Michael Brown and his grace controversy
The hyper-grace gospel that Jesus revealed declares that God loves you with an unconditional love. His grace for you is, to quote the apostle Paul, hyper- or super-abounding (Rom 5:20).
The gospel of God’s grace is the good news that this world needs to hear, but according to some this message is controversial, divisive, and faddish. Dr. Michael Brown is one of the critics opposed to this “dangerous” message and he has just written a book. It’s called The Grace Controversy and an abbreviated version of it can be found on CharismaNews.
In the CharismaNews article Dr. Brown says that the hyper-grace gospel is a deception that attracts two kinds of believers: those who are closet sinners and those who have a problem with discipline.
There are two primary classes of believers drawn to the hyper-grace message. The first group consists of serious Christians who really want to please the Lord but they struggle with a particular sin or they have very sensitive consciences… On the other hand, there are believers who are attracted to the hyper-grace message because they have a problem with discipline and holiness.
Dr. Brown’s language is provocative but controversy sells. In an earlier book, Dr. Brown suggested grace preachers were Marcionites (a heretic) and Gnostics (ditto). Now we are secret sinners and carnal Christians. So beware of us!
I don’t really mind the slander – it comes with the territory – but what I do find odd is how Dr. Brown applauds the “incredibly liberating” and “positive truths of the hyper-grace message,” but then dismisses that message as extreme and unbalanced. He acknowledges that this message is bearing much fruit, but he wants to chop down the tree.
Grace is good, but it’s controversial. Grace is helping people, but it’s dangerous.
That doesn’t make any sense to me, but maybe I’ve got a sensitive conscience.
In his book Michael Brown asks twelve questions. I like questions and, as always, I appreciate the opportunity to provide hyper-grace answers to his:
1. Is Grace a Person?
Yes, in the sense that the gospel of grace is the gospel of Jesus (Acts 20:24, 2 Th 1:8). All the blessings of God come to us by grace alone and all of them are found in Jesus.
But a better question is, why does it matter? It matters because if we define grace as something other than Jesus – a concept, a doctrine, a teaching – we diminish it. We put it in a little box and tell ourselves, “That’s grace, I have it all figured out.”
The problem is your grace-in-a-box won’t change you. It won’t lift you up, give you aid, or help you overcome sin. But Jesus will! This is why I say grace is a Person and his name is Jesus.
2. Are All Our Sins—Past, Present and Future—Already Forgiven in Jesus?
You bet! The preacher of mixture cheapens grace by saying Jesus only died for some of your sins or God’s forgiveness is merely a debit card, but in Christ you are eternally forgiven. Jesus will never die for your sins again (Heb 9:26). Forgiveness is not something God does; it’s something he’s done.
Does this mean everyone is saved? Does this mean hyper-grace is really universalism in disguise? Not at all. What it means is that because of Jesus, God is no longer counting your sins against you (2 Cor 5:19). You don’t need to waste a second of your life begging God to forgive you – he already did!
3. If a Believer Fails to Confess Even One Sin Before He Dies, Will He Go to Hell?
Nope. Just as we are not qualified by our righteous deeds, we are not disqualified by our unrighteous deeds. We are saved and kept by Jesus. “He will keep you firm to the end” (1 Cor 1:8).
4. Does the Holy Spirit Convict Believers of Sin?
No. How could he, since he remembers our sins no more (Heb 10:17)? There is a long tradition of teaching that the Holy Spirit “lovingly” convicts us of sin, but there is not one scripture to support this. Love keeps no record of wrongs. The Spirit of Christ makes you Son-conscious, not sin-conscious.
5. Does God See Us as Righteous?
Yes. The gospel of grace announces a divine exchange – your sin for Christ’s righteousness. One with the Lord, you are as righteous and holy as he is. Jesus said, “I am the Vine and you are the branches.” If the Vine is righteous, then so are the branches.
“Ye were declared righteous, in the name of the Lord Jesus” (1 Cor 6:11, YLT). “Having been declared righteous, then, by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1).
6. What Does It Mean to Be Under Grace and Not the Law?
It means trusting in grace from start to finish and having nothing to do with the law. As Paul explains in Romans 7, running after the law is committing spiritual adultery. It’s cheating on Jesus. The Galatians put themselves under a tiny bit of law and Paul called them deceived fools.
The law does not teach you how to please God, live right, or do anything. The law is not for you. “The law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful” (1 Tim 1:9).
7. If God Requires Anything of Us as Believers, How Is That Grace?
Everything God requires, God provides – that’s grace. God requires that you be righteous, so he gives you his righteousness. He requires that you be sanctified, so he gives you his sanctification.
“Impress God by being good,” says the works preacher, and God does a face palm. Your goodness is as filthy rags, smelly with the stench of the flesh. Your goodness is not good enough. “Be perfect,” said Jesus (Matt 5:48). The perfection that God demands he supplies, and in Christ you have it.
8. Are We Made Completely Holy the Moment We Are Saved?
Are we fully human the moment we are born?
The holiness preacher makes much of the exhortation to be holy, as though holiness was something to strive for. “Sign up for the holiness gym. Get running on the treadmill of spiritual discipline.”
But holiness, along with every other spiritual blessing, is a gift to be received. “We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb 10:10). Why do the scriptures exhort us to be holy? Because that is our true identity.
Holiness is not something to do in order to become something we are not; it is something we do because of who we are.
9. If Hypergrace Is Not True, Why Are So Many Believers Transformed by the Message?
Here’s a better question: If so many people are transformed by the hyper-grace message, why do some attack it?
10. Do the Words of Jesus Apply to Us Today?
Yes. Dr. Brown likes to marginalize grace preachers by saying we are dismissive of Christ’s words (and don’t forget we’re also closet sinners!), but it’s a myth. In fact grace preachers are the only ones taking Jesus seriously.
A mixed-grace preacher reads the words of Jesus selectively (“those tough words are just hyperbole” or “Jesus is exaggerating – he didn’t really mean it”), but a hyper-grace preacher values everything Jesus says.
11. Is God Always Pleased With Us as His Children?
Definitely. God sees Jesus in the River Jordan, before he’s done any ministry or preached any sermons, and he says, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matt 3:17). God did this to show us his love is unaffected by what we do.
Your behavior may not please the Lord, and your choices may not please the Lord, but you can rest assured that you are always 100 percent pleasing and acceptable to the Lord. God will never say, “You disappoint me.” You are and always shall be, the apple of your Daddy’s eye.
12. Is It Possible to Lose Your Salvation?
No. For you to lose your salvation God would have to forsake you or cast you out, when he said he wouldn’t (Heb 13:5, John 6:37). He would have to forget we are his children (Is 49:15), remember what he has chosen to forget (Heb 10:17), and do what he promised never to do (Rev 3:5).
Fear and doubt are the fruit of mixed-up preaching, but your heavenly Father wants you to be certain and secure. So what does he do? He fills his book with unshakeable promises so that we might have confidence and live free from worry.
Grace (without controversy) and peace (without qualification) to you all!
Escape to Reality 
Thank Michael Brown for the opportunity for a new book by Paul Ellis! 😉
Fantastic! This is so helpful…
(…and funny at the same time.)
I am really struggling with this Hyper Grace message after leaving an abusive relationship with a narcissistic, controlling and manipulative man who claims to be a Christian. Please explain to me how someone just gets away with lifelong manipulations of his parents, partners and children…He looks and talks like a Christian on Sundays but is psychologically abusive to most people unless they are of any need to him……Please help me understand this 😦
It sounds like this person needs the grace of God that empowers us to say no to ungodliness. Abusive and manipulation is very common in religious environments where the law is preached. Consider the Pharisees; they were conniving and manipulative and literally went around trying to kill people who disagree with them.
I’m truly sorry to hear of your situation, Lets take that to another level, where I was in an organization that was abusive (doctrinally, that is). Sometimes, people of this caliber, needs to a spiritual slap in the face, if you will. I’m not sure how much exposure he has had with the grace message, but I pray that one will finally reach him as it had me. Eventhough it took 30 years!
angeandkyla-
I can see why this is hard to understand as I came from the very exact same situation. In fact, my ex husband lured me in with his claim to faith in Jesus and then ever so cunningly did the bait and switch on me.
All the sudden my very relationship with Jesus was one of the things he used as a tool for abuse towards me. He hated how much I talked about Jesus and always found ways to condemn me with messages that questioned me that “if I’m a Christian, why am I doing this/that.” For example, if I got angry with him for staying out all night getting wasted (while I was home pregnant), calling me at 5am to drive and pick him up wasted (I don’t drink alcohol by choice not because I think I have to to “be holy”), get home and start verbal, mental and physical abuse and would even start watching porn while I was crying in devastation in the other room. He would even blast me with insults in front if his friends when I was driving to pick him up while he was drunk and while I was in the hospital in an emergency labor with my daughter, he called me a bi@$&…it was hiddious!
After I had my daughter, I said NO MORE ABUSE and left him for good. He called and harassed me, threatened me and promised me hell, but I was already living in it. And ironically I was a blood bought Christian who was allowing myself to stay in the situation before I left because I “thought that was the Christian thing to do.” God does NOT like our sin and He will deal with sin in the unbelieving (mind you that my ex was never really a believer, he just cleverly used religion to disguise himself as if he did…like Paul said to you…totally Pharisee playout).
My point of explaining in detail is the help you see that my ex or anyone needs God’s grace badly, but we don’t have the ability to change people with His grace. God works out His grace through us with His effort. We just abide in him and take action where he leads us. My action was to leave my abuser, work with Jesus to forgive him, pray for him and extend God’s grace to him by getting us all (my daughter, me and my ex) out of that situation. A loving father would never call His children to stay in that situation. Sin destroys us and God wants to help us overcome it so we live at peace in Him. But he will never stop loving us as we struggle.
I’m not sure if your ex is a believer and has truly accepted Christ, but as a believers we turn to Jesus in all things. His steadfast one way love is the only absolute love in our lives. It will heal you and give up on trying to make sense of your ex and his abuse. Your ex sounds very religious and that’s where the dangerous mix comes in of law. He probably thinks that as his wife you had to “stay and deal” with his abuse. To me that is just another dead ringer why the law mixers are the ones who are truly Pharisees and extremely dangerous. And that’s because just like the Garden of Eden, they allow the enemy to pervert God’s love, grace and Word.
Blessings to you and may you be at rest in our magnificent Lord!
Paul, can you set up your articles so they can be posted to Facebook, Instagram and WeChat, please?
E2R articles are automatically posted to Facebook, Twitter, and G+. I don’t have an Instagram account yet as I have only just entered the 21st century and purchased a smart phone. I’ll add it to my (very long) to do list. Thanks.
I love this. I find Brown’s excerpt here confusing. Don’t all Christians struggle with a particular sin? And isn’t pursuing holiness and discipline hard for everyone regardless of whether you subscribe to the hyper-grace message or not? I mean, telling someone to “live like Jesus,” wouldn’t that be hard, impossible, for anyone? Isn’t sin and holiness being turned into something very small here? And therefore what Jesus accomplished on our behalf, no sin and perfect holiness, becomes small as well.
Hi Paul
Perhaps we need to consider Michael Brown’s interest in revivial movements that are well known for messages that are strong on sin and personal holiness but rely on a large degree of our “self sufficiency” or ‘self effort” to resolve them. This is evidenced in his teachings and books. It would explain his reluctance to embrace the “hyper-grace” gospel. Likewise, most revivialists and opposing voices tend to forget that it is the power of Christ’s resurrection working in us to overcome sin and produce good works. Lots of “revivalists” are not “resurrectionists”, that is, they preached and teached about using our self imposed efforts and self sacrifice performance to deal with sin and personal holiness instead of resting in Christ’s finished and complete work. Both “revivialists” and “resurrectionists” speaks against sin and uphold personal holiness, but the difference lies in who they depend on for the grace and strength to do so.
Hi Richard. On Michael Brown. I wont get into things I disagree on about him and I have only heard him speak briefly but I have read some of his material and based on the material I have read, your comment about him and his belief when it comes to “effort” is a false accusation. Now that is based on the material I have read. If Michael contradicts himself elsewhere in other material I have not come across it. I simply don’t subscribe to any of his on-going material or broadcasts to date. Maybe I should, to see if what you claim has some truth to it, but I am taken back by what you said based on what I have read thus far.
Great insight. Thanks for your input.
To clarify I was agreeing with Richard’s comments not Waynes 🙂
This….again?
I think the enemy of Father and Son. has the ability to plant thoughts(darts) in us Humans. everything else he had taken away, the Keys to Heaven and Hell, when The Christ rose from the dead and took those keys, lucifer had in defeat as Jesus said in John 16, the prince of this world Judged. Defeated and kicked out of Heaven as soon as Jesus was risen as sanctified by Father in raising him from the dead as High Priest that never dies again
So we are forgiven, 100% he did that at his death per Col 1:22 says so in his death he forever made us as perfect before Father, as Holy and never sinned. WHAT? Yes read it, So what next what is still needed since at the cross all by Father are forgiven?…
1 John 2:12 Authorized (King James) Version (AKJV) I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. Wait a sec, I just sinned again, had a bad thought and tried not to carry it out and did WHY? Could it be=, because I am taught to focus on not to sin that brings the sin out, that no flesh and blood can obey but The Christ
Could the enemy of God slipped into the buildings that are told are of God as an Angel and is playing God and teach untruth, about working for ones salvation and when one sees this asks the people there and they gloss over it as in Galatians when they said there yes okay you believe, you are saved, Yes!
Then here comes the Billy Goat, and says BUTT you need to, must do, and have to or else. And that is not the Father God that Jesus pointed to.
Thank you Paul and all who know this truth as God the Father of The Christ leads in his risen Life through me not me
May I use this in my next video on grace and the new man for revel8ionTV?
Go for it.
I have a question
What is sin?
If Jesus atonement for sin was so complete (and it was) isn’t the only sin now not to believe in Jesus, hence commit the unpardonable sin grieving the Holy Spirit?
If I am a new testament born again believer can I sin at all?
If all things are now lawful to me, though not are all profitable how can I commit sin at all if I’m not under law?
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin…” (1 John 2:1). Of course you can sin. Sin is missing the mark, so “whatever is not of faith is sin” (Rom 14:23). We are called to walk by faith. When we walk after the old ways of the flesh we are settling for the inferior choice. We are falling short. Jesus is our propitiation for sin (1 John 2:2), which means God won’t punish you when you sin. That also means you shouldn’t punish yourself, as some do under the guise of repentance. But nor does it mean that we can sin without consequences, for walking after the flesh is inherently destructive.
Paul yes, thank you that is truth from Father leading you, Thank you
Seems like I remember reading that Michael Brown is a Calvinist…..
Lol 😜
I thank God for you Brother Paul Ellis EVERYDAY!!! You are such a blessing to the Body of Christ. Thank you for your heart for the true Gospel and your boldness to confront and stand up to nay sayers like Brother Micheal Brown and his ilk.
We pray for you to continue the good work you are doing and be further strengthened to shout it from every “roof top” and platform possible until the whole world hears and recieves.
How we need you and your ministry at such a time as this in the Body of Christ?
Thank you very much once again!!!
Absolutely brilliant! Inspired! God bless you
Clicked the link to Dr Brown’s article and lost interest two words into the first sentence… “When I…” (Yawn). In contrast, Dr Ellis begins, “The hyper-grace gospel that Jesus revealed declares that God loves you with an unconditional love…” None but JESUS!!! And that’s the difference between the real gospel and the Brown stuff.
Lol! I lost interest already at the title column: “In The Line Of Fire”.
Doesn’t that connote hell? I don’t want to be in the line of fire! I am a citizen of heaven! 😉
In the second paragraph of Dr. Brown’s article, he says, “Since we know that a good tree cannot produce bad fruit and a bad tree cannot produce good fruit (Luke 6:43-44), how can we explain the fact that some are helped and some hurt by the same message?”
I would like to point out that, with all due respect, the mixed-grace gospel produces far more burned-out, wrecked Christians than does the Grace gospel. I am one of them, or I was until I saw the [Grace] light. Praise God!
Hey, Tony! I definitely agree 100%. For several years I would not even share the Gospel because I didn’t want people to be as miserable as I had become. That is whst a mixed grace gospel did for me. And I agree . The Holy Spirit doesn’t convict believers of sin in the sense that ALL sin but unbelief was paid for on the cross –except unbelief , which does not apply to those of us who have believed the glorious , all-sufficient Gospel.
Maybe a sensitive conscience is God-given (and required) to expose manipulation in its most subtle form?!
Loved it! You covered a lot of ground here.
To Muller re: a sensitive conscience. If we want to continue in the law system, the one the serpent instituted in the garden of Eden, then we will need to continue to rely on our conscience, to discern right from wrong, or to put in another way, to have knowledge of good and evil.
But Jesus died that Adamic system away, and now he wants to live his life through us, and give us life eternal, so if we want THAT life, we keep our eyes on him instead.
Helen, I agree fully that once I got based in the true knowledge of who God (really) is and who I am in His eyes then all condemnation, sensitivity, guilt and shame were washed away! But in my case I believe it was my sensitive conscience that led me out of the legalistic, manipulative corporate church world to the grace of God. You see I kept feeling uncomfortable and ‘condemned’ because I could not attain to all that was ‘asked’ from me by the ‘system’ but deep inside something was telling me that this is not the life God intended for me… Maybe this is just an example of how ‘all things work together for our good’???
Some Christians that are not as ‘sensitive’ might just hang around for much longer and complete the ‘minimum on the tick list’: ie
accepted Christ – Yes,
go to church more often than not – Yes,
pay the tithe (or close to it) – Yes,
serve in church – Yes, etc etc
= I am ok.
Thanks to God I now have a very short ticklist and His Name is Jesus – AMEN!
Thank you Paul. Very refreshing truth, as always.
I no longer follow anti hyper grace teaching, but I thought the belief was a sensitive conscience meant you were in tune with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Anyway, if too much of God’s love and grace is a bad thing, then too much of God must be a bad thing because that’s who He is – unlimited, unmerited, unconditional, unending love. While I do not agree with Dr. Brown, I think his admission that there is good fruit in hyper grace circles is an indication that he is sincere.
Paul Ellis, just a question. I don’t know, it might sound a bit radical, maybe even stupid….I understand hyper-grace to a somewhat extend, and are not totally against the understanding,(probably still a bit religious)but I must say, I WAS under extreme condemnation and finally accepted Christ’s redemption and eternal sacrifice, thank God!. However, hyper-grace is also quite radical,(I know God is),so I might as well use a radical example… Here’s my extremely radical question :How would I deal with something as crazy and horrific as,(and God Forbid),but lets say my daughter got raped! by a as crazy as it seem, “‘ righteous declared person”‘,(“‘who were little bit weak”‘), but according to the Bible he is ” justified,”declared, righteous”‘, and everything else, that this hyper-grace represents. As a father, and from a Hyper-grace perspective,how would I deal with this,but even more,is hype-grace now setting this man free???????
Well, for starters, you should call the police. But you knew that already, right?
#APT!
The same questions never end and I guess it’s only right as each person needs to learn from the beginnning just as each person needs to learn how to walk the same way, to start by crawling. What I am referring to is the question concerning a hypothetical rape by a person who has been declared righteous by Christ. That situation would be a terrible one to be sure but what the question comes down to is that happens if we walk by the flesh vs. walking by the Spirit. Of course our actions will be different because we are listening to what is enmity to God, i.e. the flesh, which equates to death but this has nothing to do with what Christ done. Our flesh does not inherit eternal life, our spirit does.
This world is full of tragedies, as said we will suffer here as said we wil, by The Christ in John 16:33, yet trust for he has overcome this world and yes all flesh and blood will perish
Dead to the flesh nature and alive to God’s nature in risen Son to lead one and many first personally to live above the circumstances and that is not east to do and only by full faith can this be accomplished
We all go through adversities, how to be content in them nly comes form God in continued faith to by risen Son for thee I believe
Yes, God has already forgiven the rapist. That’s the toughest part about the hypergrace gospel, at least for me. HOWEVER, if you happen to go out and kill the rapist, you are already forgiven as well, since God is no respecter of persons. The police who arrest him, the judge and jury that convict him, and the executioner that pushes the button to release the gas that executes him, are also forgiven. And yes, even your inability to forgive the rapist is also forgiven. THAT is the part of the hypergrace gospel that terrifies Dr. Brown and his ilk, since their power and authority lies in being partial in their assessments of who can and can’t be forgiven by God: they can’t manipulate the rapist, but they can manipulate you by telling you what hoops you have to jump through and what you should and shouldn’t do to “be forgiven by God”.
“All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.” This is where you and I need to walk in the Spirit, so we can distinguish, not between things that are lawful and not lawful, but to distinguish between things that are helpful and not helpful. And then to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome those feelings and do those things that are *truly* helpful.
The unforgivable sin is accusing someone who works miracles by the power of the Holy Spirit of being powered by the devil, lying about the work of God and seeking to turn people away from believing what that Holy Spirit filled person is saying about God and Grace. Obviously, if they are being led by the Spirit and doing miracles by the Spirit, the logical question to ask the denier is “So why are YOU in charge and not THEM?”
Being under grace does not mean there aren’t natural consequences to sin. It doesn’t mean we have freedom to commit crimes. It means God doesn’t turn His back on us, but we may still experience a price to pay for our actions.
I think that Michael Brown is being misrepresented, and I believe he would argue for all of the major points list with you for the most part. from what can tell, Dr. Brown’s point would line up with Paul’s, ‘should we continue to sin that grace may abound,” and rebuking the prevalent message of salvation without repentance. it is not a shot a Calvinism, but the misapplication of the word grace.
Unless Michael has had a radical change of heart, it is accurate to say that he disagrees with me when I say: Jesus is a Person, all our sins are forgiven, the Holy Spirit never convicts the believer of sin, God is always pleased with his kids, you are 100% holy, sanctification is wholly by grace, all the words of Jesus are good and relevant for today, the hyper-grace gospel is the only gospel, and you are eternally secure. Feel free to prove me wrong (and I would love to be wrong about MB).
God’s ways are higher than our ways, and we cannot begin to adequately describe many tensions of scripture as we formulate our conclusions, as an eternal security guy myself, I know that understanding that doctrine does not save us, and the challenges to it are not easily dismissed with out consideration. but I can assure you that Dr. Brown would never say that Jesus is not a person, that our sins are not forgiven, that the Holy Spirit never convicts the believer of sin, and that Jesus words are not relevant today: not in a million years. what I get from Dr. Brown is a challenge to ‘false’ grace. when I speak with people who Dr. Brown would consider hyper-grace, they argue things like, “she can continue to be a stripper, prostitute, or practice homosexuality after she becomes a Christian.” I hear mostly challenges to Antinomianism, or to the marketing of a gospel that patronizes human carnality and greed to their own eternal doom. I don’t see Dr. Brown engaging the age old calvinism-arminianism debate, which to honest, is what I’m perceiving from your posts (I’m sorry if I’m wrong about that). I see him challenge a counterfeit grace that does not bring salvation sanctification, ect..the very things you are advocating for. I think that, aside from classic doctrinal differences, there is a misunderstanding here.
Unfortunately your good assurances are contradicted by Michael’s own writings. As for the people he considers hyper-grace, he names them in his earlier book and I am one of them, along with guys like Andrew Wommack, Joseph Prince, Clark Whitten, Andrew Farley, Rob Rufus, etc. We would certainly never say the sorts of things that MB routinely attributes to the hyper-grace camp in his steady stream of attack articles. It’s pure slander. And if he is to dismiss us by association – “look at the sort of people attracted to this message” – then we must dismiss Jesus who had a thieving, lawless friend called Judas.
In response to what you, I am gathering those that take advantage of the grace given us as the Corinthians did
And so Paul wrote them 1 Cor to show them this grace was never meant to be taken for granted and us as an excuse to harm anyone else as they were doing then
And in 2 Cor. 7 Paul acknowledges they came to true repentance a Godly one over the worldly one they had at first
Which I see still goes on to this day and did myself in the past and see to not to today by faith in the risen Son to be taught by Father in Spirit and truth and no other way for me I see
Thank you as we all see this kindness of God given us and either change willingly or not
That is where belief is taken on or not and the person that does or not does so consciously
I have watched many testimonies of strippers, prostitutes, gays & lesbians transformed by the love of Christ. They realised that the life they were living was destructive and for some to be transformed it was a slow process of untangling and others radically instant. The people that were in these lifestyles were doing it because of some hurt, past abuse, a lie they believed about themselves or father God and hate toward themselves. It is His goodness that lead them to repentance not His judgment of them. When you condemn people you strengthen the bad behaviour or habit. When He comes into us He causes us to will and to want His ways ♥️
If you are a parent and your child disobeys, do you continue to commit yourself to their well-being and attempt to instruct them in the way they should go, or do you abandon them to their own devices until they realize their error and ask forgiveness so they can return to your favor? Grace is a gift but not a cheap one. It cost the Father His Son, but He conquered sin and death. In order to experience the benefit of what was accomplished at the cross, the gift has to be received. Prior to embracing grace and my identity in Christ, I struggled with sin constantly while trying to live by the Law. That is the purpose of the Law, to make us sin conscious. However, when the Holy Spirit opened my eyes and showed me the vanity of trying to succeed by my self-efforts, I experienced the transforming power of grace and found freedom from sin. I am still tempted at times, but I no longer desire to indulge those temptations like I once did. I genuinely desire to honor God with my life rather than living in fear of punishment, different than discipline. Discipline implies an ongoing commitment to train someone in the way they should go, but I know God delights in me even when He takes issue with a behavior problem. My dad once helped me to understand this when he told me he may at times not approve of choices I make or behaviors I struggled with but that he’d always love me and embrace me as his son. God showed me that is His love for me also, and it transformed my life and took the power out of sin. The times when I have stumbled is when, like Peter once did, I took my eyes off Christ and focused on the storms, but then the Holy Spirit comes along side and reminds me of my identity in Christ. In those moments of discipline, I feel genuine remorse instead of an ongoing desire to sin. I also learn more about myself and heart issues I need to be careful with which allows me to avoid triggers rather than be drawn to them like a bug to a zapper. Grace undermines the power of sin. It doesn’t inflame desire to sin. Yes God’s grace can be abused, but that abuse comes more often from trying to live self-righteously than it does from making grace a license to sin. I have not found grace to be a license for sin. I have found that it keeps me from sin.
Brother, Thank you so well explained my experience as well, I am not in the same place I started at in this grace given completely forgiven ongoing forever, trusting Father in risen Son to teach me how to say no to unrighteousness.
And Hyper-grace does this over time in trusting to see through getting the me attitude out of the way and reckon that old man dead as Father sees me, us and all this way as forgiven by Son, done once for us to turn in belief to Father and ask for the risen Faith of Son to lead
Thank you for that well explained what has happened to me as well
Everything you said Paul is also my own conviction and revelation. The good news is much “gooder” than we ever knew. Keep up the good work of this awesome truth. U R A Blessing to the Body of Christ!
Paul, I still struggle with the parable of the 10 virgins and not having oil in our lamps when Jesus comes. Of course, I was trained years ago to the understanding of this that must be in relationship continually with the Lord and full of H.S. or might miss the rapture. And that there is only one wedding feast and those who have the door shut don’thave a second chance.
As I understand this in belief one is saved by Father in be;lief to Son is risen and that is done by Father and not one other
Not of any works of any other but God for us to respond to in thanksgiving and praise, while in thanksgiving and praise fro this done work of Son , one is walking in new life in the risen Son
Where no sin today can occur seeing how all sin is dealt with at the cross of Son and condemned to flesh and blood
Romans 8:3, and this be why we are called by belief for new life to receive form Father in continued belief form in you, that he planted in you one forest day \you chose to believe and this world has stepped in to confuse and bring on works disguised as God’s when they might be your own and are if one has doubt, one keeps themselves out
Thank You I am in Thanksgiving and praise all sin taken away at the cross in Son’s death fro all, from Father’s view, not this world’s. So I see this to be renewed in my mind set to God’s through Son’s mindset, Faith only as he never claimed one work he did as his
When Jesus was saying that it was the present truth at that moment in time , speaking to Jewish people under the law who were not Christians yet, as it was before the cross. The cross changed everything. In the new covenant, you are now flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone,” a member of his body just as his eyes and kidneys are and “the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.” So now you are a part of the Bridegroom, Himself. You can’t be shut outside. If the Head walks through the door, the body does too or else Jesus has been decapitated. He provided all the oil in the garden of Gethsemane (which means oil-press) when He was crushed for out iniquities.The virgins were foolish because they left early when the Light of the World was just about to arrive bringing all the oil and light we could ever need.
“Sign up for the holiness gym. Get running on the treadmill of spiritual discipline.”
An excellent analogy!
Thank you, Lord, that we are not forced to do a spiritual workout every single day. It wears you out!
Yes that kills one, it did me and today in dying to me I am elated to God for what God did through Son for me and all the world to turn from unbelief to belief
Thank you
Hello Paul,
I too struggled with hypergrace message that I first heard from Joseph Prince. In fact, I spent 2 years digging the puritans (reformed) literature on grace. It turned out that the hypergrace message on justification as understood by the puritans is the same one as you guys (the so called hypergrace preachers) preach. I once hesitated to share the (hyper)grace message… but after digging the puritans’ stuffs, I can say that I wear the label of “hypergrace evangelist” with PRIDE 😀 (btw I’m not an evangelist… just an ordinary guy liberated from bondage & condemnation running around crazy sharing the message of grace).
It is so sad that the gift of grace God provided is so misunderstood by those professing to be christians. It is Jesus plus nothing, yet so many want to add works and the law into the picture. I thank God for the ‘grace’ messengers who speak the truth of the grace God has given us. Good article.
I made a comment but due to the need to leave at the time I failed to mention a couple other things. First of all, another excellent article Paul which I completely understand and agree with. Second, this is more of a question. Concerning God’s promises, have you ever been discouraged even to the point of wondering if God is there? Discouraged to the point of saying to yourself, “what’s the point of reading the bible or praying when things remain in a state of poverty, i.e. state of lack? Not knowing what to do, becoming, well, discouraged.
Yes, I have been discouraged many times. I have made my bed in hell, so to speak. So why don’t I talk about those times here on E2R? The short answer is the opportunity rarely comes up in these short posts. Those times are in my past. I’d have to go digging when I’d rather be praising. I’m not trying to be superficial, but most of the time I’d rather talk about Jesus than me.
Yep, grace is exciting, and when a person grasps its significance, it motivates them to want to share it and live a life honoring to God. However, we have a very real enemy that wants to get us to take our eyes off Christ and forget our identity in Him. When that happens, we can stumble, but God is there waiting to pick us up, remind us who we are, and that makes us want to celebrate what He has done rather than get hung up on our failures.
As I see this, Thank you
A continued conscience of sin whether one sins or not after belief to the risen Chrsit done by Father and won for us
One conscience is thus not purged and continues in Sin as Paul talks of in Romans 7
If one does not have a conscience of sin to not sin, then one does not sin, being tooooooooooooo busy in Father’s Spirit and truth being led by him in risen Son for you to rest in
Hebrews 4 tells me this
Brilliant as always Paul, I am now waiting for your next book.
As it happened, the proof copy of my next book arrived on my desk while I was writing the post above. (This book has nothing to do with MB and everything to do with Jesus.)
Galatians 1:6-10: I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel…
According to Paul in the bible the grace of Christ is offensive to men. And Paul, the preacher of hyper grace in the bible, has some harsh words for anyone who preaches a different message. It is obvious that Paul Ellis and Dr. Brown are teaching two different messages. I’m no biblical scholar, but from reading the bible, Paul Ellis is teaching the same grace message about the person of grace (Jesus) that Paul in the bible did. There is also the warning about insulting the Spirit of grace below.
Hebrews 10:28-29: Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?
The preachers of the Gospel today, who preach the same grace message Paul preached in the bible, will always be persecuted by those under the bondage of the Law, so it is not surprising that Paul Ellis message is being critiqued by someone who is wanting believers to focus on the flesh, i.e. self effort…
Galatians 4:29: But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now.
God bless you Paul Ellis!!!! And God bless Dr. Brown too and I pray we all continue to have a revelation of Jesus!!
Paul, all I want to say is AMEN!
You always point to Jesus and His finished work.
So thankful to finally understand this…. WOW so powerful once one gets it.
Angela D.
I just read the excerpt on the Charisma website. Who doesn’t struggle with a particular sin? Who likes discipline? So I take it that the author doesn’t have a problem with either of those things. I think that the vast majority of us struggle with the same things. If you’re one of the few who has everything together you still need to make sure that you know that all your favor and blessings still come from the cross. You need grace too.
So many people seem to have a Ministry Of Disqualification. If you don’t do this or stop doing that you cannot have the full blessings of God flowing. So the only people who feel good about themselves after hearing this stuff is the strong willed and capable. The rest of us feel disqualified like usual. And the strong willed and capable aren’t really receiving the blessings of God. They’re just sowing and reaping and doing pretty good because they are good folks.
As far as people who use grace as an excuse to sin – if you want to sin you will sin – under law or grace or whatever. If you don’t want to sin your only hope is pure grace. Or maybe you’re just awesome without God.
Half of the new testament epistles are concerned with exhorting believers not to go back to law and performance. Thank you, Paul, for helping me to keep my eyes fixed where they belong.
“Everything God requires, God provides – that’s grace.”
–I agree. On that note, though, some have pointed to particular verses in the belief that God’s very grace–the ability to do something–is now expected to give us the ability to live justly. The implication is that now that we’re empowered by the Holy Spirit and expected to live holy, we’re without excuse to repeatedly sin. What level or frequency of sin is considered too much, I don’t know.
Bert, I was saved at Calvary Chapel in Carson,CA 33+ years ago. Immediately, I was told if I live by the Holy Spirit, I won’t sin. Because I was a newbie, I believed everything the pastor said. But I DID sin. So being the logical person I was , I began thinking that since I was still sinning, I must not have the Holy Spirit. Yet, the night I accepted Christ as my Savior, I knew that I was not the same person. And I continued to experience what I can only call supernatural favor. So I would experience spiritual highs and deep lows because I was trying to please God not realizing it was my flesh that was being strong and disciplined. There’s a huge difference between trying to be good and obeying God’s laws rather than learning to trust Him with your life. For so long my relationship was with the Word of God rather than with the God of the Word. It has been from Paul Ellis’ resources and his blog posts that I clearly see now that Cslvary Chapel was and is preaching a mixed message of the Old Covenant and the New. As I have said before , I experienced a type of hell on earth because of these erroneous teachings. But I’m so thankful to God to directing me to this site. I’ve been set free and actually love God again. Several of the current board members of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn are Calvary Chapel pastors. And Michael Brown is a major supporter of Calvary Chapel and the BGEA.
To answer your question about how much can we sin without it being too much. EVERY sin that every person in the past , present, or future has or will committ has been forgiven. That IS the great news. But a person must believe that promise from God and place their faith in the living Christ. As Paul Ellis said above , there ARE consequences to sin and they can be devastating. We do reap what we sew. But remember. As the apostle Paul said, we are not our sin. Sin in the flesh was condemned by God at the cross as the beginning of Romans 8 says. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin because they did not believe in Him. That is the one and only sin that will disqualify any person from eternal life and subject them to God’s wrath.
Thanks, Don. I’ll try to digest this.
Hey, Bert. If you have any questions or concerns , I’d be glad to answer them
: ) we all are on a different journey , but for many years I had a cold heart toward God because I ( which I now know is my flesh) could not meet the standards I thought He asked of me. But since 2009, I have been having “heart”surgery , and this site has been like a stent or valve and is now like a heart disease maintenance drug :->
Thank you and Amen to this truth that no flesh nature can Fathom it is from Father through Son for this revelation only, He is Risen as Sancttified as our hight Priest in belief to to lead me at least, each has this free choice to stand in or not even unto death willingly if need be as Stephan did in front of Saul who became Paul who I bet was very perplexed in Stephan’s willing death without a sxabble and welcomed Father and Son to go to without fear of any death at all, even though he was being murdered.
Thank you
I have a friend from a Calvary Chapel background. Without being facetious, I’m praying for him; he’s a dear man.
Hey, Tony. Much of what they preach is scriptural , but they do mix grace with law. I believe Roman 8:28. At times I wish I hadn’t had to go through what I did at the various churches, but I have to think God knew what was best for me . After decades of religious malpractice, I do feel as though I have been released from prison and been born again again after reading much of Paul’s material : ) I’m so thankful to God for bringing me to this site –can’t get enough of this nourishment :->
Hey Don how’ve ya been; we seem to have lost touch lately bro 🙂 I just long to see the realisation of Grace dawn on my friend’s face, the same way as I bet it did with you! 😀
Hey, bro! Always glad to hear from you and to read your comments. Yes, once I began to read some of Paul’s resources on this site and digest them, it was as though I had been born again again : )
What Calvary Chapel does your friend attend , Tony? I was saved at the Calvary Chapel where Skip Heitzing began his ministry before moving to Albuquerque, NM. As a believer, I also grew up under Chuck Smith and Greg Laurie. All three have/had many great qualities. But there is definitely a mixture of grace and works –of course they would dispute that :-> but many former Calvary Chapel members have become agnostic or atheists by their own admission. I’ve seen the same situation occur among former Calvinists. Truly tragic…
Hey Don, glad to hear you are receiving refreshment here! I have only recently discovered this site and although I was ‘into’ Grace before through the Lord’s personal teaching, I do find it amazing that what appears on this blog chimes so well with what have already learned under the Master’s tutelage. Amazing, yes, but perhaps it should not be surprising! Ok, for my friend, I’m not sure which Calvary Chapel he attended; he hasn’t been for a while and he’s now in my church here in the UK and it’s a Church of England church. I trust that he will be more inclined to see the Grace at work in my life and in the many people in my church who are also under Grace, rather than become agnostic. But sometimes it takes that in order to detox from the indoctrination; only God knows what he really needs!
Hey Donbeeson!
I agree with everything you said in your May 5th, 2016 post at 5:14pm, except the last line about being subject to God’s wrath. Could you elaborate on that please? I thought all of God’s wrath was poured out and satisfied by the cross by Jesus on our behalf for all mankind. Maybe the eternal separation from God is what your considering His wrath?
Blessings!!!
Warren (South Carolina, USA)
Hi, Warren! Been off the site for the last several days : ) I’m referring to John 3:36. If we choose not to accept His remedy for our sins, we remain in our sins and must face judgment based on on our own merits. Does that make sense now ?
Hey Don, yes that clears it up. John 3:36 is a great verse. What is your favorite translation of that verse? The Living Bible (TLB) sums it up well.
Blessings,
Warren (South Carolina, USA)
What about 1Corinthians 5:5. Also how would you break bread with a professing Christian knowing he is knowingly sinning when Apostle Paul said to turn them over to satan if they do not repent. Grace message is freeing and I believe it is more right than other teachings but this verse throws me. Thanks for your help.
You always have to read Scripture in context. If you examine the preceding and following verses, the tone does not suggest a loss of salvation or relationship. It invokes consequences for a continued sinful behavior for the sake of the long term well being of the one continuing in sin because sin leads to death.
The reason so many is attracted to the message of grace is because the gospel that Dr Brown represents does not work. It does not and cannot bring freedom and life.
exactly!
Paul, I was thinking. The New Covenant came before the Old Covenant :-> in Romans 4, Abraham is commended for his faith in God, specifically for believing that God is able to do HIMSELF what He promised. Abraham practiced hyper grace long before the Mossic law was given. Perhaps , he was the first hyper grace preacher : )
Good stuff Donbeeson!
Blessings,
Warren (South Carolina)
Thanks, Warren ; ) My brother graduated from USC in Columbia :-> I was there a year ago. I also like Hilton Head. To me, it rivals the nicest Florida beaches. Off topic, but wanted to say “Hi” :->
Honestly I like that MB is writing a new book about the Gospel of Grace controversy. He causes more people who may be unaware to research things and hopefully find the real Gospel being preached/taught and be drawn closer to the Son and understand just how much Abba loves us all.
Much like the way Jesus’ birth was not well known until Herod demanded all the male children under two be put to death.
That is an optimistic approach Felix and I commend your attitude. I am not so optimistic because I know the nature of man, or like to think I do anyway. I think what MB’s writings will do is provide nothing but fuel for combating the truth of grace. I have spoken to so many people who blindly and arrogantly defend their erroneous beliefs it causes me to see how many are not walking but running to death and hell. They don’t want to study themselves to be approved but be followers of another who makes the claim of a study, know what I mean?
Dr. Brown simple had nothing better to do with his time, so he simple wrote basically the same book to make more money $$$ 😜
I noticed this too. I skimmed through this book, as it was advertised as a rebuttal to Paul’s rebuttal to his first book on hyper grace, in the Christian bookstore and noted that much of his points were already raised in his original book the dangerous hyper grace message. I was like all MB has done is repackaged the first book and said there I have the last word. 😛
Just found this site and really love what I am reading. In regard to the question above, does the Holy Spirit convict a person of their sin, what about John 14:8-11? NKJV
I know it reads He will convict the WORLD of sin (my emphasis), so how does that align with what you are saying?
Fair question, Bart. First, you are not the world: “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world… They are not of the world, even as I am not of it” (John 17:14,16). Second, the Holy Spirit does not convict the world of sin, but “concerning sin indeed, because they do not believe in me” (John 16:9). “He will glorify me” (John 16:14). The Spirit of Christ will always point you to Jesus, no matter who you are.
Hey, Bart. Jesus died on the cross for the sins of ALL mankind. The sins of the whole world. He also says in that passage that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin because they didn’t BELIEVE in Him. That is the one sin for which His death did not pay. Calvinists like to say that faith is a gift; otherwise , His death would have paid for that sin. Jesus said , on the contrary , that unbelief in Him is what does condemn a person.
Hope I’m not hijacking your question , Bart : ) maybe Paul has answered it after I posted my comment :-> that’s my take ,though, on it .
Don
I don’t agree in the 12th point of your idea.Because our Bible says it is possible to loose salivation in 1Cor6:9-10.and also Mat 7:21&22. So how do u think about this?
There are several hundred scriptures touching on the believer’s security so that you may have confidence and not fear on the day of judgment. For my take on those two scriptures, please see the Archives > Scripture Index.
Wow if that is all you have for losing salvation then let me set your mind at ease.
Matthew 7:21-22 Jesus is speaking to people He does not know. If you are saved Jesus knows you.
In regards to 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 you must not stop at verse 10 go on to verse 11. “And such were some of you” For how one gets washed and sanctified I suggest Hebrews 9:24-26 for the washing part and Hebrews 10:1-18 for the sanctification part.
I sure a basic word search for other verses relating to washing and our sanctification would bring up many more reaffirming those two passages.
Well put couldn’t agree with you more. The Law is not of Grace. Neither circumcision nor uncircumcism matters but Faith working through Love (Gal 5:6)
Fantastic article, thank you! I believe Brown to be not only very divisive but he is persecuting/deceiving the church using his wide reaching radio show and credentials. I’ve listened and read much of his stuff and he clearly teaches a false gospel of “believe + turn from your sin for salvation” Also, he gives little hope for homosexuals because he says they can’t be gay and Christian: “they must turn from homosexuality too” Homosexual behaviour is a sin, but so is lying, adultery,etc. Since when are any types of sin the linchpin for gaining/losing salvation? He has a similar view on Christians who commit suicide. Btw, Brown has said clearly on his show that God won’t leave us but that we can decide to leave him…ie lose salvation. This implies we are at the steering wheel which is the opposite of what scripture says.
Brown claims that Jesus didn’t die for our future sins which makes no logical sense- scripture is very clear that sin is ONLY forgiven by the shedding of blood. So then, why does he think that us going through a mental act of repenting for sins will then enable God to simply forgive them? To forgive again would mean that Jesus MUST come back to earth and get on the cross again….and millions of times again for all sinning Christians. Presenting this problem to legalists forces them into the position/sanctification mess which isn’t in the bible. There are so many problems with legalist logic.
Im just mostly blown away by how Brown has written multiple books attacking hypergrace while simultaneously trumpeting how we are his fellow grace brothers. On Sid Roth he called it “false grace.”
Galatians 2:21 says it perfectly.
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
Thank you Paul for another great message. It’s obvious that while many of us are “getting it”, so many are struggling with false gospels and mixed grace messages. Keep on keeping on! You’re truly needed and through the Spirit, you’re making an awesome impact for the kingdom. Blessings to you and your family!
Thanks, Ed.
Paul, when I explain to Christian friends how we have been taught and fed a mixed message of grace and law, the expression is similar to a deer in the headlights look. My friend .Ben Corey, has had 866 comments to his post 5 Serious Questions I have for Christians Who Support Donald Trump. The hate, ignorance , rudeness , and irrational thinking that the majority of posters exhibit– those supporting Trump in that blog — are those who have been fed the mixed grace message. At times I think I should move to Auckland, but I would miss so many of the stores and restaurants to which I’m accustomed :-> That sounds shallow doesn’t it : D I guess I need to continue blooming where I’m planted . But the blooms are becoming a bit tattered ; )
Hi Paul, this is my first time posting here. I am from Indonesia and really love the hyper-grace gospel and how it transform my life. About this topic, I see MB has a point in his critics that hyper-grace message can be destructive if given to believers that can not see any problem with their self-righteous (pharisees mentality or undisciplined believers). My question is: don’t people need to know that they are sinners and need grace before grace come?
GBU Paul.
In my experience, the self-righteous are the ones who are opposing the hyper-grace message and it is those who know they are unrighteous who are accepting it. Do we need to recognize our need for grace? Definitely.
Re: Question 4: Does the Holy Spirit Convict Believers of Sin? – I think you are right in saying He does not, despite what some would proof-text as saying He does, namely Jn 16:8 “And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin…” – first of all, this is in a passage describing two other things He will convict of – righteousless and judgement – but also He convicts *the world* of sin, not the believer. An interesting difference, I feel.
I followed MB’s teachings during the Brownsville Revival, and it turned me into a very proud, hateful, mean-spirited, and judgmental person. I actually turned my back on my own father because of the sin I perceived him to be practicing, and I labeled him unsaved. He died of cancer shortly thereafter without us having reconciled. Only God’s grace was able to deliver me from the extreme remorse I experienced. If it weren’t for God’s grace, I wouldn’t want to live anymore. If I didn’t believe in Jesus’ unconditional atonement, I would not physically be able to carry on. The dead letter of the law kills. It had killed the compassion in me. MB’s teachings are the dangerous ones. I wish I had never come across him. I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer the hell I went through. I never could measure up to MB’s arbitrary conditions for pleasing God. I can personally testify that MB does not minister love. The Bible warns against judging the servant of another for it is before God whom we stand or fall, but MB sets himself up to criticize others, even though God promises WE SHALL STAND. One of his books is “How Saved Are We?” Full of criticisms about playing video games instead of praying and spending more money on pet food than on world missions. Total bondage.
I am very sorry to hear about the pain you experienced, but I know you have found healing in our Father’s grace and love. I also know first hand that what you are saying is true about trying to live by the law. I believe the grace and love that changed your heart and mine can also change Dr. Brown’s heart. Thank you for sharing your story, people need to know how dangerous this law/mixture teaching really is. Blessings
Thanks for your sweet and understanding reply. For so long I felt I was the only one that wasn’t living up to standard. I didn’t know the holiness message was erroneous. I thought MB and others like him were just better than I was–that there was something wrong with me. Even when I was mean and self-righteous, I had no peace, and I knew the truth deep down that I had problems with sin. But MB’s teachings don’t promote love. I didn’t think God or anyone could love me. The one person that did love me (my dad) I rejected because of some supposed sin of his, and he, in return, distanced himself from me to protect himself from being constantly lambasted by me. I can’t blame him. He spent his last days sad and alone. This is the fruit of MB’s teachings. To quote his referencing the Bible, “A good tree can’t produce bad fruit.” Well, what does that say of him. Look at the fruit of his message. A family divided and torn apart. I see it now, but I was blinded for so long. Thank God for his liberating grace and truth and ministries like this one. I too hope MB comes around to the truth. For his sake and also to prevent him from ruining other lives.
Hi, Beatrice. That was my grandmother’s name : ) She was a devout Roman Catholic who spent hours praying that my mom and dad would raise us as Catholics. When I was saved at Calvary Chapel, I really thought they alone knew the truth. It took me decades to realize they didn’t and still don’t. I couldn’t live up to their standards but I sure tried. Now I realize that there are Roman Catholics who understand God better than I did : ) But for decades I thought all Roman Catholics were lost. Now I see no denomination or nondenomination has all the truth. The true church is spread throughout the world , and a large number of its members reside on this website : ) I come here now for my refreshment .
Thanks for sharing your story about MB. I’m so sorry you had to go through what you did and how that affected you AND your dad. I too experienced a type of hell on earth due to what I was taught. But I cling to Romans 8:28. That what we both experienced God has and is using for our good and the good of others. We have been set free from prison and hopefully God will use us to help others escape bondage as well.
Thank you, Beatrice, I live in the South and groups from my old church would often visit Brownsville. Dr. Brown even preached at our church. What I discovered when I moved into more of a leadership role and got to see up close how these guys are living is while they preach high standards, they often justify their own shortfalls. They are just as human as the rest of us, but maybe a bit less honest with themselves. 🙂 Don’t forget your dad is experiencing the Father’s grace and love in an unimaginable way as we will one day as well.
Thanks for this ministry. It’s needed.
God bless your message, Paul.
Thanks, LJP and Don. You’re right, LJP. My dad is safe in the arms of Jesus now, and I will see him again one day. And, Don, doesn’t it feel so good to be finally free? I’m lovin’ it!
Thank you so much for your post! I’ve learned so much from them.