Grace4You

Preachers who use Malachi 3 v 10, as a scare tactic to influence people to give, are not walking according to grace. Tithing predates the law of Moses. In Genesis 14, we read about Melchizedek's meeting with Abraham returning from the slaughter and gave a tenth part of all he had to Him. As we turn to the law of Moses, we see that tithing was not a suggestion or a nice idea, it was a command and it was agricultural in nature. In fact, there were three kinds of tithing. The Levitical tithe, the feast tithe, and the poor tithe. But something your pastor probably never told you is the fact, not everyone under the law was required to tithe. If you didn't own land or livestock, what would you tithe? You couldn't tithe what you don't have. To tell Christians that if they don't tithe, they are cursed, when Christ became a curse for us, is nothing short of cruel and flat out stealing from people. If you have never been told how to give under grace, welcome to grace giving. 1 Corinthians 9 vs 6 – 8: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work. Grace liberates you to give generously because it is not a necessity, and if you understand that Christ gave his all for you, that God loves a cheerful giver, then no one will have to scare you into giving, it will flow from a heart of gratitude and you will give beyond a tithe, because you are at liberty to give as you please.

Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. If this is the commission you are following for the Church the body of Christ, you are in the center of God's will, so keep fighting the good fight of faith for the gospel of the grace of God.

The great commission was & is still future yet, God's plan to bless the world through Israel. Why is it then that the vast majority of evangelicals insist on saying that the great commission is our marching orders? Have we yet to realize that the nation of Israel never fulfilled the great commission? It was God's plan and purpose, that through the nation of Israel, salvation would then reach the rest of the Gentile world.

But every student of the Bible knows the story, that Israel as a nation rejected Christ as their Messiah and God have set her aside for a time in unbelief. He then saves Saul of Tarsus and uses him to usher in the present dispensation of grace. Now there are many Bible teachers who are aware of this and they also know that the terms and conditions of salvation under grace does not fit in with the terms and conditions of the great commission. So they run over to Paul's epistles in 1 Cor 15 vs 1 – 4, and borrow the terms of salvation and then run right back to the four Gospels and the book of Acts and say herein lies our marching orders for the Church today, and it has caused nothing but total confusion.

When Peter went to the home of Cornelius the Gentile, he was not quite sure as to why God had sent him there. Eventually, God's purpose was revealed to him, salvation for his entire household. Peter began his sermon by saying something that appears to contradict Paul's message of grace. Acts 10 vs 34 – 35 reads: Then Peter opened his mouth and said: “In truth, I perceive that God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him. Are we saved by works of righteousness in the present dispensation of grace?

Let us take a look at Paul's revelation of the mystery otherwise known as the dispensation of the grace of God. Titus 3 vs 4,5: But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. This is where knowing how to rightly divide the Scriptures comes into play.

Peter was laboring under Israel's kingdom program, where salvation was not by faith alone, it had to be accompanied by good works, as an expression of their faith. This is the theme of James' letter to his countrymen. What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? Again James was not writing in the dispensation of grace but under the kingdom Gospel. In fact, Peter, James, and John, only came to see Paul's gospel of grace to the Gentiles at the Jerusalem council. Galatians 2 vs 7 – 10: But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do. We need to see and acknowledge that there has been a dispensational change. Paul makes a clear distinction between the gospel that was committed to him for the Gentiles and what was committed to Peter for the Jews. Israel has been set aside in unbelief and only one Gospel is acceptable in the sight of God today. It is salvation by grace through faith in the person of Jesus Christ. Jews and Gentiles reconciled into one body through His Cross.

Don't buy into the notion that a great number of Pastors and teachers within the body of Christ are not fully aware that there is a huge difference between God's earthly prophetic kingdom program for the nation of Israel and the dispensation of the grace of God, which the Lord Jesus Christ revealed from Heaven to the Apostle Paul for the Gentiles.

Some might disagree with me, but many of these people are really knowledgeable about the Scriptures and so we give credit where credit is due. My deep concern is how do they not see the difference between the two programs? It's hard for me to embrace this. Just the terms of salvation alone between the two programs should jar their minds. I truly believe that if you read the Scriptures with an open mind and tell God that you really want to know His Word rightly divided and you don't care what it will cost you, be it fame, fortune or even loss of friendships, He will absolutely open your understanding to this blessed message of grace.

Many of our pastors have found themselves in quite a dilemma with the message of grace because once your spirit has been illuminated you have to make a decision that is going to affect your life and ministry for time and eternity. You can count on it and this is where the rubber meets the road for many of our Pastors and Bible Teachers, they count the cost and they have decided that the cost is too much. Especially for these mega-churches, you are going to have to tell your congregation that after all these years of not rightly dividing the word of God you have now come to see Paul's distinct apostleship and message to the Gentiles and it means a large number of people will leave your Church and there goes your six-figure income, your lear Jets, Yachts, luxury cars, and home. Of course, this is not the case with every pastor but either way, your life will be impacted.

However, which is a better choice for you, lose everything and trust God or compromise and suffer terrible loss at the judgment of the believers following the rapture of Church.

Remember that as Pastors and Bible Teachers you are going to be held to a higher standard of accountability because what you are teaching your people will affect their lives also for time and eternity. I rarely ever hear a minister outside the grace movement preach consistently on one of Paul's Epistles and I find that very shocking, to say the least. For certain they will touch on the fundamentals of the faith but never do you hear anything about their understanding on the following doctrines of grace. 1. The unsearchable riches of Christ 2. The preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery. 3. The pretribulation rapture of the Church 4. The one baptism 5. Total forgiveness of sins ( There are churches that still preach that we can lose our salvation) 6. The sealing of the Holy Spirit. These are just a few examples of some of the many spiritual blessings we have in Christ. The devastating blunder the Church has made today is going back to the four Gospels and the early chapters of the book of Acts, piggybacking tradition and saying that this is where we find our doctrine, walk, and position for the Church, the Body of Christ and it has done irreparable harm to many of the Saints. What are we really saying to God, when we reject the doctrines of grace that was revealed to the Apostle Paul for the Church the Body of Christ and imposing our own marching orders? Please don't misunderstand me, as I have said before, the whole Bible is for my learning but not everything is written to me. We can go to the four gospels and find Scriptures for practical Christian living or make spiritual application but always against the light of the gospel of the grace of God.

Water baptism has not only caused confusion but total confusion within the body of Christ and the reasons that we give for doing it is even more bizarre. But what says the Scriptures? Most Christians are programmed to believe the moment they hear the word baptize, it's referring to water, even though there are twelve different baptisms taught in the word of God. Some are literal, figurative and spiritual, yet under grace, we are told that there is only one baptism for the Church the body of Christ and it is the duty and responsibility of every Christian to know what that one baptism is and embrace it by faith. Under God's earthly kingdom program for the nation of Israel, water baptism was an absolute requirement along with faith for salvation. Beginning with the ministry of John the Baptist, through Christ's ministry as well as the twelve apostles.

Within the body of Christ, there are so many versions as to why there is still a need for people to be water baptized and none of them cannot be substantiated by the word of God and that should give cause to rethink what the traditions of men have done to confuse the body of Christ. Here are a few of those reasons for the practice of water baptism: 1. It is identification with Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection 2. It is an outward sign of an inward work of grace 3. We are commanded to be baptized but our salvation is not reliant upon it. The latter is the most confusing of them all, while it remains true, that water baptism has no place within the body Christ today, you cannot prove conclusively from the Scriptures where you were commanded to be baptized and your salvation was not reliant upon it. That is the voice of tradition, without any doubt. Let's begin with the ministry of John the Baptist. In Luke chapter 7 v 30, we read the following. But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

What about the great commission, which mainstream Christianity hails as our marching orders? We read in Mark 16 v 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter blamed the nation of Israel for having crucified their Messiah and when they asked what should they do, he said to them, “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit ( Acts 2 v 38 ).

Based upon the word of God and not of men, we clearly see from the Scriptures that at no time whatsoever was water baptism commanded and your salvation was not dependent upon it. If you did not become water baptized you would still be in an unsaved state. So how did the body of Christ get around to telling people that water baptism is not a requirement for salvation but still attach the three reasons above as terms and conditions of salvation to justify their water baptism theory? I am the inquisitive type, if you tell me something is not a requirement, then my next question to you, would be, why then practice it? The Apostle Paul tells us the following in 1 Corinthians 1 v 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. We need to understand that with the setting aside of the nation of Israel, because of their unbelief and rejection of Christ as her Messiah, God made a dispensational change. Through the Apostle Paul, he ushered in the dispensation of grace ( Ephesians chapter 3 ).

It's a message and a program that is especially geared towards the Gentiles. It includes both Jews and Gentiles but predominantly a Gentile dispensation, because of Israel's unbelief.

Do you realize that Paul is the only new testament writer who ever declared that Christ did not send him to baptize? John the Baptist couldn't say that, neither could Peter and the rest of the other apostles. Paul was to preach Christ based upon His finished work at the Cross. He was to preach Christ's death, burial, and resurrection as the sole basis of the forgiveness of our sins according to the riches of His grace. I often hear people ask the question? How could Paul say that he was not sent to baptize when he himself was baptized and even remember baptizing a few people. The key to this lies in rightly dividing the Scriptures. When Paul got saved, God was still dealing with Israel as a nation, under the kingdom program, where water baptism was still one of the prerequisites for salvation and so Ananias just baptized Paul, based on what was required for salvation at the time, he had no way of knowing that God had saved Paul for the purpose of revealing a new dispensation call the grace of God. Not even Paul himself fully understood the magnitude of his calling at the time. Also, keep in mind that the dispensation of grace was not revealed to the Apostle Paul in one day, it was a progressive revelation that occurred over some thirty years of ministry and so when you come to the Ephesians letter, the Mount Everest of Scripture we have the full knowledge of the Mystery also known as the dispensation of the grace of God.

Thus we read in Ephesians 4 v 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism. Also 1 Corinthians 12 v 13 For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free—and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.

The moment we trust Christ as our Savior, believing that He died for our sins, was buried and rose again on the third day, God the Holy Spirit baptizes or spiritually places us into the body of Christ and seals us forever as a child of God. It's a work done by the Holy Spirit not man.

Why can't we all come to see and enjoy this one baptism? When we water baptize believers, in essence, what we are saying is that Christ finished work at the Cross was not enough to save us, so I have to do something else to make my salvation more complete.

Think about this for a moment. The Bible says, not me but God and the Lord Jesus Christ that there is only one baptism under grace. Not two, not three nor twelve. Either I am going to believe God or the tradition of men. The choice is ours. It does not bring any glory to God when we take the terms and conditions of salvation from a previous dispensation and apply it to the present dispensation of the grace of God. It only causes confusion among the saints of Christ. Very much the same thing we do with the national conditional promises that God gave the nation Israel. Applying them to a dispensation in which we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and they are unconditional promises, which we appropriate by faith.

I love all styles of Christian music, I am not a big fan of tradition, and by that I mean, I don't believe every gospel song, has to be sung out of an hymnal but neither do I believe in the dangerous turn contemporary gospel music has taken. Let me be clear, I am not saying every Christian artist have taken this route and I am truly thankful for the one's who have made the decision to defend their faith and when they sing, there is no guessing who their Savior is. There have been times when I hear a contemporary song and I have a difficult time deciding whether or not it's a gospel or love song I am listening to. I listen to Christian music extensively and have been doing this for many years, so I am not speaking as one, who has limited knowledge about such matters. The thing that frightens me about this form of music, is the fact that it's trending towards compromise. The name of God and Jesus is visibly absent from these songs. You don't hear anything about the Cross of Christ and the shedding of His blood for our sins. But why? There are several reasons. It's done intentionally to appease men. So many of these record labels are promising greater commercial success or the popular phrase they call cross over appeal. This is their way of saying, if you leave out the names of God and Christ as well as any overtly Scriptural references, we can reach the younger generation but who is really benefiting here? The artist or the label. I have zero respect for those artists because you have forsaken Christ. He gave His everything by dying on a Cross for your sins and you are going to sell out for fame and fortune. Why even bother to serve Him? If you are not going to serve Him, without fear or compromise, what then is your real purpose? I can't even recall to mind, the numerous times my family and I are shopping somewhere and we hear one of these Christian songs with no references to God or Christ and we all begin to chuckle, because we know, that if they knew, that the genre was gospel, I guarantee you that would be the last time that music gets played. My prayer is that those who are engaged in this sinful behavior, will turn aside from the trappings of the world, and pursue the righteousness of God, which is through faith in Christ Jesus. One of these days you will have to stand before the Lord Jesus and give an account of yourself and I doubt very much that the people you are trying to please will be able to speak on your behalf. published with write.as

ALL SCRIPTURE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION.

2 Timothy 3, beginning in verse 16: All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Romans 15 v 4 reads: For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. All Scripture is for my learning but not all Scripture is for my obedience, thus we are commanded in 2 Timothy 2 v 15 to do the following. Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

This is the key that unlocks the Scriptures and opens the eyes of our understanding. It is shocking to many Christians, if not blasphemous to say to them that the whole Bible is for our learning but not every thing is for our obedience and yet the Bible is crystal clear on the subject. Before we get into specifics, it should be noted, that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, so everything in the Bible is accurately recorded. It is not the clever thoughts nor ideas of men. Whenever someone says to me that the Bible was written by men, my response is usually in this manner. Written with the hands of men, inspired by God.

As I mentioned earlier, that there are many Christians who considers it almost blasphemous to say the whole Bible is not for our obedience, neither is everything about us, because they think every applies, yet we know that God makes it virtually impossible for us to do so. For example, are we under the law of Moses? Do you shed the blood of bulls and goats and offer it up to God as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of your sins? Why don't you do that today? Because if you did, you would be making a mockery of the Cross of Christ, because you now understand that His death on the Cross was the once and for all sacrifice for the payment of all sins. Do you pray like David in the psalm for God to kill your enemies and blot out their name from under heaven? Or do you apply Romans 12 v 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse? Yet there are things in the psalm that you can use to make spiritual applications under grace, but the program under which they were living, was very quite different from the present dispensation of grace of God. After David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he was paid a visit by Nathan the prophet, who confronted him about his sin, which led to his repentance recorded in psalm 51 beginning in verse 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. If we were to pray for God not to cast us from His presence nor to take His Holy Spirit from us, in the present dispensation of grace, we would be placing ourselves back under the law. Before the Crucifixion of Christ, God the Holy Spirit never indwell the prophetic saints, He rested upon only a few of God's servants, until Gods purpose was accomplished, not so under grace. Not only are we indwelt by the Holy Spirit but we are sealed into the body of Christ until the day of the rapture. You are not impressing God if you are praying the way David did, because they never had this ceiling. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 13 – 14: In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. God has given to us His Holy Spirit as a guarantee or as a downpayment that He intends to acquire the whole possession. How many times have we heard people saying if you don't forgive others, neither will God forgive you, and of course they are quoting the words of the Lord Jesus in the gospels. Matthew 6 vs 14 – 15: For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. But we have to remember that the Lord Jesus was ministering under the law of Moses to the children of Israel. He had not yet gone to the Cross, the dispensation of grace was still a secret hidden in the heart of God ( Ephesians chapter 3 ). Under grace we have total forgiveness of sins the moment we trust Christ as our Savior. Colossians 3 beginning in verse 12: Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do. See how different the message of grace is from the law of Moses. Under grace God does not forgive us on the basis of how we forgive others. Why? Because as members of the body of Christ, we have been forgiven of all trespasses because of Christ's death on the Cross for our sins and there in lies our motivation to forgive others. Colossians 2 beginning in verse 13: And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

ARE YOU DRESSED FOR THE BATTLE?

Most of us as Christians, do not realize that we are engaged in a spiritual warfare with the forces of darkness. We are engaged in a spiritual battle with satan and his fallen demonic hosts.

Ephesians chapter 6 beginning in verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. In verse 10 we are commanded to be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. We do not enter onto the battlefield in our own strength, because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood. The battle is not with human beings, it's who that is working through them, and according to the word of God, it is the prince of the power of the air, another term that is used to describe satan. Ephesians 2 verses 1 – 2. And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that people are not responsible in anyway for their actions. This is not an excuse for the devil made me do it but if as Christians we are going to be fully prepared for this spiritual battle, we have to understand who the real enemy is. When someone attacks your faith in Christ, who do you think is influencing their thought processes. 1 Corinthians 2 v 14. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Until the natural man, puts his faith in Christ as his Savior, he does not have the indwelling Holy Spirit, so we should not be surprised when they act contrary to the things of God. When they say, the Bible is not the word of God, they are just doing what the natural man does, operating without the Spirit of God inside of him. Therefore, if he doesn't have the Spirit of God within him, who do you think is influencing his mind? We are engaged in a spiritual warfare with a formidable foe and his fallen demonic hosts who are determined to destroy our Christian testimony, and we have to be dressed and ready for battle.

In Ephesians chapter 6 vs 14 – 17, we are given our six pieces of spiritual armor, which covers us from the crown of our head to the soles of our feet. Sad to say, many Christians would be hard pressed to even name one piece of their six spiritual armour, let alone all of them. Please don't misunderstand what I am saying here. This is not an indictment against Christians, because at some point in time, everyone of us have been struck down by the enemy, in some area of our lives. However, it's one thing to get struck down, it's a whole different thing to step onto the battlefield without wearing your armor and even worst than this, is not knowing your spiritual armor. How are you going to contend for the faith if you are not dressed for the battle.

Yet this is the very position, that many Christians find themselves in, and end up becoming spiritual casualties. This is why I find it very troubling when I hear Christians say they don't want doctrine, because it is too confusing. How are you going to fight the good fight of faith, without knowing the word of God? The first piece of our spiritual armor is truth, and not just any truth, but the truth of God's word. We should have a rounded knowledge of the whole counsel of God, rightly divided. We are commanded to gird our waist with truth, gird has the idea of strengthening ourselves with the truth of God's word, in preparation for a spiritual battle. That is why it is so crucial to study the Bible, as I said before, how are you going fight a spiritual battle without knowing what your spiritual armor is? We are commanded to put on our spiritual armor, God has already provided the spiritual armor and we have the human responsibility to put it on by faith.

IS THE CHURCH THE BODY OF CHRIST COMMANDED TO OBSERVE THE SABBATH AND KEEP IT HOLY?

How many times have I heard well meaning Christians say, keep the Sabbath holy, without fully understanding what they say or affirm. It still remains a mystery to me, as to why Gentile Christians are so enamoured with the law of Moses. It is as though they've never read their Bibles which clearly states that we are not under law but under grace. Have we not yet come to an understanding that even when the law of Moses was in effect, it was never legally binding upon the Gentiles? Why are we trying to observe a commandment that was given to the nation of Israel under the law of Moses that is no longer applicable in the present dispensation of grace?

Let us take a look at the law of the Sabbath. Deuteronomy 5 beginning in verse 12. Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. 13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. Under the law of Moses the Sabbath was observed on Saturdays and it was set aside as a day of rest for the nation of Israel in which no work could be done. If anyone even dared to break this commandment they would be put to death by stoning. It never ceases to amaze me how as Christians we like to claim certain promises and practices in the Bible but we selectively eliminate the consequences that accompany them.

If you are going to observe the Sabbath as dispentionally wrong as that is in itself, then be consistent with it. If you are going to keep the law of Moses then you will have to keep it perfectly and the moment you break one, you have broken them all and stands a sinner condemned before a Holy righteous God. ( James 2 beginning in verse 10: For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. 11 For He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law). I know that there are Churches such as the seventh Day Adventist that observes the Sabbath, but no where in Paul's letters to the Gentiles does he ever tells us to observe any holy days. Colossians 2 starting in verse 16. So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. We are living under grace and we should not observe Jewish laws and customs as means of pleasing God. Christ is the substance, we are complete in Him. As members of the body of Christ, we gather to worship on the first day of the week, remembering Jesus's resurrection