The BIG Picture (Q&A)

QUESTION: Please read I John 1:9. The passage goes like this. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. In this passage, isn’t John giving clear instructions that we shouldn’t ignore. Is it important that we are to confess our sins to God?  ANSWER: To answer this question in the correct context, we must interpret the Bible from a dispensational view. It is of great importance to recognize that scripture must be understood in the context of the dispensation in which it was written. If you do not take this into account, you can easily misinterpret the passage and end up learning a wrong doctrine. John addressed his letters to his Jewish brethren (because of this reference in Gal.2:9; that the Jewish apostles would minister to the circumcision (Jews), and Paul would minister to the uncircumcision (Gentiles)). Not only was John writing to the Jews but notice the word "if" in John's statement. He says that confessing sins is the conditional requir...

Let me answer the points in your question with some facts. Sin has separated us from God. The bible says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” (Rom 3:23). We cannot restore that relationship. We never could and we never will be able. You see, sin is in our nature. It’s not our works or efforts that is the issue, it is us ourselves. It is our very nature that is at enmity with God. The bible says,  Rom 8:7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. No good works or efforts that you do, to appease God or try to earn favour with Him, will count for anything! Again, the problem lies inside of us, inside our very nature as humans. So then, what is the answer to your question? If we cannot do anything to find peace with God, how can we be saved? Well, the bible gives us these answers too. God has provided us with grace through Jesus Christ. The answer is to believe in Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus wi...

There are TWO things to be aware of regarding this question about paying for the consequences of your sin. ONE: From a spiritual, and eternal point of view, the consequences of your sin has been completely removed, assuming that you have heard and responded in faith to the grace gospel**. The moment you believe in the grace gospel, you are eternally saved, and your sin is nailed to the cross of Christ, (Col.2:13-14). The Bible says that the penalty (or consequence) of sin is death, but because you placed your faith and hope in the cross-work of Christ alone, you are forgiven, that penalty is removed, and you have been acquitted in spirit and have life. Eph.24 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)  Rom.5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, ...

Colossians 2:10 …and you [saved by the grace gospel] are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in [waterless, 1Cor.12:13] baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven [past tense] you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. One must understand that when you respond in faith to the grace gospel, you are utterly forgiven of ALL your sins, past, present and future. Thinking any less means that you diminish the power of the cross, the sacrifice of Ch...

Answer Request: I'm in despair. I feel like I won't be forgiven for my sins. God doesn't love me. There's no hope for me anymore. I give up on my journey to salvation. What should I do? The first thing to understand is that faith is not feeling . Faith is not in your head or in your emotions. What is faith? It is a confident knowing that something is true even if you don't feel it. It's a choice you make and a stance you take without the evidence to back it up. Now, the above is important to understand! It is important that you come to the position of accepting it as true. So, read it again and let it sink in. With the above truth let me bring you to one of the most famous scripture passages in the bible. Let's look at this verse through the eyes of faith, not feeling! John 3:16 For God so loved the world , that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his S...

Consider this practical analogy.  Both a pig and a sheep can fall into a mud hole. The pig remains perfectly content in the mud because it is its nature to roll in the mud. The sheep is not content to roll in the mud because it is contrary to its nature. It wants out as quickly as possible because living in mud is uncomfortable, unpleasant and weighty when the mud saturates its wool. Similarly, if a believer truly possesses the divine nature within them, they will be uncomfortable around sin, and sin will be unpleasant and feel weighty on their spirit because it is contrary to their new nature. Dealing with the inevitable question: What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Shall we sin knowing that we are entirely justified through Christ in the sight of God? Romans 5:20 Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more , 21 so that as sin reigned in death, ...

Depending on the context of the verse, there was a marked difference between the word "Sin" and the word "Sins". One might think that the plural means more than one sin, right? Well, that is not always the case! In the King James Bible, it can mean something else as well. First, the word "Sins" (plural) Galatians 1:4 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: 1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; Ephesians 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins , according to the riches of his grace; The word, "Sins" (plural) refer to countless acts of sinning as the fruits or result of the sin nature within us. This is very different to the singular "sin" which we will look at shortly. Of course, if I commit a single wron...