Presents

Lost In Space
Between Law and Grace

Circumcision?

Obey The Sabbath?

Unclean Foods?

Baptism?

Miracles And Healing?

Speaking In Tongues?

Eternal Salvation?

Does God Answer Prayers?

The Rapture?

Works Salvation?

Keep The Law?

Tithing?

The Mystery?

Lost In Space Between Law And Grace!

Ministry Directors

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Should We Circumcise Males?

OLD TESTAMENT LAW!

God made a covenant with Abraham and all his descendants to be circumcised (cutting off the foreskin) as a sign to the rest of the world.

GENESIS 17:10-11 "This [is] My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: Every male child among you shall be circumcised; 11 "and you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between Me and you. 12 "He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised, every male child in your generation."

JESUS WAS CIRCUMCISED ACCORDING TO THE LAW.

LUKE 2:21 And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the Child, His name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before He was conceived in the womb.

NEW TESTAMENT GRACE!

The Apostle Peter, the Apostle Paul and Barnabas, informed the other apostles in Jerusalem that circumcision was not necessary in this Dispensation of Grace or Church Age.

ACTS 15:4-12 And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses." 6 Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter. 7 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 "So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as [He] [did] to us, 9 "and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. 10 "Now therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11 "But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved in the same manner as they." 12 Then all the multitude kept silent and listened to Barnabas and Paul declaring how many miracles and wonders God had worked through them among the Gentiles.

GALATIANS 5:1-6 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who [attempt] [to] be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

Must We Obey The Sabbath?

OLD TESTAMENT LAW!

God gave Israel the Ten Commandments, one of which was instructions to keep the Sabbath.

EXODUS 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the Lord your God. [In] [it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates. 11 For [in] six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it."

EXODUS 31:16 `Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations [as] a perpetual covenant.

NEW TESTAMENT GRACE!

The Apostle Paul taught that the observance of the Sabbath and other special days of the Jews was not necessary in the new Dispensation of Grace.

ROMANS 14:5-6 One person esteems [one] day above another; another esteems every day [alike]. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes [it] to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe [it]. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

COLOSSIANS 2:16-17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

GALATIANS 4:4-11 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!" 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. 8 But then, indeed, when you did not know God, you served those which by nature are not gods. 9 But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how [is] [it] [that] you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years. 11 I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain.

Are Some Foods Morally Wrong?

OLD TESTAMENT LAW!

God gave the Israelites clear and strong commandments concerning which foods were good (or clean) to eat and which foods were not to be eaten (or unclean).

LEVITICUS 11:1-26 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying to them, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying, `These [are] the animals which you may eat among all the animals that [are] on the earth: 3 `Among the animals, whatever divides the hoof, having cloven hooves [and] chewing the cud--that you may eat. 4 `Nevertheless these you shall not eat among those that chew the cud or those that have cloven hooves: the camel, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, is unclean to you; 5 `the rock hyrax, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, [is] unclean to you; 6 `the hare, because it chews the cud but does not have cloven hooves, [is] unclean to you; 7 `and the swine, though it divides the hoof, having cloven hooves, yet does not chew the cud, [is] unclean to you. 8 `Their flesh you shall not eat, and their carcasses you shall not touch. They [are] unclean to you. 9 `These you may eat of all that [are] in the water: whatever in the water has fins and scales, whether in the seas or in the rivers--that you may eat. 10 `But all in the seas or in the rivers that do not have fins and scales, all that move in the water or any living thing which [is] in the water, they [are] an abomination to you. 11 `They shall be an abomination to you; you shall not eat their flesh, but you shall regard their carcasses as an abomination. 12 `Whatever in the water does not have fins or scales--that [shall] [be] an abomination to you. 13 `And these you shall regard as an abomination among the birds; they shall not be eaten, they [are] an abomination: the eagle, the vulture, the buzzard, 14 `the kite, and the falcon after its kind; 15 `every raven after its kind, 16 `the ostrich, the short-eared owl, the sea gull, and the hawk after its kind; 17 `the little owl, the fisher owl, and the screech owl; 18 `the white owl, the jackdaw, and the carrion vulture; 19 `the stork, the heron after its kind, the hoopoe, and the bat. 20 `All flying insects that creep on [all] fours [shall] [be] an abomination to you. 21 `Yet these you may eat of every flying insect that creeps on [all] fours: those which have jointed legs above their feet with which to leap on the earth. 22 `These you may eat: the locust after its kind, the destroying locust after its kind, the cricket after its kind, and the grasshopper after its kind. 23 `But all [other] flying insects which have four feet [shall] [be] an abomination to you. 24 `By these you shall become unclean; whoever touches the carcass of any of them shall be unclean until evening; 25 `whoever carries part of the carcass of any of them shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening: 26 `[The] [carcass] of any animal which divides the foot, but is not cloven-hoofed or does not chew the cud, [is] unclean to you. Everyone who touches it shall be unclean.'

God considered some birds and animals to be "clean" or acceptable as a sacrifice for sin.

GENESIS 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord, and took of every clean animal and of every clean bird, and offered burnt offerings on the altar.

LEVITICUS 4:26 `And he shall burn all its fat on the altar, like the fat of the sacrifice of the peace offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him.'

NEW TESTAMENT GRACE!

ROMANS 14:1-4 Receive one who is weak in the faith, [but] not to disputes over doubtful things. 2 For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats [only] vegetables. 3 Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats; for God has received him. 4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:14-31 Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. 15 I speak as to wise men; judge for yourselves what I say. 16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? 17 For we, [though] many, are one bread [and] one body; for we all partake of that one bread. 18 Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? 19 What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? 20 Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord's table and of the table of demons. 22 Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He? 23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify. 24 Let no one seek his own, but each one the other's [well]-being. 25 Eat whatever is sold in the meat market, asking no questions for conscience' sake; 26 for "the earth [is] the Lord's, and all its fullness." 27 If any of those who do not believe invites you [to] [dinner], and you desire to go, eat whatever is set before you, asking no question for conscience' sake. 28 But if anyone says to you, "This was offered to idols," do not eat it for the sake of the one who told you, and for conscience' sake; for "the earth [is] the Lord's, and all its fullness." 29 "Conscience," I say, not your own, but that of the other. For why is my liberty judged by another [man]'s conscience? 30 But if I partake with thanks, why am I evil spoken of for [the] [food] over which I give thanks? 31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Must We Be Baptized To Be Saved?

NEW TESTAMENT BEFORE THE DEATH OF JESUS!

MATTHEW 3:1-11 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3 For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: `Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'" 4 And John himself was clothed in camel's hair, with a leather belt around his waist; and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him 6 and were baptized by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, "Brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 "Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, 9 "and do not think to say to yourselves, `We have Abraham as [our] father.' For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. 10 "And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

John the Baptist's baptism was based on repentance of sins and believing that Jesus, who was to come after John, was the Christ. So we see that even the baptism of John was based on faith in Jesus. Without this faith baptism is not baptism but simply a bath.

ACTS 19:3-4 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized ?" So they said, "Into John's baptism." 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."

NEW TESTAMENT DISPENSATION OF GRACE

Baptism after the resurrection of Jesus Christ takes on a new meaning. No longer is baptism required for salvation. Some Gentiles received the Holy Spirit by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord even though they had not been baptized. MARK 16:16 says he who does not believe will be condemned even though he may have been baptized. It does not say he who is not baptized will be condemned as many people believe. The key to salvation is believing in Christ as one's advocate before God.

MARK 16:16 "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

ACTS 10:40-48 "Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly, 41 "not to all the people, but to witnesses chosen before by God, [even] to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 "And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God [to] [be] Judge of the living and the dead. 43 "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." 44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God. Then Peter answered, 47 "Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we [have]?" 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.

In ACTS 13 the Apostle Paul and Barnabas presented the Gospel of Jesus Christ as Savior to the Gentiles, and as many as believed received eternal life. Therefore, receiving eternal life is based solely upon believing by faith in Jesus Christ and accepting Him as Lord and Savior.

ACTS 13:46-48 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 "For so the Lord has commanded us: `I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.'" 48 Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.

In ACTS 16 and 18 we see that salvation is received upon belief in the Lord Jesus Christ. Afterward, baptism is a testimony to all who witness the baptism that you are a believer in Jesus as Lord.

ACTS 16:30-33 And he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33 And he took them the same hour of the night and washed [their] stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

ACTS 18:8 Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.

The Apostle Paul clearly tells us that Christ sent him to preach the gospel and not to baptize. For without the gospel, Jesus' death on the cross would be of no effect. Therefore, baptism is not the saving act, but rather faith in Jesus Christ death and resurrection.

1 CORINTHIANS 1:17-18 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

1 JOHN 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may [continue] [to] believe in the name of the Son of God.

We believe that baptism is an outward sign and confession of identification with the Lord Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. We do not believe that salvation is obtained by baptism nor is baptism required for salvation. Baptism is not an act of removing sins (Romans 6:3-6; Colossians 2:12; Ephesians 2:4-6; Acts 2:38-41; 10:48). Many people falsely quote the Apostle Peter about water baptism claiming baptism applied to use in this Dispensation of Grace. All Scripture does not apply to us. It may be useful to us but not written to us. Peter was an Apostle to the Jews. His writing was addressed to saved Jews who were still under the Dispensation of the Law. Jesus also lived during the Dispensation of the Law. Jesus was under the Law and kept the Law. Peter and his followers still obeyed the Law, circumcision and water baptism. We are not under the Law in the Dispensation of the Law. We are in the Dispensation of Grace. The Apostle Paul was the Apostle to the Gentiles and ushered in the Dispensation of Grace under which we in the Church, the Body of Christ, take our doctrines. We should not apply doctrines from previous dispensations to this Dispensation of Grace.

Jesus took upon himself the sins of the whole world. You are not saved if you are basing the remission of your sins upon water baptism.  Those who believe water baptism provides the remission of sins have thereby rejected Jesus Christ's death on the cross for the remission of the sins of all mankind. Given all that, water baptism can still be an outward expression of one's faith in Jesus' resurrection to give us eternal life. Water baptism is symbolic of Christ's resurrection. Being placed down in the water and raised up again is in remembrance of the blessed resurrection of Christ.

Some people who are categorized as "Hyper Dispensationalists" have rejected the Lord's Supper and/or baptism as acts that do not apply in this Dispensation of Grace.  The Apostle Paul stopped baptizing people because they were prideful and bragged they had been "baptized in my own name." Being baptized in Paul's name or the name of any person other then Jesus Christ is heresy and blasphemous. Paul did not proclaim that baptism was to cease. He did not suggest that others not practice baptism as an act of remembrance just as he once did. Those who have added a new law, "Thou Shall Not Baptize," have added false doctrines to Scripture. Jesus died to free us from the curse of the Law. We certainly should not start writing new laws. No commands exist in Scripture that forbid baptism as an act of remembrance just as the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul discontinued baptism only because some unbelievers disrupted the practice.

1 Corinthians 1:14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.

Many pastors corrupt baptism today by falsely teaching that baptism removes sins and/or is required for salvation. Therefore, we recommend that people avoid baptism in the same manner as the Apostle Paul discontinued baptism. Those who confess faith in Jesus' death, burial and resurrection are baptized with the Holy Spirit and are eternally saved.

God sees your heart and hears your prayer. Your sins are forgiven when you believe in faith. No works! No doing! No one else! No judge! God judges the heart. You can trust Him.

Click here to say, "Yes, I want to pray to God."

Click here to say, "I just prayed to confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior."

If you need help in understanding, select "A Bible Summary" and study it carefully.

Miracles And Healing?

EXAMPLES OF MIRACLES AND HEALING.

The Apostle Paul performed many acts of miracles and acts of healing which involved himself and others.

ACTS 14:8-11 And in Lystra a certain man without strength in his feet was sitting, a cripple from his mother's womb, who had never walked. 9 [This] man heard Paul speaking. Paul, observing him intently and seeing that he had faith to be healed, 10 said with a loud voice, "Stand up straight on your feet!" And he leaped and walked. 11 Now when the people saw what Paul had done, they raised their voices, saying in the Lycaonian [language], "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!"

ACTS 28:3-6 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid [them] on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, "No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live." 5 But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

ACTS 28:8-9 And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

MARK 16:17-19 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

EXAMPLES OF BELIEVERS NOT BEING HEALED.

The Apostle Paul prayed for healing in all faith and sincerity, but God did not heal him.

In JOHN 9:1-3 a man was born blind because it was the will of God. God had a greater purpose for his blindness. His great day came when Jesus restored his sight. It can be in God's will not to heal you also.

JOHN 9:1-3 Now as [Jesus] passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind ?" 3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

The Apostle Paul prayed for healing in all faith and sincerity, but God did not heal him.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:5-10 Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. 6 For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me [to] [be] or hears from me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The Gift Of Speaking In Tongues?

The miracle of speaking a language which was unknown to the speaker but perfectly understood by the hearer occurred several times in the Bible. The message was delivered from a believer to unbelievers in their native language as a supernatural method used by God to present them the gospel. Speaking in tongues always requires an interpreter, otherwise the speaker should keep quiet in the church. Speaking in tongues can also be a special communication or prayer language with God.

The miracle at Pentecost in Acts 2:1-7 below was not an example of speaking in another tongue as generally claimed. The speaker did not speak in another language. Each speaker spoke in his native language. The miracle was the hearing by each individual in his own native language. This is an example of hearing in another tongue, not speaking in tongues.

OPPOSITE OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES.

GENESIS 11:6-9 And the Lord said, "Indeed the people [are] one and they all have one language, and this is what they begin to do; now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them. 7 "Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another's speech." 8 So the Lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth, and they ceased building the city. 9 Therefore its name is called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth; and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth.

EXAMPLES OF SPEAKING IN TONGUES OR HEARING IN TONGUES.

MARK 16:17-19 "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 "they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." 19 So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God.

ACTS 2:1-7 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and [one] sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. 5 And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. 6 And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, "Look, are not all these who speak Galileans?"

1 CORINTHIANS 12:6-12 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit [of] [all]: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another [different] kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills. 12 For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also [is] Christ.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:2-4 For he who speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God, for no one understands [him]; however, in the spirit he speaks mysteries. 3 But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to men. 4 He who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but he who prophesies edifies the church.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:22 Therefore tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers; but prophesying is not for unbelievers but for those who believe.

EXAMPLES OF ABUSE OF TONGUES.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:18-19 I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all ; 19 yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:23 Therefore if the whole church comes together in one place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in [those] [who] [are] uninformed or unbelievers, will they not say that you are out of your mind?

1 CORINTHIANS 14:27-28 If anyone speaks in a tongue, [let] [there] [be] two or at the most three, [each] in turn, and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.

LOVE IS SUPERIOR TO TONGUES.

1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-13 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have [the] [gift] [of] prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the] [poor], and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether [there] [are] prophecies, they will fail; whether [there] [are] tongues, they will cease; whether [there] [is] knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these [is] love.

NOT ALL BELIEVERS SPEAK IN TONGUES.

1 CORINTHIANS 14:5-15 I wish you all spoke with tongues, but even more that you prophesied; for he who prophesies [is] greater than he who speaks with tongues, unless indeed he interprets, that the church may receive edification. 6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking with tongues, what shall I profit you unless I speak to you either by revelation, by knowledge, by prophesying, or by teaching? 7 Even things without life, whether flute or harp, when they make a sound, unless they make a distinction in the sounds, how will it be known what is piped or played? 8 For if the trumpet makes an uncertain sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So likewise you, unless you utter by the tongue words easy to understand, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are, it may be, so many kinds of languages in the world, and none of them [is] without significance. 11 Therefore, if I do not know the meaning of the language, I shall be a foreigner to him who speaks, and he who speaks [will] [be] a foreigner to me. 12 Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual [gifts], [let] [it] [be] for the edification of the church [that] you seek to excel. 13 Therefore let him who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my understanding is unfruitful. 15 What is [the] [conclusion] then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

Do Believers Have Eternal Salvation?

SCRIPTURES SUGGESTING LOSS OF SALVATION.

GALATIANS 5:1-5 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who [attempt] [to] be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

SCRIPTURES SHOWING ETERNAL SECURITY OF THE SAINTS.

JOHN 10:27-29 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 "My Father, who has given [them] to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch [them] out of My Father's hand."

JOHN 17:8-12 "For I have given to them the words which You have given Me; and they have received [them], and have known surely that I came forth from You; and they have believed that You sent Me. 9 "I pray for them. I do not pray for the world but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. 10 "And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We [are]. 12 "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled."

HEBREWS 13:5 [Let] [your] conduct [be] without covetousness; [be] content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

1 PETER 1:1-5 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 3 Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

2 CORINTHIANS 1:21-22 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us [is] God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

ROMANS 8:34-39 Who [is] he who condemns? [It] [is] Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [Shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." 37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 JOHN 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may [continue] [to] believe in the name of the Son of God.

JUDE 24 Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present [you] faultless.

Does God Answers Believers' Prayers?

GOD DOES ANSWER MANY PRAYERS.

MATTHEW 21:22 "And whatever things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."

JOHN 14:11-14 " Believe Me that I [am] in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. 12 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater [works] than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 "And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 "If you ask anything in My name, I will do [it]."

1 JOHN 5:14-15 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

LUKE 18:10-14 "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 "The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, `God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12 `I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' 13 "And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise [his] eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, `God, be merciful to me a sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

REASONS FOR GOD NOT ANSWERING PRAYER.

PSALM 66:18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.

JAMES 4:3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend [it] on your pleasures.

JAMES 1:5-7 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 [he] [is] a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

What, Where and When Is The Rapture?

WHAT AND WHERE IS THE RAPTURE?

1 CORINTHIANS 15:51-53 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality.

1 THESSALONIANS 4:16-17 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

WHEN IS THE RAPTURE?

2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-4 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for [that] [Day] [will] [not] [come] unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

2 THESSALONIANS 2:7-12 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains [will] [do] [so] until He is taken out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming of the [lawless] [one] is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

There is much controversy about the time of the rapture. The falling away will be a time when only a small percentage of the people will believe the gospel. This period will be followed by the removal of the Holy Spirit as a restrainer of Satan and evil demons in the world. Since the Holy Spirit also indwells the believer, all believers will also be taken up, or raptured, to meet Jesus Christ the Lord in the air. A period of time called the tribulation will immediately begin and last for seven years. How do we know the Rapture precedes the tribulation? Because without the restraining of the Holy Spirit within the world and without Spirit filled believers, evil will reign. Let us say it is intuitively obvious. Another "hint" at the time of the Rapture is obtained by observing prophecy about it. There is no prophecy about the Rapture before the Dispensation of Grace. Also, there is no prophecy about the Dispensation of Grace itself because it was the mystery hidden by God throughout the ages. See the section on "The Mystery" below. At the midpoint in the tribulation the Antichrist will declare himself to be god and will sit in the Temple of God. The tribulation will be a period of great misery and one third of the people will die. They will be murdered by each other, or they will be killed by the plagues sent by God. Two-thirds of Israel's people will die during the Tribulation but one-third will be spared. They will be refined and call upon the Lord (Zechariah 13:8-9). At the end of the tribulation, the second coming of Jesus Christ will occur. He will defeat Satan and the Antichrist, and He will begin a 1,000 year rule called the Millennium. At the end of the Millennium will be the Great White Throne judgment for unbelievers and they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire.

MATTHEW 24:29-30 "Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory."

REVELATION 20:1-4 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is [the] Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then [I] [saw] the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received [his] mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

God sees your heart and hears your prayer. Your sins are forgiven when you believe in faith. No works! No doing! No one else! No judge! God judges the heart. You can trust Him.

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Are Works Required for Salvation?

WORKS SALVATION UNDER THE LAW.

DEUTERONOMY 6:25 `Then it will be righteousness for us, if we are careful to observe all these commandments before the Lord our God, as He has commanded us.'

EZEKIEL 18:21-22 " But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 "None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live."

MATTHEW 6:14-15 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."

LUKE 10:27-28 So he answered and said, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and `your neighbor as yourself.' " 28 And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."

SALVATION BY GRACE WITHOUT WORKS.

EPHESIANS 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it] [is] the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

ROMANS 4:4-5 Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. 5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness.

ROMANS 10:8-10 But what does it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): 9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

ROMANS 11:6 And if by grace, then [it] [is] no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if [it] [is] of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work.

1 TIMOTHY 1:8-11 But we know that the law [is] good if one uses it lawfully, 9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for [the] lawless and insubordinate, for [the] ungodly and for sinners, for [the] unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10 for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.

GALATIANS 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

GALATIANS 3:8-14 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, [saying], "In you all the nations shall be blessed." 9 So then those who [are] of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. 10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed [is] everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." 11 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God [is] evident, for "the just shall live by faith." 12 Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them." 13 Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed [is] everyone who hangs on a tree"), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

God sees your heart and hears your prayer. Your sins are forgiven when you believe in faith. No works! No doing! No one else! No judge! God judges the heart. You can trust Him.

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Must Believers Keep The Law?

GOD REQUIRED ISRAEL TO KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS.

DEUTERONOMY 27:10 "Therefore you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today."

LEVITICUS 18:4-5 `You shall observe My judgments and keep My ordinances, to walk in them: I [am] the Lord your God. 5 `You shall therefore keep My statutes and My judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them: I [am] the Lord.

JESUS CHRIST TAUGHT TO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.

MATTHEW 5:19-20 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds [the] [righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven."

MATTHEW 19:16-17 Now behold, one came and said to Him, "Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" 17 So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one [is] good but One, [that] [is], God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments."

LUKE 10:25-28 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading [of] [it]?" 27 So he answered and said, " `You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,' and `your neighbor as yourself.' " 28 And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live."

NEW TESTAMENT GRACE IS APART FROM THE LAW.

JOHN 1:17 For the law was given through Moses, [but] grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

ROMANS 6:14-15 For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. 15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace ? Certainly not!

ROMANS 7:6 But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not [in] the oldness of the letter.

ROMANS 8:1-2 [There] [is] therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

GALATIANS 2:21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness [comes] through the law, then Christ died in vain."

GALATIANS 3:1-3 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? 2 This only I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

GALATIANS 3:24-26 Therefore the law was our tutor [to] [ bring ] [us] to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor. 26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

GALATIANS 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who [attempt] [to] be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

EPHESIANS 3:1-2 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- 2 if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you.

COLOSSIANS 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

God sees your heart and hears your prayer. Your sins are forgiven when you believe in faith. No works! No doing! No one else! No judge! God judges the heart. You can trust Him.

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Should Believers Tithe?

TITHING WAS REQUIRED UNDER THE LAW.

DEUTERONOMY 14:22-27 "You shall truly tithe all the increase of your grain that the field produces year by year. 23 "And you shall eat before the Lord your God, in the place where He chooses to make His name abide, the tithe of your grain and your new wine and your oil, of the firstborn of your herds and your flocks, that you may learn to fear the Lord your God always. 24 "But if the journey is too long for you, so that you are not able to carry [the] [tithe], [or] if the place where the Lord your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, when the Lord your God has blessed you, 25 "then you shall exchange [it] for money, take the money in your hand, and go to the place which the Lord your God chooses. 26 "And you shall spend that money for whatever your heart desires: for oxen or sheep, for wine or similar drink, for whatever your heart desires; you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household. 27 "You shall not forsake the Levite who [is] within your gates, for he has no part nor inheritance with you."

NEHEMIAH 10:38 And the priest, the descendant of Aaron, shall be with the Levites when the Levites receive tithes; and the Levites shall bring up a tenth of the tithes to the house of our God, to the rooms of the storehouse.

MALACHI 3:7-8 Yet from the days of your fathers You have gone away from My ordinances And have not kept [them]. Return to Me, and I will return to you," Says the Lord of hosts. "But you said, `In what way shall we return?' 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, `In what way have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings."

JESUS TAUGHT TITHING AND THE LAW.

MATTHEW 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier [matters] of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."

TITHING IS NOT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT DISPENSATION OF GRACE.

The word tithe or tithing is not mentioned in the Bible after the Dispensation of Grace was given by God to the Apostle Paul. Tithing is the giving of ten percent of one's increase to God's representatives. Paul did take up a gift for the Saints in Jerusalem, but it was not called a tithe. He specifically stated that he did not receive anything for preaching the gospel. His preaching was free. He stated several times that he was not a burden to those to whom he preached. The New Testament Church had no one to give a tithe since they did not have a Levite type of organization. People met in houses and they had no temple. We are encouraged to give a gift to others in need. We should also support the facility and ministry with offerings in love where we receive the word of God and worship Him.

ROMANS 15:25-27 But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. 26 For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. 27 It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things.

1 CORINTHIANS 16:1-4 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: 2 On the first [day] of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. 3 And when I come, whomever you approve by [your] letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. 4 But if it is fitting that I go also, they will go with me.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:5-7 Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, and prepare your generous gift beforehand, which [you] [had] previously promised, that it may be ready as [a] [matter] [of] generosity and not as a grudging obligation. 6 But this [I] [say]: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 [So] [let] each one [give] as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

1 CORINTHIANS 9:16-19 For if I preach the gospel, I have nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 For if I do this willingly, I have a reward; but if against my will, I have been entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What is my reward then? That when I preach the gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse my authority in the gospel. 19 For though I am free from all [men], I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more.

2 CORINTHIANS 12:14-18 Now [for] the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be burdensome to you; for I do not seek yours, but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. 15 And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved. 16 But be that [as] [it] [may], I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you by cunning! 17 Did I take advantage of you by any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus, and sent our brother with [him]. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not walk in the same spirit? Did [we] not [walk] in the same steps.

2 CORINTHIANS 11:9 And when I was present with you, and in need, I was a burden to no one, for what I lacked the brethren who came from Macedonia supplied. And in everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and so I will keep [myself].

1 THESSALONIANS 2:9 For you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.

2 THESSALONIANS 3:7-9 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone's bread free of charge, but worked with labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.

The Mystery!

The commandments given to Israel and taught by Jesus before his crucifixion were intended by God to be for the Nation Israel only. They were not given to or intended for the Gentile nations, nor were they intended for the "Church Age" in which we live. In ACTS 10 and 11 God tells Peter and the other Apostles that He has turned to the Gentiles with the gospel. In ACTS 13:45-46 God says that He gave the gospel to Israel first but they rejected it. Therefore, He is sending Paul and Barnabas to preach the word to the Gentiles. The scriptures are very clear about this division. The present Church, which is referred to as the Body of Christ, began when God gave the revelation to the Apostle Paul. God also instructed the Apostle Peter to take the gospel to the Gentiles at the same time. This Church Age, Age of Grace, or Dispensation of Grace, was a mystery hidden by God throughout the ages. It is found nowhere in prophecy. God wanted Israel to be the light unto the world, but they rejected Jesus Christ.

ROMANS 11:9-25 And David says: "Let their table become a snare and a trap, A stumbling block and a recompense to them. 10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always." 11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation [has] [come] to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall [is] riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness! 13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy [those] [who] [are] my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away [is] the reconciling of the world, what [will] their acceptance [be] but life from the dead? 16 For if the firstfruit [is] holy, the lump [is] also [holy]; and if the root [is] holy, so [are] the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, [remember] [that] you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well [said]. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in [His] goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who [are] natural [branches], be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this MYSTERY, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

ROMANS 16:25-27 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the MYSTERY kept secret since the world began 26 but now has been made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures has been made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith-- 27 to God, alone wise, [be] glory through Jesus Christ forever.

EPHESIANS 3:8-13 To me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make all see what [is] the fellowship of the MYSTERY, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; 10 to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly [places], 11 according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, 12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. 13 Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.

COLOSSIANS 1:24-27 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this MYSTERY among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

1 TIMOTHY 3:16 And without controversy great is the MYSTERY of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

ACTS 10:44-45 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also.

ACTS 13:45-46 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. 46 Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles.

ACTS 14:27 Now when they had come and gathered the church together, they reported all that God had done with them, and that He had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles.

ACTS 15:7-9 And when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them: "Men and brethren, you know that a good while ago God chose among us, that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. 8 "So God, who knows the heart, acknowledged them by giving them the Holy Spirit, just as [He] [did] to us, 9 "and made no distinction between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith."

ACTS 22:21 "Then He said to me, `Depart, for I will send you (Paul) far from here to the Gentiles.'"

God has temporarily cast away the nation Israel because they rejected Jesus Christ. He has now turned to the Gentiles with a new method of salvation. "You will be saved by grace through faith for it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." This new method of acceptance before God is also available to the individual Jew. There is a remnant of Jews who accept Jesus. Israel will be restored during the Great Tribulation at the end of the Dispensation of Grace.

ROMANS 11:1-5 I say then, has God cast away His people (the individual)? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, [of] the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. Or do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel, saying, 3 "Lord, they have killed Your prophets and torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life?" 4 But what does the divine response say to him? "I have reserved for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." 5 Even so then, at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

ROMANS 11:13-25 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy [those] [who] [are] my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away [is] the reconciling of the world, what [will] their acceptance [be] but life from the dead? 16 For if the firstfruit [is] holy, the lump [is] also [holy]; and if the root [is] holy, so [are] the branches. 17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, [remember] [that] you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well [said]. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in [His] goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who [are] natural [branches], be grafted into their own olive tree? 25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery , lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.

Why did God keep the Dispensation of Grace a mystery? Because Satan and his evil demons (rulers of this age) would not have killed Jesus had they known about the Dispensation of Grace. In Jesus' death we become victorious over sin. We can now come into the Throne of Grace to live forever with God. The Dispensation of Grace was kept a mystery hidden by God in order give it to us.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:6-8 However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a MYSTERY, the hidden [wisdom] which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

The rapture of the Church was also a mystery which will occur in the future and is described in 1 Corinthians 15. It is also a part of the Dispensation of Grace.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-57 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a MYSTERY: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal [must] put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." 55 "O Death, where [is] your sting? O Hades, where [is] your victory?" 56 The sting of death [is] sin, and the strength of sin [is] the law. 57 But thanks [be] to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

EPHESIANS 1:7-10 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, 9 having made known to us the MYSTERY of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, 10 that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him.

EPHESIANS 3:1-7 For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles-- 2 if indeed you have heard of the Dispensation of the Grace of God which was given to me for you, 3 how that by revelation He made known to me the MYSTERY (as I have briefly written already, 4 by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the MYSTERY of Christ), 5 which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, 7 of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.

EPHESIANS 6:17-20 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints-- 19 and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the MYSTERY of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

COLOSSIANS 2:1-3 For I want you to know what a great conflict I have for you and those in Laodicea, and [for] as many as have not seen my face in the flesh, 2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and [attaining] to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the MYSTERY of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

God sees your heart and hears your prayer. Your sins are forgiven when you believe in faith. No works! No doing! No one else! No judge! God judges the heart. You can trust Him.

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Lost In Space Between Law And Grace!

Some people may have trouble arriving at conclusions given in this study because they reject the two separate dispensations of law and grace. Others perhaps have not given it enough study. All of the Old Testament and New Testament scriptures do not apply to the present Church Age or Dispensation of Grace.

ROMANS 6:14 "We are not under law but under grace."

The misinterpretation of scripture occurs when people mix all of scripture and attempt to live accordingly. They become "LOST IN SPACE BETWEEN LAW AND GRACE." They try to keep the law in an attempt to become righteous before God. Since they cannot keep the law just as Israel could not keep the law, they begin to lie to themselves and eventually to others. They have not kept the law, nor have they accepted the full gospel of grace. They have become stranded between law and grace. Because they have not accepted the full gospel of grace in a dispensation when God will accept nothing else, they are lost. The Apostle Paul describes this condition as having "fallen from grace."

GALATIANS 5:4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who [attempt] [to] be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.

MATTHEW 7:22-23 "Many will say to Me in that day, `Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, ` I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

Many unbelieving people call self-described believers "hypocrites" because the self-described believer gives the pretense that he is righteous. The unbeliever knows otherwise and so does everyone else including God, because his sin is obvious. The true believer knows there is none righteous, no not one. The self-righteous hypocrite does not see his unrighteousness just like the Pharisees could not see their lawlessness.

MATTHEW 23:27-28 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead [men]'s bones and all uncleanness. 28 "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

ROMANS 3:10 "There is none righteous, no, not one.

ISAIAH 9:17 Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone [is] a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks folly.

MATTHEW 7:4-5 "Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank [is] in your own eye? "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.

Many people try very hard to do the right thing, to be a good person, and to become righteous in an effort to be acceptable to God. This they believe to be a good and noble pursuit, but God is not asking for our perfection. The pursuit of perfection leads to pride which God hates. Some even become so self-righteous they cannot bring themselves to condemn evil. They forgive evil as if they are God.

PROVERBS 8:13 The fear of the Lord [is] to hate evil; pride and arrogance and the evil way and the perverse mouth I hate.

MATTHEW 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier [matters] of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone."

Jesus could forgive sin because He is God who was manifest in the flesh.

LUKE 5:21-23 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, He answered and said to them, "Why are you reasoning in your hearts? 23 "Which is easier, to say, `Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, `Rise up and walk'?

1 TIMOTHY 3:16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory.

Therefore, do not attempt to become acceptable to God by trying to keep the law, paying tithing, keeping the Jewish Sabbath, restricting your diet, becoming circumcised, or trying to keep any of the other commandments given by God to Israel before His revelation of salvation by grace through faith as given to the Apostle Paul. The Dispensation of Grace was given by Jesus Christ in a revelation to the Apostle Paul.

GALATIANS 1:9-12 As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. 10 For do I now persuade men, or God? Or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ. 11 But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught [it], but [it] [came] through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

2 CORINTHIANS 3:5-18 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as [being] from ourselves, but our sufficiency [is] from God, 6 who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written [and] engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which [glory] was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation [had] glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory. 10 For even what was made glorious had no glory in this respect, because of the glory that excels. 11 For if what is passing away [was] glorious, what remains [is] much more glorious. 12 Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech-- 13 unlike Moses, [who] put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away. 14 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the [veil] is taken away in Christ. 15 But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16 Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We have a great commission as ambassadors for Christ. We have been given the ministry of reconciliation to be reconciled to God.

1 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone [is] in Christ, [he] [is] a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things [are] of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore [you] on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin [to] [be] sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

God sees your heart and hears your prayer. You will have eternal life with God when by faith you believe on Jesus Christ for salvation. No works! No doing! No one else! No judge! God judges the heart. You can trust Him.

Click here to say, "Yes, I want to pray to God."

Click here to say, "I just prayed to confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior."

If you need help in understanding, select "A Bible Summary" and study it carefully.

Copyright 1998 -2016 by Kent R. Rieske and Bible Life Ministries. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to distribute printed copies of "Lost In Space Between Law And Grace" without revision if done on a no-charge basis to glorify God and bring the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to all.

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