If you haven’t heard the name hyper-grace, you’ve probably heard some of its errors.
It’s a “feel-good-about-yourself” teaching with these beliefs:(1)
1. God forgives my sins, past, present and future, so I don’t need to repent.
2. When God looks at me, He sees Christ’s righteousness, not my sins.
3. All sins are the same in God’s eyes, so who are we to judge the homosexual any differently than the gossip?
4. In fact, it’s not our place to judge anyone.
5. God has no commands for Christians because we aren’t under the law.
6. The Holy Spirit encourages Christians. He doesn’t convict them of sin.
7. God’s love has absolutely no conditions.
These false statements are repeated so often that genuine Christians are accepting them.
The only way to protect ourselves from these or any other false teaching is to carefully study God’s Word.
Grace isn’t grace unless it is accompanied by truth (John 1:17).
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(1) Not all hyper-grace teachers support all of these 7 doctrines. They may mix and match.
See below what Scripture says:
1. Repentance is commanded in Scripture, and not just at the point of salvation (1 John 1:9; James 4:7-10; James 5:16; Revelation 3:3). See A Common Misunderstanding about Love and the Bible Love Notes Repentance Archive.
2. We enter heaven based on Christ’s righteousness, but here on earth, our all-knowing God sees our sins, rebukes us, calls us to repent, disciplines, and instructs us (Revelation 3:19; Hebrews 12:6). See Does He Only See Jesus?
3. Sins are equal in certain ways and unequal in others. God does not look at a child’s irresponsibility the same way He looks at rape. See Does God View All Sins the Same for multiple Scripture references refuting this hyper-grace belief.
4. See the Misunderstandings About Judgment Archive, especially the Scripture-packed post called How, Who, and What to Judge According to Scripture.
5. Christians must be serious and responsible about their maturity in Christ (Romans 8:12; Philippians 2:12-13). See Works is Not a Dirty Word.
6. The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin and grieves when we sin (John 16:8; John 16:13; Ephesians 4:30). See Can You Grieve Him?
7. Salvation is the greatest act of God’s love and it has an undeniable condition. It is given only to those who believe (John 3:16). God's love for believers is eternal, but our maturity, rewards, and opportunities are conditional. See God’s Love is Better than Unconditional.
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Wow! This is a wonderful post! I am saving it to go read all the posts linked within it, but I wanted to tell you now just how much it means to me. I am a recovering pharisee (also a good post), having been saved in a UPC church as age 19. Still, I am thankful that it pushed me to study God's Holy Word and fall in love with it. I read the Max Lucado book "No Wonder They Call Him the Savior" after I left that religion and it was like being saved all over again with a new understanding of mercy and grace. Still, even with that understanding, I also understand that we are set free from the curse of the law but not from living lawful lives because that still includes many blessings. Abraham had a lawful heart and it caused God to speak to the angels about him. That's what I desire. :-) (P.S. I blogged on that a few years back if you're interested in reading it. If so, I hope it's okay to share the link here. If not, just let me know and I will remove it. Here's the post: https://crystalwrites.wordpress.com/2013/04/21/so-many-laws/)
ReplyDeleteHi Crystal,
DeleteThanks so much for sharing your "God story" - I always love hearing how God brings His light and purposes into our lives. And I'm grateful that my devotions are helpful. I will check out your blog. God bless you!
yes, you're right on this. thank you for your daily posts.
ReplyDeleteThis is spot on. I don’t know how anyone can read scripture and possibly believe that their salvation is a license to sin. Romans 6:1-2 is very clear. “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
ReplyDeleteCertainly not!! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”
I have been a Christian for 50 years and I still must repent daily because I fail daily. I know my sins have been forgiven, but I also know to keep my relationship clear with God I must ask His forgiveness any time I sin.
Thank you for a great post.
You listed the "7 common errors of Hyper-Grace Doctrine" but did not list the name of anyone who teaches one or more of them". It is easy to make these statements. I have heard several ministers use same, but I have never heard one name of someone who actually teach this. I don't agree with everything you stated, but I believe you should state the source of your statements.
ReplyDeleteHi Unknown,
DeleteMy goal is to help Christ-followers understand false teachings so they can identify false teachings whether they come from their local pulpit or a well-known teacher. I have included multiple Scriptures and resources.
It sounds like you are saying that in order to claim something is a false teaching I must list false teachers. Since the Bible lists false teachings without listing false teachers, I think I'm in good company, especially because the Bible addresses some of these exact false teachings.
I don't apologize for what I've written or how I've written it.
Very true, I 100% agree with you, keep on teaching or sharing the true gospel of Christ to some of us, we are so thankful to have someone like you in body of Christ.
DeleteThank you
Hyper grace simply means that God's grace is extreme because you cannot mix it with our works. This is regarding salvation--since it's the most important thing for an individual, regardless if he knows it or doesn't yet. Grace cannot be mixed with works, or else it's not grace anymore. As it is written, "if righteousness could be gained through the law (Torah), then Christ died for nothing." Grace doesn't condemn sin, but it also doesn't condone sin. If grace is abused, then it's not grace anymore. It's a disgrace.
ReplyDeleteHi Unknown,
DeleteHyper-grace is a term used to describe what this devotion describes. This is how another large Christian website described it: "used to describe a new wave of teaching that emphasizes the grace of God to the exclusion of other vital teachings such as repentance and confession of sin."
It may simply mean that God's grace is extreme to you, but that's not what it means to most people.
Your statement "Grace doesn't condemn sin" is 100% wrong.
Grace comes from Jesus dying for our sins. If grace didn't condemn sin, why did He die? Every aspect of God's character condemns sin. His love condemns sin. His punishments condemn sin. His salvation condemns sin. And yes, His grace condemns sin. God's condemnation of sin makes grace necessary.
Those who acknowledge their sins and genuinely ask Christ into their lives to be their Lord are no longer condemned. That means they won't go to Hell and will spend eternity with the Lord, and God says anyone who has genuinely done that obeys Him and refuses to keep sinning. And He also says that when a believer sins, if he/she is a genuine believer, they will repent.
This devotion makes it 100% clear that salvation does not come through law-keeping, and every point in this devotion is backed up with Scripture, not opinion.