There is confusion in Christianity today regarding grace due to popular mega-church and TV preachers who appear to be elevating and bestowing on grace some attributes contrary to what is in scripture and God intended. Some claim that due to grace, God is restricted from His own attributes,like omniscience. Attempting to create a God to their own liking, these teachers seem to teach a form of antinomianism or lawlessness. While it’s true we are not under the law,but grace,Jesus taught our actions are weighed and said, ”If you love me you will do what I say”. (Jn 14:15) Some of these teachers even negate many of Christ’s very words replacing them with Paul’s! The book of Jude calls an all-excusing grace an attack on the faith in Jude “For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.” – Jude 1:4 This “uber-grace” strain has little spiritual value if it’s created by those wanting to justify their own waywardness. (2 Pet 2:19) Many verses in the NT are devoted to the heresies of these kinds of false teachers.Grace is the power to do God’s will,not a catch-clause to escape the consequences of avoiding God’s will! Some of these grace “counterfeits” they offer put God in an inaccurate light. He is not seen as a passionate bridegroom or King & Lord. Instead He is made out to be some kind of failed super-hero, perplexed at mankind yet forced to look the other way,conforming to an imperfect treaty which doesn’t satisfy His justice or holiness.
One of the most egregious claims the uber-grace crowd teach is God’s blindness to our sin or behaviors on earth. In addition to being a primary means to excuse the acceptance of homosexuaity in the church, it appears to absolve believers from personal responsibility for their deeds on earth. It has spawned a “strain” of “Christians” uninvolved in fulfilling their calling, the mandate of evangelism & discipleship or even being salt and light. If people can be led to believe Jesus “did it all”, then it is a short step away from “we must do “nothing” or we’re “striving”. Personal responsibility for working out our own salvation is “all the Lord’s problem”. We can do whatever we want,live any way we want,knowing “He did it all”. The problem with this is it is clearly at odds with Jesus teachings & most of the NT writers including Paul, who talked about the Judgement seat of Christ for believers. The grace of God is amazing, wonderful and glorious.With faith it is our means of entrance into the Kingdom and begins our transformation. It is called a gift and the bible teaches Jesus Himself was FULL of it. But it is NOT mercy nor an escape clause from personal accountability in this life.This is done by grace through faith. It is not a one-time pass but a daily appropriation through faith. Our sanctification and progressive transformation is not wrapped up in a one-time event God must abide by. We walk a walk of faith. The advancing steps we take and the change in our life comes as we apply grace through faith. (to be continued) |
AuthorPastor Marc Lawson Archives
July 2018
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