Category: sin

Asset or Liability to the Establishment? #5

Tuesday, July 29, 2025

“[Our Lord Jesus Christ] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:…” (Galatians 1:4 KJV).

Are we assets or liabilities to Satan’s Establishment?

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith” (Galatians 5:1-5).

Whereas the Galatians inclined toward the bondage and strictness of works-religion, the Corinthians wanted the other extreme of human nature—wild, crazy, loose living. If asceticism (giving up worldly pleasures), self-righteousness, and human “goodness” characterized the Galatians; then lasciviousness (unbridled conduct), entertainment, and human evil described the Corinthians. Like the Galatians, the Corinthians assumed they could live the Christian life—and, like the Galatians, the Corinthians failed miserably. Supposing they were “free,” the Corinthians were slaves to sin practically.

“And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal [fleshly, governed by sin or the Adamic nature], even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal [fleshly]: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal [fleshly], and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal [fleshly]?” (1 Corinthians 3:1-4). As the Galatian saints needed Christ to be formed in them (Galatians 4:19), so the Corinthian believers were also Bible babies or spiritually immature. Both had failed to walk in grace as in Romans chapter 6, thereby becoming spiritual prisoners practically (the failure, disappointment, and misery of Romans chapter 7), thereby needing to be re-taught Romans chapter 8….

Asset or Liability to the Establishment? #4

Monday, July 28, 2025

“[Our Lord Jesus Christ] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:…” (Galatians 1:4 KJV).

Are we assets or liabilities to Satan’s Establishment?

The Lord had used Paul’s ministry to call the Galatians out of idolatry and heathen works-religion. “Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which by nature are no gods. But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?” (Galatians 4:8,9). They returned to the bondage of works-religion—except, now, it was Judaism (God’s religion through Moses). “Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?” (Galatians 4:21).

“O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Galatians 3:1-3). In short, “Why have you believed this perverted gospel of Christ? Has someone lied to you, being Scriptural but not dispensational? Do you think your daily Christian living depends on your flesh [your performance in religion to make God happy], when your Christian life began by faith in Christ’s performance? Can your fleshly efforts enhance the Holy Spirit’s work in you? Of course not!”

Galatians chapter 6: “[12] As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. [13] For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. [14] But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” There will be no “glorying [boasting, bragging]” in any human performance. The only performance worth finding value in is Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary….

Asset or Liability to the Establishment? #3

Sunday, July 27, 2025

“[Our Lord Jesus Christ] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:…” (Galatians 1:4 KJV).

Are we assets or liabilities to Satan’s Establishment?

One of our ministry partners of long ago had this magnet on her refrigerator: “Strive to be the woman of whom Satan says in the morning, ‘Oh no, she is up!’” This characterizes a person who is a liability to the evil world system. That Holy Spirit-filled believer stands in contrast to the words of a preacher, “Some Christians are no bother to Satan at all.” Here is the asset whom we would hope and pray we would never be!

No matter how loving or friendly we are, we Christian ambassadors absolutely preach an offensive message: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). We are reminded of a “feel-good” “Christian” celebrity who said he purposefully avoided using the word “sin” in his pulpit because it was “too negative.” If Christ really died for our sins, the implication is negative because man is a corrupt being at heart. Also, it means man cannot save himself, which is another affront or insult to him! As a certain lost, self-righteous religious leader once bellowed, “You cannot tell me I cannot offer God some good work!” Christ died for our sins. We cannot be rescued from those sins personally unless we come to realize we have a sin problem—and the sin problem cannot be comprehended or rectified until we first say “sin” is our problem.

When Paul dealt with the Galatians who loved the “performance-based acceptance system” of Law (do good to be blessed of God), he knew his “grace-based acceptance system” (God will bless us according to His own goodness) would be unpleasant to them. He wrote to such followers of false teachers in Galatians 4:16, “Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?” Paul, telling the truth, was a liability to Satan’s Establishment; the Galatians, though also believers in Christ, were assets to it. They were fighting against God’s current dealings with men, which automatically made them participants of the Devil’s plan, which contradicted God’s will for them (today’s Scripture)….

Asset or Liability to the Establishment? #2

Saturday, July 26, 2025

“[Our Lord Jesus Christ] Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:…” (Galatians 1:4 KJV).

Are we assets or liabilities to Satan’s Establishment?

It is not enough to simply do. We ought to recognize purpose. Why should we do this and not that? Failing to realize exactly what makes right conduct proper, not ascertaining precisely what makes wrong conduct improper, we become more inclined to change for the worse. Throughout human history, this has occurred repeatedly in every sphere of society (political, religious, economic, et cetera). “We do not know why it is this way, we just know this is the way we have done it.” If good habits are not appreciated for their intrinsic worth, bad customs will easily eventually replace them; those bad ways, though profitless, will be all the more difficult to identify and forsake.

Power-hungry people care not whether they are doing right or wrong: what matters to them is they are in authority, answering to no one. Imagine a child taking his father’s sword from its display case and waving it around simply because he has access. He possesses no skill and recognizes no danger, but he holds and wields the sword because this is something new, exciting, different, “progress.” His peers—equally immature and just as imprudent—find value in his conduct. They see nothing perilous about it. Here is the general public, encouraging that which is inappropriate because they are too childish to know any better (not comprehending why it is unsuitable). An asset cheers this travesty on, delighting in seeing it repeated, clapping and leaping for joy to behold it. It is a sordid affair, this present evil world and its participants.

When someone filled with the Spirit of God comes along and declares, “This is wrong. This is sin. It should not be.,” this person immediately becomes a liability or embarrassment to what has become normalized (and all who support it). The “outsider” is seen as a troublemaker, whose very presence and testimony stand in opposition to Satan’s Establishment; extreme steps will be taken to neutralize or eliminate him. In today’s Scripture, Christ’s death on Calvary has delivered us from “this present evil world.” Indeed, we are outsiders, sanctified (set apart) for the Master’s use….

The Kingdom of God is Within You #13

Wednesday, July 23, 2025

“Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21 KJV).

Is there really a “mis-translation” in the King James Bible here?

The Bible opens, “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Sin corrupted both realms: Satan contaminated the Heaven using his fallen angels and polluted the Earth utilizing sinful man. Creation is in rebellion. The Holy Scriptures are the record of God restoring both Heaven and Earth to Himself, that He fill each sphere of influence with His life, thereby achieving His eternal purpose.

“For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell; And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:16-20).

Father God will use Christ’s shed blood to redeem two groups. One is His earthly people, the nation Israel, whom He will fill with His life and then install in the offices of Earth’s governments. (If Amillennialists are correct—if there is no literal, physical, visible, earthly, Davidic, Israeli kingdom—God will never be able to recover Earth from Satan’s influence!) The other is His heavenly people, the Church the Body of Christ, whom He will fill with His life and then install in the offices of Heaven’s governments.

As touching the ages to come, see Matthew 25:34: “Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:….” God had that kingdom in mind going all the way back to when He placed Adam on the Earth, proving Christ’s kingdom in prophecy is literal, physical, visible, earthly.

We summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Sincerity—Or Spite? #3

Thursday, July 10, 2025

“The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds” (Philippians 1:16 KJV).

Is it sincerity… or just spite?

Teaching or preaching sound Bible doctrine is not necessarily a mark of spiritual maturity. Over the years, I have encountered various individuals—online and in-person—who initially seemed to be spiritual adults. However, becoming better acquainted with them, I concluded they were preaching the right information with the wrong spirit/motives. They had good doctrine but bad attitudes. For example, one “friend in ministry” later turned out to be a vicious, emotional drama queen who attacked me verbally online and finally harassed my mother via a combative email!

“And the servant of the Lord must not strive [fight, quarrel]; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). Some people in ministry just want to generate “heat” instead of “light”—create a battle founded on emotions instead of impart meaningful information to illuminate and build up souls. “I know more than you!” Positions are not taken for merit’s sake, but for contrarian’s sake—“This view is right, but I will believe something else simply to rebel!” Such “striving” (warring) is immaturity, not of the Holy Spirit.

Remember, in today’s Scripture, Paul is chained (under house-arrest) when he wrote Philippians during his two years in Rome (Acts 28:30,31; cf. “bonds” in Philippians 1:7,13,14,16; cf. Acts 28:16). With the Apostle now unable to travel freely throughout the Roman Empire, his enemies in ministry went around preaching and proclaiming themselves as his “replacement.” Their dastard motive was to get all the attention while he was “hidden away” as a prisoner! Sadly, Satan tried to use them to grieve Paul (a man already facing immense adversity).

“What then? notwithstanding [nevertheless], every way, whether in pretence [outward false appearance/show—hypocrisy], or in truth [genuine motives], Christ is preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice” (Philippians 1:18). Despite the “pretending” of the self-promoting preachers, Paul delighted in knowing Christ was preached, thereby guarding himself against the bitterness or rivalry into which Satan was attempting to draw him!

Sincerity—Or Spite? #2

Wednesday, July 9, 2025

“The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing to add affliction to my bonds” (Philippians 1:16 KJV).

Is it sincerity… or just spite?

An amateur “philosopher” once posed the following question: “Can a good deed, if done for selfish reasons, still be good?” The answer, of course, is a resounding, “No!” If selfish, it is not good. It is an evil deed appearing to be good. Human goodness is not goodness at all; it is simply self-righteousness, a heavenly way to Hell, a godly façade masking a satanic interior.

The Adamic nature, or sin nature we have inherited from Adam, can indeed hide behind religion or piety while committing evil. Matthew 7:21-23 is a classic illustration: “Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”

If words mean anything, according to the Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (one of Christendom’s favored passages!), someone preaching in the Lord’s name, someone casting out devils in the Lord’s name, and someone doing many “wonderful works” in the Lord’s name, can actually be guilty of “iniquity” (evil, unjust, wickedness). He even says He does not have a personal relationship with the people in these verses—although they look like His servants and address Him as “Lord, Lord!”

Paul, in the context of today’s Scripture, recognizes two types of preachers. Some have the right heart attitude, but others do not. (Verse 15, “Some indeed preach Christ even of envy [ill will, hatred] and strife [quarrels, fights]; and some also of good will:….”) Even while under house arrest in Rome, he was hearing news about those preaching the Gospel as an act of worshipping God (they wanted lost souls to hear how to be saved from sins) versus those preaching the Gospel simply to be unkind (they sought to irritate people, antagonize or distress Paul, and so on)….

Wages #3

Monday, July 7, 2025

“And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14 KJV).

What can we learn from the Bible about “wages?”

Since the ancient Roman army sometimes paid its soldiers in the form of fish (food rations), the Greeks used the word “opsonion” (from “opsarion,” meaning “fish”) to mean “salary.” (“Salary” itself, interestingly enough, is from the Latin [“sal”] for “salt!”) Thus, this was the very term in the Greek New Testament that our King James translators thrice rendered “wages” (Luke 3:14; Romans 6:23; 2 Corinthians 11:8) and once rendered “charges” (1 Corinthians 9:7).

To best appreciate the sense of “wages,” we should see how it stands in opposition to “gift.” Romans 6:23 again: “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” “Wages” is payment for service rendered or work performed. “Gift,” however, is something unmerited; it cannot be earned, but is simply what one person (out of goodness or kindness) offers another person. “Wages of sin” balances “gift of God.” Sin gives us what we deserve, but God gives us what we do not deserve. In fact, “gift” in Greek is “charisma,” based on “charis” (“grace”).

Romans 6:23 is simple to understand if want to understand it. The Christian life will fall apart—it will die, or cease to function—if we work or try to perform (“for the wages of sin is death”). However, God’s gift to us—what we do not deserve and what we cannot offer work for (or perform enough to merit)—is eternal life (“but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”). Eternal life is God’s very life, and that is the heart of victorious grace Christian living. It is Christ who works at Calvary, not we (Ephesians 2:8-10).

“What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:21-23).

Wages #2

Sunday, July 6, 2025

“And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14 KJV).

What can we learn from the Bible about “wages?”

Encouraging his converts to “bring forth fruits meet/worthy [suitable, proper, fitting] for/of repentance [a change in mind]” (Matthew 3:8; Luke 3:8), John the Baptist directed soldiers to treat people decently, not to unjustly blame anyone of wrongdoing, and be happy with their “wages” (today’s Scripture). Historically, the Roman government did not necessarily pay its soldiers in the form of currency or money. Sometimes, it was fish, salt, grain, fruits, or meat. This was what they worked for, their salary. The soldiers would naturally be inclined to complain, but they were to be content with whatever form of payment they received. “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges [wages]?…” (1 Corinthians 9:7). The soldier does not work for his government for free!

As touching sanctification or being set apart unto God’s purposes, we read of how “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). Notice how “wages” is plural. Sin has a payday—more than one payday, actually, with more than one type of salary (multiple deaths). Whether a soul’s separation from God that can be remedied by faith in Christ as personal Saviour, or a soul’s separation from God in Hell and the Lake of Fire that can never be reversed, or the Christian life ceasing to function, or a soul’s departure from the body upon physical death, sin will pay back the sinner many times!

Since the Corinthians were carnal (fleshly, worldly), and their false teachers had a tendency to accuse Paul of greediness (the love of money), the Apostle thus took no salary from the Corinthians—though he deserved to be paid as an apostle (check 1 Corinthians 9:1-18). When too busy with ministry work to make tents to support himself in Corinth, he received “wages” or donations from other churches (2 Corinthians 11:7-12). “Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges [wages]? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?” (1 Corinthians 9:7). Again, no soldier works for his government works for free, so neither should an apostle!

Let us expand upon this even more….

Wages #1

Saturday, July 5, 2025

“And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:14 KJV).

What can we learn from the Bible about “wages?”

In the context of today’s Scripture, John the Baptist answers various questions: “And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise. Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him, Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you. And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages” (verses 10-14).

Commenting on Christian living, Paul writes in Romans chapter 6: “[19] I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. [20] For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. [21] What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. [22] But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. [23] For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Finally, Paul remarks about being paid for ministry work in chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians: “[7] Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely? [8] I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service. [9] And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.”

We shall study this word “wages” in-depth….