There is a wave of grace teachings that are quickly spreading through out the church of Jesus Christ. Many renown preachers and popular speakers are joining these teachings and supporting these doctrines almost as if a magical spell has fallen over their sermons, minds, and scripture readings. They now see the entire bible thru the false dichotomy of a conflict between the grace of God and the old testament law. They incorrectly define law as the rule of moral principles for behavior modification in the personal efforts to do good. And they wrongly interpret grace as the freedom from those regulations in absolution from any obligation to keep those standards. The tampering distortions of these biblical terms rob the scriptures of their original meaning, importing into the texts foreign ideas that were never in the minds of the original authors of the biblical canon. The end result is an unbalanced exposition of themes not researched, filled with a lot of exaggerations and a strong emphasis on half truths. For example Pastor Crefflo Dollar said in one of his grace series that the problem with today's Christianity was the mixing of the law with the grace of God and he used as proof text:(Revelation 3:15, 16 ASV)
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spew thee out of my mouth.
According to Dollar, hot is symbolic of the grace of God and cold is synonymous with the old testament law; therefore, God doesn't mind you being under the law or operating under His grace. The thing that makes God sick is that we are mixing the two into one. Now I know preachers like to make fanciful interpretations at times, overly emphasizing meanings to squeeze in esoteric views into their sermons but this exegesis is beyond bizarre. Why take an apocalyptic message from Christ Himself that clearly speaks about the pride and indifference of the Laodicean church and ignore the entire structure of the letter to extrapolate a view that is neither mentioned nor hinted in the text? This is not just an irresponsible reading, this is a total disregard for the value and meaning of the word of God in its original context.
If Dollar would have opened any biblical commentary to study the text carefully, he could have found out that the hot and cold phrase in Revelation 3:15 is a topographical reference to the Laodicean landscape. Their city lacked a good source of water supply in the region. So they had to either channel it from the quemically charged hot springs of Hiriepolis in the north or draw it from the cold snow cap mountains of Colosse in the southeast. The problem normally was that by the time the water reached the Laodicean territory, it was already warm and filled with the residue of chemicals that made those who drink out of the water sick to their stomach. The prophetic message to the church was making a comparison between their problem of water supply and their spiritual condition in the presence of God. The text has nothing to do with mixing anything. Nowhere in the passage the word grace, law or mixing is even mentioned in the rebuke. The scripture only speaks of the Laodicean works and attitude towards God that were at the time full of apathy and pride.
But notice how deceptive this interpretation of Dollar really is as he is obscuring a very powerful message of strong rebuke from the resurrected Christ to His Church. Christ is confronting the church for their works that according to Dollar are no longer necessary for a true relationship with God (Rev 3:1). Christ is addressing false doctrines of which the hyper-grace teaching could easily be included (Rev 2:14-15). Jesus is exposing the pride, arrogance, and indifference within His church that is still one of the main problems within the body of Christ today (Rev 3:17). But Mr. Dollar cannot hear any of these corrections and rebukes because he is too busy trying to find in the scriptures proof texts for his delusional grace vs law doctrine.
Now buying for a moment into the false view that the law is the problem with the church of Jesus Christ and that what we need today is more grace teachings, I ask myself the question, who exactly are the grace preachers talking to? Who are all the people that are burdened with moral standards and strict regulations about everything in life? The last time I checked, our modern churches, preachers and ministers included, are at an all time low in their moral and licentious living. What exactly do they all need to be free from?! Maybe their conscience? Or perhaps their shame? Is this really the great revelation that we all need to hear today? Don't bother anymore, ease your conscience?
Joseph Prince said in one of his messages that he tells people all the time that while they are watching pornography they should keep proclaiming that they are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. In other words, don't flee immorality, don't avoid the appearance of evil and don't stay away from iniquity but instead, as you are engaging in sinful behavior, keep on confessing grace because it is not about what you do with your body, it is about what you believe and confess with your mouth. Supposedly, anything else would be a product of will power and human effort which according to Joseph Prince is contrary to grace. Where exactly is the bible against discipline and human effort? Since when is it so wrong to invest effort and will into your Christian life? Isn't confession also human effort? Is not believing a part of your human will involving discipline and work? Are not the grace teachers boasting in their revelations and confessions as much as they are accusing others on boasting in their will power, works, and righteousness?
The first Christians, Paul, and the apostles included were all law abiding Torah observing Jews. They celebrated the feasts of Israel keeping the food laws and reading as their sacred text the Old Testament scriptures. Many of the debates, struggles and conflicts that we read in the new testament are not against moral restraints or even against codes of purity but instead they were all about the ethical issue of ethnic reconciliation. Now that Christ is risen from the dead, the division and wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles has been torn down and what defines the people of God is no longer Jewish ethnicity and not even faithful Torah observance but instead our faith in the Messiah evidenced by the witness of His Spirit. Therefore, works of the law such as the sacrificial system, circumcision, dietary rules are now relativize and no longer required of gentiles who thru faith are already accepted into the family of God. That does not mean no more keeping of commandments or freedom from any regulations that are uncomfortable to our flesh but instead it signifies a new and fresh empowerment to fulfill the will of God, keeping His commandments in the power of the Spirit. Thru Christ the law is now written in our hearts not to give us freedom from moral standards but for us to fulfill the highest of standards that was previously impossible to achieve because of the weakness of our flesh. Now because of our faith in Jesus we can receive and live by the power of The Holy Spirit, putting to death all the deeds and appetites of our flesh. That transformation, sanctification, and regeneration is what the true grace of God is all about!!
Paul who is read today as the hyper-grace champion was himself very strict with moral codes and kept a very high standard of purity among his churches. In 1 Corinthians 5:11, he instructs his readers to not associate with immoral Christians to the point that one is not to even seat to eat with them. In Romans 16:17, Paul urges to single people out who oppose the teaching and make sure to turn away from them. In 1 Corinthians 5:2, Paul judges a person and recommends for that individual to be excommunicated from the congregation. In 1 Timothy 1:20, he calls out people by name and pronounces them blasphemers, turning them over to Satan. In 1 Timothy 5:20, He instructs to rebuke people publicly because of their sins in order to cause fear to the rest of the congregation. In other words, by today's standards Paul could easily be called a legalist, a hater, and a religious Pharisee. Contrary to what Joseph Prince says about not putting any effort into our Christian lifestyle, Paul urges believers to seek holiness, pursue righteousness and put to death the deeds of the flesh. Notice just a few of the many instances where Paul makes exhortation about the importance of right just living.
Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. (2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT)
For you remember what we taught you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honor— not in lustful passion like the pagans who do not know God and his ways. Never harm or cheat a Christian brother in this matter by violating his wife, for the Lord avenges all such sins, as we have solemnly warned you before. God has called us to live holy lives, not impure lives. Therefore, anyone who refuses to live by these rules is not disobeying human teaching but is rejecting God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you. (1 Thessalonians 4:2-8 NLT)
[i]Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience…But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. (Col. 3:5-9)
God, who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;but glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: for there is no respect of persons with God. (Rom. 2:6-11)
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