What is hyper-grace?" – in the Bible #8

On February 1, 2014, the message was about how to determine if a church is teaching the relatively newly dubbed “Hyper-Grace”. There were at least 8 identifiers. I have already covered #1-7.

The following are signs of a hyper-grace church:

1. The preachers never speak against sin.

2. The lead pastor never takes a cultural stand for righteousness.

3. The Old Testament is almost totally ignored.

4. People who live immoral lives are allowed to teach and lead ministries.

5. The lead pastor speaks often against the institutional church.

6. The lead pastor preaches against tithing.

7. The lead pastor only preaches positive motivational messages.

8. Key members of the church are regularly living sinful lives with impunity.

Those attending a hyper-grace church will most likely find that, because of the strong emphasis on grace—with no teaching against sin or on repentance, judgment or hell—there is an atmosphere of loose living, with many involved in sexual immorality and drunkenness as well as other physical vices.

The reason for this is “the law is our schoolmaster that leads us to Christ” (Gal. 3:24) because through the (moral) law comes the knowledge of sin (Rom. 3:20). If the moral law of the Ten Commandments is not preached or alluded to, then in ignorance the people will live foolish lives and will be like the blind leading to blind because “where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law” (Prov. 28:18).

1 Corinthians 5:

·         1 It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles--that a man has his father's wife!

·         2 And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you.

·         3 For I indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though I were present) him who has so done this deed.

·         4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,

·         5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

·         6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?

·         7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

·         8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.

·         9 I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.

·         10 Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world.

·         11 But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner--not even to eat with such a person.

·         12 For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside?

·         13 But those who are outside God judges. Therefore "put away from yourselves the evil person."

So, that being said, let’s look at the scripture the Hyper-Grace church uses in context.

Galatians 3:

·         19 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.

·         20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.

·         21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.

o   Following the Law by itself is not a guarantee of redemption

·         22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

·         23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.

o   The Law was a foreshadow of Jesus Christ so that we could know Him more completely

·         24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

·         25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

o   We are no longer “under the law” but we are expected to obey  it

o   Jesus Christ has paid our penalty

o   After our atonement, we are not expected to sin any more

o   “It’s not what you have to do to be a Christian; it’s what you want to do if you are a Christian”

o   The same is true in a marriage. You can still date others if you want to do so, but if you are truly in love, you don’t want to.

·         26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

·         27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

·         28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

·         29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Romans 3:

·         27 Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith.

·         28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

·         29 Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,

·         30 since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

o   If we could be ‘saved’ by keeping the law, we could boast about it. That is not the case. Salvation is only through the grace of God.

·         31 Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.

Romans 6:

·         1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?

·         2 Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

o   Sin is the violation of the Torah

·         3 Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?

·         4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

o   That newness of life is life according to the spirit of the Torah

o   The Pharisees were living according to the literal law, including their oral traditions

·         5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,

·         6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.

·         7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.

·         8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him,

·         9 knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.

·         10 For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.

·         11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

·         12 Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

o   Don’t live according to the carnal body

·         13 And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.

·         14 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

·         15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

o   Of course not! Many miss the point here.

·         16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?

·         17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.

·         18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

·         19 I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to  more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness.

·         20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

·         21 What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.

·         22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.

·         23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

o   The wages of sin (living against the Torah) is still death!

What is hyper-grace?" – in the Bible #7

On February 1, 2014, the message was about how to determine if a church is teaching the relatively newly dubbed “Hyper-Grace”. There were at least 8 identifiers. I have already covered #1-6.

The following are signs of a hyper-grace church:
1. The preachers never speak against sin.
2. The lead pastor never takes a cultural stand for righteousness.
3. The Old Testament is almost totally ignored.
4. People who live immoral lives are allowed to teach and lead ministries.
5. The lead pastor speaks often against the institutional church.
6. The lead pastor preaches against tithing.

7. The lead pastor only preaches positive motivational messages.

Those attending hyper-grace churches only hear positive messages on health, wealth, prosperity, God’s love, God’s forgiveness and how to succeed in life. Although I also agree with and teach on these topics, we have to be careful to include in our preaching the whole counsel of God so that we feed the flock a balanced diet instead of just the sweetness of feel-good messages.

This reminds me a lot of # 1 – they never speak against sin. I, also, agree with the good news, the Gospel, the promises of God’s forgiveness and all of the positive messages. However, this approach ignores the biggest little word in the Bible – IF.

John 10:
• 37 "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
• 38 "but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."
o Jesus told us to believe in Him only IF He does the works of the Father

1 Corinthians 11:
• 1 Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
• 2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you.
o Paul, like Jesus, told his followers to follow him, ONLY as he followed Christ – keeping the Commandments of God

John 15:
• 9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
• 10 "If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love.
• 11 "These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
• 12 "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
• 13 "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.
• 14 "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.
o IF you keep His commandments
o IF you do whatever He commanded

John 14:
• 15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.
o IF
• 16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--
• 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Ecclesiastes 12:
• 8 "Vanity of vanities," says the Preacher, "All is vanity."
o “Been there, done that” – Solomon’s life was full of variety – He had done it all – including going at least a bit insane for a while – His assessment is that the experiences mattered to no one but himself.
• 9 And moreover, because the Preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge; yes, he pondered and sought out and set in order many proverbs.
o God granted Solomon’s request for wisdom and he used it to teach others – including us through his writings in Ecclesiastes and Proverbs
• 10 The Preacher sought to find acceptable words; and what was written was upright-words of truth.
o It appears he spent a lot of time choosing his words carefully
• 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and the words of scholars are like well-driven nails, given by one Shepherd.
o And the words that he chose were intended to goad us into action
• 12 And further, my son, be admonished by these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is wearisome to the flesh.
o Solomon acknowledged that many books have been and will be written – to study everything that is available results in ‘the paralysis of analysis’ – we get tired of studying after a while – then we must make a decision
• 13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.
o And THAT DECISION needs to be to fear God (hold Him in awe due to all He has done and promises to do) and to keep His commandments – in every facet of our lives – that is all we can do – and it is all He expects us to do
• 14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
o God know our every thought, every time we stand up and every time we sit down and every time we lay down. That knowledge should be enough to shake us up to follow His way!

In today’s world, it is common to hear televangelists as well as preachers in organized churches, preach only the ‘soft’ stuff. They tell us the God will bless us with monetary fortune, if we but send them $1000 or more. We can be healed if we only let them lay hands on us – pound us on our forehead. Yes, they tell us the God is Love and that God will forgive us and that God promises a life of success. And He does but not necessarily in this human life. It may not exist for us until the Kingdom of God. We cannot earn it in any way, but we must follow the IFs –and follow, obey His commandments.

What is hyper-grace?" – in the Bible #6

On February 1, 2014, the message was about how to determine if a church is teaching the relatively newly dubbed “Hyper-Grace”. There were at least 8 identifiers. I have already covered #1-5.

The following are signs of a hyper-grace church:

1. The preachers never speak against sin.

2. The lead pastor never takes a cultural stand for righteousness.

3. The Old Testament is almost totally ignored.

4. People who live immoral lives are allowed to teach and lead ministries.

5. The lead pastor speaks often against the institutional church.

6. The lead pastor preaches against tithing.

Although I believe tithing carried over into the New Testament, I believe it is more of a biblical principle that preceded the Law of Moses (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob all tithed before Moses gave the Law), was taught by Jesus (Matt. 23) and was mentioned in other passages, like Hebrews 7. These pastors denounce tithing as a law that was done away with in Christ.

Genesis 14:

·         17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him.

·         18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High.

·         19 And he blessed him and said: "Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth;

·         20 And blessed be God Most High, Who has delivered your enemies into your hand." And he gave him a tithe of all.

o   Tithing was in practice long before Moses and the Ten Commandments

Matthew 23:

·         13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

·         14 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.

·         15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

·         16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.'

·         17 "Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?

·         18 "And, 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.'

·         19 "Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?

·         20 "Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it.

·         21 "He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it.

·         22 "And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.

·         23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

o   Jesus here is telling the Pharisees that they are correct in keeping the literal written directives of the  law, The Torah

o   This was a great opportunity for Him to tell them it wasn’t needed any more, but He did not do so

o   So where DID Christ do away with tithing? He didn’t do it.

Hebrews 7:

·         1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,

·         2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "king of righteousness," and then also king of Salem, meaning "king of peace,"

·         3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.

·         4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils.

·         5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham;

·         6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.

·         7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better.

·         8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives.

·         9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak,

·         10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.

o   Years after Christ’s crucifixion, Paul (or whoever wrote to the Hebrews) had yet another opportunity to say that tithing had been done away by Christ.

o   He did not do so.

Malachi 3:

·         7 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you," Says the LORD of hosts. "But you said, 'In what way shall we return?'

·         8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, 'In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings.

o   Since 100% belongs to God and He has said you can keep 90% of it, to fail to give Him His 10% portion is stealing from Him

·         9 You are cursed with a curse, For you have robbed Me, Even this whole nation.

·         10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

·         11 "And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, So that he will not destroy the fruit of your ground, Nor shall the vine fail to bear fruit for you in the field," Says the LORD of hosts;

·         12 "And all nations will call you blessed, For you will be a delightful land," Says the LORD of hosts.

OK, so scripture shows us that tithing has not been done away by Jesus Christ, other questions arise in today’s society.

1.      If salaried, is the tithe 10% of your gross pay or net pay?

2.      If you have investments, even a savings or checking account that pays interest or dividends, are their proceeds subject to a tithe?

3.      Much of the Old Testament tithing was of crops. How does that relate to non-farmers?

4.      In the Old Testament times, and even during Jesus’ time on earth, there was no government that paid Medicare or Social Security Benefits. Part of the tithe to the Levites was to go to helping widows, orphans and those unable to work.

Now it is your turn to address the Holy Spirit. Pray to the Father that He may guide your decisions. I will not attempt to provide the answers to you. These questions are typical of what may have been taken to the judges or Levites for individual answers that fit your personal situation. Since it was not possible to lay out the detailed answers to these questions in the Torah, they become issues between you and God. Your directive is to obey the letter of the law. Be true to the spirit and ask God to direct you where there is no clear answer.

What is hyper-grace?" – in the Bible #5

On February 1, 2014, the message was about how to determine if a church is teaching the relatively newly dubbed “Hyper-Grace”. There were at least 8 identifiers. I have already covered #1-2.

The following are signs of a hyper-grace church:

1. The preachers never speak against sin.

2. The lead pastor never takes a cultural stand for righteousness.

3. The Old Testament is almost totally ignored.

4. People who live immoral lives are allowed to teach and lead ministries.

5. The lead pastor speaks often against the institutional church.

Many hyper-grace pastors constantly denounce churches that are conservative in their values because they believe those churches represent the "old school" that is no longer relevant to today’s culture.

What’s New?

The Pope calls for international laws supporting Sunday

America’s Most Admired = Bill and Hillary Clinton, Michelle and Barack Obama

Mideast Peace Talks – going on ‘forever’

Harry Potter

Al Qaeda

Earthquakes

Tsunamis

Missiles aimed at Israel

Mothers killing their children

Gay marriages being approved as a ‘right’

Conditions similar to Sodom and Gomorrah rampant

Terrorist activity hanging like a dark cloud over our heads

Droughts

Floods

Poisoned waters

Inedible fish

Beef fed antibiotics

Chicken fed genetically reengineered feed

Pork declared edible

What else would you care to add to this list?

This represents today’s ‘culture’. This represents man’s way of solving the issues of the world.

What’s Old?

John 5

·         39 "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me.

John 10:

·         4 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly."

·         25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.

·         26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you.

·         27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.

·         28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.

·         29 "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.

·         30 "I and My Father are one."

·         31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.

·         32 Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?"

·         33 The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."

·         34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'?

·         35 "If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),

·         36 "do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I said, 'I am the Son of God'?

·         37 "If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

·         38 "but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."

Luke 24:

·         13 Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.

·         14 And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

·         15 So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

·         16 But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

·         17 And He said to them, "What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?"

·         18 Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, "Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?"

·         19 And He said to them, "What things?" So they said to Him, "The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people,

·         20 "and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

·         21 "But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.

·         22 "Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.

·         23 "When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.

·         24 "And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see."

·         25 Then He said to them, "O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

·         26 "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?"

·         27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

·         28 Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.

·         29 But they constrained Him, saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them.

·         30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

·         31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

·         32 And they said to one another, "Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?"

2 Peter 1:

·         16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty.

·         17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

·         18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

·         19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts;

·         20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,

·         21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

2 Timothy 3:

·         10 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance,

·         11 persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra--what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me.

·         12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

·         13 But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived.

·         14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,

·         15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

·         16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,

·         17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

In these New Testament passages, it is clear that the “scriptures” referenced are the Old Testament since that is all they had to study at the time. John, Luke, Peter and Timothy all caution against forgetting the Old Testament teachings. They point toward Jesus, the Messiah, and God’s Kingdom. The Torah is not sensitive to variant time frames. It is as 100% true today as it was in the time of Christ.