‘The Hyper-Grace Gospel’ – out today!
I wrote my latest book by accident. It’s called The Hyper-Grace Gospel and it’s out today. You can find it on Amazon.
My new book has an interesting back-story.
After reading Michael Brown’s recent book opposing the “modern grace message,” I decided to jot down a few notes for E2R readers. In his book Dr. Brown attacks the writings of several grace preachers, including myself. I thought people might be interested to learn what grace preachers would say in response.
In my new book, I quote from more than 40 grace preachers, including many of those identified by Dr. Brown. Although I don’t personally know Joseph Prince or Andrew Wommack, I know what they would say in response to criticisms made against them. And if you read The Hyper-Grace Gospel, you will know too.
But I didn’t write this book to set the record straight. Life is too short to live in reaction to those who disagree with us.
My view is that Dr. Brown has done us a great service by showing us where we have been unclear in presenting the gospel. By drawing attention to areas of misunderstanding and confusion, he has signaled an opportunity to clarify our message, and for this I am grateful.
I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say, “This is the gospel that we preach. This is the good news of God’s super-abundant grace!”
When I finished writing, I showed my notes to some friends and they suggested I add something up front that could be used as a stand-alone introduction to the gospel. “Give us a hyper-grace handbook,” said one. So I did. I wrote an introduction to the hyper-grace gospel showing how it differs from the mixed-messages of manmade religion.
Then I added another section examining 12 misperceptions people have about the gospel. Suddenly I had three bits of a book that now looks like this:
PART A: The Hyper-Grace Gospel
What is hyper-grace?
Alternatives to hyper-grace
20 differences between the mixed- and hyper-grace gospels
How to recognize a mixed-grace gospel
How to recognize the hyper-grace gospel
The hyper-grace gospel quiz
PART B: 12 Myths about the Hyper-Grace Gospel
Myth 1: Hyper-grace preachers are against repentance
Myth 2: Hyper-grace preachers are against confession
Myth 3: The hyper-grace gospel is universalism in disguise
Myth 4: Hyper-grace preachers say it’s wrong to ask God for forgiveness
Myth 5: Hyper-grace preachers say God is not grieved by your sin
Myth 6: Hyper-grace preachers are against the law
Myth 7: Hyper-grace preachers ignore the Old Testament
Myth 8: Hyper-grace preachers disregard the words of Jesus
Myth 9: The hyper-grace gospel encourages sin
Myth 10: The hyper-grace gospel discourages obedience and holy living
Myth 11: Hyper-grace preachers don’t talk about hell and wrath
Myth 12: The hyper-grace gospel makes people lazy
PART C: A Response to Michael L. Brown
It is super-important to drink pure grace straight from the tap. If you live lack access to clean drinking water, you’re going to need a filter. The Hyper-Grace Gospel is a filter. It will help you filter out the impurities in the mixed-messages of manmade religion.
Better still, it will leave you marveling at the relentless love of your Father. It will show you how to walk in His amazing grace and help you rediscover the joy that is found in Jesus.
And this week only, you can get The Hyper-Grace Gospel at a special launch-discount price on Kindle or PDF and paperback.
Why not grab a copy today?
Escape to Reality 
What a gracious response to criticism! We do need to hear what others think we are saying, or not saying, so that we can say more or less to make the message clearer.
I think you did a great job of accomplishing what you set out to do and I thank you for it. Blessings
You’ve hit another home run with this book Paul. Great to see your respect for Michael Brown. The grace movement desparatly needs people like you to steer the ship away from the rocks! Thank you! 👌
They, the law/grace mixers are frustrated with this truth as it tests their faith….
I came out of a rightly dividing, fundamental….who taught grace but was still mixed with law. I knew when I left there I loved Paul’s books but hated the Pharisee/law pushing stuff.. Took me a while to figure it out but I believe the biggest was I loved the freedom that grace provided and when I read about grace not being a part of teh curse of the law……….That made me put my foot down, and mixture/bondage was being cut off of me… Hard to do because others didn’t like my freedom. Was pushed out of churches or pushed aside and asked to be quiet!!!
So I started a home church based on Grace………..AMEN and we have grown, but keeping mixture out is still a challenge!!, even with the preacher!!!
Blessings,
Elaine
i was wondering how this book just seemed to pop up out of the blue!
i love how you make things so clear in your writing 😉
I get confused by your emails. Is “Hyper-Grace a pejorative, or just what are your beliefs?
I am in favor of rightly dividing the Word of truth according to apostle Paul. I am in what is commonly regarded as the Grace Movement. In my experience, those who call us “hyper-dispensationalist” are using it as a negative or pejorative appellation. You have me confused!
Paul describes God’s grace as huper or hyper in Romans 5:20. God’s grace is superabundant and over the top. The label “hyper-grace” is 100% Biblical and coined by the apostle of grace himself.
Thank you Paul Ellis. It was my desire to respond to Mr. Brown’s book just for that same reason …so that he and others could possibly see the amazing truth by correcting all their misinterpretations/misunderstandings. A book like his was needed so someone could respond to, to clarify the m&m’s and may continue to bring forth the truth for THOSE who are yet to be set free. Thank You Father! Isn’t HE amazing!!!
Thank you to you and others like D.R. Silva, Andrew Farley, and Bob George who have communicated the Gospel of Grace so well and with such Grace. Thank you for giving us ‘Grace Folk’ more tools with which to effectively articulate what we have instinctively known about who we are in Christ. There is such rest there!
In the past several years I’ve studied out Law and Grace in the face of Law-preachers (the Torah-pursuant variety). Though I would share my faith freely in the past, only in the past few years has the desire and the passion to share what I now recognize as truly Good News grown and flourished. Why wouldn’t we want to share that Gospel of Grace?!
As Paul says in 2 Cor. 3, “Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.” \o/
Brilliant Paul, love your gracious responses, a sure sign of a man who lives what he preaches, started reading your latest book, I know I am in for a wonderful feast !
I enjoy your writings Paul. I think hyper grace is relative to what you are comparing it to. When you compare it to the Dr, sure, it’s wonderful. And to those not accustomed to Grace, more than enough. Enough for now? Will it last until you go to be with Christ? Or will you seek more, humbling yourself, being blessed as promised, with more revaluation, and more grace? More peace and being opened to more criticism. Losing numbers. Starting to understand how Paul felt. His, is hyper Grace.
Paul Ellis, I love the preaching of Joseph Prince, do you mean he is a false preacher? I love The Lord, and I want to know the truth! Joseph Prince preaches from old and new testaments. And I truly have learn a lot from him about Grace. I love God thru Jesus Christ. Can you tell me what’s wrong with the preaching of JP? I don’t want a false relationship with The Lord. God bless you Paul.
There is nothing wrong with the teaching of JP. That’s one of the reasons why I wrote this book – to prove that those who criticize his message, and mine, misunderstand grace.
Thanks for writing this book–can’t wait to read it! I’ve learned so much from the Word about New Covenant grace and righteousness and resting in the finished work of Jesus. Understanding the fullness and purity of grace is transforming. God is good!
Paul I congratulate you on your courage and faithful perserverence in communicating a message that challenges man at his core. I have unfortunately not read any of your books or really any books, but the one book that consumes all my time, but have got to know and respect you, you are true to who you say you are.
Brilliant Paul, I will down load a copy onto my tablet, I have your other books as well. Awesome, just awesome. I am a 1 million percent GRACE believer and I just donât know how the church missed it all these years, it is quite frightening to say the least.
Kind Regards
KEITH BLOND
Great stuff…can’t wait for the paperback version 🙂
The paperback version has just gone live.
Fantastic! Thank you.
Paul thanks for setting the record straight on the purity of the Gospel of Grace. This book is the antedote for works based Christianity that sets out debunk the that myth Hyper Grace is a form of apathy and a license to sin. We are not be enslaved again to sin or the law again because of Jesus Christ becoming our primary response to the Father which we were utterly incapable of doing. No more DIY guilt ridden Christianity it’s Hyper Grace all the way for me because I was hyper needy in a hyper state of sin.
Grace to all
Stewart Williams
Paul
in your book you make a sharp distinction between effortless and effort-based spirituality. The apostle Paul says: ‘but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me’. Thus it was God’s grace that empowered Paul to effort. For Paul it was in one sense he who was labouring but he also realised it was God’s grace in him who was really doing it. I dont think we can make a sharp dichotomy between effortLESS and effortFUL spirituality. Effort-BASED spirituality is wrong (the basis of all our spirituality is grace) but an effortful spirituality can and will flow from from the grace of God as Paul himself experienced. The confusion comes when we identify an effortFUL spirituality with an effortBASED one.
That’s a good point. But I think a distinction also needs to be made between spiritual outcomes and works of faith. Paul was referring to preaching the gospel when he said he “worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
The effortless spirituality that I discuss in the book pertains to spiritual outcomes, namely the spiritual fruit that Christ bears in us. Any effort we put in only hinders this process. I am not more holy or more Christlike because I try to be, but because I have quit trying and quit pretending and am now resting in His life. “I no longer live,” said Paul. It’s all about Him. As Joseph Prince says, “A healthy tree bears good fruit without any strain, effort, or stress. When you are planted in the fertile soil of God’s Word and His grace, fruits of righteousness will manifest effortlessly out of your relationship with Him.”
I see your point. In your book also invoke Zacchaeus as an example. After Jesus had met him and had imparted his grace Zacchaeus would have had to exert considerable effort to repay 4x those he had fleeced. Now this was an effort he was glad to do, (I delight to thy will), it was a gift from God, by His grace and it was done in faith but it was an effort nonetheless. Zacchaeus’ change of heart manifested itself in an effort to do righteously. Isnt this what Dr Brown is trying to say that a change of heart which is effortless can manifest itself in an effort to do righteously (Im sorry I havent read his book yet). This in turn might be seen by some as a mixture of grace and law. However if the effort to be righteous is also by grace (as Paul’s efforts in his evangelistic ministry were) then this is not a mixture of grace and law but it is pure grace.
Hello Mr. Midmore, I hope you enjoyed Paul’s book as much as I did. I agree with your conclusion, but I would make a subtle change. A change of heart will manifest itself in a desire to do righteously. Joseph Prince defines rest as Holy Spirit directed activity. Works that are a fruit of His leading and empowerment. Since Jesus is directing these works in the hearts of His people, it becomes unnecessary and even unproductive for preachers to obligate people into works. The preacher/teacher only needs to help people develop a healthy relationship with Him. The healthy relationship produces good fruit. Blessings
Loving it so far! I think that I have more text highlighted than not! Can’t wait to finish it so that I can put up a review on Amazon and to spread the word about the book. I plan to start quoting the book on my FB wall! THANK YOU for writing this book. Of all of the grace teachers, YOU are my favorite! You explain things, especially difficult concepts, so well.
Wow, thanks for all this write Ups, truly am so blessed reading them. Well, concerning the attack on pure grace, people will always talk but keep the good our father God has sent you to do. Meanwhile, I am a big fan of Joseph prince and Amdrew wommack. Thanks once again and remain blessed. I celebrate you big time.
Thanks so much for writing this! I saw the TV Broadcast of a “Supernatural” show where Brown was a guest and I was appalled how the audience went along just on his say-so. The host went as far as saying that the teachers of the hyper-grace movement are leading people who were once in good standing with the Lord straight to hell. Ridiculous! Some grace teachers won’t respond – but a great big, HUGE thanks to you, Paul for responding to Brown’s misconceptions with class and grace! Enjoyed your other books as well!
I think a good picture for the Christian walk is that of a job you really love doing. Monday morning is not a burden but a day to look forward to. Nonetheless it wouldnt do in this job, to just absent yourself for a couple of days to go on holiday. No matter how much you love doing it you nonetheless have the responsibility to do it. So too in Christianity. Christians should delight to do God’s will (Psalm 40.8) nonetheless they have a responsibility to do God’s will. Isnt this the divide between Dr Ellis and Dr Brown? Dr Ellis wants to emphasise the delight and Dr Brown the responsibility. When we emphasise the delight (especially if someone has been emphasising the responsibility) we might seem to be forgetting the responsibility. When we emphasise the responsibility (especially if someone has been emphasising the delight) we might seem to be forgetting the delight. Doesnt this explain the discussion between them which seems to me to be so often at cross purposes.
The difference is the grace preacher doesn’t threaten you with sticks. I will never say, for instance, “Don’t show up for work on Monday and you’ll become unforgiven, fall out of fellowship, and get your name added to God’s List of Enemies. You may even lose your position in the business.” Those who preach responsibility often use carrots and sticks to incentivize proper behavior. They sow fear and insecurity and worst of all, say that these threats are an expression of God’s love. It’s an abominable way to speak to sons and daughters.
The only responsibility I have is to delight in the lord, when my delight becomes a responsibility it is no longer a delight but an idol.You are either a Son or a servant you cannot be both.We in serving each other serve God, but we cannot directly serve God.A son inherits all things from his father by thinking you are serving God you are in all reality just serving yourself ,that is if you are a Son.
To love God is to love yourself.
If we’re going to describe the two positions as delight vs responsibility, on one side we would have man being responsible for his own goodness and on the other side man delighting in God’s goodness. The more responsible man is for his own goodness, the more he must toil to keep the law. The more man delights in God’s goodness, the more thankful he is for God’s gift of righteousness. Then in the middle we would have the balancing act of trying to equally accomplish both. I call this middle ground Confusion. I have God’s righteousness, yet I must not because I’m sill trying to establish my own (Rom 10:3).
Yes Chris I agree. However, I think in order to avoid the idolisation of responsibility grace teachers can sometimes imply that there is no responsibility at all. I believe that delighting in doing righteously and the responsibility to do righteously coexist, as they would in a job you really enjoyed. The delighting in God prevents the responsibility becoming an idol. I partly agree with Paul here too. Of course an enjoyable job is not the perfect analogy in as much as if you failed to attend it you might eventually be sacked. With God this doesn’t happen because when we fail he forgives us when we ask him to (sorry Dr E here I think Dr B is right). Now this statement that God forgives us when we ask him to might be transformed by some into a threat: ‘If you don’t ask God to forgive you He wont and will instead send you to hell forever!’ But this would be the entirely wrong way to interact with our loving heavenly Father who loves us and forgives us all our transgressions Matt 6.12. I do beileve we have a responsibility to confess but this should be our delight rather than a heavy burden. Lets not do away with the heavy burden that some have made confession by doing away with the responsibiltiy to confess. Lets not throw the baby out with the bath water!
Dr M.
In our acceptance of Jesus we also make confession that we are sinners, we accept his righteousness and we get on with this existence.We should be constantly aware that we now exist in grace and by the Spirit made aware of what pleases God.Our walking in grace and not self righteousness is in its self constant confession, on the other hand confession may just be self righteousness in disguise if we do not walk in grace, we say that we in ourselves are righteous and confession corrects and maintains this righteousness. The law is a deep demanding hole to escape, it is Gods holiness by works, an impossible task without Gods intervention.
Of course confession may not be sincere, and may in fact be a cover for a heart that is really saying ‘I thank my God that I am not like other men’. But lets be careful that we dont throw the baby out with the bath water. Lets not say that confession is unnecessary because some people are insincere about it. Yes the law can be a deep hole to escape especially if we have been fed false and legalistic teaching. But the issue for me is ‘How do we escape from this hole’? Because ‘hypergrace’ teaches that ‘forgiveness is a done deal’ and that God no longer actively forgives his children then a number of Scriptures need to jettisonned in order for this to make any sense e.g. Matt 6.12 a verse in the Lords prayer. For me this cannot be the right way of getting out of a legalistic hole. I agree with the goals of hypergrace but not its means.
Brilliant book Paul.!! Destroys confusion and condemnation like a knife cutting through butter. Especially loved your definition of a mixed grace gospel. Keep it up.
Jude v 21 “Keep yourselves in Gods love……”
Mel Sanders
Just bought The Hyper grace Gospel by Paul Ellis and looking forward to reading it.
Dr. Ellis,
I just finished reading this book and Dr. Brown’s simultaneously; it was good to have your responses as I read his critiques, so thanks!
On Repentance, have you read an old book by Treadwell Walden called “The Great Meaning of Metanoia”? I think he might provide more support to your argument.
On Sanctification, would you agree that much of the so-called “modern grace message” has similarities with the “exchanged life” and Keswick theology, etc.? Especially how it is not achieved by self-effort, but by resting in the Vine and letting Him do the work in us, by faith, as we look to Christ alone for EVERYTHING.
A difference might be the emphasis on a crisis experience where one comes to the end of oneself (often frustration from failing to live up to the law by self-effort!), whereas hyper-grace proponents might want to go directly to Jesus, bypassing the crisis (but it seems they discovered hyper-grace by also being frustrated with self-effort’s inability to achieve holiness!)?
I wonder if you have read Charles R. Solomon, James Fowler, and other lesser-known contemporaries that share a similar message? Obviously you quote Watchman Nee, and then of course there is Andrew Murray, Hudson Taylor, etc, which I am sure you have read as well.
Blessings!
This week, I read “Hyper-Grace etc by Dr. Michael Brown, Hyper-Grace Gospel by Paul Ellis, and Dr Silva’s book on Hyper-Grace-the dangerous doctrine of a happy God. It was great to have Dr.Brown’s text and your response to his book to examine at the same time. I am impressed by your response to Dr. Brown and the tone that you have answered and challenged him with. Reading some posts and comments by Dr. Brown to you, as regarding an article that you critiqued, I was also taken back by his conciliatory and gracious tone as he wrote comments to you.
I think that this debate is one of the pivotal events in Christianity today and it is commendable that you are both so “Christian” in your approaches to one another. I commend you for your grace toward Dr. Brown; I don’t know that I could be that gracious although I am totally aware that I should be. God bless you.
Don DuMont
I get confused and more confused with this so called “hyper-grace” movement. I am currently “forced” by my boss to get involved in this movement (he is also pastoring a charismatic congregation) and from what I heard and learned, it seems he never heard or understand about grace before, which is strange since his father is also a pastor.
I do not see something wrong with this movement, but at the same time I feel something wrong. My boss is trying hard to “convert” people to this hyper-grace, preaching things which we think is pretty obvious, but he is trying hard to shove it down our throats (anyone should have had this feeling when somebody telling us something we already knew but he believes we do not know anything about it).
I see the problem is NOT in the functional definition of grace in terms of sin or salvation or justification (yes, these is much ado about nothing in this debate …) but more on the basic philosophy of this “hyper-grace” supporter. I know it is not monolithic movement, but what I hear from my boss, he is leaning more on the “prosperity and feel good” gospel with this “hyper-grace”, to the point of “condemning” us if we are not “smiling”, “happy”, “successful”, “healthy”, because we dot not have “faith” (not work, he said) in claiming God’s abundance blessing.
Another problem with this “fanaticism” is the confirmation bias (yes we all have it). My boss interpret the bible as he likes, not contextually (I cannot blame him, coming from charismatic movement). So we are not allowed to pray the Lord’s prayer, or preach/read/talk about the Beattitudes because Jesus is still under the Law, and everthing He said is not about grace but about Law (before the cross). But at the same time, he often uses verses from OT to justify his “hyper-grace super-happy all-blessing” theology.
Next week, a teacher from NCC (Joseph Prince church) is coming to my office to give another series of seminar on Grace and we are forced (literally) to come. This is the second time he come to our office, the first time he came I attended the seminar and it didn’t “surprise” much, except for some “strange” concepts Law vs Grace. I do not want to come, because it takes a lot of my precious time, but … it is the Law of the Boss.
Dear Paul.
Thank you for giving us this wonderful book which indeed will serve as a guide to confront the errors. I enjoy all your posts and even share them in our bible study groups.
Can I seek clarification about something that you said in Page 60 of this book. I hear you comment that you wouldn’t have a problem to take communion with a pastor who is a gay….
I understand what you are saying here about not condemning and offering Grace. But this seems to be at odds with the apostle of Grace who said not to keep company with a “brother” who is sexually immoral (1 Corinth 5:11). How do we reconcile these two positions ( yours and Paul’s). ?
Paul E I am NOT arguing here but sincerely seeking clarification. I respet you and your work and I honestly believe that God is using you powerfully to set many free.
Thanks in advance and keep the posts coming.
Bless you brother!
Regards
Andrew.
Hi Andrew, read that comment in context and you will see I am responding to the horror some have of gay pastors. To some gays are the modern leper. They are to be avoided with all the fervor of old covenant discrimination. Jesus didn’t act like this – he reached out to those others rejected – and I don’t want to act like this. I don’t want to be the one throwing stones. It’s ungracious. As I say in the book, “I don’t condone homosexuality. But I will just as happily break bread with the gay pastor as with the religious man who frowns upon him.” In 1 Cor 5 Paul is dealing with a separate issue – church discipline.
Looking forward to updating more infos about your teaching on hypergrace . Thanks
Gbu