Thursday, March 13, 2014

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.

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