Watch Out For Experiential Grace Teachers

Many grace teachers are setting people free from legalism but are placing them in bondage to experientialism.

What do I mean by this?

Let's define LEGALISM:

--Legalism is a teaching that says there are certain things we must do to be forgiven and accepted by God in addition to faith in Jesus.

--Legalism is a teaching that says there is something I must do to maintain fellowship with God, such as daily confession of sins.

--Legalism is a teaching that says there are daily expectations to adhere to in order to grow in ones relationship with God and grow close to God, such as daily Bible readings, quiet times/devotions, and memorizing and meditating on Scripture.

The legalism list goes on and on...

When people follow the list, they feel good about their relationship with God and when they do not they feel guilty.

Let's define EXPERIENTIALISM:

--Experientialism is a teaching that says there are experiences available to believers that will take them into the deeper things of God and enrich their spiritual lives.

--Experientialism is a system of teaching that says believers can experience physical health and financial prosperity through faith.

There are grace teachers who correctly teach we are saved by grace through faith apart from works.

There are grace teachers who correctly teach we are not under law but under grace and who teach we relate to God through the new covenant and not the old covenant.

They correctly teach were are completely forgiven, totally righteous, under no condemnation, at peace with God, and sons and daughters of Abba, Father.

Yet some of these grace teachers teach we can have...

…revelations from God like Paul had when he went up into the third heaven.

...meditations where we have experiences in the spirit world with angels and with the spirits of biblical people who have gone to be with the Lord.

...manifestations of what we speak through words of faith.

I call these grace teachers experiential grace teachers.

These grace teachers coach believers to speak in tongues through the "baptism of the Holy Spirit."

They teach that through speaking in tongues a person can experience healing from sicknesses within their bodies.

They teach financial prosperity and healing from sicknesses is the inheritance of those who have been declared righteous by God.

Many of these grace teachers have theological roots established in the Word of Faith movement.

The combine the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ with speaking words of faith to manifest what you would like to see happen in your life.

They teach we can have the same experiences Jesus had...do the same works Jesus did.

They "support" their teachings with verses taken out of context.

For example, they take out of context the verse in 1 John 4:7 that says, "As He [Jesus] is, so are we in this world."

So be very careful my grace friends...these teachers will lure you in with grace (being set free from legalism) but then lead you into experiences.

Some of these practices, such as meditations and revelations, lead people into the demonic spiritual world.

Paul addressed these false teachings in Colossians.

As Paul said...you are complete in Christ.

There are no experiences you are missing out on.

You are complete in Christ.