Step 5 – Repentance from

Preaching Hyper-Grace

from the book YHWH Is Calling

If your congregation preaches that God’s law was abolished with the New Covenant or promotes hyper-grace, where God forgives anything without any genuine desire from a person to even try to understand His will through the Word and be obedient to it, it is time to shake off the teaching of such leaven.

Grace and salvation are indeed available to all, but the grace made possible for humanity through Jesus' suffering and work on the cross should not be mocked. It is chilling to hear and see how often sermons leave out half of Jesus' own instructions for receiving grace, leading many into a false sense of security regarding their salvation.

For didn’t Jesus Himself say, after rising from the dead and appearing to His disciples:

“Then He said to them, ‘Thus it is written,

and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer

and to rise from the dead the third day,

and that repentance and remission of sins should be

preached in His name to all nations,

beginning at Jerusalem.’”

Luke 24:46-47 (NKJV)

The previous point is entirely different from sermons that say: all past sins are forgiven, so continue living as you have until now.

The only sin specifically mentioned as unforgivable, even by the grace made possible through Jesus' death on the cross, is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Numerous other verses in the Bible testify that other sins can be forgiven, but repentance is required. By preaching hyper-grace, the work of Jesus on the cross is shockingly devalued.

The foundation for God's power to manifest in congregations should be that the grace available is preached from the pulpit in the way Jesus Himself instructed.

The elders should be able to give people true hope by teaching the guidelines for living according to God’s will. The elders should be able to explain what, according to His Word, is considered sin in God’s eyes and what is not. They should teach the congregation how important studying the Word of God is to a believer’s life, even if it’s only once a week on the holy day established as an eternal ordinance. The elders should be able to teach that if one demonstrates obedience to God, even in small things, and seeks Him through His Word, He will surely, at some point, give the Holy Spirit to support them on their faith journey. The elders should teach that God does not expect us to succeed or fully understand His will all at once, but that it is a gradual, step-by-step process of growth in obedience to the Lord. They should be able to teach the congregation that as long as one tries to learn to know God by studying His Word, the Holy Spirit will begin to circumcise the heart in His own time, enriching the journey with signs and wonders.

The Word does not call the journey to saving faith a 'struggle' in vain, nor does it give the example of the foolish and wise virgins without reason. As part of the Friday or Saturday Sabbath gatherings, congregations should begin teaching what it truly means to follow Jesus (including Jesus' obedience to the Father’s will and His instruction to follow His example).

The failure to preach the need for repentance and the lack of knowledge of God’s unchanging nature and will as expressed in His Word have led to a troubling and sorrowful increase in self-righteousness among people. Because the importance of studying the Word is not taught, God’s character and will are not known, and the Holy Spirit cannot speak to people through the Word. Many end up living in continual sin, even trying to buy righteousness in God’s eyes through monetary offerings. In practice, they attempt to purchase a clear conscience by using money for good deeds, to atone for sins they are not even attempting to repent from, even though they may know deep down that they are sins.

The elders should have the courage to teach that, no matter how abundant the good deeds enabled by money may be, or even if millions are donated to churches, if at the same time one is sowing lies, hatred, deceit, and injustice in another direction, they will likely be left outside the group invited to the Lamb’s wedding feast when the Lord returns. And it’s not always just about the individual; in the worst case, a person may unknowingly leave behind a burden of sin debt and its resulting curses for future generations to bear.

Especially during these past decades of prosperity, which God has allowed, there has been a need to teach what Jesus meant by His parable about the rich and the camel going through the eye of a needle. How many souls have been left without salvation because no one dared to preach about the need for repentance and the insignificance of wealth in the circumcision of the heart? Grace is available to all, but how many are truly willing to surrender their hearts to the Lord to be molded into the proper humility required to seek God's will and genuinely strive to live in obedience to His Word? While faith alone saves, faith without (God’s will-aligned) works is dead and leaves people with a false sense of security about their salvation. The apostles once gave a rich man the chance to repent by boldly preaching the Truth:

“But Peter said to him, ‘Your money perish with you,

because you thought that the gift of God

could be purchased with money!

You have neither part nor portion in this matter,

for your heart is not right in the sight of God.

Repent therefore of this your wickedness,

and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart

may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned

by bitterness and bound by iniquity.’”

Acts 8:20-23 (NKJV)

Shake your congregation free from rebellion against Jesus’ own instructions. Preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. Instead of fostering a deceptive false sense of security, give people the opportunity to repent by teaching according to the example of Jesus.

Shake your congregation free from rebellion against the word often referred to as 'law.' The issue is really about God’s loving instructions (the original language refers more to 'instructions' than 'law'), which point toward the goal of a righteous life. Thank the Creator that He gave His only Son, so that no believer would perish, even if they are just beginning their efforts to follow Jesus’ example in fulfilling God’s will. However, everyone should be given the opportunity, in accordance with Jesus’ command, to learn the will of His Father and to repent, so that the grace of the work on the cross may cover all sins.

God doesn’t ask much from us to maintain the covenant between Him and a human. There should be a desire in our hearts to seek God and His will from His Word at least once a week, on the day He established. God has promised to receive everyone who seeks Him (Luke 11:5-13). Many blame God for unanswered prayers and the lack of signs and wonders, but how many have first truly tried to seek Him through His Word as it is taught in Scripture?

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Scriptures taken from the New King James Version:

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