Grace, the Forbidden Gospel - Online Christian Library
Grace, the Forbidden Gospel - Online Christian Library Grace, the Forbidden Gospel - Online Christian Library
Jesus also said the following: For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of Heaven. (Matt 5:20 NKJV) The scribes and Pharisees prided themselves in how well they kept the laws of Moses; in fact it’s what they did for a living! These laws didn’t just include the 10 Commandments, but also all the rituals and daily sacrifices and a total of 613 stipulations and commandments that were contained in the five books of Moses (Genesis to Deuteronomy) 2 . In fact most people who try to live up to the Law of Moses today would pale in comparison against an average Pharisee. It is therefore simple to see that the righteousness which Jesus was talking about was not about believers trying to live more obedient or more holy; He was talking about a righteousness that comes from God, given to every believer as a free gift at the point of salvation. At the exact same moment that a believer puts their faith in Jesus, they are given His perfect righteousness and He is given their sin and transgressions: For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:21 NKJV) Isn’t that just an amazing deal? Thank You Jesus! 24
Law Grace The Law Arouses Sin If a married man were to go on a business trip to a different country and one night after work, while he was sitting in a pub sipping a drink, he was approached by a very attractive woman with “cruel intentions”, what would be this man’s motive for staying true to his wife? The ring on his finger? The piece of paper that he signed on his wedding day? No! These external things will never keep a person from committing adultery. The strongest motivation for the husband to remain true to his wife would be if he loved her. It is exactly the same with Christians and holy living. The fact that a Christian ought to love their neighbor simply because the Bible says so is not enough motivation for them to actually do it. In fact most people perform rather poorly at things they ought to do, and much better at things they want to do. It is a fact that when we tell somebody they are not allowed to do something, we are actually arousing a desire inside them that wants to do that very thing! This is exactly what the law does. People would not have known what sin was if it were not for the law, because the law says “don’t do this” or “don’t touch that”: What shall we say then? Is the law sin? Certainly not! On the contrary, I would not have known sin except through the law. For I would not have known covetousness unless the law had said, “You shall not covet.” But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire. (Rom 7:7-8 NKJV) Salvation = Moral Living? One of the predominant doctrines doing the rounds in the church today regarding moral living, is that if a person is not performing very well morally we should probably question if they were really saved in the first place, or whether God can use them at all. However it’s really not our prerogative to stand in front of one of God’s children (who may just be going through a rough time), point our finger and say “I don’t think they are really saved”. Who are we to judge? Chances are good that such a brother or sister might be sitting under the teaching of a person or ministry that is still preaching holy living and moral behavior modification at the cost of being unconditionally accepted and loved by God and this might be causing them to struggle with some bad habit or pattern of immorality. The Bible actually tells us to restore such a person with gentleness: Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. (Gal 6:1 NKJV) However when someone who claims to be saved, carries on in the same destructive lifestyle patterns for years and years and simply pops into church when it’s convenient for a religious little Sunday morning “fix”, with their lives void of any passion for God, it might be a good idea to talk to them about whether they were really saved in the first place. But back to the point, a definite indication of legalism is when upholding some moral standard or code is considered to be more important than the person struggling with upholding it. In some circles where people call themselves Christians, people are actually thrown out from their midst if they commit a certain type of mistake. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries… (Gal 5:19-21a NKJV) 25
- Page 2 and 3: Back Cover 2
- Page 4 and 5: "With clarity and efficiency Andre
- Page 6 and 7: Table of Contents Introduction ....
- Page 8 and 9: Introduction You might want to burn
- Page 10 and 11: Growing Up Foreword by Author I was
- Page 12 and 13: O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitc
- Page 14 and 15: 1) You constantly need someone to t
- Page 16 and 17: Law Grace Three Covenants There are
- Page 18 and 19: Israel should never have agreed to
- Page 20 and 21: LORD,’ for all shall know Me, fro
- Page 22 and 23: Law Grace Matt 5:17-18 - Did Jesus
- Page 26 and 27: From this verse it is interesting t
- Page 28 and 29: For it is not possible that the blo
- Page 30 and 31: Thirty pieces of silver was the com
- Page 32 and 33: True grace lifts the law off believ
- Page 34 and 35: sacrifice, etc.) they would not be
- Page 36 and 37: The Word is a person and anybody th
- Page 38 and 39: For He made Him who knew no sin to
- Page 40 and 41: Law Grace Righteousness Through the
- Page 42 and 43: Be careful of those who demand a st
- Page 44 and 45: Someone cannot just choose to adher
- Page 46 and 47: And so it is written, “The first
- Page 48 and 49: How Israel Landed Up in Egypt So ho
- Page 50 and 51: Remember how Israel was carried awa
- Page 52 and 53: Trying in our own efforts to be a
- Page 54 and 55: others” attitude - but an inner r
- Page 56 and 57: … the ministry which I received f
- Page 58 and 59: It is actually reported that there
- Page 60 and 61: Law Grace Approaching God with Bold
- Page 62 and 63: Law Grace What is the Unforgivable
- Page 64 and 65: Law Grace Reading the Bible in Cont
- Page 66 and 67: Do not be deceived, God is not mock
- Page 68 and 69: As Rob Rufus from City Church Inter
- Page 70 and 71: Law Grace Is Grace Simply a License
- Page 72 and 73: Law Grace Do Christians Have a Sinf
Jesus also said <strong>the</strong> following:<br />
For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds <strong>the</strong> righteousness of <strong>the</strong> scribes and<br />
Pharisees, you will by no means enter <strong>the</strong> kingdom of Heaven. (Matt 5:20 NKJV)<br />
The scribes and Pharisees prided <strong>the</strong>mselves in how well <strong>the</strong>y kept <strong>the</strong> laws of Moses; in fact it’s what <strong>the</strong>y<br />
did for a living! These laws didn’t just include <strong>the</strong> 10 Commandments, but also all <strong>the</strong> rituals and daily<br />
sacrifices and a total of 613 stipulations and commandments that were contained in <strong>the</strong> five books of Moses<br />
(Genesis to Deuteronomy) 2 .<br />
In fact most people who try to live up to <strong>the</strong> Law of Moses today would pale in comparison against an<br />
average Pharisee. It is <strong>the</strong>refore simple to see that <strong>the</strong> righteousness which Jesus was talking about was not<br />
about believers trying to live more obedient or more holy; He was talking about a righteousness that comes<br />
from God, given to every believer as a free gift at <strong>the</strong> point of salvation. At <strong>the</strong> exact same moment that a<br />
believer puts <strong>the</strong>ir faith in Jesus, <strong>the</strong>y are given His perfect righteousness and He is given <strong>the</strong>ir sin and<br />
transgressions:<br />
For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become <strong>the</strong> righteousness of God in<br />
Him. (2 Cor 5:21 NKJV)<br />
Isn’t that just an amazing deal? Thank You Jesus!<br />
24
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