Category: sin

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #4

Monday, February 18, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

What prevents a person from going to heaven is sin, the lack of righteousness. However, God offers His righteousness to us as a free gift: “The righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference” (Romans 3:22). We can be justified—declared righteous before God—by simple faith in Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice of Himself for us on Calvary’s cross.

The Gospel of the Grace of God is the solution to man’s sin problem and salvation from hell can be found therein: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Once someone places his or her faith in this gospel alone, God imputes (applies) His righteousness to his or her account, and this person is now a permanent member of the Church the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Timothy 1:12). He or she is now heaven-bound, and will avoid the eternal penalty of sin (hell and the lake of fire)!

Although soul salvation from hell is good in and of itself, God has more to say in His Word than simply the Gospel of His Grace. Soul salvation is only part of God’s will for everyone (the first half of today’s Scripture). God now wants the Christian to progress in spiritual maturity, to gain a greater understanding of why he saved him or her (the second half of today’s Scripture). Just as Satan’s policy of evil is designed to blind lost people from understanding the Gospel, and keep them on their way to hell, it also prevents Christians from understanding God’s will for them with respect to spiritual maturity, so they remain spiritually ignorant. Christians are already saved from hell. Now they need to be saved from false (that is, denominational) teaching—this is the goal is dispensational Bible study….

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #3

Sunday, February 17, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

People commonly believe that if they just quit doing bad things, God will accept them into heaven: “I need to stop [name the sinful act], and I need to start going to church, donating money, praying, fasting, et cetera….” Frankly, this does absolutely nothing for them. They are focusing on their symptoms (individual sins), and ignoring their underlying sickness (sin nature). Man’s main problem is not that he commits sinful acts; his primary dilemma is that his nature is wicked (the origin of his sinful actions).

Even after “going through the motions” of religious obligation at church, the sinner is no closer to heaven than if he had stayed at home and done nothing. He may have “quit” certain sinful acts and replaced them with pious works. Nonetheless, his nature is still sinful, still anti-God, and still worthy of hell. Despite his “dealing with the symptoms,” he is still spiritually sick!

Thus, it behooved Jesus Christ, the Great Physician, to completely treat us sinners. He made a “house call,” but not to prescribe more rules to clean up our lives. We needed more than reformation (symptom reduction); we needed regeneration (complete spiritual healing). We lacked spiritual life, so God Himself came to give us His!

Although we do not have righteousness before God in and of ourselves, we can be “made the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus Christ died, not simply to pay for our sins, but to also crucify our sin nature with Himself! “Our old man is crucified with him” (Romans 6:6). When we trust the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for our sins, God takes our sin and sins and applies them to Calvary’s cross, and appropriates the merits of Christ’s perfect crosswork to us (imputation and justification). We also receive a new nature in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) (regeneration).

But, salvation from hell is not just a fire escape….

Saved from Hell, But Lost in Tradition #2

Saturday, February 16, 2013

“…God our Saviour; who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Can someone go to heaven without ever learning dispensational Bible study?

Soul salvation and spiritual growth, although related, are not to be confused. SIN, not a failure to correctly use and/or comprehend the Bible, is what prevents people from going to heaven.

Lost people are going to hell, not because of their sins (plural), but because they are spiritually dead (the “Adamic nature” that causes their sins). People are not sinners because they sin; they sin because they are sinners. Their main problem is not that they do bad things; their primary issue is the sin nature that causes them to do those bad things. This nature is completely opposed to God, and people gratify it by disobeying Him.

Paul describes the predicament of lost mankind: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them 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 [God’s] sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:19,20). Our sinful actions simply confirm that we have a nature that is thoroughly anti-God.

The Mosaic Law (specifically the Ten Commandments) condemns us. Because of our wicked nature, we cannot even keep 10 rules to make God happy with us. As the Apostle John wrote, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). In our identity in Adam, we have no righteousness (that is, we have a bad standing before God). A lost soul needs to be made right in God’s sight, before he or she physically dies and goes to hell. In order to go to heaven, his or her sin and sins must be dealt with, and Christ’s finished crosswork provides salvation from those sin and sins. Additionally, God has for this person a teaching curriculum to explain why He will save him or her….

God is Love

Thursday, February 14, 2013

“…God is love… God is love… We love him, because he first loved us” (1 John 4:8b,16b,19 KJV).

The word “love” is used very flippantly in today’s world. Of the many who speak about “love,” few know what it is. On this Valentine’s Day, we offer sound doctrine from God’s Word to correct the misunderstandings of what love really is. What is love, according to God’s Word?

Today’s Scripture says that “God is love”—God does not simply love, but His very nature is love. What does that mean? In 1 John 3:16, we read: “Hereby we perceive the love of God, because he laid down his life for us:” Our Apostle Paul put it this way: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God’s nature is love—selfless, self-sacrificing!

God’s Word defines love and charity in 2 Corinthians 12:15: “And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.” Love is seeking the best interest of others, even if it costs you something (time, energy, resources, et cetera). Charity is love in deed (demonstrated, manifested in action). God loved us, so He sent His Son Jesus Christ to die for our sins. It cost God the Father His Son, and it cost God the Son His life. What a selfless act!

Our nature in Adam is selfish, but our nature in Christ is not. Paul declares, “the love of Christ constraineth us” (2 Corinthians 5:14). We who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, our Christian lives are driven and motivated by Christ’s love for us, not our love for Him. It is this unselfish love of Christ working in us that causes us to look on the things of others, to seek their edification and their benefit, not ours (Romans 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 10:24; Philippians 2:1-11). This will result in charity, our selfless actions reflecting that love of Christ (2 Corinthians 12:15).

As the lost world observes our Christian service, they will see, “God is love.”

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The (2012) Bible study can be read here or watched here.

A Pet Lover’s “Pet” Verse

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

“A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel” (Proverbs 12:10 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is the “pet” verse of pet lovers everywhere!

From the massive blue whales and gigantic dinosaurs to tiny ants and puny microorganisms, animal life has always fascinated mankind. After all, “whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof” (Genesis 2:19). Adam, the first man, was also the first human scientist: he studied animal life, and in his brilliance, invented names for each of those creatures! Before he and Eve fell into sin, they probably had some of these as pets in the Garden of Eden. Even today, thousands of years later, mankind is still enjoying the billions of creatures that he has adopted as “family.”

Owning pets can be very rewarding, but it is equally painful when they pass away. Recently, my family marked the ninth anniversary of the death of our first pet dog. The poor animal extensively suffered from a disease during his last few days, and it was a great loss when he died. Reflecting on my childhood, I remember the deaths of other pets—fish, hermit crabs, a cat, and even an unknown insect species. I was diligent in feeding them, cleaning their habitats, and studying their behaviors.

Weeks ago, our current family pet dog was severely injured, and when I observed his wounds in the veterinary clinic, I was deeply disturbed as he floundered helplessly in agony. Although he survived, we grew very concerned because of his unknown prognosis.

According to today’s Scripture, “a righteous [just, fair] man regardeth the life of his beast.” He pays attention to the wellbeing of the animal he owns and he gives it adequate care. This is contrasted with “the wicked,” whose “tender mercies… are cruel.” They cannot be trusted to treat their animals/pets with kindness. Instead, they abuse them and neglect them. These owners are unsympathetic when their pets suffer.

So, what art thou? A “righteous” master, or a “wicked?”

God’s Grace on Parade

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

“…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 (2012) Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

Fearful Versus Fearless

Monday, February 4, 2013

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV).

As our world wallows in fear and uncertainty, we have peace and strength in Christ.

In recent months, I have spoken to Christians and lost people who are concerned about national and world events. Both lost and saved people alike know that our culture, especially in the United States, is undergoing significant change. Decades ago, one Christian brother lamented, “Society’s moral fabric is rotting.” I wonder what he would say today?! To exacerbate the situation, the quality of much of Christendom’s teaching and preaching is just as godless and unscriptural as society’s morality. But there is hope!

God did not take us to heaven the moment we trusted Christ as our personal Saviour. Instead, He left us here on earth. Why? Jesus Christ, “the light of the world” (John 8:12), now lives in us members of His Body. We Christians are the vessels in which God has deposited the life of His Son, so He can then manifest His spiritual light to this dark world! Beloved, it is our privilege to be here as “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Let us not shrink away in fear.

Instead of being fearful and hiding in our homes to avoid the evil world system, we can be fearless beacons of hope and light in and to this lost and dying world. Paul’s encouraging words to the Philippians were: “Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain” (2:14-16).

We, the Church the Body of Christ, may be a small group of people, and yes, we King James Bible Pauline dispensationalists are a remnant within that remnant, but God Almighty is on our side, and nothing He does is in vain. Let us fearlessly continue in sound Bible doctrine!

Something Not Worth Losing

Sunday, February 3, 2013

“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!

Saint, Why Sayest Thou Nothing? #7

Saturday, February 2, 2013

“Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews” (John 7:13 KJV).

You are not alone in being shy about witnessing for Jesus Christ….

Until we leave these physical bodies of sin, we will continue to deal with our weak, sinful flesh. Hence, we are not always bold in witnessing. The world still appeals to our flesh: we keep quiet about the Bible in order to keep our social standing—our “friends” and their “respect.” We want to avoid conflict and persecution. As our Lord Jesus Christ declared, “It is the spirit that quickeneth [makes alive]; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63).

Though our flesh is weak, and “good for nothing,” we who have trusted exclusively the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, have life in Christ! Rather than pining away in the old thinking patterns (the ‘say nothing’ attitude), we can have faith in God’s Word. We can believe Christ’s words and let them transform us. “…The word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

The Holy Spirit lives within us members of the Church the Body of Christ. “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). The Holy Spirit strengthens us through His Word, and gives us the boldness to preach and share Jesus Christ with this lost and dying world. As the Lord told Paul, “Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee…” (Acts 18:9,10). God says the same thing to us!

Remember, if the people suffering in hell could come back, they would urge you to tell their surviving family and friends about Jesus Christ, lest they too wind up suffering God’s righteous wrath forever. The rich man in hell told Abraham: “…Send [Lazarus] to my father’s house: for I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment” (Luke 16:27,28).

“Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee….”

Saint, Why Sayest Thou Nothing? #3

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

“Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear of the Jews” (John 7:13 KJV).

You are not alone in being shy about witnessing for Jesus Christ….

In John chapter 9, Jesus Christ heals a man who was blind from birth. Because it is the Saturday Sabbath, the pedantic, “law-keeping” Pharisees are filled with anger (verse 14). They proceed to interrogate and harass the healed man, further hardening their unbelieving hearts. Unless they can ask His parents if he was blind, they will not believe that he was healed. So, they call forth his parents.

Read their “testimony” in John 9:20-23: “His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask him: he shall speak for himself. These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews: for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore said his parents, He is of age; ask him.”

Notice why his parents said, “He is of age; ask him.” They would have to admit that Jesus Christ performed the healing miracle, and this they refuse to do because it would jeopardize their social standing. They would be labeled a “God nut” and they would lose their “friends,” so, they do not dare declare Jesus is Christ/Messiah.

John 12:42,43 summarizes this issue: “Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

People do not always welcome us with “open arms” when we preach the Gospel of the Grace of God, so we are prone to stay silent, just as these people in the Bible did, lest we are relegated to a “Bible-believing fanatic” status. This should not be so. Thankfully, with God, there is a solution!