Category: Christian good works

333’s 900th – Nourished Saints

Saturday, November 16, 2013

“Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all” (1 Timothy 4:15 KJV).

Only by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, “333 Words of Grace” publishes its 900th devotional today!

A dear Christian brother always says, “Your Christian life will not operate on the basis of ignorance.” We cannot expect God to work in our lives unless we study His Word and learn what He is doing today. Dispensational Bible study is the key to understanding the Scriptures, and it enables you to, by faith, do God’s will, for you know what God is doing today and you can join Him in doing it.

Dear readers, for the past 900 days, it has been an honor to share with you the wonderful Word of God rightly divided. Surely, you have heard and learned things you had never before heard and learned. Our goal from day 1 has been to present to you the Holy King James Bible, clearly and concisely, free from the traditions of men that have made Bible study burdensome, to the intent that you would allow the Holy Spirit to teach you His Word, and that by faith, you would allow Him to use that doctrine to work in your life to accomplish God’s will.

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul advised young Timothy to “meditate upon these things.” The “things” are listed in the previous 65 verses of 1 Timothy, the sound Bible doctrine that would save Timothy from the false teaching that was creeping into the local churches that Paul and his ministry coworkers had established (see 1 Timothy chapters 1 and 4). Timothy was to meditate on God’s Word, especially God’s Word rightly divided (2 Timothy 2:15)—understanding that all of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us.

As Paul instructed, Timothy was to think about that sound Bible doctrine, and completely rely on it for his soul’s nourishment, so that others would be encouraged to do the same. We also want that for you, and so we hope to continue to labor in this regard as God’s grace enables.

Beloved, thank you for your prayer concerning this ministry, and Lord willing, onward we go to #1000! 🙂

Impressionable Minds and Effectual Doctrine

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

“All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but all things edify not” (1 Corinthians 10:23 KJV).

In light of Halloween tomorrow, we learn a simple lesson from Scripture today.

Innocent children arrayed in costumes going door-to-door and exclaiming, “Trick-or-treat!,” have never been taught that this “innocent looking” holiday is rooted in the spiritually toxic soils of Celtic paganism, devil worship, and superstition.

The “Harry Potter” franchise and Halloween downplay the gravity of devil worship. Our younger generations are receiving mixed messages from the Church the Body of Christ. Christians, rather than speaking against these atrocities, have become permissive regarding the activities that God hates. They remain silent, greatly reducing their impact on the world, and allowing the world to impact them! Ephesians 5:14-17 exclaims, “Wake up, O sleeping Christians, Wake up!”

God clearly forbade witchcraft in Israel (Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 20:27; Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Micah 5:12). Witchcraft is sin, according to Galatians 5:20. God wanted Israel, His earthly people, to not participate in Satan’s policy of evil. They were not to mingle with the works of darkness. God wants the same for us, the Church the Body of Christ. Note how the Ephesians burned their spell books in Acts 19:19.

There is no law “Thou shalt not celebrate Halloween,” yet notice today’s Scripture. Although they are not explicitly forbidden, some activities harm others and ourselves. They are inconsistent with our identity in Jesus Christ. Thus, we avoid those activities. If an activity does not bring glory, praise, and honor to God Almighty (the Lord Jesus Christ), it is devil worship. Satan wants you to worship something other than the one true God.

We desperately need our young people to realize the weightiness of sound doctrine, especially regarding the occult, witchcraft, et cetera (and its most subtle forms like Halloween and Harry Potter). God Almighty instructs us to educate them with sound Bible teaching. We know that God’s Word will “effectually work also in [them] that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). God’s Word will reach their minds, we just need to plant and water, sowing it into their minds, and let God take care of the rest.

*Excerpted from a larger Bible study with the same name, which can be read here.

Shallow #8

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

“Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame” (1 Corinthians 15:34 KJV).

If the professing “Church” is to impact our culture as the Lord Jesus Christ intended, then it had better recognize today’s Scripture as applicable to it!

Many professing Christians often criticize lost people for living like lost people. Paradoxically, these very Christians are saved people usually living like lost people. Beloved, when the professing “Church” takes its Christian ambassadorship for granted, and lives like the world, we need not wonder why lost people exclaim, “The Bible is irrelevant, irrational, and outmoded!”

Beloved, if we Christians are not living in accordance with God’s Word, how can we expect lost people to do it? If our attitudes and actions do not reflect God’s grace and values, then how will the lost world ever see their need for Jesus Christ as personal Saviour? They will not! The lost world observes the hypocrisy, shallowness, and silliness of much of Christendom and they want nothing to do with the Lord Jesus Christ!

When Paul wrote today’s Scripture to Christians in the 1st century, he could have just as well been writing to Christians in the 21st century. Like the Corinthians, today’s average Christian is spiritually asleep, living contrary to the identity and life he or she has in Christ (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Why? The typical Christian church is not teaching sound Bible doctrine; rather, it too is totally oblivious to what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing today. Today’s Scripture admonishes, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not!”

After almost 2,000 years, the Body of Christ should have a firm understanding of its mission, doctrine, duty, walk, and destiny. Alas, even today, many Christians still “have not the knowledge of God” (today’s Scripture). The people who should know God’s Word and should let it work in and through them, are just as ignorant of God’s will as the lost world is. What a shame!!

Beloved, may we study and walk by faith in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, God’s Word to us, that our understanding of it be not shallow, and that we not reject it as many have done. 🙂

Saved, If Ye Keep in Memory? #5

Sunday, October 21, 2013

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1,2 KJV).

Although a stumbling block to many, today’s Scripture is not difficult to understand when we consider the context….

If we fail to keep foremost in our minds Jesus Christ’s literal, physical, visible resurrection (like the Corinthians in today’s Scripture), then we will not be saved from despair and misery (verses 12,14,17,19). If He did not resurrect, then we have no hope of seeing our deceased Christian loved ones (verse 18). All of our ministry work such as preaching and teaching would be for nothing and our believing would also be pointless (verses 14,17). In short, without the reality of bodily resurrection, our Christian service would be a waste of time!

“If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable” (verse 19). However, by constantly reminding ourselves of the reality of Jesus Christ’s bodily resurrection, we are saved from all that misery listed above. We do not simply have “hope in Christ” now in this present life, but we have “hope in Christ” after death because we will be bodily resurrected just like Jesus Christ was (verses 20-23,35-58). This mentality saves us from the despair that results from denying bodily resurrection.

Verse 58, the concluding verse of the Apostle Paul’s exhaustive resurrection chapter, summarizes: “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” Our Christian service—that is, Jesus Christ living His life in and through us—is not in vain, for we will be resurrected bodily to receive a reward, enabling us to function in the heavenly places forever for God’s glory (1 Corinthians 3:9-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9,10; Ephesians 2:6,7; Colossians 3:23-25).

May we always keep Jesus Christ’s bodily resurrection in mind, thereby remembering we too will be resurrected, so our Christian service is not in vain in the Lord! 🙂

Saved, If Ye Keep in Memory? #2

Thursday, October 17, 2013

“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:1,2 KJV).

Although a stumbling block to many, today’s Scripture is not difficult to understand when we consider the context….

If not approached properly, today’s Scripture can be very confusing and troubling. In fact, some modern Bible translators, misled by denominational thinking, end up distorting the wording of today’s Scripture, thereby giving credence to the Calvinistic doctrine of “the perseverance of the saints,” the idea that we Christians must do our best to hold firm to Christian morality and behavior so we can be saved from hellfire and go to heaven.

In other words, Calvinists deny the Christian’s eternal security, and thus greatly emphasize our performance, which frustrates the grace of God (Galatians 2:21). Matthew 24:13, Hebrews 6:4-6, Hebrews 12:13-17, and 2 Peter 2:20-22 are some of “proof texts” of the Calvinist’s “perseverance of the saints.” Today’s Scripture is another misused verse in that regard, so it behooves us to settle the matter concerning today’s Scripture.

Let us begin by commenting that, over the last 2,000 years, Christendom has made countless false assumptions that have caused literally billions of people to completely miss profound teachings of the Scriptures. For example, the aforementioned Matthew 24:13—“He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved”—is explained in verse 22 as physical salvation (“except those days be shortened, there should no flesh be saved”). This “salvation” is people physically surviving the horrors of the entire seven-year Tribulation period, and has nothing to do with us Christians in the Dispensation of Grace—Matthew 24:13 is not even discussing anyone’s soul salvation from hell anyway!

With that in mind, we now proceed to examining today’s Scripture within its context. The common assumption is that the “salvation” referenced in today’s Scripture is salvation from hellfire and salvation unto eternal life. Is this assumption valid? As we will see, nay, it is not a valid assumption….

Consider Your Ways, Saints! #5

Saturday, October 5, 2013

“I thought on my ways, and turned my feet unto thy testimonies” (Psalm 119:59 KJV).

Oftentimes, the Christian is apathetic to JEHOVAH’S desire to build a temple… using him….

The Christian—the one who is trusted alone in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for his or her sins—is to allow the life of that Saviour to live in and through him or her. This is only possible if the Christian is primarily focusing on the part of the Bible written to and about us in the Dispensation of the Grace of God (which the Holy Spirit gave to the Apostle Paul; Ephesians 3:2).

Many true believers in Jesus Christ often struggle to do right and yet still fail. They have not learned the most basic principle of the Dispensation of Grace: “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). Unquestionably, sin will triumph over us every time when we walk in our own strength, relying on our own resources, our own intellect, our own efforts (this is the system of Law, the enemy of God’s grace). Our works and our performance cannot save us from hell, so they certainly cannot save us from misery either!

Romans chapter 12, Ephesians chapter 4, and Colossians chapter 3 are great passages that deal specifically with daily Christian living. We read these verses, and most importantly, believe them, applying them to our lives by faith. God the Holy Spirit will then take those words and work mightily in and through us to accomplish those attitudes and actions, and it will literally be the life of Jesus Christ. It will be the same life that He lived on earth, and it will be the life He still lives today. This is the grace life that God wants for us Christians!

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world” (Titus 2:11,12).

May we, by faith, submit to the Lord Jesus Christ’s desire to build a temple, a dwellingplace—using us! 🙂

To Live is Christ, To Die is Gain

Thursday, September 5, 2013

“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21 KJV).

In these twelve simple words, we see the Christian’s life and death….

The Christian (“Christlike”) life is the life that Jesus Christ lives in and through the Christian. Here on this earth, Christ lives His life in us Christians. Galatians 2:20 affirms: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

Colossians 3:4 says, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear….” The Bible also says in Colossians 1:27 “…Christ in you [Gentiles], the hope of glory….” We do not live the Christian life because we, even as Christians, cannot live the Christian life. Only Jesus Christ can live His life. When we place our faith in God’s Word to us, Romans through Philemon, the Holy Spirit will take that sound doctrine and transform our inner man (soul and spirit; 1 Thessalonians 2:13), thereby changing the outward man (the actions of the physical body).

In today’s Scripture, we also learn that for the Christian, physical death is “gain.” In 2 Corinthians 5:6-8, we read: “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

While here in this physical world, we are absent from the third heaven where God our heavenly Father dwells. However, we have a responsibility—yea, a privilege—to care for our Christian brethren here on earth and tell the lost world about the salvation in Jesus Christ!

Until we reach heaven’s glory, we agree with Paul: “For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to be depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you” (Philippians 1:23,24). 🙂

The Thing Which is Good

Monday, September 2, 2013

“Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth” (Ephesians 4:28 KJV).

On this Labor Day, we talk about work, “the thing which is good.”

In this day and age of increasing “government assistance,” people are becoming less and less aware of our hard work being the Lord Jesus’ preferred method of the source of our incomes. While the physically and mentally disabled are obvious exceptions, the God of the Bible expects all of us to contribute labor in order to provide for ourselves. For children and young adults, even being a student in school is work enough!

Observe the doctrine being communicated in today’s Scripture. The grace life does not merely teach us to quit doing bad things, but it also instructs us to start doing good things (Titus 2:11,12). Once a thief trusts the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for his sins, then God expects that thief to quit stealing and find a job so he can provide for his needs!

The God of creation calls work “the thing which is good” (today’s Scripture). Work is not something to be avoided; it is something to be embraced for the Lord’s glory!

When the Lord Jesus Christ put the first man, Adam, on earth, that man had a divine commission. Adam was not to simply loaf around and do nothing: “And the LORD God took the man, and put him in the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it” (Genesis 2:15). Adam was to protect that garden, to till its ground, to prepare it for Jesus Christ to come down and dwell in with he and Eve (because of sin, that earthly kingdom over which Jesus Christ will rule is still awaiting fulfillment!).

Saints, may we work to provide for our families (1 Timothy 5:8), and may we work to help those who truly are needy (today’s Scripture). In the words of God the Holy Spirit, that is “good!” 🙂

Who Is a Saint? #6

Saturday, August 31, 2013

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV).

Behold, the identity that we Christians have in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Through faith in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork alone as sufficient payment for our sins, we are dead to our old Adamic nature (sin’s dominion): “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin” (Romans 6:6). We have been raised again with Christ to “walk in newness of life” (verse 4). Just as our Adamic nature produces sins, that new nature/life we have in Christ generates good works (Galatians 5:22-26; Ephesians 4:20-32; Philippians 1:11; Colossians 3:1-17). God has made us “saints” for this purpose!

Paul explained practical sanctification in 2 Timothy 2:19-21: “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work” (cf. 1 Thessalonians 4:1-7). The Christian is to take God’s Word, study and believe it rightly divided, and will thus be “perfect [mature], throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Remember, one is not a saint based on his or her performance, but because of his or her identity in Christ. Still, our positional sanctification (in Jesus Christ) should be reflected on a daily basis (practical sanctification by Jesus Christ). A sinner is a sinner not because he sins—he sins because he is a sinner in Adam (his very nature causes those sins). Likewise, a saint, although leading an imperfect life, is still a “saint” (“sanctified;” today’s Scripture) in God’s eyes because of that person’s identity in Jesus Christ.

This earthly Christian life is a preview of that which is to come….

Who Is a Saint? #3

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” (1 Corinthians 1:30 KJV).

Behold, the identity that we Christians have in the Lord Jesus Christ!

Observe how the Bible does not restrict the word “saint” to Christians who have died.

When the Apostle Paul gave his testimony to King Agrippa in Acts 26:10, notice his words: “Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.” Was Saul of Tarsus imprisoning deceased saints in heaven? No, these saints were still alive on earth—otherwise, they could not have been put to death!

In Romans 12:13, we read about practical Christian living in the Dispensation of Grace: “Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.” Where are these “saints?” Do those in heaven have needs that we can fulfill? Nay, but there are plenty of needy “saints” living on earth! Romans 15:25,26,31; 1 Corinthians 16:1; 2 Corinthians 8:3; and 2 Corinthians 9:1,12 are other examples of needy “saints” living on earth.

The following verses identify “saints” living on earth, not in heaven: 2 Corinthians 1:1 (Corinth), Ephesians 1:1 (Ephesus), Philippians 1:1 (Philippi), and Colossians 1:2 (Colosse). Romans 16:15 lists “saints” who are not in heaven, but alive on earth: “Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.”

Paul instructed the Roman believers in Romans 16:2 to behave like the “saints” they were, living right here on planet earth! In 1 Timothy 5:10, we read about Christian widows who “washed the saints’ feet.” Do people in heaven need their feet washed? Nay, so where are these “saints” whose feet these women are washing? Paul commended Philemon for refreshing the bowels of the “saints” (Philemon 7). Was Philemon serving Christians in heaven, or Christians on earth like himself?

The Bible does use the word “saint” for deceased believers, but as we can see, “saint” usually applies to Christians living on earth….