RSS FeedGreasy Legalism
Written by Peter Youngren on April 3rd 2007I have just about seen enough articles, teaching albums, etc. advertised under titles like “Greasy Grace”, “Crazy Grace”, or “Grace Gone Wild”. While I am sure that just about everything can be abused, even grace because the Bible says so. These three titles that warn against the grace message don’t have a clue and often have little or no knowledge of what the message is. Instead they build up a phantom and an attack that their imagination has created. It goes something like this: “Those who preach a radical message of God’s grace are people looking for a low commitment, a low level Christian life where anything goes because sin is tolerated (after all, Jesus paid for them).“ Often writers are connecting the message of grace with general moral decay in the church and in the world. I used to have this opinion of grace teaching myself only seven or eight years ago. I had never really heard the message but just assumed that people who would preach that all sin, past, present and future had been paid for by Jesus, couldn’t be doing anything good with their sermons, in fact they must be something negative (creating a license to sin).
The fact is that it is not grace that is greasy, it is legalism. Paul writes in Romans 6:14, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.“ By Paul’s definition what causes greasy living is legalism. Grace on the other hand brings freedom from the greasy debt of sin. When a person receives the free gift of Christ’s righteousness in the abundance of grace, their heart overflows with gratitude (Romans 5:17). In fact, it doesn’t inspire sin but holiness. Just like the apostle Paul wrote that the goodness of God brings us to repentance.
What is greasy about legalism? It seems that when the focus is on “self” the thinking goes something like this, “Look at how much I am doing for God; praying, teaching, sharing, and suffering for Christ. No wonder the devil is attacking me. This secret sin that I harbor is a sin that the devil is really attacking me with, and after all, it can’t be that bad because look at all the good I am doing.“ Notice how many times the word “I” appeared in the last two sentences. This is how legalism opens the door for sin, when one assesses one’s own good deeds weighed against the not-so-good. As long as we can put a lot of points in the positive column, whether it’s fasting, praying, Bible reading, church attendance, giving of money or whatever, surely all that must outweigh the bad. That kind of thinking is straight out of Legalism 101.
On the contrary, Gospel thinking goes likes this; “If I follow God’s commandments and do everything that God says in His Word 99.9 % of the time, what will be the result?“ The answer is quite simple and found in both the books of Deuteronomy and Galatians: I will be 100% cursed. You see, the Gospel doesn’t teach a portion of the blessing, i.e. if you are 10% obedient you get 10% blessing while if you increase your obedience to 20% you get 20% blessing. No, if you are only disobedient in even .1% you get 100% of the curse. If you do everything right but in one area not, you just get everything involved in the curse. The only way is to trust in Jesus’ obedience, His righteousness, His finished work, and receive it as a free gift. Condemnation, condescension and guilt inducing sermons never made anyone holy. Falling in love with Jesus is what will produce true holiness. Get out of greasy legalism and get into the free gift available from God for everyone who believes in His imparted righteousness, and then live out of the revelation of Christ in you.
Don’t worry about God’s grace perverting people, the more of it, the better. In fact, the cure for a defeated life is an abundance of grace (Romans 5:17). To call what God has done in Christ “greasy”, “crazy” and “gone wild” is at best ignorant and at worst I don’t even want to say. Your thoughts?
Keep blogging.
Peter Youngren
Jeffrey Teo
Dear Pastor,
The carnal mind and the religious mind cannot comprehend the grace of God.
Most Christians believe that we are saved by grace but that we need to maintain our salvation by obeying the 10 commandments.Grace is from start to finsh.
Salvation is not our responsibility,it’s God’s.Because it is not a work of man for God but a work of God for man!
The carnal & religious mind depends alot on self effort & performance.We have to preach the pure Gospel that is all of grace and not of works.Rom 11:6.Works are just the fruit of God’s grace working in our lives!
Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness.His willingness to be circumcised and to offer Isaac when God tested him was a a fruit of that belief which is the root.(Faith righteousness or righteousness as a gift.)
Agape and have a grace filled week,
Jeffrey
franziska
Hello Pastor Peter :>
Its hard to even comprehend how great God’s grace is. Its absolutely mind blowing amazing :> I love how it gets everyone in an uproar… Jesus made the gospel so increadibly simple it confused the crap out of everyone… cuz it has absolutely nothing to do with us, or our abilities.. ( unlike the law…where its all about us) but everything rests completely on Him and what Hes already done.
And what he did is enough for everyone on the earth today, and all those still to come. How awesome is that? We serve an awesome God.
WOO HOO!
God rocks.
Franziska
Daniel Fennessy
Dear Pastor Peter,
I so appreciate your consistency in teaching the gospel of grace, and not attempting to balance it with something else. For years I sat under teaching that taught mostly law or that attempted to balance grace with law. That kind of indoctrination really messes people up because it always gravitates to making it about us instead of Jesus.
It seems that most of Christianity misunderstands grace. In 1 Peter 4:10 Peter calls it ‘the manifold grace of God’. That tells me that there are many aspects of the grace of God.
I believe that God showed me that grace is everything. Grace is everything that God gives us, shares with us, promises us, makes available to us, works in and through us—because of Jesus. ‘For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of [his] good pleasure’ (Phil. 2:13).
Grace is the only way anyone can receive the capacity to live the Christian life. Grace is the life of Jesus in us and through us. Christ is our life. ‘When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory’ (Col. 3:4).
Only Jesus can live the Christian life—I can’t do it. It’s all by Christ in us, the hope of glory.
‘...Christ in you, the hope of glory:‘ (Col 1:27). The only hope we have of bringing glory to God by our lives is Christ in us.
Maybe its time that the Church pick up where the reformation of 500 years ago left off. It got the part about initial salvation being by grace alone through faith alone. Maybe now it can also begin to receive the revelation that the only way to live a moral life (as defined by the New Testament) is by grace alone through faith alone. ‘For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:‘ (Eph 2:8). The ongoing work of salvation in a believer’s life is by grace alone through faith alone.
The only thing that I have found the can counteract the ill effects of mixing grace and legalism is hearing the pure radical gospel of grace over, and over, and over again.
Grace is the main thing that makes Christianity different from anything else.
Elisha Odero
Praise God pastor for this insight into grace.It is liberating enough to a hungry soul.Here in Kenya there is so much legalism and self-righteousness(having a set of rules which upon keeping I feel righteous).Grace is His heartbeat and my need.
Praying for you and the great grace team.
Osasere Dennis Ogbewi
Grace is amazing! ‘Behold what manner of love the father has bestored upon us, that we should be called children of God!‘ It is merciful and empowering. It is like medicine; it heals us from sinful life. ‘He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their desructions.‘(Psalm107:20) It is the ability or power to live as children of God-no sin. ‘But as many as recieved Him, to them He gave the right(power) to become children of God…‘ It’s a help in times of need(trials). ‘Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace , that we may obtain mercy and fing grace to help in time of need.‘(Heb.4:16) Grace is a leader. ‘He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.‘(Psalm 23:3) In conclusion, grace is your partner in your walk with God; helping and leading you in the right paths.
Gigi Hagey
I have not ever heard of greasy grace before. To me, it is a contradiction of terms. Did God not say that we are saved by Grace and not of works that we should boast? God has also written his law in our hearts. Paul taught that our hearts are circumcised. Perhaps we should stick to concentrating on Our Heavenly Father
and His gift to us this Easter season and not on schisms of belief among the ‘so called ‘ brethren . I want to thank God for the production of Eight Days at
TICC this Easter. Toronto is Blessed by all that the Lord is doing through you,
your son and God’s team at TICC. Thank you, Jesus!
Gigi Hagey
OSASERE DENNIS
Grace works in us both to will and to do God’s pleasure. Grace grants the power walk in the paths of righteousness. Grace does not encourage sin but enhances righteousness. Grace is God’s gift to the world; helping to restore man to his glorious position. Man lacks the ability to be called a child of God without grace. With grace, we can be all God wants us to be. Praise the Lord!
Ignatius
the term greasy grace, crazy grace was coined from Dietrich Bonheiffer. Basically what he said has been taken out of context. he used it as a term against the german lutherans during the WWII because they did not stand up against Hitler during the Holocaust. He was against the fact that christendom was silent against the systematic annihilation of the jews, God’s people. this was due to the false doctrine of replacement theology whereby the church has replaced God’s chosen people, the jews as His Chosen since they crucified christ. My friends, it goes to show how blind we’ve been. With every truth, there is a distortion. Just so it is with this gospel of grace (as Paul put it forth). Isn’t it amazing when Jesus was on earth, the pharisees said that it was by the Prince of Demons that Jesus could drive out demons and remember what Jesus said in response, a kingdom divided against itself will never stand. Satan knows what the message of Jesus love can do. Because it denies him of His power to accuse and put guilt into our lives. By means of that we will never be free and continue living either a defeated christian life or at best trying to please God through all the practises we know how. That’s self righteousness. And law promotes that. But those who live by the law must do everything in the law. Break one break all. no wonder we always feel so condemned. Just like Paul in Romans 7 But Romans 8:1 There is no condemnation anymore. That’s grace. Grace removes condemnation and guilt. Grace frees us from trying to live a live of pleasing God with human efforts. Just as it was in those days of Jesus on earth and many who oppose him, so it is in our days too. but do we back off and follow the status quo or the majority or are we willing to take up the cross and declare our freedom through the blood of Christ.
That’s revolution!!!
samuel
you must not expect the Grace of God thru Christ Jesus to be understood by all. the grace message is for the higher realm and it’s only when you’ve an open mind, a childlike mind, an humble mind free from mental box and graven images of Christ Jesus and God’s Grace, that u can grasp it.
the carnal mind(lower state of consiouness) can never understand the things of the Spirit(higher state of consiouness).
the problem is peeps dont understand the gospel yet, that the gospel is Christ consiousness/Christ mind. when you posses this you’ll never think of failure, sickness, sin etc, rather u’ll think righteousness,peace and joyin the Holy Ghost.
beloved
The message of grace and what it accomplishes must be preached.
There is one question that remains a mystery to me…Heb 10:19-39.
Specifically verse 26 alludes to those who sin willfully even if they know grace should expect judgement.
Explain the context of this passage if you would.
My only observation is that if one wilfully sins (rely on self) then the cross is of no effect and the judgement comes from being under the law again.
Grace Preacher
Dear Beloved
I think you understand the meaning very well. What you said reminds me of Galatians 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
The Hebrew Christians went back to animal sacrifices. That is why they were warned of judgment. They had started to turn to a different gospel. Regularly focusing on grace is the answer. But Remember James 3:2 We all stumble in many ways. 1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. At the present only our Spirit is perfected. And we still sin sometimes because of indwelling sin. We will get our new glorified bodies at the rapture. Then we will never sin again.
But we are righteous now. 1 Corinthians 1:30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.
God Bless
Tom
Thanks Peter ,I praise God for the Truth that He has brought you into.For those who want to be justified by the law, or by doing the word{by trying to be every thing the new testiment say’s a christian is},Jesus was the embodiment of the law {he fufilled ALL righteousness} but he was’nt controlled by the written code, he was led by spirit of the Father whom he fully surendered to. He showed a more exellent way of righteosnes , the way of the Spirit of his Love, and Grace. The law was a revelation of what righteousenes wasn’t ‘do not’ , Jesus reveilled the very nature of God , LOve . Chist in us, God’s Love in our new hearts. Love is so far above the law that the law is no longer needed to guide us, God’s love guides us , not us trying to love but his love written on our hearts because of cross of Jesus. Grace isn’t a lower standard it’s a higher one. If we have love for one another, we walk in the light as he is in the light. love Tom