Teachings of the Grace Gospel Movement

Ampang Gospel Center

20TT

AGC's Stand Against The

Teachings of the Grace Gospel Movement

Contents

I. Introduction

2. Salvation by grace through faith

3. The grace of Gocl

4. Forgiveness ond confession of sin

5. Work out your salvation

6. Sonctification

7. Law and Groce

8. llhat do we do with the life that God hos given us?

9. Heolth, wholesomeness, und long IW through HotyCommunion

10. Conclusion

Bibliography

I. Joseph Prince - Destined to Reign2. Mick Mooney - Look! The Jinished work of Jesus.3. Kevin J Conner - I um not under law - I am under grsce4. John R W Stott - The message of the Sermon on the Mount5. Joseph Prince - Spiritual warfare6. Joseph Prince - A lW worth living7. John Mone Penny - Forgivenfor ever8. Paul Rube - I Johnl:9 was never written about believers9. Joltn F Mac Arthur - Totalforgiveness and confession of sin10. Michel C H Lim - Poverty or riches - A look ot the prosperity gospel11. simon Yap - I John I: 9. For goodness sake reud it in its context12. John R W Stott - I John l:913. William MucDonald - Believer,s Bible commentary14. Ilayne Grudem - Systematic theology15. Thomas F Johnson - New international Bible commentory 1,2,3 John16. Willium MacDonald - The grace of God17. lItarren l{. ll/iersbe - Be real18. Joseph Prince - Benjamin generation19. John R w stott - Tyndale NT commentaries - The retters of John20. Ilatchman Nee - The normal Christian life21. L. Berkhof - Systematic theologt22. Johnny Tatum - Articles under the series Radicat Grace23. A large number of papers on Grace Gospel written by vorious authors

l . IntroductionThis is a paper concerning the new wave of teachings under the Grsce Gospel Movement(GGM). Some call it Grace Ministry or Grace Revolution, while others call it by severalother names. But for the purpose of this paper, we shall call it GGM.

It appears that this movement started in The Unites States in the last century. But it hasspread to many countries including Singapore in the last decade or so. In the recent past ithas been slowly spreading into Malaysia, affecting the way of thinking and practices ofsome of the evangelical churches.The purpose of this paper is to review the prevalent teachings and practices of GGM, tosee whether what they are teaching is based on Scripture. But the difficulty in writing anunbiased review is that there are not many publications to which one can refer, to find outthe basic fundamentals of GGM doctrines and practices. A number of publications whichwere reviewed for this purpose just beat around Grace, and many times the same authorcontradicts himself everr within his own publication.Another serious difficulty in understanding the GGM teaching is that many authors mixup the principles of salvation and sanctification. Many authors do not even mention theword sanctification; but they keep on saying that all that a person has to do to be part ofthe Kingdom of God, is to believe in Christ as his / her Savior, and the rest is God'sproblem to make him / her a good believer.As mentioned earlier, the main purpose of this paper is to see whether or not GGMteachings and practices are Biblical. In other words, what we are doing is to follow theexample of the Church at Berea, where they received the message with great eagemessand examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true (Acts 17: ll).TheBerea Church did this to protect it against false teachings which was prevalent at thatt ime.So, let us see to what extent GGM teachings and practices are Bibrical!

Salvation through grace by faithSalvation by grace is a free gift of God and worked out through Christ, and not by goodworks. GGM puts this across very clearly and all the evangelical Christians would u...ptthis statement without any difficulty.At the same time we should be equally clear that salvation is unto good works (Eph 2:10). Good works are not the root (basis) of salvation, but the fruit (result) of salvation(Titus 2: 14). It is faith (not any good works) that brings salvation to the soul; thesalvation in the soul then produces good works (william Mac Donald).So, we can conclude that salvation is by grace of God and it is received through faith inChrist Jesus as our Savior. On that basis GGM teachins on salvation is Biblical.

The Grace of GodSince GGM is so much focused on Grace, let us look further at the grace of God. Gracecan be explained by the following five clear statements:

o Grace is God's unmerited (undeserved) favor to sinners who deserve theopposite.

o God's grace offers salvation as a free gift to all who put their faith in His Son.' Cod is able to show grace to sinners in this way because the Lord Jesus died

as a substitute for them on the cross of Calvary.. Grace cannot be earned or bought in whole or in part.. Grace of God is limitless.

(Wil l iam Mac Donald)

)

3.

Here again GGM and any true believer will look at the grace of God in the same wav.

4, Forgiveness and confession of sinThe standard teaching of GGM is that since we have been forgiven from all sins - pastpresent and future sins - and since God has made us righteous in Christ, there is no needfor a believer to ask forgiveness for any of his /her sins committed after his / herconversion.Let us look at what the Bible says about it. At the time of our conversiou we confessedour sins to God, and accepted Christ as our Savior. God then justified us and made us partof the Kingdom of God. There is no need for a second orthird confession of sin to be achild of God. It is a one time thing and God has accepted us as His children as a result ofour confession.However, conversion does not meanimplanting of the new divine nature,(Rom 7).Let us now consider a few things concerning the confession of sin in our lives, as follows.

(a) How to deul with sin that we commit ss believers?Here I John 1: 8-9 give a clear picture.I John 1:9 says that in order for us to walk in fellowship with God and with ourfellow believers; we must confess our sins - all kinds of sins. When we do that we canclaim the promise that God is faithful and just to forgive us. The forgiveness thatJohn talks about here is parental and not judicial - Judicial forgiveness is what thesinner receives when he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ. It is called judicial becauseit is grarrted by God acting as judge.But what about the sins that we commit after conversion?As far as the penalty is concerned, the price has already been paid by the Lord Jesuson the cross of Calvary. But as fellowship in the family of God is concerned, thesinner needs parental forgiveness of the Father. He obtains it by confessing his sins.We need iudicial forgiveness only once, it takes care of the past, present and futuresins. But we need parental forgiveness through out our Christian tife. That comeswhen we confess our sins.Thus we see that fellowship with God after our conversion requires that all our sinsshould be brought out into His presence, confessed and forsaken. It means that weshould be absolutely honest about our condition before God.So don't hide behind the judicial forgiveness of our past, present and future sins.What we need is the parental forgiveness, which we can get if we confess our sinsbefore God and seek His forgiveness. Because he is a forgiving God, He will forgiveUS,

(b) Let us now look at tltis confession of sin in detailWhen we study I John l, we see that there were people who claimed to havefellowship with God, but actually walked in darkness because they refused to confessthe i r s ins ( l John I : 8 -10) .Very different is the pattern of a true Christian. As believers we should never denvour sins, but always acknowledge and confess our sins.Romans 4 says: "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven" David was abel iever in God yet he confessed his sin. When he did not confess his sin, he fel ttremendous pressure. But when he confessed his silt, he felt the free flow of God'sforgiveness.

the eradication of our sin nature. Rather it means thewith power to live victoriously over indwelling sin

So when a believer sins he must confess his sin. It is the result of the work of theHoly Spirit in him. It is the result of the work of the Word in him. So, even though we

have been forgiven at the time of our salvation, when we sin as believers, be eager toconfess it, repent of it and washed clean. Jesus taught His disciples to seekforgiveness. This is why He taught them to pray, "Forgive us our sins".

(c) Some soy, "Pay no attention to sin"!GGM people teach that since we are already forgiven at the time of ourconversion, we must never ask God to forgive our sins again. To do so, they say, is

an expression of unbelief and doubt. So, they say that I John 1:9 has nothing to dowith Christians; it is an invitation to non-Christians. So, they teach that the only wayto enjoy your liberty in Christ is to forget your sin, forget about it all together andjust embrace God's forgiveness as a fully accomplished reality because of the workof Christ, and never again pay attention to your sin.It is ridiculous and dangerous to say that God pays no attention to our sins that wecommit as a believer. Because such a belief and practice are the surest way to bringdown the displeasure of God. The idea that a Christian should never pray a penitentprayer seeking forgiveness is unbiblical. It is heretical. Such ones are seriouslydeceived.One of the well known expositors of GGM said, "lt is impossible for a Christian toask God's forgiveness for a besetting sin the umpteenth time and then tussle up tohim. He will feel like God's patience is being stretched to the limit".What he is really saying is this: - "lf you really want to get close to God, pay noattention to your sin. How much sense does that make? That is a wonderfulconclusion to come to, if you don't want to pay attention to your sin. Very convenienttheology!But the Bible teaches the opposite. In Luke I l: 4 Jesus said, "Here is how you pray -

Forgive us our s ins " .If you need further clarification on this matter, please go to Hebrew 12:1, where thewriter talks about our sanctification. He says, "Therefore since we are surrounded bysuch a great cloud of witness, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin thatso easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked for us, Let usfix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter ofour faith".The basic exhorlation is that we must lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares us.This may mean sin in any form. If there is any - then lay it aside.We are even asked to confess our sins to each other - this was taught tobelievers, not non-believers.So, when there is sin in our lives - deal with them. There should not be any attemptto cover them. So be aware of such false teachings and practices in our midst.Let us then conclude this matter of confession of sin in a believer's life. As a believeryou are free from the penalty of sin because of your justification. But there is thematter of sanctification and you need to be continually washed from the presence ofsin and the power of sin. You don't need to be justified again - it was a one timething. But you need to be continually sanctified. And it is in that fatherly sense - it isin that sanctifying sense, that Jesus tells us - "Father forgive us our sins".This is what John told us in I John 1: 8-10 - " I f we claim to be without sin, wedeceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful andjust and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness".

Work out your salvation

(a) The GGM teachingMany GGM people have come out with bold statements giving the impressionthat since we have been made a new creation, in Christ through the grace of God,now that we have become God's children, it is God's business to produce the fruitin us. So, they say that a believer has not very much to do about it, except lookingat Jesus.Mick Mooney in his book "Look! The finished work of Jesus" says,"We can sometimesfool our.selves into believing He (God) expects so muchfromus, when he only asks us to do one thing - believe. If you do this one thing right,Christ in you will do everything else on your behalf - Don't fool yourself intothinking that Jesus wants you to fill up your life with ministry works in order toplease him - As Christians we need to understand that our faith rests on thefoundation of Christ's JbithJulness to his people, not on our Jaithfitlness to him".Such staternents give the wrong impression that as a believer, we do not have todo anything. It is the business of God to make us what he wants us to be.This goes against the overall teaching of the Scripture.

(b) Poul's teaching obont itLet us now look at what Paul is teaching in Phil 2:12 - "Work out your ownsalvation ". He said that to the believers. PauI is also not saying that salvation canbe earned by works. Salvation is by faith and faith alone in Christ.What is meant by Paul's statement is that God has given us eternal life as a gift,but now we are to live it out by lives of practical holiness, by havingthe mind ofChrist. In the next verse, (2: 13) Paul says that the power of God is available towork out our salvation. This means that it is God who puts within us the desire todo His will in the first place. Then He also gives us the power to carry out thatdesire. With all this assistance from God, we should work it out.Indirectly this is a call to a sanctified life, which God expects from every believer.So, here again we see the wonderful merging of the divine and the human. In onesense we are called to work out our salvation. In another sense, it is only God whocan enable us to do it. We must do our part and God will do His part.

Sanctification ( Growth in likeness to Christ)Many of the GGM people teach that since Christ has died (and thus has redeemed us)from our past, present and future sins, there is nothing very much a believer can or shoulddo, except looking at Jesus and thanking Him for being our redeemer, in dealing with ourpast, present and future sins. This kind of teaching gives the impression to a new believer,that what one has to do is to accept the grace gospel of Christ, and nothing very muchelse, to be a successful Christian. It also gives the wrong impression that since Christ hasdealt with our past, present and future sins, we do not have to worry about anything thatwe do or should do. We live as we like. This is a dangerous and serious residual problemthat comes out of the GGM teaching.So, in this section we shall deal with the next phase of Christian life, after redemption,namely sanctification

6.

7.

(a) DeJinitionSanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us more and more

free from sin and make us more like Christ in our actual lives. It is a progressive work

that continues through out our earthly lives. It is also a work in which God and man

co-operate, each playing distinct roles (wayne Grudem). Romans l2:l-2

(b) The three stages of sanctificationo Its beginning is at regeneration

A definite moral change occurs in our lives at the point of regeneration (Titus

3:5; ljohn 3:9); because the power of new spiritual life in us keeps us from

yielding to a life of sin. This moral change is the first stage of sanctification.

o It increases throughout our lifeIt is a process that continues throughout our Christian lives (Rom 6: 12-13).

Our task as Christians is to grow more and more in sanctification, just as we

previously grew more and more in sin (Rom 16:19). So, sanctification

involves increasing likeness to God in our thoughts, as well as our words and

deeds (Heb 12:1). James encouraged his hearers by saying, "Be doers of the

word and not hearers only" (James l:22). Peter said, "Be holy yourselves in

all your conduct" (l Peter 1: l5). "Be holy, eYen as I am holy "'"o It is completed at death

Our death brings an end to this sanctified life, as it is pertaining to the lives we

live in this world.

(c) God and msn work together in sanctificationBoth God and man work together in the sanctification of man, and therefore God

calls us to cooperate with Him in this activity. lt is the Holy Spirit who works within

us to change us and sanctify us, giving us greater holiness of life. The active role we

have to play is indicated in Romans 8: 13, where Paul says, "For if you live

according to the sinful nature, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the

misdeeds of the body, you will l ive." Thus Christians are commanded to put to death

the deeds ofthe flesh.Paul also told the Philippines Christians, "Work out your own salvation with fear

and trembl ing" (Phi l 2:12).There are many aspects of this active role that we are to play irr sanctification:

c Wb are to strivefor holiness (Heb 12: 14)o We are to abstainfrom immorality (l Theses 4:3)o We are to purify ourselves (l John 3:3)c LVe are to clean ourselves from every defilement (2 Cor 7: I I)o We are to make every effort to grow in godliness (2 Pet I :5)

So, we have to be actively involved to build our sanctification.So, Christian life is far from effortless life as Joseph Prince has suggested in

the subtitle of his book "Destined to Reign".

Law and grace(a) Some general consideration

Since this is one of the highlights of theissue more extensively. John l : l7 says,"grace and truth came by Jesus Christ".

GGM teachings, we shall look at thisFor the Larv was given bY Moses, but

Here Law is contrasted with grace. But grace does not come alone. It was grace

and truth which got personified in our Lord Jesus Christ, in perfect balance. If

there is only grace, there is the danger it could lead one into license or

licentiousness. If there is truth alone, there is the danger of legalism which is the

other extreme (Jude 3&4).Even in the early Church there were those who perverted, twisted and turned the

wonderful grace of God into all kinds of evil lusts. A good example of grace and

truth is found in John 8: 2-11, where the Pharisees brought a woman in the act of

adultery, to Jesus and said, "Such ones should be stoned". Jesus dealt with them

and finally told the woman," Neither do I condemn you". That was grace. But He

also said, "Go and sin no more'. That was truth. Here grace and truth met

together in perfect balance.Paul puts it beautifully in Romans 5: 20-21, 6: 1,2,75) - "But when sin abounded

grace abounded much more; so that, as sin reigned in death' even so grace might

ieign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What

shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace might abound? Certainly

not! God forbid!"The Law condemned the woman. But grace forgave without merit, as the woman

was totally undeserving of this favor. The truth said, "Go and sin no more"' This

is the true grace of God (1 Peter 5: 12).So in sound theology, grace does not stand alone. Grace is ioined to truth always.

This is the divine balance that was perfectly manifested in our blessed Lord Jesus

Christ. His desire is to see the same balance in the Church, His body. This is the

true gospel ofgrace.

(b) Extremism of Law snd GraceThis is a reality that we have to face in the Christian world; we have the Grace

extremist (Grace without Law), and the Law extremist (Law without Grace).

. Grace without Law - AntinomianismRight from the early Church times antinomianism was raising its evil

head. NT warns against those who would be Grace Abusers. When we

see the examples of those who swing to the extreme grace teaching, we

must take into consideration, Jude's warning in V 4 - "Ungodly men

turning the grace of our Lord into lasciviousness, and denying the only

Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ". They made grace a license to do

anything they wanted to do. Be warned of this possibility in our

churches.o Law without grlce - Legalism

The other end of the spectrum is the Law- extremist. The good examples

are the Scribes and the Pharisees. They were legalists of the first order.

No further explanation is needed.So, in conclusion of this point, let us say this: All believers, especially the Leaders

of the Church, need to avoid being a Grace-extremist or a Law-extremist. Either

extreme can destroy the people of God. It is necessary to seek the Lord to help us

all to have a balanced theology and life.

(c) The law us given to IsraelGGM people teach that the Law in its entirety was done away, and all was nailed

to the cross. As we will see, this is not so, thus the need to clarify what really was

n a i l e d t o t h e c r o s s , w h e n i t s p e a k s o f t h e L a w . T h e L a w a s w e h a v e i n t h e o T h a sthe fol lowing main comPonents'

. The moral lawThis involves the moral aspects of the oT Law, especially the Ten

commandments written by ttre-finger of God on the tables of stone and

placed in the ark of God (Ex' 20: l -17) '

o The civil lawsT l r i s c o v e r e d t h e l a w s f o r t h e c o m m u n i t y o f l s r a e l ( 8 x . 2 1 - 2 4 ; D u e 3 1 :10-13,24-26) .

. The ceremonial laws

Th iswasbas ica l l y in re fe renceto ther i tua lso f theSanctuaryserv ices(Ex2 4 - 4 0 ; L e v 1 . 2 ] e t c ) . I t i s t o b e n o t e d t l , r a t w l r e n J e s u s d i e d o n t l r e c r o s s ,theceremonia l lawswerecomple te ly fu l f i l l ed inChr is tandabo l ishedat

l;":':;:*"rar raw (r0 commandments and others) naired to the *oss bv

C h r i s t ? C a n a b e l i e v e r t , , t y - . , , o y t h a t t h e m o r - a l l a w w a s g i v e n t o t h eIsraelites and not to the believurl" i, ct ritt as they are not under the law

but under grace? Think about it prayerfully!

,, '\::3iir!i:#!"^H the Law? or did He rurfiu the Law? resus himserr saitl "I

came not to condemn the Law but to fulfill it"'

ls 42: Tl ruyr." Ht will magnify (exalt) the Law and make it honorable"'

H o w d i d C l r r i s t m a g n i f y t h e L a w ? t t ' . , . u , . t h r e e m a j o r w a y s w h i c h s h o w h o wChrist magnified thJLaw, indeed made it honorable as follows:

1 . Christ revealed the spirit of the law

2.Chr is t revea led the lawof " love- love toGodandto thene ighbors3. Christ unveiled the New Covenant

N o t e : I n t h i s p a p e r w e h a v e n o i n t e n t i o n t o g o i n t o t h e d e t a i l s o f t h e s eissues' but it is good to study them in detail'

r, '"'f!riiir?.rion we dealt with various aspects of Law:ld Gry. I:,il:,:.t*,"o

that extremism of Law and Grace .un bo us a lot of harm; so a believer must

avoid at all cost both extremes, because either extremes can destroy the people of

G o d . T h e n w e a l s o l o o k e d a t t h e L a w a s g i v e n t o l s r a e l a n d f o u n d t h a t a l t h o u g hthe ceremonial laws were fulfillea in cnrisi, the moral Law of God still continues'

I t i s o f s p e c i a l i m p o r t a n c e t o n o t e t h a t C h r i s t d i d n o t c o n d e m n t h e L a w ; o n t h eother hand He fulfilled the Law, Herevealed the spirit of the Law and the law of

love, and He also revealed the New Covenant'

All these matters will have to be clearly understood.by all believers and it is the

responsibility of the Leaders of the church to teach them, especially to the young

i n f a i t h . M a y G o d h e l p u s t o d o t h a t , s o t h a t o u r c h u r c h e s w i l l b e B i b l e - b a s e dchurches, and not personality-based churches'

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8. What we do with the life that God has given us?

I n t h i s s e c t i o n , l e t u s s e e w h a t t h e e x p e c t a t i o n s o f G o d a r e , n o w t h a t H e h a s g i v e n u s t h i snew life through crrrisi. put it in another *oy,- *hot is it that we should do to please God'

and be a blessing even to others?

T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h a t i s t o l o o k a t t h e s e r m o n o n t h e M o u n t t o s e e w h a t k i n d o fbelievers the Lord would be pleased ,o *"i*'n" into His Kingdom and what kind of

people He would not be pleased with'

t Firstly' the S)rmon on the Mount is to be obeyed'

This is something that the u.ri"u., L "xpe"i"d

to tlo, or to live Dy' In other

words, it is the Lord,s o*n a.J..iption oi what He wants His followers /o ,e

und to do'.Second ly ,JesusspoketheSermonto thosewhowerea l readyHisd isc ip les

Theh ighs tandard tha tHesetare forH isch i ld ren toac l r ieve .Everybe l ievertherefore must attempt to achieve ttris standard, giving evidence to what we

are, bY the grace of God'

TherearesevendemandsJesusmadeofH isch i ld renandtheyare :o A Christian's character (Matt 5: 3-12)

' A Christian's influence (Matt 5; 13-16)

o A Christian's righteousness (Matt 5" 17-18)

' A Christian's PietY (Matt 6: l-18)

o A Christian's ambitions (6: 19-34)

o A Christian's relationship (7: 1-20)

o A Christian's commitments (7:21-27)

So, here Jesus has spoken about the character, influence and holiness a Christian should

have, and if he shows forth them i" hi, duilti i ie, he is showingto others' includingthe

world, lhe good works'

S o , l e t u s l i v e o u r G o d g i v e n l i v e s ^ a s t h e s a l t a n d t h e l i g h t o f t h i s w o r l d ' T h e L o r d a l s otaught, ,,Let your light so shine before.men that they may see your gootl works and give

gfo"tv io youi Futh"t who is in heaven'"

g. Health, wholesomeness and long life through Tgty C:lTl"ion

The last polnt *" would like to deal with ln this paper is the teaching that the Holy

Communionis a blessing of health, *t]oi.ro."n.r, u-nd long life. what we are not sure is

that this is a GGM teaching or it is p.rronui ftofder to Joseph Price' who has published a

book under the same title. This i, u ,,rung. t.u.r1ing about the Holy communion; so' let

us deal with it brieflY'

(a) Joseph Prince's teaching on Holy Communion

H e s a y s , * c o o o r d a i n e d i l r e H o l y C o m m u n i o n n o t a s a r i t u a l t o b e o b s e r v e d , b u tas a blessing of health uno *rlot.n.rr. wrltn you hold the bread in your hand and

part take,youcelebrateandreleaseyourfai thtoreceivehishealthandwholenessin exchange for your sickness and disease"'

He further says, quoting r cor-ri, zg-zo, that the only reason for christian's

weakness, sickness and premature death is that they do not discern (recognize) the

Lord,s body. So, he conclude, t i, i"u.tting by saying that God has ordained Holy

communion as a key channel of health and wholesomeness for His people' and it

will add Years to our lives'

l l

T h e i m m e d i a t e q u e s t i o n t h a t o n e w o u l d a s k i s , . . H o w d o w e d i s c e r n t h e L o r d , sb o d y ' , ? H e d e a l s w i t h t h a t b y s a y i n g , . . T h e w i n e a n d t h e b r e a d u s e d i n t h ecommunion should be treated as two different elements. The wine which is His

blood is for our forgiveness. And the bread which is His body is for our healing'

So, when you .o--" to the Lord Table, make sure that you discern His body.

when you part take in this spirit of faith, something happens to your body' You

b e c o m e s t r o n g , h e a l t h y a n d w h o l e s o m e a n d y o u l i v e l o n g e r . S o , p a r t a k e o f t h eH o l y C o m m u n i o n u s o f t " n u , p o s s i b l e b e c a u s e i t i s G o d ' s c h a n n e l o f h e a l t h a r r dwholeness for You".

Note the Apptication of his teaching!

If we appiy what he is teaching here to our lives, all of us can live up to a

thousand years or more, withoriuny difficulty or problem. All what we have to

do is to make sure that we take part in the Hoiy Communion as often as possible!

What a great life if that is possible!

(b)TheBiblicglmeaningoftheHolyCommunionandhowitshoultlbetakenThe Lord Jesus instiiuted two ordinances to be observed by the Church' They are:

Baptism and the Lord's Supper (Holy Commttnion). So, let us look at some of the

biblical meaning of the Holy Communion'

T h e r e a r e m a n y t h i n g s s y m b o l i z e d a n d a f f i r m e d i n t h e H o l y C o m m u n i o n a sfollows:

(1) Christ 's deathWhen we participate in the Holy Communion' we symbolize the

death of christ. when the bread is broken, it symbolizes the

breaking of Christ's body, and when the cup is poured.out' it

s y m b o l i - z e s t h e p o u r i n g o u t o f C h r i s t ' s b l o o d f o r u s . S o , w h e n w eparticipate in thl Holy communion we proclaim the Lord's death

(l Cor 11 26).(2) SPiritual nourishment

W h e n w e p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e H o | y C o m m u n i o n , t h e r e i s s p i r i t u a lnourishment and refreshment that Christ is giving to our soul (John

6:53-57) '(3) UnitY of the believers

Whenwepar t i c ipa te in theCommunionweareg iv ingac lears ignof our unity with one another (l Cor l0: 17)'

(4) Affirmation in the CommunionT h r o u g h t h e C o m m u n i o n C l r r i s t i s m a k i n g a n a f f i r m a t i o n o f H i slove to us, and it also affirms our faith in Christ'

(c)Llhatdoesitmeantodiscern(recognize)thebot ly?(1Cor11:29)We have already made reference to Joseph Prince's interpretation' Now we would

like to give the general understanding ofthe evangelical churches.

The problem at -Corinth

was not a failure to understand that the bread and the cup

represented the body and blood of Christ - they certainly knew that' Their

problem was their inconsiderate conduct towards each other, while they were at

the church as one bodY'So, in 1 cor l0: 17 Paul said, "Because there is one bread,we who are many, are

one body, for we are all partakers ofthe one bread". So, the phrase not discerning

t2

the body means not understanding the unie and inter dependence of the people in

the church, which is the body of Christ'

So, Jesus here tells that whenever we come to worship, we should be sure that our

relationships with one another are right. In addition every one must.examine his/

her life to see whether there is unyining to confess before we participate in the

Lord's SuPPer (l Cor ll:27-28)'

Failure to exertise self judgment resulted in God's disciplinary judgment upon

s o m e i n t h e C h u r c h o f C o r i n t h . C o n s e q u e n t l y , m a n y w e r e w e a k a n d s i c k a n d afew even died (1 Cor I 1 :29-30)'

(d) Conclusionpaul,s writing in I Cor ll:17-34 is concerning the Lord's Supper (Holy

Communion;."larticularly he refers to the consequences of unworthy participation

of the Lord's Supper. Some participated unworthily and they were punished by

God, and they became weak and sick and a few even died'

How this portion of the Scripture can be turned around to say that partaking of the

Lord's Supper brings healing, healthy life and wholeness' resulting in long life is

beyond u,.,y on.. "J,r,pr"hension.

This is a classic example of how one can twist

and turn God,s Word io make it to mean something totally different.

So when Joseph Prince says, ..God has ordained tlre Holy Communion as a key

channel of health and wholesomeness for his people and will add years to our

l ivesandl i feforouryears, ' ,bewareoffatseteachingatourdoorstep'

10. ConclusionThis paper deals with the teaching of those who are associated with the Grace Gospel

Movement (GGM), to see to what extent their teachings are Biblical' with that purpose in

mind we have reviewed a number of publications as reported in the Bibliography

attached to this Paper.

Wehavefoundtha tGGMteach ing isB ib l i ca | in twoareasnamely :fi) A believer,s salvationwhich is by grace and it is thefree gift of God, throughfaith

in Christ.(2) The grace of Godwhich is the unmeritedfavor to sinners'

But in a number of other areas there is no Biblical basis for their teachings' Some of these

areas are:(l) Forgiveness and confession of sin, teachrng that since we have been forgiven from all

sins - past, present and future - at the time oiconversion, there is no need for a believer

to ask for forgiveness for any sin committed after conversion, although Bible teaches

dif ferent ly (1 John 1:9).(2) A betiever is not called up on to workout his/her salvation, although Paul has made

that very clear in Phi 2: 12. Th.y ,uy working out our salvation is a call to go back to the

Law which we left behind.

(3) They have deemphasized sanctfficatiorn by saying that since Christ has died for our

past, present and future sins, there is nothing very much a believer should do, except

looking at Jesus, because Christian life is supposed to be an eJfortless //e' Thus they

don't believe that sanctification is a progressive work of God and man that makes us

more and more fiee from sin and make us more like Christ in our actual lives'

l 3

(4) when it comes to Law and Grace, they are teaching ne,ar antinomianism (grace

without law), suggesting that the law, inciuding the Moral law of God, has been

completely fulfil led in Christ.

(5) Concerning the Lorcl's sttpper, they advocate that participation in the bread is a

blessing of health, wholesomeness, and long life, quoting 1 cor 11 17-34' How this

portioriof the Scripture can be turned uround to say that partaking of the Lord's Supper

Lring, healing, w'holeness, healthy life, resulting in long life' is beyond any ones

comprehension.

(6) They also very strongly support the concept of Prosperity Gospel' saying that the

best way to become ,ich aia prorp.rou, is to give to God, which is not Biblical'

Malaysian evangelical Churches, questioning

practices based on Scripture. So, be warnedThus GGM is now slowly moving into the

and destabilizing the believers' faith and

aboutfalse teaching at our door step'

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