The Apostle Peter prophesied the rise of distorted grace teachings more than 2,000 years ago.
Read 2 Peter 3:14-18:
(14) So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this (the Day of the Lord, the 2nd Coming of Christ), make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him. (15) Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. (16) He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (17) Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. (18) But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.
Peter reminds us as Jesus did (and as Paul did) that we are to live holy, righteous lives, so we may be found "spotless," "blameless," and at "peace" with Christ when He returns. This means it is possible to NOT be found spotless, to NOT be found blameless, and to NOT be found at peace with Jesus when He returns.
Peter then references Paul and says that there would be ignorant and unstable people who would distort the writings of Paul. And what would the result be? Their own destruction. For an example on Paul's clear teaching on the need for living a holy, obedient life, read 1 Thessalonians.
Peter then tells us to be on our guard against such men, such teaching, and such deceptions. He then states clearly that it is possible to be carried away by such errors and to FALL from your secure position in Christ.
Jesus was clear. Paul was clear. Peter was clear. John was clear. It is time we begin to listen to the full counsel of Scriptures and stop seeking out men who will tell us that: 1) it does not matter how we live, 2) that we can live in continued, unrepentant sin, 3) that we do not need to live holy, obedient lives, and 4) that grace means living any way we want.
Also, read 2 Peter 1:9. Peter here makes it clear that a Christian has been cleansed from their PAST sins. When you come to Jesus, repent of your sins, and surrender your life to Him, the clear, Biblical teaching is that you are cleansed from PAST sins. This is WHY from that point forward, if you sin, you are to CONFESS your sin and to REPENT of it. The Christian life is a life of continued repentance. One of the most famous grace teachers actually says that all sins are covered past, present, and future, and that you never again need to confess or repent. And of course, he then looks for every excuse imaginable to throw out entire sections of the New Testament. THIS TEACHING IS A LIE STRAIGHT OUT OF THE PIT OF HELL! And if you buy into this deception it will cause you to fall from your secure position. Millions of Christians are being led astray by such teachings.
In 2 Peter 2:18-19, Peter tells us that these teachers: 1) appeal to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, 2) they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error, 3) they promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. Peter then goes on to say that these men and their teachings leave people worse off than they were before they came to Christ (2 Peter 2:20). That should grieve us! That should make us weep! He then says in verse 21, "It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them." So the end result of these teachings is that Christians are led to believe they do not need to actually live a life of righteousness. The result? They are actually encouraged to abandon the narrow way that Jesus and all of Scripture so clearly teaches. When you head down that road, you will eventually fall from your secure position. It's just a matter of time!
Grace without holiness is a disgrace. And "grace" that leads people to believe they can live any way they want is not the grace of God. It is the deception of Satan. Wake up! Your eternal destiny is at stake!
