---

In Romans 4:11, 22, 23, 24 Abraham is not being credited with merely believing the promise of God but acting on the promise. He moved and acted on what he believed. James makes this clear, that it was an act, a work that Abraham committed and not just something he believed. James cites Abraham's offering up of Isaac. It was not just believing that imputed righteousness to Abraham, but acting on what he believed when God spoke! So it is the act of righteousness that is imputed in Scripture, not just believing.

When Paul speaks of righteousness being imputed to us when we believe in Christ it's part of the text speaking of Abraham's faith being imputed. So we conclude that when Paul uses Abraham as our example that he is speaking of more than our merely believing Jesus when righteousness is imputed, but he is speaking of acting upon all Christ stands for as Lord and teacher! If you use Abraham as an example of imputed righteousness then you must include that fact that it was imputed when he acted upon what he believed. With that established, then the same applies to the Christian when he believes in Christ. He is not merely accepting Christ by mental consent, but he is accepting Christ with all of His commandments and instruction, with all of the obedience involved in a right relationship to Jesus. Believing on Jesus apart from acts of obedience and works of goodness is the faith of demons. They believe but make no commitment to His lordship. They have no acts of obedience connected to their belief in Christ. So righteousness that is imputed is righteousness that we are credited with when we act upon what God speaks. We regret that this departure from popular teaching may be a slight distraction, but more faithful to what was meant by Paul when he wrote about Abraham having righteousness imputed to him.

For righteousness to be imparted at the cross, God must impart it!

For righteousness to be imputed after the cross, God must impute it.

It is all HIS righteousness , both Grace At the cross and AFTER the cross.

At the cross I experience the instantaneous and legal

aspects of salvation i.e. justification, forgiveness,

regeneration (new birth) and adoption. Romans 5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Godliness is the first thing God's Grace works on and wants to accomplish in those He has redeemed. Apostate Pentecostals have got the wagon before the horse. They have stressed miracles, healing and tongues ahead of godliness. The result has been a church now existing that claims power but without holy character.

Ungodliness speaks of the fallen nature within overruling the work of the Holy Spirit and dominating the life style.

In the Christian experience the wants of the body are pitted against the principles and values of the Spiritual man. There is come into exhistence a whole generation of "Christians" who have no evidence of being actually born again in the absolute Scriptural meaning of that term. In the apostate nature, the lusts of the flesh are still operating - there is still strong pull toward the cheap and passing things of the world. This is called "carnality" by the apostle Paul. Romans 6:19; 7:14; 8:5-8; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3. So long as fleshly lusts are allowed to continue to operate in the mind and decision making of a professed Christian, they are still under the dominion of the carnal nature and lack a true experience of dominion over sin. This is not the life Christ provides for His children. Where lust (the natural appetites still being allowed their freedom to be gratified and not brought under the governing control of the Spirit of Christ, still dominate my behavior and I am carnal and worldly - how can I claim to be "born again"?

The Power Presence

There is only one power greater than lust: the power of the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ in us! That inner presence of Jesus is a Power Presence! To as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God. John 1:12.

When Jesus Christ takes over my life at the cross He gives me a desire to be holy after the cross!

It is this desire to be holy that comes with new birth that is our only defense against the control and domination of the carnal appetites. Lust is the desire(s) of the flesh nature prompted by pride and and ego. Personal holiness is a desire to be holy. If that desire to be holy is present and properly motivating us then the lusts of the flesh will be dominated and easily governed. The only answer to controlling the desires of the flesh is the presence of a stronger desire to be holy. If you do not have that desire to be holy actually controlling your very heart and thought-life, then return to the alters of salvation until God's Spirit gives it to you! It is here in God's presence we receive from Him all that Christ has purchased for us through the cross. Only God can impart it, and spiritual birth is not going to be what Christ intended it to be until that God given desire is present. Once the desire to be holy becomes my possession, then and then only will I be able to receive and appreciate the pure truth and doctrines of God's Word; only then will I be teachable and open to what God's Word really teaches me.

Grace teaches the Christian to say NO! to worldly lusts. The Prince of this world has filled the environment with carnal distractions to entice us (the flesh nature) away from the holy things of God. But those who have the desire to be holy will be the only ones able to overcome these enticements.

When we put ungodliness and worldly lusts together we have the two forces working against Grace. Ungodliness is a description of the fallen nature. Worldly lusts is a description of the fallen environment. The fallen nature and the fallen environment attract each other. James alludes to these two powers of sin as lust and enticment as the conceivers of sin. A man sins when he is drawn away by his lust and enticed by the fallen environment! That is how sin happens. Again we see the pure logic of Grace teaching the Christian to say NO! to ungodlines (the impulses of the flesh) and worldly lusts (anything in the world that attracts me, from the holy life which Grace teaches). Grace teaches us to reject and constrain the urges of the carnal nature and to separate from the worldliness. If we do not heed this teaching of Grace we will digress morally until we become lost, fallen from Grace.

Positive Grace follows negative Grace teaching us to LIVE!

What does life under Grace consist of? To live soberly, righteously and godly (Titus 2:12c) - Grace teaches us to live a positive life. We need further proof that a holy life is the life of authentic Christianity. Soberly is a right relationship with ourselves. Sobriety simply implies having control of ones mental faculties, self control. The Grace of God that bringeth salvation teaches us to be sober. Righteously speaks of a right relationship with others. (See THL No. 5889) Godly speaks of a right relationship with God, tobe God-like. So, Grace teaches me to have a (1) right relationship with my own inner man and consciousness, (2) a right relationship with others in life around me and (3) a right relationship with God. Only God's Grace teaches such things effectively.

In this present world (Titus 2:12d) - So it is now and in this world that we are to live holy and godly lives and not in the next world. There is not one single thing said in this inspired passage describing Grace as a teacher that implies in the least way that the only righteousness we have is the righteosuness of Christ.

Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us FROM ALL INIQUITY, AND PURIFY UNTO HIMSELF A PECULIAR PEOPLE, ZEALOUS OF GOOD WORKS. (Titus 2:13-14)

This is Grace!

Liberal false teachers tell us that Jesus never intended for us to obey the moral commandments He taught in the sermon on the mount. (Matthew 5 through 7). They teach that God gave those commandments to prove to us that we were just not capable of living a holy life as Jesus described. They further teach that by being incapable of any righteousness of our own, the only only righteousness we have is the righteosuness He gives us by faith. That sir, is the doctrine of demons, idiots and apostates, but it is not according to the doctrine of the Bible! IN THIS PRESENT WORLD clearly states that CHRISTIANS, TODAY, IN THIS REAL WORLD, CAN LIVE A HOLY LIFE BY THE GRACE OF GOD!

The righteousness we have as Christians is the righteosuness that He teaches us, and in that sense, it is indeed the righteousness of Christ. Also, we were redeeemed to enter this discipleship relationship, and in that sense it is the righteousness of Christ. The fact that Jesus is in me living out a life according to Grace is also all the righteosuness of Christ! It is true that we have no righteosuness eccept the righteousness of Christ, but it is righteosuness lived out through the will of the inner man. I can frustrate that Grace, I can do despite unto that Grace, and lose that Grace. But if Grace, the Grace of God that bringeth salvation, is working in me then ungodliness and worldly lusts will be denied and diminish from my life.

And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified. Acts 20:32.

At the cross God did something for me that I could have never done for myself - He washed me in redeeming blood and made me a new creation with a whole new nature that is in perfect harmony with kingdom law, a new desire to live in holiness, and a new mind eager to receive the truth of God's Word and the divine morality. That is amazing! After the cross, God does something else for me which is impossible for me to do for myself, He nurtures that new nature, which He gave me at the cross, by the power of His Spirit and the truth of His Word. That is amazing! The regenerate life matures as it feeds upon the knowledge of God growing into the stature of the fulness of Christ. This is all the operation of Grace. It is all the work of Christ, by Him, through Him and unto Him! I have become a disciple sitting at His feet to learn and grow as I learn. But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen. 2 Peter 3:18
 
 

========================== End ==================================

_________ Material that could be added below _________

Of 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 [enubrizo, to insult, mock, snub] ... the Spirit of grace? Hebrews 10:29 (See Matthew 7:21-23)

-----------------------------------------------------------------

A missionary visiting churches in the States made this statement: "We don't have any time to evenagelize because we are spending all of our time reeducating the national on the doctrine of the grace of God." These missionaries were zealous teachers of the new grace doctrine, or more accurately, THE DOCTRINE OF DISGRACE. -----------------------------------------------------------------

In the pages of GRACE THAT SAVES we discover that Grace as it is taught in the Word of God has three different operations and in no way conflicts with the perfect justice of God as many flamboyant Charismatic teachers claim. We study Grace here by taking a close look at the cross and seeing how both the justice and the mercy of God are revealed in blazing truth at Calvary.

Grace has been scandalized by the erroneous teaching of modern materialistic preachers. It has come to mean God's mercy cancelling God's justice. It has become popular among many of the Charismatic luminaries to make this statement. On a tape of Charismatic singing group from Australia the speaker mentions several times "God's Grace cancelling God's justice." This is a twisted and perverted concept of the Grace of God. God's Grace never has, never will and is not now in conflict with God's justice. God is a God of perfect justice and the nature of God is immutable! How in the world could immutable Grace change or effect in any way the immutable and just nature of God? This concept of Grace continues to gain popularity because maybe these false teachers are the only ones teaching about grace.

AMAZING GRACE reveals what the Bible actually teaches about Grace and how it functions in the believer's life according to the divine authority - the Bible. Grace is not the shallow and human idea that God's grace triumphs over the demands of divine justice. There may be an element of truth to this erroneous statement but justice is not cancelled, violated or effected one whit by Grace as the false teachers want us to believe.
  End ___________
 

Doctrinaires And New Doctrines

Many modern gospel preachers have made merchandise of doctrine. I hesitate calling it Biblical doctrine because most of the doctrines they teach from Bible verses are so twisted and hyper-interpreted, their conclusions completely destroy the original meaning of the text which the inspired writer had in mind when he penned the words.

A doctrinaire is one who specializes in doctrine. They are "specialists" in doctrine (teaching). As in everything there are two kinds of doctrinaires, the good and the bad. (1) there are those men who teach true doctrines based on the authority of Scripture and hold Scripture as the only divine source of absolute authority in matters of Christian beliefs. These Biblical doctrinaires specialize in declaring anew the doctrines of the apostles in these last days of the church as the apostles intended when they wrote the Words. And then there are (2) doctrinaires of false doctrine. How a man or a church movement relates to doctrine reveals the true nature of their Christianity. Most Charismatic teachers today are doctrinaires of the worst kind. These doctrinaires do indeed specialize in doctrine, but they specialize in inventing new doctrines contrary to what the apostle's were saying when they wrote to the early church. charismatic interpretations on the Christian's relationship to the world, principles of evangelism and proper emphasis on moral perfection and sanctification just do not exist in the Charismatic theology. They bash apostolic doctrine as being harmful to the body of Christ and speak against Christians who hold the traditional holiness teachings of the apostles. Charismaticism represents complete departure from the Biblical text. Those who have ambitions to be respectable and accepted by the powers of the world will have to denounce and reinterpret the Scripture because the teachings of Scripture as they stand do not support the philosophies or the agenda of the Charismatic church doctrinaires.

The recent "ye are gods" doctrine that has become so prevelant among Charismatics is a horrible distortion of God's Word! One Charismatic doctrinaire said that since Adam and Eve's fall, that God can't do anything on this planet without man's permission. Christians who would believe these fables would believe the moon is made of cheese! God is still very much in charge - so much so that the world leaders and prophetic events taking place make the world look like one big puppet show with God pulling all of the strings! These men coming up with these tales for itching ears should be rejected by anyone with average intelligence. But people are mesmorized by celebrities and will follow these men right through to the terrible end when they are left to have their faith tested by the Antichrist.

There have been many doctrines introduced into the thought streams of the church over the centuries. But none have been so devastating leaving far reaching impact as the philosophy of existentialism. Without realising it, this philosophical movement that started early in the 1800's has had a profound effect on the state of the Bible believing up to this day.

To better understand the distortions of God's Grace we will go back to the seed doctrine that is behind much of the doctrinal changes that has effected the thinking of modern Chriostians. The way I live out my life is first established by the way I think.

Existentialism and Grace

Existentialism is a philosophy. Soren Kierkegaard observed that all philosophy up to this time (1813) was based on the Greek idea of things rather than on the personal existance of beings. He contended that Western philosophy (and religion) was more concerned with generalities rather than the specific needs of man.

Although Soren Kierkegaard was a little known and neglected Danish writer, his works were discovered and translated into German early in 19th century, and then later into English. So his philophy of existentialism did not become popular until the 1940's in American theology, but once brought here the teaching spread through the writing of many well known theologans such as Karl Barth. But by the end of the 1940's existentialism was strongly entrenced and a popular philosophy in all of the modernist seminaries of America and throughout Europe.

Out of this teaching taught in American seminaries the existential philosophy became a part of Christian doctrine. At first it was only taught in modernist seminaries but soon developed into a doctrine that found its way into the Bible believing Bible Colleges and Institutes. Of course there were many parallels between the philosophy of existentialsim and Scriptures. Does not the Bible teach that God is a personal God and interested in our personal welfare and that He is a God of love? Does not the Bible teach that God seeks the happiness of man in his present state right here on the Earth? And so does existentialsim teach these things - but minus God and minus the authority of God's moral law.

The popularity and exposure of existentialism finally found its way in many different forms into theology and became known as modernism. From the seminaries of the modernist churches it crept into the fundamental churches through evangelicals receiving their theology degrees in these modernist seminaries. In the 1970's the higher criticism, once scorned by the evangelicals was now being taught in the Bible believing fundamental Bible colleges and seminaries. The fundamentalists simply added God to the philosophy of Kierkegaard. From that point the logical conclusions of Kierkegaard began to be woven into the interpreation of the Bible. Certain intellectual fundamentalists became read on existentialsim and saw a fresh new approach in Biblical interpretation. It was not long until much of this man's philosophy was being used in the form of little cliches and woven into the teaching of Bible pulpits and colleges. There started a whole love cult movement within the Bible believing churches and unconditional salvation began to eclipse such virtues as obedience and the fear of God. Positivism became a famous philosophy by many fundamentalists, but especially the Pentecostals. Diregard for tradition and talk about being under bondage to do's and don'ts all have their origin in the philosophy of existentialism that teaches the importance of man's "personal" preferences are more important than "things" such as the moral instruction in God's Word. This is the philosophy of a man named Kierkegaard - not Jesus.

Self denial, self discipline, obedience to God's Word, the moral law of God, and the imperial doctrine of sanctification were discarded by the new trend of positivism. Doctrines and values that took the church through centuries of triumph were suddenly considered to be non-essentials, and then ... apostasy as we see it today. The modern church phenomena called the Charismatic movement merged out of that existential influence. Charismaticism is the classic example of what existentialism did to the fundamental faith. It produced existential Pentecostalism.

There are similarities between existentialism and Grace. There were many similar thoughts that existentialsim and Scripture have in common. But in Scripture God and not society is the authority. We may now mention that this modified existential teaching as it was mixed with Scripture became one of Satan's most effective means of garbling and distorting God's Amazing Grace. A good example of this mixing of Christian theology with kierkegaard's existential philosophy is seen in H. Richard Niebuhr's book entitled Christ and Culture. (Harper and Row Publishers. Niebuh's lectures given at Austin Theological Seminary, January 1949.)

There were many reknowned theologinas who became advocates of existentialism in different parts of the world after the German authors discovered Kierkegaard's writings. Martin Heidegger and Karl Jaspers of Germany and Jean-Paul Sartre of France were the main proponants of the philosophy at first wrting volumes enlarging Kierkegaards writings. But there were many others such as Karl Barth, Rudolph Bultmann, Friedrich Gogarten, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebuhr. Roman Catholic theologians Gabriel Marcel and Karl Rahner also embraced the philosophy. All of these great minds wrote volumes of books on existentialsim until it was woven into the very fabric of Christian theology throughout the world.

Existentialsim teaches radical freedom. This is one of the theories existentialsim stresses. It teaches through the writings of these philosophers that man must not be inhibited by some set of external moral laws but be free to exist without this bondage.

Grace Teaches Bondage Of The Flesh When We Walk IN The Spirit. In fact, mortification, or self denial of the bodily appetites constitutes a death to self! Freedom and bondage are great themes of those who resent holiness teaching and the restraints of the spiritual life on the flesh. But bondage to a liberal is when the flesh appetites are not allowed to indulge themselves. The reason this is resented is because the nature has reverted back to the flesh mentality. You have backslidden and returned to the state of being carnally minded when you no love for living holy. For to be carnally minded ... is death. The philosophy of many modern Christians is that they are going to live for Christ their way. Existentialism declares that there are to be no external moral laws governing my life. Jesus said, If you love, keep My commandments. (See also John 14:21-23; Romans 13:8-10; 1 John 5:3.)

The Faith Teaching is also a branch of the existential philosophy. It teaches that obedience to an external moral law of God has no bearing on my salvation, but that simply belief in Christ and placing our faith in His atonement gives us His righteousness and that by this faith in Christ alone we are saved. But Jesus asks, And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Luke 6:46. And, Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock. Matthew 7:24 So, it becomes very clear from the mouth of Jesus Himself, that doing what He commands makes belief in him conditional upon obedience to Him. God's Amazing Grace is not amazing becuase it allows us to enter heaven without any conditions to be met, but rather, it is amazing because it provides the power to live in obedience to the conditions to be met. (John 1:12) We see again how God's Amazing Grace has been distorted by apostate doctrinaires - that is, men and women who specialize in contriving new doctrines and revising the apostle's doctrine.

Positivism is a form of existentialsim. Norman Vincent Peale who made positive thinking so popular was a student of the existential era in theology. Here is yet another distortion of divine truth and God's Amazing Grace. Those who embrace this positivism dare not think of such things as the fear of God and the consequences of moral disobedience. Anything undesireable becomes a thing we must not think on. A real Christian knows that a thing may be good but inconvenient. A right decision may mean suffering but also be the right thing to do, e.g., Jesus taking our cross as our substitute. What is positive to my circumstances may not be right! Grace teaches us to think in terms of right and wrong, not in terms of what is positive or negative. A thing that is absolutely positive to the flesh nature may be abslutely negative to the spiritual man. Those two natures react oppositely in a real life situation. Positivism conflicts violently with God's Amazing Grace!

The New morality struck us in the the early 1960's. That is, it got into the public school curriculum in the form of sex education. There had to be a moral revolution against Biblical morals because that moral standard represented a moral law that was threatening to the radical freedom which existentialism, now taught in the secular colleges, Universities and seminaries were all advocating. The American social system was being inundated with kierkegaard's philosophy. The intellectuals loved it because it represented an alternative moral system to that of the church. Naive church men liked it because it seemed to have so many parallel similarities to the teaching of Christ.

Sensitivity training which became very popular in the 1960's was ayet another outgrowth of existential teaching coming now through the churches and most all institutions of learning. This is one of the most subtle and devastating of all the morally poisonous practices that stemmed from existentialism. The proponents of the moral revolution using existentialism to achieve its amoral goals used a lot of semantics to disarm the religious conservatives - they called it, sensitivity training. This system was designed to remove unhealthy psychological inhibitions in people. But what it was Satanically intended to do was to disarm moral people and make them insensitive to moral taboos thet had been instilled by their morally correct parents and Christian convictions. This practice is still going on in colleges and Universities and many parents (as well as the students actually participating) do not know what the intent of this training is.

Sensitivity training was intended to release people from inhibitions that wer not healthy to have in human relations. A method of physical contact was devised to destroy certain inhibitions that blocked normal behavior. This method of destroying inhibitions (actually a desensitising of the Christian conscience) involved therapy groups. A large group is divided into smaller groups of 4 or 6 or more in a groups. Some of the therapy routines go like this; the small group stands in a circle and are told to each take their turn at reaching out and touching one person in their group anywhere on their body they choose. The purpose of this is to break down certain "inhibitions" we have as social creatures. Of course the only inhibitions most people have are proper. Most of our inhibitions, especially as regards touching another person's body anywhere I choose is a violation of Christian proprieties. The whole therapy called sensitivity traing was to desensitise the conscience of the Christian. Of course, the desired result was to break down a person's urge (under such circumstances) to touch a person in the therapy circle in such a place that he or she would surely react and that the person doing the touching was unhibited enough to have the courage to touch someone on their body where it would be considred sensitive and resentful to everyone participating. There were other therapy sessions that included going into a dark room and everyone lying on the floor and rolling around and over each other (both gender). THis latter therapy was used on a group of public school teachers gathered for a ST seminar at a motel. Most of them were married attending the seminar without their married partners. One woman was sexually molested on the floor, screamed and clamored for the door only to find it locked! She was lectured for her reactions but lived to tell her story. That is sensitivity traing. It gets as bizzare as the therapist in charge allows. This spirit of touching that characterizes many of the Charismatic churches has come down to the churches through the Charismatic Catholic church. I have a docuementary film taken in the 1960's showing Catholic youth embracing in a hyper emotional Charismatic meeting. Where did they become accustomed to embracing and holding each others bodies in the arms? Most of these youth in the early Charismatic movement were college and university students. They had become desensitised to the wrongness of physical contact, bringing the physical familiarity into the church meetings. Sensitivity training didn't remove Christians from the church, it brought physical contact into the churches and corrupted them. In the end, Satan got rid of the inhibitions which God's Amazing Grace teaches us. You see, God's Grace teaches us to deny ... ungodliness ... and live ... godly in this present world. The perverted Grace of thr Charismatic teaching is existential in nature - not Biblical.

Existentialism teaches that Man is Temporary. The result of this philosophy causes religion to treat this life as the only life you will have, that there is no life after death. Existentialism teaches that life is temporary and therefore it should be experienced to its full. It encourages the indulgence of the flesh appetites, materialism and the seeking of prosperity now - after all, this may be the only life you will know. Out of this philosophy comes a teaching that would naturally follow: situation ethics. Situation ethics accomodates two teachings within existentialism. (1) It accomodates the idea that with only this life to enjoy "let us eat, drink, and be merry." It is a "this life" philosophy. Doctrinaires went to the Bible and said, "Yes, there are many places (in the Old Testament) that we are told that God will bless us materially. So the doctrinaires align with the existential philosophy that we should have riches and prosperity in this world - but alas, self denial and suffering for godliness is the true message of the New Testament. The church lives under a whole new spiritual concept in the New Testament altogether unlike that of Israel under the Old Covenant. The Christian of the new Testament is under the law of life in Christ Jesus, a law imparted into the heart of the new creation (creature). The book of Hebrews makes the difference between the economies of the Old Covenant in contrast to that of the New Covenant. (Hebrews 8:10; 10:16)

The Jew of the Old Testament was under the ceremonial law which foretold the coming of the Messiah. His promises were based on his mission to establish an earthly nation with a earthly system and a priestly system established in earth. His rewards came from this world and he was promised land in this world and a national identity in this world. The church is NOT of this world, nor is the kingdom of Christ like that of the nation Israel. The old Covenant was earthy and of the Earth - the New Covenant is spiritual and NOT of this world (Read John 17)

The Charismatic doctrinaires follow the earthly philosophy of the existentialists by teaching a "this life" prosperity based on an ignorance of the differences in the nature of the two covenants God made with man. Whenever you protect the flesh from mortification, you are preaching a gospel that is human and existential in nature. This whole obsession with materialism by the Charismatics has effected the church's ability to evangelize the end time world. It has produced a soft bunch of chocolate soldiers who won't go to the hard places ... and millions wait in those hard places that this generation doesn't have the spiritual guts or grit to go to.

Existentialism has not only produced a perverted grace, it has thwarted the command to go into all of the world with the gospel. But as a world evangelist I must remember those very few who are out there living in privation and danger to share Christ with the nations. These are the real heros of God's Amazing Grace! ... but an army is needed in this hour, an army that exists but will never be mobilized, an army that will not take orders, an army that sits around the table and looks out through the portals onto the fields laden with falling grain that will never be harvested.
 
 Existential thinking supports the idea that man must be governed by technology and an elite group of intellectuals. The New Age movement which in a remarkable way reflects the dual likeness between the teaching of existentialism and the Bible leads to the idea that man must be controlled to have the highest quality of existance, and that technology and government controls should set in place to guarantee man a good existence in this life. It is a Satanic philosophy that places man on the throne of diety replacing the sovereignty of God with himself.

If you stop and think of what existentialsim teaches you will see that there is a parallel between it and the popular modern concept of Grace. Trace existentialism from its very origin and follow every branch and stream as it flows out into the waiting world of both secular and religious institutions and you see that this philosophy has made a tremndous impact on milliosns of lives throuout the world and is the mother of the New World Order, the New Age Moement and every form of religious apostasy in both the traditional and fundamental churches. Existentialism in its many forms and going by different names and authors has effected the thinking of every college and University professional, and every clergyman passing through the modern seminaries for that last two generations. It has crawled like a serpent into the most reknowned and prestigious halls of learning.

There are many who would deny, especially Charismatic doctrinaires, that what they teach has any connection with existentialism. In fact they are probably not aware of it. But this is an impossible claim! Existentialism has broken into so many streams of thought, both secular and religious, that it would take the lifetime of a special research team to point out all of the myriads of institutions and organizations that have adopted and function on the philosophies of existentialism.

Let us take another look at the faith teaching so popular in Charismatic circles as an illustration of how close the teaching of existentialsim to the teaching of the apostate church. We quote from A Handbook Of Theological Terms by Van A. Harvey. Notice the similarities between the teaching of the Faith Teaching and what the existentialists teach; (Highlights are ours.)

Although these [existential] theologians have quite diverse positions, they share in common the existentialist [1] attack on the language of substance and soul as a way of talking about man and, hence, are able to [2] interpret faith in different terms. The self, they argue, is a unity of radical freedom and limitedness, and faith is the acceptance of this paradoxical unity. But [3] faith is not the possession of a creed or a doctrine, nor is it belief; it is, rather, the decision to be ones self as this person in this situation, a decision that must be made again and again. This decision is made possible by [4] the gracious unconditional acceptance of man by God which enables man to have the courage to be himself. This faith is made possible through the proclamation and acceptance of the gospel in which God himself confronts man with His word of acceptance.

(The numbers inserted above correspond to the numbered explanations below.)

[1] Attack on the language of substance and soul as a way of talking about man. The existentialist does not think in terms of the material world being an enemy to the soul of man. He teaches that we must stop thinking of these as being opposites of each other. But the Bible teaches that the the material world is a threat to the soul and that it detracts from spiritual excellence and moral perfection. So the existialist contradicts God and what the Bible declares. This also the very philosophy of the liberal Charismatic teaching! Charismatics resent all teaching that makes worldliness a sin as the Bible teaches. The Charismatic doctrinaires believe in all forms of sensual worldliness and conformity to the world's value system including material prosperity, indulging in sensuas practices, immodesty, extravagance and denunciation of those who do teach the threat of worldliness to the soul. The existentialists and the Charismatcs stand agreed on making substance an evil to the soul. All one has to do to know this is heresy is to read the words of the apostles pertaining to the evils of the world around us. You may read Romans 12:1-2 with 1 John 2:16-17 for starters.

[2] interpret faith in different terms. The self, they argue, is a unity of radical freedom and limitedness. They call this a paradoxical unity. Existentialism places great emphasis on the freedom of self, the freedom of the man. Charismatics insist that Christ has released us from all moral obligation to God's moral law and precepts. When we are finally set free from all inhibitions that afflict the conscience and inhibit our freedom as a person - then we are "set free"! Any observance of God's moral laws is bondage according to Charismatic teaching. It is not by ggod works but by faith alone. Again they speak out of ignorance of the fact that faith alone is indeed the only thing required when we come to Christ and receive Him as our legal subsstitute and receive Him as Lord (Ephesians 2:8-9). But then after I have received the presence and power of Christ within and He resides within, I must follow His moral promptings and obey His commandments id I am to remain in His Grace. If I rebel against the moral laws of God, how can Christ dwell withim me?!? It is ludicrous to say that I am under no obligation to do good works. It is heresy to say that good works have nothing to do with my salvation AFTER I become a Christ possessing disciple (Ephesians 2:10) Read what the Word of God says about good works and stop listening to this apostate existentialism. (Matthew 5:16; John 10:32; Acts 9:36; 1 Timothy 2:10 and 5:10, 25; 6:18; 2 Timothy 3:17; Titus 2:7, 14; 3:8, 14; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 2:12.) Good works cannot secure your justification but it is ceretainly a vital part of your salvation AFTER justification.

[3] faith is not the possession of a creed or a doctrine, nor is it belief; it is, rather, the decision to be ones self. Existentialists and the Charismatics agree again on ecumenism. Charismatics are militantly opposed to doctrine and openly bash Christians who hold doctrine up as something to be declared and preserved by the remnant church. There is a reason they have waged a vicious war against pure doctrine. Because if we make sound doctrine a basis of unity, then we must reject the Catholics as heretics and separate from any other brother who teaches anything contrary to the apostles doctrine contained in Scripture. The apostates reject the importance of doctrine (teaching on a given subject of the Bible) because it conflicts with their scheme to bring all denominations together in an ecumenical super church movement. Their dream of a church powerstructure demands they ignore what God's Word commands them. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. Romans 16:17. And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Ephesians 5:11. 1 Corinthians 10:20; 2 Corinthians 6:14; 2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14; 1 Timothy 3:5; 6:3-5; Titus 3:10-11; 2 John 1:10-11; 1 Timothy 4:1-6. When Jesus and the apostles speak of our oneness it is based on oneness and unity in doctrine! We cannot walk together if we be not agreed. These ecumenists just don't want to live by the Word. They love the power and preeminance of the popularity they have hob-knobbing with the church leaders of this world. Pure faith IS pure doctrine!

[4] the gracious unconditional acceptance of man by God which enables man to have the courage to be himself. Sounds like unconditional Grace, doesn't it? "gracious unconditional acceptance." But its not God's Amazing Grace, it is grace according to the existentialists and the Charismatics and Calvinists. This is existentialism and it should make our Baptist brethren tremble. It sounds like a statement from a Baptist doctrine book. Liberal Calvinists (not conservative Baptists), Charismatics and existentialists all believe in God's unconditional acceptance of man in variant forms. Granted, the Calvinists and Charismatics make slavation unconditional as far as obdience to God's moral laws, while the existentialists believe in unconditional acceptance across the board. But all three are error. There is nothing morally unconditional about salvation. Angels were cast out of heaven, though they were created as morally perfect beings. When they violated the moral laws of the kingdom they lost their first estate. This statement, gracious unconditional acceptance of man by God," is a myth. There is nothing unconditional in this world or the next. To be become a child of God, Jesus said, John 3:7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. So salvation begins with a conditional act - repentance. I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. - conditional. Luke 13:3.

Existential grace is unconditional but God's Amazing Grace is NOT! It is something He does for me that I could never do for myself but it does not mean that it is something God gives me apart from a condition of asking ofr it and acting upon it.

There is only one exception to the idea of Grace being unconditional: that is that God's plan to redeem man goes back before the foundations of the Earth! This means that He provided salvation and restoration into His presence before the beginning - but it does not remove the fact that at that point in time when I became aware of the love of Christ and His "gracious" provision of salvation that I had to choose to receive it and meet the condition of repentance, and I must also choose to remain in Grace AFTER the cross. (Hebrews 10:26-31)

completely blocks out the whole doctrine of atonement. If our acceptance by God is unconditional then this cancels repentance as the condition to receive Christ. It is precisely this point that modern, liberal fundamentalists may lose their right to go up in the rapture of the church when Christ comes in Parousia

Existentialism made its greatest impact on Christianity. The reason for this is the close relationship between religion and philosophy. There is some philosophy in religion, e.g., the book of Ecclsiastes, and both religion and philsophy seeks to achieve the highest good for man. All seminaries teach philosophy. Kierkegaard was a philsopher but the men who championed his theories were theologians. So it was certain to reach the churches and ultimately effect the thinking and life style of the church. Many of our Bible believing young men who attended seminaries seeking degrees in theology caught the virus from their classroom professors not even aware that it was the philosophy of existentialism. Today existentialism saturates the world's social systems and the church world.

"Grace is God's unmerited favor," they say. They say it in the pulpit and they teach it as theology in the Bible schools and seminaries. Noah Webster coined this generic definition of Grace just about the time Kierkegaard, the father of existentialism, was writing his philosophy which attempts to replace obedience to God's law with a mushy love doctrine. The mergence of existentialism in the modernist seminaries coincides with the rise of the new conditionless salvation that gripped the Baptist and Pentecostal movements in the 1940's. A whole new concept of God's Grace began to merge in the fundamental churches and Bible schools as a result of result of the influence of individuals trained in the modernist seminary environment becoming "qualified" teachers in our Bible colleges who were seeking academic status for accreditation and hired young men with degrees to teach in our Bible believing seminaries. Instead of teaching Grace from God's book they taught the love philosophy of the modernists.

End _____________

Augustine, (360 AD) Origen (220 AD), tertullian (210 AD), Irenaeus (210 AD), Cyprian, Polycarp, Erasmus, Pamphilus, Eusebius, Athanasius, Didymus, Rufinus, Ambrose, Eusebius (330 AD)
 

The Grace of God and   The grace of man in contrast

God's Grace: Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 2:11-14; Romans 1:5; Hebrews 13:9;  Grace At the Cross: Romans 3:24-26; 5:15; Romans 11:5-6; Galatians 2:21 (reference to ceremonial law, i.e., circumcision, Acts 15:24; Galatians 5:6, 6:15.)  Grace After the Cross: Romans 5:21; Romans 11:5-6 with Ephesians 2:10; 1 Timothy 2:10; 5:25; 6:18; Titus 2:14; Titus 3:8; James 2:20; 3:13; 1 Peter 2:12 to see that works have nothing to do with becoming saved, but essential AFTER being saved - After the cross. 2 Corinthians 9:8; Hebrews 12:28;  Conclusions:  God's Grace includes, reconciles all Scriptures pertaining to Grace. Man's interpretations of Grace fail to reconcile all Scriptures on the subject harmoniously. Man's Grace forces certain Scriptures to fit their theory. Both of these graces by men attempt to exclude truth that conflicts with their interpretation of Grace without a proper balance between God's role and man's role in Grace. There is cosmic (creation) Grace which does not require obedience to enjoy, and there is governmental (the order of things) Grace which does involve obedience to enjoy.  God extends Grace to man and then man by faith responds with obedience. This is active or aggressive Grace. Grace is a two way street where both God and man travel together. Grace can only exist when a man responds with gratitude aroused by God's forgiveness and the gracious sacrifice of His Son to make a provision whereby the man may work out his own salvation with fear and trembling. Philippians 2:12.  Grace operating in man is in the form of a response by man to God's initiatives in man's behalf, e.g., Repentance, Obedience to moral precepts, Worship, and dedication.  In Biblical Grace there is the initiative of God at the cross and the initiative of man after the cross

Man's Grace: Matthew 13:25; Mark 7:7; Jude 4; Hebrews 10:29;  Grace emphasizing Divine element over the human element of Grace: An emphasis on God's Grace as being totally sovereign with no regard for the free moral choice of man, and as interpreted by the modern Charismatics and contemporary Predestination theologians as being conditionless and existing apart from good works after becoming a Christian. This interpretation of Grace implies that because God is sovereign He imposes His will on man canceling the right of man to choose his destiny, and that salvation AT the cross and AFTER the cross is only by faith alone apart from any righteousness or holiness, or good works created in the believer by the Holy Ghost..  Grace emphasizing the Human element over the divine element of Grace. Implies that man's will determines his own destiny entirely by self determination to obey the religious, moral, or church laws excluding the Biblical fact that God's favor often plays a part in the destiny of man, e.g., Moses, Samson, and David.  The danger is that when over emphasizing the right of man to choose his own destiny, the sovereignty of God is violated. To believe in the free will of man does not imply that God that God cannot or does not show special favor and grant special privileges to those He sovereignly chooses to use. Even when my will is free to choose His salvation, I am subject to His will once in the kingdom.  Chart No. PG-1