Category: Calvary’s cross

Bible Study 102 #6

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

While Adam, Eve, Noah, Abraham, et cetera were justified (had a right standing before God), nothing in Scripture indicates they knew of Calvary’s crosswork (thousands of years yet future, and God had not revealed that information yet). God’s good news to Adam and Eve was that He shed animal blood to cover their sins (Genesis 3:21), His good news to Noah was to build an ark to escape His wrath (Genesis chapter 6; Hebrews 11:7), and His good news to Abraham was that He would make of him a great nation in the earth (Genesis 12:1-3; Hebrews 11:8-10). Romans 4:1-8 explains these Old Testament saints simply believed what limited information God revealed to them, and He imputed (credited) Christ’s righteousness and (future) crosswork to them (Romans 3:25).

How can we Gentiles get Christ’s righteousness at Calvary credited to us? We find the answer in the good news God has revealed to us through Paul (Romans 11:13; 1 Timothy 1:8-16; 1 Timothy 2:4-7; Titus 1:1-3)! The Gospel of the Grace of God (two verses worth memorizing): “For I [Paul] delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). This is the Gospel by which we must be saved in this the Dispensation of Grace (dispensational Bible study shows us Matthew 19:17, Mark 16:16, Acts 2:38, 1 John 1:9, et cetera, are Israel’s salvation verses, and have nothing to do with us).

As taught in the mystery program revealed through Paul, we Gentiles can now enjoy God’s salvation, everything that God can do for us through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, without us having to do anything but trust it alone, because we can do nothing for Him anyway….

Bible Study 102 #4

Sunday, March 9, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

God’s will for man is two-fold: firstly, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to save man from his sins and Satan’s policy of evil (1 Timothy 2:4a), and, secondly, He wants to educate man about His original plan for him (1 Timothy 2:4b). “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

While a full comprehension of dispensational Bible study is not necessary for salvation from sins, where to find in Scripture God’s current plan of salvation is absolutely critical. For example, we do not find the Gospel of Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork declared in the Old Testament. Calvary’s crosswork was definitely prophesied (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, et cetera), but the benefits Israel received from it were not fully revealed until after it happened (Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 1:19; et al.). Moreover, until Paul’s ministry, God did not reveal what Calvary meant for us Gentiles (1 Timothy 2:5-7; Titus 1:2,3; 1 John 2:2; et al.). Unless we “rightly divide the word of truth” as today’s Scripture instructs, we overlook these doctrinal differences, and we do not recognize where in Scripture we find God’s message of salvation for us Gentiles.

God’s good news to us Gentiles today is that He is offering His grace in Christ to us, without any works on our part. The Gospel of the Grace of God, first committed to the Apostle Paul’s trust, is “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). If we Gentiles are to have a right standing before God (justification unto eternal life, eternity in heaven, et cetera), God expects us to believe and trust that message. Once we trust that Gospel, and that Gospel alone, then we can study the Bible to grow spiritually, to “come to the knowledge of the truth,” to learn why God saved us….

God’s Grace on Parade

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

“…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20 KJV).

Today, especially here in southern Louisiana, the Catholic festival of Mardi Gras takes advantage of God’s grace. God’s grace abounds even when drunkenness, lasciviousness, and gluttony are committed overtly on our streets for religion. Because we live in the Dispensation of the Grace of God, they can flaunt their sin without being consumed by fire from heaven!

“Mardi Gras,” French for “Fat Tuesday,” is a day when religious people—professing “Christians”—lose self-control (excess alcohol, food, and partying). The following day, Ash Wednesday, they promise to live “holy” for the next 40 days (Lent). A priest will then place ashes on their foreheads proving that God forgave them for that riotous living. Blasphemy!

Regardless of all its biblical allusions (illusions!), Mardi Gras is still evil and anti-God. It was never Christian, originating from pagan Roman festivals, Saturnalia and Lupercalia (interestingly known for riots, drunkenness, gluttony, and fornication, and subsequent repentance).

The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostles Peter and Paul, was clearly against Mardi Gras reveling and drunkenness (Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3). So why do professing Christians engage in the very activities that God the Holy Spirit condemned?! As Christians, we should “deny” the activities of Mardi Gras (Romans 6:11-15; Titus 2:11-15).

If I appear offended, I am. Mardi Gras, despite its godly façade, is offensive to the great God and my Saviour Jesus Christ! God’s grace continues to tolerate such foolishness from mankind. Man parades his sin, and God parades His grace, holding back wrath.

Are you a Mardi Gras reveler? I declare unto you the wonderful Gospel of the Grace of God. God did for you at Calvary what you could never do: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus Christ shed His sinless blood and died to put away all of your sins, Mardi Gras revelry included.

If you rest in Christ Jesus alone as your Saviour, God will save you forever, make a trophy of His grace, and then YOUR life will be God’s grace on parade!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

On Jesus Christ

Thursday, February 27, 2014

“For there is 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 KJV).

If you are seeking soul salvation today, you can find it today!

Whether Christian, Muslim, Jew, agnostic, skeptic, or atheist, we all know that sin exists. We each have a conscience, a system of standards and norms that govern our behavior, values, and beliefs. There are many times when we know to do right (our conscience), and we do not do it—that is what sin is. Some ignore or deny their sin; others attempt to cover it up with “good” deeds, prayers, ceremonies, rites, and rituals; still others suffer self-inflicted punishment to (hopefully) pay for their sins. Despite all that activity, very few ever actually get those sins paid for because of the confusion as to how to get them paid and because nearly all of the ways that are presumed to lead to forgiveness lead to everything but it!

In today’s Scripture, we learn about the only solution to man’s sin problem. What makes Christianity unique is that it alone teaches that God Himself took upon human flesh to pay for man’s sins! Every world religion is weak and beggarly because we sinners can never measure up to God in our own efforts. Thus, God the Son did for us what we could never do: He became one of us to then mediate between God the Father and us. Every instance where man had stumbled in sin, Jesus Christ triumphed. Jesus, being fully God and fully man, can take Father God and mankind and reunite them.

The price to pay for our sins was certainly not cheap: Jesus Christ is the only Man in all of human history who died for mankind’s sins, who offered Himself and His precious, sinless blood as the fully satisfying payment for sins, and who was raised again to give us eternal life. We simply come by faith (trust) in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork alone, and then enjoy the same righteous standing He has before God the Father!

Victory in an Unfair World

Saturday, February 22, 2014

“These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 KJV).

No matter what may be done, victory in Christ is surely won!

Injustice—such is the lot of sinners in a fallen creation. The psalmist questioned, “LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked triumph?” (Psalm 94:3). Zophar, one of Job’s “friends,” answered, “Knowest thou not this of old, since man was placed upon earth, that the triumphing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite but for a moment?” (Job 20:4,5).

In the context of today’s Scripture, our Lord Jesus is preparing His apostles to bear the worst life experience they have known. They do not understand it yet, but they will soon witness horrific events—Messiah’s arrest, torture, and death by crucifixion. Their King will perish, and their whole world will be destroyed. Satan will appear to have won, for the Man whom they thought would deliver Israel will be murdered and buried.

Just hours before the awful events on Mount Calvary, Christ encouraged His Little Flock. He consoled them in today’s Scripture, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” No matter what happened—to Him or to them—He declared that He had already won, and that He secured victory for them! Yes, He would be nailed to Calvary’s tree and die, but He would be raised again the third day and triumph over death! Yes, they would be imprisoned and killed for His sake, but He would resurrect them and bring them into their kingdom!

Israel’s Little Flock would have difficult days ahead, but, “in Christ,” they would have God’s victory. Likewise, in this world filled with grief, uncertainty, and suffering, “Nay, in all these things [troubles of life, verses 35 and 36] we are more than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:37). “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57). 🙂

The Natural View and the Spiritual View #12

Thursday, February 20, 2014

“Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7 KJV).

We continue addressing the associated objections and misconceptions concerning the recent Ken Ham/Bill Nye Creation/Evolution online debate….

Evolutionists very desperately attempt to bolster their theory. While not true of all Evolutionists, from personal experience (oral and written discussions with them, literature, debates, and so on), I know many exaggerate figures, ridicule us Bible-believing scientists as “not being true scientists,” promulgate artists’ imaginations as fact, and admit inconsistencies and unanswerable “mysteries” (even in their own theory). While Evolutionists claim to be “open-minded,” very few have ever been willing to meaningfully discuss Creation/Evolution matters with me.

Several questions thus arise. How can Evolutionists still believe their claims, even when they admit their theory is riddled with “speculation” and “mysteries?” How can they look at the design in nature and still deny God’s existence? Why do they reject the Bible? Frankly, it is better to believe evolutionary theory, than accept the Bible’s creation account. They hold to fallacies, lest they be forced to see their sinful state, their need to submit to their Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe and trust what He did for them on Calvary’s cruel cross.

Scripture says, “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things which are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain [empty, worthless] in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:19-22).

Early man knew his Creator God, but when sin entered, mankind lost that connection with Him. When confronted with the proof of God’s existence, sinful man simply tunes God out. The result is a mind that has no desire to ever see God’s truth, and a heart that has no desire to ever believe it (today’s Scripture).

NOTE: For our readers’ sakes, we will temporarily suspend this devotionals arc. More advanced Creation/Evolution studies are coming at a later date, so stay tuned!

God’s Family #5

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 KJV).

How enjoyable it is to fellowship with other members of God’s family!

Prior to our Dispensation of Grace, and previous to our trusting Paul’s Gospel—Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—we were “strangers and foreigners” from God’s nation Israel, His covenants, His purpose and His plan (today’s Scripture; cf. verses 11,12). “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ” (verse 13). “For through him [Jesus Christ] we both [Jew and Gentile] have access by one Spirit unto the Father” (verse 18). According to Ephesians 3:15, God has the “whole family in heaven and earth,” a family that encompasses the Church the Body of Christ (heaven) and believing Israel (earth), all of whom are the children of God the Father (Galatians 3:26).

Now, as God’s children, we can, by faith in His Word to us, cooperate with Him in accomplishing His will (which is delineated in His Word to us, Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon). When we realize that the Church the Body of Christ is God’s vessel on earth while the Dispensation of Grace operates, and then remember that it becomes His vessel in the heavenly places when this dispensation closes (Ephesians 2:6,7), we understand that we will be reunited with our brothers and sisters in Christ who have died, to continue God’s work up there by ruling and reigning with Him (Ephesians 1:20-23; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; 2 Timothy 4:18)!

Moreover, the context of today’s Scripture says that God is building a “holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (verses 21,22). God wants to fill us with His life now, and in the heavenly places, it will still be His life (albeit without our sinful flesh in the way, and the context will be the whole universe, not just earth like today!). Just imagine a local church assembly free from all doctrinal error and all sin. It will be the greatest family reunion ever….

God’s Family #1

Saturday, February 1, 2014

“Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 KJV).

How enjoyable it is to fellowship with other members of God’s family!

Recently, I met an out-of-state individual who was distributing Gospel tracts on my university’s campus. Although we had never met before, and there was a considerable age difference between us, this Christian brother and I had such wonderful fellowship around the King James Bible rightly divided. It was very edifying for both of us, so I was sorely disappointed that I could not stay longer. Beloved, this is exactly how Christian fellowship should be, since the same Holy Spirit indwells us both.

The Bible says, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). As in any family, we should be especially kind to and caring for fellow saints (our spiritual siblings). Unfortunately, as in any family, there is petty bickering, immaturity, sibling rivalry, and even more serious issues in the Body of Christ, so this fellowship can be greatly hindered or even impossible.

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul is reminding us that, when God was dealing with the nation Israel, we Gentiles were “without Christ… without God in the world” (verses 11,12). As lost people headed for eternal hellfire, we were “of [our] father the devil” (John 8:44), we “walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air” (Ephesians 2:2), and we were under “the power of darkness” (Colossians 1:13).

That all changed when the Dispensation of Grace began and when we realized our lost estate. We decided to trust exclusively in Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins. The day we were saved unto eternal life, God became our Father (Galatians 3:26), and other people who had trusted Christ prior, whether living or deceased, became our spiritual brothers and sisters (today’s Scripture; cf. Ephesians 3:15).

Saints, let us remember to get to know each other now, because we, as God’s family, are living together, both now and forever….

A Holy Nation #8

Monday, January 27, 2014

“For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy” (Leviticus 11:45 KJV).

Today’s Scripture summarizes a book most burdensome to many.

When Jesus’ corpse was removed from Calvary’s cruel cross and entombed, Satan had never been happier. Israel, God’s people, had not only broken God’s Covenant of Law, but now they had murdered God’s Messiah, and with King Jesus dead, Israel was still his. The devil had executed his “wise” plan—he had trapped God yet again (or so he thought!). Thankfully, “[God] taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (Job 5:13; 1 Corinthians 3:19). God had His own plans—the triune Godhead had pre-planned Jesus’ death (Acts 2:23; Acts 3:18)!

Colossians 1:20 explains, “And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.” Through Jesus’ shed blood, the governments of heaven and earth that Satan polluted, will one day be “reconciled” to God. Christ’s death was not God’s defeat, but rather Satan’s (Colossians 2:14,15). Satan was horrified to learn from Paul’s ministry that he had participated in his own downfall!

Israel broke the Old Covenant, but JEHOVAH made provisions (Calvary’s finished crosswork facilitates Israel’s deliverance from Satan). Firstly, Christ’s shed blood will pay off the sin debt of the Old Covenant (1 Peter 1:18,19; 1 Peter 2:24). Secondly, it will allow JEHOVAH to ratify a whole new contract with Israel—one predicated upon His faithfulness, not hers!!

Indeed, Israel will become God’s earthly people forever, but not today. Our Dispensation of Grace must first run its course. God must first complete the Church the Body of Christ. Paul reminds us, “…That blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved… for this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins” (Romans 11:25-27).

Rather than sinful Israel struggling to fulfill God’s laws (today’s Scripture), He will fulfill them in and through her, and He Himself will make her a “holy nation….”

The Person of the Year

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

“Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:9,10a KJV).

Let us praise the 2013 Person of the Year—our Lord Jesus Christ!

Society’s most stressful time of year, the Christmas Season, is winding down. The year 2013 is nearly over, and a new year, 2014, will dawn soon. At this time every year, various groups and publications feature their particular choice for “Person of the Year.” Whether a chief of state, a philanthropist, a religious leader, a distinguished author or scientist, a television or radio personality, or some other “professional” who impacted society in a negative or positive way the most during the past year, they are all still people with limitations and frailties. One can accomplish all sorts of praiseworthy, generous, and awe-inspiring feats. However, what carries the most weight is the attitude, the heart, underlying the action, not the action. (Was it Jesus Christ, or simply the flesh?)

The one single event in history that pleased God the Father most was when His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, went by faith in His Word, to an awful Roman cross to suffer the worst possible and most graphic death a human ever experienced, to pay for our sins. “Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11). It is through that finished crosswork of Jesus Christ that He is still doing mighty works, 20 centuries later. How our Lord Jesus Christ has saved countless souls from sins and hell this past year, and how He has saved innumerable Christian souls from false doctrine and spiritual ruin.

Jesus Christ, who in death defeated His greatest enemy (Satan), was raised by God the Father and is now the ascended and glorified Lord Jesus Christ (today’s Scripture). Saints, may we ever thank and praise our Saviour Jesus Christ for what He has done for us, what He has done with us, and what He will do with us next year… and all the countless ages thereafter….

As we close another year of ministry, we look forward to serving you for another! 🙂