Ephesians 1:7 and Grace Vs False Grace (False Grace Exposed) (Hyper Grace Teaching Exposed)

Ephesians 1:7 and Grace Vs False Grace
[Print Document]

Ephesians 1:7. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

There is a modern teaching which is promoted foremost by a pastor from Singapore (Joseph Prince), who teaches that there is no need to repent from sin once you have become a born-again Christian. In his book Destined to Reign, Joseph Prince wrote: “Repentance and confession of sin are never necessary.” (See References [1]). He was referring to how he believes that Christians never need to repent from their sins. There is a problem with that teaching. That is what we will look into now. Let’s look at 1 John 1.

1 John 1:5-10

“[5] This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:

7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (underlining and bold added)

Two Words of Great Importance

Let’s point out two words in 1 John 1:9. These two words will be important for understanding what 1 John 1:9 is about. Pay attention to the word if in 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The word if introduces the verse. This, of course, introduces a conditional statement. Notice the word our? This word "our" (hémón), of course, means both the author (John) and his readers are addressed here. Keep these words in mind because we will now look at something Joseph Prince said about this verse.

Joseph Prince was asked a question by a member of the Trinity Broadcasting Network. His response is concerning. John Hamel wrote of this in his book, Joseph Prince The Dangerous Error Of Hyper Grace:

‘When asked on air by a Trinity Broadcast Network executive, “What do you have to say about First John 1:9?  Many are asking this question in light of what you are saying about Christians not needing to confess their sins to God because they are automatically forgiven.  First John 1:9 says that we do have to confess our sins in order for them to be forgiven.  What would you say to those people?”

‘The Hyper-Grace Teacher boldly answered, “First John 1:9 was not written to the Church.  John’s Epistles were written to the world, not the Body of Christ.  First John 1:9 is written to encourage people in the world to confess their sins to God so they can be saved, or Born Again.  Once they are Born Again, they never need to ask forgiveness for any sins again.  All sins are already forgiven, even future sins.”’ [1.] [End quote]

Let’s return back to what we looked at in 1 John 1:9. John the apostle wrote: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

John is speaking both of himself and his readers when he wrote “If we confess our sins…” John obviously was writing to Christians because He was a Christian (and, of course, is now in Heaven). Not only that, but in 1 John 2, the apostle addresses his readers as his little children and writes that we only can know that we know God if we keep God’s commandments.

Double Standards

1 John 2:1-6

“[1] My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: [2] And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

[3] And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. [4] He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. [5] But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. [6] He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.”

Notice verse 4, which says: “[4] He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”  How can this be more clear? If someone says that he knows God, but does not keep God’s commandments, he “...is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” He doesn’t have the Holy Spirit and he is not saved. He may say he is a “Christian,” but he is not a true Christian because he has bad fruit. Every tree is known by its fruit.

Two Trees

Jesus said these profound words in Matthew 12:

Matthew 12:33-34

“[33] Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. [34] O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”

If someone is producing bad fruit, are they a good tree or a bad tree? In Matthew 7, Jesus Christ gave an admonition:

Matthew 7:15-21 (emphasis added)

“[15] Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. 21. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.”

So, can a person live in sin, and never repent, and be a good tree? No. According to God’s Word, they would be a bad tree. John the Baptist, by the leading of the Holy Spirit, said in Luke 3:9, “And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree therefore which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.”

If a tree is not producing good fruit, it is cut down and cast into the fire, but which fire? Is this just figurative of losing rewards? Mark 9 will enlighten you if you are not certain what John the Baptist is saying.

To Be "Offended" Does Not Mean You Always Are "Offended"

Mark 9:47-48

"[47] And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: [48] Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched."

To give you the context, verse 33 shows how Jesus was speaking to His disciples in a house. Earlier, they had argued about who would be the greatest among them. That is when Jesus instructed them to become like a child (in humility and faith) and to forsake sin.

In Mark 9:33, we read: "And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?" As we saw in verse 47, Jesus taught His disciples that if something offends them, they must get rid of it, lest they be cast into hell fire. The word for offend is skandalizó in Greek, and it means "to entice to sin" (Thayer's Greek Lexicon). According to Webster's 1828 dictionary, "offend" means: "7. To draw to evil, or hinder in obedience; to cause to sin or neglect duty."

Getting rid of what leads us into sin is important because we can be drawn away from God. Repentance means to change one’s mind. The Greek word is metanoeó. Jesus told his disciples to repent from sin when they sinned. We Christians are Jesus Christ’s disciples too. What he taught applies to us. We must repent from sin by changing our minds toward sin, and rejecting it.

That is what repentance means. It means to turn from something. If we produce bad fruit, and never choose to repent, we would not be one of Jesus Christ’s sheep because His sheep hear His voice and follow Him. They don’t listen to the voice of another.

"My sheep hear my voice..."

John 10:4-5 says, “[4] And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. [5] And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.”

Later in the chapter, Jesus said: [John 10:27-28] “[27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: [28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

Jesus Christ’s sheep are not going after things that entice them to sin, and resisting God’s Spirit. Instead, they are producing good fruit and forsaking (i.e. repenting from) sin. This is important doctrine that the Church needs to hold on to. Teachers like Joseph Prince are teaching false doctrines because these teachings contradict the clear meaning of God’s Holy Word, the Bible.

Conclusion

By saying that we have grace so that we never have to repent, these teachers are leading Christians into things that entice them to sin (skandalizó). They promise the Church liberty, but they themselves are the servants of corruption (phthora: i.e. destruction and moral decay). (See 2 Peter 2). They speak boastfully and excessively about grace and other topics, which results in spiritual bankruptcy because they don’t teach repentance from sin.

Fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, I implore you to stay away from this false teaching of hyper grace or excessive grace. If you are not sure about what you are listening to, seek God about it and be a Berean, studying the scriptures (Acts 17:10-11). God will bless you as you do.

If you are coming here as a non-Christian, I encourage you to read this. God desires to have fellowship with you, as you make Jesus Christ your Lord and Savior.

_______________________

References:

[1] “What Is Hyper-Grace?” johnhamelministries.org. (http://www.johnhamelministries.org/Hyper_Grace_Dangerous_Error.htm#One)

Biblehub.com.

Webster, Noah. American Dictionary of the English Language. United Books Press, Inc., 2009. (i.e. Webster's 1828 dictionary)