Category: works-religion

What Does God Want Me to Do? #9

Friday, April 6, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

What does God want you to do? He wants you the Christian to walk in an intelligent understanding of His Word to you (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon).

Once you study, learn, and believe the King James Bible rightly divided (dispensationally), the indwelling Holy Ghost will use that sound Bible doctrine to work mightily in you (today’s Scripture). “…The word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). God wants to teach us Christians His doctrine, so we can then believe that doctrine, so He can then use that doctrine to form Christ Jesus in us (Galatians 4:19). Literally, the result will be “Christ [living] in us, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27; cf. Ephesians 3:16,17). “Christ… is our life” (Colossians 3:4). Galatians 2:20: “…Christ liveth in me….” Actually, our life is not our life; it is Christ living His life in and through us (Philippians 1:21).

Notice what the Apostle Paul wrote: “[Christ] Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect [spiritually mature] in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:28,29). The same Spirit of God that worked in Paul to accomplish his ministry now wants to do that same work in and through us!

God’s will is not so much for us to do His will, but for us to allow Him to accomplish His will in and through us as we cooperate by faith in His Word to us (“Without faith it is impossible to please [God];” Hebrews 11:6). God saved us, not simply to give us sinners an opportunity to avoid the hellfire that we deserve, but to make us trophies of His grace by Him doing the work in and through us (Ephesians 2:10).

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ [the rapture]” (Philippians 1:6).

What Does God Want Me to Do? #5

Monday, April 2, 2012

“For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).

God gave us the Bible so that we could learn what He is doing. We do not have to grope in spiritual darkness—although religion hopes that we do! Do you want to do God’s will? Find out what God is doing today, and then, by faith, GO DO THAT!

When we “rightly divide the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15), we understand that the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, is a giant timeline. God has divided, or segmented, His Word into dispensations, bodies of truth applicable during separate and distinct time periods when He deals with mankind differently. Never confuse the dispensations, or combine directions given in one dispensation with information given in another dispensation.

For instance, millions of church members have been taught that God wants them to “keep the Mosaic Law.” While God strictly commanded Israel to obey the Mosaic Law or suffer divine chastisement (Exodus 15:26; Leviticus 26:1-46; Deuteronomy 28:1-68), Paul writes to us in the Dispensation of Grace, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). God has replaced Israel’s performance-based acceptance system (legalism, Judaism) with His grace-based acceptance system.

God’s will for you is that you not “resurrect” the Mosaic Law, which was nailed to Calvary’s cross and crucified with Christ (Colossians 2:14; cf. Romans 3:21,22; Romans 7:4-6). Today, God’s grace, not the Mosaic Law, teaches us to live “soberly, righteously, and godly” (Titus 2:11,12). Grace shows us that we Christians have died with Christ, so sin is not who we are anymore (Romans 6:6-23; Romans 8:12-14; Romans 12:1,2; et al.).

If you want to let God “work in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (today’s Scripture), do not place yourself under religious bondage (legalism, performing religious duties to get God to accept or bless you). Your Christian life operates on the basis of God’s grace, Jesus Christ working and living in and through you (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21), not you striving to keep God happy (law-keeping).

My Soul is Secure in Christ

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

“For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12 KJV).

According to today’s Scripture, those of us who have trusted exclusively in the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we are eternally secure in Christ. We have committed unto God our very souls, and God Himself has promised that He will forever keep us. How can we unworthy sinners have such a glorious hope?

We Christians are unfaithful, rebellious creatures who still live in these sinful human bodies. Thankfully, our salvation is independent of our performance. “If we believe not, yet [Christ Jesus] abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself” (2 Timothy 2:13). No matter what, we Christians are the Church the Body of Christ. Jesus Christ cannot deny Himself!

God the Father has given us Christians “the earnest [promise] of the [Holy] Spirit in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22). God has guaranteed our salvation by giving us the indwelling Holy Spirit, “the earnest of our inheritance” (Ephesians 1:14). God has promised us salvation in Christ, and He cannot lie (Titus 1:2).

We have confidence in Christ Jesus. The Apostle Paul writes: “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:5-8).

Verily, verily, once we members of the Body of Christ die physically, the Holy Spirit Himself will escort us to live with the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven’s glory (to wait for the resurrection/rapture; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

I rejoice in the Lord: God Almighty has captured my soul and my soul is secure in Christ (Romans 8:35-39).

Read the King James Bible on Your Own #3

March, 25, 2012

“How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)” (Ephesians 3:3,4 KJV).

God encourages us to read His preserved Word in English, the King James Bible, on our own. Notice how Paul, in today’s Scripture, instructed the Ephesians (and us) to read what the Holy Ghost moved him to write. God gave His written Word, the Bible, to mankind so we could read it and learn His will, especially so we could discover what He is doing today in this the Dispensation of God (“the mystery of Christ”). Alas, wicked man has other plans!

Church hierarchies often restrict pure King James Bible reading. Other times they forbid you from reading any “Bible.” If they do allow you to do any Bible reading on your own, they offer a modern, “more scholastic” (read that “corrupt”) “bible.”

Also, they offer “denominational eyeglasses” which cause you see the Bible according to their view (not according to God’s view; dispensationally). Many churches do not use God’s Word, God’s way. They ignore Paul’s special ministry to us; instead, they instruct you to “follow Jesus” in the Four Gospel Records. They cause you to follow God’s program for Israel—you thereby completely miss the program God is operating today (grace/non-works religion)!

How many billions of sincere church members blindly follow the teachings of their church leaders… leading either to spiritual immaturity or eternal damnation (Matthew 15:14)! Precious lost souls, upon departing this world, finally realize that their church lied to them. By following their church in ignoring the sufficiency of Christ’s crosswork, they now face an eternity of isolation, wrath, and punishment in hellfire. Sadly, instead of relying on God’s Word, they believed their clergy’s admonition, “Rely on the church for your salvation!”

In addition, many Christians will be disappointed when they learn their denomination misled them with religious tradition. Heed the warning! Beloved, read and believe the King James Bible, God’s Word, rightly divided (dispensationally), on your own. NEVER base your eternal destiny (salvation) and spiritual health on the teachings of fallible man.

Where is Thy Confidence?

Thursday, March 8, 2012

“Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint” (Proverbs 25:19 KJV).

Today’s Scripture is straightforward: having confidence in an unfaithful person is like depending on a broken tooth or an out-of-joint foot. None of them art reliable and trustworthy. Where is thy confidence regarding the following?

  • CONFIDENCE IN THE RIGHT GOD: Is thy confidence in the God of the Bible, the Lord Jesus Christ, or art thou trusting in wooden and stone idols? Art thou confident in thy ability to perform, wrongly assuming that thou art thy “own god?” Idols of wood and stone canst do nothing for thou—they cannot hear, see, speak, or breathe (Psalm 135:15-18). Trust not in thyself either (2 Corinthians 1:9). The God of the Bible, He alone is the “living and true God” (1 Thessalonians 1:9)—everyone and everything else shall fail thee. Is thy faith in Christ Jesus alone? I hope so. Trust in Jesus Christ alone—anything else is a broken tooth and an out-of-joint foot.
  • CONFIDENCE IN THE RIGHT BIBLE: Is thy confidence in the King James Bible, God’s perfectly preserved Word for us English-speaking people, a Book that thou canst trust completely? Or, doth thou use a modern English Bible, one that shall fail and disappoint thee because it hath contradictions, deletions, historical errors, and theological blunders? In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, these believers had faith in a false “bible,” one that troubled their minds and caused them great spiritual harm. The King James Bible alone is God’s Word in English—anything else is a broken tooth and an out-of-joint foot.
  • CONFIDENCE IN THE RIGHT GOSPEL: Hast thou complete confidence in Paul’s Gospel—how that Christ died for thy sins, He was buried, and He was raised again for thy justification (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)—as thy only way to salvation? False gospels, including other “gospels” in the Bible, cannot save thee from thy sins. Only the Gospel of the Grace of God can save thee in this the Dispensation of Grace—anything else is a broken tooth and an out-of-joint foot.

Avoid Them

Monday, March 5, 2012

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple” (Romans 16:17,18 KJV).

When a believer in Christ Jesus comes to understand dispensational Bible study—that is, Pauline dispensationalism—he or she comes to a crossroads in the Christian life. They struggle between two choices: Do I continue attending my local denominational church, where my friends and family go? OR Do I find and attend a local grace church where sound doctrine (right division) is taught? For some time, my family and I struggled with that issue. What would God have us to do?

What makes this situation most difficult is that a local grace church is hard-to-find (my “local” grace church is over an hour’s drive away!). There are scores of denominational churches that are much closer to my house, but I would rather an hour-long drive to hear God’s truth (the King James Bible rightly divided) than drive five minutes and hear Satan’s error (denominationalism, church tradition, human viewpoint, et cetera).

In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul gives the Roman believers a strong admonition: the teachers and preachers who depart from or ignore the doctrine that the ascended Lord Jesus Christ committed unto Paul’s trust (Romans through Philemon) are to be “marked” (identified, singled out) and they are to be avoided. We should only attend a local church where sound, King James Bible Pauline dispensationalism is believed, preached, and taught. Paul wrote, “If any man thinketh himself to a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37).

Paul is our apostle (Romans 11:13); we find our doctrine, duty, walk and destiny for this the Dispensation of Grace in Paul’s epistles alone. Those who do not teach the Bible rightly divided teach religious tradition, and they “serve not our Lord Jesus Christ.” Beloved, the Bible says avoid them (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 1 Timothy 6:3-5).

*Adapted from a larger Bible study titled “Be Ye Separate.” The Bible study can be read here or watched here.

God’s Workmanship #3

Sunday, March 4, 2012

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).

The Bible presents God as the Poet; we Christians are but His poem. He is the Mastermind; we are merely His design. God has the power; we are just His vessels. Our will and our works have not the preeminence; God’s will and God’s achievements do. The Creator of the universe is doing something excellent; the creatures’ work, our work, pale in comparison. What God did for us is foremost (grace), not what we do for Him (religion). This is God’s grace, and we are His workmanship.

Religion is not the work of God; it emphasizes man’s performance to make himself acceptable to God. Christianity is God’s workmanship, for it stresses how God can use mere frames of dust (us) for His glory (see today’s Scripture). Those of us who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, God is using us to make a “new man,” a “new creature,” the Church the Body of Christ, an entity He will use in heaven forever (2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:13-17); this is something that God, not us, does. God is building us—a temple, a house for Himself (1 Corinthians 3:16,17; Ephesians 2:18-22). We are “God’s husbandry, God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:9).

Currently, God is preparing us Christians for eternity. We have His preserved and inerrant Word, the King James Bible, to learn and grow in His knowledge. The more sound doctrine we study and believe in the rightly divided Bible, the more equipped we are to function here and in eternity (1 Corinthians 3:10-15). In the ages to come, God will use us to restore the government of the heavens unto Himself (Ephesians 2:6,7; cf. 2 Corinthians 5:1; Colossians 1:16-22).

God saved us to use us for all of eternity future, to do His good work in us now on earth, and to do His good work in us forever in heaven. Verily, verily, we are God’s workmanship… forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever! 🙂

God’s Workmanship #2

Saturday, March 3, 2012

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).

When we Pauline dispensationalists proclaim God’s grace, are we really encouraging people to pursue careless, frivolous lifestyles, as our (legalistic) critics claim? God forbid!

Religion deceives billions through indoctrination: to wit, lies repeated long enough are accepted as truth. Works-religion (legalism) prevails in the professing church today: “Perform so God can save you!” Thus, the average church member, upon hearing the Biblical truth, “God will save you, regardless of your works,” they mistake this as careless living. They are programmed to accept error as truth; consequently, they reject contradictory information (God’s truth!).

When we Pauline dispensationalists declare, “Salvation is by grace through faith plus nothing,” we mean salvation is COMPLETELY independent of our performance (Romans 3:28; Romans 4:1-5; Galatians 2:21; Ephesians 2:8,9; Titus 3:5; et al.). Grace saves us solely because of the merits of Jesus Christ at Calvary; grace does not save us on the basis of our good works—grace is unmerited favor (Romans 11:6).

Grace is what God can do for us because we sinners can do nothing for God. The Greek word translated “workmanship” in today’s Scripture is poiema, meaning “creation,” from which we get “poem.” Interestingly, poiema is used one other time in Scripture: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

From salvation and the Christian life to the origin of the universe, the emphasis is not on the creation—(us, the heavens, and the earth), but on the Creator, Jesus Christ (see Romans 1:25). The focus is not on the poem (workmanship), but rather the POET (Creator)!

God the Holy Spirit is doing something amazing in us believers. He is transforming us from the inside out for His glory. “Our” good works are God’s sound doctrine working in us. It is God’s work (1 Corinthians 15:10; Galatians 5:16-26; Philippians 1:9-11). Indeed, we are God’s workmanship!

God’s Workmanship #1

Friday, March 2, 2012

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10 KJV).

Many charge us Pauline dispensationalists with the following: “You are telling people to sin all they want because God’s grace and forgiveness cover it!” When we proclaim God’s grace, are we really encouraging people to pursue careless, frivolous lifestyles, as our (legalistic) critics claim? Or, are they simply misunderstanding grace?

The Greek word translated “workmanship” in today’s Scripture is poiema, meaning “creation,” from which we get “poem.” Interestingly, poiema is used one other time in Scripture: “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:20).

From salvation and the Christian life to the origin of the universe, the emphasis is not on the creation (us, the heavens, and the earth), but on the Creator, Jesus Christ (see Romans 1:25). Just as we did not engineer the heavens and the earth, neither did we work to receive salvation in Christ—Christ alone worked to save us. Now that God has saved us, His grace can permeate our inner man, and teach us how to live in Christ Jesus (Titus 2:11-15).

Grace teaches us not to focus on what we do for God, for we sinners can do nothing to please God (Romans 3:23), but rather focus on what God did at Calvary for us. Our good works could not save us, so how could they keep us saved? They cannot! Thus, our receiving and keeping salvation, and our Christian lives, are not reliant upon our performance, but on Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork on Calvary.

As today’s Scripture specifies, we are not doing good works. “Our” good works are actually the outward manifestation of what God the Holy Spirit is doing internally (Galatians 5:22,23; cf. Romans 8:1-14). When we study and believe sound Bible doctrine, God will use that doctrine to transform us from the inside out (Philippians 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). We are God’s workmanship!

Shhhh, Grace Believers!

Sunday, February 26, 2012

“Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth” (Acts 19:26,27 KJV).

God’s Word has always been unpopular with sinful mankind, but this is especially true of the Gospel of the Grace of God. In today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul is preaching the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as the only way to heaven, angering the pagan idol makers. “Paul, quiet down, you are a threat to our ‘business’ (religion)!” Not surprisingly, we grace believers are told the same thing!

My local grace church has a television ministry. Once, viewers had great difficulty hearing the program. They would increase the volume of their televisions, but our pastor’s preaching was barely audible. When church members visited the office of the cable television provider which broadcasts the show, they learned that a technician was lowering the master transmit volume when our program would air. (The grace message was too offensive to either his religion or his sinfulness, so he was turning down the volume for all viewers!)

The Bible speaks of people who know the truth of God, but “who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:19,20)—they suppress God’s Word so that Satan’s error can flourish! In today’s Scripture, these pagans wanted to turn the crowds against the Apostle Paul. Paul would not be quiet regarding the message of God’s grace, so they were determined to kill him in a mob (see Acts 19:28–20:1)!

God’s grace, the message of Calvary’s cross, is offensive to people preoccupied with works-religion, for Calvary charges works-religion (man’s performance) as insufficient for heaven (see Galatians 5:11). Let us continue boldly sharing the Gospel of the Grace of God, and the rightly divided King James Bible, especially when they cry, “Shhhh, grace believers!” 🙂