Category: spiritual growth and maturity

Bible Study 102 #11

Sunday, March 16, 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).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

Scripture clearly states, “God is not the author of confusion” (1 Corinthians 14:33), yet look at the professing Body of Christ. It is just as confused and misinformed about the Bible’s teachings as the people who do not even use the Bible! This Bible confusion is not God’s fault—Christendom has utterly failed to appreciate the dispensational layout of Scripture as God instructed.

One of my Christian friends and ministry co-workers was born and raised in a false religious system. For the first 30-plus years of his earthly life, he was never told the truth, that his religious performance could never merit God’s favor. Once he came to trust Jesus Christ alone as his personal Saviour, he spent the first 40 years of his Christian life never fully understanding his Bible. As a deacon and a Bible teacher in a local Bible church, religious tradition was still robbing him of God’s truth as it had when he was lost! (This is true of many Christians today!)

Years ago, I was privileged to teach him dispensational Bible study. Today, he still reminds me, “All those years I did not understand the Bible, all those passages that puzzled me and yet I had no answers to all those questions! The Bible makes so much sense now!” This dear brother in Christ is no longer “taken captive by [the devil] at his will” (2 Timothy 2:26): God had given him “repentance [change of mind] to the acknowledging of the truth,” and he “recovered [himself] out of the snare of the devil” (cf. 1 Timothy 2:4b). Now, he knows what God is doing (described in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon), he knows and enjoys his Bible like never before, and he can enjoy the eternal life that God gave him over 40 years ago, the life religion never told him about!

Indeed, dispensational Bible study is crucial, for it can salvage the lives of Christians….

Bible Study 102 #10

Saturday, March 15, 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).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

Dispensational Bible study enables us to learn who we are—the Church the Body of Christ—lest we think we are someone we are not—the nation Israel (Romans 11:25). Lest we think we are Israel, lest we follow Israel’s doctrine, lest we claim Israel’s promises, lest we act like Israel, and lest we believe we have any relationship to Israel’s prophetic program, the Holy Spirit through Paul penned Romans chapters 9-11. Without these three chapters, we cannot understand Israel’s temporary fall and why God has momentarily set His special nation aside. Save for these three chapters written by Paul, we would not know that Israel still has a glorious future awaiting her, despite her program having been suspended these last 2,000 years so that our mystery program could operate.

Therefore, the Apostle Peter exhorted his Jewish audience to study Paul’s epistles—specifically Romans chapters 9-11—and learn how Jesus Christ will return for Israel, pour out His wrath on the unbelievers, and deliver Israel’s believing remnant into her earthly kingdom. Peter told them that, until then, as Paul’s epistles teach, Gentile salvation in our Dispensation of Grace must first be fulfilled (Romans 11:25-29). Even the Apostle Peter—led by the Holy Ghost—wrote that he recognized Paul’s special ministry.

“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).

By writing Romans chapters 9-11, God the Holy Ghost demonstrated that, in our Christian life, we should not behave like Israel nor claim her passages, for we are not Israel….

Bible Study 102 #9

Friday, March 14, 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).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

When Paul outlined how “we are labourers together with God,” how “the grace of God which is given unto [him] as a wise masterbuilder [architect],” how he has laid the foundation “Jesus Christ [that is, “the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery;” Romans 16:25],” he cautioned, “But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon” (1 Corinthians 3:9-11). The admonition is clear: we do not usurp Israel’s program and attempt to build what God has built and will build with Israel.

Verses 12-15 elaborate: “Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

If our Christian service is to be acceptable to God, if the doctrine we believe is to glorify our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we must have “gold, silver, precious stones” (symbolic of spiritual wisdom, spiritual knowledge, and spiritual understanding; Proverbs 3:14,15; Proverbs 8:11; Proverbs 16:16). The Corinthians were building human viewpoint (philosophy) into their Christian lives, so Paul warned them (quoted in the above paragraph) not to ignore the blueprints (his epistles), not to construct with worthless “wood, hay, stubble!”

Beloved, unless we are following the doctrine Jesus Christ committed unto the Apostle Paul, we are using worthless building materials, and God is sure to reject, not us—we are saved and secure in Christ (Ephesians 4:30; 2 Timothy 1:12)—but our Christian service. In order to reign with Jesus Christ in the heavenly places one day, we need to learn His doctrine to us now….

Bible Study 102 #5

Monday, March 10, 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).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

God’s will is not simply that we “read and study Scripture” (Satan does that too, Matthew 4:5,6!), but that we “rightly divide” it. God’s will is not simply that we “believe the Gospel” (most Gospels in Scripture are not given to us), but that we believe the Gospel of Grace revealed to us through Paul’s ministry. God’s will is not simply that we “believe Bible doctrine” (there are many truths in Scripture not true about us), but that we believe Bible doctrine that He revealed to us through Paul. God’s will is not simply that we “follow Jesus,” but that we follow the Apostle Paul as he followed Christ.

Religious tradition—that is, a non-dispensational approach to Scripture—makes the Christian life confusing, frustrating, and futile. For years, yea decades, many souls who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as their personal Saviour never have peace about why the Bible instructs something in one passage and says something completely opposite in another. (Where are the pastors and teachers to guide them into God’s truth [Ephesians 4:11,12]? As Colossians 2:8 says, religious tradition has robbed nearly all of them, too!)

We can understand and enjoy the Bible if we simply remember today’s Scripture when studying any Bible passage. God has made distinctions in His Word. We should not blend all Bible passages together—there are programs to be “rightly divided,” apostleships to be “rightly divided,” operating systems to be “rightly divided,” time periods to be “rightly divided,” gospels to be “rightly divided,” and they make perfect sense when we keep them separate as God instructs. What is spoken to Israel is spoken to Israel, not to us. What is spoken to us through Paul is spoken to us, not to Israel.

Dispensational Bible study is the only method of Bible study that will ever lead you to sound conclusions about Scripture. It allows us to find out what God is doing today, and by faith, we can join Him in doing the same….

Bible Study 102 #4

Sunday, March 9, 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).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

God’s will for man is two-fold: firstly, the Lord Jesus Christ wants to save man from his sins and Satan’s policy of evil (1 Timothy 2:4a), and, secondly, He wants to educate man about His original plan for him (1 Timothy 2:4b). “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

While a full comprehension of dispensational Bible study is not necessary for salvation from sins, where to find in Scripture God’s current plan of salvation is absolutely critical. For example, we do not find the Gospel of Jesus Christ’s finished crosswork declared in the Old Testament. Calvary’s crosswork was definitely prophesied (Psalm 22, Isaiah 53, et cetera), but the benefits Israel received from it were not fully revealed until after it happened (Hebrews 10:10; 1 Peter 1:19; et al.). Moreover, until Paul’s ministry, God did not reveal what Calvary meant for us Gentiles (1 Timothy 2:5-7; Titus 1:2,3; 1 John 2:2; et al.). Unless we “rightly divide the word of truth” as today’s Scripture instructs, we overlook these doctrinal differences, and we do not recognize where in Scripture we find God’s message of salvation for us Gentiles.

God’s good news to us Gentiles today is that He is offering His grace in Christ to us, without any works on our part. The Gospel of the Grace of God, first committed to the Apostle Paul’s trust, is “Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He rose again the third day” (1 Corinthians 15:3,4). If we Gentiles are to have a right standing before God (justification unto eternal life, eternity in heaven, et cetera), God expects us to believe and trust that message. Once we trust that Gospel, and that Gospel alone, then we can study the Bible to grow spiritually, to “come to the knowledge of the truth,” to learn why God saved us….

Bible Study 102 #3

Saturday, March 8, 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).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

Many professing Christians spend their whole earthly lives struggling to discern God’s will. They observe their circumstances and attempt to “read between the lines and discern road signs,” they listen for instruction from “still, small voices” in their heads, they ask preachers and teachers (who rarely understand God’s will themselves), they purchase “Christian” literature and “easy-to-read” modern “bible” versions, they attend retreats and Bible conferences, they pray, and it is truly unfortunate that, despite all the effort, they often leave this life without ever getting a solid grasp of God’s Word to them. Most tragically, many not only die without understanding the Bible, but they even die in their trespasses and sins, having never realized they could have had those sins forgiven in and through Jesus Christ!

God’s will for each and every person is clearly delineated in 1 Timothy 2:4: “[God our Saviour; verse 3] Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” There are two specific phrases to note: “Who will have all men to be saved” and “Who will have all men… to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (Remember, “men” is a generic term that includes all people—man, woman, boy, and girl.)

Firstly, God wants all people to be saved from their sins and eternal hellfire. The Apostle Peter elaborated on the Apostle Paul’s words: “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Secondly, God wants all Christians to be saved from false teaching. “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee” (1 Timothy 4:16).

Let us now briefly examine the first aspect of God’s two-fold plan for man….

Bible Study 102 #1

Thursday, March 6, 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).

The only verse that tells you to study the Bible also tells you how to understand the Bible!

You can only enjoy what you understand. If you do not understand something, then it becomes burdensome and you tend to avoid it. This describes the attitude many have toward the Bible, lost and saved alike. While most professing Christians usually know that the Bible is an important Book, they often really do not know what to do with it, so they usually do not expose themselves to its contents unless at church when a preacher or priest “explains” (read that, complicates) it for them. Even then, familiar Bible passages are read over and over and over, and then the Bible becomes boring and even despised.

The goal of dispensational Bible study is to make the Bible understandable—it is the way to understand and enjoy the Bible. When considered dispensationally, the Bible literally becomes an open Book. Its “contradictory” verses are no longer bothersome because it is understood that these opposing verses are written to different peoples living in different time periods under different circumstances. However, if somebody discourages you from dispensational Bible study (and many denominations and churches do in order to keep you coming, giving, and supporting their program!), then they are taking from you the key God gave you to understand His Word! It is that serious, dear friend.

While many theologians and preachers never even partially grasp its meaning, today’s Scripture is very simple. “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” Of course, you have to have a King James Bible for it to read in this manner, for modern English “bible” translators demonstrate they have no regard for the dispensational layout of Scripture, and by retranslating the verse (which you will then read and believe), they encourage you to join them in their unbelieving scholarship.

Let us proceed to advanced right division….

The Living Words of the Living God

Wednesday, March 5, 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).

May you have the world’s most marvelous Book—not only in your hand and head, but in your heart, too!

I recently ministered to a depressed Christian brother experiencing dire circumstances. He told me that, for many years, he had read and studied particular Bible verses. Yet, they did not fully impact him until just recently when he began to re-study them. It was not until he needed those comforting verses that they began to come to his memory, and those living words of the living God soothed his vexed soul. While they did not remove those troubles, the verses encouraged him in those troubles, and they reminded him of what really mattered. It was then that I told him today’s Scripture: God’s Word “effectually worketh also in you that believe.” God’s Word will work inside of us believers, so that is why personal Bible study is critical.

Many professing Christians read books about the Bible, but they never actually read the Bible. The Holy Bible alone has God’s power, not books about it. This is why we need God’s Word in our hearts—if we do not put it there, the indwelling Holy Spirit cannot re-surface it in our minds and hearts when we need its guidance.

There are far too many false books about the Bible and even false “bibles,” and so many professing Christians are relying on them. Thus, God’s power is not operating in their lives; consequently, they are miserable in works-religion, confused about what the Bible really says. If you want God’s power, to think like He thinks in your circumstances (how He would have you to think), you need to get into His Word, the King James Bible, and study and believe it “rightly divided” (2 Timothy 2:15), so that when you need His living words, you will have them in your heart. 🙂

On Your Christian Life

Monday, March 3, 2014

“As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:6,7 KJV).

If you are seeking victorious Christian living today, you can find it today!

Where do we obtain the power for Christian living? Christendom greatly emphasizes “Kingdom building,” terminology obviously derived from the Four Gospels (Matthew 3:2, Mark 10:14,15, Luke 12:31,32, et cetera). We hear it constantly: “Follow Jesus” (the implication is to obey and apply to our lives His Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7, or Luke chapter 12, or John chapters 14-16, et cetera). Others tell us to keep the Law of Moses (Ten Commandments) for Christian living. Despite all that performance and effort, very few ever actually realize the life God has for Christians because of the confusion as to what it is and because nearly all of the activities that are presumed to be God’s life for us is everything but it!

Today’s Scripture summarizes both soul salvation unto eternal life and soul salvation unto daily grace living. How did we “receive Christ Jesus the Lord?” By our works? By keeping rules and regulations; performing rites, rituals, and ceremonies; repeating prayers; making God promises to do better; et cetera? NAY! Verse 5 says, “[our] faith in Christ.” Our Christian life operates exactly like our soul salvation from hell was accomplished—by grace through faith in Jesus Christ’s performance (Romans 3:22-26; Romans 4:3-8; Ephesians 2:8,9). As we were saved from the penalty of sin (eternal hellfire), so we can be saved from the power of sin (fleshly living, living for ourselves): it is all Jesus Christ’s work!

“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace” (Romans 6:14). We are accepted in Jesus Christ because of what He did (His grace to us), and our lifestyles are acceptable to God when we allow Jesus Christ to live His life in and through us (the grace doctrines revealed in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, which we study, believe, and apply to life). That is the key to victorious Christian living under grace!

*These past seven devotionals, “Original 7 Expanded Again,” are advanced versions of our “Original 7” devotionals arc and our “Original 7 Expanded” devotionals arc: all 21 build on each other. Onward we go in maturity! 🙂

On the Holy Bible

Friday, February 28, 2014

“But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4 KJV).

If you are seeking God’s words today, you can find them today!

Where are God’s words? In non-existent original manuscripts? In a preacher’s inner impressions? In our emotions or circumstances? In a prayer closet? In a denominational handbook, hymnal, Bible commentary, or Hebrew or Greek grammar? In an “angelic visitation?” In Bible study footnotes? In the latest, best-selling modern translation? These are usually the places where people look for God’s words, but despite all that reading and praying, they rarely find them. Very few ever actually find those precious words of God because of the confusion as to where to find them and because nearly all of the places that are presumed to have God’s words have everything but them!

In today’s Scripture, the Lord Jesus Christ affirmed that mankind needed spiritual food just as much as he needed physical food. To be physically alive but spiritually dead is not God’s original plan for man! Jesus is quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, where Moses taught Israel the same principle: Israel had 40 years of physical manna to eat but they were starving spiritually, experiencing “leanness [of] soul” because of their unbelief (Psalm 106:15)!

The prophet Isaiah foretold how God the Father “wakeneth [Jesus Christ] morning by morning, [his] ear to hear as the learned” (50:4). Every morning during His earthly ministry, Jesus studied the Old Testament scrolls, and He learned God the Father’s will (cf. Luke 2:40,52; John 8:26-29). Even Jesus Christ depended on the Holy Bible for wisdom, and He knew today’s Scripture firsthand. Jesus lived completely reliant on God’s Word—living the life God originally wanted mankind to live!

Jesus Christ reassured us, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). We have those preserved words of God in English, the King James Bible. May we never, ever take them for granted and may we never, ever abandon them. May we study them and believe them, lest we spiritually starve!