Category: denominationalism

Weirdoes #4

Sunday, October 27, 2019

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

Brethren, we may be unfairly judged of other Christians and/or the world, but the final verdict will come of the Lord.

First Corinthians chapter 2 began: “[1] And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. [2] For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. [3] And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. [4] And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: [5] That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.”

Considering their culture, the Corinthians were accustomed to skilled orators (speakers) entering their city and employing impressive, persuasive, “scholarly” language to gain new disciples. Philosophers debated countless ideas, each promoting their unique system. When Paul showed up, he was different. He did not use man’s intellect to convince the Corinthians of anything. Instead, he was empowered by the Holy Spirit to impart Divine wisdom to these souls. They believed the Gospel of Grace and were saved unto eternal life, but had not fully renounced their past spiritual beliefs. Such heathen philosophy then influenced them to conclude Paul’s message was nothing extraordinary.

Using man’s wisdom as their guide, the Corinthian saints determined Paul was really not speaking for Jesus Christ. How could Paul be a true spiritual leader, a “Christian?” He did not sound like the typical religious leader, he did not look like one, he did not behave like one. Though highly educated, he had not employed polished, complex, theological language to amaze and flatter his audience. Paul did not want the Corinthians to depend on his words anyway. He wanted them to rest in the words of God.

In reality, it was they—not Paul—who had the problem….

Weirdoes #3

Saturday, October 26, 2019

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

Brethren, we may be unfairly judged of other Christians and/or the world, but the final verdict will come of the Lord.

“For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom” (1 Corinthians 1:22). Miraculous demonstrations were the way whereby God dealt with the nation Israel. In contrast, the Greeks (or Gentiles) were interested in wisdom—and the Corinthians were no different. Through the Apostle Paul, the Corinthians heard true wisdom, the wisdom of God. Unfortunately, Paul could not teach them the deeper truths of God’s dealings with man. Consequently, very little dispensational truth is found in 1 Corinthians. The Corinthians could not handle it; all they could grasp was basic doctrine, namely the Gospel (where most professing Christians are even today).

First Corinthians chapter 2: “[6] Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect [spiritually mature]: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought: [7] But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: [8] Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory…..”

“[12] Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. [13] 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. [14] But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Paul cautioned his brethren in Christ at Corinth. They believed Greek philosophy was how to discover what the God of creation is doing. Beware! Unsaved pagans employing worldly wisdom did not compare with the Apostle Paul communicating Divine wisdom….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can an atheist be moral without any influence from any ‘higher power?’”

Weirdoes #2

Friday, October 25, 2019

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

Brethren, we may be unfairly judged of other Christians and/or the world, but the final verdict will come of the Lord.

We all have a conscience—a library of acquired information that we use to determine which beliefs are right and which beliefs are wrong, and what actions are acceptable and what actions are unacceptable. Howbeit, if we do not have the right information, our conscience will be defiled, and that corrupted standard will throw off everything else. It is like a defective measuring stick that is unable to provide accurate readings.

In Acts chapter 18, the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul visited Corinth. This Greek port city was only about 45 miles (72 kilometers) from Athens, the world’s intellectual capital. A key center of international trade and commerce, Corinth was materially wealthy. Many devilish ideas from foreign lands were exchanged here as well. Heathen idolatry led its citizens to be tremendously vulgar. It was to these wretched souls that Paul preached the Lord Jesus Christ. They believed, were saved unto eternal life, and delivered from sin and satanic bondage!

Paul spent at least 18 months teaching the Word of God to the Corinthians (Acts 18:11). Later, he left and penned some epistles to them—the Bible Books of 1 and 2 Corinthians. According to these treatises, the saints at Corinth were guilty of several reprehensible beliefs and deeds. No doubt it grieved the Holy Spirit and it greatly concerned Paul to see such spiritual chaos and confusion among God’s people. They had not fully abandoned their old mentalities and lifestyles. First Corinthians is the most tragic of Paul’s epistles. Erroneous doctrine—especially pagan philosophy—was still perverting the hearts and minds of the Corinthians. This is particularly evident in the first three chapters.

Spiritually disoriented, the saints at Corinth began to viciously attack Paul, the very man whom the one true God had sent to them so they would be rescued from Satan’s evil world system….

Weirdoes #1

Thursday, October 24, 2019

“But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man’s judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord” (1 Corinthians 4:3,4 KJV).

Brethren, we may be unfairly judged of other Christians and/or the world, but the final verdict will come of the Lord.

Dear friend, we Pauline dispensationalists seem to be the least Christian people on Earth. After all, our beliefs largely differ from—an understatement if there ever were one!!—what is commonly passed off as “Christian.”

We do not water baptize, we do not tithe, we do not confess sins, we do not observe the Sabbath day, we are not legalistic, we do not call religious leaders “reverend” and “father,” we do not look for “signs,” we do not seek healing miracles, we do not strive to see visions and dreams from God, we do not look for angels, we do not have “altars” in our church buildings, we do not assemble at “God’s house” but we ourselves are God’s house, we refuse to be called “religious,” we do not claim to exercise spiritual gifts, we avoid excessive “praise and worship” (running, jumping, dancing), we do not engage in rituals and ceremonies, we do not follow church tradition, we do not believe we are Israel, we believe in a literal and physical return of Christ to take His people to Heaven, we believe He will establish Israel’s literal and physical Davidic kingdom one day on Earth, and so on.

Considering the above doctrinal statement, just what sort of Christian group are we? Christendom dismisses us as cultic, heretical, “church splitters.” We are often “quarantined,” treated like lepers with a contagious ailment. It is no secret that we get “weird” looks from church members when we explain the Bible rightly divided. “I have never heard of that before!” “If this is true, why do so few people believe it?” “Why do you study the Bible so much?” “You worship Paul!” “There are so few in your church or Bible study!” “What is wrong with you?” “You are a Bible fanatic!” “You have a problem with every church!” “You disagree with all denominations!”

Today’s Scripture says such persecution should not bother us….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “The ‘judgment seat’ or the ‘bema seat?’”

But He Has a Doctorate!

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

“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).

He may have a doctorate… but does he listen to the Holy Spirit?

Recently, I counseled with a highly confused Christian. Almost 40 years after trusting Christ, she still has not been stabilized in sound Bible doctrine! Her mind was greatly scrambled by various wild ideas. When I asked her to turn to a specific verse and read it, she replied, “Oh, I know that verse,” and then she proceeded to quote another verse! This dear soul is just one of two billion church members so thoroughly deceived in Christendom. They read books about the Bible, but do not read the Bible. If they have read Scripture, it is little snippets here and there—read while wearing denominational eyeglasses. Refusing to let the Holy Spirit teach them, they approach God’s Word with countless assumptions and misconceptions.

I was honest with that poor lady: “Your preacher is not telling you the truth, and you know it. He has hidden truths from you, concepts I just shared with you by having you read Bible verses.” Earlier, she defended her pastor by rebutting, “He has a doctorate! He has been to seminary!” After our discussion, she began to see that “seminary” is often nothing but a Bible cemetery! Here is another common fallacy worth correcting. The first qualification for a preacher is not a seminary diploma—or even a high school diploma for that matter! Any human Bible teacher must first have the real Bible Teacher: the indwelling Holy Spirit is the only ultimate Instructor in the Holy Scripture.

A man led by his flesh, a man not submitting to the Holy Spirit, has no business whatsoever teaching the Bible. It does not matter if he can speak and read Greek, Hebrew, Latin, and Aramaic. It does not matter if he has been a missionary to 80 countries. It does not matter if he has water baptized 50,000 people. It does not matter if 35,000 individuals attend his church services every week. Brethren, we must stop thinking about ministry like lost people. Let us heed the warnings of 1 Corinthians chapter 2—and fast!!

Bible Q&A #660: “Who or what are the 10 ‘toes’ or ‘horns’ or ‘crowns’ associated with the Antichrist?”

Daily

Thursday, October 3, 2019

“And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so” (Acts 17:10,11 KJV).

They “searched the scriptures” every day!

Someone would say, “I read my Bible yesterday, so I have no need to read it today.” Another person might remark, “I read the Bible once a week—at church.” This is most reckless, fraught with spiritual hazards. Preachers and priests are being used as crutches. Congregants of all denominations are so heavily reliant upon their ministers they are at the mercy of the clergy. Hopefully they are being told the truth (highly unlikely).

Unlike the vast majority of modern church members, the Bereans of today’s Scripture were certainly not gullible sheep. Except for this one passage, the Bible says nothing about them. What is stated here is worth remembering. They were exceptional—“more noble” than the nearby Thessalonians, or possessing a higher moral and intellectual uprightness—in “that (1) they received the word with all readiness of mind, and (2) searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Firstly, the Bereans were eager to hear the Word of God, not empty traditions and idle speculations of men. Secondly, they compared what they heard from Paul and Silas with the Bible in their possession (at the very minimum, the Old Testament Scriptures). Every day, they read and studied the Bible.

Listen to former cult members’ testimonies. Now that they have come to faith in Christ, they have the indwelling Holy Spirit to enlighten them. Exasperated, they cry out, “Look at all these verses my denomination hid from me for decades! I now understand truths I had no idea were even in the Bible!” To say they are amazed is truly an understatement. What made the difference is actual Bible study, not just light or occasional Bible reading. Friends, let us daily and personally read and study the Bible. Otherwise, Satan’s evil world system will deceive us. “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

A Better Baptism #15

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV).

Behold, the only baptism that counts for eternity!

If water baptism were as important for Christian living today as billions believe and proclaim, then why did the Holy Spirit not bother to emphasize it throughout Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon? After all, Paul is our apostle, God’s spokesman to us Gentiles (Roman 11:13). There is a problem here. Either the Holy Spirit knows less about victorious Christian living than the “water-baptism-is-necessary-today” people, or they know less about it than He does. Surely, you realize that I am being facetious. The words of the Holy Spirit are the final authority! Water baptism is unnecessary for us today (the denominationalists are claiming verses not to or about us).

Sadly, people often have such a naïve, shallow approach to the Bible. “Water baptism is Scriptural, so we need to do it. Jesus was water baptized, and we need to follow Him. Paul was water baptized, and he water baptized others, so we need to do likewise.” This is deception, a complete mishandling of those verses. Whether intentionally or accidentally, many are not letting the whole Bible speak on the subject but rather focusing on their “pet” verses. Here, God’s words have spoken. We have presented some little-known verses, and let them contradict whomever (preacher, priest, pope) or whatever (denomination, cult, sect) they contradict!

Always remember, dear friends, religionists use the Bible so long as the Bible supports their tradition. If the verse contradicts religion, or there is no verse to support the religion, then the Bible is simply ignored. That is the sad reality of the professing church today—and exactly why so much confusion abounds. God’s Word has overwhelmingly not been permitted to speak in its entirety. People using select Bible verses are misleading billions of souls. Not only must we be biblical, we must also be dispensational. Indeed, to use the Bible but not rightly divide the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15), is actually more dangerous than not using the Bible at all. This is true of the topic of baptism and all other Bible themes. Beware!

A Better Baptism #14

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV).

Behold, the only baptism that counts for eternity!

Many denominationally-minded souls will now surely raise some “what about” objections. What about Matthew 28:19? What about Paul’s own water baptism (Acts 9:18; Acts 22:16)? What about him water baptizing his converts (Acts 16:15,33; Acts 18:8; Acts 19:5; 1 Corinthians 1:13-17)?

“The Jews require a sign” (1 Corinthians 1:22). To signify to Israel that pagan Gentiles have converted to Christ, those Gentiles were to be water baptized for Israel’s benefit (Matthew 28:19). As water baptism indicates Israel’s cleansing from heathen idolatry, it also evidently serves a likewise purpose for the believing (formerly pagan) Gentiles in Israel’s program (nothing to do with us!). God is not showing anything to Israel today, for national Israel is temporarily fallen (Romans chapter 11). This will change once our dispensation closes.

Indeed, Paul water baptized—but only during Acts. Water baptism existed before him, and during the transitional phase of Acts 9–28, he was water baptized and he water baptized others. However, Jesus Christ did not send him to water baptize. Read 1 Corinthians 1:17: “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.”

After the Book of Acts closed, the Holy Spirit wrote through Paul in Ephesians 4:5 that only one baptism is necessary in this the Dispensation of Grace—and it certainly is not water baptism. Paul wrote of water baptism only once; here, he says Christ did not commission him to do it. It was not part of the special revelation Christ gave to him to give to us. Paul water baptized only during his “Acts” provoking ministry to Israel (see Romans 11:11-14).

That transitional period has passed, and so have all the temporary, bizarre situations people stumble over when they read and teach the Book of Acts. Paul being water baptized showed Ananias and other believing Jews that Paul had now come to faith in Christ. Water baptism showed (past tense!) how idolatrous Gentiles in Paul’s ministry had trusted Christ as well….

Bible Q&A #655: “Are the ‘angels’ of the Revelation really ‘pastors?’”

A Better Baptism #13

Monday, September 30, 2019

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV).

Behold, the only baptism that counts for eternity!

Romans 6:3,4: “[3] Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? [4] Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Despite what we have heard over the years, dear friends, water baptism is not in this passage! Again, water baptism (a physical substance) cannot place us into the Body of Christ (a spiritual entity).

The moment we believed on Jesus Christ dying for our sins, being buried, and being raised again for our justification (1 Corinthians 15:3,4), the Holy Spirit placed—baptized—us into the Church the Body of Christ (today’s Scripture). It was instantaneous and invisible. We did not see, feel, or hear it—and we would not know about it without the Scriptures. Moreover, the Spirit of God transferred Christ’s identity to us: when He died, we died with Him, and when He was resurrected, we were resurrected with Him. Romans chapter 6 says we are dead to sin, and alive unto God.

Compare that to Colossians 2:11,12: “In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.” This is no more a physical (water) baptism than it is a physical circumcision. Water baptism is not here.

Now, Galatians 3:26-28: “For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Here is the one baptism that counts for eternity….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Who is speaking in Proverbs 8:22?”

A Better Baptism #12

Sunday, September 29, 2019

“For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:13 KJV).

Behold, the only baptism that counts for eternity!

Ephesians chapter 3 again: “[1] For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, [2] If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: [3] How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [4] Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) [5] Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; [6] That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: [7] Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

“[8] Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; [9] And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:….” The Church the Body of Christ is exclusively a Pauline revelation: we will not find it outside of the Apostle Paul’s ministry. To repeat, “the mystery of Christ… the fellowship of the mystery” (the Body of Christ) is a Pauline concept. Prior to Christ’s words spoken through Paul, it was unknown that God would form one body of believers (Jew and Gentile), separate and distinct from the nation Israel and her prophetic program.

This “mystery” (secret) entity would involve a unique “baptism.” God Himself would perform this “baptism,” and the eternal salvation of our souls would depend upon it. We always hear the appeal to “join the local church and get water baptized.” However, their focus should be membership and baptism in the Church the Body of Christ….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What exactly is going on in John 11:49-52?”