We need a change – a big change. A revolutionary change. The Merriam-Webster
Dictionary defines revolution as “the overthrow or renunciation of one
government or ruler and the substitution of another by the governed; a
fundamental change in the way of thinking about or visualizing something; a
change of paradigm.”
That’s what we need – the overthrow of the dead religious legalism we tried to make nice with for so much of our Christian lives. I’ve seen its devastating effect on people’s lives. I talked to the young girl two weeks ago who tried to commit suicide last month because she can’t live up to the demands she has placed on herself. She was brainwashed by what somebody told her was the Bible when it was really nothing but religious babble.
I’ve talked to the pastor who is caught in the middle between grace lovers and hard core legalists who seek to disrupt the church because grace scares them out of their wits. I’ve spoken to the church members whose pastor gave a rebuttal on a Sunday night to what I’d taught all weekend. I’ve heard from those who innocently ask, “Is this really true?” and find it hard to believe that the gospel could really be that good. After all, they reason, there must be something that we have to do besides simply believe that Christ did it all. Where’s “our part” in that?
Something is happening. Its time has come and I want to be a part of it. A grace revolution is under way. In this revolution, those of us who are tired of the same-old-same-old we’ve heard declared for gospel truth for years only to now discover it’s a load of flesh are going to boldly take our stand. We will love everybody. There’s no question about that, but we aren’t going to try to sugar coat our words anymore. The truth is what it is and, if the only way people are going to be set free is when they know the truth, (and that’s what Jesus said) then we need to be bold about it. Our love for Christ and His church compels us to do so.
Mild mannered men with mild mannered messages teaching men how to be more mild mannered never usher in revolutions. The world isn’t changed by a namby-pamby submission to or compromise with a system that is flat wrong. It’s time for us to stand up together and bring the message of Christ back to the front of the stage. The performance based, we-need-to-rededicate- ourselves-to-try-harder
approach has been in the limelight long enough and has come up short. It
doesn’t work. It just doesn’t. What works is Jesus Christ.
I want you to get on board with me in this. If you believe in the message of the grace walk, don’t sit on the sidelines. Don’t just hope that this message will spread. It’s time to sign up for active duty in expanding the kingdom of grace. Business-as-usual isn’t going to change the world. We must step it up a notch – a big notch.
I want to bombard cities with the grace of God through Grace Walk Groups who become the catalyst for revolution where they live. I want to blitz pastors with Grace Walk books because I know how God has already used the book to transform many pastors. I’m thinking of pastors I’ve talked to in the past few weeks. Men like Tom Lanier, who got so excited that he bought air time on a local radio station and, over a period of days, read the whole book on the air and gave away free copies to everybody who called in and requested it. Guys like Don Fugate who started a church where he can build up lives on the foundation of this message. People like Mike Meadows who said that he can’t teach anything else. Their DNA has been changed. Those are the kind of people God is using and will use – quiet or not-so-quiet revolutionaries who are willing, like Martin Luther, to say “Here I stand, I can do no other.”
It won’t always be easy. I’ve had attacks ranging from written reviews by pseudo-intellectuals who call me antinomian to wild-eyed kooks whose review suggested that “Steve McVey is a liar with twisted views and a bad haircut.” (I must admit, that one’s pretty funny.) If you get in on this revolution, brace yourself. Or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, “stand firm in the faith, be a man, be strong” (1 Cor 16:13).
Much is at stake but as C.S. Lewis said in “The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe,” Aslan (Christ) is on the move! Let’s follow Him and be tools in His hands to usher in a revolution of grace.
That’s what we need – the overthrow of the dead religious legalism we tried to make nice with for so much of our Christian lives. I’ve seen its devastating effect on people’s lives. I talked to the young girl two weeks ago who tried to commit suicide last month because she can’t live up to the demands she has placed on herself. She was brainwashed by what somebody told her was the Bible when it was really nothing but religious babble.
I’ve talked to the pastor who is caught in the middle between grace lovers and hard core legalists who seek to disrupt the church because grace scares them out of their wits. I’ve spoken to the church members whose pastor gave a rebuttal on a Sunday night to what I’d taught all weekend. I’ve heard from those who innocently ask, “Is this really true?” and find it hard to believe that the gospel could really be that good. After all, they reason, there must be something that we have to do besides simply believe that Christ did it all. Where’s “our part” in that?
Something is happening. Its time has come and I want to be a part of it. A grace revolution is under way. In this revolution, those of us who are tired of the same-old-same-old we’ve heard declared for gospel truth for years only to now discover it’s a load of flesh are going to boldly take our stand. We will love everybody. There’s no question about that, but we aren’t going to try to sugar coat our words anymore. The truth is what it is and, if the only way people are going to be set free is when they know the truth, (and that’s what Jesus said) then we need to be bold about it. Our love for Christ and His church compels us to do so.
Mild mannered men with mild mannered messages teaching men how to be more mild mannered never usher in revolutions. The world isn’t changed by a namby-pamby submission to or compromise with a system that is flat wrong. It’s time for us to stand up together and bring the message of Christ back to the front of the stage. The performance based, we-need-to-rededicate-
I want you to get on board with me in this. If you believe in the message of the grace walk, don’t sit on the sidelines. Don’t just hope that this message will spread. It’s time to sign up for active duty in expanding the kingdom of grace. Business-as-usual isn’t going to change the world. We must step it up a notch – a big notch.
I want to bombard cities with the grace of God through Grace Walk Groups who become the catalyst for revolution where they live. I want to blitz pastors with Grace Walk books because I know how God has already used the book to transform many pastors. I’m thinking of pastors I’ve talked to in the past few weeks. Men like Tom Lanier, who got so excited that he bought air time on a local radio station and, over a period of days, read the whole book on the air and gave away free copies to everybody who called in and requested it. Guys like Don Fugate who started a church where he can build up lives on the foundation of this message. People like Mike Meadows who said that he can’t teach anything else. Their DNA has been changed. Those are the kind of people God is using and will use – quiet or not-so-quiet revolutionaries who are willing, like Martin Luther, to say “Here I stand, I can do no other.”
It won’t always be easy. I’ve had attacks ranging from written reviews by pseudo-intellectuals who call me antinomian to wild-eyed kooks whose review suggested that “Steve McVey is a liar with twisted views and a bad haircut.” (I must admit, that one’s pretty funny.) If you get in on this revolution, brace yourself. Or to use the words of the Apostle Paul, “stand firm in the faith, be a man, be strong” (1 Cor 16:13).
Much is at stake but as C.S. Lewis said in “The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe,” Aslan (Christ) is on the move! Let’s follow Him and be tools in His hands to usher in a revolution of grace.
How God Saves Men
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
Believing Christ DIED, that’s HISTORY.
Believing Christ DIED for YOU SINS and Rose again that’s SALVATION.
Read Romans 1:16, Romans 10:9-10 and 1. Corinthians 15:1-4
(A 10 Minute Video)
Posted By Cecil and
Connie Spivey
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