Compliance: I’d like to confess two personal sins to you

By John Burton | August 28, 2013 |

The concept of compliance to prophetic voices and even to God himself is diminishing in our culture—and the consequences will be disastrous.

…A Greek word for proclaim…is kerusso… It means “to be a herald.” A herald was a public crier who was a speaker of divine truth. The message delivered by the crier was a public and authoritative announcement that demanded compliance. When you kerusso, you are like a town crier making an announcement that requires the hearers to comply. How powerful! ~Barbara Wentroble

Today, prophetic voices are neutered by a culture that is extremely independent, and, as a result, are declaring the sharp word of the Lord less and less. Instead, those with prophetic ministries have abandoned the call for compliance to a correction or redirection of God for words that tickle ears and communicate positive destinies even for those who are in direct rebellion to truth.

I was at the Detroit Prayer Furnace recently, and, prior to seeing this message by Barbara Wentroble, God dropped a very clear, weighty word into my spirit: COMPLIANCE.

I immediately knew that we as a nation were moving into a very troubling and dangerous time where prophetic voices must unapologetically call the church into compliance with God’s very costly, inconvenient calibration. No longer can we act as salesmen, forming our words in such a way that people will buy what we are saying! Prophetic messengers will be shunned, assaulted, resisted and accused due to the calls out of a theology of comfort and independence.

It is beyond critical that these prophetic messengers are living holy and are sensitive to the leading of God.

MINOR IS MAJOR: TWO PERSONAL LESSONS

Minor is major with God. Two recent minor sins had a major impact on my life. I’m about to confess those sins to you.

With the emergence of the false-grace message, there is an increase in people who believe that their sin is little more than temporarily troubling while being eternally benign.

Additionally, there’s a decrease of the fear of the Lord and any concern at all over eternal destinies.

Read this disturbing account of a young Christian at a homosexual parade as told by Dr. Michael Brown:

When asked why they were at the gay pride event, the young women stated with enthusiasm that they were there to support people they love. (To watch the entire, extraordinary video interaction, click here.)

The same girl reiterated that gay s-ex was sinful but that supporting the gay pride event didn’t mean she agreed with it since, again, being gay was a “lifestyle.”

When asked once more if she believed gay s-ex was sin, she replied, “It’s a sin, but I’m not against it. I think you’re forgiven no matter what.”

She was then asked, “If you’re a Christian, you’re forgiven of the sin?” She replied, “Yeah, absolutely. You’re forgiven of everything except not believing.”

When asked, “So, you support people having gay s-ex?” she answered, “Yeah, I think that you can’t help your heart sometimes.”

Did you notice that the false-grace believe that she held to? Christians can sin without any fear of judgment. This belief is sending so many to Hell.

As I said above, minor is major with God. So often we hear the argument regarding the “big sins” of homosexuality, murder, etc., that “all sin is the same.” The argument is that God can forgive a murderer just as quickly and completely as he can forgive one who gossips, lies or lusts. I do agree with that. (For the record, I don’t believe all sin is the same, and you can read more about that here. But, for the sake of this point, let’s agree that God can forgive all sin equally.)

What if we turned the argument around? If all sin is the same, then the sin of gossip is as detestable and eternally destructive as the sin of murder. Lying can send one to Hell just as quickly as premarital sex. Minor is major. And, no, we aren’t exempt from eternal threat simply because we consider ourselves to be Christians. That is one of the greatest, most devastating fallacies in the church today. Christians who sin absolutely are at risk of eternal separation from God.

Hebrews 10:26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

LESSON NUMBER ONE

I know a key assignment for me is to call the church back into radical holiness and consecration, and my authority to do so comes via the blood of Jesus. When I sinned in what I would consider a minor way, my assignment was compromised.

I temporarily lost my authority to prophetically call the church to corporate holiness when I didn’t respond to God’s call to personal holiness. I no longer could impact the major because of my failure in the minor.

A couple of weeks ago I was writing a post just as I’m writing this one now. Many people presume that I haphazardly write and say anything that comes to mind in a cavalier way. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Every word that comes out of my mouth is measured and ordered via the fear of the Lord. It’s a daily, weighty matter for me to ensure I’m not withholding anything due to the fear of man and that I’m not saying what I should not due to the fear of God. To be a prophetic messenger requires this wrestling match.

As I was writing the message, I boldly said what I felt the Lord would want me to, and I was making some sharp points.

I was also listening to a teaching about how certain sins can manifest in our bodies as sickness. For example, if we gossip and don’t repent, it’s not uncommon to have tooth pain or even to need expensive dental work such as a root canal. Gossip out of our mouth affects our mouth. As I continued writing, I was thinking to myself, “We need prophetic people who don’t wash their mouths out with soap, but with the blood of Jesus!” I kept seeing pure mouths of bold messengers filled with the blood of Jesus as they declared truth.

I came to a point in the article where I relayed an extremely minor, common issue that can come up in a messenger’s life. I wrote in an extremely generic, careful manner about a personal situation that happened in my life recently. The content wasn’t the problem, but the attitude of my heart was. Again, it was so minor. You’d laugh if you knew just how minor it was! But, as I wrote it, God gave me a gentle check in my spirit. I considered the check, wondering if it was just my own emotions—then I ignored the check. After all, there was nothing that I wrote that would raise alarms whatsoever.

I finished the article and prepared to send it out. I always post it to the web first, and then immediately send it to my email list.

Then, I got up from my office chair and I felt something in my mouth. I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. Directly under my tongue, right in the center, I saw a blood blister! It was not there five seconds prior! God immediately reminded me that his prophetic voices must have their mouths filled with the blood of Jesus, and I was instantly convicted. I ignored Jesus. I immediately repented from a deep place of my heart. I was wrecked!

I went back to my office, troubled that the tainted message was now all over the world. But, then, I noticed something. I had actually forgotten to send the message to my email list, which would have been a point of no return! I quickly removed the questionable sentence, reposted it to the web and then sent it to my list. Less than three hours later, the blood blister in my mouth completely disappeared! God is so kind as he is training us in righteousness! I learned, as a seasoned minister of 22+ years, that promotion to new assignments requires trust of God that we will respond immediately and exactly to him. I learned that lesson…or so I thought.

LESSON NUMBER TWO

About a week later I had a great meeting with two state prayer leaders in Dearborn, Michigan. I can’t explain it, but God was REALLY getting my attention that day. It was as if there were an open heaven over me and God was calling me to engage with him. After I left the meeting, I felt compelled to stop by the Detroit Prayer Furnace on my way home and get along with the Lord. I craved him, and I could tell he craved time with me.

I had also wanted to go to Best Buy at some point that day to buy something I had really wanted, so that was definitely in the back of my mind.

I spent about 45 minutes getting into the zone at DPF and trying to hear what the Lord had for me that day. I was still extremely stirred.

A friend then showed up and we talked for just a little bit. He decided to leave, and, with the desire to head to Best Buy increasing, I did too.

I felt a minor check in my spirit that I needed to stay put and keep seeking after God. Instead, I responded casually and thought that I could pray in the car and possibly reconnect with God later that night or tomorrow.

Well, I couldn’t connect in the car, and my spirit was increasingly grieved, but I excused it away. I got to Best Buy, and almost left without buying what I wanted, and I felt that’s what God wanted. Keep in mind, this is all low level stuff. I didn’t see an angel with instructions from Heaven. I was discerning something that felt more like the story of the Princess and the Pea. That small irritating pea wouldn’t go away.

Before I left Best Buy, I checked one more aisle, and there it was—it was exactly what I wanted! And, they price matched Amazon.com, so I saved $20! I bought it, and my grief increased.

For one week my life was a swirl of God, Satan and flesh—all assaulting me. A very minor decision to casually respond to God and ignore his gentle prompts resulted in sleepless nights and non-stop feelings of demonization. Trust me, I am not exaggerating.

I was in rebellion. My minor sin was major. My rejection of God was real. He had called me up to the mountain to meet with me and I chose to remain at the bottom with a spirit of Egypt compelling me to worship a golden calf. I actually had a picture of my rebellion resulting in an eternity in Hell—just me, demons and that stupid item I bought at Best Buy! I was tormented!

You might try to encourage me by saying that there’s no condemnation in Christ Jesus. That’s true. But, I’m sober enough to admit that, in that moment of rebellion I really wasn’t in Christ Jesus—and that’s why the shouts of condemnation by the enemy were piercing me so effectively. Now, I believe God knew this trial would hit me, and he knows my heart is so deeply in love with his, so I wouldn’t be dying in that state of rebellion. It was a Peter denying Christ type of moment. However, I’m also convinced that continued rebellion by me, someone who leads ministries, has written books, teaches on holiness, goes to church, pays my tithe, prays continually—would absolutely put me at risk of Hell.

Yesterday, I was exhausted as I keep trying to connect with Jesus who I love so much, and who loves me so much. I prayed, I worshiped, I listened to anointed music. Nothing worked. I had my intercessors praying for me. I was in darkness and I was wiped out. I cried out to God, “Please talk to me! Give me something that will reveal what I am to do! I can’t go on feeling alone and separated from you!”

Within moments, my good friend Julia Palermo posted this on Facebook:

Any place in our lives and heart where we are exerting our will and ways over God's will and ways will inevitably drain us of energy and resources. Exertion=Exhaustion. On the other hand, death to self requires only that we lay down at the foot of the cross and give up the right to run our lives. We say with Christ, “Not my will but Yours be done Father.” The Crucified life is the entrance into true rest. #ComeAndDie

Jesus! I immediately packaged up what I bought at Best Buy to take it back. I crucified my flesh and returned my idol. Peace flooded my soul. The life and love of Jesus IMMEDIATELY returned. I felt him instantly! The anointing spiked.

It’s absolutely stunning how simple, minor sins can have such a profound impact on those called to serve the Lord!

Minor is major! The sins of apathy, gossip, independence, selfishness, materialism, idol worship, homosexuality, murder, rape and all of the others, major or minor, required the same death of Jesus.

Sins that are repented of, that have the blood of Jesus applied to them, are eradicated! But, if we refuse to repent and confess and allow Jesus to have Lordship again, we cannot presume to be in a safe place.

God is going to hold ministers to a much higher standard. This is why we must pursue holiness and refuse to participate in the sins of culture through media, rebellion, materialism and independence.

It’s time to embrace a spirit of repentance. God is extremely kind. He was in my two back-to-back sins. But, he’s equally serious. He will discipline those he loves. I am so thankful that he loves me.

COMPLIANCE

This brings us back to compliance.

God is raising up voices that will walk in true consecration and holiness. Not perfect people, but responsive people. People who will quickly repent and who will walk in true authority—authority to call the church into compliance to the Word of God.

When this generation’s true prophetic messengers sound an alarm, it won’t be open for discussion. We won’t have the option to consider whether we want to obey or not. We will have to comply. Are you one who will awaken the church and call it to holiness, to prayer and to consecration? Are you walking in holiness? Are you listening to God, or are you casual, as I was in the two above stories? Pray for your discernment to increase, and get ready to gather the ready, responsive remnant that will offer no excuse as they respond to the alarms of the Lord as they are shouted through your blood filled mouth!

Blow the trumpet in Zion;

consecrate a fast;

call a solemn assembly;

gather the people.

Consecrate the congregation;

assemble the elders;

gather the children,

even nursing infants.

Let the bridegroom leave his room,

and the bride her chamber.

Between the vestibule and the altar

let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep

and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,

and make not your heritage a reproach,

a byword among the nations.

Why should they say among the peoples,

‘Where is their God?’” (Joel 2:15-17, ESV)

Posted in General and tagged barbara wentroble, blood, cross, God, homosexuality, Jesus, julia palermo, messenger, michael brown, obedience, personal, proclaim, prophetic, rebellion, sin

Hell, Holiness and Fear of Man | The true, prophetic church must emerge

By John Burton | August 16, 2013

When did it become hateful to warn people of the reality of Hell? Most go there and we have to get that message out.

Ephesians 5:11 (ESV) ¹¹Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.

I have no patience for the current trend in the church to ensure hearers of its messages suffer no troubled emotions or theological crisis.

If we read the Bible, and believe it is our blueprint for ministry, we cannot buy into this strategy. The Gospel troubles.

Ignoring Hell does not keep people from Hell—it increases the number who will perish. Ignoring sin in media, music and entertainment must stop—the church is devouring the vomit of Satan in media and is unconcerned about the effects because of an unbiblical view of an indifferent God.

We as Christians have NO OPTION but to shine the light on works of darkness, of unholiness—especially within the camp of the church!

There is a growing resistance by shepherds to the idea that judgment of God is in force today, and that somehow the better approach to the issue unholiness is to minimize its potency.

Romans 1:18 (ESV) ¹⁸For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Strong delusion has hit the church—and many in Spirit-filled environments are on a path to Hell, and they have no idea.

Christians are watching R and PG-13 rated movies like The Wolverine and Paranoia , TV shows like How I Met Your Mother and Two and Half Men and listening to music by Beyonce, Jay-Z and others.

YES, being entertained by sin, watching and listening to such media ABSOLUTLEY PUTS PEOPLE AT RISK OF HELL—Christian or not.

This is why the prayer movement is so critical! You cannot be fervent in prayer and be fervent in sin at the same time.

A lifestyle of fervent, burning prayer and legitimate salvation are more closely related than today's religious teachings reveal.

FEAR OF MAN

God is raising up a people who have the boldness of the Holy Spirit, and who will, in humility, stare the enemy in the face and renounce him and his strategies! It’s time to tear down our father’s altars!

You will lose friends! Family will shun you! Are you OK with that?

Judges 6:30 (ESV) ³⁰Then the men of the town said to Joash, “Bring out your son, that he may die, for he has broken down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah beside it.”

It’s time we stop using Facebook to post pictures of kittens and start using it as a platform to expose darkness and to declare the word of the Lord!

The evidence of declaring truth is not a growing sphere of friends, but a growing revolt by those who want you shut down. I’m talking about other Christians. Truth presents a clear and present threat to the lukewarm, casual lifestyles of the majority in the church today.

Fear of man will keep you silent with a sleeping prophetic spirit as you embrace false-humility and false-love in the hopes of maintaining friendships.

I refuse to honor immorality. I will not respect darkness. I won’t befriend the lukewarm and rebellious. I will love them instead.

WILL YOU REJECT THE FEAR OF MAN AND HELP ME SOUND THE ALARM? Use Facebook, Twitter and other outlets daily to shake and provoke the sleeping church! Here’s the message:

Enjoying media and participating in activities that approve of sin will result in a delusion that puts even seasoned ministers and other Christians at clear risk of going to Hell. This is not a rare situation in the American church, but, rather is the norm! Many will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day!

“There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity.” ~Jonathan Edwards speaking on Hell

Jonathan Edwards had no fear of man, none that we could see anyway. Read on:

“It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For “who knows the power of God's anger?”

“How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old! There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell?”

“Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation. Let every one fly out of Sodom: “Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed.””

And the reaction of the people that day? It is what we must see in today’s church!

“Before the sermon was done there was a great moaning and crying out throughout the whole house, “What shall I do to be saved?! Oh, I am going to Hell! Oh, what shall I do for Christ?!” etc. etc. So that the minister was obliged to desist. Shrieks and cries were piercing and amazing. After some time of waiting, the congregation were still so that a prayer was made, and after that we descended from the pulpit and discoursed with the people, some in one place and some in another, and–amazing and astonishing!–the power of God was seen, and several souls were hopefully wrought upon that night, and oh, the pleasantness of their countenances that received comfort.”

Lest one believe that Jonathan Edwards was dour and sad, here is the text of his sermon, Heaven, A World Of Love:

“…But heaven is his dwelling-place above all other places in the universe; and all those places in which he was said to dwell of old, were but types of this. Heaven is a part of creation that God has built for this end, to be the place of his glorious presence, and it is his abode forever; and here will he dwell, and gloriously manifest himself to all eternity. And this renders heaven a world of love; for God is the fountain of love, as the sun is the fountain of light. And therefore the glorious presence of God in heaven, fills heaven with love, as the sun, placed in the midst of the visible heavens in a clear day, fills the world with light. The apostle tells us that “God is love;” and therefore, seeing he is an infinite being, it follows that he is an infinite fountain of love. Seeing he is an all-sufficient being, it follows that he is a full and over-flowing, and inexhaustible fountain of love.”

(from http://the-end-time.blogspot.com/2013/07/sinners-in-hands-of-angry-god-not-so.html)

THE CHURCH’S DIMINISHED AUTHORITY

Hosea 4:1-3 (ESV) ¹Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; ²there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. ³Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish…

We have a controversy in the land!

Swearing, lying, murder, adultery, bloodshed! It results in the Earth crying out!

The Earth is waiting for a holy army of sons of God to emerge!

Romans 8:19-22 (ESV) ¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. ²²For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.

I know that I will have no authority to preach in the anointing of the Holy Spirit on holiness if I enjoy anything that is unholy. The Spirit is holy, and for him to minister through us requires that we too are holy.

Revelation 22:11-15 (ESV) ¹¹Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” ¹²“Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” ¹⁴Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. ¹⁵Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Be holy!

1 Peter 1:14-15 (ESV) ¹⁴As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, ¹⁵but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct,

Again, my authority to speak on holiness relies on my agreement with holiness!

If I watch a sitcom that has homosexuality as a theme, whether overt or subtle, I simply need to know that I will not be able to speak to that with anointing in my ministry. Why do you think it was so important for the homosexual agenda to overwhelm media with homosexual characters and situations? So the church would become entertained by that spirit, and, in turn, become sympathetic to it.

Did you know that a popular Disney show is introducing a lesbian couple? Good Luck Charlie has been extremely popular, and now, when hooked, Disney knows they won’t lose viewers when they introduce immorality into the storyline. http://www.christianpost.com/news/disney-channels-popular-sitcom-good-luck-charlie-to-feature-married-lesbian-parents-100704/

Do you wonder why the church has near zero impact on the increase of violence in the world? Pastors and their flocks are playing first person shooter video games, watching violence in movies and ignoring calls to holiness.

The church is deceived! People are being given up by God to a debased mind! A falling away has begun in the church!

Romans 1:28-32 (ESV) ²⁸And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Every time we are entertained by a sin that required the death of Jesus, we are approving of those sins, and our future is terrifying.

Ephesians 5:10-12 (ESV) ¹⁰and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. ¹¹Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. ¹²For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret.

If even talking about sin is shameful, how can we presume God is indifferent to us being entertained by it in media?

To approve of being entertained by sin in media, and to communicate that there is no fear of punishment, no repercussions, is to function as an end-time false prophet.

What about legalism? The moment we start preaching against something that we are participating in, we are devoid of power. But, we can preach the same message from a place of holiness, brokenness and Holy Spirit anointing and it will explode in power out of us! It’s not legalistic to call people to holiness. It is legalistic to call people to human works.

Sin hardens hearts, and deception and darkness will overwhelm us if we entertain sin.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 (ESV) ⁹The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, ¹⁰and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. ¹¹Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, ¹²in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Pleasure in unrighteousness will result in great apostasy and falling away—in the church!

Telling people only about the love of God without also discussing the fierce judgment of God not only won’t work, IT’S NOT BIBLICAL.

We see warnings from cover to cover, Old Testament and New Testament.

Check out this video. It’s simple, basic, scriptural preaching—and it actually made the www.rightwingwatch.org website. What?

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/georgia-pastor-day-tony-byrd-compromise-leads-catastrophe

WAKE UP CHURCH!

At the Detroit Prayer Furnace we are calling together those who are ready to be trained as loved-fueled prophetic messengers.

I want to invite you to participate in a movement of fire and holiness in Detroit. We are calling together awakeners!

Contact us TODAY: [email protected].

Here is the info about how you can become equipped and ready to move in boldness and fire that I posted yesterday:

Give leadership to the prayer movement in Detroit • The Detroit Prayer Furnace is a contending house of prayer for revival.

Habakkuk 2:2 (ESV) And the LORD answered me: “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.

The staff at Revival Church, theLab and the Detroit Prayer Furnace are focused on two numbers:

40 core leaders at the Detroit Prayer Furnace and 1000 intercessors for Detroit

the40

You are invited to join our team of revival minded core leaders at the Detroit Prayer Furnace. (Check out our NEW website here: www.detroitprayerfurnace.com.)

The process is simple and you are encouraged to start into it today!

There are three designations at the Detroit Prayer Furnace: theField, theLab & theCore

theField

Simply gather together with us and grow through prayer, teaching and by enjoying our community.

A variety of opportunities to grow are available to you including:

Saturday Prep Room Prayer & Primary Weekly Service
Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday Prayer & Teaching
Friday Prayer Events
Prayer Watch Teams (coming soon!)
Life with John and Amy (monthly small group)

theLab

We strongly encourage everybody in our community to enroll in theLab University. This is a focused, intense training environment that will unlock your destiny and set you ablaze!

Everybody interested in joining theCore, a team of 40+ leaders in the Detroit Prayer Furnace, must successfully complete one three-month session of theLab.

You can learn more about theLab University here: www.thelabuniversity.com

theCore

A team of 40+ leaders will head up the Detroit Prayer Furnace revival movement.

Opportunities for those on theCore include leading prayer watch teams, teaching, developing ministries and advancing the prayer movement with a family of burning men and women of God.

theCore team is devoted to consecration and modeling the lifestyle of an end-time forerunner.

This commitment includes:

Three prayer & ministry events per week
A high standard of holiness
Traveling locally (and further if available) for ministry events
Financial partnership (tithe)
Continuing education

If you are ready to start your process toward leadership as a part of theCore at the Detroit Prayer Furnace, talk to us at an upcoming Saturday service. We can’t wait to help you get started!

the1000

theCore are automatically a part of the1000 intercessors for revival in Detroit.

That leaves an additional 960 people who are needed to respond to this prophetic assignment!

The commitment is simple but significant:

Sign up for a weekly prayer watch through www.hiddenonesmi.com (Transformation Michigan’s prayer effort)
Sign up for our email alerts so we can communicate with you
Attend a monthly prayer event at the Detroit Prayer Furnace OR another connected prayer ministry
Communicate monthly by filling out an online form

This enables us to stay connected and locked in while serving in our various local ministries.

If you want to join the1000, we want to hear from you! Please email us at [email protected] TODAY! We will give you info on how to get started.

Posted in The Church and tagged america, authority, church, crisis, detroit prayer furnace, facebook, fear of man, fervent, Gospel, hateful, hell, holiness, jonathan edwards, judgment, prayer, prayer movement, prophetic, rightwingwatch, sin, sleeping, Twitter

Eight clear reasons why revival is not as near as it could be

By John Burton | June 6, 2013

Revival will both destroy and build up. Do we understand what we are signing up for?

Listen to a provocative podcast on this article:

Much of what people affirm in today’s church is going to be destroyed as revival breaks out. The call to consecration and extreme cost as opposed to personal comfort and ease will cause the majority to refuse participation in revival at even the most elementary phase.

Jeremiah 1:9-10 (ESV) ⁹Then the LORD put out his hand and touched my mouth. And the LORD said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth. ¹⁰See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”

The good news? We could see revival launch almost overnight—if we contended for it with passion and surrender.

REVIVAL IS NOT NEAR

If we cast the wrong vision for revival, which is quite common, we will experience disappointment or false starts. Even worse, we can become satisfied with something far inferior to what God has planned.

The easiest way to say it is this: The coming move of God won’t be defined by happy meetings where we enjoy an experience. That may be a very small part of what is coming, but it is not the goal.

Now, I will admit that I love great meetings. However, all to often they are self-focused instead of God focused. We have become drunk on experiences in the church and the pursuit of enhancements to our lifestyle.

I’ve hosted many amazing, anointed events over the years, and have enjoyed them immensely. But, we do have a problem. Time and again, I’ve watched seemingly zealous people flock to the experiential worship and personal ministry meetings, and then shrink back when the cross is preached. This is not a mark of revival, but rather of immaturity that can in no way bear the weight of the trouble revival will bring.

EIGHT REASONS REVIVAL IS NOT AS NEAR AS IT COULD BE

ONE: Negative messages are resisted.

Again, when revival breaks out it will not all be happy. In fact, we will most likely be in the midst of extreme crisis in our nation and the revival remnant church will be broken and grieved it intercedes for America. Sharp prophetic messages of correction and warning will be the backbone of the move, and it will be resisted and rejected by those who are not willing to bear the burden. Check out the first sermon that was preached in the outpouring in Acts 2:

Acts 2:22-23 (ESV) ²²“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— ²³this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

Peter refused to be nice. He ministered by accusing people of murdering Jesus, and the people were cut to the heart. The Acts 2 baptism of fire resulted in boldness and the ability to minister harsh truth in love. Today this is not the case. Revival ideas for most excludes troubling, heavy messages of the cross of Christ.

The warning about refusing to speak painful truth is severe:

Jeremiah 23:16-17 (ESV) ¹⁶Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. ¹⁷They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, ‘It shall be well with you’; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, ‘No disaster shall come upon you.’”

TWO: Repentance and teaching on sin are unpopular.

Related to the first point, but important enough to warrant further discussion, focus on sin and repentance is nearly non-existent today. Historically, repentance has been the hallmark of every revival, and until we hit our faces in a culture of brokenness and repentance, we can’t presume to be anywhere near revival. Revival doesn’t only result in an awakening to the life of God, it’s provides a clear revelation of our own human condition.

Acts 3:19 (ESV) ¹⁹Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,

2 Chronicles 7:14 (ESV) ¹⁴if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

“My heart aches for America and its deceived people…The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance.” ~Billy Graham

“When he says America is in trouble, we have to repent…He’s (Billy Graham) gone through global wars as a spiritual shepherd. He’s seen a bunch of stuff and he’s saying America, ‘We have to repent.’ This may be our last chance to repent. We’ve turned away from God and God is just, loving and right to bring judgment.” ~Louis Cataldo

THREE: Prayer is nearly non-existent.

What does revival look like? Everybody praying. The primary purpose of the church will be reestablished in revival. For me, the first step and the goal in revival is the same—a prayer meeting. The church is to be a house of prayer for all nations, which means in revival we will all be fervent in intercession continually. Have you noticed how rare it is to find Christians who burn with a spirit of prayer? This is a problem. In Acts 2 the prescription for revival was simple—wait and pray. To think revival will break out when prayer isn’t the main thing simply doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t follow biblical protocol.

This is one reason I know we could experience revival nearly overnight if we wanted to. Since revival is a regional event, the regional church must participate—at least the remnant. What would happen if every church in the Detroit region cancelled every program, every ministry, every sermon for a year…and prayed in the Holy Spirit in its place? We’d have revival.

Acts 1:13-14 (ESV) ¹³And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. ¹⁴All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.

FOUR: Personal experience is the goal.

Personal death must be the goal if we want revival to come. The enemy is just fine with us going after an encounter without being disciplined in the Word. He knows those who are undisciplined will settle for what feels good, even if it’s contrary to truth. We need to be mature enough to know that revival may not look like a dance party, but rather it may result in a remnant on their face in tears with burdens and troubles burning in their spirits. True revival will see the true Christians in tears of both joy and grief.

We must be students of the Word, endure hardship and take up our cross. If we aren’t intentionally grounded, we will be tossed around by whatever feels good to us.

Ephesians 4:11-14 (ESV) ¹¹And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.

I’m more convinced than I’ve ever been that the coming revival will actually be an underground movement of intercession minded people who are advancing the Gospel in the face of extreme crisis. It may be a terrorist attack, occupation of our nation by foreign armies or another traumatic event that results in consecration at a level we’ve never experienced. If happy meetings are your picture of revival, I challenge you to consider your position. It’s about to get extremely difficult.

Additionally, there is an ever increasing segment of Christianity falling for the deception that God no longer judges—and this means that those people will have no idea how to respond when judgment and revival come hand-in-hand. We will experience both God’s loving judgment and Satan’s hateful assaults against God’s people at the same time—and this will result in an awakened, revived church.

I was reading the book The Hiding Place by Holocaust survivor Corrie Ten Boom, and God suddenly spoke to me, “Get ready.” It pierced me. Will there be an underground movement like hers in concentration camps? Will it be like the exploding Chinese church? I implore you—get ready. Now.

FIVE: Calls to consecration and holiness are rare.

Today, Christians are entertained by the sins that required the one we say we love to be tortured and murdered on a tree. To think we will have any part in revival with such a lifestyle is an indicator that we truly do not know who God is. He is holy. It’s time for a consecrated remnant to truly separate themselves from the world. Look nothing like it.

Joshua 3:5 (ESV) ⁵Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

If we want wonders, consecration comes first.

SIX: We underestimate the scope.

First, we don’t understand just how deeply the pursuit of revival must impact our daily lives. The cares of life must be finally defeated as we allow God to tear into every part of our heart and call us into costly, time consuming devotion. We will be in church continually, in prayer and ministry, when revival hits. This means we must be in prayer and ministry continually now! I watched a video on the underground Chinese church that’s exploding, and they wake up every morning at 4:30am to gather together with the rest of the church and pray for two hours! I met a minister from Africa and he said the entire church walks for miles every Friday to gather together to spend the night in intercession! The cost is extreme!

Acts 2:44-46 (ESV) ⁴⁴And all who believed were together and had all things in common. ⁴⁵And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. ⁴⁶And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

Second, we don’t understand the scope of the impact of revival. When revival truly hits, it won’t be a local event. It will impact the region. There are over 19,000 cities in the nation and NONE of them are experiencing the biblical normalcy of revival. Not one. Anything short of city impact can’t be defined as revival, or at least, it can’t be the goal.

In Detroit I will be encouraged but not satisfied when stadiums are filled with fiery intercessors. It will be a good start to full blown revival in this region.

SEVEN: There is confusion about salvation.

An offensive element will be connected to the next great outpouring. We are about to receive, through fire, a revelation of the coming reformation of the understanding of salvation. Gone are the days of easy salvations—the true cost of following Jesus will be made known. Most who would quickly sign up to follow Jesus will instead quickly reject him when the true cost is made clear. We have churches filled with Rich Young Rulers who have decided to follow Jesus—at their own pace—and have been affirmed by well meaning but terribly deceived leaders as being truly saved. Today there are millions who are following Jesus in an unsaved condition. Without intervention, they will be utterly shocked and confused to find themselves in Hell one day.

Matthew 19:16-26 (ESV) ¹⁶And behold, a man came up to him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” ¹⁷And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” ¹⁸He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, ¹⁹Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ²⁰The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” ²¹Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” ²²When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. ²³And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. ²⁴Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” ²⁵When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” ²⁶But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Leonard Ravenhill said he doubts that 5% of professing Christians are in fact truly saved. If you have a church of 100, that might mean that five are saved!

The next revival will not allow for mass false-conversions. The call will be to come and die so that you may live.

Few leaders have the guts to preach in such a way that would result in casual church goers rejecting the message. However, the truth must and will be made clear before revival can come. A desire to burn in prayer will be one indicator of a legitimate conversion. Those who don’t desire to be with the God they presumably decided to follow can’t be affirmed in their position. Revival will result in prayer meetings replacing most everything, and those who are not in relationship with Jesus will be made known.

I boldly and without apology agree that a live devoid of prayer is a life that is, at best, in an at risk position in Christ. The first stop for new converts in the upcoming revival will be the prayer room. It will be their baptism into fervency and intimacy with Jesus—and their entire lives will be marked by an unending passion to intercede with Jesus.

EIGHT: We misunderstand the purpose.

The money changers tables were overturned violently by Jesus because of their heart. By their actions, they presumed the church to be a place where their personal gain was emphasized. They used the temple as they focused on their own welfare. Jesus would have nothing to do with it as he affirmed with passion the purpose of the church is to be a place of sacrifice.

Matthew 21:12-13 (ESV) ¹²And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³He said to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.”

Most people have the same mindset as the money changers when they think about revival. Here in Detroit, even those in the church often focus on financial revival as a prime goal. Others think about awesome meetings where their personal lives get better. The pursuits are most often self-focused.

The purpose of revival is not to make our lives better. It’s to glorify God and to reveal him to the world. It’s to calibrate Christians to biblical standards. It’s to break us, humble us and cause us to return the First Commandment to first place. When revival hits, we will suddenly find ourselves paying prices we have refused to pay—no matter the return. Pure obedience without measuring benefit to us will return to the church.

The return to burning love of Jesus and radical obedience will result in such deep transformation in the church and in our lives that our schedules, plans, dreams and life goals will suddenly shift. We will pay the price of prayer every day. We will live in glorious brokenness and humility. We will boldly declare the Word of God without reservation. We will change the world—all without thought to whether we like the services, feel anything or enjoy the process. We will be dead people raging on fire for Jesus—and the entire nation will know about it.

Posted in Revival and tagged Acts 2, america, consecration, cost, destroy, detroit, holy spirit, passion, prayer, repentance, revival, salvation, sin, surrender, teaching

The Salvation Equation: False-Grace | Hyper-Grace | Distorted-Grace | “Many in the church will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day.”

By John Burton | April 12, 2013 |

My life message: The Terror of Hell | “Many in the church will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day.”

First: I'd encourage you read the most popular article I've ever written, Five Marks of the False-Grace Message HERE. It's a much shorter teaching that is perfect for relaying to those struggling with this dangerous doctrine. (It will open in a new window/tab)

Some may wonder why I am so passionate about this issue of grace, and why I continue to sound the same alarm again and again.

It’s simple—this is my life message. Silence on this issue will result in tragedy beyond comprehension.

My burning passion is to see the church shaken out of slumber into a deep, intimate encounter with Jesus. Out of complacency and any false assurance of salvation and into zealous devotion to follow our all consuming leader. This is all about eternity.

It’s shocking to me how sharply resistant Christians can be when the doctrine of salvation is discussed. Many have been lulled into a state of false-comfort through incredibly dangerous and fast spreading theologies—and anything that would threaten their confidence is reacted to fiercely. A pastor once told me that the most violent reaction from Christians against him comes when he deals with false-grace.

Titus 2:11-15 (ESV) ¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, ¹² training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, ¹³waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, ¹⁴who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. ¹⁵Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

My life message is to awaken the comfortable, sleeping church and declare the true, empowering grace of God.

It’s not a message that I chose. In the natural that would be insanity as my fervent attention to it has brought trouble and grief not only to me but to my family. We’ve lost friends and awakened enemies we didn’t know we had.

Here’s an email from our great friend Julia Palermo:

Hi John! I wanted to let you know that the Lord has really put you, Detroit Revival Church and the city of Detroit on my heart the past few weeks. I've been following your posts and just carrying you all in my heart. I feel like you are very much in need of extra prayer coverage as you are stepping out very boldly in some areas of proclamation of the truth. Just wanted you to know that I am going to be praying for you and for the church. Would love to talk some time and hear what the Lord is doing. Though I think this bold stand may cost you in some sense, I truly feel that for the remnant who receives these messages and signs up to pursue Him in holiness, He is going to come with His fire and His presence. I believe you are going to experience some times of such a weight of his holiness and nearness in the room that people will only be able to weep on the floor and won't move for hours. You have not seen before what He is about to do in you and in the church. Be encouraged! He is with you! Julia

Thankfully, it’s a message that has resulted in continual messages from people sharing how their life has been powerfully impacted by it.

Shortly after hearing a teaching that (God forgives all sin, past, present and future) I was ignorantly relieved of the struggles I was having with particular sins and then went soo far away from truth, deep into more self justified sin, self deception, coldness, distance from God, family, etc. …. Now I've been hearing teaching from John Burton and others against sin and this false doctrine (false-grace teaching) and now for the first time since I became a Christian almost 10 years ago, I have been free from the power of habitual sin and no longer live a life of torment … All Glory to GOD!!! God needs more TRUTH Ministers.~Nick

It’s a message that, by design, urgently and aggressively provokes those who are personally comfortable yet eternally vulnerable.

The Terror of Hell

It’s a message that was hand delivered to me, by God, over 20 years ago, in a dream where I was dragged toward Hell by a demon that strangely had full authority to do so. In a split second, in my night time encounter, I went from beautiful comfort and complete confidence in my position in Christ to maddening terror as I was slowly, methodically dragged toward Hell. The confusion that gripped me was met by the truth that I was indeed going to spend the rest of eternity—multiplied trillions of years consisting of innumerable hours that feel like decades—being tormented in Hell.

I thought, “It’s impossible! I can’t be going to Hell!”

After all, I’m a Christian!

After I came out of this deeply disturbing experience, God spoke clearly to me: John, in your dream you represented the many in the church who will be shocked to find themselves in Hell one day.

I knew my life assignment was now to humbly yet boldly—and expediently—warn everybody I can. According to Mike Bickle, his opinion is that the number one most dangerous threat today is the distorted grace message… Even a greater threat than abortion. Greater than 54 million murdered babies! Why is it a greater threat? Because as sickening and horrifying as abortion is, there are 54 million babies in Heaven today. False grace results in millions of casual Christians ending up in Hell.

Christians in Hell?

I have to be perfectly clear at this point:

Yes, it is my conviction that many in the church, many in even the most fiery, vibrant and alive churches in the world, are convinced they are saved while living in an unsaved state. False theologies have been so widely embraced that the thought of them being false seem absolutely ridiculous.

Additionally, I am quite comfortable with differing Christian streams emphasizing different biblical principles, and even disagreeing over them—if they don’t threaten eternity. We can disagree over tongues, prophecy, gifts, the timing of the rapture and a myriad of other doctrines—but, the issue of false-grace is different. Eternity is at stake, and many worshiping, bible reading, tithing professing Christians have been deceived and Hell is being made ready for them.

I will share a lot of scripture in this lengthy article to support my position.

You can watch a video where I deal in detail with the false-grace teaching:

How do works fit into the salvation equation?

Ephesians 2:8-9 (ESV) ⁸ For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, ⁹ not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

False-grace teachers are vigilant in their attempts to invalidate any measure of works for the Christian—at least as they relate to salvation. In fact, the logical end to the false-grace theology is actually universalism. We do nothing, God did everything, everybody is saved.

Of course, it would be said that we have to believe to be saved. Well, first, that is a work. It takes participation on our behalf. Second, even the demons believe. Even the Rich Young Ruler believed. He was rejected because he was unwilling to do his part. The true motive of his heart was revealed, yet in today’s churches it would be offensive to turn such a man away at an altar call! The common reaction is to give someone assurance of their salvation, all while they may not actually be saved at all. That is a serious indictment on the church to say the least! How many people are going to Hell because a pastor told them they are eternally secure if they simply repeat a prayer after them? I believe the sinner’s prayer may actually be sending more people to Hell than to Heaven!

Leonard Ravenhill states that he doubts that 5% of professing American Christians are actually saved!

The above scripture in Ephesians 2 is actually quite easy to understand. It’s NOT saying that we don’t have to participate in the salvation process. The truth is that we have to be radically involved. The salvation equation includes us!

What the passage is saying is that we cannot bypass Jesus. We can’t give a million dollars to a charity and volunteer at Habitat for Humanity every weekend in order to work our way into Heaven. We can’t decide that the call to serve Jesus is not appealing to us, so we opt instead for option two or three. We can’t create our own salvation plan and then boast about our own abilities. There is only one way, and Jesus is it. And, obedience is very much a part of the equation.

James 1:21-22 (ESV) ²¹Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. ²²But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Works minus Jesus equals no salvation.
Jesus minus works equals false salvation.
Jesus plus works equals evidence of true salvation.

The cross of Christ doesn't eliminate our responsibility, it redefines our responsibility. He did what only he could do and we must do what he will not do.

When he said, “It is finished,” he meant it. His job is done—and ours begins. He emphasized this again in Acts 1. The disciples wanted Jesus to do more work (establish his Kingdom), but Jesus made it clear that his job was indeed complete. However, he let them know that their work was just beginning. They must walk in obedience to Jesus.

Hebrews 5:9 (ESV) ⁹ And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him…

We can have ‘intimacy’ with Jesus without works, and death is the result. We can also have works without intimacy and the result is also death.

Being intimate with Jesus doesn’t not automatically mean we’ll do good works, and doing good works doesn’t automatically mean we’ll be close to God. Attention must be given to both endeavors. In Matthew being known by God intimately AND doing God’s will are required. We can’t call him Lord without doing his will, and we can’t do works without also knowing him:

Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) ²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

This is a quote from the most popular article I’ve ever written, Five Marks of the False Grace Message (www.johnburton.net/grace-message):

It’s striking to me how often I hear that a focus on holiness and obedience equates to legalism. How far from orthodox Christianity has the church fallen?

The only point at which it’s legalism is if we were to reject the cross and resurrection of Christ by attempting to work our way into Heaven. But, if we agree that Jesus is the only one who could have paid for our sins yet we also refuse to work, our salvation is a myth.

Legalism is our attempt to get to Heaven by bypassing the cross of Jesus. Holiness and works are our response to the cross of Jesus.

Luke 6:46 (ESV) ⁴⁶“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?
Luke 8:21 (ESV) ²¹But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
Luke 11:28 (ESV) ²⁸But he said, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it!”
John 8:51 (ESV) ⁵¹Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
John 14:15 (ESV) ¹⁵“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
John 15:10 (ESV) ¹⁰If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
John 15:14 (ESV) ¹⁴You are my friends if you do what I command you.
Philippians 2:12-13 (ESV) ¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

Additionally, we see God dealing with the churches in the book of Revelation. Repeatedly he said, “I know your works.” And, their position in Christ absolutely did hinge on what they did or did not do.

Interestingly, when I talk about biblical works, the most common response goes something like this, “John, we don’t have to perform for God to love us.” Hmmm, why is the issue of God’s love introduced into a discussion about an entirely different topic? I didn’t mention God’s love. I didn’t say that we had to do stuff to convince God to love us, but that is the most immediate reaction I receive. Is it possible that we are living in a “me centered” generation where personal satisfaction and experience are the goal? The issue isn’t God’s love of us, it’s our love of God.

We see this play out all throughout the church. Prayer meetings, conferences and other events are full when the focus is on personal blessing, encounter, healing, prosperity and other bonuses. But, when the call is to die, to intercede for the nations, to carry our cross, to do the work of fervent prayer, to lay down our lives to impact the world, the crowds disperse.

Revelation 3:1-2 (ESV) ¹“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. ²Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God.

Revelation 3:5-6 (ESV) ⁵The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. ⁶He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’

Incomplete works can result in names being blotted out of the book of life.

The ESV Study Bible gives clarity to what is being said in Revelation 3:5-6:

Hope for revival is in the fact that a few names—alert and unstained disciples—can still be found in this church. Their unsoiled garments symbolize consistent obedience and courageous faith. Christ promises them the conqueror’s reward: communion with himself (walk with me) and the white raiment of victory.Their name is secure in his book of life, and he will confess their name before the Father, since they have confessed Jesus in hostile circumstances (Matt. 10:32).

Both obedience and faith make up the salvation equation.

From the AMG Bible Commentary on the same verses:

Believers must wake up, change their ways, and determine to follow the teaching of the gospel they first believed. If not, swift judgment will fall upon them.

From Dake:

Here Christ promises not to blot the name out of the book of life of any man who will obey the commands of Rev. 3:2-3. If some refused to obey these commands, would their names not be blotted out? If we say such is impossible we accuse God of using vain threats on His people. He definitely promised Moses, “Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of my book” (Ex. 32:32-33).

Again, we see obedience, works, directly involved in the salvation equation.

The call to wake up and strengthen is a call to works! If that work is not done, that person will in fact one day be cast into Hell.

James 2:14 (ESV) ¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

Life Application Commentary on James 2:14:

Faith not accompanied by deeds has no saving value.

Dake:

Christianity demands of its followers good works to all men (Mt. 5:16; 16:27; Eph. 2:10; 1Tim. 6:18; 2Tim. 3:17; Tit. 1:16; 2:7,14; 3:8). One is not justified by works (Rom. 3:25-31; 4:1-6; 9:11; 11:6; Gal. 2:16; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5), but justified ones must do them to prove their Christian consecration (vv. 14-18,20-26).

Faith without works is dead; works without faith is dead (vv. 17,20,26). Neither is complete in itself.

False-Grace is closely related to the false teaching of Antinomianism.

Wikipedia:

Antinomianism in Christianity is the belief that under the gospel dispensation of grace, moral law is of no use or obligation because faith alone is necessary to salvation.

Regarding Antinomianism, Steve Hill wrote:

Purveyors of this poisonous teaching fail to realize that Jesus calls us beyond the requirements of the law in His teaching, stating, for example, that adultery refers to adultery of the heart and not just the physical act (Matt. 5:27-28).

Are our sins forgiven past, present and future?

Steve Hill: Hyper-grace teachers ignore mountains of other scriptural truths and draw wrong theological conclusions. For example, they rightly teach that Jesus died for all our sins— past, present and future—but wrongly conclude that as believers we no longer have to deal with sin (meaning we never have to confess sin or repent of sin, and the Holy Spirit no longer convicts us of sin).

Again, Jesus told us that his job is finished. He died and rose and that was sufficient to cover every sin, past, present and future.

However, that does not mean our future sin is automatically resolved. We have a part to play.

I posted this to Facebook (www.facebook.com/johburton.net) yesterday:

Are our sins forgiven past, present and future? PAST: Yes. PRESENT: Why are you sinning right now? FUTURE: No.

No? Jesus did his part, but we must do ours. We can absolutely lose our salvation due to a decision to sin.

Hebrews 10:26-27 (ESV) ²⁶ For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.

The sacrifice that was fully sufficient for the Believer at the time of his conversion to Christ can be invalidated based on our behavior.

Additionally, this scripture clearly reveals that Jesus paid the price for our past sins:

Romans 3:23-25 (ESV) ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, ²⁵ whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.

Leonard Ravenhill said:

“I've heard people say “Jesus died for you sins past, present and future.” Imagine a judge tell a thief “you are forgiven of all the purses you stole in the past, the ones you stole today, and the all of the ones you'll …steal in the future.” If that's insane in real life is just as insane in so called doctrine.”

The historic church has always taught that Christ died potentially for all sins , in other words provision has been made for all sins. But that provision has to be applied.

In my message Five Marks of the False Grace Message, I deal with a theology of exemption. The presumption is that Christians are exempt from, and can ignore, certain biblical standards and warnings. For example, the following verse would be ignored:

Matthew 6:15 (ESV) ¹⁵but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

If we believe in a theology of exemption, we’ll rewrite this verse to say, “If we don’t forgive others, we are still forgiven.”

Dan Corner:

Jesus taught openly that sin can drag any person guilty of lust to hell:

But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. (Mat 5:28,29)

The Lord also stated the stipulation for a Christian to get his sins forgiven, that is, he must forgive others who sin against him. Such a teaching would be impossible if his future sins were all automatically forgiven even before they were committed. If that was true then there would be no conditions to get forgiven, unlike what Jesus stated:

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Mat 6:14,15)

Then the master called the servant in. “You wicked servant,” he said, “I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart. (Mat 18:32-35)

From Five Marks of the False Grace Message:

A theology of exemption states that since we are saved, we are exempt from the penalties of sin. That there are parts of the Bible that no longer apply to us. Yes, it’s a heresy.

The number of people who subconsciously or unwittingly embrace a theology of exemption is far greater than those who explicitly pronounce their agreement with this doctrine.

Many have been lulled into a false sense of security while actually existing in an unsaved state. They are confident they’d enter Heaven if they died, yet the reality is that they would not. They have come to believe they are exempt from certain parts of the Word of God that requires response.

1 Peter 1:15-17 (ESV) ¹⁵but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, ¹⁶since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” ¹⁷And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile,

Be holy. God judges according to one’s deeds. Those who hold to a theology of exemption don’t believe they are subject to what this verse is communicating. The command to be holy is to them a great goal, but not a mandate. A principle not a command.

Our name can actually be removed from the book of life—and that is determined by our obedience, our holiness. Sin can still separate a follower of Christ from him. The Rich Young Ruler saw that this was the case. He wanted to follow Jesus, but could not. He was not exempt from judgment even though he wanted to follow Jesus.

From Hall Worthington:

To believe you are saved, while still immersed in sin is to ignore, disregard, and treat with indifference the Bible's many stated exclusions, requirements, and qualifying conditions of salvation plus the commands of Jesus, while relying on a select four verses out of thousands to support an imaginary salvation; never bothering to question how those four verses must be interpreted in conjunction with Jesus' wonderful commands and the rest of the Bible.

Jesus said: Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Mat 5:20

Jesus told five out of seven churches of believers in Revelation that they were lost, on the way to destruction. The Smyrna believers were about to enter tribulation, whom he encouraged. Notice again! Jesus said that five out seven Christian churches of believers were on their way to Hell. Only the church of Philadelphia was doing well because they had kept [obeyed] his word with patient endurance.

Hall also says:

Christendom's false apostles started teaching the lie of instant grace, excusing all past, present, and future sin by grace 2000 years ago, and the itching ears of the world embraced the lie with heaps of teachers and preachers, just like Paul predicted. By grace through faith in what we hear from within our heart, we are delivered from all sin, which is salvation; but only after we have listened to and obeyed the Lord over time. There is no one-time, instant, receipt of salvation by grace; we must grow in grace and hope until we see the end of Grace, Jesus bringing our salvation:

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 2 Pet 3:18
Therefore be resolute of mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of (you seeing) Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 1:13.

Grace teaches us what to deny. Grace (Jesus) leads us to repentance. With our obedience to His leading and commands, grace then removes the sin, (even the desire to sin), from our hearts — thus to redeem us from all sin and purify us; deliverance from all sin is the true definition of salvation.

Check out this lengthy but wildly troubling story of an encounter by John Mulinde, a leader with a world ministry on every continent except Antartica. God told him, “If I had come today to take My Bride, you wouldn’t be part of that. I wouldn’t take you.” :

Then suddenly a bright light hit my eyes. My eyes were closed. I was on my knees with my head on the ground, but a bright light hit me. I lifted up my eyes and said, “What is this?” I opened my eyes and I couldn’t look in the light. Even when I closed them, it pierced into my eyes. I bowed my head again, and I was trembling and thinking, “What on earth is going on?” Then I heard a voice, deep and calm. He called my name three times. I couldn’t answer. There was no strength in me to answer, but inwardly I was saying, “I’m here.” He called me—“John”—three times. Then He said to me, “I knew you before the creation of the world, and I chose you and set you apart to serve Me as a witness in these last days. I want to say to you, if I had come today to take My Bride, you wouldn’t be part of that. I wouldn’t take you.” I can’t describe the shock that came upon me. I think I was in shock. I didn’t even respond. It hit me. He repeated it. He said, “I wouldn’t take you. For it is written, ‘He will appear to those who wait upon Him’ (Isa. 49:23, paraphrased). You’re not living your life as a person waiting upon Me. You’re allowing all kinds of filth to come into your life. You’re living like one who cares not.” As I said, I couldn’t speak with my lips. At that moment I was thinking, “This can’t be happening to me. I gave up my job to serve the Lord; I gave up my house that my father had given me because I wanted to go to the mission field. I gave up this, I gave up that; this can’t be God saying to me that He wouldn’t take me.” None of my theology and teachings could accept that. He spoke to me these words written in the book of 1 Corinthians 6. He quoted them; I found them later. I couldn’t even remember that they were in the Scriptures, but later on I found them in the Scriptures. It says: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:10). “THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED” He went on to say to me, “Your life is so full of filth. You walk with an outward appearance, and you cover many things in your heart. You forget that I am the Lord who examines the heart. You are not ready to meet Me.” He began to say to me, “If your life is full of this and this and this and this, then are you ready for My appearance?” As He measured the various things, I could say, “OK, Lord, have mercy.” But then He mentioned one thing that my heart rejected. In my own understanding, I had never turned into that. He said, “If your life is full of fornication . . . ” And everything in me said, “Oh, no. That cannot be.” I said it in my heart, and the voice stopped. For a moment there was silence. Then He said to me, “There is no crooked word that comes out of My mouth. Do you call Me a liar? But because you don’t even know your own heart, I will show it to you. Remember this day when you were in this place at this hour?” Brothers and sisters, I didn’t even remember. I practically saw myself back in that very moment—not as a memory, but as a reality. I was back in that moment. I saw myself sitting in the taxi waiting for the taxi car to be filled. Then I was looking out at some lady with all kinds of filthy imaginations. The moment it came back, I thought, “Oh, God, I have sinned against You.” He said, “No, you haven’t sinned. You live in sin. You live in that. You live from morning to evening in such imaginations. Even in your bed at night you indulge in the same. I know every moment of your private life. I know your thoughts. You don’t even fear, even sitting in church. Someone steps up on the platform to serve Me and you strip them naked in your imagination. You imagine all kinds of things. I am the Lord who examines the heart. Have you not read that he who even looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her (Mt. 5:28)?” Pictures began to pass before me of how my imagination works. This isn’t something of which I could say, “Lord, I fell in sin. Lord, I was weak.” It was my way of life. It was my constant way of life. I was comfortable in it. I was comfortable that no one else could see it, but God was saying, “I see it. I am the Lord who examines the heart.” I was so ashamed, but then He said, “That’s not the worst of all. You still live in this.” He began to mention things that appear humanly small: the envy, the manipulation and undercutting of one another so that you remain appearing the best, so that you appear to do the best, to preach the best, to work more miracles, to be more anointed; all the manipulation and self-promotions, all the grudges we hold in our hearts when we see someone else being promoted or recognized before us. The way the Lord brought it up, it was so filthy. I cried and cried, and at some point I was so intent on my grief. Then He raised His voice and said, “Keep quiet and listen.” “I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS!” I kept quiet, and He went on and on and on, unveiling more and more things. Even the things which appear so small, at that moment appeared so rotten. I felt like I was standing before the judgment seat with everything being thrown out. I wanted to say, “Stop, stop, I accept it all,” but He wasn’t stopping. At some point I was just saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He said, “Keep quiet.” I wasn’t speaking loudly; I was speaking in my heart. He said, “Keep quiet and listen.” As He continued I thought, “I must have been deceived. All along I thought I was serving God and yet I’m so filthy inside. I must have been deceived. The Devil must have taken my life captive a long time ago.” At that moment I thought of the miracles we were witnessing. I thought of the healings. I thought of all those wonderful things, and suddenly my heart sunk. I thought, “The Devil has so deceived me that he could even use me to produce counterfeit miracles; to produce things I thought God was working—and yet it was the Devil all along . . . ” The voice kept quiet for a moment, and then He said to me, “Why are you imagining such thoughts? I don’t do miracles because you’re worthy. I do miracles because I love My people before whom you stand to preach. Have you never read of how they will come to Me on that day and say, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name we worked miracles, cast out demons, and prophesied’? Then I will say to them, ‘Get out of My sight, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you’” (Mt. 7:21–23, paraphrased). He said, “Don’t depend on the miracles to assess your worthiness. Your worthiness isn’t in the signs and wonders you witness in ministry. I do miracles because I love the people, and My name shall never be left without witness on earth.” He said, “Have you not ever read that without holiness, no one will see God (Heb. 12:14)? It’s not the miracles; it’s the holiness that comes from God.” He spoke to me the scripture in the book of Hebrews.

Do we need to confess our sins as Believers? Should we be sin conscious?

Yes and yes.

False-grace teachers would say that it’s not necessary to confess sins because there is no sin in us. God’s grace has eradicated it.

Folks, let me be very, very clear: that is a heretical teaching that absolutely puts people at risk of Hell.

1 John 1:8-9 (ESV) ⁸ If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Life Application Bible notes:

Being God’s people does not mean denying sin (1:8), but confessing it. Because all people are sinners, Jesus had to die. Because sin is not completely eradicated from the lives of those who believe in Jesus, God graciously gave his followers provision for the problem of sin.

It’s not only critical, but it’s wonderful to live in a state of continual repentance! God’s love for us is so amazing, that running away from sin and to him is awe inspiring!

As we daily allow God to search our hearts and reveal issues that are barriers to his love fully impacting us, the freedom and resulting life is amazing!

I often hear people say that Christians shouldn’t be sin conscious. Not only is that not biblical, it does us a disservice. Ignoring sin doesn’t disarm it, it empowers it! Allow God to reveal the darkness and set us free!

2 Corinthians 7:1 (ESV) ¹ Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

We must remain diligent regarding sin. As we grow in grace and knowledge we will have the strength to remain stable.

2 Peter 3:14 (ESV) ¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.

2 Peter 3:17-18 (ESV) ¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. ¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

Don Corner:

Being found spotless, blameless and at peace with God is not automatic. Christians under grace are to put forth every effort to remain in this condition:

Make every effort to enter through the narrow door, because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to. (Luke 13:24)

The idea that we don’t have to confess sins because we will never again have to deal with the penalties of sin, is so unbiblical that even the most remedial student would pick up on the heresy.

2 John 1:8-9 (ESV) ⁸Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full reward. ⁹Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.

2 Peter 2:20-21 (ESV) ²⁰ For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. ²¹ For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them.

If we don’t live in a state of glorious repentance, the sins can overcome us, and the result would be worse than if we had never been saved! Many have had revelations of Hell where they see special attention given to those who walked in the truth and then fell away. This is special attention that nobody would ever want. Additionally, pastors and leaders who don’t reveal this truth are in danger as well!

Baptized by Blazing Fire by Pastor Yong-Doo Kim: Even later that night, as I continued to pray in tongues, I was taken down to hell. I was in a place where there was some devil jabbing a long, sharp spear into rectangular shaped boxes. With foul language, it shouted, “You think you are a pastor? What kind of life did you live? I am ecstatic that you are here with me.” The evil spirit continued to jab the boxes as it cursed. Loud, painful screams came from the boxes, as blood flowed out. I noticed the tops of the boxes were covered with canvass, with a large cross portrayed on it. The boxes were lined up in an orderly fashion, and they stretched endlessly. I could not see where they ended. I realized that they were coffins. Evil spirits were jabbing their long, sharp spears into the holes unmercifully. I asked the Lord, “Jesus, why are the caskets of former pastors here?” Jesus replied, “These pastors did not preach My gospel. They preached another gospel, and those who followed became depraved. This is their end result, a place in hell.” Jesus said, “Depraved pastors will be judged greater.” (Read more here.)

Don Corner says it well:

It takes a present tense saving faith, which submits to and follows Jesus in obedience to remain righteous after getting born again. Moreover, true saving faith can cease to exist and become destroyed (Luke 8:13; 2 Tim. 2:18; 1 Tim. 1:19; Rom. 11:19-23). After salvation, sin can nullify a Christian's righteous and holy standing before God and make him unholy, impure, unrighteous and spiritually dead!

But, isn’t it true that God can’t see the sin of a Christian since he’s washed in the blood of Jesus? No, it isn’t true.

Read through the New Testament. Check out the warnings to the seven churches. God saw their sins. Sins that are not repented of are not covered by the blood of Jesus. Willful sinning results in us being removed from right standing in God.

Hebrews 3:12-13 (ESV) ¹² Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. ¹³ But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Again, if our future sins are forgiven, and there’s no need to repent or confess, why does this verse in Hebrews, written to Believers (brothers), reveal that sin can cause them to fall away from God?

False-Grace teachers will say that the Holy Spirit doesn’t convict Christians of sin. Whoa. This is an extremely dangerous and UNWANTED concept! We want conviction! We are actively involved in the salvation process. Salvation is NOT a one time occurrence, but it’s a life-long life-changing process. We need conviction. We need God to search our hearts!

Additionally, we have a lot to do to ensure we remain saved!

2 Peter 1:3-11 (ESV) ³ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, ⁴ by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. ⁵ For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, ⁶ and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, ⁷ and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. ⁸ For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹ For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins. ¹⁰ Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. ¹¹ For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We must know our heart! Let God search it out!

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (ESV) ⁹ The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ¹⁰ “I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

If you don’t believe this is true, spend hours in prayer and ask God to reveal every thought, every motive, every sin, every issue in your heart—and he will do it! In love! What’s our reaction? Life! Rejoicing! Repentance! Confession! An encounter in the love and forgiveness of Jesus! There is nothing like it!

But, if we do not repent, what God finds in our hearts will be used against us! This is serious!

So many in the false-grace movement say that God is always in a good mood. This is ridiculous. In fact, it would make God quite deranged if this were true! What would you think of a God who was happy and laughing and in a good mood when he cast people he loves into Hell? No, though judgment will certainly come from God, his love precludes him from being happy about the devastation that it will bring.

Revelation 2:19-23 (ESV) ¹⁹“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. ²⁰But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. ²²Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, ²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works.

Being a willing participant as God searches our hearts is a very good idea! Repenting is critical! Confession is mandatory! To teach a gospel that relieves people of the need to repent and confess can lead them right into fearful judgment at the hands of God!

We even see the results of a non-repentant Christian in the passage about holy communion:

1 Corinthians 11:27-32 (ESV) ²⁷ Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. ²⁹ For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. ³⁰ That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. ³¹ But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. ³² But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.

What about the law?

I’ve often heard Christians say that the OT does not apply to us anymore. That to call Christian to obedience is to put them into bondage under the law. What? It’s an evidence of biblical ignorance.

Some Christians mistakenly think we no longer have to obey any of the basic laws and commandments set out by God the Father in the Old Testament since we are now operating under a new covenant with Jesus. But this view is wrong. Jesus Himself says that He did not come to do away with the law, but to fulfill it.

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.” (Matthew 5:17-18)

“Therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Rom. 8:1-2, KJV)

Romans 7:7 (ESV) ⁷ What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

There are three kinds of laws in the OT:

Ceremonial laws

These are related to the priesthood, sacrifices, the temple, and cleanness. These are now fulfilled in Jesus (for example, nearly the entire book of Hebrews addresses this issue for Jews who struggled with the Old Testament laws once they were saved). These laws are no longer binding on us because Jesus is our Priest, Sacrifice, Temple, and Cleanser.

Civil laws

These refer to the governing of Israel as a nation ruled by God. Since we are no longer a theocracy, these laws, while insightful, are not directly binding on us. As Romans 13 says, we must now obey our pagan government because God will work through it, too.

Moral laws

Moral laws prohibit such things as stealing, murdering, and lying. These laws are still binding on us even though Jesus fulfilled their requirements through His sinless life. Jesus Himself repeats and reinforces the Ten Commandments.

First we need to understand that the law and works are not the same thing! We are still called to good works… while the law refers to a specific set of commands found in the OT.

Adherence to the law is not a part of salvation. Works, however, is. Faith alone can’t save us.

James 2:14 (ESV) ¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

Check this out… there is a certain type of works that does no good:

Romans 3:28 (ESV) ²⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

…of the law. In the OT it was the Mosaic law that was their only hope. In the NT, faith in Jesus that’s evidenced through New Covenant obedience and works is what saves us.

Joseph Tkach: The New Testament does give us rules and behavioral expectations, but these should be seen as the result of a faith relationship, not as the basis for it.

Romans 3:29-30 (ESV) ²⁹Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

We don’t have to be circumcised, but we do still have to obey, to respond to God’s NT commands.

Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV) ³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The power of that scripture is that God’s attributes are affirmed. Loving God and others covers a lot of ground!

In the OT obedience was required and in the NT obedience is required. The difference? Jesus often told people to obey God, but Moses is not the standard by which obedience is now measured.

Jesus told his disciples to preach the gospel throughout the world. This gospel focuses on the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ.

We don’t take the cross lightly, but we realize how profoundly it obligates us to obey the One who gave himself for us.

Matthew 28:20 tells us that Christians should be taught to obey their Lord and Savior in addition to believing in him.

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV) ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Wake up church!

The ‘happy Christianity’ movement that is experience-focused and self-serving is not scriptural! When we become Christians we sign up to die, we embrace martyrdom! It’s not all about experiencing happiness and blessing!

Of course, there is significant blessing, joy and life in Jesus, but the focus is not on feeling good about life, it’s about taking up our cross and following Jesus in fear and trembling!

Taking up our cross doesn’t mean to wear it around our necks! It’s the same thing as saying today, “put your head on the guillotine,” or “sit in the electric chair.”

Following Jesus isn’t easy. It’s not about our happiness. It’s about him! It’s falling in love with the lover of our souls and responding to his leadership!

I’d strongly recommend reading my book The Terror of Hell. In it I discuss the connection between intimacy with Jesus and salvation. We want to be known by God in a place of deep intimate encounter and full devotion. We want to avoid God ever saying, “Depart from me I never knew you.”

Posted in The Church and tagged Antinomianism, Baptized by Blazing Fire by Pastor Yong-Doo Kim, christians, detroit, distorted grace, doctrine, false grace, future, God, grace, heaven, hell, hyper grace, Jesus Christ, john burton, John Mulinde, julia palermo, law, legalism, leonard ravenhill, message, mike bickle, past, present, revival church, salvation, sin, sinning, steve hill, the terror of hell, theology, works

Charisma Magazine | Rooting Out Fuzzy Theology Behind the Hyper-Grace Message

By John Burton | April 2, 2013 |

Rooting Out Fuzzy Theology Behind the Hyper-Grace Message

9:21AM EDT 4/2/2013 David & Nancy Ravenhill

Imagine a car dealership that provides every car buyer with a free car wash for as long as they own the car. You purchase a car, and along with the required paperwork you are given a free-car-wash certificate. The dealer tells you he has fully paid for all the car washes you will ever need, saying he believes that a clean car is the greatest way of advertising and promoting his dealership.

Several days later, you happen to drive down a muddy country road full of potholes and ruts. Later, you notice your car is covered with mud and decide to avail yourself of your free lifetime car wash. But before you have time to drive through the car wash, your friends inform you that you no longer have to go there. They tell you that your first car wash was all that was necessary. Any suggestion that you need another wash is not only wrong, but a lie.

You try and reason with your friends and even show them your dirty car. They still refuse to acknowledge that the car needs washing, even after seeing the condition of the car. They inform you that what the dealer really meant was that once the dealership had purchased the car wash for you, that would keep the car clean forever. They also argued that to suggest it needed washing again was an insult to the dealer and the dealership. “Don't you realize,” your friends tell you, “when the dealer first paid for your car wash, that automatically washed it for life; all past, present and future dirt was washed away, and therefore it never needs to be washed again.”

Such logic would, by anyone's reasoning, be considered imbecilic, ignorant or crazy, to say the least. Obviously, what the dealer intended was that anytime you needed your car washed, you could avail yourself of a car wash because he had already paid for it in advance.

Thinking back on your conversation with the dealer, you recall him telling you that he has a personal hatred for dirty cars and that is why he paid for a lifetime of free washes to anyone who asked. He went on to say that if—and not when—you happen to get your car dirty, the car wash would take care of it. He obviously never intended for you to drive around searching for dirty roads just so you could avail yourself of the car wash. That, he said, would be abusive to the car-wash program and an insult to his dealership.

In a similar way, the atoning work of Christ paid in full for all my sin. This, however, does not exclude my need for repentance, nor does it give me license to sin as I please. For my “friends” to tell me otherwise is totally false and misleading.

Sadly, this is the logic behind the new hyper-grace message. The essence behind this false teaching is that all sins past, present and future have already been atoned for and therefore there is no longer any need to repent. That, the proponents of this idea say, would be tantamount to telling God you don't believe He has paid for all your sin.

This type of fuzzy theology falls apart for this reason: If repentance is acknowledging a sin that has already been forgiven, thereby making repentance unnecessary, then why do we tell people to repent the first time in order to be saved? If repentance is wrong following salvation, then using the same “logic,” repentance is wrong prior to salvation too.

The error here is that this type of teaching leads to ultimate reconciliation or universalism. Jesus paid for all sin; therefore, all are saved.

The fact is that the provision for my cleansing was completed at the cross but the process of my cleansing is conditional upon my repentance, and not before.

Check out these other articles that deal with the false-grace message:

Posted in The Church and tagged charisma, david, false grace, fuzzy, hyper grace, magazine, nancy, ravenhill, repentance, sin, theology

What’s Wrong With Grace? Mike Bickle and the distorted grace message

By John Burton | April 1, 2013 |

Why a distorted message of grace is the church’s greatest crisis today—and how we must respond

The original article can be found here: http://www.charismamag.com/spirit/spiritual-growth/17080-what-s-wrong-with-grace

You can read my article Five Marks of the False Grace Message here: www.johnburton.net/grace-message

The most powerful, significant and liberating message ever given to the human race is the gospel of grace. The Christian life is established on the foundation of this wonderful truth, which emphasizes what Christ did for us on the cross and what the Holy Spirit does in us in our daily life. Paul’s dramatic declaration that we have become new creations in Christ has vast implications for our lives: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away … all things have become new … that we [our spirit] might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:17-21).

The “he” that is a new creation is our spirit man. We possess the very righteousness of God in our spirit (v. 21). This describes our new legal position in Christ—how God sees and relates to us. In Christ, all things have become new pertaining to our spirit. This includes being fully accepted by God, receiving the authority to use the name of Jesus and possessing the indwelling Holy Spirit—all of which enable us to resist sin, sickness and Satan; to walk in victory; and to release the works of God through prayer. The old things that passed away under this legal shift include no longer being under the penalty of sin nor being dominated by the power of sin.

So what’s the problem if we’ve been given such freedom as new creations? Unfortunately, man’s natural tendency to distort truth gets in the way. And when it comes to a truth as fundamental and crucial as grace, that distortion has far-reaching implications. In short, it can become the central crisis of an entire generation.

The Crisis of Our Time

The apostle Jude confronted the great spiritual crisis of his day when he exhorted believers to contend earnestly for the “faith” or for the message of grace originally delivered to them through the first apostles. In Jude 3-4, he writes: “I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain men have crept in unnoticed … ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness.”

Think about this: Within one generation after Jesus’ resurrection, it was already necessary to contend for the true grace message. That’s how key this battle over the true grace message is and always has been since Jesus’ definitive work on the cross.

Jude warned of certain men who crept into the fellowship of the church unnoticed—that is, their error went unnoticed by most of the leaders and the people. These men turned the message of grace into a message of lewdness or one that affirmed various compromises, even sexual immorality. These men with persuasive teaching abilities twisted what the Bible said about grace, thus empowering many to confidently continue in sinful activities without feeling any urgency to repent.

Undoubtedly, these teachers of error appeared outwardly to live godly, but in their private lives they refused to repent of various lusts. Instead, they justified their ungodly habits by distorting the message of grace to accommodate their lifestyles.

The result was devastating, as many in the church concluded that it was acceptable for them also to live with similar compromises because these popular teachers were justifying this sort of lifestyle with various Bible verses. In reality, they took these verses out of context of the broader New Testament message, which called believers to live in wholehearted love for Jesus as evidenced by seeking to live in obedience to Him (John 14:15, 21).

The same is true with hyper-grace teachers today. They choose to emphasize only God’s love and forgiveness while practically ignoring Jesus’ call for His people to walk in wholehearted commitment to the Lord. They preach mostly on forgiveness without repentance and on receiving God’s blessing on their circumstances without any conditions. The truth is, it’s glorious that we are freely forgiven by Jesus and that He blesses our circumstances; but these truths are in context to seeking to live in a real relationship with Him and in agreement with His leadership and Word.

Jude’s exhortation is a significant warning for the body of Christ today. When the grace message is distorted, everything else in one’s spiritual life becomes blurred. In fact, there is no spiritual battle more significant in the church today than contending to keep the grace message faithful to Scripture.

Sadly, some believers aren’t even aware of this spiritual crisis regarding a diluted grace message. They must wake up to the emergency at hand—because today, as we contend for the spirit of truth, we are fighting for the very soul of a generation.

It’s easier in today’s world for teachers to creep in unnoticed, as Jude said, because of television and the Internet. Some contemporary teachers distorting the message of grace come from high-profile ministries whose very popularity gives them a false sense of credibility. We must not receive a ministry because it’s attractive and popular; we should only receive it if it’s faithful to the truth.

Paul prophesied of a time when many who profess loyalty to Jesus would fall to unsound doctrine: “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables” (2 Tim. 4:3-4).

These people aren’t willing to embrace the challenges of a lifestyle of obedience to Jesus as emphasized by the sound teaching in the New Testament. Instead, they have “itching ears” to hear messages that affirm their sinful desires. They want to feel comfortable in their relationship with God, even as they continue to boldly walk out their sinful lusts.

By isolating Bible verses about God’s blessing and forgiveness from the larger context of the New Testament’s call to love Jesus with obedience, they affirm the lustful desires of their hearers. One famous TV preacher went so far to say that there is no longer a need for a believer to repent because Jesus’ work on the cross did that for them. He obviously overlooked the fact that Jesus repeatedly called born-again believers to repent for yielding to various compromises (see Rev. 2:5, 16, 21-22; 3:3, 19).

Grace: The Power to Love and Obey Jesus

If countless sincere believers have already succumbed to the rising tide of this distorted grace message, how can we stand strong through the crisis? It starts by remaining grounded in biblical truth. We must approach the biblical grace message through the lens of God calling us to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30).

The Lord wants us to love Him in a wholehearted way because that’s how He loves us—with all of His heart, mind and strength. This mutual relationship of wholehearted love between a believer and the Lord is foundational to the kingdom. In fact, this is the very way that the Father loves the Son—with all of His heart. The Son loves the Father and the Spirit loves the Father and Son in this way too. Oh, the glorious mystery of one God in three persons who delight in Their relationship of wholehearted love for each other (see John 3:35; 5:20; 14:31; 15:9; 17:23, 26)! God’s plan from the foundation of the earth was to redeem people so that they could participate in this loving fellowship that the three persons of the Trinity enjoy.

The core reality of the grace message is to empower us to walk with God in a relationship of wholehearted love. Jesus called this “the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). Thus, the Holy Spirit’s first agenda is to establish the first commandment in first place in the church. This must also be our first agenda. Wholehearted love is to be “first” in our response to God because it is how the Father relates to the Son and how the Godhead relates to us. We must see grace through the lens of this quality of love. To think of grace without it being anchored in the first commandment is to be aiming at the wrong target. Thus, we distort the grace message when we do not interpret it through the lens of the first commandment. We must love Jesus on His terms, and He defined loving God in terms of a spirit of obedience to His commandments (see John 14:15, 21, 23).

There’s no such thing as loving Jesus without seeking to obey His Word. Some seek to love God on the terms of a humanistic culture that has no reference to obeying the Word. But loving and seeking to obey Jesus are synonymous. All of His commands are based in His love. Thus, the biblical message of grace teaches us to live righteously and to deny ungodliness as the way of expressing our love to God. Titus 2:11-12 says, “The grace of God … has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly.”

If you hear a teaching on grace that doesn’t call you to deny ungodliness, it’s not a biblical grace message—it’s a distorted one.

Legal Position vs. Living Condition

As we correctly view the grace message through the lens of the first commandment, we can also begin to understand the difference between our legal position before God and our ongoing living condition as a response to what Jesus has done. Not only is there a key difference between these two, it’s often the element that hyper-grace adherents conveniently overlook.

Our legal position is what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross, while our living condition is what Jesus requires of us in our response to Him. In our legal position, we stand before God by possessing His righteousness (2 Cor. 5:21). Our legal standing before God is so glorious that it will never be improved upon—not even with the perfection of a resurrected body—because we received Christ’s very own righteousness. Our legal position relates to receiving His righteousness instantly on the day that we are born again.

Our living condition, on the other hand, relates to growing in righteousness progressively as our mind is renewed, causing our behavior and emotions to be transformed by the Holy Spirit in us.

The gospel is the good news about receiving God’s righteousness and can be seen in three tenses:

Justification: our legal position—past tense, focused on our spirit
Sanctification: our living condition—present tense, focused on our soul
Glorification: our eternal exaltation—future tense, focused on our body

One-third of our salvation is complete (the salvation of our spirit), but the other two parts are not yet complete in our experience (the salvation of our soul and body). All believers have received the fullness of grace in their spirit (legal position), and yet they can still live far below it in their daily experience (living condition).

Much misunderstanding about grace can be traced to misunderstanding the distinctions of these truths. Many confuse what Jesus did for us in our legal position with what He requires of us in our response to Him in our living condition.

Jesus’ finished work on the cross makes His grace fully available to us as a gift. However, our regular interaction with the Spirit causes us to experience the transforming power of this grace in our daily life. James wrote about this when he urged believers to walk in a greater measure of grace because God “gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

James wrote this to born-again believers, calling them to receive more grace. A believer already has the gift of righteousness and therefore can’t receive “more grace” in his or her legal position. However, each of us can receive “more grace” in our living condition—and this is what James was referring to. We can always experience more of God’s grace to transform and renew our mind and emotions (see Rom. 12:2).

Grace in the Eight Beatitudes

If we hope to experience more of this transforming grace on a daily basis, then we must follow the words of the greatest teacher on grace who ever walked the earth: Jesus. The Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7) is His most comprehensive statement about a believer’s role in cooperating with God’s grace. In this teaching, Jesus defined loving God in context to the eight beatitudes (5:3-10), offering us a rich understanding of how to walk out biblical grace in our daily lives.

One aspect of this is Jesus’ exhortation to us to hunger for more of God’s righteousness (v. 6). Here, Jesus affirmed the need to press into God for a greater release of righteousness in our daily lives—our living condition. Keep in mind that He wasn’t calling us to receive more of the gift of righteousness, since we already fully possess this in our legal position. Our hunger for righteousness doesn’t cause us to deserve grace—nothing can do that—but hunger positions us to receive more of the outworking of righteousness in our character.

Some believers don’t hunger to grow in righteousness in their daily life. Rather, they seek to know how far they can go in sin and how little they need to talk with Jesus to keep their salvation intact.

Imagine a couple in their wedding ceremony who have just completed their vows. While walking down the aisle for the first time as “one,” the man whispers to his new bride, “How far can I go with other women before we get divorced? And how much do I have to talk to you each week?” Adding insult to injury, he then says, “By the way, we just signed a marriage license that legalized our marriage—so now I have legal rights to all that you possess.”

Of course, the new bride would be heartbroken to hear that her husband didn’t love her with all of his heart but was instead establishing their marriage on a faulty foundation—and focusing almost entirely on the bare-minimum “requirements” and legal ramifications involved.

Some teach about grace in a way that parallels the lack of wholeheartedness portrayed in this analogy. It’s a version of grace more concerned with what it takes to “meet the requirements” on paper than to engage in the authentic, loving relationship for which it was originally intended. Sadly, this error is bound to occur whenever people separate the grace message from the first commandment.

How to Receive God’s Grace

Grace was never intended to be abused, but as our current church crisis proves, it can be. God gives us the freedom to choose relationship and obedience to His Word—and thus benefit from the true liberty found in grace. Yet this is also why Paul urged the believers in Corinth “not to receive the grace of God in vain” (2 Cor. 6:1).

The gospel of grace is distorted in two main ways: first, by presenting God’s love as something we can earn; second, by refusing to call people to respond in wholeheartedness to God. The fruit of the biblical grace message is confidence in the gift of God’s love combined with a spirit of obedience. If either of these two elements is missing, then it isn’t the true message. Thus, receiving God’s grace in vain is to receive it in such a way that it doesn’t produce confidence in God’s love nor the resolve to respond wholeheartedly to Jesus’ leadership. Either distortion is disastrous for our spiritual life.

Like Jude in the first century, we must earnestly contend for the truth about grace. The very soul of the youth in our nation hangs in the balance.

The good news, however, is this: The Holy Spirit is highlighting this spiritual crisis and is committed to the recovery of the biblical grace message. We can be confident that He will release His power to establish the first commandment in first place in the church before Jesus returns for His fully prepared Bride (see Rev. 19:7). Let’s come alongside Him, rather than opposing Him, when it comes to receiving, understanding and walking in grace.

Mike Bickle is the director of the International House of Prayer Missions Base of Kansas City, Mo., and author of several books. For more information, visit mikebickle.org or ihopkc.org.

Watch as Mike Bickle explains how the American culture has colored the understanding of grace at grace.charismamag.com

Posted in The Church and tagged charisma, charismamag, distorted grace, false grace, five marks, grace, grace message, hyper grace, magazine, mike bickle, sin

‘All sin is equal.’ Is that true? : Excellent post by Mark Driscoll

By John Burton | January 7, 2013

‘All sin is equal.’ Is that true?

This is an excellent article that I felt worthy of a repost. You can see the original article here: http://marshill.com/2013/01/06/all-sin-is-equal-is-that-true?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=marshill&utm_campaign=Mars%2BHill%2BTwitter

Mark Driscoll When we believe that all sins are equal, it often causes us to not take the problem of sin seriously.

Have you heard this said? Maybe you’ve said it yourself—it’s a common refrain among people, Christians and non-Christians alike.

But is it true?

Why do people say this?

People may use the statement for one of the following motivations:

They don’t want to be like the Pharisee in Luke 18.
They want to find common ground with non-Christians.
They don’t want to be labeled “legalistic” or “judgmental” by others.

These motivations are understandable, but the question still remains whether all sins are equal before God.

Deadly sin, deadlier sin

Sin is the great equalizer. Whether a beggar on the streets or a king in a palace, every single person is—apart from Christ—a sinner both by nature and by choice (Rom. 3:23). Sometimes the sin is obvious and we know what it is, and other times, the wool is totally over our eyes and we have no idea.

All sin is deadly, but there are many passages in the Bible where different types of sin are spoken of as being particularly grievous:

Numbers 15. This chapter differentiates between sins that are unintentional and sins “of the high hand,” meaning sins that are intentional and rebellious. (Think: middle finger to the sky.)
Deuteronomy 18:12, 27:15. In the Mosaic Law, certain sins are listed as being abominations, meaning these sins are an offense to God (e.g. sexual sin, improper worship, idolatry).
Proverbs 6:16–19. Seven things are listed as sins that God hates (and they’re not the seven deadly sins as most people know them).
Matthew 12:31, Mark 3:29. Blasphemy against the Spirit is said to be an unforgivable sin. (For a good treatment of this subject, listen to Acts 29 pastor Sam Storms’ sermon “So close, yet so very far away.”)
Luke 20:47. Jesus says that the Pharisees will receive a “greater condemnation” for their sins of religious pride (yikes!).
John 19:11. Jesus tells Pilate that Judas has committed the “greater sin.”
1 John 5:16–17. John differentiates between sin that leads to death and sin that does not lead to death.

In one particularly striking New Testament passage, Paul speaks of sexual sin as being different from all other sin because, “Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (1 Cor. 6:18). Bible commentators are fuzzy on what the phrase “against his own body” means exactly, but it doesn’t take a Bible degree to see that Paul is urgently, passionately warning his hearers to avoid sexual sin at all costs.

Why does it matter?

All sin is deadly, but there are some types of sin that are so serious that they warrant an extra-impassioned warning, a sterner rebuke, a more drastic plan to avoid temptation. Additionally, some sins are worse than others in terms of their immediate effects. If someone steals a candy bar, sinful as that may be, it does not have the same effect as when someone molests a child.

I am convinced that use of the claim “all sin is equal in the eyes of God” is inaccurate and unhelpful. It is inaccurate because it does not line up with what the whole of the Bible teaches. It is unhelpful because it downplays just how serious the problem of sin really is. Sin, by its very nature, is never satisfied. It grows from bad to worse and leads to death (James 1:15). As the great English preacher John Owen put it: “Every rise of lust, if it has its way reaches the height of villainy; it is like the grave that is never satisfied. The deceitfulness of sin is seen in that it is modest in its first proposals but when it prevails it hardens mens’ hearts, and brings them to ruin.”

When we believe that all sins are equal, it often causes us to not take the problem of sin seriously. This attitude then leads us to not take seriously the biblical command to put our sin to death by the power of the Spirit.

The cross, the cross, the cross

The good news is that regardless of what sin we have committed, forgiveness is found at the cross of Jesus Christ. And when someone sins against us, we can find cleansing and redemption in Jesus. On the cross, Jesus took the beating that we all deserve for our sins. It might not be truthful to tell someone that all sins are equal in God’s sight, but it is very truthful to tell them that all sins can be forgiven because of Jesus’ death on the cross. We can confidently proclaim forgiveness for any type of sin because Jesus rose again on the third day to prove that he was God and that he was able and willing to forgive sinners. What an amazing Savior!

Are you in Christ? Then God has forgiven you for all of your sins—past, present, and future. Jesus Christ shouted from the cross as his final words in triumphant victory, “It is finished!” At that moment, sin was atoned for and sinners were forgiven.

–Pastor Mark
Who Do You Think You Are? p. 157.

Technorati Tags: mark driscoll,sin,legalistic,legalism,unforgivable,unpardonable,Christ,Jesus,God

Posted in General and tagged Christ, God, Jesus, legalism, legalistic, mark driscoll, sin, unforgivable, unpardonable

James Dobson & Judgment: Our country is in complete disarray

By John Burton | December 19, 2012

The church in America is like the frog in the kettle. We don’t understand how far we have fallen.

James Dobson:

Our country really does seem in complete disarray. I'm not talking politically, I'm not talking about the result of the November sixth election; I am saying that something has gone wrong in America and that we have turned our back on God.

I mean millions of people have decided that God doesn't exist, or he's irrelevant to me and we have killed fifty-four million babies and the institution of marriage is right on the verge of a complete redefinition. Believe me, that is going to have consequences too.

And a lot of these things are happening around us, and somebody is going to get mad at me for saying what I am about to say right now, but I am going to give you my honest opinion: I think we have turned our back on the Scripture and on God Almighty and I think he has allowed judgment to fall upon us. I think that's what's going on.

James is right—we have no clue how far we have fallen from righteousness and morality. There are entire unbiblical theologies that are skyrocketing in popularity right now that communicate a minimal impact of sin on us personally and corporately.

I actually heard someone say last night, “In the New Covenant God doesn’t convict of sin. As Christians we cannot sin.” What?!

In a must read article, Steve Hill says:

One spiritual leaders said the other day: “You guys are old-fashioned ‘holiness,' we are modern day ‘grace.' You live in bondage while we can do anything we want.

The false-grace message is truly wiping out masses of people who have been lulled into a state of false-comfort and false-peace. In the end there will be a great falling away, and we are in the beginnings of those troubles.

We must repent with brokenness and tears. We must stop calling good evil and evil good. We can no longer do what is right in our own eyes. The Bible says there is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. That death is all around us.

I’d strongly encourage you to watch a Sid Roth episode on counterfeit grace. He and his guest Tony Kemp feel strongly that multiple messages about this dangerous movement must be broadcast. Watch it here: http://www.sidroth.org/site/News2?abbr=tv_&page=NewsArticle&id=12311

I personally don’t believe there is an option to become comfy and casual in regard to our salvation. There are end time false theologies that truly put many Christians at great risk of falling away.

ENTERTAINED BY THE SIN THAT RESULTED IN THE DEATH OF JESUS

“That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12)

Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils” (1 Corinthians 10:21)

I believe an “old time religion” style holiness movement must visit the church immediately.

It’s shocking to me, and I know this sounds old fashioned and legalistic, how many Christians allow themselves to be entertained by the very things that required the torture and brutal murder of the One we love!

Allow the Holy Spirit to bring wonderful conviction!

Allow the deadly numbness to dissipate!

We as Christians should be cut to the heart when light hearted jokes about sinful lifestyles are heard. When foul language is heard. When the private and God given gift of sexuality becomes pubic.

How is it that this has become rare to hear? Just a generation ago television wouldn’t even depict married couples laying in the same bed together!

Do we not know that we as Christians cannot lust? We can’t even think those thoughts, much less hear impure discussion or see it played out on the screen.

Steve Hill also says:

Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers must be willing to drop spiritual bombs, fire anti-heresy missiles, and even drive into the danger zones armed with explosive truth to confront this potential avalanche. The generals of this generation must leave the war room and put their years of experience on the front lines.

We are truly deceived if we believe we will participate in any measure of revival if we take holiness lightly, are entertained by sin and are apathetic in the call to take up our cross?

We cannot reform a culture we are so invested in.

GREAT FALLING AWAY

If you haven’t heard the epic and heart wrenching clip from David Wilkerson titled A Call to Anguish, you must take seven minutes of your day and listen. You will be ripped to the core. Watch and listen here: http://youtu.be/lGMG_PVaJoI

In 1995 David Wilkerson wrote:

The apostle Paul speaks of two frightful things that will strike the church just prior to Jesus' return. Indeed, the Lord will not come back until these two awful things happen. And I want to show you that both things are taking place right now – before our very eyes!

First, Paul tells us that in the last days there will be a great falling away. And second, he warns that an evil spirit of antichrist will overtake many believers who are turning aside!

The antichrist spirit is invading the hearts of many apostate Christians even now. They are being absolutely possessed of evil. “But how?” you ask. “Why would certain apostate Christians ever turn to the Antichrist?”

It is because they are like-minded with him! John writes:

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world….

“Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time” (1 John 2:15-18).

John is warning us that those who still love the things of this world have opened themselves to the spirit of antichrist. He's saying, “You know these are the last days – because so many are full of the covetous antichrist spirit!”

Beloved, if you are serving Jesus only 50 percent – or even 90 percent – then you are denying His full salvation. You aren't serving Him with all your heart, mind, soul and body. And you have opened up an inroad for the antichrist spirit to come in!

I agree with David. Many in the church will be shocked one day to find themselves in Hell. Is that offensive? It should be! It must be!

David Wilkerson writes further:

I am totally convinced that the antichrist spirit's most effective means of preparing hearts are cable TV and filthy movies. He knows that the eye is the gateway to the heart. And he marches straight through the corrupted, jaded eye of a Christian and takes over the throne of his heart!

This is why the antichrist spirit has taken control of the secular media – TV networks, movie production, Broadway theater, the press. Who but the antichrist spirit could so bias the media that abortion is now considered a right rather than a sin? Who but this spirit could justify euthanasia, the killing off of the elderly or infirm?

Who but the spirit of antichrist could mock everything that is sacred and holy, through wicked movies and vile TV programs? I believe the antichrist spirit is actually producing the programs on MTV and the Fox Network. From what I read of their shows, it's all absolute filth. Who but the antichrist spirit could be responsible for it?

The spirit of lawlessness is growing bolder and bolder, and our society is on the brink of becoming a raging hell. The antichrist spirit now pervades our schools, our courts, our streets, our businesses, even our homes. And, sadly, this evil is rapidly moving into the church.

I believe the spirit of antichrist is establishing churches all over the United States. This spirit is the motivating force behind “outsider friendly” churches. Who but the antichrist spirit would call for the ungodly to set the spiritual agenda – sending church founders door to door, surveying people: “What would you prefer church to be like? We want to tailor it so that you'll come.”

These megachurches are being built on skits and dramas, because people don't want to hear reproof. They want no conviction – so they hear a gospel that is almost totally devoid of repentance, judgment, the Cross. They are told all about God's grace and mercy, how to cope with problems – but nothing of God's judgment and hell. They're being lulled to sleep in their sinful lifestyle.

“But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils” (1 Corinthians 10:20-21).

NOBODY IS IMMUNE TO FALLING AWAY

We must humbly admit that we are at risk of being the frog in the kettle. We can be desensitized. We can slowly move from being horrified by sin to entertained by sin. We can go from being consecrated to being defiled.

The defense that I hear all too often is, “There is no condemnation in Christ Jesus! Talking about sin invites condemnation!”

Let me say it very plainly: That defense is ridiculous!

First, if we are in Christ Jesus, we will invite his deep and continual inspection into our hearts so that any sin can be eradicated! We won’t resist that process! We won’t want to harbor any sin whatsoever!
Second, we are often too casual and quick to presume that we are in Christ Jesus! If teaching on sin and holiness results in resistance in our spirits, we have to wonder if we are actually in Christ Jesus! Are we saved? Have we bought into a false teaching that’s not biblically sound? If we are not in Christ Jesus, any condemnation we may be feeling is accurate! We will die in our sins and will go to Hell.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

I know that’s hard to swallow, but truth is often wonderfully troubling. We have to deal with this now before it’s to late at the end of our lives.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24)

It’s time for a prayer-fueled movement of repentance and holiness in the church. Many will resist this message, but we have to be OK with that. Eternity is a very long time.

Posted in The Church and tagged a call to anguish, church, church in america, condemnation, conviction, counterfeit grace, country, david wilkerson, disarray, false grace, frog in the kettle, holiness, holy spirit, james dobson, judgment, sin, steve hill, tony kemp

False-salvations based on unbiblical experiences: New audio teaching & notes on The Bible

By John Burton | May 14, 2012

Listen to a POWERFUL and important message on the departure from orthodox Christianity in the Church.

Last night’s message was sobering yet radically freeing—and I implore you to listen to it and let the Holy Spirit shoot the spotlight on the deepest places of your heart.

There are a lot of false, feel good movements out there that feel a lot like the Holy Spirit–but are not. We have a crisis of discernment. True discernment is found in the Word of God, not in a feeling.

I also discuss what I call the theology of exemption. Christians can believe that they are exempt from the ramifications of sin simply because we have chosen to follow Jesus. That’s a doctrine of demons and is resulting in a lot of Christians entering Hell not Heaven when they leave the Earth.

You can listen to it right now, right here: media.johnburton.net/2565526

You can also follow along with the notes that I’ll include below.

ALSO, I hit on many of these same topics in my recent XPmedia video. IN JUST SIX DAYS, This video has more views than any of my other XPmedia videos, and I’d encourage you watch it and prayerfully consider how God might be sharpening your discernment. You can watch the video here: http://www.xpmedia.com/Z1QglFvIu13K

TENETS PART TWO: THE WORD OF GOD

I. The Word

a. Much of the material for our study on the tenets of the faith comes from the book Foundations of Pentecostal Theology.

b. Bible

i. It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.

ii. Our English word Bible comes from the Greek word biblos, meaning "a book."

1. "The Book [biblos] of the generation of Jesus Christ" (Mt. 1:1)

2. It’s also called scripture, which means “holy writings.”

a. Scripture, holy writings, oracles of God, Word of God

b. 2 Peter 1:20 (ESV) ²⁰knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone’s own interpretation.

c. Mark 7:13 (ESV) ¹³thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

d. The Word can be voided in your life if you don’t understand its power, its holy nature.

e. Traditions based on experiences can nullify the Word!

f. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV) ¹³And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

c. God speaks!

i. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth" (Ps. 33:6)

1. I teach a lot on hearing God’s voice, on revelation.

a. However, the most reliable and most powerful revelation you will receive is the Bible—by far!

i. Jeremiah 23:29 (ESV) ²⁹Is not my word like fire, declares the LORD, and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?

ii. All Spirit-filled believers have known, to some degree, the miracle of divine inspiration by the Holy Spirit, but never to the extent experienced by the writers of Scripture.

b. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us" (Jn. 1:1, 14).

2. There is a radical rise in false-teachings, nephilim doctrines that are a mixture of God and Satan.

a. This is my most important focus right now. The church must visit the eternal realities of salvation and doctrine again!

b. Pastors have abdicated their responsibility of keeping eternity in front of the church. We must touch the hard topics continually.

c. This is why I’m talking about the Word tonight! The church has fallen terribly away from right doctrine! Friday night at theLab was possibly one of the most important shifts we’ve had as God used a simple, fiery young lady to call us into the burden of God’s heart.

d. Julia: God has been speaking to me about why He is doing what He is doing in you and at your church in light of the history, calling and prophetic destiny of Revival Church! It makes so much sense and I am so excited about it! Keep going. You are so walking in step with Gods agenda right now. Also, take heart in that your apostolic anointing is manifesting very strongly right now. You are calling the church back to the foundational truths. Its so good!

e. We must be people of the Word and refuse to give in to the temptation to settle for a softer, cozier gospel.

f. Good Christian Bitches cancelled… comment: I found GCB to be quite entertaining. There is so much that is serious going on in the world, why not bring a little humor into our lives. We as Christians need to stop taking things so seriously – breathe and enjoy life.

i. Sounds good… but what does the Bible say?

ii. Luke 12:19-20 (ESV) ¹⁹And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’ ²⁰But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you…

g. Another example, Christians often fall into a theology of exemption—we presume we are exempt from the ramifications of sin because we are saved.

i. 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (ESV) ²⁶So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. ²⁷But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.

ii. We can have intimacy with Jesus without works, and death is the result. We can also have works without intimacy and the result is death.

1. Intimacy doesn’t not automatically mean we’ll do good works, and doing good works doesn’t automatically mean we’ll be close to God.

iii. Matthew 7:21-23 (ESV) ²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ ²³And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

iv. Part of his will is intimacy!

h. Craig Groeschel: I think so much of what we think is the "fun, happy, meaningful" life is simply a substitute for the real thing. I think most would want to believe that we're not that accountable to our commitment to Christ. But Scirpture says we're going to be accountable for every word we speak. His grace is probably going to be greater than we realize and yet what we're held accountable to and even the rewards may be greater than we realize as well. Meaning ultimately, the way we live today and what we believe today will have a greater impact on our eternity than we can imagine.

a. Psalms 139:23-24
Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

b. We often hear people say that the are just going to flow in the Spirit… they make decisions based on what they sense.

i. We see this in many streams and movements—including the prophetic movement that I so love.

ii. "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." Colossians 2:6-9

iii. This is a conference agenda from a well known minister in the prophetic realm… some good, some concerning because of the self-centered focuses:

1. We need to die daily! Surrender! "For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God" (I Cor. 1:18).

2. Operate in Trances, Raptures & Ecstatic Prayer (Barbara Yoder noted a serious concern about going into trances on command)

a. Colossians 2:18-19 (ESV) ¹⁸Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, ¹⁹and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

b. We must know the Word!

3. Experience Physical Phenomena of Mysticism (what and why?) What is the mystery we should pursue knowledge of? Colossians 1:26-27 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: to whom God would make known what is glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

4. Get Activated in Creative Miracles, Signs & Wonders

a. These follow those who believe in Jesus… who have embraced the cross and resurrection of Christ.

b. 1 Corinthians 1:22-24 (ESV) ²²For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, ²³but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, ²⁴but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

c. Mark 16:16-18 (ESV) ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

5. Understand & Access New Creation Realities (What?)

6. Gain A Historical Grid of Miracle Workers & Mystics

7. Be Activated in the Seer Realm, Prophecy, Spirit Travel (Spirit travel on command? Red flag…that happened in Manitou.)

8. Receive Open Heavens & Revelatory Understanding

a. Barbara Yoder is also concerned about this… we are already under an open heavens.

9. Access and Manifest the Glory Realm

i. The major issue is this: Very often our pursuits in the name of God contradicts what the Bible says! If that’s the case, they are putting God’s name on error… it becomes a nephilim doctrine.

ii. They are flowing in a wrong spirit!

iii. John Mulinde: Repent! The greatest sin, people have created their own experiences that they call the Holy Spirit.

a. We must be both Word and Spirit driven:

iv. Isaiah 59:21—"My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth."

v. John 14:26—"The Holy Ghost… shall… bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."

vi. Acts 4:31 (ESV) ³¹And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

vii. Acts 13:4-5—"Being sent forth by the Holy Ghost…. they preached the word of God."

c. 2 Timothy 3:12-17 (ESV) ¹²Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it ¹⁵and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

d. Hebrews 4:12 (ESV) ¹²For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

e. This is powerful! We can have all sorts of intentions, thoughts, ideas… but if they don’t align with the Word, we must let the Word slice it off.

f. Before God uses a man greatly, he wounds him deeply. A.W. Tozer

ii. From Julia, John Mulinde form Uganda, truly a world ministry… established on every continent except antartica… at IHOP: Then suddenly a bright light hit my eyes. My eyes were closed. I was on my knees with my head on the ground, but a bright light hit me. I lifted up my eyes and said, “What is this?” I opened my eyes and I couldn’t look in the light. Even when I closed them, it pierced into my eyes. I bowed my head again, and I was trembling and thinking, “What on earth is going on?” Then I heard a voice, deep and calm. He called my name three times. I couldn’t answer. There was no strength in me to answer, but inwardly I was saying, “I’m here.” He called me—“John”—three times. Then He said to me, “I knew you before the creation of the world, and I chose you and set you apart to serve Me as a witness in these last days. I want to say to you, if I had come today to take My Bride, you wouldn’t be part of that. I wouldn’t take you.” I can’t describe the shock that came upon me. I think I was in shock. I didn’t even respond. It hit me. He repeated it. He said, “I wouldn’t take you. For it is written, ‘He will appear to those who wait upon Him’ (Isa. 49:23, paraphrased). You’re not living your life as a person waiting upon Me. You’re allowing all kinds of filth to come into your life. You’re living like one who cares not.” As I said, I couldn’t speak with my lips. At that moment I was thinking, “This can’t be happening to me. I gave up my job to serve the Lord; I gave up my house that my father had given me because I wanted to go to the mission field. I gave up this, I gave up that; this can’t be God saying to me that He wouldn’t take me.” None of my theology and teachings could accept that. He spoke to me these words written in the book of 1 Corinthians 6. He quoted them; I found them later. I couldn’t even remember that they were in the Scriptures, but later on I found them in the Scriptures. It says: “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 6:10). “THE HEART IS DECEITFUL ABOVE ALL THINGS, AND DESPERATELY WICKED” He went on to say to me, “Your life is so full of filth. You walk with an outward appearance, and you cover many things in your heart. You forget that I am the Lord who examines the heart. You are not ready to meet Me.” He began to say to me, “If your life is full of this and this and this and this, then are you ready for My appearance?” As He measured the various things, I could say, “OK, Lord, have mercy.” But then He mentioned one thing that my heart rejected. In my own understanding, I had never turned into that. He said, “If your life is full of fornication . . . ” And everything in me said, “Oh, no. That cannot be.” I said it in my heart, and the voice stopped. For a moment there was silence. Then He said to me, “There is no crooked word that comes out of My mouth. Do you call Me a liar? But because you don’t even know your own heart, I will show it to you. Remember this day when you were in this place at this hour?” Brothers and sisters, I didn’t even remember. I practically saw myself back in that very moment—not as a memory, but as a reality. I was back in that moment. I saw myself sitting in the taxi waiting for the taxi car to be filled. Then I was looking out at some lady with all kinds of filthy imaginations. The moment it came back, I thought, “Oh, God, I have sinned against You.” He said, “No, you haven’t sinned. You live in sin. You live in that. You live from morning to evening in such imaginations. Even in your bed at night you indulge in the same. I know every moment of your private life. I know your thoughts. You don’t even fear, even sitting in church. Someone steps up on the platform to serve Me and you strip them naked in your imagination. You imagine all kinds of things. I am the Lord who examines the heart. Have you not read that he who even looks upon a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her (Mt. 5:28)?” Pictures began to pass before me of how my imagination works. This isn’t something of which I could say, “Lord, I fell in sin. Lord, I was weak.” It was my way of life. It was my constant way of life. I was comfortable in it. I was comfortable that no one else could see it, but God was saying, “I see it. I am the Lord who examines the heart.” I was so ashamed, but then He said, “That’s not the worst of all. You still live in this.” He began to mention things that appear humanly small: the envy, the manipulation and undercutting of one another so that you remain appearing the best, so that you appear to do the best, to preach the best, to work more miracles, to be more anointed; all the manipulation and self-promotions, all the grudges we hold in our hearts when we see someone else being promoted or recognized before us. The way the Lord brought it up, it was so filthy. I cried and cried, and at some point I was so intent on my grief. Then He raised His voice and said, “Keep quiet and listen.” “I NEVER KNEW YOU; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS!” I kept quiet, and He went on and on and on, unveiling more and more things. Even the things which appear so small, at that moment appeared so rotten. I felt like I was standing before the judgment seat with everything being thrown out. I wanted to say, “Stop, stop, I accept it all,” but He wasn’t stopping. At some point I was just saying, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He said, “Keep quiet.” I wasn’t speaking loudly; I was speaking in my heart. He said, “Keep quiet and listen.” As He continued I thought, “I must have been deceived. All along I thought I was serving God and yet I’m so filthy inside. I must have been deceived. The Devil must have taken my life captive a long time ago.” At that moment I thought of the miracles we were witnessing. I thought of the healings. I thought of all those wonderful things, and suddenly my heart sunk. I thought, “The Devil has so deceived me that he could even use me to produce counterfeit miracles; to produce things I thought God was working—and yet it was the Devil all along . . . ” The voice kept quiet for a moment, and then He said to me, “Why are you imagining such thoughts? I don’t do miracles because you’re worthy. I do miracles because I love My people before whom you stand to preach. Have you never read of how they will come to Me on that day and say, ‘Lord, Lord, in Your name we worked miracles, cast out demons, and prophesied’? Then I will say to them, ‘Get out of My sight, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you’” (Mt. 7:21–23, paraphrased). He said, “Don’t depend on the miracles to assess your worthiness. Your worthiness isn’t in the signs and wonders you witness in ministry. I do miracles because I love the people, and My name shall never be left without witness on earth.” He said, “Have you not ever read that without holiness, no one will see God (Heb. 12:14)? It’s not the miracles; it’s the holiness that comes from God.” He spoke to me the scripture in the book of Hebrews.

d. Divisions of scripture

i. OT

1. The Hebrew Old Testament was commonly divided into three sections:

a. The Law (Torah), five books:

b. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

2. The Prophets (Nebhiim), eight books:

a. Former Prophets—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings

b. Latter Prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve

3. The Writings (Kethubim), eleven books:

a. Poetical Books—Psalms, Proverbs, Job

b. Five Rolls (Megillot)—Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Esther, Ecclesiastes

c. Historical Books—Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah (in the Hebrew canon, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah were combined), Chronicles

ii. NT

1. Biographical (four books): Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

2. Historical (1 book): Acts

3. Pedagogical (twenty-one books): Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude

4. Prophetic (one book): Revelation.

iii. Verses

1. The first Bible to be published entirely divided into verse was the Geneva Bible of 1560.

iv. Writers

1. The Bible is one Book, but it is also many books written by at least forty different authors, over a period of not less than fifteen hundred years, many of whom never saw each other.

2. Backgrounds of the writers

a. Two of the writers were kings—David and Solomon.

b. Two were priests—Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

c. Luke was a physician.

d. Two were fishermen—Peter and John.

e. Two were shepherds—Moses and Amos.

f. Paul was a Pharisee and a theologian.

g. Daniel was a statesman.

h. Matthew was a tax collector.

i. Joshua was a soldier.

j. Ezra was a scribe.

k. Nehemiah was a butler.

e. The Inerrancy of the Scriptures

1. The inerrancy of the Scripture means that in its original autographs the Bible contains no mistakes. In the original languages in which it was written, it is absolutely infallible—without error whatsoever.

2. This Book was written by man—fallen, weak, sinful man, with all the potential of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, lack of memory, and even the possibility of malicious falsehood. Yet, it is claimed that the Book man wrote contains no evidence whatever of all these natural weaknesses.

3. The doctrine of inerrancy comes from the Scriptures themselves. It claims to be inspired by God. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God" (2 Tim. 3:16). "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21).

4. The writers of the Old Testament are most explicit in claiming they were speaking the Word of God. They claim 3,808 times to be transmitting His very words.

5. Moses said in the beginning of scripture: Deuteronomy 4:2 (ESV) ²You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the LORD your God that I command you.

6. In the middle of the Bible, Proverbs 30:5-6 (ESV) ⁵Every word of God proves true; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. ⁶Do not add to his words, lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

7. At the end of the Bible, Revelation 22:18 (ESV) ¹⁸I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book,

8. Jesus also found no error in Scripture… he specifically confirmed the whole of the OT. He did not find error or inconsistency with it. He continually based his arguments and exhortations on it.

a. John 10:34-35 (ESV) ³⁴…and Scripture cannot be broken—

b. Luke 24:44 (ESV) ⁴⁴Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”

9. Lewis Chafer says the Bible is infinite because it discloses truth concerning the infinite God, infinite holiness, infinite sin, and infinite redemption.

10. Myer Pearlman concludes his section on bibliology with the words: "Intellectual defenses of the Bible have their place; but after all, the best argument is the practical one. The Bible has worked. It has influenced civilizations, transformed lives, brought light, inspiration and comfort to millions. And its work continues."

a. 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV) ¹³And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

b. It’s God breathed. It’s the same language and meaning that we see when God breathed into Adam.

c. Amazing!

f. The law

1. I’ve often heard Christians say that the OT does not apply to us anymore. What? It’s an evidence of biblical ignorance.

2. First we need to understand that the law and works are not the same thing!

a. We are still called to good works… while the law refers to a specific set of commands found in the OT.

b. Adherence to the law is not a part of salvation. Works, however, is. Faith alone can’t save us.

i. James 2:14 (ESV) ¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

ii. Check this out… there is a certain type of works that does no good:

iii. Romans 3:28 (ESV) ²⁸For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

iv. …of the law. In the OT it was the Mosaic law that was their only hope. In the NT, faith in Jesus that’s evidenced through New Covenant obedience and works is what saves us.

v. Joseph Tkach: The New Testament does give us rules and behavioral expectations, but these should be seen as the result of a faith relationship, not as the basis for it.

vi. Romans 3:29-30 (ESV) ²⁹Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, ³⁰since God is one—who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith.

vii. We don’t have to be circumcised, but we do still have to obey, to respond to God’s NT commands.

c. The New Testament contains hundreds of commands. Although some of Paul's comments about the law seem negative, Paul himself gave us hundreds of commands.

i. How does Paul unite the concepts of liberty and obligation?

ii. Galatians 5:13 (ESV) ¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

iii. Galatians 5:16-21 (ESV) ¹⁶But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. ¹⁸But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. ¹⁹Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

d. Look at Matt 22:

e. Matthew 22:36-40 (ESV) ³⁶“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” ³⁷And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. ⁴⁰On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

f. The power of that scripture is that God’s attributes are affirmed. Loving God and others covers a lot of ground!

g. In the OT obedience was required and in the NT obedience is required.

i. The difference? Jesus often told people to obey God, but Moses is not the standard by which obedience is now measured.

h. Jesus told his disciples to preach the gospel throughout the world. This gospel focuses on the message of repentance and forgiveness of sins through faith in Jesus Christ.

i. We don’t take the cross lightly, but we realize how profoundly it obligates us to obey the One who gave himself for us.

j. Matthew 28:20 tells us that Christians should be taught to obey their Lord and Savior in addition to believing in him.

k. Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV) ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

l. They had to obey then, and we have to obey now. Why?

3. God has never changed and never will!

a. Matthew 5:17-20 (ESV) ¹⁷“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. ¹⁸For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. ¹⁹Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. ²⁰For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

b. Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV) ⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

4. The call is actually greater in the NT than in the OT! Only by grace can we fulfill this mandate.

a. Matthew 5:21-22 (ESV) ²¹“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ ²²But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.

b. Matthew 5:27-28 (ESV) ²⁷“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ ²⁸But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

i. Some Christians commit adultery multiple times every day! In the OT you could get away with this… but not in the NT!

c. Matthew 5:31-32 (ESV) ³¹“It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ ³²But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

d. Matthew 5:38-39 (ESV) ³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

e. Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV) ⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? ⁴⁸You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

5. When considering what was fulfilled and is no longer applicable, ask whether it’s part of the Mosaic ceremonial law or not. There are moral laws in the OT that absolutely do still apply.

a. The Mosaic law came 430 years after the Abrahamic covenant. This is the law that was fulfilled.

6. Some people try to interpret biblical laws with this rule: "Old Testament laws are valid unless the New Testament specifically says they are not." But this rule is not true, as we can see with the example of tassels, and it is proven false by Hebrews 8:13.

a. Hebrews 8:13 (ESV) ¹³In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

b. "If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" (Gal. 2:21)

7. Michael Morrison The laws we keep today may be in the old covenant, but if so, we keep them not because they are in the old covenant, but because they are also in the new.

8. Michael Morrison The old covenant is obsolete. This does not mean the covenant is mostly valid, except for those laws specifically rescinded. No, it means the covenant itself is obsolete. It is like a law code that the government has declared invalid. It is not a valid source for rules about Christian behavior. Of course, some individual laws, such as the prohibition of adultery, are valid, but their validity is based on something more permanent than the old covenant — the more basic law that existed before the old covenant was given and still exists after the old covenant became obsolete.

9. In fact, in the NT we see that all scripture… which includes fulfilled laws… is profitable for instruction in righteousness:

a. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (ESV) ¹⁶All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, ¹⁷that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.

10. The law of Moses included laws of ritual purification, prophecies about the Messiah, rules about treating livestock, and civil laws about penalties for religious crimes.

11. The Abrahamic covenant was characterized by God’s promise while the Mosaic was characterized by God’s law.

a. The law was temporarily necessary to deal with sin… it revealed how common sin is…

b. Romans 7:7 (ESV) ⁷What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, “You shall not covet.”

c. …the promise was not annulled… it was made available. The law of Moses, with its worship rituals, civil laws and other customs, was temporary. In the NT, the ceremonial law was dealt with by Jesus.

d. The clearest way to understand what still applies is by studying to see what is re-emphasized in the NT. What OT law was reaffirmed in the NT?

e. Nine of the Ten Commandments were reaffirmed in the NT (all except to keep the Sabbath).

i. For example, in the OT, stoning was the penalty for those caught in adultery (based on the Mosaic covenant)…

1. Leviticus 20:10 (ESV) ¹⁰“If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbor, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death.

ii. …but in the NT Jesus affirmed that the sin of adultery was not acceptable, but he would be the one to take their punishment… if they repented.

iii. In the OT, wrath of God was on that person. In the NT, Jesus took the wrath on himself… UNLESS the individual is unrepentant!

1. John 3:36 (ESV) ³⁶Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

2. Living without Christ in the NT is very similar to living pre-Christ in the OT.

f. The OT is an excellent resource to learn how God feels about certain activities, sins, behaviors.

i. God never changes. He still hates sin. He hates murder. He hates adultery. He hates sexual sin.

ii. However, his wrath was placed on Jesus instead of us, which should compel us to make Jesus our Lord and Master with expedience!

g. In Acts 15 Peter addresses the laws that concern diet and circumcision… but moral laws remain.

h. In the OT if you see regulations and ordinances that are a part of the law, you can be sure they no longer apply—unless they are either reaffirmed in the NT or are covered by the Great Commandment—to love God and others.

i. Some examples of obsolete laws:

i. Animal sacrifice (Go PETA!)

1. Hebrews 10:4 (ESV) ⁴For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

ii. Food and drink offerings and ceremonial washings

1. Hebrews 9:6-10 (ESV) ⁶These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, ⁷but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. ⁸By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing ⁹(which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, ¹⁰but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation.

iii. Wearing distinctive clothing

1. Numbers 15:37-38 (ESV) ³⁷The LORD said to Moses, ³⁸“Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner.

2. Numbers 15:39 (ESV) ³⁹And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes…

3. The principle is upheld in the NT, but not the requirement. We are still to obey, but we don’t dress with tassels to remind us to.

iv. Annual festivals (Feast of Tabernacles, Yom Kippur, Passover, etc.)

1. The old covenant required annual worship festivals. It specified the date and the place, the manner and the people to whom the commands applied. God did not command gentiles to keep this festival. It was one of the ordinances that separated Jews from gentiles, and the early church did not require gentile believers to travel to Jerusalem, to make offerings, to gather palm branches or to live in booths. Those things were part of the old covenant, which God made with ancient Israel. They are not part of the new covenant.

v. Dietary laws and uncleanness

1. You became unclean for a variety of things including touching a corpse, lepers, etc.

2. Numbers 19:11-13 (ESV) ¹¹“Whoever touches the dead body of any person shall be unclean seven days. ¹²He shall cleanse himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean. But if he does not cleanse himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not become clean. ¹³Whoever touches a dead person, the body of anyone who has died, and does not cleanse himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from Israel; because the water for impurity was not thrown on him, he shall be unclean. His uncleanness is still on him.

3. Matthew 8:2-3 (ESV) ²And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, if you will, you can make me clean.” ³And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

4. Bill Johnson: In the OT if a leper touches you, you become unclean. In the NT if you touch a leper he becomes clean.

vi. Some types of foods were unclean

1. Romans 14:20 (ESV) ²⁰Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

2. The Great Commandment is at work here.

Posted in The Church and tagged audio, bible, christianity, church, discernment, doctrine, exemption, experiences, false, false grace, feeling, heaven, hell, Jesus, notes, orthodox, salvations, sin, teaching, theology, unbiblical, videos, Word of God, xpmedia

Tenants: A Teaching on the Power of Beliefs : At Revival Church Sunday

By John Burton | May 5, 2012

TOMORROW, Sunday, May 6th 2012 I will start a new teaching series, TENANTS: A TEACHING ON THE POWER OF BELIEFS

The teaching will include:

Nephilim Doctrine: a doctrine of mixture. Part image of God, part image of demons.
Sin: It kills regardless of whether you’ve decided to follow Jesus or not
Salvation: Once saved always saved?
The End Times: What is the position of Revival Church?
The Cross: If there is no cross preached in the church, sound a very loud alarm and wave an urgent flag.
Heaven and Hell: They are both preparing for your arrival.
Plus: Divine Healing, The Holy Spirit, True and False Grace, prayer, revival and more!

Come EARLY for prayer at 5pm and the service begins at 6pm!

Posted in The Church and tagged beliefs, church, false grace, foundatons, grace, healing, heaven, hell, holy spirit, power, revival church, salvation, saved, sin, statement of faith, tenants, the cross, the end times, true grace