Category: righteousness

I Will Love Them Freely #7

Sunday, June 8, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

In spite of Israel’s unbelief and idolatry throughout the millennia, the LORD God who was treated so unfairly and disrespectfully still seeks the nation’s best interests (what genuine love is). Justice must be carried out first though. Once Israel’s sin problem is fully dealt with in judgment, then God’s goodness and unconditional love can be fully displayed. Man’s “goodness” got him nowhere spiritually, and Israel had to learn it. As today’s Scripture explains, God can and will love Israel “freely” because He wants to do it, not because He has to or because Israel inherently deserves it! “Freely” in today’s Scripture is “nadabah” in Hebrew, usually rendered “freewill offering” in the King James Bible (Leviticus 22:18,21,23; Leviticus 23:38; Numbers 15:3; Numbers 29:39; Deuteronomy 12:6,17; et cetera). Occasionally, it was translated “willingly” (2 Chronicles 35:8; Ezra 3:5).

Of course, when Hosea ministered, Calvary’s cross was over 700 years into the future, yet the Holy Spirit knew what was coming. Now that Christ’s work on the cross of Calvary has been accomplished, we can see what God’s love really means—its abundance and its “no cost” to us sinners. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)…” (Ephesians 2:4,5). “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;…” (Ephesians 5:25). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

The best way we can express gratitude to God for His love toward us, is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

Saints, please remember this work of the ministry requires monthly financial support to operate (Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:16-17; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Those who prefer electronic giving can donate securely here: https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux. Anyone who wishes to donate by regular mail can visit https://333wordsofgrace.org/contact-us-mailing-address-for-donations/ for details. Thanks to all who give to and pray for us! Unfortunately, since our ministry audience is so large and our ministry staff is so small, I can no longer personally respond to everyone. Thanks so much for understanding in this regard. 🙂

I Will Love Them Freely #6

Saturday, June 7, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

The last verse of Hosea chapter 14—yea, of the entire Book—is: “Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein” (Hosea 14:9). What JEHOVAH God says and does is right and good. Anyone reading His words of prophecy here is either a believer or an unbeliever, someone of understanding and knowledge or someone of confusion and ignorance. They can either take Him at His Word and turn to Him in faith (walking in righteousness), or neglect Him and continue in their sin (falling in unrighteousness). It is their choice!

“Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land…. My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children…. And there shall be, like people, like priest: and I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings. For they shall eat, and not have enough: they shall commit whoredom, and shall not increase: because they have left off to take heed to the LORD. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart. My people ask counsel at their stocks [idols], and their staff [idols] declareth unto them: for the spirit of whoredoms hath caused them to err, and they have gone a whoring from under their God” (Hosea 4:1,6,9-12).

“They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. And the pride of Israel doth testify to his face: therefore shall Israel and Ephraim fall in their iniquity; Judah also shall fall with them” (Hosea 5:4,5).

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

I Will Love Them Freely #5

Friday, June 6, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

Earlier in Hosea (4:17), “Ephraim is joined to idols”—and God wanted that Northern Kingdom to be left alone in that pagan idolatry they desired. They would soon face judgment under the Assyrian Captivity (as in 2 Kings 17:1-23). As Hosea’s Book draws to a close now, however, Ephraim has a believing remnant (especially in the ages to come) confessing and forsaking that foolish sin of idolatry of their forefathers. Hosea 14:8 reads: “Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.” “Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 37:23).

“And it shall be at that day, saith the LORD, that thou shalt call me Ishi [husband]; and shalt call me no more Baali [my lord]. For I will take away the names of Baalim [idols] out of her mouth, and they shall no more be remembered by their name” (Hosea 2:16,17). Ephraim’s idols could not hear, for they were dead and deaf, but the living LORD has heard and saved Ephraim (cf. Psalm 115:1-11). The evergreen fir tree (Hosea 14:8) symbolizes that living LORD as the answer to Israel’s spiritual and functional death. Again, Israel is seen prospering in God’s literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic kingdom. Israel’s model prayer is thus, Matthew 6:9-13: “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”

We reach the final verse of Hosea now….

I Will Love Them Freely #4

Thursday, June 5, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

JEHOVAH God continues talking in verse 5: “I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.” The imagery is figurative, of course, but a literal truth is nevertheless conveyed. Heathen idolatry rendered the nation Israel spiritually dead and functionally dead, separated from the Creator’s life and totally unable to accomplish His will in the Earth. With New Covenant blessings (as in Jeremiah 31:31-34 or Ezekiel 36:25-38), Israel thrives, matures, and blossoms like a plant receiving sufficient rainfall, sunlight, and nutrients. Observe the reference to the cedars of “Lebanon”—the most prized Middle Eastern trees!

Psalm 1:1-3 is such a saint who belongs to that Jewish believing remnant: “Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

Now, Hosea 14:6: “His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.” Israel is as a strong, massive tree—deriving life from the LORD God and His words of life. The ugliness of sin has given way to the attractiveness of righteousness. Enjoying access to God means the nation Israel now emits a wonderful or pleasant odor to the LORD, as the cedars of “Lebanon!”

Consider verse 7: “They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.” This “shadow” is protection with Israel (as in Song of Solomon 2:3 or Ezekiel 31:6). The “vine” is national Israel in the LORD, able to bear spiritual fruit (John 15:1-8; cf. Isaiah 5:1-7; Hosea 10:1) for all the nations to be blessed (Zechariah 8:20-23)….

I Will Love Them Freely #3

Wednesday, June 4, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

Israel’s believing remnant is in verses 1-3. God replies to their confession with the “mercy” or compassion of today’s Scripture: “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.” “Backsliding” is a retreat, turning away or turning back, apostatizing. Israel moved away from the LORD and went back to sin (idols).

“The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot…. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever…. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:…” (Jeremiah 3:6,12,14,22).

“For Israel slideth back as a backsliding heifer: now the LORD will feed them as a lamb in a large place” (Hosea 4:16). “And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt him” (Hosea 11:7). In today’s Scripture, the LORD promises to “heal” this backsliding, bring it to an end. He also affirms He will “love them freely,” willingly and plentifully. They have been rotten sinners—unlovely, unloving, hateful people who worshipped and served idols in place of the one true God who delivered them from Egyptian bondage.

In today’s Scripture, His anger toward Israel is now turned away, the curses of the Law (punishments for disobedience) have now been brought to pass. “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer” (Isaiah 54:8). Now, as Hosea sees it, come Kingdom blessings….

I Will Love Them Freely #2

Tuesday, June 3, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

Start at verse 1: “O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.” This appeal to “return unto the LORD” loops back to the opening of the Book: “The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD” (Hosea 1:2). “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;…” (Isaiah 53:6). Having departed from JEHOVAH God to worship and serve idols, committing a most iniquitous (“not right”) deed, Israel is now exhorted to return to Him (Hosea 14:1).

Verse 2 now: “Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.” Here is the formula or pattern of words Israel’s believing remnant is to speak in faith. They confess their sins as per the Law of Moses (Leviticus 26:40), then seek the LORD’S deliverance from those very sins. It is their desire to be in fellowship with God again, that He accept them “graciously” (they do not deserve such favor). Instead of animal sacrifices, they offer the words of their lips! “By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Hebrews 13:15,16).

Going to Hosea 14:3: “Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.” “Asshur” is Assyria, a Gentile nation northeast of the Land of Palestine. Israel sees her help is not in military might or heathen idols, but in “Our Father which art in heaven….”

I Will Love Them Freely #1

Monday, June 2, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

Hosea is a Book of opposites and extremes. In its 14 chapters, we read about both boundless sin and righteousness, man’s wretchedness and God’s goodness. On one hand, there is wrath and curses; on the other, there is grace and blessings. As we see, the final chapter of Hosea is an example of the Book as a whole.

Read today’s Scripture in context: “[1] O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. [2] Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips. [3] Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

“[4] I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him. [5] I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. [6] His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. [7] They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

“[8] Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found. [9] Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.”

Let us devote a period to expositing these words of the Holy Spirit through Hosea, so as to see “time past” and “the ages to come” as this Prophet narrates them….

Something in Which to Glory!

Wednesday, March 5, 2025

“As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:12-14 KJV).

In what shall we glory? About what shall we boast? In what shall we find value?

Religion produces people who enjoy bragging all about their “dedication to God.” “Look what I did—the ceremonies in which I have participated, the many prayers I faithfully recited daily, how much I put in the collection plate, see how many pleasures I gave up to please God! Come, see how much I love Him!” Dear friends, the Apostle Paul found great value in something—but that something was not what he did. All that human flesh can accomplish pales in comparison to the work in today’s Scripture.

As Lent begins, the time when religionists temporarily (a mere 40 days) relinquish some pleasant food or activity, let us remember that our performance is often non-performance. Once we place ourselves on that treadmill of “do, do, do,” we are guaranteed to fail at some point. Human flesh is simply too weak to maintain 100 percent—that is sin! Even concerning one rule, we cannot keep it perfectly. We mess up eventually.

If ever we believe that our puny works are worth bragging about, let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul in today’s Scripture. While some boast in their religiosity (in the passage, the Judaizers applauding their rite of physical circumcision), and such denominationalists today urge us to obey their church’s instructions so they too may boast in our ability, let us eschew such foolishness. Being imperfect, all their works do not measure up to Christ’s finished crosswork. At Calvary, we find the only sacrifice that will ever please the God of the Bible. If we must boast, let us brag that He did what we could never, ever do!

See our archived Bible Q&A: “Should Christians observe Lent?”

The Misunderstood Messiah #4

Sunday, December 29, 2024

“Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (John 8:41 KJV).

Did you ever notice the magnitude of the insult put forth toward Jesus Christ in today’s Scripture?

Society’s anti-Bible, anti-Christian attitude is nothing new. While today’s Bible-believing, Bible-quoting Christian is accused of “hate speech” and “bigotry,” the “non-narrow-minded” face no repercussion for their slandering of the Lord Jesus Christ and their trampling His Word under foot. Due to sin, the world is upside down, and when the Christian attempts to expose it, he or she is to blame. The world wants Romans 3:4 to read, “Let every man be true, but God a liar!”

Like the (self-righteous) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite religious participation, has no capacity to stop sin. Never become angry at the world and never let their behavior puzzle you. Sinners do nothing but sin: by nature, man literally knows nothing but sin. As Jesus said to the lost Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44a). What they need is not simply to stop their activity (sins); they need a new nature from God! Today’s Scripture demonstrates the Pharisees’ willful ignorance of their sinful state.

Like the (“educated”) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite several degrees, has no capacity to understand the Bible. The Pharisees studied their Old Testament scrolls, yet they were equivalent to today’s average seminary graduate—years of Bible “study” and no (!) Bible understanding. Today’s Scripture demonstrates the Pharisees’ willful ignorance of one of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus Christ’s coming. They had plenty of philosophy and religion, but they had no capacity to understand and appreciate the Bible. People today do not need degrees to comprehend the Bible; they need the Spirit of God! “But the natural [lost] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [judged, evaluated]” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Let us summarize and conclude this devotional arc….

Old Cloth, Old Garment—New Wine, New Bottles #12

Monday, September 23, 2024

“No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse. Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved” (Matthew 9:16,17 KJV).

What is our Lord Jesus Christ teaching here?

If the Lord Jesus Christ were literally and physically walking this Earth today, the sanctimonious people in works-religion would still ask, “Why do You and Your disciples not participate in our ceremonies, rites, and rituals?” As during His earthly ministry, so these critics of Christ and detractors of His believers would still smugly cling to their religious traditions. We know this because even when we share the truths of God’s pure Word with them, they stubbornly hold fast to what they have heard all their lives—even if they recognize the plentiful deficiencies in what they do and realize the enormous gaps in what they believe.

To this very day, Christendom tends to lean toward Old Testament practices when they should believe the Dispensation of the Grace of God given to them through the Apostle Paul, Romans through Philemon (Ephesians 3:1,2). They have their sacrifices and prayers, priesthoods and “houses of God,” candles and altars, robes and tithes, holy days and feasts, water ceremonies and confessions, and so on. It is unthinkable to them to admit all of this is erroneous and useless, so they just keep on with it because it ensures their self-righteousness remains intact. Christ Jesus’ finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4) is “too offensive,” for it bears record of the fact God is not impressed with their good works. To “come to the Saviour by faith” insinuates they need to be saved from sin, and that would mean their religious goodness cannot save them. In accordance with today’s Scripture, their righteousness and God’s righteousness are incompatible.

Before it is eternally too late for them, may they, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ… and… be saved” (Acts 16:31)!