Law Vs. Grace (My Visit to a Todd Bentley Service)

Why are we caught by surprise when we ask for the heart of God and we get slammed with trials and circumstances that threaten to pull us away from His heart? Grace is what Jesus is all about, so is it possible to carry the heart of God without being stretched in areas of our lives where grace is necessary? We will either be shaken by situations in our own lives or situations in the lives of others who we deem as upright, immovable and excellent; challenging us to either grab onto law or cling to grace. It is out of fear of losing control, that we grab tightly onto law. It is out of a pure heart, wholly trusting God, that we dare to cling to grace. The latter is what love looks like.

Recently, I attended a Todd Bentley service. I see myself as a person of grace, yet I will admit that my attendance there was reluctant at first. Why the reluctance? I suppose it would have been easier for me to accept his re-launching into ministry had he returned to his wife and cut off the relationship that brought a halt to the revival meetings that were taking place in 2008. It just doesn't calculate with me that the power of God in His life was not enough to bring healing and reconciliation where it was needed...where covenant would remain unbroken. However...

Here is what happened as I sat in the service: worship time was wonderful and the presence of God, very sweet. "Traci, don't be a spectator here. You are not to judge. All you need to do is be with God and honor Him," I told myself. I held out my hands in front of me, palms up, ready to receive something from the Lord. After a couple of minutes, I literally felt a rod being placed in my hands. It looked like a silver rod and it rested across both of my hands. On the left, it said LAW in bold letters and on the right it said GRACE. I asked God, "What is this?" Immediately, I got a pain in my right wrist and felt Him say, "Remember the crucifixion." I thought, "Okay, I remember Your sacrifice, Jesus." After I said that, I watched the word 'LAW' fade away until it no longer remained. GRACE remained and overtook the entire rod. "It is My kindness that leads to repentance." Hmm. His rod is a rod of grace. His correction comes with grace. I see.

Whether Todd is in a right place or not, it is my responsibility and pleasure to partner with God in releasing the grace that He gave to all of mankind. If we reject someone that He died for, then we are telling Jesus that His blood was not good enough and His grace is not sufficient. If we reject any human, calling them unfit for God, we are telling Jesus that He made a mistake in choosing to die for mankind...we are exalting ourselves as more worthy than another. Who are we to make such judgments? We have all fallen short of the glory of God and that is why Jesus took us to the cross...so that we become carriers of His glory.

The Lakeland revival was a real revival where true repentance, salvations, baptisms, deliverances and miracles took place. Was God blind when He chose to release these things through Todd? Did the Lord have an "oops" moment when He allowed Todd to be on a platform, preaching on His behalf? I think not. So, I challenge myself with this question: "If God chooses to pour Himself out through a broken vessel with issues, will I reject drinking from it? Is the darkness of the vessel more powerful than the power of God that comes pouring through it? Can the rivers of living water be tainted by a vessel who is making wrong choices? The answer is NO. Can the enemy bring destruction because of it? Unfortunately, YES, however, as believers it is our responsibility to steward grace by coming into agreement with Jesus when He was dying on the cross and He spoke, "It is finished." When the church learns to be graceful as Jesus is graceful, then the destruction will be reversed. The world will not scoff, but will admire the love of the church in lifting up our broken, fallen brothers and sisters. Admit it. we ALL have broken places and everyone...I mean EVERY ONE is capable of falling. But we have a hope and a Love...and we are dead to sin. We just have not comprehended that fully.

Ephesians 2:13-16 says:
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.

For the hardcore KJV-ers:
13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
15Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Verse 15 speaks of the law being abolished or set aside. What, then, is the new law? If God is Love and Jesus was His grace expressed upon the earth, and He shed His blood for us, then the new law is Grace. How ironic that Law ultimately killed Grace when Grace came to fulfill the Law. And the resurrection of Grace made Grace supreme, wiping out the "rights" of the Law. When Grace was raised up having ALL authority, Jesus breathed on the disciples and imparted to them the power to release Grace to the world (John 20:19-23).
14And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of GRACE and TRUTH...(John 1:14).

Consider this: James 2
12So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.
13For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.

The law of liberty frees us from judgment and death if we also impart mercy and liberty to others. Liberty DOES NOT MEAN taking advantage of grace, so don't misjudge or misquote me!!! As Scripture says, it would be foolish to think that way.

Just how free are we? Take in Romans 6:14: "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace."
Once we get a revelation of that, I believe our hang-ups will fall off like a thousand-pound boulder! Sin has no right to master us. Sin, legally, no longer has any right to have its hooks in us.

If we are legalistic, then we essentially act as if Christ's death was void of power. Galatians 2:21: "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Righteousness cannot come through the Law. If it were possible for righteousness to come through law, then Jesus would have avoided the most excruciating experience ever.

Law alienates us from Christ: "You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace." Galatians 5:4
A popularly misquoted scripture is Luke 6:38, where Jesus says, "Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return." I say that it's misquoted because I only ever heard that Scripture being preached on in regards to giving money! Take note of what Jesus said right before He spoke verse 38. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned." Now read verse 38. Jesus was talking about releasing grace, releasing pardon and giving up our "right" to judge or condemn!

When verse 37 mentions "running over," I think about Psalm 23..."my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and MERCY shall follow me all the days of my life." What a beautiful destiny He has given to us!

If Jesus is not acting as an accuser, then who are we to accuse and partner with the accuser of the brethren, Satan?

So, my take on Todd Bentley: I refuse to be an accuser of the brethren. I refuse to play judge. I will, instead, agree with Jesus and accept the good that He pours out, knowing that Todd's destiny is to be righteous. If Todd is now in the right, praise God! If he is still in the wrong and walking in a dishonoring fashion, that is for God to "fix" and perhaps, if another fall were to happen, it would most likely be due to the fact that our Father is still trying to give us His heart and shake us out of our judgmental state, making His Bride like Him, with a heart full of love, grace, and compassion, for that is when the world will truly be transformed...and that is when revival will be everlasting.