But there is an even larger factor that will affect how you interpret James, and that is your own preconceived ideas about grace and law.

How do you read James?

If you see things primarily in terms of right or wrong, you will see law in all James does. This is because a legalistic mind-set is preoccupied with doing the right thing and demanding right of others. You will read Acts 15 and ask, must the Gentiles do the three things that James requires? You will read Acts 21 and ask, was James right or wrong for suggesting the purification rite to Paul? You will see the law but miss the lives that James was trying to save.

A legalistic mindset feeds on the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Someone with this mindset will put principles ahead of people. It doesn’t matter that others, such as the legalistic Jews of Jerusalem, are going to hell; it only matters that they are seen to be doing the right thing.

We are not to eat from that tree but the Tree of Life who is Christ. The question for us who are under grace is, what will bring life to these people? What will it take to turn a sinner from the error of his ways and save him from death? The issue is not right versus wrong, but life versus death. Consequently, someone with a grace mindset doesn’t hesitate to heal on the Sabbath. A grace mindset will even send a free man to the temple with an offering and a shaved head. To paraphrase Paul, “if acting like a slave is what it takes to turn slaves into free men, I’ll do it!” (1 Co 9:19).

In a world of sin and death, how do we recognize someone living under grace? They are willing to become all things to all people so that by all possible means some might be saved.

Jesus went into the houses of sinners; Peter went to Cornelius; Philip went to Samaria; Paul went to Antioch and countless synagogues; James presumably went to the temple. When Paul visited James, he went to the temple too. What’s the common thread? They all went to places where the kingdom of God had not fully come. They went there because if you want to win the lost you have to go to where the lost are.

A grace tag-team

Paul and James were men whose lives had been transformed by an encounter with Grace Himself. Paul spent the rest of his days preaching to those without the law, while James spent his in the most legalistic city on earth. When it came to reaching Jews for Jesus they were of the same mind: acting like one under the law is the best way to reach others living under the law (1 Co 9:20). Who are we to second-guess them? If you want to reach out to Jews, you’re going to have to visit the synagogue.

Wisdom is proved right by her actions. As a result of James’s strategy in Acts 21, Paul got to testify about Jesus in Jerusalem and Rome (Acts 23:11). He got to speak before ordinary people as well as kings and governors. It was like Jesus was giving Jerusalem one more chance to repent. After the uproar that Paul caused, no Jerusalem Jew could claim that they hadn’t heard the gospel of grace. Even the religious elites in the Sanhedrin were given the opportunity to repent. Sadly it seems that only a few of them did.

James’ message of grace

Critics claim that James didn’t say much about grace. Maybe, but just look at the man’s heart! He could’ve flaunted his freedom in Christ taunting the Jews for their faith in an obsolete covenant. He could’ve had spent his days shooting sacred cows. Instead, he showed great sensitivity in dealing with those in his city. His actions speak louder than words and they declare “grace for the Jews!”

Do you appreciate the challenge that James was facing? Years ago I tried to talk to an orthodox Jew in Jerusalem, but he flinched, rejecting me as an uncircumcised Gentile. He wouldn’t say a word to me. Then, as now, religious Jews are fiercely proud of their heritage. They are proud of Moses and confident of their religious performance. They believe God will accept them because they are Abraham’s children, even as they reject Jesus (Jn 8:39-42). To such people James preaches a simple message:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (Jas 4:6)

Ultimately this message cost James his life. In AD62 James was condemned by the Sanhedrin for breaking the law. They took him to the top of the temple and ordered him to renounce Christ. When he didn’t they threw him off. With his dying breath he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” In death, as in life, James exhibited amazing grace.

Although James wrote for a specific audience, his story is relevant for all of us. By the grace of God, James was transformed from a Christ-hater into a man who prayed for his enemies. There is nothing under the sun that can account for such a radical change. Look at James and you will see God’s fingerprints. You will find evidence of supernatural, life-changing grace.
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Here are the links to all the posts in this series on James the apostle:
- James: The misunderstood apostle
- Did James understand grace? 6 reasons to say yes!
- Acts 15: Grace defeats law in Jerusalem
- Acts 21:17-26

The good news, though, is that the Holy Spirit did not make a mistake when He inspired James to write his letter to the twelve tribes. As we saw in our study of the Book of James last year, his message is the same as the one Jesus lived and Paul preached.

But what of James the man? Why are Christians so divided on James himself?

In Part 1 of this study I identified three different opinions that you can have of James. Either (1) he didn’t understand the gospel of God’s grace, (2) at least not initially, or (3) he did. Before you read on, ask yourself, which of these has been my opinion of James?

The common view seems to be that James preached works while Paul preached grace. In other words, they did not agree. Paul said “faith alone” but James said “faith plus works.” You’ve probably heard clever people try to reconcile these statements. Usually they do so by adding to Paul’s words. Well of course Paul meant faith plus works, they say. There are always works associated with faith. Yet on many occasions Paul clearly said it was faith or works (see Rms 9:32 and Eph 2:8-9 for starters). It can’t be both, so which is it?

I addressed the works issue in my earlier study. Today we’re taking a different angle. We’re going to play the man rather than the ball, and my question is this: Did James understand the gospel of grace that Paul preached? Did he personally stand on the radical, pure, unalloyed grace of God? For 2,000 years the answer has been “probably not” or “no” or “maybe a little bit.” I have not read a single commentary that says James fully understood grace.

My view is that James has been misjudged. I admit the evidence is thin, but here are six reasons why I believe James probably did understand grace:

1.    James, like Paul, had a one-on-one encounter with the resurrected Christ (1 Cor 15:7)

Prior to seeing the risen Lord, both James and Paul had been opposed to Christ (Jn 7:2-5). Paul tried to take Christians by force, while James tried to take Christ by force (Mk 3:21). Paul had been an enemy of Christ but became one of his greatest followers. He spent the rest of his life testifying to the gospel of God’s grace (Acts 20:24). We know little about James’ encounter, but why do we assume his transformation was any less remarkable than Paul’s? Think about it: James had a divine encounter with Grace personified! Give God a little credit for the effect He probably had on James.

2.    Paul vouched for James

Only one person in the New Testament called James an apostle and it was Paul (Gal 1:19). After their respective encounters with the risen Lord, Paul became known as an apostle to the Gentiles, while James, like Peter, became an apostle to the Jews (Gal 2:9). Paul and James were long-term friends. On Paul’s first visit, James extended the “right hand of fellowship.” On a later visit James referred to Paul as a “dear friend” (Acts 15:25). Can you really imagine Paul being a long-term friend with a self-righteous grace-killer? Do you think it was possible to be friends with Paul and remain unaffected by his message of radical grace?

3.    Paul never blamed James for Peter’s back-step

Peter withdrew from the Gentiles after “certain men came from James” (Gal 2:12). This makes it sound as if the men were representing James. But Paul clarifies that these men “belonged to the circumcision group” (Gal 2:12) which James opposed in Acts 15. We should not confuse the certain men from James with James himself. Yes, they were in his church, but they held to a different message. James distanced himself from these men when he wrote that “some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said” (Acts 15:24). Paul was not one to shy away from a confrontation. When Peter got a little muddled, Paul opposed him to his face. If James had been preaching mixture, Paul would’ve said so. Yet Paul never says a bad word about James.

4.    James was intimately familiar with Paul’s message

Some have written to me saying that James was ignorant of the gospel of grace that Paul taught, but the Bible says otherwise (see Gal 2:2). Unlike those of us who’ve merely read Paul’s gospel, James heard it straight from Paul’s mouth! And he glorified to God when he learned of its fruit (Acts 21:20).

5.    James did not compel Titus to be circumcised (Gal 2:3)

Yes, James asked the Gentiles to do three things in Acts 15 (more on this in Part 3), but circumcision was not one of them. For any law-abiding Jew, circumcision was the key issue. What was the point of obeying only parts of the law if you refused to be circumcised? Nowhere does James preach circumcision.

6.    Paul submitted to James’ counsel

Paul said if anyone preached a gospel different to his, that person should be condemned to hell (Gal 1:9). If James preached a different gospel from Paul, there’s no way Paul would have gone along with the purification vow in Acts 21. Paul, like any grace preacher, was highly sensitive to mixture. He smelled it out in Galatia from hundreds of miles away. Yet when James says, “go shave your head,” Paul does it! People have said to me that James was still learning about grace, but Paul wasn’t. Acts 21 comes near the end of Paul’s life. It is inconceivable that Paul would’ve done anything to send a mixed message about the cross. His motive for doing go through with the rite must have been the same as James’ motive for suggesting it: he wanted to win Jews. (More on this in Part 4.)

As we will see in the final two parts of this study, there is actually no evidence to suggest James preached mixture, but considerable evidence to suggest he held to grace. This is a radical departure from the traditional view, so let me ask you: are you yet convinced that James understood grace?

Of course it’s perfectly fine to hold a different view from me as long as you are prepared to accept the consequences. The fact is we don’t know for sure what James was like. But one day we will know and if it turns out that I have been wrong about James – that he was, in fact, confused about grace – then he may thank me for thinking the best of him. Afterall that’s what love does – it thinks the best of others (1 Co 13:7).

But if I’m right about James, then those of you who have dismissed him as irrelevant or confused might be embarrassed when you finally meet him.

Just something to think about.

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Related posts:
- How do we pervert the gospel of Christ?
- Watch out for the dogs of law
- Romans 2:13 – Justified by law?

If you’ve been following this blog, you will know that I am a big fan of Joseph Prince’s message. He preaches radical grace, which is the only kind of grace there is. Yet I can understand how the message of grace appears scandalous to those who still think their salvation or holiness depends on their own performance. Since the time of Paul self-righteous people have been mistaking grace for a license to sin (see Rm 6:15). Even sincere believers have been seduced into thinking the grace of God needs fleshly additives (see Galatians). But even so, I would have thought that Chinese Christians, of all people, would have been receptive to Joseph Prince’s message. Afterall, many of them grew up on the teachings of Watchman Nee.

Is it a stretch to say that Watchman Nee (1903 – 1972) was the most influential Chinese Christian of the 20th century? I confess I am not familiar with many Chinese preachers and authors, but I lived in Hong Kong for 15 years and I cannot recall anyone ever saying a bad word about Watchman Nee. He is generally acknowledged as gifted and articulate preacher of the gospel. It is well known that he spent the last 20 years of his life imprisoned for his faith.

Watchman Nee’s most famous book is probably The Normal Christian Life. If you haven’t read it, you’ve probably heard of it. It’s a best-seller (over 1m copies sold). It is also one of the best expositions of the gospel of grace that you’ll ever read. From chapter 1 (The Blood of Christ) to chapter 9 (The Meaning and Value of Roman’s Seven), Nee preaches pure grace based on the finished work of the cross. He says things like this:

“Let me tell you, You have died! You are done with! You are ruled out! The self you loathe is on the Cross in Christ. And ‘he that is dead is freed from sin’ (Rom 6:7). This is the Gospel for Christians. Our crucifixion can never be made effective by will or by effort, but only by accepting what the Lord Jesus did on the Cross.” (p.52)

In Nee’s understanding, the choice is simple: you can try or you can trust. If you try to make yourself acceptable, you are walking in the flesh but the Christian life is lived by faith alone. In The Normal Christian Life Nee says a lot about walking in the Spirit, dealing with soul-power, and the nature of Christian ministry. But all of that is based on nine solid chapters outlining the good news of God’s grace. To give you a flavor of Watchman Nee’s message of radical grace, here are 12 of his best quotes from The Normal Christian Life.

Top 12 Watchman Nee Quotes

1.    “Grace means that God does something for me; law means that I do something for God. God has certain holy and righteous demands which he places upon me: that is law. Now if law means that God requires something of me for their fulfillment, then deliverance from law means he no longer requires that from me, but himself provides it.” (pp.155-6)

2.    “So we can say, reverently, that God never gave us the Law to keep: he gave us the Law to break! He well knew that we could not keep it.” (p.158)

3.    “The Law requires much, but offers no help in the carrying out of its requirements. The Lord Jesus requires just as much, yea even more (Matt. 5:21-48), but what he requires from us he himself carries out in us. The law makes demands and leaves us helpless to fulfill them; Christ makes demands, but he himself fulfills in us the very demands he makes.” (p.161)

4.    “What does it mean in everyday life to be delivered from the Law? At risk of a little overstatement I reply: It means that henceforth I am going to do nothing whatever for God; I am never again going to try to please Him. ‘What a doctrine!’ you exclaim. ‘What awful heresy! You cannot possibly mean that!’ But remember, if I try to please God ‘in the flesh,’ then immediately I place myself under the Law.” (p.164)

5.    “God’s requirements have not altered, but we are not the ones to meet them. Praise God, he is the Lawgiver on the Throne, and he is the Lawkeeper in my heart. He who gave the Law, himself keeps it.” (p.166)

6.    “Though the Law in itself is all right, it will be all wrong if it is applied to the wrong person. The ‘wretched man’ of Romans 7 tried to meet the claims of God’s law himself, and that was the cause of his trouble. The repeated use of the word ‘I’ in this chapter gives the clue to the failure.” (p.169)

7.    “We think of the Christian life as a ‘changed life’ but it is not that. What God offers us is an ‘exchanged life,’ a ‘substituted life,’ and Christ is our Substitute within.” (p.180)

8.    “From start to finish, he is the One who does it all.” (p.172)

9.    “It does not matter what your personal deficiency, or whether it be a hundred and one different things, God has always one sufficient answer, His Son Jesus Christ, and he is the answer to every need.” (p.182-3)

10.    “Many Christians endeavor to drive themselves by will-power, and then think the Christian life a most exhausting and bitter one.” (p.189)

11.    “God must bring us to a point – I cannot tell you how it will be, but he will do it – where, through a deep and dark experience, our natural power is touched and fundamentally weakened, so that we no longer dare trust ourselves… At length there comes a time when we no longer ‘like’ to do Christian work – indeed we almost dread to do things in the Lord’s Name. But then at last it is that he can begin to use us.” (p.261)

12.    “We have spoken of trying and trusting, and the difference between the two. Believe me, it is the difference between heaven and hell.” (p.183)

Finally, to all my Chinese readers and those living in Asia, Happy Lunar New Year!
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Related posts:

Spurgeon preached to as many as 10,000 people at a time, and did so without the aid of a microphone. He battled with depression, never gave altar calls, and sold his published sermons for a penny. He pastored the world’s first megachurch, the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. He helped Hudson Taylor develop the color-coded Wordless Book which was used for evangelism in China and is now found in Sunday Schools everywhere.

Being a prolific writer and communicator, Spurgeon ranks right up there with CS Lewis as one of the most quoted Christians in the English language. You can hardly go a week on Facebook or a year in church without running into a Spurgeon quote. But I wonder if there is one “king quote” that Spurgeon would choose above others. If the prodigious output of his entire life could be reduced to one mere sound bite, what would it be? I have two possible candidates for a defining quote. The first comes from the opening of the Metropolitan Tabernacle, on 18 March 1861, when Spurgeon said:

“I would propose that the subject of the ministry in this house… shall be the person of JESUS CHRIST. I am never ashamed to avow myself a Calvinist; I do not hesitate to take the name of Baptist; but if I am asked what is my creed, I reply, ‘It is Jesus Christ.’”

And the other quote comes from near the end of his ministry:

“I sometimes wonder that you do not get tired of my preaching, because I do nothing but hammer away on this one nail. With me it is, year after year, ‘None but Jesus!’ Oh, you great saints, if you have outgrown the need of a sinner’s trust in the Lord Jesus, you have outgrown your sins, but you have also outgrown your grace, and your saintship has ruined you!”

None but Jesus!

If the root of dead religion is an independent spirit, then the foundation of a grace-based life is utter dependence on Christ. We start our Christian walk dependent on Christ and then mature to become ever more dependent on Him. As Spurgeon says, to outgrow your “sinner’s trust” in the Lord is to outgrow grace and be ruined.

Another Prince of preachers has famously said that the best way to determine whether grace preaching is doctrinally sound is that “it always reveals more and more of Jesus.”  You cannot preach grace without preaching Jesus and you cannot preach Jesus without preaching grace. By that measure Spurgeon must’ve been one of the greatest grace preachers around, for even after years of preaching, it was still “none but Jesus!”

Spurgeon is known for a lot of things. But judging by some of the quotes I’ve come across, it seems that his message of grace has not been widely heard. So to give you a taste, here are some of Spurgeon’s very best quotes on the subject of grace:

Top 20 Spurgeon Quotes on Grace

1. “When God accepts a sinner, He is, in fact, only accepting Christ. He looks into the sinner’s eyes, and He sees His own dear Son’s image there, and He takes him in.”

2. “No doctrine is so calculated to preserve a man from sin as the doctrine of the grace of God. Those who have called it ‘a licentious doctrine’ did not know anything about it. Poor ignorant things, they little knew that their own vile stuff was the most licentious doctrine under heaven. If they knew the grace of God in truth, they would soon see that there is no preservative from lying like a knowledge that we are elect of God from the foundation of the world. There is nothing like a belief in my eternal perseverance, and the immutability of my Father’s affection, which can keep me near to Him from a motive of simple gratitude.”

3. “Born, as all of us are by nature, an Arminian, I still believed the old things I had heard continually from the pulpit, and did not see the grace of God. When I was coming to Christ, I thought I was doing it all myself, and though I sought the Lord earnestly, I had no idea the Lord was seeking me.”

4. “You will find all true theology summed up in these two short sentences: Salvation is all of the grace of God. Damnation is all of the will of man.”

5. “God never punishes his children in the sense of avenging justice. He chastens as a father does his child, but he never punishes his redeemed as a judge does a criminal. It is unjust to exact punishment from redeemed souls since Christ has been punished in their place. How shall the Lord punish twice for one offense?”

6. “If we be married to Christ, and He be jealous of us, depend upon it this jealous husband will let none touch His spouse.”

7. “Grace puts its hand on the boasting mouth, and shuts it once for all.”

Spurgeon - in colour!

8. “If grace does not make us differ from other men, it is not the grace which God gives His elect.”

9. “We believe, that the work of regeneration, conversion, sanctification and faith, is not an act of man’s free will and power, but of the mighty, efficacious and irresistible grace of God.”

10. “The bridge of grace will bear your weight, brother. Thousands of big sinners have gone across that bridge, yea, tens of thousands have gone over it. Some have been the chief of sinners and some have come at the very last of their days but the arch has never yielded beneath their weight. I will go with them trusting to the same support. It will bear me over as it has for them.”

11. “If heaven were by merit, it would never be heaven to me, for if I were in it I should say, ‘I am sure I am here by mistake; I am sure this is not my place; I have no claim to it.’ But if it be of grace and not of works, then we may walk into heaven with boldness.”

12. “We hold that man is never so near grace as when he begins to feel he can do nothing at all.”

13. “From the Word of God I gather that damnation is all of man, from top to bottom, and salvation is all of grace, from first to last. He that perishes chooses to perish; but he that is saved is saved because God has chosen to save him.”

14. “I do not come into this pulpit hoping that perhaps somebody will of his own free will return to Christ. My hope lies in another quarter. I hope that my Master will lay hold of some of them and say, ‘You are mine, and you shall be mine. I claim you for myself.’ My hope arises from the freeness of grace, and not from the freedom of the will.”

15. “I believe the doctrine of election, because I am quite certain that, if God had not chosen me, I should never have chosen Him; and I am sure He chose me before I was born, or else He never would have chosen me afterwards; and He must have elected me for reasons unknown to me, for I never could find any reason in myself why He should have looked upon me with special love.”

16. “If the faith whereby I have laid hold on Christ to be my Savior be altogether wrought in me by the Holy Ghost through grace, then I defy the devil to take away that which he never gave me or to crush that which Jehovah Himself created in me. I defy my free will to fling what it never brought to me. What God has given, created, introduced, and established in the heart, He will maintain there.”

17. “Be not proud of race, face, place, or grace.”

18. “In spiritual things, when God has raised a desire, He always gratifies it; hence the longing is prophetic of the blessing. In no case is the desire of the living thing excited to produce distress, but in order that it may seek and find satisfaction.”

19. “Free grace can go into the gutter, and bring up a jewel!”

20. “If one dear saint of God had perished, so might all; if one of the covenant ones be lost, so may all be; and then there is no gospel promise true, but the Bible is a lie, and there is nothing in it worth my acceptance. I will be an infidel at once when I can believe that a saint of God can ever fall finally. If God hath loved me once, then He will love me forever.”

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Related posts:
- Top 12 Derek Prince quotes
- Top 20 Joseph Prince quotes
- God is good, but how good is He?

“The law and the prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” (Luke 16:16)

What did Jesus reveal that the law and the prophets could not reveal? He revealed the Father. The good news of the kingdom satisfies the universal ache for a good Father. Do you know that our heavenly Father is a good God? Have no doubt about this. God is not good some days and bad others. He is good “all the way through.”

Jesus said that the good news of God’s kingdom is being preached and everyone is forcing his way into it. In my experience with outreach and evangelism, everyone has not been forcing their way into it. Perhaps that’s because we’ve been preaching the wrong message. The right message gets the right response. And what is the right message? Well here’s a hint. It’s good news. It’s not good and bad news. It’s pure, undiluted good news!

The good news? God is good!

The good news is that God is unfathomably good in word and deed. He has already shown his goodness and grace to us through Jesus Christ. God loves you so much that he sent his Son to die for you and your son. You don’t have to strive or perform to earn his good approval – you just have to receive it. Isn’t that good?

When the world sees the goodness of God on display in his church – his favor, his blessings, his healing – they will sit up and take notice. They’re not going to learn how good he is merely because we tell them. But they will learn when they see it:

“God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah. That your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations… God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth will fear him.” (Ps 67:1-2,7)

Some of the prophets foretold that in the last days, we would get a revelation of God’s goodness.

“They shall fear the LORD and His goodness in the latter days.” (Hos 3:5)

I don’t know about you but this is certainly true of me. I’ve walked with God for four decades, but it has only been in the last few years that I’ve begun to realize that he is off-the-scale good. Of course I always knew he was good, but I’m just learning that his goodness has no shadow, no defect, no qualification. He is the very definition of good (Mk 10:18).

If you’ve been following this blog, you will know that God’s goodness is probably my favorite subject. Jesus wouldn’t be Jesus, except that God is good. The gospel wouldn’t be good news, except that God is good. We would not be forgiven, redeemed, justified, healed, blessed, or anything, except that God is good. All of these gifts are only good, because the One who gives them is good.

Perhaps you have hoped, like David did, that you might see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Well just open your eyes! Unlike David, you live under a new and everlasting covenant based on God’s promise that he will never stop doing good to us (Jer 32:40)!

I wonder if the human mind can really grasp just how good God is. Well, if anyone can, Bill Johnson probably can, so here are 12 of his best quotes on the goodness of God.

Top 12 Bill Johnson quotes on the goodness of God

1.    “God is good all the way through. He is as good as he is holy.”

2.    “The cornerstone of all theology is the goodness of God.”

3.    “The greatest vacuum on the planet is the goodness of God in the heart of man.”

4.    “I finally discovered something – it’s all about Jesus.”

5.    “The law and the prophets could not reveal the Father, but Jesus revealed the Father. Why is this important? Because this is an orphaned planet.”

6.    “In the old, sin contaminates. In the new, righteousness contaminates. It’s a different day.”

7.    “We don’t pray to a deaf God. It’s impossible to pray and have nothing happen.”

8.    “God has an answer for everything.”

9.    “His goodness doesn’t come with small print… There’s no shadow about him.”

10.    (On Hosea 3:5) “What would it be like to have a nation tremble in absolute terror, not because of judgment, but because of underserved kindness?”

11.    (On Psalm 67) “To not pursue the blessing of the Lord, is one of the most selfish acts of the church.”

12.    “There are no tricks to the trade. He’s good.”
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Related posts:
- Does God give bad gifts?
- God is good, but how good is he?
- God doesn’t do half-jobs: Why partial forgiveness is completely bogus

In the Charisma article, Prince recounts a life-changing experience he had back in 2000. He was visiting Canada when he turned on the TV and saw a minister preaching hellfire and brimstone. He asked God, “Why do you allow ministers like that on television?” He heard the Lord reply, “It is because ministers like you don’t want to be on television.” Seven years later and Joseph Prince Ministries started beaming onto our TV screens.

If you haven’t heard him preach, you’re missing out. Joseph Prince is an amazing preacher of the gospel of grace. Listen to him and you will come away with a fresh revelation of the goodness of God, the majesty of Jesus, and the perfectly complete work of the cross. I have heard him preach (on TV) numerous times. Perhaps this just reflects where I’m at with my walk with God, but my usual reaction is one of appreciation, both for his gift and the One who gave it.

I posted some of my favorite Joseph Prince quotes here a few months ago, but below are 20 of his all-time best exclusively on the subject of grace. None of these have appeared on E2R before. I’ve taken these 20 pearls of wisdom from three sources; Prince’s two books Destined to Reign (DTR) and Unmerited Favor (UF), plus the Charisma article mentioned earlier. Enjoy!

Joseph Prince: Top 20 Grace Quotes

1.    “Grace is not a theology. It is not a subject matter. It is not a doctrine. It is a person, and his name is Jesus.” (DTR, p.24)

2.    “The central tenet of the new covenant … is the complete forgiveness of sins!” (UF, p.171)

3.    “God’s forgiveness is not given in installments.” (UF, p.194)

4.    “Old Testament prophets call your sin to remembrance, while New Testament preachers call your righteousness to remembrance. Old Testament preachers tell you what’s wrong with you, while New Testament preachers tell you what is right with you because of what Jesus has done, in spite of what is wrong with you.” (DTR, p.220)

5.    “What man calls ‘balance,’ God calls ‘mixture’.” (UF, p.103)

6.    “The moment you accepted Jesus, God have you an eternal ‘A+’ for your right standing with Him.” (UF, p.313)

7.    “For the believer, God’s throne is not a throne of judgment. It is a throne of grace, a throne of unmerited favor.” (UF, p.298)

8.    “It is the gift of no condemnation that gives people the power to sin no more. Unfortunately, many have flipped the order. They say, ‘Go and sin no more, then we will not condemn you.’ There is no power in that. Experiencing the grace of our Lord Jesus gives people the power to stop sinning.” (Charisma)

9.    “The Bible says that sin shall not have dominion over you when you are not under law but under grace. So if you are living in sin, you are definitely not under grace.” (DTR, p.167)

10.    “Grace brings about a restraint that is supernatural.” (UF, p.147)

11.    “When you fall in love with Jesus, you will fall out of love with sin.” (Charisma)

12.    “Let me teach you how to discern if the grace teaching that you are hearing is doctrinally sound. When you hear the new covenant of grace preached, it is always Christ-exalting. It always reveals more and more of Jesus… There is no grace without Jesus.” (DTR, p.32)

13.    “It’s actually very easy to identify the difference between the old and new covenant teachings. Just ask yourself if the teaching is putting the emphasis on what you have to do or what Jesus has done. Does it make you introspective, always looking to yourself and how you fared or failed? Or does it turn your eyes away from yourself to look upon Jesus?” (UF, p.148-9)

14.    “Our part in the new covenant of grace is to simply believe!… We are to believe in Jesus!… In the new covenant, there is nothing for us to do but to believe!” (UF, pp.167,169)

15.    “In the end times people will not be anti-God, but they will be anti-Christ… That is why, in these last days, we need more preaching about Jesus, His finished work and the new covenant of His unmerited favor.” (UF, p.170)

16.    “The gospel is simple, and it takes theologians to complicate it.” (UF, p.13)

17.    “God sent His Son to die for you while you were still a sinner. Obviously, He does not love you only when you are perfect in your behavior and thoughts. His love for you is unconditional.” (UF, p.138)

18.    “God will not punish the believer again, not because He has gone soft on sin, but because all our sins have already been punished in the body of Jesus.” (UF, p.151)

19.    “Once you receive Christ, you are standing on favor ground. You are no longer on condemnation ground… In His eyes we are all His favorites.” (UF, p.315)

20.    “People sometimes ask me, ‘Pastor Prince, if you don’t teach the Ten Commandments to your church, what is going to govern them?’ My friend, the Lord Himself will govern them!” (UF, p.37)

Related posts:

I began leading Island City Church in 1999. One book that really helped me in that first year was Derek Prince’s classic The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Handbook. It’s a good introduction to the basics of Christian living and it helped me find answers to many questions.

Recently I posted some links to Prince’s outstanding series on The Divine Exchange. This sermon is one of the best expositions you will find on the perfect and complete work of the cross. I encourage you to take a look.

As you will see from what follows, Derek Prince preached the gospel of God’s grace. He once said, “If you don’t get excited about the gospel, you’ve never really grasped what it’s telling you.” The gospel is 100% good news. If you have been left unmoved by the gospel, then you probably don’t understand what Jesus did. The Divine Exchange outlines some of the wonderful things that Jesus accomplished on the cross.

To inspire you to read Prince’s sermon, I have pasted 12 sound bites below. These will give you a taste of what to expect.

1. “‘God the Father made him, Jesus the Son, to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.’ That is staggering! If you think it’s staggering that he took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses, this is infinitely more staggering. He was made sin with our sinfulness that we might become righteousness with his righteousness. What’s the exchange? Not a problem. You don’t have to be a theologian. In fact if you were a theologian you’d probably have problems. Now forgive me, Lord. I just get so impatient with people who make the Bible complicated. My whole aim in life is to make it simple. I may not succeed but at least that’s what I’m trying to do.”

2. “Going to Pakistan was a revealing experience for me because it’s 98 percent Moslem country. And we got as many as 16,000 people out to meetings without much advertising. Why? Because we prayed for the sick. And they got healed… The blind saw, the deaf heard, the lame walked. Believe me, you don’t have a problem getting a crowd if you have that. There are plenty of other fine ways to attract people but the number one central method of the New Testament is miracles.”

3. “The critics of Jesus in his day never questioned that he could heal the sick. They did deny his claim to forgive sins. The church today, the evangelical church takes it for granted that people’s sins can be forgiven but stumbles over the fact that people can be healed. Which is harder? To forgive sins or to heal sickness? Which is the greater miracle? That our sins can be forgiven. There’s no miracle that transcends that.”

4. “Christians sometimes say to me, ‘Brother Prince, how can I know if it’s God’s will to heal me?’ And I usually answer something like this, ‘You’re asking the wrong question. It’s not how can I know if it’s God’s will to heal me, it’s how can I appropriate the healing which God has already provided for me.’ You find that healing is never in the future tense when it refers to the atonement. Seven hundred years before it happened Isaiah said healing was obtained for us. And fifty years or so afterwards Peter said by whose wounds you were healed. It’s very emphatic. A simple past tense. It happened on the cross. It’s a fact of history. Whether we believe it or not, it’s true. What we believe will affect us.”

5. “I’m convinced out of scripture that poverty is a curse. If it’s not a curse, why do you work so hard to get rid of it? If poverty is a blessing, why not pursue it?”

6. “A lot of people think Jesus was poor during his earthly ministry. I don’t. He didn’t have a lot of cash but he was never in need. Anybody who can feed 5,000 people in the wilderness is not exactly poor. And when he needed money for the taxes, he didn’t go to the bank, he went to the lake and got it out of a fish. I mean, what’s the difference whether you get it out of a fish or the bank! My little statement about Jesus in his earthly ministry is this: He didn’t carry a lot of cash, but he always used his Father’s credit card.”

7. “I always picture myself walking out of a typical English church which is at least 200 years old, it’s new. It’s rather cold and I’ve been in this Anglican service where we have been saying the most glorious things about God. I mean, the Anglican liturgy is just glorious. And then the people walk out of church and there isn’t any evidence whatever that they’re excited about anything. I always used to think to myself, ‘Now, if that lady in front of me dropped her lace handkerchief and I ran after her and gave her her handkerchief back she’d get much more excited about her handkerchief than about all the things she’d been saying in church.’ Why? Because they’ve never been real to her. That’s not a criticism of the Anglican Church. It’s true of multitudes of churches. People have never grasped this glorious reality. Now, if you grasp it you’re going to have to be happy—even if you don’t want to be happy you’re going to have to be happy. And let me point out to all of you dear Christians, it is no sin for a Christian to be happy.”

8. “The problem with most religious people is they try to earn grace but you can’t earn it. And as long as you’re trying to earn it by works, you don’t receive it. At some point you just have to stop trying to earn it and just receive it.”

9. “Jesus died of a broken heart. What broke his heart? Rejection. Rejection by whom? By the Father. The most agonizing of all rejection. He cried out in his agony, ‘Why have you forsaken me?’ and no answer came from heaven. The first time in the history of the universe that Jesus prayed and got no answer. It says immediately after that he gave one further loud cry and yielded up his spirit.”

10. “We need to understand God doesn’t just tolerate us, his favor is upon us. He is passionately committed to us. We never have any reason to doubt our access to him.”

11. “Now in order to understand the implication of that you have to be just aware of the procedure for the sin offering in the Old Covenant under the Levitical law… Incidentally, the more important the man, the bigger the offering. This always amuses me because if the high priest sinned he had to bring a bullock. And you know they didn’t keep the cattle next door to the tabernacle. So if the high priest sinned he had to go all the way out to where the cattle were kept and lead his bullock all the way up to the altar. And everybody must have thought, ‘Well, I wonder what Aaron did!’”

12. “Jesus is the channel of all grace. Only through Jesus is God’s grace made available. The cross is the basis of the offer of grace and we receive it by faith, not by works. Nobody can explain the grace of God. It’s unexplainable. Why did God permit Jesus to go through the terrible agonies of the cross on behalf of people like you and me? And the Bible never gives any explanation. So I would say don’t try to look for one. Just be willing to receive by faith the measureless grace of God. The unexplainable grace of God.”

Why is it that preachers surnamed Prince have such a good handle on the grace of God? (Check out what Joseph says about it here.) If you liked reading Derek’s quotes and want more, check out the free book, The Divine Exchange here.

Related posts:

Prince preached The Divine Exchange back in 1987. This message has since been transcribed word for word and turned into a free book.

To encourage you to go and read this excellent series, I will paste some snippets of his introduction below, followed by links to the 10 aspects of the divine exchange. It’ll take you about 2 hours to read the whole series, but they will be 2 of the best hours of your life.

Now ladies and gentlemen, in his own words, here’s Derek Prince…

“This young lady from Oklahoma spoke… ‘Consider the work of Calvary. A perfect work, perfect in every respect, perfect in every aspect.’ … Instantly my mind went to the Greek New Testament and one of the last utterances of Jesus on the cross when he said, ‘It is finished.’ The Greek word is just one word tetelestai. But it’s the perfect tense of a verb that means to do something perfectly. I have said sometimes you could translate it this way: It is perfectly perfect or it is completely complete.

“At the close of the last session we had arrived at Isaiah 53:4–6… You know that the name of Isaiah is directly linked with the Hebrew word for salvation. He is the prophet of salvation. Here is the essence, the heart of salvation. We’ll look once more at verse 6 and consider its meaning a little more carefully.

“All we like sheep have gone astray . . .

“All we” leaves out no one. Do we agree about that? Does that apply to all of us? You don’t have to tell me but you need to make your mind up.

“. . . we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

“That word ‘iniquity’ is an interesting and important word. The Hebrew word is avon… It’s basic meaning is guilt. Another way of rendering it is perversity. What is our guilt? … I think the most contemporary translation is ‘rebellion.’ That’s the universal guilt of the whole human race. But Isaiah says

“the Lord has laid upon him the guilt [the perversity, the rebellion] of all of us.

“The word avon not only means guilt but it means the punishment for guilt… So that God not only laid on Jesus the guilt of us all—now listen, this is vitally important—but he laid upon him the punishment for the guilt of us all…

“Now that’s very important because it’s the key to understanding what happened when Jesus died on the cross. God the Father made to meet together upon him the guilt, the perversity, the rebellion of all of us and all the evil consequences that follow rebellion…

“If you can once grasp that, that’s the key to the storehouse. Everything you need is contained in that revelation…Let me say it this way: What happened on the cross was a divinely ordained exchange. Think of that key word ‘exchange.’ All the evil due to our rebellion met together upon Jesus. That’s the left hand. The right hand is the opposite. That all the good due to the sinless obedience of Jesus might be made available to us… It’s contrary to our natural thinking, we wouldn’t reason it out that way. All the evil due to our rebellion came upon Jesus on the cross that all the good due to his sinless obedience might be made available to us. Or, to say it very shortly, the evil came upon Jesus that the good might be made available to us…

“Now I want to change one word. Instead of saying “us” say “me.” Now it’s very personal, it’s just you and God. You know what they say at the cross? There’s only room for one at the foot of the cross? You’re the one now. You’re looking up at the cross, you see his body beaten, bleeding, a horrifying spectacle, something that you don’t really want even to look at or think about. And then you say this. ‘The evil due to me came upon Jesus that the good due to Jesus might be made available to me.’ That’s right. It’s when you make it personal. Now you may not have felt any change but you have opened the way to the treasure house when you’ve grasped that one central fact…

“Let’s look at some aspects of the exchange. I’ve listed ten. I don’t want you to imagine for a moment that’s complete, it’s just a specimen. You may recall that when the Lord spoke to me through that young woman from Oklahoma he said, ‘Consider the work of Calvary, a perfect work, perfect in every respect, perfect in every aspect.’ So there are respects and there are aspects. We are going to look at ten different aspects of the work of Calvary. Ten different ways to view what God accomplished there by the death of Jesus.

1. Jesus was punished that we might be forgiven
2. Jesus was wounded that we might be healed
3. Jesus was made sin with our sinfulness, that we might be made righteous with His righteousness
4. Jesus tasted death for us that we might share His life
5. Jesus was made a curse that we might receive the blessing
6. Jesus endured our poverty that we might share His abundance
7. Jesus bore our shame that we might share His glory
8. Jesus endured my rejection that I might have His acceptance with the Father
9. He was cut off that we might be joined to the Lord
10. Our Old Man was put to death in Him that the New Man might come to life in us

[If you'd like more, go to Free Stuff and look for the book entitled The Divine Exchange.]

Anyway, a few months ago my wife and I were playing this game and we came across Joseph Prince, a Singaporean preacher of grace. What a breath of fresh air is this man! Don’t be deterred by his accent or style, if that’s not your thing, and miss the substance of what he preaches. He is a giant in the world of TV preachers and we watch him every night. Here in New Zealand he’s on Shine TV weeknights at 6:30pm. In Asia I believe you can find him on God TV on the weekends. He also has a YouTube channel here. Be warned, whatever you watch will have a lot of promotional material on it. But again, don’t let that distract you from the substance of this man’s message.

If you’ve never heard him preach, you’re missing out. At the end of each 22 minute segment we are usually so inspired we want to leap up and start celebrating Jesus. Mr Prince is an excellent communicator. He makes deep water revelations simple and easy to grasp. To give you some idea of this, I have picked 20 of my favorite quotes from his outstanding book Destined to Reign.

1. “The law justified no one and condemned the best of us, but grace saves even the worst of us.” (p.124)

2. “God does not leave you wondering whether you are saved or not. He tells you outright that you are His and that nothing can ever separate you from the love of Christ. Not even sin because His blood is greater than your sin!” (p.95)

3. “The way some people portray God today creates the false impression that His mercy lasts for a moment, but his anger lasts forever!” (p.211)

4. “Even though the law is holy, just and good, it has no power to make you holy, just and good.” (p.16)

5. “Sometimes, when I hear the way some preachers preach, I really wonder, has the cross changed anything? The system of being blessed when you do good and being cursed when you fail was already in place before Jesus came. Why are they still teaching that we are under that system today?… Don’t negate the cross of Jesus. The cross of Jesus changed everything.” (p.295)

6. “Knowing that you are completely forgiven destroys the power of sin in your life.” (p.100)

7. “I have been accused of being an antinomian (someone who is against the law of Moses). The truth is I have the highest regard for the law. And it precisely because I have the highest regard for the law that I know that no man can keep the law… It is us grace preachers who have the highest regard for the law!… I am for the law, for the purpose for which God gave the law… God did not give the law for us to keep. He gave the law to bring man to the end of himself, so that he would see his need for a Saviour.” (p.122-3)

8. “Anyone who doesn’t focus on Jesus Christ and His finished work has neither the wisdom of God nor the power of God…” (p.199)

9. “Believers are often exhorted to repent from sin. However, in the New Testament we are actually exhorted to repent from dead works. You see, sin is simply the fruit, dead works are the root…. Dead works are not sins. They are the religious things people do, thinking that by doing these things, they are gaining righteousness with God. If you pray because you think that praying makes you right with God, that’s a dead work. But if you pray because you are right with God and you know that He loves you, there is power there.” (p.234)

10. “Let me teach you how to discern if the grace teaching that you are hearing is doctrinally sound. When you hear the new covenant of grace preached, it is always Christ-exalting. It always reveals more and more of Jesus… There is no grace without Jesus…. Grace is not a doctrine. Grace is a person and His name is Jesus. Therefore, there is no grace teaching without Jesus Christ. You cannot separate Jesus and grace!” (p.32)

11. “The law is about you looking at yourself. The new covenant is all about you seeing Jesus.” (p.196)

12. “There are still people who insist that we have to preach on repentance. Well, I disagree! I think we should do it God’s way – preach the goodness of God and allow the goodness of God to lead people to repentance. Such repentance will be true repentance. It will not be motivated by the fear of judgment and indignation. It will be a genuine repentance that is motivated by His grace, unconditional love and compassion. After all, our ability to love God stems from our first tasting His love for us.” (p.232)

13. “True repentance from the heart results from a revelation of God’s immense and unyielding love.” (p.232-3)

14. “The Holy Spirit never convicts (Christians) of your sins. He never comes to point out your faults…. It does not take a revelation from the Holy Spirit to see that you have failed. However, when you know that you’ve failed what you do need is for the Holy Spirit to convict you of your righteousness.” (p.135)

15. “Sin does not stop God’s grace from flowing, but God’s grace will stop sin.” (p.249)

16. “Look at all the people who received miracles from Jesus during His ministry on earth. Not a single one of them deserved it. They did nothing to earn their miracles… On the other hand, we don’t find any record of those who were trying to deserve blessings from God – the Pharisees – receiving anything from Jesus!” (p.278)

17. “A Christian cannot commit the unpardonable sin… There is no sin the Christian is not forgiven of.” (p.90-1)

18. “We don’t have to confess our sins in order to be forgiven. We confess our sins because we are already forgiven. When I say ‘confess our sins’, I’m talking about being open with God… Confession in the new covenant is just being honest about your failures and your humanity. It is the result of being forgiven and not something you do in order to be forgiven.” (p.104)

19. “People give their lives to sin when they feel rejected and unwanted. But when they know that they are God’s beloved, no temptation can succeed against them.” (p.296)

20. “Beloved, there is nothing you can do today to make God love you more, and there’s nothing you can do to make Him love you any less… Beloved, it’s not enough that you know that God loves everyone. You need to know and believe that He loves you, and let that revelation burn in your heart, especially when you fail.” (p.300-1)

One of my favourite preachers of the grace message is fellow Hong Konger Rob Rufus. Tens of thousands of people regularly download and are blessed by his sermons (found here). I love listening to Rob for he stirs my faith in Jesus and I come away hungering for more of the power of God in my life, my church, my world.

For those who know little of Rob and his message, I have pasted below an abbreviated version of an interview transcript I found on Adrian Warnock’s site. The interview was two years ago but it has retained its flavour. In it Rob talks about the relationship between the Word of God and the Person of the Holy Spirit. Some churches emphasize the Bible, others the work of the Spirit, but – as Rob explains – we need both. To read the full interview, click here.

Adrian
The Together on a Mission conference has just ended, but I’m here, together with my pastor, Tope, and we’re here with Rob Rufus. Rob is going to talk to us a little bit about how the conference has been for him, and tell us a little bit more about his own church … Obviously, one of the features of this conference has been your own preaching, Rob. I just wonder for those who have not been at the conference, and perhaps have been following the blogs—how would you summarize your key message, just in a couple of sentences, of this conference—what you’d like people to take away, because, to be honest, taking notes hasn’t been that easy! (Loud laughter) Well, you could say that!

Rob Rufus
Yes, absolutely! I mean, I’m the worst person for writing notes myself, and then, of course, for people to be able to pick up notes, because I tend to be more spontaneous and impromptu. Probably what I’d like people to primarily take away in a few sentences is that, of course, God is turning up the supernatural—the volume of the demonstration of his power—not just for the sake of sensationalism for us to find ourselves popular or famous because of that, but because he wants to be glorified in the world, he wants to get the world’s attention. The primary essence I would like people to take away is that we don’t seek primarily the power of God, but we seek the person of God. We seek who he is, his glory. Because his power is what he does, but his glory and his presence is who he is, and that’s the only thing that will fulfill people—to know him personally. That sense of intimacy is such a delight; it gives us that fulfillment. Out of that he hides his power within his presence so you can live a supernatural life in a natural way because you’re not having to fast forty days to get the power—you can just walk with the person of God in intimacy and he releases his power out of that relationship with himself.

Adrian
Yes. I guess that some Christians sitting at home listening to this—I mean, I get readers on my blog from all kinds of different backgrounds—they’re going to listen to that and think, “What is this guy talking about? A relationship with God? I thought we just had a relationship with a Book!” What would you say to those kinds of people?

Rob Rufus
Well, it’s like—when I met my wife for the first time I was at university so I couldn’t spend time with her because the university was in a different city. So during the first six months, I could only see her every second or third weekend. We corresponded in those days—it was a long enough time ago it was by letters, not e-mails!—(loud laughter) and although her letters were perfumed and I loved reading her letters, I didn’t have a love relationship primarily with her letters, but with the author of the letters. So I longed to get to see the person who was writing the letter and meet her. So the Bible is, in a sense, perfumed with the presence of God—it’s God-breathed; it’s really his love letter to us. It’s an introduction for us to get to know the Author of the Book. That’s the delight!

Adrian
Yes, very good! So you are not one of those “charismaniacs” who want to throw out the Bible then, Rob?

Rob Rufus
Absolutely not, Adrian! That, I think, is the tragedy. Sadly the charismatics or Pentecostals (to some degree, not all!) have been known as a people who are kind of going on a binge of subjectivity. It’s all self-indulgent. You have got to have theological references to make sure that the supernatural experiences you are having are authentic because we do have the counterfeit in the world today; we do have deception in the world today. The Bible is the foundation that authenticates that we are having legitimate miraculous encounters with God.

Tope
I’ve got to say, I agree with you. Definitely for me in listening to all the sessions that you did, and for us as a church, having taken so many to this conference, and also as a pastor, having the privilege of speaking with other pastors—the response that I’ve been hearing back, certainly from my own perspective, has been that in the talks there has been a depth of theology, not just the push of an experience; there has been this depth of theology as the verses and the references have come out, but you have also told us of the experiences—what this would look like and what God can do. And beyond you describing this, we also saw what God did among us. So those two sides then—the Word and the Spirit—I would say we saw that, but I would say we also saw—I could put it this way—the Lion and the Lamb. There was a real confidence in the way I thought the talks came across, but also the gentility of getting to know the Person of the Holy Spirit. And I wondered—is this something that you’ve always had? Is it a style of preaching that you developed or what?

Rob Rufus
That’s an outstanding question, Tope. As I mentioned in the conference, before I became a Christian I was a Hare Krishna. I was practicing strict Hinduism very aesthetically. One of the things that attracted me to Christianity was that when I went to a meeting where the power of God was being manifested—where cripples were walking and deaf ears were opening and the power of God was there—it made me realize that Christianity can never be reduced just to a philosophy, but it has to declare that Jesus is alive; He is a risen living Saviour. So I came into the kingdom of heaven through seeing the supernatural—I was birthed in the miraculous. But then I had mentors that loved the Scriptures as well. We were kind of like charismatic Calvinists, in other words we had reformed theology of the sovereignty of God and the attributes of God and the awesomeness and the transcendence of God and the love for Scripture. But along with that was this recognition that Paul, one of the greatest apostles and one of the greatest theologians you could ever imagine—raised the dead. He moved in signs and wonders, the supernatural. So I think it’s fraudulent to say we are walking in a New Testament apostolic life if all we are is into the Spirit because that gets quite unusual and flaky and unhealthy after awhile. Or it’s fraudulent to say, “I’m apostolic; I’m into the Word of God, but we don’t have a demonstration of power. Paul had both, and I think that’s what good theology is. I mean, Jesus was the theologian of theologians, and he said to someone—you’re wrong because you don’t know the Scriptures AND the power of God. So he married the Word of God and the Scriptures together.

Adrian
Very good! Very good! So for you, growing up into that whole kind of charismatic Calvinist thing, you sort of laughed when you said it. Did you feel like you were a bit of an oddity? Were you aware there were others out there like that? Or was there just a small group of you and you felt a bit weird? Because that was our experience!

Rob Rufus
Adrian, that’s exactly how we felt! I got saved in 1977, I think, so it was the tail end of the hippie movement. We all had long hair and all of that stuff, and yet with the gifts of the Spirit in operation, we would do expository preaching right through the Bible. We would study books at a time—go through the book of Hebrews chapter by chapter.

Adrian
So your preaching wasn’t always like it was this week?

Rob Rufus
(Loud laughter) Of course not! I was inducted into Christianity through expository preaching, and that wasn’t me; it was my mentor.

Adrian
So you do that kind of expository preaching yourself?

Rob Rufus
I do occasionally. I have been in the church plant in Hong Kong for three years and I haven’t done a book yet in expository form. But we will. That is something I do. But in the middle of all that expository teaching, there were gifts of the Spirit—very passionate outreach and evangelism in the streets. So reformed denominations for whom I have great respect (I really do) who love the Scriptures—they couldn’t quite work us out. We were a bit of a strange case! We were charismatic Calvinists. And yet I feel like in today’s world, I think what’s happening is that a lot of committed evangelical people who love Jesus, who love the Scriptures, are suddenly to their relief, finding out that people who are full of the Spirit and know the supernatural power of God love the Scriptures as well. And I believe it’s giving them a sense that a bridging is taking place. I think, too, that those people who are moving in the power of God and love the Scriptures—we need to be humble and realize that evangelicals have a rich legacy that we can learn from, and I think we can enrich each other.

Adrian
One of the things I find is that quite a few of the readers of my blog out there—they love the Word, they are Reformed folk—but they are a little bit bemused to discover that there are a ton of us [charismatics] who love the Word in the same way. Actually, a lot of them are quite drawn in, but they just don’t know quite how to make that connection. Perhaps they don’t live in a town where there’s a group they can go to. Maybe they’ve even been burnt by some of these “charismaniacs” we’ve talked about. What would you say to them? They’re sitting at home and are a bit intrigued, a bit fascinated. They want more, but know they haven’t really connected with the Spirit in that way.

Rob Rufus
Yes. Well, I would say—stay with the Scriptures. Never ever dilute or compromise your love for the Word of God! That is our foundation; that’s the bedrock. Then I would just invite the Holy Spirit to come, the Spirit of truth, because he breathed the Scriptures! They are God-breathed by the Spirit himself. Ask the Holy Spirit to come and just touch you and begin to lead you. And He will, because he really is faithful and wonderful. And then with technology today, this access to speakers around the world like the New Frontiers guys who talk about the Holy Spirit, but from a wonderful biblical place. I mean, I don’t think this fear today that the counterfeit, that the devil—and [the Bible] does warn in the last days there will be counterfeit signs, wonders, and miracles—but it doesn’t say that the ONLY signs, wonders, and miracles in the last day will be counterfeit. So if there is counterfeit, it means that the genuine will be there, and we need to find the genuine. We really need to find the genuine.

Adrian
Thanks for that. Just going back a minute then. There you were, coming—Calvinistic, charismatic, or if you prefer, Reformed Charismatic. (I always think the term “reformed charismatic” is funny because it makes it sound like we’re kind of an ex-charismatic group, doesn’t it?) (Section unclear because of loud laughter.) But you obviously did become part of a family of churches—you’re not part of New Frontiers, but you’re part of something—I think it’s New Covenant Ministries? Have I got that right?

Rob Rufus
Yes, New Covenant Ministries International.

Adrian
So, how did New Covenant Ministries International come about? Tell us a little bit about the history of that.

Rob Rufus
Sure. It was back in the early 1980’s when God was really moving in ways, I think, across the world, and particularly in South Africa (we were based in South Africa). My friend who actually mentored me, and fathered and birthed NCMI—his church grew explosively. And whatever happens, you know, whenever you have some success, pastors around the country want you to come and tell them about it.

Adrian
So who was that? What was his name?

Rob Rufus
It’s Dudley Daniel. He started traveling around South Africa and teaching about what made his church grow. Then God spoke to him one day on the plane and said, “It’s wonderful what you’re doing—you’re blessing pastors and that, but do you want to spend the rest of your life just blessing, or do you also want to help pastors build the Church?” Because blessings are short-lived, but if you build well, you can sustain the blessing. And God began to speak to Dudley about finding biblical patterns—what are the biblical wineskins? How were churches really governed in the New Testament? He began to see that there were some traditions that we had inherited that were not in line with Scripture, done by very sincere, good leaders. So he began to relate this to some friends. He threw his home open on a Monday, and pastors that were alone, looking for friendship, started coming and relating. And out of that came a kind of a motto that we developed: “Friendship before function.” We have a function into the earth, but we want to be friends; we want to do it with friends relationally, like Jesus did with his guys, his friends. (Too much laughter to hear what is being said here.) God showed us that we are the offspring of Abraham, and that we are (unclear) forces—we’re the heirs of the world. And that from the seed of Abraham God wanted to make the blessing to all nations! So the Great Commission really just complements the oath God took to Abraham—God took an oath that all nations would be blessed. When you take an oath, it’s—what’s the word I want to say?

Tope
Binding?

Rob Rufus
Yeah, binding. So God bound himself to bless all nations through the seed of Abraham. So if the Church balks on that, or hinders it, or stands against it, then God will precipitate a crisis, like he did with Jonah to get the Gospel to Nineveh. So we realized that God was calling us to go to the nations, and we built—with a national team of friends, we developed a mixture of prophetic, apostolic evangelists, teachers, pastors, etc.

Adrian
You used that word “apostolic,” and I’m very aware that some of my readers will wonder, “What do you mean by that?” Can you explain your perspective of what that means?

Rob Rufus
Yes, and I think that is a very good question, because people are asking that, and it really is something people want to have clarity on. Often people think apostles are those who write Scripture, and that if we’re claiming we’ve got apostles today, we claim that the canon of Scripture’s not closed. But as we know, it IS closed, and that [New Testament] Scripture was written only by apostles in the first century. So we have pre-ascension apostles in the Bible and post-ascension apostles. Anyone who believes the Bible is God’s inspired Word will realize there must be apostles around today—they’re not pre-ascension apostles. The pre-ascension apostles are the twelve apostles of the Lamb that were called primarily to be witnesses to the baptism of Jesus, his life, his resurrection. But after Jesus was raised from the dead and ascended on high (Ephesians 4) he gave some to be apostles. So there are post-ascension apostles as well, and he says they will be in the earth until the Church comes to the full measure of the stature of Christ. We know the Church is not at the full measure of the stature of Christ currently, so we will need apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the equipping of the believers, the saints, for the work of the ministry until we all come to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and to the full measure of the stature of Christ. So apostles need to be “until.” That word “until” offers the key word.

Adrian
Yes, very good. I think it’s Matthew Henry who looks at that passage and says something like, “These gifts (or rather some of them) will continue until the end.” It’s an interesting approach, I guess. If the apostles stop, why doesn’t the pastor stop?

Rob Rufus
Exactly! Exactly!

Tope
Yes, absolutely. I think you put it very, very well, and in a very helpful way because, certainly I know that for us, just working as we see the Bible order these things functioning together with apostles in the midst and all the other gifts, it’s been an incredible help. Near the end, it does say he gives these as gifts. He must know that we need these gifts. There’s something very powerful there. Every time we align ourselves with the biblical order that God has put in place, goodness and blessing come out the other end. So we’re all learning this.

Rob Rufus
Very good, Tope! I agree. I agree. I think when people hear of apostles, they kind of think of some sort of hierarchy and almost a controlling dictator-type where apostles are self-appointed and really think they are the big bosses of the church, you know, but actually Paul says, “We, the apostles, come at the end of the line.” There is nothing dictatorial, although Paul was incredibly anointed in such power and theology and revelation, he came amongst the churches like a father—he said almost like a nursing mother to the Thessalonians. And he speaks about of his affection for them and his friendship for them, and the care for the churches. So there is a hierarchy there. But Paul wouldn’t even put the word “apostle” in front of his name. He always put it behind his name: “Paul, called to be an apostle.” He is saying “apostle” is not my title, it’s my job description. So you’ll never see the word “apostle” in front of Paul’s name, or any of the guy’s names. Even at home, I like to say to people, “Look, I’m Rob, called to be a pastor to you.” Pastor is my job description; it’s not my title. People say, “I’ve got to call you “Pastor Rob” because that’s a sign of respect.” And I say, “Well, then, I’ve got to call you Mechanic Henry. Or Housewife Jill.” I don’t show you respect by calling your job description as your title. I think every sincere person who loves the Scriptures—we need to say the Bible plus nothing, the Bible minus nothing—and we build our theology, our church practice—not only our doctrine of Hebrews 6: faith, repentance, you know, all of the doctrine. But the government, the way church is governed, needs to come back to Scripture as well.

Adrian
Yes, and I think that’s so right. It seems like, I guess it’s almost like we have blind spots—where we want the Bible up to this point, but no further. I guess church history is a bit like that—you look back in church history and you see some of these guys in the past, and you think, “How could you see so much great stuff and not this?!”

Rob Rufus
Yes! Very good! Yes! Yes!

Tope
I think the real enemy just tries to blind us and stop us from seeing certain things and living in the good of certain things. But God is still on the throne and seeking to bring recovery to everything.

When you talk about Paul there, and his movement in church planting—you’ve moved now from South Africa and you find yourself . . . where do you find yourself these days? (Laughter)

Rob Rufus
Well, we planted a church in South Africa and led it for twelve years, handed it over, and then we re-located to Australia to help Dudley, who started the NCMI family of churches and apostolic team. We worked with him there for thirteen years. He actually handed the church over to me and he headed to the United States for awhile—for a number of years—so I led that church for seven years and then handed the church over to Tyrone Daniel, who is Dudley’s son. And then for three years we traveled full-time internationally equipping and training churches in evangelism, and signs and wonders, and doing crusades around the world. And then God spoke very clearly and said, “I want you to go plant a church in Hong Kong,”—which was a real challenge to me because I don’t speak Cantonese or Putonghua, which is Mandarin. But we very clearly heard the call to go. So we started with five people in Hong Kong—no one knew us, knew our history! But God has blessed us here. In three years we have seen local Chinese people saved and added, so we are enjoying it and beginning to move into the China mainland as well and help plant churches in the mainland.

Adrian
Praise God! That’s really great. So, within your family of churches, is that quite an unusual thing to go church planting? I mean, do you just have a few churches or what?

Rob Rufus
We’ve been going from probably the mid-80’s, so it is just over twenty years, and a number of guys and girls together on teams are relocating, planting churches internationally. And more and more we do want it to have a total indigenous flavour. We don’t want it to be—we’re not exporting South African culture that’s for sure! We want it to be Kingdom culture, so when the culture of the country we go to is consistent with the Kingdom culture, those elements of the culture, we say let’s celebrate that. But where the culture contradicts the culture of the Kingdom, then the Christians need to make the adjustments to conform to the culture of the Kingdom. So, yeah, there is that spearheading—more and more people going into different nations and planting, but we also kind of plant and parent. There are churches out there going—we really need to be connected with an apostolic team that can help us build foundation into the life of our churches We never own those churches, but work as friends with those churches through the invitation of the leaders— only through invitation of the leaders. There is no headquarters that says, “We own you and you’re just another statistic. If you don’t line up with us, then we’ll take your building, kick you out”—none of that! We don’t own any buildings. The local church is the highest governing authority; they own their buildings. We build friendship with them and relationship, so we also have had, over those twenty years, probably (we don’t know, you gotta be careful) I’m going to say some thousands of churches, but that represents throughout most of Africa, we have churches. In one year we had 500 churches planted in Malawi alone, but it just happens in Africa. It just happens. But in the Western world, no, we don’t have thousands; we’re talking hundreds in the Western world.

Adrian
I’ve taken quite a lot of your time and I guess we should draw this to an end. But I’m just wondering—Are there any final things you would like to say in closing to the people listening, who come, really, from all over the world—all kinds of different backgrounds. What would you say to them in closing, Rob?

Rob Rufus
I would say that these are amazing days, and Jesus is so wonderful, and don’t be robbed of your inheritance. You are alive on the planet now, not by coming to him, but because you have been hand-picked, selected by God to be alive at the climax of the consummation of the ages. So don’t be hijacked or seduced or hurt through bitterness or disappointment, because there is all of that happening. We have all been hurt. We’ve all been disappointed. We’ve all been there, but we must keep our eyes on the prize. And he is Jesus. He is so wonderful, and he’s so glorious, and he’s building his Church in such a wonderful way—he hasn’t finished yet, so don’t be disappointed with the Church! He has not finished yet. He is preparing us for great things in these days! God bless you guys!

Adrian
Amen. Thank you very much!

To read the complete interview transcript, click here.