Month: August 2011

Be of the Same Mind in the Lord

Sunday, August 21, 2011

“I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord” (Philippians 4:2 KJV).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul mentions two Christian women, Euodias and Syntyche, in opposition to one another. We know not the nature of that disagreement, but it was disruptive in the Philippian church, so Paul addressed the matter and begged them to resolve it.

There should be unity within the Church the Body of Christ, but there is very little because human viewpoint and religious tradition divide. Unfortunately, even among some “grace brethren,” we find “strange doctrines” that generate arguments. We should make every attempt to get along with our Christian brethren, but we should never, ever seek unity at the expense of sound doctrine. There should be no disagreement in the Body of Christ regarding matters clearly taught in the King James Bible.

The Corinthian church was noteworthy for its divisions (“denominations!”). Some Corinthians followed Christ according to His earthly ministry, others followed Peter, some followed Apollos, and still others followed Paul (1 Corinthians 1:10-13). Paul wrote, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (verse 10). How were they to avoid these divisions? They were to follow Paul as he followed Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).

The Bible says (Galatians 5:15,16): “But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.” Arguments can get rather nasty amongst Christians (spiritually “biting and devouring” each other). As long as we “walk in the Spirit,” allowing God’s Holy Spirit to teach us to follow the doctrine in Paul’s epistles, we will believe what the King James Bible says where it says what it says, and not argue with God. This is the unity that God desires the Body of Christ to have.

Go Against the Grain!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

“Be not thou envious against evil men, neither desire to be with them” (Proverbs 24:1 KJV).

Satan, “the god of this world,” is controlling the world today (2 Corinthians 4:4). Because we Christians do not live wild lives, our lost friends and family members shun us. As King James Bible-believing Pauline dispensationalists, we are contrary to much of Christendom. We are continually pressured to “go with the flow,” urged to follow religious tradition. As we struggle with the sins of the flesh, we are up against fellow “Christians?!” Considering the great opposition we face, our battle seems futile, right? Should we just give up and join our opposition? Not at all!

Today’s Scripture comforts us. As we observe the world’s evil people driving their exotic cars, abiding in their multi-million-dollar mansions, and wearing their expensive apparel, the Bible instructs us not to envy them. When we see corrupt people prospering, while we, God’s children, live common, sometimes poverty-stricken lives, let us be mindful that we do not belong here. “Our conversation [lifestyle reflecting citizenship] is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20).

There is nothing wrong with us, beloved in the Lord: the problem lies with the world! They, not us, are headed in the wrong direction. God’s Word describes lost people as “walking according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2). We Christians seem “odd” because the rest of the world is following Satan’s “course!”

Paul instructed Timothy: “Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12). We are to be examples to the lost world by letting them see the life of Christ living in us. If we live like the rest of the world, the world will see nothing different about us, thus making us hypocrites.

May we follow the Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Let us forge forward, forever going against the grain!

Is Mary Really the Mother of God?

Friday, August 19, 2011

“And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:43 KJV).

Roman Catholicism uses today’s Scripture to argue that Mary is “the mother of God.” Does the Bible teach this?

In verse 35, Gabriel the angel told Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” While the King James’ rendition “holy thing” is often frowned upon for being an “irreverent mistranslation,” “thing” refers to Jesus Christ’s physical body.

Technically speaking, Jesus Christ always existed. He did not come into existence in Mary’s womb. The King James Bible predicted that Israel’s Messiah would be “from of old, from everlasting” (Micah 5:2)—modern Bibles corrupt this verse! Jesus Christ has no origin because God has no origin.

We must always remember that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He has always been God, but He has not always been man. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1). Verse 14 says, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us….”

Considering these verses, Mary is not “God’s mother.” She is the mother of Jesus Christ’s humanity: she was the vessel God used to generate Jesus’ physical body. Jesus Christ had always existed as an invisible Spirit until He entered the physical body that was in Mary’s womb. In today’s Scripture, Elisabeth simply acknowledged that Mary would produce Christ’s human body. She knew that Old Testament reference in Micah that spoke of Israel’s Messiah as being “from everlasting” (that He existed prior to His physical body being conceived in Mary’s womb).

To call Mary “God’s mother” is very blasphemous and heretical, for that would be exalting Mary as someone higher than God. If Mary is “God’s mother,” then who would be God’s father? See what difficulties and confusion arise when we insert church tradition into Scripture? Toss out tradition, it has no authority whatsoever!

The Grand Bible Conference

Thursday, August 18, 2011

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13 KJV).

The breathing of the departing saint shallows, the eyes close, the soul exits the physical body, and the Holy Ghost Himself escorts the saint to the third heaven. Millions of saints have already experienced this, and short of the Lord’s coming, physical death shall be our lot too.

Today’s Scripture and its context (verses 13 through 18) address the question: Will we ever see those dearly departed brethren again? Verse 14, “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep [die] in Jesus will God bring with him.” Our hope is that we will see those Christians again. A saint’s death is bittersweet: we loathe their short-term absence, but we rejoice in a long-term reunion, a glorious re-gathering that will literally last forever!

There shall come a day, the rapture, when all the saints are united for the first time. We shall see those saints who have gone before us, those we have never met. Meeting the Lord Jesus Christ face-to-face and hearing His voice, enjoying His glory, and fellowshipping with all the saints around God’s Word. No grief, no heresy, no denominational or religious bickering. Wow, that is heaven! 🙂

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:8: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.” While we grieve for the departed saints, we rejoice because they have been eternally rescued from this present evil world. They are in the Lord’s presence now, at peace. Psalm 116:15 says: “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.” A hearty amen!

Rest assured, we shall see those saints again. If you have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ, you have a secure reservation for “the grand Bible conference.” Just wait for your flight….

-IN MEMORIAM-
THOSE WHO HAVE DIED IN CHRIST

If Only I Saw, Then I Would Believe

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

“The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25 KJV).

“Doubting Thomas” not only describes a confused apostle of Israel, but also much of the world’s population. Bible skeptics whine, “When you show me some proof that God exists, then I will trust Him!”

From its earliest days, the nation Israel was accustomed to seeing and hearing God perform miraculous works (the LORD sent Moses to Israel with the power to handle snakes and heal; Exodus 4:1-9). “The Jews require a sign” (1 Corinthians 1:22). Christ even said to Israel, “Unless ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe” (John 4:48).

For three years, the Lord Jesus performed an inestimable number of miracles. He walked on water, raised the dead, cast out devils, healed the sick, and yet most of those Jewish witnesses never trusted in Christ. Christ said, “some of you believe not” (John 6:64). Some Jews refused to believe, even after they saw His miracles!

Some Jews were so fascinated with Christ’s miracles that they totally missed the reason why He performed those miracles—to teach them that He was their Messiah-King. John 2:23-25 says: “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.” Jesus knew these people just wanted to be awed, not saved.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Seeing the Lord Jesus Christ through the eyes of faith, not the physical eyes, is enough “proof” for me.  Hebrews 11:1: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Mixed-Up Jonah

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

“Then said the LORD, Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for the which thou hast not laboured, neither madest grow; which came up in a night, and perished in a night: and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein are more than six-score thousand [120,000] persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand; and also much cattle?” (Jonah 4:10,11 KJV).

Nearly everyone is familiar with the story of Jonah. Circa 800-750 B.C., the LORD instructs the prophet to go to Nineveh, the wicked capital of Assyria, and to speak on His behalf against their evil deeds (1:1,2). Naturally, Jewish Jonah is extremely resistant to minister to pagan Gentiles, so Jonah heads in the opposite direction—a ship bound for Spain (1:3)!

God causes a storm that makes the mariners afraid and inquisitive (1:4-8). Jonah confesses that he has run away from the LORD. Lest the ship sink, the mariners eagerly agree to throw Jonah overboard (1:9-16). For three days and three nights, Jonah is dead in the belly of a fish (1:17-2:9).

Then, God speaks to the fish, and it vomits Jonah onto dry land (2:10). Jonah is revived. As before, God commands Jonah to go to Nineveh, so Jonah obediently preaches, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown” (3:1-4). Nineveh responds to Jonah in repentance (3:5-9). Nineveh listens to God, so God decides not to destroy Nineveh (3:10).

Now, Jonah is “very angry” with Nineveh’s response (4:1-5). The LORD causes a gourd to grow over Jonah and shade him, pacifying him (4:6). Then, God causes a worm to destroy the gourd, and Jonah is saddened and angered because the gourd died (4:7-9). Today’s Scripture is God’s response: “Jonah, you pity a silly gourd plant that died, but you have no pity for lost, hell-bound Gentiles!”

Many times, we pity animals and plants suffering and dying more than we pity our family, friends, and neighbors dying and going to hell. May we never be like mixed-up Jonah. People, unlike plants and animals, have souls that last for eternity. Your priority should be people’s souls. Are they?

Neither is There Salvation in Any Other

Monday, August 15, 2011

“Jesus Christ of Nazareth… Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:10,12 KJV).

Is there really only one way to heaven? Today’s Scripture gives us the answer—a resounding “YES!” Jesus stated, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). The Apostle Paul declared: “There is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time” (1 Timothy 2:5,6).

Jesus Christ “gave himself a ransom for all.” The words “for all” indicate that Christ died for every person, since everyone’s salvation depended upon Him. If there was another way to heaven beside Christ, then He died for nothing! Why would Jesus Christ allow Himself to suffer all that physical and spiritual pain if there was another way to save us from our sins? The Lord Jesus Christ endured the shame of Calvary’s cross and His heavenly Father’s wrath because there was no other way to reconcile us unto God.

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:14,15: “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

Because of Adam’s sin, every human is born spiritually dead in trespasses and sins, separated from God (Romans 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3). The only way to be saved from the penalty of sin—everlasting separation from God in the lake of fire—is to come to Calvary’s cross by faith. Have you trusted exclusively in the shed blood and physical resurrection of Jesus Christ as the fully satisfying payment for your sins? I hope you have!

According to God’s Word, salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ. “Jesus Christ of Nazareth… Neither is there salvation in any other.”

An Holy Nation and a Kingdom of Priests

Sunday, August 14, 2011

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;” (1 Peter 2:9 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is often misunderstood to apply to us Christians. Is the Church the Body of Christ a “holy nation?” Of course not! The “nation” of Scripture is always Israel. Furthermore, if Peter is an apostle of Israel, and Galatians 2:9 says he is, then he is speaking of Israel.

In fact 1 Peter 2:9 is identical to what the LORD said through Moses (Exodus 19:5,6): “Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.” Regardless of what preachers say, Exodus 19:5,6 claim 1 Peter 2:9 describes Israel.

The book of the Revelation, also written by an apostle of Israel (John; Galatians 2:9), says: “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (1:6). In Revelation 5:10 we read: “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.” All of these verses belong to Israel. You either believe God’s Word or you do not (a “Christian” I recently spoke with about this refused to believe the Bible).

Isaiah 61:6 confirms that “priests” applies to Jews, not to us: “But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves.” Israel will become a kingdom of priests when Christ returns to set up His earthly kingdom at His Second Coming.

Paul never calls us members of the Church the Body of Christ “priests.” We are “ambassadors” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

Why Did God Save Us?

Saturday, August 13, 2011

“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: that in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him” (Ephesians 1:9,10 KJV).

Why did God save us? Certainly not because of our works (Titus 3:5)! Today’s Scripture enlightens us in that regard, as does the entire epistle to the Ephesians. God the Father has one grand purpose: to appoint His Son Jesus Christ as the Head of all governmental authority, in the heaven and in the earth. God did not save us for our sakes; He saved us for Christ’s sake!

As members of the Church the Body of Christ, we will restore God’s authority in the heavenly places. “And [God our Father] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6,7).

The Apostle Paul prayed, “The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” (Ephesians 1:18). Jesus Christ will inherit us, the Church which is His Body, and appoint us as His rulers in the heaven!

Why did God save us?

  1. So we could be His “ambassadors” on earth, vessels He can use to tell others about His plan and purpose for the heaven and the earth. We have been entrusted with the wonderful Gospel of Grace, the salvation that is only found in His Son Christ Jesus. “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day!”
  2. But ultimately, so we could be God’s instruments to rule in the heaven for His glory (to be fulfilled one day when our earthly sojourn is over)!

Art Thou Too Superstitious?

Friday, August 12, 2011

“Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious” (Acts 17:22 KJV).

Religion causes people to behave very strangely—they claim to see apparitions in common objects, they speak incoherently, they allegedly (and “magically”) transform ordinary bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood, and they proclaim physical healing (while still taking medication and owning health insurance!).

The Greek word translated “superstitious” in today’s Scripture is “deisidaimonesteros,” meaning, “fearing more devils than anyone else.” Are you like the Athenians? Are you like most “Christians” today? Art thou “too superstitious?”

Pagan idolatry had permeated Athens: “the city [was] wholly given to idolatry” (verse 16). Paul told the Athenians (verse 23): “For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.”

For fear of ignoring a deity, and angering it, Athens wanted to cover every base, so they appealed to every god and goddess. Today, many cross their hearts and purchase medals/idols for protection. They pray to anyone and everyone. Others join as many churches and religions as possible, hoping to appease whoever is the “right” God. How sad.

In the context of today’s Scripture, Paul informed the Athenians that he was preaching to them the “unknown God” (verse 23). The Athenians knew there was a God other than their silly pagan gods, but they were worshiping that one true God “ignorantly.” This describes most church members in Christendom. They know about Jesus Christ, but how many really know who He is? How many have truly trusted in Christ for their soul salvation? Precious, precious few.

Religion is vain—it will never, ever save anyone. No religion or church saves. Only Jesus Christ saves. As Paul preached to Athens, we too proclaim: Trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour (that He died for your sins, He was buried, and He was raised again), and you will be saved… that is no superstition!