We have friends who stand near Planned Parenthood praying for the women entering. If the women will listen, they share with them God's Truth and how He hates the killing of innocent life. He hates pills that abort babies and mess up women's hormones. They are actively involved for the Kingdom of God.
She relates one story that happened recently ~
A man dropped off his girlfriend at the back door of PP and watched her go inside to have their innocent child’s life terminated. He was most likely told, as is the custom at PP, to come back later when it was all over. But as this man was leaving he stopped in the driveway to give those of us who were standing at the gates, with arms open wide to offer help and God’s love and biblical truth, a “word of admonition!” Robert Unger, our dear friend and brother in the Lord – a gentle, but fiery and passionate for the Lord, priest stepped forward to the open car window to talk to this nice looking black man before us. What we heard coming out of his mouth was painfully shocking! With obvious enthusiasm and a strange kind of conviction he responded to Robert’s polite, “Can we help you?” with, “What do you think you are doing here? Don’t you know that the blood of Jesus is able to cover everything and anything – including this? I can do this, and I am covered!”
After hearing this weird and distorted declaration, our dear friend immediately proceeded to share biblical truths of how this thinking was absolutely not right, and that he was deceived – that there was no excuse for willfully and knowingly taking the life of an innocent child with the justification that even though you know it is wrong, God will forgive! This dear gentle servant of God, with the fire of a Holy God fueling his words, turned righteously angry with the confrontation of such strange twisted doctrine and strange grace that was before us. Satan, the deceiver of men, is forever at work, and has no limits to how he can twist the precious life saving Truths of a Holy God – the only Truth that can set men free!
God will not be mocked. We must never use Scripture to justify sin. God hates sin. He died to free us from sin and to walk in holiness. He did not die so we could continue in sin.
What shall we say then?
What shall we say then?
Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
God forbid!!! How shall we that are dead to sin
live any longer therein?...
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,
that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Romans 6:1,2,12
Logging you in...
Brittany · 592 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 592 weeks ago
Cynthia Swenson · 592 weeks ago
Lori Alexander 122p · 592 weeks ago
Charlotte · 592 weeks ago
I was raised LDS (Mormon). We do not believe that you are saved by the grace of God alone, you must also live a good life--i.e. have good works. I am not a Christian now so I have never been taught anything about grace. My understanding of grace is that if you accept Christ as your savior, you are saved. That is it, there is nothing more you have to do because there is nothing more you can do to save yourself--Christ has done it all for you. Works mean nothing and they will not help you to be saved. From that understanding (which I know is likely deeply flawed) it makes intuitive sense to me that what the man in the car said would be correct. If you have accepted Christ and been saved, why can't you do anything you want? Your actions, good or bad, will never override the saving power of the sacrifice. Therefore, if someone has accepted Christ, why wouldn't they be able to act however they choose without fear of eternal consequence? They have done the one thing asked of them in order to gain salvation.
My second question is this (likely related to the first), once you have accepted Christ and His grace, can you later do something that will reject that gift? It was my impression that outside of literally stating that you reject Christ, you could not ever lose the gift of salvation that comes with accepting Christ.
My last question relates to works. Many times I have heard Christians talk about how works don't matter and works can't save you. Is this a true belief of Christians? Under my assumption that it is a true belief, the idea of accepting Christ has baffled me a bit. Isn't accepting Christ a "work"--an action you must take to save yourself? If you cannot do works to save yourself, how is this different? And why must you accept the sacrifice rather than having it freely apply to all people?
If you're willing to answer I'd really appreciate it! I hope I explained my questions clearly and that they make sense!
Thanks for your blog, I really enjoy reading it!
Lori Alexander 122p · 592 weeks ago
Ken · 592 weeks ago
Great questions and I hope you do not mind my taking them on as Lori is feeling pretty punk the last two days. I completely understand your concerns and possible confusion as too many do not fully understand the relationship between “grace alone” (Eph. 2:8-9) and “faith without works is dead” (James 2:14).
The Bible clearly teaches both of these important truths, and like many of God’s truths, they must be first properly related to each other, then properly balanced. Remember these are God’s truths, from a God outside of time and far beyond our finite minds. The same God who says, “whosoever will may come” and “you were chosen before the foundation of the earth.” God’s truth held in the tension He designed is what keeps things real, and keeps his children from falling into cults and heresy.
When I was younger I got to ride a horse bareback and all I had to stay on the horse was my balance and holding onto the horse’s mane as tight as I could. I fell off a couple times when I leaned too far one way or the other. Imagine that true faith is the sweet spot on the horse’s back and grace is on one side and works is the other. Lean too far from one side or the other and you fall off the horse and have to climb back on again. It is God who places us on the horse and it is God who keeps us on the horse. It is our desire to please our Savior that first leads us to repentance, and then into good works.
“We love Him because He first loved us” (I John 4:9). Any true Believer understands that God’s grace comes at a great cost to God Himself as He gave His only Son to die for us. There is no such thing as “cheap grace” from God’s side of the story, nor does Jesus teach such a thing. Jesus is clear that the grace may be free to accept, but once accepted it demands love and obedience to His Lordship in return.
The question of works comes down to a question of one’s heart. Jesus says, “If you love me keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We were made to worship and serve the Creator from day one of human existence. The OT is a story of man living under the law where his motivation is to please God to obtain His blessings and avoid displeasing God to avoid His displeasure.
When Christ dies He died for the sins of the whole world, yours and mine, and changes the equation from “do’s and don’ts” to one of love and grace. Instead of Believers being outsiders who try to please God with their works and sacrifices, we get the opportunity to join into God’s family by joining with Christ on the cross. That is right, we are said to die with Him and to rise with Him in Newness of Life. (Romans 6:1-12). We are saved by grace, no doubt about it. There was nothing we could do to earn that unmerited grace, and now when God sees me, He sees all of my sins paid for on a cross in 30 A.D. because I am in Christ and Christ is in me.
This is all a long summary to get to my answer to your main question. If I am saved by grace, is there nothing more I can do to earn my salvation? You bet… nothing at all. BUT… Christ’s love compels me to good works! “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised (2 Cor. 5:14-15).
How can a true Believer understand what Christ has done, accept the grace He has to give, yet not be willing to give his love, devotion and service back to Him. Not only must this be the desire of our hearts, but it is the demand that God places upon us.
Ken · 592 weeks ago
So what about Christians who claim to believe but do not walk the walk of faith, service and love? To these there may be various answers. Some may not have been taught, or read God’s Word to understand the demands that becoming a child of God makes on their lives. Jesus said, “count the costs” to all those who would follow Him. To believe there is no cost is to not understand true love, true faith, true grace. Are these people saved? Some maybe yes, some maybe no.
God’s Word indicates that true Believers can go through times in their lives where they do not walk with God the way they should. They are saved, but we call them “backslidden” Christians who need to grow up into the truth of Christ Jesus and learn who they are as New Creatures in Christ. For these, Hebrews teaches that God is patient with them, and He loves such believers enough to chastise and discipline them until they return to walk with Him as they should. There are countless testimonies of such Christians who look no different than the world at times, but God restores them and is ready at any moment to restore His child back to a healthy faith and walk with Him. Good works show and prove that we are indeed children of God. They do not make us children of God.
Others who do not walk with Christ after accepting His love and grace are simply not saved. To say “I believe” yet never act on that belief is in congruent with reality. ALL behavior is a result of what we believe so if we believe what God says and that we will stand before Him some day we will act like it. Sure we will not be perfect in our walk with Jesus, as we are children, learning and growing up into the grace of God. And if no fruit of God’s Spirit is seen in one’s life, they should be questioning if they are truly saved in the first place. Have they truly believed?
It is not for us to judge who is saved or not saved, but we are to judge the life of fellow believers and admonish those who live in what they think is “cheap grace” that grace saved them for something, not just their own selfish ends. Jesus says that on the judgment day many will come and say, “Lord, Lord” and declare all the works they did in His name, yet He will say to them, “I never knew you.”
WOW! That may sound harsh but it points out the reality of the true Christian faith that it is WHO we know, and WHO we believe in that makes us children of God, not what we do. God’s grace is complete without my works, but you can see God’s grace in my life by my works and love for others.
Can you reject the gift of God’s grace after having first received it? Some believe you can lose your salvation because Hebrews appears to teach that some have tasted of the truth and walked away from it, and these cannot be restored. Most students of the Word believe that once saved always saved and if a christian walks away from God they will be restored, maybe on their death bed, but they will return to walk with Christ, or they were never truly saved. Jesus says some seed that was planted grew up and then died out because of the worries and riches of this world. Can these be some who had a taste of God’s love and grace but never fully entered to grace by true belief in Christ Jesus?
Lastly a word about works being meaningless. Far from it! My service to God is my reasonable sacrifice for all of His love and grace bestowed upon me and I will receive a reward for all my works done in the
Ken · 592 weeks ago
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10). What part of that verse says that “works do not matter?” Now don’t fall off the horse! Works matter very much, but they cannot save me. They become part of the assurance of salvation as I know that my selfish old self would never give what I am able to give to others apart from Christ’s love and His Spirit living in ad through me.
LDS and Catholics and JW’s, many other sects and cults tend to want to run back to an OT model of works righteousness. Give 10%, lead a good life, don’t do this or do that, and they miss out on what true grace is all about. Far too many Evangelicals want to separate salvation grace from the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and it is separated by one horse hair. Move too far into grace alone and stay there and you soon find yourself falling off the horse of true faith.
The reality of God’s Word is that we should not care about trying to ride the horse of faith alone. Instead we should seek to have a relationship with Christ so solid and filled with His Word that we learn to ride in the Spirit and let God do it all. Imagine if I can sit up tall on the horse of faith and not care at all about grace or works, but instead depend on the Spirit of Jesus to live in and through me. To joyfully go through life keeping my eyes just on Jesus knowing that He keeps me on the horse so long as I walk in the freedom and grace He has given. That is my goal, and when I fall off I turn to Him to put me back where I belong because He loves me, and I am His child.
Grace is great, works are great, but we made to walk in the Spirit and allow Christ to fill us and use us for whatever He desires. Fall off to either side and you miss out on God’s best.
Charlotte · 591 weeks ago
Chris · 591 weeks ago
shannon · 592 weeks ago
Ken · 592 weeks ago
I wonder what that looks like in heaven when an aborted child meets their Mom?
Ed C. · 591 weeks ago
I just want to be sure that I understand you and Lori's position correctly from the totality of your comments on this post:
You're saying that if a born-again believer stumbles by having an abortion (or helps facilitate an abortion), their eternal salvation is still 100% secure and intact and their relationship with Christ is still 100% secure and intact, correct?
Ken · 591 weeks ago
But be sure you make the qualification that this is indeed a true believer and child of God, then we must ask the question why would such a Believer ever commit abortion. That is far more than a "stumble" to murder a child. I have known of some true believers who have done just such a grave sin, performed out of some ignorance, and some self-justification.
Back to Lori's story.... the man who claims God's grace over a future sin in my opinion does not know Jesus. He may come to know Jesus, and may come to regret what he has done in cheapening God's grace, but this man most likely does not know Jesus in any way other than superficial knowledge. Life changing salvation results in a changed if. "Show me your fruit" Jesus demands, and such fruit of selfishness, murder and abortion does not flow from roots in Christ.
Lastly, I believe completely in the idea that we become new creatures in Christ and we are not to dwell on our past sins, but there are certain sins that we can regret, be ashamed of and morn over all of our lives and perhaps into eternity. There are consequences for sin to the believer, and no "get out of jail card" for any believer willing to mock the work of Christ on the cross with willful disobedience of this sort.
Ed C. · 591 weeks ago
There are, indeed, blood-washed believers including ministry leaders who have carried out abortions or seriously contemplated it like Audrey Meisner who got caught up in an extramarital affair and almost had an abortion (she actually prayed for a miscarriage). See her story:
http://www.charismamag.com/life/relationships/124...
What I was a little confused about Lori's initial comments about this young black man and whether he realized what he was saying was a misuse of grace. I was further confused by Brittany's comments where she indicated that she believed that the man's comments were a further twisting of "once saved, always saved" -- which she characterized as a "false teaching". I emphatically disagree with her position: If we have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, our eternal salvation is secure and nothing can separate us from Him. That nothing includes abortion. Our righteousness in Christ is Jesus plus nothing -- regardless of our behavior (By the way, in the past I was arrested for blocking the door of an abortion clinic in my city. I currently volunteer for our state right to life chapter and give regularly to right to life political candidates).
I also agree with you Ken about this young man: I don't think that he is saved, but we don't know for sure. Therefore, it doesn't do any good for him to be lectured him about the evils of abortion. He is alive to sin and to his flesh and not to Christ. He needs Christ's regeneration, not moralizing. When his identity changes, his behavior will come into line because Christ has righteously infected him.
However, if he is actually saved, then he needs his pure, righteous identity in Christ to be explained to him so he doesn't make needless, hurtful mistakes. If a believer believes right, then he will act right. If he believes wrong, then he will act wrong. We cannot get the cart before the horse and expect fruit before the awareness of identity: That's backwards theology.
Ken · 591 weeks ago
However, if he is actually saved, then he needs his pure, righteous identity in Christ to be explained to him so he doesn't make needless, hurtful mistakes. If a believer believes right, then he will act right. If he believes wrong, then he will act wrong. We cannot get the cart before the horse and expect fruit before the awareness of identity: That's backwards theology.
It is out of who we are that the fruit of the Spirit and true life proceeds. This is a time when perhaps we are babies in Christ that our ignorance keeps us in sin, but as we grow we begin to realize the incongruence of having Christ living in us, and we being a part of Christ, how can we continue to sin?
The fact is believers do sin, but most of our sin as mature beliers comes from our lack of faith and forgetfulness. For our lack of faith we must grow up in Christ, for our forgetfulness, we need daily reminders, especially the renminder of who we are as New Creatures in Christ, dead to sin and alive in Christ Jesus to newness of life!
Unfortunately, we have far too many Christians who are not being taught well that they are not only free from sin, but that they have a privelege to walk in new life. To many sermons still focused on "do's and do0n'ts" instead of seeking a true daily relationship with our risen Savior.
My response to the young man would have ben something like this. "Sir, you are correct theologically, and God's grace covers all sins of teh believer on across in 30 A.D. Now why would you who loves the LOrd Jesus want to place this henious sin upon Him when you do not have to? Did Christ not suffer enough?
It makes me wonder if you really know my Jesus? and if you really love Him? Do you love Jesus? is He really your Lord and Savior? If you can trust Him for your salvation, why can you not trust him which your child and all that He has in store for your wonderful life in Christ Jesus? It is one thing to sin against God out of ignorance, but why do you wish to hurt Jesus in this way and to add to his burden with sins after you have come face to face with the lover of your soul? Are you sure you know Him?
Praise God that you are in the front of the abortion clinics willing to speak truth and love in the heart of such wickedness. What a great gift of service!
Kim · 591 weeks ago
Ken · 591 weeks ago
Cynthia · 591 weeks ago
In the post about Jacque receiving forgiveness from the woman whose husband she stole, you posted this quote from a note she received from that woman:
"Any forgiveness you seek, any feelings of guilt or shame or regret was covered on the day Jesus died on the cross. He paid for them and you are released from their power!"
That was the part that left me scratching my head on the previous post. I believe that sincerely seeking forgiveness from those we have wronged is a good thing, and that extended forgiveness in such circumstances is also a tremendous thing to do, but the idea that ANY feelings of shame or guilt or regret were covered, even without specifically seeking forgiveness, seemed odd (and frankly wrong) to me.
Ken · 591 weeks ago
I was just arguing your position to some extent yesterday with a fellow believer, that one of the consequences of sin, especially the worst of sins, is the lingering shame and regrets that one may carry with them throughout life. I even wonder if some regrets do not linger into eternity, but the scriptures are not completely clear on this subject. For instance, how can a person who aborted their child now walk with that child throughout eternity without some regrets! That seems impossible, but only God knows.
The cross does cover all sins. Jesus can take the worst of sinners, stand us on their feet before His throne, clothe us with a spotless white robe of His righteousness, and make us His spotless child. It is hard to believe that God would not want us to live forever in shame and regret, but the scriptures seem to teach that Christ covers it all and God’s desire is to make us whole in every area of life.
There is a difference in a healthy regret and shame and an unhealthy shame that can be both debilitating and stops the healthy growth of even the child of God. To never forget that we were sinners, and to be forever thankful for what Christ has done for us on the cross, are very healthy things. But if we live in regret and shame we may not be walking in true faith in that God says that He “removes our sins as far as the east is from the west,” and again, “therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).
So I believe as Lori has taught that all guilt and shame does indeed belong on the Cross in 30 A.D. as we gave it all to Jesus, but IF there is a “healthy” piece of shame or regret that God feels will help grow us into Christ Jesus, then He will leave it with his little child who is a “new creature in Christ.”
My guess is that any real shame that stays with a believer is not for sins pre-Christ, but sins done as a new creature in Christ after we have tasted of his grace and continued in sin, because we know better. Fortunately, the cross still covers all sins, and can cover all shame if we trust completely in Him, for He longs to have a complete relationship with us… and have us commune with Him with no regrets. The past is gone, and only the future of our relationship with Him counts to God for those who are in Christ Jesus. Healthy shame and regret? Maybe, but only for a time to grow us up into Christ Jesus as He will present us to the Father complete in Him.