Coming Soon ..... A Grace "Super-Manual"

HOW excited am I!?

Stay tuned ...

When a Human Goes Down?

I wasn't actually going to comment on the C J Mahaney situation other than post the official statement I did. Funnily enough I don't have any gripe with SGM since my meeting with the Bristol pastors and the wonderful time that was. I've been enjoying forgiveness and it's wonderful release - so other than a mild interest and the denomination that my family are in, I was done! I haven't got involved in the length discussions on SGM Survivors and Refuge - many of them are feeling a sense of real vindication as could be expected.

But I was contacted quite rudely by a member of Christchurch Newport, who "was asked" to tell me to take down the link on my Facebook and essentially mind my own business - I had nothing to do with C J Mahaney and clearly had no business having an opinion or posting it. (By the way - my only comment on the link was "Interesting"). I was - to say the least - insulted that whoever had instructed this member (I have my suspicions) thinks that simply because of a few meetings last year I can be now told what to do.

So I thought I WOULD post some thoughts (only some).

First and foremost the leak of a massive collection of documents (allegedly by Brent Detweiler - although he has confirmed his authorship on his Facebook page) has been the source of the interest in the blogging world. I should state I have taken it with a pinch of salt because the documents have been leaked - and there is no confirmation from Brent himself that they are from him. However (thanks to my express reading) I have read them and like Julie (my fellow ex-SGM friend) found them interesting and saddening.

Points of interest:

1. Confirmation that C J Mahaney really did change his theology on the baptism of the Holy Spirit when the "Modification" note was produced by Jeff Purswell. According to the papers by Brent - (page 122 on Response regarding Friendship and Doctrine); Mahaney thought; "scholars for the Pentecostal position are much weaker". This surprised me as I had always been under the impression from tapes I have heard that Brent was by far the strongest theological member of the apostolic team.

Although Mahaney told Brent that this was a personal conclusion reached in 2007 - Brent wrote that he came under pressure as the only member of the apostolic team who held to a Pentecostal/Charismatic position. The other members (such as Dave Harvey) seemed to follow Mahaney suit. I suspected this when I read the Purswell paper but was assured by SGM members frequently that Mahaney was "truly charismatic". Seemed so familiar to our home church experience in Dunstable.

2. Treatment of Larry Tomczak (p1333 of Concluding Remarks). Again assuming that this paper is genuinely from Brent - I was quite horrified (as were many) to read that Mahaney threatened Larry with revealing past sin told in confidence to him by Larry's son Justin. This blackmail brought back hideous memories of the threats made to me when I attempted to leave Grace Church in Bristol - that all pastors would be written to and told of the sins I confessed. I can see now why Peter Greasley would have instructed this action.

However those two points of interest aside, here's what really occured to me;

a. C J Mahaney is really blessed by God to have a friend like Brent Detweiler. If the man has gone to this effort to care for Mahaney's soul then indeed "faithful are the wounds of a friend". I have always been taught that a friend is far more worthy if he is prepared to offend, rather than be surrounded by "yes" men who pamper egos and never say "No".

b. C J Mahaney is human. Does the revelation of these sins bother me or surprise me? Other than he is responsible for thousands of people in SGM and the concern for them - no. He has always said; "He is the vilest of all sinners" - so can it be a surprise if he is proven to be a sinner? I won't write Mahaney off because of this - and do actually respect him greatly for finally stepping down to examine his soul (although my prayer for him is that he would finally discover the glorious grace of God and find that his sins were indeed TRULY dealt with at the Cross!).

c. Will I judge Mahaney because of this? No - because I'm was a sinner too so how can I?

My only prayer is that this won't damage the faith of Mahaney fans who truly have idolised the man. I know how painful it is - many of us idolised Stanley Jebb in Dunstable and were deeply hurt by his change of doctrine on the baptism of the Holy Spirit in 1997 and subsequent migration to cessationism. It is hard when you realise your idols have feet of clay! I honestly do hope and pray that God uses this to His glory and brings true humility to the Mahaney family and indeed the whole of SGM.

No Condemnation Now I Dread! (A New Book by Ryan Rufus)

I can't think of a better way to begin a review of a new and wonderful book by Ryan Rufus (pastor in City Church International in Hong Kong) - "Extra Virgin Grace" - than with the favourite lines of a well known hymn;

"No condemnation now I dread - Jesus and all in Him is mine!

Alive in Him - my living Head and clothed in righteousness divine!

Bold I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own!

Bold I approach the eternal throne and claim the crown through Christ my own!".

The hymn has to be heard to be appreciated so I've put the link to the video here of it being sung on the BBC programme; "Songs of Praise". I didn't post it - because I wish the gathered singers looked more happy! I can't sing this hymn without crying! The point is this;

"No condemnation now I dread! Jesus and ALL in HIM is mine! ... clothed in righteousness divine!".

These truths form the very essence of Ryan's new book; "Extra Virgin Grace". He writes in the foreword;

"My conviction is that free people will free people. Therefore the greater the freedom we come into the greater the freedom we'll be able to bring others into. The essence of freedom is to know that you are 100% set free from the law and are 100% righteous in Christ - 100% of the time. Bondage is to believe that you are still under the law and not always righteous".

It's so simply obvious. Why haven't we seen more conversions? Because we're not truly free and the answers are here! Ryan writes;

"Get ready to be armed with a key that will unlock many difficult Scriptures and distorted doctrines. What is this key? It is the key of discernment between the gift of righteousness and self-righteousness".

There are many different topics addressed in the book but the "golden thread" (as C H Spurgeon called grace) runs through it all giving the book such amazing unity. A couple of thoughts about this great book.

1. Ryan writes strongly.

I have no shadow of doubt that this book will offend some. But this strength is required! Ryan's father - Rob Rufus - wrote in the foreword;

"Intellectual preaching from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil has flooded this world and drowned entire nations in religious lies. These wholesale deceptions that have grossly misrepresented the true loving nature of God require and demand to be confronted with concentrated pure grace clarity. This book does that. Any sincere seeker will find the truth in these pages extremely emancipating. The grace revolution is accelerating. The earth is groaning for this message".

It is my suspicion that your reaction to this book will actually mark out where you are at in your spiritual walk. If you are offended because all your spiritual disciplines and righteous deeds are called "nothing" - then there it is. But if you are filled with hope and wonder because you see hope - then you are indeed a "sincere seeker" as Rob writes!

2. Ryan writes compassionately (as a true pastor).

His chapters 12 and 13 on "Rest" are the most loving compassionate chapters I have ever read on this. So much of Christianity these days is focused on "work" and "mission" and driving to see the lost saved. Of course this is true and must be done - but Ryan writes so rightly that you will accomplish far more if you are rested and sane - than exhausted and weary!

The reader knows that those under Ryan's pastoring (and I know this is true of CCI) will not be constantly made guilty by "applications" after sermons that demand more of them. "Come to the prayer meeting .... give more ..... do this .... do that". I know for a fact that there is no such guilt-driven exhorting in the church and we too are allowed to enjoy this!

3. Ryan writes as a teacher who writes what he lives not just what he believes.

So many books I've read are by men and women who don't really write with conviction. Especially those who are striving to "live more holy lives" under God! They come up with ideas and lists of "daily disciplines" to live more Cross-centred lives and so on. But there isn't a real heart of conviction there - because deep down, they too must admit; "I've blown it". Ryan's book is amazing because you read it and know he has begun to experience the thrilling joy of the freedom that grace brings. And it makes you want to experience that too! This book rings true!

4. Ryan isn't afraid to dispel wrong historical teaching!

My favourite chapter in this book is chapter 6 - his treatment of the Sermon on the Mount. I must admit as I have taken my baby steps into the gospel of grace since I encountered Rob Rufus properly in 2007, I have been worried by the Beatitudes and their implications for the Christian life. Many of the books in my library on the "Sermon on the Mount" take this historical approach that Ryan dispels.

For example, the great Dr Martyn Ll0yd-Jones wrote his collection of sermons on the Sermon and the book opens; "The Sermon on the Mount is not a code of ethics or of morals; it is a description of what Christians are meant to be". And that's how I've always read it!

Ryan writes masterfully however - going through each of the Beatitudes and explaining in context what each actually means. Here's a segment about the Sermon on the Mount;

"Matthew 5:1–7:29 is the "Sermon on the Mount". Is this sermon in-tended for the church? Absolutely not! It's intended for the self-righteous. It‟s a pre-salvation preach that exposes self-righteous pride and performance and reveals the need for God's righteousness as a gift through faith in order to see the Kingdom and become children of God ... He wasn't preaching to a church. He wasn't preaching to born again believers. He was preaching to Jews where the climate of the day was a striving for righteousness through works.".

So what do the various points Jesus makes in the Sermon actually refer to? For example Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God". Ryan said;

"Jesus wasn't saying that keeping most of the law is good enough. He was saying that if you want to live by the law then you can never break it. Not even once. The smallest transgression of the law brings about impurity in your heart and means you‟ll never see God. So if your “seeing God” is based on the purity level of your law keeping, then you better make sure you‟ve kept the law 100% of your entire life. Anything less and you‟re doomed! If that sounds rather extreme it‟s because it is. It‟s because it‟s meant to break down self-righteousness".

Here is a brief synopsis of each chapter and what it brings in Ryan's words;

Chapter 1: The Olive Tree vs. the Fig Tree.

The Olive Tree represents Christ, His gift of righteousness, faith, grace, The Spirit and the New Covenant. The Fig Tree represents flesh, self righteousness, works, legalism, human effort, unbelief and the Old Covenant. This chapter is a call to the Church to not repeat Adam and Eve‟s sin of trying to be more like God in eating from the Fig Tree but to rest in the Olive Tree and see the fruit of grace manifesting in your life.

Chapter 2: Re-defining What Renewing The Mind Is.

Renewing your mind is essentially about learning how to surrender your mind to your reborn spirit so that you become “spirit-led”. Transformation is becoming “spirit-led”. When you are led by your reborn spirit in fellowship with the Holy Spirit then you will walk in the perfect will of God manifesting all the riches of your salvation here on earth.

Chapter 3: A Moment Within God’s Eternal Grace Covenant.

If you‟ve ever struggled with understanding why God put the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in the Garden of Eden or why Israel suffered for so long under the Law covenant then this chapter is for you, and makes it very clear. You‟ll discover how grace has always been Gods intent for relationship with Him and how the Law is but a brief moment in time and for a very clear and specific purpose.

Chapter 4: The New Way Of The Spirit vs. The Old Way Of The Letter.

The letter is a religious system of external pressure and motivation to get you to serve God whereas the spirit is an internal transformation and empowered ability to serve God. Under the letter you are forced to serve God. Under the spirit it becomes your desire to serve God. For born again believers it is no longer,“Do this in order to be blessed, or don‟t do that in order to avoid punishment.” Now it is, “This is who you truly are, perfect and complete in Christ” and “This is what is available for you now, a miraculous and victorious life!”

Chapter 5: Galatians 5 Explained In Context.

Because of the confusion around this chapter, many Christians have been taken into fear and legalism, but this is a glorious chapter that God is once again shining His brilliant gospel light on to reveal what it truly means to walk in the Spirit.

Chapter 6: The Beatitudes Are For The Self Righteous!

Matthew 5:1–7:29 is the „Sermon on the Mount‟. Is this sermon intended for the church? Absolutely not! It‟s intended for the self righteous. It‟s a pre-salvation preach that exposes self righteous pride and performance and reveals the need for God‟s righteousness as a gift through faith in order to see the Kingdom and become children of God. Unless you really understand grace, don‟t go near the Beatitudes. They will mess you up! Teaching the Beatitudes to Christians produces legalism and religious pride or condemnation in them.

Chapter 7: Re-defining What Holiness Is.

Holiness has got nothing to do with sinning or not sinning. If that is what we think, then we think that we are the cause of our holiness. There is only one person who is the cause of our holiness and his name is Jesus Christ! And if you are in him, then you are holy. You don't have to try and be holy or get holy, you are holy!

Chapter 8: Hebrews 12: Understanding God’s Disciplines Through Grace.

Many people read Hebrews 12 in a very negative way that causes fear in their hearts and in the hearts of others. But actually these verses were written to encourage believers and fill them with confidence. What is fundamentally important to see when reading Hebrews 12:5-11 is that firstly, it‟s not God doing the chastising and secondly, that the chastising was not coming because of moral sins but because these Hebrews were standing for the Gospel!

Chapter 9: Romans 5, 6, 7 & 8 Unlocked.

I believe these four chapters are the bedrock chapters of understanding grace. They form a solid foundation of what the Gospel is, and will give you confidence to stand in the grace of God. The more you study them and understand them, the more you will be able to look at other verses that seem to pose a “problem” for grace, that contradict grace, and unlock their true meaning.

Chapter 10: Hebrews 5 & 6: The Impossibility Of Losing Your Salvation.

To fall away means to spiritually die again. If Christ can‟t die again and we are united with Christ, it means that we can‟t die again. If we can‟t die again then it means that we can never fall away! I believe this Scripture is written to show the Hebrews, and us, how perfect our salvation is and how impossible it is to lose it, based on the fact that Christ can never die again! And it‟s written to help us come into an amazing confidence that God is for us, always relates to us through grace, and therefore we can walk intimately with him with boldness and confidence in this life.

Chapter 11: The Theology And Experience Of Rest.

Rest is about knowing where you are seated and why you are seated there. You are seated with Christ on his throne because you have become his perfect and complete righteousness. You are not standing and working but are seated and resting. And the Holy Spirit doesn‟t just want you to know where you are, he wants you to experience where you are.

Chapter 12: More Gets Done When You Rest!

When we‟re not living in the sweet spot of resting in the finished work of Christ, life seems harder, ineffective and frustrating. But when we live from a place of rest we find life becomes increasingly more enjoyable and effective. God wants us to live from the sweet spot. He wants us to enter his rest and live from that place.

Appendix: Keywords and Scriptures in Context.

This chapter is more of a study tool to help you unlock certain Scriptures rather than a read-through chapter. It focuses on a number of words like: sin, faith, lust of the flesh, fear of God etc that usually get interpreted incorrectly and explains their proper meaning. This chapter isn‟t thorough or in depth but will certainly assist you in your own studies by triggering helpful patterns of thought.

Rob Rufus on Matthew 18:9

It's long been irritating to me that many so-called New Covenant teachers and men of grace have been known to use Matthew 18:8-9 in application for Christians today (I have even heard Terry Virgo make reference to it). Just as a reminder, the verse says;

"If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell".

I used to believe this was true - that we seriously had to be so radical in fighting sin that we should be prepared to chop our limbs off if they caused us to sin. But I'm listening to Rob Rufus speak at a conference in East London in South Africa and he makes such a plainly obvious point - it's laughable (if it wasn't so tragic). Speaking on Christians using this verse, he said;

"Even if you can't see and you can't grab - you can still imagine!".

And of course the law makes it absolutely clear (as applied by Jesus Christ) - if you lust after someone in your heart or if you hate someone then you have committed the sin. So we MUST re-evaluate the use of this verse and re-question the context. What is Jesus saying here? And of course - what makes perfect sense is that as Rob says, Jesus is preaching the law "on steroids" to make it so obvious that the law simply CANNOT be met.

That is why we need the gospel so desperately!

Grace-Based Purity in the Church

I am really pleased that Matt Hosier from Poole wrote this article in the most recent Newfrontiers magazine - because it addresses an issue I've been worrying about and thinking about for some time. My church background (Dunstable and Sovereign Grace Ministries) has been pretty much obsessed with sin. Particularly in SGM, sin was talked about regularly and discussions on how to mortify it usually in "accountability groups". But what concerned me was that although these churches were admirably passionate about defeating sin if they could - both were harsh when it came to dealing with sinners who confessed. I witnessed people being disciplined publicly in Dunstable and of course was excommunicated myself from SGM (although the pastors have explained why this was done - an instruction from above).

My question was always - how on earth do the church expect Christian sinners to confess particularly what they see as "big" or "bad" sins such as sexual promiscuity when they are treated as such? It is perfectly okay to confess to sins such as "pride" or "lying" (sins, Jerry Bridges calls; "Respectable" and sins God hates by the way!) - but if you confess you struggle with pornography or homosexuality for example, then you are treated with mistrust and at times panic on how to deal with you.

So I am glad that Matt has addressed the issue (even though I don't think he goes far enough with his understanding of the gift of righteousness we are given in Christ Jesus). He says;

"The apostles were radically serious about sin, yet at the same time radically gracious towards sinners. This is a difficult line for us to tread. Typically we tend to fall into one of two traps. Either there is a seriousness about sin that leads to intolerance, or there is a compassion towards sinners that leads to complacency about sin. Both of these traps create serious problems in the life of a local church".

And this is so true. Churches either seem to reflect my Dunstable church or SGM - or do indeed act as though they are complacent about sin. The very serious problem of harshness towards sinners that I have experienced brings problems for non-believers - Matt says;

"If our church culture is one of intolerance, then sinners will walk in and feel they cannot possibly find a place among us – ‘Everyone here seems to have their life sorted, no problems. How could I possibly fit?’ In this kind of church no one ever confesses their sin because they fear that if they do so they will be treated like lepers and ostracised by everyone else. Inevitably this leads to hypocrisy, as all kinds of things are kept hidden which should be brought to the light. This kind of church becomes like a whitewashed tomb – outwardly respectable but inwardly full of worms".

And this was very much the case in my Dunstable church and in SGM. We heard of divorces and of child abuse at times in Dunstable - and I have friends in SGM in the USA who also have reported of shocking child abuse, affairs, addiction to pornography - all while these individuals are going to their "accountability groups". As Matt says; "outwardly respectable but inwardly full of worms".

I love the way that he uses the churches in Corinth and Galatia to highlight the point;

"It is helpful for us to consider the very different contexts of the churches in Galatia and Corinth. In the Galatian churches the problem was one of heavy-handed legalism, while in Corinth it was one of shocking immorality. Yet the solution Paul offers to both settings is the same: Grace!".

And the answer to the problem?

"For the Galatians this meant a fresh revelation of the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice, a sacrifice that brings us into freedom. In their desire to live in moral purity, the Galatians were taking their eyes off the grace that was theirs in Christ and relying on strictures of the law – and by so doing were failing to act in love towards one another.

By contrast, the Corinthians were letting pretty much anything go and had lost sight of the fact that a true response to Christ’s sacrifice results in holy living – and as a consequence they too were failing to display love towards one another. In both cases, the solution Paul offers is a deeper understanding of the work of Christ and a deeper response to his grace".

He says quite rightly that it is fear of sin that can lead to many of the problems faced here in so many churches;

"Often what can drive us to look more like Corinth or Galatia than like a people of grace is fear. Fear of immorality and the corrupting nature of the society around us can lead us into legalism and the errors of Galatia. But fear of legalism and a desire to be relevant to the society around us can lead us into immorality and the errors of Corinth. We are forever in danger of crashing into the twin rocks of legalism or license. The only safe course is not to keep veering between the two, but to sail in the clear deep waters of the grace of God. It is grace that frees us from fear and it is grace that keeps us secure".

My problem of course with this article is that rather than going into what the "deep waters of the grace of God" are - he doesn't. But as I said, I am really glad the issue of how sin is dealt with in church has been brought to the table. I hope it at least causes some church leaders to honestly assess how safe it is for their church members to feel able to be honest and loved for being human.

Judge by the Law? Live by the Law!

Rob Rufus - speaking on Hebrews at the "Grace and Glory Conference 2010" said;

"Under the law if you have broken one part of the law, then you have broken all of it. If you lie once - according to the law - you are guilty of adultery, stealing, murder, hating God - you have broken ALL the law! How Christians can look at homosexuals with disgust and those same Christians have just put themselves under the law! Whenever you judge someone else for their behaviour you only can judge them through the lenses of the law, so you have put yourself back under the law.

So to disgustedly condemn homosexuals - under the law YOU are a homosexual. YOU are an adulterer. YOU are a liar and a pervert.

That's why it says in Revelation 21 the lake of fire is reserved for perverts, sexually immoral people and people who work magic. Who are those people? Those are people UNDER the law. Where there is no law - sin is NOT imputed to you! Where there is no law - YOU are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. When we die even though there may be things in our life that are sinful, we are not perverts or magicians or cowards or the fearful or immoral - we are the perfect ones in our great High Priest! We are perfect forever!"

Wonderful Grace of Jesus!

I've been using today and the trapped nerve in my neck to slow down considerably and sort through and read some of my collections of books, journals and magazines. I found an old "New Covenant Songs" book that we used to use at our church in Dunstable and was reading some of the great old songs.

I love this one;

"Wonderful grace of Jesus, greater than all my sin,

How shall my tongue describe it? Where shall it's praise begin?

Taking away my burden, setting my spirit free,

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus,

Deeper than the mighty rolling sea,

Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,

All sufficient grace for even me!

Broader than the scope of my transgressions,

Greater far than all my sin and shame,

O magnify the precious, Name of Jesus - praise His Name!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching to all the lost,

By it I have been pardoned, saved to the uttermost,

Chains have been torn asunder, giving me liberty,

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, reaching the most defiled,

By it's transforming power, making me God's own child,

Purchasing peace and heaven, for all eternity,

All the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me!".

Those who remember this one will remember the bouncy, triumphant tune it was sung to. You couldn't help but smile when you sang it!

The 10 Ugly Faces of the Grace-Hating Spirit by Rob Rufus

One of the main reasons why I was so utterly gutted to miss the last "Glory and Grace Conference" in Hong Kong was something called an "Island Getaway" that was held after the conference. During that time the guys got to hear Rob speak some more and he gave a session called; "The 10 Ugly Faces of the Grace-Hating Spirit". I did post it some time ago after it was made available but it is a MUST publish again for two reasons. 1. You can never hear these warnings enough. 2. This week we are going to encounter the "Grace-Hating Spirit" in various shades of intensity (myself included for certain).

Here it is:

"This feels like military training where you have been going for days and days and you think "We need to stop and have a break and fellowship!". And someone else says; "Nah push on!". I just want to finish this session so we can finish and go and have lunch. We need to finish at 12pm and I don't like working within schedules. The Holy Spirit seems to work a lot better when there are no schedules. I don't know many miracle ministries that don't have hours of meetings. This is what I believe. When we bring the whole church into grace - miracles will start breaking out in the opening of the service. The reason these meetings take so long to get miracles is because you have got to clear the unbelief away - the condemnation - the confusion and it takes 2-3 hours to get that off God's people. That's why I love local church! I have preached on platforms of multiple thousands and it is an incredible privilidge and an amazing honour but I don't find it flattering at all to my ego. I am enjoying this little church in Hong Kong - small little church at this stage! I believe we will grow into the thousands but I am enjoying this little church because it is the feedback of seeing lives changed through this message of grace. It is just so wonderful.

For me apostles don't go for a weekend here and a weekend there and a weekend there. I don't see that! I think the shortest trip may have been 3 weeks to the Thessalonians but other places - 2 years here, 3 years here. In Ephesus Paul preached every single day. He didn't fly out here and there but preached and stayed every single day for 2 years in the hall of Tyranus. Apostles are not just goers. They are sent ones. But they are not butterflies. I was sent to Australia and I stayed there for 12 years. I was sent to Hong Kong and am staying here! Paul stayed and he shared the grace of God with them and said don't get carried away by this and this - it is the grace of God that can give you an inheritance amongst those being sanctified.

That's what he was doing - preaching grace for 2 years! That is a man caught up in the 3rd heaven and got his message of grace from the Father and he took 3 years to unpack it. In that space of time it says the Gospel went throughout all Asia Minor but Paul didn't go. The fallout of this message gave an inheritance. You can't go - "Well I preached six weeks on grace!". All you did was introduce people to the shallows. "I didn't have anything else to preach - I did everything I knew on grace". Well start at the beginning and preach it all again. You are dealing with more than 1500 years of Dark Ages. The Reformation has only been 500 years but even top evangelical theologians are going back to a Roman Catholic understanding of justification by faith. Top evangelicals! Just read John Piper's books! Justification by faith is under attack again. And Christians are very shallow on their understanding of this.

You don't bring the church out of 1500 years of Dark Ages by a six-part series on grace! It takes years to transition people out!

Just to throw in something here for questions and answers. Abraham got grace. Galatians 3 says that God preached the Gospel in advance to Abraham. Then it was ratified in Christ. It says that the law came 430 years after Abraham but it says when the law covenant came it did not nullify or set aside the covenant of promise that God made with Abraham. So when Jesus arrived on the earth the covenant of grace and the covenant of law were there available for Israel. At any point Israel could have said; "We repent of saying give us the law - we will do what it says! We want what Abraham had!" and they could have come straight back into that. So when people repented and saw grace Jesus called them "sons and daughters of Abraham" and He only said that to two people.

Who were the people who had the greatest faith in all of Israel? Those who had never been under law! The Syro-Phonecian woman and the centurion.

So you have got to understand that by the time Jesus arrived to Israel - grace and the revelation to Abraham was almost completely gone. Abraham brought the key to knowledge - which is the nature of God.

What is the key to knowledge? I believe personally it is the nature of God. When the nature of God is revealed as goodness and grace - that is the key to knowledge!

I do have a history degree although that doesn't mean much because it was so long ago. It's history! This has fascinated me how civilisations have formed and secular historians will say that it was the Reinaissance that brought an acceleration of knowledge, inventions, arts, science and political freedoms. No - if you study Francis Schaeffers book on; "How Then Shall We Live?" - it is the Reformation - the revelation of the nature of God. Justification by faith that God is a good God that justifies the wicked and accepts them and loves them. That's where knowledge is! The nature of God and the revelation of God's nature is the key to knowledge. So once justification by faith came, that is when the church came out of the Dark Ages and you can trace from the Reformation advancements in science - because the religious church was wanting to put to death people that advanced in science! When Galileo was trying to say "No the whole universe isn't rotating around the sun" - the church under law said "We will kill you!". So science was surpressed because they had taken away the key to knowledge which is the nature of God.

Arts began to increase and everything began to explode. Human rights began to increase and civilisation came! That is why Europe was the cradle of civilisation because of the gospel - human rights etc - and now they have got a flimsy frame because they have taken away the foundation! They have taken away the key to knowledge. The church! Not the secular world!

The secular world almost seems to understand more about grace than the average fundementalist Christian.

So we are on about something more than just feeling secure - personal peace and prosperity. "I want to have a happy little church where we all feel happy and praise and worship". No! It is about transformation of the way society thinks. We are meant to have the key of knowledge which is the revelation that Abraham got. Let look here - I am going to look at 10 Ugly Faces of the Grace-Hating Spirit. If you do not understand what I am going to give to you now - if you go into this as a cute, sweet little pastor - then don't even start! Because you will be eaten for breakfast by the grace-hating spirit. You will be so confused and come under such demonic confusion that you won't know whether you are coming or going. You have got to know that Martin Luther nearly lost his mind many times and he was depressed for a long time! Can you imagine when one man stepped out and said "No!" to centuries! There was always a line who believed in justification by faith - but a small little thread here and there. So here is one man that stood out and took the whole thing on. It is not against the Catholic church but against a SPIRIT! I love Roman Catholics, I love Muslims and Hinduis.

2 Corinthians 5:9; "God was in Christ reconciling the WORLD to Himself - NOT counting MEN'S sins against them!". It didn't just say "the church's" sins against them. The world!

So we are involved with more than just sweet little churches that are happy because they are in grace. This is something that changes the globe. It is because of legalism that we have international wars, ethnic violence, religious wars.

Legalism makes people angry, harsh, mean, judgemental, full of selfish ambition, gossip, slander - you cannot trust legalists!

One of the mistakes the devil made when he began to attack us was that he overshot - some of the Chinese people in our church when I began to first preach freedom from the law were completely shocked! They just said "Oh my God he has gone made! If we are not under law what are we under?!". The Holy Spirit! "You mean there's no 10 Commandments anymore!?". I am not blaming them! I love them! I am blaming their teachers.

So those of you who have already started transitioning your churches will know that there are some things that happen. Sometimes it is not even through people - it is an invisible hatred that comes on your mind - an invisible hostility.

I remember I was in Hong Kong for at least a year and then I preached on the finished work of the Cross and got the devil so by surprise that it just flowed and everyone received it and it was wonderful. I stepped out the pulpit and went home and was so happy and then suddenly bang! The heavens closed! Without one second reprive it was a spirit of heaviness! Hong Kong wasn't used to hearing this message! There came a reaction! Please don't be confused. Don't think of human beings - think of a spirit behind human beings. Love the human beings - show mercy and kindness and don't react - that is exactly what part of the tactic is that you get bitter against the opposition and start fighting the opposition and start preaching to prove they are wrong and you are right. No Jesus preached very strongly at the Pharisees and warned them. You need to have those kind of guts and get up and warn and rebuke to their face people who preach the opposite in your church. Peter came to Paul's church in Antioch and Paul had the right to confront Peter to his face.

Shepherds you need to safeguard the church from legalism! That is your main responsibility to keep the church free from the law! You can't rely on apostles to do that because many of them aren't! They are under the law themselves - I am sorry to say that but it is the truth.

I was under the law and I preached law and grace mixed together in Australia and South Africa. I am doing my best to not preach any mixture anymore. When you start that - this is the way that Paul described some of the grace-hating spirit. "Spies, bewitchers, fearmongers, agitators, dogs, evil men, mutilators of the flesh, deceitful schemers". That is what you are dealing with! It can be a face that smiles at you because the legalist face is a nice face and it is sweet when it smiles as it cuts you. Please don't think most legalists to their face are these mean-hearted people. They are sweet and disarming! But they will disarm you from grace into law. It is cunning and clever and deliberate and intentional. Be aware!

What I learnt in the military was if you are going to succeed then know your enemy and know his strengths and weaknesses otherwise he will take you out. Do not try to transition into grace naively thinking "This is such a wonderful message and everyone is going to be happy!".

There is a way to transition without hardly losing anyone. I believe good leadership can transition a church without hardly having to lose anyone. Look quickly at Luke chapter 11. Jesus had just read "How to win friends and influence people" so He starts with "Woe to you!". (v52); "Woe to you experts in the law because you have taken away the key to knowledge". What Abraham saw - they took away. "You yourselves have not entered". In other words you haven't stepped into the glory - you haven't stepped into the power and the favour and blessing of God the way Abraham did. You yourselves have not entered and; "You have hindered those who were entering". That is what is happening in the earth. There are leaders who are hindering their people entering because they themselves don't enter and they are preachers of a mixture of law and grace. (v53); "When Jesus left there the Pharisees and the teachers of the law began to oppose Him".

1. Ugly Face No. 1: Opposition to Grace.

Jesus is grace! The law was given through Moses. Grace and truth came in Jesus Christ. The law is impersonal. It was given through a mediation of angels through Moses but Jesus who is grace came personally to the earth. Grace is not a doctrine - it is a Person. His Name is Jesus! That is His Nature! That is the key to knowledge; God is a God of grace. God never intended to bring the law and never wanted to bring the law. If you study Galatians 3 and other passages of Scripture like Hebrews 10:8 you will see that He brought the law because of Israel's unbelief.

2. Ugly Face No. 2: Fiercely.

"Oppose Him fiercly". There is a grace-hating spirit that really is fierce!

If you have not yet felt it then you have not yet been preaching grace the way that Paul preached it.

They began to oppose Him fiercly.

3. Ugly Face No. 3: Besiege.

They will set up siege against your ministry. A siege is when an opposing army camps around your city and tries to stop supplies coming in and things going out.

Stop people listening to your website. You won't get invited to our camp. This will close doors to you. I think they are doors that should be closed! They beseiged Him. "Well if we were politically correct then those doors would be open". You shouldn't be going through some doors through the power of political correctness because you are not coming with the gospel anymore! "Besiege Him with questions". Questions are good but questions within questions are not good. (v53). That's why when people ask Jesus questions sometimes He answers them beautifully and sensatively and graciously and sometimes He answered with a baseball bat and smashed the living daylights out of them! He was not going to be a politically correct diplomat because this was too important. (v54);

4. Ugly Face No. 4: Waits to Catch You.

The Pharisees caught that woman in adultery. It wasn't something they stumbled on. I believe they set it up. I personally think one of the Pharisees or indeed they may have paid someone to have adultery with her. They paid him to set it up and they caught her! When you start preaching this grace message you think "I could be caught - I could fail - I could get into serious sin and if they caught me what is going to happen to me?". Then they really can control me! I wonder if it would have been different for Jimmy Swaggert if he was in a community of grace.

Legalism makes sin go underground and then they catch you. Grace makes sin come out into the open because there is an environment of safety, accountability and kindness and there is an openness.

Who could Jimmy Swaggert really have gone to? He is preaching grace now but it took going through hell. He was preaching law back then and judging everything.

You will preach more and more law when you feel more and more guilt and the more guilt you feel the more law you feel. You see how happy the grace people are and you are jealous of their happiness and you don't want them to be so happy because you are trying to do things to earn God's love. They are waiting to catch you. Grace communities should have this attitude - we are not looking to catch people or be suspicious. "Ooh there is probably sin in their lives". Well there probably is! Look at yourself! Catch yourself!

That thing about logs and eyes and specks has some relevance. We ought not to be trying to catch people in sin. And if we do - then Galatians 5 says you that are spiritual should restore them gently. So we should have this attitude that if someone does fall then they are not "caught" - they are a comrade. They are together. There are certain sins you don't need to go public with! You just go to the Father. It does say confess your sins to one another but only if you have done something against the other! On a horizontal level. To the Father it is all gone and forgiven anyway!

Paul never speaks about confessing sins - once! They are already gone! But on the horizontal I need to confess my faults or apologise to people I do wrong. I find it so easy to say sorry when I know that he accepts me. The grace-hating spirit is trying to catch you, trying to besiege you, oppose you and is doing it and when you first start transitioning your church into full grace it will intensify for a while. Eventually when your church gets more and more established in grace then tyranny becomes far from you, no weapon formed against you can prosper and no tongue raised up - God will start giving you a legacy that your righteousness is from Him and God starts fulfilling those conditions of a people established in grace.

Let's have a look at the next one;

5. Ugly Face No. 5: Spies.

I could just say these things but let's look at them. This is not a preaching on a platform to produce miracles - this is teaching.

Spies are secretive. They hide. They move from a place of duplictity. They are double faced and come amongst you for a reason - to hide their real agenda and look for faults. To exploit any opportunity where you are vulnerable and make you a slave to the law and to their control.

Paul went around releasing people from religious handcuffs and spies came right behind Paul and put the handcuffs straight back on again. They brought "balance". You cannot balance grace with law! They neutralise one another! There is no middle ground! It is either all law or all grace and no middle ground! "This is a radical message!". Yes of course. "Rob's preaching a radical message" - no Paul did!

Have you ever thought how radical the law is? These people who preach law and grace are actually just compromisers - they are like the Pharisees and don't preach it at it's full power. If you are going to preach the law then do it properly. Then try and balance it with grace and see where you get. The law means cut your hand off! When guys drive planes into towers in the name of their god - they are being absolutely faithful to the law! Under the law - kill anyone who doesn't keep it! In fact if you go read the law properly if you kids don't keep the law then you must stone your own children. Grace is radical?! The reason why people say grace is radical is because the law is not being taught properly.

God gave me two years to go study the law about seven years ago. I used to sweat every day! Guys use it in evangelism as a schoolmaster to lead people to Christ but I tell you - the law is frightening! It is extreme! That is why Christians shoot people at abortion clinics! They are being consistent to what they believe. They are being faithful to what they believe! The rest who preach law and grace are all compromisers and all backsliders of the law. They just preach partial law! You cannot preach the law in all it's fullness and then balance it with grace! The answer is they water down law and water down grace so people don't know the difference. Preach the law properly and then preach the fullness of grace and see what your people will do! They will say "I am out of here - this is a schizophrenic". These things are so radical that they cannot meet! Because the church for centuries has watered down law and watered down grace - the people sit there like frogs in water slowly heating up.

A few fools for Jesus are going to have to stand up and address this grace-hating spirit. Like Martin Luther took it on, I am taking it on! There are many times that Glenda and I have fallen into each others arms and wept. There are times when Glenda has said; "Oh Rob please stop you are calling fire on our heads". I said; "I don't want to!".

Martin Luther didn't have a choice. Once he saw it, he was finished. Once you see this - you are finished. You are ruined forever.

I have been to law conferences and have heard law preachers and I sit there and think "I am so sorry but I am getting angry - I repent, I repent - look at all these people getting under confusion!". I can't sit there anymore! Either I have to go to the leaders and say "Look guys - do you know what you are doing?" or don't go back again! I pray that all law-preaching and preaching a mixture of law and grace will see this revelation and repent to their people.

Otherwise I pray that God will pull the finances right out of their systems and let them go under. I know that's harsh but I mean it.

(Galatians 2:4); "Some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves". That is their goal and their agenda! Spy on our freedom and make you slaves. Isn't that beautiful? Notice the apostolic passion of those days. "We did not give in to them for a moment!". Why? "So that the truth of the gospel might remain in you". Why mustn't you give in even for a moment? So this gospel will keep on remaining. I preached in Cape Town to 2000 people a night last year in July and there were hundreds and hundreds of hungry people there but there were spies in the camp. Spies coming to check me out. I said to the brothers to whom I was accountable; "Don't let me get naughty on this platform because when I find spies out there ... you know those destroyers that send down depth charges and it goes "ping" ... when I am preaching prophets feel this all the time. They nearly go mad because they can feel where the submarines are - the spies and can feel them out there. Jesus could! He said "Knowing what they were thinking, He said ...". So I could feel the spies there and some of them shouldn't have been spies! God even shows me who they are sometimes!

I am not talking about people sitting there exposed for the first time to the message of grace and are sitting there analysing and trying to work out. That is fine! I am talking about them sitting there trying to catch you and waiting for you to say something that they can twist and distort. Those are spies! So I said to the brothers I was with; "Now listen if I preach in Hong Kong then I can be as naughty as I like - that is my turf and my jurisdiction". But when I am on someone else's platform I am responsible to those leaders and I can't do anything I want to. I hope you understand that authority is exercised differently in different contexts. "If I start getting naughty because of spies out there then show me by code signals. I want to cross every T and dot every I theologically and leave no gap for these spies to seize". Bonnie came to me afterwards and said "Dad you are so tame - what's wrong? You are so nice!". So I said; "No - this is a different context". So I went to the team I was with - and teams form and de-form - they are dynamic and fluid - and said; "Guys is there anything I should have done better?". They said; "Rob we have never heard it so clear - faultless and clear". The elders at the church had problems with some of the grace message and said "That is it - we can't argue".

Some spies came out of that and went back to their home churches and said "Rob is preaching that you don't have to submit to leaders and you can sin as much as you like". Then I realised that this is not a rational thing but a grace-hating spirit. They don't know what they are doing to their congregations. Members of those congregations who had known me for years emailed me and said; "Our pastor is saying this - is it true?". We wrote back and clarified and they said; "We always believed that what our pastor said wasn't true but we just wanted to check with you". These leaders that are fighting this message don't know that they are fighting God. They are not fighting us - they are fighting God. We must be accountable - we can be in error! I say to my local leaders in this church; "If I am getting too harsh ..." - I asked that after the first session. I am an accountable man. I want to be! But you have to be bold.

6. Ugly Face No. 6: A Bewitching Spirit.

Galatians 3:1; "You foolish Galatians - who has bewitched you?". That word there can be elaborated into; "With occultic power". That is witchcraft! Witchcraft is being preached in our churches around the world. Hopefully not in our churches but maybe still. Witchcraft is like the sin of rebellion.

Christ died to remove the law forever and when you preach law the Holy Spirit is not empowering you to preach something that Christ has removed. Another spirit is - a spirit of witchcraft.

The disciples wanted to call fire down on the Samaritans and Jesus said; "You are of the wrong spirit". The legalists will call fire down on the world and will say God is killing and judging and smashing. He isn't! There is a day of judgement coming but "in the last days I will pour out My Spirit - for salvation - on all flesh!". He goes on and speaks about miracles, signs and wonders happening because you believe the message of grace and not observing the law. You are dealing with occultic powers here that are in the church. The devil doesn't dabble much with those on broomsticks etc - that is his hobby. Witchcraft in the church to come back under law is the main agenda. He is the accuser of the brethren. And if he accuses you enough - if you are under a little bit of law he will condemn you enough then think you must come under more law to improve and so condemnation will go. It's called witchcraft.

Let's do one more and then we will close.

7. Ugly Face No. 7: Fear.

Go to Galatians 2. The next one is fear. I have been enjoying grace and then someone maybe I respect or know who preaches a Pentecostal/Holiness (which is not real holiness at all - it is still law dressed up as holiness) and you are going along happily and the power of God is flowing and there is joy and then someone comes among you and you think they are holy because they don't go to movies or don't drink wine. And you feel fear! And start agreeing with them and their standards! And you start becoming a hypocrite and you start rebuilding the law over your life and then you make out that Christ is the one rebuilding the law over your life and that Christ is causing the sin of the law and you become a hypocrite and confuse those in freedom because you change your behaviour when certain people are in your midst. Certain leaders that are respected.

If Peter who had visions of heaven and revelation could go back under law and be afraid of the legalists then we ought to know that we are dealing with a fear spirit. A bewitching spirit, a fear spirit, a control spirit. (v11); "When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face". Peter was one of the big boys! "He was clearly in the wrong!". (v12); "Because he was afraid of those who belonged to the Jewish group ... so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabus was led astray .. in front of them all I said; "How is it that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs"?".

He isn't just talking about the way you come into the kingdom but the way you live! Don't let people tell you it is all about justification.

(v18); "I prove I am a law-breaker .. might live for God". In the next session we will talk about the other things and transitioning through.

We ask that you will establish righteousness as a revelation in our hearts and we will discern what we are dealing with and we won't be naive or cute or politically correct or diplomatic but truly apostolic, discerning legalism from a mile away and protecting the church. We ask the Holy Spirit to brood over us. Help us to ask the question why every movement that has started in grace and freedom ended in law and institution and control? Because the leaders were naive about what they were up against. The Ugly Face of a Grace-Hating Spirit that took them out because they were unaware and not protected by a true apostolic ministry. We pray across the planet as we see grace revolution gathering momentum for more apostles to emerge that will be faithful to the gospel that Paul was faithful too and will be willing to confront those who preach a mixture. Deliver us from this niceness that Jesus never had. Help us to be willing to die to personal reputation - no matter how many doors are closed! They should be closed! We thank You for the multitudes waiting to hear this message!

A Defence of the Gospel of Grace - Rob Rufus - Part 1

This is Part 1 of what is possibly called "the most important sermon Rob Rufus has ever preached". It is essentially a response to 5 accusations made against him by other church leaders. Here is Part 1 where he introduces the subject;

"A Defence of the Gospel of Grace. (Rob Rufus' response to 5 accusations made against him)"

Sunday 9th May 2010 – City Church International.

"We are going to do a defence of the gospel of grace today and I will tell you why this gospel is worth defending. It is because the demonic is against grace. The devil is a controller. He is a bully and he does not want you to expand and grow in life. He wants to diminish you and dwarf you and contain you. But grace liberates, grace expands, grace gives energy, it edifies, it equips and takes us to new levels of life. The second reason why I am giving this message is that the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24; “Lord what will the sign be of Your coming again at the end of the age?”. He talks about earthquakes and famines and wars and we have seen that right now. But then He says in verse 14 – this will be the final and ultimate sign; “This gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached as a sign to all nations and then the end will come”. So the ultimate and final sign of Jesus coming again is not a temple being built on the Dome of the Rock. It is not Israel back in the Land. It is the Gospel of the Kingdom being preached to all nations (all ethnos) as a sign.

That could never have been fulfilled 500 years ago. There was hardly any remnant of the Gospel left on the planet 500 years ago because of the Dark Ages. The vast majority of the church then preached that you have to earn your salvation by keeping the law and most people couldn’t keep it good enough so virtually everyone had to go to Purgatory for maybe thousands of years and suffer flames and torment. If families paid money (indulgences) they could buy you out of Purgatory quicker and the church got rich on all of these lies.

I am not going to be critical today – I am just going to tell the truth.
I am not going to be critical – but I am not going to be a politician. I am going to be a prophet.

The church was controlled mainly by demons and took money from single women, single mothers to buy people out of Purgatory. They would light bonfires while they preached on Purgatory and say; “Look – your parents, your grandparents are in those flames”. They would take money from poor people for the church’s coffers! That is evil but it is called religion.

Martin Luther stood up over 400 years ago with a revelation that the just shall live by faith – justification by faith – and the Reformation began with Martin Luther. They tried to burn him – they tried to silence him. The devil opposed grace. Over the last 400 years the message of grace has been recovered and is being recovered. But it has not yet been fully recovered! The gospel of grace that Paul preached is NOT being preached in the majority of churches. That is a fact – it is not critical. It is just a fact.

They still mix law and grace together. So the attacks of the evil one against the message of grace is against the message, the messenger and the church that preaches the message. It is called “Slander”.

Let me ask you this question – did Paul the apostle go around the known world of that time ENCOURAGING people to sin? Did he go around the world encouraging people to do evil? No! Let me ask you another question – was he seriously and slanderously accused of preaching that message? Yes! But was he? No! But how could he be slandered for something that he wasn’t doing? It is called religious, political propaganda stirred up by demons. When you accuse someone of doing something they are not doing and you know it – that is religious, political propaganda. What did Paul do about it? Did he say; “Oh it doesn’t matter – I am so secure”. No. Let’s go to Romans chapter 3 and verse 8;

“Why not say--as we are being slanderously reported as saying and as some claim that we say--"Let us do evil that good may result"? Their condemnation is deserved”.

Now Rob – he is an apostle of grace. How can this be? If you slandered the gospel of grace that he preached he would bring condemnation down on your head. In Galatians 1 he says; “If you mix any law of Moses with the grace of God – you are not preaching the gospel at all” and he says; “May you be doubly cursed!”. So if everyone in the church world that loves the gospel and loves Jesus would stand up with the same heart of Paul and get rid of all politics and being sweet pastor-diplomats trying to cater to their religious constituents and stop seeking popularity with man but live to please God and condemn ANYTHING that adds ANY law to the message of grace then they will slander the message of grace with blatant lies!
How many want to hear what the five accusations are?

This is the most important message I have ever preached for thousands out there and for us.

Some of you may be sitting there and thinking; “What is the issue? I don’t know of any persecution or accusation!”. Praise God! Keep living that way! But witchcraft comes against you – whether you hear words from men – you are part of this church! Before I talk to you about the accusations I want to talk to you about how political spin works. People in the business world or the medical world or the real world out there – we are all very cynical of politicians putting political spin and we are getting to see through it.

But when it comes to religion – church goers are easily conned by religious political spin! That means you take something and put a spin on it. You take something that may be true and put a spin on it so it is now something other than was originally intended. If you look at the attacks and accusations against Stephen and Paul the apostle – when you hear what is said against them you think; “Yes but Stephen and Paul are saying that”. The accusers may say; “Stephen and Paul are speaking against the temple and the law of Moses”. You think; “Well yes they are”. But it is the twist and the spin they put on it that makes it look like what they are saying is sinister and evil and is raising rebellion against leaders and is encouraging licentious loose living and that is not what Paul and others are doing. I want you to understand that the reactions of some people are not because we are a cult but it is because we are not a cult and we are not weird and we are preaching the gospel – whereas so much out there is not the gospel and when the subnormal has been around too long then when the normal appears – they call it “abnormal”! I have lost friends for this gospel! Paul said I have lost “everything” for this gospel.

If you have lost nothing for this gospel – then you haven’t seen this gospel. Once you see this gospel it is like you are captured forever – you don’t have an option! You want to run away and you want to submit to demons and balance it with a bit of law but you can’t! It is actually impossible because once you are gripped by this gospel – you can’t change!

Martin Luther stood and wrote over all the indulgences on the wall (which was their Facebook of the day) and wrote; “All this is lies – the just shall live by faith” and he put the Word of God on there and they came to kill him. Because they could do it in those days. And trust me – if they could do it in these days then your pastor would be dead in no time at all! They came and grabbed Luther and commanded him to reject what he had just said. What he actually said was that the just shall live by faith and a gospel from God is revealed – a righteousness apart from the law and is by faith from first to last. They said; “Stop that or we will kill you!”. So he said; “Will you give me 24 hours to reconsider?”. He came back 24 hours later and stood before the religious hierarchy of the day and he said; “If you can show me from the Scriptures that I am wrong then I will recant – but if you cannot then this is where I stand and all else is sinking sand”.

What gave that man the courage? He was alone but we have thousands of grace people rising up around the world with us. He was alone! He didn’t recant. Someone wrote to me recently and said; “Rob I want to thank you so much for not recanting”.

Let’s look at how they put the spin on Stephen. Acts 6:8;

“8Now Stephen, a man full of God's grace and power, did great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia and Asia. These men began to argue with Stephen, 10but they could not stand up against his wisdom or the Spirit by whom he spoke.

11Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, "We have heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God."

12So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13They produced false witnesses, who testified, "This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.
"
15All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Within a short few hours of that they had stoned Stephen because he did not bow to their pressure. Look at Acts 13. Paul as a believer in Christ goes to a Jewish synagogue and when they see he is there, they ask him to speak. Big mistake! You don’t ask Paul the apostle to speak who knows the Bible better than anyone on the planet and has encountered Christ and knows the Old and New Covenant and is an expert! He gets up and gives a great discourse on the Jewish nation and begins to tell them about Jesus and says Jesus has freed us from everything that the Law could never free us from. In a Jewish synagogue!

So verse 38 of Acts 13;

38"Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses. 40Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

41" 'Look, you scoffers,
wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
that you would never believe,
even if someone told you.'[f]"

42As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God”.

44On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
Believe me friends – when the gospel is preached, people gather. If Hong Kong heard then we would not be able to find a stadium big enough to hold people and I tell you – that is the truth. Verse 45;

“45When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy”.
It wasn’t a theological motive of truth that moved them. It was jealousy!
“46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly”.
They didn’t get political and speak carefully.
“ 46Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
" 'I have made you[g] a light for the Gentiles,
that you[h] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'[i]"
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
49The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. 52And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

So they kicked them out too late! The city was full of people, full of the Holy Spirit and full of joy as the Word of God spread.

Now what jumped out at you there? Who threw them out the city? The Satan worshippers? The God haters? The atheists? No – the “God-fearing” women and the leaders of the city threw the messengers of grace.

They are not God-fearing in New Covenant terms. They are God-fearing by the old religious legalism and trying to prove how zealous you are for God. That’s what it is. In Durban South Africa – we are not opposed by Satan worshippers or atheists but by devout women and leaders of the city. Thank God they are few and are a minority and most are loving what we are about but those minority are making the biggest sound and trying to create the biggest fear and trying to control the situation. But it is too late – the Word of God has got in there and it is spreading further and further!

Go to the next Scripture which is Acts 21. This was the apostle’s last visit to Jerusalem. I shared a platform with Michael Eaton once and he said; “By this stage the gospel had been totally lost from Jerusalem – and in the coming years there were almost no believers in the gospel left. The believers and Christians were Gentiles because the Jews went completely back under the law”. When Paul comes to Jerusalem some of the brothers receive him warmly but James and the other elders are embarrassed by Paul being there. I will tell you why – the gospel of grace is always surrounded by controversy. Wherever this gospel is preached, there are signs and wonders, people get set free, people get saved but there is always controversy that surrounds the gospel of grace.

Now I want to say this to you – because this is important.

The Holy Spirit is not stirring up the controversy that surrounds the gospel of grace – rather it is demons.

In 2nd Corinthians 12 – Paul the apostle’s testimony is because of the exceeding revelation of grace, a messenger of Satan was sent to buffet him. It is not sickness friends – he says; “For everywhere I go, I have to endure insults, hardships and difficulties and persecutions because a demonic angel was assigned to continually buffet him and insult him and stir up wherever he went! Wherever he went people would run to the next village and stir up controversy – that is being stirred up by religious demons, Jezebel demons. If you don’t want the controversy to surround you – the same controversy that surrounded Jesus all the time and meant He was continually clashing with the orthodox believers. I am so tired of people coming out of a sweet little denomination and thinking that all controversy must be wrong and say; “Well if you love Jesus and follow Him then there shouldn’t be any controversy”. Well in that case Jesus can’t have been “Anglican” enough! Because everywhere He went – they hated Him!

So when you judge someone that has controversy surrounding them – don’t judge them because of the controversy but check their heart, check the fruit of their lives and their history and their doctrine. Don’t reject them because of controversy – otherwise you will have to reject Jesus! And you will have to reject Paul the apostle and Martin Luther and embrace heresy!

If you don’t want controversy to surround you because of this message and want to balance this message with a bit of law to make it palatable to religious types, then in order to do that then (whether you know it or not) you will have to submit to demons.

It is demons that are surrounding this message with controversy to frighten people off this message. Because we have naïve Christians around the world that think if you really love God then everyone should love you and your message shouldn’t cause division. The message of grace doesn’t cause division – demons and the flesh of man cause division. So they were embarrassed.

If you are a religious political pastor then you will see your church as your political constituency. And you think that if you have any controversy surrounding you then it could upset members of your congregation and then the big tithers could leave and then you have financial problems. So you want to keep everyone happy therefore you balance the message of grace so that your constitutional members keep happy with you. I promise you friend – whoever does that have submitted to demons of fear and to religious spirits of paranoia and control and then you bring it over your people.

I know preachers who are not like me and exhort and challenge. When they get in their pulpits they smile and be nice. But I don’t – I get veins in my neck and challenge; “Come on – live for eternity!”. They never do that! They always smile and look nice. But those same leaders have looked me in the face for an hour or more and have shouted at me and rebuked me and brushed me off.

I wish I had a secret camera inside filming their faces because the grace of God is exposing the demonic fear that is controlling them.

I could show it to their congregations on a Sunday morning and it could pop up and then they will see! I have got friends who are embarrassed about me because of the controversy. My Father in heaven loves me and is not embarrassed by me and is urging me to go more. But some friends are embarrassed by me and don’t want to see me. The church I planted in South Africa and Coastlands in Australia – the leaders are embarrassed by me and don’t want to be seen with me. There is too much controversy so they don’t phone me or answer my phone calls. They don’t respond to anything – they just cut me off. But they never talk to me with open Bibles or discuss what we are teaching. So people have to understand – am I here trying to win popularity votes to get on platforms of institutions and grow my church so it looks good? Or are we going to please God and not water this message down even though there is controversy that surrounds it?

The brothers were the ones who received him but it was the leaders who were under the demonic spirit of fear. Acts 21:17;

“17 And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law”.

That lets you know straight away that James and they are not preaching the gospel anymore. Because Galatians 3 says there is neither Jew nor Gentile under the law if they come to Christ and;

Romans 10:4 says Christ is the end of the law to all who believe. In chapter 9 he very clearly says that the reason why the Jewish people did not gain righteousness because they sort after righteousness that is through the law.

There is no righteousness through the law and there is no righteousness after the law.

Yesterday I was listening to Terry Virgo and he says we are saved by grace and then he said there are many people that teach that we are sanctified by the law. He said that is a lot of nonsense! He said we don’t have anything to do with the law – we are dead to the law – Christ is the end of the law and sanctification is by grace by the Spirit of God!

So they are preaching a false gospel in Jerusalem and they are embarrassed by Paul’s true gospel.

Please don’t think that just because someone is an apostle they always preach a true gospel. Paul had to rebuke Peter the apostle to his face because he deviated from the true gospel.

They are all zealous for the law – these converts. Acts 21:21;

“21They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses”

Who informed him – he was hundreds of miles away!? This rumour spreads very fast! They have been told about you that you teach all the Jews among the Gentiles telling them not to circumcise their children! These four men pressurised Paul to go through Old Covenant, purification rites when he knew that the blood of Jesus had cleansed him completely. If you submit to people under the law through fear – then let me tell you;

The issue is not about law and grace. The issue is about who controls the church. If you mix law and grace together then leaders or man controls the church. If you take the law completely off (as you should do) then the Holy Spirit controls the church.

That doesn’t mean to say you don’t have leaders – but they are empowering leaders, who empower a royal priesthood. Not controlling.

They are not managers – they are the liberators of God’s people.

So Paul unwisely submits to these purification ceremonies and we are told in verse 27;

“27When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28shouting, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place." 29(They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)

The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks”.
Here are unsaved Roman soldiers saving Paul from Jewish converts. Secular people saving Christians from the Christians!

“35When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36The crowd that followed kept shouting, "Away with him!"
Friends let us stop being naïve and stupid about this. The violence, the attempts to kill – it all stems from law and legalism. If people mix ANY law and legalism in, they are making room for fear and control.

They are so frightened of this message – they are frightened of losing control!

I have had people shouting in my face the most rude and horrible things and with tears running down my face - I am not feeling sorry for myself but I am bleeding inside because I am thinking how wretched this law/grace mix is and what it does because it makes an intelligent person so broken and angry. That is that spirit friends! Be under no illusion that it operates like that!
And you give into their bullying tactics and you will find that first you fit in – you will be paid for and you are in the club. You will get big black boards. But if you dare preach the gospel that Paul preached you will first be asked sweetly to be more accountable and then finally you will see the brutally cruel face of religious demons.

We are not fighting against religious men and women here. We are not fighting against names. I am just telling you that behind those names I have seen something manifesting. All my Christian life I have never wanted to be a trouble causer. I have compromised my conscience and tried to fit in with the movement I was in. I just thought I was wrong and they were right and I honoured and submitted and honoured and submitted. But finally it went too far and I had to say that I could not submit any longer – I had revelation – and when you say that you will see what the reaction is.

There is a lot I could say that may look like I am indulging myself and defending myself. I would love to and there is a lot I could say. I am not even meant to have all this information but it does get to me somehow. I want to give you an example as to how a bit of spin works. One month after our conference in Pinetown – our “Increased Glory” conference, there was another conference a few kilometres up the road with a whole lot of people. And a good friend of mine was one of the speakers there. And during one message he said;

“The reason why Rob said many unhelpful things while he was in South Africa is because he has a predisposition to legalism that was evidenced in his pre-conversion days when he joined the Hare Krishna movement”.

Now the Hare Krishna movement is a strict law-based religion demanding celibacy even though you are married, vegetarianism, sleeping 4 hours a night, out on the streets every day trying to make converts to Krishna consciousness. I was a zealot – a legalistic follower of religion.

And then he got a good laugh out of everyone at my expense and then he said that he could never say those unhelpful things that I said because he doesn’t have those legalistic tendencies and didn’t have that background and he said he wants to help Rob and see Rob and “sort him out”. Well the next time I saw him, he didn’t sort me out and we didn’t even open Bibles. Everyone is saying that they are talking to me with open Bibles but they are not. That statement he made begs the question; “If I had legalistic tendencies before I became a Christian then what are we going to say about the legalist of all legalists? Paul the apostle in his pre-conversion days, he says in Philippians 3; “According to legalistic righteousness I was faultless”. Paul was totally gripped by them all – then because he was so gripped by legalistic tendencies that we can’t trust the New Testament because he must be saying lots of unhelpful things!

I want to tell you who are the champions of grace today – not people who have benign Baptist or Presbyterian religion. They are not the champions of grace today because they have diluted law and diluted grace. So they never saw the bankruptcy of the law because the laws they were given were so low that you could kind of keep them and feel self-righteous. But when you are Paul the apostle and have lived with the strictest code of the law – moral and ceremonial – when you have lived under that for years and done it with all your might then you realise that it is absolutely bankrupt and cannot help a human being – it absolutely destroys you!

Paul says; “When I was under law – I was a blasphemer and a violent man”. He writes that to Timothy. As a man he consented to Stephen’s stoning and his death. In Acts we find him given permission from the high priest to go to Damascus and grab the Christians – the people of grace – and put them in jail. And it says he was “breathing out threats”. Now you are hearing of a very zealous, angry, violent, legalistic man – and he bumped into Jesus! And listen to what Jesus said to him – bearing in mind he was going to persecute the people of grace. “Saul, Saul why do you persecute Me?”.

To attack the message of grace is to persecute Jesus.

People sit there in a conference and hear that and think; “Oh yes, yes, Rob does have a predisposed problem”. But Paul was a legalist before. I phoned my friend actually and he said he was actually defending me. I said; “Praise God – thank God you were defending me” but a whole lot of my friends who were sitting in the meeting said that they nearly pulled their hair out with anger – they could not believe what he said. So I said;

“I love you man – you are one of my closest friends but you weren’t defending me. You empowered people into a deception of opposing the grace message”. And I said; “You haven’t sorted me out – not one of you guys have come with open Bibles and showed me and showed me where you think I am wrong”. Why? Because they know they cannot stand against the Spirit and the revelation that is in me. No one! Not one has done it!

To be continued ...

Condemned!! Or Not Guilty?

I try to be cautious these days writing a blog that may come across as attacking the views or expression of someone in particular. It's no secret that I've written angrily against SGM in particular in the past and particularly the church in Bristol - and I'm trying to address that in my own private way and make peace there. So believe me - I'm trying to learn and trying to grow! I'm even more cautious when writing against someone whom I am privilidged to count as a friend. That being said, I am so blessed to have the kind of friendship with Janelle that we do indeed disagree on many points of theology and Christian life - but know there is far more we do agree about. I've learnt a lot about SGM's way of life from Janelle and indeed she alongside Pete Greasley have probably been the most influential in softening my feelings!

So that context in place - a conversation has been happening on a post a few back entitled; "Curing the Gays" and this was prompted by the media interest in Philippa Stroud and her election campaign (incidentally I was interested to know that Mrs Stroud is now special advisor to Ian Duncan-Smith, the former Conservative leader) - to the dismay of some and the delight of others.

It was a conversation I was particularly taking seriously because a new Twitter friend of mine - a guy called Tom - has taken part and I was interested in his views and wanted to learn from his point of view. For heaven's sake - Christians are notorious among non-Christians for being obstinate and utterly inflexible. I don't want to propigate that (mostly) truth. If I am going to have any credibility with the people I want to share the good news with - then I want to know what's going on in their mind and their thoughts and learn why the good news of the gospel will be of use to them. So often the Christian world dumps the gospel out as it thinks the non-Christian world needs it - and can't understand why it's message is received as utterly irrelevant.

Janelle was involved in the conversation - but it was a comment she made that caught my attention and has had me thinking all day. She said;

"Tom, since the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin, so Christians must do the same".

There is some other context in the comment - considering how homosexuality is a worse sin in her view than gluttony - so I do recommend a read.

The Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin. So Christians must do the same.

Let's consider that carefully - because if it's true there are some implications for me personally. It explains to me maybe why I received the treatment I did at the SGM church in Bristol. If Janelle is right then the two church leaders were simply following the Biblical mandate to "condemn homosexuality as a sin". I had confessed to them that I had same-sex feelings so therefore condemnation from the church was rightfully deserved. And actually I am the one in sin for being angry and upset with what happened. She may be right.

Alternatively Janelle may be wrong and actually what right do Christians (sinners saved by grace alone) have to condemn ANYTHING?! Well clearly I have a vested interest in finding out. It may decide whether I ever enter a church again or not.

The Word: "Condemn(ation)".

1. Defined.

1. to pass an adverse judgment on; disapprove of strongly; censure

2a. to pass judicial sentence on; inflict a penalty upon
2b. to doom

3. to declare unfit for use or service

I find 2c; "To doom" particularly striking. I should note some of the definitions actually rather accurately describe some of the attitudes portrayed by the religious church. Does that make it right however? There's only one way to find out;

2. Useage in the Word of God.

Unsurprisingly the majority of the references to the word; "Condemn" are in the Old Testament. However there are some surprising references that foreshadow the coming of the glorious New Covenant and the gospel that must be mentioned;

Psalm 34:22: "The Lord redeems the soul of His servants - and none of those who take refuge in Him will be condemned".

I find that tremendous comfort knowing the struggling depths of my heart. I have felt so utterly condemned time after time by Christians who seem on the face of it never to put a foot wrong and are in fact shining lights in their churches - held up as model citizens and examples. I have frequently (and still do) asked God why on earth He ever called me. This verse says that those who genuinely take refuge in Him will NEVER be condemned. That's a promise.

Here's another interesting "Old Testament anomoly";

Isaiah 50:9; "Behold the Lord God helps me - who is he who condemns me? Behold they will all wear out like a garment. The moth will eat them".

I don't quite understand that promise from the Word of God - but I would not like to be in the position of someone who condemns those that the Lord God is helping. I don't know what the promise means - but I do not want to wear out like a garment or have a moth eat me. So far - I'm not fancying condemning those who the Lord God is helping.

Another;

Isaiah 54:17: "And every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn - This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me," declares the Lord".

This seems to suggest to me that in fact in His divine providence - the Lord actually reverses the tables on those religious who would condemn. "Every tongue that accuses you in judgement" - again the clear indication from the Word of God to me is that the Lord takes severe issue with those who attempt to do what only He should do.

There are of course other references in the Old Testament to condemnation - but not as many as I was expecting under an Old Covenant. Then we move into the New Covenant and the wonderful time of Jesus;

John 8:10-11: "Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either - Go From now on sin no more."

It's interesting that Jesus Christ asked the prostitute; "Did no one condemn you?". The Son of God knew that the religious community are somehow more than capable of condemning. But the key is in the answer. I do not condemn you either - on the basis of that declaration of freedom (and frankly who is going to disagree with the Son of God?) go in freedom and joy and live a life full of victory and peace and sin no more.

There are others but for now Romans 2:1 to close;

"Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things".

I would be extremely nervous of indulging in the discussion of "which is the greater sin - gluttony or homosexuality" that Janelle touched on. The Word of God is clear; "There is no impartiality with God". Sin is sin. And for that sin - there is a glorious solution. The Son of God went willingly to the Cross of Calvary and died for the sins of ALL Mankind. It is finished - meant it is finished. Every sin that offends and grieves God from time past to time present to the end of time was more than covered by the precious blood of the Son of God. Therefore;

Romans 8:1: "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus".

2 Corinthians 5:19: "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation".

Our one and only message (as Julie said in her response comment) is the message of reconciliation. Terry Virgo said of condemnation;

"Condemnation is a WORK OF DARKNESS! It doesn't work! It has no power to change!".


Again - I would not relish indulging in activity that is entitled a "work of darkness with no power to change". Rather I choose to continue reaching out to the multitude of those who have not heard the full glory of the gospel - and far from condemn - make a full honest confession of my struggles and my journey. I am not going to pretend to be a "perfect, devout" Christian. I'd rather share with them my struggles, my journey - and how "this Jesus" has met me and loved me despite all I am and all I would be. THAT'S the miracle of the gospel!


Janelle - in all love and respect for you as a sister in Christ - condemn homosexuality if you feel you must and you should. Maybe you are confident of your sanctification to feel you can do that. But I remember again C J Mahaney's sermon; "Extravagant Devotion". And this quote in particular;


"He who has been forgiven much - loves much".


I used to wish that I really was a "perfect" Christian - whose worse sin was a bit of envy or a bit of pride. Or maybe a small bit of lust (because we're all men). But certainly not anything "bigger". Now actually I am beginning to appreciate what C J Mahaney was getting at. When you have experienced the depths of sin and struggle - you don't find much room in your heart for pride and arrogance. Me? I say again -

"The Cross does not have to be centred around me and be sustained by reflecting on my own personal failure! ... To insist on still calling myself a sinner could not add value to the Cross for me. Indeed, to call myself essentially a sinner actually dishonours the wonder of the gospel".