All The Counsel of God

It is interesting and instructive to note what the New Testament teaches about the grace of God.

Grace is the means of justification and salvation. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The believer stands in grace, is under grace, and has access to Gods throne of grace. “Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4: 14-16).

Although Israel as a nation has been set aside by God, there is a remnant among them according to the election of grace in the present dispensation. “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace” (Romans 11: 5).

Gods grace is sufficient, so that His strength is made perfect in weakness. “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee for my strength is made perfect in weakness … ” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Gods grace enables for an abundant and effective ministry “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me” (l Corinthians 15:10).

Gods people may and should grow in grace. “But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever” (2 Peter 3: 18).

In the ages to come, God will show the exceeding riches of His grace toward us. “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.” Ecclesiastes 1:7

So, The Bible had the evaporation and condensation cycle right along before most men. The oceans evaporate and form clouds, which move over the land and drop water, which runs into the rivers and back to the oceans.

“The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. “Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.” Ecclesiastes 1:9-10

So, we say, “There’s nothing new under the sun” and “history repeats itself.”

“I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him.” Ecclesiastes 3:14

So, when God saves sinner, it’s forever, and when God damns a sinner, it’s forever.

^“Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.  Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.  For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words.  When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.  Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.” Ecclesiastes 5:1-5

This is a great Old Testament companion passage for James 1:19. One should do far more hearing than speaking. James 1:19, “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:”

“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.” Genesis 6:4

These giants were literal giants that were produced as a result of angels cohabitating with the “daughters of men.” These are the angels that “kept not their first estate.”

“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” (Jude 1:6)

The “also after that” (Genesis 6:4) indicates that such activity also occurred throughout the Old Testament.

“And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (Numbers 13:33)

“For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants; behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of a man.And this land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and to the Gadites.And the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land of giants.” (Deuteronomy 3:11-13)

“And the border came down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to Enrogel,” (Joshua 18:16)

“And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath, of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span.” (I Samuel 17:4)

“And Ishbibenob, which was of the sons of the giant, the weight of whose spear weighed three hundred shekels of brass in weight, he being girded with a new sword, thought to have slain David.” (II Samuel 21:16)

“These were born unto the giant in Gath; and they fell by the hand of David, and by the hand of his servants.” (I Chronicles 20:8)

Satan’s plan in all of this was to destroy the promised seed of Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”, an effort that he continues in various ways throughout the New Testament.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

Most all unsaved people have a Bible that they live by. The problem is that it has only about ten verses. This is one of them. Matthew 7:1 has been quoted by more lost people than Christians and it has been memorized by more lost people than John 3:16, “ For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Unfortunately, this obsession with a verse that they don’t even understand has rubbed off on so many Christians that it is almost universally believed that it is wrong to judge. The following four verses (Matthew 7:2-5) plainly show that the verse one is not a commandment against judging, but rather a warning against unfair and harsh judgment.

“For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:2-5)

After all, the same Jesus that gave Matthew 7:1 also gave us John 7:24, “ Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” Of course the unbelieving world doesn’t know that verse because it isn’t in their sick and twisted Bible of less than a dozen verses, nor is I Corinthians 2:15, “But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.” I Corinthians 6:1-5, “Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust, and not before the saints?  Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?  Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that pertain to this life? If then ye have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are least esteemed in the church. I speak to your shame. Is it so, that there is not a wise man among you? no, not one that shall be able to judge between his brethren?” Proverbs 31:9, “Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.”

Therefore every serious Christian needs to know how to handle Matthew 7:1 responsibly.

“And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.” Matthew 1:25

The word “firstborn” is taken out of the new translations, thus weakening the fact that Mary gave birth to other children. This, of course helps the Catholics to teach that she remained a virgin and is now the Virgin Mary.

Also, Psalm 69:8, says, “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.” “my brethren” and “mother’s children” is referring to the other children that Mary had after the Lord Jesus Christ.

Notice what Matthew 13:54-57 tells us, “And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.”

Clearly, Jesus had stepbrothers and stepsisters.

“As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem; defending also he will deliver it; and passing over he will preserve it.” Isaiah 31:5

The verse saw its fulfillment (or a least partial fulfillment) during World War I when General Allenby flew over Jerusalem and scared the daylights out of the Turks who had occupied the city for seven centuries. Being ancient Muslims who had never seen an airplane, they fled the city without a shot being fired. The British took control of Jerusalem and eventually the Jews would occupy the city in their own sovereign state (1948).

“And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.” Isaiah 32:17

“For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” Romans 14:17

“To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;” Hebrews 7:2

Peace, quietness, and assurance come after righteousness has been embraced, which means it will not come until Jesus returns.

“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” Isaiah 35:10

Israel’s best days are yet to come.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.” Isaiah 26:3

This great memory verse, especially for those who have tendencies to worry a lot.

“Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:19-21

This passage is good Old Testament reference of the first resurrection.

“Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever: That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD: Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:  Get you out of the way, turn aside out of the path, cause the Holy One of Israel to cease from before us” Isaiah 30:8-11

People want “smooth things” not the truth. Romans 16:17-18 says, much the same thing. ^“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.”

“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” Amos 3:3

This is a great memory verse, yet one that is regularly ignored by young people charging into bad marriages, by Christians joining up with apostate churches, an with business people entering into bad partnerships.

“Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:” Amos 4:4

This verse offers a little glimpse into the character of God by showing us something that most Christians choose to ignore: God is sometimes sarcastic. Obviously, it isn’t God’s will for anyone to transgress, yet He invites them to do so in this verse.

“Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:” Amos 8:11

That’s the kind of famine that is sweeping America these days. This country has had its opportunity to receive the truth yet is has chosen to use its liberty to live in pleasure. So God is sending a spiritual famine where churches are more into building programs and entertainment than they are in the word of God. People have been so spoiled by this apostasy that write off all Bible believing churches as cults and avoid them like the plague.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

Notice how God’s first sentence involved declares that atheism, pantheism, fatalism, materialism and evolution are all dead wrong. It is taken for granted the God exists, that He is one God (opposed to “gods” or “the gods”), that He had a specific plan of creation that He is personally involved with His creation (read verses 1-31), that He created all matter, and that all of this happened suddenly, rather than evolving over billions of years.

“And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” Genesis 1:2

What happened in Genesis 1:2 is further described in 2 Peter 3:5-6, “For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:”

So the flood in 2 Peter 3:5-6, is not the flood of Noah but is the flood of Genesis 1:2. Note the “waters” in Genesis 1:2.

“Know now that God hath overthrown me, and hath compassed me with his net. Behold, I cry out of wrong, but I am not heard: I cry aloud, but there is no judgment.  He hath fenced up my way that I cannot pass, and he hath set Jmy head.” Job 19:6-9

A picture of a man in Hell as is also Lamentations 3:1-8, “ I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath. He hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light.  Surely against me is he turned; he turneth his hand against me all the day. My flesh and my skin hath he made old; he hath broken my bones.  He hath builded against me, and compassed me with gall and travail.  He hath set me in dark places, as they that be dead of old.  He hath hedged me about, that I cannot get out: he hath made my chain heavy. Also when I cry and shout, he shutteth out my prayer.”

Job pictures:

1. The sufferings of Christ

2. The sufferings of a sinner in Hell.

3. The sufferings of the Jews in the Tribulation.