Category: The Mosaic Law

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #16

Thursday, September 25, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Each and every person is naturally aware of two facts: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:…” (Romans 1:20). They know there is a Creator God, and they know they will face Him in judgment one day. Consequently, they are in a panic—on a manic, frantic quest—to evade such inconvenient truths. Attempting to erase their sinful identity in Adam and/or compensate for its evil deeds, they brag about what “good” they have done. God, however, will have none of that!

Observe Romans 3:26-28: “To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” Boasting is “excluded” (shut out or removed from consideration). If man wishes to work and brag, he must first never offend or disobey the Law in even the slightest degree. Since such sinlessness is impossible, he can never (!) boast while laboring under the Law/performance/works system!

Now go over to Romans 4:1-5: “What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory [boast]; but not before God. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” Since we are imperfect, we cannot approach God via the “works” way. It must only be the “by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone” way….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #15

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Turn now to Romans chapter 3: “[19] 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. [20] Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” With sinful man powerless to do enough to have a right standing before God, the Gospel (Good News) of God’s Grace comes in!

“[21] But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; [22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: [23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation [fully-satisfying payment or sacrifice for sin] through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; [26] To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. [27] Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. [28] Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.”

Reminiscent of the animal sacrifices God offered for Adam and Eve in Genesis 3:21, that same God went to Calvary’s cruel cross to shed His sinless blood for us. Fig leaves (human works of the Law) are insufficient to deal with our sin problem. Instead of ignoring our sin or trying to fix it ourselves, we ought to be humble and come to Father God by simple faith in Christ while there is still time….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #13

Monday, September 22, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

In New Testament times, many Jews believed an old fairytale (apocryphal work) written centuries before Christ. Supposedly, Abraham was sinless, and they had inherited his sinlessness. Wherefore, in their “righteousness,” they saw no need for repentance (change in mind) or water baptism under the ministry of John the Baptist. Read Matthew 3:9 and Luke 3:8: “we have Abraham to our father” was their argument John both anticipated and refuted (“say not!”).

Later, when Christ’s own ministry commenced, unbelieving leaders of Judaism boasted they were “Abraham’s seed” and how “Abraham is [their] father” (John 8:33,39). Physically, this was true (and Jesus did not deny this); however, they did not share Abraham’s faith. Moreover, Adam was their father, which automatically rendered them servants of sin. In verse 44, the Lord was candid in finally pointing out, “Ye are of your father the devil!” Convicted as sinners, they tried (but failed) to stone Him to death by chapter’s end!

Even now, many people suppose that, since they have been born into a certain culture (such as a “Christian” home), joined a particular denomination, or faithfully attended church services, they have a home reserved in Heaven. This is good religious tradition, but bad spiritual thinking. Religion attempts to take the old man and reform/rehabilitate/improve it by stopping “evil” and starting “good.” It does not give the Lord Jesus Christ the sole preeminence; neither the sinner’s identity in Adam nor its “works of the flesh” are important.

“Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid [God stop it from happening!!]: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe” (Galatians 3:21,22). Confessing sins, keeping commandments, getting water baptized, and donating money, are somehow believed they can be added to Christ’s crosswork (or, even replace it entirely) to give one a right standing before God. Man’s works, however, have been excluded before God, for no works-religion can give life to dead sinners… though they keep trying to get away from this truth….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #7

Tuesday, September 16, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Keep reading chapter 2 of Romans: “[11] For there is no respect of persons with God. [12] For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; [13] (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. [14] For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: [15] Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another; ) [16] In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”

Whether a sinning Jew or a sinning Gentile, one falling short of His glory, God does not play favorites. Neither one will escape His justice that enforces His offended righteousness. In time past, the Law of Moses was given to the nation Israel, not the Gentiles. Lost Israelites will be judged according to that Law at the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. The Gentiles had conscience, an internal system of standards and norms that gave them some sense of right and wrong. God will judge lost Gentiles according to this when they face Him at the Great White Throne Judgment.

In Romans 2:16, Paul announces how God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to his (that is, Paul’s) Gospel. No matter what they did or believed in religious or philosophical circles, it did not have the spiritual value of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for their sins. Since they failed to believe the words of God to them (whenever they lived on Earth), God’s righteousness was not imputed to them by personal faith, which is what led to the doom and sentencing they now face in Revelation chapter 20….

I Just Wanted to Get Away! #3

Friday, September 12, 2025

“And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself” (Genesis 3:10 KJV).

Will sinners “get away” from accountability before God?

Recall that amusing—but true—story. The police forced a robbery suspect, speeding down the interstate, to stop. As they placed him in handcuffs, that adult wept and whined, “Man, why did y’all do that to me?! I was just wanting to get away! I was just trying to get away!” Study those words carefully, friend, for they are a glimpse into the sinful human heart and mind. At no point did he admit any wrongdoing. Instead, he carefully shifted the blame over to the police: the authorities were “at fault” because they prevented his escape! Like almost everyone else being taken to jail, he was “innocent.” Yet, if he were guiltless, why did he run… and for so long?

The parallel is striking. Sinful man supposes he can “get away” from accountability before a holy, righteous Creator God. Adam and Eve repeatedly tried this method in Genesis chapter 3, failing miserably. Religious people have done it through all these subsequent ages too. They presume they can cancel their sins by doing various good works—obeying commandments, helping the poor, getting water baptized, confessing sins, praying faithfully every day, giving money to a denominational institution or theological system, joining a church, eating communion wafers, teaching religion classes, and so on.

So infatuated with their “goodness,” so in love with self and their religious busyness, they show absolutely no interest in hearing about Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary. As they rattle on and on (brag ad nauseam!!!) about how they have “done this” and “done that,” they sidestep accountability before God—and are therefore like our first parents, Adam and Eve. They respond, “No, I am not ‘that bad!’” Bearing a serious facial expression, some have even announced to me how they are truly sinless. They believe they have done no wrong at all. Ironically, if you point out their sin problem in an effort to lead them to Christ the Saviour of sinners, they accuse you of self-righteousness (!).

Indeed, they “just want to get away….”

God’s Offer to the Nations

Thursday, September 11, 2025

“…[T]hat 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).

Today’s Scripture is God’s offer to all the nations of the world today.

September 11, 2001 was a day that changed our nation forever. It was the worst terrorist attack in our two-century national history. Afterward, many Americans began to talk about “God Bless America” and “God Save the United States.” These phrases are not as commonplace as they used to be.

In the 24 years that have passed since that awful day, it is a sad commentary that “God” is now the least of our nation’s concerns. With the redefining of marriage, controversial political arena, moral decay, skyrocketing national debt, and the uncertainty as to what constitutes a human life and what does not, obviously, the God of the Bible has been largely pushed out… until we need His help, and then we cry out to Him. Unless we need Him, we rather not think about anything He has to say.

While many argue that God is judging America today for its sins, the Bible does not support such an idea. Certainly, God dealt with Israel in that manner—“Do good and I will bless, but disobey and I will curse” (Leviticus chapter 26; Deuteronomy chapter 28)—but we have no relation to that Old Covenant of Law.

For the last 20 centuries, God has offered His grace to all the world’s nations, to have a right standing before Him by trusting Jesus Christ. People still die and go to hell, but today’s Scripture says that God is not judging nations for their sins. Through Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, God offers reconciliation to sinners, whether here or around the world. However, that grace is exhaustible, and one day, it will be replaced with His wrath (Romans 2:1-16). Still, we believers are not appointed to God’s wrath; we are saved from all wrath through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 1 Thessalonians 5:9).

The only hope for America—yea, for any nation—is faith in Jesus Christ alone!

*You can also see our 2011 Bible study commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11. It can be watched here or read here.

The Social Club with the Steeple #6

Monday, September 8, 2025

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15 KJV).

Is our local church building the meeting-place of people filled with God’s life, or just “a social club with a steeple?”

Read 2 Timothy 4:3,4, an excerpt from one of Paul’s “pastoral epistles” (church handbooks of 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon): “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”

In order to have turned away from the truth, they had to first have/know the truth. Now, they want nothing to do with it. They prefer hearing fables or “feel-good” religious stories (speculations and opinions of men), not sound Bible doctrine. If this does not describe many of our “Christian” churches and “Christian” schools today, nothing does! In the midst of that apostasy, the Holy Spirit through Paul directed Timothy in verses 1 and 2: “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.”

There will be no great revival before Christ returns. Anyone who says otherwise contradicts the Bible and entertains wishful thinking. This should not discourage us though. Regardless of what dreadful events take place (even in the so-called “Grace Movement”), we should keep teaching and preaching sound Bible doctrine, dispensational truth—even as those who support it become fewer and fewer. Indeed, we will not turn the apostasy around, but we can slow it down ever so slightly. A few souls here and there can be saved from that inevitable, universal slide into doctrinal error. Let us go about our Father’s work sharing His rightly divided Word (King James Bible in English!) with those who want to hear, as we wait for our Lord’s return to get us! 🙂

Saints, please remember this work of the ministry requires monthly financial support to operate (Galatians 6:6; Philippians 4:16-17; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7). Those who prefer electronic giving can donate securely here: https://www.paypal.me/ShawnBrasseaux. Anyone who wishes to donate by regular mail can visit https://333wordsofgrace.org/contact-us-mailing-address-for-donations/ for details. Thanks to all who give to and pray for us! Unfortunately, since our ministry audience is so large and our ministry staff is so small, I can no longer personally respond to everyone. Thanks so much for understanding in this regard. 🙂

The Social Club with the Steeple #5

Sunday, September 7, 2025

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15 KJV).

Is our local church building the meeting-place of people filled with God’s life, or just “a social club with a steeple?”

As a preacher observed long ago, some local churches have actually not had any controversy in many years. Holding services and implementing programs, they are nevertheless spiritually dead churches. Whenever the Spirit of God works, the flesh opposes (Galatians 5:17). Therefore, if no doctrinal disagreements exist, it is because of one of two options. Either everyone in the assembly knows everything (highly unlikely!), or they do not discuss doctrine because they fear conflict. In the latter case, emotions, speculations, stories, and/or experiences take preeminence. Though the local church should be alive with God’s life and serve as “the pillar and ground of the truth” (today’s Scripture)—elevating the truth and supporting the truth—doctrine frequently means nothing to professing Christians. They want error instead! Remember, “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).

Talking with people of various persuasions all these years, I conclude the vast majority are not attending church services because they hear the truth there. Instead, it is a cultural motivation. They were raised in that belief system, their parents went to that church, their friends go there—and they visit for social connections rather than doctrinal reasons. Hence, they react with indifference when you show them the church’s false teachings. Unconcerned, they elect to keep going. Why? Doctrinal integrity was never their incentive anyway! They liked eating the potluck suppers, felt happy with the amusement (music, singing, dancing, joke-telling), had great joy with the foolishness (tongue-talking or ecstatic utterances, hand-raising, “supernatural” storytelling, snake-handling, healing miracles), or liked reducing the Bible to an “intellectual” or literary work (analyzing its arguments, terms, grammar, historical/cultural background). They do not actually believe or appreciate the Holy Scriptures as the living Word of the living God. Brethren, may we identify them and withdraw from them for our own spiritual health’s sake!

Let us summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

The Social Club with the Steeple #4

Saturday, September 6, 2025

“But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15 KJV).

Is our local church building the meeting-place of people filled with God’s life, or just “a social club with a steeple?”

Once, a family member announced online how she had just returned from “fun” church services during which she “learned some new dance moves.” She had gone there for amusement! I accessed the website of the church of another relative of mine. Their Sunday School, named after a famous “thinker,” was nothing more than a “philosopher’s club:” they had “intellectual” discussions instead of actual Bible study! In his biography on the church’s website, the “worship leader” actually named some of the worldliest, vulgarest musicians as his inspiration!

Several years back, a churchgoing woman notified me her local assembly was, in her words, a “social club.” When she asked the pastor to intervene regarding the false doctrine one of their Sunday School teachers was promoting, the pastor refused to get involved. Once she moved to Heaven, three new pastors were installed in a span of just a few years… and the congregation really went on a downward spiral doctrinally. The first new preacher threw out the old members (loyal to the former pastor) and brought in new people to support him and his “modern reformations.” I spoke with those next two new pastors: they are apostates, having no desire to hear Bible truth.

If it is not sound doctrine, it is not teaching or information worthy of our faith or trust. One fact is clear from the Bible Books of 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The local church must not change the doctrine; chiefly, it is not to throw away Grace to take up the Law. We must continue in sound Bible doctrine. This—not entertainment—is (should be) the focus of the local assembly. Yet, it has become increasingly common for pastors, teachers, and denominations to not make an issue of doctrine because “doctrine divides.” “Narrow-mindedness” offends! Instead of worrying about doctrine, they wish to broaden their audience with various errors and thereby increase revenue (the love of money!).

Yes, they are running “social clubs with a steeple….”

You Builders! #6

Sunday, August 31, 2025

“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner” (Acts 4:11 KJV).

Who are these “builders?” What have they done—and not done?

Jesus Christ is “the head of the corner,” the cornerstone, the foundation of everything Father God will do with the nation Israel in the ages to come. All prophecies and promises radiate from His crosswork (the basis or focal point).

First Peter chapter 2: “[4] To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed [rejected] indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, [5] Ye [Little Flock, believing Israel] also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. [6] Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. [7] Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed [rejected], the same is made the head of the corner, [8] And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. [9] But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: [10] Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

Likewise, everything God will do with us the Church the Body of Christ depends on Jesus Christ according to Paul’s mystery preaching of Him: “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20-22). Romans to Philemon is to and about us, Christ as revealed in mystery being the foundation of God’s current dealings with man (1 Corinthians 3:9-17). Like Israel’s apostate spiritual leaders, however, our leaders for the last 2,000 years have corrupted us with garbage (non-dispensational) doctrine, mixing law and grace!