The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 13:1-4, “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority

except from God, and those which exist are established by God.

2 Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed

will receive condemnation upon themselves.

3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of

authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same;

4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the

sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices

evil.”

The big question in today’s world comes down to this: Who is in authority? But before we can answer, the Apostle Paul says: “…there is no authority except from God.” The word “from” has two avenues: one is that God Himself is the Supreme Authority. The other is that there are authorities (let me call them “deputies”) that derive their authority from God. For example, the Chief of Police has authority; the deputies have authority, too, but their authority derives from the authority of the chief. Any resistance to legally authorized authority is a resistance to God Himself! And that is serious stuff!

How many times have you noticed a police car parked on the roadside, watching the speed of cars going by? My guess is that you instantly look at your speedometer to assess whether you are in violation of the limit. The only “fear” we have of police is when we know we’re in violation of the law. What we often forget is that policemen (Christians and non-Christians alike) are “ministers of God” for the well-being of the citizenry. Do right, and you’ll receive their praise. Do wrong, and you’ll enjoy their wrath.

The big problem we face today is that there is a lack of respect for God and a lack of respect for His ministers who patrol our streets and our dwellings. Since authority cannot simply be obliterated, we often assume that we are the authority. Witness: “I pay taxes that build the roads; I’ll drive as fast as I please! After all, they’re my roads!” Those who think like that (and there are far too many who do!), put themselves and others in jeopardy! All credible law originates with God.

It’s unbelievable what we have observed recently in the looting and burning of legitimate businesses. It is not an outcome of “free speech”; it’s simply raw defiance of authority! That’s what happens when law and order are laid aside. We need to be prayerful about this situation. We also need to be careful that we honor the LORD by honoring the laws under which we live! We need to be prayerful and supportive of our leaders as well, remembering that “God (is) an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.” And His wrath is enormously devastating! Read the Bible and see.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Please pray for those who are in authority over us. If they are wrong, God will handle them; if we are wrong, He will

deal accordingly with us. He is “no respector of persons.”

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Romans 11:33-36, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How

unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!

34 For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?

35 Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again?

36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.”

Were you ever so overjoyed about something that you just yelled through your tears? Think hard! That’s exactly what occurred in the life of the Apostle Paul, as he openly expressed “the depth of the riches” of “the wisdom and knowledge of God.” Oh, if only for a moment the curtain separating what the LORD knows from the emptiness of our thoughts –if only for a moment we could then gain insight into His plan for our lives!

How close do you honestly believe you have come to knowing anything that lies in the deep recesses of His Mind? Yet, sometimes we act as if we were His counsellor. Everything our LORD possesses originated from within Himself! What could we possibly give to Him that He does not already possess and is greater? Thus, Paul concludes by noting that all things, including the planet on which we live, the sun, moon, stars and planets in the heavens – are from His divinely voiced command. His Word, the Holy Scriptures, have been allowed to saturate our parched and vacuous minds, replacing them with the riches of His wisdom and saving grace.

His love is a recipricol blessing! Originating with Him, permeating and saturating our dry and gasping souls with the precious fregrance of His grace, we return to Him through faith; and He is glorified! How

rich we are! Yet we search in vain for the world’s wealth, leaving Him to believe that what we can acquire by our own hands is of greater vallue than the eternal blessings of His grace.

In times like these, those without hope engage in horrendous activities, seemingly ignorant of any coming judgment. We are right in opposing their lawless activities, but must never lose sight of their need of our LORD and His saving grace! “Except for the grace of God, there go we.”

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

P. S. Pray for those who have tested positively for COVID-19 and for the families who have lost loved ones to the virus.

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Isaiah 2:4b, “And they will hammer their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks.

Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war.”

Joel 3:10, “Beat your plowshares into swords, And your pruning hooks into spears; Let the weak

say, ‘I am a mighty man.’”

Have you ever encountered someone who argued that salvation was by works, and not by faith? He probably quoted from James who wrote, “…faith, if it has no works, is dead…” (2:17) or “…faith without works is useless?” (2:20) or “Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar?” (2:21). All of these verses are valid, but often they are neither applicable nor relevant to the “works vs. faith alone” argument. In other words, using Scripture that means something different to argue for a meaning foreign to that Scripture, is in itself a misuse of Scripture. It’s called “proof-texting.”

Our two verses above are both true, but they apply to two different eras of time. The Isaiah Scripture that hammers “swords into plowshares” relates to a different time than the Scripture in Joel. The “Day of the LORD” in Scripture comes after the Rapture (catching away) of the Church. In that day, Great Tribulation will come upon all the Earth. It will be spearheaded by Antichrist for seven deceptive and devastating years. It is known in the Old Testament as “the time of Jacob’s Trouble” (Jer. 30:7). The Prophet Joel says that Israel will need swords for her defence in that day; hence, the beating of “plowshares into swords.”

After the Great Tribulation, Satan will be bound, and peace will pervade the whole Earth for a thousand years. At that time, the swords can be made into plowshares, as peace will prevail everywhere. All of this is to say that what sometimes looks like a contradiction is actually not. The emphasis of James is

not that works are necessary for one to be saved; rather, it is that when one is saved, good works will be the ongoing result. We are saved by faith alone! But the result of that salvation will be good works. It is all of Him, and all for His glory! God bless you! May you glorify His Name!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Romans 9:1-3, “I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing me witness in the

Holy Spirit,

2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart.

3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my

kinsmen according to the flesh…”

It was Mark Twain who said, “If you always tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.”

Only once was I called as a prosecution witness in a trial. At the time, the defense counsel asked me several questions, but challenged my answers. He then asked me the nature of my occupation. I replied, “I am a minister of the Gospel of the LORD Jesus Christ.” There was a brief stunned moment of silence, when the judge asked the defense counsel if he would like to ask me if I understood the oath I had taken. Everyone burst into laughter!

Perhaps anticipating some questions as to his truthfulness, the Apostle Paul commenced by stating that he was indeed telling the truth. He supported the veracity of his statement by adding that his conscience was governed by the Holy Spirit, so that he was virtually compelled to speak truthfully. Further, he had deep pain and unrelenting sorrow concerning the Jewish people – people who had not accepted Jesus as their Messiah.

The apex of Paul’s cry, however, exceeded everything – perhaps, everything he had ever said regarding his love for his Jewish people. “If it were only possible, I would spend eternity in Hell, separated forever from Christ, if only my Jewish kinsmen would come to faith in Him as their Messiah!”

Whom do you love that much? “Oh,” but you say, “he only said that because he knew it was not possible to do.” Really? Do you truly believe that of the Apostle Paul? Well, put yourself in his place and answer the question truthfully! I know some mothers, whom I’m certain would die for their children. Fathers? Not so many. Friends? Well…

The basic truth here is that none of us love the lost like we ought. If we did, we would witness of Him more fervently! We value our own lives too much. Paul had already died to himself. Perhaps that’s the place where we ought to start.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”

Dear Grands,

Romans 8:28, 37-39, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who

love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor

things to come, nor powers,

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.”

How often recently have you asked yourself, “Why are things like they are? What is going on in our world?” Historians, philosophers, psychologists, educators and many others are asking the same questions. They all see and experience the same things, yet these groups often differ as to the cause of the troubles in our world.

There is an answer in Scripture as to why things are as they are. The sinfulness of mankind exists because God has been omitted from the equation of life. Once we write God out of our lives, life begins to totter and smolder and stink! Still, it doesn’t have to be that way for everyone. Paul has excoriated man for his sinfulness; yet he come immediately back to say that everything lies in God’s Eternal Hands. In fact, all those things we don’t understand are things God has working together to produce good for those who love and recognize Him. We have conquered in Christ! We just haven’t realized it yet. We’ve won the war because we’ve trusted Christ. We just haven’t realized it yet.

Paul closes this chapter with what some consider the three most powerful verses in the whole of his letter to the Romans. They are a supreme encouragement to all who read them thoughtfully. We Christians are the conquerors! We conquer because Christ has conquered and we belong to Him.

Then Paul lists nine extremely severe element that threaten Christians everywhere. Yet, none of them

are “able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our LORD.” We are victorious!!

“But,” you say, “the battle still rages; the war is not over.” To which Paul affirms, “Oh, no? Jesus arose from the dead! Who stands victoriously over Him?”

May we never become discouraged because lawlessness stalks our streets, because looters steal and burn, because monuments to fallen heroes are being toppled. GOD IS STILL ALIVE!! And because He is, we are victorious! God bless you abundantly! Keep a good thought! Memorize verse 28 above!

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

Gene L. Jeffries, Th.D.

Springdale, Arkansas 72764

United States of America

“We never know that God is all we need

until He becomes all that we have.”