The BIG Picture (Shorts)

QUESTION: Christians, did Paul teach that salvation is through faith in Messiah, not through works of the law as a means of justification while also emphasizing obedience as in upholding the Law which remains essential to faith: Romans 3:31 & Galatians 2:16? ANSWER: Paul’s teaching about salvation and the Law is simple, but it is also very important to understand clearly. He says in Galatians 2:16, “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” This means that no one can be made right with God by keeping the Law. Salvation is not earned by what we do. It is given freely when we put our trust in Jesus Christ. Justification—being declared righteous before God—is by faith alone. But Paul also says in Romans 3:31, “Do we then make void the law through fait...

The eyes of our faith are not to be fixed on the outer man—his health, his wealth, his circumstances, or his religious performance, as these things may change, fade, or even deceive. But the inner man, renewed day by day, is where the Spirit works and where truth dwells. Our faith is not grounded in what we see, feel, or experience. It is grounded in what we know—specifically, in the words of our sound doctrine: the gospel of Christ according to the revelation of the mystery, found in Paul’s epistles and rightly divided from prophecy. Not vague impressions, not mystical signs, not emotional highs. But the written Word of God rightly divided, believed with understanding, and held with assurance. “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). That renewal comes not through external effort or change, but through spiritual truth. And spiritual truth is found in our doctrine. So, we do not chase the visible—m...

Anyone NOT born again of The Holy Spirit is NOT Saved - John 3:3, 5 Anyone Who Doesn't Have the Same Spirit as Jesus is NOT Saved - Romans 8:9 Anyone NOT Led by the Holy Spirit is NOT Saved - Romans 8:14 The above responses are typical of people who comment on doctrine and bible studies through ignorance and immaturity. God saves people because they believe in His Son, not because they are ‘led by the Spirit’. Being led by the Spirit is a product of studying the Word and getting it into your soul. To the extent that the Word of God is in you, is the extent that it flows out of you. When the Word flows out of you and influences your thoughts, behaviours, reactions and speech, then you are led by the Holy Spirit. Walking by the Spirit is the outflow of the Word of God within you. Nothing more, nothing less. Salvation occurs BEFORE being led by the Spirit. Salvation does not depend on being led by the Spirit. Details: https://thebigpicturelink.blogspot.com/2023/07/disputing-ignorance-...

Rom 4:20 He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; (21) And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. (22) And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness. (23) Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him; (24) But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; (25) Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. What a beautiful passage. Abraham did not waver in faith, believing that God could perform what He said, and Abraham was imputed righteousness. So it is with us. We should have unwavering faith in the cross work of Christ, for our justification, because the power of God raised up Christ from the dead to confirm that we too are imputed this same righteousness unto salvation.  God is faithful and able to do that He promised. Hallelujah! _________...

The thought that God may be displeased with us can be frightening, but it is also the greatest joy when we know He is pleased with us. However, we cannot please God by doing things we think He wants. We must give Him what He says He desires, which is faith. Thankfully, God tells us in His Word that faith is what He desires the most. He wants us to trust Him and believe what He says. The Bible tells us how much God loves us, despite our sins, and how He sent His Son to die for us on the cross so that we can be saved. But sadly, many people don't believe Him and instead, turn away from His gracious offer, “going about to establish their own righteousness”, Rom.10:3. They think that God will accept their efforts and ignore their sins. But this is presumption, not faith. How can a just God ignore sin? We should be grateful that God, by His incredible love, paid for our sins Himself so that we can be free. Salvation is "the gift of God" that we can only receive through fait...

Among Christians, there are those who aren't too concerned with what they read in the Bible, as long as it touches their hearts. For them, the Bible is like a 'pick your favourite verse collection', choosing only parts that appeal to them and ignoring the rest. This is not how the Bible should be read or treated. Although the Bible teaches many truths that we can readily accept, we cannot truly comprehend its message unless we study it as a whole. True faith seeks to continually deepen its understanding of God's Word. A person who isn't seeking to understand God's Word isn't truly interested in what God has to say. Such a person's faith is founded on personal preference rather than on truth, choosing any scripture that appeals to them and interpreting it as they please. Such "spirituality" is not authentic, and such "faith" can be considered blind, superstitious, and even dangerous. God desires that we intelligently believe what we...

QUESTION:  How can we keep the law to please God? ANSWER: We can't! People have tried for millennia and failed. Contrariwise, Paul tells us that the law was giving to increase sin and expose our wretchedness, Rom.7:10-13; 7:24. The commandments of God, which are holy, are actually death unto me because all they can do is condemn me, Rom. 6:23. However, in 1Tim.1:9, Paul declares that there are righteous men. So, how did they become righteous if God's commandments condemn them? Well, it's because righteousness (no condemnation, Rom.8:1) comes through the faith of Jesus Christ, not our adherence to the law, Rom.3:22. Once we are righteous, we grow in godliness by obedience to the knowledge of the written Word, Rom.6:16; 2Co.10:5. By obedience we start to walk by the Spirit, mortifying the flesh, Rom.8:13, and we come to produce the fruit of the Spirit, which, as Paul says, “… against such there is no law”, Gal.5:23. Thus, we keep the law by obedience to the Word, through a...

The Church, even the true Church of believers in Christ, is undoubtedly more extensive now than ever before. However, it is weak and sick, confused, and divided. Many attribute the Church's low spiritual state to factors such as not breaking from worldly living, a deficiency in prayer, and apathy towards the unsaved. However, these are merely symptoms. The true cause is the Church's deviation from the divine message and plan for our times, as disclosed in Paul's mystery doctrine. This is the fundamental issue, yet it remains largely unrecognized or admitted. In Israel's case, trouble arose from straying from the Law of Moses; similarly, our issues stem from deviating from the truths taught by Paul. Just as the dispensation of the Law was entrusted to Moses, the dispensation of Grace was entrusted to Paul (Eph. 3:1-3). Those who have fallen away since Paul's time have done so not by abandoning God's Word as a whole, but specifically by veering from 'the faith...

In the verses in the image, Paul speaks of the faith of Christ, not merely faith in Christ. This concept refers to Christ's own faithfulness and trustworthiness, not His personal beliefs. Faith has two aspects: the objective, which is trust in another, and the subjective, which is being trustworthy oneself. If I have faith in you, you should keep faith with me; you should be trustworthy. Paul mentions "the faith of Christ" 7-times in his letters to highlight Christ's worthiness of our trust. For instance, in Gal.3:22 and Phil.3:9, the emphasis is on believing because Christ is worthy of trust. Christ's faithfulness, proven by His death and resurrection, precedes and underpins our faith in Him. It's this trustworthiness that assures us He can "save to the uttermost those who come unto God by Him" (Heb.7:25), just as Paul reassured the jailor in Philippi, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Act.16:31). __________...

According to Paul’s writings we are to obey the living Word within us. You see, when we read the Word and fill ourselves with it, then it starts to renew our mind. It starts to influence our thoughts and actions. Giving ourselves over to obey the knowledge that the Word stablishes within us is what we obey unto righteousness. So, for clarity, we obey that form of doctrine that is inside us. As we do, we walk by the Spirit and mortify the deeds of the flesh. We obey the living Word by allowing it to work itself out of us. This is liberty and freedom in grace. Can you see that walking in the Spirit is not some ultra-spiritual force that moves you left and right, or brings you visions or voices in your head! There is no mysticism or deep spiritual senses involved. It is simply a matter of knowing and applying God's Word in situations with the desire to please God through simple but committed obedience to Paul's grace doctrine. ______________ Join my WhatsApp channel to receive th...

COMMENT: “Salvation is conditional!” ANSWER: I do not argue that salvation is conditional. It certainly is, but that is in respect to the prophetic Kingdom program. As for the Grace program under mystery, all the conditions which were necessary for our salvation were accomplished through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. So, in essence, there were conditions for our salvation, but those conditions are not upon us to fulfil, because they have already been fulfilled by Christ. This is why our salvation is a FREE GIFT by the grace of God through Christ. In contrast, the currently suspended Kingdom program required conditions to be fulfilled by those believers as part of the works they need to prove their faith, Jam 2:17. All the above scriptures you quote, to prove conditional salvation, speak of conditions to do because all these scriptures refer to the prophetic Kingdom program. We do not belong to this program, so these scriptures do not apply to us. ______________ Joi...

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 st...

If Judas was a disciple of Jesus but lost his salvation as prophesied when he betrayed Jesus, what is the chances that I can lose my salvation? Salvation under the Kingdom gospel was not secure because their salvation was based on their own faith and endurance. Jesus preached that kingdom believers had to pick up their cross and follow Him, and the one who puts his hand to the plough and looks back is not fit for the kingdom, and they had to endure to the end in their faith, Matt 24:13; Mk 13:13. In this regard, Judas lost his salvation. In the Tribulation, if one turned from faith in God, it meant that one was turning in allegiance to the Antichrist, and to eternal damnation! Thus, in this time one's salvation is also not secure. Our salvation in this dispensation of grace is eternally secure! Why? Because our salvation is not based on our own works and endurance, but it is based on the perfect faith and work OF Christ. It's because of Christ that we are sealed into the Body u...

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, he praised them for their strong growth in faith, (2Thes.1:3). How did he know they were growing spiritually? Because of 3 important things: Paul commended them for their love and kindness to one another (2Thes.1:3). They displayed patience, They had unwavering faith in persecution and tribulations they faced for the sake of Christ (2Thes.1:4).  Without true love, there can be no real spiritual growth, (1Co.13:1-8). Also, staying positive in tribulation is a clear sign of spiritual growth. These attributes demonstrated their spiritual maturity and their reliance on Christ's indwelling life.  So, what caused them grow spiritually? Only one thing! They received the Word of God as the truth, not just the words of men (1Thes.2:13). They had genuine interest in the scriptures and allowed the truths they learned to transform their lives. From the above we can learn, 'What is true spiritual growth', and also, 'How does it come about'.

Obeying how many laws will save you? Have you encountered people who say that obeying the law of Moses is necessary for salvation? Asking them why, they typically respond... 'It's in the Bible'. But, did you know there are 600+ laws in the Mosaic law, not just the 10 commandments? So, what else does the Bible say about the law? According to James, if you choose to keep just one law, you are obligated to keep them all, and breaking just one law means breaking them all. Galatians says that the law is NOT of faith (but works). Ephesians says that salvation is by “grace” through “faith”. Furthermore, Paul clarifies that the purpose of the law is to point out sin, not to save. To be saved from God's wrath, Paul writes that you place simple trust in the completed cross work of Christ, His death, burial, and resurrection. Thus the law shows your need to be saved, but only faith in Christ can actually save. So, how many laws do you believe you are keeping? I'm sorry, but th...

Some may believe in the necessity of water baptism, observing Sunday rest, speaking in tongues, doing good deeds, or obeying rituals, but, if they trust Christ alone and know that their works don't contribute to salvation, then they are saved. On the other hand, if they believe that certain works are required, in addition to faith, they are mixing faith and works, going against what Paul warns in Gal 3:1-3. If you are adding works to your faith for salvation, that faith you exercise implies that Christ's death was insufficient, contradicting faith in the gospel. The grace gospel teaches that salvation is solely by God's grace through faith alone, as Eph 2:8-9 states.  Paul says the following, "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God." 1Cor7:19. Similarly, your works are nothing in the light of salvation by grace. Whether you have attempted to work for your salvation or not, know that salvation is availabl...