Category: works-religion

Silent Building #7

Sunday, December 7, 2014

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (1 Kings 6:7 KJV).

God is doing something similar today, very quietly too….

According to 1 Corinthians 3:9-15, we can build into our Christian lives “gold, silver, precious stones” (God’s Word rightly divided), or we can build into our Christian lives “wood, hay, stubble” (religious tradition, non-rightly-divided Bible, philosophy, denominational thinking). Verse 16 asks, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” We should be careful not to defile God’s temple, our bodies. Scripture warns these false teachers who mislead the Body of Christ: “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are” (verse 17).

We would hate to stand before God as those who stand in the pulpits and parrot nothing but the traditions of men, denominational thinking, worthless religious doctrine. All those false people are undermining God’s people, polluting them with bad doctrine, and yet, they are ever so covert that they appear to be servants of Jesus Christ and are thus rarely identified as ministers of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

Romans 16:25-26 says that God wants to “stablish” (stabilize) us using a three-fold process: “according to my [Paul’s] gospel,” and “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery,” and “by the scriptures of the prophets.” Paul’s Gospel is the Gospel of Grace (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)—Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day. Jesus Christ according to the mystery (secret) program is revealed in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon. The Scriptures of the prophets is all of the Bible in light of Paul’s writings.

Since church members usually ignore dispensational Bible study, they lack spiritual stability, they are unskilled in Christian service, and they cannot function as God intended. Let us guard against the Adversary’s wiles, that we may participate in God’s silent building….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Is the Church the Body of Christ spoken of in Matthew 16:18?”

Silent Building #5

Friday, December 5, 2014

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (1 Kings 6:7 KJV).

God is doing something similar today, very quietly too….

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians chapter 3: “[9] For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. [10] According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. [11] For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

Scripture is quite clear that we need to “take heed how [we] buildeth thereupon.” Beware! Beware! Beware! The Apostle Paul is “a wise masterbuilder,” the “chief architect”—the ascended Lord Jesus Christ gave him the blueprints of what He is doing today. If we go anywhere else in the Bible but Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, we will miss God’s blueprints for today, and we will thus build something God is not building. We will be using the wrong materials, placing those materials in the wrong place, thus weakening the structure, and so on. The “preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery” (Romans 16:25), He is the foundation. We only read about this “mystery” (secret information) in Paul’s epistles.

If we do not “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we will not recognize Paul’s special apostleship and ministry to us. As the builders of Solomon’s Temple were ever so careful to handle their instructions and their materials (today’s Scripture), we too are working. Are we following the directions God gave us through Paul? Are we using “gold, silver, precious stones?” Or, are we using “wood, hay, stubble?” Are we using God’s Word rightly divided, or worthless materials such as church tradition, human wisdom, and non-dispensational Bible verses? It will make a difference in the structure we build in our lives….

Silent Building #2

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

“And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building” (1 Kings 6:7 KJV).

God is doing something similar today, very quietly too….

Long ago, beginning with Abraham, God set the Jews apart to be His special people (Israel became a nation in Egypt). Letting the Gentiles go their way of ignorance (Romans chapter 1), He dealt solely with the nation Israel (Romans chapter 2). Beginning with the Ten Commandments (Exodus chapter 20), but throughout the Old Testament, JEHOVAH God constantly warned Israel not to pollute herself with false doctrine. He was building her into a marvelous nation, His kingdom of priests to reach the (Gentile) nations. Israel was not to sabotage that plan by forsaking Him and following pagan idols and bad doctrine.

Moses, just before dying, advised His people in Deuteronomy 4:1-2: “[1] Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you. [2] Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.”

Simple! Simple! Simple! Israel was not to add and not to take from God’s Word. Israel did not listen. Before we point fingers at Israel, professing Christianity has added to and taken from the revelation the ascended Jesus Christ gave to the Apostle Paul, Romans through Philemon. They are not content with God’s grace as Paul presents it; they toss that away. Instead, they prefer everything He gave Israel—water baptism, tongues, tithing, miraculous demonstrations, Sabbath day, rules and regulations, angels, and so on.

When Solomon’s Temple was being erected (today’s Scripture), it did not go up haphazardly. Its elements fit together perfectly. Lest we upset God’s perfect plan for us the Church the Body of Christ, we are not going to carelessly use worthless building materials, elements that do not belong there and will actually weaken the structure….

Ephesians, Parallelism, Edification, Perfection

Saturday, November 29, 2014

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:” (Ephesians 4:11,12 KJV).

Can you spot a literary device known as “parallelism” in today’s Scripture?

As a Bible teacher, I gladly receive various Bible questions by phone, in person, or by email. I certainly encourage them. If today’s average church member had asked those questions long ago, he or she probably would not be attending that “church.” Bible questions drive us to study for Bible answers; we have no desire to search religions and denominations for Bible answers, for they can provide only religious and denominational answers.

Today’s Scripture says that, after His ascension into heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ “gave”—notice past tense—five spiritual gifts to cause the Church the Body of Christ to progress in spiritual maturity, that we be “no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (verse 14).

God gave those gifts, “Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:” (verse 13). Once the completed Bible canon came in the first century A.D., before the Apostle Paul died, the Body of Christ had every revelation it needed from God. Alas, today’s “church” is the epitome of perplexity. Look around at professing “Christianity,” and you see nothing but immature people, ever so confused, deceived, and laden with sins. What happened? Between the apostles’ time and our time, organized religion slowly infiltrated the Body of Christ, and gradually transferred the authority of the Scriptures to fallible men, denominations, and manmade books.

God’s work, not religion’s, will lead to “the perfecting [maturing] of the saints,” which leads to “the work of the ministry” (mature saints laboring in the local church, teaching God’s Word rightly divided), which causes “the edifying of the body of Christ” (all members of the Body growing together). Any other way to do “ministry” is foolish!

Conferring to Edify

Sunday, November 23, 2014

“As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that they teach no other doctrine, Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do” (1 Timothy 1:3,4 KJV).

When grace Bible conferences conclude, a sense of sadness is present because the Christian fellowship must end.

In reality, it is leaving the closest thing to “Heaven on Earth” that the Church the Body of Christ will ever experience. We have been “godly edified which [was] in faith” (today’s Scripture): rather than proclaiming fictitious and moral stories (“fables”), stumbling over personalities (“endless genealogies”), and preaching Law-keeping for Christian living (verses 5-11), we taught sound Bible doctrine, glorified the Lord Jesus Christ, and preached His grace as means for daily victory over sin. How enjoyable! Thus, to part with like-minded Christians is not easy, but it demonstrates the unity, the brotherly love, that should exist between God’s people when they let His Word work in them when they believe it.

Rather than biting, devouring, and consuming one another, we simply “walked in the Spirit,” and enjoyed doctrinal unity and peace between each other. We united around three cardinal truths: the King James Bible as our final authority, the Gospel of the Grace of God (Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for our sins), and Paul’s apostleship and ministry to us Gentiles regarding grace living. We read, studied, and rejoiced in Israel’s verses, but we did not claim them for ourselves because God is doing something else today. We also read, studied, and rejoiced in our verses, Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, recognizing that they described what God is currently doing and what He wants to do with us.

We had wonderful discussions about how the Lord Jesus Christ is working in our lives today, and we gladly shared Him with those who were visiting. While we had a small group, we had more than the seven Noah had with him on the Ark, and we look forward to fellowshipping with one another around God’s Word rightly divided, one last day today! 🙂

NOTE: The 2014 Slidell Grace Bible Conference concludes today! Videos of the messages to be uploaded to YouTube in due time, so stay tuned for updates.

Attendance to Apprehending

Saturday, November 22, 2014

“Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine” (1 Timothy 4:13 KJV).

Grace Bible conferences are always a joyful and edifying time!

We meet new people and old friends, most of who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. They are really seeking God’s truth rather than those who would come to be merely religious or simply entertained. We desire Jesus Christ to live His life in and through us, and it will only come about by God’s Word renewing our minds on a daily basis. Conferences are not simply about Bible study, but Bible understanding so that it can become Bible application to life. While plenty of people read the Bible, very few study it; and of the few who study it, even fewer understand it; and of the few who understand it, even fewer apply it to life by faith. Our goal is to be in that last class listed, that very small remnant.

Father God is doing something wonderful today in creation and He wants us to participate. A grace Bible conference is to grasp the Bible on a large-scale, to the intent that we may see a fuller picture of the Bible rather than just a glimpse of it (as in a regular sermon or teaching session), that we may find where we are in Scripture (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon), that we may then discover how Jesus Christ can give us His life and how He can fill us with it (grace living)!

It is an extremely high plane of living that very few Christians grasp, since organized religion opposes it and hides it from the masses (2 Corinthians 4:1-4), but oh, how we have cast off religious works and our vain performance (Philippians 3:1-21), how we have begun to search the Scriptures for ourselves (Acts 17:10,11), how we have a better understanding of such a wonderful Saviour who not only died that we might live but that we died with Him so that He might live in us! We assemble locally to study the Scriptures rightly divided to learn how Christ Jesus is living His life in each of ours, and we rejoice that it is not us, but Him (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21; Colossians 3:4)!

NOTE: The 2014 Slidell Grace Bible Conference is currently underway! Videos of the messages to be uploaded to YouTube in due time, so stay tuned for updates.

Time Travel and the Mystery #2

Thursday, November 13, 2014

“But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (1 Corinthians 2:7,8 KJV).

Will it ever be possible to manipulate natural laws, to travel back in time and manipulate events, that things (hopefully) turn out differently? Let us consider today’s Scripture.

Satan has always recognized God as the most powerful; however, he, operating with a very demented mindset, still seeks to outwit his Creator and prove himself to be the wisest. Ever since he became “lifted up,” prideful (1 Timothy 3:6), ever since he fell in love with himself (Ezekiel 28:15-19), Lucifer/Satan has sought so desperately to deflect and receive the recognition and worship that only belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 4:8-10 and Luke 4:5-8 thus explained).

The Bible says Lucifer, Satan’s name before his fall from the third heaven, purposed to “be like the most High, possessor of heaven and earth” (Isaiah 14:14; cf. Genesis 14:19,22). Down through Bible history, and up to the present-day, Satan has contrived and implemented various “wiles,” schemes and scams, to achieve his original goal (Ephesians 6:10-12). The Devil still distracts people from Jesus Christ, and causes them to focus on something or someone else (himself, themselves, other people, pagan idols, good works, et cetera).

No human can ever really keep a secret—he or she has to tell at least one other person, and eventually, it is common knowledge to many. However, God had to keep, and did keep, a secret for at least 4,000 years; the triune God withheld that secret, neither telling angel nor human until the appropriate time came. He knew that His chief enemy, Satan, was a very wise spirit-creature (originally created to devise ways to glorify his Creator, the Lord Jesus Christ, now devising ways to glorify himself). The way to ultimately defeat Satan was to outsmart him. Today’s Scripture says God Almighty did exactly that, glorifying Jesus Christ forever in the process, undoubtedly demonstrating who was the wisest of all….

Natural-Man Wisdom and Divine Wisdom

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

“There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Proverbs 14:12 KJV).

Beware of natural-man wisdom, for it naturally leads to death!

The following quote personifies human viewpoint: “In my belief one only needs to be a moral person and have faith [to be saved]. With the multitude of different religious groups that all revolve around Christianity and Judaism are you really that certain that the word that you read is to be taken word for word as written and all others are wrong? This would seem to me rather arrogant and to be a sin as well. It is not our position to judge. Have faith whatever it may be, be a moral person and in my belief you will be saved.”

Is it not fascinating that this individual posited that we Bible-believers should not “judge” those who disagree with us, but then he freely “judges” the “immoral” by saying only the “moral” can be saved? Furthermore, for him to claim “morality” means he believes there is absolute right and absolute wrong (but all religions disagree regarding what is “right” and “wrong,” so arguing “morality equals heaven” is far-fetched).

Why do I believe the Bible “word-for-word?” Firstly, it says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Every person in the world testifies to the truth of this verse—sin exists (we cannot avoid it)! Secondly, it says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23a). Every cemetery in the world testifies to the truth of this verse—sin kills (we cannot live here forever)! Thirdly, it says, “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in [God’s] sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). Every religion in the world testifies to the truth of this verse—sin damns (we cannot perform perfectly)! Lastly, it says, “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23b). Every Christian in the world testifies to the truth of this verse—Christ saves (we can trust Him alone for salvation)!

Ultimately, it is not arrogance. It is confidence! 🙂

Wayward or Wise

Monday, November 3, 2014

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise” (Proverbs 12:15 KJV).

Today’s Scripture says we can be wayward, or we can be wise—one or the other is everyone before God’s eyes.

Sin is being our own authority, our operating independently of how God designed us to function. For 6,000 years now, the God of the Bible has tolerated our species, the sinful human race. Despite our technological advances that have made life easier, we are still so perplexed as to how to solve our basic problem, sin, that makes life harder.

For three years, the Lord Jesus Christ labored so fervently, so diligently, to turn around the nation He had delivered from Egyptian bondage 1,500 years earlier. He preached, and confirmed with miracles, that He was their long-promised Messiah—willing to evict their Gentile enemies and introduce Israel’s earthly kingdom. Yet, Israel largely disregarded Him. Precious few Jews, those who wisely hearkened to that divine counsel, trusted Him as Christ.

Chiefly, Israel’s works-religion—their striving to be accepted of God—was “right in [their] own eyes.” They refused to hear about their sin; they rejected the counsel Jesus Christ was providing through His sermons and miraculous demonstrations. The Lord Jesus spoke to unbelieving Jews in John 5:39,40: “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.” Contrary to “irresistible grace,” one of the tenets of Calvinism, God never forces Himself on anyone who rejects Him. He gives them over to what they prefer. Jesus continued, “I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive” (verse 43). They did not want Jesus as Christ, so God will one day give Israel a false Messiah, the satanic Antichrist, one who will deceive them and they will gladly have him!

May we wisely come to Jesus Christ as He is presented in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon. Otherwise, we are just as wayward as Israel was in time past.

Arrayed in Hypocrisy

Friday, October 31, 2014

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27,28 KJV).

“Looks can be deceiving” is not only true during Halloweentime, but confirmed year-round within Christendom.

Today is Halloween, when children dress up and feign themselves to be creatures they are not. Likewise, many church leaders today wear “Christian” garbs, but their ministries do not bring the Lord Jesus Christ glory and honor. They promote their denomination, and seek to perpetuate it, rather than serve and exalt the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ. The Bible manifests these who appear to be good, as “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

In today’s Scripture, Jesus Christ exposed Israel’s corrupt religious leaders who misled the nation in His day. In His Parable of the Tares, Matthew 13:24-30,37-43, Christ explained how just as He had sown good seed (wheat, believing Jews) in Israel, Satan had also sown tares/weeds (unbelieving Jews). Tares resemble wheat; unbelieving Jews resemble believing Jews. The unbelieving Pharisees and scribes, for instance, looked like God’s people (believing Israel). Judas Iscariot was another example of Satan’s tares—the apostles never realized who Judas really was until it was too late!

But Satan’s counterfeit believers are not confined to Israel’s program. Today, within local assemblies of the Body of Christ, there are people feigning themselves to be Christians: 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).

Beloved, beware of the church leaders who are arrayed in hypocrisy, “and avoid them” (Romans 16:17b). If their teaching does not agree with the rightly divided King James Bible, you have no business as a child of God to be listening to them.

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

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Should Christians celebrate Halloween?”