Category: spiritual growth and maturity

In Every Thing Give Thanks

Thursday, November 27, 2014

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 KJV).

Dear saints, take a moment this Thanksgiving to learn a valuable lesson from the Holy Scriptures!

God wants “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:3,4). To be “saved” here means you have been rescued from the penalty of sin (hell and the lake of fire), and that you have a home in heaven, because you have trusted the death, shed blood, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as sufficient payment for your sins. To “come unto the knowledge of the truth” is when a person who has trusted Christ, begins to understand why God saved him or her, and how God will use him or her for His glory. Although soul salvation is instantaneous, spiritual maturity is a life-long process (that is especially true regarding handling difficulties, the grace way!).

It is human nature to avoid difficulties and stress, to flee them, rather than confront them. This self-preservation is advantageous, particularly in “life or death” situations. However, running from troubling circumstances is not the way God has designed our life in Christ to function. Today’s Scripture says, “In every thing give thanks,” not “For every thing give thanks.” We do not thank God for our troubles; we thank God while we are enduring those troubles. This is tough, I know, but it takes time for us to learn it. Even the Apostle Paul had to learn this.

“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:11-13).

Be thankful in every thing. God’s grace is sufficient for you, dear saint, in all of life’s circumstances. When you learn this, you are “[coming] unto the knowledge of the truth.”

*Excerpted from our Thanksgiving 2012 Bible study with the same name. That study can be read here or watched here.

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What are our spiritual blessings in Christ?”

A Bible That (Effectually) Works #2

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

“For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 KJV).

If God’s Word is to “effectually work” in us, we must first have it.

“Effectually worketh” means something that will produce the intended result. God wants to use His written Word, the Holy Bible, to build in our inner man, our soul, an edifice or structure of sound doctrine. This fortification of doctrine enables us to accomplish His will with Him, as well as protects us from the Adversary who wants to harm us and hinder God’s purpose and plan for us.

Thus, Satan knows that the best way to attack us is to divorce us from God’s Word, for then we are powerless against his schemes and scams. Nevertheless, Satan is a very sneaky creature; rather than trying to take the Bible completely away from us, for then he would be obvious, Satan will counterfeit the Bible, and then encourage us to use the counterfeit. We will never know otherwise, and we will sabotage our Christian life by defiling it with “junk doctrine.” Beloved, this is what makes the Bible versions issue so serious. If it is a translation not derived from pure Bible manuscripts, it is not God’s Word but man’s word, and man’s word will never produce what God’s Word will produce.

Just as false Bible manuscripts troubled Christians in Thessalonica (2 Thessalonians 2:2), just as false prophets misled Israel with untrue doctrine (2 Peter 2:1-3), so Satan uses counterfeits to confuse and undermine us. The Devil’s evil world system incites us to embrace modern Bible versions, so-called “easy-to-read” books but whose underlying manuscripts abound with historical and theological mistakes, and lack whole verses, passages, and even Bible books (!).

For over 400 years, the King James Bible has faithfully served the Body of Christ. Beloved, we would be foolish to believe present-day, “ear-tickling” Christendom could ever produce a Bible that even comes to close to the King James Bible, “a Bible that effectually works!” 🙂

Preaching to Perfect

Monday, November 24, 2014

“[Christ] Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:28,29 KJV).

And so, our grace Bible conference has concluded.

Our ministry goal as Pauline dispensationalists is to “have all men saved, and come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4)—to see that they hear the right Gospel (Paul’s Gospel, Christ’s finished crosswork [1 Corinthians 15:3,4]) so as to believe it, and to see that they hear the right Bible doctrine so as to receive it (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon). That is Father God’s will for them; if we delight in His will, it will become our will; and we will then do His will.

We are not here to prove ourselves right, or to force people to agree with us; we are here to declare that God is right and everyone else is wrong, and to be helpers of others’ joy. We know the heartaches and perplexities of religious tradition, we have found the key to recovering ourselves out of the snare of the devil, and now we hold forth “the word of life”—not in arrogance, but in compassion, for we too were once foolish and deceived. We care about their souls, that they not be defiled with either sins of the flesh (“secular” human evil) or sins of the spirit (“pious” human good).

Rather than trying to take away something worthless that they have, we offer them God’s priceless wisdom that they need; if they embrace the latter, they will discard the former! If they prefer spiritual ignorance, that is their prerogative, and we should say no more; if they want spiritual maturity, that is our privilege of teaching them God’s Word rightly divided (today’s Scripture).

As our apostle Paul knew, it was really God’s Holy Spirit working in him mightily; it was not Paul struggling in himself to do the work of the ministry. When it is God working, there is no pride, failure, or misery; only charity, love in action, to see that lost souls are saved (justified) and those Christian souls are edified (strengthened). Yes, we “preach to perfect!” 🙂

NOTE: The 2014 Slidell Grace Bible Conference concluded yesterday. Videos of the messages to be uploaded to YouTube in due time, so stay tuned for updates. If you are interested in purchasing CDs or DVDs, please email me for more information at arcministries@gmail.com.

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.

The Three E’s of Bible Study

Sunday, November 9, 2014

“So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:8 KJV).

Can you name the three “E’s” of Bible study?

In Nehemiah’s day, 150 years after God deported Judah and Jerusalem to Babylon (their chastisement for centuries of pagan idolatry), the priest-scribe Ezra led some Jews from Babylon to Jerusalem. After Jerusalem’s wall is completed under Nehemiah’s supervision, Ezra preaches to Israel from Moses’ writings (probably Leviticus and/or Deuteronomy). Men are standing with Ezra, explaining God’s Word to Israel. The people are moved, convicted, realizing their sins before God; they are instructed to do right in God’s sight; and they finally obey JEHOVAH’S words by keeping His Feast of Tabernacles (verses 9-18).

Hence, whenever God’s Word is opened and thoughtfully read, these three events should always occur:

  1. ENLIGHTENMENT—“to give spiritual light to; instruct.” Paul prayed for all believers: “[17] That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: [18] The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,…” (Ephesians 1:17,18).
  2. EDIFICATION—“to instruct or benefit; uplift.” “Edify” is derived from two roots, the first meaning, “to build,” and the second, “house, temple.” The idea is building a structure of sound doctrine inside a person’s soul. Paul and Timothy wrote, “…we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying” (2 Corinthians 12:19). “For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord giveth us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed” (10:8).
  3. ENCOURAGEMENT—“to put courage in; to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.” Paul wrote to downcast Timothy, “Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands” (2 Timothy 1:6). “[S]tand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; and in nothing terrified by your adversaries…” (Philippians 1:27,28).

Walking in the Truth

Thursday, November 6, 2014

“I rejoiced greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father” (2 John 4 KJV).

As the Apostle John wrote to believing Israel to commend her of her godly walk, so we rejoice when we hear of you “walking in truth,” too!

In 1 John, the Apostle made several contrasts between Jews believing, and Jews unbelieving; Jews sound in faith, and Jews apostate; Jews physically and spiritually circumcised, and Jews physically circumcised only; Jews true, and Jews counterfeit. Afterward, he wrote two books, 2 and 3 John, to praise and encourage those Jews who had trusted Jesus as Messiah, those who were believing, those who were sound in faith, those who had been born again, those who were true Jews. In the future, the words of commendation will apply to those Jews who reject Antichrist (see 1 John 4:1-3; 2 John 7).

The two tiny epistles of 2 John and 3 John are best understood as addendums to the book of 1 John. Notice today’s Scripture, from 2 John, and verses 3 and 4 of 3 John: “For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee [Gaius], even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” Whether writing to believing Israel in general (2 John), or a believing Jew named Gaius (3 John), it was the Holy Spirit through John that rejoiced in the fact that these Jews did not trample God’s precious words under foot as their unbelieving kindred were doing.

Specifically, the commandment that these Jews had been given by the Father was that they should love one another (2 John 6).

John was thrilled to hear of those to whom he had ministered, so glad to see them progressing in sound Bible doctrine, maturing, becoming stronger in their spiritual understanding. We too enjoy hearing from all of you, who express to us your utmost gratitude for our ministry, how you are learning much, and how you pray for us daily. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ! 🙂

How to Open God’s Safe

Saturday, October 25, 2014

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 KJV).

Spread the word that today’s Scripture is the key to unlocking the Word!

Many centuries ago, God used holy men to write His Word in human language, He used holy men to copy it thousands of times over to preserve it for us, and He used holy men to translate it into our language, English. The King James Bible did not “just drop down from heaven in 1611;” it was the result of laborious collation, meticulous comparison, and diligent translation of various ancient Hebrew and Greek Bible manuscripts, and prudent consultation of previous translations (particularly, early English).

Our precious King James Bible is a safe—it contains the wealth of the Lord Jesus Christ’s wisdom. How do we extract the profit contained therein? We could spend the rest of our lives searching for the combination in religious tradition, scientific analyses, prayer closets, introspection of intuition, et cetera, but what a waste of time! While most theologians, ministers, and church members still grope and fumble searching for the obvious (sixth-grade English!), banging in frustration on the door, we rejoice evermore in Christ that we have discovered the Bible’s combination—“2 Timothy 2:15!”

Friend, dispensational Bible study is the key to accessing the priceless spiritual knowledge and wisdom God offers us in His Word. We can use the Bible as a nice decorative item to exhibit on a bookshelf or tote under the arm, but that is not what God intended. Only one verse in all the Bible tells us to study the Bible; that one verse tells us how to study the Bible.

“Rightly dividing the word of truth” liberated me from spiritual confusion and religious tradition. It will do the same for you if you let it. Do not let traditionalists mix God’s Word and mix you up. Flee from those who muddle dispensational boundaries—distinctions God has made in His Word—and who force you to consume such nauseous doctrine. For your own spiritual health’s sake, flee to God’s safe and open it quick! Then, share its combination and contents with others. There is plenty to go around! 🙂

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God #7

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 21 KJV).

How will today’s Scripture benefit the nation Israel in “the ages to come?”

Writing to the future seven-year Tribulation Jewish saints, the Apostle Peter exhorted: “[6] Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: [7] Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. [8] Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: [9] Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. [10] But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you” (1 Peter 5:6-10).

With almost all of mankind united with the Antichrist to “cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance” (Psalm 83:4), Israel’s believing remnant must cast all their worry upon God, for He cares for them. He loves them ever so much, even if no one else does. Jude reminds them that, as long as they keep God’s love for them foremost in their thinking, Satan cannot use their hateful enemies to intimidate them into surrendering. Their faith, their kingdom doctrine (particularly Hebrews through Revelation), will guard them against the deception engulfing the world.

Father God will make these precious Jewish saints “perfect” (spiritually mature). He will “strengthen” Israel’s believing remnant. He will “settle” these Messianic Jews. Jude 20 and 21 are the keys to Israel’s spiritual survival during Daniel’s 70th week: studying the Scriptures applicable to them (especially Hebrews through Revelation), praying according to the Holy Spirit’s revealed Word to them, constantly recalling God’s love for them, and anticipating Christ’s glorious return to usher in their “heaven-on-earth” kingdom. Just as Israel will rely on Him to see them through difficult times, may we study and believe Paul’s epistles, to rely on God in our times of sorrow. 🙂

Our latest Bible Q&A: “Does 1 Corinthians 15:11 disprove dispensational Bible study?”

Keep Yourselves in the Love of God #5

Monday, October 20, 2014

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” (Jude 21 KJV).

How will today’s Scripture benefit the nation Israel in “the ages to come?”

In the midst of all the seven-year Tribulation’s suffering and heartache, Jude encourages Israel’s believing remnant in verses 20 and 21: “But ye, beloved, [1] building up yourselves on your most holy faith, [2] praying in the Holy Ghost, [3] keep yourselves in the love of God, [4] looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Notice the four-fold edification the Holy Spirit has for them.)

Firstly, they are to “[build] up [themselves] on [their] most holy faith” (belief system). Paul declared, “the word of [God’s] grace… is able to build you up” (Acts 20:32). Just as we are to use God’s Word to us (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon) to build an edifice of sound doctrine in our hearts and lives (see 1 Corinthians 3:10,12,14), Israel’s believing remnant is to use the Old Testament, the Four Gospels, and Hebrews through Revelation to build an edifice of sound doctrine in their hearts and lives.

Secondly, they are to “[pray] in the Holy Ghost.” To reinforce that kingdom doctrine in their hearts and minds, they are to pray according to what the Holy Spirit will be doing at that time, activity described in their Scriptures (particularly Hebrews through Revelation, but all of the Bible outside of Paul’s epistles). The Holy Spirit will teach them His Word (1 John 2:27; cf. Matthew 10:19,20; Luke 21:14,15).

Thirdly, they are to “keep [guard] [themselves] in the love of God.” They are to remember God’s love for them, and not worry about the nations and their relatives and friends who hate them. (Later, we will look at this more closely.)

Lastly, they are to “[look] for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” They are to anticipate Jesus Christ’s Second Coming, when He will show them mercy, defeating their enemies, delivering them and ushering them into the eternal life of His earthly kingdom (Mark 10:28-31)….

Our latest Bible Q&A: “What does ‘saved, if ye keep in memory’ mean in 1 Corinthians 15:2?”