"3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW; you have FALLEN FROM GRACE."
-
Falling From Grace.
Can believers fall from grace? It's a question that has been much talked about in the Church. Of course, what many think it means is when someone has committed a sin, or sins, and has either fallen out of fellowship with God or lost their salvation. In either case, in their view, that person needs to beg forgiveness and be restored.
-
Nothing could be further from the truth!
-
The truth is, yes, believers can fall from grace. But what does that mean and how does it happen? Is by committing sin? Not living a holy life? Not going to church? Does it mean you lose your salvation? Of course not.
-
According to Galatians 5:4, It happens this way:
"You, who ATTEMPT TO BE JUSTIFIED BY THE LAW; you are fallen from grace."
-
Church, we are justified BY FAITH, NOT BY THE LAW. Our right standing is ETERNAL, not temporal, which means it can NEVER EVER be revoked, no matter what you think, say or do. Your performance didn't make you righteous; your performance doesn't make you UNrighteous.
What Is The Law.
What is the law, them? Is it The Ten Commandments?
Yes and no.
Simply put, Law demands, Grace supplies.
-
You can make a law out of anything, even good Christian practices like prayer, Bible reading, Bible study, praise, living a holy life, going to church, etc.
How? By saying things like "You must read your Bible 15 minutes every day and pray for half an hour or God is not pleased with you." In so doing, you make this good practice into a law. People will get the wrong idea that God is angry or displeased with them if they fail to perform. They will believe their right standing with Abba is based upon their doing which is PURE, UNADULTERATED SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS.
We Don't Have To; We Get To!
We don't read the Bible because we have to; we read it because we get to!
We seek to live a holy life not because we have to, but because we know how much we are loved by God.
We don't pray because we have to, we do so because we understand it activates our covenant with a God Who provides for all our needs because He SO LOVED us!
We don't praise Him because we have to. When you KNOW how much you are LOVED by God, YOU CAN'T HELP BUT PRAISE HIM! You couldn't shut up if you wanted to!
-
(For more on the subject of what God sees when He looks at you follow this link:
-
-
Unintended Consequence.
Law DEMANDS; Grace SUPPLIES. They are diametrically opposed. That's why when law is mixed with Grace, THEY CANCEL EACH OTHER OUT. The unfortunate and unintended consequence of mixing the covenants is that those who try to obey the law end up with it's blessings and curses as their "reward."
If you think that sounds really bad, guess what? It's even worse for the preacher or teacher of this system. According to Galatians chapter 1:6-10, they are under a double curse.
-
Law Vs. Grace
Law is based on self-righteousness.
Grace is based on knowing that "of myself I can do NOTHING.
Law focuses on "ME."
Grace is focused on "JESUS."
Law CONDEMNS.
Grace says, "There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION."
The law says, "Do good, get good; do bad get bad."
Grace says, "CHRIST ALONE IS YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
Law is based on self-righteousness.
Grace is based on knowing that "of myself I can do NOTHING.
Law focuses on "ME."
Grace is focused on "JESUS."
Law CONDEMNS.
Grace says, "There is therefore now NO CONDEMNATION."
The law says, "Do good, get good; do bad get bad."
Grace says, "CHRIST ALONE IS YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
-
RIGHTEOUSNESS IS A GIFT you receive, NOT AN ACTION you perform.
-
Not The Same a Gospel?
I submit to you that this gospel that Paul preached is not the one that is being widely taught in churches today. What you hear most often is "Do good, get good: Do bad, get bad." That is NOT the gospel.
The pure UNADULTERATED GOSPEL is this: We get the good we don't deserve because of Another Who Took the bad we do deserve: OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!!! HALLELUJAH!!!
The law was given by Moses, a servant. Grace and truth CAME by Jesus Christ, THE SON. It's not about you at all; it's about JESUS!
-
-
Condemnatory Preaching.
If you are a believer, you may have heard someone preaching in a way that condemns you. Church, I don't care if the speaker has a PhD or they're an angel from heaven. If it causes you to feel like you have fallen short of some standard, feel shame or is pointing AT you and TO YOUR PERFORMANCE.....or lack of it.....to be pleasing to God, you are hearing the Law. IT IS NOT FROM JESUS. It is from the devil who loves to accuse you and uses the Law to do it. Pointing AT you instead of TO JESUS is putting you under the condemnation of the law. Might as well just feed you little doses of arsenic. It's just as deadly.
-
-
Life And Death.
The letter KILLS; but the Spirit gives LIFE! "For everyone who partakes only of milk {LAW} is UNSKILLED IN THE WORD OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, for he is a BABE." Hebrews 5:13
The question isn't "How many degrees do you have?" but "Are you weaned from milk--from the law?" That is the biblical definition of spiritual babyhood.
-
Peace With God.
Jesus does not condemn you. Our accuser, the devil, does and he is getting a lot of help from the pulpit. Church, Jesus Christ took ALL your shame, ALL your judgment; ALL YOUR PUNISHMENT. ALL. You are forever right with God. The Bible says we HAVE.... not trying to get it.....we HAVE--present tense--PEACE WITH GOD. The war is over.
-
Confusion Over Confession.
God would be unjust TO JESUS if He punished you for your sins. His death was an OVERPAYMENT for all of them. HE CLEANSED YOUR ENTIRE LIFE and did a perfectly complete work. That's why He could cry out with a LOUD voice from the cross, "FINISHED!" AMEN.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
This little verse has caused no little confusion over confession in the Church because it has been taken out of context. Unintentionally, it has been MISunderstood, MISinterpreted and thereby MISapplied to the us. This was not written TO the Church. All ten verses in chapter of 1 John were written TO GNOSTIC JEWS. He was not writing TO believers.
(For more information on 1 John 1:9 follow this link:
The Apostle Paul, in all his letters and, in fact, all the writers of the New Testament, consistently refer to believers this way: As either "little children," or "brethren," or some way that indicates they are addressing the Church as opposed to the unsaved.
Not only that, but where it says He will "cleanse" us from all unrighteousness, the word "cleanse" is in the Aorist tense, 3rd person. This cleansing was done TO YOU by One outside of yourself; by Jesus! Since it was done TO YOU it cannot be UNdone BY YOU.
-
-
Greek Tenses.
Aorist tense in Greek means the act is something that happened in the past. Perfect tense in Greek in this verse means it was a ONE-TIME, NEVER-TO-BE-REPEATED ACT, the effects of which continue on in the present. NEVER AGAIN from the moment you are saved do you EVER need to ask GOD to forgive your sins. He cleansed YOUR ENTIRE LIFE.
THIS IS A SALVATION VERSE.
-
No Sin Left Unpunished.
Not one of your sins that you have committed, are presently committing or ever will commit escaped punishment. Jesus bore the punishment for ALL your sins 2,000 years ago on that hill outside Jerusalem.
Don't get the wrong idea, though. Human consequences still apply. We still need to ask others for forgiveness when we have hurt or wronged them. If you commit a crime, expect punishment in a legal sense but never again from our Abba. Between us and God, as far as sin is concerned, IT'S A DONE DEAL.
-
It's OK to sit and talk with Abba about your sins and problems but from the standpoint of recognizing that your sin is already cleansed and your right standing with Him intact. He can help you overcome that which so easily besets you.
Falling From Grace.
So, how do believers fall from grace? By depending on their own self-efforts to measure up to either law or some other standard that points them and their performance. That is not how transformation takes place. The Holy Spirit transforms us from within as we behold Jesus.
So, how do believers fall from grace? By depending on their own self-efforts to measure up to either law or some other standard that points them and their performance. That is not how transformation takes place. The Holy Spirit transforms us from within as we behold Jesus.
Lesson Of The Emmaus.
How do we behold Him? He showed us on the Emmaus Road.
Luke 24:27
"27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
Luke 24:27
"27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."
-
See Jesus in all the scriptures, from Genesis to Revelation. The more you behold Him the more you fall in love with Him! See all that He did for you to redeem you and all you will ever want to do is everything you can to glorify Him and edify the Church.
Your doing is now because your want-to's have changed, not because someone told you that you should or you have to do these things. You have new desires, a fire and a passion for spreading the gospel. You won't be able to shut up about Jesus!!! No one will have to tell you that you must go out and witness. It will flow effortlessly out of you, like rivers of living water.
-
Forget about trying to do good or be good. Focus instead on Jesus and His righteousness. Understand that you already are forever righteous, accepted and beloved in Jesus. You will walk it out and end up obeying the ten without giving them a single glance.
-
Trying to keep the law.....that is how believers fall from grace.
No comments:
Post a Comment