctively be drawn there.  You won’t be able to keep them away.  It’s always been that way.  Even the Magi did it… they went to where the greatest outbreak was (the Star) in order to see for themselves.

And you know… true wise men are still looking and listening for the evidence… and then they go to find Him where ever He can be found.

– MLH

Is True Grace Hyper? by MARK HENDRICKSON

True grace (I Pet 5:12) is so much better than we can comprehend.  In fact, New Testament grace is described as amazing grace, abundant grace, abounding grace, the gift of grace, exceeding grace, exceeding riches of grace, all grace, multiplied grace, grace according the measure of the gift of Christ and the manifold grace of God.  It just doesn’t seem like the Bible has any limits whatsoever on grace.  But could grace legitimately be called hyper?

Some have brandished the term ‘hyper-grace’ around in negative connotation, but exactly what they mean by this misleading label is hard to come by… and who they’re talking about is even harder.  It’s usually just “those people”.  Unfortunately, in some camps, this mislabeling has cast a negative stigma on the whole topic of grace.  The result is that a wet-blanket of confusion and intimidation has fallen over many conversations that mention the word grace.  This is unbelievably sad… even a travesty, because grace is the central and foundational underpinning of our salvation.

“For by grace are you saved through faith….” – Eph 2:8

There is no salvation without grace!  Nothing in all of Christianity makes any sense without the grace of God.

Actually, we shouldn’t be surprised when accusing mortars sail over the bow of true grace preachers.  Martin Lloyd Jones, a very highly respected writer/elder statesman and main-line evangelical Bible scholar and preacher says this;

“If you are properly preaching the true gospel of salvation by grace alone, you will likely be misunderstood… don’t underestimate how radical God’s grace is.” – Martin Lloyd Jones

The fact is that the Bible itself describes grace as being ‘hyper’.  Consider this:

“But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more.” – Romans 5:20

In the Greek, it reads like this; where sin abounded – pleonazo – grace did much more abound – huper-perisseuo.  The Greek prefix huper is used like our English words ‘super’ or ‘hyper’ which serve to heighten the impact of grace.  Thus, hyper abounding grace!!!

Now with that in mind, how does the aforementioned negative labeling of grace square with Scripture’s actual description of grace?  Inappropriately, to put it mildly.  It seems that it may be necessary to re-label the criticisms of what should really be called “perverted” (Jude :4) grace.

Sadly, in their discovery and exploration of grace, some Christians have perverted the grace of God into a license for sinning.

They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord. (Jude :4 NIV)

But if cannon volleys are not defined when fired in a generalized way at some erroneous aspect of perverted grace, they create the distinct likelihood of cutting their own salvation off at the knees.  If the authors of these volleys are going to be respectful of true grace, which is so vital to salvation and Christianity in general, they should take great pains to affirm the solid preeminence of grace… and that “hyper abundant grace” is Biblical… and they should include sincere affirmations to all those who believe in and preach Biblical grace.

FYI – Despite the controversy over grace, did you know that it’s impossible to truly reign in life without an abundance of grace?

“For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” - Rms 5:17

God’s true grace goes way beyond any sin we could ever commit.  For sure, it addresses the sin issue, but it addresses a whole lot more… it’s vital for reigning in life.  You see if we don’t learn to live in hyper grace and the gift of righteousness, there will be no reigning.

Grace is not a license to sin!  In fact, true grace compels a person into deeper devotion to Jesus.  Apostle Paul was the most prolific writer on grace and the contrast of his life (pre and post conversion) demonstrates the greatest example of this: from serial murderer… to the poster-child of a godly life.  Those who say grace is a license to sin do not understand true Grace… or they are living under some other gospel.  According to Jude this is “perverted” or distorted grace.  “Perverted” grace and ‘hyper-grace’ are not to be misunderstood… they are diametrically opposed to each other.  True grace trains our hearts into godliness.

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. (Titus 2:11–12 NIV)

The two main enemies of the gospel of grace are; legalism (keep the Law) and libertinism (license to sin).  They have always been present since the Covenant of Grace began.  The book of Galatians was written to legalists—thus the strong emphasis on liberty, freedom, and grace.  James was written to libertines, those who presumed on the grace of God and turned it into a license to sin.  Thus the book of James is strong on obedience, faith that expresses itself in works, repentance (for the believer), and false faith (or presumption).  Legalism and libertinism are the two ditches on either side of true grace… and are always at war with grace.

So, according to Martin Lloyd Jones, if we’re preaching true grace and getting mislabeled and misunderstood… not to worry… that’s to be expected.  There’s a good likelihood that we’re onto something good.  Here’s a simple litmus test: if we think we’re preaching grace and immorality breaks out everywhere, then we’re not preaching grace… we’re preaching something else.  But if we and our listeners are discovering liberty and falling more in love with the Man who is grace (Jn 1:17), then it’s likely that we’re preaching true grace.

Take home points:              

~ We must better define the dialog of grace… and remedy the negative stigmatizing of true grace.
~ Those who use grace as a license to sin are perverting grace
~ True grace teaches us to not sin… and how to live godly lives.
~ Grace is central and foundational to salvation.  It’s so amazing… it’s even, HYPER.
~ If you’re preaching true grace and you’re labeled ‘hyper’… wear the label confidently.

– MLH

THE DEGRADATION OF THE CHURCH by Witness Lee

[There is a difference between the failures in the churches and the degradation of the church. The failures are not serious in a basic way. Whereas the failures in the churches are not that basic, the degradation of the church is more than basic, for it cuts the root of the life, living, and growth of the church. Unlike failure, degradation not only brings in wrongdoings but cuts the root of the church “tree.’’]

A. As Described in the New Testament

Gnostic Philosophy—[The first aspect of the degradation of the church was the church’s being taken over by the Gnostic philosophy and the elements of the world—the rudimentary teachings of both Jews and Gentiles, consisting of ritualistic observances in such things as meats, drinks, washings, and asceticism (Col. 2:8, 16, 20-22; Titus 1:14-15). Gnosticism is a composition of Greek and Oriental philosophy and Jewish religion. When the church spread to the Gentile world, the church was contaminated by Gnosticism. This contamination became a root problem in the church; it nearly cut off the entire root of the church life. Therefore, Gnosticism was a serious threat to the existence of the church life.]

Different Teaching—[Another aspect of the degradation of the church was the teaching of things different from the economy of God taught by the apostle, resulting in turning away from the apostle’s teaching. Acts 2:42 tells us that all the new believers continued steadfastly in the teaching of the apostles. What the apostles taught was according to God’s New Testament economy. But at a certain time some teachers began to teach certain biblical things, yet those things were different from the economy of God, that is, different from the teaching of the apostles.] [To teach differently was to teach myths, unending genealogies, and the law (1 Tim. 1:7-8), all of which were vain talking (v. 6), differing from the apostles’ teaching centered upon Christ and the church.] [Eventually this resulted in a turning away from Paul’s teaching (2 Tim. 1:15).]

Base Gain—[In 1 Timothy 6:5b Paul speaks of those who suppose “godliness to be a means of gain.’’ They make godliness a way of gain—material profit, a gain-making trade. The desire for material gain is another reason certain ones teach differently from the economy of God taught by the apostles. Thus, because of pride and the desire for profit, for riches, some are teaching differently. Pride is related to wanting a name and a good reputation, and gain is related to money and material profit.]

Turning Away from the Apostle—[Paul’s Epistles are the completion of the divine revelation concerning God’s eternal purpose and economy (Col. 1:25). His ministry completes the revelation concerning the all-inclusive Christ and His universal Body, the church as His fullness to express Him. Nevertheless, in the degradation of the church, many turned away from Paul’s ministry. “This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me’’ (2 Tim. 1:15).] [Those who turned away from Paul’s ministry deviated from God’s complete revelation, the center of which is Christ as the mystery in the saints (Col. 1:27).]

Heresies—[Second Timothy 2:16-18 says, “Avoid profane, vain babblings, for they will advance to more ungodliness, and their word will spread as gangrene, of whom are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who concerning the truth have misaimed, saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and overthrow the faith of some.’’ Here Paul refers to those who bring in heresies as gangrene.]

Factious—[Titus 3:10 and 11 say, “A factious man after a first and second admonition refuse, knowing that such a one has been perverted and sins, being self-condemned.’’ A factious man is a heretical, sectarian man who causes divisions by forming parties in the church according to his own opinions. The Gnostic Judaism referred to in the preceding verse must be related to this. The divisiveness is based on differing teachings. This is the reason that verse 10 comes after verse 9. Certain believers may have insisted on the teaching of the law and in so doing became divisive.]

Backsliding to Judaism—[In Hebrews 10:25-29 Paul warns the Hebrew believers not to forsake the church to sin willfully, that is, to go back to Judaism to offer the sacrifice for sin which has been terminated.]

Denying the person of Christ—[First John 2:22 says, “Who is the liar if not he who is denying that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, who is denying the Father and the Son.’’] First John 4:2 says, “In this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit which confesses Jesus Christ having come in the flesh is out of God.’’ These verses reveal to us that some did not believe that Jesus Christ is God Himself come in the flesh (John 1:1, 14; 10:30; 20:28; Acts 20:28; 1 Tim. 3:16; Heb. 1:8).

Not Abiding in the Teaching of Christ—[Second John 9 says, “Everyone who goes beyond and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; he who abides in the teaching, this one has both the Father and the Son.’’ Literally, the Greek word translated “goes beyond’’ means to lead forward (in a negative sense), that is, to go further than what is right, to advance beyond the limit of orthodox teaching concerning Christ. This is contrasted with abiding in the teaching of Christ. The Cerinthian Gnostics, who boasted of their supposedly advanced thinking concerning the teaching of Christ, had such a practice. They went beyond the teaching of the divine conception of Christ, thus denying the deity of Christ. Consequently they could not have God in salvation and in life.]

Forsaking the Faith—[In the degradation of the church some forsook the faith. This was the reason Jude wrote, “Beloved, using all diligence to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you, entreating you to contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints’’ (Jude 3). The faith in this verse is not subjective; it is objective. It does not refer to our believing, but refers to our belief, to what we believe. The faith denotes the contents of the New Testament as our faith (Acts 6:7; 1 Tim. 1:19; 3:9; 4:1; 5:8; 6:10, 21; 2 Tim. 2:18; 3:8; 4:7; Titus 1:13), in which we believe for our common salvation. This faith, not any doctrine, has been delivered once for all to the saints. For this faith we should contend (1 Tim. 6:12).] There were more points of degradation in Revelation. We will consider those in the next lesson.

(Lesson Book, Level 5: The Church—The Vision and Building Up of the Church, Chapter 10, by Witness Lee)

The Curse Of Motivational Speaking by Conrad Mbewe

Last Sunday, a young man came to see me after our church service. He is the kind of guy who shows up at church once in a while and then disappears for a season. My guess is that he goes around churches sampling sermons and looking for answers. On this visit, he asked that I help him to overcome a failure in his life, and it was a failure to progress. He said that his greatest problem is that he does not believe in himself. Could I help him believe in himself so that he could become successful?

I asked him whether he was a Christian. His answer was, “Do I really need to be a Christian in order to be successful? Are you telling me that all those successful people out there are Christians? Aren’t there general principles that I can apply to my life—whether I am a Christian or not—that can catapult me to success?” I challenged him to answer that question himself. After all, I was sure he had done enough rounds among motivational speakers to have the answer.

“That is the problem,” he said, “I have been told that such principles exist and I have tried them. They seem to work for a while and then I am back to my old self again. I want you to help me find that formula that will help me go forward and never slide back to the place where I do not believe in myself.” To cut the long story short, I finally persuaded him of the need for reconciliation with God before anyone can break free from the frustrating rut that God locks unreconciled sinners in.

I gave him a booklet to read, entitled, What is a Biblical Christian? When we met the following day, he was honest enough to tell me that he was disappointed with what he read because it was not telling him what he wanted to hear. “What I want to know is how I can be successful. This booklet did not say anything about that.” I repeated what I told him earlier. What he needed was not belief in himself but belief in a Saviour sent from heaven. He needed forgiveness as a foundation for his life.

Yesterday, a church member told me that he met the young man in the local market. He had two booklets in his hands. The first was the one I had given him and the second one was by Joel Osteen. He told our member, “Pastor Mbewe gave me this book but I don’t like it because it makes me feel guilty. I prefer this one by Joel Osteen because it lifts me up. It motivates me.” I am very concerned about this and so I decided to put some thoughts together about the curse of motivational speaking.

Sadly, motivational speaking has become the staple diet of many evangelical pulpits. The message being heard is, “God has put the potential in you and all you need to do is believe in yourself to unlock that potential. Have a grand vision and live out that vision. You must be a man or woman of destiny and the sky will be the limit for you. Don’t let your past failures get in your way of success. Look beyond them, as Jesus looked beyond the cross and thus overcame it. You are the head and not the tail. ”

In the light of the plethora of motivational speaking, it begs the question, “Is this how Old Testament and New Testament preachers preached?” If I summarise the preaching of Noah, Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Jonah, Paul, Peter, etc., in the Bible, is this the kind of message that I will find there? I do not think so. Granted, motivational speakers borrow words from these men, but borrowing someone’s words is not the same thing as saying what he is saying. “A text without a context is a pretext.”

My chief quarrel with motivational speaking is that it reduces God to a means rather than an end. Men and women are not made to see that the nature of SIN lies in the letter “I” in the middle of the word. Instead, motivational speaking feeds that same ego and points to God as the one who can spoil it to the point of intoxication. That is a lie! It is God alone who must be at the centre of our lives. Christianity demands a dying to self, a taking up of one’s cross, and a following after a suffering Saviour.

Whenever I listen to motivational speaking, I seem to hear the message, “Peace, peace,” where there is no peace. It sounds to me like a doctor assuring a patient who has terminal cancer in its final stages that he should not worry because all will be okay if he only believes in himself. The guy is dying, man, for crying out loud! It is the height of insincerity if a preacher knows that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and instead makes those heading for the slaughterhouse feel nice.

Motivational speaking makes people feel good, whereas the gospel first makes people feel bad—until they find their all in Christ. True preaching must make people face the fact that they are living in rebellion against God and that they need to repent or they will perish. It is only as people recognise this and cry out, “What shall we do to be saved?” (Acts 2:37, 16:30) that true preaching gives them the good news, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Romans 10:13).

Motivational speaking is an attempt at trying to kill a charging lion with a pea-gun, using freshly cooked peas, spiced with the most aromatic seasonings. The aroma may be tantalizing to the taste buds, but it is totally useless in bringing down that ferocious beast. Men and women outside Christ are DEAD in trespasses and sins. Exciting their senses with nice-sounding platitudes will not give them life. They need the law to kill their fallen egos and the gospel of Jesus Christ to give them life.

I know that motivational speaking is filling up our church buildings until they look like football stadiums. In this world of misery and gloom, we can all do with some encouragement. But is that all that we were called to do as preachers? What good is it if men feel inspired and motivated, and then go back home to live a life of sin and selfishness? Sadly this is the norm in so many evangelical churches. The churches are filled to capacity with people determined to drink sin like water the whole week.

Motivational speaking is not biblical preaching. It is a blight on the landscape of true evangelicalism. It is filling the churches with dead people who are being told to live as if they are alive. We need to return to the good old gospel that truly gives life to the dead and sets men and women free. Like Paul of old, every truly evangelical pulpit must sound out the clear message of “repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Let us get rid of this curse of motivational speaking!

http://www.conradmbewe.com/

Sin and the Work of Christ by John Macarthur

What did Jesus set out to accomplish? Did His death and resurrection have any practical effect for this life, or was it all focused on eternity? Consider this: the holy Son of God set aside His glory, humbled Himself by taking the form of a man, lived a righteous life, and willingly surrendered Himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins of others. Was all intended merely to forgive sin without removing it?

The apostle John wrote his first epistle to help his readers test the authenticity of their faith. These tests come down to examining whether Christ’s work has had its necessary effect on their lives. And in 1 John 3:5-8, he makes it clear that Christ’s work on our behalf ought to have a significant sanctifying impact in the lives of His people.

You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

Christ’s Work on Our Behalf

Jesus came to earth “in order to take away sins” (1 John 3:5). He came not only to pay the penalty for sin and provide forgiveness, but also to take sins away altogether. As a result of Christ’s substitutionary atonement, believers have been set apart from sin unto holiness. The lawlessness that once characterized their lives has been removed.

Therefore, it is inconsistent with His redeeming work on the cross for anyone who shares in the very life of Christ to continue in sin. In other words, because Christ died to sanctify the believer (2 Corinthians 5:21), to live sinfully is contrary to His work of breaking the dominion of sin in the believer’s life (cf. Romans 6:1-15).

The truth that Christ came to destroy sin is not merely a future hope; it is a present reality. John is not saying—as some have tried to infer—that believers will eventually be delivered from sin when they die, and in the meantime can be as sinful as they were before their conversion. On the contrary, while sanctification may be slow and gradual, Christ’s transforming work in salvation is immediate (Philippians 1:6).

At salvation believers experience a real cleansing of and separation from their sins. On a practical level, that separation continues as they become more and more conformed to the image of Christ. Titus 2:11-14 summarizes well the present and future aspects of sanctification.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.

So the one-time work of Christ on the cross initiates His ongoing work in our lives. But what fuels that ongoing work? What transformation takes place that enables us to overcome sin in this life?

Our New Nature in Christ

John concludes verse 5 with the phrase “in Him there is no sin.” Jesus Christ is the sinless One (2 Corinthians 5:21). This truth has immense practical ramifications. “If you know that He is righteous,” John wrote earlier in the epistle, “you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1 John 2:29). When God’s saving power is applied to a new believer, they are born again—they receive a new nature. And like a newborn baby, they embark on a life of learning to live in God’s kingdom.

Then in verse 6 the apostle describes the character of the person saved through the work of Jesus Christ. “No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.” Abiding in Christ can be likened to dwelling in His kingdom, following His laws, and celebrating His victories. In short, the new nature draws one toward Christ and away from sin.

Years earlier Paul taught the same truth to the Roman believers.

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin. (Romans 6:4-7)

That description outlines key provisions of the New Covenant (Ezekiel 36:25-31), which Paul further elaborates:

But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:17-18)

The emphasis of the apostle’s statements is on sanctification. True Christians have the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:12-17), receive a new heart (Acts 16:14), complete forgiveness (Colossians 1:14), and a transformed life (Colossians 3:5-10)—all evidenced in their new ability to obey the law of God.

Sanctification and Assurance

John taught that “no one who sins” (1 John 3:6) can also abide in Christ. It is not that people who become Christians will never sin again (1 John 1:8), but that they will not live as they once did, because “no one who sins” consistently or habitually in the pattern of the unregenerate “has seen Him or knows Him” (3:6).

John further cautioned his readers to make sure no one deceived them concerning a correct understanding of sanctification. Despite any deceptive teaching to the contrary, only the one “who practices righteousness” can have any assurance that he “is righteous, just as [Jesus] is righteous” (1 John 3:7).

John makes the obvious conclusion that because “the Son of God appeared . . . to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8), it is impossible and unthinkable that true believers would continue in devil-like behavior. Today Satan is still opposing the plans and people of God (1 Peter 5:8), but believers are no longer his children or under his rule. We who know and love Christ have been freed from the captivity of sin, and the apostle John—through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—says we must live accordingly.

So far we’ve seen that a lifestyle of sin is incompatible with saving faith because sin is lawlessness, and true believers have had that defiant, lawless heart replace with a heart of repentance. Today we’ve seen how Christ’s work not only forgives sin, but initiates the life-long process of sanctification. John has one final argument for why sin is incompatible with saving faith, and it focuses on the ongoing ministry of the Holy Spirit. We’ll wrap up this series with that last point next time.

 (Adapted from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1-3 John.)

Lawless Christians? by John Macarthur

Everyone sins, and everyone knows it. While it is true that fallen human nature minimizes or redefines sin, everyone knows they don’t meet the standard of perfection. Whether they call them “sins” or “mistakes,” everyone will admit to having lied, lusted, or lashed out in anger at some point in their lives—if not regularly.

That being the case, what is the difference between the sins of believers and unbelievers? When a believer sins, is it the same as when an unbeliever sins?

The Nature of Sin

The two primary biblical definitions of sin are “missing the mark” (hamartia) and “without righteousness” (adikia). At its core, sin is a transgression of God’s law; it is to think and behave as if there were no law. The apostle John emphasizes that lawless characteristic when he writes, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4).

John wrote his epistle to help believers test the authenticity of their faith (1 John 5:13). Unlike many today, John does not test saving faith on the basis of a signed card, a walk down the aisle, or even a prayer made in a moment of contrition. In the passage we’re considering in this series, he’s focused on the incompatibility of sin with saving faith, and he’s making three arguments for the holiness of believers.

John’s first argument is that sin is incompatible with the law of God. As we saw in 1 John 3:4, he explicitly equates sin with an attitude of lawlessness and rebellion against God (cf. Romans 8:7; Colossians 1:21).

Diagnosing Unbelievers’ Sin

John’s description of sin allows for no exceptions or double standards. Everyone who habitually practices sin is living in an ongoing condition of lawlessness. That’s not to say that they’re sinning to the full extent of their depravity. The lawlessness John refers to is more of an attitude than an action. It’s not merely transgressing God’s law—it’s living with an indifference to the law, as if there was no law-Giver at all.

We must not underestimate the severity of the unrepentant sin that flows from unbelief. We can’t define sin in bits and pieces as individual acts alone. Of course each individual sin is a serious offense to God, but we also need to be able to recognize and biblically diagnose the profound lawlessness of the unredeemed heart.

Diagnosing Believers’ Sin

If you’re a Christian, you no longer have that dominant attitude of lawlessness. The truly penitent heart resolves to obey God’s law (Psalm 19:7-11), deny fleshly lusts (Romans 13:14), resist the world’s allurements (Titus 2:12), and willingly submits to the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ in all things. Those whom God has saved and transformed have traded slavery to sin for slavery to God, as Paul wrote:

Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness? But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were committed, and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)

That’s not to say believers never sin—no honest Christian would make that claim. But when we do give in to temptation, we experience godly sorrow, not an attitude that is cavalier and rebellious. The believer’s sin is not the product of a heart bent in defiant lawlessness.

Instead we’re heartbroken over transgressing God’s law. It’s the attitude David displays in Psalm 32 and 51, where he pleads for God’s mercy in the aftermath of grievous sin. We share the frustration with lingering sin that Paul expresses in Romans:

For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practising what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate. . . . For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin which dwells in me. (Romans 7:15, 18-20)

That penitent heartbreak comes from our love of God and His law. At salvation, each believer bows his knee to the lordship of Christ. It’s a commitment to obey Him, follow Him, and fulfil His law. The believer’s life is marked by wilful, loving submission to God’s law in the pursuit of holiness. We understand that the law isn't a system of works righteousness, or a legalistic set of outdated rules. It’s an expression of God’s holy character, and we join the refrain of Psalm 119, confessing “O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day” (Psalm 119:97).

Therefore, how could authentic believers live in open, unrepentant lawlessness? John says they can’t.

But the lawless nature of sin is only the first of three reasons John gives for his conclusion. Next time we’ll look at how sin is also incompatible with the work of Christ.

(Adapted from The MacArthur New Testament Commentary: 1-3 John.)

Time to Drop the Hyper-Grace Rhetoric by Dr Michael Brown

A hyper-grace pastor recently accused me of believing that “Jesus is not enough.”

How should we respond to accusations like this? And are these catchy little phrases, which attempt to make others look like subpar Christians, really helpful? Do they even tell us anything at all?

This particular pastor was critical of my book Hyper-Grace: Exposing the Dangers of the Modern Grace Message (or, at least, he was critical of how another author presented my book, often in extremely misleading ways). He stated, “In Jesus you’re forgiven, sanctified, made holy and made eternally righteousness, yet, Dr. Brown says Jesus isn’t enough. Now he wouldn’t come right out and say such a thing but ... Dr. Brown still depends on human effort to complete the work Jesus began.”

Really? I say (or believe) that Jesus isn’t enough? I depend on human effort to complete the work Jesus began?

This is news to me, after leaning on Him as my only source of righteousness and life these last 42 years.

What point, then, is this pastor trying to make? Is he saying that I don’t mean it when I sing the words, “Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow; no other fount I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus”?

Is he claiming that when I joyfully shout out the lyrics to “In Christ Alone” that I’m just going through the motions? Does he honestly believe that I’m saying that "Jesus is not enough" when I sing with tears of joy those glorious words: “'Til on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on Him was laid, here in the death of Christ I live”?

And isn’t it ironic that hyper-grace teachers who claim that I (and others like me) say “Jesus is not enough” believe that the words of Jesus, such as those found in the Sermon on the Mount, do not apply to them today? How, then, can they say that “Jesus is enough” and then ignore most of His words? (As documented in depth in my Hyper-Grace book, these teachers commonly claim that most, or even all, of what Jesus taught before the cross was not intended for believers today.)

So, what exactly does this pastor mean when he claims, “Dr. Brown says that Jesus isn’t enough”?

Is he implying that those of us who reject hyper-grace believe that we have any source of forgiveness outside of Jesus? That we plan to stand before God one day and claim justification by our works? That we have any boast outside of our Savior?

The fact is that Jesus did everything that needed to be done to secure our eternal salvation (as He said on the cross, “It is finished”), and now He calls on us, by His Spirit, to respond to His gracious offer, to follow Him, to grow in Him and to work with Him to fulfill the Great Commission. Through His blood, He makes us holy, and then He calls us to walk that holiness out in this world. The Word is quite clear about this.

But based on the hyper-grace rhetoric, are we saying that “Jesus is not enough” when we call on sinners to put their faith in Him? Isn’t this adding something on our part?

And why should we be baptized? Isn’t this “depend[ing] on human effort to complete the work Jesus began”? And why witness and pray if “Jesus is enough”? And why, for that matter, do we need pastors and teachers if “Jesus is enough”?

Do you see how meaningless these phrases can be when used as rhetorical weapons?

When Peter wrote, “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct” (1 Pet 1:14-15, ESV), was he saying that Jesus wasn’t enough?

Peter also wrote, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (1 Pet. 2:11). Was he telling his readers to “depend on human effort to complete the work Jesus began”?

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God” (2 Cor. 7:1), was he saying that Jesus wasn’t enough?

Paul also exhorted the Colossians to “put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col 3:5). Was he telling them to “depend on human effort to complete the work Jesus began”?

One hyper-grace pastor wrote, “We are driven to ‘do, do, do’, forgetting that Christianity is actually ‘done, done, done’.”

Another pastor rightly responded, “The Bible tells us to ‘do, do, do’ because though Christ’s redemptive work on the cross IS ‘done, done, done’ Christians still have a lot left to do (see the Sermon on the Mount, the Great Commission, the Book of ACTS, the book of Titus (whose theme is GOOD WORKS) and the Book of James (whose theme is being DOERS of the Word)!”

Exactly!

Why can’t our friends who claim to have been wonderfully touched and enlightened and helped by the hyper-grace message simply revel in their newfound liberty without bashing and insulting those who differ with them? Why must they demonstrate how “free” they are by insulting the walks of others? How is that a fruit of grace? (For my part, I am not bashing anyone when I use the termhyper-grace, since many of those who embrace that message say, “Yes, grace is hyper!” I use the term to be descriptive of their message.)

One hyper-grace author criticized me for listing a number of Scriptures that required an active response on our part, claiming that I was calling for self-effort, as if responding in obedience to the Word is a bad thing. How does rhetoric like this advance the cause of the gospel?

And so, once again, I appeal to my hyper-grace friends: Let’s openly and prayerfully discuss our differences, seeking God earnestly and giving ourselves to the gospel of grace, without resorting to cheap and unhelpful rhetoric.

Wouldn’t this please the Lord?

Michael Brown is author of Hyper-Grace: Exposing the Dangers of the Modern Grace Message and host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or at @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

SOME GENUINE QUESTIONS FOR MY HYPER-GRACE FRIENDS

SOME GENUINE QUESTIONS FOR MY HYPER-GRACE FRIENDS
In his new book on hyper-grace, Dr. Paul Ellis states that in writing my book differing with hyper-grace, I have given opportunity to him and his colleagues to clarify exactly what they believe, which is very helpful to all of us.

At the same time, he feels (as do others) that those of us who believe that hyper-grace goes beyond biblical grace often do not understand the hyper-grace gospel. Conversely, in reading his critique of my book, I felt that he often misunderstood (or grossly mischaracterized) what I and many others believe, referring to our beliefs (quite inappropriately) as “mixed grace.”

How, then, do we move beyond these misunderstandings? How do we isolate our very real differences, some of which are significant, while finding places of major agreement as well?

One reason I “named names” in my book was to be sure that I was quoting the authors accurately, interacting with what they did teach and not holding them responsible for things they didn’t teach. And as an apologist and debater, I always do my best to present the positions of others fairly.

I also engaged in extensive interaction with many proponents of the hyper-grace message before writing my book, because of which I only emphasized the points that these proponents emphasized too, trying to major on the majors.

In light of all this, it was definitely surprising for me to hear other hyper-grace teachers say, “But that’s not what we teach!”

Could it be that the hyper-grace movement is not that monolithic? Or perhaps it’ss a matter of semantics, and when I say one thing, they understand it differently (and vice versa)?

For example, we can easily demonstrate from the Greek New Testament that the Holy Spirit “convicts” us of as our sins as believers (the Greek word meaning “reprove” and “rebuke”), but when some people hear the word “convict” they take it to mean “condemn,” which the Holy Spirit never does to us, God’s children.

So, we might agree on the substance of an issue but miss each other in the wording, which happens commonly in the midst of dialogue and debate.

In the interest, then, of bringing further clarity to where we agree and we disagree, and with no desire to be contentious, I’m asking some honest questions, eager to hear the replies of those who say, “Yes, grace is hyper!” (Really, I am being as sincere as I can be. These questions are being asked for the reasons stated and not to start a fight.)

1) Does God require anything from you as his child? Is there anything he says that you must do as his child other than receive his grace? If so, are their spiritual benefits that come through obeying these requirements and spiritual losses that come from ignoring them?

2) The New Testament writers often exhort us to live in ways that please the Lord. Does that mean that it is possible for us to displease him? We agree that he relates to us as his beloved children, but is he always pleased with us? And since Paul urges us not to grieve the Spirit, does that mean that we can, in fact, grieve him?

3) Is there anything you can do to disappoint the Lord? If the Lord always sees you as perfect in his sight, as is commonly taught in the hyper-grace gospel, is there any way for you to disappoint him? I’ve heard it said that we can only grieve or disappoint him by not trusting his grace, but according to your message, hasn’t that sin been forgiven as well?

4) If God has pronounced your future sins forgiven in the same way he has pronounced your past sins forgiven, why do Paul and other New Testament writers address these very sins in their letters, and why does Jesus address them in Revelation 2-3? We know that God doesn’t bring our past sins up to us, since he has forgiven and “forgotten” them. Why then does he bring our present sins up to us in the New Testament, even warning us about the dangers of walking in those sins, if they have also been forgiven and forgotten in advance?

5) Is it possible for you to displease the Lord? Is God as pleased with you if you leave your spouse and commit adultery as he is if you spend time in personal communion with him? While his love for you is constant, is his fellowship with you exactly the same when you are obedient as when you are disobedient?

6) A leading hyper-grace teacher claims that the doctrine of progressive sanctification is a “spiritually murderous lie.” Does that mean that grace preachers like Charles Spurgeon, who believed in progressive sanctification, taught this alleged lie? And if “progressive sanctification” simply means to walk out our holiness with the help of the Spirit, what is so dangerous about this teaching? Put another way, why do you reject the concept that the one who made us holy now calls us to live holy lives in thought, word, and deed, thereby “completing our sanctification in the fear of God” (2 Cor 7:1)?

7) We agree that the Holy Spirit never condemns us for our sins as believers, but does he ever make us uncomfortable when we sin? To me, this is a very loving act of the Father, not wanting us to get comfortable doing things that could destroy our lives and the lives of others. Isn’t that something to be embraced? And doesn’t that drive us to the cross rather than away from it?

8) We agree that we do not need to confess every sin we commit each day in order to “stay saved,” but is any type of confession and request for forgiveness appropriate? For example, is it appropriate for believers to say, “Father, I’m sorry for sinning and I ask you to wash me clean”? Is it OK for us to get our feet washed (using the language of John 13) when we feel the need to? Are we denying God’s grace or showing an ignorance of God’s grace when we confess our sins to him, asking him to forgive us?

9) Since you believe we are not to judge our salvation by our conduct, how we can avoid self-deception? I know that you are against certain types of self-examination lest you become “sin conscious” and take your eyes off the finished work of the cross, but what do you make of verses that state that we know we have passed from death to life only if we live a certain way (like 1 John 3:14)? If I understand you correctly, you would question the salvation of someone who demonstrated no change of life and continued to walk in unrepentant sin. But doesn’t this mean that, on some level, you are looking at your “performance” to verify your salvation?

10) What actions does God call us to as believers that you do not describe as “self-effort”? My experience has been that when I quote a verse from the New Testament exhorting us to live a certain way (be it take up our cross or run our race or press toward the mark), hyper-grace adherents accuse me of depending on self-effort or calling for self-effort. Can you clarify that for me?

11) Do you think there’s any danger in claiming that the teachings of Jesus before the cross don’t apply to us as believers today? I take a lot of time on this subject in my book, exposing what I believe to be the very real dangers in doing this, but for the moment, I’m wondering if you could tell me why grace preachers like Spurgeon (whom I mentioned above) or D. M. Lloyd-Jones gloried in the Sermon on the Mount and considered it to be choice material for believers today, whereas you reject it as being applicable to us. Were they missing something?

12) What does it mean to you walk in the fear of the Lord? We agree that we are not to live in servile fear before our Father, especially since fear has to do with punishment. But what do you make of verses like these? “And if you address as Father the One who judges impartially based on each one’s work, you are to conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your temporary residence. For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from the fathers, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without defect or blemish” (1 Pet 1:17-19).

13) Do you see any possible danger in emphasizing that it is impossible for a believer to lose his or her salvation? Of course, we could debate whether the Bible teaches this at all, but simply as a matter of experience, many of us have encountered very lost people – drunkards, fornicators, without the slightest interest in God (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) – who have then assured us that they were saved because it was impossible for them to lose their salvation. So, on a practical level, do you feel it’s important to add any scriptural caveats to your teaching of eternal security and, if so, how can you do this without putting an emphasis on “performance”? Again, in posting these questions, I am not trying to be contentious, nor have I worded them so as to set some kind of trap. I am genuinely asking for honest responses from those who embrace the hyper-grace message for the sake of clarity and understanding.

At the same time, my fervent hope is that hyper-grace leaders and adherents will reconsider their teachings, reading my book for themselves (rather than relying on what they have been told about it), especially if some of their teachings have been reactionary in nature, born out of bad experiences in the past and hence, swinging out of balance in response. And I have been blessed to see that some hyper-grace teachers, like Ryan Rufus, with whom I often express disagreement in my book, have already written books trying to address some problems arising in their movement.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and, as your schedule permits, for responding to some or all of these questions. May we all embrace God’s grace in full! (A quick P.S. I welcome comments from those who reject hyper-grace as well as from those who embrace it, but again the goal is not to argue but to understand.) 

Confronting the Error of Hyper-Grace by Michael Brown

Hyper-Grace The Great Deception of the 21st Century from CnXnMedia on Vimeo.

The biblical message of grace is wonderful, glorious and life-transforming. We can’t live without it for one second of our lives. But there is a message being preached today in the name of a new grace reformation, mixing powerful truth with dangerous error. I call it hyper-grace.

One of the foundational doctrines of the hyper-grace message is that God does not see the sins of his children, since we have already been made righteous by the blood of Jesus and since all of our sins, past, present and future, have already been forgiven.

That means that the Holy Spirit never convicts believers of sin, that believers never need to confess their sins to God, and that believers never need to repent of their sins, since God sees them as perfect in his sight.

It is easy to see how such teaching can be dangerous, especially to a believer being tempted to compromise.

One hyper-grace teacher wrote this: “When God looks at me, He doesn’t see me through the blood of Christ, He sees me—cleansed! Likewise, He sees us as holy and righteous. He sees us, and He loves what He sees!”

Really? Always? 24-7? God always loves what he sees when he looks at his people?

Yes, he loves us, but does he always love what he sees?

Did Jesus love what he saw when he rebuked five out of seven congregations in Asia Minor in Revelation 2-3? Did Paul, writing on behalf of the Lord, love what he saw when he warned the Galatians that they had fallen from grace and become trapped in legalism? Did James, also writing as a servant of the Lord, love what he saw when he rebuked his readers for being “friends of the world” and “adulterers and adulteresses”?

And if the Lord doesn’t see our sins, why did James write that if a believer who was sick had also sinned, God would forgive him when he healed him (see James 5:14-15)? And if he doesn’t see our sins, why did the Lord discipline believers in Corinth because of their sins (see 1 Cor. 11:27-32)? (And pay careful attention to 1 Corinthians 11:32, “When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.”)

If Jesus doesn’t see our sins, why did he say to the church in Ephesus, “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love” (Rev. 2:4, NIV)? And why did he says this to the church in Sardis? “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God. Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” (Rev. 3:1-3)

Does it sound like the Lord was thrilled with what he saw in Ephesus and Sardis?

If the Lord always “sees us as holy and righteous” and always “loves what He sees,” why did he rebuke the believers in Laodicea, telling them that they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17)? Why didn’t he say, “I see you as beautifully clothed, healthy, and rich?"

If he was so happy with what he saw in Laodicea, why did he threaten to spit the congregation out of his mouth (see Rev. 3:16)? And if believers never need to repent of their sins, why did Jesus say, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent” (Rev. 3:19)? And how interesting it is that the same Greek word used in John 16:8—where Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of its sins—is the word used by the Lord in Revelation 3:19 (translated there as “rebuke”; and note Rev. 3:22: this is the Spirit speaking!).

It is because God loves us that he rebukes us (not condemns us) and it is because sin is so destructive that he calls us to turn from it. This is the goodness of God, and this is what grace does, as Paul wrote in Titus 2:11-12, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.”

How tragic it is today when God’s people mistake the voice of His correcting love for the condemning voice of Satan, and how sad it is when they resist the purifying work of the Spirit, claiming that there’s nothing to purify since God no longer sees their sins.

Has He justified us by the blood of Jesus? Absolutely. Has He has set apart as holy to Himself? Without a doubt. Has He called us to be His sons and daughters, all by His love and grace? Yes He has. And it is because of these things that Paul wrote, “Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (2 Cor. 7:1).

What a beautiful, lofty calling. Don’t let anyone steal it from you.

*Special note: I’m in the process of writing a major book on “hyper-grace,” but you can watch a one-hour teaching video here.

Michael Brown is the author of The Real Kosher Jesus and the host of the nationally syndicated talk radio show The Line of Fire on the Salem Radio Network. He is also president of FIRE School of Ministry and director of the Coalition of Conscience. Follow him at AskDrBrown on Facebook or @drmichaellbrown on Twitter.

For comment please go to Revival School.com

The Biblical View on Forgiveness by Gordon Rumford

The Greek word for forgiveness is pronounced Ôapse a miÕ. The word means to send away, to dismiss, to depart.

To forgive is to send away that for which there was a breach in the relationship.

When a person confesses their sin to us, we are to remove the offence from the relationship and receive the person back into our society. Clearly then, only the one who was offended can extend forgiveness and reinstate the offender in the relationship.

The Bible makes it clear that forgiveness is a possibility and is to be extended when the party who has committed the offence has repented.

In 1 John1:9, it tells us that when we confess our sins the Lord will forgive us. We, in like manner are told to forgive those who sin against us when they repent.

Luke 17:3 says, “If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” The sequence then is fourfold. 1. An offence is committed. 2. A rebuke is given by the offended party. 3. The offender repents. 4. The offended person extends forgiveness.

In modern thought there is the teaching by many that we are to forgive even when the offender is impenitent. Usually no Scripture is offered for this teaching, but a lot of rhetoric has been dispensed around the subject.

It is uttered as axiomatic that we are to quickly forgive the offender regardless of the offender’s view of the situation. Dire warnings of psychological dysfunction are given if the offended party withholds forgiveness to an impenitent offender.

So pervasive is this teaching that people accept it as Gospel. If the truth were known, this teaching is the antithesis of the Gospel.

We are told that we will not be forgiven by God unless we forgive others unconditionally. The one Scripture that is often quoted is, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” (Matt. 6:12)

But what this passage is teaching is that just as we forgive the offender when they repent, so we ask God to forgive us when we repent. It is not saying forgive us because we forgive others, it’s asking that God forgive us on the same basis as we forgive others. It says, “Lord, just as we forgive others when they repent, please forgive us as we now repent.”

The passage goes on to indicate that if we withhold forgiveness when people repent, God will withhold His forgiveness when we confess to Him.

Some confusion seems to be in people’s minds because they equate a lack of forgiveness with a bitter spirit. However, that is simply sloppy thinking when we muddle such clearly different concepts. No one would accuse God of being bitter towards those whose sins are not forgiven, so why do we accuse those who have waited for the biblical order to be followed of being bitter?

If a person sees the clear teaching about rebuking an offender and waiting to forgive until the repentance is shown there is no reason to accuse them of being bitter. They may indeed be bitter and harbour sinful thoughts and attitudes, but that is a distinct matter.

The Bible is clear on how to proceed and the Lord gives us His pattern to follow. He does not forgive until the sinner repents and confesses the sin. Neither should we. It’s just that simple. Lets not try to be better than God in this matter. In our cleverness and our efforts to be racy and upbeat in our views of human relationships we muddle the plain teaching of Scripture and lead people astray.

Can you imagine the church at Corinth accepting this current teaching about forgiveness as regards the man who was sinning by living with his mother-in-law (1Cor.5)? The modern counselor comes to the elders of the church and tells them to ignore Paul’s teaching to cast the person from them. Forgive the person they are told, and pretend the offense has not been committed.

Do you not see how sinful it is to distort the teaching of the Scriptures where it is plainly taught that offenders are to be removed from our fellowship until the situation is sorted out?

Of course, when the sin is confessed we must forgive, we must restore the person to our fellowship, we must again treat them as a fellow Christian and give them full rights and privileges in the church and our society. This is not negotiable, it is absolutely essential.

But many Christians who talk much about forgiving when no repentance is evident are themselves the most unforgiving people in the world. Let a reformed rapist come into the church and see how welcome they are, let a divorced person come into the church and try to gain office among the saints. We quickly see that forgiveness is not only partial, it is sometimes not even given to those with a certain history.

Consider how we would have to rewrite the story of David and Bathsheba if this modern teaching on forgiveness is true. Nathan would then have to come to David and say, “Well David, God wanted me to tell you that even though you have clearly sinned against His law by committing adultery, and even though you have not confessed it, God wants you to know that He has forgiven you. God is not holding it against you and you are still in good standing with Him.”

Can you imagine that being the message of the prophet to David? That’s exactly what he should have said if we are to forgive impenitent people.

Take another situation in the Bible. Can we imagine Jesus on the cross, turning to the unrepentant thief and saying, “My son, I forgive you also even though you have not confessed your sins. And, because I forgive you your unconfessed sins, you too will be with me in Paradise today.”

Is it not clear that to forgive when no repentance is evident is ungodly? Can we not see that Satan wishes us to be lulled into thinking that we should pretend everything is all right, and behave as though nothing is wrong, when in fact sin has been committed and needs rebuke?

Satan wants the world to believe the lie that God forgives everybody and does not “hold grudges”. After all, nobody is perfect, we are only human. How convenient to think that God will let everybody through on Judgment day and will not be so unkind as to not forgive people.

This teaching about forgiving when there is no repentance is exactly what godless people are banking on when it comes to answering to God for their evil ways.

The hard way is the godly way. When you are sinned against, it is difficult to confront and point out to the person that their behaviour is unacceptable. Such an action takes moral courage and it’s just simpler to keep quiet and let the offence slip away unnoticed and unaddressed.

Many people abdicate their responsibility to confront because of the unpleasant fallout that may come from such an action. They fear the wrath of the offender and so keep quiet. “Why cause more problems?” they ask. “Isn’t the situation bad enough as it is?”

Such reasoning tugs at sympathetic hearts and we recognize the additional grief that may come as a result of doing it God’s way. We sympathize with the offended person, but in the back of our minds there is the nagging thought that Jesus confronted sinners, He did not back away from further conflict simply to try and make peace.

A very dramatic example of confronting the offenders is seen in the life of John the Baptist, Matt. 3:7-10. Some of those who came to be baptized were clearly suspect and John sent them away unbaptized telling them to get a track record of repentance, then consider baptism. It was not just some words of repentance that John demanded before accepting them, he wanted some action commensurate with the confession to back it up.

In our day and age, we are so shallow in these things, we simply get some quick nod of the head about repentance and baptize them immediately. We would never do what John did, and I venture to say that many Christians are extremely uncomfortable with the fact such action on John’s part is even included in Scripture. It is an embarrassment to many fine Christian people that John did such a thing, and they secretly wish that it had not been recorded.

God expects us to take the right course of action even though it is difficult.


Gordon Rumford Ministries