The BIG Picture (Shorts)

Part 1 of 3 • ⏱️ 2-Min Read Passage: Rom.1:1-17 Scripture Focus: “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.” (Rom.1:16) Today’s Lesson The opening of Romans sets forth the distinct character and divine authority of the gospel of God. Paul identifies himself as a servant and a called apostle, separated unto a message promised afore by the prophets concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. This foundational truth establishes that salvation rests entirely upon the person and completed work of Christ—His resurrection declaring Him to be the Son of God with power. In this present dispensation of grace, the gospel operates as the absolute power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes. It does not demand legalistic performance or ceremonial observance; rather, God’s righteousness is revealed from faith to faith. The believer stands fully justified not through human merit...

When Jesus Christ appeared to Paul in a "heavenly vision," He revealed that Paul would be a minister of two things: what he had already seen and things that would be revealed to him later. 1. The Ministry of "My Gospel" (Apostle to All Men) What it was: This was the preaching of the cross and the gospel of the grace of God. To whom: It was sent to "every creature who is under heaven," specifically directed to both Jews and Gentiles. Purpose: To testify that through Jesus Christ, anyone who believes receives the forgiveness of sins and is justified in a way the Law of Moses could never achieve. During this stage, Paul's pattern was to go to the Jew first; if they rejected the message, he turned to the Gentiles. 2. The Ministry of "The Mystery" (Prisoner for the Body of Christ) What it was: This was the revelation of the mystery—a plan that God had hidden since the world began but revealed through Paul to "fulfill the word of God". ...

 QUESTION: How do we know that the “grace dispensation” doesn’t coincide with the “everlasting gospel” and that both have been present since the foundation of the world? ANSWER: The present dispensation is called “the dispensation of the grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2). This message was a mystery hidden from ages and generations (Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:26), not revealed since the foundation of the world but made known through Paul after Christ’s ascension. Paul affirms that his gospel came “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:11-12). Its content is the finished work of Christ: “how that Christ died for our sins… and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Salvation today is by grace through faith, “not of works” (Ephesians 2:8-9). Since this gospel was kept secret until revealed (Romans 16:25), it cannot have been present from the foundation of the world. By contrast, the “everlasting gospel” appears in Revelation 14:6-7, whe...

When Paul stood in the temple, accusations flew—he was charged with speaking against Israel, the law, and the temple, Act.21:27-28. But was this true? Absolutely not! Paul, an apostle of God, was entrusted with  a NEW dispensation , one not rooted in the law, but  in grace . A doctrine revealed  for all mankind , not limited to one nation or one place. The temple made of stone was no longer necessary, for  the true temple is the spiritual body of Christ . Today, God is not operating in Israel's kingdom program meant for another time—He is working in the dispensation of grace, for the Body of Christ, where  salvation is freely given to all who believe , Rom.5:15-16; Rom.6:23. Let’s be sure we understand this doctrine, as it is the doctrine for today.  Are you standing firm in the truth revealed to Paul?  Don’t hold onto an old program with old commandments when God has revealed something greater through Christ! ______________ Please share these with f...

At first glance, Philippians 4:22— "All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are of Caesar's household." —may seem like an insignificant passing remark; certainly nothing inspired, 2Tim.3:16. But even in these words, we learn something profound about Paul's character and mission. Even in the heart of the Roman Empire, among servants, soldiers, and officials, the gospel was alive! Paul, imprisoned yet unwavering, preached the grace of God at every opportunity. He saw no barrier too great, no circumstance too limiting. He fulfilled the ministry he received from Christ— to testify to the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24). This seemingly small verse challenges us: Are we using every moment to testify of Christ? Do we see our workplace, our community, even our hardships as opportunities to advance the gospel of the grace of God? Like Paul, let’s boldly live our purpose, glorify Christ, and let His grace reach every corner, even places we least expect. ______________ Please ...

FACT NO. 3 —That the gospel we are to preach is called the Gospel of the grace of God. “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD” (Acts 20:24). This is God’s only message for the lost in this present age. We are to follow Paul as he followed Christ (I Cor. 11:1). In his writings ALONE do we find the doctrine, position, walk, and destiny of the Christian. Some other important aspects of grace are: 1. We are saved by GRACE—Eph. 2:8,9. 2. We are justified freely by His GRACE—Rom. 3:24; Titus 3:7. 3. His GRACE is sufficient for us—II Cor. 12:9. 4. We are not under Law but under GRACE—Rom. 6:14,15. 5. This age is the age of GRACE —Eph. 3:2. 6. We are to approach the throne of GRACE in prayer—Heb. 4:16. More FACTS to follow... See this article for even more rightly dividing differences By Robert C. Brock Source:...

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENT: Forget theology and let love be the primary function of your ministry. No need to tell others what they must believe or not believe, it will be evident what you believe when nothing but love flows from your lips. MY RESPONSE: One cannot just love another or do kind deeds alone for them to get saved. They need to learn the gospel. Rom.10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard [the gospel]? and how shall they hear without a preacher? ... Paul says it is the gospel that is the power of God to save (Rom.1:16). Showing love in deeds towards others is a great testimony of your faith, but those deeds cannot save anyone. Just being kind and doing good and loving others has great value and can soften their heart, but if the recipient never understands the message of the gospel concerning the cross and resurrection of Christ, all that love and care you give them is ultimately meaningle...

A BEAUTIFUL SOCIAL MEDIA STATEMENT: The gospel tells us that we must believe that Jesus died for our sins. The actual process of salvation is performed by the Holy Spirit which includes the Word of God renewing our mind and bringing us to obedience of Christ. So, it truly is good news. SOMEONE’S RESPONSE: Ridiculous! Show me a verse that says that!! MY REPLY: The bible tells us to study it line upon line, here a little, and there a little, Isaiah 28:10. No one verse is going to divulge the entire salvation process which involves justification, sanctification and glorification. Thus, one has to read the Bible and learn these things as the verses, throughout many pages, connect and confirm each other. I can give you a starting point by referring you to 1Cor.15:1–4 and Eph.2:8–9. Then, from these verses, allow the scripture to lead you into more cross-references and it will start to build a clear picture of the process of salvation in Paul’s epistles. ______________ Please share these wit...

The following (linked below) are some responses to the previous post uploaded concerning Paul's "my gospel" and rightly dividing the Word. If one does not rightly divide the Word, it will become confusing, as is evident in this person's comments. The comments are all directly related to mixing up the Kingdom and Grace doctrines. It is not only sad to see such confusion, but it is dangerous to spread such false doctrine because anyone out there who is uninformed about sound doctrine will believe it and get all twisted up in confusion and contradiction too. We are to STUDY the Word for ourselves, not rely on things we have learned from preachers, or books, or YouTube. Our ONLY source of truth in the King James Bible. Read it, cross reference scripture, learn its true context, and be edified by it alone. If you find content outside of the Bible, don't believe it until you have searched the scriptures yourself.  https://thebigpictureask.blogspot.com/2024/08/did-paul-p...

Rom.16:25-26 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, ... The words "my gospel" are of great interest. Paul personalized the gospel he was preaching. This makes it different to the gospel that John the Baptist, Jesus, and the twelve Apostles taught. They preached the Kingdom gospel, the good news that the Kingdom of Heaven was near. And that was true, as the King was in their midst and He was willing and able to usher in His kingdom if they would repent and believe. But due to the unbelief of Israel's rulers, this kingdom was placed on hold based on Rom.11:25. Paul, on the other hand, was preaching a grace gospel. A gospel where one could place one's trust in the cross-work of Christ and that through His death, burial, and resurrection, (through His work of righteousness, not our attempts), one receives forgiveness and is completely justified before God. In order to recognize the difference between these gospels, one needs to divide them, ...

In Romans 1:16, Paul wrote, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." To be saved, we need to believe the gospel. The word "gospel" translates to "good news." But before we can believe this good news, we need to understand what it is. I paraphrase what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4: "Brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you... that Christ died for our sins, as the Scriptures said; He was buried, and He rose again on the third day, as the Scriptures said." This is the good news we must believe to be saved. Unfortunately, many sincere Christians often use popular phrases instead of sharing the true gospel message. Some common phrases include, "Ask Jesus into your heart," or "Make Jesus your Lord and personal Savior." Another phrase you might hear is, "Say yes to Jesus today." These phrases don’t have the p...

1Pet.1:23-25 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: (25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you. If you are looking for something eternal, the only place where you will find it is in the words of the Bible. If you want to participate in the eternal, you need to partake of the words of the Bible. Your flesh is going to wither, your glory is going to fade away, your mansion, your stocks, your retirement, and everything else, will all come to vanity, Ps.144:4. Only the words in the Bible will endure forever, and it comes to you by the preaching of the gospel of Christ, the words of eternal value, Jn.6:68. Titus 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of ete...

  Q: Did Paul ever teach the Kingdom Gospel?  Yes! But only for a very short period of time. In Act.9:19 it says that Saul preached that Jesus is the Son of God. This was the key faith condition (and confession) for receiving salvation as per this gospel. A person had to believe that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah and confess Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God. Q: So you are saying Paul is accursed for teaching another gospel? No! It is important to get your eschatology correct when assuming statements like this. At this time in Acts 9 (35AD), only the Kingdom gospel was preached. There was not even a hint of a Grace gospel yet. Nevertheless, what you refer to concerning being accursed for preaching another gospel, Gal.1:6–8, only happens after the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 (48AD). Paul writes Galatians in about 49AD warning believers that the Kingdom gospel is no longer valid when Peter bound up the kingdom in Acts 15:11 during the council meeting. ______________ Join ...

  Yes. Paul would have preached the grace gospel to the jailer. We are beyond the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 where the Kingdom gospel was closed, and Paul's grace gospel was the only valid gospel.  Let's look at all the details of this account: Paul says, "Believe on the Lord." This is not the whole gospel. This is just a short statement of fact. The next verse says that they spoke unto him "the word of the Lord" . This is probably where they presented him with the whole gospel message.  Note that baptism is still mentioned here. Remember that this is during the transition period. This account happened in 50AD. Paul only mentions 5-years later, in 55AD, when writing the Corinthian letter, that he no longer baptizes. So, even though the jailer was preached the Grace gospel, it was still evident that baptism was the custom for new converts. Over the next 5 years, this would fade away as Paul matures in the revelation of the grace gospel. ______________ Join ...

As result of the Acts 15 Council Meeting, Peter used the keys of the kingdom, Matt.16:19, to “bind” or limit the ministry of the 12-apostles to the already saved, circumcised ‘Jews only’, while ‘loosing’ Paul, with his pure “Grace gospel,” to go to 'All men', meaning to both the unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles. Peter first used the keys to open the door to salvation for Jews under “the Kingdom Gospel” at Pentecost (Acts 2), and to the Samaritans through Philip (Acts 8:14-17). Now Peter was ‘binding’ or ‘limiting’ this ministry. Thus, after Acts 15:11, the 12 did not ‘go into all the world’ preaching ‘the Kingdom gospel,’ according to the ‘Great Commission.’ In fact, Jesus prophesied of this short work, saying, “Ye will not have gone over the cities of Israel until the Son of Man be come” at the end of the Tribulation (Matt. 10:23). The ‘Great Commission’ for Israel will one day be fulfilled after the Tribulation, in Millennial Kingdom, when the believing Jews will se...

COMMENT: According to Rom 1:16, “to the Jew first…”, would it be right to reach the Jewish community before going to Gentiles, or is this a misunderstanding of what this verse teaches? Jesus also promoted the Jerusalem-Judea-Samaria order of the Great Commission. But if it doesn’t apply to the Gospel of Grace, what did Paul mean in Rom. 1:16? ANSWER: For sound interpretation we must always note when and to whom the Scripture was written. Romans was written during the Acts period. In Acts, Paul went to Jews first. When they rejected his message, he turned to Gentiles. This occurred three times (Acts 13, 18, 28). Acts closes with the rejection of Paul’s message by the Jews in Rome. Imprisoned in Rome, note Paul’s words in Ephesians 3:1: "For this reason, I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles." The Lord had told Paul the Jews would not believe him (Acts 22.18). From this point onward, we see Paul focusing on Gentiles, not Jews first. ______________ J...

COMMENT: I wonder how Christianity would look today if we based it on Jesus’ teachings in the synoptic gospels? ANSWER: How Christianity would look if we based it upon the synoptics is largely how it looks today. For 90% of the churches, 90% of the time, the message is from the Gospels. If teaching from the gospels was consistent, salvation would be based upon keeping the Mosaic Law, the two baptisms, and faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Jesus also declared if one did not forgive, He would not forgive. Preaching would also be entirely to Jews with only a few exceptions. The teachings from the gospels are DO and live. The teachings Paul received from the Lord are LIVE and do. Without Paul there is no grace gospel, no identification with Christ, no rapture, no church, the body of Christ, no salvation by faith alone, etc. ______________ Join my WhatsApp channel to receive these quick Bible lessons on your phone: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaGag8iJP212QPSMmx2W

QUESTION: For clarity sake, are you saying that the gospel Jesus presented to the Jews was different from the gospel Paul presented to the Gentiles? ANSWER: Yes. Very much so. Jesus and the 12 proclaimed the Kingdom gospel. Some of the conditions of this gospel, preached ONLY to Jews, was, to repent, confess Jesus as the Son of God, get water baptized and be filled with the Spirit. Matt.16:16; Acts 2:38. On the other hand, Paul preached the grace gospel which was the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  Note that the Kingdom gospel never even mentions the cross. The Kingdom gospel involves faith and works, whereas the grace gospel is faith alone in the cross. From the references in Galatians 2:7-9, we clearly have 2 different gospels; the gospel OF the uncircumcision versus the gospel OF the circumcision. ______________ Join my WhatsApp channel to receive these quick Bible lessons on your phone: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaGag8iJP212QPSMmx2W

Do you want to know how to go to Heaven, stop reading tracts and books written by men and start to read what God has written and preserved for you in the Bible, especially the Book of Romans. The first two chapters of this book starts with a hard truth as it tells us about how all people, whether Jew or Gentile, are condemned because of their sins. However, the next three chapters then proceed to explain the grace of God, and how He imputes righteousness to those who choose to have faith in Jesus Christ and believe that He died for their sins, was buried, and rose again, cf. 1 Cor 15:31-4. We don't go to Heaven by trying to follow rules and regulations, which we break constantly anyway because we can never do it perfectly. It is all about God's grace and what He has already done for us through the cross work of Christ. If we are unsure about our eternal destiny, we should read Romans chapters 1-5, and believe them as the words spoken by God Himself. ______________ Join my Whats...

In the Old Testament, God separated Israel from the nations to distinguished them as a great nation through law and ordinances, but all Israel wanted was to be like the Gentiles. Then, in the New Testament, God finally came to us Gentiles with a new grace doctrine and salvation, and all we want is to be like Israel. Isn't that so typical of humans! They always want and do the exact opposite of whatever God says! Why? Due to sin, our carnal mind, by nature, is at enmity with God, Rom 8:7-8. Enmity with God is not merely passive disagreement; it involves active opposition and a heart set against God's will. We don't try to be like this. We are born like this! But thankfully, God has made a way. The gospel invites us to reconcile with God through faith in Jesus Christ, breaking the enmity and completely restoring our relationship with Him. See the image above and be encouraged and edified by this incredible passage from Paul epistle, Rom 5:8-11. ______________ Join my WhatsAp...