Speak the Same Thing, Pt. 9

Religion/denominationalism is big business where truth is trampled.  You can go with the flow and have a big 10,000-member church like Joel Osteen and some of those big-time guys; or you can have a little bitty flock like this ours here at Norcal Grace Fellowship.  You choose.  The judgment seat of Christ will bear it out. 

I look at the Lord Jesus in the book of Isaiah where it says that he looks to the Father at the end of his ministry and says, “Look at this little flock.”  This was God in the flesh, the Lord, the best preacher, the only perfect man, but he had only a tiny little flock.  By the end, in Jerusalem he only had 120 believers on Pentecost when he poured out the Spirit (Acts 1:15).  That is amazing to me.  You would think that he would have had 10,000 people.  No, they didn’t want the truth.  It will always be that way.  Don’t walk by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).  Every grace church on planet Earth is small.  But, we are here.

2 Corinthians 6:9a

As unknown, and yet well known;

Denominational preachers know about us.  They just pretend like we don’t exist because we know the Bible too well.  I know.  I have been dealing with them for years.  They serve their own belly – their own carnal desires for money, for filthy lucre’s sake, and here is how they do it:

Romans 16:18

For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

Some of them are so good; they can really turn a phrase.  The Baptists are very good at that.  Have you ever listened to Adrian Rogers?  They sound good; they speak well; but Paul said he was rude in speech.

          2 Corinthians 11:6

But though I be rude in speech,… 

We (grace teachers) will never be better speakers than they are, but we know some things they don’t grasp about the word.  

… yet not in knowledge;

They use the Bible, but they don’t rightly divide it.  That is what Paul is saying—that they cause divisions.  How do they cause division and offenses?  When your heart tells you that you should not be under teaching and preaching that puts legalism (a performance-based acceptance system in order for you to please God) on you as a grace believer.  I’m not talking about your sanctification as a believer; they are either putting some work on you for your justification (to be saved), or they are telling you that you have to do some work to stay saved.

Romans 6:14

For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.

To be continued…