Category: Satan and Policy of Evil

God’s Grace on Parade

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

“…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.

You may also see our archived Bible study Q&A, “Should Christians celebrate Mardi Gras?”

Bible Q&As #929 and #930: “Can you explain ‘inditing?’” and “What does ‘minish’ mean?”

Assurance

Sunday, February 27, 2022

“And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42,43 KJV).

Behold, the security this believing malefactor’s soul had!

I just read the biography of a celebrity atheist. He had grown up in a religious household, but eventually became a millionaire television journalist who unashamedly wrote newspaper columns to make fun of God. Moving from agnosticism (maybe there is a God) to atheism (there is no God), spiritual darkness gradually overwhelmed him. In real life, he was a cantankerous person, complaining about practically everything—from major to trivial matters. He had many fans, but rebuffed them when they met him in public and asked for his autograph. Overall, he was a miserable soul.

More recently, I watched an interview of him. Now in his 90s, nearing retirement, he was discussing his long life and extensive, successful career. He said he “hated” growing old. When asked whether or not he thought about death, he replied he “did not like [the idea].” Death “did not appeal to him at all.” Five weeks later, eternity kept him where death found him.

How dreadful it is, dear friends, when the aforementioned writer lived in the United States of America for nearly a century, with our millions of Bibles everywhere, and wound up in such dire spiritual ignorance! Not only had he ignored creation as evidence of the Creator (Romans 1:18-25), he also disregarded his conscience—that which gave him some sense of right and wrong, and had allowed him to see his failure to live up to all that he knew was right (Romans 2:14,15).

In the context of today’s Scripture, the believing “malefactor” (evildoer) crucified with Jesus recognized his sin problem. He knew the Lord was innocent, but he freely confessed he himself rightly deserved Rome’s capital punishment meted out to him (see verses 39-43). The criminal needed not hate death, for, he was told, his soul was “verily” (truly, certainly) in the Lord’s hands and would ultimately wind up in the Lord’s kingdom. If we have also trusted in Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, that assurance is ours too (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; 2 Timothy 4:18).

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does ‘haunt’ mean in the Bible?”

Two Abominations #4

Saturday, February 26, 2022

“An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked” (Proverbs 29:27 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is a transdispensational truth, pertinent to any and every age.

“And there was much murmuring [grumbling, complaining] among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people” (John 7:12). Again, to the believers, Christ Jesus was a “good man.” To the unbelievers, He was nothing but a “deceiver.” Here are two views of one God-Man—the first truthful, the second inaccurate. Such diametrically divergent positions about Him are taken even now.

Our world abounds with various beliefs and sundry values. Everyone and everything cannot be correct. One person has adopted a certain course of action, but another follows the direct opposite path in life. What is right to one is wrong to the other. How can what we believe and do have any eternal, meaningful merit if each person uses a different set of assessment standards? According to the Bible, “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:14). We can be certain there will be one final evaluation of everything everyone has believed and done. That is the only way true justice will ever be meted out.

As we read in today’s Scripture, the just finds fault with the unjust, and the wicked condemns the upright. Someone is right; someone is wrong. No, rather, one belief system is truth and the other belief system is false. The Holy Bible furnishes us with information by which we can gauge doctrine and conduct exactly as the Lord does. “We have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). Yet, very few of us can ever master that data because denominations, philosophy, and other forms of unbelief waste our time and energy. If we do happen to be “upright in the way,” the majority—not upright, having squandered its time with nonsense—is unable to appreciate God’s ministry in us. Nevertheless, despite their hatred for us, we can make sure not to follow the “unjust” in their truly abominable thoughts and works.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does, ‘bray a fool,’ mean?”

Two Abominations #3

Friday, February 25, 2022

“An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked” (Proverbs 29:27 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is a transdispensational truth, pertinent to any and every age.

Delivering His Sermon on the Plain, the Lord declared: “Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man’s sake” (Luke 6:22). Years later, the Holy Spirit expanded on that in 1 Peter 3:16,17: “Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.” See also Matthew 10:22-25 and Luke 21:12-19.

“He that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” Remember, the Book of Proverbs (including today’s Scripture) is God’s wisdom for Israel’s believing remnant as it outsmarts Satan’s wisdom under the Antichrist (yet future from us, after our mystery program has concluded). As the Antichrist’s supporters are deceived (wrongly believing he is Messiah/Christ; cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:8-12), they naturally begin persecuting their Jewish brethren who have trusted Jesus as Messiah/Christ. It is important these suffering saints not lose hope (purpose of 1 Peter).

Also, the Jewish Little Flock needs to detect error and discern truth (purpose of 1, 2, and 3 John), enabling them to see and avoid the unbelievers’ evil: “An unjust man [Antichrist’s follower] is an abomination to the just [Jesus’ disciple].” See 1 John 3:11-14: “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren [the just, upright], if the world [the unjust, wicked] hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death [like Cain, really an unbeliever!].”

Thankfully, the Lord will make one final evaluation of all….

Two Abominations #2

Thursday, February 24, 2022

“An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked” (Proverbs 29:27 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is a transdispensational truth, pertinent to any and every age.

When preaching to Cornelius in Acts chapter 10, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Peter described Christ’s earthly ministry in the following terms: “How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him” (verse 38). That is, whatever Jesus did during those three years had advanced Father God’s cause in Israel, thereby overturning Satan’s efforts in that same nation.

Now, mark well the observations of sinful flesh concerning Jesus. “Nay, but he deceiveth the people” (John 7:12)! “He is beside himself [crazy]” (Mark 3:21)! “He hath a devil, and is mad [crazy]” (John 10:20)! “This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub [Satan] the prince of the devils” (Matthew 12:24)! “Thou hast a devil” (John 7:20)! “Behold a gluttonous [greedy for food] man, and a winebibber [drunkard], a friend [buddy] of publicans [tax collectors] and sinners” (Luke 7:34)! Such absurdities could come only from the lips of souls whom natural-man thinking dominated. Remember the second portion of today’s Scripture? “And he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” Lost people still slander God’s people even now—“troublemaker,” “hater,” “narrow-minded bigot,” “self-righteous,” “know-it-all!”

Recall the first part of today’s Scripture. “An unjust man is an abomination to the just.” An example of this is Luke 16:15: “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” Here, God is disgusted with sinful behavior because He hates it. Above all, He is most displeased when the “pious elite” pretend their religious works will ever be an acceptable substitute for His righteousness. That was the chief problem with the Pharisees to which that verse was addressed (verse 14)—and of many billions even now.

Let us see how today’s Scripture reaches into the future….

Two Abominations #1

Wednesday, February 23, 2022

“An unjust man is an abomination to the just: and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked” (Proverbs 29:27 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is a transdispensational truth, pertinent to any and every age.

We seek to observe and demarcate the contrasting thoughts here. Two situations each involve two opposites. Firstly, a just person is evaluating an unjust person: “an unjust man is an abomination to the just.” Secondly, a wicked person is judging an upright person: “and he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” To reiterate, although this verse goes back to the days of King Solomon some 30 centuries ago, they describe the spiritual battle being waged between good and evil in creation—whether in time past, or the but now, or the ages to come.

“An unjust man is an abomination to the just.” An “unjust” individual lacks justification, for he has fallen short of God’s righteous standard. Conversely, a “just” man has met or satisfied God’s righteous standard. An “abomination” is anything that originates hatred or disgust. One person having God’s righteousness will be offended upon seeing someone without God’s righteousness. A natural, inevitable conflict emerges: “an unjust man is an abomination to the just.” When the believer in the God of the Bible, witnesses the behaviors of the unbeliever, the truth functioning within the saint reacts to the error working in the non-saint. Here is good versus evil—right testifying against wrong.

“And he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” Again, the “upright” is one who is righteous, having met or satisfied God’s righteous standard. The term “wicked” is related to the Old English word “wicca,” meaning “witch,” someone fallen short of God’s righteous standard. A wicked person will normally find fault with, be hateful of, a righteous person: “he that is upright in the way is abomination to the wicked.” The error working in the unbeliever’s heart responds to the truth operating in the believer’s heart. Here is evil versus good—wrong testifying against right.

Let us see if there is any personal application for us today….

Bible Q&A #925: “How can false teachers sleep at night?”

Something Not Worth Losing

Sunday, February 13, 2022

“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26 KJV).

Super Bowl Sunday comes annually in the United States. Teams fuel the intense passions in the athletic world by vying for a corruptible trophy. Howbeit, the competition in today’s Scripture is spiritual, is worldwide, never has a halftime, and involves the eternal souls of men!

The human soul is most zealous about religion, politics, and sports. These areas are most personal, so they generate many heated debates and conflicts. However, believe it or not, there are worse outcomes than losing a church member, losing an election, and losing a game. Losing your eternal soul is the greatest of all losses!

In the context of today’s Scripture, Jesus Christ told His Jewish disciples to “take up [their] cross, and follow [him]” (verse 24). “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it” (verse 25). They should not fear losing their earthly lives for His sake. What is most important is that they not lose their souls!

Jesus Christ declared there is more to life than this physical world and its temporal possessions. There is a spiritual world—an afterlife—to consider. In today’s Scripture, He asks them, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Does it make sense to emphasize this temporary world and its corruptible goods, to the point of ignoring your eternal soul, and wind up losing it in hellfire forever and ever?

Dear reader, there is more to you than just your physical body. Your inner man—your soul, your spiritual body—is everlasting. To ignore Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for your sins, is to remain dead in those sins, resulting in you spending eternity suffering God’s wrath in the lake of fire literally as a nameless, hopeless, disfigured creature.

Your soul is not worth losing! Trust Christ as your personal Saviour today!

Israel: The Miracle Nation #10

Saturday, February 12, 2022

“But Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30 KJV).

How will the LORD God prove Israel is His miracle nation?

According to the Bible, Romans 7:12: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” The Law of Moses is definitely God’s Word. It expresses His righteousness and our failure to be perfect. No one in his or her own strength can become God’s child or do His will. Nearly 2,000 years of Jewish history—our Old Testament Scriptures—bear record of that fact. If we choose a performance-based acceptance system, we will receive nothing but curses from God. Yet, sin deceives us, and we assume we can perform to get the blessing. Human flesh always seeks to brag, but God’s grace will never accept it!

Romans chapter 4: “[1] What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh [human efforts], hath found? [2] For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. [3] For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. [4] Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. [5] But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” The Apostle Paul reaches back to Genesis 15:5, centuries before the Law of Moses was ever ratified. Here is God’s grace!

Human works, religious works, never delivered anyone from sin. The Law of Moses never saved anyone. All the Law can do is condemn, or show us we cannot do enough. It can impart no power to us to keep its rules and regulations! If sinners are to become God’s people—whether the nation Israel or the Church the Body of Christ—it will be entirely what God does on their behalf (grace!). Ultimately, it is Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork (His work, that which perfectly satisfies the Law’s righteous demands!) applied to their account as sufficient payment for their sins. The nation Israel has yet to learn this, but God will see to it that she does. In the meantime, friends, may we not be stubborn and learn it.

Israel: The Miracle Nation #9

Friday, February 11, 2022

“But Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30 KJV).

How will the LORD God prove Israel is His miracle nation?

The Holy Spirit details how Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork will deliver the nation Israel in the ages to come. Consider the New Covenant in Hebrews 8:8-13: “For finding fault with them [law!], he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant [grace!] 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 when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt [law!]; because they continued not in my covenant [law!], and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant [grace!] that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will [grace!] put my laws into their mind, and [I will] [grace!] write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will [grace!!!!] be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I [grace!!!!] remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.”

Jeremiah 31:31-34, written 600 years before Christ, is now interpreted in light of Calvary. Israel’s sins committed under the Old Covenant—the Law of Moses—are now cancelled with the ratification of the New Covenant at Christ’s Second Coming (Hebrews 9:11-28; cf. Acts 3:19-21; Romans 11:25-29). “By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;…. For by one offering he hath [grace!!!!] perfected for ever them that are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:10-12,14).

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Israel: The Miracle Nation #8

Thursday, February 10, 2022

“But Sarai was barren; she had no child” (Genesis 11:30 KJV).

How will the LORD God prove Israel is His miracle nation?

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them [the Jews] who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19,20). The Law of Moses was given, not to save anyone from sin, but to clearly define sin. If the “best” nation, Israel, is condemned, what hope do the world’s nations have in ever attaining God’s standard of righteousness? None! Hence, grace, not law, was the LORD’S original covenant with Israel. The Law was to teach stubborn Israel they needed a Saviour, for they could not save themselves.

Galatians chapter 3: “[18] For if the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise. [19] Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator. [20] Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one. [21] Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law…. [24] Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.”

Likewise, having used the Law to realize our need for the Saviour, we now receive by faith God’s blessings via His grace (what He can do for us through Christ’s finished crosswork). “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30,31). “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).

Israel will finally learn that yet future….