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The Doctrines of Grace
Currently Dr. Hargrave is preaching on a most vital doctrine: Salvation. Come back each Sunday to watch live or watch it later online. Checkout the sermons page to search through past sermons and find out more about God's Word.
Visit our sermon pageOn Television & RadioThis week's message, An Anatomy of a Soul's Destruction, Part 1. In this sermon Dr. R.A. Hargrave preaches on the downfall of King Saul. How does sin begin? How can we stop this in our own lives?
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Support GraceworxYour Bible is Effective!Check out the latest GraceTrax Blog... "The Bible is not like other books, a piece of literature to be read but forgotten, ignored, or laid aside. No. God’s Word demands a verdict when He makes it known to a man’s conscience. A serious Christian man or woman cannot read the Word of God with indifference."
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Your Bible is Effective
IF YOU'VE been with us for this series on the GraceTrax blog, you’ve seen that the Word of God is both alive and active. That separates and elevates the Bible from any and every other book in existence. It is in a category of its own, being both authored and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The next characteristic featured in our passage is the effectiveness of Scripture. The Word of God is effective; It is able to accomplish what God intends. Consider again our text from Hebrews 4. In verse 12, the writer describes Scripture as “sharper than any two edged sword.” That speaks to the effectiveness of God’s Word. When a man seriously reads the Bible, he cannot live any longer in complacency and indifference. Why not? Because the truth of God’s Word operates within his soul to convince, convict, rebuke and exhort. A serious man cannot ignore that. Scripture engages his mind and assaults his will. Only God’s Word can perform at that level. When a believer reads the Word or hears the Word preached, his complacency and indifference fall under the power of Scripture. Although a Christian can suppress and resist Scripture for a season, those seeds of truth cannot easily or finally be overcome. Often, when certain experiences or difficulties arise, God activates His Word and brings it to memory. The Bible is not like other books, a piece of literature to be read but forgotten, ignored, or laid aside. No. God’s Word demands a verdict when He makes it known to a man’s conscience. A serious Christian man or woman cannot read the Word of God with indifference. Even unbelievers demonstrate that characteristic of God’s Word. Consider the atheist. Most of the time when we encounter atheists and hear them talk about God and the Bible, we see them for what they are--great antagonists. Atheists are antagonistic toward the Word of God. Add to that the godless educator’s disdain for Scripture, the politician’s ignorance, and the common man’s hostility. No man harbors hostility toward a passive, harmless, inactive object. But the Word of God is none of those things. It is alive, powerful, active, and effective. And so depraved sinners see it for what it is--a serious threat to their perceived freedom in sin and depravity. And hence they resist it, oppose it and flee from it. They fear and hate the light, the exposure, the conviction. Scripture is effective--and sinners hate it. For that reason, many preachers refuse to preach the Bible in their pulpits. They know enough about human behavior to reason like this: “If I really preach what the Word of God says, people will not like me. People will deride my ministry. People will gossip and undermine the church. They won’t give money to the church. They’ll leave the church. I’m not going to preach the Bible.” At one time in our nation’s history, you couldn’t find a church where the Word of God was not preached. But now you can go from church to church and never even see a copy of the Holy Bible. Preachers don’t use it, so parishioners don’t bring it. It’s unbelievable that in the Lord’s Church, the Bible has been discarded. Unbelievers hate the Word of God because it scrutinizes their hearts and exposes their sins. The Bible is powerful and effective, and that has ramifications for how we relate to it. Scripture’s effectiveness has two edges. One edge can cut a man’s conscience and devour his well-being by producing sorrow, guilt and fear. But, thank God, there is another edge. The Bible can work supernaturally within an unbelieving man’s soul in such a way that convicts, humbles, and drives him to Christ. It cuts him down in humility but raises him up in resurrection. That’s what God does. He takes His Word and slays us. He wounds us so that we can be healed. Never forget that wonderful truth about God. He rejects the prideful but gives grace to the humble. God’s Word shows us who we really are. It’s the most devastatingly accurate spiritual mirror in existence--and painful to gaze at. But we must. The Word of God is effective. In their lost, blind, and ignorant condition, hostile unbelievers despise and resent that characteristic of Scripture. But we love it, and depend on it for growth, maturity and sanctification (John 17:17). ...
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Your Bible Is Alive!
WE ENDED the last article by asking a vital question: How does the Word of God function in our souls? What is the process, what does it look like, and how do we know when it’s effective? Answering those questions takes us to a familiar passage in the book of Hebrews and invites us to consider the qualities and function of Scripture. Consider Hebrews 4:12-13: “For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” From that passage, let’s consider the functions of the Word of God and some of the applications for our souls. First, notice that the Word of God is a living and active agent--it’s alive. “For the Word of God is living and active.” Millions of books have been written and published, but only one book really speaks to the heart, and that is the Word of God. Not only does Scripture speak to the heart, it speaks to the present circumstances in which we find ourselves--that includes every generation. All who have read the Bible--through the hundreds and millennium of years--can testify how God’s infallible Word addressed their circumstances, how it explained and prescribed the proper response so they could pursue godliness. That’s always been the case with God’s Word. It is living, active and powerful. It cannot be silenced and it cannot be weakened because it belongs to God. As one man said, “The Bible is the anvil that’s worn out many hammers.” That alone makes the Bible the most relevant book in existence. It actively addresses our most pressing, most profound and deepest needs: God, man, sin, righteousness, heaven, hell, life, death, eternity and Christ. It is sufficient and superior to any other resource because it carries with it divine power. It’s a supernatural document. Scripture is also active. It’s not idle or passive. It operates on its user. You can see that in the remainder of the passage. It cuts, divides, exposes and judges. The Word of God is the only book you can read that reads you back. Because of our remaining sin, we sometimes entertain doubts and fears about the certainty of Scripture. The most effective remedy for that problem is direct application of Scripture to the soul. In other words, the more we fill our minds and hearts with divine truth, the quicker--and easier--those doubts evaporate. As we let God’s Word dominate our thinking, we experience anew and afresh the self-attesting element of God’s Word. That means the Bible affirms its own supernatural quality with use. As we read and apply God’s Word, the Holy Spirit strengthens our confidence in it. To reverse that formula, the less inclined we are to expose ourselves to Scripture, the more inclined we are to doubt its power and sufficiency. Just to consider the consistency, continuity and unity of Scripture is staggering. Think about it: The Bible was written over a period of 1600 years by over 40 authors who came from multiple cultures and spoke multiple languages, yet the unity is undeniable. In Scripture, you find traces of the same plot, theme, and subject in every book--with no contradictions or inconsistencies. As the story of redemption moves from the origins of Genesis through the culmination of Revelation, it’s clearly all tied together. Those facts are undeniable, and yet some reject God’s Word out-of-hand. Despite the attitude of some toward the Bible, Scripture is something every man must face. It offers truth that all people must either accept or reject--embrace or dismiss. No other books demand that response because no other books can. In fact, no other book can invite and survive the kind of scrutiny Scripture tolerates from skeptics. That’s quality number one for Scripture--it is alive and active. Without that characteristic, Scripture would wield no power and could offer no help to any of us. But thanks be to God that because He is alive; so is His Word. Are you reading it? ...
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The Word's Power in the Soul
The book of Hebrews features the supremacy of Christ over all things. He holds supremacy over all prophets, priests, kings, and even angels, and hence is worthy of more glory--supreme glory. For that reason, the writer of Hebrews holds forth Jesus Christ and compels us to worship Him as we ought. In an effort to fulfill that mission, the author carefully selected his context. He frequently takes his readers back to the Old Testament wilderness experience and reminds them of the Israelites’ progress toward the goal--arriving in the Promise Land, the place of rest for worshipers. That context includes both blessing and curse, belief and unbelief, progress and regress. If believing Christ and trusting God are glorious, then unbelief and rebellion are hellish. We see both those as the writer chronicles the wilderness wanderings. Christians today share the same kind of Journey as the ancient Israelites, not the Promise land per se, but heaven, which is the final and ultimate rest. But, how do you and I make progress toward that goal? How do we “press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 3:14)? The answer is found in Hebrews 4:11-13. Take a look: “Let us therefor strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” Perhaps someone would raise the question: If you’re calling for us to press toward Christ, why not preach Christ, and not talk so much about the Word of God? Why elevate Scripture and not Jesus? The answer is found in asking another question: Where do we find out about Jesus? Of course, we discover Christ from the pages of Scripture, Holy Writ. And where does faith come from? Of course, faith arises from the word of God. The Holy Spirit is the one who supernaturally works in a heart, but He uses the means of the Word of God. No one has ever been saved apart from it, nor will anyone ever be sanctified without it. The Holy Spirit uses only the truths from God’s Word to convict, convert, and cultivate a soul. Period. For that reason, the apostle closes out this section of Scripture by reminding believers just how critical it is to practice regular exposure to and intake of Scripture. That is vital to sanctification. The Word of God is sufficient to lead, guide and direct us in the right paths. Even as believers, we tend to venture off the path, to backslide. One of the primary causes for backsliding is a lack of reading God’s Word. It’s the bread of which we are to partake every single day. If you’re a Christian, you should read the Word of God consistently. And when you don’t, you will suffer--perhaps imperceptibly at first, but you will eventually stray from the paths of righteousness. It’s inevitable. So that leads to a vital question: How does the Word of God function as we take it in and expose our hearts to it? What is the process, what does it look like, and how do we know when it’s effective. We’ll look at all those issues one-at-a-time in our next article. Until then, stick around and explore all the enriching resources on the GraceWorx site. Feed your soul. ...
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The Accountability of Judgment
JOHN 3:19 SAYS, “And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.” In that passage of Scripture, Jesus is teaching us about the accountability of judgment. Let’s take a closer look. In verse 19 we see that man is thoroughly accountable before God for two reasons: First, “light has come into the world.” God has sent His light in order that all may plainly see. To illustrate that truth, think about what happens when you are out exploring. You’re out in the woods, early in the morning, and you notice an old piece of rotting wood. And you know how we are--we want to kick things around--so we kick that piece of wood and little insects and bugs frantically scurry about. You know what they’re doing when you kick that wood? They’re seeking darkness! They prefer the secrecy and the darkness, kind of like people. So when you kick that wood away and the light shines on them, they start scattering. But where are they headed? They’re seeking more darkness. They want to find darkness again, and moisture. That’s exactly the way it is with us. God has sufficiently shown us His light, which makes us accountable—yet we flee from it in fear and annoyance. You’ve heard this before, but it bears repeating. There’s a difference between atheists and agnostics. An atheist says, “I don’t believe in God.” An agnostic says “I don’t know whether I believe in God or not.” If I had my choice between the two, I’d choose to be an atheist because an agnostic blames God for his unbelief. He says, “I’d believe in God but He hasn’t given me enough light to believe in Him.” So what is an agnostic doing then? He is impugning the character of God. He’s assigning blame to God for his sinful unbelief. But in spite of that light, we see in verse 19 that people loved darkness. Though they had light given to them in their own conscience, they loved the darkness because their deeds were evil. They prefer darkness to light because light exposes things. Are you aware of the primary environmental quality of taverns and nightclubs? Darkness. People prefer dark places to practice their sinful lifestyle. They love darkness because it hides their deeds. When God shines His light on us, the sin is no longer hidden—it’s exposed. That’s why people love darkness and hate the light. Paul wrote about that in Romans 1:19-25. “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them for His invisible attributes—namely His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made.” God is saying that His invisible attributes are clearly manifested by the things that He has created, so that we see His very nature. “They are without excuse,” Paul says, “for although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” Have you noticed on television all the commercials about poor helpless, endangered animals? They feature nice little tearful songs? As I watch those, I’m thinking about how our nation is killing babies in the womb by the millions! But you’ll land yourself in more trouble for beating a dog than performing an abortion. They may throw you in prison for five years for animal mistreatment, but you can kill a baby in the womb! It’s so convoluted that it’s unbelievable. We are worshipping the creature more than the Creator—just like Paul wrote. That is happening right now, friends. We worship the lowest form of life. We exonerate the animals! But the highest form, human beings we despise. Some judges allow wild, serial murderers to rape and kill young women. Those rapists ought to die for their crime, according to the Word of God, but liberal judges release them from prison in two or three years because of overcrowding. That is the mess we’re in, because we’ve so convoluted and suppressed the truth of God. People attempt to suppress God’s Word, push it down out of sight, but you can drink, you can do drugs, you can seek to suppress it, but it will pop right back up on you in the middle of the night, when your head is on the pillow and your conscience is alive and active. That lifestyle requires the Gospel to overcome. Nothing but the Gospel can overcome that kind of absurdity. “They exchange the glory of the immortal God for images, therefore God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and they worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator who is blessed forever. Amen.” In verse 20 we see man’s hatred of God, “For everyone who does wicked t ...
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About GraceWorx
People have asked the purpose of GraceWorx Ministries. Here is the answer, from Dr. R.A. Hargrave, the Bible-teacher at GraceWorx:
When Jesus issued the Great Commission, He did so with ALL authority. It was to every believer. It was to His church. He issued this Commission—not as a challenge or a choice—but as a command. It was not a maybe but a mandate. It was not a suggestion but a requirement. It was not an option but an obligation.
God’s Word is explicit. To be certain that we don’t miss the Great Commission, He presented it at least five times in Scripture (in the first five New Testament books): Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:46-49, John 20:21 and Acts 1:8. In all these passages, the central theme is crystal clear: Preach the gospel to everyone. There are many other passages that instruct us to preach, preach, preach: Mark 1:38, Luke 4:43, Romans 15:20, 2 Corinthians 10:16, 2 Timothy 4:2, etc.
This is the reason that GraceWorx Ministries exists—to glorify God in obeying the Great Commission by going into all the world and proclaiming the gospel to all creation.
We seek to accomplish this through as many means and uses of the media as possible: television, radio, the internet, books, magazines, pamphlets, curriculum, seminars, etc.
As God blesses GraceWorx Ministries, we plan to grow. As we grow, we encourage you to become a part of what God is doing with GraceWorx. We invite you to become a “partner” in this ministry. There are many ways to partner with us, and we hope that you will consider being a GraceWorx partner. For more information on this possible partnership, click here.
Thank you for your support and partnership with GraceWorx Ministries.
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Kent Pletcher...Director
Matt Riccaboni...Production
Troy Dittman...Production
Tommy Clayton...Chief Editor
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