Month: July 2022

Order My Steps #7

Thursday, July 21, 2022

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133 KJV).

May we share the Psalmist’s wish!

The Lord ordered the Apostle Paul’s steps in this the Dispensation of the Grace of God. “Paul, here in Romans chapters 1–6 are the principles of grace for victorious Christian living as a member of the Church the Body of Christ.” However, by the time of chapter 7, Paul personally struggled to overcome his sinful flesh like us all. Why?

Remember, before he was the Apostle Paul, he was Saul of Tarsus. Having been born and raised in the Dispensation of Law as a strict works-religion Pharisee (Acts 23:6; Acts 26:4,5; Philippians 3:3-7), a great deal of Paul’s life as a saint was spent trying to stop thinking like a legalistic lost person. Being Scriptural was not enough, for the Law of Moses (Scripture!) was no longer in effect. God was doing something different—the Dispensation of Grace. To fall back on prior Divine revelation was to fight against the Lord’s current work. We must be Scriptural and dispensational. Since Paul reverted to the Law system, he wound up in the pitiful, miserable condition of Romans 7:24: “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Like many poor souls under the heavy hand of works-religion today, Paul was utterly defeated, troubled, and unhappy. His Christian life was nonfunctional.

Consider the Galatian saints, and the Bible Book that bears their name. They too grew up in works-religion—albeit heathenism or pagan idolatry. Paul visited them and shared the Gospel of Grace with them. They passed from death to life by trusting Jesus’ finished crosswork. Alas, legalistic teachers subsequently misled them, necessitating Paul’s epistle to them. “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” (Galatians 4:9). They too had strayed from the path of grace, returned to works-religion, and become entrapped and depressed! “Where is then the blessedness [happiness, joy] ye spake of?” (Galatians 4:15a).

Whether Paul, or the Galatians, or even us, remembering our identity in Christ is the key to successful Christian living….

Order My Steps #6

Wednesday, July 20, 2022

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133 KJV).

May we share the Psalmist’s wish!

“But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). As a slave is purchased out of a marketplace, so Jesus Christ’s shed blood paid for our release from being “in Adam” (sin’s authority). As believers—people in Christ—we do not have to sin!

When we sin, it is because we have reverted to our old (lost/natural man) thinking patterns (Romans chapter 7!). We believe we are still in Adam, dead in trespasses and sins (which we are not). “I beseech [ask, beg] you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice [who we are in Christ!], holy [who we are in Christ!], acceptable unto God [who we are in Christ!], which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1,2).

The basic principles of grace living, Romans chapters 1–8, correct our erroneous mindset. We begin thinking like the people we are (saints), and we cease thinking like the people we are not (sinners). If we Christians do not have a clear understanding of these Bible truths, it is the equivalent of lost people with no Bible whatsoever. Since spiritual ignorance often prevails, even among professing believers, Christians typically resemble non-Christians.

Instead of “I must do good works to receive God’s blessings” (Law, works-religion), the Christian life is “I have already received God’s blessings in Christ, and good works flow from that position” (grace living!). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). “Hath blessed” is the present perfect tense. God blessed us in Christ (past tense) the moment we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, and the results impact us right now (presently)….

Order My Steps #5

Tuesday, July 19, 2022

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133 KJV).

May we share the Psalmist’s wish!

Saints, not only have we died with Christ, we have resurrected with Him (Romans 6:1-10). “Likewise reckon [think, believe it to be true!] ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 11). In Christ, we are dead to sin: the Adamic nature, as far as God is concerned, is powerless over us. So then, why do we sin as believers in Christ? The Bible has already answered that question.

The Apostle Paul’s Christian life died—this is functional death, separation from being active—in Romans chapter 7. “For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me” (verses 9-11). Paul tried so hard to live the Christian life—but failed miserably! Where there should have been victory over sin, there was just the opposite. His sin nature, his Adamic nature, constantly overcame him. Two billion church members in Christendom needlessly struggle with that dilemma even now. Like Paul, they have ignored the truths laid out in chapter 6!

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for [because] you are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Our flesh, Adamic nature, or sin nature, likes to boast, so it gravitates toward religious works. We deceive ourselves—yea, sin deceives us—into thinking we can manage sin. Even today, it is claimed: “I can keep the commandments of God. Give me rules and regulations to obey and I will copy the life of Jesus Christ.” This is precisely Israel’s faulty reasoning at Mount Sinai. They supposed they could perform in religion to make themselves God’s kingdom of priests (see Exodus 19:3-8, especially verse 8). God ultimately gave them the Law to point out their need for the Saviour, though (like today!) most never actually learned that lesson. Currently, however, God has us under the Dispensation of Grace, that the Law not be an occasion for our flesh to master us….

Order My Steps #4

Monday, July 18, 2022

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133 KJV).

May we share the Psalmist’s wish!

The Law system has no (!) power to stop sin. It can only (!) indicate our sin, thereby teaching us we need a Saviour: “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [teacher] to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). “But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;…” (1 Timothy 1:8-10).

When we Christians use the Law system for daily living, we are treading on destructive, deadly mines! Romans 7:4-11: “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence [lust, desire]. For without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.”

Grace, not law, teaches us how to live….

Order My Steps #3

Sunday, July 17, 2022

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133 KJV).

May we share the Psalmist’s wish!

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” (Romans 3:24-26).

To be “justified” is to have imputed righteousness, considered just as if you have never sinned. Stated another way, Jesus Christ’s righteousness (how He measured up to God’s perfect standard of rightness) can be applied to our individual accounts. Be sure to notice this is “freely” given us—without cost to us—because Jesus Christ has paid the price for our sins by shedding His sinless blood. The fully-satisfying payment or sacrifice (“propitiation”) was He Himself offered on Calvary’s cross. He took upon Himself Father God’s wrath against our sins: He was our substitute. If we truly believe that message—that is, believe it in our hearts—Christ’s righteousness is credited to us.

Moving into chapter 6 of Romans, we learn the fundamentals of victorious Christian living. What is eternal life in Christ like? How does our new identity in Him affect our earthly, daily conduct? Verses 1-4: “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

When Christ died for our sins, we died with Him. (This is how Father God sees it!) In Adam, we were spiritually dead, severed from God’s life. However, in Christ, we are dead to (separated from) Adam and his fallen identity. We are now alive with Christ’s very life….

Order My Steps #2

Saturday, July 16, 2022

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133 KJV).

May we share the Psalmist’s wish!

The term “order” in today’s Scripture suggests the believer is like a soldier receiving directions from his commanding officer. Where is he to go? What provisions will he be given? When should he move? What should he do when he arrives at his destination? His superior provides him with these details. Of course, as with any conflict, the soldier must also be vigilant regarding opposition and the tactics his adversary wishes to use to gain the advantage. As a simple illustration, think of the potency of land mines. These explosive devices, hidden on or under the ground, inflict great injury or even death upon any unfortunate soul who encounters them. Nevertheless, if the soldier is careful where he places his feet, he can successfully negotiate the mine field and proceed to fulfilling his commander’s instructions.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10). Now that we have trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, He has laid out a path for us to follow. Here is the “walk,” the daily conduct, of the believer. We are “created in Christ Jesus unto [objective, target, intention] good works.” Obviously, Father God is the Creator, and He has made us “new creatures in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have been given a new nature in Christ: here is our new position, as opposed to being “in Adam” (our former status).

Whatever resources we have in the Lord Jesus Christ, these are our supplies we need to reach the goal of “good works.” Like the aforementioned soldier, however, we had better be cautious as we watch out for hazards along the route we are taking. Sin is ever present (the “land mines” are aplenty), and iniquity will have dominion over us the moment we forget our Master’s assignment given us….

Order My Steps #1

Friday, July 15, 2022

“Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me” (Psalm 119:133 KJV).

May we share the Psalmist’s wish!

Contrary to what we hear ad nauseum in religious tradition, the God of the Bible does not save us from our sins based on our religious performance. Why? It is no secret that we cannot perform perfectly. Whatever the rite, ritual, commandment, or ceremony in which we choose to participate, there is no guarantee we will even have the right heart attitude—and what matters most is inside (heart) not outside (movements of hands, feet, lips, et cetera). Only a humble soul will admit guilt before God.

When the Lord Jesus Christ visited Israel during His earthly ministry, He announced in John 10:10: “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” In verse 28, He continued: “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” Christ did not come to give them (or us) a system of rules and regulations. Actually, they had already had the Law of Moses for 15 centuries—and these souls were still dead in their trespasses and sins! Their religious performance had gotten them nowhere spiritually. Christ’s earthly ministry was thus designed to bring them back to their Creator and grant them eternal life (His own life).

Although God does not save us on the basis of how we live (because He already knows we are weak and our performance is always insufficient), that does not mean He does not care how we live. Our flesh or sin nature—the nature we have inherited from our father Adam—generates works (good and bad) that are nothing more than our futile attempts to replace God’s perfect life with our own life. Instead of we substituting God’s life with our own, God gives us a new nature in Christ when we trust His death, burial, and resurrection as adequate payment for our sins. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Out of this new nature originates true good works….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is an ‘earnest’ in Scripture?”

God’s Hidden Face #10

Thursday, July 14, 2022

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2 KJV).

How can dispensational Bible study deliver us from experiencing a lifetime of fear, doubt, frustration, discouragement, and even apostasy?

Regarding the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 17:2 relays: “And [Jesus Christ] was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.” This previews His return to reign in the Earth (chapter 16, verses 27 and 28). At Christ’s Second Coming, Israel literally sees the very face of God the Son illuminating Earth’s atmosphere! Malachi 4:2 likens it to a sunrise. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul speaks of “the brightness of [Christ’s] coming.” Satan’s nighttime reign in creation is forever over!

The Apostle John describes the New Heaven and New Earth in this fashion: “And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads” (Revelation 22:3,4). Look at the communion the saints will have with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself in the ages to come (cf. Isaiah 33:17,22; Matthew 5:8)!

Concerning what God is doing today—Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon—2 Corinthians 4:3-6 states: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” Through His finished crosswork, we who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour have unrestricted, permanent fellowship with Almighty God. It is high time we start learning the program the Lord is working now, and stop claiming Bible verses (such as today’s Scripture) that have no relation to us! 🙂

God’s Hidden Face #9

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2 KJV).

How can dispensational Bible study deliver us from experiencing a lifetime of fear, doubt, frustration, discouragement, and even apostasy?

When King David brought the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit moved him to pen the psalm recorded in 1 Chronicles 16:7-36. David thanks the LORD for His goodness, exhorting his Jewish brethren: “Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually” (verse 11). “Seek the LORD, and his strength: seek his face evermore” (Psalm 105:4).

Unfortunately, the Jewish people grew more apostate (fallen from the truth) once David died. Since they did not “seek [God’s] face” (wishing intimate fellowship or communion with Him), He hid it from them (see today’s Scripture). Intensifying phases of Divine wrath meant He had left them because they had first left Him for idols. The Prophet Daniel, a member of believing Israel, prays for destroyed Jerusalem by confessing their national sins: “Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord’s sake” (Daniel 9:17).

Israel’s believing remnant speaks in Isaiah 8:17: “And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.” These Jewish saints expect their nation to one day be restored to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. According to the context (see verses 8,14,18; also, chapter 9, verses 1,2,6,7; also, chapter 7, verse 14; cf. Matthew 1:23-25, Matthew 4:12-17, 1 Peter 2:5-8, and Hebrews 2:9,13), Messiah or Christ Jesus is coming to deliver. Two visits are in view—one arrival to die on Calvary (Christ’s earthly ministry), the other coming to reign from David’s throne (Second Coming)—but the Old Testament saints had limited understanding here and could not distinguish two visits of Messiah like we can with a completed Bible (1 Peter 1:10,11). Looking into the ages to come, Israel awaits her approaching King: “God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah” (Psalm 67:1).

Even now, we see the face of the Lord Jesus Christ….

God’s Hidden Face #8

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2 KJV).

How can dispensational Bible study deliver us from experiencing a lifetime of fear, doubt, frustration, discouragement, and even apostasy?

Today’s Scripture is really a national—rather than a personal—issue. An entire group has offended the LORD God: the nation Israel is guilty! Remember, several centuries before Isaiah, the Jews at Mount Sinai entered a covenant relationship with JEHOVAH God. Disregarding His earlier promise to make them His people in the Earth (grace; see Genesis 12:1-3), they wished to make themselves His people in the Earth (law; see Exodus 19:3-8). They demanded to have a system of rules and regulations, so this is precisely what He gave them to prove their performance would never qualify them to be His nation. Either He would have to work on their behalf to make them righteous (they would learn their need for a Saviour), or they would always receive curses because of their failures (sins) to live up to His perfect standards. See Leviticus chapter 26 and Deuteronomy chapters 27–28, the punishments that would signify God’s displeasure with them. The final judgment was their removal from the Promised Land via invading Gentile world-powers.

Concerning today’s Scripture, Israel has incurred yet another penalty because of falling short of the Law’s righteous standards. Again, they are under a performance-based acceptance system—and, like all sinners, they have failed miserably! Let us now reflect on Ezekiel chapter 39: “[23] And the heathen shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity: because they trespassed against me, therefore hid I my face from them, and gave them into the hand of their enemies: so fell they all by the sword. [24] According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions have I done unto them, and hid my face from them.”

Thankfully, verse 29 offers a glimpse a hope: “Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord GOD.” God’s face will be seen again….