Category: spiritual immaturity

Bible Study 101 #13

Friday, January 17, 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 study the Bible!

Religious tradition has completely destroyed the clarity of the rightly divided Word of God. Hence, many apostasies and heresies (denominations, sects, cults, et cetera) afflict Christendom. By following what God did in the past, we are not doing what God is doing today, and if we are not doing God’s will today, then Satan’s work is accomplished. Thus, dispensational Bible study is critical to understanding God’s plan of salvation for today as well as recognizing his plan for the Christian today.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). All of the Bible is God’s Word, so we study all 66 books of the King James Bible (Genesis to Revelation). But, unlike most churches and professing Christians, we study the entire Bible according to the “revelation of the mystery” (in light of Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon; Romans 16:25,26).

We must stop grabbing and claiming Israel’s verses (Genesis through Malachi, Matthew through John, early Acts, and Hebrews through Revelation), and we must get into the meat of the Scriptures written to us (Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon). All of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us (remember, most of Scripture is written to and is about the nation Israel, not us). We follow God’s design for Christian edification, and we seek God’s approval, not man’s approval (today’s Scripture).

When studying a particular Bible passage, you first need to establish the following, in this order:

  1. who is writing/speaking,
  2. to whom are they writing, and
  3. what are they writing.

Again, remember that Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, are what God has to say to you, and the rest of the Bible deals with another program, Israel’s program. If Paul does not instruct you to do it, then God does not expect you to practice it in your life. This is the key to doing God’s will for you….

Bible Study 101 #12

Thursday, January 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 study the Bible!

While we study all of the Bible, Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon, have direct application to us as people in the Dispensation of the Grace of God.

Want to know how to be saved from your sins and eternal hellfire? Read Romans chapters 1-5. Want to know how to have victory over daily sins? Read Romans chapters 6-8. Want to know what happened to the nation Israel and what will happen to her in the future? Read Romans chapters 9-11. Want to see the grace life applied in specific situations? Read Romans chapters 12-16.

Wondering what a Christian congregation looks like if it ignores the grace doctrines in Romans and embraces philosophy (humanism)? Read 1 Corinthians. Want to see Paul defend his apostleship? Read 2 Corinthians.

What does a Christian congregation look like if it ignores the grace doctrines in Romans and embraces Mosaic Law-keeping (legalism)? Read Galatians. Curious to know what Jesus Christ will do with us Christians in the ages to come? Read Ephesians. Want to see how Christians should work together for the Gospel’s sake? Read Philippians. What does a Christian congregation look like if it ignores the grace doctrines in Romans and embraces religious “self-denial” (asceticism)? Read Colossians.

Wondering what a Christian congregation looks like if it applies by faith the doctrine of Romans, thereby becoming a model assembly of mature grace living? Read 1 Thessalonians. What is our relationship to Israel’s prophetic program? Read 2 Thessalonians.

Want to address and correct issues involving the local church—its organization and administration and our participation in its ministry? Read 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. Desire to see Christian brotherly love displayed? Read Philemon.

Regarding life issues, these 13 epistles of Paul should be consulted first, and if they are silent about a matter, then seek advice from other Bible books. Dear friends, God’s will for us is not complicated like religion makes it….

Bible Study 101 #11

Wednesday, January 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 study the Bible!

God desires to “stablish” (stabilize) the Christian’s life and inner man by using a three-fold process. He wants the Christian to understand the life He gives in Christ Jesus, so the Christian can, by faith, work with God in accomplishing His will.

The Bible says in Romans 16:25,26: “Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith:”

Notice the three-fold process of Christian edification:

  • “my gospel”—Paul’s Gospel, 1 Corinthians 15:1-4, is the foundation of the Christian life
  • “the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery”—this is Paul’s epistles of Romans through Philemon, the sound doctrine (building materials) which we use to build on that foundation
  • “the scriptures of the prophets”—this is all of the Holy Scriptures, in light of the doctrine revealed to Paul.

This is why studying the Bible rightly divided is so important. We study all of the Bible, Genesis through Revelation, but we follow the design of Christian edification as laid out in Romans 16:25,26. If we refuse to follow the dispensational layout of Scripture, and most people do refuse it, then we will be going against what God is doing today, and our Christian lives will be in shambles (which is why Christendom is in such pitiful shape!).

Dear friend, if you want to be spiritually “edified” (“strengthened”) and spiritually “perfected” (“matured”), you need to study and believe the Pauline epistles of Romans through Philemon (Ephesians 4:12). Again, dispensational Bible study is critical to your spiritual health. Let us further demonstrate this….

Bible Study 101 #10

Tuesday, January 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 study the Bible!

Some two billion people worldwide—on “Christian” radio, television, and websites, and in “Christian” Bible colleges, seminaries, churches, and Bible study groups—are quoting the Bible. Most of them are also outside of God’s will: they are following verses that have nothing to do with what God is doing today. They are causing such extensive confusion in an already-lost and dying world. In a society that is starving for the truth, these Bible-quoters contribute to that spiritual malnutrition by “deceitfully handling” (2 Corinthians 4:2) and “wresting” (twisting) (2 Peter 3:15,16) God’s Word. They need to be quiet and study God’s Word, and especially study it “rightly divided” (today’s Scripture).

Satan, by quoting non-rightly divided Scripture (out of its context), attempted to destroy the work of the Son of God, Jesus Christ (even before His ministry began!). Never forget that Satan is still using God’s Word to hinder God’s purpose and plan. The lack of dispensational Bible study, especially a failure to see the Apostle Paul’s unique ministry to us, has so confused and divided Christians. So much time is wasted arguing about such elementary topics that God’s will for the Church the Body of Christ is rarely grasped.

God intended the Holy Bible to be beneficial to man. However, when not rightly divided, it is a weapon that further damages man’s spiritual body. For example, the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-16) and the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) are preached as though they describe Christian living today. How sad! The most critical passages that actually describe grace living in this the Dispensation of Grace—Romans chapters 6-8 and 12, Ephesians chapter 4, and Colossians chapter 3—are ignored.

Again, no wonder the Body of Christ is so ineffectual in reaching the lost world for Jesus Christ, and no wonder the life of the average Christian is so confusing and burdensome. Christendom has stolen Israel’s doctrine and pretends it belongs to the Church the Body of Christ….

Bible Study 101 #5

Thursday, January 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 study the Bible!

Dispensational Bible study causes us to recognize dispensations, or sets of instructions God dispenses to mankind throughout the Holy Bible (different peoples living in various time periods). God’s nature never changes (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8), but His dealings with man do change because man changes. (You can verify this by simply comparing God’s “contradictory” directions about diets in Genesis 1:29-31, Genesis 9:1-4, Leviticus chapter 11, and 1 Timothy 4:3-5.)

Our King James Bible uses the term “dispensation” four times (1 Corinthians 9:17; Ephesians 1:10; Ephesians 3:2; Colossians 1:25). The Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 3:1-5: “For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: how that by revelation he [Jesus Christ] 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) which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;”

Scripture says that the ascended and glorified Lord Jesus Christ directly revealed and committed to the Apostle Paul a special body of information to give to us Gentiles (non-Jews): Scripture calls that body of truth “the Dispensation of the Grace of God.” We learn this doctrine only in Paul’s epistles, Romans through Philemon. Hence, even the Apostle Peter, near the end of his life, acknowledged that he did not understand everything Paul wrote (2 Peter 3:15,16).

Most of the Church the Body of Christ today is doctrinally unsound and spiritually weak because it often neglects the Bible books—Paul’s epistles—written to and about it. Undoubtedly, the professing Church is largely ignorant of God’s will for it because it largely ignores the books of the Bible that explain God’s will for it….

Bible Study 101 #3

Tuesday, January 7, 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 study the Bible!

One can hardly ever find a sound local church today (I speak from experience). Many churches advertise enjoyable “worship” services, some very emotional (hour of loud music, toe-tapping, pew-jumping, tongue-talking) and others extremely solemn and almost silent (ceremonial correctness, eloquent prayers and benedictions, meditation). There are plenty of fleshly activities, but how much Bible study? No, not churches where a few familiar Bible verses are read and then followed by stories and jokes for the rest of the hour, but churches where the congregation actually flips pages in printed Bibles to compare verses? Very rare indeed! (Bible study is “boring,” so the average church feigns like the world in order to cram the world into the pews.)

Beloved, God’s power is in God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Hebrews 4:12), so if God’s Word is not being studied, then we need not wonder why the Body of Christ is so ineffectual in reaching the lost for Jesus Christ’s glory! People today quote and follow the Bible, and yet, they are usually outside of God’s will. Daily, I deal with individuals—Christians and lost people—who read the Bible, but they seldom understand it and rarely know God’s will for their lives. People who have attended “church” for decades but who are still unfamiliar with even basic Bible concepts. Dear friends, how can we do God’s will if we do not know His will (what He is doing)? This is why Bible study—not simply verse reading, verse skimming, or verse memorization—is so critical!

The Bible tells us what God is doing today (His will for us), but we cannot just go to any part of the Bible to find God’s will for us. We must study the Bible to find the verses that describe God’s current operations, His present-day dealings with mankind. This is the goal of dispensational Bible study….

The Extensive Search for the Pure Church

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17 KJV).

Are we Pauline dispensationalists against going to a local church?

We who understand the message of God’s grace to us in Jesus Christ are often accused of being “church-splitters.” Every denominational minister who is aware of dispensational Bible study fears it, for it is a threat to the church program and handbook!

Constant personal communication with professing Christians (verbal dialog and email, even with “clergy”), frequent analyses of current best-selling “Christian” literature, and recent viewing of “quality” “Christian” television programming, still lead me to hold to the conclusion I reached years ago: much of Christendom literally has just as much of an understanding of what Jesus Christ is doing today as the people who have never even read the Holy Bible!

When we Pauline dispensationalists object the “norm”—widespread doctrinal error—and avoid it, we are labeled “church-splitters.” If we are to be rejected as “church-splitters” because we refuse to participate in Satan’s deception, then the Apostle Paul was certainly a “church-splitter” himself, and we are privileged to follow God’s spokesman to us in that regard!

Religious tradition was creeping into the early assemblies of the Church the Body of Christ. In fact, false teachers were even forcing the Scriptural Mosaic Law on Paul’s Gentile converts saved by God’s grace (see his epistles to Galatia and Timothy).

Paul’s advice in today’s Scripture was clear. Identify and avoid these people who “caused divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned.” If what anyone teaches today does not agree with what the Holy Spirit taught through the Apostle Paul, the Bible says we should avoid that person, for he or she is not speaking on God’s behalf: “If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Corinthians 14:37).

Remember, we are certainly not against going to a local church for fellowship; however, we are mindful of the challenge of finding one pure enough to attend!

Tips to Timid Timothy to Tolerate Troubling Times #9

Monday, December 9, 2013

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV).

We have often heard the expression “timid Timothy,” but have you ever wondered why he was timid?

It is human nature to avoid trouble (this is especially beneficial for self-preservation!). Consequently, the prosperity theology (“God will rid you of all financial, romantic, and medical problems”) that it is often promoted today under the guise of Christianity, is very popular.

Nevertheless, Paul and Barnabas traveled, “Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). Paul and Barnabas knew that Christians would suffer persecution and other troubles (they knew firsthand!), and that Satan would use those dire circumstances to discourage them and subvert their spiritual growth. Thus, Paul and Barnabas encouraged them not to grow weary.

The Thessalonians were model Christians—they were spiritual, the complete opposite of the carnal Corinthian Christians. Despite great persecution and even martyrdom in their midst, the Thessalonians were joyful and, by faith, stood steadfast in their identity in Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3-10; 1 Thessalonians 2:14-17; 1 Thessalonians 3:3-13; 2 Thessalonians 1:4-10). They had matured enough to grasp today’s Scripture, and they did not waver when troubles came! God’s Word sustained them, for they, by faith, drew on God’s power contained therein (1 Thessalonians 2:13). May we follow them!

Remember when Paul wrote, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” in Romans 8:35, he listed troubles (things) in the following verses. Why the pronoun “who?” Who is this “who?” Satan will use various difficult circumstances to cause us to lose sight of the love of God we enjoy in Jesus Christ. The Holy Bible rightly divided provides us with “sound” (healthy, nourishing) doctrine (1 Timothy 1:10,11), which gives us a sober mind, one that is mature and steadfast in God’s Word to us, guarding our minds against Satan’s deception (today’s Scripture).

Let us now summarize and conclude this devotionals arc….

Tips to Timid Timothy to Tolerate Troubling Times #7

Saturday, December 7, 2013

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV).

We have often heard the expression “timid Timothy,” but have you ever wondered why he was timid?

The word “spirit” in today’s Scripture should be understood in the sense of “attitude or state of mind; mentality.” For clarity’s sake, we must remember to attach the term “spirit” to the three items listed: “For God hath not given us the spirit [mentality] of fear; but [the spirit] of power, and [the spirit] of love, and [the spirit] of a sound mind.”

Remember the “spirit of fear” has gripped Timothy. He is becoming craven; he is beginning to lose the boldness that is required in the Christian ministry. Satan does not like competition, and when he opposes the Christian’s service by using persecution and/or other suffering (in hopes of forcing the saint to quit entirely), the Christian must be mindful to have the mentality that God would want him or her to have during those troubles (that spiritual destruction, apostasy, et cetera, not result).

How would a mature Christian handle troubles? Firstly, spiritual maturity only comes by personal Bible study. We study God’s Word, believe it, and let it transform our minds. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2ab). “Be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (Ephesians 4:23)—the same “spirit” found in today’s Scripture. “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him” (Colossians 3:10).

Satan cannot take us out of Jesus Christ; however, he can deceive us into thinking we are outside of Jesus Christ (thus causing us to lose sight of our provisions in Christ). Consider the troubles of life described in Romans 8:35-39, which Satan utilized to discourage Timothy (he will do the same with us if we are not mindful of sound Pauline doctrine!). We, like Timothy, need to remember who God the Father has made us in Christ, and use the “arsenal” God has given us to protect our minds in dire circumstances….

Tips to Timid Timothy to Tolerate Troubling Times #6

Friday, December 6, 2013

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV).

We have often heard the expression “timid Timothy,” but have you ever wondered why he was timid?

None of us are exempt from troubles—even the Lord Jesus Christ experienced them! Difficulties in life exist because of the curse of sin (Romans 8:18-23), bad choices that we and others make (Galatians 6:7,8), and persecution for choosing to live godly in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:12). While suffering will not be abolished until our death (or the rapture), we need not lapse into the mentality of hopelessness (today’s Scripture indicates Timothy did). God has the answer, the key, to handling those awful circumstances.

In the verse previous to today’s Scripture, Paul reminded young Timothy about how he had ordained him in the ministry. Timothy received a very important ministry, but Satan was using Timothy’s difficult circumstances to discourage him, to distract him from that ministry from God. Beloved, Satan still attempts to do this with us, so it is imperative we understand and apply today’s Scripture by faith!

Thankfully, in today’s Scripture, God the Holy Spirit informed us how our adversary the devil operates, but let us look at a companion passage for additional insight. Before He wrote today’s Scripture, He had penned through Paul many years earlier: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; ) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). Scripture warns about Satan “corrupting our minds” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Satan attacks the Christian’s mind using bad information—false doctrine, religious tradition, philosophy, et cetera (Ephesians 4:14; Colossians 2:8; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3; 2 Timothy 2:14-18). Hence, today’s Scripture speaks of the “spirit,” or mind, of the Christian. Let us discuss the mentality God has given us in Jesus Christ….