Category: Grace Living (Christian Life)

Silly, Selfish Saints

Friday, February 3, 2017

“And he [the Lord Jesus] came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest” (Mark 9:33,34 KJV).

Today’s Scripture shows us just how human the 12 Apostles were!

If Jesus was the all-knowing God in human flesh, why did He ask them the nature of their argument? It was to bring them to the point of accountability, to force them to see their frivolity. Having behaved childishly, they were ashamed and did not answer Jesus. They knew they had not been saved to serve or glorify themselves. Rather, they were God’s servants, and should have been submitting to Him and glorifying His Son. Actually, they had argued to the point where they eventually asked Jesus (Matthew 18:1), “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Luke 9:46-48 reports: “[46] Then there arose a reasoning among them, which of them should be greatest. [47] And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by him, [48] And said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in my name receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me receiveth him that sent me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great.” Later, the mother of James and John sons of Zebedee asked Jesus if they could be the two highest officials in His kingdom (Matthew 20:20-28—be sure to read Christ’s answer). She meant well—wanting what she thought was best for her sons—but God disapproved.

While Christ trained these men, He tolerated their sinfulness. They did not always pay attention to His preaching and miracles. Sometimes they argued about the dumbest things, insignificant distractions. We should not be hard on them. Why? We Christians today often fall into the same traps. Churches split over the stupidest issues, ministers argue about petty matters, and church members often try to outdo everyone to gain the most recognition. As the Apostles learned, Christian living is not prideful living. If we wanted to live for self, we should have stayed lost, for it does not make sense for saints to live in such sin, selfishness, and silliness!

Now in Heaven, Corrected

Thursday, February 2, 2017

“…[T]o be with Christ; which is far better” (Philippians 1:23 KJV).

What about Christians who died without knowing right division?

Invariably, if you have dealt with Christians transitioning from denominational teaching to grace/dispensational teaching, you will hear one or two particular issues mentioned. One is, “What about [name of a Christian who died without knowing about dispensationalism]?” The other is, “Had I known about grace teaching years ago, I could have told them about it before they died.”

Friends, the good news is that God does not save us on the basis of whether or not we can pass a theological test, rehearse church history, or cite Bible-verse references. All we do is come to understand our lost estate, our deadness in our trespasses and sins, and trust exclusively Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork as the remedy for those sins. “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). “But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5). It is so easy that a child can believe, be forgiven, and have a place reserved in heaven!

Soul salvation from sins and Christian growth/living are two entirely different matters. A person can be saved and still be confused about the Bible (that was me, actually). A Christian can have a miserable life, unable to function as God intended (that was me too, actually). However, God’s Word calls heaven, “being with Christ,” as a place “far better” than life on earth (today’s Scripture). Thankfully, in heaven, there is neither confusion nor sin. Those who trusted Christ as Saviour and have since died and gone on to heaven, they now know the truth about the Bible. God has corrected their thinking, so we need not fret about them.

Friends, what we need to be concerned with is ourselves and others on earth—we need to continue growing in the Bible, and those souls we reach need to come to Christ by faith and/or continue maturing in the Holy Scriptures. These should be (are?) our priorities. And, remember, wherever we fall short in our Bible understanding, God will correct us in heaven as well! 🙂

NOTE: Dear readers and saints, please remember us in your monthly giving. Many thanks to those who have given so far! You may donate to us securely by visiting https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux, or emailing me at arcministries@gmail.com for info on how to donate by “snail mail.”

Growing in Christ!

Wednesday, February 1, 2017

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14 KJV).

Herein is the Christian’s spiritual growth—looking forward to deeper things and not looking back to the shallow!

Friends, around this time of year, now a decade ago (!), a brother in Christ and Bible teacher introduced my family and me to Pauline dispensationalism. His “Bible timeline” reminded me so much of what my parents had first believed many years before. Up to that point, due to two painful church splits fifteen years earlier, we had been in and out of various “fundamental”/“evangelical” churches. After years of “hopping” from one assembly to another, growing more disappointed in the apostasy and unbelief cropping up in each group, we were now being stabilized! The Spirit of God was using this Bible teacher to bring us back to His Word. Many months later, a pastor who taught Pauline dispensationalism also began to help us grow in the King James Bible.

We had trusted Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour many years earlier, but how we did not understand and enjoy the Bible until Pauline dispensationalism came to light in our lives! Dear friends, where I am now has taken 10 long years of thoughtful Bible study. While I still have unanswered questions, I can honestly say that, through diligent Bible study, a lot of my (once-nagging) questions have been answered. My Christian life now is so much more meaningful, more appreciated, more understood, and more exciting! Now I know what my Father God is doing today, and I can cooperate with Him by faith.

Saints, I look back on myself 10 years ago, stuck in denominational teaching and the traditions of men, and am now grateful to have been liberated from such spiritual confusion and doctrinal perversion. Never do I want to return to such ignorance! I am (still) growing in Christ! 🙂

Bible Q&A #345: “Do Matthew 17:15, Mark 9:17-18, and Luke 9:39 contradict?”

Sin = Death = Not Long Enough

Tuesday, January 31, 2017

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12 KJV).

A woman, commenting on her husband’s recent death, said they had been married 40 years, adding, “But it was not long enough. We could have gone another 20.” This dear lady, widowed and heartbroken, is just another victim of this sin-cursed world!

People who do not understand Bible truths try in vain to reconcile how a “loving” God can let life end in death. I remember one non-Christian lady asking after her father’s death, “What is the purpose of living if you die?” Friends, death is a thief. One spends his or her whole life amassing relationships, wealth, prestige, education, beauty, fame, and so on. Nevertheless, death will snatch it all away one day. Whether it takes a few decades or over a century, sin eventually produces death, and death instantaneously causes poverty. Professor and plowboy alike cannot escape death! Pope/preacher/priest and parishioner will all be placed in a casket! Prince and pauper alike go the grave! President and populace all wind up in the cemetery!

Today’s Scripture says this is the result of Adam’s sin, and certainly not in God’s design. Sin entered the world by one man—Adam. God did not initiate sin; Adam did. The Bible says death entered the world by sin. Wherever we find sin, we find death. Wherever we find death, we find sin. Until the Lord returns, that will always be a fact of life. In the meantime, we have the hope that physical death is not the end. For us in Christ, we have the assurance of eternal life now. Though our Christian loved ones have gone to heaven, they are still very much alive, to be seen again. The countless ages we will spend with them with our Saviour are infinitesimally longer than the few moments of our current separation.

Though “the wages of sin is death,” “the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “Not long enough” because of sin does not compare to eternal life because of Jesus Christ our Lord! 🙂

Large Print #3

Monday, January 30, 2017

“Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand” (Galatians 6:11 KJV).

What can today’s Scripture teach us about the Apostle Paul?

Paul’s physical vision was greatly hindered. Consequently, he wrote in large, block letters (especially with Galatians). What caused his vision issues? Various explanations have been offered. Perhaps it was permanent damage caused by the bright glory of Jesus Christ that he saw in Acts 9:1-9. After all, he had spent the next three days blind! While God through believing Ananias miraculously restored Paul’s vision, there could have been lasting effects. Another idea was that Paul suffered chronic “conjunctivitis” (commonly called “pink eye,” “ophthalmia,” or eye inflammation). Yet another possibility is that his poor eyesight was the result of abuse, physical violence inflicted by ruthless unbelievers. While conducting his “Acts” ministry, performing miraculous demonstrations, Paul himself battled physical infirmities (Galatians 4:13-15; cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10).

Regardless of why Paul had poor eyesight, the text of Galatians, likely his first epistle, was quite LARGE (today’s Scripture). It was not without benefit to the Galatians, saints caught in Satan’s snare (2 Timothy 2:26) and needing the Holy Spirit to send them a clear, attention-grabbing correction. Galatians’ GIANT letters screamed of Paul’s unique apostleship (1:1,11,12,16,17,19,22; 2:8; et cetera) and screamed of his special Gospel message (2:2,7,9,16,20,21; et cetera). “You are to follow Paul, not Moses!” “You are under Grace, not Law!” “Paul is not an extension of the 12 Apostles!” “Paul’s Gospel is your Gospel message!” “You are Gentiles in the Body of Christ, not members of the nation Israel!”

Saints, while neither time nor space permits us to discuss it in-depth, read the conclusion of Galatians (today’s Scripture to the end—only eight verses). You can see the Holy Spirit through Paul urging the Galatians one final time to leave the stipulations of the Mosaic Law, works-religion, and enjoy God’s grace, peace, and victory. Paul had limited physical sight, but this epistle to Galatia is a real “eye-opener,” giving great insight to us today, that we may have the same stunningly clear spiritual sight he had! (In one last twist of irony, people in religion today often enjoy physical sight, but are blind to the blatant teachings of Galatians.)

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Who is the ‘child’ of Revelation 12:1-5?”

Eager to Preach, Eager to Leave!

Friday, January 27, 2017

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:2-4 KJV).

One is ready to preach—the other is ready to leave!

Recently, I saw a man sitting and reading his Bible. I walked over, introduced myself, shook his hand, and sat down beside him. I began to ask him some questions to get a sense of his spiritual understanding. Although not talkative, he permitted me to share verses with him. Suddenly, we were interrupted, distracted, and a pressing matter forced him to temporarily leave. I told him we could talk some more when he returned. Eventually, he did come back to the room where I was, but no longer with a Bible in hand. Also, he did not approach me. (I had already decided not to engage in any further dialog unless he initiated it.)

The above scenario, while terrible, has repeated itself millions of times throughout the centuries. People have read the Bible, appeared to be genuine Scripture readers, sounding like Christians, but really having no interest in hearing the things of God. They would rather keep their worthless church traditions, preconceived ideas, and age-old superstitions. While we cannot read hearts, God can and does. We can fool a preacher into thinking we love the Bible (as that man did with me), but God is never fooled by anyone. He knows who is a member of the Church the Body of Christ, and who is simply a church member. He knows who has been baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, and who was baptized simply into water.

Saints, we should do our very best to preach a clear Gospel message and teach plainly the rightly divided Scriptures. Still, some people will object. They want religion, not Bible. They want themselves, not Christ. They want fables, not truth. We need to respect their wishes. If they do not want the truth, then they should be left in error!

The Daysman #5

Thursday, January 26, 2017

“For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:32,33 KJV).

What is a “daysman?” Who is it?

Sacred Scripture could not be clearer when it says, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:5,6). Apart from Jesus Christ’s crosswork on Calvary, we have no access to God. Therefore, for us to appeal to some other “mediator” is to have no mediator whatsoever! Such an outcome will be worse than had we not approached God at all.

Dear friends, there will come a day when Christ-rejecters will stand before the God-Man they ignored. He will be their Judge, ready to punish them for their evil. It would have been far better for them not to know about Him, than for to know about Him and instead appeal to “patron saints” and “Mother Mary.” He will not take it lightly that they counted His perfect sacrifice at Calvary as insufficient, lacking in some way, needing supplemental enhancements. That they had the audacity to substitute the favor He offered them freely, with “good” works they and others did to merit that favor! We shudder to think of that dreadful day when He pronounces upon them those terrible words found in Matthew 25:41: “Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!”

The Bible says God wants His Son, Jesus Christ, to have the “preeminence in all things” (Colossians 1:18). He is the central figure in creation, and He will not share His mediatorship with anyone. For which reason, no room is left for distracting characters such as “Mother Mary,” “Father Joseph,” “Saint” Jude, “Saint” Francis of Assisi, “Saint” Teresa, et cetera. All the religious speculation aside, friends, the Scriptures say we Christians are “accepted in the beloved [Christ]” (Ephesians 1:6). God has bestowed upon us divine favor because of the Lord Jesus. He is enough for us, and we are enough in Him. After all, He is “the Daysman!”

The Daysman #4

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

“For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:32,33 KJV).

What is a “daysman?” Who is it?

Hebrews chapter 10 talks about how Jesus Christ’s sacrifice of Himself on Calvary fulfilled the type depicted in Judaism’s animal sacrifices. God became a Man that He might have blood to shed and pay for man’s sins: “[4] For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. [5] Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he [Jesus] saith [to the Father], Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: [6] In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. [7] Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.”

If Jesus Christ, by virtue of His crosswork, is the one mediator between God and men (1 Timothy 2:5), then there is no more need for other good works to please God. What have “patron saints” done to merit God’s favor that Jesus Christ has not already done? If they were human like we are—and they were—they failed God just as much as we do. What advantage do they have that we do not? The answer is no advantage. The fellowship that God the Son has with God the Father is the same relationship all we Christians have with Him: “God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:9). We cannot get any closer to God, gain any more access to God, than what we already have by virtue of our position in Christ!

We “give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 5:20) because we are approaching God according to Christ’s merits not our own or someone else’s merits. Whenever we must seek help from some other person to access God, we are saying that the cross is not enough….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is ‘the foolishness of God’ in 1 Corinthians 1:25?”

The Daysman #3

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

“For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:32,33 KJV).

What is a “daysman?” Who is it?

Those desperately defending religious tradition say the “intercession of saints” in “no way” diminishes Jesus’ role as the only mediator between God and man. (Heretically, though, they call the virgin Mary “co-mediatrix,” a female mediator who, according to her very title [prefix “co-,” “with”], shares a mediatorship. Whose mediatorship would she be sharing?!) They say we pray and influence the “saints” in our favor, the “saints” influence Jesus in our favor, and Jesus influences Father God in our favor. In other words, God is manipulated to do what we by ourselves could not persuade Him to do!

Friends, all the mental gymnastics and speculations of men aside, we look at Sacred Scripture to see no one exists between Jesus Christ and us. Holy Writ, in today’s Scripture, defines a mediator (or “daysman”) as someone who lays one hand on one party and the other hand on another party. If there is one mediator—one who can identify with both parties—a third-party is completely unnecessary. We do not need a mediator between Jesus Christ and us: He is the mediator. Again, “For there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). Jesus Christ is God, so He can take God by the hand. He is also Man, so He can take man by the hand. He thus joins man and God together. According to the very concept of “mediator” in Scripture, there is no room for some interceding “saint!”

The fact is, every single person on earth today has the same opportunity to access Father God through Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, most do not take advantage of it. They ignore Jesus Christ’s crosswork; they want nothing to do with Him. Rather, they want to substitute their own works, and/or substitute the works of other religious people (namely, “patron saints”). Friends, God is not impressed; in fact, by pushing aside the sole mediatorship of Christ, they are treasuring up wrath! Oh, dear friends, how foolish are they….

The Daysman #2

Monday, January 23, 2017

“For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both” (Job 9:32,33 KJV).

What is a “daysman?” Who is it?

At the time of Job, God the Son was not known by the name “Jesus Christ.” Moreover, the Calvary’s cross was over 1,500 years away. Therefore, no one living in the days of Job knew anything about Christ’s intercession. Sinful Job said he had no “daysman” (mediator) between him and God. In today’s Scripture, he actually said God was not a man like he was. He and God really had nothing in common. God was mighty God; he was puny man. Earlier in the chapter, Job asked, “I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just [justified/declared righteous] with God? If he [man] will contend with him [God], he cannot answer him one of a thousand” (verses 1,2). Job had no daysman between he and God…. at least not that he knew of. God had only revealed so much information, and Job could do nothing more than believe what God had said to his people Israel.

Now, with a completed Bible in hand, we see the complete picture of God’s plan. Job did not know of the day when God really would become a man. He did not know that God-Man would literally function as his daysman and our daysman. We turn to 1 Timothy 2:5-6 to read: “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” According to verse 7, that “due time” was Paul’s ministry. Notice how the crosswork of Christ is mentioned here—“[He] gave himself a ransom for all.” The Lord Jesus Christ functions as our mediator with respect to His sacrifice of Himself on Calvary. Job did not understand this because God had not shown it yet. Sadly, most church members, who have a completed Bible, still do not understand it either…

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is ‘gehenna?’ Is that the same as hell?”