A while ago I listed eight signs of hyper-grace churches . A hyper-grace church is one that is so focused on Jesus that it begins to look like Jesus, talk like Jesus, and smell like Jesus.

To highlight a positive it helps to accentuate the negative. So how do we get it wrong? What are the signs that a church is missing the grace of God?
Here are eight of them:

1. They are self-conscious

The message you hear is, “ You must nail yourself to the cross every day .” So Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t good enough? “You have to cleanse yourself and make yourself holy.” You cannot succeed.

A focus on self and the things you must do to stay saved, get holy, and be blessed, is the number one sign you have missed the grace of God. Self says I will, but the gospel says
He will .

Self cannot supply what God freely provides. We don’t need seven keys to success or fourteen steps to sanctification. We need a revelation of Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. Christ is our righteousness and holiness from God.

2. They’re not sure if God likes them

“Sure, he’s a God of love, but he’s also a God of justice. He sends earthquakes to punish cities. He takes away your children. He trains you with sickness and scourging , so don’t make him angry.” What awful lies! What fear and insecurity this graceless teaching has brought to those whom God loves.

See the cross! If God did not spare his own Son, what won’t he do to reveal his love to us? God is not mad at you, he’s mad about you!

3. They speak (and sing) the faithless language of longing

A sure sign that some have missed grace is they ask Jesus to do what he’s already done. “Oh Lord, come down.” He already did. “Have mercy on us.” Ditto. “Make us holy.” “Come and cleanse us.” “Bind the strong man.” Tick, tick, tick.

Or they beg God to do what he never would do. “Lord, don’t leave us.” He said he wouldn’t. “You give and take away .” No, he doesn’t.

The language of longing is the language of the old covenant. Good news: The wait is over. Christ has come! In him you are home. Everything you need for life and godliness has been provided. So change your tune and learn the new song of the new creation. It’s a song of praise and thanksgiving (Ps 34:1, Heb 13:15).

4. They are sin-conscious

“I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” “Let’s examine ourselves for sin before worshipping.” “Confess your sins to remain in fellowship with the Lord.” What an insult to the Spirit of grace. If the Holy Spirit chooses to remember your sins no more (Heb 10:17), what business is it of yours to remind him?

An obsession with sin is a hallmark of the old covenant, but it has no place in the new. Behold the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world.

When you sin, a graceless church will shovel the shame. “Look at what you did.” They will reach for the stones instead of reaching for the only thing that can empower you to go and sin no more. Hint: it’s grace (Tit 2:11-12).

5. They are law-minded

“The law shows us how to please God.” No it doesn’t. “The law helps you overcome sin.” Actually, the law helps sin overcome you (Rom 7:9). “God gives us grace so that we might keep his commands.” No, God gives us grace because he loves us.

As Paul explains in Romans 7, running after the law is committing spiritual adultery. It’s cheating on Jesus. A church that mixes law with grace is lukewarm and nauseating to the Lord.

6. They think grace is just for sinners

“We are saved by grace, but kept by discipline.” Nope. It’s grace from start to finish (Heb 12:2). Grace is not one aspect of God that must be balanced against his other, less gracious aspects. Grace is everything. You are saved by grace and kept by grace. Grace is for everyone. Period. The end. Amen.

7. They treat people as resources

In a graceless church your value is determined by your behavior. Are you a hard worker? You’ll go far! Are you divorced? Forget about it.

In a graceless church visitors are valued as potential members, while members are valued as potential leaders. And because there are never enough people to fulfill the vision, everyone is busy, busy, busy. When activity replaces fellowship and friendships become task-based, when children are kept out of the way because they get in the way, real life has left the building.

8. They are insecure and anxious

A graceless church is an uncertain church. “Are you saved? Are you sure? Are you doing enough?” Instead of preaching the promises of Jesus, a graceless church promotes the promises of man. And since we can’t keep the promises we make, the result is failure and despair.

A graceless church is attractive to the self-righteous but unappealing to sinners. It is a place the zealots call home but the prodigals avoid. It is a place where the sheep are fleeced and the poor are exploited. It stinks of self and it is a terrible advertisement for Jesus.

But here’s the good news: God loves graceless churches! He loves the mixed-up people inside them and the misguided leaders who run them. I know this because I was a misguided pastor and this list was my testimony. But God has given me a new and better testimony, a testimony of his grace.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, my friends. (Gal 6:18)

https://escapetoreality.org/2016/07/07/8-signs-that-a-church-doesnt-get-grace/

morning...

Happy Sunday

Ernest777:
Happy Sunday

Same to you broda...

what is d way out? what should a Christian think about? he should forget sin exist or the devil is a roaring Lion n seeking whom to devour? OP if we search deep you will buy d idea DAT once saved is forever saved! as many that are led by the spirit of God are sons of God.... leave all to his spirit and let him instruct, teach, direct and guide. it is d spirit in you that will say this is sin..... we can't be in sin and say grace should abound. Christianity is a conscious life...

Christianity could be so burdensome most times!

What about a church that receives tithes? ?

OK nw

Good epistles...

One need a one on one communication with God and not seek it through a church or a pastor.

The truth and plain gospel. Teaching is easy, following It is where the problems start.

jiggaz:
A while ago I listed eight signs of hyper-grace churches . A hyper-grace church is one that is so focused on Jesus that it begins to look like Jesus, talk like Jesus, and smell like Jesus.

To highlight a positive it helps to accentuate the negative. So how do we get it wrong? What are the signs that a church is missing the grace of God?
Here are eight of them:

1. They are self-conscious

The message you hear is, “ You must nail yourself to the cross every day .” So Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t good enough? “You have to cleanse yourself and make yourself holy.” You cannot succeed.

A focus on self and the things you must do to stay saved, get holy, and be blessed, is the number one sign you have missed the grace of God. Self says I will, but the gospel says
He will .

Self cannot supply what God freely provides. We don’t need seven keys to success or fourteen steps to sanctification. We need a revelation of Jesus Christ and what he has done for us. Christ is our righteousness and holiness from God.

2. They’re not sure if God likes them

“Sure, he’s a God of love, but he’s also a God of justice. He sends earthquakes to punish cities. He takes away your children. He trains you with sickness and scourging , so don’t make him angry.” What awful lies! What fear and insecurity this graceless teaching has brought to those whom God loves.

See the cross! If God did not spare his own Son, what won’t he do to reveal his love to us? God is not mad at you, he’s mad about you!

3. They speak (and sing) the faithless language of longing

A sure sign that some have missed grace is they ask Jesus to do what he’s already done. “Oh Lord, come down.” He already did. “Have mercy on us.” Ditto. “Make us holy.” “Come and cleanse us.” “Bind the strong man.” Tick, tick, tick.

Or they beg God to do what he never would do. “Lord, don’t leave us.” He said he wouldn’t. “You give and take away .” No, he doesn’t.

The language of longing is the language of the old covenant. Good news: The wait is over. Christ has come! In him you are home. Everything you need for life and godliness has been provided. So change your tune and learn the new song of the new creation. It’s a song of praise and thanksgiving (Ps 34:1, Heb 13:15).

4. They are sin-conscious

“I’m just a sinner saved by grace.” “Let’s examine ourselves for sin before worshipping.” “Confess your sins to remain in fellowship with the Lord.” What an insult to the Spirit of grace. If the Holy Spirit chooses to remember your sins no more (Heb 10:17), what business is it of yours to remind him?

An obsession with sin is a hallmark of the old covenant, but it has no place in the new. Behold the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world.

When you sin, a graceless church will shovel the shame. “Look at what you did.” They will reach for the stones instead of reaching for the only thing that can empower you to go and sin no more. Hint: it’s grace (Tit 2:11-12).

5. They are law-minded

“The law shows us how to please God.” No it doesn’t. “The law helps you overcome sin.” Actually, the law helps sin overcome you (Rom 7:9). “God gives us grace so that we might keep his commands.” No, God gives us grace because he loves us.

As Paul explains in Romans 7, running after the law is committing spiritual adultery. It’s cheating on Jesus. A church that mixes law with grace is lukewarm and nauseating to the Lord.

6. They think grace is just for sinners

“We are saved by grace, but kept by discipline.” Nope. It’s grace from start to finish (Heb 12:2). Grace is not one aspect of God that must be balanced against his other, less gracious aspects. Grace is everything. You are saved by grace and kept by grace. Grace is for everyone. Period. The end. Amen.

7. They treat people as resources

In a graceless church your value is determined by your behavior. Are you a hard worker? You’ll go far! Are you divorced? Forget about it.

In a graceless church visitors are valued as potential members, while members are valued as potential leaders. And because there are never enough people to fulfill the vision, everyone is busy, busy, busy. When activity replaces fellowship and friendships become task-based, when children are kept out of the way because they get in the way, real life has left the building.

8. They are insecure and anxious

A graceless church is an uncertain church. “Are you saved? Are you sure? Are you doing enough?” Instead of preaching the promises of Jesus, a graceless church promotes the promises of man. And since we can’t keep the promises we make, the result is failure and despair.

A graceless church is attractive to the self-righteous but unappealing to sinners. It is a place the zealots call home but the prodigals avoid. It is a place where the sheep are fleeced and the poor are exploited. It stinks of self and it is a terrible advertisement for Jesus.

But here’s the good news: God loves graceless churches! He loves the mixed-up people inside them and the misguided leaders who run them. I know this because I was a misguided pastor and this list was my testimony. But God has given me a new and better testimony, a testimony of his grace.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, my friends. (Gal 6:18)

https://escapetoreality.org/2016/07/07/8-signs-that-a-church-doesnt-get-grace/

Hmm, this one must be looking for customers (members). All these 'holier than Christ' people will never seize to tell you what God has the in mind, because they know what He does have in mind.
I don't know what brought me to this thread sef.

The basic tenet of Christianity is love.

Once there's no love or care for the welfare of one another, the church has failed

Bunkum. And I bet this must be from the evil one. This is one of the evils of many of these new generation churches.

Amazing grace indeed.

op are you a one save forever saved preacher?

So basically we should continue in sin so that grace may abound?
The thing with "grace preachers" is that they want us to forget that Jesus actually asked us to be holy as He is holy. It is an instruction. Because God has given us grace doesn't mean we shouldn't be "law-minded".
I'm shocked that someone thinks confessing your sins to God is "an insult to the spirit of Grace". What? What does that even mean?

Wat is dis wan saying gan

They preach an eye for an eye instead of turning the other cheek

Stop misleading people op, christianity is living a conscious life devoid of sin, we breath Christ, live Christ and be like Christ, that's why we are called Christians!

swizzdre:
Stop misleading people op, christianity is living a conscious life devoid of sin, we breath Christ, live Christ and be like Christ, that's why we are called Christians!

You still don't get it... this article is talking to your kind. Focus only on Christ and see your life transform for the best. You can never be a co-saviour with Christ. It is either Christ or nothing, not Christ plus you.

I Totally DISAGREE with U. We can't ignore or continue in Sin and Expect Grace to Abound. Christians should be Self-Concious, Sin Concious and Christ Focused. I think U belong to those Churches that belived that once saved forever saved regardless of Sinful Lifestyle.

danthamccoy:
So basically we should continue in sin so that grace may abound?
The thing with "grace preachers" is that they want us to forget that Jesus actually asked us to be holy as He is holy. It is an instruction. Because God has given us grace doesn't mean we shouldn't be "law-minded".
I'm shocked that someone thinks confessing your sins to God is "an insult to the spirit of Grace". What? What does that even mean?

You still don't get it... this article is talking to your kind. Focus only on Christ and see your life transform for the best. You can never be a co-saviour with Christ. It is either Christ or nothing, not Christ plus you.

Christ is your Righteousness, Holiness & Redemption. All glory belongs to him. In heaven, no one can take any glory of helping to keep his salvation. Its only Christ, and Him alone. The King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

Christ Jesus is the only way, not being LAW MINDED. Thats why Christians in Nigeria doesn't benefit from the abundant life that Christ has given us on the Cross over 2,000 years ago.

S

Every church has its ministry. Celestial, MFM, Deeper Life, The Redeemed(RCCG), New Covenant.

There are laid down principles to savor and enhance their spiritual environment of these churches for personal satisfaction with God. The spiritualenvironment is complicated and can never be satisfied with beverage

That's why they don't just leave after the service, they stand back and get busy (the youths, choirs, ushers, ministers). They organized prayers. They keep the world moving in Peace train of Our Lord.

Oh how gracefully and loving is every churches in the world who love Our Lord Jesus Christ. Those who are led by the Spirit are called the sons and daughters of God.

Jesus is Grace.

All churches are grace filled

@OP... Repent.

No such thing as graceless.

Grace this, grace that....OP see how I d see you

so christian post only make front page on Sunday...Nah wa for NL ooo

Some think by reciting the words "i accept Jesus as my personal Lord and saviour" gives dem an automatic ticket 2 heaven.
Dont seek God tru church or pastor alone learn 2 question the autorities that b