Category: God’s grace

Stand in Awe of the LORD

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

“Let all the earth fear the LORD: let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him” (Psalm 33:8 KJV).

Who stands in awe of God today? Very few. For the past 2,000 years, our world has grown very comfortable in its sins. After all, in this the Dispensation of Grace, God is not imputing the world’s trespasses unto it (2 Corinthians 5:19). God’s attitude toward the whole world today, saved and lost, is “grace and peace” (the expression with which Paul began every epistle). Alas, rather than gratefully accepting God’s grace, man has taken advantage of God’s grace.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 explains man’s overall attitude toward God in the Dispensation of Grace: “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.” Today, scoffers mock God and blaspheme His name, with no immediate judgment. They ridicule His Word and persecute His saints. Operating under the false impression they have gotten away with it, they sin even more.

Look at how harshly God dealt with rebellious people in time past (Noah’s contemporaries, Sodom and Gomorrah, et cetera). Today, God does not pour out His wrath and judgment. The day is coming however, when God’s wrath will be executed. Our world is headed for the Tribulation, “the day of the vengeance of our God” (Isaiah 61:2; cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10).

We who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we have submitted to God’s authority. We saints humbly stand in awe of God, our Creator, our Saviour, and our Head, awed by His grace, love, and mercy. We respect His power and authority. But, most of the world, lost and headed for hell, hates God.

Nevertheless, the day is speedily approaching when, “At the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10,11). In that day, ALL will be forced to kneel in awe of the LORD!

The Wisdom Given to Our Beloved Brother Paul

Sunday, March 11, 2012

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

The Apostle Peter, in verses 3,4, references scoffers who ask, “Where is the promise of [Christ’s] coming?” Decades after the Lord Jesus had resurrected and ascended into heaven, James, Peter, and John spoke of His Second Coming as if it were just moments away (James 5:8,9; 1 Peter 4:7; 2 Peter 3:3; 1 John 2:18). They wrote 2,000 years ago, and Christ never came. Is Christ ever coming back?

In today’s Scripture, Peter admits that when he and the Apostles James and John met with the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter 15 (Galatians chapter 2) circa A.D. 50, Paul taught them something. To Paul alone God entrusted a body of truth that not even Peter fully understood (even at this late date of 2 Peter circa A.D. 68)—Peter and Paul preached separate messages (see Galatians 2:1-9). Peter acknowledged that Christ gave exclusively to Paul “the revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25,26; Ephesians 3:1-9). Furthermore, Peter verified Paul’s 13 epistles, Romans through Philemon, as “scripture.” Peter warned that people “wrest” (corrupt) Paul’s epistles as they do the other Bible books.

Why has Christ not come back, Peter? “The Lord is not slack [lazy, unreliable] concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God wants all people to be saved. He wants no one to suffer His wrath and judgment (the seven-year Tribulation) because His Son Jesus paid for our sins at Calvary’s cross!

Yes, Christ will be back, but God is postponing Israel’s prophetic program in order to extend this the Dispensation of Grace and give more people a chance to be saved before His wrath comes on earth.

We Do Not Want to Be Different Anymore!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

“Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel unto Ramah, and said unto him, Behold thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations” (1 Samuel 8:4,5 KJV).

In the context of today’s Scripture, for the past 500 years, Moses, Joshua, and several judges (rulers) have led Israel (Acts 13:17-20). Here, Samuel, Israel’s prophet-judge, is old and his sons are too wicked to lead the nation in God’s ways (1 Samuel 8:1-3). Furthermore, Israel is tired of being different. Sadly, they want a king so they can be like “all the nations.”

Read the two verses following today’s Scripture: “But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD. And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them” (verses 6,7). S-A-D!

Israel is tired of being God’s “peculiar” (unique; Exodus 19:5) people! They want to be like everyone else (pagans!). By rejecting God’s prophet Samuel, Israel is rejecting God. God instructed Samuel to “protest solemnly” with Israel (verse 9). So, Samuel fervently complained to Israel regarding the disadvantages of a monarchy (1 Samuel 8:10-18). “Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations” (verses 19,20). Amazingly, God foretold their cry for a king in Deuteronomy 17:14… 500 years earlier!

After everything God did for them, ungrateful, sinful Israel argues with Him and rejects Him. Yet, how many today share Israel’s attitude? Despite everything that God did for them at Calvary, they reject Him. Or, think of the Christians, who are tired of being outcasts—like Israel, some compromise with the world to “fit in.” Thankfully, as God in His grace tolerated Israel, so He tolerates us when “we do not want to be different anymore!”

God’s Workmanship #3

Sunday, March 4, 2012

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).

The Bible presents God as the Poet; we Christians are but His poem. He is the Mastermind; we are merely His design. God has the power; we are just His vessels. Our will and our works have not the preeminence; God’s will and God’s achievements do. The Creator of the universe is doing something excellent; the creatures’ work, our work, pale in comparison. What God did for us is foremost (grace), not what we do for Him (religion). This is God’s grace, and we are His workmanship.

Religion is not the work of God; it emphasizes man’s performance to make himself acceptable to God. Christianity is God’s workmanship, for it stresses how God can use mere frames of dust (us) for His glory (see today’s Scripture). Those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, God is using us to make a “new man,” a “new creature,” the Church the Body of Christ, an entity He will use in heaven forever (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:13-17); this is something that God, not us, does. God is building us—a temple, a house for Himself (1 Corinthians 3:16,17; Ephesians 2:18-22). We are “God’s husbandry, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Currently, God is preparing us Christians for eternity. We have His preserved and inerrant Word, the King James Bible, to learn and grow in His knowledge. The more sound doctrine we study and believe in the rightly divided Bible, the more equipped we are to function here and in eternity (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). In the ages to come, God will use us to restore the government of the heavens unto Himself (Ephesians 2:6,7; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:1; Colossians 1:16-22).

God saved us to use us for all of eternity future, to do His good work in us now on earth, and to do His good work in us forever in heaven. Verily, verily, we are God’s workmanship… forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever! 🙂

God’s Workmanship #2

Saturday, March 3, 2012

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).

When we Pauline dispensationalists proclaim God’s grace, are we really encouraging people to pursue careless, frivolous lifestyles, as our (legalistic) critics claim? God forbid!

Religion deceives billions through indoctrination: to wit, lies repeated long enough are accepted as truth. Works-religion (legalism) prevails in the professing church today: “Perform so God can save you!” Thus, the average church member, upon hearing the Biblical truth, “God will save you, regardless of your works,” they mistake this as careless living. They are programmed to accept error as truth; consequently, they reject contradictory information (God’s truth!).

When we Pauline dispensationalists declare, “Salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing,” we mean salvation is COMPLETELY independent of our performance (Romans 3:28; Romans 4:1-5; Galatians 2:21; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; et al.). Grace saves us solely because of the merits of Jesus Christ at Calvary; grace does not save us on the basis of our good works—grace is unmerited favor (Romans 11:6).

Grace is what God can do for us because we sinners can do nothing for God. The Greek word translated “workmanship” in today’s Scripture is poiema, meaning “creation,” from which we get “poem.” Interestingly, poiema is used one other time in Scripture: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

From salvation and the Christian life to the origin of the universe, the emphasis is not on the creation—(us, the heavens, and the earth), but on the Creator, Jesus Christ (see Romans 1:25). The focus is not on the poem (workmanship), but rather the POET (Creator)!

God the Holy Spirit is doing something amazing in us believers. He is transforming us from the inside out for His glory. “Our” good works are God’s sound doctrine working in us. It is God’s work (1 Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 5:16-26; Philippians 1:9-11). Indeed, we are God’s workmanship!

The LORD is On My Side #2

Thursday, March 1, 2012

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Hebrews 13:5,6 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is God’s Word to Israel’s believing remnant, who will suffer the wrath of Satan and the antichrist during the seven-year Tribulation. Despite the dire circumstances around them, God comforts His people Israel by reminding them of His faithfulness, that He will be with them as He was with their ancestors (Deuteronomy 31:6-8; Joshua 1:5; Psalm 118:6). But, Israel’s faithful God also happens to be our faithful God!

The vicissitudes of living in this “present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) can be very depressing. Our Apostle Paul endured depression in the ministry, especially after the pagan riot in Ephesus in Acts 19:22–20:1 (cf. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11). But, Paul wrote, “we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9; cf. 2 Corinthians 4:7-11). Beloved, our flesh is too weak to endure, so we must rely on God’s strength if we are to get through this life!

Romans 8:31 asks, “If God be for us, who can be against us?” No matter what we face in this life, we have the victory through Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:57). The “peace of God [will] keep [guard] our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6,7). Rather than succumb to despair, we rejoice that “our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)! God’s grace is sufficient for us to endure all of life’s troubles (2 Corinthians 12:9,10; Philippians 4:13).

We join believing Israel in declaring, “The Lord is on my side! The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me!” Brethren, despite our persecution in this life, Israel’s faithful God is our faithful God and He is on our side too! 🙂

God’s Grace on Parade

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

“…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20 KJV).

Today, especially here in southern Louisiana, the Catholic festival of Mardi Gras takes advantage of God’s grace. God’s grace abounds even when drunkenness, lasciviousness, and gluttony are committed overtly on our streets for religion. Because we live in the Dispensation of the Grace of God, they can flaunt their sin without being consumed by fire from heaven!

“Mardi Gras,” French for “Fat Tuesday,” is a day when religious people—professing “Christians”—lose self-control (excess alcohol, food, and partying). The following day, Ash Wednesday, they promise to live “holy” for the next 40 days (Lent). A priest will then place ashes on their foreheads proving that God forgave them for that riotous living. Blasphemy!

Regardless of all its biblical allusions (illusions!), Mardi Gras is still evil and anti-God. It was never Christian, originating from pagan Roman festivals, Saturnalia and Lupercalia (interestingly known for riots, drunkenness, gluttony, and fornication, and subsequent repentance).

The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostles Peter and Paul, was clearly against Mardi Gras reveling and drunkenness (Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3). So why do professing Christians engage in the very activities that God the Holy Spirit condemned?! As Christians, we should “deny” the activities of Mardi Gras (Romans 6:11-15; Titus 2:11-15).

If I appear offended, I am. Mardi Gras, despite its godly façade, is offensive to the great God and my Saviour Jesus Christ! God’s grace continues to tolerate such foolishness from mankind. Man parades his sin, and God parades His grace, holding back wrath.

Are you a Mardi Gras reveler? I declare unto you the wonderful Gospel of the Grace of God. God did for you at Calvary what you could never do: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus Christ shed His sinless blood and died to put away all of your sins, Mardi Gras revelry included.

If you rest in Christ Jesus alone as your Saviour, God will save you forever, make a trophy of His grace, and then YOUR life will be God’s grace on parade!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

Cheerful Giving

Thursday, February 16, 2012

“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7 KJV).

The other day, I happened to meet an old friend, a dear brother in the Lord who has been studying the Bible dispensationally for a few years. He told me that, after decades of bondage in denominational systems, he finally understood his Bible, and added, “I realize much of today’s ‘Christianity’ is money, money, money!” My, sad to say it, but these few words contain much truth.

Months ago, another Christian brother told me that he watched a famous preacher’s television program. Shaking his fist, the pious preacher warned, “If you are not tithing, you are under God’s curse!” (Certainly, the preacher was biblical, for he was quoting Malachi 3:8-11. However, he was not dispensational because he willingly ignored that the “cursed nation” spoken of there was Israel, not America… according to Malachi 1:1 anyway).

According to the Bible, preachers such as the aforementioned heretic were besieging Corinth. The dear Corinthian believers were enthusiastically (!) letting false teachers slip in and “take of [them]” (2 Corinthians 11:20)—people were swindling them in the name of “God”/religion! In fact, Paul calls these false teachers “fools” (verse 19). Paul would use this term to describe the thousands of pastors who are still extorting, “robbing their church members blind!” If God should be unhappy with someone, it would be with the greedy preachers, not the meager givers.

Beloved, never, ever let someone make you give a certain amount. That is legalism (tithing), and legalism is against grace. Grace leads us to give “as [we] purposeth in [our] heart.” Unlike Israel, we do not give “grudgingly” or “of necessity.” We give “cheerfully” (happily, wholeheartedly), and as much or as little as WE decide (today’s Scripture). God is not cursing anyone today, and that includes people who do not give money to Him (2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

God’s grace is not against giving, for Paul taught giving under grace in 2 Corinthians chapters 8, 9, and 10. God’s grace is against tithing (obligatory giving, giving under law).

Our Gospel Hid #4

Monday, February 13, 2012

“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” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

God’s will is “to have all men saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4). That is, God wants every lost person saved from hell, and He wants every Christian saved from religious tradition. The goal of Satan’s policy of evil is the opposite: to keep lost people unsaved (lost) and to keep Christians unaware (spiritually immature) of God’s doctrine for them (Paul’s epistles). Satan accomplishes this using over 4,200 world religions, 38,000-plus “Christian” denominations, in excess of 200 (corrupt) modern English Bibles, and various false gospels (some even mention “Christ!”). This is how Satan “blinds the minds of them which believe not.”

To Satan’s dismay…

  1. By the grace of God, we are “saved!” We who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ alone as Saviour can rejoice today that “the light of the glorious gospel of Christ” shone unto us despite Satan’s attempts to keep us lost (today’s Scripture)!
  2. By the grace of God, we have “come unto the knowledge of the truth!” We who use the King James Bible can rejoice that we found God’s preserved and inerrant Word for us English-speaking Christians! By the grace of God, we who understand the “revelation of the mystery” (Paul’s special ministry) are no longer deceived by vain church tradition.

As King James Bible believers and Pauline dispensationalists who have trusted in Christ Jesus alone for salvation, we praise the Lord. Despite all the deception out there, we sought truth, and God made sure we found it!

How we are eternally grateful to God our Father to have found our Saviour (the Lord Jesus Christ), to have found God’s Word (the King James Bible), to have found our apostle (Paul), and to have found our place in God’s program (the Church the Body of Christ).

Our Gospel Hid #1

Friday, February 10, 2012

“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” (2 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

How does Satan, “the god of this world,” keep our gospel hidden from lost people? Does he use drugs, alcohol, fornication, and the occult? According to the context of today’s Scripture, he uses something far subtler, what you would least expect.

God’s Word exposes the heart of Satan’s policy of evil. Previously, the Apostle Paul stated that he has “renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully” (verse 2). Where was this “dishonesty” and “craftiness?” Paul explains, “nor handling the word of God deceitfully.” It was in religion! Before Paul’s salvation, he, as a Pharisee (Jewish religious leader) and participant in Satan’s religious system, had used God’s Word (of all things!) to send people to hell (Galatians 1:13,14; Philippians 3:3-7). Thankfully, Paul claimed, “Now that I am saved, I have given up that foolishness!” Sadly, today, preachers still use the Bible to guide over 100,000 people to hell every day! How?

Satan hides the Gospel of God’s Grace (what God has done for you at Calvary) by having you focus on religion (what you can do for God at church). These “ministers” (!) of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:13-15) tell you that Christ died for you, but that you need to work for salvation (Acts 15:1-5). How deceptive! They mention Christ (sounding godly), but they are totally anti-God because they exalt man’s efforts to please God (thereby ignoring the sufficiency of Christ’s finished crosswork). God warned against this “false gospel” in Galatians 1:6-9. God’s attitude toward one who preaches this heretical gospel: “Let him be accursed [removed from fellowship]!!!”

The Gospel of the Grace of God says you can do nothing, nothing, nothing to merit salvation.

Friends, either Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection are sufficient for our salvation, or He is dead for nothing (Galatians 2:16,21)!