In the grace of God, we see him rise from the ashes with a new message, THE message of Christ.

To me this question actually has two answers. First, our responsibility is to judge the message, for it always takes precedence over the messenger. Paul makes this point repeatedly, such as in Galatians 1:8, saying no matter how beautiful the messenger is, the message is what counts. “But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!” Again, Paul sees the message as being much more important than himself, “What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave opportunity to each one.” Even when it came to having a messenger who had wrong motives, Paul remained interested primarily in the message. Philippians 1:17, 18, “the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice.” Therefore, if the message was correct when the writer or performer was walking with Jesus, the message is still valid today, and I won’t throw it out. David had a moral failure; I will not throw out what God had clearly given him before his failure. It would be my loss. When one takes the position to discredit everything that has been said by a fallen believer, he is walking on thin ice, for God may define for him anew what fallen means. In, Galatians 5:19-21, Paul gives a description of the flesh. Who can boast that at some time in their life they have not fallen into some of these things? Who can rightly judge the messenger? Now to the second answer:
some have not promoted the message, but rather they promote themselves. It is their plan that whenever we hear their music or read a particular paragraph, their picture, not Christ’s, flashes into our minds. Paul talks about such people. II Cor. 4:5, “For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” There are those in the business of riding on the back of Christ to create an image for themselves. They don’t make a distinction between the message and themselves. They are the proof of their message. They, in fact, believe they are propping up Jesus. The focus is constantly on them and their faith, their talent, and their cleverness. Their formula, writing, or music and how it makes them stand out is one with their image. “17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.” When such a believer falls, it is impossible to separate him from his message, for in reality he was the true message, with such a high standard set for himself and others that he will have trouble finding grace. Such a one is left having to clean up the mess on his own. In interview after interview he will try to separate himself from the message, so that the message can retain its integrity, but it is too late to separate himself from it. It becomes impossible to defend his message when it is revealed that it wasn’t THE message of Christ. People quickly abandon him. The books and the music will find their way to the trash bin, but though his reputation is also in the trash bin, the person is not! The blessing in all this is that God will use it to move him into clinging to the proper message. In the grace of God, we see him rise from the ashes with a new message, THE message of Christ. Well, amen!

“Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

Matthew 23:15“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”

In a museum in Peru is an exhibit displaying some of the artifacts of an inquisition that took place in the history of that country. One is a large wooden statue of Jesus. It seems that the doctrinal judge would sit beside the statue. There were ropes that ran from the head down the back of the wooden Jesus and under the judge’s table. The accused would come and make their cases to the wooden Jesus. They were led to believe that Jesus was hearing each case. However, the judge was listening. If he thought a person was theologically correct, he would pull the ropes that moved the head up and down to show Jesus was approving. If the judge didn’t like what he heard, he would pull the ropes that moved Jesus’ head from right to left, signaling disapproval. In this case the person was killed. What an illustration of a Pharisee. Today we still have the theological judges that believe we are to make the case for what we believe to them, and they do it under the guise of Jesus. They are “defenders of the faith,” yes, but whose faith? Not the faith of Jesus but their own narrow faith. Romans 14:4, “Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.” Personally, I am no longer going to make my case to a judge’s wooden Jesus. If I must make a case, I will make it to Him. David, upon being given the option of making his case to man or to God, quickly chose God (2 Samuel 24:14). At least with God there is compassion and mercy. The Pharisee will never show mercy. Hebrews 4:16, “Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

“Though He scoffs at the scoffers, yet He gives grace to the afflicted.”
Prov 3:34

There is much written about grace today. Not that my two cents amounts to much, but I wanted to give my definition of grace. It need not be preached, but it has been proven through the experience of many believers.

Grace: At my point of need, God is everything to me that I thought He was not!

Moses had spent forty years being trained to be everything–a god, a Pharaoh. He spent another forty years in the wilderness discovering what he was not. Finally, he was prepared to lead, having realized that he was a “not.” God told him what to go do, and Moses accurately responded, “I am not able.” God’s response was, “What is that to Me? I AM!” God is to me all that I am not. First, I must acknowledge that I am not. Next, He tells me what He is. He is everything to me of which I might have need that I am not!

I am not a good father, a good husband, a good Christian, or a good witness! This is my point of need. Grace comes and meets me at my point of need! I didn’t think He could be those things to me. However, as I recognize abiding, He is to me all that I thought He was not. There is a life in me that is a good father, husband, and witness. It is His life, and He is everything to me that I am not. Look at what you are not. Don’t determine to work harder. Call on the grace of God. At your point of need, He is everything to you that you thought He was not.

We have mentioned it before, but it is worth noting again. God gives a promise, then comes the reversal, and finally the fulfillment. I have observed that God’s normal way of working is to make us dissatisfied with where we are before He opens another door. It makes sense, because few would walk through a door if they were totally satisfied with where they were.

However, after the open door comes the reversal. Joseph was given a promise, “The sun and moon and eleven stars would bow down at his feet.” After the promise came a stripping, a deep pit, being sold as a slave, and prison. But it was the pit and the prison that made him the type of person that could handle the fulfillment.

One day from his throne he looked out to see his eleven brothers bowing. And guess what? He could handle it, for his deep trials had made him a man of grace. Without the pit-and-prison preparation, the throne would have been a curse and his undoing. As it was, the throne became a place of salvation.

I will keep repeating myself until others can finish my sentence. One “praise God” before we understand His workings is worth a thousand “praise God’s” later when the trials are over.

“Do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by Him.” Heb. 12:5 “But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world.” 1Cor11:32

Often after finishing the first few lectures in the Abiding Life seminar, I will be questioned as to whether I am not being too easy on sin. There is an interesting fear among many that unbelievers and believers may think that they are in some way going to get away with sin. They would like to hear me stress that God is going to judge them. However, there are inherent, biblical problems with emphasizing judgment. First, our sin judges us on the spot. Because we are held together by Christ, to invite something that is anti-Christ into our being is to invite immediate judgment; it is too late to warn people after they have sinned, for judgment comes with the sin.

Second, if any believe that the Abiding Life message is easy on sin, then we ask you to look to the cross. God is not easy on sin. His Son died because of sin. The popular term “cheap grace” must never be uttered. Grace is not cheap; it cost the Son. God is not easy on sin or man’s inner life that sins, for He crucified it. The cross proclaims to all that God is concerned with sin. To say that we need His life is an acknowledgment of our concern. I won’t listen to that accusation.

Third, the statement, “People must know that God will judge their sin,” is a statement of unbelief. God has already judged all men in Christ. To wait around for judgment is to wait for something that has already happened. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom. 5:8,9.)” . . . that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them ..” (2 Cor. 5:19)

Fourth, the person who worries about sin’s not being preached has forgotten he came to Christ through the good news being preached. All men have sinned and have recognition of that fact. The idea that people are sinning because they are ignorant is not plausible. A woman recently related to me that once she and her boyfriend were converted, they “knew” without anyone telling them that they were sinning living together. Again, God did judge sin in the form of Jesus Christ, and because of this judgment we have received grace and mercy. Therefore, grace and mercy is our message.

Exhausted souls! We believe the
grace of God will adequately provide
us with heaven in the future but live
as though His grace is not sufficient
for daily burdens.