Walking in the Spirit.

Recently there has been debate on facebook regarding the dangers of the "Hypergrace" teaching that is prevalent in the Body of Christ today.   It was sparked by an article by Dr. Michael Brown, in which he rightfully stated that this can lead to a large falling away of believers from God.  In the article he spoke of how the pendulum has swung from the old legalism, to grace, to hypergrace. 

Hypergrace is indeed a serious problem in the Church today. But people fell away from God under the old "legalism" teaching, as well as under the "grace" teaching, and now are still falling away from God under the "hypergrace" teaching.  This was the same for the "dicipleship movement" and a dozen other now forgotten movements.

In my 45 years of ministry, I have seen this happening in every decade in denominations across the board.   Doctrines come and go and what was a fad 20 years ago, is now a distant memory.    The reason is simple,  God is not and idea or a doctrine and serving Him is not achieved by following a list of do's and dont's.   

So what is the answer.  

I believe, that if Christians don't have a life changing relationship with the Holy Spirit and learn to walk in the Spirit, they will get caught up in all these excesses. Our preaching should not be with man's wisdom, as the Apostle Paul puts it in 1 Cor. 2, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and Power. The amplified version says it well. "but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power [[a]a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them],"

Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh"   Galatians 5:16-26    The word lust is literally a strong desire of any kind whether good or bad.    When we live by the dictates of the flesh, we are carnal.  Carnal preachers will produce carnal Christians. We need men of God who are sold out to God, who love the presence of God and will teach the people God sends them. how to walk in the Spirit like they do.

The fact that we can invite the Holy Spirit to dwell in us is a direct result of what Jesus did on the cross. He tore down the veil of separation between God and man and made it possible for us to receive the free gift of eternal life, but also the Holy Spirit whom Jesus said would be our comforter, teacher and guide. 

One of the last things Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended into heaven was the we would receive power after that the Holy Spirit is come upon us. The word power, from dunamis, literally means, God's ability, efficiency and might. 

Jesus last instructions to His people was to be filled with the dunamis, God's ability, efficiency and might. 1 Jn. 2:27 says, "the anointing (dunamis) which you have received of Him abides in you and will teach you all things even how to abide in Christ.

The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus has made us free from the law of sin and death. That's what Grace did for us. Grace made all of the above possible, so that we can live by the inward law's that God writes on the tables of our heart. 

It's not man's wisdom or man's ideas and doctrines, but God's life giving word made real to us by the power of the Holy Spirit living on the inside of us.