Copyright 2010 Theresa Harvard Johnson
I find myself extremely frustrated with the prevalence of teachings on Grace. This frustration comes because many teach "GRACE" without the revelation of repentance — the complete turning away of sin or wickedness according to 2 Chronicles 7:14. It's is as if these leaders, teachers have forgotten that we serve a Father who is not only a God of love but remains a God of Wrath. HE IS the same yesterday, today and forever.
Many are aware of what defines grace, and what mercy is all about. So for the sake of this post, I will not go through the process of teaching these. Rather, I'd like to turn your attention to 1 Corinthians 10.
1 For, brothers, I don't want you to miss the significance of what happened to our fathers. All of them were guided by the pillar of cloud, and they all passed through the sea, 2 and in connection with the cloud and with the sea they all immersed themselves into Moshe, 3 also they all ate the same food from the Spirit, 4 and they all drank the same drink from the Spirit – for they drank from a Spirit-sent Rock which followed them, and that Rock was the Messiah. 5 Yet with the majority of them God was not pleased, so their bodies were strewn across the desert. 6 Now these things took place as prefigurative historical events, warning us not to set our hearts on evil things as they did.
Here we have the Apostle Paul teaching us about how our fathers — those patriarchs who went before us in the Lord — presented themselves in their walk with the Lord. He talks about how they followed the cloud — God's presence, and walked in His miracles, signs and wonders. He also talked about how they were IMMERSED in the teachings of Moses (the Torah) and stood in agreement with the perfect will of God. YET, He reminds us that they were not perfect men… and that God found sin in the MAJORITY of them and their bodies were STREWN across the desert. THEN HE SAYS, we have these examples so that WE WILL KNOW how to walk rightly with God. These lessons from the lives of our patriarchs are not to be taken lightly. It is also a picture of how we should internalize what happens today when a leader in the body falls.
We should ask ourselves this question after reading this: What is the Apostle Paul trying to tell us about the GRACE OF GOD and the PENALTY OF SIN under the new covenant of Jesus Christ?
7 Don't be idolaters, as some of them were – as the Tanakh puts it, "The people sat down to eat and drink, then got up to indulge in revelry." 8 And let us not engage in sexual immorality, as some of them did, with the consequence that 23,000 died in a single day.
You see, the Apostle Paul is talking about God's grace AND he is speaking of the consequences of sin. He is warning "church folk" not to fall into idol worship. He is warning us not to be holy in church service and then go hang out with the pigs and dogs in the alley-ways.
We are warned strongly here that we are not to bounce between the world and the Word; a form of reverence and then recklessness before God. He is making it clear that THOUGH SOME MIGHT STUMBLE, it is not okay to embrace a sin-and-repent lifestyle. He is making it ABSOLUTELY CLEAR that the GRACE GIVEN TO US is not a license to live ANY KIND OF WAY and then expect the blood of Christ to continuously cleanse. HE is warning us that GRACE runs out…. and that the consequences can be devastating.
9 And let us not put the Messiah to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. 10 And
don't grumble, as some of them did, and were destroyed by the Destroying
Angel. 11 These things happened to them as prefigurative historical
events, and they were written down as a warning to us who are living in
the acharit-hayamim.
Here we can clearly see that YAHSHUAH, the MESSIAH, "CAN BE TESTED." This is something you do not hear in the midst of these INCOMPLETE teachings on grace! YAHSHUAH CAN & DOES enact JUDGMENT in. Father hates these ear-tickling messages being released to His people. It grieves Holy Spirit to see people of God living in the shadow of deception, thinking they are in the presence of God.
12 Therefore, let anyone who thinks he is standing up be careful not to fall! 13 No temptation has seized you beyond what people normally experience, and God can be trusted not to allow you to be tempted beyond what you can bear. On the contrary, along with the temptation he will also provide the way out, so that you will be able to endure. 14 Therefore, my dear friends, run from idolatry! 15 I speak to you as sensible people; judge for yourselves what I am saying.
We must BE CAREFUL not to fall. This place of being careful is a position of "being aware of sin." It is to make a conscious effort to resist the devil at every turn so that HE WILL FLEE. My goodness! We are even promised that GOD CAN BE TRUSTED NOT TO ALLOW US TO FALL INTO TEMPTATION BEYOND WHAT WE CAN BEAR! We must CHOOSE not to sin.
We can't afford to fall short in teaching the FULLNESS of God's grace! It's like driving a car down the side of the Appalachian mountains without breaks. People of God, we cannot afford to fall into that crazy SIN & REPENT cycle and foolishly think God's got you!
We cannot afford to cause His grace to become lasciviousness before him — chasing after lewdness and lusts of our flesh WITHOUT a repentant heart. This incomplete GRACE MESSAGE loosens the reality of the FEAR OF THE LORD. I tell you lasciviousness isn't just about SEXUAL IMMORALITY… but reflects any type of sin state in which men knowingly, willingly, and actively seek after without regard for the cross.
It's time to teach grace in its FULL context. Otherwise, people will pervert Father's intent for its place in their lives. Grace is not a license to sin.
