Category: sin

Ye Would Not!

Friday, June 24, 2016

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matthew 23:37 KJV).

As in Christ’s earthly ministry, so today—God never takes free will away!

Recently, a brother in Christ shared his heavy burden with me. One of his relatives is in dire health, suffering 99 percent brain damage. His doctors say, even if he survives, he will be in a vegetative state. The brother explained to me that he shared the Gospel with this man years ago, but had not heard from him since. He is still worried the now-dying man never did anything with the Gospel—especially sad now that he is holding to life by a thread and maybe drawing closer to hell.

This brother had to understand it is beyond his control. He has shared the Gospel most faithfully, and there is nothing he can do for his relative but pray for him now. His brain is not functioning properly anymore, but he still may be aware in his soul. We cannot be sure just how alert such people are spiritually. If they so desire, God can always bring His Word to memory in those who have heard it years before.

Beloved, we should never beat ourselves up wondering if we shared the Gospel enough with someone who is dying or who has since died. If they only heard us share the Gospel with them once, that one time was all that we were able to do. While we care for them deeply, we cannot force people to trust Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour. The God of the Bible is all about freedom. If people do not want Him, He will not force them to accept Him. After three years of ministry, with a heavy heart, Jesus looked at Jerusalem and wept. They had no interest in Him or anything He had to say to them (today’s Scripture).

God has done everything to keep people out of hell by sending Jesus Christ to die for their sins. If they want to ignore that, that is their choice. Let it not be ours!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you explain Jude 9?”

False Prophets

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

“And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:11 KJV).

While actually describing the future state of the world, today’s Scripture is easily seen today.

Recently, while visiting a local park, I encountered four cult members distributing free literature at a sidewalk booth. They undeniably call themselves “Christians.” While they were friendly people, and probably more generous and loving than the average Christian, their doctrine is so far removed from sound Bible teaching that they could not be rightly called and never be rightly called Christians. Having spoken with a friend who was saved out of that group, having read their literature, and having spoken with several of them over the years, I know their denominational hierarchy has them slaving away in doing good works in hopes of them entering God’s kingdom. You can be sure these four heard the Gospel of God’s Grace from me. What they do with God’s Son is on them now!

The Lord Jesus gave His Second Olivet Discourse in Matthew chapter 24—the context of today’s Scripture. His apostles wanted to know the characteristics of the end-times, events that would occur leading up to His return (Second Coming). He issued seven warnings not to be deceived (verses 4,5,11,23-26). The chief characteristic of the end-times is deception. In the words of Jesus Christ, “Many” deceivers deceiving “many.” Why?

People will be claiming to be “Christ,” God manifested in human flesh. There will be people professing to be “prophets,” God’s spokespeople to mankind. People will be performing miracles using Satan’s power, but claiming to be God’s miracle-workers. They will all pave the way for the Antichrist, the epitome of deception, the Man of Sin and the Son of Perdition (Damnation), the physical representation of Satan’s lie program. The world having been so deceived in the 2,000 years since Jesus spoke today’s Scripture, it is so easy to see just how easily the Antichrist will enter with little opposition. Having rejected the love of the truth, they can now enjoy “strong delusion [deception]” and “believe a lie” (2 Thessalonians 2:2-12).

Friends, let us stay with the Word of God rightly divided. ‘Tis the only way to avoid the deceivers!

Our special-edition Bible Q&A #275: “Was the Apostle Paul a false prophet?”

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!