The BIG Picture (Study)

Understanding the New Testament Gospel Differences  (Part 6 --- Call upon the name of the Lord or confess His name) We continue with the comparison of the gospel of God and the gospel of Christ by looking at key elements that distinguish them from each other. I recommend to start at the beginning of this comparison to gain the necessary context of this series of posts. Call upon the name of the Lord or Confess the Lord In the Old Testament and the four Gospels, it was required by Jews to call upon the name of the Lord, or confess His name. The purpose of this was to proclaim Him as one's Messiah, to identify Him as your Lord and King. This requirement, to call upon the name of the Lord, or to confess Him as your Saviour, was a necessary requirement of salvation during the law dispensation and in the Kingdom gospel and the gospel of God. Joel 2:32 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call

Understanding the New Testament Gospel Differences  (Part 5 --- A Future Salvation) We continue with the comparison of the gospel of God and the gospel of Christ by looking at key elements that distinguish them from each other. I recommend to start at the beginning of this comparison to gain the necessary context of this series of posts. Salvation was Future A simple fact that does not need much proof is that in the gospel of the Kingdom, and the gospel of God, the hope of salvation lay out in the future. This of course is very different to the gospel of Christ (or the Grace gospel), where salvation is not a hope out in the future based on one's works and the conditional requirement to endure to the end, but rather a factual and unconditional sealing of one's salvation by the Holy Spirit because of the cross work of Christ.

The Simplicity of our Salvation It is my opinion that one of the 'easiest to understand' topics in scripture is our salvation through the grace gospel today. But on the other hand, it is also the topic that has largely been complicated, distorted and pulled out of context because of mixing up scriptures based on the gospels that belong to other dispensations and people groups. In this short discourse, I'd like to address what the Bible says about our salvation, keeping it in the right context, and proving its simplicity, which is the singular act of placing our faith in the work of Christ on our behalf. Unlike the gospels of other dispensations which depend on works, and laws, and observances, and conditions, our grace gospel is plain and simple. Our gospel, and the salvation it brings, is already complete, and simply needs to be received. There is nothing else that is tied to it that needs to be done or observed or earned. The simplici

The dispensation of grace has less to do with it starting at a specific moment in time, and more to do with the proclamation of a new salvation message from God. It's not so much linked to the event of Pentecost in Acts 2 , or the conversion of Paul in Acts 9 , or him turning to the Gentiles in Acts 28 , and more to do with receiving a message of God's abundant grace without the need of works and endurance. I'm not declining any reasoning that the message of grace started being proclaimed somewhere in the transitional book of ACTS, but I also hold true the point that grace started in each person individually when they hear, and received the good news that God declares them justified through the absolute and completed cross work of His Son, Jesus Christ. So, for me, grace started with a change in gospel. Consider this, —before the message of grace went out, that is, before the news that God is not saving by a covenant of works, but rather through th

Time Is Running Out The events in the world at current, and the signs according to prophecy * , are indicators that the grace dispensation in God's timetable is soon to end. The next dispensation, after grace, will be one of tribulation and wrath. Time is running out, and if you have not yet heard and responded to the Gospel of Grace, you are still unredeemed, unsaved and will have no hope when you stand before your God. I encourage you to read through the linked posts below and respond to the good news that can save you. "for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 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." (Jesus Christ, Jn.5:28-29) When an unredeemed person dies, there is NO MORE hope for them! The next time they will live is when they are resurrected to face judgement. This resurrection unto death ( or

Scripture Analysis: (Eph.1:13) A powerful verse, not only in what it says, but in what it does NOT say! As good as reading the Bible is, we miss a LOT of valuable details as our eyes simply pass over the words. To really get into the heart of the verse, it is important to — slow down , to — take note what it says, and to — understand it in the context of rightly dividing the passage in which it resides. ---------------------------- Eph.1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,   There is a lot of information in this verse, but what is of greater interest, as I write this, is n

Is John 3:16 the gospel? No . This verse depicts the Kingdom gospel and not the Grace gospel. The gospel is absent in this verse and therefore one cannot use this verse as a basis to present the gospel to someone. Why not? This verse lacks the information that one needs to know regarding the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that purpose is for us. John 3:16 is essentially the Kingdom gospel and had to do with the  identity  of Jesus Christ, and Jews [ at the time of John's writing ] had to acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah, (see John 20:31, Luke 12:8, Matthew 16:16, John 11:27 ). The Grace gospel today is not about the identity of Christ, but rather with the cross work of Jesus; not who He is, but  what He has done . For examples of the grace gospel, see 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 4:25; 1 Thessalonians 4:14; Romans 14:9; 2 Corinthians 5:15.   (Note, these scriptures above reference the cross work of Je

The Power of God unto Salvation Rom.1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.  Disregarding all the petty religious squabbles, all the theories and interpretations, all the denominational traditions and observances. Disregarding all the feeble wisdom that we think we have, all the pious egos, self-righteousness, esteem and exaltations that we paste onto our fleeting earthly lives, it really comes down to ONE thing, and one thing ALONE; the fact that we as humanity are utterly lost and utterly powerless to save ourselves, to the point that all we can do, .....literally, the only viable thing left, outside our bag of tried and useless tricks, is acknowledge that only one hope remains, —to believe in Jesus Christ and what He has done for us. All the c

Q-A: What is the unforgivable sin? In Matt.12:31-32,  Jesus says the following, "Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. " To clarify this statement of Jesus, it is crucial to understand this passage in a dispensational context, where we ensure to rightly divide the Word as we are instructed to do in 2 Tim.2:15 . Doing so, we will then know that when Jesus was operating in His earthly ministry, he was doing so under the law and His teachings were directed to the Jews ( Gal.4:4; Matt.15:24 ). So, in this respect, we should immediately understand that the 'unforgivable sin' that Jesus mention

What was the Gospel in Jesus' day? (Part.3) (Click here for Part 2 ) So then, what is the gospel for us today? Galatians 2:7 The clearest definition of the gospel for our day is found in Paul's letter to the Corinthians. 1 Corinthians 15:1 Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved , if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures , 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ( See also: Rom.4:25; 1 Thes.4:14; Rom.14:9; 2 Cor.5:15; Eph.1:13 ) Appropriating the Gospel We often hear these phrases today in the context of becoming saved, "you must invite Jesus i

Our Destination is Different from O.T. and Gospel Saints Have you ever noticed that Old Testament and Gospel saints were NOT PROMISED HEAVEN as a destination? Instead they were promised an everlasting kingdom on earth . As a matter of fact, these saints never even had a concept of "going to heaven" when they died. The reason is because all through the Old Testament and prophecy it was spoken of a glorious new earthly kingdom ; one which would be restored and refreshed as it was before. In the verse below, Zacharias, John the Baptist father, when speaking of salvation, does not have the concept of "going to heaven"  as you and I would today. In his case, salvation is being saved from their earthly enemies and inheriting that promised 'earthly, terra firma' land mention in the covenant made to Abraham, Luke 1:67-75 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying:  68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Isra