"There is rapidly occurring across the earth a division between law teaching and grace teaching. God Himself is doing it.Some of those who still preach a mixture of law and grace, will first try to be diplomatic and reasonable. Under the surface, they will carry hatred and envy. They will seek to disguise this in a form of godliness and theological reasonings but God in these days is going to expose the true state of their hearts.
This is not a gentle reformation. This is a true revolution.Those who do not understand this, will be utterly dismayed, at how quickly this revolution is about to spread.In this revolution, the gospel of grace, revealed in the New Covenant, will spread like wild fire.There will be unhealthy extremes on the left and on the right, in reaction to this.
There will be voices that will attempt to gain advantage by appearing to be balanced diplomats, calling for calm. But I will sweep these self appointed voices of reason aside and silence them swiftly. Says God.Those with secure, pure hearts, will steward this revolution. Not panicking at the unhealthy extremes, or trying prematurely to balance everything.
You see, it is not the message of grace that is causing the extremes or imbalance, but it is the result of entrenched, deeply established legalism, and mans control, surfacing because of the intensifying pressure of the grace revolution.This revolution will force the mask off every form and appearance of godliness that denies the power of the New Covenant.This gospel revolution is not to be blamed for the ugliness that will appear in some.
It is simply forcing the true nature of legalism out into the open and stripping it of all its disguises, so that even the naive and the deceived will see how truly hideous its face really is.The camouflage of legalism is being removed, so that it can no longer harass from hidden positions that have an appearance of godliness.
The people in these days who fearlessly embrace Grace and remain pure hearted and faithful, enduring hardship and refusing to be polluted by bitterness during persecution, will be partners with the Holy Spirit in seeing entire nations birthed into revival. So rejoice.Romans 5 speaks about the suffering we endure. The context is not the suffering of sickness and all of that. It is suffering for the message of grace. Check it out, it is right there.
But He said "This suffering will build character in you, and that character will build hope in you."I am suffering for preaching this message beyond what some of you realize.Your reputation will suffer. As you embrace the Grace message, you will stir up every legalistic demon to alienate you and cut you off, but friends, God will draw closer to you.
The refreshing of hope and the gospel will fill you with wonder. The glory of God will become more present in your life.I am so amazed at how few Christians daily experience the manifest glory of God. I experience His glory presence every day and it is available to every believer, but you have to reject legalism. You have got to reject the fear of man.
You have got to let God topple the control government of religion and the fear of man, condemnation, legalism and the performance pressure to do things to earn mans favour and God's favour. You don't have to do a thing to earn God's favour. He loves you right now, unconditionally because you are forgiven, you are cleansed, you are in Christ. You are a new creation, in Christ.Everything from the old system of religion has passed away. The Old Covenant has passed away.
It is obsolete. God said "I hated it."God says in Hebrews 6 about the Old Covenant of law. He says it is weak and useless covenant. God said that about His own covenant in Hebrews 7.There are still people mixing that weak and useless, condemning, that kills people. That Old Covenant.
They are still mixing it with the New Covenant and confusing Christians, in a cocktail of old and new.God is stripping that, and is exposing that. And there is no middle ground left.It is either New Covenant embraced 100%, Old Covenant 100% rejected. Or Nothing.There is no more room. God is doing it in the earth today."
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Stand firm then.......do not be burdened by the yolk of the law
"Most early church fathers (i.e., 2nd-3rd century AD) didn't have a clue about grace, eternal security, the gospel. The church very quickly degenerated into basic legalism. It was not until Augustine that the church recovered some of this. But then it fell into the dark ages, waiting for a young monk from Germany to nail his protests on the door of the Wittenberg Church.
Dr. Ted Deibler (former chairman of Church History at Dallas Seminary) used to say, "the one thing we can be certain of learning from church history is that we learn nothing from church history." He meant by this that we are on very dangerous ground if we assume uniformly correct theology from the church fathers.Allegorical interpretation and eschatology: Origen and his school in particular promoted a view of scripture which was quite fanciful.
In sum, the argument for a single leader of each church is especially persuasive to Roman Catholics because it did occur throughout church history. Yet, such traditions can never replace the Word of God. In fact, with the birth of the Reformation came a renewed understanding of the priesthood of the believer which, in turn, moved away from the notion of a single leader at the top."
What is your point Craig? My point is this, if the leadership is not convinced of the message of grace, never wanting to mention it, refuting it...saying you are splitting hairs....stand firm....Gal 5:1....not that you want to cause disunity, never, but unity at the expense of truth is not unity but conformity....be gracious but stand firm....preach freedom in the grace of Christ!!
Dr. Ted Deibler (former chairman of Church History at Dallas Seminary) used to say, "the one thing we can be certain of learning from church history is that we learn nothing from church history." He meant by this that we are on very dangerous ground if we assume uniformly correct theology from the church fathers.Allegorical interpretation and eschatology: Origen and his school in particular promoted a view of scripture which was quite fanciful.
In sum, the argument for a single leader of each church is especially persuasive to Roman Catholics because it did occur throughout church history. Yet, such traditions can never replace the Word of God. In fact, with the birth of the Reformation came a renewed understanding of the priesthood of the believer which, in turn, moved away from the notion of a single leader at the top."
What is your point Craig? My point is this, if the leadership is not convinced of the message of grace, never wanting to mention it, refuting it...saying you are splitting hairs....stand firm....Gal 5:1....not that you want to cause disunity, never, but unity at the expense of truth is not unity but conformity....be gracious but stand firm....preach freedom in the grace of Christ!!
Muddying the waters....
"An old preacher spoke to a large crowd of young preachers. Before leaving the platform, one young pastor said to him, "Sir, before you leave, give us a word of advice." The old preacher thought for a moment, then said, "My preacher brethren, make it plain to men how they are to be saved." (and continue to be saved) Far too many preachers are muddying the Gospel. The waters of the grace of God must be kept crystal clear. It disturbs me when preachers scramble the grace of God with works. Paul said, "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you...LET HIM BE DAMNED!" Strong language, but that is how God feels about preachers who pervert the Gospel. Paul says that even an angel is to be damned for preaching another gospel. Something about us religious humans make us want to add to the Gospel. We want to help God with our salvation. If we can't help Him save us, we want to help keep ourselves saved." Dr Hutson (Italics mine)
Why are we so sin conscious?
Why are we so sin conscious? Being sin conscious is living under law. Satan is the accuser for a reason…because all he does is accuse Christians day and night of breaking the law, of not living up to Gods standard, of sinning....Christians tend to be so law conscious that they agree with him and so become powerless, without reigning in life (if you don’t agree, look at the state of the church today)….we need/should/must/have to understand we are no/finished/done/over/no longer under law….once we realize that, the accuser is no longer the accuser because he has nothing to accuse us against…sin no longer becomes an issue, not because we start sinning unrestrained (because we don't) but because we become Christ conscious...under grace
Someone once said: "YOU BECOME THAT WHICH YOU BEHOLD!!"
LET US BEHOLD GRACE NOT LAW, CHRIST NOT SIN.........
Someone once said: "YOU BECOME THAT WHICH YOU BEHOLD!!"
LET US BEHOLD GRACE NOT LAW, CHRIST NOT SIN.........
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Does the Holy Spirit convict us of our sin?
Catagorically NO !!!The Holy Spirit DOES NOT convict us of our sin, He convicts us of our Righteouness. That we are the righteousness of God in Chris Jesus....
"We need to be constantly reminded and reminded, like the word of God says "to renew our minds", that we are indeed already forever forgiven and in God's eyes perfectly righteous. When I fail, I need to be reminded of this truth so I do not fall into condemnation."
I AM the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus....are you in Christ Jesus? If you are born again, yes!!
Friday, July 25, 2008
Andrew Murray on Grace...
"Paul writes: "Ye are not under the law, but under grace." And he assures in them that if they believe this, and live in it, their experience would confirm God's promise: " Sin shall not have dominion over you." What the law could not do---give deliverance from the power of sin over us---grace would effect. The New Covenant was entirely a Covenant of grace. In the wonderful grace of God it had its origin; it was meant to be a manifestation of the riches and the glory of that grace; of grace, and by grace working in us, all its promises can be fulfilled and experienced."-
and...
-
" Ye are not under the law, but under grace." There are three possible lives. One entirely under the law; one entirely under grace; one a mixed life, partly law, partly grace. It is this last against which Paul warns the Romans. It is this which is so common, and works such ruin among Christians. Let us find out whether this is not our position, and the cause of our low state. Let us beseech God to open our eyes by the Holy Spirit....."
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Shouts of grace !!
Zec 4:6 Then he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts.
Zec 4:7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"
Notice how grace just seems to pop up everywhere !!??!!
MAN ALIVE, I JUST LOOOOOVE IT.....
Zec 4:7 Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'"
Notice how grace just seems to pop up everywhere !!??!!
MAN ALIVE, I JUST LOOOOOVE IT.....
We are not IN our sins...we are IN Christ
People have been trying to use fear (of wrath as opposed to blessing) to get the Church to start acting “pure/holy” and the unsaved world to turn to Jesus etc…..after all these years, somehow me thinks…….it ain’t working…..maybe there is another way……….sorry, did someone say “GRACE!”
As far as the unsaved are concerned, i agree that there is Judgemnet for those who die in thier sin, but the kindness of God leads to repentance (Romans), the grace of God brings salvation (Titus)....as far as believers are concerned, i mean my God, the judgement is taken away thanks to Jesus...lets stop preaching and teaching like it hasn't....sorry, did someone say "GRACE!"
As far as the unsaved are concerned, i agree that there is Judgemnet for those who die in thier sin, but the kindness of God leads to repentance (Romans), the grace of God brings salvation (Titus)....as far as believers are concerned, i mean my God, the judgement is taken away thanks to Jesus...lets stop preaching and teaching like it hasn't....sorry, did someone say "GRACE!"
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Gospel of Gods Grace
"The Greek word from which the English word "Gospel" was translated literally means, "a good message, or good news." It was in use before the writing of the New Testament, but it was very obscure. In my research, one commentator said there were only two times in all of Greek literature where this word was used.
This is because it really meant more than just "good news." It was more like "nearly-too-good-to-be-true news." It was a superlative that was so fantastic that it was seldom used. However, this sensational word perfectly described what Jesus did for us; therefore, it became a common word among New Testament believers.
Today, most Christians think the word "Gospel" is just a word that identifies religious things. They relate preaching on the wrath of God and impending judgment as the Gospel, but it's not. It's true that those who don't accept the sacrifice of Jesus will spend an eternity in hell, but that's not "good news."
That's certainly not "nearly-too-good-to-be-true news." The Gospel is the "good news," that despite our sins and the judgment we deserve, God has provided complete redemption for us. Even more specifically, the word "Gospel" describes the grace that enables us to receive this forgiveness. If I told you that I had a gift of a million dollars for you, that would be good news.
That would be nearly-too-good-to-be-true news. What if I put down difficult or impossible stipulations as things you must do to receive that money? Then it would cease to be a gift. Your performance would be required so you would actually be earning the money. All your joy over the "gift" would fade away as you despaired of meeting the criteria. You would probably be upset with me.
It would be better to have never been offered the money than to have it dangled in front of you and then placed out of reach through impossible demands. That's the way it is with salvation. Just saying that Jesus provided salvation for us is not truly the "nearly-too-good-to-be-true news" unless it is emphasized that all Jesus provided is available to us by grace.
The grace of God is the heart of the Gospel. In Acts 20:24, Paul said he was testifying of "the gospel of the grace of God." He said the same thing in Galatians 1:6: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." Paul equated the grace of God with the Gospel. Any statements about God or the salvation He provided, without highlighting the grace of God, are not the true Gospel."
Andrew Wommack
This is because it really meant more than just "good news." It was more like "nearly-too-good-to-be-true news." It was a superlative that was so fantastic that it was seldom used. However, this sensational word perfectly described what Jesus did for us; therefore, it became a common word among New Testament believers.
Today, most Christians think the word "Gospel" is just a word that identifies religious things. They relate preaching on the wrath of God and impending judgment as the Gospel, but it's not. It's true that those who don't accept the sacrifice of Jesus will spend an eternity in hell, but that's not "good news."
That's certainly not "nearly-too-good-to-be-true news." The Gospel is the "good news," that despite our sins and the judgment we deserve, God has provided complete redemption for us. Even more specifically, the word "Gospel" describes the grace that enables us to receive this forgiveness. If I told you that I had a gift of a million dollars for you, that would be good news.
That would be nearly-too-good-to-be-true news. What if I put down difficult or impossible stipulations as things you must do to receive that money? Then it would cease to be a gift. Your performance would be required so you would actually be earning the money. All your joy over the "gift" would fade away as you despaired of meeting the criteria. You would probably be upset with me.
It would be better to have never been offered the money than to have it dangled in front of you and then placed out of reach through impossible demands. That's the way it is with salvation. Just saying that Jesus provided salvation for us is not truly the "nearly-too-good-to-be-true news" unless it is emphasized that all Jesus provided is available to us by grace.
The grace of God is the heart of the Gospel. In Acts 20:24, Paul said he was testifying of "the gospel of the grace of God." He said the same thing in Galatians 1:6: "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel." Paul equated the grace of God with the Gospel. Any statements about God or the salvation He provided, without highlighting the grace of God, are not the true Gospel."
Andrew Wommack
Monday, July 21, 2008
I Like it...
Dont know too much about Krister Stendahl, but i like what he wrote here...
"Paul knew that the baptized were not free from sin, but such sin apparently did not trouble his conscience. In fact, in Acts 23:1, he says, "Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day" (cf. 24:16). He did struggle with his body (1 Cor. 9:27), but the tone is one of confidence. Romans 9:1 and 2 Cor.1:12 both witness to his good conscience, the confidence of which reaches its highest pitch in 2 Cor.5:10ff., where Paul expresses certainty that the Lord will approve of him. His "robust conscience is not shaken, but strengthened by his awareness of a final judgment which has not yet come" (cf. 1 Cor.4:4; p. 90).
To search for a statement in which Paul would speak about himself as a sinner is futile, argues Stendahl. He does often speak of 'weakness' (2 Cor.11.21ff; 2 Cor. 12.9-10), but weakness is unrelated to sin or conscience (v. 7), with the exception of Romans 5, where 'weak' is synonymous with sinner (p. 91). "
"Paul knew that the baptized were not free from sin, but such sin apparently did not trouble his conscience. In fact, in Acts 23:1, he says, "Brethren, I have lived before God in all good conscience up to this day" (cf. 24:16). He did struggle with his body (1 Cor. 9:27), but the tone is one of confidence. Romans 9:1 and 2 Cor.1:12 both witness to his good conscience, the confidence of which reaches its highest pitch in 2 Cor.5:10ff., where Paul expresses certainty that the Lord will approve of him. His "robust conscience is not shaken, but strengthened by his awareness of a final judgment which has not yet come" (cf. 1 Cor.4:4; p. 90).
To search for a statement in which Paul would speak about himself as a sinner is futile, argues Stendahl. He does often speak of 'weakness' (2 Cor.11.21ff; 2 Cor. 12.9-10), but weakness is unrelated to sin or conscience (v. 7), with the exception of Romans 5, where 'weak' is synonymous with sinner (p. 91). "
The message of the Kingdom II
Romans 14:17 says "The Kingdom of God is a matter.....of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit..."
1...Surely its His peace in us....(John 14:27)
2...Surely its His joy in us....(Neh 8:10)
3...so the way i see...it must be His righteousness in us too....not that we have to try to attain to it, but to believe we have it already, unwavering, steadfast perfect righteousness!!
His righteousness, the Gospel, the Kingdom, the Power of God...
...and unlike Ripleys...there's no "or not"...
1...Surely its His peace in us....(John 14:27)
2...Surely its His joy in us....(Neh 8:10)
3...so the way i see...it must be His righteousness in us too....not that we have to try to attain to it, but to believe we have it already, unwavering, steadfast perfect righteousness!!
His righteousness, the Gospel, the Kingdom, the Power of God...
...and unlike Ripleys...there's no "or not"...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The message of the Kingdom
The message of the Kingdom is not the kingdom itself......it is the free gift of righteousness that comes to us through the cross of Jesus!
The Old Testament testifies to this this.......Rom 3:21.
Then Jesus, after He was ressurected, revealed it to Paul, who then went on to write 3/4 of the New Testament....
So then both testify....
Once a man truly understands that, the Kingdom (freedom, signs, wonders and miracles) will flow easily...
___________________________________________________________
The Old Testament testifies to this this.......Rom 3:21.
Then Jesus, after He was ressurected, revealed it to Paul, who then went on to write 3/4 of the New Testament....
So then both testify....
Once a man truly understands that, the Kingdom (freedom, signs, wonders and miracles) will flow easily...
___________________________________________________________
Friday, July 18, 2008
Come now, let us teach grace.......
Dear Pastors.....
Would you like the people of Gods congregation, that you have care of, to be...
1. godly
2. not living for worldy passions
3. self controlled
4. upright
........then teach them the grace of God, because grace teaches them to say "no".............not your advice, not your pleading, not your manipulation, not your condemnation.....no sir, only grace.
Now, you you might ask, "where do you get that from?"
.....read Titus 2:11......
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It (yes, thats grace) teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Would you like the people of Gods congregation, that you have care of, to be...
1. godly
2. not living for worldy passions
3. self controlled
4. upright
........then teach them the grace of God, because grace teaches them to say "no".............not your advice, not your pleading, not your manipulation, not your condemnation.....no sir, only grace.
Now, you you might ask, "where do you get that from?"
.....read Titus 2:11......
11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12 It (yes, thats grace) teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Confessing our sins??
1 John 1:9 (NIV)……….9. If we confess (G3670) our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
G3670 ὁμολογέω
homologeō hom-ol-og-eh'-o
From a compound of the base of G3674 and G3056; to assent, that is, covenant, acknowledge: - con- (pro-) fess, confession is made, give thanks, promise.
· To assent……… is to concur, accept, agree, go along with…….(Collins Thesaurus)
That’s the word “confess” in 1 John 1:9……….
I do acknowledge, concur, accept, agree, go along with the fact that i sin…………….. I don’t say I am without sin, that would be Gnostic……………
I acknowledge, concur, accept, agree, go along with the fact that i sin before God…….I know everything I do and think that’s not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23), even the good I should do that I know don’t do is sin (James 4)……
I mean, who will rescue me from this body/this mind of sin……
Thanks be to God, JESUS!!! I have His righteousness and he does NOT nor will he ever count my sins against me....
G3670 ὁμολογέω
homologeō hom-ol-og-eh'-o
From a compound of the base of G3674 and G3056; to assent, that is, covenant, acknowledge: - con- (pro-) fess, confession is made, give thanks, promise.
· To assent……… is to concur, accept, agree, go along with…….(Collins Thesaurus)
That’s the word “confess” in 1 John 1:9……….
I do acknowledge, concur, accept, agree, go along with the fact that i sin…………….. I don’t say I am without sin, that would be Gnostic……………
I acknowledge, concur, accept, agree, go along with the fact that i sin before God…….I know everything I do and think that’s not of faith is sin (Romans 14:23), even the good I should do that I know don’t do is sin (James 4)……
I mean, who will rescue me from this body/this mind of sin……
Thanks be to God, JESUS!!! I have His righteousness and he does NOT nor will he ever count my sins against me....
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
"the Hybrid Gospel"
The Hybrid 'Gospel'
A hybrid is the combination of two or more different things, aimed at achieving a particular objective or goal.
"I was recently listening to Rob preach the gospel...again...and as I was thinking about the differences between the Old and New Covenant, it struck me that much of the church is teaching (and I was taught some variation of this in many different churches) neither Old or New Covenant but a different 'covenant' altogether, a mongrel hybrid. This is more than just mixing a little Old with New, it's almost a permanent breed of religion that is stripped of even the fading glory the Old Covenant had (see 2 Corinthians 3:7-18). I would venture so far to say that it is a false and heretical religion, based on doctrines of demons. What am I saying? Well, if we taught only Old Covenant, at least there are still some blessings available...right? I mean, as someone once commented to me, mercy was built into the law, there were sacrifices and provisions made for sin so that some blessing was still attainable, albeit in order to obtain them a person still had to have faith in God and his love.
If we teach the New Covenant, it is only a million times better, since there is a permanent provision made for us to receive one blessing after another with no chance at all for receiving any curse since the foundation of everything in the New is the perfect righteousness of Jesus. He fully fulfulled the law--that is, he both rightfully earned every single blessing, as well as received every single curse and punishment,even death!
But men have not been satified with either covenants God has offered us, so they have taken it upon them selves to draw up a new contract thinking God will be impressed. Because the gospel is foolishness in their eyes, they have mixed the old and new together and produced a monster, a weapon that all the hordes of hell have taken up with joy and are using to maim and slaughter millions of people, believers and unbelievers alike.
This covenant says we must obey some of the laws of the Old, especially the 10 commandments, but they make it harder, adding in Jesus' sermon on the mount, so now we must not even hate our brother in our hearts or it is murder, we must not look at someone with lust or it is adultery...and they go on to apply this logic to the rest of the 10 commandments. If we fail, of course God will forgive us!
IF we repent, show appropriate godly sorrow, feeling appropriate guilt and shame (to be differentiated somehow from the condemnation of Romans 8...), confess our sin sincerely, crawl to the throne of grace where Jesus reminds us of the nails that we personally drove into his hands and feet and beg mercy, which of course he will not deny us--that's the good news!!! We are forever and eternally indebted to him for his sacrifice, his 'free gift' comes with eternal strings attached and we are his pitiful puppets. Now worship him you dirty rotten worms!!! Where's your joy??? What's wrong with you people??? Aren't you thankful?
Can you see the twistedness of mixing the two covenants in this way, taking both the new and old testament out of context? This kind of teaching is neither Old or New Covenant, but 'another gospel', a gospel that is no gospel at all! (Galatians 1:6-7) I'm amazed at how often proponents of this legalistic religion want to turn this verse and point it at the ones preaching a new covenant grace message!
How sadly ironic! The whole book of Galatians is aimed at man centered legalistic perversion of the true Gospel. When Paul says "this gospel is no gospel at all" he's saying plainly, "your 'good news' is not good news at all!". There is a simple litmus test to know if you're hearing the true gospel. Is it simply and clearly the best news you've ever heard? If it is and you receive it ,it will naturally begin to produce all the glorious fruits of the Spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. Those fruits of the Spirit are listed in GALATIANS, that is no coincidence!
They are FRUITS of the Spirit, NOT WORKS OF THE FLESH, which are also evident: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:16-26)This hybrid 'gospel' is no gospel at all, it is mostly bad news with a little bit of patronizing 'good news' mixed in to confuse the people who've bought into it.
This 'good news' is used to make people feel guilty so that they're easier to manipulate and control. Their gospel is that you are terribly dirty all the time, but Jesus still condescends to love you and give you the occasional blessing, but if you suffer from disease and poverty and your marriage falls apart and your children die, it is no less than you deserve, being the lowly worm that you are, and Jesus has no obligation whatsoever to bless you so be thankful for the few he has given you and stop whining.
IT'S A LIE. It sounds very humble and spiritual, but it is not humble to not boldly come to the throne of grace and receive everything we need, choosing to suffer instead, IT IS UNBELIEF. The Father is obligated to bless us, to save us, to heal us, to love us, to comfort us, to provide everything we need, because he has obligated himself, HE HAS PROMISED. What is the requirement on our part to receive all this? It is believing in Jesus and asking in faith. NOW THAT'S GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I will not be ashamed of the Good News! I will joyfully preach it anytime I get a chance, and it is so refreshing to my soul when I do. I haven't written anything like this for a long time it seems, but it feels really really good...and I know it will stir some people up a bit. Trust me, I hope it does stir some of you up...to faith!"
by Julie Morris of "Voice of Grace"
A hybrid is the combination of two or more different things, aimed at achieving a particular objective or goal.
"I was recently listening to Rob preach the gospel...again...and as I was thinking about the differences between the Old and New Covenant, it struck me that much of the church is teaching (and I was taught some variation of this in many different churches) neither Old or New Covenant but a different 'covenant' altogether, a mongrel hybrid. This is more than just mixing a little Old with New, it's almost a permanent breed of religion that is stripped of even the fading glory the Old Covenant had (see 2 Corinthians 3:7-18). I would venture so far to say that it is a false and heretical religion, based on doctrines of demons. What am I saying? Well, if we taught only Old Covenant, at least there are still some blessings available...right? I mean, as someone once commented to me, mercy was built into the law, there were sacrifices and provisions made for sin so that some blessing was still attainable, albeit in order to obtain them a person still had to have faith in God and his love.
If we teach the New Covenant, it is only a million times better, since there is a permanent provision made for us to receive one blessing after another with no chance at all for receiving any curse since the foundation of everything in the New is the perfect righteousness of Jesus. He fully fulfulled the law--that is, he both rightfully earned every single blessing, as well as received every single curse and punishment,even death!
But men have not been satified with either covenants God has offered us, so they have taken it upon them selves to draw up a new contract thinking God will be impressed. Because the gospel is foolishness in their eyes, they have mixed the old and new together and produced a monster, a weapon that all the hordes of hell have taken up with joy and are using to maim and slaughter millions of people, believers and unbelievers alike.
This covenant says we must obey some of the laws of the Old, especially the 10 commandments, but they make it harder, adding in Jesus' sermon on the mount, so now we must not even hate our brother in our hearts or it is murder, we must not look at someone with lust or it is adultery...and they go on to apply this logic to the rest of the 10 commandments. If we fail, of course God will forgive us!
IF we repent, show appropriate godly sorrow, feeling appropriate guilt and shame (to be differentiated somehow from the condemnation of Romans 8...), confess our sin sincerely, crawl to the throne of grace where Jesus reminds us of the nails that we personally drove into his hands and feet and beg mercy, which of course he will not deny us--that's the good news!!! We are forever and eternally indebted to him for his sacrifice, his 'free gift' comes with eternal strings attached and we are his pitiful puppets. Now worship him you dirty rotten worms!!! Where's your joy??? What's wrong with you people??? Aren't you thankful?
Can you see the twistedness of mixing the two covenants in this way, taking both the new and old testament out of context? This kind of teaching is neither Old or New Covenant, but 'another gospel', a gospel that is no gospel at all! (Galatians 1:6-7) I'm amazed at how often proponents of this legalistic religion want to turn this verse and point it at the ones preaching a new covenant grace message!
How sadly ironic! The whole book of Galatians is aimed at man centered legalistic perversion of the true Gospel. When Paul says "this gospel is no gospel at all" he's saying plainly, "your 'good news' is not good news at all!". There is a simple litmus test to know if you're hearing the true gospel. Is it simply and clearly the best news you've ever heard? If it is and you receive it ,it will naturally begin to produce all the glorious fruits of the Spirit in your life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self control. Those fruits of the Spirit are listed in GALATIANS, that is no coincidence!
They are FRUITS of the Spirit, NOT WORKS OF THE FLESH, which are also evident: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. (Galatians 5:16-26)This hybrid 'gospel' is no gospel at all, it is mostly bad news with a little bit of patronizing 'good news' mixed in to confuse the people who've bought into it.
This 'good news' is used to make people feel guilty so that they're easier to manipulate and control. Their gospel is that you are terribly dirty all the time, but Jesus still condescends to love you and give you the occasional blessing, but if you suffer from disease and poverty and your marriage falls apart and your children die, it is no less than you deserve, being the lowly worm that you are, and Jesus has no obligation whatsoever to bless you so be thankful for the few he has given you and stop whining.
IT'S A LIE. It sounds very humble and spiritual, but it is not humble to not boldly come to the throne of grace and receive everything we need, choosing to suffer instead, IT IS UNBELIEF. The Father is obligated to bless us, to save us, to heal us, to love us, to comfort us, to provide everything we need, because he has obligated himself, HE HAS PROMISED. What is the requirement on our part to receive all this? It is believing in Jesus and asking in faith. NOW THAT'S GOOD NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I will not be ashamed of the Good News! I will joyfully preach it anytime I get a chance, and it is so refreshing to my soul when I do. I haven't written anything like this for a long time it seems, but it feels really really good...and I know it will stir some people up a bit. Trust me, I hope it does stir some of you up...to faith!"
by Julie Morris of "Voice of Grace"
Can we preach too much grace?
"This way of grace is not self-evident. It goes against the grain our natural (read: carnal /minds) inclinations. So we need to hear grace preached to us so it saturates our thinking and becomes second nature to us. "
The Rebel God blog
The Rebel God blog
Sunday, July 13, 2008
His Righteousness.......
"For many Christians, the teaching about righteous "equality" is hard to receive. Yet, it is the "core" truth that makes any fellowship with God possible. Because of the nature of Biblical righteousness, fellowship with God can only occur on a foundation of equality. He does not fellowship with anyone who approaches Him with a righteousness less than His own. And, NO ONE possesses a righteousness greater than His. Those two facts greatly limit the choices. Righteous equality is the only way a mere human can "boldly" approach God's presence to obtain help as we are commanded in Hebrews 4:16. If you don't approach God with His righteousness--but approach Him with yours--you don't get heard. It doesn't matter how beautiful the prayer is prayed or how sincere the intentions are. This is the primary reason for most unanswered prayer. Many religious-minded Christians approach God "hunkered down" wondering if some sin in their past will cause God to reject their request--or worse, wondering if a "sinner" like themselves can dare expect an answer from a Holy God. It's not necessarily the request God is rejecting--it's the righteousness "attitude" of the requestor. Religion calls the sin consciousness attitude "humility". God rejects it as unbelief and disobedience to His Word. It is approaching God with a sinner's unrighteousness instead of God's own righteousness. A sinner's unrighteousness ALWAYS gets rejected.
Critics reject the idea of righteous equality and attempt to equate this belief with the error of Gnosticism--and they can produce very convincing arguments. Gnosticism has a teaching that man is equal to God. Yet, the Gnostics maintain that man is equal to God in his original fallen state (a heresy)--and this belief changes the entire arguement. The Bible teaches that man can NEVER be equal to God in his original sinful state UNTIL he places faith in Jesus Christ and is spiritually reborn (Hence the word "born again"). Through the process of the rebirth, the old man is crucified with Christ. " who enjoys equality. There's nothing "Gnostic" about it at all."
The new man (the "reborn" man) lives "in Christ" and receives God's righteousness. It's the "new man
http://www.rockofoffence.com/righteous.html
Critics reject the idea of righteous equality and attempt to equate this belief with the error of Gnosticism--and they can produce very convincing arguments. Gnosticism has a teaching that man is equal to God. Yet, the Gnostics maintain that man is equal to God in his original fallen state (a heresy)--and this belief changes the entire arguement. The Bible teaches that man can NEVER be equal to God in his original sinful state UNTIL he places faith in Jesus Christ and is spiritually reborn (Hence the word "born again"). Through the process of the rebirth, the old man is crucified with Christ. " who enjoys equality. There's nothing "Gnostic" about it at all."
The new man (the "reborn" man) lives "in Christ" and receives God's righteousness. It's the "new man
http://www.rockofoffence.com/righteous.html
Saturday, July 12, 2008
A Revelation
What a time we had down in Cape Town this last week....hearing Rob Rufus once again go for the jugular of the legalistic thinking, gospel perverting, bird caging "brothers"....Christians leaders who although saved and sincere, do a fine job of bringing the Bride of Christ into bondage. That may sound a little harsh, please dont get me wrong i love them but they are doing untold damage to the cause of Christ....for more of this please read Galatians in the Holy Bible....Anyway, It was a powerfull time!!
I have come to understand that this message is really a revelation that comes from Jesus, just as the Apostle Paul recieved it by revelation so does the world of Christendom need to recieve it from Him....this is my prayer...that those in Christ ( everyone who professes Jesus IS in Christ)will come to an understanding of the Righteousness that is theirs, following on from that, the freedom thats theirs and then the blessings that are theirs, all and only because they are IN Christ...God will do it, for it is His bride after all...and He is Faithfull.
I have come to understand that this message is really a revelation that comes from Jesus, just as the Apostle Paul recieved it by revelation so does the world of Christendom need to recieve it from Him....this is my prayer...that those in Christ ( everyone who professes Jesus IS in Christ)will come to an understanding of the Righteousness that is theirs, following on from that, the freedom thats theirs and then the blessings that are theirs, all and only because they are IN Christ...God will do it, for it is His bride after all...and He is Faithfull.
Birds not bird cages
"God created birds not bird cages....
legalism puts people into cages where they can be easily controlled. if i set the standards and say who's in and who's out then you will fear and conform to me. so i am able to set an enviroment where everybody is like me. Grace says eveybody is different, moving at different paces.....they cannot be controlled"
Charlie Bing
legalism puts people into cages where they can be easily controlled. if i set the standards and say who's in and who's out then you will fear and conform to me. so i am able to set an enviroment where everybody is like me. Grace says eveybody is different, moving at different paces.....they cannot be controlled"
Charlie Bing
Saturday, July 5, 2008
grace upon grace
“However, it is not good enough to simply say “the gospel is my rule of life, not the law”, because many bring a legal spirit into the gospel. They simply turn Gospel precepts into legal commands, strive to perform them in their own strength (and hence ignore the leadings of the Spirit and ultimately grieve Him), and effectively condemn others if they don’t walk as the Gospel directs. But we are not to use the Gospel in such a judgmental fashion, nor are we to set to follow its precepts in our own strength. We must never lose sight of the fact that the Gospel is on an entirely different principle to the law - it is about faith! And this faith is not of ourselves “it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8). For “the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). Neither must we lose sight of the central truth of the Gospel to which such God-given faith is directed - “Christ and Him crucified”. Only when the eye of faith is continually set upon Christ, does a sheep then follow its Shepherd. And when exhorted to look to Him alone, the exhortations to mortify the deeds of the flesh, or control the tongue, or flee fornication, or rejoice evermore, are gladly received and performed.”
For full message:
http://thegospelofgod.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/delivered-from-the-law-romans-7
For full message:
http://thegospelofgod.wordpress.com/2008/03/25/delivered-from-the-law-romans-7
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