The neo-Gnostic spirit of New.Modern.Hyper Grace

[jb]

The neo-Gnostic spirit of New.Modern.Hyper Grace

Bit of a mouthful there! lol

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

"We ( believers - namely John himself ) proclaim to you (unbelievers - gnostics [/B]) what we have seen and heard, so that you (unbelievers - gnostics ) also may have fellowship with us ( believers ). And our ( believers )fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ" (verse 3).

The 'we' in 1 John is obviously referring to the apostles, or possibly other Jewish believers who actually saw and touched Christ. The 'you' is obviously referring to other believers who were not privy to such.

​What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and our hands have touched, concerning the word of life— and the life was revealed, and we have seen and testify and announce to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was revealed to us— what we have seen and heard, we announce to you also, in order that you also may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship [is] with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 1 John 1:1-3​

 

[Mitspa]

The whole Gnostic concept is to deny the sinfulness of the flesh..a true grace believer has come to the understanding that the flesh is complete in its wretched condition and cannot in anyway be redeemed .... Now do some "carnal" people use the doctrines of grace to excuse the flesh...of course...but the truth cannot be rejected because some pervert it.

 

[NayborBear]

Ok


But the question remains: Why are you supposed to seek God's forgiveness if He has already justified you? If justification takes care of sin past, present, and future, so there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Rom. 8:1), why pray for forgiveness? Aren't you praying for something that is already yours?
The answer is that divine forgiveness has two aspects. One is the judicial forgiveness God grants as Judge. It's the forgiveness God purchased for you by Christ's atonement for your sin. That kind of forgiveness frees you from any threat of eternal condemnation. It is the forgiveness of justification. Such pardon is immediately complete — you'll never need to seek it again.
The other is a parental forgiveness God grants as your Father. He is grieved when His children sin. The forgiveness of justification takes care of judicial guilt, but it does not nullify His fatherly displeasure over your sin. He chastens those whom He loves, for their good (Heb. 12:5-11).

All quotes are from John MacArthur.

Isaiah 9: 6 & 7 (KJV) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the GOVERNMENT shall be on His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty GOD, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

How many times in the O.T. we see different fonts in the printed text of: God, GOD, Lord, LORD, Almighty
God, Lord of Hosts, Lord of Hosts the GOD of Israel, I could go on, but suffice it to say: THIS, is the government of the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Light, which is on Jesus' shoulder. One may even liken it to a flowering mustard bush, or, even like a cedar of Lebanon, in which Christ is like the trunk, and the boughs and branches, and leaves, are like the GOVERNMENT of......When one grows in the faith, room is needed, so to grow even more. Like when we as young children were growing, a term called "cutting teeth" was (dunno if is still used these days,er not ) used, in these spurts of growth. So it is when one grows spiritually.

So, to some, who come to the Cross of Christ, saying their spiritual journey is finished, that's fine. For some who come to that very same Cross of Christ, THEIR spiritual journey/ies: ARE JUST BEGINNING.

 

[phil36]

Isaiah 9: 6 & 7 (KJV) For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the GOVERNMENT shall be on His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty GOD, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

How many times in the O.T. we see different fonts in the printed text of: God, GOD, Lord, LORD, Almighty
God, Lord of Hosts, Lord of Hosts the GOD of Israel, I could go on, but suffice it to say: THIS, is the government of the Kingdom of God, and the Kingdom of Light, which is on Jesus' shoulder. One may even liken it to a flowering mustard bush, or, even like a cedar of Lebanon, in which Christ is like the trunk, and the boughs and branches, and leaves, are like the GOVERNMENT of......When one grows in the faith, room is needed, so to grow even more. Like when we as young children were growing, a term called "cutting teeth" was (dunno if is still used these days,er not ) used, in these spurts of growth. So it is when one grows spiritually.

So, to some, who come to the Cross of Christ, saying their spiritual journey is finished, that's fine. For some who come to that very same Cross of Christ, THEIR spiritual journey/ies: ARE JUST BEGINNING.

Hi Nayborbear,

I am going to use the excuse that its very late here and I'm tired..but I'm not sure exactly what your point is..in relation to the topic at hand. and the serious error

 

[NayborBear]

"The answer is that divine forgiveness has two aspects. One is the judicial forgiveness God grants as Judge. It's the forgiveness God purchased for you by Christ's atonement for your sin. That kind of forgiveness frees you from any threat of eternal condemnation. It is the forgiveness of justification. Such pardon is immediately complete — you'll never need to seek it again.
The other is a parental forgiveness God grants as your Father."

Growing pains, Phil.........growing pains.

 

[phil36]

"The answer is that divine forgiveness has two aspects. One is the judicial forgiveness God grants as Judge. It's the forgiveness God purchased for you by Christ's atonement for your sin. That kind of forgiveness frees you from any threat of eternal condemnation. It is the forgiveness of justification. Such pardon is immediately complete — you'll never need to seek it again.
The other is a parental forgiveness God grants as your Father."

Growing pains, Phil.........growing pains.

yep its late here...and those growing pains are good to learn

 

[RickyZ]

There are a lot of mis-understandings about the hyper-grace message of the finished work of Christ for us....you can click on anything in blue to take you to the article that discusses what is being said.

The Hyper-Grace Quiz

In the past few months, there has been an aggressive backlash against the gospel of grace. This backlash has been seen in the Christian media, the blogosphere, and in the publication of books by respected Bible teachers. I have come across articles with titles like “Confronting the error of hyper-grace,” “The deception of hyper-grace,” and the oddly-titled, “What’s wrong with grace?”

The authors of these articles typically describe the gospel of grace as a “dangerous teaching,” a “false message,” and “a hyped-up, watered-down, seeker-friendly gospel.” Those who preach it are branded “false prophets,” “antichrists,” and “pied pipers” leading people to hell.

What do these critics have against the gospel of grace?

Their criticisms are numerous: Apparently the grace message is soft on sin. It’s opposed to the law. It’s a prosperity gospel. It’s unbalanced. It’s extreme. It’s a fad.

Some of these criticisms reflect abiding misperceptions (“grace promotes licentiousness”). Some of the criticisms are slanderous (“grace preachers are closet sinners”), while others are risible (“this message was responsible for the rise of Adolph Hitler and the runaway Democratic party”).

Presented with these sorts of claims, it is tempting to dismiss the opponents of the grace message as ill informed and reactionary. But not all of them are.

In January 2014, Dr. Michael L. Brown released a book entitled Hyper-Grace: Exposing the Dangers of the Modern Grace Message. In his book, Dr. Brown seeks to correct “some serious distortions and errors” that are being preached as part of what he calls “the modern grace message.” Dr. Brown portrays hyper-grace preachers as being opposed to repentance and the confession of sins, and he claims we think the words of Jesus have no relevance for us today.

Is this true? Do hyper-grace preachers actually think this way?

Since I am one of the hyper-grace preachers identified by Dr. Brown, I thought it might be helpful to respond to these accusations. To be fair, some of his accusations are spot on. On several occasions reading his book I said to myself, “Guilty as charged,” and I did so with a grace-addict’s grin. Still, a number of his accusations are based on misperceptions or they misrepresent what we are actually saying.

For instance, on page 37 of his book, Dr. Brown identifies four statements that he embraces and we, apparently, reject. They are (1) sanctification is progressive, (2) it’s healthy to confess our sins to God, (3) New Testament repentance includes turning away from sins, and (4) the words of Jesus are authoritative.

To three of these claims, most hyper-grace preachers would shout amen! Confession is healthy, repentance is often evidenced by a turning away from sins, and everything Jesus said is good and authoritative. The only claim we would reject out of hand is the first one, that sanctification is a process. (More on this here.)

As Dr. Brown’s book illustrates, much of the criticism made against the hyper-grace gospel and those who preach it is based on misperceptions and misunderstandings. To illustrate this, ask yourself whether the following claims are true or false.

The hyper-grace quiz

True or false…

1. Hyper-grace preachers are against repentance.
2. Hyper-grace preachers are against confession.
3. The hyper-grace gospel is universalism in disguise.
4. Hyper-grace preachers say it’s wrong to ask God for forgiveness.
5. Hyper-grace preachers say God is not grieved by your sin.
6. Hyper-grace preachers are against the law.
7. Hyper-grace preachers ignore the Old Testament.
8. Hyper-grace preachers disregard the words of Jesus.
9. The hyper-grace gospel encourages sin.
10. The hyper-grace gospel discourages obedience and holy living.
11. Hyper-grace preachers don’t talk about hell and wrath.

12. The hyper-grace gospel makes people lazy.

To have real dialogue, you need to hear both sides of the story. If your only exposure to the hyper-grace gospel comes from attack articles and Facebook debates, you may think that every statement in the above quiz is true. In fact, every statement is false. Each is either a fiction or a distortion of what the hyper-grace gospel actually says.

We will look at some of these claims in coming posts. But for now, I want to hear from you. Which of the claims above have you heard? Which have you believed?

And what are some other misperceptions you have encountered when telling others about the good news of God’s extreme, over-the-top, and hyper grace?

As true as all that is (and all that IS true) you still miss the fly in the ointment.

 

[ladylynn]

Self-righteousness. To put one's self in the equation in place of Jesus Christ. An analogy being Jesus passed us the baton and we now finish the race.

That may be a quick way of saying it but Ben you sure said a lot in a few words! That is EXACTLY what we were taught in our first GARBC (General Association of Regular Baptist Churches) church. The verse that went along with it was that it being "our reasonable service" so of course we tried so hard to run with that baton and finish the race. There are tons of Christians passed out along the race track of their Christian life. I was one of them for a time.

 

[RickyZ]

Hyper grace says that once you believe you're set. That there's absolutely noting... nada nil zip zero zilch and squat... that you can do to lose it. And they are right. Absolutely right. Except for one - and only one - thing.

Those on the other side (and we're talking generalities of the groups, acknowledging that all groups have their exceptions) say that once saved, you can sin your way out. That if you don't walk the walk that all your talking the talk is just b.s. That while individual sins do not condemn one, a habitual life of sin will. And that my friends is poppycock (look that up in your Funk and Wagnell's). Make no mistake you will be held accountable for your sin (as thru the fire), but no, no amount of sin will unsave you.

Sin is the result of bad works. It's expected that with the indwelling of the Spirit you will produce good works. But one can quench the Spirit, one does that with bad works. Quench, not evict.

Bad works are evidence however. If you evidence bad works people have reason to doubt your salvation. But not to declare you unsaved. That's between you and God.

The fly in the ointment - belief is not an act of works. Neither would be unbelief. Belief is the one and only and sole and singular and unique qualifier for salvation. Unbelief is ditto for eternal condemnation. And it IS possible for a believer to stop believing. Otherwise God wouldn't have put so many scriptures into His word saying so.

Hypergrace is 99.999% true.

Works salvation is 100% false.

Perseverance in belief is the fly.

 

[BenFTW]

Hyper grace says that once you believe you're set. That there's absolutely noting... nada nil zip zero zilch and squat... that you can do to lose it. And they are right. Absolutely right. Except for one - and only one - thing.

Those on the other side (and we're talking generalities of the groups, acknowledging that all groups have their exceptions) say that once saved, you can sin your way out. That if you don't walk the walk that all your talking the talk is just b.s. That while individual sins do not condemn one, a habitual life of sin will. And that my friends is poppycock (look that up in your Funk and Wagnell's). Make no mistake you will be held accountable for your sin (as thru the fire), but no, no amount of sin will unsave you.

Sin is the result of bad works. It's expected that with the indwelling of the Spirit you will produce good works. But one can quench the Spirit, one does that with bad works. Quench, not evict.

Bad works are evidence however. If you evidence bad works people have reason to doubt your salvation. But not to declare you unsaved. That's between you and God.

The fly in the ointment - belief is not an act of works. Neither would be unbelief. Belief is the one and only and sole and singular and unique qualifier for salvation. Unbelief is ditto for eternal condemnation. And it IS possible for a believer to stop believing. Otherwise God wouldn't have put so many scriptures into His word saying so.

Hypergrace is 99.999% true.

Works salvation is 100% false.

Perseverance in belief is the fly.

E.S.O.T.B.: Eternal security of the believer (emphasis on believer). Another way of saying O.S.A.S. except the emphasis is on belief. Consider that a believer is just that, believing and a true believer will persevere.

Philippians 1:6 King James Version (KJV)

6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

and

John 6:37-47 King James Version (KJV)

37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.

 

[Grace777x70]

Philippians 1:6 (NASB)
[SUP]6 [/SUP] For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Romans 11:29 (KJV)
[SUP]29 [/SUP] For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
[SUP]8 [/SUP] For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
[SUP]9 [/SUP] not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

1 John 4:4 (NASB)
[SUP]4 [/SUP] You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

Those on the other side (and we're talking generalities of the groups, acknowledging that all groups have their exceptions) say that once saved, you can sin your way out. That if you don't walk the walk that all your talking the talk is just b.s. That while individual sins do not condemn one, a habitual life of sin will. And that my friends is poppycock (look that up in your Funk and Wagnell's). Make no mistake you will be held accountable for your sin (as thru the fire), but no, no amount of sin will unsave you.

That's what the gnostics believed.

​Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Matthew 7:21​

 

[ladylynn]

What you're saying is what those Hyper-Grace prophets have taught you, but not what Scripture actually says:

1 Cor 11:26-31
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.
27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.
29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.
KJV



2 Cor 13:5
5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
KJV

Thus Holy Communion with Christ is not only... about remembrance of His death and resurrection, but also a time we actually 'communicate' (meaning of communion) with Him, examining our Walk with Him, and that means recognizing future sins and talking to Him about it, repenting.

Not at all DP. No condemnation is a Biblical truth I found out after many years of condemnation and misapplication of Scripture verses. Major Major reason for each of us to be STUDENTS of the Bible. There are MANY teachers and preachers out there who have not correctly rightly divided the Word of truth. When we go before God and realize how we kept our loving Father at arms length because of our human understanding and our fear, no one else will be responsible for how we related to Him personally but us and how we missed out on a joyous walk here. If we do not have a close relationship with Jesus it isn't because Jesus was not loving and always saying "come"

What you have described here sounds right and I am very familiar with your applied verses and how they illicit fear and dread with self doubt and condemnation for those who come to communion. But when you read the verses IN context with grace and the finished work of Christ, the meanings of those verses totally change. Each one of us is responsible to find out how God's unmerited favor and His gift of salvation is given. We have no excuse if we see God as a far off judge ready to execute us if we don't make the mark.

Just an observation here. I shared about the beauty of communion and the truth of no condemnation in Christ and how we are seeing "Him" and not "us" and you in your religious fear shot it down. This happens all the time when man looks at himself and not Jesus. Fear and doubt take the place of our confidence in the love and provision of God . Our eyes are taken off of Christ and put on us. I look forward to going into this discussion about communion and how wonderful it truly is for us as believers.

I do however understand why you see communion this way because I did for many years. Like many other Christians enslaved in the idea God is not close but a far off. That He is NOT a God who I could have a 'confident expectation of good' but instead someone who I doubted and felt unsure about. The enemy of our souls did that with Adam and Eve and he is still doing it today.

Will go through these verses here and share how God is an ever present help in time of need. How Jesus is the Good Shepherd and leads us into green pastures and still waters. How the Christian life is not one of doubts and fears but of joy and a continual expectation of good from our Father. Remember, Jesus said if you have seen Me you have seen the Father. Be back later.

 

[TMS]

This like other threads comes back to peoples definition of salvation. Some are saying believe and God will do the rest, Some are saying if you truly believe you can't be unsaved, others are saying Salvation can be lost, and others beliefs i can't define.
Grace is undeserving pardon so we know we can't earn it or deserve it because than it wouldn't be Grace. So how do we receive GRACE? A gift (praise God) why doesn't He give it to everyone? Comes by Faith.

So if we all agree that grace comes by faith as a free gift, does works, the law, and our ability to lose our faith disappear?

 

[ladylynn]

This, though I'm sick of hearing this term thrown around because it's so misused, is a straw man because it grossly mischaracterizes reality. I and many others have walked in the freedom of grace for years. We reject the neo-gnostic abomination of new.modern.hyper grace because it's a perversion of GOD's grace.

I'm only using it because you gave believers like me the title HeRose. Telling someone they are perverting the Gospel is actually not a nice thing to say about us on here. I'm not in any way shape or form like a Gnostic. The grace I believe is from reading the Bible and because I know Christ and trust Him to save and keep me.

If I can get some positive use from using your title on this thread and pointing out it's total mis representation of the grace I believe in, that's what I can do. Am not trying to be mean, just trying to show how far out that title is and not what Christians here believe who hold to grace alone through faith alone.

 

[ladylynn]

A great video! Now THAT'S more like it.
If I'm ever blessed to get married, (yes, I'll say it),
her type is appealling. To me, anyway.
Not the character, so much, but the actress.
Joy of the Lord, quirky sense of humor, unique and peculiar.
'This could almost persuadest me to becometh a 'christian'. Lol'.

I've gotten so much negativity, cold-heartedness, being ignored,
and just general bad vibes, that it's rubbing off on me
and I've been becoming like that, too, and I don't like it.
Gonna try to stick with joy, full on grace from start to finish,
If that's what God allows and wants for me to grow in grace,
and in the knowledge of Jesus, and to help pull me from
gloom and depression that I've been prone to most of my life.

And maybe that's just for a season, but I've got to learn to
avoid the 'nattering nabobs of negativity', (love that phrase)
(and stop being one, too)! But if others feel a need to add to
Grace in order to keep from sinning, or falling into the trap of
some label like hyper-neo-nasty-gnostic-naughty-non-grace,
well, maybe that's how they think that God is dealing with THEM
for a season, til they get set free from whatever struggles
THEY'RE going thru. Hey, Whatever floats your boat!

Acts13--->
Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren,
that through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins:
And by him all that believe are justified
FROM ALL THINGS, from which you
could not be justified by the law of Moses. 38,39

(Then they grew bold and said...),
'It was necessary that the word of God
should have been spoken to you:
but seeing you put it from you,
and judge yourselves unworthy of
everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles'. 46

And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad,
and glorified the word of the Lord:
and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. 48
And the disciples were filled with joy,
and with the Holy Ghost. 52

AMEN That post gets a big AMEN from me!!!

 

[sydlit]

AMEN That post gets a big AMEN from me!!!

Gosh, LL, you'll give me an ego. (i.e. a bigger one, lol)
I guess there's the secret, ....... just quote scripture. *_*

 

[ladylynn]

I didn't say it wasn't. Yet there are two methods being used. One is a matter of the mind and the other is a matter of striving in the flesh. One identifies with who God says we are and the other tries to be the very thing God already calls you.

Some people are coming in agreement with God's word, renewing their minds, and transforming their walk while others are striving to be Christ-like and avoiding sin like the plague(confessing it for forgiveness, pointing it out in others in judgement and condemnation instead of exhorting, etc) not realizing they are dead to sin and Jesus has imputed His righteousness to them. Arguably the same goals but going about it differently. As has been said before, one leads to lasting change and the other temporal (until the next time they repent again and again).

I sure hope some people are reading this thread because some major Bible truths are being shared here. What you described Ben of the 2 methods being used IS EXACTLY where I was and where I am today.
And what might be important for some to note, I'm now 57 yrs old and was saved at age 22. Only in the last 3 years have I begun learning about the grace of God that brings salvation to be something He has done and fully completed on the cross.

Striving to be Christ-like and avoiding sin like the plague confessing it for forgiveness, pointing it out in others in judgement and condemnation instead of exhorting was my Christian life for many years. Then the truth came to my house. Jesus has IMPUTED His righteousness to me and loves me without my trying to get Him to see me as worthy when He already sees me in Christ.

You are right., the second is what lead to lasting change and a consistent walk. The Bible is not a chore but a joy to read and learn from. Talking about Jesus and His Word is what we are drawn to not away from because of fear of being condemned. Saying we are sorry to God is fine and I do but I no longer am afraid He won't. Instead I'm confident my confession is more for me to be reminded yet again that Jesus already paid for that and I can move forward with new strength to meet the day.

Good post Ben you do have a grasp of this!!!!! GBU

 

[ladylynn]

I like this quote that you put up on another thread..and it says it all..


"You may have harnessed the energy of the flesh in an otherwise quite genuine desire to honor the Lord Jesus in your life. The flesh, which has its origin in Satan, will go along with you; to survive, it is quite prepared to engage in every form of Christian activity, even though this may seem to honor Christ.

The flesh will sing in the choir, teach Sunday school, preside at a deacons’ meeting, preach from the pulpit, organize an evangelistic crusade, go to Bible college, volunteer for the mission field, and a thousand other things, all of which may in themselves be otherwise legitimate, if only it can keep its neck out of the noose. The flesh will threaten, shout, strut, domineer, sulk, plot, creep, beg, plead, or sob, whatever the situation may demand in the interests of its own survival. By any and all means it will seek to cause every Christian to live by his own strength instead of by the power and grace of the Lord Jesus, and to conclude that doing so is actually a good thing!

The characteristic of the spiritually immature is that they are unable to discern between good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-14), and the baby Christian, like the foolish Galatians, “having begun in the Spirit” still tries to be “made perfect by the flesh” (Galatians 3:3).

We must be particularly patient with those whose lack of understanding allows a genuine love for the Lord Jesus to be satisfied with, and sometimes to be quite enthusiastic about, Christian activities involving means and methods which are heavily contaminated by the flesh. These are more deserving of instruction than rebuke, for they are still in their spiritual babyhood.

.....The flesh will seek to produce the most plausible arguments in justification of its own illegitimate activities, even though these activities are only what the Bible calls “dead works” (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14) and not the “good works” which are truly the work of God. “Good works” are those that have their origin in Jesus Christ, as Christ’s activity is released through your body because you present it to Him as a living sacrifice. You do this only by faith that expresses total dependence, as opposed to Adamic independence."

Major Ian Thomas: The Way Of The Flesh; from The Indwelling Life of Christ

Amen!
And that is what sincere Christians are always asking.... HOW do we allow Jesus to live through us?? How do we believe He will do that and how can we tell the difference between it being our own high mindedness or His actual direction on how to walk.?

The answer is we begin to learn how to walk by faith and not by sight. The key is grace. Reading the Bible and hearing it preached. Meditating on it and feeding on it. Again, the key is grace, how He loves us IN our learning and IN our mistakes.

The toddler is learning to walk, he falls many times. What would happen if the parents got mad at him for falling? A 'disconnect' occurs and the walking becomes a fearful experience. Not so with God. Because of Jesus we are not condemned and not expected to have a full mature spiritual beard while we are maturing.

We cannot learn if we are being condemned because there is no security to be able to learn. This does not work in the natural and it certainly doesn't work in the supernatural. God has made us that way. We need to be accepted and loved. If we are not we do not develop. A study was done on babies a hospital. Those that were held and nurtured thrived while the others did not develop well and even died.

The same study could be done on believers. Those that have experienced the love of God through Christ are able to really love others. They are learning daily how God loves them even in their weakness and want to keep learning. They have the confidence that God will perform what He has initiated in us. We can trust His promise to keep on leading and renewing our minds to be like Christ because we are assured that He does IN FACT love us.

So the same good works can be done by 2 totally different Christians and one Christians works will be of wood hay and stubble because it's done in the flesh while the other Christians works will be of gold, silver and precious jewels because they are done by grace through faith. God surly does appreciate when we believe that He does love us. And it is a truth that when we do begin to trust His love for us and in us, it's like rivers of living water flowing out of our bellies.