Falling from Grace

[Days]

These are the latter days of the church age, these are the times of the apostate church, when the church falls away from the faith. So, let me ask, when the scriptures speak of falling from grace or falling away from the faith, what does the church fall into? The common notion answer is likely "sin"... but that is not what scripture says, nope, the great apostasy is a falling from grace back into the law. See, Christians are supposed to live by faith, not by the law.

Jesus came to a nation preaching the law, and while still living under that covenant himself, preached grace... which infuriated those under the law.

Myself, living in these last days, came to a church fallen back to the law, preached grace, and infuriated them the same as jesus did.

If you are preaching the gospel, you are patient, you are leading, you are explaining, you are reaching out to people, and the gospel is for everyone, no matter their sins... jesus came to save the lost, jesus came to save sinners, not to condemn sinners under the law, but to bring sinners back from sin into God's good graces.

the gospel is the good news that jesus rose from the dead. Why is that good news? Because jesus was born of the seed of Christ and that exact same seed is now being planted inside everyone who receives it. Scripture calls it "the holy spirit" which is just another way of understanding "God". So, this is a door into God, an entrance into the holy of holies. That is awesome news, it doesn't get any better.

Go out into all the world and preach the gospel... don't fall from grace back to the law.

Chick-fil-a is preaching the law, and the law condemns all of us, that doesn't mean we are therefore not guilty, it means we are all guilty under the law, but that's the law, that's not grace. And this is the apostate church, not the living church which will accompany jesus when he returns. I get a big kick out of present day ministries that have names like "Back to the Bible" - isn't that a flat out confession that your church fell from grace and now is turning back to the faith? It is, and that is exactly where the term came from, in fact, the whole revival movement was doing exactly that... trying to revive a dead church.

It pains me to watch political wing nuts argue the law and not even know that's what they are doing. How long, O Lord, will I bear with these wing nuts? St Damian, missionary to the wingnuts. selah.

 

[Jen]

You explain well how it is that I might disagree with a practice and understand that it's harmful to a person to do that practice, but still feel compassion for and care about the person who does what the "law" (of the churches) consider to be sin.

Thank you, Days. Good post.

 

[GordonGecko]

Days, I came up with a line...think it's a good one-

"The Religious Right wants to apply the Old Testament to anybody they don't like...and the New Testament to themselves."

 

[Days]

Not exactly, but close enough. Your mention of Titus 3:2 was spot on, because that was Paul's instruction to Titus to laser focus on preaching the gospel to the Cretians. So, JD, isn't that what you should be doing to the homosexuals? why, yes, yes it is. When Jack puts his politics ahead of his faith, that pains me. When he tries to justify it with scripture, that usually relieves my pain, laughter is the best medicine.

 

[Days]

Jen, what you just wrote was your coming to grips with the law that you preach mixed in with your gospel (or in place of your gospel?) ... the two are like oil and vinegar, you can use them together, but they always retain their own properties.

The church today is apostate, which is to say, it is dead. Revival didn't work, the dead church was prophesied and here it is, like it or not. Today's headlines are always about dead church matters, never about the living church. These types of disputes are the doctrines of a dead church... a church fallen from grace. Invariably, these churches all preach money, and the doctrine of money, which Paul worded this way "supposing that gain is godliness" - when you see that, you know it is babylon, and you are called to come out of babylon... "from such withdraw thyself." Which is why I quit attending the apostate church.


1st Timothy 6:
3
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

 

[Jen]

I left organized religion many years ago for exactly the reasons you are saying here, Days. But I am a Christian (as mistake-ridden as I am) and I have to go it on my own. Churches and their people became the pharisees of old a long time ago. I can't go there.

Jen, what you just wrote was your coming to grips with the law that you preach mixed in with your gospel (or in place of your gospel?) ... the two are like oil and vinegar, you can use them together, but they always retain their own properties.

The church today is apostate, which is to say, it is dead. Revival didn't work, the dead church was prophesied and here it is, like it or not. Today's headlines are always about dead church matters, never about the living church. These types of disputes are the doctrines of a dead church... a church fallen from grace. Invariably, these churches all preach money, and the doctrine of money, which Paul worded this way "supposing that gain is godliness" - when you see that, you know it is babylon, and you are called to come out of babylon... "from such withdraw thyself." Which is why I quit attending the apostate church.


1st Timothy 6:
3
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

 

[Days]

God makes rivers of life in the wilderness. The wife and I were thrust out here 20 years ago. Sometimes the work is non-stop, there are so many souls thirsting out here, whether they can word it from the scriptures or just sense it intuitively, people realize that the churches are dead. Once you escape all the condemnation of the dead church and start looking around, you realize there's no end to the real work. People want you to minister the holy spirit, you are a fountain in the desert, even the drunks in my cab want to receive the living water... the purer, the better.