Category: denominationalism

The Case for Right Division #6

Thursday, May 25, 2023

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Can today’s Scripture deliver someone from absolute stupidity before he or she literally perishes in it? (Yes!)

Re-read Ephesians 2:11,12. In “time past,” God dealt with mankind on the basis of physical circumcision (Jews, Israel) and physical uncircumcision (Gentiles, nations). While this “middle wall of partition” was in place (see verse 14), God’s blessings and salvation were on the circumcision side (cf. Romans 9:4,5). Christ’s earthly ministry belongs in “time past” (see Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8).

Beginning with the Apostle Paul—the “but now,” Christ’s heavenly ministry—the Lord eliminated “the middle wall of partition” (see Ephesians 2:13-18). Now, the nations of the world approach God, but not through the nation Israel, for Israel is now fallen. Read Romans 11:11-14. We come to God via Paul’s ministry (Bible Books of Romans through Philemon), faith in Christ’s finished crosswork as sufficient payment for our sins (see 1 Corinthians 15:3,4). In “the ages to come” (Ephesians 2:7), God will use us the Church the Body of Christ to glorify Jesus in the heavenly places as He will utilize the nation Israel to exalt Jesus in the earth (Ephesians 1:8-12,19-23; Ephesians 2:6,7; Colossians 1:16-20). “Time past,” “but now,” and “the ages to come” is how to “rightly divide the word of truth.” Remember, note it well (!): principles in effect during time past may not be true today, so be careful, lest you misapply to yourself non-Pauline (outside of Paul’s epistles) Bible truths that are no longer true!

Also, we can view Jesus Christ from two perspectives. Firstly, Peter preached Him according to prophecy: “Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Secondly, Paul preached Him according to mystery: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest,…” (Romans 16:25,26). “Prophecy” versus “mystery” is another way God “rightly divides the word of truth.” Let us elaborate….

The Case for Right Division #5

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Can today’s Scripture deliver someone from absolute stupidity before he or she literally perishes in it? (Yes!)

Two chief misunderstandings must be addressed and corrected if Christendom ever hopes to fix its innumerable blunders. Firstly, it needs to do much more than simply “rightly divide” truth from error. When the Holy Spirit through Paul penned today’s Scripture, the instruction was to “rightly divide the word of truth.” There is no error in truth! Yet, we can distort the Bible into a Book of errors by failing to recognize the distinctions God has already made in it. Trying to do something God is not doing anymore and/or expecting Him to do something He is no longer doing, this is where the professing church has failed (!!) ever (!!) so (!!) miserably (!!). We must have the most current, most up-to-date, most recent revelation from God—not just any revelation from God, any verse we choose, anything and everything we want to believe or do.

Secondly, Christendom needs to do much more than just “rightly divide” the Old Testament from the New Testament. It is usually assumed everything in Matthew through Revelation is applicable to us—that we can claim anything found in those 27 Books. On the contrary, we repeat our prior comments. If we are to do God’s will, we must know the most recent, most current, most up-to-date revelation from Him.

The Bible is to be “rightly divided” as follows. Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:11-13: “[11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; [12] That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: [13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.” This shift from “time past” to “but now” is the key to discerning God’s present-day dealings with us….

The Case for Right Division #4

Tuesday, May 23, 2023

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Can today’s Scripture deliver someone from absolute stupidity before he or she literally perishes in it? (Yes!)

Recall our introductory remarks about the preacher who fasted for 51 days—and finally died by starvation! He was looking for answers from God as to “why the signs do not follow [his] ministry as Jesus said they would.” Obviously, this man was “naming and claiming” Mark 16:17,18: “And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.” Why did these verses not work for the pastor? He could not understand what the problem was. This is just one of countless examples demonstrating even Bible users and church leaders can become disoriented, disappointed, and discouraged. Let us reflect on another distressing passage.

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it” (John 14:13,14). Dear friend, are you one of the millions who have begged God for all sorts of positive outcomes—with physical healing and “miracle money” being the top requests—but constant prayers were never answered? Instead, financial difficulties worsened and ill people grew sicker and died. How many poor souls concluded Jesus lied and God did not care about them? In fact, who among them abandoned the Bible and Christianity altogether because of these headaches and heartbreaks?

Of course, we can “name and claim” all the favorite Bible passages we want—even fasting and praying earnestly when the promises fail to come to pass, demanding God give us His reasons for those unanswered prayers. We can go so far as to literally starve ourselves to death, engaged in an endless pursuit of solutions to such vexing puzzles. Or, we could apply today’s Scripture and have amazing clarity, stability, and tranquility….

The Case for Right Division #3

Monday, May 22, 2023

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Can today’s Scripture deliver someone from absolute stupidity before he or she literally perishes in it? (Yes!)

In Christendom, the usual criterion for determining truth and error is whether or not the teaching is “Scriptural” (or “Biblical”). However, this is not enough, since false cults, denominations, and sects are all Scriptural or Biblical to some degree. Believe it or not, even Satan does not mind being Biblical if it might accomplish his will (see Matthew 4:5,6; Luke 4:9-11; cf. Psalm 91:11,12)! We must be Biblical and dispensational!!!

Consider this simple example from Genesis chapter 6: “[13] And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth. [14] Make thee an ark of gopher wood; rooms shalt thou make in the ark, and shalt pitch it within and without with pitch…. [17] And, behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die.”

Is it “Scriptural,” is it “Biblical,” to construct a boat so as to survive an impending global flood? Why, of course, it is Scriptural or Biblical—Noah did it and we read of it in the Scriptures, in the Bible. Still, it is foolish to try to obey verses that have nothing to do with us. If the average church member had any spiritual sense, he or she would laugh if we began constructing an ark to prepare for the flood of Genesis chapter 6. Yet, they seldom stop and contemplate a sad fact: their denominational system has directed them to be just as sloppy and silly with the Scriptures. What they need to do is start being Biblical and dispensational so they can recover themselves out of the snare of the devil (2 Timothy 2:24-26)….

The Case for Right Division #2

Sunday, May 21, 2023

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Can today’s Scripture deliver someone from absolute stupidity before he or she literally perishes in it? (Yes!)

Indeed, children are easily deceived, believing whatever they read or hear. They have practically no life experience to use as a basis for gauging whether something is right (true) or wrong (false), plausible (possible) or implausible (doubtful). On the other hand, it requires much more effort to convince adults because they, over the course of several years, have acquired a large body of information to which they appeal when evaluating anything new. Adults are certainly not immune to being led astray—many have been and still are deceived—but it is more challenging to influence them than children.

Similarly, a novice in the Bible is most susceptible to error, but rarely is this risk fully appreciated because every Bible user assumes they are exempt from trickery. For example, all church members attend services in their respective groups because they believe their organization is correct. Their denominational hierarchy, boasting “scholarly” graduates from prestigious seminaries and famous Bible colleges, has caused them to believe their education guards them from all mistakes. However, what has been overlooked is the fact the Bible is usually never given preeminence in most “ministry” training. They will quote and read Bible verses occasionally, but their instruction also involves studying world religions, philosophy, church history, statements of faith (belief systems), writings of ecclesiastical leaders (such as the “church fathers”), and so on. Everything is studied with equal attention, since the Bible is seen as “just one of many guides to spirituality.”

If the Scriptures are used at all, they are interpreted in light of everything else already reviewed—foreign definitions are thus carried into the Bible, controversial verses are reworded, vexing passages are dismissed as figurative instead of literal, and so on. That is, the Scriptures are forced to conform to non-Biblical views. Eventually, possession of any Bible at all becomes a curse instead of a blessing. Yet, if we consistently apply today’s Scripture, we become spiritual adults and thus shielded from the blunders that continually incapacitate the professing church….

The Case for Right Division #1

Saturday, May 20, 2023

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Can today’s Scripture deliver someone from absolute stupidity before he or she literally perishes in it? (Yes!)

Many, many years ago, a pastor died of starvation after fasting for an astonishing 51 days. He had written this explanation: “I am seeking the more perfect will of God for my own life and asking God to show me why the signs do not follow my ministry as Jesus said they would.” That was the end of his ministry, and his earthly life too. Dear friends, there is nothing more tragic than when that precious name “Jesus Christ” is attached to utter absurdities such as this!

The Bible canon has been complete for 2,000 years. Once the Apostle Paul finished penning his second epistle to Timothy, the Holy Spirit had written the final portion of the Scriptures. God would not speak again apart from those inspired words. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17). Everything that God expects us to believe is confined to the Holy Bible. It is worthy of our faith, trust, reliance. We do not need to abstain from food—fast—in order to seek or obtain answers from God. All we need to do is open the pages of Scripture, find out what God is doing today, by faith do that, and then we will do the will of God. If we are asking the Lord to “show” us something, and we are doing something other than reading and studying Bible verses, that is an exercise in futility. It will get us nowhere!

Why did the unfortunate aforementioned pastor meet such a dreadful end? Where was his “answer from God” that he sought? How can we avoid this kind of disaster ourselves? What steps can we take to spare the lives of others who might wind up down this same perilous course? Let us search the Scriptures….

Comatose! #5

Monday, February 27, 2023

“Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (Ephesians 5:14 KJV).

“Wake up!,” screams the Holy Spirit to today’s comatose professing church!

In Matthew 13:25, “the enemy” labored “while men slept.” Verse 39 identifies this “enemy” as “the devil.” The sleeping, of course, is not physical but spiritual. When people are spiritually oblivious, napping in the spiritual realm, they become more susceptible to Satan’s will. A saint not walking in the light of God’s words to him or her will fall into the spiritual trap of functional death, the Christian life not functioning (see today’s Scripture). Also, any lost people refusing to believe God’s words to them—they are content in being lost—they too will be vulnerable to Satanic deception (remaining lost). The context of the verses in Matthew chapter 13 is the Little Flock receiving and believing the Gospel of the Kingdom, God’s work (genuine), and lost Israel refusing and disbelieving the Gospel of the Kingdom, Satan’s work (counterfeit).

Satan’s evil world system is still in force now, misleading lost and saved alike, following the patterns already laid out in Scripture. It had duped the Corinthian saints (spiritual immaturity, heresies and sects, fornication, abusing spiritual gifts, petty lawsuits, mockery of the Lord’s Supper, et cetera), the Galatian saints (legalism, denominationalism, works-religion), the Ephesian saints (various sins and silly deeds delineated in Ephesians 4:17–5:21), and so on. In the verses following today’s Scripture, we read: “[15] See then that ye walk circumspectly [looking around, carefully, alertly], not as fools, but as wise, [16] Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. [17] Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. [18] And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;….”

If there is no renewed mind, thinking like a mature grace saint (Romans 12:1,2), we will be “fools… unwise… [not] understanding what the will of the Lord is.” Since the vast majority of the professing church has never paid much attention to the warnings the Holy Spirit issued 2,000 years ago, there is no filling of the Holy Spirit, and therefore no real spiritual fruit and meaningful Christian influence on the world. Like with Israel of old, a spiritual coma incapacitates….

Something in Which to Glory!

Wednesday, February 22, 2023

“As many as desire to make a fair shew in the flesh, they constrain you to be circumcised; only lest they should suffer persecution for the cross of Christ. For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Galatians 6:12-14 KJV).

In what shall we glory? About what shall we boast? In what shall we find value?

Religion produces people who enjoy bragging all about their “dedication to God.” “Look what I did—the ceremonies in which I have participated, the many prayers I faithfully recited daily, how much I put in the collection plate, see how many pleasures I gave up to please God! Come, see how much I love Him!” Dear friends, the Apostle Paul found great value in something—but that something was not what he did. All that human flesh can accomplish pales in comparison to the work in today’s Scripture.

As Lent begins, the time when religionists temporarily (a mere 40 days) relinquish some pleasant food or activity, let us remember that our performance is often non-performance. Once we place ourselves on that treadmill of “do, do, do,” we are guaranteed to fail at some point. Human flesh is simply too weak to maintain 100 percent—that is sin! Even concerning one rule, we cannot keep it perfectly. We mess up eventually.

If ever we believe that our puny works are worth bragging about, let us remember the words of the Apostle Paul in today’s Scripture. While some boast in their religiosity (in the passage, the Judaizers applauding their rite of physical circumcision), and such denominationalists today urge us to obey their church’s instructions so they too may boast in our ability, let us eschew such foolishness. Being imperfect, all their works do not measure up to Christ’s finished crosswork. At Calvary, we find the only sacrifice that will ever please the God of the Bible. If we must boast, let us brag that He did what we could never, ever do!

See our archived Bible Q&A: “Should Christians observe Lent?”

Hearing is Not Enough #4

Sunday, January 8, 2023

“And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word” (Luke 10:39 KJV).

Is hearing the Word of God enough?

Several years ago, two Christian men (one of whom told me this) attended “retreat meetings” that a local “Christian” cult leader was directing. During every class, they asked the cult leader Bible questions in front of the group so as to generate meaningful discussion amongst the “blind sheep.” One night, these two Christian men heard some startling words: the cult leader delivered “the plan of salvation” just like a Bible-believing Christian! When class ended, and all were exiting the room, the cult leader standing at the door greeted the two men, “I hope you are happy now! Do not come back!” He knew his denomination’s theological system was evil and false. Also, he was willing to “pacify” Bible-believing Christians with the truth (give them what they wanted to hear) so as to drive them away from challenging him any further and so as to prevent the Scriptures from convicting him anymore. How disturbing!

Indeed, millions have heard Bible truth, read Bible truth, and know Bible truth, but, they have too much to lose if they actually believe Bible truth. One of the most disconcerting facts of life is how people can sit in church buildings and hear Bible verses read every week for decades, how they can carry and even read the Bible themselves for decades, how they can memorize Bible verses for decades, and still be lost and dead in their trespasses and sins. They have heard the Gospel of Grace for years, and have constantly resisted it because they have not placed their faith in it. When confronted, they will freely confess Bible truth—but only in private and never public.

Each and every passing day, at least 100,000 souls pass from this earthly life and wake up in a literal and eternal Devil’s Hell. They had all been given enough spiritual light to avoid that terrible fate too. Moreover, a great many of them were “Christian church members,” hearing the Scriptures and having access to them for entire lifetimes (20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 110 years!). Yet, there was no faith mixed with that hearing….

A Life That Will Please

Wednesday, January 4, 2023

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20 KJV).

Today’s Scripture tells us who alone can live a life pleasing in God’s sight!

Everyone does “good” deeds. Yet, doing “good” is not necessarily good. For instance, people often do “good” just to receive praise/reward, make up for their wrongs, feel good, et cetera. Furthermore, despite our “good” deeds, we have plenty more bad ones! Pride, lying, evil thoughts, being a false witness, and being contentious are some of the things the LORD hates (Proverbs 6:16-19).

Mankind cannot even keep 10 simple rules from God. However, religion continues to urge us to keep seven sacraments, utter various prayers, give assorted offerings and “tithes,” attend numerous feasts and festivals, and perform sundry other tasks to “hopefully” please God and avoid hellfire. Whether we attempt to keep a church’s laws, our laws, or God’s laws, our flesh is far too weak to ever measure up. Just look at what God’s religion did to Israel—how much worse some man-made religion does to us!

As Saul of Tarsus, the Apostle Paul was a Pharisee, a religious leader of Israel. He was a nitpicker concerning Law-keeping, and yet, after his soul salvation, he admitted that all of his religion was “but dung” compared to Jesus Christ’s righteousness (Philippians 3:3-11). Even for the Christian, to live a perfect life is impossible (read of Paul’s miserable existence in Romans chapter 7). Paul had to forsake his vain religion and learn today’s Scripture: the Christian life is NOT the performance of the Christian, but the Lord Jesus Christ living and working in the Christian, as the Christian walks in an intelligent understanding of God’s Word to him or her!

If we trust a Saviour who will save—the Lord Jesus Christ—and trust a Book that will teach—the King James Bible—we can redeem the year for the great God and our Saviour, “who loved [us], and gave himself for [us]!” 🙂