Author: Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Grace and peace! What a privilege to be an ambassador for the risen Christ here on WordPress! I am a Pauline dispensationalist Christian saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus plus nothing! My goal is to "have all men saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3,4). I seek to preach Jesus Christ crucified for our sins, buried, and raised again for our justification as the only way to salvation. Also, I seek to edify and perfect the saints using dispensational Bible study and the Authorized Version King James Bible!

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #91

Saturday, August 22, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

First John 1:9 explains, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Alas, this has been so mindlessly repeated and misused in religious circles for centuries that it means practically nothing now. Not only should we believe the verse, we should also believe the context.

Confession of sins is in perfect accordance with the Law of Moses, which directed disobedient Israel suffering punishment to confess (admit) their national sin of violating the Old Covenant: “If they shall confess their iniquity, and the iniquity of their fathers, with their trespass which they trespassed against me, and that also they have walked contrary unto me; And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be humbled, and they then accept of the punishment of their iniquity: Then will I remember my covenant with Jacob, and also my covenant with Isaac, and also my covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land” (Leviticus 26:40-42). Israel’s national restoration to the LORD God involves confession of sins.

Firstly, Ezra confessed sins in Ezra 9:1-15: “Now when Ezra had prayed, and when he had confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children: for the people wept very sore” (Ezra 10:1). Secondly, Daniel did it in Daniel 9:3-19: “And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy mountain of my God;…” (Daniel 9:20). Finally, John the Baptist’s converts did the same. “And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins” (Matthew 3:6). “And there went out unto him all the land of Judaea, and they of Jerusalem, and were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:5). John the Baptist made ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1:13-17), and the Apostle John is doing likewise in 1 John 1:9….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #90

Friday, August 21, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Frankly, the Corinthian church was nothing but spiritual babies excited about having a “good time” at a spiritual amusement park. Fun! Fun! Fun! In other words, pleasure meant more than correctness. To them, if it felt good, it was good—and this is exactly how Satan lured and imprisoned them as touching spiritual gifts and various other issues. Of course, this was their fault because they had left the Pauline/grace doctrine they heard. Such could be said of almost every denomination, local congregation, or “Christian” school now. It is next to impossible for them to give up the lies they have grown so accustomed to hearing, reading, and believing. They ought to be able to recognize how truth should take precedence over tradition. Alas, they seek to have a good standing with their preacher/church/denomination, for, this is what they equate to being in a good standing before God Himself. However, it is a most foolish position to take—especially when we think critically about Bible verses in their dispensational settings.

If sound doctrine unites, it necessarily means that false doctrine divides. Confession of sins is yet another point of contention amongst church members, the countless denominations arguing about its purpose, its method, its audience, and so on. Somewhere in all that disagreement and deception is the truth, but we cannot differentiate it unless we are spiritually mature (and most people are not!). For many years, I was just another churchgoer mixed up about confession of sins. One day, with the help of dear preachers who sought to make me a grown-up believer, I finally made a confession: “I am so (!) pitifully (!) ignorant about confession of sins, but now I know and understand the Bible verses that will set me straight!” What a day never to be forgotten, when I was delivered from satanic darkness and blindness, freed at last from my denominational shackles!

Passing on from the misuse of spiritual gifts in our churches, we must also be sure to keep our mouths shut by not teaching false doctrine about confession of sins either….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #89

Thursday, August 20, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Man’s sinful heart tricks him. Consumed by religious pride, he imagines that, provided he copies God as much as possible, he has the best chance of acquiring a right standing before God. Howbeit, he is eagerly following Satan’s cheap counterfeit (Isaiah 14:14), simply pretending so he can stroke his ego while pursuing his own rebellion against God: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matthew 7:21-23). Calling Jesus “Lord,” preaching in His name, casting out devils in His name, and doing many wonderful works in His name, are not necessarily done to His glory or even performed by Him! He Himself warned it might be “iniquity” (evil)! Likewise, the Corinthian church featured many “supernatural events” and “godly people” that were downright diabolical (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

“Let all things be done decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). Despite all their alleged “spirituality” and “zeal” for spiritual gifts, indecency and impropriety characterized Corinth. Absence of bodily control and lack of emotional regulation are definitely not the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23; “temperance”). Of course, like the Corinthians, Pentecostals and Charismatics disobey these rules of 1 Corinthians chapter 14. “So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air” (1 Corinthians 14:9). In spite of all their tongue-talking, some Corinthians were “speaking into the air,” moving their mouths in utter futility (their speech did not match sound Bible doctrine). Talk just as nonsensical defiles today’s churches, but many have chosen to keep it so as to follow their own sinful path….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #88

Wednesday, August 19, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Precious few realize that “glossolalia” (speaking in tongues) is not confined to Pentecostal and charismatic groups of Christendom. “Ecstatic utterances” have been documented in world religions for millennia, including Islam, Buddhism, and Shamanism. Ancient Israel knew of such “peeping and muttering” in devil (!) worship (!) in Isaiah 8:19,20; God directed them to use the Law of Moses (as in Deuteronomy 13:1-18) to gauge the trustworthiness or deceitfulness of these “strange sounds.”

Consequently, we cannot automatically assume glossolalia is of the Holy Spirit; in contrast, Pentecostals and Charismatics are not so discerning. In their terminology, “speaking in tongues is the initial evidence of baptism with the Holy Ghost.” This is an advertisement of Bible ignorance. Heathen priests and devotees of idols in Corinth spoke “the languages of the gods” during their worship services. Such was the culture, the evil world system, out of which God had called the Corinthian believers when He sent Paul to preach to them in Acts chapter 18. Never abandoning their former conversation, they abused and counterfeited the Holy Spirit’s gift of speaking in tongues in 1 Corinthians chapter 14!

Mysterious, supernatural, ecstatic utterances, or guttural sounds, are not necessarily the God of the Bible or Christianity. Hence, in 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14, the tongue must always be interpreted (so the content can be analyzed). Left untranslated, it must be rejected as false, for it cannot be reduced to sound doctrine. Chanting “Lapafa shabala doolaba” gives the speaker an adrenaline rush, a warm or fuzzy feeling, but it creates perplexity in the minds of listeners and makes them recoil in shock, embarrassment, or revulsion. There is no building up of souls—except that of the speaker who “feels special” because he or she delighted in the publicity received while bragging, “I have a spiritual experience you do not!” Remember, the Holy Spirit wrote in the context of the misuse of spiritual gifts: “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints” (1 Corinthians 14:33). Without sound doctrine, spiritual disorder and spiritual division and spiritual destruction are guaranteed….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #87

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

What is more important than something “supernatural” (for the Devil works in that realm too!), is if it can be reduced to sound doctrine, conforming to Pauline revelation: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. But if any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:37,38). Remember, this passage sits in the context of spiritual gifts. If we cannot identify precisely what is being communicated (meaningful speech), it is a satanic counterfeit and must be instantly and permanently forsaken!

In Scripture, when the Holy Spirit operated the gift of speaking in tongues, He also bestowed the spiritual gift of interpretation (translation) of those languages (see 1 Corinthians 12:10,28,30; 1 Corinthians 14:5,27,28). The guidelines of 1 Corinthians chapter 14 expose the “unknown tongue,” the phony gift of tongues, gibberish or unintelligible sounds (see 1 Corinthians 14:2,4,13,14,19,27). Reminiscent of those excesses and exaggerations in Corinth, the “tongue-speaking” amongst modern charismatics is also used for the benefit of self—and selfishness is of man, not God! Hence, their “glossolalia” cannot be translated, so they are forced to frequently exercise this so-called “heavenly tongue” in private. They readily admit they themselves do not know what they are saying, but (allegedly) “God knows.” Alas, that too is wrong, for spiritual gifts were never for God’s benefit. They were for humans with limited revelation from God (incomplete Bible) (1 Corinthians 13:8-13), and for Israel’s advantage during prophecy and during the transitional (Acts) period from prophecy to mystery (Romans 11:11-14).

As lost people, idol-worshipping Gentiles, the Corinthians had enjoyed exploiting various “ecstatic utterances” in their religious services (1 Corinthians 12:1,2; “dumb” meaning unable to speak [insinuating they believed their idols spoke to them and taught them; cf. Habakkuk 2:18,19; Psalm 135:4-8]). This heathenism was the babbling they as (now) believers in Christ were trying to pass off as genuine! Paul therefore wrote to them about tongue talking, the Holy Spirit’s gift (translatable, for benefit of others) and the Devil’s imitation (non-translatable, for profit of self), the God of the Bible being glorified versus the attention-seeking flesh striving to surpass others….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #86

Monday, August 17, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

With all sons and daughters of Adam, there is an obsession with me, me, ME. This self-centeredness contributed to the spiritual pandemonium of the Corinthian church (for example, read 1 Corinthians 1:10-13, 1 Corinthians 3:1-4, and 2 Corinthians 12:20). The heart of the three-chapter section on spiritual gifts is 1 Corinthians chapter 13, which states how “charity” (love in action, labour of love) “seeketh not her own” (verse 5). Spiritual gifts were meant to edify (build up) the church, never the individual using the gift (see 1 Corinthians 12:7; 1 Corinthians 14:4,5,12,16,17,19). Anyone making it a personal matter—as in, “I utilize my gift to edify myself”—was under the influence of the flesh and not the Holy Spirit!

The carnal Corinthians preferred to be seen of men rather than used of God, resulting in an intricate cycle of competition, pseudo-spirituality (fakery) or exaggeration, and (addictive!) amusement. That view can be expressed in the following way: “I have a spiritual gift that you do not. My experience is superior to yours. I can tell a better story about what I saw/heard/felt than what you can. Look at me, pay attention to me, I am so important! You wish you had the communion with God that I do!” These boasts highlight the Charismatic Movement that corrupted a huge number of our churches and “Christian” schools in the latter half of the 20th century.

Usually, what is passed off as “the Holy Ghost” today violates the rules He Himself set forth in 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14. For example, the flesh observes no limits and lacks self-control, it delights in superficiality or shallowness, and it exalts emotionalism at the expense of sound thinking. To anyone equally infantile, there is a semblance of something “supernatural” and “godly”—a church setting wherein various scriptural words or phrases are used. However, to the dispensational Bible student, it is a clever but dangerous blend of prophecy and mystery, light and darkness, truth and error, Israel and the Body of Christ, Christianity and Judaism and heathenism. Above all, it is a failed effort to use unbelief to produce faith….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #85

Sunday, August 16, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

The spiritual gift of speaking in tongues was exercised just three times in Acts, and always in Israel’s presence. Firstly, in Acts 2:1-21, Jews from around the world had gathered at Jerusalem for Pentecost, and heard God’s words in their respective native (foreign) dialects. Secondly, in Acts 10:44-48, Peter’s Gentile converts in Caesarea (Canaan’s Mediterranean Coast) proved to Jewish Peter and his Jewish companions (“they of the circumcision”) that God had turned to the Gentiles now that Paul had been commissioned (cf. Acts 11:12-18; cf. Acts 15:7-11). Finally, in Acts 19:1-7, Israelites speaking in tongues at Ephesus (western Turkey) further authenticated Paul’s apostleship. Of course, these had to be intelligent languages, human speech that could be understood and identified as sound doctrine; gibberish is meaningless.

Read 1 Corinthians 14:21,22: “In the law it is written, With men of other tongues and other lips will I speak unto this people; and yet for all that will they not hear me, saith the Lord. Wherefore tongues are for a sign [!!!!], not to them that believe, but to them that believe not: but prophesying serveth not for them that believe not, but for them which believe.” The original prophecy is Isaiah 28:11: “For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.” When idolatrous Israel heard foreign languages in her Promised Land—namely, the speech of invading (Gentile) Assyrian troops and attacking (Gentile) Babylonian armies—it demonstrated that God’s judgment had fallen politically and exile was impending (cf. Leviticus 26:27-39).

A parallel is in 1 Corinthians, with Paul’s Gentile believers exercising the gift of tongues (a “sign!!!”) to prove to lost Israel (“them that believe not”) that their nation had fallen spiritually and God was working with Gentiles (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:14-16). Remember, a Jewish synagogue met next-door to the Corinthian church (Acts 18:1-11, especially verse 7). The saints of Corinth, however, were too childish in the faith to serve as God’s instruments, so there was an abuse of spiritual gifts—particularly the misuse of the gift of tongues. Christians in Corinth never really distanced themselves from their old heathen thoughts and ways, which rendered them prone to multifarious nonsense….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #84

Saturday, August 15, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Remember, spiritual gifts—various capacities or abilities the Holy Spirit gave men in the absence of a completed Bible—were first with Israel. Consequently, Israel definitely took notice when Paul’s Gentile believers were possessing and exercising these spiritual gifts during Acts (as in 1 Corinthians chapters 12–14). It was therefore important that these Gentiles not misunderstand or abuse those sign gifts, for then God’s doctrine would not be clearly communicated to Israel; to wit, if used in the energy of the flesh, spiritual gifts would serve as Satan’s tool to deceive and divide. This is precisely what wrecked the testimony of the Corinthian church… and what still afflicts a great many of our modern assemblies!

In the Bible, tongues was the most abused spiritual gift, so the Holy Spirit devoted one whole chapter to it (chapter 14 of 1 Corinthians). Even today, 20 centuries later, millions of souls are still mixed up here—and, we fear, some are content to remain where they are, lest they be forced to acknowledge their denomination or theological system is false. It would thus profit us immensely to use dispensational Bible study to set the record straight. Remember, Israel is destined to be a kingdom of priests, and the gift of tongues will be crucial in their sharing God’s words with the Gentiles in their native (human) languages: “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you” (Zechariah 8:23). The confounding and institution of the world’s languages go all the way back to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9). God will reverse such confusion in Israel’s literal, physical, visible, earthly kingdom by enabling Israelites to speak these intelligent human languages without them having to learn them.

Alas, man’s flesh always moves him to ultimately corrupt even that which is good….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #83

Friday, August 14, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Although Paul performed healings, exorcisms, and other miraculous demonstrations (Acts 13:6-12; Acts 14:3,8-10; Acts 15:12; Acts 16:16-18; Acts 19:1-7,11,12; Acts 20:7-12; Acts 28:1-10; cf. 2 Corinthians 12:12), and his Gentile converts were granted the same miracle-working power (1 Corinthians 12:9,10,28-30), these were exceptions rather than the norm—and we cannot emphasize it enough (!). Such miracles became fewer and fewer as the years passed, until they disappeared altogether.

In the same epistle wherein he wrote how he wrought miracles (Galatians 3:5), Paul referred to his “infirmity of the flesh… [his] temptation which was in [his] flesh” (Galatians 4:13-15) (an unspecified physical problem—disability, disease, limitation—never cured). Moreover, he penned 2 Corinthians 11:30 and 2 Corinthians 12:5-10, additional verses as touching his “infirmities” (weaknesses, illnesses). After the Acts transitional period, he was unable to heal Timothy who suffered multiple health issues: “Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach’s sake and thine often infirmities” (1 Timothy 5:23). His farewell has in its conclusion: “Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick” (2 Timothy 4:20). Before re-locating to Heaven, the Apostle could not cure an ill colleague in ministry!

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22,23). “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man [physical body] perish [grow older, sicker, and finally die], yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Rather than a (temporary) physical healing, we await our resurrection to inhabit glorified bodies (Romans 8:17-25; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5)….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #82

Thursday, August 13, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Paul’s first miracle recorded in Scripture is Acts 13:6-12: “And when they had gone through the isle [Cyprus] unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.” A Gentile wishes to hear Paul and believe his message, but a satanic and unbelieving Jew prevents it. Here is Paul’s ministry summarized—Israel is blind and without faith, but Gentiles believe on Jesus Christ.

“Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their [Barnabas and Paul’s] hands…. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother’s womb, who never had walked: The same heard Paul speak: who stedfastly beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, Said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and walked” (Acts 14:3,8-10). This is God’s ministry through Paul amongst the Gentiles, people spiritually disabled (see Gentiles’ pitiful condition in Acts 14:11-18) but Israel’s miracles leading to their restoration and wellbeing (symbolized by physical healing)….