Salvation – Page 12 – 333 Words of Grace

Wisdom for Life #5

Thursday, June 26, 2025

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil” (Proverbs 3:5-7 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

According to the Book of Genesis (which is literal and historical), the LORD God wisely ordained four institutions in creation for the perpetuation of human life. The first is volition or free will, the second is marriage, the third is family, and the fourth is nationalism. Man’s problem is that he errs in all four spheres, choosing to lean unto his own understanding—thereby complicating and destroying life for himself and those around him.

The first two Divine institutions in creation were desecrated in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. In Genesis chapter 3, they chose to exercise their free will in a negative or sinful manner (following Satan, not God), and they turned on each other instead of living for the wellbeing of each other. The third Divine institution in creation is family, but that was overthrown when their unbelieving son Cain followed Satan and thus killed his believing brother Abel (Genesis chapter 4). The fourth Divine institution in creation was neglected after the Great Flood of Noah’s life. Whereas God commanded the people to scatter to represent their various nationalities in their respective territories (Genesis chapters 9–10), those nations assembled via internationalism—fellowshipping in satanic religion at the Tower of Babel (Genesis chapter 11).

Satan’s evil world system entices man to see something evil, want it, and assume he deserves it. Yet, the Bible instructs, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world” (1 John 2:15,16). As Moses told Israel, “Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes” (Deuteronomy 12:8).

Yet, those four Divine institutions of creation are attacked even now because man has still not departed from evil….

Wisdom for Life #4

Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

“I can be good without any god!,” boasts the atheist (one who “does not believe in a higher power”). This is just one form of secular humanism, the idea that humans are their final authority. What man thinks and does is the highest form of living, and he answers to no one but himself. If man can be “good without God,” who exactly is determining this “good?” Has man appointed himself to be his own judge? Such is most convenient! If he serves as his own critic, man can do no wrong and never does wrong.

The Corinthians lived in a culture that esteemed the wisdom of men (philosophy, human viewpoint). In fact, they are the secular humanists of the Bible—skeptics or doubters, rationalists or intellectuals, entertainment- or pleasure-seekers. Man, if left to himself, will end up being a part of the spiritual circus or pandemonium described in the Corinthian epistles (see 1 and 2 Corinthians). “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:9-11).

It was here in Corinth that fortifications of bad information had to be demolished, as Paul wrote: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; ) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;…” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Only then could the Corinthians have true wisdom for life….

Wisdom for Life #3

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

Many years ago, a so-called “grace Bible teacher” was constantly promoting false doctrine in the grace community on social-media. He relentlessly attacked people’s souls, and I in futility tried to reason with him from the Scriptures. I finally replied to him how God would hold him accountable for deliberately corrupting His people with man’s wisdom. This “Bible teacher”—who had also asked me to “pray for God to bless his ministry” (HA!)—wrote to me, “You are just trying to scare me!” He was not the least bit bothered. Well, he continued in his willful ignorance and spiritual immaturity, leading more and more people astray. He had no fear of God, no fear of the LORD. Why? His religious affiliation had taught him to lean unto his own understanding and the understanding of other natural-man thinkers. A best-selling “Christian” book he read had meant more to him than the Bible ever did… or probably will! He is just one of the many in our churches and schools we would be better off dismissing and ignoring!

A wise preacher once told his congregation, “I have no desire to tell you how to run your life, because I have trouble managing my own.” Indeed, he did—and we all do. If we know anything about ourselves—or, if we do not know this, we had better come to know it quickly—we know that we cannot trust ourselves. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Moses warned Israel, “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people” (Deuteronomy 4:5,6). Israel’s wisdom would be the wisdom God taught her, not what “wisdom” Israel learned on her own….

Wisdom for Life #2

Monday, June 23, 2025

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

“Acknowledging the LORD in all our ways” is recognizing His authority and accepting His truth in each and every area of life, inclining our ear as He speaks about what to do in this situation or as He talks about how to think about that circumstance. The opposite would be to ignore Him—claim He is not there or maintain He has not expressed any words in a Bible.

Read the latter part of today’s Scripture: “Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil.” To be “wise in our own eyes” means that, instead of acknowledging the LORD, we make ourselves the standard. Or, we are right because we believe we are right. We find our justification in our own opinions. “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15). The wisest man is he who pays attention to the LORD’S counsel or advice. “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!” (Isaiah 5:20,21). Misunderstanding, misery, and misfortune await those who are right in their own eyes!

To “fear the LORD” (today’s Scripture) is to have respect or reverence for Him, to stand in awe of Him. Why should we not have such a high regard for our omniscient (all-knowing), omnipresent (all-existing), and omnipotent (all-powerful) Creator? After all, we did not create ourselves, meaning there is someone greater than we. Therefore, self-sufficiency (“I need no one!”) and autonomy (“I am my own authority!”) are foolishness, and such failure to “depart from evil” is disobedience to that Creator God and His words to and about us.

He has designed life, so we had better consult Him about life….

Wisdom for Life #1

Sunday, June 22, 2025

Today’s Scripture is true wisdom for life….

A professing Christian wrote these so-called “words of wisdom:” “Life is precious, live life to its fullest, be kind, be gentle, place your trust in the Lord… or whatever your belief is, but believe in something good….” This is typical of watered-down Christendom. Half-truths are more dangerous than lies because a little truth is enough to convince many that the rest of the statement has to be true. Indeed, life is precious, we should live life to its fullest, we should be kind and gentle, and we should place our trust in the Lord.

However, we simply cannot agree with, “place your trust in the Lord… or whatever your belief is, but believe in something good.” The folly at the end detracts so much from the potency of the prior words; trusting in the Lord and trusting in someone/something else is antithetical. Being open to belief systems not founded on the Lord is to blatantly contradict the Bible. Read today’s Scripture again: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.” If we do not trust in the LORD wholeheartedly—trust Him in our soul totally—then we automatically lean to our own understanding (trusting in ourselves to some degree). To place our faith in someone or something other than the LORD is foolish, especially since we are not perfect. Moreover, if it is not of the LORD, it is not good.

“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” These “ways” are courses of life or modes of action. If we desire, God will point us where to go—which path to take, what we should do, and so on. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Let us consider this further.…

I Will Love Them Freely #7

Sunday, June 8, 2025

“I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him” (Hosea 14:4 KJV).

Behold, the LORD God’s free love for the nation Israel!

In spite of Israel’s unbelief and idolatry throughout the millennia, the LORD God who was treated so unfairly and disrespectfully still seeks the nation’s best interests (what genuine love is). Justice must be carried out first though. Once Israel’s sin problem is fully dealt with in judgment, then God’s goodness and unconditional love can be fully displayed. Man’s “goodness” got him nowhere spiritually, and Israel had to learn it. As today’s Scripture explains, God can and will love Israel “freely” because He wants to do it, not because He has to or because Israel inherently deserves it! “Freely” in today’s Scripture is “nadabah” in Hebrew, usually rendered “freewill offering” in the King James Bible (Leviticus 22:18,21,23; Leviticus 23:38; Numbers 15:3; Numbers 29:39; Deuteronomy 12:6,17; et cetera). Occasionally, it was translated “willingly” (2 Chronicles 35:8; Ezra 3:5).

Of course, when Hosea ministered, Calvary’s cross was over 700 years into the future, yet the Holy Spirit knew what was coming. Now that Christ’s work on the cross of Calvary has been accomplished, we can see what God’s love really means—its abundance and its “no cost” to us sinners. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). “But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)…” (Ephesians 2:4,5). “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;…” (Ephesians 5:25). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 John 3:16). “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

The best way we can express gratitude to God for His love toward us, is to trust the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for our sins, was buried, and rose again.

Saints, please remember this work of the ministry requires monthly financial support to operate (Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:16-17; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Those who prefer electronic giving can donate securely here: https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux. Anyone who wishes to donate by regular mail can visit https://333wordsofgrace.org/contact-us-mailing-address-for-donations/ for details. Thanks to all who give to and pray for us! Unfortunately, since our ministry audience is so large and our ministry staff is so small, I can no longer personally respond to everyone. Thanks so much for understanding in this regard. 🙂

The Greatest War Hero

Monday, May 26, 2025

“For God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

In the United States, today is Memorial Day, when we remember those who sacrificed their time and lives to provide our physical freedom. Likewise, as Christians, we have spiritual freedom, which was more costly. Someone had to die to give us the eternal life we now enjoy….

Scripture describes a spiritual warfare between good and evil, God’s truth program versus Satan’s lie program: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes] of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11,12; see also verses 13-20).

Satan distracts mankind from God’s pure Word, the Bible, keeping unbelievers lost (dead in their sins), and preventing unbelievers and Christians from knowing God’s will. The devil draws them away (seduces them) from God’s Word by using religious tradition and human “wisdom” (1 Timothy 4:1-3; cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Galatians 3:1-3).

God loves us, so at Calvary’s cross, Christ fought for us sinners, died in battle (today’s Scripture), shed His divine sinless blood, and eternally rescued us from Satan and sin: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14,15).

Hebrews 9:12 says Jesus Christ has “obtained eternal redemption for us.”

If we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). Now, God can use us for His glory for all eternity.

Beloved, let us rejoice in our victory over sin, death, and hell that Jesus Christ secured for us by going to Calvary’s rugged cross! Jesus Christ is now alive forevermore—He is our Hero, the Greatest Hero!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study “The Greatest Hero,” which can be read here or watched here.

Out of the Depths!

Sunday, May 18, 2025

“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications” (Psalm 130:1,2 KJV).

The Psalmist has cried out, and the LORD will hear!

Psalm 130 is known as the “Out of the Depths” Psalm. The Psalmist feels extreme pain in upsetting circumstances. He thus wails in prayer: “[A Song of degrees.] Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications” (today’s Scripture).

In verses 3 and 4, he keeps praying: “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” If the LORD took time to pay close attention to and point out “iniquities” (injustices, evils, sins, crookedness), He would strike everyone down. No one would be left to continue! Thankfully, however, with Him, there is “forgiveness” (pardon, a sending away of the sin debt). He should therefore be feared—respected, honored, reverenced.

By the time of verses 5 and 6, the Psalmist reveals his optimism, the grounds that the LORD will hear his prayer: “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope. My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.” He is a man of faith, expecting the LORD to keep His word, just as in Psalm 119:81: “My soul fainteth for thy salvation: but I hope in thy word.” Waiting for the Lord here is like someone eagerly anticipating sunrise after suffering a long, unpleasant night.

The Psalmist exhorts Israel to follow his pattern in the final two verses, verses 7 and 8: “Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.” As in Psalm 131:3, Israel should put their hope in the LORD, where are “mercy” (pity, compassion, lovingkindness) and “plenteous redemption” (abundant buying back from sin). The LORD will redeem Israel from all iniquities at Christ’s Second Coming and the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Acts 3:19-21; Romans 11:25-27), to which the Psalmist ultimately looks.

333’s 5100th – To Perfect Holiness

Saturday, May 17, 2025

“Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1 KJV).

Saints, by God’s grace, special-edition devotional #5100 is here!

Assembling around the King James Bible rightly divided every day all these years (two weeks shy of 14 years, actually!) has been quite the learning experience, has it not? It is only appropriate—yea, exceedingly critical—that we thank Father God for our growth. We ought to keep walking in this spiritual light we have, lest we return to the darkness of spiritual kindergarten where we have been.

We “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (today’s Scripture) by receiving our Apostle Paul (verse 2). All evil conduct (Corinth) and all evil doctrine (Galatia) should be put out of our lives—this is not sinlessness but purity according to grace thinking and living. Unfortunately, the Corinthians had been foolish enough to accept false apostles and false teachers, so those Christians had no room for Paul in their heart: “O ye Corinthians, our mouth is open unto you, our heart is enlarged. Ye are not straitened in us, but ye are straitened in your own bowels. Now for a recompence in the same, (I speak as unto my children,) be ye also enlarged” (2 Corinthians 6:11-13).

Multitudes of professing Christians find themselves in that very passage. They have little to no time for Paul, Jesus Christ’s messenger or spokesman to them, because false teachers have distracted them! This is definitely not God’s fault. If we are unthankful for the spiritual understanding we have, we will inevitably end up where they are. This is not fun and games—entertainment. It is a matter of having victory over sin versus being conquered by sin. This is important. It does matter. It absolutely should concern us. We should take this seriously.

We have yet to “perfect [complete, see to the end] holiness in the sight of God” (today’s Scripture). Our sanctified, or set-apart, position in Christ has not taken over our thoughts and lives completely. Wherefore, until we reach Heaven, there is always opportunity for more growth and development, that our thinking better match sound Bible doctrine and our walk better match our wealth. Therefore, we continue these daily dispensational Bible studies.

Onward by God’s grace to devotional #5200! Praise our Lord Jesus Christ!

Note: All our previous devotionals are archived here.

The “Terrible” God #7

Thursday, May 8, 2025

“Thou shalt not be affrighted at them: for the LORD thy God is among you, a mighty God and terrible” (Deuteronomy 7:21 KJV).

The Authorized Version features eight references to the LORD God being “terrible.” Why?

“Terrible” in today’s Scripture means “inspiring reverence, godly fear, or awe.” The LORD God’s character and actions should prompt respect and add solemnity! When writing to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul advised in 2 Corinthians 5:11: “Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.” This word “terror” is, obviously, etymologically related to “terrible.” Two events terrified the Apostle.

Firstly, Paul feared for Christians (such as the Corinthians!) going to the Judgment Seat of Christ to face a loss of reward for building into their inner man an edifice of junk doctrine instead of sound Bible doctrine (verses 9,10; cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9-15). Secondly, the Apostle shuddered to think of non-Christians winding up at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. These unbelievers, lacking God’s righteousness in Christ, would be destined for the Lake of Fire, where God would deal with their sin by sacrificing their very souls in endless torment!

Whether Christians losing reward of the Judgment Seat of Christ and thereby suffering limited reign in Heaven’s government, or non-Christians losing their souls to the Lake of Fire at the Great White Throne Judgment, Paul kept both classes of people in mind as he conducted his ministry to “persuade men” (2 Corinthians 5:11). Like God Himself, he wanted every non-Christian to believe his Gospel of Grace (“Christ died for our sins, he was buried, and he rose again the third day;” 1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—thereby avoiding Hell and the Lake of Fire altogether. As God Himself wished, Paul desired every Christian to believe sound Bible doctrine, the principles of grace, Pauline revelation, the Word of God “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15)—thus having a reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

This two-fold mission of our Apostle Paul agrees with God’s will of this current dispensation: “Who will have all men to be saved [unbelievers made believers], and to come unto the knowledge of the truth [believers maturing in sound Bible doctrine]” (1 Timothy 2:4).

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