He Is Knocking

Revelation 3:20

Following the messages to the seven churches of Asia, which are types of the seven church ages since Pentecost, Christ changes from addressing the churches directly to “any man” in verse 20. Until this point He has ministered directly to the church but now shows us that the last great push before the rapture of the church will be answered by individuals, if not the entire church.

For what cause is Christ standing outside of the heart’s door in this verse? What has caused the church to push the Master to the front porch of our lives instead of allowing Him to dwell freely in the living space of our heart? This final invitation is directed to the individuals within the church at Laodicea, and I believe that we are seeing this fulfillment even now.

In this final hour there is a mixture of covenants in the modern pulpit. The cold tablets of the Law are being preached with force in most sermons, teaching people to work for their righteousness and sanctification. If that was the only message being preached then perhaps some would grow so miserable beneath works that they would long for Christ. Unfortunately, there is just as much preaching on the grace of God along with the ministry of the Law. I say that it is unfortunate because this mixture says that all are saved by grace but then maintain their salvation by individual works of righteousness. This is often referred to as “balance” in many churches, but Christ calls it “mixture”.

He tells Laodicea that because they are “neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Faced with a message of the heat of God’s grace and the coldness of God’s law, the end result will be a lukewarm Christian message. It will be attractive to the sinner because of the grace of God offered freely, but it will quickly become a bondage to the one who is born again.

This combination forces the beautiful presence of Jesus to the front porch of the church, where He then knocks on the door of the church, seeking permission to come back inside. His invitation is extended to “any man”, denoting that in these last days there will be individuals within the modern church system of Laodicea who will answer the call of Jesus Christ and will open up to His wonderful New Covenant.

I see people opening up to the message of pure grace every single day. Individuals who have grown weary beneath the message of works and progressive sanctification are finding rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. They are opening up to the simplicity of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and they are experiencing the wonder of supping with Him and He with them. This mutual relationship, in which they speak freely to Jesus and He ministers freely to them, has rejuvenated their Christian walk, and there are more and more rising up every day who say as Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ!” (Romans 1:16).

If you have mixed grace with law and are floundering beneath a sea of dead works, listen carefully for the knock of Jesus. He awaits perfect fellowship with you once again. Won’t you open the door today?

No Mixture

Romans 11:6

Though it needs no paraphrasing (it is that simple), I will add my own little twist to this amazing verse:

“If we are saved by grace, then there are no more works involved in it, because if there are works then grace isn’t really grace. But if we are saved by works, then there is no room for grace (free favor), because if there is any grace then all of our works don’t really work”.

Can this be plainer? It is incredible that this verse is in the Bible, the New Covenant at that, and it is preached on and commented on so little. When I see it, I am incredulous that we are not making a much bigger deal out of the absolute necessity that works and grace stay forever separate.

What man calls “balance” God calls “mixture”, which is why there is no way to strike a balance between law and grace. Some hear of God’s grace and they counter it with, “Yes, God’s grace is good but you need to use God’s Law to show people how to live”. They are saying that too much grace is bad for you. Let’s see what God’s word says:

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) – This means that truth will always fall on the side of grace and Jesus is truth (John 14:6). For this cause, grace is not a doctrine but a person; and His name is Jesus! Too preach too much grace is to preach too much Jesus.

“The strength of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56) – Sin gains both strength and momentum when the Law is applied. This is why God gave the Law, so that man would see his inability beneath such a heavy load of sin. Do you want a sin revival? Insert the Law (Romans 7:9).

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11, 12) – Grace has “appeared” and it is currently “teaching us”. Grace appears in the form of Jesus and Jesus is constantly teaching us. Notice that grace teaches you how to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and it even teaches you how to live righteously. Opponents of grace say that you will never learn these things without the Law. The Apostle Paul said otherwise.

“No man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish” (Luke 5:37). The New Wine is the Holy Spirit of the New Covenant, which can never be housed in the wineskin of the Law under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant cannot house the power of the Spirit which is why you live by the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil under the Law, but you have your senses exercised to DISCERN (not just to know) both good and evil under the New Covenant (Hebrews 5:14).

Finally, notice Jesus’ message to the church at Laodicea:

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16) – Lukewarm water is made by combining hot with cold. Jesus would rather you either embrace the warmth of grace or the coldness of the Law, but to try and marry the two is spiritual confusion and adultery. Let’s put works in their rightful place, which is to show others that we are already saved, not to show God that we are good enough to save (James 2:18).

He Is Knocking

Revelation 3:20

Following the messages to the seven churches of Asia, which are types of the seven church ages since Pentecost, Christ changes from addressing the churches directly to “any man” in verse 20. Until this point He has ministered directly to the church but now shows us that the last great push before the rapture of the church will be answered by individuals, if not the entire church.

For what cause is Christ standing outside of the heart’s door in this verse? What has caused the church to push the Master to the front porch of our lives instead of allowing Him to dwell freely in the living space of our heart? This final invitation is directed to the individuals within the church at Laodicea, and I believe that we are seeing this fulfillment even now.

In this final hour there is a mixture of covenants in the modern pulpit. The cold tablets of the Law are being preached with force in most sermons, teaching people to work for their righteousness and sanctification. If that was the only message being preached then perhaps some would grow so miserable beneath works that they would long for Christ. Unfortunately, there is just as much preaching on the grace of God along with the ministry of the Law. I say that it is unfortunate because this mixture says that all are saved by grace but then maintain their salvation by individual works of righteousness. This is often referred to as “balance” in many churches, but Christ calls it “mixture”.

He tells Laodicea that because they are “neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Faced with a message of the heat of God’s grace and the coldness of God’s law, the end result will be a lukewarm Christian message. It will be attractive to the sinner because of the grace of God offered freely, but it will quickly become a bondage to the one who is born again.

This combination forces the beautiful presence of Jesus to the front porch of the church, where He then knocks on the door of the church, seeking permission to come back inside. His invitation is extended to “any man”, denoting that in these last days there will be individuals within the modern church system of Laodicea who will answer the call of Jesus Christ and will open up to His wonderful New Covenant.

I see people opening up to the message of pure grace every single day. Individuals who have grown weary beneath the message of works and progressive sanctification are finding rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. They are opening up to the simplicity of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and they are experiencing the wonder of supping with Him and He with them. This mutual relationship, in which they speak freely to Jesus and He ministers freely to them, has rejuvenated their Christian walk, and there are more and more rising up every day who say as Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ!” (Romans 1:16).

If you have mixed grace with law and are floundering beneath a sea of dead works, listen carefully for the knock of Jesus. He awaits perfect fellowship with you once again. Won’t you open the door today?

No Mixture

Romans 11:6

Though it needs no paraphrasing (it is that simple), I will add my own little twist to this amazing verse:

“If we are saved by grace, then there are no more works involved in it, because if there are works then grace isn’t really grace. But if we are saved by works, then there is no room for grace (free favor), because if there is any grace then all of our works don’t really work”.

Can this be plainer? It is incredible that this verse is in the Bible, the New Covenant at that, and it is preached on and commented on so little. When I see it, I am incredulous that we are not making a much bigger deal out of the absolute necessity that works and grace stay forever separate.

What man calls “balance” God calls “mixture”, which is why there is no way to strike a balance between law and grace. Some hear of God’s grace and they counter it with, “Yes, God’s grace is good but you need to use God’s Law to show people how to live”. They are saying that too much grace is bad for you. Let’s see what God’s word says:

“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17) – This means that truth will always fall on the side of grace and Jesus is truth (John 14:6). For this cause, grace is not a doctrine but a person; and His name is Jesus! Too preach too much grace is to preach too much Jesus.

“The strength of sin is the law” (1 Corinthians 15:56) – Sin gains both strength and momentum when the Law is applied. This is why God gave the Law, so that man would see his inability beneath such a heavy load of sin. Do you want a sin revival? Insert the Law (Romans 7:9).

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11, 12) – Grace has “appeared” and it is currently “teaching us”. Grace appears in the form of Jesus and Jesus is constantly teaching us. Notice that grace teaches you how to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and it even teaches you how to live righteously. Opponents of grace say that you will never learn these things without the Law. The Apostle Paul said otherwise.

“No man putteth new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish” (Luke 5:37). The New Wine is the Holy Spirit of the New Covenant, which can never be housed in the wineskin of the Law under the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant cannot house the power of the Spirit which is why you live by the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil under the Law, but you have your senses exercised to DISCERN (not just to know) both good and evil under the New Covenant (Hebrews 5:14).

Finally, notice Jesus’ message to the church at Laodicea:

“So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16) – Lukewarm water is made by combining hot with cold. Jesus would rather you either embrace the warmth of grace or the coldness of the Law, but to try and marry the two is spiritual confusion and adultery. Let’s put works in their rightful place, which is to show others that we are already saved, not to show God that we are good enough to save (James 2:18).

He is Knocking

Revelation 3:20

Following the messages to the seven churches of Asia, which are types of the seven church ages since Pentecost, Christ changes from addressing the churches directly to “any man” in verse 20. Until this point He has ministered directly to the church but now shows us that the last great push before the rapture of the church will be answered by individuals, if not the entire church.

For what cause is Christ standing outside of the heart’s door in this verse? What has caused the church to push the Master to the front porch of our lives instead of allowing Him to dwell freely in the living space of our heart? This final invitation is directed to the individuals within the church at Laodicea, and I believe that we are seeing this fulfillment even now.

In this final hour there is a mixture of covenants in the modern pulpit. The cold tablets of the Law are being preached with force in most sermons, teaching people to work for their righteousness and sanctification. If that was the only message being preached then that would serve to work as a schoolmaster which would lead people to frustration, turning them to the hope afforded them by Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:24). Unfortunately, there is just as much preaching on the grace of God along with the ministry of the Law. I say that it is unfortunate because this mixture says that all are saved by grace but then maintain their salvation by individual works of righteousness. This is often referred to as “balance” in many churches, but Christ calls it “mixture”.

He tells Laodicea that because they are “neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). Faced with a message of the heat of God’s grace and the coldness of God’s law, the end result will be a lukewarm Christian message. It will be attractive to the sinner because of the grace of God offered freely, but it will quickly become a bondage to the one who is born again.

This combination forces the beautiful presence of Jesus to the front porch of the church, where He then knocks on the door of the church, seeking permission to come back inside. His invitation is extended to “any man”, denoting that in these last days there will be individuals within the modern church system of Laodicea who will answer the call of Jesus Christ and will open up to His wonderful New Covenant.

I see people opening up to the message of pure grace every single day. Individuals who have grown weary beneath the message of works and progressive sanctification are finding rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ. They are opening up to the simplicity of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and they are experiencing the wonder of supping with Him and He with them. This mutual relationship, in which they speak freely to Jesus and He ministers freely to them, has rejuvenated their Christian walk, and there are more and more rising up every day who say as Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ!” (Romans 1:16).

If you have mixed grace with law and are floundering beneath a sea of dead works, listen carefully for the knock of Jesus. He awaits perfect fellowship with you once again. Won’t you open the door today?