First the Question: In the Gospel of John the word Grace is found exactly 24 times. True or False?
Take a moment to respond at the LLM Question of the Day
And now the answer to the LLM Question of 3-25-2012
Question: The Pentecost message of the Apostle Peter was the Gospel of the Grace of God for Gentiles. True or False?
Answer: FALSE! The Apostle Peter’s Pentecost message was NOT ‘the Gospel of the Grace of God’ for Gentiles. The “ritualists”, and ‘back to Pentecost’ religious church members, prefer the message of John the Baptist and the message of the Apostle Peter to Israel on the day of Pentecost, “baptism unto repentance for the remission of sins,” as opposed to the Grace Gospel from Titus 3:5-8. When Peter and the Eleven preached the Kingdom Gospel to Israel on the day of Pentecost the risen LORD had NOT YET revealed His Grace Gospel for Gentiles when, and because, of the temporary FALL of Israel. (Romans 11:11). Now, out of the 762 responses we received to this question, 87.5% of you got it right! Good!! Therefore, NOW, let us take a look at,
The Grace of God, part 5 of 9
HOW MUCH GRACE WAS NEEDED IN THE DAYS OF NOAH?
In Genesis 6:8, we read, “BUT Noah found Grace in the eyes of the LORD.” If you will read the verses immediately preceding Genesis 6:8, you will catch more of the significance of the word ‘BUT’. “The wickedness of man was great on the earth”, “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” “The LORD said, “I will destroy man whom I have created.” God gave those who lived in the days of Noah fair warning of the awful judgment that was awaiting them. His warning went unheeded. Saving Grace was available. Noah found that Grace. This present age and dispensation of Grace will end very suddenly. Then, according to the declaration of the LORD Jesus Christ, “as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of Man.” (Luke 17:26).
The human heart is desperately wicked and deceitful, as God has stated in His Book. (Jeremiah 17:9.) In this age of rationalism and materialism and satanic counterfeit religions the spirit of apathetic indifference, with respect to salvation from the wrath of God, seems to be in control of the great majority of the children of Adam. This age is rightly described, in Galatians 1:4, as “this present evil age.” Satan, the great deceiver, is truly ‘the god of this age’.
In the midst of the present day disgraceful ‘sectarianism’, ‘ritualism’, ‘modernism’ and ‘fanaticism’, many religious church members, and millions of sinners not in the churches, willfully and intentionally reject God’s ‘Grace’ salvation.
Other sincere, zealous, religious people, in large numbers, seem to be either ignorant or afraid of the Grace of God. Many of them are willing to receive a limited amount of Divine Grace mixed in with their religious sacraments, carnal ordinances, water salvation (baptism), signs and visions; but they fear and tremble when asked to believe 2 Timothy 1:9, Ephesians 2:8-9 and Romans 3:24-28, “God Who hath saved us, and called us with a holy calling; not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and Grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.”, “By Grace were ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.”, “Being justified ‘freely’ (without a cause) by God’s Grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” So, again I ask the question:
HOW MUCH GRACE IS TOO MUCH GRACE?
The willful, intentional enemies of the Grace of God, as well as the confused, ignorant, zealous, religious out people, who cherish a perverted Gospel, charge the messengers of the LORD, who preach the unmixed Gospel of Grace, with preaching too much Grace. Rather than go forward to the ‘all Grace’ message and program, which the RISEN Glorified Christ gave to the human race through the Apostle Paul, THEIR slogan is “Back to Pentecost” or “back to Jesus and the Synoptic Gospels.”
The Modernists much prefer the moral and law and religious teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in the Sermon on the Mount and the Golden Rule to the message of Act 13:39 and Romans 3:24-26, justification by God’s Grace through the Faith in the crucified, resurrected and glorified, eternal, sinless, omnipotent Christ. They are more interested in a program of religion education to educate sinners into salvation than in teaching the virgin birth and eternal Deity of the LORD Jesus Christ, His vicarious suffering on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension and His present work for saints as Advocate in the presence of our Heavenly Father. (Hebrews 7:25-9:24)
The religious people, who want the Jesus they preach to be a HELPER instead of a Savior, want to feel that they really deserve and earn God’s favor by practicing the ethics of Jesus. They belong to the “DO IT YOURSELF” Society. They of course must think that the Apostle Paul taught error when he taught, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according, to God’s mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration…being justified by God’s Grace.” (Titus 3:5-8). They prefer to earn forgiveness of sins, by their work of forgiving others, according to Matthew 6:14-15 and Matthew 18:34-35, rather than to believe and accept the truth of Colossians 2:13 and Ephesians 4:32, and know that by the Gospel of Grace the believer has all of His sins forgiven, for Christ’s sake.
The “ritualists”, and ‘back to Pentecost’ religious church members, prefer the message of John the Baptist and the message of the Apostle Peter to Israel on the day of Pentecost, “baptism unto repentance for the remission of sins,” to the Grace Gospel which we quoted from Titus 3:5-8. When Peter and the Eleven preached the Kingdom Gospel to Israel on the day of Pentecost the risen LORD had not yet revealed His Grace Gospel for Gentiles when and because of the temporary FALL of Israel. (Romans 11:11).
The Apostle Peter’s Pentecost message was NOT ‘the Gospel of the Grace of God’ for Gentiles.
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In Ephesians 1:13 the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul declares that men are saved and sealed by hearing and BELIEVING the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation. Therefore, here, now, is declared unto you the Word of Truth, the Gospel of your Salvation: "that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" 1 Corinthians 15:3-4. BELIEVE today. The time is short.
So There You Have it!
Spread this message to everyone you know, far and wide.
Grace be to you and peace, from God: our Father, and The LORD Jesus Christ.
In The LORD Jesus Christ,
The Lion and Lamb Ministry
Pastor David Picos, D.D.
Minister and Ambassador for Christ in the Ministry of Reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-20)
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