Who Benefits from Hyper Grace Gospel?

Before last week, I was very limited in my understanding of the phrase ‘doctrines of demons.” In fact, I thought that it referred mostly to fake religions, especially the New Age movement. Recently, I was watching a Christian video on Facebook when it dawned on me that the most insidious of the doctrines of devils that which makes God solely responsible for man’s salvation. The Evangelist who produced the video was preaching at Oral Roberts University (ORU) when he told the audience who were mostly students, that they were not responsible for their sins.

          The Evangelist explained that they were committing sins because they were “hurting” from things they had experienced in their lives. I was shocked to my marrows because I had never heard anything so ridiculous. If we were not responsible for our sins, why would God judge us? Why do we need to repent of them in the first place? As I researched into this fraudulent claim, I found out that it is part of what is known in the West as hyper grace gospel.

         Where in the Bible does it state that God does not require man to repent for his sins? John the Baptist who ushered in the Messiah started his ministry with a call on the people to repent of their sins (Mathew 3:2). The Lord Jesus Christ also echoed this in Mathew 4:17. In the same vein, when convicted Jews asked Peter what they needed to do to be saved, He said to them, “Repent, and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). It is clear that man has a role to play in his salvation, as attested to in John 3:16 where the Lord Jesus Christ said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” This verse clearly places a demand on humans to do something for their salvation- believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ.

No one doubts the power of the Omnipotent God, but He would not do the believing for us. We must consciously declare with our mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised Him from the dead for our justification (Romans 10:9). Unfortunately, many believers do not read the Bible for themselves; hence, they are at the mercy of agents of satan peddling demonic doctrines in the church. Proponents of the devilish doctrine of hyper grace insist that Almighty God does not care how we live our lives. One of them who preached severally in my former church declared that there is nothing a Christian can do to make God love him or her more or less. On the surface, this looks like grace, but is it Scriptural?

In the Old Testament, God prefaced His instructions to ancient Israel with the word “If”. In Exodus 19:5, He said, “Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations – for the whole earth is Mine.” The same “if” appeared in Jesus’ address to His disciples in John 14:23, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make Our home with him.”

        According to GotQuestions.com, hyper grace preachers also assert that when God looks at us, He sees only a holy and righteous people; and that all sin, past, present, and future has been forgiven, hence, there is no need for a believer to confess and repent of sin. Obviously, their claims invalidate 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.” The standard of the Scripture is “Let God be true and every man a liar!” (Romans 3:4).

       It is also important to note that the hyper grace crowd does not accept the teachings of Jesus Christ as they insist that He operated under the law. What does Scripture say about this? In John 14:26, the Lord said, “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to remembrance all that I said to you.” So, on what basis have these charlatans cancelled the teachings of Jesus? When Peter, James and John were on the Mountain of Transfiguration, the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son, hear ye Him.” Similarly, Hebrews 1:1 states: “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son.” It is not difficult to discern where the hyper grace dogma originated from. Clearly, it is one of satan’s master strategy to deceive gullible people and turn them away from the truth.

        John 1:17 states that the law came through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. It is necessary for us to unpack the two words to show how the enemy has tried to pervert them. Grace is divine enablement. It comes from the indwelling or abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Thus, we are able to overcome the world, satan and the flesh for as long as we yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit and draw strength from Him. On the other hand, truth is a Person, Jesus Christ, the Word of God (John 1:14, Revelation 19:13). I Peter 1:23 says that we are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

         I John 5:7 tells us that three things bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. The Word or truth and the Spirit must be in balance otherwise we tilt to the extreme of either legalism or spiritism. What the hyper grace charlatans are preaching is even beyond legalism or spiritism. They are promoting lawlessness! According to Scripture, grace does not invalidate the law. In fact, the Lord Jesus declared in Mathew 5:17 that He did not come to abolish the law but to fulfil it. For those of us who are under grace, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us for as long as we are led by the Spirit of God (Romans 8:4). There is no Scripture in the Bible that promotes lawlessness in any form whether under the Old or New Covenant.

         What is the motivation for preaching hyper grace gospel? Proponents readily point to Paul’s statement in Romans 6:14 that “we are not under the law, but under grace to justify their heresy. Yet that same Scripture also says “Sin shall not rule over you.” How do we overcome sin under the New Covenant without obeying the law? Romans 8:1 gives us the answer: “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit”. Verse 14 is emphatic that only those who are led by the Holy Spirit are children of God. Having the Holy Spirit as our Tutor and Counsellor demands total yieldedness on our part. We are no longer subject to the dictates of our flesh; especially its destructive emotions. God takes over the reins of our lives. We begin to do those things that please Him, not under compulsion but out of love for Him.

         Does God still make rules for us under the New Dispensation? Of course! Hebrews 12:6 states that He disciplines every child He receives and those He loves. This tells me that we are expected to operate within the boundaries of His word. Otherwise, there would be no Galatians 5:19 which enumerates the works of the flesh, including adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, witchcraft, seditions and heresies. Also, Paul would not have identified those that would be barred from heaven to include fornicators, idolaters, effeminate, abusers of themselves with mankind, thieves, drunkards, revilers and extortioners (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). If God does not place any demand on us for holy living, why are we admonished to flee or abstain from all appearance of evil? (I Thessalonians 5:22).

         All evidence point to the fact that satan does not want believers to know the truth of the gospel of Christ. That is why he fights tooth and nail to discourage them from studying the Bible. It is true that we cannot meet God’s standard of holiness by obeying the law in our own strength, but Jesus did this for us and all we need to do is allow the Holy Spirit to transform us from the inside to be like Him. Holiness is actually letting God live through us by His Spirit. Being born again into His family gives us express access to the Person and gifts of the Holy Spirit. Walking and being led by the Holy Spirit and feeding on the truth, which is the word of God produce fruits in us that promotes the Kingdom of God on earth. The starting point of this journey is repentance and believing in Christ atonement for us. There is no other way; certainly not through the deception represented by hyper grace gospel.