2 days ago, I posted my review of Clark Whitten’s book Pure Grace entitled Pure Grace or Hyper-Grace. Yesterday, Exodus International posted an article entitled Leslie Chambers Tackles Heterosexuality, Hyper-Grace, and Offers Hope in which she defends Exodus and her husband and President of the organization: Alan Chambers. Exodus International claims to be “the leading global outreach to churches, individuals and families offering a biblical message about same-sex attraction.” (Source) But is their message truly biblical or is it the fruit of lawless hyper-grace?
While Exodus says that “any sexual expression outside of a monogamous marriage between one man and one woman falls outside of God’s creative intent for human sexual expression and is sinful,” they fail to classify homosexual lust as sin. They state:
We do not believe that same-sex attractions are sinful in and of themselves but rather one type of struggle and temptation among the millions that impact each and every human being. (Source)
Aside from the Bible’s clear declaration of homosexuality as sinful behavior, Jesus warned that even heterosexual lusts would send a person to hell apart from repentance, forgiveness and new life in Him. Jesus said, “That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” (Matthew 5:28-30) How much more weighty the warning about homosexual lust? Yet Exodus concludes:
Homosexuality is no greater or less a sin than any other and is not the determining factor for a relationship with Jesus Christ. (Source)
But the Apostle Paul tells us that homosexuality is a determining factor for relationship with Jesus Christ. “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Corinthians 6:9,10).
Leslie Chambers admits that her husband Alan Chambers, the President of Exodus, has homosexual attractions. Yet she defends her husband’s attraction to men and wouldn’t point her husband toward heterosexual attraction because she claims it may tend toward “poor choices.” This is utter non-sense! Heterosexuals who have made sinful choices in fornication or adultery in no way justifies homosexual attraction and lust. Mr. Chambers should be attracted to his wife and love her as Christ loves the church. Mrs. Chambers writes:
It literally astounds me that there are some who would still point Alan, or other same-sex attracted people, towards “heterosexuality”. Heterosexuality by definition is “sexual relations or attractions between opposite sexes”. Alan has openly admitted his same-sex attractions. As his wife, I can honestly say that the last thing I want him to pursue is heterosexuality. Why, you ask? How am I not threatened by my husband’s same sex attractions? If he pursued heterosexuality, wouldn’t I be more fulfilled in my marriage? Truthfully, I know plenty of marriages where “heterosexual” men and women have made very poor choices as they endeavored to fulfill their heterosexual desires. I do not want Alan to be more attracted to people of the opposite sex. (Source)
How does hyper-grace relate? For one thing, Clark Whitten, the hyper-grace pastor and author of Pure Grace, is the Chairman on the Board of Directors of Exodus International (Source). Certainly this is the bad fruit of his hyper-grace teaching. Leslie Chambers completely evades the idea of hyper-grace being a false teaching and says rather:
While we are talking about our marriage, there is a consensus between two polarized groups of people as to the probability of the demise of our marriage. Their differences lie in what will cause that demise. Some say it will be the inevitability of Alan’s inability to repress his “true gay identity”. Of these folks, some have pitied me. Some say the demise will come as a result of a “hyper-grace” mentality and at any moment Alan will take advantage of God’s good grace and sin all over the place. Of these folks, some have said that I must be on the verge of a total breakdown. . . .
As for “hyper-grace,” how can being in awe of God’s grace destroy my marriage? It is the hope for my marriage. (Source)
She goes on to give her own spin on grace and say that there is nothing hyper about her understandings. She says:
I do not need my children’s desperate pleas for forgiveness in order to forgive them. I do not require them to fix anything they break in order for them to be in right standing with me. Do I want them to recognize when they have done wrong. Yes. Is it good for them to apologize? Yes. Is it good for them to try to fix things they have broken? Yes. Is it good for them to change their minds, learn from their mistakes in hopes of not making them again? YES!! All the while, none of that is required for them to be my children. (Source)
As I mentioned in the Pure Grace book review, biblical grace is unmerited but not unconditional. God does have requirements for us to be His children and to continue being His children. These conditions could be summed up in love, faith and obedience. Granted, God is a gracious, merciful, forgiving, longsuffering Father. But His grace and forgiveness are not unconditional as hyper-grace teachers preach. Forgiveness is conditional based upon our forgiveness of others (Matthew 6:12,14,15; 18:15; Mark 11:25,26) and confession of our sins (1 John 1:9). Likewise, grace is conditional as Paul exhorted Christians “to continue in the grace of God” (Acts 13:43), not to “receive the grace of God in vain.” (2 Corinthians 6:1), not to “insult the Spirit of Grace” (Hebrews 10:29) so that no one “falls short of the grace of God” (Hebrews 12:5). Biblical grace is available as enabling power, even for Mr. Chambers, to overcome sin, even homosexual lust (See Romans 5:17; 6:14).
In conclusion, ex-gay leader Andrew Comiskey, founder and current leader of Desert Stream Ministries (Living Waters), has posted a public criticism of Exodus President Alan Chambers available here. He demonstrates the undeniable connection between hyper-grace teacher Clark Whitten and Exodus President Alan Chambers:
That brings us to the suspicion cast upon a book Pure Grace, written by Clark Whitten, who is the chairperson of the Exodus Board and pastor to Alan Chambers (Exodus president.) Some Exodus members are concerned that such ‘pure grace’ will actually contaminate the offering of Exodus by making the narrow way broad and inclusive of practicing gay Christians. (Alan recently addressed such a group and referenced their common destination of heaven.)
Whitten insists that grace alone, simply received, covers and overcomes one’s sin and renders any human effort worldly, a work of the flesh. Like many Christian authors, he overstates his case, using Scripture selectively. He is convinced that the biggest problem facing Christians is legalism, heavy-handed religion that would be overcome simply by resting in what God has done for us. He also appears to believe that this is the Truth which will usher in a new reformation. Like many in his neo-Baptist, evangelical tradition, he believes in ‘once saved, always saved’, thus Alan’s belief in the possibility of heaven for practicing gays who are ‘saved’.
Whitten should be free to have his emphasis, minus the grandiosity. (A new reformation? Really?) His book could be helpful for those bound by legalism. What surprised me is how familiar I (Andrew) found the message. Over my 36 years of faith, I have read this same book, slightly modified, in the tracts and testimonies of dozens of Christians who appear to have found an easy way to live the Christian life. ‘Do nothing. Receive. Don’t strive. Rest in the finished work.’