Category: False Teaching

A Better Baptism #1

Wednesday, September 18, 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!

Several years ago, while Mom and I were still attending services at a local denominational assembly, we participated in a church-building cleaning. Many members had come to sweep and vacuum floors, do light maintenance and repairs, and so on. Mom and I had been assigned to clean the baptistery, so we were wearing old clothes and rubber boots. With the basin drained, we climbed inside and began to scrub the interior with bleach. I can still remember the feeling of awe as I cleaned on my hands and knees. It was like I was closer to God, or doing His work. A decade later, I look back with a renewed mind and shake my head, “What deception! What ignorance! What silliness!”

Indeed, there is not a soul in all of Christendom who has not heard an appeal to be water baptized at some point. We are all familiar with at least one mode—sprinkling, pouring, or immersion. Many baptizers vie to do the deed—priest, preacher, deacon, bishop, or evangelist. Various formulas are spoken—especially “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit” or “In the name of Jesus Christ.” Who should be water baptized—infants and adults, or adults only? What immense controversy and abounding confusion! Churches may not even accept people who were baptized in other assemblies. They might demand a re-baptism! Someone once called water baptism “religious TNT.” Doubtless, the title is fitting. It is an explosive topic, and tempers flare. Frankly, the only agreement denominationalists have concerning water baptism is to agree to disagree!

Unfortunately, sinful man has so needlessly complicated the Scriptures. No matter the topic, someone always has a denominational agenda and they will eagerly sacrifice Bible verses to achieve their end. Therefore, most of us, sadly, have never been told the plain truth concerning water baptism. We have heard the denominations and sects speak, but we have not heard the Bible speak. Here, that will be different….

Idolatry and Insanity! #6

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

“Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them” (2 Chronicles 25:14 KJV).

How are King Amaziah’s actions here most absurd? What application can we make?

The Bible says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 19 and 20: “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We have the indwelling Spirit of God, so we should act like it!

Dearly beloved, it simply does not make sense—yea, it is downright foolishness—for us to return to the slave market of sin. Almighty God Himself, at Calvary’s cross, has fully paid the price to free us from sin’s dominion. He liberated us from the power of sin… so should we return to it? No!! As saints, we are called to a life of holiness/separation and good works (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14). Yet, how often we revert to our former identity and behavior!! Like Amaziah, we know such nonsense failed us before, but the sin that conquered us deceives us so we return to it (thus failing again).

As Christ died and resurrected, so do we according to Romans chapter 6: “[11] Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. [12] Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. [13] Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. [14] For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” This entire chapter and the next two chapters are exceptional doctrine on the subject.

Brethren, let us read and believe these verses, thereby avoiding idolatry and its accompanying insanity!

Idolatry and Insanity! #5

Monday, September 16, 2019

“Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them” (2 Chronicles 25:14 KJV).

How are King Amaziah’s actions here most absurd? What application can we make?

When we place our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we indicate a desire to do God’s will—at least to some extent. We finally realize we have been wasting our life and energy thus far, ignoring our Creator. Now, it is time to stop living for self, self, self! Wealth, fame, possessions, education, sex, drugs, and so on, did not satisfy us. Seeking meaning and happiness in all places but the right one, we were really in unfathomable bondage. Bothered by failure, monotony, and hopelessness; we lacked peace and security amidst life’s pressures, disappointments, and uncertainties.

However (!), we saw the brilliant light of God’s marvelous grace and love exhibited in the Gospel—Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). When we trusted Him alone, we became heirs of eternal life. We began to understand the victory we have in Christ. Excited about our new identity and new life, having God’s joy and peace, we were relieved to be freed from sin. Alas, as the evil world system appealed to us before, so it enticed us to return to the old mindset and old lifestyle. Sin again deceived us!

Likewise, Amaziah enjoyed victory with JEHOVAH God… but never completely broke away from worldliness. He did not have a perfect heart, one committed to the LORD God; it was therefore quite easy for him to lapse into overt pagan idolatry. This is true of much of the world today—even the vast majority of professing Christians. To a large degree, they ignore the one true God who can give them ultimate victory. They prefer to worship and serve the creature (themselves or similar beings) when they should be allegiant to their Creator. What weaklings we are, and yet we worship ourselves as though we were the Almighty. Preposterous….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How can man rebel against God after the Millennium?”

Idolatry and Insanity! #4

Sunday, September 15, 2019

“Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them” (2 Chronicles 25:14 KJV).

How are King Amaziah’s actions here most absurd? What application can we make?

Amaziah knew right from wrong. When God censured him for seeking military aid from the (apostate) northern 10 tribes of Israel, the king changed his mind and asked them to depart. He retained his Judaean army. “[11] And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir ten thousand. [12] And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.”

The Edomites were unable to stand against Amaziah because the one true God was on his side. Yet, Amaziah, ironically, does something quite stupid in today’s Scripture: “Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them.” Verse 15 adds: “Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand?”

As preposterous as it sounds, Amaziah began to worship and pray to the very gods of the Gentiles he had just defeated! These powerless idols captivated him to such a degree that he ignored the one true God who had given him victory over them, and began to serve them as though they were worthy of his time! (You can read the rest of the chapter to see what ultimately happens to Amaziah.) We need not be so hard on him, for several billion people even now follow in his footsteps….

Idolatry and Insanity! #3

Saturday, September 14, 2019

“Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them” (2 Chronicles 25:14 KJV).

How are King Amaziah’s actions here most absurd? What application can we make?

In addition to assembling an army from his own kingdom, Judah, Amaziah recruits military assistance from apostate Israel (northern tribes). Almighty God, of course, frowns up this, and Amaziah changes course

Again: “[7] But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. [8] But if thou wilt go, do it; be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. [9] And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.

“[10] Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim [northern tribe], to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. [11] And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the children of Seir [Edomites] ten thousand. [12] And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces.”

Amaziah obeyed God’s Word and separated from the apostate Jews up north. Thus, the LORD was with him as he ought against the Edomites to the south. These descendants of Esau—Jacob’s twin brother—are relatives of the Jews (Genesis 25:19-26; Genesis 36:8,9). JEHOVAH God causes Amaziah to triumph over the Edomites, but, as today’s Scripture shows, Amaziah is not at all grateful….

Idolatry and Insanity! #2

Friday, September 13, 2019

“Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them” (2 Chronicles 25:14 KJV).

How are King Amaziah’s actions here most absurd? What application can we make?

Second Kings 14:3 says: “And he [Amaziah] did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, yet not like David his father: he did according to all things as Joash his father did.” We re-read the following: “And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart” (verse 2, the context of today’s Scripture). Pay attention to the description, “but not with a perfect heart.” Amaziah served the one true God only halfheartedly.

Joash/Jehoash his father walked in the ways of the LORD God as long as his priestly mentor lived. Second Kings 12:2: “And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him.” Joash was responsible for a major religious reform and spiritual awakening in Judah. Chiefly, he oversaw repairs to the Jerusalem Temple (see 2 Chronicles 24:4-16). However, he drifted from JEHOVAH God, led the Southern Kingdom (Judah) to be likewise idolatrous, and his servants ultimately conspired and assassinated him (verses 18-27).

At age 25, Amaziah became King of Judah. Unfortunately, he followed in his father’s footsteps: he started off right but waxed apostate. After Amaziah assembled an army of the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin (verse 5—the context of today’s Scripture), we read: “[6] He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. [7] But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. [8] But if thou wilt go, do it; be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down.”

JEHOVAH God thus rebukes foolish Amaziah….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Are there levels of Hell?”

Idolatry and Insanity! #1

Thursday, September 12, 2019

“Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them” (2 Chronicles 25:14 KJV).

How are King Amaziah’s actions here most absurd? What application can we make?

We begin in verse 1: “[1] Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. [2] And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. [3] Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. [4] But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.

“[5] Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. [6] He hired also an hundred thousand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver.

“[7] But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. [8] But if thou wilt go, do it; be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. [9] And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this.”

Let us keep reading….

Understanding Dark Sentences

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up” (Daniel 8:23 KJV).

Who is this king? In what sense is he “understanding dark sentences?”

Our King James translators rendered the Hebrew for “dark sentences” as “riddle” throughout Judges chapter 14: Samson devised a puzzle to outwit the Philistines, but his treacherous wife Delilah nagged him to finally reveal the answer (verses 12-19). Recall the “hard questions” the Queen of Sheba brought to Jerusalem to test and define King Solomon’s wisdom (1 Kings 10:1; 2 Chronicles 9:1). Psalms (49:4; 78:2) twice refers to “dark sayings,” or “parables.” These enigmatic statements are profound, whose depths not immediately grasped. Remember the parables of Jesus Christ’s earthly ministry (cf. Psalm 78:2 and Matthew 13:34,35).

Daniel the Prophet saw, through Divine eyes, a king arising to reign over the nation Israel. That politician will not only be brutal, he will be endowed with satanic wisdom. As a philosopher, he will “understand dark sentences” (see 1 Corinthians chapters 1–3). Under Satan’s control, he too will be wise (Ezekiel 28:12), “subtil” (sneaky—Genesis 3:1), and noteworthy for his “cunning craftiness” (Ephesians 4:14). These “wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11)— schemes or plots—dominate the world system even now, but they will culminate in one man. He is “the man of sin… the son of perdition” (2 Thessalonians 2:3), the personification of Satan’s lie program.

Very few understand the fact that the Book of Proverbs is God’s wisdom given to Israel so she can outsmart Satan and the Antichrist: “[1] The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel; [2] To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding; [3] To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity; [4] To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion. [5] A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: [6] To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings. [7] The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

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Children of Light #5

Thursday, August 29, 2019

“While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them” (John 12:36 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is one of three instances of the expression “children of light” in the Bible. What is the significance of this title?

Most Jews rejected the Lord Jesus: they were uninterested in being “the children of light.” Since they refused to believe on Him, God intervened and made them unable to believe on Him. The light of Christ’s earthly ministry was gradually withdrawn, and Israel was plunged into greater spiritual darkness (see verses 37-41, what follows today’s Scripture). Just a few days later, they demanded He be crucified as a common criminal, and He died on Calvary’s cross (see Acts 3:13-18). He resurrected victoriously and ascended back to Heaven still spurned!

Leaving Christ’s earthly ministry and entering early Acts, God lifts the blindness from Israel. Christ commissions the 12 Apostles to preach and convert Israel to Him. Even during this renewed opportunity of repentance—God wanting them to change their mind concerning His Son, moving them from unbelief to faith—Israel persisted in doubt and disobedience. By Acts chapter 7, Israel falls before God, and He sets them aside (exactly how He treated the nations back at the Tower of Babel over 20 centuries earlier in Genesis chapter 11).

In chapter 9 of Acts, Christ reached down in grace and peace to save His chief enemy, Saul of Tarsus. Many years later, Saul recounts in chapter 26: “[16] But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; [17] Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, [18] To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

God will reach the whole (darkened) world—even fallen Israel—through a new Gospel message. He still purposes to create “children of light….”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “How is the Holy Spirit ‘the Comforter?’”

Children of Light #4

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

“While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them” (John 12:36 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is one of three instances of the expression “children of light” in the Bible. What is the significance of this title?

Romans chapter 2 remarks: “[17] Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, [18] And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; [19] And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, [20] An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.” Israel had been given spiritual light in the form of God’s Word (chiefly, the Mosaic Law), but, like the nations earlier, they chose to walk in Satan’s darkness instead.

Christ conducted His earthly ministry to recover them from that darkness. Zacharias, father of John the Baptist, spoke of Israel’s coming Messiah: “Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78,79). Once Israel would, by faith, participate in God’s “light” program, He would shine in and through them and reach the pagan Gentiles worldwide.

Christ spoke to this end in Matthew chapter 5: “[14] Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid…. [16] Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” Yet, they declined. They preferred to be like the unenlightened Gentiles….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Can you explain, ‘They be blind leaders of the blind?’”