Beware of “So you are saying that a pastor that is fornicating can continue to wallow in fornication because of Grace? We have to use the Law as a guiding principle for morality” preachers.

Believer, believe right. Galatians 5:4 says- "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."

Notice "fallen away"? Now see the “fallen away" of Hebrews 6 that many misinterpret as committing sin:

"4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting Him to public disgrace."

The way to this "fallen away" is to turn back to keeping the Law in order to get right with God/become godly after tasting righteousness by faith in Christ:

"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." Galatians 5:4.

There is no repentance for anyone who is trying to be godly by keeping the law and so is fallen away. Such have been cut off from Christ. Repentance is given through Christ alone. Romans 4:25 says of Christ-

"who was delivered up because of our offences, and was raised up because of our being declared righteous."

See the TPT: "Jesus was handed over to be crucified for the forgiveness of our sins and was raised back to life to prove that He had made us right with God!"

To go back to keeping the Law in order to be righteous or for whatever reason after we got saved is to deny Christ's death for the total forgiveness of all our sins and also His resurrection which is the divine evidence that in Him, God sees us as righteous through and through. It is to deny the efficacy of Christ's sacrifice for us!

The wages of sin is death. One death. Christ died that death ONCE for ALL. He died the death that the Law demanded of us, fulfilling every single demand that the Law made of us. Hebrews 9 tells us:

"27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. ..."

But the ones of whom Hebrews 6 says -

"5 those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age 6 and who have fallen away, "

- these ones that have "fallen away" tasted the heavenly gift, even shared in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues, but did not continue to believe that Christ's one-time death totally paid and removed them from under every demand of the Law and has made all who believe righteous in God's sight. For such, it is as if Christ never died. They turn their backs on God's Grace (undeserved, unmerited favour) and make Christ's death to redeem us from the power of the Law useless in their lives: Galatians 2:21-

“I don’t turn my back on God’s undeserved kindness. If we can be acceptable to God by obeying the Law, it was useless for Christ to die.”

Such crucify Christ all over again with their unbelief and deny His resurrection by turning back to keeping the Law to get right with God. Such have "fallen away" from God's saving Grace-

"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."

No wonder sin has dominion over those who are trying to keep the law in order to be godly (be like God,) "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under law but under Grace." Romans 6:14. Same strategy that Satan used on Eve in the garden of Eden when he told her that she would be godly if she did something by human effort. The result is sin having dominion and death reigning.

I believe that the preaching of this horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace (the "neither cold nor hot" that Christ spoke of in Revelation 3) is why the proliferation of churches in Nigeria has not translated into right living and "living in triumph over sin and death" for many churchgoers. Many are being deceived into believing that their efforts at obeying the law is what makes one right with God and get to enjoy His blessings. Believers, let's not be found here. The TPT version of Hebrews 6 brings out its context:

“4 It is impossible to restore an apostate. For once a person has come into God’s light, and tasted the gifts of the heavenly realm, and has received the Holy Spirit, 5 and feasted on the good Word of God, and has entered into the power of the age that is breaking in, 6 if he abandons his faith, there is no use even trying to lead him to repentance. By their sin of apostasy they re-crucify the Son of God,and have publicly repudiated Him.”

Now consider Romans 3:28- “27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.”

The one who has “fallen away" is the one who “abandons his faith" and seeks his righteousness from his efforts at obeying the law, effectively rejecting Christ. The law is not of faith. This is the crux of the gospel of Christ: Righteousness by faith.

Now that people's eyes are being opened to the Truth of Righteousness by faith through Christ, some "men of God" who used to teach “keeping the law” as the means of attaining godliness/righteousness before God are trying to make their false doctrine more attractive by dressing the Law up as something that we keep on the side as a guide to living a morally upright life after we are justified by faith. Such say:

"Yes we are justified/righteous by faith and not by the Law, but we still have to keep Law, not for justification before God but as a guiding principle for morality."

Believer, flee from this evil doctrine. God's word is very clear on this demonic doctrine that advocates having any kind of relationship with the Law after we have been justified by faith in Christ who is Grace-personified. See this Romans 7:1-4 where Paul described having a relationship with the Law after we got saved as ADULTERY -

"1 Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and does not commit adultery when she remarries. 4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the One who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God."

But satanic ministers say we who have died to the power of Mr. Law and are now the BRIDE OF CHRIST (Mr. GRACE) should continue a marriage relationship with our ex-husband and use him to get the same moral excellence and everything else that we need to live a life of godliness which Christ has lavished on us in abundance? 1 Peter 2:3 tells us of our Husband Jesus Christ:

"By His divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the One who called us by His own honor and glory.”

Everything we need for life and godliness, we have through the knowledge of Christ, but "... by the law is the knowledge of sin." Romans 3:20.

Even worse, those who hold the belief that Christians have to maintain a relationship with the Law in order to live a morally upright life imply that our Husband Jesus Christ, Grace-personified, does not have any morals and so cannot impart morality to us! Such are saying that Grace cannot teach His bride how to live a morally upright life! Such hear the message of the cross and respond with:

“So you are saying that a pastor that is fornicating can continue to wallow in fornication because of Grace? We have to use the Law as a guiding principle for morality.”

This is akin to someone saying: “So you are saying that it is okay for Peter that denied Christ to continue to deny Christ because of Grace? We have to use the Law as a guiding principle for morality.”

The same Law that could not help Peter stand his ground when he was tempted? Nobody had to tell Peter what the Law says: "You shall not bear false witness..." He knew it 100% and thought he could keep it. PEOPLE ALREADY KNOW THE LAW AND NO ONE CAN KEEP IT IN ORDER TO ESCAPE SIN OR BE GODLY. We know what happened to Judas who looked to the Law (human effort at doing right) to restore himself after he fell.

The Law cannot help you live right. It only gives the knowledge of good and evil and will point out your many faults and imprison you. Romans 7:6 counsels us:

"Now, however, we are free from the Law, because we died to that which once held us prisoners."

The letter kills. Preachers of this horrid mixture that is neither Law nor Grace and which Paul calls “doctrines of demons” in 1 Timothy 1:4 imply that Jesus Christ — Grace-personified — cannot save you from your sins and troubles and will cause you to live a life of immorality! The same Grace of Whom it is said in Titus 2:14—

“He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds."

Law-keeping for whatever purpose, whether for justification before God or "just as a guiding principle for morality" by those who claim to be married to Jesus (making themselves adulterers according to Romans 7:1-4) brings condemnation.

By Grace, let's keep believing that "By His divine power the Lord has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of the One who called us by His own honor and glory.”

Only when we receive God's abundance of Grace and His gift of righteousness to us in Christ (like Peter) do we get to live in triumph over sin and death-

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

In Christ, having Him as our Righteousness and no longer looking to the Law to make us right with God like Judas, we get to reign over sin and death.

By grace, let’s believe Galatians 5:1- “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.”

The Holy Spirit will teach you all things

Right believing always produces right living.