PERVERTING THE GRACE OF GOD

The internationally known pastor, Charles Stanley who died in 2023 and whose religious influence has been, and continues to be, staggering, taught in his book "Eternal Security" that "…. God's love for His people is of such magnitude that even those who walk away from the faith have not the slightest chance of slipping from His hand." (Pg 74, 1990 edition).… "Even if a believer for all practical purposes becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy." (Chapter 10 Pg 93) … “... believers who lose or abandon their faith will retain their salvation ...." (Pg 94). In regards to the parable of Matthew 25:14-30, he says “the worthless servant” who is cast into ‘outer darkness’ is “to be in the kingdom of God but outside the circle of men and women whose faithfulness on this earth earned them a special rank or position of authority” (p. 126).
The term ‘hyper-grace’ has been used to describe this doctrine that emphasizes the grace of God and exempts us from the penalties of sin. Many teachers, such as Joseph Prince, teach there is no need for repentance or confession of sin after one has been saved, because all sin, past, present, and future has already been forgiven. While hyper-grace teachers do not blatantly encourage sin, the doctrine ignores or winks at sin by teaching a distorted version of imputed righteousness that says when God looks at us, He sees only a holy and righteous people irrespective of whether we are living a holy and righteous life.
In their zeal to exalt God’s grace, those who promote this doctrine make extreme statements that lead believers to think that they can sin with impunity. After all, if we are always perfectly righteous and holy in God’s sight, we do not need to struggle against sin in our lives. This comfortability with sin is both dangerous and unbiblical. It blinds us to God’s command to repent, deafens our ears and hardens our heart to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Grace isn’t meant to cover up sin. It is meant to empower us to do what we cannot do on our own – overcome sin and live righteous, holy lives.
These are the teachers who teach ‘eternal security also known as the ‘once saved, always saved’ doctrine that says there is no lifestyle of unrepentant sin that can cause a Christian to forfeit their salvation. It perverts the grace of our God’ by teaching our obedience has nothing to do with our eternal destiny. It is the precious, biblical, wonderful doctrine of grace taken to a deadly extreme.
In Revelation, Jesus’ words to the seven churches strongly contradict the idea that He does not see our sins: He severely rebuked and warned five of them to repent or face judgment. He didn’t say “When I see you, I don’t see your disobedience or imperfections.” Rather, He said to them, “Consider how you have fallen! Repent…!” These words of Jesus to the churches, indicates that it’s scriptural nonsense to claim that “we are and always will be 100 percent pleasing and acceptable to God.” Don’t believe this lie!
If the Lord always “sees us as holy and righteous’, why did He sharply rebuke the believers in the church at Laodicea with dire warnings of severe punishment if they didn’t repent? Why did He tell them that they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17)? Why didn’t He say, “I see you as beautifully clothed in my robe of righteousness, I see you spiritually prosperous, healthy, and rich?" If He was so pleased with what He saw among the believers in Laodicea, why did He threaten to vomit them out of his mouth (Rev. 3:16)? That is a shocking phrase that means He is about to reject them as worthless [neither hot nor cold] with extreme disgust! The Bible tells us that “All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). Of course, God can see our sins, and He finds them distinctly displeasing!
One of the surest ways to become a victim of false doctrine is to think that it is not dangerous and there is nothing to be concerned about. Our Eternal Destiny depends upon hearing "the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation." [Ephesians 1:13] Sound doctrine concerned Jesus. He forcefully refuted the doctrinal error of the Sadducees and in Mark 12:24 & 27 Jesus twice told them “You are greatly mistaken, because you don’t know the Scriptures or the power of God.” He knew that a person cannot hold to serious doctrinal error and be rightly related to the God of truth. He didn’t say, “Hey, it really doesn’t matter what you guys believe, just as long as you’re sincere.” He didn’t say, “I love you guys! You’re my brothers, even if we disagree over this little matter of the resurrection!” He didn’t say, “I respect your views. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.” He told them authoritatively that they were greatly mistaken, and He set forth the reasons why.
Since sound doctrine matters greatly to our Lord and Savior, it should matter greatly to us. Saying “It doesn’t matter if you sin” is an insult to the blood and person of Jesus who died so that we could be free from the power and bondage of sin. The perverters of God's grace disconnect salvation from obedience and say we do not need to obey God's commandments to be saved. They disingenuously distort the grace of God as an escape clause or a "get out of jail free" card to justify their disobedience to God's word (Jude 1:4).
There is more to salvation than a one-time acknowledgement that Jesus is the Son of God. Hebrews 5:9 says Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all who OBEY Him. It is the grace of God that empowers us to live a godly life of obedience and bear the fruits of righteousness to live for His glory (Titus 2:11-14). Do not be deceived, there is no salvation and no eternal life without obedience.
For decades now America has been in the midst of a deceptive Calvinist revival that claims Christ did not die for everyone. This twisted doctrine restricts the scope of God's grace and is growing in prominence and influence. Biblical truth is not established by the opinions of men or a democratic process. There is no safety in numbers or in the approval of man. Take No Man's word for anything, take God's Word for everything! Only God's word is trustworthy..

​-By Lynette Hughes