Hear The Unperverted Gospel Of Grace Over And Over!

(Excerpt from Carl’s book: Amazing Promise – How Sweet The Sound.  Read it free online at: Authonomy.com.)

One of the reasons I’ve shared my story with you is because I truly believe that God wants everyone to hear the life giving message that He has been trying to tell you all along – that His love for you endures forever!  That Word, that Promise of all promises, that greatest Promise of all that Jesus completely fulfills, that Jesus is, has to be heard repeatedly before it can transform you.  And it must be heard clearly without being mixed, without being perverted, with anything else.  What I found in my own life is that it has to be clearly heard over and over before you’ll place all of your faith in it.  Unfortunately, we all typically hear the Gospel of Grace mixed with some portion of works – things we’re told we must do to be acceptable to God.  These are lies!  Mixing in even a little requirement to do good, to do works, into the Gospel of grace ruins the entire gift.  Perverting the Gospel makes it impossible for people to choose the real Jesus, to choose Grace.  Their only recourse is to choose to live under law instead of under grace.  No matter how good a person is, they are still lost if they are not fully trusting in God’s Grace to save them.  It’s so easy for people to wind up thinking that they’re trusting only in God’s Gift of Salvation while, unknown to them, they are partially trusting in what they’re doing for salvation.  And, although it’s subtle but just as deadly, some people are trusting in their love for God instead of trusting in His love for them.  In addition, mixing grace into the Law rids the Law of its ability to bring people to the end of themselves so they can see their desperate need for Jesus.  This is why the apostle Paul placed a double curse on anyone who perverts the Gospel of Grace.

I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!

Galatians 1:6-9

Salvation is always accompanied by the Holy Spirit, the Lord’s seal on His people.  Therefore when a perverted Gospel is preached, even if fully believed, it doesn’t have God’s power to save and it won’t result in people being filled with the Holy Spirit.  A perverted Gospel, even if fully believed, cannot save anyone and will actually prevent those who believe it, even entire churches, from receiving the Holy Spirit.  So, the reason why churches are not exploding with the Holy Spirit and in many being saved is because the one and only Gospel is being perverted.  Only ONE Gospel is the power of God to save people and no others are!

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Romans 1:16

In addition, most people, even those who attend church regularly, seldom if ever hear God telling them how much He loves them.  And it’s so easy to be lulled into believing any number of the false promises that the world repeatedly tells you.  It’s often these lies that people listen to and lean on for their sense of self worth, to feel that they are loved and worthy of love, instead of fully trusting in God’s truth.  The truth is that He already loves you with all of His Being forever and no matter what – no matter what you’ve done, no matter where you’ve come from, and no matter where you’re at right now!  And in the process of believing a lie, many people miss the powerful, transforming song of love that God is singing over them.  Note that the phrase “Whoever has ears, let them hear” is recorded 14 times in the New Testament indicating that the Word, the Promise, must be heard and is for everyone to hear.  It’s so sad when people never hear the sound – when they never hear God’s Promise of unending love for them – when they could have been speaking it all along with their own mouth!

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.

Romans 10:17

Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.  I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:3, 11

 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”

John 5:24

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Zephaniah 3:17

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13

Additionally, even if people hear God’s Amazing Promise of Grace over and over, they can still miss out on its power, on its ability to totally transform their lives.  This can happen by listening to God’s Promise AND to Satan’s lies at the same time – by continuing to listen to grace defeating messages from others, from yourself, or from both others and yourself.  The devil is the accuser.  And his greatest weapon is the law.  So, every time you fail; every time you make a mistake; every time you sin in any way, in what you say, do, or think; and every time you focus on your weaknesses and you tell yourself (or you allow someone else to tell you) that God is not 100% pleased with you, that God is angry or disappointed with you, or that you are not already completely forgiven, then you are choosing to live under law instead of under grace!

You absolutely CANNOT listen to the accuser’s voice and hear God clearly.  You absolutely CANNOT focus on yourself, on your shortcomings, and see Jesus clearly.  You absolutely CANNOT be covered in condemnation and guilt and at the same time be covered in the gracious blood of Christ!  You must fully accept the LORD’s grace and mercy, His love and forgiveness, His Amazing Promise to you, and totally reject the devil’s lies, in order to experience the full effect of God’s Amazing Grace in your life.  You must completely believe that ALL of God’s wrath and punishment due you was poured out on Jesus, and that He took on ALL of your guilt and shame so you don’t have to take on ANY OF IT!  HalleluYAH!  You must NOT be reminded of your shortcomings if you are to believe this.  Instead, you must be reminded continually of the truth that He loves you just as you are if you are to believe this.  And when you do come to believe that He loves you fully just as you are, you will then find that you have tremendous Power to overcome your sins and addictions, to surrender and be set free.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

Romans 8:1-2

Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

John 8:10-11

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8 (NLT)

Don’t underestimate the power of the words you hear, even words spoken to you from your own lips.  Words have tremendous power – words can heal and words can kill.  God spoke the entire universe into existence!  When you repeat the Amazing Promise over and over that God loves you forever, God will be doing the speaking through His Spirit.  Faith comes by hearing the Word, the Promise, of God.  God’s Word of Promise to you starts in your mouth but will eventually end up in your heart if you hear it enough and truly believe it – if you are reminded of His love long enough for it to totally transform your heart.  And it’s not until His Promise of love, the Holy Spirit, is deep within your heart that you will be willing and able to obey everything that He has commanded you, starting with loving Him with all of your being and loving others as yourself.  Don’t underestimate the power of God’s Word – His Promise – to you.

No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 12:3

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, “Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, “Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?” No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it.

Deuteronomy 30:11-14

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.”

John 15:9

Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

Jude 1:21 (NKJV)

            Look at what Matthew Henry had to say about Deuteronomy 30 and Romans 10 and about confessing the promises of the Messiah with our mouth: “The law is not too high for thee. It is not only known afar off; it is not confined to men of learning. It is written in thy books, made plain, so that he who runs may read it. It is in thy mouth, in the tongue commonly used by thee, in which thou mayest hear it read, and talk of it among thy children. It is delivered so that it is level to the understanding of the meanest. This is especially true of the Gospel of Christ, to which the apostle applies it. But the word is nigh us, and Christ in that word; so that if we believe with the heart, that the promises of the Messiah are fulfilled in our Lord Jesus, and confess them with our mouth, we then have Christ with us.”  Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise) Deuteronomy 30:11-14, Bible Study Tools Online (N.p., 1706).

Advertisement