Category: God’s kindness

Israel, Stand Still! #10

Thursday, July 18, 2013

“Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10 KJV).

Israel must stand still and do nothing in order to see her God work mightily on her behalf!

The Old Covenant (the Mosaic Law) only condemns us as sinners—it never saves anyone, it only makes “all the world guilty before God” (Romans 3:19). In order for God to save and use Israel, He will have to make a New Covenant with them. Read Hebrews 8:7-13 (quoting Jeremiah 31:31-34):

“[7] For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second. [8] For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: [9] Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. [10] For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: [11] And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. [12] For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. [13] In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

This is Israel’s glorious prospect—a covenant that involves JEHOVAH working to save her from sin and Satan, just as He saved her from the Egyptian bondage. It will be an extremely intense battle, and JEHOVAH Himself will die….

NOTE: If you’re interested in “attending” a grace Bible conference via internet, the Grace School of the Bible Family Summer Bible Conference is underway through today. You can find all the details (times, topics, and preachers) at www.graceimpact.org.

Reconciliation, Imputation, and Salvation #15

Monday, July 1, 2013

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV).

Soul salvation from everlasting hellfire is the Holy Bible’s most important doctrine, so let us be particularly careful with today’s Scripture.

At Calvary’s cross, Jesus Christ suffered God’s wrath against all of the world’s sins (today’s Scripture). In this the Dispensation of Grace, mankind is currently (but temporarily) being offered an opportunity to be reconciled to his Creator forever. Jesus Christ died to pay for mankind’s sins, but until an individual trusts that alone for eternal salvation, that finished crosswork is of no help to the person. Jesus Christ’s righteousness manifested at Calvary must be imputed (applied, credited) to one’s account if God’s wrath, hell and the everlasting lake of fire, is to be avoided.

Before they trusted Christ, Paul urged the pagan Corinthians to “receive not the grace of God in vain” (2 Corinthians 6:1). Grace is everything that God can do for you through the finished crosswork of Jesus Christ. God expects you to trust that! If you do not trust it, you are receiving God’s grace “in vain” (to no purpose).

Romans 3:24,25: “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;” You can be “justified” (declared righteous in God’s sight) freely—without any cost to you—by faith in Jesus Christ, who shed His sinless blood to pay for your sins, who died your death, and suffered God’s wrath on your behalf.

Soul salvation is not to be taken flippantly: “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2, quoting Isaiah 49:8).

Will you trust the Lord Jesus Christ alone as your personal Saviour today? Or, will you receive the grace of God in vain?

~FINIS!~ 🙂

Reconciliation, Imputation, and Salvation #13

Saturday, June 29, 2013

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV).

Soul salvation from everlasting hellfire is the Holy Bible’s most important doctrine, so let us be particularly careful with today’s Scripture.

Let us summarize the mechanics of soul salvation:

  • SEPARATION – Sin separates man from God: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
  • GRACE – Everything God can do for you—not what you can do for God—through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork: “Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:24).
  • RECONCILIATION #1 (God’s work) – The Gospel of God’s Grace declares He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for man’s sins, to suffer His wrath against man’s wickedness: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself” (today’s Scripture).
  • RECONCILIATION #2 (man’s faith) – Each individual should trust Jesus Christ’s performance at Calvary as sufficient payment for his or her sins (PROPITIATION; Romans 3:25); otherwise, the individual will continue on his or her way to eternal hellfire (DAMNATION; Romans 2:8-11). “We pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20b).
  • REDEMPTION and FORGIVENESS – Jesus Christ’s blood pays the price to free the Christian from sin’s power and penalty. “In [Christ] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7ab).
  • IMPUTATION – By faith, Jesus Christ’s righteousness is applied to the believer’s account. “But for us also, to whom it [righteousness] shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (Romans 4:24).
  • JUSTIFICATION – One who has trusted the Lord Jesus Christ alone as personal Saviour is now “made the righteousness of God in [Christ]” (2 Corinthians 5:21b).
  • SALVATION – The Christian’s deliverance from sin, death, hell, and the lake of fire: “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” (Ephesians 2:8,9).

Let us begin to conclude this devotionals arc….

Reconciliation, Imputation, and Salvation #4

Thursday, June 20, 2013

“To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV).

Soul salvation from everlasting hellfire is the Holy Bible’s most important doctrine, so let us be particularly careful with today’s Scripture.

Satan had already declared war on his Creator God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Then, mankind, the Lord’s ally, willfully switches sides and becomes Satan’s servant by submitting to his will! Sin infiltrates planet earth, as it had the heavenly places sometime earlier.

Adam and Eve know they are now in a major dilemma. Genesis 3:7 says they, in a feeble, desperate attempt, try to cover their sins by gathering fig leaves and sewing them to make aprons for their now naked bodies (the first act of religion, or as a dear Christian brother calls it, “Operation: Fig Leaf!”). In the coolness of the day, as the voice of the LORD God rings out, Adam and Eve flee and hide amongst the trees (verse 8). Sinful man cannot and will not approach his righteous Creator God, so man’s Creator will come and find him!

After the LORD God brings Adam and Eve to accountability, He declares to Satan, the serpent: “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (verse 15). We will discuss this important verse later, but let us focus on verse 21 for now: “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” The LORD God graciously provided a solution—a blood sacrifice—to Adam and Eve’s sins, for their attempt to “cover up” their own sins with fig leaves was useless! Note that they never asked for His help either.

Some 4,000 years later, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). That love that sent Him looking for Adam and Eve, motivated Him to come seek us “hiding amongst the trees,” and to offer another blood sacrifice—Himself….

The End of Job, Israel, and the LORD #2

Thursday, April 25, 2013

“So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12 KJV).

During the Tribulation period, the nation Israel will gain valuable insight from today’s Scripture….

Before Job lost it all, the Bible says he had, “Seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses” (Job 1:3). Compare this with today’s Scripture. As Job 42:10 says, “And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” In addition, Job’s deceased seven sons and three daughters (1:2) were replaced with seven new sons and three new daughters (42:13).

The Apostle James, writing to believing Jews experiencing the seven-year Tribulation (see James 1:1-12), draws a parallel between them and Job of old. Both are saints of God experiencing satanic affliction, both are under intense persecution, both are weary, and both have lost family, friends, and/or material possessions. Still, James takes them back to the Scriptures that teach Job’s outcome, the LORD’s mercy and pity on him, and the LORD restoring him twofold. James 5:11 says, “Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.”

Near the midpoint of the Tribulation, Israel’s “little flock” (Luke 12:32), her believing remnant, will flee for their lives and abandon their homes and material possessions in Jerusalem (Matthew 24:15-21; Mark 13:14-20). But, God will take care of them for the remainder of the Tribulation (42 months; Revelation 12:5,6,13-17). Furthermore, at Jesus Christ’s Second Coming (and His subsequent earthly kingdom), He will restore their possessions “an hundredfold” (Matthew 19:27-30). They will receive 100 times what they gave up earlier—this is much, much more than Job’s restoration!

Although this is Israel’s doctrine, we can remind ourselves that our losses for Jesus Christ are well worth the losing….

The End of Job, Israel, and the LORD #1

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

“So the LORD blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses” (Job 42:12 KJV).

During the Tribulation period, the nation Israel will gain valuable insight from today’s Scripture….

Job is one of the most well-known Bible books. Satan afflicts its protagonist, a believing Jew who lived before Israel’s deliverance from Egypt, via a series of calamities. Job loses his material possessions (1:14-17), then his seven sons and three daughters (1:18-19), and finally his health (2:7-8). He becomes increasingly depressed, especially upon the visitation of his three “friends,” whom he called “miserable comforters” (16:1). For 35 chapters, God is silent as Job and his friends engage in philosophical twaddle. The book draws to a close with God’s response, and Job’s restoration (today’s Scripture). Why is this historical narrative even in the Bible?

The Apostle James, writing to believing Israel enduring the testing of Satan during the Tribulation, explains in his epistle: “Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy” (James 5:10,11).

James reminds these believing Jews that, while they, like Job, have lost their material possessions because of Satan’s evil world system, the LORD restored Job. Like Job, they need to patiently wait for the LORD’s deliverance. The Lord Jesus Christ amplifies this in Matthew 19:29,30: “And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.”

While Israel’s believing remnant will lose their possessions, family, “friends,” and some will lose their lives during the Tribulation, they will gain so much more when Jesus Christ returns….

A Lesson Straight from the Dog’s Mouth

 Tuesday, April 23, 2013

“For he remembered that they were but flesh; a wind that passeth away, and cometh not again” (Psalm 78:39 KJV).

Your earthly life is short—your opportunity to accept eternal life is just as brief….

Recently, I suffered a dog bite on my right-hand wrist, resulting in my first-ever emergency room visit. My wrist was swollen and moving my fingers was difficult. Still, in just a few hours, I was at college presenting my 45-minute thesis proposal; it was challenging with the use of one arm, but by God’s grace, I did it.

For the last five days, I have had to depend entirely on my left hand for everything. My handwriting is reminiscent of first grade (I am right-handed). Common daily tasks are now very cumbersome. Much schoolwork and ministry work cannot be completed right now. I took my right hand for granted—how I miss using it! As long as infection remains absent, and I do not lose the hand (due to the dog’s oral bacteria), I hope to be using it again soon.

We all take common things for granted: we become so comfortable with them—possessions, income, health, family and friends, et cetera—we lose sight of their real value and how blessed we are to have them.

Beloved, take not your blessings for granted. Above all, never take eternal life through Jesus Christ for granted. Many precious souls around the world are spiritually dead and lost in sin, headed for eternal hellfire, but they do not realize their dire state until physical death instantly quenches their breath, and seals their fate forever. They are ignoring the gift of God’s grace, love, peace, forgiveness, and salvation through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork. Be not of this sort! What God wants is your faith alone in Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for your sins. Why not trust Jesus Christ alone as your personal Saviour, right where you are?

Your earthly life is short (today’s Scripture), and physical death will end it, so take not God’s offer of salvation for granted. Remember, as the dear Christian brother said, “Eternity keeps you where death finds you!”

Good Riddance! #2

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

“Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you” (1 John 3:13 KJV).

God’s people have never been welcome here in “this present evil world” (Galatians 1:4) because He has never been welcome here. In short, if lost people could utter two words to us Christians after we have been raptured out, it would be, “Good riddance!”

Beloved, detrimental cultural shifts are occurring, especially since the last few years. Even here in the “Christian” United States, the Bible’s principles are being increasingly ignored. Our world has always been sinful, but here is the problem: the generations who grew up hearing at least some of God’s Word, are passing off the scene, and generations who know even less—almost nothing (!)—from the Holy Bible, are being born and reaching adulthood. Today’s youth are frightfully ignorant of Scripture, but this is nothing new in Scripture.

“And also all that generation were gathered unto their fathers: and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel” (Judges 2:10). With Joshua’s generation (people of faith who saw God’s miracles in Egypt and the wilderness) now passed away, Israel’s new generation had only one way to go spiritually—south! The rest of the book of Judges documents their downward spiral into apostasy for the next 300 years: Israel just drifted further and further away from JEHOVAH, until His wrath finally fell upon them and they were deported out of the Promised Land via the Assyrian and Babylonian captivities.

Has our world learned nothing from Scripture?! God will not tolerate sin forever; the wrath that Israel felt, is not being poured out on us because we live in the Dispensation of Grace. Jesus Christ is so longsuffering, but He is also holy and righteous, and sin will be punished eventually—either at Calvary’s cross (for believers), or hell and the lake of fire (for lost people). The world hates Christians (today’s Scripture) because the world hates Jesus Christ! The lost world does not like the message we preach, for we stand in way of “progress”… this is why they want to bid us “good riddance…!”

Israel, Hope in the LORD

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

“Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities” (Psalm 130:7,8 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is a great hope of the nation Israel….

In Psalm 130, a believing Jew urges Israel to remember her faithful God, Almighty JEHOVAH: “Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications. If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning. Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”

Israel, from her earliest days, was repeatedly unfaithful to JEHOVAH. He alone provided for her every need, but she ignored Him and praised and worshipped the pagan idols of the Gentiles. Even today, JEHOVAH offers to the whole world salvation from hell through Jesus Christ, but the vast majority ignores it. However, the psalmist, who represents the believing remnant within Israel, has not forgotten the faithfulness of JEHOVAH. Yes, Israel has been a horrible nation, but God’s grace and forgiveness can still overcome her wickedness—she simply needs to wait on Him to provide a solution to her sin problem (at the time of Psalm 130, Jesus Christ has not died yet).

In Jeremiah 31:31-34 (cf. Hebrews 8:8-13; Hebrews 10:15-17), God promises Israel the New Covenant via Christ’s shed blood: “for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” When Jesus Christ returns (His Second Coming), He will inaugurate this New Covenant, and “all [believing] Israel shall be saved… when [He] will take away their sins” (Romans 11:26,27; cf. Acts 3:19-21). As today’s Scripture indicates, Israel just needs to hope in the LORD and His Word.

We have recently uploaded to YouTube part 1 of 3 home Bible study videos that introduce dispensational Bible study, and specifically Pauline dispensationalism. It can be watched here.

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #3

Sunday, February 17, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

People commonly believe that if they just quit doing bad things, God will accept them into heaven: “I need to stop [name the sinful act], and I need to start going to church, donating money, praying, fasting, et cetera….” Frankly, this does absolutely nothing for them. They are focusing on their symptoms (individual sins), and ignoring their underlying sickness (sin nature). Man’s main problem is not that he commits sinful acts; his primary dilemma is that his nature is wicked (the origin of his sinful actions).

Even after “going through the motions” of religious obligation at church, the sinner is no closer to heaven than if he had stayed at home and done nothing. He may have “quit” certain sinful acts and replaced them with pious works. Nonetheless, his nature is still sinful, still anti-God, and still worthy of hell. Despite his “dealing with the symptoms,” he is still spiritually sick!

Thus, it behooved Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, to completely treat us sinners. He made a “house call,” but not to prescribe more rules to clean up our lives. We needed more than reformation (symptom reduction); we needed regeneration (complete spiritual healing). We lacked spiritual life, so God Himself came to give us His!

Although we do not have righteousness before God in and of ourselves, we can be “made the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ died, not simply to pay for our sins, but to also crucify our sin nature with Himself! “Our old man is crucified with him” (Romans 6:6). When we trust the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for our sins, God takes our sin and sins and applies them to Calvary’s cross, and appropriates the merits of Christ’s perfect crosswork to us (imputation and justification). We also receive a new nature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) (regeneration).

But, salvation from hell is not just a fire escape….