Category: sin

Your “Convenient Season” is Now!

Saturday, June 18, 2016

“And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee” (Acts 24:24,25 KJV).

Friend, follow not foolish Felix’s faithless failure!

Paul, arrested in Jerusalem in Acts chapter 22, now stands trial in Caesarea before Judaean Governor Felix. While Paul is in custody, Felix treats him kindly (verse 23). After allowing Paul time to refresh himself with his friends, Scripture says Felix wanted to hear Paul “concerning the faith in Christ.” The faithful Apostle obliged.

Before Felix, Paul “reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come.” The Bible says Felix “trembled:” he knew he was a lost man and that he would give an account to God the righteous Judge one day. Felix, however, lost interest in hearing God’s Word. He told Paul to come back when he had a “more convenient season” to listen to the Apostle. To Satan’s delight, amidst various distractions, Felix postponed trusting Christ. He had “better” things to do than sit around listening to Paul talk about God’s Son. Rather than worry about judgment in Hell, he had set his eyes on “living the good life” on Earth.

In fact, to please the Jews, Felix kept Paul in custody for the next two years (verse 27). He frequently called Paul back into his presence, hoping one of Paul’s wealthy friends would bribe him to release Paul (verse 26). Unfortunately, Scripture never says Felix requested Paul bring him the Gospel again. As far as the Scriptural record is concerned, Felix came very close to God’s truth but died a lost man because he never found that “convenient season!”

Like Felix, there are many precious people today procrastinating about preparing for God’s judgment against their sin. Their eternal souls are hanging in the balance—may they tarry no longer! May they trust Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour now, His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for their sins. Remember, like Felix, they may never again have a “convenient season” like right now!

The Good Shepherd

Friday, June 17, 2016

“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep” (John 10:14,15 KJV).

Jesus came to do what Israel’s shepherds failed to do!

Four primary Bible chapters feature lengthy, stinging rebukes to Israel’s corrupt religious leadership—Jeremiah chapter 23 (they pervert the Lord’s words), Ezekiel chapter 34 (they mislead the Lord’s people), Matthew chapter 23 (they feign to be the Lord’s people), and John chapter 8 (they are Satan’s children).

Jeremiah 50:6 says: “My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their resting place.” In Ezekiel 34:1-31, God sharply disapproves of the way Israel’s religious leaders are guiding the whole nation into error. He promises to come personally and deliver His people from these evil leaders, and to cause His people to return to Him (Millennial Kingdom). This is the context of Christ’s earthly ministry: He is the Good Shepherd come to lead the wayward sheep of Israel back into His ways (today’s Scripture). In the Four Gospels, we read about “the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 10:6; Matthew 15:24) and Israel being a flock of sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34).

Peter wrote of Israel’s believing remnant who responded to Jesus Christ by faith: “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls” (1 Peter 2:25). Hebrews 13:20 says: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will….”

Ancient Israel’s shepherds were focused more on themselves than leading God’s people. Then, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, came. He selflessly gave for Israel instead of selfishly taking from her. He laid down His life for His sheep, to save them from their sins and the ravening wolves of Satan, and to make them His people able to do His will!

Please see our related archived Bible Q&A article for additional insight: https://forwhatsaiththescriptures.wordpress.com/2016/01/25/is-john-10-16-the-body-of-christ/.

Shepherds Feeding Themselves

Thursday, June 16, 2016

“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks? …Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them” (Ezekiel 34:2,10 KJV).

Friend, do you know any “self-feeding shepherds?”

Many years ago, a deacon asked an incoming pastor, “Will you let the Holy Spirit lead you in guiding our assembly?” The pastor replied, “I came here to retire!” He was uninterested in God’s will (as they later painfully discovered when he introduced false teaching and collapsed the assembly!).

Our English word “pastor” in its original Latin meant “shepherd” or “feeder,” related to “put to pasture.” Jesus commanded the Apostle Peter, “Feed my lambs. Feed my sheep. Feed my sheep” (John 21:15-17). The Apostle Paul warned the Ephesian church leaders: “[28] Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. [29] For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. [30] Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. [31] Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears” (Acts chapter 20).

The Greek word rendered “overseers” (episkopos) is elsewhere translated “bishop(s)” (Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:2; Titus 1:7; 1 Peter 2:25). Poimen is often rendered “shepherd” but translated “pastors” in Ephesians 4:11. These men should be “guiding” (supervising) and “feeding” (nourishing) local churches, keeping them in sound Bible doctrine, and guarding them against false teaching. Alas, many bishops and pastors—whether today or in ancient Israel (today’s Scripture)—are self-feeding! While they enjoy thousand-dollar handmade suits and multimillion-dollar mansions, their people spiritually starve!

Sowing and Reaping

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:7-9 KJV).

You will reap what you sow, more than you sow, and later than you sow.

A documentary I recently watched featured the 1957 murder of two police officers. The killer escaped; the case went cold. Forty-six (!) years later, advancements in fingerprint-analysis computer software led to the criminal’s identification. The authorities tracked him down and knocked on his front door. Now 70 years old, he was a respected father, grandfather, and retired businessman. Imagine his shock when officers told him he was under arrest! While not remorseful, he confessed to the murders of “so long ago.”

Yet, there was another confirmation he was guilty. At his trial, officials asked him to remove his shirt. There was a bullet-wound scar on his back. It was where one of dying officers had shot him nearly 50 years earlier! He was convicted and sentenced to two consecutive life-terms. Over 80, he is still in prison today.

This astonishing case reminded me of today’s Scripture. While written to and about believers, it has a general application to non-Christians. Friend, whether you are saved or lost, if you live a life of sin, “be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). However, if you (if you are a Christian) have a Spirit-filled life, led by God’s Spirit, you will enjoy God’s life here on Earth (not just in eternity in Heaven).

You will not see immediate results. Sin will bring you temporary success; righteous living will bring you persecution. It may take 50 years for reality to hit, but, rest assured, your sowing to the flesh will cause defeat and misery. Likewise, your sowing to the Spirit will bring God’s life into your life. Do not return to the flesh-life! Remember, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” 🙂

Distress of Nations, With Perplexity

Monday, June 13, 2016

“And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken” (Luke 21:25,26 KJV).

If you think the nations are “distressed” today, just consider what prophecy holds!

With the dawn of instant communication, never has God’s Word reached more people and spread so far into the world as it has right now. Billions of printed Bibles in thousands of languages. Millions of Bible study resources in thousands of languages found online. Nevertheless, apathetic sentiment toward the Bible is increasingly becoming belligerent rejection. We in so-called “Christian America” are hearing more and more bad news concerning the breakdown of our society—civil unrest, financial uncertainty, mass murders, sexual deviations, political revolution, et cetera.

People in all nations are growing increasingly desperate in attempts to find meaning, love, acceptance, and gratification. It will only worsen. Others in all nations are growing increasingly desperate to find solutions to society’s problems by looking to politics, religion, economics, et cetera. That too will only worsen. Having rejected the light and life that God’s Word provides in Jesus Christ, they never cease to grope around in darkness in a frantic, panic, manic search! Oh, but, dear friends, what we see today is not as bad as it is going to get!

Today’s Scripture is extracted from Jesus’ Second Sermon on the Mount. After describing the various judgments in the Heavens, the Lord shifts focus to the Earth. Just before His Second Coming, as the seven-year Tribulation runs its course, we read of the “distress of nations, with perplexity… Men’s hearts failing them for fear….” “Distress” is translated “anguish” in 2 Corinthians 2:4—suffering or sorrow. “Perplexity” is “knowing no way out.” With sin reaching its pinnacle under the Antichrist, Jesus says the nations will finally reach “rock bottom.”

Thankfully, our world, although bad off, is not there yet! For now, our Dispensation of Grace will continue operating… until no one else wants to trust Christ (2 Peter 3:9)!

That They Shall Not Take Shame

Saturday, June 11, 2016

“Prophesy ye not, say they to them that prophesy: they shall not prophesy to them, that they shall not take shame” (Micah 2:6 KJV).

Has human nature changed in 2,700 years? Nay!

Mom and I recently visited a sickly, elderly relative whose life-threatening ailment requires surgery. The lady confessed she was “scared.” She knows there is a great possibility that, because of her advanced age, she may not survive the operation. When Mom tried to share the Gospel of the Grace of God with her, she refused to hear it. She said she was born into her particular religion, and she would stay with it until she died. When I asked her, “But what if they [our ancestors] were wrong?,” she refused to talk about it anymore. Mom and I changed the subject. Today’s Scripture parallels what happened here.

With the fifth and final course of judgment coming upon wicked Israel, unbelieving Jews were forbidding God’s prophets from preaching His Word to them. They were not interested in hearing the God of creation. Writing contemporary with today’s Scripture, Isaiah penned in chapter 30: “[8] Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: [9] That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: [10] Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits: [11] Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us.”

Likewise, millions upon millions today tell Christians to stop preaching Jesus Christ. The sin nature operates in all peoples—as in ancient Israel so today. Eventually, God told His messengers to stay quiet (see the last part of today’s Scripture). The lost Jews refused to hear His truth. Now, His servants would say nothing. He would let the unbelievers reap the consequences of their evil. Beloved, may we react similarly when people persistently refuse our preaching of Jesus Christ… “that they shall not take shame!”

For more info, see our related archived Bible Q&A: “Why did Jesus forbid others from preaching that He was Christ?”

Never in Bondage?

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

“They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?” (John 8:33 KJV).

Is that so?

If you listen to today’s popular “Christian” preaching, you get the impression that people are not really all that bad. They have “some good in all of them.” Thus, so many actually believe they will make it into heaven eventually. They just keep “making an effort” so “God will give them ‘points’ for trying” (as a religious friend told me). Many see no need for the Gospel of Jesus Christ because they do not fully appreciate the fact that they are lost and going to hell!

Jeremiah 17:9 says about our human heart: “…deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” Our heart will cause us to believe any lie and we will not know any better. Just look at the Jews’ response in today’s Scripture. They told Jesus they had never been in bondage to any man before. Of course, they overlooked the Roman soldiers walking by! (Rome was currently ruling over Israel.) Not to mention Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks had ruled Israel centuries prior!

The Jews were too prideful to admit that pagan dirty “dogs” (Gentiles) were dominating them. Since they could not learn a physical lesson, they completely missed the spiritual one. They were too prideful to admit their sin. Jesus was talking about Him being able to free them from the bondage of sin (verse 34), but they were thinking in terms of the natural world (physical freedom, which they said they did not need because they were supposedly no one’s slaves).

I will never forget an almost 90-year-old religious relative who, while I was sharing the Gospel with her, told me that she had “never sinned” in her whole life! (That dear lady has since left this world… I can only wonder where her soul is today!) Perhaps as many as 100,000 precious souls wake up in hell every single day. They thought they were never in “bondage” to sin; now, they are in “bondage” to hell forever! Brethren, reach them by God’s grace while you still can!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Did Jonah live in the whale’s belly?”

Grace and Peace

Friday, June 3, 2016

“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” (2 Corinthians 5:19 KJV).

Jesus Christ is the Saviour, not the Judge, today.

Recently, a Christian brother told me God was keeping certain leaders in power here in America to “judge us.” That is, God was using evil politicians to punish the wicked United States. He pointed out God judged Israel for sins in the “Old Testament.” America’s current difficulties, the brother claimed, are the divine wrath disobedient Israel endured. Today’s Scripture, a verse of tremendous dispensational significance, teaches something entirely different.

Paul is “the apostle of the Gentiles [all nations]” (Romans 11:13). As God’s spokesman to all nations, Paul was led on 13 occasions to write, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 1:7; 1 Corinthians 1:3; 2 Corinthians 1:2; Galatians 1:3; Ephesians 1:2; Philippians 1:2; Colossians 1:2; 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:2; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; Titus 1:4; Philemon 3). Each of Paul’s epistles greets the world with “grace and peace” (opposite “wrath and war”). Again, today’s Scripture: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.” Because of Calvary, God is not angry at nations today. He is being kind to them!

Concerning “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2), God’s attitude toward all nations is “grace and peace.” There is no Law system operating today as in Israel’s program. Israel’s Law system was simply to prove that God would have to save mankind according to His grace, not man’s religious efforts. Now, He is manifesting His grace (unmerited favor) to mankind in a very special way today—the soul salvation found in Jesus Christ’s shed blood. In the Dispensation of Grace, God is freely and unconditionally offering the nations salvation through Jesus Christ. God is longsuffering, and has been for 2,000 years, for the people of the world to respond in faith. Once they trust His Son, He permanently reconciles with them individually.

As bad as it may seem in the United States or anywhere else, Earth is not facing God’s wrath… yet!

He Who Knew No Sin

Thursday, June 2, 2016

“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” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV).

What does the Bible mean—Christ “knew” no sin?

The Greek word translated “knew” (ginosko) in today’s Scripture in the King James Bible, is rendered “had” in six modern English versions. That is, “had no sin” is found in: NIV, NIV-UK, Easy-to-Read Version (ERV), Expanded Bible (EXB), International Children’s Bible (ICB), and New Century Version (NCV). While this rewording avoids copyright infringements, it is a poor translation. Out of 50 English versions, only these six use “had.” The majority—agreeing with the KJV—renders ginosko as “knew.” Why is “knew” superior?

Jesus did not merely “have no sin.” As someone once pointed out, “had” allows the possibility that Jesus had personal sins that God did not simply credit to His account. Nay, our KJV has the correct reading—“who knew no sin.” As 1 John 3:5 says: “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.” And 1 Peter 2:22 confirms: “Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth….” Jesus had no sins for Father God to reckon because He never “knew” (experienced) sin! Our Lord Jesus had no relationship with sin like we. How was this possible?

The Lord Jesus was far from a “good man” and “great teacher.” He was the perfect Man, God manifested in our humanity. There is no way a man cannot sin… unless, of course, he lacks a human father. So, the Lord Jesus did not have a biological earthly father. Therefore, he had no Adamic sin nature to inherit. He merely had a human mother, with God the Holy Spirit supplying the male sex cell. Notice Luke 1:35: “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” That “holy thing” was Jesus’ sinless human nature, contrasted with our “unclean thing,” or sinful human nature (cf. Isaiah 64:6).

Without a sin nature, Jesus could never “know” sin!

The Greatest War Hero

Monday, May 30, 2016

“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.