By Grace Alone

After years of studying the Bible and meditating on God’s Word, I found it necessary to depend on the Holy Spirit for guidance and understanding. The plans I originally made were interrupted by Him as my original outline was change according to His purposes that gave me the power to “do it heartily, as to the Lord and not unto men” (Colossians 3:24b).
It was revealed to me as I struggled with writing this book using my original outline I was led to not only read, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a work man that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15). This was particularly true when teaching and writing as I feared I would contradict the Word of Truth. As a result I was lead to write another book having no idea it would be to highlight the difference between the two Gospels, that being that of the Kingdom and that of Grace rather than only Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
I thought to be saved one must first repent, and then be baptized with water as required in the four Gospels. However this changed when Paul went to the Gentiles. Believers were baptized first with the Holy Spirit not by works and repentance followed after being justified by faith!
That sounded too easy until I read “finished work of the cross” as explained, “The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the laws. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
This first depicted on the cross where we see salvation was by grace alone through faith. We read of the two thieves being crucified with Jesus on the middle cross. While one thief mocked Jesus, the other thief reminded him they were guilty, but not so with Jesus. Believing Jesus was the King of the Jews, that thief asked Him, “Remember me when thou cometh into Thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Without any repentance, water baptism or works Jesus replied, “Verily I say unto thee, Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:43). This Word says we should be wary of Satan’s corruption of God’s Word that caused Eve to sin in the Garden, but to “|in the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3c). This simplicity” is the Gospel that Jesus gave to Paul to remind is “Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15:3, 4). Therefore, any one who believes in their heart this simple truth will receive the Holy Spirit.
Jesus’ parable in Luke 30:30 - 37 of the Good Samaritan represents Satan and four men. The first is the man who was critically injured. He represents us, all of mankind. Next is the thief who severely injured him. He represents all of mankind. There are three other characters, the first blindly passed by as did the priest and the Levite. They passed by the injured man on the road down to Jericho. In combination they represent religion, rituals and rules, or the sanhedrin that consisted of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. Finely, the good Samaritan that saved the critically injured man symbolizes Jesus.
Unfortunately, many churches and seminaries disregard Bible prophesies, particularly in the Hebrew Bible, the Old Testament, even though nearly thirty percent of the entire Bible is prophetic. This was confirmed by Paul when he said, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed over all things, by whom he also made the world” (Hebrews 1:1, 2).
In a sermon by C. H. Spurgeon (1834 - 1892) it was best said, ‘The Unraveled Eloquence of Jesus based on John 7:46 was delivered on September 18, 1870; “It is a sure sign of a falling away church when its leaders call in the leaders of the secular arm … unable to maintain itself by Spiritual power is dying or is already dead …” He compared the church that was becoming worldly to the Pharisees who feared losing control of the people due to Jesus’ teaching undefiled doctrine in the temple even though “Never man spake like this man.” (John 7:46b).
Along the same lines, Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) said, “Defending the Bible is like defending a lion.”
Prophesy was fulfilled at the time Jesus’ ascension from the Mount of Olives on Passover in A.D. 33. Two men, which I believed were angels, “stood by (the disciple) in white apparel which also said … this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heave, shall come again in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). Although God intended it to be but four or so months until His return, it has now been two-thousand years! So why do we ask?
The time we are in, the church age, was not originally included in God’s plan as Luke wrote, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in His own power” (Acts 1:7). Jesus then told the disciples that after they received the power of the Holy Spirit to go and “be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
Such was the case following the destruction of the temple in 70 AD the scattering of the Jews and persecution of the disciples and apostles during the second-temple period; they were unable to fulfill the great commission. Preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom was then delayed, thus making way for Paul’s witness to the Gentiles. This was prophesied over One-thousand-and-six-hundred years before Jesus was baptized by John as Moses prophesied, “I will provoke [Israel] to jealousy by them that are no people” (Romans 10:19b). It was over one-thousand-and-four-hundred years before Moses told the people/ Israel before they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, “I will move them to jealousy with those which are not a people” (Deuteronomy 32:21c).
We are now in the modern Biblical age that began some two-thousand year ago which was not on God’s calendar, a parenthetical period or “gap” God inserted into His original plan of redemption. Make no mistake about it; the seasons of the LORD given to Moses on Mount Sinai to accomplish His purpose of justification, redemption and judgment prior to the Kingdom Age remains in His original order of things as the Word says, “thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever” (2 Samuel 7:16a).
All that said, the Bible is about God\s love, mercy and grace that begins with Jesus coming as the Lamb of God and culminates with His second coming as Lord of lords and King of kings. After being baptized in the Jordan River and enduring forty days of temptations by Satan in the wilderness, Jesus went to Nazareth, then to Galilee where He enlisted twelve disciple, one of who was Peter. Although Peter was said to put his foot in his mouth and denied Jesus three times, he was bold in witnessing the Gospel after receiving the Holy Spirit. Then there was the highly educated Saul who was a Pharisee and persecuted Jews who were of the way until Jesus confronted him on the road to Damascus. After being renamed Paul, he became the Apostle who took the message of Christ to the Gentiles and establish the church from Antioch in Turkey to Rome.