Category: Calvary’s cross

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #111

Sunday, September 13, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Doubtless, tithing is Scriptural—but is it dispensational? To wit, is it God’s Word to and about us? No! Even if we wanted to, it is impossible to give a biblical tithe today. There is no functioning Levitical priesthood, no Jerusalem Temple, no Mosaic Law, and no Israel in God’s current relations with man. Furthermore, no biblical tithe would ever fund manmade denominations!

Israel’s tithing was to prove God’s faithfulness to bless in response to obedience (or, His faithfulness to curse in reaction to disobedience!). However, giving under Grace (God’s present dealings with us) is to prove our gratitude to God for Him blessing us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Tithing is driven by fear and guilt, but giving under Grace originates from love and thankfulness. Mark it well: God’s grace is not against giving; it is against tithing!

The Bible is clear that local churches should financially support their pastors and teachers as much as they are able, for those leaders do the work of the ministry (1 Corinthians 9:1-18; 2 Corinthians 11:9; Galatians 6:6,10; Philippians 4:10-18; 1 Timothy 5:17,18). Alas, there is so much abuse, as staggering sums of money have been taken—and are still being taken—under fraudulent pretenses. For centuries upon centuries, denominational people have been giving out of guilt and fear (Law, not Grace), thinking they will receive material riches from God in return (“prosperity theology”). Such extortion has proliferated substantially since the advent of telecommunications (radio, television, and internet). The Scriptures foretold in 1 Timothy 6:3-19 about multimillionaire preachers and multimillionaire teachers—and those who lacked enough spiritual sense to avoid being scammed have no one to blame but themselves.

After a brother came to understand the Bible dispensationally, learning how we are not obligated to tithe but are free to give under Grace, he told me, “All these denominational churches are about is money!” Sure! It took him only 60 years to figure that out. Unfortunately, before he graduated to Heaven, he wound up back at a church of his former denomination! (His case is not isolated.)

Let us see if we can drive out even more Bible ignorance….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #110

Saturday, September 12, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Re-read that classic proof-text denominations relentlessly use as they beg for “tithes:” “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:8-11).

Context matters! The “cursed nation” of Malachi 3:9 is Israel (Malachi 1:1), suffering the curses of Leviticus 26:1-46 and Deuteronomy 27:1–28:68. By withholding tithes and offerings, they have violated the Law of Moses (an agreement they made with God, originally promising to give Him those tithes!). The LORD through the Prophet Malachi challenges Israel to “prove” (test) Him: He will remove the curse and bless them if they obey (give Him tithes and offerings). As per the Law motivation principle of “guilt and fear,” they are expected to tithe and thereby avoid punishment. However, giving under Grace results from gratitude for how God has already blessed us in Christ through Calvary’s finished crosswork: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3; cf. Romans 8:32). Giving under Grace does not prove God’s love for us (Calvary does that!—Romans 5:8), but it does prove our love for Him! “I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love” (2 Corinthians 8:8).

Israel gave tithes and offerings so God could bless them. We give under Grace because God has already blessed us in Christ. Tithing with the Law and giving under Grace are totally incompatible….

God’s Offer to the Nations

Friday, September 11, 2026

“…[T]hat 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).

Today’s Scripture is God’s offer to all the nations of the world today.

September 11, 2001 was a day that changed our nation forever. It was the worst terrorist attack in our two-century national history. Afterward, many Americans began to talk about “God Bless America” and “God Save the United States.” These phrases are not as commonplace as they used to be.

In the 25 years that have passed since that awful day, it is a sad commentary that “God” is now the least of our nation’s concerns. With the redefining of marriage, controversial political arena, moral decay, skyrocketing national debt, and the uncertainty as to what constitutes a human life and what does not, obviously, the God of the Bible has been largely pushed out… until we need His help, and then we cry out to Him. Unless we need Him, we rather not think about anything He has to say.

While many argue that God is judging America today for its sins, the Bible does not support such an idea. Certainly, God dealt with Israel in that manner—“Do good and I will bless, but disobey and I will curse” (Leviticus chapter 26; Deuteronomy chapter 28)—but we have no relation to that Old Covenant of Law.

For the last 20 centuries, God has offered His grace to all the world’s nations, to have a right standing before Him by trusting Jesus Christ. People still die and go to hell, but today’s Scripture says that God is not judging nations for their sins. Through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, God offers reconciliation to sinners, whether here or around the world. However, that grace is exhaustible, and one day, it will be replaced with His wrath (Romans 2:1-16). Still, we believers are not appointed to God’s wrath; we are saved from all wrath through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9).

The only hope for America—yea, for any nation—is faith in Jesus Christ alone!

*You can also see our 2011 Bible study commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It can be watched here or read here.

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #97

Friday, August 28, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Synagogues or Jewish places of worship arose circa six centuries before Christ, when the Babylonians destroyed Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem. Exactly as the Lord Jesus did during His earthly ministry (Matthew 4:23; Matthew 9:35; Matthew 12:9-15; Mark 1:21-29,39-45; Mark 3:1-7; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:14-38,44; Luke 6:6-12; Luke 13:10-22; John 6:59; John 18:20), Paul habitually visited such synagogues to address the Jewish people who had assembled on the Saturday Sabbath (Acts 13:13,14,42,44; Acts 17:2; Acts 18:4). Note how, according to Acts 17:2, this was the Apostle’s “manner” or regular practice! (Although there were not enough Jewish men to have a synagogue in Philippi, a group of women worshipped on the Sabbath there in Acts 16:13; similarly, Paul ministered to them.)

Part of Israel’s Sabbath religious services was gathering at synagogues to read and hear the Hebrew (Old Testament) Bible manuscripts (Luke 4:16-21; Acts 13:15,27; Acts 15:21). Being the time of the week when the Israelites were most interested in spiritual matters, Christ and Paul frequented those synagogues to teach and preach the pure Word of God that had been overwhelmingly ignored. Whereas Christ concentrated exclusively on the synagogues in the land of Canaan, Paul went abroad to those of Asia and Europe; God sought to save some of these exiled Jews through Paul’s apostleship (Romans 11:14; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23; 1 Corinthians 10:32,33). If they responded negatively to Paul’s preaching, God lumped them together in unbelief with their Jewish brethren in the Promised Land who had rejected Christ and demanded His crucifixion years prior.

The Bible employs this language when Christians of Paul’s ministry gathered for church services: “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight” (Acts 20:7). Surely, “the first day of the week” here is not the Saturday Sabbath, but rather Sunday; however, the Sabbath is the seventh, or last, day of the week (Genesis 2:1-3)! The only people under Paul’s ministry who “kept the Sabbath” did so in unbelief rather than faith….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #93

Monday, August 24, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Confession (admission) of sins in 1 John 1:9 is required for forgiveness, “cleansed from all unrighteousness” under the Law of Moses. However, we are under Grace (Romans 6:14,15; Galatians 5:18). As our Apostle Paul writes, God has already forgiven us in Christ of all sins, free and forever, without such confession. “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;…” (Ephesians 1:7). “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32). “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:…” (Colossians 1:14). “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;…” (Colossians 2:13). “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye” (Colossians 3:13). We admitted our sin problem when we placed our faith in Jesus Christ to save us from those sins!

First John 1:9 mentions cleansing from “all unrighteousness.” How many times can we be cleansed from all unrighteousness? Someone would say, “You are forgiven up until you trust Christ, then you must keep ‘short accounts,’ asking God for forgiveness daily.” This is not what 1 John 1:9 teaches, and whatever it does teach is not to or about us! Paul wrote, “Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:6-8). Either we have forgiveness (believers), or we do not (unbelievers). There is no partial forgiveness here! If God holds even one sin against us, Romans 4:6-8 becomes a lie, and we are headed for Hell! God cannot “impute” (apply, reckon) sin to us in Christ. Confessing sins directly to God, to a priest, or to anyone else, is completely unnecessary today. It is shocking, but it is true.

Now, we tackle another “hot topic”….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #81

Wednesday, August 12, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Once He pinpointed Israel’s fall and diminishing in Romans 11:11,12, the Holy Spirit identified and magnified Paul’s “office [apostleship]” in verse 13. He ultimately wrote in verse 14, “If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.” These of Paul’s “flesh” are lost Jews (cf. Romans 9:3,4), who reject Jesus Christ as Saul/Paul himself had done in early Acts. Christ’s heavenly ministry through Paul is conducted in such a way during Acts so as to “provoke them [Israel] to jealousy… [same Greek phrase as] provoke to emulation” (Romans 11:11,14). To wit, the Holy Spirit utilizes Paul’s “Acts” ministry in a special manner to attract (excite/rouse) lost Jews, that they undergo such intense “zeal” to the point of abandoning their nation’s darkness, blindness, and ignorance. In doing so, they can come to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the way Paul’s Gentile converts were (through faith in Christ’s finished crosswork!).

Note well this striking contrast. In “time past,” a Gentile had to behave like a Jew to fellowship the God of the Bible. However, in “but now,” a Jew has to behave like a Gentile to commune with the God of the Bible (Romans 10:12,13)! Imagine this admission: “I cannot claim any special privilege of Abraham as my father, I cannot offer my works, I cannot as a sinner do anything but believe on Christ like everyone else [that is, Gentiles] converted under Paul’s apostleship!” Such was especially repulsive to the Jews who took great pride in their “non-Gentile” heritage, which difference between Jew and Gentile the LORD God had removed with the raising up of Saul/Paul (see Ephesians 2:11-18).

During the 30-year transition from prophecy to mystery (Acts chapters 9–28), God indicated to Israel that He was now dealing with the nations using Paul’s ministry, and Israel’s signs amongst the Gentiles (signs connected to Paul’s ministry) prove it. See believing Israel hearing such a testimony in Acts 15:12: “Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by them.” Israel’s miraculous demonstrations had proliferated in the world without her national conversion….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #72

Sunday, August 2, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

The nation Israel is in a dilemma! Having proposed they could become the LORD God’s people by doing “all” that He had spoken (Exodus 19:3-8), and failing miserably, they disqualified themselves under the Law of Moses. For Israel to be a blessing to the world (Abrahamic Covenant of Genesis 12:1-3), she herself must be blessed… and that necessitates the removal of the curses of the Law (Old Covenant) incurred by the nation’s millennia of sin.

Jeremiah 31:31-34: “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake [disobeyed, violated], although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Ezekiel 36:26-28: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.” Hebrews chapters 8–10 explain how this New Covenant is founded on Christ’s finished crosswork.

Let us now see the “sign” of this New Covenant….

arC Ministries Is 19!

Friday, July 31, 2026

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV).

To our Lord Jesus Christ’s glory, arC Ministries celebrates its 19th anniversary today!!!

Nineteen years ago, as a 19-year-old college student, I endeavored to use Facebook to create a Bible study group for teens and college students. Thus, “ambassadors for the risen Christ ministries” was born. As I grew more in God’s Word rightly divided, I grew increasingly aware of the need for additional ministry projects. The more I had been learning drove me to share those precious truths with others. That eventually led me to look for supplementary avenues of ministry.

During these past 19 years, God’s grace has enabled us to continue the original group on Facebook. In addition, we have branched out quite a bit in other areas. This devotionals blog has been operating for over 15 years now. For the last 14 years, we have focused on developing and drafting a grace study Bible (now in its fifteenth year). Other ministry projects include a 22-week newspaper ministry column (this devotionals blog’s predecessor), a YouTube channel with home Bible study videos, a Twitter feed, a full-length Bible studies blog, a college campus ministry, a nursing-home ministry, and our Bible-question-and-answer blog. Ten years ago, we launched our new main ministry website and now have a line of printed Bible study booklets available for sale there. Seven years ago, we recorded and distributed our Old Testament Survey video series. Later that year, we launched our New Testament Survey video series (which will last a few years). We hear from people all over the world!

Our name says it all: we serve the risen Lord Jesus Christ, not some “dead Jew” and not ourselves. The original motto of our ministry was, “To equip ambassadors, and to encourage others to become ambassadors.” Our primary goal is to teach Christians, and our secondary goal is to evangelize the lost world. Nineteen years later, we still endeavor to uphold God’s Word (King James Bible) rightly divided, whether it be in edifying the Christian brethren or preaching the clear Gospel of the Grace of God to this lost and dying world. For those of you who have been with us from day 1, thank you for your prayer and encouragement. We pray for you upon every remembrance! There is still plenty more for the Lord Jesus Christ to do in and through us, so let us give Him all the praise and glory as we enter Year 20! 🙂

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #58

Friday, July 17, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

For centuries, denominationally-minded people have needlessly struggled with what Calvinists (“Reformed” theologians) have titled “limited atonement.” Did Jesus Christ die for all people, or only for “the elect” (chosen ones)? Look at the proof-texts. “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28; cf. Mark 10:45). “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matthew 26:28; cf. Mark 14:24).

Clearly, as the Lord Jesus Himself stated, the above verses “limit” His shed blood to “many.” Observe well that this is “many,” not “all.” Rather than defining this terminology according to our own meanings, we will be Bible students and search for cross-references. Isaiah 53:8 is one such helpful verse: “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” This is Messiah (Jesus Christ), of course, as Acts 8:30-35 applies Isaiah 53:7,8 to Him. Christ was “stricken” (wounded, experienced suffering) for the “transgression” (crossing into the forbidden area, overstepping the boundary) of Isaiah’s people—and Isaiah’s people is Israel.

Originally, Calvary was restricted to Israel because, in prophecy, Israel is first, for Israel is the recipient of those Old Testament covenants (Genesis 12:1-3; Acts 3:24-26; cf. Matthew 1:21; Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; Mark 7:27; Luke 19:9,10; John 4:22; Acts 2:14,22,36; Acts 5:31; Romans 15:8). However, with Paul’s commissioning, Christ’s crosswork is “for all:” “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 [Paul’s ministry!]. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not; ) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity” (1 Timothy 2:5-7). What once was true, is true no longer because of a dispensational change.

Paul is the “due-time” testifier of some news God kept secret to outwit Satan….

The Spiritual Dexterity of Our Physical Posterity #52

Saturday, July 11, 2026

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9 KJV).

If our physical posterity could augment its spiritual dexterity, exactly what would that entail?

Victorious Christian living and fruitful Christian ministry in this the Dispensation of the Grace of God are Paul’s “Grace Commission” of 2 Corinthians 5:14-21: “For the love of Christ constraineth [drives, compels, motivates] us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more. Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 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. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Since Calvary, Father God is willing to be friends with the world’s people—“reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing [applying, crediting] their trespasses unto them.” Remember, sinners have no relationship with God because their sin is a barrier. However, by offering Christ’s own soul to be sin for us—to be punished in our place—God has taken the first step in bringing people back into favor with Him. What He expects from them to complete the transaction is for them to place their faith in that Message of His Grace (Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Upon trusting that Gospel of Grace, individuals are forever reconciled to God, and now (as believers) they can live unto Him which died for them and rose again….