Category: Roman Catholicism

Not a Bother to Satan! #3

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14 KJV).

A wise Christian brother observed long ago: “There are some believers whom Satan seldom bothers because they do not cause him too much worry, they do not threaten his program; but strong Christians are always his targets and he puts countless snares and pitfalls in their way.” How appropriate, even today!

Satan does not like God’s truth reaching the masses. So, his evil world system will entice God’s messenger to change the message. If the Christian refuses to apostatize, but rather faithfully continues sharing God’s pure Word with others, then Satan will move from attacking the message to attacking the messenger. The Christian will be persecuted, discouraged, or even killed!

Today’s Scripture describes how Satan had neutralized Israel. Confused and weakened, she was no bother to him anymore. Spiritual ignorance would continue among the Gentiles! But, individual Jews had accepted Jesus as Messiah-King and had separated themselves from their apostate nation. Satan turned his attention to these believers. The Devil and his allies persecuted those believing Jews into the early Acts period. Refusing to change God’s message, those Jewish kingdom believers were thus attacked literally and physically. Israel’s corrupt religious leaders arrested, imprisoned, and even killed Jesus’ followers! That believing remnant in Israel had certainly caused Satan much grief, and God permitted him to take their lives. Nevertheless, they were true to God’s Word to the end.

“Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). As the wise Christian brother wrote decades ago, friend, you attempt to let Christ Jesus live His life in you, and you will learn that Satan will not like it! Still, may you be a bother to Satan! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Do Isaiah 2:4 and Joel 3:10 contradict each other?”

Not a Bother to Satan! #2

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14 KJV).

A wise Christian brother observed long ago: “There are some believers whom Satan seldom bothers because they do not cause him too much worry, they do not threaten his program; but strong Christians are always his targets and he puts countless snares and pitfalls in their way.” How appropriate, even today!

The writer of today’s Scripture, penning it during the Acts period, rebuked Israel of her corporate negligence to learn the lessons of the Old Testament Scriptures. Ignoring the hundreds of prophecies she had heard and read for centuries, Israel had recently and publicly rejected her Messiah and demanded the Roman government crucify Him. Israel had utterly failed to learn God’s Word! Since the Jews did not know God’s Word, they would be unable to teach it to the Gentiles as God intended (cf. Isaiah 60:1-3; Zechariah 8:20-23). God had called Israel to be separate, so Israel could be a light to the nations. Yet, Israel allowed Satan to deceive her with religious tradition, pagan idolatry, et cetera. Down she went!

Sadly, the professing church finds itself in the same awful predicament today. It too has not learned the lessons of the Old Testament. It has not learned from Israel’s mistakes. It too has abandoned God’s Word to it. Like national Israel, most church members today can only handle spiritual milk, Bible basics. They ask the same old questions they have asked for centuries. Since they never approach God’s Word rightly divided, they will keep asking those same childish questions and never get meaningful answers. Instead of being mature adults in Scripture, able to stomach spiritual meat, they must be taught rather than teach! As Israel will become one day, may they also become a bother to Satan!

Not a Bother to Satan! #1

Monday, August 8, 2016

“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (Hebrews 5:12-14 KJV).

A wise Christian brother observed long ago: “There are some believers whom Satan seldom bothers because they do not cause him too much worry, they do not threaten his program; but strong Christians are always his targets and he puts countless snares and pitfalls in their way.” How appropriate, even today!

Recall 2 Timothy 2:26: “And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” All lost people are “taken captive by [Satan] at his will” because they are not living as God intended humans to live. God created mankind to fellowship with Him! But, sin entered through Adam’s disobedience, and now, all people are born in sin, cut off from God. Denominational Christians are “taken captive by [Satan] at his own will” because they are not living as God intended Christians to live. They are to be filled with His Word, not traditions of men!

In accordance with 1 Timothy 2:4—“God will have all men to be saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth”—we have a two-fold task as Bible-believing, Pauline-dispensational Christians. Firstly, we preach the Gospel of God’s Grace to lost people so they can be saved from eternal hellfire. Secondly, we preach the Message of God’s Grace to saved people so they can be saved from false teaching.

Re-read today’s Scripture. The Devil knew that if he could wean Israel from the truths JEHOVAH God had given her through the “Old Testament” Scriptures, Israel could never fulfill God’s purpose for her. With Israel being unable to accomplish God’s will in the Earth, Satan could keep on doing what he wanted in the Earth unopposed….

A Baptism You Cannot Fake

Sunday, July 31, 2016

“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).

Water baptism can be feigned; today’s Scripture cannot!

Once, a lady was looking through some old documents she had stored at home. She came across the water baptism certificate of her then eight-year-old son. Yet, as it turned out, he never actually trusted Christ Jesus as his personal Saviour until age 21! Friends, we can only wonder how people leading the church allowed a lost person to get water baptized. They evidently never asked him what the Gospel was, or even if he knew why he was getting water baptized in the first place!

Many people in religion have gotten wet at some point. Whether immersion, sprinkling, or pouring; whether as an infant or an adult; almost every professing Christian has experienced some water ceremony—some several! While people, preachers, and denominations continue their centuries-old arguments about which mode is correct, which words should be said, and who should be baptized, they ignore a major fact. Most of the people getting water baptized have not got a clue concerning the biblical meaning of water baptism. They have gotten so hung up on water baptism that 99.999% of the time they never realize the “baptism” in today’s Scripture is the ONLY baptism that really counts for eternity (Ephesians 4:5). Oftentimes, they refuse to see it!

Friends, our “one baptism” does not come by a preacher or priest, but by the power of the Holy Spirit placing the believer into the Church the Body of Christ. The exact moment a person trusts exclusively the Lord Jesus Christ as his or her personal Saviour, the Holy Spirit takes that person and makes him or her one with Jesus Christ forever. That individual is united not only with Father God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit—but with other believers as well.

Unlike water baptism, this baptism by the Spirit of God into the Body of Christ can never be faked! Only God Himself sees it, and He is the only witness necessary to make it valid forever and ever! 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Are Matthew 17:1, Mark 9:2, and Luke 9:28 contradictory?”

Saved, Saved, Saved #4

Friday, July 29, 2016

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9 KJV).

The chorus of Jack P. Scholfield’s classic 1911 hymn, “Saved, Saved, Saved,” highlights today’s Scripture.

“Saved by His power divine,
Saved to new life sublime!
Life now is sweet and my joy is complete,
For I’m saved, saved, saved!”

As the songwriter knew, God’s power, not our power, saved us. Today’s Scripture plainly declares: “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Some Bible commentators, hating these verses, have said the following to keep their works-religion: “What these verses ‘really’ mean is we are not saved by works alone. We need Jesus too.” Alas, a lie! If Jesus is enough to save us into Heaven, and the Bible says He is, then we need not introduce our measly religious works!

Friend, the Bible versions issue is a most serious matter. Did you know that, where the King James Bible says five times “saved” (past tense), modern versions use “being saved” (as in “being saved” today but not necessarily tomorrow)? Check Acts 2:47, 1 Corinthians 1:18, and 2 Corinthians 2:15. The King James has “saved” while the NIV, Amplified Bible, NKJV, Jehovah’s Witness New World Translation, and New American (Roman Catholic) Bible agree, “those who are being saved.” Luke 13:23 in King James Bible—“Lord, are there few that be saved?”—is now in the NIV, NASB, and HCSB—“Lord, are only a few people going to be saved?” The NRSV, NKJV, and Jehovah’s Witness New World Translation are unique with “are being saved” in 1 Corinthians 15:2 (“are saved” in KJV). It gets worse! They even pervert today’s Scripture—“are saved” is now “have been saved!”

Modern English versions are spiritually dangerous. They teach the erroneous idea that salvation unto eternal life is uncertain. (Remember the “mortal sin of presumption” in Roman Catholicism? See, such “scholarship” has dominated modern English manuscripts and versions!) However, our trusty Protestant Bible (King James) says we ARE “Saved, Saved, Saved!” (It is a done deal in Christ!) 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does 2 Peter 3:8 mean?”

Saved, Saved, Saved #1

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God” (Romans 3:24,25 KJV).

The first verse of Jack P. Scholfield’s classic 1911 hymn, “Saved, Saved, Saved,” highlights today’s Scripture.

“I’ve found a Friend, who is all to me,
His love is ever true;
I love to tell how He lifted me
And what His grace can do for you.”

In religious circles, “saved” is a very dirty word. When you utter it in a denominational setting, gasps can be heard. Parishioners may experience cardiac arrest! How dare you be so “arrogant” in declaring—let alone thinking!—there is reserved in heaven a place for you! Church members shudder as that word “saved” “defiles” their religious ears. They have no such assurance of “salvation.” Furthermore, they tremble to realize the precarious situation they have been in since birth—“If I am not ‘saved,’ I must be ‘lost!’”

According to Roman Catholic theology, the “mortal sin of presumption” is committed when one believes he or she will go to heaven without any time spent “suffering for sins” in “purgatory.” Of course, this is fiction and nonsense. Remember, as long as you do not know if you are saved, you will keep coming to church, keep giving, keep praying, keep keeping the sacraments, keep keeping the ordinances! To die in the “mortal sin” of “presumption” is to merit immediate hellfire, with no chance of ever entering purgatory… or heaven. Oh, but praise God, we know God’s truth in today’s Scripture! There is total redemption—complete deliverance and purging from sin—in and because of Jesus Christ!

There is a “Friend” of sinners and His name is Jesus Christ. His love spanned the gulf of sin between you and God, and it sent Him to Calvary’s cruel cross. “Grace” is not what you can do for God so He can offer you salvation; grace is what God can do for you through Calvary because you can do nothing for Him! ’Tis the only way to be “Saved, Saved, Saved!”

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Must I witness to be saved?”

Penance in Eden

Sunday, July 10, 2016

“And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden” (Genesis 3:7,8 KJV).

Itchy, itchy, itchy!

Friend, have you ever picked figs? Their leaves are prickly, and can make you itch! As I recently picked figs, I constantly thought on Genesis chapter 3, when the parents of the human race sinned against a holy God and attempted to cover their nakedness. What did they use to clothe their bare skin? According to today’s Scripture, they grabbed prickly fig leaves! They preferred this—suffering in uncomfortable clothes—to coming to God and admit their failure. Human nature is prideful; it has never changed in all these years.

While not explicitly stated in the Bible, perhaps Adam and Eve used fig leaves to make themselves suffer, possibly attempting to make God feel sorry for them. After all, some religious people make themselves suffer so as to appease some deity. They have the twisted idea that they can suffer enough for their sin and “God” will be happy with them. It is called “penance.” They are to give up pleasures and recite complicated prayers. They wear various torture bracelets on their fingers or arms and torture rings around their legs. They may don itchy hair shirts or pants. They whip themselves with leather straps. Every drop of blood they make themselves shed is assumed to make God just a tad happier with them. Allegedly, the more they suffer, the “holier” they become, and that much closer to heaven!

Beloved, on Calvary’s cross, the Lord Jesus cried out, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). We have no reason to suffer for our sins because Jesus already did. Still, if we want to suffer for our sins, God will grant us our wish. He has prepared a lake of fire and brimstone in which unredeemed souls will suffer forever. Something far worse than itchy fig leaves and hair shirts!

Remember, the online grace Bible conference runs until Thursday! http://understandgrace.com/2016-summer-family-bible-conference/

A Plea from Hell

Sunday, June 12, 2016

“Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father’s house: For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (Luke 16:27-29 KJV).

We peek into the spirit world and hear the cries of the souls in hell!

Some of the Bible’s most graphic statements about hell are in the account of the rich man and Lazarus—Luke 16:19-31. The rich man is lifting up his eyes being in torments, and he sees Abraham afar off and Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom (verse 23). Lazarus is comforted and the rich man is tormented beyond comprehension (verse 24,25). The rich man begs for just one precious drop of water… a drop that he is still expecting some 20 centuries later!

Not long ago, I stood in an ancient cemetery, reading the names and dates on the graves. In one area, a wrought-iron fence sectioned off 56 tombstones. These were local Roman priests who had served and died—some over 150 years ago. As I stood over these plots, I remembered today’s Scripture and I imagined their cries: “Please tell them not to come here to this place of torment!” Indeed, as it has been rightly stated, the strongest spirit of evangelism is found in the flames of hell. It is one thing for a Christian to preach about hellfire he has never experienced and will never experience. It is quite another to be in hell and remember your family and friends on Earth are soon to meet you!

Beloved, with Bibles in every home, we in the United States of America have no excuse whatsoever. Having access to God’s written Word, millions still leave this world every year totally unprepared. While those in hell, like the rich man, have no desire to turn to God, if God allowed you to listen, you could hear the billions of souls crying out: “Testify unto them [preach Christ crucified!], lest they also come into this place of torment!”

Questions to Avoid

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

“But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes” (2 Timothy 2:23 KJV).

Bible questions are okay, provided they are neither “foolish” nor “unlearned.”

Sadly, in so many religious circles, Bible questions are largely forbidden. For instance, read this: “When I contacted ____ he was very nasty to me and said I was wasting his time with my questions.” Someone wrote this to me a few years ago, after a so-called “grace” Bible teacher rudely discouraged Bible questions that his teachings generated. Why was that teacher so uninterested in questions that I was glad to answer for the dear man? Call me crazy, but I think that teacher refused to be “cross-examined,” or, frankly, “challenged.”

Many years ago, a seminarian training to be a priest was curious about his church’s true teachings. Well, as he put it, “The more questions I asked, the cleaner the seminary became!” His professors, unwilling to “suffer” “tough” questions (they had no answers for him), gave him “work-detail.” He had 32 hours straight of cleaning the seminary, including scrubbing floors with toothbrushes, before having to return to class hungry and tired. Oh, I forgot. With 152 acres of trees located behind the seminary, each student was also given an acre of leaves to rake. A truck would then carry the leaves over to the same place. After the leaves were re-spread, they had to be re-raked! (With this cycle of repetitious duties, there would be no time for “wandering minds” and “silly questions” to challenge the religious institution.)

Oh, but you see, dear friends, the Bible never discouraged questions. Today’s Scripture prohibits “foolish and unlearned questions.” Questions help us to learn; God wants us to learn His Word. The Bible never says, “But questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.” It says “foolish [moros, as in ‘moron’] and unlearned questions.” These are pointless, absurd questions that cause people to bicker, with more time arguing than answering. Spiritual maturity allows you to “rate” questions asked of you. You spend your time doing it long enough, and you can you most definitely identify the “foolish and unlearned questions.” Avoid them, but, by all means, use the Bible to answer the rest! 🙂

Vain Worship

Tuesday, March 29, 2016

“He answered and said unto them, Well hath Esais prophesied of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men” (Mark 7:6,7 KJV).

Friend, do you worship the God of the Bible “in vain?”

The reason you should ask yourself this pointed question is because many people have no idea what is true worship of the triune God. For example, consider the nation Israel’s condition in today’s Scripture. Or, better yet, travel back to Isaiah’s day, 700 B.C., and see the original quote: “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men” (Isaiah 29:13).

Over 2,700 years ago, empty, worthless religion had already crept into Israel. The Jews, the sole custodians of the Word of JEHOVAH God, traded it for the silly religious tenets of their heathen neighbors. Yea, they traded gold for “fool’s gold!” Oh, it was such a shame, and yet, they were too senseless to recognize the difference. They said, “How we love Adonai! Look, we keep His laws, we observe His feasts, we have His Temple, we have His priesthood,” on and on. But, there was no heart faith in what they were doing. They began to worship the religion than the God who had given them that religion! Furthermore, they had watered down that religion with the Talmud, rabbinical writings, manmade ideas passed off as “God’s Word.” (Sound familiar?!)

Recently, I talked with a church-going Christian who believed she was “worshipping God” while preforming a certain religious action. When I told her Scripture said nothing about that activity—that it was not “of faith” and thus vain (empty)—she was flabbergasted. Are we shocked? Nay! Millions worldwide have no clue what the Bible says. They are so busy in “vain worship,” just going through the motions with no genuine faith. Friend, I hope you are not one of these people. Back to Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, or onward to more vain worship!