The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 1:21-25, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

Whom do you know, and how do you know them? In one sense, I can say that I know the governor of my state. I knew him before he was governor. We have met on more than one occasion, shook hands, engaged in short conversations. Thus, I know the governor of my state. But do I know him really? Have we engaged in the kind of conversations that reveal what each of us is to the other? No, we have not. So, do I really and truly “know” him? Pushed to the wall, I would have to say, “No.”

Those of whom the Apostle Paul speaks in our verses above “knew” the LORD about as much as I know the governor. The word “knew” (??????? ginosko) suggests “inception or progress” in knowledge (Vine). Had they truly known Him (oida), they would have honored Him and given Him thanks for His many indescribable gifts. Instead of honoring Him, they substituted images of pagan deities for His glory. I once observed a picture hanging on the wall of Christian home. I summarily suggested that the lady of the house remove it because it contained a “message” she did not understand.

Honoring anything that dishonors the LORD leads us away from Him, step-by-step. And it is those who “exchange the truth of God for a lie” that do not know Him. We who do know Him are responsible to share Him with others. Does not the Scripture say that Jesus is to be the object of our worship and praise? –the only object of our worship and praise!

If you have not committed your life to Christ Jesus, pray and trust Him today. We are all loving and trusting something or someone. Just shift your love to the One who in love gave Himself on the Cross for your sins. He is your start to a new and glorious Life!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Romans 1:16-20, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH.’
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

Have you ever been ashamed? I have; and I am certain you have, too. Sometimes we’re ashamed for what we have done; sometimes we’re ashamed for what we have not done. Paul certainly felt that way. Prior to his own conversion, he had committed Christians to jail and even to death (Acts 8:1ff), all the time believing he was doing the will of God. Oh, how wrong he was!

Yet, there was one thing of which Paul was not ashamed: it was the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In the midst of Paul’s rebellion, the LORD revealed Himself to Paul. His life was changed forever! And from that time onward, he was a messenger of and for the LORD Jesus Christ!

Having raged so violently against the Truth, Paul came to understand that “which is known about God is evident within them…” God reveals Himself to every person in a way they can understand. So those without Christ are also those without an excuse. Why? It is beause “since the creation of the world (the LORD’s) invisible attributes…have been clearly seen and understood” through creation itself. Therefore, no one is without excuse! God has implanted in all people the understanding.

Thus, the only thing for which all humanity has to be ashamed is the failure to trust Jesus Christ as LORD and Savior! But when you’ve become a child of the LORD through faith, you need only to be ashamed of not sharing Him with others.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Romans 1:1-7. “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
2 which He promised beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,
3 concerning His Son, who was born of a descendant of David according to the flesh,
4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our LORD,
5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles for His Name’s sake,
6 among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;
7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the LORD Jesus Christ.”

According to the dictioonary, a “magnum opus is the greatest or most important work produced by a writer…” That being said, Paul’s Letter to the Romans is without a doubt his magnum opus. And while he would undoubtedly disavow that distinction, conservative Bible scholars throughout the ages have labeled it as such. In his own thinking, however, Paul saw himself as simply a “bond-servant of Christ Jesus.” It is well that we view ourselves no more than that.

Those who have been led according to the Scriptures emphasize Jesus Christ as the only begotten Son of God. Jesus was a Jewish descendant through the lineage of David, but it was the Holy Spirit who placed Him in the womb of the young girl Mary. Yet, how do we know that Jesus was truly the Son of God? He’s the only one who ever raised Himself from the dead!

Further, it is through Jesus Christ alone that we have hope of eternal salvation; and it is to us alone that He has committed the proclamation of that salvation. Think of the responsibility of a mere mayoral assistant, or guberinatorial assistant! Yet, our responsibility weighs far more greatly, for we are charged with sharing Him with others! We are to reach Jews and Gentiles with the message of salvation in Jesus Christ!

When Paul cites some Romans as “beloved of God,” he designates them as “saints.” He had spent his time in Rome well, because he had led some residents there to believe in the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ. That is precisely what you and I are charged to do! When was the last time you spoke to someone about salvation in Jesus Christ? When was the last time you prayed for someone who is living apart from Christ?

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. The tract attached should not take the place of personal conversation; yet when sometimes time is scarce,
or a friend lives far away it can be helpful.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Psalm 106:35-43, “But they mingled with the nations and learned their practices,
36 And served their idols, which became a snare to them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons,
38 And shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and their daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols
of Canaan; and the land was polluted with the blood.
39 Thus they became unclean in their practices, and played the harlot in their deeds.
40 Therefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against His people and He abhorred His inheritance.
41 Then He gave them into the hand of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them, and they were subdued under their power.
43 Many times He would deliver them; they, however, were rebellious in their counsel, and so sank down in
their iniquity.”

Were your parents ever truly angry with you? If they were, it was undoubtedly an indication of love that you had ignored. There were children in our town with whom my mother would not allow me to associate. She never spoke ill of them, but it was clear to me that they engaged in something (I was never told what.) that she did not want in my life.

This was precisely the position of the LORD with respect to Israel’s foreign neighbors. What He had known to be their practices, ultimately found their ways into the lives of His people; and “they mingled with the nations…and served their idols…” In time, the Hebrews thought nothing of sacrificing their own children to idols and demons.

What loving parent would not have become viciously angry at his children, who turned their backs on his deliverance and engaged in such reprehensible, heathenish practices? Thus, the LORD in His righteous anger, gave them into the hands of the heathen.

If we were not focusing on Scripture, we might be thought to be referencing things in our own land. For what the Hebrews experienced in a heathen land is not far from what we are experiencing today in our own land. Go back and read the biblical verses above and think of our own nation as you read them. Do we envision the LORD God Almighty as our leader? Are we absorbing His incomparable Word each day? Are we obeying His commands and directives? Or are our lives being so lived as to give Him reason to visit Divine Judgment upon us?

It is easy to blame leadership; yet it’s our rejection of the LORD’s leadership that has produced the human leadership under which we groan today. How like the Hebrews we are! How like the LORD we ought to be! Many times in the past, He has delivered us. He will deliver us yet again, if we will but repent and yield in obedience to His commands. Start by reading His Word daily! Start by confessing sin. Start by committing ourselves to Him!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom

Dear Grands,

Psalm 106:19-23, “They made a calf in Horeb and worshiped a molten image.
20 Thus they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior, Who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wonders in the land of Ham and awesome things by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore He said that He would destroy them, had not Moses His chosen one
stood in the breach before Him, to turn away His wrath from destroying them.”

A recent survey has found that even among the most traditional Christian groups, nearly 70% of those professing to be born-again Christians disagree with the biblical position that Jesus is the only way to God.

It takes nothing more than this to assure us that our world is in serious trouble! Claiming to be born-again, but disbelieving the Scriptures is like the Hebrews making and worshipping a calf in Horeb; for there “…they exchanged their glory for the image of an ox that eats grass.”

The Hebrews, who had escaped Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, accomplished it all under the LORD’s leadership and power. Then subsequently, they turned away from Him and even criticized His leader, Moses. Interestingly, it was Moses who stood in the breach before the LORD, to keep His wrath from destroying them.

Simultaneously, Moses typified Jesus Christ, who suffered and died on the Cross to turn us away from sin. How can we therefore, deny Him and forsake His Word? Are we truly oblivious to the multitudes that claim to be His, yet deny Him?

Oh, LORD, do forgive us! Forgive our ignorance! Forgive our failure to acknowledge
Your love; and forgive us for our unbelief!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.
Springdale, Arkansas 72764
United States of America

“We never know that Christ is all we need until He becomes all that we have.” – Corrie ten Boom