Category: False Teaching

Whom Doth Thou Really Follow? #3

Sunday, January 15, 2012

“Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28,29 KJV).

In the context of today’s Scripture, Jesus heals a blind man. After he appears before the unbelieving Pharisees, they summon his parents to confirm his former blindness (verses 18-21). His parents fear being cast out of the synagogue, so they avoid admitting Jesus Christ healed him (verses 21-23). Contrariwise, their son boldly holds to God’s truth, refusing Israel’s vain religion. Thus, the Pharisees “reviled [insulted] him” (today’s Scripture). How we Pauline dispensationalists face the same persecution today!

Most Jews—especially Israel’s religious leaders—refused to trust in Jesus as their Messiah. Any Jew who embraced Jesus as Messiah was alienated by his friends and family, for the Jews who followed Jesus Christ went counter to Israel’s apostate religious system. The parents of the man in today’s Scripture feared losing their popularity, so they did not confess Christ. Eventually, the Pharisees cast out the man for following Jesus (verse 34).

Similarly, if you have trusted exclusively in Christ Jesus, and you are not relying on your good works for salvation, you are going contrary to the prevalent works-religion system of our day. The lost world avoids you because you are God’s child. Moreover, if you study and believe the King James Bible “rightly divided,” as 2 Timothy 2:15 teaches, you become even less popular. The denominationalists and religionists do not want you either!

We follow our Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Since most of Christendom abhors dispensational Bible study, they keep their distance from us. The denominationalists and religionists treat us the same way the wicked Pharisees treated the Jewish believers—criticize and ostracize! Like the Pharisees, they reject sound Bible doctrine and keep their tradition. Moreover, the non-religious lost world rejects us too, for we trust in Jesus Christ while they trust in their worthless idols.

Let us continue following Paul as he follows Christ, even as they criticize and ostracize! 🙂

Whom Doth Thou Really Follow? #2

Saturday, January 14, 2012

“Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28,29 KJV).

In Jesus’ day, many Jews claimed to follow Moses (claimed to follow JEHOVAH). Yet, when JEHOVAH came in the flesh, Jesus Christ, their hypocrisy was exposed. By rejecting Jesus Christ, they openly admitted to not following Moses—ultimately, to never having followed JEHOVAH.

Today, there are over two billion professing Christians. Are they really following Jesus Christ as they claim? According to the Bible, most are not! The Pharisees rejected Moses’ words regarding Jesus to keep their tradition. Likewise, religionists today fully ignore when Jesus claimed He spoke to Israel only in the Four Gospel Records (Matthew 10:5-7; Matthew 15:24; John 4:22; Romans 15:8). Why? That they may keep their tradition!

Christendom today pledges its allegiance, not to Bible’s authority alone, but to the Bible and church tradition. Can you just hear these “Christians in name only?” They echo the Pharisees’ religious hypocrisy (see today’s Scripture):  “The Bible says Paul is our pattern, but we prefer our religious tradition that mandates we follow Jesus’ earthly ministry! Thou art Paul’s disciple, but we are Jesus’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Jesus: as for this fellow [Paul], we know not from whence he is.” Sad!

If you want to follow Jesus Christ today, you must, must, must follow the Apostle Paul as he follows Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13) and our “pattern” (1 Timothy 1:15,16). Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, wrote, “Be ye followers of me” (1 Corinthians 4:16; cf. Philippians 3:17). We do not follow Jesus Christ after His earthly ministry (2 Corinthians 5:16). Rather, we follow Jesus Christ after His heavenly ministry, as He reveals Himself in Paul’s 13 epistles, Romans through Philemon.

By not following Paul, the members of Christendom’s 38,000+ denominations are exposing their unbelief—they are not following Christ! They follow the “tradition of men,” not Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:8; cf. Mark 7:9).

So, whom doth thou really follow?

Whom Doth Thou Really Follow? #1

Friday, January 13, 2012

“Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is” (John 9:28,29 KJV).

For approximately three years Jesus Christ preached to the nation Israel. He performed miracles (raised the dead, healed the sick, cast out devils) to verify that doctrine He taught. Alas, most Jews ignored their Messiah as He clearly demonstrated the powers of the world to come (Israel’s earthly kingdom) (Hebrews 2:3-5; cf. Isaiah 35:4-10).

In the context of today’s Scripture, John chapter 9, Jesus heals a blind man (verses 1-7). From verses 8-34, Jews debate whether or not Jesus performed the miracle using God’s power. Eventually, the man Jesus healed is brought before unbelieving Pharisees. These religious leaders of Israel then attempt to discredit the miracle and intimidate him into silence.

According to today’s Scripture, they insult the man and then—swelling with religious pride—claim, “Thou art his [Jesus’] disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto Moses: as for this fellow [Jesus], we know not from whence he is.” What pathetic hypocrites!

Jesus declared (John 5:45,46): “Do not think that I will accuse you [unbelieving Jews] to the Father: there is one that accuseth you, even Moses, in whom ye trust. For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” If these Pharisees really followed Moses (and thus, God), they would have followed Jesus, for Moses foretold Jesus’ coming (Deuteronomy 18:15,18; cf. Acts 3:22,23).

In John 1:45, Philip said, “We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” The Pharisees knew the Old Testament, yet they willingly ignored what Moses wrote of Jesus Christ (cf. John 5:39)—to retain their vain religious tradition, they pled ignorance. They claimed to be following God, yet they were not. Like today, many claim to be Christians, but just how many are really Christians?

Free Thyself from the Yoke of Bondage

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

“Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?” (Acts 15:10 KJV).

The “yoke” of today’s Scripture, according to Acts 15:1-5 and Galatians 5:1-4, is the Mosaic Law (physical circumcision and Judaism). In the Old Testament, God commanded the nation Israel to keep His covenant with them and obey the Law of Moses (the “Mitzvot,” the 613 laws of Judaism). What a burden! (They failed, by the way!)

The Mosaic Law was perfect because it was God’s laws: “Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Romans 7:12). If the Law is “good,” how can it be “a yoke of bondage?” Because we sinners are not good. The Law is “weak through [our] flesh” (Romans 8:3). Whether saved or lost, we cannot keep the Law in our own strength.

Throughout Romans chapter 7, Paul, even as a saved man, admits he cannot obey the Mosaic Law. Paul concludes the chapter in defeat (verse 24), “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?”

God’s purpose in giving Israel the Mosaic Law was to show every human was a sinner, Jew and Gentile (Romans 3:9-20). God has already proven that we cannot measure up to His standard of perfection. Consequently, our performance and our righteousness are not the issue today.

Romans 3:21,22 says, “But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifest… Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon them that believe….” Through Calvary’s cross, God did away with Israel’s performance-based system, and replaced it with our grace system (Romans 6:14,15; Colossians 2:13,14). As long as we Christians are submissive to the Holy Spirit working in us, and not giving heed to our sinful Adamic nature, God will work in us to generate the righteousness that the Law demanded (Romans 8:1-15; Galatians 5:16-26).

The only way to enjoy the grace life is to cast off works-religion and legalism. Cast off the “yoke of bondage!”

Cunningly Devised Fables

Sunday, January 8, 2012

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty” (2 Peter 1:16 KJV).

Satan has been working for thousands of years. Spiritual warfare between good and evil begins in the denominational leadership. Ungodly, lost church leaders with religious clout entice the masses to follow them… to hell! Jesus explained, “Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14).

Religious authorities concoct nonsensical stories that play on gullible people’s emotions in order to gain followers and their savings. Last May, Harold Camping was the latest “date setter” for the end of the world. For years individuals have been calculating elaborate timelines that document the end of world, only to be mocked when the dates fail to come to pass. How people ridicule God because of these fools, too! But, the “cunningly devised fables” grow more and more far-fetched.

Tales of tumors miraculously falling from infirm bodies, Mary appearing in treetops, stigmata seen on hands and feet, weeping statues, “Holy Ghost” encounters, relics, and grotto shrines are but a few of religion’s “cunningly devised fables” used to deceive sincere souls. These “doctrines of devils” distract people from the truth of God’s Word, and because these stories are so preposterous, they cause people to doubt the Bible’s testimony (1 Timothy 4:1-3; cf. Ephesians 4:14; 2 Peter 2:1-3).

Beloved, the Bible warns us about people “beguiling [tricking] us with enticing [nice-sounding] words” (Colossians 2:4). The story appears to be godly, but do not be fooled. Compare it with the Bible rightly divided.

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Peter reassures his Jewish readers that he did not fabricate the account of Jesus Christ appearing in all His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-8; Mark 9:2-8; Luke 9:28-36). Unlike the “signs, miracles, and wonders” of religion, it really did happen—visibly, physically, and literally.

As long as we believe the King James Bible rightly divided, we too “have not followed cunningly devised fables.”

The LORD is Exalted Far Above All gods #2

Saturday, January 7, 2012

“For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods” (Psalm 97:9 KJV).

The LORD is “the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy” (Isaiah 57:15). “Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable… The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy. The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works” (Psalm 145:3,8,9).

Our finite human minds struggle to grasp Someone as magnificent and exalted as JEHOVAH our Creator because He differs from what we judge as “normal.” JEHOVAH is transcendent, existing independently of everything. He is everlasting, having neither beginning nor end. The LORD is sinless and holy. We never see Him physically or hear Him audibly. He exists outside of our universe.

Someone whose thoughts astronomically surpass our mental capabilities, whose ways (manners, behavior) are far grander and more complex than our simple activities (Isaiah 55:8,9). A Being who could devise a magnificent plan that would extend into the eons of eternity future, who could speak forth quadrillions of bodies into existence and then arrange them to form intricate systems (Hebrews 11:3), and finally set them into motion for His glory to accomplish that plan (Psalm 19:1)! How can He relate to us scrawny mortals?

Amazingly, JEHOVAH left that glory behind to become one of us! He “humbled Himself” and became “a Man of no reputation” (Philippians 2:5-11). Why? To die and shed His innocent blood for us to receive forgiveness of our sins. Wow… no idol ever did that!

Among the world’s gods, JEHOVAH alone can save you because JEHOVAH alone died to save you! Will you trust in the shed blood and resurrection of JEHOVAH (Jesus Christ), thereby receiving eternal salvation? Please do.

“Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne… confounded be all they that serve graven images [manmade idols], that boast themselves of idols: worship him [JEHOVAH Jesus Christ], all ye gods” (Psalm 97:2,6). Hallelujah! Praise the LORD indeed—He will always be exalted far above all gods!

The LORD is Exalted Far Above All gods #1

Friday, January 6, 2012

“For thou, LORD, art high above all the earth: thou art exalted far above all gods” (Psalm 97:9 KJV).

Saints, we serve the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator God of heaven and earth. Today’s Scripture declares the praises of JEHOVAH [“the LORD”], the one true God. The world’s idols—wealth, drugs, sex, statues, paintings, and wafer-gods—do not compare!

During her centuries of Egyptian bondage, Israel was surrounded by the worship of 2,000 pagan gods and goddesses. Consequently, Jews forgot JEHOVAH, the God of their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But, JEHOVAH proved His superiority over those pagan deities by destroying Egypt with plagues of creatures like lice, frogs, and flies—the very things Egyptians worshipped (Exodus chapters 7-11)! Pagan gods Baal (1 Kings 18:21-40) and Dagon (1 Samuel 5:1-9) were no match for JEHOVAH either.

In 1 Corinthians 8:4, the Apostle Paul discussed eating foods offered to idols: “…We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.” Pagan idols are dead and worthless—“nothing.” Thus, they cannot harm Christians or food. Paul told the pagan Ephesians, worshippers of the goddess Diana, “they be no gods, which are made with hands” (Acts 19:26).

Psalm 115:4-8 explains: “Their [the heathens’/Gentiles’] idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not: they have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not: they have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat” (cf. Deuteronomy 4:28; Psalm 135:15-18; Isaiah 37:19; Isaiah 44:9,10; Jeremiah 10:5). Pagan gods can do nothing for you because they can do nothing at all.

“For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens” (Psalm 96:4,5). Who is the LORD/JEHOVAH, the God exalted far above all gods? “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him [Jesus Christ], and given him a name which is above every name” (Philippians 2:9).

Hast Thou Chosen the Way of Truth? #2

Thursday, January 5, 2012

“I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me” (Psalm 119:30 KJV)

Today’s Scripture reminds me of a conversation I had with Brother “G,” one of my ministry co-laborers. Over 40 years ago, Brother G abandoned paganism and chose to trust in Jesus Christ. A few years ago, I first explained dispensational Bible study to him. Although he initially rejected it, he has since abandoned vain religious tradition and chosen right division. Praise the Lord!

Although Brother G’s soul was saved from hellfire 40 years ago, his soul was just recently saved from false teaching/religious tradition (1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 2:24-26). Lately, Brother G asked me, “Why do we know the treasures of dispensational Bible study, while the Bible ‘scholars’ do not?” My response was simple, “Because we want to know!”

In today’s Scripture, the psalmist declared, “I have chosen the way of truth.” The psalmist rejected vain religious tradition and philosophy. He wanted truth, not error. He cried to God, “Thy judgments have I laid before me!” He preferred God’s “judgments,” God’s conclusions, God’s doctrine, God’s Word (the theme of all 176 verses of Psalm 119).

Lost people today are lost because they choose to remain lost. Christians who embrace religious tradition and reject sound dispensational Bible doctrine choose to remain ignorant. “If any man be ignorant, let him be ignorant” (1 Corinthians 14:38). Some want to know God’s truth, but most are content in religion. God does not send anyone to hell: those who go to hell chose to go there (they willfully rejected the salvation in Christ).

Why are Brother G and I eternally saved from hellfire? We chose to be saved from hellfire by trusting Christ. Why do we know God’s rightly divided Word? We chose to be saved from religious tradition by believing the Bible dispensationally. We exercised free will—God did not force us. We chose “the way of truth”… twice!

Hast thou trusted in Jesus Christ as thy personal Saviour? Hast thou studied and believed the rightly divided King James Bible? Hast thou chosen “the way of truth?” I hope thou hast… twice!

Hast Thou Chosen the Way of Truth? #1

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

“I have chosen the way of truth: thy judgments have I laid before me” (Psalm 119:30 KJV).

When God created mankind, He sought not to make robots. God granted mankind free will—mankind could believe and obey God’s Word, or he could reject it in unbelief and “do his own thing.”

For instance, in the beginning, God gave mankind only two commandments:

  1. “Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:28).
  2. “Of every tree of the garden [of Eden] thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:16,17).

Adam and Eve obeyed commandment #1… sort of. They did procreate, but they did not “subdue the earth” because they utterly broke commandment #2. Instead of ruling earth for God’s glory, mankind willfully sided with Satan, and disobeyed God by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus, mankind lost its God-given dominion, and Satan—“the god of this world”—still rules earth today (Matthew 4:8,9; Luke 4:5-7; 2 Corinthians 4:4).

God strictly charged Adam, who then relayed those commandments to Eve. The Bible says Eve ate the forbidden fruit because she was “deceived;” Adam, however, was “not deceived” (1 Timothy 2:12-15). When Satan confronted Eve in Genesis 3:1-5, Eve could have refused the devil’s enticement. She could have sought Adam’s help, but she preferred Satan’s lies, and ate the forbidden fruit. Adam, who knew better but willfully rejected “the way of truth,” he gave in and ate to please his wife (Genesis 3:6)!

God wants faithful servants, not mindless robots. Hast thou chosen “the way of truth,” as the psalmist in today’s Scripture declares he has done? Have you followed and believed God’s Word “rightly divided?” Or, like Adam and Eve, have you embraced “the way of error,” Satan’s lies?

Three Basic Grace Doctrines

Monday, January 2, 2012

“For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:3,4 KJV).

Today’s Scripture identifies three basic grace doctrines:

  1. WE ARE DEAD WITH CHRIST: Romans 6:6 explains: “Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him [Christ], that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.” Our old Adamic sin nature is “crucified with Christ” (Galatians 2:20). Thus, according to today’s Scripture, we Christians are “dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God.” We are “new creatures in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). We have a new identity and we are a “new man” (Ephesians 2:15).
  2. WE ARE ALIVE WITH CHRIST: Nothing dead can serve God, so after God killed us, severing us from our identity in sinful Adam, God gave us life… His Son’s life! Thus, today’s Scripture says: “Christ, who is our life.” Galatians 2:20 continues: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me….” Philippians 1:21 affirms: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Our Christian life is not our life at all. Actually, it is Christ living His life in and through us! God left us, the Church the Body of Christ, on earth, so He could live His life in us… for the lost world to see. We are the body of Christ, who Himself is God incarnate; thus, since God is living His life through our mortal bodies, we Christians are also “God manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:15,16). The lost world only sees the invisible God by watching us, His visible servants. Wow!
  3. WE WILL APPEAR WITH CHRIST IN GLORY: Finally, today’s Scripture references “our appearing with Christ in glory,” or “our blessed hope, the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). When our earthly ministry ends, and the Body of Christ is complete, the rapture will transition us to heaven’s glory, beginning our eternal ministry there!