Watch what your pastor is feeding you! Is it Law or Grace?

Believers, by God's grace, watch what your pastor is feeding you. Is it "works of the law" or the "hearing of faith?" The bible says the Law is not of faith: "Yet the law is not of faith, but “the man who does them shall live by them." Galatians 3:12.

We cannot please God without faith: "But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." Hebrews 11:6. Diligently seeking God is not "keeping the Law in order to see His face" because "the Law is not of faith" and without faith it is impossible to please God. Here we see that keeping the Law to get right with God is being FAITHLESS. Christ said "Your faith has made you whole." He never said "Your fasts, donations and law-keeping have made you whole."

Faith comes by hearing (faith is not something you "muster up"): "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17. Also, God supplies His Spirit to us and works miracles among us by the hearing of faith: "Therefore He who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you, does He do it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?—" Galatians 3:5

But what is this "hearing of faith?" It is definitely not of the Law, (including the Ten Commandments.) This we know because "The law is not of faith."

Believers, the "hearing of faith" is the same Word that the woman with the issue of blood, Zacchaeus the tax collector, the centurion whose servant was healed, the Syrophoenician woman with the demon-possessed daughter and everyone else that received from our Saviour Jesus Christ heard when He walked the earth as a Man: THAT THIS MAN JESUS WAS FREELY HEALING, DELIVERING, PROVIDING FOR AND BLESSING ALL WHO CAME TO HIM! THAT HE NEVER ASKED WHAT THEY HAD DONE OR WHETHER THEY HAD KEPT THE LAW PERFECTLY BEFORE HE SAVED THEM FROM ALL ILLS (a condition for enjoying the blessing under the Law according to Deut. 28:1-2.)

He never condemned them as it is written in John 3:17 "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

He never asked them to go and settle their quarrels with their spouses and then return for their healing. He never asked them to first "sow a seed" or bring anything in order to receive from Him as it is written in Romans 8:32 "He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things freely?"

According to the Law, the woman with the issue of blood should have been stoned to death for mingling with the crowd in her unclean state. But as soon as she touched Christ in her unclean state (after hearing "the hearing of faith") the very thing that made her unclean and stoning-worthy ended. She became clean and free from the very thing that made her unclean.

The woman caught in adultery should have been stoned to death according to the Law. But her accusers who wanted to stone her also had sin, just like those helping the Accuser of the brethren (Satan) to throw fiery darts (accusations) and deathly stones (judgment of the tablets of stone) from the pulpit today! None is righteous. None can "cast the first stone." It is Christ's "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "Go and sin no more." His word will not return to Him void. In Him, you will go and sin no more.

Look what happened to Zacchaeus the thieving tax collector who knew that he had no hope when it came to the Law. In Luke 19, after Christ came into his home (without asking him to return the money he stole!) - "8 But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Four times as much as had been unjustly taken was the amount that was required in the Jewish law when a sheep had been stolen, and a man was convicted of the theft by trial at law (Exodus 22:1.) But Christ's visit to Zacchaeus caused him to do this and even more- give half of his possessions to the poor!

Believers, this is grace- undeserved, unmerited favour. We don't get "good" to get Christ. We get Christ to get good!. We are in Christ first and then He makes us righteous. With Christ, we don't live right to get saved; we get saved to live right and "produce a harvest of good deeds for God." See Romans 7:4. With Christ we don't give to get; we get to give. The Law is fulfilled in us but not by us. 

Seek first the kingdom of God (righteousnesses, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit) and His righteousness (not yours from law-keeping!) and all these things (including the grace to stop sinning and live right) will be added unto you.

Believers, the Law is not of faith, and without faith, it is impossible to please God. It is impossible to please God with our efforts at keeping the Law, including the Ten Commandments. Keeping the Ten Commandments as a means of getting right with God is being FAITHLESS. The Law is not of faith. You can never please God this way.

But the devil makes law-keeping to get right with God look so attractive for many. But how can doing the "right thing" kill? Beloved of God, it is because under Law is where his weapons can prosper! All who are keeping the Law to get right with God stand condemned and are subject to death with its symptoms - ALL of the curses in Deut 28! These ones are cut off from Christ according to Galatians 5:4 -"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

Romans 5:17 says "For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous." Outside Christ (without His abundance of grace and His gift of righteousness) under the Law is where the devil can devour.

Anyone that teaches you, a believer in Christ, after you are born-again, that it is by your own ability to keep the Law or do certain things that you can please God or that God supplies you with His Spirit and works miracles among you by works of the Law and not the "hearing of faith" is preaching a gospel that is different from that of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. A faithless one. There is no room for our Saviour Jesus to save here, since these people are saying that your salvation is up to you and not up to the Saviour.

In Galatians 3, Paul was so passionate about believers not falling into this trap that he called the Galatians foolish for believing those who preached this to them; those who say "Yes, you are saved by grace through faith but you still have to keep the Law t in order to "maintain your salvation" and be really saved." In Galatians 1, he says:

6 "I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed."

There is a double curse in those who preach this mixture of Law and Grace; neither hot nor cold; saying they are saved by Grace but keeping the Law to remain righteous. Grace is undeserved, unmerited favour. If you can earn right-standing with God by keeping the Law, you don't need Grace. These ones have no idea how much God hates sin, so much that if you stumble at just one point of the Law you are guilty of all ( James 2:10) Imagine someone giving you a glass of cold water that appears to be very clean but has just a tiny bit of feces in it. Would you drink it? All have sinned. A single speck of sin is all it takes to ruin a lifetime of righteousnesness acquired from doing works of the Law. For those under the Law, God's righteousness demands perfect obedience to the Law (which no one can accomplish.) And the result of failure is judgment.

Believers, we are made righteous in Christ by God "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21.

This is the foundation of the gospel - RIGHTEOUSNESS BY FAITH.

Nothing to do with our own efforts; all to do with what Christ has done. This is Grace, God's undeserved, unmerited favour. His righteousness is a gift. It is an everlasting righteousness that is given apart from our works.

But God's grace is not a license to continue in sin! GOD'S GRACE STOPS SIN. Mixing our complete salvation in Christ with a "do good, get good; do bad, get bad" doctrine is how to get cut off from Christ, according to Galatians 5:4-

"For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace."

Those who go back to using their ability to keep the Law that Christ has delivered us from as a measure of their right-standing with God reject the gift of righteousness which Christ died to give to us, and thus return to being under the curse, according to Galatians 3:10-11 -

"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them.” 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for “the just shall live by faith.”" 

Please beware of anyone who says you have a part to play in "maintaining your salvation" by your efforts at doing "works of the Law." These are faith killers who want to put you right where the devil wants you, back under the Law and the curse where the accusations of the enemy can stick and where judgment follows.

Believers, the devil and his agents do not come looking all ugly in red underwear and carrying black pitchforks. 2 Corinthians 11:15 says "These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve."

The letter kills. By God's grace, don't let anyone force you to clean yourselves with "filthy rags" - your own righteousnesses from works of the Law after Christ died to make you righteous.

Isaiah 64:6 says "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind." "Filthy rags" here has been sugar-coated by bible translators. The correct translation from Hebrew is menstrual rags.

Only the righteousness of God that is available as a gift to all who are in Christ counts with our heavenly Father. Why clean yourself with used menstrual rags before or after Christ has given you THE bath?!

UNDER LAW, SIN WILL MULTIPLY (Romans 7:5) AND THE DEVIL CAN DEVOUR. UNDER GRACE, YOU WILL STOP SINNING AND "PRODUCE A HARVEST OF GOOD DEEDS FOR GOD" (Romans 7:4)

By God's grace, His Spirit will lead you to a place where you can hear the "hearing of faith."

Believe Right and you will Live Right.