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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