For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. – John 1:17

If you are awake in the Lord then you are awake to the end times signs that are upon the world, such as the usual weather, the tension in the Middle Ease and the need for peace, the confusion over gender and the divide among people over every issue imaginable but the issue that has my attention is the divide among “believers” over the gospel of Grace vs the works of the Law.  I think this divide and debate over Grace is the last sign in the Church, the final winnowing of the Wheat before the Rapture of the Church.

A believer of Jesus Christ has as much Jesus in their life as they allow Him to “work” in their lives.

We are born a Legalist, a Pharisees, thinking we can be justified before God by our works.  We re born with a Sin nature and Sin is not just disobedience by breaking the last 6 commandments, it is a Self Indulgent Nature (SIN) where you put your reasoning and love for yourself above your love for God’s will and your love for Him, breaking the first 4 commandments.  We are born outlaws, with a taste for the Law of our own making, singing “I Did It My Way” in an attempt to ward off the convicting Spirit of God’s Grace which reminds us of our sin nature that rebels against Him.  This is what Pride is … it is to exalt yourself, your reasoning, your goodness, your ability, your sincerity … above your creator God.  Sadly, it is not humility alone or repentance alone that justifies a person before God either but we must approach God by faith in believing what Jesus has done for us to please Him and in order to do this we must receive God’s Grace which bring us true repentance, faith and Salvation in Jesus Christ! 

We must plunge into the pool of God’s Grace and breathe His living water … His word … as though we are being transformed from a “human” into a “fish”!  This is the “evolution” of the Gospel of Grace and what it means to develop a Taste for Grace!

I have written a few articles proclaiming the good news of God’s Grace in the articles “Enter vs Inherit the Kingdom” , “OSAS – an Oasis or a Mirage” , “Can I Lose My Salvation” and I am weary of defending the gospel of Grace but nay sayers are rising up in these last moments of these last days to proclaim a believer must do works or you “Can Loose Your Salvation” CLYS.  This is the Legalist camp, where you must continually “do” works of repentance to Christ or works of service for Christ or you will loose your Salvation.  On the opposite side of the debate is the camp of Liberty, who believe that it is God who holds your Salvation securely so “Once Saved Always Saved” OSAS. 

The Legalists camp of “Can Loose Your Salvation” are claiming that those in the Liberty camp of “Once Saved Always Saved” are preaching heresy and they represent the foolish virgins that will be left behind at the Rapture.  While those in the OSAS camp are pointing out that the oil in the lamp of the foolish virgins is a “works righteousness” that doesn’t save or keep a person saved therefore those in the CLYS camp are the foolish virgins who will be left behind.  Yes, this is a serious issue but unfortunately the debate is not being seriously discussed based on the truth of God’s word but it’s fueled by human reasoning, emotion and false accusations.

Those in the Legalist camp accuses those the Liberty camp of not being concerned about sin and they claim that the doctrine of OSAS is a lie of the Devil that (a) it teaches a believer that they do not have to deny sin in their life but they can continue to sin without any consequences; (b) it teaches a unbeliever that they can call upon Jesus for Salvation and they do not need to be concerned about sin.  On opposite side of the debate, those in the Liberty camp accuse those in the Legalist camp of promoting a righteousness of man’s works that does not Save a person and does not keep a person Saved.

On the false accusation of point (a) from the Legalist camp, let it be known that the Liberty camp is plenty concerned about sin in the life of a believer and sin in the world.  The Liberty camp does not think a believer can live a life of sin, independent and unaccountable to God but that God will discipline His “born again” child if His child continues to sin instead of following God’s will for their life.  A believer that is not concerned about sin in their life is most likely not a believer, for this is the reason that Jesus came into the world to pay our sin debt and give us a Spirit to overcome our sin. 

However, Jesus told us that it is very difficult to tell the Wheat (the saved) from the Tares (the unsaved), so don’t go accusing people of not being saved.  If a person says they are saved and they are living a life of sin, such as adultery or homosexuality, then you are not to fellowship with them.  They are not allowed to enter into worship to God with you or other Christians.  However, you only practice this Church discipline “after” you try and reconcile with your brother or sister according to Matthew 18.  You don’t question their Salvation you simply begin Church discipline while God is dealing with then under His discipline. 

Come just as you are … leave just as He is.

 

We are fishers of men but God is the One who guts and cleans them.

Sin has infected the human “mind” and it is the “nature” of sin that causes us to have a Legalist mindset of what is right and what is wrong according to our own standard!  We are physically born a Pharisee, thinking we can justify our self before God and even if we become born again Christian, receiving the His Holy Spirit, the old sin nature remains in us battling against the Holy Spirit, continuing to justify itself by works.  Paul warned believer over and over again of this battle and spoke of his personal struggle against his Legalistic mindset in Romans 7.  Who will rescue me from my Legalistic mindset of human reasoning about what is right?  Yes, it’s Christ … the One who began a good work in me.  Better yet, Jesus has promised to complete the work in me!  Philippians 1:6

Let me clear something up, I do not endorse the Calvinist doctrine, because a Calvinist makes no confession of faith in Jesus Christ … they think it is God alone who chooses who will be Saved and who will be damned … and therefore man has no responsibility to be saved, no accountability for sin and no assurance of Salvation … worse yet it makes God into a liar concerning John 3:16 and 2 Peter 3:9.  Also, I am not endorsing an Armenian doctrine, where a person can choose to be saved by Jesus and later choose to be unsaved/unaccountable to Jesus.  This kind of Salvation is not what is described by the gospel of Grace and it does not express the power of Jesus Christ who holds our Salvation, even when we are unfaithful.  I take a “born again in Jesus” position, that man chooses to receive Salivation but it’s based on God’s terms of “repentance toward sin and faith in Jesus Christ” that is eternally secured by Christ … OSAS!

Salvation is based on “birth” not “behavior”.  A person “born again” by Grace through Faith in Jesus Christ has eternal life!  Life that can be lost is by definition NOT eternal.  You cannot lose your Salvation.  OSAS is the gospel.

 

Sanctification is based on “abiding” not “a bounding”.  Becoming holy is through allowing Jesus to live His life in you, not by you trying to live your life like Him.

On point (b), I agree that the doctrine of OSAS can be presented to an unsaved person in a way that misrepresents the gospel of Grace as a “license to sin” instead of a “liberty for a person to loose their sin by the power of Grace through a love relationship with Jesus Christ”.  This is a serious danger because a confession that is absent of Repentance of sin is also absent of Salvation from sin.  Yes this is a serious fault but this fault lies with the presenter, not with the presentation. However, it is equally dangerous to state that we must do works to earn our Salvation or do works to keep our Salvation, we are simply are not able to do this … that is why we need God’s Grace!

The Truth will set you free … but it will piss you off first.  We are a sinner, unable to Save our self .. we need God’s Amazing Grace to start the job and finish the job!

Back to point (a), I have never received a good answer from a Legalist on how much time you have to “repent” after you sin before you lose your Salvation.  Do you immediately lose your Salvation at the moment you sin and the get it back again when you repent?  If so if you die before you repent do you go to hell instead of heaven?  Or do you have to accumulate a bunch of sin over a certain amount of time to loose it or do you have to commit a “serious sin” like murder in order to lose your Salvation?  Don’t you see … this is what the Pharisees did to justify themselves before God, they added to God’s word their oral teaching about how to keep the law and debated the letter of the Law, while ignoring the Spirit of the Law. 

The Law demands but Grace supplies.  The Law bids me to fly but Grace gives me wings.  Religion says “do” … a Relationship with Jesus Christ says “done!”. 

A concern for sin in your life after being saved is a healthy sign that you are concerned about your relationship with God but having a fear that you will lose your Salvation because of sin is not from God because Jesus came to free us from the fear of judgement for “There is no condemnation in Christ” (Romans 8:1).  Because of Salvation in Jesus we stand justified in “position” as sinless before God, free of the condemnation of sin … this is the gospel of Grace.  However, because our sin nature remains in us after being saved we are not free from the “practice” of sin in our life … therefore so we must “confess our sin in order to abide in Him”.  What happens when we sin is that we fall out of “fellowship” with God but not out of “favor” with God.

And God’s Grace always delivers … sometimes from the storm (turning the storm away) and sometime through the storm (allowing us to ride out the storm in peace).

For a born again Christian, the Holy Spirit is the Spiritual air they breathe that gives them life and meaning for their life!  There is even a praise song which states this very thing.  When a born again Christian sins, the Holy Spirit within the believer is grieved, which grieves the heart of the believer.  This is meant to cause the believer to “confess his or her sin” (1 John 1:9) and ask forgiveness of the sin, cast your cares upon the Lord, ask for God’s to take it away so you don’t have to deal with it anymore or ask God to give you Grace so you can have peace in the storm … and you can return to the fellowship of “rest” in the Lord.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. – 2 Corinthians 12:9

And that’s really the issue, it’s all in God’s hands.  Paul asked to be delivered from a pain in his side 3 times but the Lord said “my Grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Paul said he would even boast of his weakness so the power of Christ would be greater in him.  Our need for peace and our understand that it comes by God’s Grace gives us a greater appreciation for God and a greater desire to be free from our sinful body, this sinful world and be in God’s presence.  Sin and the Law teaches us how weak we are to overcome sin and how much we need God’s Abiding Grace to have peace in this world and overcome this world.  And God wants us to want Him.  He delights to in providing for our needs.  He is not reluctant but He’s a “Prodigal Father” who longs to lavish His endless supply of Grace upon his children.

The Legalist are right, we should be concerned that the gospel message is presented correctly so people don’t see Salvation as a “license to sin” but they are wrong to change the Gospel of Grace to a message of works in order to try and prevent this problem.  OSAS is the gospel of Jesus Christ.  It is not the gospel of Grace that is wrong but the culture of unrestrained sin is wrong to change the gospel of Once Saved Always Saved into the gospel of Once Saved Allow Sin.  This is a lie that is saving no one. 

That is what’s so Amazing about Grace … it is able to save a wretch like me and complete the job of Salvation! – Philippians 1:6

So the Legalist says you must repent, you must feel “sorry” for you sin and if this your attitude then this will keep you saved … otherwise … out you go, you’ve lost your Salvation.  But he’s where they Legalist get it wrong too, being sorry for your sin “proves” you are saved, it doesn’t keep you saved.  The fear of losing your Salvation if you aren’t sorry enough for your sin or you aren’t doing enough good works to maintain your Salvation is causing fear and division in the body of Christ, pitting brothers against each other, bringing doubt to the gospel of Grace and undermining the assurance of our Salvation that Christ paid for. 

 “It is finished” … why do we think we can add to what Christ did on the cross?

And we know who is behind the teaching of the gospel of works in order keep your Salvation so you live in fear of losing your Salvation … it’s Satan … “did God say”?  Did God really say that His Son paid the price for your past, present and future sins?  Can it be this simple to be forgive just to trust in Jesus?  Yes, Yes a thousand times Yes.  Don’t you see, this is the same deception Satan used against Eve in the garden … it killed then and it’s killing now.  It’s killing the joy of being Saved and killing the works the real works of Grace that Christ desires to do.  I think for the most part those in Legalist camp are truly Saved but they are not working out their Salvation by Grace and therefore they are not enjoying their position in Christ and they are not earning reward for their future with Christ.

A profession of faith without a possession of faith does not make you Saved … you must be born again (John 3:3).  But if you are born again by Grace through faith in Jesus Christ then Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS) is true, you have eternal life!  Did God say “He who began the good work will be faithful to complete it?“?  Yes! Praise the Lord this is exactly what He said in Philippians 1:6.

Alcohol is an influence that impairs your mind, if you drive under the influence of alcohol your reaction time is diminished and your judgement is impaired.  On the other hand we are told to be drunk in the Holy Spirit.  Therefore, if you desires are driven under the influence of God’s Abiding Grace your reaction to what happens around you is based on God’s timing and your judgement is based on His word.  This is the “Fount of Blessings” that a born again Christian is given access to drink from … in fact rivers of God’s Grace should flow from within them, fill them and satisfy their desires.  

Also, there is the General Revelation of Grace concerning the Amazing created world of God and the curse of sin that is destroying it.  This General Revelation of Grace falls equally upon everyone, so man is without excuse for failing to understand their need for Salvation from sin.   The Bible tells us there is not a neutral position concerning Christ because the person who has not believed stands condemned (John 3:18).  There is only the gift of God’s General Grace that is working over time and circumstance upon each person … to OPEN the Spiritual eyes of the person so they SEE their need for Grace and the WILL of that person to receive it! 

Embrace the Grace, how sweet the taste

The forgiveness of sin

Praise the Lord for new life

Of joy and rest in Him

The analogy I am making is that alcohol is like Deluging Spirit of Human Reasoning that impairs a person’s ability to see God.  Humanism (which is sin of human pride that does not honor God) is like “Polluted air” and if a person breathes in this air long enough and deep enough, it will lead to a depraved mind and a permanent Spiritual blindness toward God.  The Holy Spirit is the Abiding Grace of God’s Salvation that seals a believer for eternal life … it is the “Spiritual air” of God’s purpose and meaning that a believer breathes now and forever!  And the “Physical air” we breath is like the General Grace of God’s Revelation that is declaring the glory of God to each person and is always falling upon each person, ready to save anyone who will call upon the name of the Lord.   

May you call upon the Lord and enjoy the taste of Grace!

– Rogersings

Here is a comment I didn’t make on a YT video from “Goose” who exposes a lot of false teachers on YT.  I think Goose is saved by Grace in Jesus Christ but he believes you daily repent of your sins or you will lose your Salvation.  He correctly exposes those who use the OSAS doctrine to teach that believers have a license to sin but he doesn’t understand that the OSAS doctrine is the gospel of Grace for those who have been born again in Jesus Christ.  It is Christ who grants eternal life and He holds it for us eternally … that is what eternal life is … it is life that can’t be lost!  In my comment I try to distinguish between those who preach Once Saved “Allow Sin”, OSAS vs those who preach the Gospel of Grace …. Once Saved Always Saved, OSAS.

Ten Commandments list  (Exodus 20:2-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21)

1. You shall have no other gods before Me.
2. You shall make no idols.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
4. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
5. Honor your father and your mother.
6. You shall not murder.
7. You shall not commit adultery.
8. You shall not steal.
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
10. You shall not covet.

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