Category: ministry

Saints and Silly Stories

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3,4 KJV).

Yea, today’s Scripture can apply even to genuine members of the Church the Body of Christ.

I have a friend in the grace ministry going back more than a decade. Once denominational like myself, this brother (through our ministry) came to understand and enjoy the Scriptures rightly divided. However, over the course of the last eight years, especially since his wife’s death, he has gradually slipped deeper and deeper into doctrinal error. While I have repeatedly advised him to be careful, he just continues listening to all sorts of weird people. He knows better, but he has become so addicted to these self-styled “prophets” and “prophetesses” because they teach just what he wants to hear. They further disorient him, increasingly seducing him from sound Bible doctrine (1 Timothy 4:1,2).

False teachers—especially in the name of supposed “Christianity”—capitalize on vulnerable souls who so desperately seek peace, answers, and relief. For over two years now, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly afflicted the world. People are worrying, hurting, and dying. Unemployment, inflation, sickness, and isolation are just some of the detrimental effects. Widespread political problems also contribute to unrest. Yet, here come “Christian” preachers with all their denominational doctrines, idly speculating as to what they think “God” is doing. Failing to approach the Bible dispensationally, they do not have a clue what the Lord is doing! Hearing my friend’s “tales,” I can see just how confused he is (and they are). Once, he even apologized after distracting me with certain stories he read online. I replied (most politely, of course), “The Devil is using them to distract you!” He was speechless.

Saints, no matter how “strong” or “dedicated” we are, we can always fall. Let us always be mindful that we are in a spiritual battle. If we are not daily arming ourselves according to Ephesians 6:10-20, the Adversary will certainly be merciless as he wounds us!

Our two latest Bible Q&As: “What does ‘several’ mean in the King James Bible?” and “What is the ‘maw?’”

An Increase Long After Our Decease

Monday, January 24, 2022

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase” (1 Corinthians 3:5-7 KJV).

Even death itself cannot stop the Lord’s ministry!

Several years ago, a dear Christian sister shared the Gospel of Grace with an unsaved man. He trusted the Lord Jesus Christ as his personal Saviour, and passed from death to life! She relayed the news to me and we rejoiced together, but, for the next four years, we heard from him just a few times. The lady eventually graduated to Heaven because of an accident, but she always wondered whatever happened to him. Over a year after her death, I receive a phone call. It is he! He had just learned about her moving to Heaven, and was so dismayed he wanted to reconnect with me, and tell me what had been happening since we last heard from him. I explained to him how we had thought about him often—and though her absence was a devastating loss to us all, we would see her again in the Lord’s presence and he could thank her there.

Over the last two years, he and I have tried to keep in more contact. Recently, he has informed me he is endeavoring to reach his adult children and young grandchildren with the Gospel of Grace—but they are so entangled in works-religion (his former denomination, Roman Catholicism) that it is most difficult. Moreover, he is still battling other denominationalists in a church he had started attending before he believed the Gospel of Grace. I encouraged him with more Scriptures and ministry advice, especially how the lady dealt with her own family (all of whom were of the same cult as he was and his family still is).

The sister now in Heaven almost three years will be most excited to hear one day how the Lord’s ministry through her continued to bear fruit long after she left us. She planted, we watered, but God gives the increase (cf. today’s Scripture). Indeed, long after our decease, His words will take care of themselves!

Bible Q&A #915: “Is it fair for John to refer to them as ‘the Jews?’”

Redeem the Year!

Saturday, January 1, 2022

“See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17 KJV).

What great advice for 2022!

Despite 2,000 years of Bible schools and seminaries, 2,000 years of a completed Bible canon, 2,000 years of Bible reading in churches, several decades of “Christian” television and radio, and just over a decade of widespread use of “Christian” websites, how sad that Bible ignorance is still quite extensive (it is as if God never gave His Word to start with!).

Frankly, the Church the Body of Christ needs to wake up! The verse previous to today’s Scripture says, “Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light” (verse 14). Paul, loosely quoting Isaiah 60:1, reminded us that the spiritual ignorance that gripped Israel in Isaiah’s day seized Christians in his day—and it still grips Christians 20 centuries later. Feel-good sermons, enjoyable “worship” services, and rites, rituals, and ceremonies will NOT solve this problem—they exacerbate it!

“[God] will have all men to be saved…” (1 Timothy 2:4a). Do you want this New Year to count for God’s glory? First, you need to get saved from sins and hell! You need to become a Christian by trusting in and relying on Jesus Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection as sufficient payment for your sins (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). That is only part of God’s will for you, for 1 Timothy 2:4b continues, “[God] will have all men… to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” Now, God’s will for your Christian life is daily, personal Bible study to renew your mind, so your faith in those verses can cause God to work in your life—it will be His life, thus making you “perfect [spiritually mature], throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16,17).

Today’s Scripture urges us to buy back the time Satan has robbed from God (time created for God’s glory). By faith, we need to make that time glorify the Lord Jesus Christ by applying His Word, particularly Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, to our lives. Have a good year in Christ! 🙂

You can download our free “One-Year Bible Reading Schedule.”

See our archived Bible Q&A: “What Scriptural advice can you give me for the New Year?”

The Lord’s Ministers

Thursday, October 14, 2021

“Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man? I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building” (1 Corinthians 3:5-9 KJV).

As I write this, I am thinking of two particular brothers in Christ who have helped me to understand and enjoy the King James Bible. I have never met them, but I have read their books with great interest. They have contributed to my spiritual edification, and that of those I teach. Just as Paul and Apollos labored in the grace ministry, so we all work with God in bringing other believers in Christ to a greater awareness of spiritual truth.

Despite their denominationalism, they shared the spiritual light they had—even if it meant offending “scholarship” and being the object of ridicule. One of those saints was a bitter opponent of dispensational Bible study because it contradicted his religious traditions; therefore, his spiritual growth was stunted. The other Christian was quite deceived in seminary, so those shortfalls also prevented him from coming to a fuller understanding of Scripture than he had. Regardless, I can rejoice in the Lord those two brethren are in Heaven, one graduating to there long before I was born and the other moving to the Lord’s presence just a few years ago. However great their confusion was here, their Saviour has straightened them out there. They fight against their Lord no longer! When it comes my time to leave this world and relocate to Heaven, I will surely shake those two brothers by the hand and tell them what the Lord used them to do with me and all those our ministry reaches.

How we are ever thankful of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He not only works through men who believe, but also performs in us to build and expand on their understanding of His precious (and preserved) words.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What is ‘the one needful thing’ in Luke 10:42?”

Co-op

Wednesday, September 15, 2021

“He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward” (Matthew 10:41 KJV).

A “co-op” is a cooperative society, business, or enterprise: people work together to achieve a desired, common end. The Lord’s ministry functions likewise….

Today’s Scripture in context: “[40] He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. [41] He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. [42] And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.”

Chapter 10 of Matthew is the first installment of the so-called “Great Commission.” The Lord Jesus Christ is sending out 12 disciples or students—the 12 “Apostles” (“sent ones;” cf. verses 5,6)—to preach to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As His Father has sent Him to them, so He sends them to the rest of Israel; they are His representatives, like He is His Heavenly Father’s Spokesman. In closing, He reminds them that whoever receives them into their company also accepts Him and His Father.

Draw your attention now to verses 41 and 42. Those converts or believers who receive the Apostles are also partakers of the Apostles’ ministry. Furthermore, as the Apostles will receive a reward from God, so those who bless the Apostles will partake of the Apostles’ reward. Similarly, the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians chapter 4: “[15] Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. [16] For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. [17] Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.” As we labor in ministry with other members of the Church the Body of Christ, so we too will share in their eternal reward!

Zealous, But Ignorant #3

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

“Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi” (2 Samuel 18:22,23 KJV).

What valuable ministry advice can we derive from here, 30 centuries later?

There are many passionate souls in religion, excited to fulfill the demands of their particular group, sect, cult, or denomination. They are fervent in their belief in “God”… whatever that means. Unbelieving Israel during the Acts period was the same way: “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Romans 10:1-3). Although busy in religion, they had no spiritual light. It was all about their performance (self-righteousness), and they were so distracted they completely missed God’s righteousness. Their activities were the flesh, not the Spirit of God, and thus futile. Let us be careful to avoid this trap!

Furthermore, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will” (2 Timothy 2:24-26). When appointing people to the ministry, we should be looking for souls able to teach sound Bible doctrine—not simply individuals who have “a burning desire” to do something important. If they do not have information ready, if they have not prepared themselves in the Scriptures via personal dispensational Bible study, their ministries will be as inadequate and embarrassing as that of Ahimaaz. Beloved, may we ourselves carry and deliver messages of spiritual substance, and not simply engage in outward activity!

Zealous, But Ignorant #2

Monday, August 9, 2021

“Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi” (2 Samuel 18:22,23 KJV).

What valuable ministry advice can we derive from here, 30 centuries later?

Continue reading the passage: “[28] And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, All is well. And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and said, Blessed be the LORD thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king. [29] And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was. [30] And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.”

In chapter 15, King David’s son Absalom had usurped his father’s throne. With a great multitude in Israel siding with Absalom, David had fled Jerusalem. By the time of today’s Scripture, there was war between the followers of David and the followers of Absalom. Although David ordered his men to spare Absalom’s life, they assassinated him anyway! Joab, David’s general, sends a messenger to bear the news to the king. Cushi, who has seen the events firsthand, is preparing to leave with the tidings. Alas, Ahimaaz is eager to do the job—although he has witnessed nothing personally. Finally, to pacify insistent Ahimaaz, Joab sends him to David along with Cushi. Yet, when Ahimaaz reaches David, he is unable to answer the king’s question about Absalom’s safety. “I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what it was” (verse 29). Ahimaaz’s “ministry” was utterly pointless, so he stands beside David—embarrassed—as they wait for news from Cushi! Eventually, Cushi arrives with terrible news, and David is heartbroken to hear of Absalom’s demise (verses 31-33).

Now, let us make application to our own ministries….

Zealous, But Ignorant #1

Sunday, August 8, 2021

“Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi” (2 Samuel 18:22,23 KJV).

What valuable ministry advice can we derive from here, 30 centuries later?

Begin reading at verse 19: “[19] Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run, and bear the king tidings, how that the LORD hath avenged him of his enemies. [20] And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king’s son is dead. [21] Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran. [22] Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, But howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi. And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings ready? [23] But howsoever, said he, let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.

“[24] And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone. [25] And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he came apace, and drew near. [26] And the watchman saw another man running: and the watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth tidings. [27] And the watchman said, Me thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh with good tidings.”

Let us listen to this “good news” Ahimaaz delivers to King David….

An Ambassador Turns 33!

Saturday, August 7, 2021 🎂

“I am thy servant; give me understanding, that I may know thy testimonies” (Psalm 119:125 KJV).

Today, a certain ambassador for the risen Christ celebrates his 33rd birthday!

Each and every birthday, as members of the Church the Body of Christ, we are one year closer to keeping our appointment in the heavenly places. We can never be certain as to what might happen to us in the meantime, but our eternal destiny is secure in the Lord Jesus Christ! “And [Father God] hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6,7).

Physical age is just a small footnote in the grand scheme of things. These bodies of flesh and blood are limited, as sin ensures they have an expiration date. Still, our tabernacles of dust will be resurrected and transformed into most marvelous glorified bodies. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:20,21). Of course, we never know if, prior to our physical death, the Lord might come for His entire Body and we would thereby avoid the grave entirely.

Whatever might happen along the way, it is okay, for it does not compare to the glory of the endless ages to come! “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). These mortal bodies are attached to this fallen world—subject to sin, weakness, sickness, and death—but once we leave them and receive our resurrection bodies, the glory of God hidden in our inner man now will ultimately burst forth and shine throughout the universe!

Brethren, as today’s Scripture teaches us, we are the LORD’S servants—and we gain spiritual understanding as we heed sound Bible doctrine. Not only are we experiencing this life, we are also preparing for the next, so let us make wise use of our time here (Ephesians 5:15-21)! 🙂

A Grace Study Bible

Sunday, August 1, 2021

“And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2:2 KJV).

Today, we reflect on nine full years of the arC Ministries’ Grace Study Bible Project!

Some 100 years ago, the Scofield Study Bible was published. It was a work that popularized—not invented—dispensational Bible study. For a century, the Church the Body of Christ has used this monumental aid to edify itself. It was (and still is) useful in recovering precious Bible truths that had been lost for centuries, doctrines still pushed aside by denominational hierarchies that prefer to be the “authority” with their “tradition of men.”

Nine years ago today, after much prayer and consideration, I began the formation of a new grace study Bible. Using the King James Bible, my goal in this project is to build on Dr. Scofield’s foundation laid long ago. We are (and will always be) indebted to that brother for his faithful service, his submission to the Holy Spirit to produce a profitable study Bible. (Incidentally, Dr. Scofield led a missionary to Christ, that missionary led a preacher to Christ, that preacher led a woman to Christ, that woman led Mom to Christ, and Mom led me to Christ.) What took Dr. Scofield decades to learn, we can acquire in a fraction of that time. Brother Scofield did not live long enough to progress any further in Bible understanding, but in the century since he has gone to heaven, a faithful remnant within the Body of Christ has expanded upon Dr. Scofield’s insightful notes. We recognize where he was wrong in certain areas, and we can improve those areas in our understanding and study.

In brief, some stats about our grace study Bible. We seem to be roughly 80 percent completed with it. How many more years it will take remains to be seen, but rest assured, what cannot be condensed into marginal notes or footnotes, will be, Lord willing, expanded into a full-Bible commentary book series! Stay tuned in the coming years and thank you for your prayer in this regard! 🙂

* You can read more about our Grace Study Bible Project here.