Category: denominationalism

One Having Authority

Sunday, March 13, 2022

“And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matthew 7:28,29 KJV).

Oh, how He preached with conviction! Oh, how He spoke like He actually believed what He said! Oh, how He imparted wisdom with such skill!

After Christ closed His remarkable Sermon on the Mount (chapters 5–7), the Apostle Matthew commented in today’s Scripture: “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” As their title implies, the “scribes” were Hebrew Bible copyists—and also Bible teachers. They were the leading, literate (able to read and write) class in Israel.

Yet, like so many religious leaders today, the scribes relied heavily—not on the Bible alone but—on what others said about it, quoting particularly the rabbinical interpretations and oral religious traditions attached to Bible verses. Think of such prefaces as, “The church says, Rabbi So-and-So says, the denominational hierarchy says, Doctor So-and-So says,” and the like. Of course, the Lord Jesus was God in human flesh, so He had no need to appeal to fallible men for authority. Any survey of His discourses yields one incontrovertible fact: the Lord was no spiritual wimp, He knew what the pure Hebrew Bible itself taught, and He unapologetically taught it to His Jewish people, that it be restored to its rightful preeminence. Where Jewish traditions had reigned supreme—uncontested for centuries—the Lord through His sermons corrected the countless erroneous beliefs besetting His nation. “This is what your Hebrew Bible really says. Here is what it says in its purity.”

Dear brethren, it is ever so important to realize we are “ambassadors for Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are the Church the Body of Christ, and, as His Body, we are to be about His work! He has given us His preserved Word, the Holy Bible (King James in English!), He has given us His indwelling Holy Spirit, and He has given us the authority and privilege to teach His pure Word (dispensationally!), that it be rescued from the hands of apostate spiritual leaders, and correctly deposited into the minds and hearts of the commoners.

NOTE: Saints, after some months of delay, I have finally created and updated a “Second Decade” Master List of Devotionals Links page. This set goes back to the beginning of our Second Decade—June 1, 2021—and will (Lord willing) span to May 31, 2031. Click the link here. Remember, our First Decade is here.

Something in Which to Glory!

Wednesday, March 2, 2022

“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?”

Only One Left? #7

Tuesday, February 22, 2022

“And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:14 KJV).

Was the Prophet Elijah really “the only one left?”

Indeed, the Christian’s life is difficult, for it concerns surviving the pitfalls of the pervasive evil world system. Everyone, everywhere is actually walking through a spiritual minefield. As grace-oriented Christians, dispensational Bible students, we are even more mindful of the perils. Religious apostasy is universal!

Spending his last moments on Earth imprisoned in Rome, the Apostle Paul lamented: “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes” (2 Timothy 1:15). The precious believers in Christ in Turkey—that is, Galatia, Ephesus, Colosse, Laodicea, and so on—had forsaken grace doctrine. Paul himself had led them to faith in Christ, and taught them several years. Awaiting his execution, he recalled the heartbreaking news of their departure from the truth.

Demas, once an immensely helpful ministry friend (Colossians 4:14; Philemon 24), deserted Paul too: “[Timothy] Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia. Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus have I sent to Ephesus” (2 Timothy 4:9-12). Despite all that heartache, Paul was not the only one left: faithful Timothy, faithful Crescens, faithful Titus, faithful Luke, faithful John Mark (having recovered from his own disappearance from ministry a decade-plus prior; Acts 13:13), and faithful Tychicus remained. Paul himself would soon pass off the scene—but the Holy Spirit would use his epistles, Romans through Philemon, to continue his ministry right up to our current moment.

If ever our associates in even grace ministry leave us, or even if we must take a stand against them for their error, we will feel like the “only one left.” Yet, we are not alone, for if we are on the Lord’s side, He is with us, and He (that) is sufficient! 🙂

Only One Left? #6

Monday, February 21, 2022

“And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:14 KJV).

Was the Prophet Elijah really “the only one left?”

No, he was not. Likewise, neither are we. To be sure, while there are far fewer genuine Christians than there could be, there are far more than we know personally. Although there is an even smaller number of mature saints among them, it involves more than you and me. The Message of Grace existed for almost 20 centuries before our birth; if the Lord permits, it will go on well after our death and subsequent graduation to Heaven. Our King James Bible has endured for over 400 years; it will outlast us. Whether we live or die, God’s rightly divided words will go on and on and on, throughout the endless ages to come. He will always be working through someone somewhere. “The word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8).

Unquestionably, the very nature of the Dispensation of Grace is one of departure from the truth. Ever since Genesis chapter 3, it has always been popular to disregard God’s current revelation. Throughout the history of the nation Israel, God’s words were ignored. With the formation of the Church the Body of Christ these last 2,000 years, church history mirrors what happened with Israel. There was great spiritual light imparted at the beginning, but it was gradually overlooked and replaced with traditions and opinions of men. By the time of Christ’s earthly ministry, the doctrine He had given to Israel was just a hollow, worthless religious system. When He comes to take us at the Rapture, the organized church will be revealed to be a failure (a great many of the two billion “Christians” today left behind, lost as lost can be!); the few who are true believers, much of their doctrine will be exposed as insignificant at the Judgment Seat of Christ. As the Lord returns yet again for Israel, there will be another small believing remnant.

Again, even if it appears feeble and declining, God’s ministry goes on….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does ‘had in abomination’ mean?”

Only One Left? #5

Sunday, February 20, 2022

“And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away” (1 Kings 19:14 KJV).

Was the Prophet Elijah really “the only one left?”

As King James Bible-believing, Pauline dispensationalists, it is quite easy for us to grow discouraged. After all, not many church members—even genuine Christians (!)—are interested in learning what we have to teach them from the Scriptures. Precious few are willing to question or abandon their long-held religious traditions. We exclaim, exasperated, “No one wants to listen to me share the truth with them!”

Though we, like Elijah, may feel we are “the only ones left,” there are countless Bible-believing, grace-oriented Christians just like us all around the world. They also understand God’s Word rightly divided. We just have never heard of them, and they have never heard of us. Although we are mutually unfamiliar with each other, the LORD knows us both—just as He saw those 7,000 believers in Israel in 1 Kings 19:18 (of whom Elijah was unaware). With the advent of the internet and social media, we “stranded grace believers” have been connected for several years now. Our studies here reach thousands of interested people. I am not alone. You are not alone. Always bearing this in mind will guard us against self-pity.

Dear dispensational friend, it is important never to focus on self. “I am the only one with the truth. I am the LORD’S last remaining preacher or teacher.” No, that was Elijah’s assumption (verse 10 and today’s Scripture). Almighty God promptly corrected him: “Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.” We do as the Lord’s grace enables us in our little realm, but we let Him watch over the global outreach of His words of grace. He does not need our help, but He does invite us to “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2), that we share His delight by valuing what He does. It is His ministry, not ours….

A Decision to Embrace Right Division

Sunday, January 23, 2022

“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).

We give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture….

Having trusted Jesus Christ alone as my personal Saviour just a few weeks shy of age seven, I spent the first 12 years of my Christian life in utter spiritual shallowness, immaturity, and confusion. Denominational systems had been so detrimental to my inner man! One day, the Lord mightily used a dear brother in Christ to introduce my parents and me to dispensational Bible study. Later that year, another Christian brother showed us even more advanced sound Bible doctrine. Recently, we marked 15 years since first coming to understand right division. To say the least, it has been quite the journey this last decade and a half!

What we have discovered through the years of talking with others in ministry is countless souls within churches are “too comfortable” where they are. Religious tradition is most difficult to relinquish—but we left our vain theological systems and they can do just the same if they so choose. However, it is far easier to keep “praise and worship” services, “humbling” ceremonies, mindless church attendance, light or “feel-good” sermons, philosophical counseling sessions, and all the rest that strokes the ego of sinful flesh. To embrace the truth is to lose so many relatives and “friends”—and that intimidation factor keeps many people right where they are in their spiritual life (if they even have one!).

Dear friends, the Bible laid out on a timeline is most helpful, and respecting the dispensational boundaries God the Holy Spirit has placed in His Word is how we understand and enjoy the Scriptures. If nothing else, we know the Apostle Paul is God’s spokesman to us (Romans 11:13), and Romans through Philemon are God’s words to and about us. We study all 66 Bible Books, but we study them rightly divided, and we seek God’s approval instead of man’s approval (today’s Scripture). Indeed, we all have more growing to do with regards to learning God’s plan for the ages, but we are well on our way. Let us remember to continue on this path without turning to the right or the left—at least for another 15 years! 🙂

A Life That Will Please

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

“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]!” 🙂

A Book That Will Teach

Monday, January 3, 2022

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 KJV).

Today’s Scripture tells us who alone we can trust to teach us God’s truth!

Once, I heard a minister give his self-proclaimed “prophetic” message about top headlines that would appear in the coming year. While he reassured his audience that he received this information directly from “the Lord” (?), he gave a disclaimer: “I do not know, but at the end of this year, we will see if what I say came to pass.” Unlike the inner impressions and hunches of this “Christian” preacher, the Holy Bible is infallible, and we can trust its information completely.

Long, long ago, God Almighty wrote a Book, and He preserved it through history through a multiplicity of manuscript copies, so that it could eventually be translated into English, so we could read it even today! (Of course, Satan, the master counterfeiter that he is, most certainly had his own manuscripts—they still circulate today as corrupt Bible translations.) God promised to preserve His words forever (Psalm 12:6,7; Isaiah 30:8; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:25). Consequently, every person will stand before Him one day to give account as to what he or she did with that Bible. Did we reject it in favor of counterfeits? Did we re-translate it to fit our denominational beliefs? Did we apply it to life by faith? Did we even read it at all?

As English-speaking people, we understand—or, at least, we should understand—that we can trust the 400-year-old King James Bible. Sadly, even in many church circles, we are often cautioned not to trust God’s preserved Word. Unfortunately, footnotes, study notes, and seminarians usually attempt to claim that authority by offering “better” readings or “better” manuscripts. Beloved, we can do without unbelieving textual critics and their “scholarship.” God does not need lost people to explain His Word to His children; He never did and He never will (1 Corinthians 2:14). Never forget that!

The Holy Spirit will teach us the King James Bible if we “read” (Ephesians 3:4), “study” (2 Timothy 2:15), and “consider” it (2 Timothy 2:7)!

Redeem the Year!

Saturday, January 1, 2022

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17 KJV).

What great advice for 2022!

Despite 2,000 years of Bible schools and seminaries, 2,000 years of a completed Bible canon, 2,000 years of Bible reading in churches, several decades of “Christian” television and radio, and just over a decade of widespread use of “Christian” websites, how sad that Bible ignorance is still quite extensive (it is as if God never gave His Word to start with!).

Frankly, the Church the Body of Christ needs to wake up! The verse previous to today’s Scripture says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (verse 14). Paul, loosely quoting Isaiah 60:1, reminded us that the spiritual ignorance that gripped Israel in Isaiah’s day seized Christians in his day—and it still grips Christians 20 centuries later. Feel-good sermons, enjoyable “worship” services, and rites, rituals, and ceremonies will NOT solve this problem—they exacerbate it!

“[God] will have all men to be saved…” (1 Timothy 2:4a). Do you want this New Year to count for God’s glory? First, you need to get saved from sins and hell! You need to become a Christian by trusting in and relying on Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). That is only part of God’s will for you, for 1 Timothy 2:4b continues, “[God] will have all men… to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Now, God’s will for your Christian life is daily, personal Bible study to renew your mind, so your faith in those verses can cause God to work in your life—it will be His life, thus making you “perfect [spiritually mature], throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Today’s Scripture urges us to buy back the time Satan has robbed from God (time created for God’s glory). By faith, we need to make that time glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by applying His Word, particularly Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, to our lives. Have a good year in Christ! 🙂

You can download our free “One-Year Bible Reading Schedule.”

See our archived Bible Q&A: “What Scriptural advice can you give me for the New Year?”

The Misunderstood Messiah #5

Thursday, December 30, 2021

“Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God” (John 8:41 KJV).

Did you ever notice the magnitude of the insult put forth toward Jesus Christ in today’s Scripture?

Once Christ replied with sound doctrine (verses 42-47), Israel’s religious leaders simply resorted to name-calling again (verse 48): “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?” A Samaritan was half-Jew/half-Gentile, and “the Jews [had] no dealings with the Samaritans” (John 4:9). Notice Jesus was insulted twice more—they called Him a “Samaritan” and “devil possessed.” Throughout the rest of John chapter 8, Israel’s religious leaders continue arguing with Jesus and nearly stone Him to death (verse 59)!

Why did Jesus not simply “zap” these religionists and instantly throw them into hellfire? They belittled and blasphemed Him several times in this one account, and then attempted to murder Him, but rather than Jesus killing them with His spoken word (which would have been justified), He only conversed with them. Why?

Remember, when the Apostles James and John saw how the Samaritans refused to accommodate Jesus, they asked Him if He wanted them to call down fire from heaven and consume those sinners, He replied, “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them” (Luke 9:55,56). This First Coming of Christ was His “meek and lowly” coming: He did not come to judge man’s sins, but to die for them!

Even today, God is still not pouring out His wrath on wicked mankind (2 Corinthians 5:19), creatures who still snicker at Jesus Christ, deceive others in His name, persecute His saints, ignore His Word, and “rub His nose” in their sins. Lost mankind is wasting God’s grace and mercy that He is offering so freely. When His grace is finally exhausted, the undiluted wrath that has accumulated will finally be poured out (His Second Coming). May we trust Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour now so we have our sins forgiven now, lest we face that angry, righteous God in judgment (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)!

For more information, you may also see our archived Bible Q&A: “Did God ‘rape’ Mary?”