The Errors of Hyper-Grace

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Hyper-Grace today is rapidly becoming a growing movement in the church today.  The errors range from claims that we no longer need repentance once were saved, to God doesn’t judge anymore (either until the judgment seat, or, for some, ever), to some going as far as saying that all men are already saved and that Jesus’ sacrifice alone was sufficient, apart from believing in Him.  Not all go this far, but there is a growing trend in many that see as positive any push towards this edge, in fact, any new teaching undermining traditional Christianity, while still applying the label, as fact.

The departure from mainline theology is not only plain, it often is the very thing that is celebrated.  Rebellion against the form, resistance to any kind of tradition, and aversion to being lumped in with what is deemed undesirable, controlling, or legalistic are often the motivating factors behind many in these movements.

The efforts often come on the tail end of many good moves of God.  Many good moves have come out, dismantling godless structures, unveiling the litany of “dead works” in the church, any which do not originate from faith, and dismantling the system of institutionalism that has crept over the church.  Slave labor has been rooted out, joy and love and peace are making their way back into the church, and many people who were just in need of touching God have been renewed to their first love.  To their credit, they faced great persecution at the hands of those who simply wanted to see the system of man stay in perpetuity.

But this wasn’t enough for some.  There always had to be something new, something fresh.  A restoration of the revelation of the cross was no longer sufficient to sell new books, or to keeping crowd of devoted followers of yourself.  Without “fresh bread”, as it were, there was not bread for the table.

It is not clear how or why many went off, but having not been satisfied with the Mystery of God, Christ, they chose to depart from knowing Him in primacy, and left His Word.  All in the name of progressive revelation, mind you.  All in the name, of course, of a deeper revelation of the “cross”, supposedly, but empty of Christ, the man Himself.  Having traded the man for an understanding, they entered into a lie.

For many, it has simply been about changing the way we view God.  But, keep in mimed, God is God, and He is who He is.  We may change our view of God, but God has never changed.  As the prophet Jeremiah stated, they shall all be taught by God.  This has been the failing on both sides of the divide.  Whereas many have opted to break away from an institutional form that teaches men who God is, many have simply opted to change their perception of their creator, right or wrong, and continue teaching as commandments, the new doctrines of men.  Having already abandoned the form that stayed true to the Word, they reject it too, and, with no more root, they may pick and choose a verse here or there as it suits their needs, but it is as empty as the wind, and reaps the whirlwind.

But, no man can teach his neighbor, saying, know ye the Lord.  We can be taught to seek Him, to get to know Him, to come to see Him as He truly is, but to actually get to know Him requires talking to Him.  In fact, the moment we try to pin God down in anyway outside of what His Word says He is, who He actually is, though it, we have left the trail.  Even if we try to make the case that God is always in a good mood, across the board, though it may seem as though we see good fruit in the meantime, there can never be the fullness of harvest without honesty.

This is of course complicated by hardness of heart, the curses and iniquities of a believer, and the spiritual realm of wickedness.  It can be hard enough to hear God’s heart when we are overloaded with the nagging voices of doubt and unbelief.  But, this is precisely where the enemy has set his , mark against the believer and Christ’s church.

It is precisely in the area of working out our salvation that many have shipwrecked their faith.  The weight of sin, though hardly acknowledged by today’s culture is enormous.  This is, in fact, the entirety of the human predicament.  For, the soul who sins, he must die.

John 3:19-21

But it is precisely here where we must take our stand, the area of sin in the believer.  And, that, we must do with utmost care, gentleness, and correctness of speech.  To some, hardened by sin, only a bold, direct word can be felt.  To others, who know their shame, the warmth of love subdues the darkest rage.

But, of all the talk toward grace, right and wrong, it, too, is all pointed at this one place.  The sinner does not want to have his sin revealed, lest he be exposed as a law-breaker, and know his own condemnation in his heart.  Seeing this, instinctively, he would know the weeping and gnashing of teeth, the dark, bitter life of an outcast, and the wretchedness of his own state.  That is, short of the life of Christ.

And this, of course, is the mission field of every believer.  To help all men see the truth, their condition right now.  And, in seeing that there is nothing they can do to help themselves, to find Christ.  This is the true salvation, by grace through faith.

But, the carnal man is opposed to faith, and he opposes it at every turn. For the believer, whether new or old, he must always subsist solely upon the inner work of Christ as His light.  In doing so, he will shun worldliness, hate wickedness, and despise all shades of gray.

But, of course, walking this out may not be so simple.  You see, Truth is a person, not a doctrine.  Jesus foresaw the difficulties in following Him, and laid out a simple Word.  The life of faith is not a strain, but its hard to find, and pain-staking to maintain.  That’s details, not effort.  He said that, the life lived in faith is always in maximum happiness, but, you see, if that life is not ultimately lived out with the Spirit of the Law of Moses, not the letter, it proves how little of His Spirit you actually knew.

This accords with the human heart, created in God’s image, whose only true prosperity is lived out in holiness.  The lie to men has always been that of the Garden that somehow, maybe, God’s instruction was not really the best.

But, Jesus also understood where the basis of the issue lay, the person’s heart, for out of what is treasured therein.  Concluding the sermon on the mount, He indicated that if you really applied what He had laid out, it would mean you had dug down deep to the rock (Luke 6:48), past the issues and complaints in your soul, to actually live free.

This then, is our common salvation, and this, of course is the root of every false teaching regarding hyper grace.

The soul that knows it is forgiven has no need of an inflated grace teaching.  It is bored with someone else telling them what mood God is in (it prefers to ask Hi, itself).  It tires at a mere repetition of doctrine that does not introduce the hearer to the one who it is about, yet it espouses those exact same doctrines, and preaches the exact same thing, for it has seen that they alone are the Words of Eternal life.

But, it is the soul unsure, the one not at rest, and in fear, that needs to constantly be assured that they  are fine.  And, for some, this very preaching may be the thing that brings about faith at the hearing of the Word, so that they come to the full assurance.  But, it is precisely those wandering souls, those intelligent learning yet not yet truthful souls that devise another way.

They look at this verse, and they look at that verse.  Having tasted of the family of God, but standing without, they find not peace at all.  Having been convinced of the Word of the legitimacy of sin and punishment and death, yet failing to have yet entered that door, they then must look back to the text, with one eye closed, mind you, and, from the very source of their pain, invent some remedy of convenience–God doesn’t judge, I have no need to repent when I sin, there is no bondage or deliverance for the believer, God can never be mad at me or reject me.  All of these, then, spring from the root of being unloved.

So, they have all these doctrines, and all these teachings, perhaps even miracles some (Matthew 7:21), but they have not come to know Christ.  Always learning, but refusing to come to the knowledge of the truth.  Never losing their life on the altar of the cross, and so being born again.

But many of these people have a sincere, yet not tested faith, yet they have allowed another teaching to influence themselves away from wholehearted love of Christ.  They have succumbed, some, to the hypocrisy or worldliness, which chokes out the seed.  These, though their love be genuine, not heeding correctly the admonition to cut off an arm if it would free you from sin (knowing the flesh profits nothing), have sat down by the side of The Way, defiantly declaring themselves “there”, when they’re nowhere at all, as evidenced by their fruit.

But, regardless, whether by good intent or bad, the cross they preach is empty, though they laud its glory, for it is empty first of Christ, and decidedly of himself.

The only true revival is the revival of repentance that leads into the revelation of love, which leads into the innermost heart of God Himself.  If man would strip Himself, humble Himself, and seek God, not for a month or a year, but for their life, He would be found when they seek for Him with all of their heart.

You see, even in the tabernacle, you do not leave the outer courts, repentance, to enter the inner, the hidden work of God, but the inner is contained within the outer.  Nor do you leave the work of the sacrifices and only maintain the altar of incense.  But, each man has his job, and while the focus of every revival will be different, the only cure for a sin-sick soul, is the blood offered in righteousness, poured out in love.

While a soul may still stumble, and struggle, while in the midst of being purified, it is always, only the humble work of Grace, started while young, that a man is made whole, restores, and, through a living, loving Christ, overcomes the world.