The Evangelical’s Nightmare - Second Peter
I have never in my life had to defend the character of God
more than when I am conversing with many fellow Christians. I once had lunch with
a fellow who is caught up into hyper-Reformed and Calvinist theology; and this fellow
said “John my heart is black, my thoughts are so wicked, and this is why I love
my Jesus even more. This only shows me that as a Christian God’s grace covers
my most evil heart…” This is so typical of the perverted grace that has been taught
in the church for decades. This fellow thinks because the Lord hasn't struck him with a bolt of lightening that he is in good standing with God. The problem with this teaching is that it is
antithetical to the teachings of the bible (both Old and New Testaments). God calls us to honor Him by walking by the Spirit that is given to us to enable a Christ-like holy living. In fact Paul warns against this heresy where he asks the rhetorical question "Are we to keep on sinning so the grace of God may increase?" The answer is obviously no; but why is this teaching so popular today? Probably because people love a teaching that allows them to sin and think that God is pleased with them. A teaching that asks nothing of the Christian - and this fills the churches so the clergy think it is God filling their church so the keep on preaching this false grace and becomes a vicious circle.
The Old Testament teaches us in Jeremiah 31:32 and Ezekiel
11:19-20 that God will take change our hearts and give us a new heart to love Him
and follow his commandments. This is also mentioned in the New Testament with
the many scriptures of the new covenant beginning with the new birth in John
3:3 and throughout the New Testament. Romans 6:1 and Titus 2:12 clearly teach
that we are no longer under law but grace; therefore sin shall not have
dominion over us. Titus says that the grace of God has appeared to men teaching
them to say no to sin. Does this sound like the Evangelical or Reformed
teaching that sin exalts God? Of course not, in fact a sinning Christian is an
insult to the grace of God; in fact any Christian living with sin in their
lives is not standing in the grace of God.
Why Don’t Christians Read Second Peter 1:4-11?
2 Peter 1:4 …by which have been given to us exceedingly
great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the
divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world
through lust. Here Peter instructs us to willfully
become partakers of the divine nature by ignoring the things of the flesh and
lust.
5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence,
add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge
self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to
godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. Here Peter tells us that self-control is a
gift of the Spirit that must be used to persevere towards holiness.
8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will
be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For
he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten
that he was cleansed from his old sins. Now
Peter discusses that ignorance of God’s will for our holy living and conduct, and the believer has only been cleansed from his former sins; and sins after conversion must be confessed and repented of. Repentance means to stop (not remorse alone).
Be Ye Holy For I Am Holy...And Without This Holiness No Man Will See God
10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Finally Peter tells us that it us through this holy living, or in other words “Walking in the Spirit” do we gain entrance in to heaven. No Christian who sins daily will go to heaven, having the new birth is just the beginning - No man will see God without having obeyed the Spirit and living a holy life.
Do you see how the Christian who teaches that a sinful life
cannot be avoided and Christians sinning until they go to the grave is
antithetical to the true teachings of the bible? I would guess that 95% of all professing Christians will not make heaven and the pastors teaching this diabolical doctrine will be judged twice as hard
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