Category: denominationalism

Knowing Your Christian Life

Thursday, July 16, 2015

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him” (Colossians 2:6 KJV).

Yea, “Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (verse 7).

Dear Christian brother or Christian sister, have you ever found it difficult to live the Christian life? You undoubtedly answered, “Yes”—just like all of us! How are you doing with keeping the Ten Commandments? Like all of us, you are not doing so well, right? You do your “best” during the day, but at night you reflect on the previous hours and you feel so rotten. Deep down, you know you are failing miserably. Is this the kind of life Father God wanted to give us in Christ? Were we not miserable enough in our sins before we came to Jesus Christ? Despair no longer!

Frankly, you are not walking in Jesus Christ as you received Him. You came to Him by faith in the Gospel, in His finished crosswork as sufficient payment for your sins, but you have not appropriated that crosswork on a daily basis. Yes, you still live like you are in Adam. You are not thinking clearly. You are walking in your own abilities to manage sin, and we know that we cannot get rid of sin. It requires God’s power to put away sin—He did it at Calvary and you can do it at Calvary too!

Our life and sustenance is found in Jesus Christ and His perfect sacrifice, not in ourselves, religion, intellectualism, et cetera. We must be stabilized in the grace doctrines of Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, lest Satan deceive us and defeat us. We must be taught the King James Bible rightly divided. Once we learn and trust God’s Word, God’s way, it will burst forth from us in song and thanksgiving. The misery from religious futility will vanish! The confusion from false teaching will disappear! Dear saint, do not let Satan rob you of your joy in Christ. Do not let him steal your knowledge of who you are in Jesus. Take your stand by faith in these simple verses and let the indwelling Spirit do the rest! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is the Lord’s will for my Christian life?”

NOTE: Having expanded upon the “Original 7 studies” for the third time, our fourth foundation (studies #1501-#1507) is now installed. Onward we press in maturity… and to #2000! 🙂

Knowing Your Apostle Paul

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

“For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office” (Romans 11:13 KJV).

Yea, “…Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity” (1 Timothy 2:5-7).

I once asked a Roman Catholic priest about the “Petrine papacy.” While readily admitting that Jesus Christ sent Paul to us Gentiles (today’s Scripture), he preferred to follow Peter— “I do not care what the Bible says!” He wanted to follow Israel’s Apostle Peter. Never would anyone take “sacred tradition” from him. To abandon the centuries-old fallacy of “Pope Peter” was out of the question!

Christendom’s greatest error is the failure to learn where to go in the Bible to get our “mail” for today. Matthew through John is robbed of the Beatitudes, the so-called “Lord’s Prayer,” and the miracles (the “What-Would-Jesus-Do?” crowd). The Psalms and Proverbs are carelessly isolated. Almost all gravitate to the Book of Acts, especially chapter 2, Pentecost, and the other “Holy Ghost encounters.”

Prophecy said God would bless Gentiles through redeemed Israel (Genesis 12:1-3; Isaiah 60:1-3; Isaiah 61:6; Zechariah 8:20-23). With Israel refusing to convert in early Acts, God could not reach Gentiles. So, with Saul of Tarsus’ (Paul’s) conversion in Acts chapter 9, God instituted a program that He had kept secret since the world began. Salvation would come to us Gentiles through Christ’s shed blood without Israel!

Romans 11:11,12: “[11] I say then, Have they [Israel] stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. [12] Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?”

Through Paul’s Gospel—Jesus Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again (1 Corinthians 15:3,4)—we have access to God by faith. May we study Romans through Philemon to learn through Paul’s ministry what God expects of us as members of the Church the Body of Christ!

Knowing Dispensational Bible Study

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

“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).

Yea, “But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness” (verse 16).

When you look at the professing church, so-called Christianity, do you wonder why there are so many varying ideas? Why the major and starkly different views about salvation from sins, water baptism, confession of sins, end-times, tithing, spiritual gifts, prayer, Sabbath-day keeping, and living as a believer on a daily basis? Amazingly, the Bible teaches assorted views about all of these topics!

In heaven, there will be no such confusion, denominationalism, lost people pretending to be Christians, and false teachers. In heaven, how will God settle all the confusion? Simply put, He will use today’s Scripture, applying it to every issue and belief. He will thus rid the Body of Christ of “profane and vain babblings,” its doctrinal ungodliness!

Throughout human history, God has spoken different things to different people: these various sets of divine instructions are “dispensations.” The doctrine that God wants us to believe and follow today is “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” (Ephesians 3:2). Our dispensation was given to the Apostle Paul, God’s spokesman to us (Romans 11:13). We must “rightly divide the word of truth,” taking special care to separate Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, from the rest of the Bible. In Paul’s 13 books alone, we find our doctrine, identity, duty, walk, and destiny as members of the Church the Body of Christ. Via the mystery program (Romans 16:25,26), God will use us in the heavenly places for His glory (Ephesians 1:20-23). The remaining 63 Bible books are the prophetic program (Acts 3:21), God’s plans to form and use Israel for His glory on the Earth (Exodus 19:5,6). We study all of the Bible, but we do not confuse ourselves with Israel. We do not grab her verses and force them into our dispensation.

God will end the confusion one day, but His Word rightly divided allows us to end the confusion right here and right now! Will we be brave enough to toss out our denominationalism, fickle opinions, and traditions of men, and embrace God’s pure Word?

For more information about dispensational Bible study, you may see: https://333wordsofgrace.wordpress.com/whats-dispensational-bible-study/.

333’s 1500th – Renewed Minds

Thursday, July 9, 2015

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1,2 KJV).

Praise our Lord Jesus Christ! We have reached yet another ministry milestone!

For 1500 consecutive days now, God’s Word has renewed our minds daily. (Today’s Scripture was the text for our 100th study. Since then, we have had 1400 Bible studies.) It has been quite a learning experience, has it not? The Holy Spirit Himself has taught us His Holy Word. Scholarship, denominational doctrines, and all the rest were not the issue. Hence, we have had God’s Word work in our lives for His glory. Remember, there is no power of God apart from the rightly divided Word of God. We cannot make God do something He is not doing today, but we can learn and rejoice in what He is doing today.

These past 1500 days, faithful Father God has saved us from a wide range of doctrinal errors. We allowed Him to teach us through the Apostle Paul what He wants us to do. Also, we allowed Him to use the rest of the Bible to teach us how He has used the nation Israel and will use Israel yet future.

Dear readers, it has been our privilege to share with you what “little” we have learned, that you may share with others what you have learned. As we are witnessing great social changes and an unprecedented moral deterioration, we need to remember that we are not here to change the culture. This world is headed toward the seven-year Tribulation. It will not get better until Jesus Christ returns. Until He does, we need to be faithful in teaching and preaching these precious truths to others, that they may be rescued from this evil culture as well.

Now, to the glory of God’s grace, we open our fourth 500-study unit…. 🙂

Four Verses to Bible Understanding

Wednesday, July 8, 2015

“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).

This is the first verse in Bible understanding. What are three others?

When one scans Christendom’s thousands of contradictory denominations, one is more likely to forsake the Bible because all hope in understanding it is abandoned. Faith destroyed, people grow angry with God. Some may turn to atheism, agnosticism, or some other Bible skepticism. They may embrace other world religions.

Dear friend, today’s Scripture and two of its companion passages will save you a literal lifetime of apostasy, burden, confusion, and disappointment. Yes, these verses are largely unknown—hence the widespread confusion!—but they will help you if you let them. Your Bible understanding will be totally revolutionized. Many years ago I experienced it and countless others testify that the following is the key to Bible understanding.

We are to “study” and “rightly divide” the Bible (today’s Scripture), but what does “rightly divide” mean? Rather than running to a commentary, a Greek lexicon, or a priest or preacher, we can go to God Himself. Peter preached in Acts 3:21: “[Jesus] 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.” Contrast this with what Paul wrote in Romans 16:25,26: “[25] 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, [26] But now is made manifest….”

Father God kept some information secret (“mystery”) while He was revealing other information (“prophecy”). In Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, God finally revealed the secret. Outside of Paul’s writings, that secret is still a secret. Therefore, Paul’s doctrine starkly differs from the rest of the Bible. Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13) and Jesus Christ gave him “the Dispensation of the Grace of God” so he could give it to us (Ephesians 3:1-3). Let us study all of the Bible, but let us mainly focus on Paul’s writings to understand and do God’s will for us today!

Preach the Word!

Tuesday, July 7, 2015

“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine” (2 Timothy 4:2 KJV).

Dear brother, dear sister, your #1 priority is to “preach the Word!”

Have you ever heard someone justify a local church or ministry by talking about its philanthropic endeavors? Giving to the poor, opening and maintaining homeless shelters and orphanages, sending relief to disaster-stricken areas, holding blood and food drives, and so on. They do not praise the doctrine taught there (they probably do not know it), just the duty done there (the main emphasis is religious busyness). While we have no interest whatsoever in criticizing kindness, we do intend to recall priorities God has instructed us Christians to fulfill. Our primary reason for being here on Earth is not to help the poor, operate homeless shelters, send aid to foreign countries, and collect goods for others.

When I hear about churches and ministries helping the disadvantaged, I hear about how lost people are given food, clothes, shelter, and other commodities. And you know what? Many of them—though now fed, now clothed, and now sheltered—are still lost and going to hell! That which matters most—the Gospel of the Grace of God—is ignored while we worry about giving a smile! We provide them garments of cotton and polyester but we fail to tell them how to be clothed in God’s righteousness! They benefit from our blood drives but they do not have Jesus Christ’s blood credited to their accounts! Their physical bodies get relief while their souls are sick and dying! We give them physical food to help them live another day, while they die and go to hell for lack of spiritual food!

God’s will is, “All men be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). Lost people should have the Gospel of Grace preached to them (Christ’s death for our sins, buried, and raised again for our justification). Saved people should have sound dispensational Bible study taught to them (Paul’s epistles apply to us, everything else in Scripture is God’s Word to Israel). These are our two priorities. Yea, the eternal Word of God in the eternal souls of men! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Did God ‘rape’ Mary?”

Bound in False Religion 94 Years

Monday, July 6, 2015

“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 KJV).

How can today’s Scripture enable us to avoid a literal century of religious bondage?

On Independence Day, my parents and I visited an elderly family member. Born in 1921, the dear soul is 94 years old! Although afflicted with some health issues, her mind is still clear and recalls nearly a century of family history with ease. In fact, she still lives in her home alone—the same house her husband built for them 70 years ago. She has outlived him by 60 years!

While we visited, she mentioned certain works-religion topics that peaked the interest of my parents and myself. Time certainly flew by once we asked her to get her Bible. Some four hours were spent between letting her read assorted verses out-loud and us explaining them to her. While she has a very limited education, she recognized that her denomination had lied to her all of her life… all 94 years of it! There were verses in that Bible that she had never read. No one had ever taught them to her. She had never actually read about Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork, and Satan’s policy of evil and deception using vain religious ceremonies!

Not surprisingly, after she read those verses, she mindlessly repeated contradictory church tradition. After all, if you heard something repeated for 90 years, what else could you say but that? She could quote a denominational doctrine but not a Bible verse. Today’s Scripture was one portion we had her see for herself. Just because someone claims to be sent from Jesus Christ, that does not make their message trustworthy. Her Holy Bible, not “the church,” was the final authority. I think that poor soul heard more truth in those four hours than what she has heard in her nearly 100 years of living! Nothing like spending Independence Day talking about the liberty God offers us in Christ! 🙂

Christ’s Calvary Crucifixion Covers Christians

Monday, June 29, 2015

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7 KJV).

Certainly, Christ’s Calvary crucifixion covers Christians!

In and of ourselves, there is nothing special about us Christians. Who we are in Jesus Christ, now there is something special!! We have the privilege of standing before Father God in the manner Adam did before the Fall! In Christ, we have the same standing before Father God as Jesus Christ Himself! A very exciting truth, one that precious, precious, precious few believers are ever taught (sadly).

Denominations always instruct them to strain and strive to have a right standing before God. They fail to realize that God places them in Christ at the very top of the ladder. Instead, they become busy in religion, desperately trying to reach the top rung Jesus Christ already gave to them! When you consider it, it makes your head spin how far off religious tradition brings one from the Holy Bible rightly divided.

What Israel has to wait for at Jesus Christ’s Second Coming (Acts 3:19-21), we have now received the atonement (Romans 5:11). When we trust the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished crosswork, the Holy Spirit places us into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). We then share Jesus Christ’s identity (2 Corinthians 5:17). We are just as close to Father God as Jesus Christ is—unconditional acceptance (grace).

It is when we come to the Apostle Paul in the Bible that we learn that God’s salvation is available as a free gift to all men (1 Timothy 2:3-7; Titus 1:1-3). What was once reserved for Israel is now being offered to every person in every nation under heaven today. Rich or poor, black or white, male or female, Jesus Christ’s merits are available to all. Jesus Christ is “the Saviour of all men, specially those that believe” (1 Timothy 4:10). While it is unto all, salvation is only upon all them who believe (Romans 3:21-28). Lost people can come to Calvary’s cross by faith, and Father God will welcome them with open arms, no matter what they have done. There is nothing that Jesus Christ’s blood cannot cover.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is there ‘healing in the Atonement?’”

When Reality Catches Up

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

“For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (Romans 8:22,23 KJV).

Paul reaffirms that the Christian is not promised good health in this the Dispensation of Grace!

Scanning a newspaper sometime ago, I read the “obituaries” page and noticed a rather peculiar item—the death notice of the wife of a local “faith healing” pastor! (Her cause of death unknown.) Or, consider the well-known “faith healer” who was recently suffering cardiopulmonary issues and had to be hospitalized. More lately, a “faith healer” preaching on the internet recounted the time when he experienced influenza (and there was no instant healing for him!). All the “healing” claims aside, even the “faith healers” purchase medical insurance, grow sick, seek medical help, and, yes, they eventually die, too.

Dearly beloved, we can deceive ourselves into believing “healing” testimonies and attending “healing” crusades, or we can just believe today’s Scripture. As long as our Dispensation of Grace is operating, there can be no divine intervention regarding physical healing: “The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.” Someone may object and say that this verse does not apply to us Christians. The next verse of today’s Scripture answers them: “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.”

Our physical bodies have not yet been redeemed. They are still subject to sin, sickness, and death (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Thankfully, by God’s grace, we have immune systems, medical professionals, and prescription drugs. Even when these are not enough, and we must succumb to physical death, in Christ, we could not be headed to a better place! Above all, no matter what type of sickness or trouble, God’s grace is truly sufficient, surely enough, for us to bear it, that it not destroy us spiritually (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Spiritual fortitude—may we have it when we have bodily illness, that misery not have us (Romans 5:1-5)! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Was Saul a pastor, a prophet, or an evangelist?”

Students, of Teachers or Scriptures

Monday, June 22, 2015

“Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his [Jesus’] disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples” (John 9:28 KJV).

Similar pompous language is heard throughout Christendumb!

An emerging Christian writer was recently asked why he had such a strong Scriptural case for his uncommon end-times thesis. After all, most “Biblical prophecy scholars” have been teaching another position for decades, and if “Bible scholarship [?]” says so then it must be (pardon the pun) “gospel truth!” How could he—a “nobody”—be correct in quoting Scripture? Why disregard the many well-known “experts” who have preached and taught decades-old traditional eschatological ideas… without verses? How could “scholars” be wrong, much of the “Church” be wrong, and he be right by quoting verses? Did they not read those verses? “You know,” he replied, “I think we have been more students of our teachers than students of our Scriptures.” Upon hearing that, I could have leapt from my chair!

It is not uncommon to hear—“‘Dr. So-and-So’ says this verse is ‘better’ translated…”—“I go by what ‘Brother So-and-So’ teaches from that passage”—“My church’s teaching authority interprets the Bible for me”—“I will believe my study Bible’s notes long before I will believe my Bible text!”

Today’s Scripture is a case-in-point that Christendom is no different from Israel. They follow personalities and celebrities, religion and liturgy, but they do not value God’s Word and cannot see its simple truths. When convenient, conducive to church tradition, a verse is quoted. Remember, Israel studied Moses’ writings for 1,500 years and still overlooked the Messiah about whom Moses wrote. Nevertheless, they strictly followed the Mosaic Law—tithes, Sabbath day, kosher foods, et al. Similarly, Bible readers today still casually scan Holy Writ to find what they want to believe (and leave behind the divine words they prefer were not there). Why? They all are too busy following, mimicking, and believing apostate leaders!

Had those of today’s Scripture truly been Moses’ disciples, they would have let Moses’ inspired words teach them that Jesus was their fulfillment! Likewise, had all of today’s church members truly been Jesus Christ’s disciples, had they truly been Bible believers, they would have believed the Bible and the words of Jesus Christ spoken therein.