Category: sin

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #4

Tuesday, January 12, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

The first sin in creation was pride, “the condemnation of the devil” (1 Timothy 3:6). Lucifer, God’s most powerful created spirit being, fell in love with himself (cf. Isaiah 14:12-15). Endowed with super intelligence and arrayed in clothing of precious stones, he was “full of wisdom and perfect in beauty” (Ezekiel 28:12). These traits—including musical instruments built into his body—were to be used for God’s glory, over whose throne Lucifer’s body served as a canopy (verse 13). This “anointed cherub that covereth… wast perfect in all [his] ways from the day that [he] was created, till iniquity was found in [him]” (verse 15).

“[16] By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. [17] Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. [18] Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.”

Here is Satan’s origin, the first being who preferred to worship and serve self instead of the Creator. Moreover, Lucifer enticed many angels to join him in his rebellion against the Lord. Thus, we read of “the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). However, some angels stayed true to the Lord, bearing the title “the elect angels” (1 Timothy 5:21). Sin has permanently divided the angelic ranks, finding out and fracturing all involved….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #3

Monday, January 11, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

Sinning against the LORD is not something to be taken lightly. It is a serious offense to act contrary to the revealed or known will of God. Actually, it becomes an increasingly greater transgression with the addition of acknowledged spiritual light. In other words, the more opportunity to know the truth, and the amount of spiritual truth known before and during the commission of the sin, makes the sin all the more egregious or terrible. “I know what the Holy Bible says about it, but I will do it anyway. I will not let someone tell me how to run my life!”

Moreover, the consequences of sin are oftentimes not readily apparent. In fact, the sin will initially look “harmless,” leading to its normalization. “It is not that bad, nothing destructive will come of it. I do not see what is wrong with it. You should do it too!” As an extra layer of “protection” for ourselves, we remove any deterrents. “See, I got away with it. I can keep doing it. Nothing bad happened. That was fun!” Having excused the behavior, we do it again with pleasure. The cycle of poor thinking and behavior repeats indefinitely.

We remind ourselves once more of Moses’ stern counsel to Gad and Reuben in today’s Scripture. Paraphrased, “You know exactly what the LORD told you to do, and you have promised to obey Him. If you ignore that Divine revelation, and misbehave, be fully confident your sin will find you out!” A more modern way of saying it is simply this: “You can run but you cannot hide.” No matter what we do, we will eventually face the consequences of those actions. Whether a good choice, or a bad choice, the results are guaranteed to follow us and affect us. Now, we examine some instances in Scripture where sin not only found out the sinner, but also fractured in twain the associated parties….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #2

Sunday, January 10, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

The tribes of Gad and Reuben reassured Moses they would help their brethren conquer the land west of the Jordan River. Once the rest of Israel encamped in that new territory, then Gad and Reuben would return to the east and settle there with their cattle. We will read today’s Scripture in context.

“[20] And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, [21] And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, [22] And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. [23] But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. [24] Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.”

Moses gave an austere warning to Reuben and Gad. Their brethren—the remaining 10 tribes—could interpret their actions as opposing God’s orders. If that were the case, the entire nation would be tempted to sin (that is, believe they could not enter the land a second time). Reuben and Gad thus promised they would aid their brethren in battle on the western bank of the Jordan, and Moses counseled them to make certain they would keep their word. Otherwise, their behavior would become a snare to the whole nation. They would sin against the LORD God, and, as Moses cautioned them, “be sure [be absolutely convinced] your sin will find you out.” Despite what they might assume, if they disobeyed the LORD, under no circumstances would they escape the consequence of their iniquity….

Found Out and Fractured in Twain #1

Saturday, January 9, 2021

“But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out” (Numbers 32:23 KJV).

Doubtless, we never want to sensationalize or exaggerate. However, the fact remains, some dark days are ahead for the United States and the rest of the world. What can we Bible-believing Christians do?

In the context of today’s Scripture, the nation Israel is on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Moses reviews their history for the sake of the new generations born during the previous 40 years of wilderness wanderings. As they migrate northward, approaching the land of Canaan from the east, a few of Israel’s 12 tribes want to settle here on Jordan’s eastern banks. These lands are fertile places for their cattle to graze. Consequently, the tribes of Reuben and Gad ask Moses if they can live here instead of crossing the Jordan and settling with the remainder of the nation west of Jordan.

Continue reading in Numbers chapter 32: “[4] Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: [5] Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. [6] And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? [7] And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?”

Moses fears that, by letting Gad and Reuben colonize east of the Jordan, the remaining 10 tribes will grow too scared to fight and take their own land on Jordan’s western banks. He reminds the two tribes, in verses 8-15, that the 10 spies’ falsehoods had discouraged Israel from settling the land some four decades earlier (see Numbers 13:26-33 and Numbers 14:1-45). Therefore, Gad and Reuben promise to assist their brethren in war when they prepare to settle west of the Jordan (Numbers 32:16-20). Moses warns them to keep their word, lest their sin “find [them] out….”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you explain Mark 9:38-41?”

Knowledge of Grace Living

Friday, January 8, 2021

“For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:11-14 KJV).

Friend, would you like to have knowledge of grace living?

While God does not save us because of our works, that does not mean He does not care how we live. He wants our lives to be filled with good works. However, He is not interested in us working in the energy of our flesh—religious rites, rituals, ceremonies, et cetera. He will do good works in and through us as we listen to and believe sound Bible doctrine.

Ephesians 2:8-10: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” It is “in Christ”—our identity in the Lord Jesus—that we walk in good works. As our Adamic nature produces sins (evil deeds), so our Christian nature produces good works. God’s grace, what He has done for us through Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary, allows Him to continue working. As we walk by faith in the grace principles outlined in Paul’s epistles (Romans through Philemon), the Holy Spirit enlivens us accordingly. God’s will for us is two-fold: “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4).

While we wait for the Lord’s return, to take us the Church the Body of Christ to live in the heavenly places, we walk by faith in an intelligent understanding of God’s words to us. The life of Christ is on display in us. Similarly, in the ages to come, the Lord will live His life in and through Israel as she functions as His earthly people. Overall, His eternal purpose is accomplished in creation in Heaven (us) and Earth (Israel)!

Dear brethren, with our “Original 7” studies expanded the seventh time, we open another 500-study unit!

Saints, please remember us in your monthly giving—these websites do cost money to run! 🙂 You can donate securely here: https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux, or email me at arcministries@gmail.com. Do not forget about Bible Q&A booklets for sale at https://arcgraceministries.org/in-print/booklets-bible-q-a/. Thanks to all who give to and pray for us! By the way, ministry emails have really been backed up this year. I am handling them as much as humanly possible. Thanks for your patience. 🙂

Knowledge of Jesus Christ

Monday, January 4, 2021

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23 KJV).

Friend, would you like to have knowledge of Jesus Christ?

Do you see the evil everywhere? The Bible calls it sin. A nasty word indeed, it is what it is. What will you do with your sin, all the evils you have committed? Are you worthy of eternal life, entrance into God’s presence? If you are honest, you will reply in the negative. No one is perfect. Romans 3:23 says: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.”

Thankfully, the Bible also tells us in 1 Timothy chapter 2: “[5] For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; [6] Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. [7] Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not; ) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity.” Christ shed His blood to pay for our sins, to give His life as a payment.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). Peter understood this in Acts chapter 4: “[10] Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole…. [12] Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

While sin destines us for Hell and the Lake of Fire, we can trust Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, and pass from eternal death to eternal life. Read these words of Paul: “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). Finally, “…Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:30,31).

Redeem the Year!

Friday, January 1, 2021

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17 KJV).

What great advice for 2021!

Despite 2,000 years of Bible schools and seminaries, 2,000 years of a completed Bible canon, 2,000 years of Bible reading in churches, several decades of “Christian” television and radio, and just over a decade of widespread use of “Christian” websites, how sad that Bible ignorance is still quite extensive (it is as if God never gave His Word to start with!).

Frankly, the Church the Body of Christ needs to wake up! The verse previous to today’s Scripture says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (verse 14). Paul, loosely quoting Isaiah 60:1, reminded us that the spiritual ignorance that gripped Israel in Isaiah’s day seized Christians in his day—and it still grips Christians 20 centuries later. Feel-good sermons, enjoyable “worship” services, and rites, rituals, and ceremonies will NOT solve this problem—they exacerbate it!

“[God] will have all men to be saved…” (1 Timothy 2:4a). Do you want this New Year to count for God’s glory? First, you need to get saved from sins and hell! You need to become a Christian by trusting in and relying on Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). That is only part of God’s will for you, for 1 Timothy 2:4b continues, “[God] will have all men… to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Now, God’s will for your Christian life is daily, personal Bible study to renew your mind, so your faith in those verses can cause God to work in your life—it will be His life, thus making you “perfect [spiritually mature], throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Today’s Scripture urges us to buy back the time Satan has robbed from God (time created for God’s glory). By faith, we need to make that time glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by applying His Word, particularly Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, to our lives. Have a good year in Christ! 🙂

You can download our free “One-Year Bible Reading Schedule.”

See our archived Bible Q&A: “What Scriptural advice can you give me for the New Year?”

The Misunderstood Messiah #5

Wednesday, December 30, 2020

“Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (John 8:41 KJV).

Did you ever notice the magnitude of the insult put forth toward Jesus Christ in today’s Scripture?

Once Christ replied with sound doctrine (verses 42-47), Israel’s religious leaders simply resorted to name-calling again (verse 48): “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?” A Samaritan was half-Jew/half-Gentile, and “the Jews [had] no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). Notice Jesus was insulted twice more—they called Him a “Samaritan” and “devil possessed.” Throughout the rest of John chapter 8, Israel’s religious leaders continue arguing with Jesus and nearly stone Him to death (verse 59)!

Why did Jesus not simply “zap” these religionists and instantly throw them into hellfire? They belittled and blasphemed Him several times in this one account, and then attempted to murder Him, but rather than Jesus killing them with His spoken word (which would have been justified), He only conversed with them. Why?

Remember, when the Apostles James and John saw how the Samaritans refused to accommodate Jesus, they asked Him if He wanted them to call down fire from heaven and consume those sinners, He replied, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:55,56). This First Coming of Christ was His “meek and lowly” coming: He did not come to judge man’s sins, but to die for them!

Even today, God is still not pouring out His wrath on wicked mankind (2 Corinthians 5:19), creatures who still snicker at Jesus Christ, deceive others in His name, persecute His saints, ignore His Word, and “rub His nose” in their sins. Lost mankind is wasting God’s grace and mercy that He is offering so freely. When His grace is finally exhausted, the undiluted wrath that has accumulated will finally be poured out (His Second Coming). May we trust Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour now so we have our sins forgiven now, lest we face that angry, righteous God in judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)!

For more information, you may also see our archived Bible Q&A: “Did God ‘rape’ Mary?”

The Misunderstood Messiah #4

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

“Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (John 8:41 KJV).

Did you ever notice the magnitude of the insult put forth toward Jesus Christ in today’s Scripture?

Society’s anti-Bible, anti-Christian attitude is nothing new. While today’s Bible-believing, Bible-quoting Christian is accused of “hate speech” and “bigotry,” the “non-narrow-minded” face no repercussion for their slandering of the Lord Jesus Christ and their trampling His Word under foot. Due to sin, the world is upside down, and when the Christian attempts to expose it, he or she is to blame. The world wants Romans 3:4 to read, “Let every man be true, but God a liar!”

Like the (self-righteous) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite religious participation, has no capacity to stop sin. Never become angry at the world and never let their behavior puzzle you. Sinners do nothing but sin: by nature, man literally knows nothing but sin. As Jesus said to the lost Pharisees, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do” (John 8:44a). What they need is not simply to stop their activity (sins); they need a new nature from God! Today’s Scripture demonstrates the Pharisees’ willful ignorance of their sinful state.

Like the (“educated”) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite several degrees, has no capacity to understand the Bible. The Pharisees studied their Old Testament scrolls, yet they were equivalent to today’s average seminary graduate—years of Bible “study” and no (!) Bible understanding. Today’s Scripture demonstrates the Pharisees’ willful ignorance of one of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus Christ’s coming. They had plenty of philosophy and religion, but they had no capacity to understand and appreciate the Bible. People today do not need degrees to comprehend the Bible; they need the Spirit of God! “But the natural [lost] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [judged, evaluated]” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Let us summarize and conclude this devotional arc….

NOTE: Praise our Lord Jesus Christ, as this is devotional #3500! Onward to #3600! 🙂

The Word Was Made Flesh

Friday, December 25, 2020

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…” (John 1:1,14 KJV).

On this Christmas Day, we reflect on the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

The candidate who could solve man’s sin problem had to meet two requirements. He had to be God, and He had to be man—a “God-Man.” It had to be God, because God’s righteousness had to be satisfied, but it also had to be man, for it was man who had sinned. God’s righteousness was offended, since “all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). But, it was also a man who had sinned, “As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).

Consider Philippians 2:5-8: “Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” In short, heaven’s best—Jesus Christ—came to save earth’s worst—us! In summary, Jesus Christ was born to die for us.

Brethren, the salvation that we enjoy today in Christ could not be possible without the shed blood of Christ on Calvary’s cross, and the shed blood of Christ could not be possible without the incarnation of Christ! God is a Spirit (John 4:24), and in order for Him to shed sinless blood, He had to first have blood. Thus, it behooved Jesus Christ to take upon Himself the form of a man. It was at this time of year that God the Son entered the virgin Mary’s womb, possessing a body that was conceived by the Holy Ghost.

Remember, “The Word was made flesh” (today’s Scripture) so we could have an opportunity to be “made the righteousness of God in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Merry Christmas!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. It can be read here or watched here.