The BIG Picture (Q&A)

When we read that Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost (Luke 1:35), and that “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6), it may seem unnecessary for Him to be baptized to receive the Spirit. But a rightly divided view of Scripture shows His baptism was not for personal cleansing or regeneration, but for obedience, consecration, and manifestation. Water baptism under John was a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins (Mark 1:4). It was a washing, a cleansing of Israel in preparation for their Messiah (Acts 22:16). All Israel had to be baptized because they were sinners in need of washing. But Jesus was without sin (Heb.4:15; 1Pet.2:22). He had no need of cleansing, for He was holy from conception, born of the Spirit and untouched by Adam’s fallen nature. His baptism therefore was not for washing, but for fulfilling righteousness (Matt.3:15). Christ’s baptism served several divine purposes. First, it was the means by which He was publicly manifested to Israe...

Question from Social Media: When Jesus declared, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18). Did he, "exalt himself over everything that is called God so that he sets himself up in God’s temple proclaiming himself to be God" (2Thessalonians2:4)? Answer: When Jesus declared, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matt.28:18), He was not exalting Himself in rebellion. His authority was given by the Father. Scripture confirms this: “As thou hast given him power over all flesh” (John 17:2), and “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him” (Phil.2:9). Christ’s exaltation is the Father’s act, rooted in His obedience unto death (Phil.2:8). He is the rightful Lord, seated at the right hand of God (Heb.1:3), and in Him “dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily” (Col.2:9). By contrast, 2Thess.2:4 describes “that man of sin…who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God.” His authority is self-claimed,...

This is a detailed answer to a deep topic, but here goes… Idolatry in Scripture is more than the bowing down to carved images or the rituals of pagan worship. It begins the very moment the heart, the mind, or the will turns from the true and living God to another object of trust, devotion, or authority. The Lord set the boundary clearly: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me” (Exod.20:3). He added further clarity: “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image… thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them” (Exod.20:4–5). These commands remind us that idolatry is not only external—it is the inward shift of allegiance away from God Himself. The Psalms describe idolatry as misplaced trust: “They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them” (Ps.115:8). Paul explains that it is rooted in an exchange of truth for a lie: “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator” (Rom.1:25). Thus, idolatry...

A question on Quora: Can you explain Titus 2:9-10 or rather justify it? My answer: A common objection raised against Titus 2:9-10 is whether Paul’s instruction to servants is justifiable—especially in light of modern views on justice, equality, and human dignity. The question often takes the form:  “How can Paul tell servants to obey their masters? Isn’t that endorsing slavery?”  But such a question, while understandable, misses the doctrinal context entirely. The following reply answers that concern by rightly dividing the Word and clarifying the true purpose of Paul’s instruction in this passage. "Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again; not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things."  (Titus 2:9-10, KJV) This passage is often criticised or dismissed as outdated, oppressive, or culturally irrelevant. Some even use it to ac...

Online Question: I want to know the difference between living by law and living by grace. What are the works that come under law? How does the grace of God through His Son Jesus supersede law? Jesus came to fulfill the law. Can you explain this? My Reply: Living by law (or by the letter of the law) is an act that you do by your strength and ability. It does not take faith to obey the law. You know what the law is, since it is defined, and you labour to obey the law by strict adherence and discipline. The law can be the moral law, the Mosaic law, or your own made-up laws to appease your conscience. Though following the law can have an outward appearance of righteousness, there is no change in the inner man. The law cannot make you righteous and it cannot save you. In addition, the law condemns one because it gives power to sin that resides in the nature of man. Rom 7:21-24 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. [22] For I delight in the law of God after ...

Even after justification, the soul of the believer continues to indwell a body of sin and death. Sin and death continue to be a functional law within our mortal body. The issue moving forward now is not your justification; that is a done deal. Nothing can change our justification and peace with God through Jesus Christ. The issue moving forward is whether you're going to live under God or under sin. Paul draws attention to this choice by saying, Rom 6:11-13  Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  (12)  Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.  (13)  Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. Notice that Paul is not yet even talking about law. At this point in Rom.6, it's not ...

Paul tells us that our conscience can get  seared , 1Tim.4:2. This mostly applies to unsaved people, but it does not disqualify those who are saved but who have never grown up in the Word. The saints at Corinth are a good example, being saved, but flagrantly carnal and worldly as babes in Christ. Being seared in conscience means that we become insensitive to what is wrong, and it does not bother us when we fall in its traps. In direct contrast to this is a saved person who spends time in the Word, studying it, allowing it to renew their minds, and giving themselves over to obeying it. Such a person becomes  ‘unseared’,  being sensitive to the will of God and to godliness. The remedy to a seared conscience is not practicing law or having righteous willpower, but the knowledge of grace through the work of Christ which we find in the doctrine of Paul’s epistles. This can only come to us by spending time in the Word. It is the Word of God that prunes, and cuts away, discerns ...

STATEMENT: The important thing about the Kingdom of God is that we allow it to be manifested in our lives. The big lack among Christians is not showing forth the Kingdom. We are to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and cleanse the lepers. Plus, the 9 gifts of the Spirit. The New Testament says, ‘The Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power.’ Information and theory Christianity can be a deception. RESPONSE: The values you list are from the Kingdom dispensation.  Heal the sick, raise the dead, cast out demons, and cleanse the lepers, plus the 9 gifts of the Spirit,  are primarily signs that were required for the Jews in the Acts church, 1Cor.1:22-24. In this dispensation of Grace in which we live, it is the fruit of the Spirit that counts, Gal.5:22-23. The fruit is produced when we give ourselves over to obedience to the knowledge of the Word that is within us through studying it and having it renew our minds. Rom.6:17 But God be thanked, that ye were the se...

Rom 8:30 Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified , them he also glorified . Paul tells us that if we truly believe in Jesus Christ by hearing and responding to the grace gospel, we are freely justified by the ‘decree’ of God, and we can have peace with God, and access to the grace that He provides, Rom 5:1-2. Through faith in the gospel of grace, we are transferred from the administration of death, which is in Adam, into the administration of life, which is in Christ. When we belong to Christ’s administration, we are now identified with righteousness, peace, and life, as Paul continues to tell us, Rom 5:17-19 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) (18) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the...