Category: Pauline Dispensationalism / Dispensational Bible Study

Estate Sales and the Eternal State

Wednesday, May 11, 2016

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17 KJV).

Friend, have you ever been to an “estate sale?” It is a sale of many items in the home of a recently deceased individual. Whether treasures or trash, the individual could not and did not take these items with him or her.

The deceased left possessions that others can now browse through, purchase, use, and appreciate. For those who think that this life is all there is to our existence, they do everything in their power to hang on to as much material goods as possible. Today’s Scripture calls material goods “uncertain riches”—you will certainly lose them, but when is the uncertainty!

Please understand. There is nothing wrong with saving your money and spending it wisely. Remember, “our” money is actually God’s money. We need to be good managers of that with which God has entrusted us. But, the Bible believer should not be a miser, someone who saves and saves and then, despite the acquired fortune, begs others for freebies. This is silly, but even Christian people do it.

When you pass through the home of someone who has departed this life, you can see his or her life on display—pictures, clothes, books, furniture, kitchen appliances, and so on. Whether his or her soul is enjoying the glories of heaven, or being tormented in the flames of hell, he or she has no need for such items. Those possessions are of no use in eternity. Dear friend, you will take two things with you when you die physically. Firstly, you will take your soul. Secondly, you will take God’s Word. Those things will last forever. The eternal Word of God stored into your eternal soul should be (is?) the primary goal in your life.

Surely, you will leave this world one day. People will go through your possessions and use them. However, they will never be able to take your soul, and they will never be able to take away the Word of God you built into your soul. Of that, we can be certain! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you explain, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner?’”

I Can Read!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

“Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Ephesians 3:4 KJV).

How can you understand Paul’s knowledge in the mystery of Christ? Read Romans through Philemon!

I have a dear pastor friend in the ministry who, while teaching the Bible, often asks the rhetorical question, “How do I know this is true? Because I can read!” There are verses in the Bible that lead him to conclusions. He is not guessing, using philosophy, or looking to church tradition for insight into spiritual matters.

There are so many people today in Christendom who are not reading the Bible at all. They go to church and let the pastor or priest speak about a few shallow verses that just about everybody knows. That is their “Bible study” for the week… or maybe even for the month or year! They assume that they have done their “Christian” duty. What mindless activity, beloved! No wonder there is so much parroting and deception in the professing church. The vast majority is just repeating what others have claimed the Bible says, and the Bible, more often than not, never said what they claimed it did. Whenever someone offers you a denominational handbook instead of a Bible, he or she is demonstrating to you exactly where his or her heart is. You will be able to see whether God’s Word is being exalted in that group or being ignored by that group.

The chief goal of our early English Bible translators—beginning with John Wycliffe in the late 1300s and culminating with the King James Bible translators in the early 1600s—was to make God’s Word available to the laypeople. For centuries, the “educated” clergy had interpreted the Bible through the lens of tradition. The common people, having little to no training, simply believed whatever the church leadership taught. How sad to learn this is still ongoing—over 400 years after the Holy Spirit gave us the final English Bible! Saints literally died to give it to us, and we often put it on a shelf to collect dust. We open it only in “difficult” times. What a travesty! (And we wonder why the Body of Christ is so pathetically ignorant!)

Dear friend, read your Bible for yourself! 🙂

A Prayer According to God’s Will

Thursday, May 5, 2016

“I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;” (1 Timothy 2:1-3 KJV).

On this United States’ National Day of Prayer, we pray you pray according to the Lord Jesus Christ’s will for today!

Today, religious people—the general public, clergy, and government officials—will assemble nationwide, like they do every year, and pray for spiritual and moral revival of the “Christian” (?) United States of America. We commend their noble efforts, but God’s Word says there will be no godly revival of any of the world’s Gentile nations until Jesus Christ returns to earth at His Second Coming (Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 59:20–60:3; Zechariah 8:20-23; Revelation 11:15; et cetera).

The LORD’s words to King Solomon are often quoted on this day: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14).

Friends, this is certainly God’s Word, but has nothing to do with Gentiles in the United States in the Dispensation of Grace. This verse has a context often overlooked—the nation Israel under the Mosaic Law, praying in relation to God’s Temple in Jerusalem (verses 15,16). Actually, that Temple was destroyed over 19 centuries ago! Unlike Israel, the United States was never a divinely-founded nation. The American people as a whole are not God’s people like Israel was.

Rather than praying 2 Chronicles 7:14, remember today’s Scripture (God’s Word to us Gentiles). The verse following today’s Scripture says, “[God] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Pray for those in authority, that they would trust Jesus Christ alone as their personal Saviour, and then grow in His Word to them so they can make wise decisions on behalf of the people they govern.

333’s 1800th – The Word of God, Quick and Powerful

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 KJV).

Dear brethren worldwide, by God’s grace, “333 Words of Grace” marks devotional #1800 today!

Had God left us (mankind) to ourselves, we truly would be hopeless and helpless, spiritually blind, unable to know anything about Him or His original intention for us. While so many people are ignorant of Scripture—even with several Bibles at home—the Bible is not an impossible Book. If we truly have an eye to see, if we truly have an ear to hear, and if we truly have a heart to believe, we have God’s personal guarantee that we will know what He wants us to know. Jesus Himself said, “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself” (John 7:17). By the same token, if we prefer to stay “in the dark,” He will grant us that wish!

Today’s Scripture says God’s Word is “quick” (living and life-giving). Jesus Christ said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). The Word of God has the ability to impart spiritual life to its hearers. Today’s Scripture says that God’s Word is also “powerful” (mighty, potent). Paul wrote that God’s Word “effectually worketh also in you that believeth” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). The Word of God has the ability to impart spiritual power to its hearers. The key is to believe/trust that divine Word!

For 1800 days straight now, just a month short of five years (!), we have daily delivered you the Word of God rightly divided. You have been exposed to more Bible doctrine these last 59 months than most will ever get in a lifetime. Friends, we have all learned much from the world’s greatest Book. Yet, there is so much more to learn! Our hope and prayer is that you have believed the thousands of verses we have discussed thus far. After all, there are thousands more to discuss and believe! 🙂 Onward and upward in Christ!

Enjoy our daily devotionals? You can always donate securely to us by visiting https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux. Thanks!

Philemon and Onesimus

Sunday, April 17, 2016

“I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, which I have begotten in my bonds: Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me” (Philemon 10,11 KJV).

The last epistle of Paul in the canon of Scripture is his very brief letter to Philemon. Much can be drawn from those few verses, but, in this present study, we will confine our attention to one aspect, to learn a lesson in our own Christian lives. Philemon was a saved man. His slave, Onesimus, was lost, having not trusted Christ until he met Paul. We wonder, did Philemon ever witness to Onesimus?

After the book of Acts, near the end of Paul’s ministry, the Apostle was imprisoned (under house arrest) in Rome for two years (Acts 28:30,31). During this time, he wrote the epistles of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. While he was in bonds in Rome, he met a runaway slave named Onesimus. Onesimus was from Colosse (cf. Colossians 4:9), where there was a local grace church. Onesimus’ master was Philemon. Philemon was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, for Paul referred to him as such throughout that short epistle that bears his name. Strangely, Onesimus was an unsaved man when he met the Apostle Paul. Did Philemon ever bother to share the Gospel of Grace with his employee, Onesimus? Maybe not.

Once, a lady told me that, after she was saved, she asked a family member who had been saved for years, “I was on my way to hell, so why did you never share the Gospel with me?” The relative replied, “I do not know!” Unfortunately, Christians oftentimes overlook those closest to them. Parents, children, siblings, in-laws, spouses, cousins, aunts and uncles, nieces and nephews, neighbors, friends, classmates, and coworkers are people who we can reach. There are people in the world that only we can reach with the Gospel. We have extra-close relationships with them, and they will rarely, if ever, discuss intimate (religious) topics with others. Let us be mindful to take advantage of those special relationships. Souls are on the line!

Stability in Extremes

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

“But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24 KJV).

Life is filled with extremes. Grace fills us with stability.

Having just attended a Christian wedding, I will soon attend a Christian funeral. Joy and excitement one week—trouble and grief the next! Such is the “roller coaster” we call “life.” Saints, if we lived our lives based strictly on our emotions, we will have one *wild* ride… and eventually, “fall off!” However, if we have a steady (daily) intake of sound Bible doctrine, believing it, reckoning it as true, that will run our lives and bring emotional stability. While our circumstances can and will change, the Holy Spirit will always be supporting us internally.

Notice how our apostle conducted his life and ministry. In today’s Scripture, Paul gave some farewell advice to the Ephesian church elders (beginning in verse 18). He had spent approximately 30 years suffering for Jesus Christ: “And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me” (verses 22,23). Day in and day out, Paul experienced extremes. He had the joy of seeing pagans come to Jesus Christ. He had heartache of seeing deceived Christians troubled. He worried about the angry mobs determined to imprison and kill him.

Paul did not know what would soon happen to him when he arrived in Jerusalem. Still, despite all the troubles, he said, “none of these things move me” (today’s Scripture). He knew that, no matter his circumstances, even if it meant being put to death, he had a divine obligation—to preach the Gospel of the Grace of God. That same grace he was preaching had carried him through all those circumstances, good and bad. He was determined to continue with the Gospel “with joy.” Right up until the day the Lord called him Home, he did just that. Likewise, may we rely on God’s grace to stabilize us! 🙂

The Old Rugged Cross #4

Monday, April 11, 2016

“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 6:14 KJV).

The chorus of George Bennard’s classic 1913 hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross,” highlights today’s Scripture.

“So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.”

Fellow saints, considering where we were—dead in our trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1)—and where we are now—dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6:11), we have every reason to cherish (value) the “old rugged cross.” Once dead in sin, we are now dead to sin; sin is not who we are anymore. We are a “new creature in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). Our translation from Satan’s domain into God’s kingdom was accomplished by Jesus Christ’s finished work on Calvary (cf. today’s Scripture).

Our new identity in Christ now qualifies us to participate in the greatest plan in the universe. We already started when we trusted Christ as our personal Saviour and it will span the endless ages of the future. But, until our Dispensation of Grace closes, the Body of Christ must remain on Earth. When it is time for God to return to Israel’s program, we (corporately) will be relocated to the Heavenly Places. We see a glimpse of this in the closing verses of Philippians chapter 3: “[20] For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: [21] Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.”

All of our “glory” (boasting, value) is in Christ and what He did, not in our measly “good works.” There is still so much more He must do in and through us on Earth before we get to Philippians 3:21, but Him working in and through us in the Heavenly Places (cf. Colossians 1:16-20) will also be made possible through the “old rugged cross!” 🙂

When Right Division Brings Clarity

Wednesday, April 6, 2016

“Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7 KJV).

People may dislike dispensational Bible study, but they are forced to admit it brings tremendous “understanding in all things!”

For a few years now, I have dealt with a Christian lady who has been “tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). She came to a few of our home Bible studies. Once, she even accompanied our group to a grace Bible conference. Completely offended by the verses she heard there, she refused to attend another one and laughed when invited again.

This woman declined to let dispensational Bible study in, for letting it in would mean tossing her denominational biases out! An ardent reader of “modern ‘Christian’ literature,” and a frequent “church-hopper,” this sweet lady’s mind has been scrambled through and through. She loves her “miraculous demonstrations,” especially her so-called “gift of healing” (although she and her friends suffer from failing health). In accordance with 1 Corinthians 14:38, I left her “ignorant” because that is what she preferred. Maybe, just maybe, she would come to her senses.

Recently, while I was visiting at a mutual friend’s house, this Christian lady unexpectedly showed up with some Bible questions. So, for an hour, we sat over open Bibles and talked about those particular matters. This time, she was very receptive to the truth. She let me teach her the Bible dispensationally for the umpteenth time. Later, she commented that she really enjoyed it. Using right division greatly helped her grasp the topics that she could not understand and caused her to respect the verses and passages when they said different things. Yea, we leave them in their proper dispensations, being especially mindful of what the Holy Spirit said through the Apostle Paul, and the Lord will give us understanding in “all things” (today’s Scripture).

In closing, I told the lady to come some other time with more questions. I would love to talk however long she wants and about whatever she wants. She still has a long way to go, but we have resumed ministries with her and we hope and pray she is willing to learn God’s Word, God’s way! 🙂

Tychicus

Thursday, March 31, 2016

“All my state shall Tychicus declare unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellowservant in the Lord: Whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and comfort your hearts; With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto you all things which are done here” (Colossians 4:7-9 KJV).

Exactly who was “Tychicus?”

Tychicus (“fortunate”) was a Christian man from “Asia” (“Asia Minor,” present-day Turkey) who accompanied Paul into that region on his third apostolic journey (Acts 20:4—Tychicus’ first appearance in Scripture). While we do not know very much about Tychicus’ origin, we understand that he was a very helpful brother in Christ during the latter half of Paul’s ministry.

Paul called Tychicus “a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:21) and “a beloved brother, and a faithful minister and fellow-servant in the Lord” (today’s Scripture). Ephesians 6:21,22 say of Tychicus, “[he] shall make known to you all things, Whom I have sent for the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he might comfort your hearts” (cf. today’s Scripture).

According to the Bible, Tychicus, with Onesimus, was a courier by whom Paul sent his epistle to the Colossians. Tychicus personally carried Paul’s epistle of Ephesians to Ephesus. While Paul was in prison in Rome, Tychicus was his messenger to the Colossians and Ephesians, and he relayed information to and from the Apostle. Just as good news cheers our hearts, so any good news from Paul to his Gentile converts or good news to the Apostle from his Gentile converts, would have certainly been a source of comfort. Indeed, Tychicus’ ministry was vital to Paul’s—especially in a day when long-distance communication was so limited and slow.

It is unknown if Paul sent Tychicus to commune with Titus on the island of Crete (Titus 3:12 was a possibility, not a fact). The last we hear of Tychicus is in Paul’s farewell epistle, where the Apostle, before being executed, had sent him to Ephesus (2 Timothy 4:12). Whatever became of our brother, Tychicus, we know not!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Does Acts 13:48 support Calvinism?”

Vain Worship

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esais prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6,7 KJV).

Friend, do you worship the God of the Bible “in vain?”

The reason you should ask yourself this pointed question is because many people have no idea what is true worship of the triune God. For example, consider the nation Israel’s condition in today’s Scripture. Or, better yet, travel back to Isaiah’s day, 700 B.C., and see the original quote: “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13).

Over 2,700 years ago, empty, worthless religion had already crept into Israel. The Jews, the sole custodians of the Word of JEHOVAH God, traded it for the silly religious tenets of their heathen neighbors. Yea, they traded gold for “fool’s gold!” Oh, it was such a shame, and yet, they were too senseless to recognize the difference. They said, “How we love Adonai! Look, we keep His laws, we observe His feasts, we have His Temple, we have His priesthood,” on and on. But, there was no heart faith in what they were doing. They began to worship the religion than the God who had given them that religion! Furthermore, they had watered down that religion with the Talmud, rabbinical writings, manmade ideas passed off as “God’s Word.” (Sound familiar?!)

Recently, I talked with a church-going Christian who believed she was “worshipping God” while preforming a certain religious action. When I told her Scripture said nothing about that activity—that it was not “of faith” and thus vain (empty)—she was flabbergasted. Are we shocked? Nay! Millions worldwide have no clue what the Bible says. They are so busy in “vain worship,” just going through the motions with no genuine faith. Friend, I hope you are not one of these people. Back to Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, or onward to more vain worship!