Category: Roman Catholicism

Religious, Not Reliable

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Timothy 3:5 KJV).

They may be “religious”—but that does not make them reliable!

Recently, I listened to an old recording of the testimony of a former church leader of the largest cult in Christendom. While that denomination claims to be “the church founded by Jesus Christ,” this brother demonstrated how it was anything but. How thankful he was to have been saved out of that devilish church! He went home to be with the Lord in heaven just a few years ago.

While this man was training to be a priest in seminary some 40 years ago, he explained how his professors told him he could not trust the Holy Bible. How surprised he was to hear, “The Old Testament is nothing but fiction, stories with no literal historical basis and none of its characters actual flesh-and-blood people.” Concerning the New Testament, he was told that this too was largely “unreliable.” Why? The apostles were always “on the run to save their lives” and they “hurriedly wrote as best, making mistakes throughout.” The book of the Revelation was totally untrustworthy, they told him. Why? The Apostle John, after being thrown in boiling oil and surviving, was then exiled to the isle of Patmos, where he worked in the salt mines extracting salt by hand. With his hands inflamed, and his skin calloused and sore with burns, he took pain medication. All drugged up and “high,” he penned the last book in our Bible canon!

Saints, indeed, the average seminary is a “Bible cemetery”—God’s Word “dies” there, pushed off to the side unless it can be used to teach a particular theological system. I think it safe to say that there are just as many unsaved professors and Bible scoffers/doubters in a university science department as there are in many “Bible colleges.” Not all professors and preachers, of course, but many prefer to be the “final authority”—they like to sit in the driver’s seat and put God’s Word in the back seat! Hearken to today’s Scripture…“from such turn away!”

The Living God #10

Thursday, March 10, 2016

“For who is there of all flesh, that hath heard the voice of the living God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived?” (Deuteronomy 5:26 KJV).

Exactly why is the God of the Bible called “the living God?”

The God of the Bible is living. He can actually do something for you. Idols can do nothing for you. The “living God” has a Son, Jesus Christ (Matthew 16:16). As He gave us physical life in creation (Genesis 2:7), He offers us spiritual life. There is no life apart from Him (John 1:1-4). If you want life, you must find it in the God of the Bible. You can only find God the Father through His Son, Jesus Christ (John 14:6). “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3).

Life is not in Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, mysticism, or any other religion. We must go beyond dead gods, false prophets, fake gods, and false religions, to find “the living and true God.” It is not we striving to find life in and of ourselves (religion), but rather Christianity, the living God offering us His life a free gift because we are spiritually dead.

While there was a dead goddess in Ephesus, Diana (today’s “Queen of Heaven,” Blessed Mother, the Virgin Mary)—Acts chapter 19—there was also in Ephesus the Church the Body of Christ, “the church of the living God” (1 Timothy 3:15). We become a member of it by simply trusting exclusively Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork. He died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again to give us His resurrection life (1 Corinthians 15:3,4).

In the future, Israel will learn that the living God must give her life. She will not find life in heathen religion. She will not find life in her works-religion (the Mosaic Law). She is spiritually dead, unable to do anything that God instructs. But, as she experienced the living God delivering her from Egyptian and bondage to idols, He can (and will) redeem her from Satanic captivity and hellfire as well. No idol can or will ever do it… for Israel… or for us! 🙂

God’s Grace on Parade

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

“…But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Romans 5:20 KJV).

Today, especially here in southern Louisiana, the Catholic festival of Mardi Gras takes advantage of God’s grace. God’s grace abounds even when drunkenness, lasciviousness, and gluttony are committed overtly on our streets for religion. Because we live in the Dispensation of the Grace of God, they can flaunt their sin without being consumed by fire from heaven!

“Mardi Gras,” French for “Fat Tuesday,” is a day when religious people—professing “Christians”—lose self-control (excess alcohol, food, and partying). The following day, Ash Wednesday, they promise to live “holy” for the next 40 days (Lent). A priest will then place ashes on their foreheads proving that God forgave them for that riotous living. Blasphemy!

Regardless of all its biblical allusions (illusions!), Mardi Gras is still evil and anti-God. It was never Christian, originating from pagan Roman festivals, Saturnalia and Lupercalia (interestingly known for riots, drunkenness, gluttony, and fornication, and subsequent repentance).

The Holy Spirit, speaking through the Apostles Peter and Paul, was clearly against Mardi Gras reveling and drunkenness (Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:18; 1 Peter 4:3). So why do professing Christians engage in the very activities that God the Holy Spirit condemned?! As Christians, we should “deny” the activities of Mardi Gras (Romans 6:11-15; Titus 2:11-15).

If I appear offended, I am. Mardi Gras, despite its godly façade, is offensive to the great God and my Saviour Jesus Christ! God’s grace continues to tolerate such foolishness from mankind. Man parades his sin, and God parades His grace, holding back wrath.

Are you a Mardi Gras reveler? I declare unto you the wonderful Gospel of the Grace of God. God did for you at Calvary what you could never do: “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus Christ shed His sinless blood and died to put away all of your sins, Mardi Gras revelry included.

If you rest in Christ Jesus alone as your Saviour, God will save you forever, make a trophy of His grace, and then YOUR life will be God’s grace on parade!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study with the same name. The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

You may also see our archived Bible study Q&A, “Should Christians celebrate Mardi Gras?”

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #15

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Yes indeed, we can understand and enjoy the Holy Bible!

In his final epistle to the Church the Body of Christ, the Apostle Paul wrote: “Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Timothy 2:7). Years earlier, he wrote: “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).

The Holy Spirit Himself believes you will have “understanding in all things” if you “consider” what Paul wrote in his books, Romans through Philemon. He also believes that, once you understand His Word, then you will believe His Word, and finally you will enjoy His Word. Too many today do not understand the Bible, ever so discouraged by Satan’s schemes. Religious tradition has hidden dispensational Bible study from them. We MUST “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15)—separate “that which was kept secret since the world began” (Romans 16:25) from “that which was spoken since the world began” (Acts 3:21). Mystery MUST be separated from prophecy, Paul MUST be separated from Peter, the Body of Christ MUST be separated from the nation Israel, the Grace of God MUST be separated from the Law of Moses, et cetera.

Friends and brethren, now we know how to understand and enjoy the Bible; may we be faithful in telling others. Second Timothy 2:24-26: “[24] And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, [25] In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; [26] And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

-FINIS!-

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #14

Monday, January 18, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

May we hearken to these truths, lest we misunderstand and dislike the Holy Bible!

The God of Scripture is “longsuffering.” He is not currently pouring out His wrath on Christ-rejecting mankind. Had Israel’s prophetic program operated unbroken, that judgment would have surely come just after Calvary (Psalm 2:1-5; Acts 2:34-36; Acts 7:55,56; et cetera). However, God interrupted prophecy, delayed that judgment, and revealed the mystery program to and through the Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus). An unprophesied (secret) period of “grace and peace” extended to all mankind (Gentiles), as illustrated by the salvation of wicked Saul in Acts chapter 9 (1 Timothy 1:12-16). The heart of that mystery program is “the Dispensation of Grace,” doctrines and other truths currently applicable, only until “the fulness of the Gentiles” comes in (Romans 11:25).

Peter had preached salvation and blessing to Gentiles through Israel and her kingdom (Acts 3:19-26; cf. Isaiah 60:1-3; Genesis 12:1-3). Through Paul’s ministry and Gospel, “the Gospel of the Grace of God,” Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary, salvation and blessing is currently going to Gentiles without Israel and her kingdom (Romans 11:11-13; Ephesians 3:1-11).

God has offered grace to all; He has been longsuffering, tolerating man’s sins for 20 centuries! Why? “The longsuffering of our Lord is salvation.” That more lost sinners (like Saul) be saved into the Body of Christ by simple faith in Christ alone, thus spared God’s wrath when prophecy resumes! Once our Dispensation of Grace closes, then and only then, God’s wrath and war will replace His grace and peace (1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:9; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, 2:1-13). When the scoffers Peter referenced asked about Jesus’ coming in vengeance, they were pitifully ignorant! The message of grace that Paul preached was the very reason why that wrath had not yet come!

Let us conclude this devotionals arc.

Special-edition Bible Q&A #225: “What about the ‘Jewish Roots’ Movement?”
(This 22-page article systematically discusses the dangers of mixing Law and Grace concerning Christian living.)

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #13

Sunday, January, 17, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the seventh point from today’s Scripture: “unto their own destruction.” Returning to 2 Timothy 2:15-18: “[15] Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. [16] But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. [17] And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; [18] Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.”

The “overthrow [of] the faith of some” is the “[spiritual] destruction” of today’s Scripture. By confusing God’s will for a believer in this the Dispensation of Grace, with God’s will for a believer in Israel’s program of Law, believers’ lives are hindered and damaged in their respective program. You soften the Law for Israel; you water down Grace for us Gentiles. You force on us their water baptism, their miraculous demonstrations, and their prayer promises. In doing so, you ignore God’s baptism for us, God’s invisible intervention on our behalf, and God’s model prayers for us.

Friend, you cannot force God to do something He is not doing. If you are not doing what God is doing, then you are outside of God’s will, and your spiritual life is sure to be in ruins. Grabbing Israel’s verses and making them fit us, or taking our verses and making them fit Israel, is to fail to “rightly divide the word of truth.” It is to go the way of “profane and vain babblings,” “ungodliness,” worthless teaching. It is to follow Christendom—“the blind leaders of the blind” (Matthew 15:14)!

Now, dearly beloved, we summarize!

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #12

Saturday, January 16, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the sixth point from today’s Scripture: “as they do also the other scriptures….” So many people struggle today to reconcile Paul’s epistles with the rest of the Bible. Not surprisingly, people had the same difficulty in the apostolic days. Read today’s Scripture. There was such Bible confusion 20 centuries ago that people were literally corrupting all of God’s Word in order to harmonize Paul’s ministry and message with the rest of the Bible. (Sound familiar?)

Even today, people declare, “I do not go by what some man says. I follow Jesus not Paul.” People ask even today, “Why does Paul contradict Jesus so much?” (Implication: Despite all the verse twisting, there are some people honest enough to see differences in God’s Word. The theologians, preachers, and other “expert” Bible commentators cannot see distinctions in the Bible. But, praise God, simple people without college degrees and seminary training can! See, friends, worldly education is not the answer to understanding the Bible. Having the indwelling Spirit of God and using God’s Word properly are the keys [1 Corinthians 2:10-16]! Education cannot grant them.)

Consider another major example of how people wrest the Bible to hide dispensational distinctions. There is no literal, physical, visible earthly kingdom of God today. So, what “scholarly” people say is, when the non-Pauline Bible books speak of “the reign of Christ,” they did not mean a literal, physical, visible earthly kingdom but “Christ’s invisible, spiritual reign in the hearts of men.” Such heretics even talk about us the Body of Christ replacing the nation Israel, and/or us continuing her program. Just as they twist Paul’s epistles, they pervert Israel’s verses too. No wonder people get sick to their spiritual stomachs!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does 2 Corinthians 7:5 mean?”

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #11

Friday, January 15, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the fifth point from today’s Scripture: “as they do also the other scriptures….” Some in “Christianity” have claimed that Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, should be ripped out of the Bible! (I receive such foolish emails.) Yet, if we are to toss out Paul’s epistles, we should also remove the whole book of Acts, plus Luke, and Peter’s epistles. In today’s Scripture, Peter endorsed Paul’s epistles as “scripture.” He placed the Pauline writings on the same level with Moses’ writings, the Four Gospels, Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel, and so on.

When denominations and religious organizations have understood the Bible according to their particular theological systems for many decades or centuries, they will (understandably) refuse to see Pauline dispensational Bible study. To admit wrong would mean losing salaries, memberships, egos, diplomas, real estate, buildings—literally everything! They, like the people in Peter’s day, pervert Paul’s epistles as they do the other Scriptures. Making everything in the Bible the same, they refuse to separate Peter’s ministry from Paul’s ministry. When they come across opposing verses in the Bible, they just dismiss them with, “Oh, this verse is questionable—it was not in the originals.” Or, “Do not take it literally. It means this rather than what it says.”

Christendom must swallow its pride. It must realize something. Accepting Paul’s epistles as literal and true is not to deny the rest of the Bible with which those epistles disagree. Rather, it is accepting Paul’s epistles as true because those Pauline epistles contain the secret will of God previously unknown to man! We should “rightly divide” “truth” from “truth” in the Scripture (2 Timothy 2:15), whether concerning Paul’s epistles or any other part of the Bible.

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #10

Thursday, January 14, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the fourth point from today’s Scripture: “which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest.” Peter did not understand everything that Paul taught. Yet, at least Peter was Holy-Spirit-filled, honest enough to admit Paul taught some doctrine that was quite different from God’s previous revelations to mankind. What happens in the religious crowd (back then and still today) is that pride gets in the way and the Scriptures are pushed out of the way. Scholarship and denominations still militantly refuse to admit that Paul’s ministry and epistles are separate and distinct from the 12 apostles’ ministries.

Since it has been repeated for 2,000 years that “everything in the Bible is the same”—the assumption that there is only one “gospel” in the Bible, only one “church” in the Bible, only one “ministry” of Jesus Christ in the Bible, only one “program” in the Bible, et cetera—people are automatically inclined to reword any and every Bible verse to the contrary. Hence, modern English versions and their underlying manuscripts are so unreliable. Their editors, translators, and teachers—going back decades and centuries past—have rephrased verses so as to harmonize Paul’s ministry with Peter’s, combine the Church the Body of Christ with the nation Israel, et cetera.

As the Holy Spirit led Peter to write, these people “wrest” (pervert, distort) the Bible (today’s Scripture). They have not learned the truths of God’s Word rightly divided. They are thus “unstable”—“tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine” (Ephesians 4:14). Their “ministries” produce only equally unlearned (uninformed) and equally unstable (undecided) souls. Dearly beloved, now we know how the Body of Christ got into the mess in which it now sits!

Understand and Enjoy the Bible! #9

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

“And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction” (2 Peter 3:15,16 KJV).

Although there is so much confusion about it, can we really understand and enjoy the Bible?

Let us consider the third point from today’s Scripture: “As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood.” I confronted my denominational pastor years ago with dispensational Bible study. Pointing to today’s Scripture, I told him Peter admitted that he found some of Paul’s teachings “hard to understand.” Looking for a quick way out, the man blurted, “Paul’s teachings had not been written down yet!” (How dishonest! Did not Peter refer his audience to Paul’s “writings” and “epistles?!”)

When Peter declared that he did not understand everything Paul wrote, we need not throw up our hands in desperation. We need not throw away our Bibles in frustration. First, we take a deep, deep breath. Then, we recall that Peter had already written that special divine wisdom had been given to Paul. That wisdom had not been committed to Peter’s trust! People have been taught for ever so long in church tradition that Paul’s ministry was an “extension” of what Peter and the 11 apostles of Israel did and taught, but Peter himself argues, “Not so!”

Paul’s ministry was so radically different from Peter’s that Peter admitted in final last epistle that Paul taught some information he did not understand. Jesus Christ Himself taught Peter for three years, and Peter still had difficulty with some spiritual truths? Yes, because not even Jesus had taught during His earthly ministry what He was now teaching through Paul during His heavenly ministry. No wonder people still struggle with Paul today. They need not. With the completed Bible in hand, we can see everything Peter did not. Through Paul’s writings, we have God’s Word to us Gentiles!

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does Colossians 1:24 mean?”