The BIG Picture (Q&A)

ONLINE ARTICLE (OF FALSE) ADVICE You can express your desire to follow the Holy Spirit’s control through prayer. Here is a prayer that has often been helpful to me: “Dear Father, I need You. I acknowledge that I have been directing my own life and that, as a result, I have sinned against You. I thank You that You have forgiven my sins through Christ’s death on the cross for me. I now invite Christ to again take His place on the throne of my life. Fill me with the Holy Spirit as You commanded me to be filled, and as You promised in Your Word that You would do if I asked in faith. I pray this in the name of Jesus. As an expression of my faith, I now thank You for directing my life and for filling me with the Holy Spirit.”1 If you prayed that prayer, desiring the Spirit’s control, then the Holy Spirit fills you now—even if you don’t feel like it. It is a decision of faith: a response to what God says in His Word, His desire to fill you with His Spirit. SCRIPTURAL ANSWER: There is absolute...

How do you change when you became a Christian? You become a Christian when you hear the grace gospel and then respond to it in faith. Responding to the grace gospel changes your spiritual standing with God*. The grace gospel justifies you and saves you from God's wrath and hell, and you will go to heaven when you die, but the grace gospel does not change your physical life. You still continue to sin, your mind remains carnal and at enmity with God (1Cor.3:1; Rom.8:7), you continue to be unprofitable for God in your current condition (Rom.3:12). Unfortunately, many Christians remain in this condition because of ignorance. They believe that they are saved, and rightfully so, but they fail to 'continue' in salvation, because the church teaches them that they've made it, so they don't seek to continue in 'the faith' (Rom.1:5;2Cor.13:5); the doctrine in Paul's epistles that informs them how to die to self, how to grow up in Christ, how to walk in the Spirit,...

How can God mean more to me? Assuming that you have responded in faith to the grace gospel, the only way (and means) to learn more about God is to gain knowledge of His Word. The whole reason why we have the Word of God is to know Him, and the more we know Him, the more He will mean to you. How do we study the Word? Paul gives us the way: Rom 16:25-26 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to … my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, (26) But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, … according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: First, we hear and respond to the gospel so we can be quickened in spirit, and we can start to perceive the heart of God, 1Co 2:11-16. Second, we study the preaching of Jesus Christ, but NOT his earthly ministry in the four gospels, but his teachings revealed in Paul’s 13-...

Much pressure is placed on Christians the moment they get saved. They join an assembly, and everyone expects them to immediately change and start showing typical Christian conduct, performing in activities and exhibiting spiritual gifts. This is what religion expects! It's not what the Bible teaches.  From the moment you get saved, God wills only two things for that person. (1) to be thankful (1 Thess.5:18) and (2) to know His Word (1 Tim.2:4) .  1. 1Th 5:18  In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.  2. 1Tim 2:4  [God] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. Both these attributes come from studying the written Word and getting it into you. The more you feed your spirit with God’s word, the more you become thankful for what He has done for you, and the more you learn —about Him, —about who you are in Christ, —and about where you fit into His redemption plan. Studying the Word, ...

QUESTION: Can you lose salvation? YES. It seems fairly conclusive that you can indeed lose salvation by various means from this selection at least. Yes by doing an unforgivable sin. We agree with Jesus on this at least. Yes, Hebrews 6 4–6. “For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened … If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance” Yes, Hebrews 10:26 “For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins” Yes, Mark 3: 28–29 “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation”. ANSWER: If you choose not to rightly divide the scriptures (2Tim.2:15), and you don’t acknowledge the TWO programs (prophecy and mystery), contained in the redemption plan of God, then this is naturally what you’d conclude. However, since it is plainly clear that God’s Prophetic program for Israel, under the law, is different from God’s Mystery program for t...

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...

When it comes to advice on choices or decisions in life, Paul provides some incredible information in Romans 14. Rom 14:5 Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. Also, Rom 14:22-23  Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.  (23)  And he that doubteth is damned if he eat [do], because he eateth [does] not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin. The above verses have nothing to do with feelings. They have to do with conviction. Feelings are fickle and can change depending on your mood. Conviction is stable, as it has to do with your faith, or an inner truth (conscience) of right or wrong. In addition, the above verses have nothing to do with laws or rules which is the very thing that brings condemnation. In your question, you mention condemnation, which tells me that you made some human rule in your mind about reading the Word and now because you failed to live up to the r...

Justification is the FIRST step in being saved. It starts by hearing the grace gospel. What is the gospel? It is to come to the understanding that without Christ, you have no hope and you have fallen short of God's righteousness because you are a sinner and at enmity with God. It is then to know that because of God's love for you, Christ died for you and through His death, burial, and resurrection, you have a way to come into right standing with God. Having heard these things, it is a matter of choosing to believe in Christ, and trust that His cross work has the power to save you. It is to understand that because of your decision to trust in God's Son, He will justify you and seal you unto that day of redemption. Understand that your choice to trust in Christ sets in motion a transaction in heaven that permanently and utterly saves you. All this is God's work, that once done, due to your decision to trust Jesus Christ, is irreversible and sealed. God cannot go against...

Faith is not emotions or feelings. Faith is knowledge of the truth. In other words, if the Bible says, "God is near you" (Eph.2:13) , then faith believes that, irrespective of emotions and feelings. If your emotions rule you, then your life will be like a roller coaster, constantly tossed between the highs and the lows. Emotions cannot provide you any stability in your relationship with God. However, if you stand on faith, then no matter what your emotional state, you have a firm grounding, and God will be near, because truth says so, not because you think you feel Him. How do you learn to have faith? Well, remember that your whole being, your flesh (or human reasoning), defaults to emotions and feelings. Your default response to everything is feelings since you are conditioned on these since you were born. But faith comes by the Word. You grow in faith by learning the Word, studying the Word, gaining knowledge in the Word. As the Word starts to fill your thoughts, you will s...

Studying something is a personal process. What works for one does not necessarily work for another. Beyond doing what works best for you in the process of studying the Bible, I have two important points to share regarding your study journey in the Word of God. Both these points are spoken of and confirmed within the Bible and is advice that is critical to note and adhere to. Point #1 Scripture is inspired by God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21); it is God's words and God's plan. Anyone can pick up the bible and read it and learn some facts, BUT unless you have the Spirit of God within you** you will never truly know and understand the underlying heart of the Word, and you'll never really connect with the deeper revelations within it. **How does one get the Spirit of God? This happens at the moment of salvation when one responds in faith to the gospel of the grace of God; believing that Christ's death and burial is for the forgiveness ...

Answer Request: The Bible seems like it is very difficult and boring to read through. How do most Christians commit to reading and analyzing the Bible? The following bulleted point below is a simple guideline to remember when reading the Bible. "The whole bible is written for us, but not all of it is written to us." Put another way, "All the bible is for our learning, but not all of it is for our application." When you understand the Bible dispensationally, and understand that the Bible is written to different people groups in different times, you will notice the need to divide the scriptures (2 Tim.2:15). Only when you divide the scriptures will the Bible really become clear and meaningful. When the opposite happens and people mix up the dispensational truths, it is then that confusion and contradictions arise and where the Bible does not make sense and become 'boring' due to all the rules and regulations, etc. Do some homework into rightly di...

The Bible says we must apply right division when studying it. 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. What is rightly dividing?  To "rightly divide"  is to recognize that the bible contains information that is dependent on factors like systems (attributes), or people groups, or time periods (eg: 7-year Tribulation; 1000-year Millennium).  This information is what is known as a dispensation (or that which is dispensed) . It can also be known as an economy, a stewardship, a program, or an administration. So, to exercise right division is to separate that which belongs in one system, or people group, or time period from another system, or people group, or time period. Information from one dispensation cannot be used or added to another dispensation. In other words, the information context cannot be mixed , and if it is, it creates a warped understanding of scripture, or even w...