Hyper-Grace Extreme-Grace: Todays False Teachers

Posted on by Lonnie Martin

Have you heard of Hyper-Grace or, as some call it, Extreme-Grace? It goes by other names in different circles. These terms refer to a false teaching that only highlights God’s grace and disregards or plays down other critical teachings of Jesus and the Apostles. What they don’t like, they won’t teach, i.e.; confession, repentance, rebuking, reward or spiritual maturity are but a few. 

Whos Your Master?

Some call hyper-grace, grace abuse, but it is not new. 2000 years ago Paul warned Titus about those who “pervert the grace of our God into a license for sin” (Jude 1:4).The extreme grace teachers will tell you that believers are free from both biblical law and church-prescribed behavior and free from the ten commandments. By their words and actions, they deny that “Jesus is Lord and Master” of them (Matthew 10:24). They ignore Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount, where He instructs us to not keep the letter of the law but keep the spirit of the law. The Spirit goes beyond the letter of the law, read it for yourself (Matthew 5:3-7:29). 

According to extreme or hyper-grace teachers, believers are not required to confess their sin since all sin, regardless of when it occurs, has already been forgiven. Extreme-grace teaching says that, when God looks at us, He sees only a holy and righteous people. In summary, hyper-grace teaches that we are not bound by Jesus’ teaching, because we are not under the Law; that believers are not responsible for their sin. They resort to name calling if you disagree, saying you are a pharisaical legalist. I’ve been called that by them, haha!

I love God therefore I obey Him (John 14:15). They don’t like those who follow the complete gospel message, not just the parts they like. Half truths is how Satan deceived Eve in the garden. Yes, it’s your flesh that sins. Our born-again spirit is perfect and sinless. We will be accountable for the actions we do in our body and will face judgment based on them. We are responsible for whatever your body does.

No Need to Repent? 

Hyper grace teaches believers that they don’t need to repent; we’re already forgiven. Again, that’s only half the truth. We no longer need to repent for salvation. But, an intimate relationship does, assurance of answered prayer does, being free from corruption does (Proverbs 15:29, Galataians 6:8). After salvation, it is about a relationship between God the Father, and His sons. Do not be deceived. 

Jesus’ message to the seven churches in Revelations goes against the idea that believers don’t need to repent. These seven churches in Revelations are today’s churches. To the church at Ephesus, Jesus said, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place” (Revelation 2:4). Jesus rebukes five of the seven churches and demands repentance from them (Revelation 2:4, 6, 20; 3:3, 15–19). If repenting and rebuking are not commands from God, why is Jesus rebuking and telling them to repent?

Sin is Never Okay

These “new wave” false teachers say Christians are not accountable for our sins. Some have even said sin is okay, everyone does it. That’s not even partial truth. The whole truth is we will answer to Jesus for any and all of our disobedience (2 Corinthians 5:10). “Jesus paid for the sins of the world, not only the Christians sins” (1 John 2:2). God does not count the sins of the unsaved against them until judgment day. God’s grace is upon the whole world.

What makes the believer different is we believe God; we know “were bought by God  to glorify Him” (1 Corinthians 6:20). Sin never glorifies God. Sin does satisfy the will of Satan. “We are no longer our own” but now live for God in the spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). Whatever you sow, you will reap, “if you sow sin you will reap corruption” (Galatians 6:8). If you follow their hyper grace instruction, you are going to commit more sin than ever before. Sin always leads to more sin.

Are You Worthy, to Take Communion?

We are not supposed to take communion if we are unworthy, holding on to unconfessed sin, or remain unrepentant. “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then eat the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself”  1 Corinthians 11:27-29. So examine yourself, whether you have a genuine sense of sin, sorrow, and repentance for it. If we have unconfessed sin in our life and take communion you will bring judgment on yourself. Believers should not be deceived, as sin is never a good thing.

Rebuke and Repent in Love

The false teachers will never mention rebuking or  repentance. However, they both are on the table for all Christians to follow as long as we are in this world. It is how we demonstrate love for one another. By correcting one anothers mistakes we are developing an intimate relationship with God and one another. We are our brother’s keeper. Rebuking and repenting are both tools from God to be applied until Jesus returns. That’s how secular parents correct a child’s errors, and they do it out of love. It is the same for our heavenly Father “For the Lord disciplines those He loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” Hebrews 12:7-7 Discipline and chastisement: It’s our path to spiritual maturity and victory over sin.

A spiritually mature person will regularly “examine himself making sure that they remain in the faith” knowing who they belong to, Jesus Christ 2 Corinthians 13:5. By examining our own walk, we will avoid much unpleasantness of chastisement. In heaven, we will be rewarded for what we have done in these bodies. In heaven, we will not all be equal.

Salvation is Only The Beginning

Most extreme grace teachers will overemphasize the fact that we do not work for salvation, and that’s true. We are saved by grace; it is a gift from God; we are sealed by the Holy Spirit. We become children of God after hearing the truth and we trust and believe in how Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected so that we may have eternal life Ephesians 1:13-14 1 Corinthians 15:1-4. 

However, salvation is just the beginning. Now we must walk in the light as children of God producing lasting fruit and good actions worthy of our new condition (Ephesians 5:8 , John 15:4-6). As His children, He has empowered us to walk in His Spirit, putting to death sins of the body (Romans 8:13). We were born again to tell others about Jesus, doing good and encourage others to do the same Hebrews 10:24, Ephesians 2:10. We are the children of God “called to be holy” 1 Peter 1:16. Christians belong to and work for God, putting off the old way of living. Believers are to now walk as children of light, glorifying God Matthew 5:16.

Grow in knowledge of Christ and,

Do the Words of Jesus Matter?

Hyper-grace false doctrine preachers reject the relevance of the Old Testament and the Ten Commandments for New Testament believers. Jesus’ pre-resurrection words are considered part of the Old Covenant and are not relevant to born-again believers, according to them. But, is this true? Not at all, Jesus told Satan that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” Luke 4:4, Isaiah 40:8, Deuteronomy 8:3. Peter said to Jesus, “to whom will we go, you have the words of life” John 6:68.

In (Mark 13:31), Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He promised that the Father would send the Holy Spirit, who “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:26). If Jesus’ words no longer apply to believers, why would we need to be reminded of them? Hyper grace is teaching believers to ignore the words of Jesus and the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Ignoring what Jesus has said is satanic. You decide, be very careful your eternal position is at stake. 


Hyper-grace says No Need for Confession

Extreme or hyper-grace teaching is one more example of combining truth with error. When you tell half the truth of God, the other half is from the devil. They tell their victims sin is okay with God, “everyone sins”. True, everybody will sin as long as we are in these bodies. False teachers won’t say the whole truth; that God hates sin, and He does not change (Hebrews 13:8). 

These false teachers emphasize the beauty and power of God’s unlimited grace, and that is a good thing. Most of them are neglecting what Paul called the “whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). For example, it is true that Christians have been forgiven by God. But that doesn’t mean we never have to confess our sin. (James 5:16) says, “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.” If we are to confess our sins to each other, why would we not need to confess them to God, since every sin is a sin against God (Psalm 51:4)?

Why Confess Your Sins? BECAUSE, It’s About a Relationship

God has forgiven believers of all sins we commit. Your sins still result in blocking or hindering your intimate relationship with God. You are still saved and will have entry into heaven. A young boy who sins against his father is not cast out of the family. A godly father will forgive his children unconditionally. At the same time, a good relationship between father and son cannot be achieved until the relationship is restored (1 John 1:9). This can only occur when a child confesses his mistakes to his father and apologizes. This is why we confess our sins to God—not to maintain our salvation, but to bring ourselves back into close fellowship with the God who loves us and has already forgiven us.

John Letters to Christians 

Hyper-grace preachers deny that Apostle John’s letters were written to believers. However, 1 John 2:1 begins with this: “My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.” John is clearly writing to believers whom he personally knew. He indicates that his believing friends may indeed sin, and that, when they do, they need to confess it.

Some false preachers will say 1 John 1:9 is not written to believers. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. It’s about our relationship with God, an intimate relationship, God lives in believers.

“All scripture is inspired by God” and God is a Spirit 2 Timothy 3:16. His words are spirit and are written for and understood by spiritual people. The hyper-grace preachers want you to believe that the letters by Apostle John were written to unbelievers 1 John 4:6. They are spiritual crooks that steal the truth of God from anyone who believes them.

The Spirit of Truth Convicts Every Believer who Sins.

Some hyper-grace will claim the Holy Spirit will never convict Christians of their sin. Mature Christians should immediately recognize this as an outright lie. Every disciple of Christ has felt the overwhelming conviction of the Holy Spirit when he or she has sinned. If you continue to ignore the Holy Spirit, you will harden your heart (Jeremiah 18:12, Romans 2:5).

The Spirit sanctifies us by prompting and urging believers to “good works that we have been created for” (Ephesians 2:10). Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Spirit of Truth” (John 15:26). The Spirit of Truth will not tolerate anything false. When the Spirit of Truth abides in a believing heart (1 Corinthians 6:19), He brings conviction about anything that is not truth (1 Thessalonian 1:5). How can you walk in the spirit unless you listen and obey to the spirit (Romans 8:4-8) ? If you are not being spiritually convicted of your sins, maybe you are a reprobate.

Paul Instructions About Sin

False teachers will point  to (Romans 5:20) “ where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” and use it to justify sin and no need to repent. But, in the very next chapter, Paul goes on to ask, “Shall we continue in sin, so that grace may abound? (Paul answers his own question, saying) God forbid! How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer in sin?” Romans 6:1-2.

Paul wasn’t perfect; he sinned too. He said about his sin, “I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death? Romans 7:23‭-‬24. Paul set the example for how to deal with our sin. He had sorrow for what he had done in his body. He repented and cried for deliverance. What are you doing about your sin? It’s about a relationship.

In Paul’s farewell to the Ephesians he said that “he is innocent of the blood of all people because he preached the whole counsel of God“, he then warns everyone Acts 20:26: 

Summary

It’s no coincidence that the same teachers that gave us the failed prosperity gospel, god makes you rich, and name and claim are now spouting hyper-grace. Why? Like Satan, they are greedy and proud men who pleasure in perverting the minds of disciples, with half truths.  

They serve their own belly; and by good words and slick speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

These are corrupt men who love material gain and always appeal to the flesh and teach others to want the same. They will focus on the pleasant and pleasing part of scripture, ignoring, discounting or changing long held understanding of scripture. Again, I say that’s exactly what the devil does; a little truth mixed with deceit and human logic. It has been effective since the fall in the garden. Between the prosperity preaching and hyper-grace teaching, we can see how and why the apostasy prophesied long ago is happening now (2 Thessalonians 2:3).

The Hyper grace human leaders are some high-profile televangelists; a few of their names are Joseph Prince, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth Copeland, Benny Hinn, Andrew Farley, and Jeremy White, and more. There is a white paper going around that teaches their followers how to spread hyper-grace half truths to other believers, weakening disciples and losing any rewards.

Don’t be deceived by half truth. They will first tell you, you can not lose your salvation and sin is okay. Once Saved Always Saved is true for anyone that has truly accepted the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for their sins into their hearts. The truth is, after salvation there is much more to learn and do about your new life in Christ. I have found that these false teachers have little love or reverence for God, but they love the flesh, material gain and the knowingly or unknowlingly condone and promote sin. Sin has a price for believers and non-believers.   

Conclusion

Many of the things hyper-grace preachers teach are true. We are indeed “saved by grace”, not our works (Ephesians 2:8–9). God’s grace is super, fantastic, and free (1 Timothy 1:14). However, hyper-grace teachers ignore most of the New Testament. They will not emphasize the whole truth of a believer’s life in Christ. There is much more to the Christian life after we are born again. When one doctrine is over promoted to the exclusion of the rest, we make a grave error that will negatively affect how you spend eternity. Peter reminds us to “make our salvation certain” (2 Peter 1:10). We are told to “correctly handle” the Word (2 Timothy 2:15). I’ve learned that all the words of God fit together like a glove. God does not change (Malachi 3:6). This prosperity and hyper grace doesn’t measure up to the whole truth of God not even close.

Walk with God

As children of God, “how can we continue to walk in sin, condone sin in our lives? God forbid” (Romans 6:2). God hates sin, and we must also hate sin as His children. Believers are forgiven of all our sins, but when we sin it leaves us unclean and allows the devil and the world to laugh at you. If we do sin, we have a faithful advocate who will cleanse us from the filth of sin (1 John 1:9).

Charles Stanley used to say, “sin will separate you from God as being useful and trustworthy to Him”. When we repent we are saying Lord, you are right and I have sinned against you. Then you are coming back into agreement with God, reestablishing a right relationship with Him. For believers, it is about our relationship with our Father God. Believers will face eternal judgment and will be rewarded or suffer loss. We must always compare any new teaching with the “whole counsel of God” and learn to disregard anything that veers even slightly from the truth (1 John 4:1). You’ve been warned! 

Sources:

www.charismanews.com/opinion/38394-hyper-grace-horror-stories

www.compellingtruth.org/hyper-grace.html

www.standforthefaith.com/2017/09/12/beware-of-hyper-grace-joseph-prince