Happy New Year

Happy New Year

"This is a time for reflection as well as celebration.

As you look back on the past year and all that has taken place in your life,

Remember each experience for the good that has come of it and for the knowledge you have gained.

Remember the efforts you have made and the goals you have reached.

Remember the love you have shared and the happiness you have brought.

Remember the laughter, the joy, the hard work, and the tears.

And as you reflect on the past year, also be thinking of the new one to come.

Because most importantly, this is a time of new beginnings and the celebration of life, the new life that God has given."

Spiritual Abuse

Spiritual Abuse

Spiritual Abuse can happen within a church when the following criteria is from the leadership of a church.

When leadership does not understand the purpose of a person then abuse is inevitable. God is the most purposable being in the universe.

Leadership is about falling in love with the people and people falling in love with God as they respond to the love shown them.

Leadership should not be using people as a tool to promote an agenda or program, God is more interested in the  person than what that person can do for Him, or what we become rather than what we've done.

Leadership is about serving the people with selflessness, sacrifice, and putting the people ahead of personal interest.

John 13:1-38; Matthew 20:25-28, Philippians 2:3-4; Ephesians 4:11-12; 1 Peter 5:1-11

Revival and the Heart

We do not need a change of Politicians, we do not need a change of Laws, we do not need a change of our Nation, we do not need a change of Morality. What we need is a change of hearts, for when the heart changes the Politicians change, the Laws change, the Nation changes, and the Morality changes.

Pray for change of hearts in our nation!

2 Chr 7:14
14 if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
(NIV)

The Prayer and Need for Inclusion for Volunteer's in Church

The Prayer and Need for Inclusion for Volunteer's in Church

What are the volunteers serving in your church thinking? What are their hopes, dreams and needs? During the last 28 years, I have had the privilege of serving on a church staff and two missions as a Pastor and Chaplain, but the vast majority of my time has been as a volunteer.

To assist pastors and church leaders with better connecting with those who have made the strategic choice to leverage their marginal time and talent to serve others, the following are 10 things volunteers wish their pastor knew about them:

1. We desperately want to make a difference with our one and only life. Everyone wants to live a life of significance. Henry David Thoreau — 'Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.' We have decided the best place to make a difference is our local church and we do not want to go to the grave with the song being unsung.

2. Our time is valuable, so be organized and tell us what to do. We live very busy lives. When we show up to serve, please have us something important for us to do, and be well organized.

3. We want to serve in the context of community. People begin serving at a church for two reasons: first, to do something significant; second, to make friends. Pastors and church leaders need to always build a time of community into every volunteer effort.

4. Our opinion matters. We make important organizational decisions in the marketplace every day of our lives. We build teams and leverage resources. We are also at Ground Zero in regard to what is happening at the church. Smart pastors seek out and value our thoughts and insights. Don’t marginalize us.

5. We want influence, not position. It is a common misconception that if you give someone a title, it will please them. Titles are not bad things, but they fail in comparison to influence. Many leaders in church think that volunteers are after a position and that is quite the contrary. So the church leaders bypass the volunteer and cut off the very people that can greatly help and create exclusion rather than inclusion into the mindset of the volunteer.

6. We want our efforts to be an integral part of making the church’s vision a reality. Volunteers want to know what they are doing makes a difference in the overall scheme of things and is not just a busy task. The difference for one who is paid and one who just volunteers is that the only reason the volunteer has is because they love it, keep that in mind.

7. We want to continue to grow spiritually. The core desire of our hearts is to be connected with the heart of God.

8. All we want is for someone to say, “Thank you. You made a difference today.” Everyone wants to be told they are wanted and to be included. A simple expression of genuine thanks deepens the relationship with the church and inspires our continued efforts.

9. We want you to ask us to serve. The number one reason a person joins a cause or team is because someone asks them. There are dozens, maybe hundreds, of qualified volunteers at your church who would love to serve if someone would just ask them.

10. We want the freedom to take a break when we need one. This is critical. There are seasons in your life when you are just tired or have little margin. There must be freedom to take a break for a season. If not, when a volunteer leaves a ministry position, they often leave the church as well because they feel they have no other options.

Pastors and church leaders, I know you appreciate and love your volunteers. We all know you could not get by without them. I trust this post will help you better connect with them and serve them in the way that you wish to.

Backdoor Revival

Do you sense a depression in the body of Christ in America, as if something is badly wrong? We’re losing influence within our culture as the anti-Christian sentiment grows, yet you’d never know it in most churches—the media, lights, music and preaching rolls on as if all is well.

The situation is exacerbated by this simple fact: We don’t have our act together in the body of Christ. Too often people come to the church, are deeply disappointed and as a result are turned off from the gospel. The church promises solutions but only offers lip service. We’ve become excellent at giving people a show on Sunday but lousy at showing them how to actually live. In fact, most church members are as bound up as those in the world—they’re in financial bondage, struggling with addictions and their families are in disarray.

This includes leaders in the church. I believe, as John Maxwell says, that everything rises and falls based on leadership. So allow me to address the leadership situation within the church community.

Churches and ministries typically grow when leaders are passionate and have a vision. It doesn’t matter if they have seminary degrees; if they can preach the gospel and if people gravitate to them, they suddenly have a growing church! Anointing is more important than academics. That’s partly why our churches are growing while other areas of the body aren’t.

But there’s a dark underbelly to church leadership too. Often the leaders are theologically untrained and veer from biblical doctrine. What else can explain the numerous—and usually public—theological gaffes such as Benny Hinn preaching that God is nine gods or Eddie Long being paraded around his church as a crowned king (amid a sex scandal)?

As troubling as sloppy theology is, I’m equally disturbed by leaders’ behind-the-scenes attitudes toward their flocks. The church community obviously isn’t the only one with “my way or the highway” leaders. But I’ve heard far too many pastors joke in private about having a “backdoor revival” before their church could move ahead. Translation: They had to make some people leave. They feel that God is telling them they are not their pastor anymore. Then these same leaders question why so many people have come through their doors and no one is staying. The Holy Spirit is hampered and these leaders have a form of godliness but denying its power.

I recently spoke with four friends about why it’s hard to find a good church. They are successful financially and are passionate believers. On the surface, they’re what every pastor needs. Yet after being active in a local church, they both became disillusioned with what they saw and how they were treated. As they recounted stories of how pastors felt threatened by their powerful personalities and positions, I felt sorry for my friends (for never experiencing the community they sought) and for the insecure leaders they served.

Countless other mature Christians have been so wounded by leadership that they stay home on Sunday and “go to church” by watching Charles Stanley or Jack Hayford. They get a good message, some good music and an opportunity to “tithe” to that ministry. Sometimes this is a transitional period. Too often it’s not.

But this isn’t Christian community. Aren’t we supposed to assemble with other believers? Aren’t we supposed to bring a hymn or a Scripture or a prophetic word when we meet? In larger churches this need is met in small groups or in various ministries of the church. There are many examples of healthy churches where this happens. But too often it isn’t.

So what’s the answer? I believe more church leaders need to be pastored, mentored and discipled themselves. Like the rest of us, they need accountability and true relationship, which produces a spirit of humility and servanthood rather than an “I’m the bishop, serve me” mentality or follow the leader and if you don’t then create ways of alienation for them to leave.

Leaders are held to a higher standard. Paul’s letters are full of specific directives for Christian leaders. Jesus said it’s better for someone to be cast into the sea with a millstone around their neck than to cause one person to stumble (Mark 9:42). It’s time for us to wake up and see what’s happening. There is a lost world to be won. There are “sheep” who need to be nurtured, fed and discipled in the things of God. It’s the only way a believer can survive in this increasingly difficult cultural environment!

Until this happens, people—like my friends—will feel as if they’re drifting. They’ll never really find their place in the body of Christ. And sooner or later, they will “vote with their feet” by going somewhere else—or worse still, nowhere.

Indifference

Holocaust survivor Eliezer “Elie” Wiesel once said, “The opposite of love is not hate; it’s indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy; it’s indifference. The opposite of life is not death; it’s indifference.”

In Luke 10:25-37 is the wonderful story of the Good Samaritan. It is the story that is being played out time and time again in our society in the last few decades. In this passage Jesus tells a story to a lawyer who was trying to justify his own existence of indifference. This lawyer was trying to look important to those in his sphere of influence by trying to cozy up to the great teacher. He was debating, or better yet discussing his way by showing how good his knowledge of the word of God was. Of course Jesus saw right through it and went right to the heart of the issue of indifference.

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?”"What is written in the Law?" he replied. "How do you read it?" He answered: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind' ; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"You have answered correctly," Jesus replied. "Do this and you will live." But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" 

Jesus said this man had answered correctly. Indeed, he gave the exact answer that Jesus later gave in response to the same question (Mt 22:36-40). This was very unusual among the Jewish religious leaders and shows that this lawyer had some great truths revealed to him by God. However, Lu 10:29 shows that he did not yield himself to this revelation but sought to justify his own actions before God.

Just as with this lawyer, pride causes many people to resist the truth of justification by faith in the grace of God (Eph 2:8, Lu 10:29). This lawyer loved himself and the public recognition his "holy acts" gave him. He was not willing to love God first and his fellow man ahead of himself. This was not a sincere question on the lawyer's part but rather an evasive question seeking to shun responsibility. This man was seeking to be justified in the sight of God through his actions. 

He knew he had not loved everyone as he loved himself, so he was trying to interpret the scripture (Le 19:18) in a way that would conform to his actions. He wanted to define "neighbor" as just his close friends whom he had treated well. Jesus, through this parable, however, defined a neighbor as any fellow human being that crosses our path and is in need of our assistance. It is always wrong to try to interpret God's Word in a way that will match our experiences. We should instead make our experiences match God's Word.

Jesus taught repentance and faith as the means of justification with God (Mt 4:17 with John 6:28-29, and Luke 18:9-14). This lawyer was seeking to be right with God on the basis of his own actions. Self-justification always produces excuses, while repentance and faith toward God produces obedience.

This question of "Who is my neighbor?" can be used by Satan to deceive us in more than one way. Not only can he deceive us into thinking we have fulfilled the command to "love thy neighbor as thyself" when we haven't, but he will also try to apply this command in a way that condemns those of us who are seeking to fulfill it by making us think we are not doing enough. We cannot meet the needs of every single person in the world. Jesus wasn't teaching that. This wounded man was directly in the path of these three men. The priest and the Levite had to walk around him. The priest and the Levite were indifferent to the needs of someone who they only saw. We see people and their needs all the time, but we see past them and do not really look. We become hard hearted because people don’t fit into the category of how we want to help. So we just pass on by seeing but not really seeing. Our hearts are closed off or just hard. Jesus was simply teaching that we should take advantage of the opportunities we have. The fact that we can't help everyone is no excuse not to help anyone. When we develop the excuse is when we are indifferent.

Indifference is the great sin of our time. In Revelation chapter three John the beloved apostle describes seven churches and the seventh one is the church of Laodicea, neither hot, nor cold, but lukewarm. Lukewarm is indifference. Jesus replies “You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. “

We need to see, indifference has blinded us to the needs of people around us. Indifference is the sign of the Laodicean church, the church of the last days.

Why I'm Ashamed of the American Church

12:00PM EST 1/18/2013 DANITA ESTRELLA

The gospel in my Bible is dramatically different from that preached in many churches.

I spend most of my time on the mission field in Haiti. Yet when I come to the U.S., I am reluctant to go to church. It's embarrassing to admit, but it's true. Often I hesitate to walk through the church doors.

I continually ask myself, Why? I love God with all my heart, I love His people and I love His Word.

So then, what is the problem?

My struggle stems from the fact that the gospel I read in my Bible is dramatically different from the gospel that is preached in many American churches today. Before I explain, let me give you some background.

First, I believe in prosperity. I am a mother to 72 children, and 504 children sit at my lunch table daily.

I moved to Haiti alone in 1999 with a promise from God: "Go, and I will be with you." Though the early years were marked with pain and hardship, in the last eight years, the Lord has blessed me beyond measure.

Second, I believe in healing. I have to! Good medical care is nonexistent where I live in Haiti.

In 2002, my 3-year-old boy, Guy, was dying of AIDS. His face looked skeletal, his eyes had sunken in, and he refused to eat or drink.

It was my faith and prayers of desperation that brought him back to life. Today, he is 8 years old, healthy and beautiful.

Third, I am a woman of faith. In 2001, the property that I had purchased was a cactus field. Today, we have a church, a school and two orphanages.

I do not consider myself to be a "poverty-mentality" missionary. I believe God's people should be blessed.

But when was the last time you heard a teaching on suffering? Why does the church love to teach on Hebrews 11, the chapter of faith, but conveniently stop at verse 34?

Verses 36-39 state of the heroic saints who went before us: "Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them.

"They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised" (NIV).

Why do we not teach new converts Philippians 1:29? "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him."

Not many churches today are raising up a generation of men and women who are prepared to risk it all for the sake of the gospel. Why? Because we have omitted the teaching about suffering saints.

Could this be the reason that the American missionary is becoming a dying breed and most of them who do go, do not return for a second term?

Do I think the church should stop preaching about the blessings of God? No. I believe the church should teach that God is an intimate God. He deals with us as individuals.

He may require something from you that He does not require from others. We are not all chosen to walk the same road.

The apostle Paul was beheaded in prison, but prior to his death he told Timothy to endure hardship as a good soldier (see 2 Tim. 2:3). Peter's final words to the church were "Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Pet. 2:21).

You may never have to give your life for the gospel, but would you be willing? When God hears the cries of His people, He looks for a deliverer. And the deliverer He calls may be you.

The message of the cross can be summed up in two words: "Follow Me." Today, the eyes of the Lord are going to and fro throughout the earth and He is asking: "Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?"

Can you honestly say, "Here I am, Lord, send me"?

Danita Estrella is the founder of Hope for Haiti Children's center, a ministry that provides food, clothing, education, medical care and the teaching of the gospel to impoverished children in Ouanaminthe, Haiti. She has lived in Haiti since 1999. For more information, go to danitaschildren.org.

New, new, new!

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Romans 15:5-6 (NIV)

A new idea, a new project, a new goal, or new adventure seems to come pre-packaged with a dose of adrenaline, anticipation, and excitement.  The residue of simply thinking about the possibilities can power an electric plant!

For some of us, it takes time to warm up to… or buy into taking on something new.  The fear of change, the thought of pouring energy into change, and the resistance that change brings – keeps many on the bench and far from those tingling nerve endings that emerge when embarking on a new path.

We can spend all of our resources inviting people to change.  We get caught up in their emotional highs and soak up the outflow of the energy they produce – and we push forward together.  Getting started… making change… easy.  Staying the course, pressing on, breaking through, and pushing beyond the re-boot… takes fierce persistence.

We consume our fuel and pour it all into new beginnings… hoping someone will refill the tank to help us continue.  In any new plan… we need gas!

As Christians, we can soak up the excitement of new beginnings with our buddies – that’s easy work.  But we should be prepared to encourage one another as our resolutions lose their resolve – and we hit the wall.  Reach out today – find someone who’s sluggish – give them fuel.  They are hungry for the boost.


by Jeremiah
Argument plus depiction still offer a potent combination. Argument without depiction risks being dull to all but highly motivated specialists, while depiction without argument risks confusion and even appropriation by contrary convictions. But argument and depiction that is worked out in life produces the abundant fruit for all to eat.

Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf

Proverbs 11:28- "Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf." A truly righteous man not only trusts in the Lord in all situations, but is patient in doing so.
God calms the storm in His time; knowing the exact duration of fire needed to perfect His work, for His glory; which in turn produces fruit in our lives richly. Praise to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for always being right on time!

God Is For Us! by Jack Hayford

God Is For Us! by Jack Hayford



God is for us, loved one!

Those words are His—found in abundance in His Holy Word. They are found in verses so clear, so Self-expressive of our Father's love, so totally supportive and so fully committed to us that there is no mistaking His intent that we firmly grasp the idea. The reason? Because doubts and fears too easily and constantly beset us.

We are all tempted at times to wonder: Is God's mind tuned to my heart-cry...my need? Is His eye focused on me now...on my present situation? Will God's hand reach my way...to cover me—in time? But His Word answers these questions for us. When we cry out, "What shall we say to these things?" His Word thunders in response: "If God be for us, who can be against us!" (Romans 8:31).

What kinds of "things" does this cover? What are the situations where we can expect we will find, "God is for us"? Here's just the beginning of a list:

He is for us when we are going through hard times.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you. For I am the Lord your God...Since you were precious in My sight, you have been honored, and I have loved you..." (Isaiah 43:2-4)

He is for us when we feel others have forgotten or forsaken us.

"Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of my hands..." (Isaiah 49:15-16)

I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread... (Psalm 37:25)

For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)

He is for us when physical or material needs press around us.

"I am the Lord who heals you..." (Exodus 15:26)

"For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds..." (Jeremiah 30:17)
"I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, for My anger has turned away..." (Hosea 14:4)

...[Since He] did not spare His own Son...shall He not with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32)

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know [and]... whoever calls upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved. (Jeremiah 33:3; Joel 2:32)

There is not a moment when we are out of God's mind, His gaze, or His touch. And there is not a moment when He is ever, ever anything less than completely for us!

Hear it once for all: He has made an eternal vow to His own, saying, "The mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed," says the Lord, who has mercy on you (Isaiah 54:10).

Let each of us settle it in our souls. What we read is what He wants us to declare: God is for us! So say it—then say it again.

Then let us move into our days, serving Him because He loves us—not working for Him in hope we might earn His love. Shout it with all your heart! Everybody deserves to know...God is for us!

The Performance Gospel

Galatians 5:1-4
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. 2 Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. 3 For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. 4 Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace.

In Galatians 5:1 "Stand fast" is an expression of the Greek word "STEKO." STEKO means "to stand firm...persevere...to hold one's ground" (Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon). Just as countries must persevere to maintain freedom and protection of their rights, so also must we stand fast in protecting our spiritual freedom.

Paul's admonition to "stand fast" also reveals that our freedom in Christ doesn't function automatically. We have a part to play. Our adversary, the devil, is always seeking whom he may devour (1Pe 5:8). Legalism is one of his greatest weapons, and we must resist every attempt he makes to draw us back into self-effort (1Pe 5:9).

When you see the word "therefore," you need to stop and think what that word is there for. The word links what Paul was saying here with what he said in the previous verses.

Paul had just compared being under the Law to being a descendant of the slave woman, Hagar, and therefore not an heir of the promises of God ( Ga 4:22). Therefore, since none of us want to be cast out from the inheritance of God, we need to steadfastly defend our liberty that we have received through faith in Christ.

The word "liberty" means "1.a. The condition of being free from restriction or control. b. The right and power to act, believe, or express oneself in a manner of one's own choosing. c. The condition of being physically and legally free from confinement, servitude, or forced labor" (American Heritage Dictionary). The liberty that Paul was speaking of is specifically the freedom from the oppression of the Old Testament Law ( Ro 3:19).

Of course, Paul was not out of control. He was controlled by his love for the Lord instead of his fear of punishment for breaking the O.T. Law. Paul made it clear in Ga 5:13-15 that this liberty is not freedom to sin but freedom from sin. If we use our freedom in Christ to indulge our sinful passions, we will pay a price ( Ga 5:15).

The word "entangled" in Greek carries the idea of being "ensnared or held in a net" (Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament). The bondage that had ensnared the Galatians was the Law's demands in which they were trying to find God's favor or acceptance through performance.

God paid the ultimate price for our liberty. Freedom from self-justification through the Law was purchased by Christ upon the cross. We must never let anything or anyone bring us back into bondage again.

The context makes it very clear that this "yoke of bondage" that Paul was speaking of is the Old Testament Law. This is a strong statement and leaves no doubt that the Law was not for the purpose of liberty but bondage ( Ro 3:19 and Ro 7:11). Contrast the Law's "yoke of bondage" with what Christ said in Mt 11:29-30: "Take my yoke upon you...For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Mt 11:29).

In Galatians 5:2 Paul was circumcised himself (Php 3:5), so what was he saying? Paul was referring to trusting in some external action to produce justification with God instead of just faith in Christ. The false teachers in Galatia had taught that circumcision (Ac 15:1) and the keeping of the Old Testament Law were necessary for salvation.

It doesn't matter if it is circumcision, water baptism, holiness, or any other religious act; trust in anything except Christ voids the saving effects of Christ in our lives (Ga 2:21).

A simple way to detect what our faith is in is to imagine ourselves standing before God, giving a reason that we should be allowed into heaven. If we pointed out our church attendance, giving receipts, acts of holiness, or anything else, then that is what our faith is in. Those of us who would do that are no different than Muslims or Buddhists. We would be trusting in our own efforts to produce salvation.

The proper response would be to say, "The only thing that makes me worthy to enter heaven is what Jesus did for me. My total faith and trust is in Jesus." It's not Jesus plus anything (Ro 11:6). Faith alone saves (Joh 3:3).

The phrase "Christ shall profit you nothing" is another way of saying that if people turn to self-effort for salvation, then they cannot benefit in any way from what Christ has done for them. The only way to appropriate what Jesus did for man is by faith.

It is possible to put total faith in Jesus concerning our eternal salvation and yet turn back to the deception that God will only bless us in this life proportionally to our performance. That is not true and will keep us from experiencing the abundant life Jesus purchased for us (Joh 10:10).

In Galatians 5:3 Paul was circumcised (Php 3:5), so he was not saying that circumcision prevents people from being saved. He was saying that people can't trust in any outward acts of holiness on their part to save them. Their faith has to be in Christ alone.

This passage is saying the same thing as Jas 2:10. Those who commit to obeying any part of the Law for justification obligate themselves to keeping all of the Law (Ga 3:10).

In Galatians 5:4 the phrase "is become of no effect unto you" was rendered from the Greek words "APO" and "KATARGEO." KATARGEO means "to be (render) entirely idle (useless), literally or figuratively" (Strong's Concordance). Regarding the Greek word APO, Strong's Concordance says, "In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc."

What effect is Christ having in your life? If you feel separated from what Christ has done for you, then the cause is probably what Paul was speaking about here. You have turned from grace and are trying to earn God's favor. That stops God's power and makes all that Jesus provided of no effect in your life. The antidote is to get back into the grace of God by putting faith in what Jesus did for you and not in what you are doing for Him (Ro 5:1-2).

Here are some scriptures that speak of voiding what Christ did, and they are all centered around legalism: Mr 7:13; 1Co 15:14-17; Ro 9:31-32; Ga 2:21, 5:2, and 4.

The New American Standard Version states, "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace". We all know how serious it is to have a body part severed, such as an arm or a foot. How much more dangerous it is to be "severed from Christ." This takes place when anyone turns from grace to the Law for salvation.

The expression "you are fallen from grace" "should be understood not in the sense that grace has been taken away from them, but in the sense that they have turned their backs on it. One may also say 'you have put yourself in a place where God cannot be good to you, or show you His goodness'" (UBS Handbook, p. 122). "Fallen from grace" is not speaking about the Armenian doctrine of losing salvation by one's sins; rather, it is speaking of turning from the method of salvation (grace) to seeking salvation by another way.


A lot of Christians would say you are making light of sin, believe me I am not but what most Christians are doing is making light of what happened at the cross. They are making light of what Jesus has done and are saying that it is not enough? It is like Jesus has put a down payment on their lives but you have to make monthly installments. Jesus has done it all. You know what all means when you look it up in the Greek, it is very profound, it means all. If you add to what Jesus has done, as Paul would say “you have fallen from grace.”

Does that mean that you do not do anything for Christ, no. But it does mean that you do things for Christ out of your love for Him, not out of obligation or earning. As a Christian, you cannot do anything more or anything less to earn God’s love for you. God loves you the way you are, not as you should be, for we are all not as we should be.