The BIG Picture (Q&A)

QUESTION on Social Media: Why does Jesus Christ claim to be "the truth and the life" (John 14:6) and then, "sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)? My ANSWER: When Jesus declares in John 14:6 that He is “the way, the truth, and the life,” He is revealing Himself as the exclusive source of salvation, the full revelation of God, and the only path to the Father. This statement belongs to the present age of grace, where God openly invites all people to come to Him through Christ. It reflects God’s heart that none should perish but that all should come to repentance, and it shows that the gospel is a genuine, universal offer of truth and life to anyone who will receive it. In contrast, the “powerful delusion” described in 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12 does not apply to believers today, nor to those who are sincerely seeking truth. Paul is speaking propheticall...

Statement on Social Media: To suggest that believers will face dishonor or shame at Christ's judgment seat, one would have to misinterpret many of Paul's declarations about justification and our status as heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ. The wood, hay, and stubble that will be consumed represent the fleshly works, which all true believers will gladly discard.  The judgment seat of Christ is a time solely for rejoicing and celebration, akin to a birthday party for every believer. There, we will shed all unwanted things and receive the rewards and crowns that Christ has merited for us as co-heirs and children of God. It is a ceremony of celebration, devoid of any shame or dishonor. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:” (Eph 1:3) “and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Eph 2:6) “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified...

That portion of the passage reads as follows, Joh 15:5-6 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. We must remember that Jesus only taught Jews during His earthly ministry, Mat 15:24, so, this passage does not apply to believers saved by the grace gospel. The general context of John chapters 13–16 is that Jesus is in the upper room the evening before His arrest and trial. After the Last Supper, Jesus speaks these words to the disciples, the believing remnant of Israel. So, keeping this context in mind, let's take a closer look at verse 6. Verse 6 is a warning to the people to whom the Apostles will minister, not to the Israelite believers. The Apostles must warn the Jews who are still unsaved about the dangers of not abiding in Christ. T...

QUESTION: So, you mean to tell me that Demas who left Paul because he loved the present world more than the gospel as stated in second Timothy, four verse 10, would go to heaven anyway, even though he abandoned the faith? ANSWER: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world: There is no conclusive evidence that Demas forsook the faith. Paul says he forsook him, not ‘the faith’. In addition, we cannot interpret, having loved this present world, to mean, necessarily, that he was a materialistic man, or that, he loved the honours or wealth of this world. It could be interpreted that he simply ‘desired to live’. He was not willing to stay with Paul, and subject himself to the probabilities of persecution or martyrdom; and, in order to secure his life, he departed to a place of safety. So, there is no reason why Demas should be held up as an example of a worldly man. That he desired to live longer; that he was unwilling to remain and risk the loss of life, is indeed cl...

YOUR QUESTION: Observe that not ALL are imputed with Jesus’ righteousness whether they believe it or not, the two actions are not comparable. Jesus’ imputation of righteousness ONLY works with the additional requirements of faith and belief, without which you are still damned. Do infant deaths go straight to hell? Do aborted children go straight to hell? Do mentally challenged people go straight to hell? MY ANSWER: There is something else you need to be aware of that will explain God’s judgement on infants, the unborn or the mentally challenged. Let me take time and provide you with all the details. What your question does not account for is  accountability  itself. Though the Bible does not mention this explicitly, it is easy to validate this based on scriptures that allude to this understanding. Let me provide some examples of proof. God’s judgement is upon those who are accountable for their choices Rom 1:18-21 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven...

COMMENT Good judgement requires us to see others as Jesus saw the wicked Samaritan. Jesus didn’t say the Samaritan had to become a Jew nor had to believe in him. Instead, he called the Samaritan GOOD, right where he was because of the loving act he performed for his enemy. Theology is on the back burner to the two great commandments, loving God with all your heart by loving others as yourself. Forget your theology and let love be the primary function of your ministry. No need to tell others what they must believe or not believe, it will be evident what you believe when nothing but love flows from your lips. May you find the peace that passes all understanding—including theology—by loving others. MY RESPONSE I’m 100% in agreement with your statements; love of course is the fulfillment of all other commands. Nevertheless, besides giving one’s life for another, the greatest act of love is to share the grace gospel with others. The gospel provides the hearer with the opportunity to find Ch...

There are two simple things to be aware of in order to answer this question. First , by what standard, does God judge a person, and second , what are the judgements of God that will ultimately involve everyone born into the human race. Let's have a look at the details. By what standard, does God judge a person The anticipation of a coming Redeemer (and Messiah, for Israel), the subsequent birth and life of Jesus Christ, and (for us in the grace dispensation,), the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the absolute standard and singular salvific event of God's great redemption plan for humanity. The pivotal point in all of time rests on the life and sacrifice of Christ. Ultimately, every individual person will be judged by the faith they place in God's Son, Jesus Christ. Gal.4:4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, ... What are the judgements of God It is true that everybody will be judged. Hebrews says it as follows, Heb.9:27 And a...

Answer Request: I have something I am wrestling with and have wondered if anyone has done any further studies on it: HELL and The lake of Fire: According to Revelation 20:13-15...Hell and the lake of fire is not the same: Rev.20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. As far as my understanding on the topic; hell and the lake of fire are two very different locations. Please note that there is much more detail to this topic, but I'll keep my answer short and plain. The word "hell" is translated as "grave" in both the Hebrew ("Sheol") and Greek ("Hades") languages. Hell therefore is a reference to the grave, which represents temporary d...

What are the differences between the Law and the Mystery programs?   This important question, neglected by many believers is answered by Paul’s epistles. Knowing the mystery program (as opposed to the Law) will help us to live according to the plan and will that God administers in the world today, as well as prevent confusion and malpractice of His Word. (Qualifying scriptures: Rom.11:13; 1 Cor.14:37-38; Rom.16:25-26) The Bema Seat of Christ Something else I think is very important to mention that only Paul taught as a new truth, was about the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment seat of Christ is only for believers of the body of Christ. Believers will be judged and rewarded based upon their relationship to the mystery revelations given to Paul! In other words, if you ever expect to get rewarded one day when you stand before Christ, it will be based on how you responded to, and followed, and believed, and shared the unique revelations of the dispensation of grace.  There's a...

The Bible speaks of two types of resurrections:  (1) The Resurrections of the Righteous and (2) the resurrection of the Unrighteous. Jesus and Paul plainly declared two basic resurrections: John 5:28 "for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out— those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. " Acts 24:15 having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, that there is about to be a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous; (Also see: Daniel 12:2) As you can see, there will be resurrections of both the righteous and unrighteous. This doesn't mean, however, that there will only be two resurrections in number, just that there are two TYPES of resurrections :  The resurrection of the righteous (called "first resurrection", Revelation 20:5-6) ...

Answer Request: Will God be a just Judge in the future if He punishes unbelievers and sinners with a quick second death on the day of judgment that will last only a few seconds and minutes depending on how serious the sin is? Each believer has a different interpretation of what happens after death and what it means to be cast into the lake of fire at the second death. Although I have my own interpretation on these issues I will not diverge into those details as they are irrelevant, irrespective of what interpretation one holds. The bottom line to this question is not how quickly or not a person will last in the second judgement, or if it is an eternal hell of suffering or an instant destruction of the soul and lifeforce of that person. The bottom line is that God is not just ABSOLUTELY just, but that He is JUSTICE personified. Every person throughout history will have had many "moments" occur in their life where they became aware of God and His existence, (Rom.1)...

The first death is when someone comes to the end of their human life and they pass away. At a later point they are called up in one of the resurrections, either to enter life, or to enter eternal death, — which is the second death . Notice this verse, Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection [having died the first death ]: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. The person is blessed if they have part in the first resurrection, (having died in order to be resurrected). Why are they blessed? Because the first resurrection is to eternal life and an eternal and glorious inheritance. How did they come to be blessed? They responded in faith to the gospel (or good news) that God provided them in their day to come into right-standing with Him and receive salvation from His righteous and holy wrath on all who reject Him in unbelief. The second death has no power o...

Answer Request: HAVE WE BEEN WARNED NOT TO JUDGE OTHERS, is this correct? Jesus said, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” (Matt.7:1,2)……. Then Paul says: “And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and [in] all judgment; That ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ;” (Phil.1:9,10). So what is it then? Judge or do not judge? The following is my personal understanding and stance on "judging others" in this grace dispensation.  When reading from the Gospels (or any book outside Paul's epistles), one must always remember that the advice or commandments given there belong to the Law dispensation. Your quote above from Matt.7:1-2 is a classic example of law. Notice the conditional statements given by Jesus. Paraphrasing, Jesus is saying, "If you jud...

Can I just start by saying that God does not hold a sword to your neck, expecting you to serve His purpose after you get saved. He does not lay any pressure on you to slog it out in service to Him, whether by fear or by compulsion. No! God saves you from eternal damnation, but once you’re saved, your purpose is yours to choose. Now stop and read that again! God’s salvation is primarily for your eternity. However, your temporary life here on earth is still yours to live. How you live it is based on your relationship with God from the point of your salvation and onwards. You can choose to live for God out of thankfulness to Him, giving yourself over to be a living sacrifice (Rom.12:1), or you can choose to ignore Gods Word and resist renewing your mind by studying His Word and fight against the gentle transforming work of the Holy Spirit within you. In either case, whatever you choose, you remain saved and sealed unto salvation (Eph.4:30). OK. Now that we have settled that, consider p...