Greetings!
Can the Exchanged Life Community be trusted?
This analysis seems strange coming from someone who is considered one of the founders of this movement within the 21
st
century.
Many tend to think
that the term Exchanged Life was birthed through teachers in the early 1970s. Even though the movement was populated during this time period, the original teachings date back to the days of apostle Paul. This ideology was exemplified in his letter to Romans in chapter 6 verses 1-14. The theological bullet points are as follows:
- Should we sin that grace may increase?
- How could we who died to sin still live in it?
- The believer is baptized into Christ’s death, burial & resurrection.
- The “old self” (nature) has been crucified with Christ.
- The believer is no longer a slave to sin.
- The believer lives with Christ Jesus & death no longer master’s him.
- The believer is alive to God in Christ.
- Sin does not master the believer, for they are no longer under the law but under grace.
The term Exchanged Life originally communicated an “exchange” that took place when the “old-nature” was crucified with Christ on the cross & the believer received the Nature of Christ Himself. This exchange started at the point of being born-again in Christ (new birth). Since the old nature permanently damaged the mortal body & mind of man (sin in you), in order to make this exchange an experiential reality, the believer is in need of being broken and brought to the end of their self-life (the trash the old nature left behind.) This is what many believers call “total surrender.” As a result of believers appropriating their surrender, Christ in the born-again can be manifested by faith through the indwelling Holy Spirit. The process of sanctification is through the Holy Spirit renewing the believer’s mind for the purpose of making choices of living their lives through Christ. Most exchanged Life communicators refer to this as “abiding in Christ.”
Most of us who are teachers of these Truths
place the emphasis on “identity in Christ.” The reason for this is due to the blunt reality that behavior comes from identity. If the new convert does not understand their new position in Christ, exchange their old identity for that of Christ’s, they will continue to propagate the identity of the self-life. Remembering this is the trash the old nature left behind within the mortal mind & body of a man. This is why the process of brokenness for surrender (dying daily) remains a reality.
In order to keep these freeing Truths intact, there is one formative doctrine that must remain in play or damaging heresies will dominate, thus throwing the entire passage into neutral. If for any reason the interpreter cannot separate the “old nature” from sin in the mortal body, the worst kind of crisis will surface. Some of those crisis of beliefs are:
- The “old nature” is dead therefore the Law is dead
- Sinless perfection – the believer can obtain a sinless life while on earth
- Spiritual complacency - since “sin is gone,” passivity rules
- Brokenness (dying daily) is no longer needed
- Total surrender becomes useless and is under the Law
- Confessing one’s sins is a mindless act of being under the Law
- The Law serves no purpose, grace rules
- Etc.
As in the case of all movements, if not managed by the Laws of God, they tend to go toward the extremes. Back in the 1980s, newcomers to the exchanged Life community began propagating extreme views of grace. These views over time evolved into “sinless perfection” & “grace rules,” which grew like cancer under the banner that the Law has no purpose for new converts. The problem with this misnomer is it overflows into the lives of the unsaved – everything and everybody fall under grace.
Here is a documented example.
Surveys have noted that the average “grace church” no longer makes use of “hellfire and damnation” sermons, thus leading to “altar calls.” In one single swipe of a generation, the standard mission of inviting the unsaved to church for salvation has been diminished by 400% since the 1950s. The modern “grace church” of this generation has become so paranoid in using the Law effectively, that the Law, and its purpose, has become impotent. I believe this is the reason for the 600% reduction in global salvations.
Our Crisis
Since the above is true according to statistics, we are faced with our worst nightmare. Has the exchanged Life community become impotent in impacting the unsaved world? I am of the firm belief that the answer is, yes!
Imagine this. The local “grace church” is packed on Sunday morning with three types of “believers.” The first being authentic born-again believers in Christ. The second are Christ followers, those who practice following the grace elements of Christ. The third being people who are begging for a new life, the lost and unsaved. Keep in mind that two of the three categories of “believers” are on their way to hell, do not have Christ living within and are facing eternal damnation. Now, keeping in play that the purpose of the Law IS for sinners, we can see our crisis.
“But we know that the
Law is good
, if one uses it lawfully, realizing the fact that law is not made for a righteous person, but
for those who are lawless and rebellious
, for the
ungodly
and
sinners
, for the unholy and profane, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers and immoral men and homosexuals and kidnappers and liars and perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound teaching, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.”
(1 Timothy 1:8-11)
The error made by the gracialistic teachers is this. They interpret the segment of the 1 Timothy passage, “
the law is not made for a righteous person”,
as the Law is NOT for the born-again believer since they are the
righteousness of Christ
. While this is a true statement for the born-again as in position in Christ, the authentic Christian is still required to live a surrendered and broken life, remaining at the end of self. If the believer maintains lawlessness and rebellion after salvation, the Law still applies. Allow me to ask a question. Do you know indwelt believers who are lawless, rebellious, ungodly, unholy, profane, who have murdered, are immoral, possibly homosexual, have kidnapped, are liars, perjurers or any other label contrary to sound teachings of the exchanged Life? Unless your spiritual eyes are closed, we all should answer, “yes.”
“Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.”
(1 John 3:4)
It was the mixture of what Paul said to Timothy
, and these words of John, that the movement of “sinless perfection” was born. The more startling reality facing the “sinless perfection” group is they are covertly confessing they don’t sin, resulting in spiritual complacency (passivity).
“If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.”
(1 John 1:10)
Who is calling who a liar?
Gracialistic believers not only call Jesus a liar, but they are also confessing the Word (Jesus) is not in them. This is their greatest crisis.
This is our demise.
Since the new & evolved exchanged life community tends to avoid using the Law in sermons, teachings, and discipleship, the people listed in the 1 Timothy passage are left to think that grace leads them as a tutor to Christ. This borders on heresy. In fact, it is the opposite of the Truth!
“Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.”
(Galatians 3:24)
Jesus said,
"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.”
In spite of what some grace teachers may teach you, here is how this all fits together. The Holy Laws are the requirements for being with God in eternity. Jesus came to fulfill the Law and expectations of His Father. He then provided a way to place His Father’s fulfilled Law in those who become born-again in and through Himself. Christ’s Spirit (Holy Spirit) is placed in the authentic believer. This action is accomplished by exchanging the old nature for the nature of Christ. Now the believer is in Christ. At the same time, this miracle places the believer in Heavenly places (Col. 3:3). This is what establishes position vs. condition. While the Holy Spirit is living in a sinned stained mortal body & mind, He sanctifies the believer in daily dying to the self-life. This occurs through brokenness. At the end of our earthly journey, we die and our soul is joined in Holy Union with a sinless body in Heaven. It is on this new earth that He creates for His bride an experience of “sinless perfection.”
Finishing with what Paul started in his writing, Romans 6:1, we find ourselves asking this question. Should we sin that grace may increase? If this elitist group of grace teachers continues to propagate what we have disclosed in this article, each would have to answer this question with an affirmative, “yes.”
Warning.
There is a holy war about to break out in the exchanged Life community.
This war will rightly divide the elitist from the authentic Body of Christ. Never forget that the exchanged Life community is the authentic Body of Christ. Not one of us from this “original” group back in the late 60’s ever intended for a “movement” to formulate, let alone become known as a Christian elitist group. I have actively worked in and around this exchanged Life community now for almost 40 years. I have dialogued with 100’s of leaders and workers within this outreach. And I must tell you that overall, this has been the most judgmental, rude, segregated and most difficult group to network within the Body of Christ. But I am hopeful. I pray that as the Lord separates the authentic Body of Christ from the Christ followers, that all of us who have the indwelling Life of Christ will unite and begin to function as Christ intended!
Stephen Phinney
Content is taken from,
Discipling The Post-Truth Church, by Dr. Stephen Phinney 2018
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