The Grands Letter

Dear Grands,

Romans 1:26-28, 32, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the

natural function for that which is unnatural,

27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire

toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty

of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do

those things which are not proper….

32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not

only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

Have you ever known someone who always “told it like it was”? There was no mincing of words, no attempt to soften them? I’m sure you have. Truth is truth, although it is often difficult to hear. I’m sure that Paul found the very writing of these sins to be distasteful. I find them distasteful to repeat. Yet, they are the clear and unmistakably words of God in Holy Scripture. To skip them is to close one’s eyes and ears to a significant teaching of the Word.

Back in verse 19, we learned that God has placed in the heart of every person what is needed to be known about Him. It is clear and distinct. Later in the chapter (vv. 29-31), Paul notes 21 separate sins from which the LORD desires to deliver us. The sins he highlights are those that separate us morally from our Creator. In one way or another, these sins touch our lives, requiring repeated confession and repentance.

Women possess a sexual function just as men do. But the women of whom Paul spoke, misused their function with other women. They engaged in lesbian activities. Men, too, forsook women and engaged in homosexuality — activites with other men. The word “another” (???????, allelon) means “another of the same kind.”

There is a penalty (??????????, antimisthia), a negative reward for such activity. That’s one “reward” no one should want. It’s the old adage, “You can’t do wrong and get by.” Some things that are occurring in our nation today, give the appearance of law being turned on its head. We want to blame the innocent and ignore the guilty. God doesn’t play that game! In fact, God doesn’t play any game! Rather, He gives these gross sinners a “depraved” mind – a mind incapable of sound judgment. They know exactly (??????????, epiginosko) what God has said; they just choose to ignore Him. And they do so at their own peril.

The Bible teaches that the world will become increasingly evil as we near the end. Satan, the mastermind of all evil, is working “overtime” to imprison as many as possible, as the end comes closer and closer. Did you ever even imagine our Christian-founded nation falling to such levels as we’re witnessing today? It will become worse. And the worse it becomes, the closer we must become to our LORD and Savior. Stay in the Scriptures daily! Stay in prayer constantly! Watch your life! Stay focused on Christ! It will be worth it all, when Jesus Comes for His own!

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 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, that their bodies might 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.”

In our previous Letter, we learned that while God is Love, He possesses an inestimatibly ferocious wrath! Here we learn that God pours out His wrath upon those who do not honor Him as God. The word “honor” is the Greek ??????, doxazo from which we get our word doxology meaning honor or glory. Not only do they fail to honor Him, they don’t even give thanks for all they have received from Him.

These ungodly people are not Christian people. Their speculations of God are empty; their hearts are dark. They claim to know Him, but they are fools, totally without understanding. The word for “knew” ???????, gnontes, often means “progress in knowledge.” (There is another word ????, oida, that means “fullness of knowledge”). These to whom Paul is writing, even change the true glory, owed only unto the True God, and worship idols that have various images of far lesser creation than that of Man. Robertson, the Greek scholar, reminds us that “No people, however degraded, have yet been found without some yearning after a god, a seeking to find the true God…”

So, what is God to do? Clearly, He has made Himself known to man. He is not in hiding. Man has disavowed and dishonored Him in the lusts of their hearts. They have abandoned God’s Truth and worshiped the creatures made of their own hands. What is God to do? He gave them over to the rancid impurities of their decadent hearts. Believe it! God will give you up! Oh, He loves you; He gave you His Word, the Holy Scriptures, to incite you to make Him LORD of your life! He went to the Cross for your sins! He arose from the grave to demonstrate the completion of His Ministry of salvation on Earth. Yet, when you resist Him and turn away from Him and His love, there is nothing left for Him to do but submerge you in His wrath.

An evangelist friend of mine told of a young woman who attended his meeting one night. She was clearly upset, but did not accept Jesus at the invitation. As she left that night, my friend pleaded with her to accept Christ. She said “No, but I will be back.” Her intention may have been truthful, but she died before she could return. Don’t let yourself “play” with God. And don’t ignore Him! Coming to Him in honest faith is the most serious encounter of your life! What’s more, you may not have much time.

Heartily in Christ Jesus,

(Dado III)

important contact ever!

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 1:18-20, “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.”

My maternal grandfather was a schoolteacher and sports coach. He was also a minister of the Gospel. It’s easy, therefore, to realize that he knew what “rules” meant and what the price was for those who broke them. By all appearences T. R. was an easy-going man, who never looked for a fight with anyone. All that being said, don’t rile him with rule-breaking or you’ll truly have a fight on your hands. (And to my knowledge, he never lost.)

T. R. would object to any comparison of himself with Almighty God. Yet, in a sense, I can see somethiing of a parallel. Unquestionably, God is love. That is His chief and foremost attribute. In love, He created us all, and in love, He establishes rules by which He expects us to live. Yet, from right out of the box we engaged in a false start. We heard the buzzer and knew that we had jumped the starting gun. We were clearly in the wrong. What’s worse, we argued with the Starter and sought to supress His truth, despite it was clearly and indisputably before us.

Our sins were two-fold and there was a price to be paid. We had no right to complain as we were clearly in the wrong! We were and are without excuse! “But I thought God was a God of love,” we cried. The answer to our cry resounded in an echo: God is love, but sin is a violation of His rules; and when His rules are violated, He displays an inconceivable wrath! “But, why should the LORD be angry because we sinned? After all, we didn’t know…”

Oh, we knew all right. We “suppressed the truth” –His Truth– by being unrighteous and living unrighteously.

So, the question is: Do you want God’s Love? Or do you want God’s wrath? Turn you life over to Him! Experience His Love! Avoid His wrath! He’s The Teacher; He’s The Coach; He’s the Minister of Truth and Justice! And He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to die on the Cross for our sins. On the third day, Jesus arose from the dead. Some days later, Jesus ascended into Heaven to live with His Father. He’s Coming Again soon to take His children (all born-again believers) with Him back to Heaven. Are you ready? Are your friends ready? Time is runing out….

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 1:14-17, “I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

15 Thus, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

16 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.’”

Are you indebt? Oh, there are various kinds of indebtedness. You may be indebt for your home or your car or your college tuition. But those are all financial debts. There are debts of kindness, debts of love, debts that cannot be measured, thus they can never be fully repaid. Paul, the author of Romans and 13 other books of the New Testament, declared his indebetedness to the Greeks and barbarians (strangers).

The LORD declared Paul’s indebtedness when He said to Ananias, “…he (Paul) is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15). While Paul’s primary task is to preach to the Gentiles, he does not neglect the Jews; and in the process, he is brought before kings, much as the late Billy Graham was welcomed by dignitaries throughout the world.

Paul is eager to preach! Everything he had done up to this point had been wrong! When he met the LORD, he changed his message and his direction. He was no longer ashamed of the Gospel. He had witnessed the LORD’s power and salvation on the Damascus Road! He now saw himself as indebted to everyone! And the world was turned around through his ministry!

Now, let’s go back to that first question: Are you indebt? If you know the LORD Jesus Christ, you are! All who know Him are! The teller at the bank; the girl filling the shelves in the store; the checkout person; the garage mechanic; the doctors, the nurses — we owe them a debt! We know the One they all need. He’s the One the world needs! Jesus Christ is our Hope! Others need Him to be their hope! Pray for your lost friends, and share Jesus with them!

We may not have much time left; and that leaves them with virtually no time at all.

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,

Acts 28:1-6, “And when they had been brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta.

2 And the natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the

cold, they kindled a fire and received us all.

3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat,

and fastened on his hand.

4 And when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, ‘Undoubtedly

this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.’

5 However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.

6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a

long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was

a god.”

Did you ever change your mind? Be careful! To admit to having changed your mind implies that you were wrong in the first place. Mathematically, you are then only 50% correct overall. I don’t need to retell the account; it’s all there above in six verses. The ship on which Paul was sailing ultimately crashed. There were no deaths; still, it was raining and cold. They desperately needed a fire.

By the way, did you notice who was gathering wood for the fire? It was Paul, the able servant-minister of the LORD Jesus Christ, the Creator of the world and all the heavens! Paul gathered sticks for the fire. Don’t ever conceive of yourself as too good or too important to do menial things that are of benefit to others. Self-assessment usually weighs in its own favor. That’s what the assessment of the natives was, when they witnessed a viper emerge from the stick and fasten on Paul’s hand. “He’s a murder!” they said, and expected him to die from the viper’s bite. When Paul did not die, the natives changed their minds and reckoned he was a god. (Just as well Paul was gathering sticks. Had he envisioned himself a god, he might have died.) But God had a greater work for him to do.

Were you ever wrong in your assessment of someone? I sure have been. I can remember people I thought to be less than “normal,” only to discover that they were far more competent than I was! That stings like a viper’s bite!!

Snap judgments are usually wrong. “I can’t talk to him about Jesus,” you say, only to hear him say, “I was hoping there would be someone I could talk to about the Bible.” Believe me when I say that Paul’s shipwreck on Malta was as much the plan of God as his imprisonment in Rome! We simply overlook the “little” things and focus on those we assess to be “more important.” It’s just not always that way.

Meeting an old friend you haven’t seen since high school; having someone ask you direction to the nearest eatery; coming upon someone who has been crying –each and all of these are opportunities to share the Gospel. I’ve told you before that I often use humor. But, I notice other opportunities, too. Be alert! Assess situations! Don’t draw conclusions too quickly! Stay prayerful. Keep Christ and His Word at the fore of your thinking. And in the LORD’s own time, you’ll discover the true meaning of the viper’s bite! And it doesn’t hurt! God bless you abundantly!

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.”