The BIG Picture (Q&A)

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 ...

QUESTION: Are we committing sin when we do something we do not know is a sin? ANSWER: You should generally know if you sinned because of the condemnation you will experience in your heart. Paul says the following: Rom.14:22 Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth. However, from a different perspective, consider this: We have ALL sinned and fallen short of God. It does not really matter if you are not sure if you committed a sin or not, because from the day you were born you entered into sin. What is more important is how to find righteousness before God, and the only way to get to this position is by hearing and responding to the grace gospel. When you are saved, you stand before God utterly forgiven and cleansed. You are clothed with the righteousness of Christ and your sins have been nailed to the cross. Even though we might fall in a moment of weakness, (since we still live for this time-being in a sinful world), our sin is not counted against us and ...

First, consider that the word gospel originates from the Old English gōdspel, which combines gōd (meaning “good”) with spel (meaning “news” or “a story”). So, at its core, gospel signifies good tidings, truth, and the message of salvation in the Christian faith. With this in mind, we should ask, “where in the Bible do we encounter the very first occurrence of good news that tells us that God would save us from eternal death?” Many people would say that it is in the gospels of the New Testament, but this is incorrect. To find the very FIRST occurrence of the gospel, we must go way back to the very beginning of the Bible. Read this scripture, Gen 3:15  And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. This scripture is known as the proto-gospel. This label is not important, but what is, is the message it tells. What this scripture is saying is that in the aftermath of Adam and Eve'...

QUESTION: Wouldn't you say that before I was a Christian, I was a slave to sin, but now I am a Christian I can overcome sin in my life through the power and grace of God. Not to be saved but because I am saved by grace. God loved me enough to die in my place and forgive my sins. He also loved me enough to dwell in me through the Holy Spirit so I can have a new life and not be a slave to sin. For example, before I was a Christian I was addicted to drugs, after I'm a Christian Jesus not only saved me but delivered me from drugs. Now my desire is to obey and follow Jesus because I love Him. ANSWER: We learn from scripture that the flesh is unsalvageable. Even Paul, our apostle and example in the faith, cries out at the end of Romans 7, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Sin is inside the nature of man. The flesh can never be saved. This is ultimately why we get a new body at the rapture/resurrection. What God has saved and regener...

QUESTION: What do you make about tattoos? Should a Christian have it since it was condemned in the Old Testament but not in the New Testament? ANSWER: Entertaining thoughts like this is a consequence of not rightly dividing the Word of truth. These confusions come into the mind when people are taught that they are spiritual Israel, or when people are ignorant of the two separate and distinct programs that occupy the written Word. Let me briefly clarify what I mean. We have TWO programs in the Bible. The prophetic program and the mystery program. The prophetic program concerns Israel who were the people of God, a special nation, set apart by God, via the law, in order to be a light to the world, a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation. On the other hand, there is the mystery program, that concerns the Body of Christ, who are under grace. Where Israel is a physical people who would inherit the physical earth, the Body of Christ is a spiritual creature [body] which will inherit the heaven...

The Word of God is the only way to mortify the flesh. Romans chapter 6 is Paul’s advice on how to overcome sin. The chapter in essence tells you to “know a few things”. Paul says. “Know ye that…” , and “Know ye not…” . The idea here is that we have things to learn. We need to get into the Word so that the Word can get into us. We need to study it and saturate ourselves with it. Basically, the more Word you have inside you and allow to influence you; your thoughts, behaviours, actions, and speech, the more that Word will subdue the flesh. You cannot kill sins by your own power, because sin is within you. The only way to mortify the flesh is to live by the spirit. How does one do that? Well, in John 6:63, Jesus says, “My words are spirit and they are life” . So, by getting the Word (which is the Spirit and life of Christ) into you, and allowing it to influence your living, then you will be living by the spirit of Christ in you. If sin is in your flesh, but you choose to live by the Spiri...

Lesson #1 The absolute MOST valued lesson I have learned is to rightly divide the truth, 2Tim.2:15. After 40 years of reading the Bible as if it was ALL written to me and for my instruction, when I learned about rightly dividing the truth, and recognizing that Paul’s letters are instructions addressed to me, and the rest of the Bible is instructions for Israel, this brought clarity and dismissed all that confusion and contradiction. The Bible became an open book from that point. Things fell into place and my faith became settled and strong. Dividing the Word showed me a clear picture of the whole plan of God to redeem us. It showed me where I fit into God’s plan, and it gave me purpose and insights into what God’s will was for me. I cannot overemphasize the value and importance of applying this command to rightly divide the truth to your bible studies. It has completely changed my understanding of God’s Word for the better. I will never look back again at blending everything into on...

God does not forgive sins one at a time when we commit them. Neither does He choose which sins to forgive and which not to. God’s forgiveness is total and complete . The provision of the cross, the blood of His Son, justifies us instantaneously and completely when we believe in His Son. Paul explains this in Romans chapter 3, Rom 3:21-24  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: Before you were saved, you were a sinner. After you respond in faith to the grace gospel and trust that God saves you and justifies you, you remain a sinner. In other words, NOTHING changes in the body! However, EVERYTHING chan...

  Statement All these negative statements promoting the flesh is not good for Christians who wants to be overcomers on Christ Jesus. It's not that I am saying anyone can be sin free, but we should tend to be like Christ. Instead of yielding to sin simply because grace is available. Your pattern of thinking is why some pastors drink, fornicate, cheat, hate, embittered, murder, smoke, exhibit pride and greed because they feel, after all, they cannot beat sin. It's not the number of years as a Christian but your authority in Christ as His soldier. Do you believe in prayers and warfare? Do you believe in binding and casting? You cannot be able to pray battle prayers when you believe carnality is part of a Christian. Answer God’s grace is there for you because of the exceeding love and power of the cross. However, it shows that you still have a way to grow in the knowledge and understanding of God’s foundational truths in the letter of Romans. If you read Romans 6 you will see that...

Question: So, I can continue in sin because Christ had imputed righteousness in me? Or I can commit adultery, watch porn, hate people, keep malice, cheat, and still have right standing with God? Answer: Christ’s righteousness imputed to you freely when you believe in Him is unaffected by the sins you commit. The reason is because it is HIS righteousness upon you, not your own righteousness or unrighteousness, Rom.3:21-22. By the way: Your list of sins above can also include sins like stealing a pen from work, thinking a bad thought, hurting someone's feelings, causing your brother to stumble in faith, violating your conscience. These sins are as heinous and vile to God as the ones you listed above. Sin is sin whether it is intentional or unintentional. Your sins do not affect Christ’s righteousness that God has placed upon you by grace. Without this grace gift you, me, and the whole world would be doomed to hell. Rom 4:5 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justif...

QUESTION: Let's say a person hears and responds to the gospel of grace and believes in Jesus. Justification takes place the moment the get saved. However, the remain a babe in Christ as they never renew their mind to the will and ways of God. They remain weak in spirit and their flesh continues to control their thoughts and actions. What will happen to people like this when they die or when the rapture happens? ANSWER: You need to understand that justification is not something that occurs in the flesh. It is a positional status that God declares over you when you believe in Christ, Rom.7. Your flesh is not justified. That is why your flesh will be dissolved (in death or the rapture). Your flesh is unsalvageable. It is corrupt and vile, and it must be done away with. Your spirit is justified at salvation, and this verdict cannot be changed irrespective of your choices on earth, Rom.8:1. What should happen on earth is the following: If you chose to follow God’s word, you will mortify...

QUESTION: If you willfully sin, you were either not born again in the first place or you have thrown out your faith to serve the devil, and the promise that we can know that we will be saved if we endure to the end. You can lose your salvation as we have already done by disobeying God's Commands. Like Adam, we have partaken of the Tree of Knowledge and broken God's law. Thus, now spiritually dead, and the reason we need the second spiritual awaking, ie: to be born again.  Any sin in a believer will bring about spiritual death if allowed to come to fruition where our names are blotted out of the lamb's book of life. The reason they are blotted out is because of disobedience to God's will in the first place. At the time of accepting God's offer of salvation, we are grafted into the tree again, because God is able to graft in the branches that are broken off if they repent. To be eventually saved we must remain in the true vine of Jesus Christ, and if in Christ we will...