The True Message Of Grace

[MessageOfTheCross]

Proverbs 28:13 – “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”

THE TRUE MESSAGE OF grace is a message that must be heard by the modern church. For centuries an incorrect view of law and its purpose has placed the Protestant church in horrific bondage. We have mistakenly assumed that we could be saved by faith and then later, sanctified by religious efforts, by works, or by consecration to the things of God. Nothing could be more inaccurate.

The truth is, we are progressively sanctified in the same manner in which we are saved. With the object of our faith centered upon the person of Christ and the finished work of Christ, the Holy Spirit becomes free to maneuver, to change, to take out, and to add all that is needed relative to the heart of the believer. So, I applaud every voice and every Christian who proclaims loudly and clearly that the process of grace and faith is the proper process necessary for Christian growth.

However, I am saddened to have to say that in the last 10 years, several major platforms have been raised up for voices preaching a message of grace. They are moving the believer from faith in works to faith in Christ, and for this I am grateful to the Lord. However, some very grievous doctrines have begun to surface in some of the platforms proclaiming grace. I am sure that this is Satan’s effort to belittle and besmirch the true message of grace, the Message of the Cross.

COVERING YOUR SIN

Sin is always the problem that faces humanity. It matters not whether you have been saved for 30 years or three minutes, sin is still the problem. The believer, not yet in a glorified state, has a sin nature remaining within him that contains the potential for dominating him if it is not addressed properly. Romans, Chapter 6, teaches us that the power of the sin nature remains dormant and will not affect the believer whose faith is in Christ and Him crucified.

However, even with the sin nature silenced, the capability for sinning, or missing the mark, still exists. If we ignore sin, either acts of sin or the sin nature, the results are disastrous. While it is true that justification is not reversed by an act of sin, it is also true that justification can be reversed if our faith fails. Unconfessed sin eats away at the fabric of our faith and weakens our relationship with God.

Some are teaching that there is no need to confess one’s sins unto the Lord. They teach that confessing something with which God has already dealt at Calvary is a sign of unbelief. How horribly wrong that is! An unwillingness to wash away your sin in the constant flow of Christ's intermediary work is an act of unbelief, not properly confessing your fault to God. I am 100 percent sure that when I take my sin to Jesus, He washes me white as snow. I do not move in and out of salvation every time I fail the Lord. Justification is a far more powerful truth than that.

However, if I fail to confess my sin, my relationship to the Lord is greatly impeded, much like a friend whom you have offended. If the situation isn't amended, it's very likely that the relationship will begin to fail.

Not only are we to repent of our sin unto the Lord, but we are also to forsake it. This always requires more power than any human can muster. The worst thing that we could do is attempt to ignore the problem based on a faulty doctrine.

Grace not only opens up the door for me to be forgiven, it is also the power by which I overcome the sin and weight that is presently coming against me. Once I have confessed, I also need to be granted the delivering power from God to overcome these issues. None of this is possible when I ignore my problems or push away the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. He guides me into all truth, both right and wrong!

FAILURE TO PROSPER

It is impossible to be blessed when we violate God's procedures or instructions. Believers should quickly realize that God will often hold back blessings from us when we fail to acknowledge or be honest about our current condition. If I view sin in a wrong way, or if I fail to correct my problems in the means outlined in Scripture, I can guarantee that spiritual prosperity, physical well-being, and financial gain will be hindered or even eliminated.

The Bible doesn’t teach that failing to prosper is a sin. However, many times, it does reveal to us that sin can cause the lack of prosperity. There is no hope of prospering biblically without adhering to all of the process regarding salvation.

Confession of our sins is not to be ignored, made fun of, or rejected. It is to be practiced. After confession of sin, we are to continually believe God for the delivering power needed to free us permanently from the act(s) of sin we have committed. There are no exceptions!

Pastor Loren Larson - JSM

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

This is the true message of grace and sin confession we need to hear.

 

[beta]

I can only agree with what has been written above in the OP !
May I also elaborate in simple terms the 'Purpose of Grace !
It is a period of time granted to the Believer to 'learn the New Way of Life into which he/she has been called ! The instant death-sentence that prevailed in the OT has been DEFERRED and we are graciously given time to be 'corrected, changed and converted, to learn Obedience to the Will of God...without which we can not enter the Kingdom of God !
That is GRACE in a nutshell but obviously there is more to it....so let us discuss and not accuse.

 

[Cee]

I agree our relationship with God is always revealing His truth. And His truth sets us free. I believe pursuing love for God and one another is how we move in the opposite direction from the lure of sin. I liken our relationship with Christ to a marriage, I don’t enter in thinking how much I can hurt my wife or how little time I can spend with her.

 

[BillG]

I think part of the problem is that think we have the sanctify ourselves.
We forget that we have the Holy Spirit in us who sanctifies us.

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

I think part of the problem is that think we have the sanctify ourselves.
We forget that we have the Holy Spirit in us who sanctifies us.

That was the whole purpose of the 4th commandment - to stop and remember that it was GOD who was sanctifying Israel. But what we have now - the indwelling holy spirit - is so much better because it will remind us every moment, if we listen.

 

[Cee]

That was the whole purpose of the 4th commandment - to stop and remember that it was GOD who was sanctifying Israel. But what we have now - the indwelling holy spirit - is so much better because it will remind us every moment, if we listen.

Well said! I rarely hear people discuss Scripture that reveals God’s purpose of the 4th commandment! Understanding the original principle also shows us the greater reality we have in Christ. Now we are invited to rest forever and to pray unceasingly. We are His Tabernacle.

 

[BillG]

That was the whole purpose of the 4th commandment - to stop and remember that it was GOD who was sanctifying Israel. But what we have now - the indwelling holy spirit - is so much better because it will remind us every moment, if we listen.

But how does keeping one day aside relate to your comment?

Surely it's every day?

Have I misunderstoodb what you are trying to convey?

 

[HeRoseFromTheDead]

But how does keeping one day aside relate to your comment?

Surely it's every day?

Have I misunderstoodb what you are trying to convey?

The last sentence in your post I responded to reminded me of the purpose for the 4th commandment. I was simply making a comparison of that with the present reality expressed in your sentence, i.e., that we forget who is sanctifying us. In summary, remembering is keeping sabbath, irrespective of time.

 

[Lewiz]

I think part of the problem is that think we have the sanctify ourselves.
We forget that we have the Holy Spirit in us who sanctifies us.

We forget also we must yield to the Spirit's leading. It is NOT an automatic event. That's where obedience really comes in.

 

[Nehemiah6]

This OP is a mixture of truth and error, but it does address the false doctrine of Hyper Grace preachers, and we can be thankful for that.

THE TRUE MESSAGE OF grace is a message that must be heard by the modern church.

The author is confusing the Church (the Body of Christ) with the churches of the various denominations. They are not one monolithic church, but “churches”. The RCC calls itself the Church, but the Church is strictly the redeemed of God – children of God through the New Birth, within the churches (which also can have tares).

For centuries an incorrect view of law and its purpose has placed the Protestant church in horrific bondage. We have mistakenly assumed that we could be saved by faith and then later, sanctified by religious efforts, by works, or by consecration to the things of God. Nothing could be more inaccurate.

False on at least two counts. There are Protestant churches, and then there are non-Catholic evangelical and fundamentalist churches which have nothing to do with Portestants or the Reformation. Secondly, the Bible makes it crystal clear that religious efforts, works, and consecration to the things of God are all part of practical sanctification. We are ordained unto “good works”.

The truth is, we are progressively sanctified in the same manner in which we are saved. With the object of our faith centered upon the person of Christ and the finished work of Christ, the Holy Spirit becomes free to maneuver, to change, to take out, and to add all that is needed relative to the heart of the believer.

Why should this be considered as being in conflict with good works? It appears that the writer is speaking about dealing with sins or carnality in the believer’s life, but does not come right out with it. Also to say that “the Holy Spirit becomes free” is incorrect. God the Holy Spirit is not under the control of the believer, but the believer should be under the control of the Holy Spirit. Thus is subtle ways, doctrine is changed.

However, I am saddened to have to say that in the last 10 years, several major platforms have been raised up for voices preaching a message of grace. They are moving the believer from faith in works to faith in Christ, and for this I am grateful to the Lord.

Genuine Christians do not put their faith in works, so where is he getting this from?

The believer, not yet in a glorified state, has a sin nature remaining within him that contains the potential for dominating him if it is not addressed properly.

Now this is presenting Bible truth.

Romans, Chapter 6, teaches us that the power of the sin nature remains dormant and will not affect the believer whose faith is in Christ and Him crucified.

Now this is FALSE. How does a preacher go suddenly from true to false? The power of the sin nature does NOT remain dormant, but is always in conflict with the indwelling Holy Spirit. That is the lesson from Galatians 5, so why did this writer forget to search the Scriptures.

However, even with the sin nature silenced, the capability for sinning, or missing the mark, still exists. If we ignore sin, either acts of sin or the sin nature, the results are disastrous... Unconfessed sin eats away at the fabric of our faith and weakens our relationship with God.

The sin nature is never “silenced” but the rest of these statements are true.

While it is true that justification is not reversed by an act of sin, it is also true that justification can be reversed if our faith fails.

This is TOTAL FALSE. Justification is a one-time act of God in His grace and mercy, and it cannot be reversed.

Some are teaching that there is no need to confess one’s sins unto the Lord. They teach that confessing something with which God has already dealt at Calvary is a sign of unbelief. How horribly wrong that is! An unwillingness to wash away your sin in the constant flow of Christ's intermediary work is an act of unbelief, not properly confessing your fault to God. I am 100 percent sure that when I take my sin to Jesus, He washes me white as snow. I do not move in and out of salvation every time I fail the Lord. Justification is a far more powerful truth than that. However, if I fail to confess my sin, my relationship to the Lord is greatly impeded, much like a friend whom you have offended. If the situation isn't amended, it's very likely that the relationship will begin to fail.

Now this is all true, and this exposes the lies of the Hyper Grace preachers.

Not only are we to repent of our sin unto the Lord, but we are also to forsake it. This always requires more power than any human can muster. The worst thing that we could do is attempt to ignore the problem based on a faulty doctrine.

This is also true and according to Scripture.

Grace not only opens up the door for me to be forgiven, it is also the power by which I overcome the sin and weight that is presently coming against me. Once I have confessed, I also need to be granted the delivering power from God to overcome these issues. None of this is possible when I ignore my problems or push away the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. He guides me into all truth, both right and wrong!

This is essentially correct, but the last sentence makes no sense.

It is impossible to be blessed when we violate God's procedures or instructions. Believers should quickly realize that God will often hold back blessings from us when we fail to acknowledge or be honest about our current condition. If I view sin in a wrong way, or if I fail to correct my problems in the means outlined in Scripture, I can guarantee that spiritual prosperity, physical well-being, and financial gain will be hindered or even eliminated.

This is generally true, but “financial gain” (prosperity) is not necessarily a sign of being blessed. Many early Christians were extremely poor and extremely blessed.

The Bible doesn’t teach that failing to prosper is a sin. However, many times, it does reveal to us that sin can cause the lack of prosperity. There is no hope of prospering biblically without adhering to all of the process regarding salvation.

Fair enough.

Confession of our sins is not to be ignored, made fun of, or rejected. It is to be practiced. After confession of sin, we are to continually believe God for the delivering power needed to free us permanently from the act (s) of sin we have committed. There are no exceptions!

This is true.