Grace, and the spirit of Jezebel

Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication . . . .  (Revelation 2:20)

Ever since the days of the prophet Elijah, the name Jezebel has been used to indicate something evil, that is, an evil woman.  In the Bible, the term "woman" is often used as a figure of speech to represent the spiritual nature of an organized society, such as a religion, or a city, or even a church.  In Bible prophecy, the name Jezebel pertains to an evil spirit which infiltrates the Christian Church, especially in the latter days.

In the above quoted Scripture, there are two prominent characteristics which are identified with the spirit of "Jezebel", as that is called in the Bible.  Namely, that spirit of Jezebel:

1) "calleth herself a prophetess"; and, 

2) "seduce[s] my servants to commit fornication".

Within the past two decades, there has appeared concurrently the rise of two phenomena within Christendom (especially, in America).  One of those phenomena is the now widespread and still rapidly expanding trend involving so-called "prophets" (and "prophetesses"--and even "apostles"), amongst Christian churches.  That phenomenon appears to be centered in (but by no means limited to) an evidently well funded and tightly networked group of well known church leaders, who operate under the rubric, the "New Apostolic Reformation" Movement (NAR).  That Movement also seems to be well connected to certain powerful secular leaders and organizations as well; for which purposes, I will not here speculate.

The second of the above mentioned phenomena, is the now pervasive teaching of what has lately come to be called, by many, "hyper-grace".  By hyper-grace is meant a certain view of (God's) grace, which, although it is often subtle in its approach, yet it is bold in its contradiction to the truth of Scripture.  In a word, the teaching of hyper-grace may be called "licentiousness" (giving license to sin), which word especially (but not exclusively) connotes sexual immorality.  The Bible explicitly warns about a perverse association of "licentiousness" with "grace":

"For there are certain men crept in [the churches] unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness [or, licentiousness]" (Jude 4) 

See, then, how that those two, above-described phenomena answer perfectly--not only in terms of their respective qualities, but also in the fact of their concurrent appearance within the Christian churches--to the Bible's characterization of that Jezebel spirit: 

"that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, [who] teach[es] and...seduce[s] my servants to commit fornication"

"Fornication", as it is used, above, is not primarily a reference to sexual sin.  But, spiritually speaking, "fornication" is the sin of professing Christians who "go a whoring" from God: that is to say, Christians who embrace "doctrines of devils", instead of faithfully embracing the truth of God.  Scripture even speaks of those (professing Christians) who will "get in bed with" none other than "Jezebel"--that evil spirit which I have been describing.

The discussion thus far has been meant to show that the teaching called "hyper-grace" is in fact the work of that spirit of Jezebel, which seeks to subvert the Christian Church by teaching "doctrines of devils" within the churches.  There is so much more that needs to be said about how that is an important prophetic sign of the soon-coming of Jesus Christ.  Though I cannot now address that point.  But I will next more fully explain what is meant by "hyper-grace", as well as I will then briefly describe the true, Biblical teaching pertaining to grace.

Hyper-grace
The prefix "hyper" signifies an overreaching aspect, in connection with "grace".  In very general terms, probably most people conceive of God's "grace" as having to do with God's "free" pardon of sin, and what is oftentimes referred to as God's "unmerited favor" towards the sinner.  But those ideas--if they are not further elaborated and qualified according to the Word of God, cannot then rightly be understood.  Tragically, many professing Christians, today, do not know the Scriptures well enough to protect them against deception.

Although the teaching of "hyper-grace" has many proponents, yet, it is essentially the same message.  Hyper-grace suggests that: a) since Jesus's death atoned for ALL sins "past, present, and future"; and, b) since sinless perfection is not attainable in this present life; and, c) since God's love is "unconditional"; therefore: the Salvation of God does NOT require that individuals MUST CEASE from sin, and obey the Word and Spirit of God.  (I will address the fallacies of that teaching, in the next section, below.)

Important, too, many if not most of those who promote the teaching of hyper-grace, have explicitly or at least implicitly dispensed with the Biblical doctrine of Hell.

Hyper-grace teaches, in effect, that Salvation already belongs to everyone.  Hyper-grace thus is a specie of Universalism (everyone will ultimately be saved).  Those only are "lost" who have not yet learned that they are, in fact, already "saved".  Hyper-grace teachers rarely mention such things as "sin", or "repentance", or "judgment".  And if those terms are ever used, they are (mis)construed so as not to subject anyone to a feeling of "condemnation"--which is perhaps the most hated of all words, in the lexicon of Hyper-grace.

Hyper-grace teaches that because God's "grace" is altogether "free" and "unmerited", and God's love (as they suppose) is "unconditional";  thus, no stipulations nor requirements may be imposed by anyone--including God himself, upon the would-be "Christian".  The notion of any kind of "standards" (much less "codes")--for example, pertaining to how one should dress in public, of course, is meaningless in the absence of any substantive moral standards.  "Come as you are" (not only to church but to God).  That saying, and that form of invitation, is very common today amongst most churches.  I recently saw a sign outside of a church, which read: "OUR PASTORS ARE SINNERS, TOO".  And I don't know how many different churches I've seen with this sign posted: "NO PERFECT PEOPLE WELCOME HERE".  

Hyper-grace is lasciviousness (licentiousness): it is a license to sin.  Licentiousness truly is the "new normal" wheresoever hyper-grace is embraced.  Licentiousness is even now being more and more aggressively defended in the name of Christ--as being (what else?) the genuine expression of God's "grace".  (For an example of which, see the short video, at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMy42SD0ep8 )

The teaching of hyper-grace is not new; yet, the phenomenal proliferation of that teaching is a new phenomenon--both in this present generation and in the history of the Church.  Do not make the mistake of forgetting, however, that hyper-grace is demon-driven. The spirit of Jezebel--like every other demonic spirit--is nothing other than a killer in disguise.  The spirit of Jezebel--as the name implies--is a seductive spirit: "who teaches and seduces my servants to commit fornication", saith God.  The power of that seduction is an appeal to the flesh, as always.

Fallacies of hyper-grace teaching
I will deal with certain fallacies of hyper-grace teaching, succinctly, and in order as I mentioned those ideas, above.  The 'bulleted' items, below, each shows a certain doctrine of hyper-grace (in red letters); beneath which, I refute each, in turn (in black).

• God's grace is "free"
• It is "free" neither to God nor to mankind.  God "purchased" salvation for mankind, by sacrificing Christ.  Christ, in turn, paid for that same salvation with his own life.  And individual human beings can only then receive the gift of Christ (who is Salvation), in order as they will repent and surrender their will to God, and become obedient to Christ.  SIN is the reason man is separated from God.  SIN is the reason Christ was tortured and slaughtered, in judgment, for OUR SIN.  In view of the unspeakably great cost of Salvation; and, in view of the reason for Christ's suffering; SIN thus appears for what it is: that is, heinous and antichrist.
• Christ's death atoned for ALL sins--past, present and future
• The Bible says, in Romans 3:25: "God hath set forth [Jesus] to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God".  Nowhere in Scripture does God speak of having already forgiven sins that have not yet been committed.  The very notion of that, is blasphemous.  Jesus warned, repeatedly, "Go and sin no more".  Scripture declares, in 1 John 5:16: "There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it".  If Christ's death atoned for all sins future, there could then be no such "sin unto death", for which prayer would not be heard by God.  I will not waste my time to present a theological defense against those who may want to accuse me of not understanding the Atonement.  I will only say that, of course, God has provided for cleansing from all sin, in the Atonement of Christ.  I mean to cast down with all authority, however, the notion that all future sins have already been "forgiven"; whereas, in fact, they have not.

• Sinless perfection is not attainable in this life
• That linguistic construction is yet another "straw man", so to speak.  It's purpose--in the context of hyper-grace, is to condition the mind to be more accepting of the inevitability (as that is claimed) of sin.  Instead of setting forth the real-life example of Jesus Christ, as the image of that perfection which God has commanded and to which we must continuously aspire, hyper-grace completely removes that image of Christ, from before the eyes of would-be Christians.  While in many other ways, hyper-grace reinforces the notion of human imperfectability: a doctrine which is diametrically opposed to the Gospel.
• God's love is "unconditional"
• I have written at length concerning that particular, false idea.  God's love is not "unconditional".  No, not for anyone.  Unconditional means "without any conditions whatsoever".  In which case there could then be no such thing as Hell; as God could thus have no reason to exclude anyone from Heaven.  Law would then be a meaningless idea.  And God would have no basis whereby to judge anyone for anything.  The notion of "unconditional" love is an irrational absurdity.  Yet, it is a very, very dangerous doctrine.  It tempts weak minds to believe that God will overlook their sin.  Of course, that is the point of hyper-grace teaching.
• God loves you just as you are
• Although that idea has not heretofore been stated explicitly, yet it is typically set forth as another "truism" which is part and parcel of hyper-grace teaching.  But if God loves anyone "just as they are", then, he must love everyone "just as they are"; else, God would be a "respecter of persons": which, Scripture denies that He is.  And if God loves everyone "just as they are", then Christ died in vain.  Furthermore, if God loves everyone "just as they are", then, why does God "command all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30)?  No.  But the love of God toward man--is predicated upon, and vested "in, Christ".  God's whole purpose involving man is predicated upon, and centered in, Jesus Christ (see, Colossians 1:19).  God's love is only ever directed, therefore, to all that shall be in Christ.  God does not love any sinner "just as they are".  But God--who IS love, in mercy has made provision that every sinner can--if he or she be willing--both DIE and be BORN AGAIN, in and by Jesus Christ.

The true meaning of God's grace
It really is not rocket science, to understand the truth concerning the grace of God.  That is, for those who honestly want to know the truth, it is not rocket science.  God's "grace" is not something that God does, nor yet something that God gives: but it is an aspect of what God IS, in His own nature.  God is "gracious" (kind, benevolent).  God is all goodness.  None can know nor understand what is "goodness", except, only to the extent that God can be known.

God is long-suffering.  He is patient, and slow to anger.  God is gentle and very tender-hearted.  All of those attributes of God are attested in Scripture.

Now, man is God's own creation.  Moreover, God did not make man to be a robot, but God gave every individual a "free" will.  We understand by the Word of God, though, that man's will is actually no longer "free", because of sin.  By reason of which, sin, man became an enemy to God.

Nevertheless, the good, kind, merciful, and patient Creator set Himself to recover, to redeem, man.  God perfectly knew, however, that not every man would respond in a positive way to God's gracious offer of mercy and help.  But some would.  And God evidently judged that it was worth the cost, to Himself, to secure man's salvation.

But why did it have to "cost" anything, for God to save any human being?

Because, among God's other attributes, He is holy.  Perfectly so.  God is not only patient--but even the word "patient" implies that there is a limit to that.  Indeed, there is.

God is holy; which means that God will not (long) tolerate any kind of unrighteousness in the Kingdom of His own Creation.  God is truth.  He upholds righteousness, by His own judgment and power, throughout all the realms of His Dominion (which is everywhere).

God is just.  He must therefore punish all wrongdoing; He must put down all rebellion; He must reward every deed done, according as that may be good or bad.  All but, perhaps, the most depraved of human beings intuitively understand the concept of "justice".  Justice is an aspect of God's nature, which he imparted in some real measure unto the nature of man, in the Creation.

God has decreed--as it is revealed in Scripture, that the punishment for sin is death.  But how could sinners, then, be reconciled to God?  Every human being that ever lived, therefore, must die: for, "all have sinned and come short of the glory of God"; "there is none righteous, no not one".

Not one, that is, except, God's own Son--who was born of a virgin, and who thus had not the nature of sin.

The Son of God became a man, whom we know as Jesus Christ.  That sinless man, Jesus, offered his own life to God, in the place of every guilty soul.  In the person of Jesus Christ, therefore, the sin of every human being was justly punished.  Yet, it remains for each individual soul not merely to accept Christ as being his or her substitute in judgment and in death (on Calvary's cross).  Moreover, each soul must accept unto himself or herself, Jesus Christ as he is in truth: both Lord and Savior.  "Lord" means 'master'.  And "Savior" means there are things, pertaining to human souls, which Christ (as Lord) wants, in the life of every soul; namely: in a word, Christ wants every soul to be holy.  Just like God.

God's "grace", then, is nothing more nor less than the will and the working of His own Spirit, striving (for a season, only) to bring each and every soul unto Himself, in Jesus Christ.

"Grace" is a Spirit.  It is the Spirit of the living God; who is called, in the Bible, the Holy Ghost.  Be warned--and be exceedingly afraid of the warning: Grace is not a license to sin.  But it is God's outstretched hand to you, urgently seeking to rescue you--not only from the consequences of sin, but from the very condition of sin itself.  God does not want anyone to go to Hell and, so, to be eternally separated from God and His Kingdom.

But neither will God suffer anyone to trifle with His Spirit.  For, it is entirely possible to "grieve" the Holy Ghost.  The Bible severely warns against doing "despite unto the Spirit of grace" (capital 'S'):

"He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"  (Hebrews 10:28-29)

Do you not, O professing Christian, understand what that means?

It means that if you won't humble yourself and repent of your sins, and walk softly before the Son of God your Savior and Redeemer, and allow Him by His Spirit to sanctify (cleanse and purify) your life: you will be damned to a devil's hell for ever.

Regardless of what Joseph Prince, or Judah Smith, or Steven Furtick, or any other of the host of preachers of hyper-grace may tell you, to the contrary.