Author: Texas Gospel

Paul’s warning against receiving grace in vain

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

In writing to the church at Corinth, the apostle Paul urges believers not to receive the grace of God in vain. This warning can be understood in two distinct ways. The first considers the possibility that some members of the Corinthian congregation were not genuinely converted, prompting Paul’s later instruction that they examine themselves to confirm they were truly in the faith. People can sit under gospel preaching for years without the message taking root in a saving way.

The second application addresses believers who had truly received God’s grace but had drifted into legalistic living. Paul’s letter to the Galatians raises a similar concern, asking whether those who began their Christian life through the Spirit were now trying to reach maturity through their own effort. Grace can be rejected outwardly by those who never truly believed, or it can be replaced inwardly by a reliance on works among those who did believe. Both represent ways of receiving grace without letting it accomplish its intended purpose.

You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by the Law; you have fallen from grace.

Galatians 5:4

The apostles hold a unique and unrepeatable place in church history

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

1Corinthians 12:28 lists apostles first among the offices God established in the church, and this order reflects historical sequence as well as importance. The apostles were the twelve men chosen by Jesus, eyewitnesses of his resurrection, with Judas eventually replaced by Matthias. They served as the first preachers of the gospel, and the doctrine they received directly from God became the foundation the early church gathered around and studied.

These twelve, along with the apostle Paul as an additional figure added later, formed a distinct group responsible for writing most of the New Testament and receiving direct revelation from God. Scripture marks them for special honour, including recognition in heaven.

Following the apostles chronologically came prophets, who delivered specific revelation concerning the life of the early church, and then teachers, a role that continues today through pastors and teachers. Ephesians also identifies evangelists, tasked with reaching those outside the faith. The office of apostle itself, however, belonged to a group of thirteen men whose foundational role cannot be repeated in any later generation.

I understand what some today mean when they call themselves an apostle. But I don’t think it’s what the writers of the Bible had in mind.

having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone,

Ephesians 2:20

Salvation unfolds across past, present and future stages of God’s work

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Philippians 1:6 promises that God, who began a good work in believers, will carry it through to completion by the day of Christ Jesus. I believe that good work refers to salvation.

Our salvation isn’t just a single moment but as an ongoing process carried out by God from beginning to end.

Salvation includes an initial stage in the past, when a person repents and turns to Christ. It marks a sinner’s justification and regeneration. It is their deliverance from the penalty of sin. But it also includes a present stage, carried out continually through the work of the Holy Spirit. And finally, a future stage remains ahead as well. It is often called glorification, when believers will be delivered fully from the very presence of sin.

Together these three stages describe the complete scope of salvation that God commits himself to finishing. It is the reason Jesus died, was buried and resurrected.

Have you accepted his precious gift?

 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

Romans 8:30

Careless words reveal the heart

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TEXAS GOSPEL VOLUNTEER

Jesus warned that people will give an account for every careless word spoken, adding that a person’s words will play a role in both justification and condemnation. This raises a natural question. Can words themselves carry saving or condemning power? The answer lies in understanding words and deeds as evidence rather than causes. Let me put that another way. Salvation and condemnation are not the result of what a person says or does. Words and actions reveal the underlying spiritual condition already present in someone’s life.

This mirrors the broader biblical principle that a person’s fruit reveals their true nature. At the final judgment, a life marked by good works and righteous conduct serves as evidence of genuine salvation, since believers have been created for good works that God prepared in advance for them to walk in. On the other hand, a life consistently marked by evil words and deeds reveals the absence of that salvation.

What do your words reveal about you?

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

Knowing the Word isn’t the same as proclaiming it

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DAVID INGRAM

You may have heard someone introduced as a preacher. Or Bible teacher. or both. Are they really different things? Absolutely! Preaching and teaching are not the same, though they overlap.

Preaching comes from a word meaning herald. It means proclamation. A preacher announces the gospel to those who haven’t believed, or calls believers to act.

Teaching, on the other hand, comes from a word meaning instructor. It’s explanation of the scripture and it is directed to people who have already accepted Jesus’ blood for the redemption of sin.

So, why is this important? Consider this. You can be the most learned person, and still not do a thing to spread the Gospel. You can be quite comfortable in church where you will most likely receive complements on your understanding. But have you shared the Gospel with anyone?

Romans 10:14-15

How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”