The Biggest Problem in the Church Today

Last Thursday, Pete Briscoe was our special guest on People to People. You can listen to the program here.
He is the lead pastor at Bent Tree Bible Church in Plano, TX. He is one of the voices on the Telling the Truth radio broadcast along with his parents, Stuart and Jill Briscoe.
Pete will be sharing his personal grace awakening this Saturday morning at Conference 220. By the way, there is still room if you would like to attend. All the information is here.
During the broadcast, Pete shared an illustration. One Sunday, as he was teaching from Galatians, he stopped a moment, pulled out a bottle of 10w40 oil and poured a little bit into his coffee cup. He stirred the drink and then lifted the cup to his lips to take a drink.
Oil_and_Water_Do_Not_MixThe congregation shrieked.
Pete responded, “What’s the big deal? I just put a little bit of oil in the coffee.”
Even that little bit presented a danger to Pete’s health.
That was his point concerning law and grace. You can’t mix the two. The law had a purpose. When that purpose was fulfilled in our lives, the law gave way to grace. Now, the grace of God is in charge. My last post covered this topic.
Since we are so comfortable with the law, we naturally want to blend a little law in with the pure grace of God. Religion sends this message to us as well.
Even a little law mixed in with grace can lead to big problems in the Christian life. Talked to just about any Christian on the planet and you will hear them use words like frustration, guilt, fear, shame, struggling and failure to describe their Christian experience.
This is a sure sign that somewhere along the way, they poured a little law into their coffee cup of grace.
Paul explained the problem: “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” If we let just a speck of the law in, it want be long until the law is ruling the roost in our lives. You cannot mix law and grace.
It was the biggest problem of the church in Paul’s day. It is the biggest problem in the church today.
It is time for us to fully embrace the grace of God and allow His Spirit to lead us, to guide us into all truth, and to transform us into the image of Christ Jesus.
In your life, how have you mixed law and grace? What was the result.

6 thoughts on “The Biggest Problem in the Church Today

  1. Gal 5:3 Again I declare to EVERY MAN who let’s himself be circumcised that he is obligated to OBEY THE WHOLE LAW.
    To be circumcised is to put yourself under the law and as the word of God declares, you are under a curse if you are under the law.
    Gal 3:10 ALL who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written: Cursed is EVERYONE who does not continue to DO EVERYTHING written in the book of the law.
    By putting yourself under the law, you alienate yourself from Christ and fall AWAY from God’s grace.
    Gal 5:4 You who are trying to be justified by observing the law have been ALIENATED FROM CHRIST: you have FALLEN AWAY FROM GRACE.
    Stop listening to false teaching and listen to God.
    Thank you Bob for continuing the teaching of the truth.

    1. I love what Paul asked of the Galatians: “you who want to be under law, are you aware of what the law says?”
      The law cannot make us righteous or give us life. It judges us guilty of sin and condemns us to death.

      1. Exactly, and he told us that Christ is the END OF THE LAW, so that there may be righteousness for EVERYONE who BELIEVES.
        Only those who believe have righteousness. Those that do not believe have no righteousness because they are observing the law and NO MAN will EVER be declared righteous by observing the law.

  2. Excerpt from my book, SPIRITUAL MEMOS (Will Help You
    Off the “Bench” and Into the “Game”, Chapter 68:
    (Romans 8:2) For the law of the Spirit of Life
    in Christ Jesus hath made me free from
    the law of sin and death.
    Yes, there is still God’s law, but it is for those
    without Christ (and His righteousness). (1 Tim. 1:8-
    9), (8) But we know that the law is good, if a man use
    it lawfully; (9) Knowing this, that the law is not made
    for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobe-
    dient. . . .
    But we, who are in Christ, need to stop looking for
    the law (to save us); and to trust in Christ alone to give
    us the righteousness of God, and to save us. (Read,
    Romans 3:21-30; 7:4; 8:2; 10:4-13; Gal. 2:16,19-24;
    3:11-14; 5:1-6, 22-24;6:14-18).
    PROOF PROOF PROOF
    Spiritual Memos (Will Help You Off the “Bench” …
    238
    (Paul said in Philippines 3:8-10) (8). . . I count all
    things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
    Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the
    loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I
    may win Christ, (9) And be found in him, not having
    mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but
    that which is through the faith of Christ, the righ-
    teousness which is of God by faith: (10) That I may
    know him, and the power of his (Jesus’) resurrection,
    and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made con-
    formable unto his death..
    (Gal. 2) (16) Knowing that a man is not justified by
    the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ,
    even we (who) have believed in Jesus Christ, that we
    might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not
    by the works of the law: for by the works of the law
    shall no flesh be justified. (21) I do not frustrate the
    grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law,
    then Christ is dead in vain.
    (John 7, Jesus said,) (19) Did not Moses give you
    the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law?. . . .
    (For those who try to live by the law, end up
    breaking it!).
    (Romans 2:23) Thou that makest thy boast of the
    law (you brag that you keep it, but you don’t), through
    breaking the law (you) dishonourest thou God?
    (Romans 3) (19), Now we know that what things
    soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under
    PROOF PROOF PROOF
    The Law Versus Faith In Christ Jesus
    239
    the law: that every mouth may be stopped (may stop
    bragging in how good we think we are), and all the
    world may become guilty before God (that we all will
    admit we have broken the law). (20) Therefore by
    the deeds of the law there shall no flesh (person)
    be justified in his (God’s) sight: for by the law is
    the knowledge of sin. (23) For all have sinned, and
    come short of the glory of God (not lived a perfect life
    like Jesus did). (24) (But we are. . .) justified freely
    by his (God’s) grace through the redemption that is
    in Christ Jesus: (25) Whom God hath set forth to be
    a propitiation through faith in his (Jesus’) blood,
    to declare his (God’s) righteousness for the
    remission (forgiveness). . . (26) To declare. . . his
    (God’s) righteousness: that he might be just, and
    the justifier of him (of all) which (who) believeth
    in Jesus.
    No more bragging on how good we have lived,
    because we have all failed. But now we brag on our
    Lord Jesus Christ! (Read 1 Cor. 1:31).
    Because now God sees us as righteous because
    of our faith in Jesus, who gave us His perfect A+, and
    took our F-. (Read 2 Cor. 5:21).
    (Romans 10) (3) For they (the Jews, and now all
    who are without Jesus) being ignorant of God’s righ-
    teousness, and going about to establish their own
    righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
    the righteousness of God. (4) For Christ is the end
    of the law for righteousness to every one that
    believeth.
    PROOF PROOF PROOF
    Spiritual Memos (Will Help You Off the “Bench” …
    240
    (Gal. 3) (21) Is the law then against the promises
    of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given
    which could have given life, verily righteousness
    should have been by the law. (22) But the scripture
    (God’s Word) hath concluded all under sin, that the
    promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to
    them (to all of us) that believe. (23) But before faith
    came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto
    the faith which should afterwards be revealed. (24)
    Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring
    us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
    (25) But after that faith is come, we are no longer
    under a schoolmaster (we are no longer under the
    law). (3:26) For ye (for we, in Christ) are all the
    children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. (Gal.
    3:21-26).
    (Gal. 5) (4) Christ is become of no effect unto you,
    whosoever of you (who think you are) justified by
    (trying to) keep the law; ye are fallen from grace. (5)
    For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righ-
    teousness by faith. (6) For in Jesus Christ neither
    circumcision (being a Jew) availeth any thing, nor
    uncircumcision (not being a Jew); but faith which
    worketh by love. (14) For all the law is fulfilled. . .
    in this, Thou shalt love they neighbour as thyself.
    (Gal. 5:14).
    (Romans 13:10) Love worketh no ill to his
    neighbour. . .

  3. Hi Bob, you ask, “in your life, how have you mixed law and grace?”
    I was always taught that Jesus died for the forgiveness of my sins, but somehow I didn’t see that it was for all my sins for always. For years my prayers were – please forgive me Lord… Continuing to ask God for something He had already done. Mixing grace with the Law.
    Now, I agree with God that my behaviour in a situation was awful, but THANK HIM with a VERY grateful heart(!!) for forgiving me that sin all those years ago and taking my punishment.
    Thanks to the teaching of this ministry, although it took years to renew my mind to truth, EVENTUALLY, the truth did win!
    I have found that an environment of freedom and grace allows me to be accepted by God, which then in turn allows me to accept other people in the same way. As I come alongside someone, sharing truth from scriptures and the reality of God in our day-to-day lives, we both learn and grow. I have never told a person to change, but as truth becomes a reality to them, changes always follow (and in me too!!).
    I now believe that an environment of acceptance, grace and love, firstly, from God to us, then outward to others, allows us the freedom to change. The changes are then genuine and will last.
    Have a great conference – thinking of you all fom the UK x

    1. Hi Kim! I totally agree..the forgiveness was always kept in the top cabinet out of my reach, so to speak. God would dish it out each time I sinned–provided I asked Him. I was dumbfounded when I finally learned that no, God isn’t being stingy with forgiveness–He forgave humanity once and for all. Period. I never knew I Corinthians 5:19 existed until God nudged me into the New Covenant journey. Who knew??
      BTW, I didn’t make it to the conference, but I hear it was great!

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