Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Saturday, February 29, 2020

A Second Work of Grace


Palm 120:1-2 ESV

“In my distress I called to the Lord,
    and he answered me.
Deliver me, O Lord,
    from lying lips,
    from a deceitful tongue.”

What Lying Lips?

What lying lips, and what deceitful tongues must we, the body of Christ, his church, be delivered from today? They are those who are teaching a second work of grace, and I am not referring to the baptism of the Holy Spirit here. But, I am referring to the cheap grace gospel which is permeating the church here in America, and which is conquering our nation, and which is NOT God’s grace, but a cheap substitute for the true grace of God.

What we have to know here is that this cheap grace is not isolated to just a few church congregations, or just to a handful of preachers who are proclaiming it. It has reached epidemic proportions in our nation, and it has swept across probably all church denominations. And, those who are proclaiming it are numbered in the thousands, and perhaps millions.

The other thing we need to understand about this cheap grace gospel, which is a second work of grace, but NOT of God, but of man, is that this is of Satan whose goal it is to steal, to kill and to destroy the church (See John 10). And, it is of this New World Order beast which is taking over the nations of the world, and which is bringing the world into a one world order and religion. And, the cheap grace gospel is paving the way for that, too.

What is cheap grace?

So, what is “cheap grace,” and why is it a danger? It is basically a willful half-truth gospel, and thus it is a lie, which willfully ignores most of the teachings in the New Testament on the subjects of grace, salvation from sin, the gospel of Christ, judgment, and eternal life with God. And, it dilutes God’s grace to something it is not, but which appeases human flesh.

It teaches Bible passages out of context, and then it twists them to make them say what they want them to say. It softens the message of the cross of Christ, and of our salvation from sin, and it presents God’s grace merely as a “get-out-of-jail-free-card,” and the guarantee of eternal life with God regardless of how we live our lives on this earth.

It tells its adherents that all they have to do is say some words after someone supposedly in prayer to God, or that all they have to do is just to acknowledge who Jesus is, or that all they have to do is to make some outward confession of faith, and now heaven is guaranteed them. No repentance, no obedience, and no submission to Christ as Lord required.

So, what this does is give its followers free license to continue in willful, premeditated and habitual sin against God without guilt and without remorse. No transformation of heart and mind required.

They Call it Grace

And, they call that grace. For, they claim that all their sins are now covered by the grace of God, and they are now without guilt, and without punishment, and that God can’t even see when they sin anymore, but that all he can see is Jesus when he looks at us. And, so he smiles on even those who are living in gross immorality in willful defiance to God’s commands.

Many are even going so far as to discourage repentance, obedience, and submission to the Lordship of Christ by calling these “works-based salvation,” and thus inferring that this has to do with people trying to be good enough in their own power and strength to be acceptable to God.

And, then they quote Eph. 2:8-9 where it says that God’s grace is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

But, they leave out verse 10, which says, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

So, our salvation is not absent of works, but they are the works of God, which God prepared in advance that we should walk (in lifestyle) in them, as his workmanship, i.e. in his power and strength, and under his guidance and direction.

And, the gift of God’s grace is not free license to keep on in sinful practices, but it is freedom from our bondage (slavery) to sin, and it is empowerment of the Holy Spirit to walk in holiness and righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23).

For, God’s true grace, which brings salvation, instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions (fleshly lusts), and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14; cf. Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Lu. 9:23-26).

Palm 120:3-4 ESV

“What shall be given to you,
    and what more shall be done to you,
    you deceitful tongue?
A warrior's sharp arrows,
    with glowing coals of the broom tree!”

God will punish these lying tongues one day. Some he may punish now, and others he may punish later when he returns to the earth to judge. They will not escape his judgment or their due punishment.

For, they are leading people astray by the thousands, and perhaps millions, which is Satan’s goal. They are leading people away from pure devotion to Christ, and they are leading them to continue in their sinful lifestyles, only without guilt, and without fear of punishment, and with a false promise of eternal life with God. And, they are leading them to a false Jesus, too.

They have turned the church, the house of the Lord, upside down. They have partnered the church with the government, with the world, and with big business (corporate America), and they have turned God’s house into a marketplace. And, his house is the body of Christ, not buildings built by human hands, and not church denominations or organizations of men.

And, they have marketed the church to the world by making it something attractive and appealing to the world. So, they have turned “worship services” into stage productions led by comedians and actors pretending to be shepherds of the people, but who are truly wolves in sheep’s clothing.

And, Bible studies have now become studies of books written by mere mortals who may not be teaching the truths of the scriptures, and who may, in fact, be bringing into the church not only worldly practices and philosophy, but also the practices and beliefs of other religions, too.

Instead of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God directing the affairs of the church and giving guidance and direction to the people, now it is marketing books which teach how to “grow” your “church,” i.e. your business, which are now giving guidance and direction to pastors in how to conduct the affairs of the church. And, thus, the gospel is being diluted, too.

Palm 120:5-7 ESV

“Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
    that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
Too long have I had my dwelling
    among those who hate peace.
I am for peace,
    but when I speak, they are for war!”

It is a very distressful situation that we are in today, particularly here in America, but this could be world-wide. And, that is that the church has largely been handed over to those who are hostile to Christ and his true gospel, who are not true servants of Christ, but who truly serve their own flesh and the devil. And, their goal is to steal, to kill and to destroy.

And, it is that people are flocking to these charlatans by the thousands, and perhaps millions, and they are like sheep being led to the slaughter, only not true sheep, but false sheep being led to their deaths by false shepherds of the people, while being promised life everlasting with God.

And, although these who are proclaiming this cheap grace gospel, and who have turned God’s house into a marketplace, are proclaiming a message of “peace,” it is not peace with God which they are proclaiming, but peace with the world. It is unity with people of all faiths and all walks of life, and it is unity with Satan’s goal for the people of this earth, too, which is to bring us all into submission to him and still bound in our sin without God.

So, those of us who are still proclaiming the true gospel of Christ, which requires repentance, obedience, and submission to the Lordship of Christ, are being singled out, and we are being falsely accused of teaching “works-based” salvation, and/or of being intolerant, bigoted, hateful and unloving.

So, although we are teaching true peace, which is peace with God via faith in Jesus Christ, which requires repentance, obedience and submission to God, they with their false message of peace are at war with us, and they want to bring us down and to get us to cease from sharing the truth.

But, we must not yield to that pressure. We must not give in to intimidation to compromise with the world and to change our message. We must stand firm on the word of God and on the truth of the gospel, for it is the only hope for sin-sick souls. And, we must pray for blinded eyes to be opened to the truth of the gospel and for the lies, which are leading many astray, to be exposed for what they are, so that people will be awakened to the truth.

For, the true gospel of grace delivers from slavery to sin and it empowers us to live godly and holy lives. This is God’s gift to us. It is no gift and it is not grace if the message we hear and believe leads us to remain in sin believing a lie, for we are all going to reap what we sow (Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Lu. 9:23-26).

Psalm 19

Song lyrics taken from Psalm 19 KJV

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul:
The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.

The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart:
The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever:
The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold:
Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

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